Six things I wish our clients knew …

Karen    Building trust, Opinion, Updating site content    

For the last two and a half years, I have been working with a web design and development company. The following observations are my own and are echoed by many of my colleagues.

1. Research takes time, and there isn’t always something tangible to show for it. When we scope something for a client project, it might take five hours just to work out that it can’t actually be done in the way the project was envisaged, or with the existing technology platform. Correction – it can’t be done cost-effectively – as they say in the business, anything can be done if you throw enough time and money at it.

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New Year, Fresh Start for your Website

Karen    Populating your site, Updating site content    

So 2012 has rolled over on the calendar – and you are back at work. Time to review your company website and make sure everything is up to date and ready for the year ahead. This might also be a good time to look at a few of the following items …

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Controversy equals Traffic

Karen    Populating your site     traffic

Be they politicians, celebrities or criminals, anyone wanting attention has long known that one of the surefire ways to get it is to take a controversial stance on something. Anything at all actually – well anything that has two distinctly different sides to take a position on.

And the effect of a truly controversial stance?

Traffic.

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How to Get Rid of Pesky Caterpillars

Karen    Attracting link love     caterpillars, customer stories, expert content

Hmmmm …

This is a question that has been on my mind lately – how to eliminate, or at least scare off, those pesky green caterpillars that like to munch on my brassicas! read more

10 more great reasons to update your website content

Karen    Populating your site, Updating site content     communicate, online marketing, site content, update, website

Seems that plenty of readers are looking for a rationale for why they need to update their company websites.

I would also like to make the point that if one of the reasons your site is not being regularly updated is because you have to get your web company to do it for you, or your staff find it difficult to use the CMS behind your site – then it is time for a change.

Get training for your staff

or

Have your site shifted to a user friendly CMS (Joomla is one good option to check out).

Don’t let the construction of your site stop you from keeping it fresh. read more

Fawlty Towers-style marketing

Karen    Populating your site     content, vanilla, website

How brave are you when it comes to your web content?

Yes, once again I am talking about doing what it takes to make your site stand out and connect with your target audiences. And even better, create the kind of content that is different enough and edgy enough to make readers send their friends and colleagues to read it for themselves – or email/share your site links.

All too often we get scared when it comes to doing something cool with our site content. The pressure to be polite, politically correct, grammatically correct, and really, kinda boring … is very strong. read more

10 must-do’s for website content

Karen    Populating your site     awesome content, online marketing, SEO, site content

Ok, so I am going to succumb to another list about great website content for SEO … since that seems to be what floats people’s boats out there in the interwebs.

1. Put your audience first – what will they be looking for on your site? What will turn them on, and keep them there to read all the good stuff and maybe even purchase your products or services … and what will scream out at them to just click right off the site.
2. Use the tools at your disposal. There are many free tools to analyse how people are interacting with your website and most of them are free. Make sure you install Google analytics at the very least, and learn how to use it. This is powerful information that too many people ignore.
3. Keep your sentences short and sweet. People will be scanning the page, so they need to get the sense of what you are saying quickly. Avoid long, complex sentences – attention will be quickly lost.  read more

Vanilla or lime? Does your site have flavour??

Karen    Populating your site     content, flavour, fresh, inspiration, personality, site content, website

When you are creating a website you want people to come back to over and over again … and a site you want people to recommend to others, it is important that it has depth and  flavour.

The interwebs are full of vanilla sites that are little more than online brochures, they have no depth, no personality – no real reason for people to want to come back again. read more

when the going gets tough … how to combat the current recession

Karen    Populating your site     authenticity, connection, online marketing, recession

The tough turn to the internet.

(or Batman and Superman)

Right?

Well that seems to be the trend, as things get tougher out there for the traditional marketing media of print, television and radio, internet spending is increasing, and the expectations of what the net can deliver are getting higher. read more

time to go fishing? – exploring link bait

Karen    Attracting link love     awesome content, linkbait, SEO

Yeah, so it’s the season to head into the wilds for a spot of fishing … the whitebait are running and I am guessing their bigger cousins, the salmon are probably out there feeling frisky too.

So what do you need for a good day out on the water? read more