Making the most of your search

May 12th, 2011

Improve Your Website Search

External search engines

With search engine trends changing it affects peoples view on how search engines work. Ideally all website search functions should try to keep up with how the big boys do it. Google instant provides a good example of a recent change. It effectively cuts down the amount of keywords people type in by instantly showing results. This means all website search functions should also show relevant content for less keywords typed in.

Building up your searches strength…

To improve the conversion rates and click through of content on your website you should analyse the market you’re targeting. Who is your target audience, how do they use the internet and what do they search for. Once you have acquired this information you can adjust your search accordingly by firstly making sure all of your main keywords and product related keywords produce the correct results. The target audience can help you target what their looking for and how they are presented the information. For example if your target audience are primarily 60+ it would be a good idea to research what sort of language they use in regards to the keywords they type in – as in comparison to 16-18 year olds the language they use could be shorter slang related terms.

Top tips for ecommerce website searches:

  • Build customer confidence with product reviews
  • Provide mouse over image enlargement
  • Grow the use of video’s within searches
  • A sorting function such as A-Z is always a good practice for filtering results
  • Good to have an ‘add to cart’ from the search results for price comparison users
  • Good to have a ‘wish list’ feature as it can provide return visits for people that like to shop around before committing to the purchase

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    Posted in search marketing, web development by Tom Hood | No Comments »

    Creating video for business websites

    April 21st, 2011

    A good example of an online web short from IBM

    For a few years now we’ve been involved with creating online video, most recently with a series of case studies for CRM and BI technology solutions company Acrotrend. Web videos are becoming increasingly important for many corporate websites. Not only do they make the visitor experience to the website more appealing, there’s also plenty of evidence that they increase enquiries and generate leads.

    Here’s an example of a web video from IBM that was sent to me by one of our clients. It’s neat, well-produced, uses animated graphics and key words as part of the pitch, features real people using there own words – and is short, succinct and to the point. It’s a great use of 2 minutes of film.

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    Posted in uncategorised by Simon | No Comments »

    Something to make you smile this Easter

    April 21st, 2011

    T-Mobile create another clever take on their flash-mob viral videos. Happy Easter…

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    Getting the business message across using facebook

    April 13th, 2011

    Interesting article about Airmiles and Facebook.

    Further evidence (should it be needed!) that social media is a vital part of the relationship between businesses and their customers. Interviewed in Marketing magazine, Airmiles say that “with statistics revealing 50% of UK Facebook users log on each day, and with many of our members regularly using online media to search for good deals, Airmiles has this launched the app to give instant access to the best travel and reward deals.”

    This is a well thought-out and well-targeted campaign. Airmiles have recognised that people search for travel deals online – so have taken their offers directly to them via Facebook rather than waiting to be found elsewhere.

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    Posted in uncategorised by Simon | 2 Comments »

    BIC Razors Viral Video

    April 12th, 2011

    You’ve got to smile!

    The people at BIC Razors have got this just right… and with 2 million views on YouTube alone it’s reaching a lot of people!

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    Get the London Look

    March 29th, 2011

    A great promo video with some tip-top typography

    I stumbled across a trio of promo videos for EF Language Centres a while ago but there’s something about them that still sticks in my mind. While being beautifully shot and edited slices of city life, it’s the typography that really grabbed my attention. The skilful use of type really adds a sparkle to these promos, resonating beyond moving images. It also got me thinking – can a simple typeface sum up a city? Probably not, but as part of a graphic designer’s arsenal it can prove a valuable tool for invoking familiar cultural references and enhancing the effective communication of ideas.

    Just for fun, here’s a few examples of cities and their possible typographic friends:

    London is of course the classic Gill Sans, Paris and the chic Didot go together like croissants and coffee and New York gets some Broadway boogie-woogie courtesy of Avant Garde.

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    Posted in uncategorised by Andy | No Comments »

    Ignore online advertising at your peril

    March 29th, 2011

    Facebook logo

    Online advertising spend increases 27.5% in the last year – fuelled by a surge in Facebook ad spend

    Do you advertise online? Well if you don’t, there’s a good chance your competitors are stealing an unfair advantage. This article in today’s Guardian discusses a 27.5% year-on-year surge in UK online display market – mostly attributed to Facebook – as advertisers leverage social media.

    The article is based on the Internet Advertising Bureau’s annual report, compiled by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Headline figures include:

    • UK online display advertising = £945m
    • Total UK advertising spend = £4bn
    • £1 in every £4 spent by UK businesses on advertising is spent online
    • £100m spent on Facebook advertising (a 200% increase year-on-year)
    • Spend on video advertising doubled to £54m
    • Google Adwords accounts for 57% (previously 61%) of all online ad spend
    • UK Adwords spend across all suppliers increased year-on-year by 8% to £2.35bn

    We’re managing a range of online advertising opportunities for some of our clients right now. As always, the outcome is highly measurable, and in parallel with organic search engine optimisation and social networking, we’re getting some great results. As we climb out of the recession I suspect we’re going to see online ad spend increase dramatically.

    (Update: also worth mentioning, Facebook is on the verge of adding a web search feature. This means Facebook will be looking to have an even bigger slice of internet search…)

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    Posted in uncategorised by Simon | No Comments »

    The MediaGuardian Innovation Awards 2011

    March 28th, 2011

    The iHobo website and App is a brilliant piece of awareness marketing

    Digital inspiration for a Monday morning

    Have you been wondering what’s hot in 2011? Well, The Guardian has just announced the winners of their digital communication, technology innovation awards. Winners include The Tate, Nike and Nokia – but look out for some of the other entries from the public sector, charities and the ‘free to enter’ category.

    My favourite is iHobo. A great piece of awareness marketing, with a fun iPhone App and a serious message.

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    Interflora and M&S Adwords battle continues

    March 28th, 2011

    Marks & Spencer told to stop using the Interflora name as a search term in Google AdWords

    Back in 2009 I posted a blog about Marks & Spencer using the Interflora brand name in paid-for advertising on search engines. At that time, a ruling from Europe’s top court stated that advertisers were free to use their rivals’ trade marks whilst advertising on search engines.

    But all this is about to change. The Courts have now sided with Interflora, and subject to a definitive ruling in about two months time, advertisers will not be able to jump on the back of their competitors’ brand names for search engine advertising terms.

    This all sounds fair, but watch this space. Trademark law in Europe is in a bit of a pickle right now, with sweeping changes expected in the next few years that will affect businesses large and small across the EU.

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    Posted in uncategorised by Simon | 1 Comment »

    Clever logos that make me smile

    March 25th, 2011

    Here’s some examples of some great logos that when I look at them , make me smile.

    Here’s a quick rundown of some of my favourite logos and brand marks – the ones that make me smile! These logos have all been sprinkled with a little bit of design glitter, that little bit of magic that makes them as fresh today as the day they were produced…

    Click to enlarge…

    The Royal Parks: a neat combination of royal symbolism and the leaves you see in the park.

    Microsoft’s digital advertising awards: cool mouse by Johnson Banks.

    FedEx logo: you’ll only think it’s clever if you can see the arrow between the E and the X. Nice.

    V&A Museum, London: proves that a simple twist in the typography can work wonders for a logo.

    Habitat: clever twist on ‘home is where the heart is’.

    Shelter: the ‘h’ is the shelter for the housing and homeless charity.

    Mother & Child logo: designed by Herb Lubalin and Tom Carnase in 1965. So clever.

    UPS: Original Branding by Paul Rand – a lovely shield motif with a cleverly hidden gift-wrapped parcel. And lower right, the dreadful new version born through the whims of the marketing department; all shiny and new, but lacking the personality of the 1960′s version which will always stand the test of time.

    Enjoy.

    Posted in uncategorised by Simon | No Comments »

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