Responsive web design for PA, MD, and beyond.

Imagine this: Your website has a sort of artificial intelligence and conforms beautifully to every device – smartphone, Ipad, Tablet, laptop, and desktop. Sounds like a futuristic dream right? It’s not. Let me welcome you to the future and give this new reality a name – responsive website design.

Every business wants to be in touch with the heartbeat of the mobile web and responsive design makes this possible. Here are three reasons why businesses and consumers agree responsive design is a no-brainer.

1. It was named a web design industry best practice by Google.  Google explains,  “It keeps your desktop and mobile content on a single URL, which is easier for your users to interact with, share, and link to and for Google’s algorithms to assign the indexing properties to your content.” In addition, Google says they can discover your content more efficiently when it is on a responsive design. As I’ve shared before, content marketing is the new SEO; therefore, websites designed in responsive expedite content marketing results.

2. From Pew Research Labs “Cell Internet Use 2012 Report,”  88% of U.S. adults own a cell phone and over half of them use their phones to go online. Google says 2012 is the year mobile web use will exceed desktop use.

3. Responsive deletes the need for those other mobile sites – you know, the kind which require a separate URL, separate SEO and of course, added costs to you.

My company (oz 2 designs LLC) has created 9 responsive designs (below).  Each one is attractive, professional and optimized for search. In most cases we created the brand as well. View them on your Iphone, Android, Ipad, laptop,Tablet and/or desktop and watch them respond intuitively to each device:

http://www.jbmtechnologies.com – An e-commerce site for a Philadelphia, PA machine tool distributor, service and resource center.

http://www.janneyindustrialpainting.com - a Manchester, Maryland industrial painting contractor

http://w ww.weigelstownChildcare.com- a York, PA  daycare, after school care, and summer camp provider

http://www.HallmarkConcrete.com – A Duncannon, PA custom concrete business.

http://www.focusdiscoverachieve.com/blog/ – a  York, PA lifestyle and business coach blogger

http://www.oz2designs.com – A global digital marketing business.

http://www.cyclonemarketing.info – Central PA blog about digital marketing.

http://www.allergyasthmafoundationLancaster.com - a Lancaster, PA non-profit (site in progress).

http://www.charleslichty.com - a York, PA couples and individual counselor

Interested in converting your website to a responsive design? How about a stunning new brand identity to go with it?  Visit my digital marketing website and email me for a quote. Connect with Oz2 on YouTube, Linkedin, Twitter, Google+and Facebook . The Creative Marketing Channel belongs to oz 2 designs LLC – a small, flexible, full service digital marketing agency.

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Today The Creative Marketing Channel has an elegant, new design. As the media channel for our digital marketing agency oz 2 designs LLC, The Creative Marketing Channel needed to reflect our broad range of digital marketing services as well as our content marketing expertise. I feel our new look has accomplished this and more. Here are 5 reasons why I love The Creative Marketing Channel’s new website:

1. It has a clean, elegant brand that pops. I love our new signature color palette (green, black, and white) which is ever so creatively utilized in a clean, attention getting design. Oz2 Art Director Rick Brady outdid himself here and gave The Creative Marketing Channel a unique, inbound marketing, news channel feel. How does he do that??

2. It’s a responsive design! Responsive is not only a web design industry best practice, it’s also a lot of fun for users. Our new design scales to fit all browser widths and resolutions as well as all mobile devices. Open it on a tablet or mobile phone or just scale your browser window and watch it flex its muscles. Responsive design by oz 2 designs LLC – it’s all the rage for good reason.

3. It’s not just a blog anymore. The Creative Marketing Channel’s CMS comes with the option to customize post types. In other words, I decide whether a page is a blog page or a web page. The blog pages go out to my regular subscribers via RSS and the web pages act like traditional web pages. Here, take a look at my new portfolio page: It’s a dedicated page designed to showcase our portfolio with a category sorter and lightbox popup functionality. I absolutely love it.

4. All images are elegantly auto-scaled as part of our responsive design. Images are very important to my business and we certainly can’t afford to ever see them looking pixelated or crunched. My new responsive website design guarantees me beautiful images on every device.

5. It’s optimized for search because that’s what I do. The Creative Marketing Channel utilizes content marketing to rank well on Google Search for a variety of phrases. Go ahead and Google “PA Digital Marketing” or “PA Content Marketing” and you’ll find www.CycloneMarketing.info at the top.

What feelings does The Creative Marketing Channel’s new brand identity evoke in you? What do you think about the great new features that come with a responsive web site designed by oz 2 designs LLC?

Well organized, purposefully designed websites in responsive allow for 100% user engagement. Interested in a stunning new brand, a responsive website, a new blog, or content marketing? Email me at CatLockey@Gmail.com and I’ll send you a quote. Connect with Oz2 on YouTube, Linkedin, Twitter, Google+and Facebook . The Creative Marketing Channel belongs to oz 2 designs LLC – a small, flexible, full service digital marketing agency.

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Social media platforms are a wonderful way to make new friends, generate new business, and stay connected to loved ones.   Each platform has its own culture and preferred modes of communication.  Of course, as C.E.O. of oz 2 designs and  blogger for The Creative Marketing Channel, I often leverage social media to tactfully market my company and the companies of my clients.  Here is a list of some of my favorite social media networking sites and a quick blurb about each platform’s culture.

The Creative Marketing Channel - The Creative Marketing Channel is my blog and my preferred social media platform.  It’s a place where business owners, C.E.O.’s, like minded digital marketers, and bloggers can become part of my smart, thought-provoking community, ask me questions, receive free advice and suggestions, bounce ideas off of members of the community, and connect with me personally. It’s a place where people can feel free to be themselves and get the answers they need.

Linkedin – Linkedin a very serious business social network so I keep my posts and interactions quite serious and business related at all times.

Twitter – Twitter is a mixed bag; you name it, it’s on Twitter which means anything goes. I have a couple accounts: one to talk  business and the other to talk and share poetry.  One really nice benefit to participating  on Twitter is the way big businesses, like cable TV and cell phone companies, quickly respond  to individual concerns or complaints.

Facebook - I like Facebook because it’s a great way to stay in touch with family, old friends, and new friends. I use my Facebook account for fun, personal reasons.  Occasionally, I talk business.

Google+  I like Googe+ but haven’t fallen in love with it yet. Right now I, like most others, use it to post articles to benefit others in the same industry. Occasionally I’ll post a personal photo and in the near future I intend to start writing Google local reviews about my favorite places.  Google+ continues to play a STRONG role in Google search which is why it’s important to become part of that borg.

Pinterest  - Pinterest is fun, pretty, and interesting. Artists, designers, photographers, foodies, crafters and fashion lovers are drawn to Pinterest like moths to a flame.  I would love to have more time to spend on Pinterest.

Quora – Want to expand your paradigm as well as meet some of the smartest people on the web? Join Quora and read; it’s fascinating. Truly. I think everyone should spend a little time on Quora every day.

I didn’t cover every platform I’m involved in here; I’ll save the rest for another post. What is your take on  the social media networking platforms I listed? Do you participate in any of them? If so, please share your observations.

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SEO for Lancaster, PA and beyond.

“To stand out you need to be wherever those customers are looking and that means social, that means search, that means word of mouth.” – Lee Odden, CEO of TopRank Online Marketing

A few weeks ago a tweet by Bob Tripathi, founder of Instant E-Training, alerted me to a fantastic video interview with Lee Odden, CEO of TopRank Online Marketing. When it comes to search, social, and content, Lee Odden is the one of the best so I had to click, watch and listen.  Here are a few of my favorite takeaways from this content marketing strategy gold mine:

1. Create searcher personas
Searcher personas reflect people: They are the many faces of your customers. What are their wants, needs, and consumption habits? What are their typical online behaviors during different phases of the buying cycle? Answer these questions to determine their search behavior. Understand your personas and optimize your content uniquely for them.

2. Create relevancy
Meeting the needs of personas creates relevancy and is the first step in developing relevant content. Relevancy is the connection between what people want and what you want to sell. “Instead of optimizing for keywords ’cause they’re popular, we’re actually optimizing for keywords that we know are a reflection of where that customer is in the buying cycle, ” explains Odden.

3. Listen to customers
There are a variety of social media monitoring and data collection tools that allow you to collect information about your customers. Which social media channels they prefer, their buying habits, as well as common phrases or social keywords they like to use can be discovered with these tools. Another big benefit is this information helps you create socially interesting or relevant content.

4. Distribute and promote
Crappy content with a snappy headline will beat high quality content with a boring title every time. Package your content to purposefully inspire others to share it or link back to it. Distribute it on your platform, to social media and to other online publishing communities. An RSS feed and social sharing tools are must haves (for example Slideshare and Revver).

5. Create an engaging social community
People with common interests like to connect with each other so create a place where they can do this. If your community has the right climate your customers will happily share information and tips about your brand with one other for you. Don’t push your brand at your community; rather, encourage your community to enthusiastically share your brand.

6. Measure your results
Social monitoring AND analytics tell where engagement is happening. This information enables you to intelligently scale any approach up or down as needed. Evaluate both on a regular basis and refine your content marketing campaign as needed.

If this information piques your interest then Odden’s newly released book Optimize is a must have.  ”Optimize will provide you with the tools necessary to plan, implement, and scale an integrated content marketing strategy which will boost your relevance and increase your online visibility.”  I ordered mine and can’t wait to read it!

The Creative Marketing Channel specializes in optimized content marketing and distribution. Improve your Google rank, deepen visitor experiences, and increase brand awareness, leads, and conversions when you hire The Creative Marketing Channel to create your company’s content.  Connect with us on YouTube, Linkedin, Twitter, Google+and Facebook. Email us at cl@2designs.com.

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SEO for Central PA and beyond.

Danny Sullivan, editor and chief of Search Engine Land broke the story first.  Any day now Google will release a focused new algorithm update whose sole purpose is to seek out and penalize over optimized websites. Should you be wary of Google’s impending update? What exactly is an over-optimized site?

1. An over optimized site has too may keywords says Matt Cutts, head of the webspam team at Google. For example, let’s say your company wants to market to Lancaster, New Oxford, Abbottstown, Hanover, Gettysburg, York, Harrisburg, and Camp Hill Pennsylvania. Well, that’s a mighty long list of keywords. An outdated or uneducated web designer or SEO company will litter a list like this throughout your site – in your meta data (the hidden area only search engines read), behind your photos, in your header and footer, and throughout your content. Cutts says these websites will get the smackdown.

2. An over optimized site has exchanged too many links, according to Cutts. Did your website or SEO company participate in a link exchange program on your behalf? If you’re not sure, you’d better find out. Very soon, websites with an overabundance of backlinks acquired from link exchange sources will feel the pain.

According to Cutts, one of the best things you can do is remove low quality content (like long keyword lists) from your site and replace it with compelling, useful content which answers visitor questions and inspires visitor actions. If a user finds the answer to his/her search question on a website, he/she will not bounce out, return to search, and click further search results. Instead, he/she will stick around, showing Google this website answered a query with useful content. The result: This visitor is happy. Sullivan reminds us, “You have to think beyond signals that are just SEO: They (search engines) are extracting sentiment now. ” In other words, it matters whether visitors are happy or annoyed. Social sharing, leaving a comment, spending time, signing up, and visiting more than one page are all indicators of visitor happiness.

If you’re concerned about Google’s upcoming algorithm change, email me at CatLockey@gmail.com. I’ll look over your website content and code (for free) and let you know if I see any keyword stuffing, weak content, or other visitor deterrents.

To learn more about the difference between low quality content vs. compelling, useful content, check out these posts:

Your Content Marketing Core Matters

Six Content Marketing Myths – Digital Marketing Wisdom for Businesses

6 SEO Ripoff Dead GiveAways: Don’t let that Marketer Make a Clown out of You

Corporate Content Marketing for Best in Class Results

Content Marketing: What it is and Why it Works

The Creative Marketing Channel belongs to oz 2 designs LLC – a small, flexible, full service digital marketing agency.  Connect with us on YouTube, Linkedin, Twitter, Google+and Facebook or call us at 717-586-8386. Email us at cl@oz2designs.com. Catherine Lockey oz2designs @oz2designs

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SEO for PA, MD and beyond @oz2designs in East Berlin, PA

Sharks circle when food is nearby and small businesses who vaguely grasp SEO are good food.  Perhaps your business has received a call like this, “Hi this is James Walker, data service provider for Google, Yahoo, and Bing.  Hey listen wanted to give you guys a call, we’ve got a really good opportunity there in your marketplace, uh, we’ve got openings on the first page of the search engines specifically for your your industry, um so when you get in, give me a call … Essentially what this does is that anybody in your area that’s looking for the products or services that you offer, uh, it’s guaranteed your your website, your business  will come up on the first page of the search engines, um, so call me when you get it, huge huge opportunity…”

SEO is optimizing digital assets (website, blog, videos etc…) for search.

SEO definitely offers your businesses a “huge, huge opportunity.” At least that much is true about the cold call script above.  Fact is, more than any other marketing strategy, SEO has the greatest impact on lead generation. Therefore; small business owner, you’re on track when you say you need SEO.

What’s the worry?  SEO is SEO right?

Not all SEO is good SEO. I love this statement from Hubspot’s Corey Eridon’s  7 Sure-Fire Signs Your SEO Sucks,  “There are lots of things from the 90s that are still quite magical … alternative music, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, boy band choreography. 90s SEO is not on that list. That means if you are trying to reach an arbitrary keyword density percentage, creating keyword dense doorway pages that redirect to another destination, freaking out over your meta keywords and keyword stuffing your meta description field, or engaging in link buying, link farming, or link exchanges, your SEO is way out of date. Not only will these black hat tactics not help your SEO, but they will also fiercely harm it. Google Panda has made sure of that.”

How to protect your business from the 90′s SEO specialist.

Here is your armor. The only SEO that offers a huge, huge opportunity is the written word.  Those paragraphs on your website – they matter a whole lot. A real SEO specialist is a content marketer who will optimize your website (and other digital assets) based on your business goals and research findings.  She/he will create useful, compelling, optimized content around longtail keyword phrases. We’re talking about pages of the written word both visitors and search engines  read.  Optimized content will answer visitor queries, draw the reader in, and inspire comments and social sharing.  For deeper understanding read “Your Content Marketing Core Matters”  which details how to optimize a website.  Small business takeaway – SEO  is about content.

2012 SEO is Content Marketing.

Google continues to weed out  B.S. on the web by penalizing all of the black hat tactics listed above as well as weak content, redundant content, copied content, poor visitor engagement, shoddy backlinks and too many ads on a website.  Google rewards websites and other digital assets for fresh, relevant content that answers visitor queries,  encourages visitor engagement and inspires visitor actions – especially social sharing on Google+.

Call or email the Creative Marketing Channel

Improve your Google rank, deepen visitor experiences, and increase brand awareness, leads, and conversions through proven SEO strategies – call or email us at 717-586-8386 or cl@oz2designs.com.   Connect with us on YouTube, Linkedin, Twitter, Google+and Facebook.  The Creative Marketing Channel belongs to oz 2 designs LLC – a small, flexible, full service digital marketing agency. Catherine Lockey oz 2 designs

Learn more about SEO here:

Your Content Marketing Core Matters

Six Content Marketing Myths – Digital Marketing Wisdom for Businesses

6 SEO Ripoff Dead GiveAways: Don’t let that Marketer Make a Clown out of You

Corporate Content Marketing for Best in Class Results

Content Marketing: What it is and Why it Works

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Best in class companies utilize content marketing for brand awareness, customer acquisition, lead generation, and customer retention. It’s no surprise more than 60% of ALL companies plan to substantially increase their content marketing efforts in 2012.  Why is content marketing so popular? What content marketing tactics do best in class companies employ? Here, in part six of my six part content marketing series, I answer these questions and more.

Why is corporate content marketing so popular?  Great content ranks well in search and a good search ranking leads to more traffic, leads, and conversions. Google’s Panda update in 2011 changed SEO forever declaring content the primary force responsible for best rankings.

What kind of corporate content does Google like best? According to Rand Fishkin of SEOmoz, Google rewards interesting, unique content because this type of content fosters visitor happiness. Yes, Google actually looks at visitor happiness now. Is your content engaging? Do visitors spend time reading it? Does your content answer visitor queries? Does it motivate visitors to perform an action? Does it inspire them to return to your site (your content core)? If you answered yes to these questions then Google is already giving your content and your search rank a big thumbs up. “Think more broadly about on page optimization – not just keywords,” explains Fishkin. Compelling images and creative content encourages a deeper experience for your visitors. (From Advanced On-Page Optimization – Whiteboard Friday by SEOmoz). Big takeaway: More relevant, unique and interesting content directly correlates with higher rankings and a deeper visitor experiences.

How do best in class companies create all of their great content? Producing enough engaging content continues to challenge most companies to some degree. One way they meet this challenge is outsource their content marketing to businesses like mine. Take a look at the percentage of companies who outsourced content marketing in 2010 and 2011:

(Data from MarketingProfs B2B Content Marketing: 2012 Benchmarks, Budgets & Trends).  Since 60% of all companies intend to increase their content marketing in 2012, I predict outsourcing percentages will grow as well.

What content marketing tactics do best in class companies employ? According to the MarketingProfs /The Content Marketing Institute’s report ” B2B Content Marketing: 2012 Benchmarks report, Budgets & Trends,”  best in class companies share 7 content marketing practices:
1. They invest 31% of their marketing budget into content marketing.
2. They segment their content based on the buying cycle.
3. Content marketing is C-Suite supported.
4. They plan to increase their content marketing over the next 12 months.
5. They use at least nine content marketing tactics.
6. They outpace less effective companies adopting blogs, articles, videos, eBooks, social media, and mobile content.
7. They have an effective distribution network using at least 3 – 4 social channels at a higher rate than their peers.

The Creative Marketing Channel specializes in optimized corporate content marketing and distribution. Improve your Google rank, deepen visitor experiences, and increase brand awareness, leads, and conversions when you hire The Creative Marketing Channel to create your company’s content.  Connect with us on YouTube, Linkedin, Twitter, Google+and Facebook. Email us at cl@2designs.com.

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SEO for PA and MD and beyond. Part 5 of a 6 part content marketing series.

This week I realized I’m surrounded by a plethora of SEO marketing clowns who relentlessly call and knock on my clients’ doors. They weasel their way in, these filthy clowns, and dazzle my clients with false data and poor methodology. Yet twice in the last month, these same clowns have collected over over $8,000.00 from two of my customers, promising big results in a very short time span.

I know I’m preaching to the choir here since those of you reading my blog are equipped to make smart digital marketing decisions. But, just in case one of my crazed, high rolling local customers is reading this post, here are 6 dead giveaways you’re going to be ripped off by a marketer.

1. A door to door or phone salesman is trying to sell you internet marketing. Think about this for minute. You probably use the internet – haven’t seen this company on the internet – yet that is what this salesclown is trying to sell you. Internet visibility from a company with an invisible internet presence. Hmmm.

2. They’re going to give you a “bigger listing” and a video on THEIR platform and then drive traffic to your listing all for a contract and a thousand dollars a month. They may even throw in some PPC ads. Heads up everyone. Why on earth would you want to drive traffic to any place but your website? As renowned digital marketing blogger Adam Singer says, you must be your own media company. When you put money into pushing leads onto someone else’s platform then you are depriving yourself of the long term, permanent benefits of a solid SEO/content marketing strategy.

3. Their online reviews are awful and bloggers have taken the time to write about their unethical business practices. Take Yellowbook for example. A quick search and it’s easy to see to find all kinds of negative reviews, complaints, and videos. Yet, Yellowbook is the salesclown who sold one of my clients – that’s right – first by phone and then person to person. And, the greatest irony of all is they found my client after I backlinked them to this online phone book. Ouch! Bet you can guess where I’ll never be backlinking again.

4. They have a horrible website grade. I’m a big fan of grader.com – a free tool which looks at your site’s basic SEO and makes SEO recommendations. Bottom line is anyone who claims to be competent in SEO should have an A grade. Yet, a local “SEO specialist” who bamboozled my second client has an F. Here’s a copy of his report (I crossed out his name…this time.)

5. They don’t blog regularly.  This first hit me when I read “7 Signs You Shouldn’t Hire *That* SEO Agency.”    Since content marketing is SEO then an empty blog or no blog indicates lack of knowledge about the industry. If they aren’t doing what they need to do for their own company, it’s not realistic to think they will work miracles for you.

6. They think SEO, content creation, web design, and social media marketing are separate entities and are to be created separately.  None of these are created in silos anymore. This is yet another reason a qualified digital marketing company is a far better choice than a partitioned “specialist.”  Search engines  look for everything from solid architecture and quick download speed to metadata and unique content. What do the search engines value? Take a look at my new company video and find out.

My company won’t call you repeatedly or knock on your door to bedazzle you with false data and pushy marketing.   Yes, it’s a lot less interesting to learn your business needs to consistently add original, optimized content to your blog and website in order to grow your digital footprint. Nevertheless, this is a necessary part of every smart digital marketing plan.  Results will not be instantaneous but they will definitely be long-lasting and cumulative.  You can easily find my company on Google’s first page of organic listings – the same place you want to be found. Simply type in “PA digital marketing” or “MD digital marketing” and there we are.

The Creative Marketing Channel belongs to oz 2 designs LLC, Pennsylvania and Maryland’s first choice for 3D animation, SEO, SEM,  website design, social media, content marketing, print design, email marketing, and all things interactive and digital.  Inquire about hiring us here. Connect with us on YouTube, Linkedin, Twitter, Google+and Facebook. Email us at cl@2designs.com and stay tuned for part 6 of this 6 part content marketing series.

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Content marketing for Philadelphia, PA and beyond – Part IV of a Six Part Series.

In the last five years video has transformed itself into a non-negotiable content marketing asset. Video viewing, now part of nearly everyone’s online behavior, is proven to directly influence online buying.   If you haven’t jumped into video yet, here are compelling reasons you should.

Millions watch billions of online videos every day.
101 million people in the U.S. are going to watch 1.3 billion videos TODAY.  “178 million U.S. Internet users watched online video content in June (2011) for an average of 16.8 hours per viewer. The total U.S. Internet audience engaged in more than 6.2 billion viewing sessions during the course of the month … ”  Online video is a significant part of our online lives with a 706% growth in the last five years. Today,  84% of all people aged 12-65+ consume online video. Although both men and women equally likely to watch online video, men watch 1.7 times more than women. (From comScore Releases June 2011 U.S. Online Video Rankings and comScore’s Online Video by the Numbers)

Online video influences C-Suite behavior.
26% of US executives view work related videos daily, 20% view them several times a week and 20% view them several times a month. What’s most interesting is C-Suite behavior after they’ve viewed an online video.  64 – 66% of the time they visit the video vendor’s website and  53% of them conduct a search for more information. Of the executives who view videos daily, 51% of them make a business related purchase after watching a work related video. (from eStrategy after hours Executives and Online Video Charts based on Forbes Insights data.)

Sharing video is a popular past time.
People not only like to watch videos, they like to share them with others. One in three online video viewers will leave a comment, two in five viewers upload videos themselves, and one in two viewers regularly shares videos with others. More than half of all viewers watch online videos with others as well. (from comScore “Online Video by the Numbers”)

Create a video marketing plan before you start.

Put together a video action plan with discrete goals (plan from comScore “Online Video by the Numbers”)

Is your goal to…
Increase website/microsite visits?
Improve brand opinion?
Introduce a brand message to a larger audience or a more niche audience?
Drive direct online or offline purchase behavior?
The technology infrastructure of the Internet affords these opportunities to you.

Determine where and how your target audience is consuming video

Keep your mind open to using the new opportunities online video affords:
Using a YouTube Partner as a brand advocate
Developing branded content that spurs conversation
Cross pollinating your social media campaigns with video
Use the many resources and measurement companies available to determine if your goals have been met
Most any goal can be easily and discretely measured

Does your business need to integrate video into a smart content marketing strategy? The Creative Marketing Channel belongs to oz 2 designs LLC, Pennsylvania and Maryland’s first choice for video animation and special effects, website design, content marketing, print design, email marketing, and all things interactive and digital.   Inquire about hiring us here. Connect with us on YouTube,  Linkedin, Twitter, Google+ and Facebook. Email us at cl@oz2designs.com and stay tuned for part 5 of this 6 part content marketing series.

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