Artists SA

Over the last few years people have been ditching their carpets in favour minimal flooring such as wooden floorboards, laminate, and more recently engineered wood flooring. This type of flooring combines the practicalities of laminates with the beauty and warmth of real wood – and some are saying that it’s the floor of the decade in interior design. The advantages of engineered wood flooring are clear; they are easy to clean which means reduced allergens in the household, they are cheaper  and easier to install that traditional wooden floorboards, as well as easier to maintain; and finally they are timeless in aesthetic appeal, unlike many carpets currently on the market.

Engineered wood flooring is made by bonding several layers of wood under extreme pressure resulting in flooring that is stronger and more durable than solid wood floors. The key to success is in these layers, which are made of various materials such as hardwood, softwood and ply. Traditional solid wood floors are susceptible to change depending on temperature and humidity and liable to shrink, expand and warp. By engineering wooden floors from the composite of materials, changes to humidity and temperature affect on only the mid layer, not the supporting layer or the hard wood top layer. This means that once you have installed your engineered wood flooring, you can rest assured that there will be very little maintenance to keep it looking beautiful.

Just like solid wood flooring, the engineered variety is available in a selection of woods such as oak, ash, beech, pine, cherry, maple and walnut and in a wide variety of shades, just like you would find in natural wood flooring. It is even possible to have the flooring finished in black or white – perfect for a modern decor.

There is no clearer way to explain simply why SEO is good for your business than to compare the internet to a high street, and your website to a shop. SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation is the virtual High Street’s way of getting of putting your shop in front of a competitor. Imagine for a moment if that were possible in reality, imagine that Car Phone Warehouse could park it’s shop in front of Phones 4 U, so that  people walking down the high street see Car Phone Warehouse first, and wander straight in. We all know that once a customer is in your shop, you’ve got a better chance of making that sale.

With the internet, a search engine will prioritise this new type of high street, and if your ‘shop’ appears more appealing than your competitors, it will be listed higher up – in effect in front of your competitors shop. SEO is good for your business because it makes your website easier for search engines to find, makes them more accessible once they do, helps the search engine understand exactly what your website is about and ultimately matches up what you are offering with the people that are looking for it online. Deciding not to optimise your site is effectively boarding up your shop window, padlocking the doors, and filling the entrance with the detritus of a Friday night.