Latest research reveals that total on-line sales increased by 13% in April compared to last year. Shoppers spent £4.4 billion worth on goods and products during the month.

The figures, from the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index, do mask a month-on-month downturn in on-line travel sales. While travel and ticket sales on-line rose by 5% year-on-year there was a sharp 9% drop in April, compared to March, because of the volcanic ash cloud.

When it comes to on-line clothing sales, there was a huge 21% increase compared to the same period in 2009. There was also a rise in sales of beers, wines and spirits in the last three weeks of the month.

Chris Webster, vice president, Retail Consulting and Technology, Capgemini, is reported as saying: “On-line retail is seeing continued high growth levels of 13% as more and more retailers are using an on-line channel to attract a new market and retain existing customers.

“The clothing sector in particular has been given a boost by April’s early signs of summer, with shoppers logging on to update their wardrobes for the new season. This sector is driving growth behind the industry as a whole.”

The European Commission has announced it’s intentions to greatly increase the number of Europeans using public and commercial services on-line over the next decade. The Digital Agenda outlines the goal of broadband coverage for all EU citizens by 2013. By 2020 it’s hoped that at least half of all European households should subscribe to broadband services with speeds above 100 Mbps.

The EU proposals also included proposals to boost legal music downloads and set up a rapid response system for cyber-attacks.

The Digital Agenda sets out plans for a range of measures, including 31 EU laws, over the next two to three years to increase the number of Europeans accessing on-line services.

Latest reports in America reveal that on-line video advertising revenue is set to pass the $1.3 billion mark this year. The report from Parks Associates shows a steady growth in on-line video viewers. One big growth area is the ability to target specific viewers based on preferences and viewing history.

So the content of on-line video ads, which include pre-rolls shown before or overlays displayed during a show, can be created to tie in with the viewer’s  viewing habits.

At the same time there is a reported “indifference” among households about this kind of “targeted advertising”.

As one research analyst commented: “Indifference indicates consumers can be won over by new advertising strategies, provided these messages are designed well, with truly relevant content.”

It’s worth noting that younger viewers appear to be more receptive to the concept of targeted advertising.

So many more businesses are waking up to the potential marketing power of Twitter. It’s vital that you attract followers, rather than simply following people. So how do you go about getting your twitter name out there and building on your list of followers?

Here we bring you some top Twitter tips:

Become a guest blogger: Guest blogging is growing and it’s a great way to get your blogging and Twitter name better known. Find the tweeters who have lots of followers in your subject area and then offer to guest post on their blog in exchange for promotion of the post on Twitter.

Write more: Write articles around the web and promote them on Twitter. There are many sites on which you can write articles relevant to your business, for example HubPages.

Get chatting: Become more involved in on-line discussions via forums and blog comments about Twitter.

Ask around: Don’t be ashamed to ask your regular followers to tell their followers that you’re looking for more followers yourself. If they like what you’ve been writing then they will be happy to pass on your details to some of their followers.

Sell yourself: Add your Twitter URL to business cards, leaflets and any material you use in connection with your business. Don’t forget to add it to you email signature.

Happy tweeting!

So you have your shiny new website. But will the search engines notice it? Key to a new website is being found by potential customers. Here we bring you some tips for climbing the search engines – but without spending any money.

* Give visitors something to read: You website might look good but it has to have content on it. When they stop by to index your site you’ll need to have some words on it for them to look at.

* Make sure the words read well: Think about what your potential customers will be searching for and make sure you use these words and phrases on your website. Don’t overstuff the site but do include relevant phrases. Make sure you have well-written headlines. You can use techniques such as bullet points and bolded words to craw your visitor’s attention to important information.

* Grammar and spelling are important: Many visitors will be turned off by poor grammar and spelling so why risk it? Make sure you get someone knowledgeable to proofread your site before it launches.

* Go for links: Search engines look at links. To make your links search engine-friendly you’ll want them to be real text and you’ll want to include key words within the link. For example, “Click here to find out more about copywriting services”. It’s not enough to have image click-throughs or click “here”.

* Incoming Links: One of the best ways to move up on the search engine results is to have links to your site coming from outside sites. This is not easy, but there are a few ways to build links. Try to make reciprocal link requests (offer to link to a site if they will link back to you), place your link in discussion forums and blog comments, and don’t forget to get out there and promote as much as you can through social media sites and also email, leaflets and business cards.

Web design has come a long way in recent years and designers and copywriters are becoming ever more creative. In the second of a three-part blog series we look at some of the latest web design trends.

The natural look
Less wood effect, and more nature, such as sky, trees, grass being used as backgrounds. We’ve seen this before but it will keep on growing so long as everyone stays in touch with their “green” conscience. An example of “the natural look” can been seen on our portfolio site http://www.globalofficesupplies.co.uk/

One-page scrolling sites
Not everyone agrees with this trend but 2009 certainly saw an explosion of scrolling sites, both horizontally or vertically. People are still loving the simplicity of these sites – although they are not every user’s cup of tea.

Harmony of symmetry
So many people like grids and templates and all things lined up. It makes us feel calm and in control. Which is why there is a big trend for nice and neat looking websites. In particular, exaggerated grid layouts are becoming more popular.

Be engaging
Websites that draw in the visitor with videos, pictures, blogs and general interaction will grow as we get more and more into the community side of the internet.