Anyone thinking of going into web design or development should watch this video of Jeffrey Zeldman, one of the people credited with founding web standards. Click here.

(Si – NOW I understand why you keep banging on about AA this and AA that! Jim)

And then something very interesting happened…

I received a parcel, which I assumed would be a chocolate ‘thank you’ from a grateful supplier or a Christmas gift from a hopeful prospector.

But it wasn’t. It was a box of tea bags….

Look at that lovely kitchen furniture

Until I received this parcel, I must admit I had no idea this brand of tea existed. I haven’t seen it in any supermarkets (although I’m told it’s now available in Morrisons) and I’m sure I’d have noticed it with that in-your-face packaging, so different from all the other tea brands (although guys… the builder’s bum??? Not exactly mouth watering!). But I loved the fact that I could write a seemingly meaningless and slightly silly blog and some clever, web-literate marketeer managed not only to find it, but also to find a simple way to make use of it.

For you see now I’m writing this…
…and this will appear on our Twitter page…
…and who knows who will get hold of it from there?!

With such an instant, joined-up network of consumer-driven, interactive media channels, it’s definitely an interesting time to be in marketing. Technology has created so many more possibilities and invariably it’s the more intelligent marketeers who first make effective use of it. The guys behind the ‘Make Mine a Builders’ brand also run a creative agency. Clearly they’ve seen a gap in the market and they’re using their knowledge of the various marketing channels to their advantage. And who can blame them?

The truth is that marketing has entered a whole new era, in which consumers hold a lot more power and marketing campaigns need to become a lot more integrated. Of course, large budgets will always have their place, but more and more the consumer is able to choose what it consumes and when. Subscription and Sky Plus-style television means we can fast-forward through the TV adverts; while interactive marketing and social media gives consumers the ability to affect each other’s buying decisions directly. The time has come for brands to think more cleverly not just about how they reach their target audience, but also about the honesty of their marketing messages, the validity of their USPs and the true strength behind their products. In other words, it’s no longer possible to hide behind propaganda.

The playing field is well and truly being levelled, which, for all of us as consumers, has got to be good news.

So what about ‘consuming’ the tea?
Delicious AND original. Now there’s a compelling reason to buy.

(Opinion: Jim Green- MD)

UsedCars2U is the UK’s first website that supplies fully serviced used cars directly the consumers’ door, at no extra charge. In so doing, they’re aiming to cut out the middle man. All of UsedCars2U’s cars have had one owner, come with a warranty, full service history, 14-day money-back guarantee and undergo a 120-point pre-delivery check… All the benefits of buying from a dealer but for about 20% less, AND without having to leave your sofa!

Although we might be slightly biased (we’ve been working on the company’s branding and web design), we think it’s a bit of a no-brainer. We’re confident this will appeal to the modern car owner – particularly when people seem to have less and less time on their hands. Who has time to trek around different dealers or to do background checks on the cars they’re interested in?

It’s been a really interesting project to be involved with – not least because we’ve chosen to collaborate with two other agencies. The urgent deadline for delivery meant we couldn’t do this one alone, so we’ve enlisted the help of local web design agency, Formoda, and online marketing and PR specialist, SGA Marketing. Even if we say it ourselves, together we’ve made a pretty effective team. Not only have we delivered the site on time and within budget, we’ve also put together a comprehensive post-launch marketing plan. We don’t walk away from our web projects as soon as they go live. We want to make sure our clients achieve their commercial objectives, so we stay involved, driving online traffic, offline awareness and, ultimately, delivering a bottom line. To UsedCars2U, this means spreading the word and converting web visitors into sales.

We’ve done various things to make this happen. Every car sold on the site comes with a detailed description, including a large number of photographs showing every inch of the interior and exterior condition – including tyres and mileage shown on the clock. Each photo depicts the true condition of the car, leaving the salesmen’s pitch firmly for those wandering into the car showrooms. What’s more, UsedCars2U.com sources all of its cars from a trusted and reliable source and will exclusively sell vehicles that are between one and two years old; this gives customers the benefit of the original Manufacturer’s warranty, as well as road tax.

UsedCars2U has already sold a handful of vehicles through the site – from family cars to a luxury Mercedes E class – and we haven’t even got started! Find out more at UsedCars2U.com

If you start watching this, I bet you make it to the end….

You can buy a domain with a page rank from various websites. Just Google it and you’ll find them. Some of these page ranks seem to be legitimate and some appear to be falsified, so please beware. Once you direct the domain at your own server and give it your own content, it is likely that Google will reclassify the page rank as PR0. However, if the domain you bought performs well in existing online searches and already has numerous inbound links in place (which you can check before you buy), it is likely that you will achieve a better page rank far more quickly than if you set up a site from scratch with an entirely new domain.

If you want straightforward, professional advice on marketing your website – including whether or not Twitter and other social media will deliver a return on your investment – please give us a call.

(Opinion: Jim Green – MD)

Our newest client, MCE Insurance, has just been announced as the new title sponsor to the world’s leading domestic superbike series, British Superbikes. We are currently supporting MCE with their online communications and the new MCE website is due to go live this summer. This sponsorship deal is a major step in MCE’s bid to become the UK’s best and most successful motorcycle insurer and we’re doing what we can to help them make that happen.

MCE Insurance, one of the UK’s top 3 providers of motorcycle insurance, has just appointed us to bolster its online presence and communication style. We will be working with MCE’s in-house design and web development team, providing input on brand personality, tone of voice, copywriting and online marketing.

Our remit is to build better brand awareness and customer loyalty online, and the whole project came from a social media marketing idea we took to them earlier this year. The social media project will form stage two of the campaign, which begins with the in-house team’s redesign of the existing website. We expect this programme to drive MCE’s online leads and sales, and ultimately to reduce their spend on Pay-Per-Click. It’s a great project – particularly for Jim, who loves his bikes (despite having a small ‘off’ earlier this year)!

The recession appears to have set in for at least a two-year period, and more and more people are turning to the Internet for a better deal. But still so many businesses are getting it wrong.

Most of us now accept that a website is a shop window. Just as most shoppers will look in a window on the High Street before they walk into a retailer, figures now indicate that more than 80% of potential customers will visit your website before they do business with you. With such compelling figures, why would any business not invest in a professional, well-thought-through web presence and online marketing strategy?

Click here for full article

Supporting this statistic is that over one third (40 per cent) of all adults surveyed said that they would feel more comfortable purchasing from a retailer who offers a wide range of payment methods than a retailer who only offers one payment option. 

To read the full article click here

Search engines exist to provide relevant, useful search results for their users. They are not there to benefit companies who are proficient at optimizing websites. If you think you have thought of a clever way to fool them – forget it. They are not easily tricked and, if they catch you, they will probably ban you. For businesses that depend on leads and enquiries from their websites, this can literally prove fatal.

If you want to drive people to your latest, beautifully designed website, concentrate on the following tips for generating web traffic, and don’t cheat! Click here.