Ubuntu – Is it viable for a home worker or small business?

We often hear about what tools people use for blogging and it is nearly always Mac and Windows based. In January I began an experiment. Could I live, work and be not just ok, but happy using Linux? There was no dual booting, no second computer or any cyber cafe. I was on my own.

I opted for Ubuntu. It seemed to have a decent level of user friendliness, plenty of documentation, and an active community should I need any help. Without further thought, I ordered a new hard drive, popped it in the machine, and installed Ubuntu 7.10 – Gutsy Gibbon.

Installation was not without hiccups, but then it never is. My major mistake was to not have my computer connected to the internet during installation. When Ubuntu installs it automatically connects to the internet to download the latest versions of everything. Without these it did not work, and without it working I could not connect to the internet to get it working. Quite a dilemma. I figured it out with the help of my house mates’ PC and some quick Google searches. The Ubuntu community is very helpful.

My only other problem was configuring my two sound cards. I like this set up so I can have speakers running through one and then headphones and microphone through another for Skype. Again, some tinkering and all done.

First impressions
Ubuntu is very pretty. It is quite intuitive to use. You have to accept that it will take time to become used to a Linux environment, and will at times test your patience. Things are just in different places and have slightly different names. We are working against over 10 years of using Windows, so things will take time. I do not beleive I would have had any more or less problems than if I was moving onto a Mac.

The add and remove applications system is very simple. There are no end of pieces of software available to do all kinds of things. Remember the internet is mostly powered off linux so there are tonnes of applications and names we have heard of before such as Apache and MySql.

I used Firefox and OpenOffice on Windows too, so very little has changed there. I started off using Thunderbird on Ubuntu, which I used on Windows and it all transferred no problem. Now I am using Google Mail which is webmail based and do not feel the need for a stand alone application.

I will reveal more details as the test goes on.

The importance of analytics

We all want our website to be working hard for us. We talk about SEO and the importance of it. We spend money on advertising campaigns. We spend hours generating content. Despite all of this we may see no evidence of progress. We may not be getting any more sales or even leads than normal but whilst that lets us know something is not right, it does not allow us to drill down any further. The solution is tracking our site statistics, known as analytics.

How do we track?

If we are asking this sort of basic question, then I would suggest we look at some basic solutions. The first option is to use the statistics provided by your web host. These are typically part of a package such as Awstats or Webalizer and can be found under Web/FTP Stats on your hosting control panel. Different packages will provide more or less detailed reports and some will be more graphic than others. Most people prefer the simple, prettier, more graphic option as it is easier on the eyes. One thing about analytics is that it can be as detailed and complex as you are willing to go. More about that later.

Another great option for tracking stats is using Google’s free tool called Google Analytics. This is my choice. It works by placing a small piece of JavaScript on the bottom of your page then it produces very pretty stats. This tool can be used to monitor basic stats with very little effort, but it also has the power to monitor more complex stats. It can be used to see conversion rates and also integrates with Google Adwords. There are many different analytics packages out there, some are free some are not.

What to track – the basics

Visits – This is the total number of visits
Visitors – This is the number of unique visitors. It is the number of visits adjusted for repeat visitors.
Page views – This is the total number of pages your visitors have viewed. In advertising terms, this would be the number of impressions.
Pages/Visit – This is how many pages the average visitor looks at. If this is close to one, it means people are not exploring your site much. It is the number ofpage views divided by the number of visits.
Bounce rate – The percentage of visitors who leave without visiting another page.
Average time on site – Pretty self explanatory. If this is low then maybe you need to rework your site design. Make it easier for visitors to find something of interest in order to keep them on your site.
% new visits – This one is an interesting one. On the one hand, new visits represents growth, and new people discovering you, on the other hand, you want a loyal number of repeat visitors.
Traffic sources – Where is your traffic from. This is great for seeing which advertising campaigns or links are providing you with the most traffic. If your paying for a campaign and getting little or no traffic, you need to work out what is wrong.
Content overview – What is popular? Some content fairs a lot better than others. Can you see any patterns? If you are working with social media, finding a format which works well, then replicating it can be a very powerful way of gaining traffic.

What else can we do?

Analytics can provide you with a lot of data which may be useful or useless depending on your site. It is possible to see the country of origin, the operating system and the Internet browser your visitors are using. The country of origin is useful for determining what kind of adverts would work on your website. If your readership is from the US, adverts targeted towards Americans will do better than those targeted towards your home country. If your website is about cooking and recipe sharing, information on browsers and operating systems is of no use whatsoever.

For more complex uses of Google Analytics I suggest you read Patrick Altoft’s guide to Advanced Analytics . Here he explains how to track exit clicks, downloads, sales and other valuable data. You can see how these things would be beneficial.

Conclusion

Businesses love measuring performance and in many cases it is hard to create useful data which can measure performance in a meaningful way. Online we do not have this problem. The only problem is the limited knowledge of the power of analytics and how to use them. A little time invested in setting up these systems could result in great benefits.

Think how hard it must be for companies to measure the response to an advert in a traditional medium such as print, radio or event TV. Online we have easy access to this data. Take advantage of it!

Top tips for dealing with technical problems

1 Make many friends

How many times have you been told it is not what you know but who you know? We all hit technical difficulties at some point. Even the most seasoned IT pro does. It is impossible to know everything so it is essential to network and make valuable contacts who you can call on. You could just make friends with one tech guru, but everyone is busy, and you need to think ahead. How many times can you call on someone for favours? Can I offer them something of equal value in return? You should always pay your contacts for any services, even if they do not ask for payment. Let them know you value their time.

2 Investigate the problem

So your having technical issues. Do not just give up immediately and call in back up. Phoning a contact, and just saying “it is broken” is very unhelpful and does not let them assess how much time they will need to dedicate to you. If you let them know exactly what the issue is then they could help you on the spot over the phone, or know to bring spares etc. A quick search online using the error message or describing the nature of your problem can often provide valuable answers. Many experts write excellent solutions and post them free of charge online. Take advantage of this.

3 Invest in support

If you have no one who works in the business who can troubleshoot your IT problems, then it is probably wise to invest in an IT support contract. Almost all business’ are reliant upon IT in this day and age and it can be tragic when systems go down. Whilst IT support contracts may seem pricey, think of the lost revenue and time wasted when your IT systems are not working. Really it is a no brainer. Relying on favours from contacts is not the way to go. When it is a favour you have little control and it is hard to demand urgent service and even harder to ask for compensation when the work done causes further damage. Keep business relationships as formal as possible
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4 Learn from your mistakes

If you do have a technical problem, do not just get it fixed. Make sure you are fully aware of what the problem was, what caused it and how it was fixed. This way next time you will be able to either fix it yourself or know exactly what needs to be done. Providing this information will often lead to a considerably less expensive repair bill. Having a good idea of your support history can help save time and money by enabling you to predict what equipment needs replacing, and what is reliable.

Conclusion 

Ask any IT guy and they will have no end of stories about people forgetting to plug something in, or not turning a machine on. Please do not be another one of these stories and make sure you have at least tried the basics. You want your contacts to value your relationship, and not regret ever meeting you. Be respectful of their time.

Do you have an IT guy or several? Is your relationship more about taking than giving?

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