Before Christmas, I decided to share my slightly perverse reason for buying PG Tips (the bags throw better – click here if you’re curious).
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
AOL launched their new look site today and, all in all, it looks pretty good. Have a look what they’ve done with their visual identity – they’ve given it life by creating a family of backgrounds against which the logotype can sit (you can choose one at the top of the page). It’s a novel approach. Hit refresh and you get a different look.
It’ll be interesting to see what they do with this – I wonder if they intend to keep the variety or if they’re using the new site to see which of their new logos generates the most clicks and repeat visits. In the past we’ve launched sites with different Home Pages to see which ones work best, but that’s always intended as a selection process and eventually we pick a winner, based on visits, click throughs, purchases etc. We’ve also given our own visitors some interaction on the DNA site, enabling them to choose a background (but that’s just for fun).
We’ll be watching this space…
(Opinion: Jim Green – MD)
Anyone familiar with online marketing may have heard of the Google ’sandbox’ (where Google ‘allegedly’ temporarily reduces the page rank of new domains, in order to hinder SEO professionals stealing a march on established online businesses). But has anyone heard of the Google Beatbox?
If you start watching this, I bet you make it to the end….
I’ve recently set up a new online e-commerce business from scratch and have researched various unorthodox ways of short-cutting to better performance in the Search Engines. There’s a lot of debate about whether or not you can buy a domain name with a page rank and use it to get a head start, but nobody seems to provide a succinct answer. The truth of the matter is as follows (please correct me if I’m wrong):
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)
At the risk of being a bit contentious, isn’t all this talk about getting ROI from social media a bit waffly? I don’t think it’s that difficult.
Social media is like any other media – it presents an opportunity for people and businesses to communicate a message to an audience. Just like any other media, its ability to yield a return on investment will depend on how well it is used to carry relevant, compelling messages to the relevant audience, in such a way that it will inspire them to engage and do business.
Can social media yield a return on investment? Absolutely. Can that be measured? Yes (although not necessarily very easily). Will social media yield a return on investment every time? No. Is it possible to invest a lot of time, effort and resources into social media – even gaining a lot of interest and influence – and never achieve a penny of ROI? Definitely.
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A lot of articles have been written about how consumers in general make decisions about purchasing a product or a service. One thing is for certain, social media and the ability to read other people’s recommendations is playing an increasingly significant part in most consumers’ buying habits.
In a recent survey by Nielsen, 90% of people said they trusted recommendations from people they know (perhaps not surprising), while an impressive 70% trusted the opinions of other consumers posted online. These were followed closely by brand websites, editorial (invariably someone’s PR) and brand sponsorships.
The Internet has given the consumer the ability to post information online without having to go through a third party. Such “straight-from-the-horse’s-mouth” communication is clearly very powerful, demonstrating the potential of social media as a marketing tool.
Be warned though, social media can be as destructive as it can be helpful. Marketing a service or product through blogs, forums, social networks and other online communities necessitates losing control. One has to be a) supremely confident in the quality of what’s on offer, and b) willing to take the good with the bad!
There are all sorts of urban myths about Search Engine black magic and online marketing, but the fact is that good SEO is no big secret. The methodology behind achieving good search engine positions is actually quite simple – it’s the amount of time and effort you put in that really makes a difference. This is where a decent budget can have a big impact.
Having said all that, there are always changing trends and new ideas to keep on top of – not least when Google changes the rules, which it’s not averse to doing! There are more seminars and training courses out there than you could shake a stick at, but for anyone interested in some Google-related tips, this looks like a pretty good one. We’re constantly brushing up ourselves, so we might see you there!
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)!
According to a survey commissioned by ClickandBuy, a leading internet payment system, it seems that online merchants are losing business by not offering a sufficiently wide choice of internet payment methods. The survey of 2000 online British adults, which was carried out by independent survey firm YouGov, found that half (50 per cent) of those who regularly shop online said that if their preferred payment method is not available, they will cancel the purchase.
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