OwlBlog

New year brings new brand and website for Hampshire interior specialist

2012-01-09T12:36:00.008Z

Hampshire-based commercial refurbishment specialists Building Tecnics have been established since 1988. As their offerings and capabilities have evolved over the intervening years, they felt that now was the right time to review their branding to better reflect the services they provide.

Around the middle of 2011 they approached B&V and we began the process of refreshing not only their image, but their complete brand and identity. We conducted a period of research and auditing of the existing brand, speaking with existing clients and other professionals across the industry that Building Tecnics serve. From this research came the new name for the company – Tecnics Interiors – along with useful data regarding possible look and feel. This then formed the starting point for developing the visual identity for the new brand and the design work could begin in earnest.

Now rebranded as Tecnics Interiors, the all-new website has just been launched, alongside a host of branded materials ranging from brochure, building signage and van livery, to work clothing and pens, and everything in between. The new website can be found at www.office-refurb.com

Ian Laishley, Managing Director of Tecnics Interiors commented: "I just wanted to say what a sterling job B&V did. You took complete ownership of the project and delivered outstanding results. It really felt that B&V were part of our team, wanting to achieve the best possible total re-branding project. It was a big step for us to take and we are glad we took it with you. This is an exciting time in our 23-year history. We are expanding and upgrading the business across the board and we are thrilled with our new image. We look forward to the New Year and a successful one for Tecnics Interiors”.

If you're thinking of investigating a rebrand for your company, or just need your existing image or website updating, why not to speak to us at B&V? We'd love to hear from you!

New site elevates Stannah Lifts to a higher level

2011-11-22T16:53:00.009Z

Well, it was a long time in the making, but after much development the new Stannah Lifts website is up and running - take a look at stannahlifts.co.uk

Following their rebrand and subsequent 're-skin' of the existing site in mid-2010, it was decided that Stannah Lifts' web presence was in need of a major overhaul to better reflect the new brand. Having handled the site for a number of years it fell to us to take the project in hand - the first time the site had been completely re-worked from the ground up in its history.

Stannah Lifts offer a very wide range of lift products and services to the commercial sector, along with a huge volume of back-up resources including CAD files, datasheets, case studies, etc. So the challenge with the new site was to make all of this content easy for the viewer to navigate and find what they're really interested in. To this end we have made the page layout and nav as simple as possible, nesting content into clearly defined areas and using bold, bright icons to help guide the viewer. Behind all this is an all-new tag-driven database which makes searching for content easy and intuitive. This background structure also makes it possible to bring relevant content into any given page of the site, so the viewer is presented with useful and relevant information on the page, rather than having to go off and find it for themselves in other areas of the site.

As you can imagine with so much content, the site is very large indeed! However, we've worked hard to ensure that it never feels overwhelming. And with so much on offer, across so many pages, we've also had to ensure that site optimisation is absolutely spot on. The site is constantly growing with news and pictures being added all the time, so there's also a continual process of updating and refinement. And there are new features in development too, including a whole new technical area to make even more useful info available to Stannah customers.

As you can see if you take a look at the site it's pretty big and we're very proud of it! It not only showcases our abilities in site design, but also in major site structure and programming. So if you think you'd like us to take a look at redeveloping your site for you - or even building a new one from scratch - why not contact us today via the link at the top of the page and see how we can help?

Excess doesn't equal success

2011-10-24T12:36:00.001+01:00

This weekend I've been struck again by the phenomenon of 'holidays' starting earlier and earlier in the calendar.

I was shopping in Southampton on Saturday – a full nine days before Halloween – and was staggered to find myself greeted by many shop assistants in full ghoulish regalia, many with prosthetic wounds and disfigurements!

And this morning I did a double take, mid-sentence, when I spotted that the Christmas decorations had been hung in the pedestrian high street outside my window.

There's a careful balance to strike in a marketing strategy as you decide when and how often to put your brand in front of your customers, whether it's through advertising, mailshot or eNewsletter. Too infrequently, and you may slip into anonymity; too frequently, and you run the risk of overexposure. The danger here is that customers can become anaesthetised to your brand.

I love Christmas – it's a meaningful time for me, and I remember with fondness the magic of the Christmas holidays. But seeing the street decorations up in October leaves me feeling rather numb towards it.

B&V are marketing experts with decades of experience. Speak to us about maximising your brand exposure on 023 8043 3348.

Email editor overhaul

2011-07-06T10:32:00.006+01:00

I had an email last week, asking me why I hadn't purchased blank DVDs recently from a company.

I hadn't dealt with that company for literally years, and frankly their email came a bit out of the blue. The problem is, I'd forgotten all about them, and while I may not have been aware of it, they'd lost my trust through their silence.

The effectiveness of a brand, and the level of trust you invest in the company it represents, comes through careful management of brand exposure. Too much exposure and you dilute your hard work (don't bombard people every day) but too little and you'll go unnoticed.

As part of any ongoing web marketing strategy, we strongly recommend that our clients send email newsletters. Sending a weekly, fortnightly or monthly email to your customers helps keep your brand fresh in their mind, and writing content relevant to your industry positions your company as an authoritative entity.

Some of our clients make use of our own comprehensive email broadcast service, which handles bounces, subscriptions and unsubscribe requests, click tracking, multiple mailing lists and personalisation – amongst other great features. And the email editor just received a fresh overhaul… take a look:

Don't let technophobia stop you

If your specialisation is making widgets, you might not feel able to write great emails – and your customers may reach for the unsubscribe button unless you have something genuinely interesting to say to your audience…

Help is at hand. As a full service marketing agency with staff copy writers, we can help you put together the right words to make an impact. We can undertake research, write great stories and even handle putting together and sending out the emails on your behalf.

To find out more about our joined-up web marketing services, give B&V a call on 023 8043 3348.

A new build for Anglo

2011-06-23T16:18:00.007+01:00

It's still all hands to the pumps here at B&V and we're pleased to say that we've delivered another brand new site for one of our clients.

A long-standing client of B&V, Anglo St James have been involved in the world of property development for over 40 years with an enviable track record in developing both residential and commercial properties. As you might expect, they've seen a lot of changes in this time, with various periods of boom and bust. However, not unlike ourselves, they've weathered the storm by constantly adapting to the prevailing financial climate.

Until very recently they had been primarily involved in the commercial sector, developing office and industrial space in prime locations across the south of England. More recently however, with the contraction of this sector, they have begun to make the move back into select residential developments. With this in mind they approached us to redevelop their web presence in a way that would allow them to feature both residential and commercial sectors, demonstrating their capabilities to buyers, tenants, land owners and potential investors.

The new site makes much use of larger pictures to showcase Anglo's offerings, with a flexible structure and layout that lends itself equally well to either of the sectors in which they are involved. The image here gives a flavour of the new site, but why not take a closer look? Visit anglostjames.co.uk to see for yourself...

If you feel that your web presence could do with being redeveloped or are interested in finding out more about the various other ways in which we can promote and optimise your existing site, why not contact the wise owls at B&V? There's a contact link at the top of the page, or you can call us on 023 8043 3348 – it could be the wisest decision you've made in a long time!

Brand New Site for LMI

2011-06-15T10:55:00.009+01:00

At B&V we're continuing to be busy, and here's another project that's recently come to fruition.

Licensing Management International (LMI) have been in the business of managing brand licenses since 1982 and continue to represent some of the biggest and best-known brands and products from global giants such as Pepsi and 7up to British heritage marques such as the Royal Mail and MG. They even handle the branding rights to the FBI, CIA and Airforce 1!!

LMI came to us to come up with an all-new website for them which would freshen things up and move their own brand forward. The new site majors heavily on the brands they represent, showcasing just some of the huge variety of imagery that's available or associated with each brand. The images here show just a small selection of what's available on the new LMI site – for a better look, why not go to www.lmiuk.com and explore the site for yourself?

Along with the new website, we have also developed a template-based email newsletter which is designed to fit alongside the site so that the marketing messages are fully linked up and the new-look style for LMI is kept consistent.

You may not have the problem of selling other people's brands, but if your feel your own brand presence on the web could do with a freshen up, or you're interested in how to integrate email markting with your existing site, why not give us a call on 023 8043 3348 or contact us via the link at the top of the page? We'd love to hear from you!

Recent Web Design & Development at BVD

2011-04-08T17:14:00.005+01:00

The design studio at B&V Digital continues to be busy… and thought we’d share one of our recent projects.

Phase 3 Plastics are a Southampton based thermoformed plastic packaging manufacturer. We have been working with them for many years, having designed their first ever website as well as various brochures and advertising on their behalf.

Much of Phase 3’s work is now in sterile medical and esd electronic packaging meaning a new website was a must in order to convey the company as the modern, professional and capable manufacturer that it is. The design is crisp and clean and the structure gives Phase 3 the chance to demonstrate their excellent technical capability in specific markets.

There are a couple of sample images of the site here but if you'd like to see the full thing in action visit www.phase3plastics.co.uk.

If your web presence is in need of revitalising or just a quick update please do give us a call on 023 8043 3348. Remember, your website is the first contact most potential customers will have with your company!

White Paper: Making A Return On Impact

2011-03-11T16:21:00.008Z

How do companies decide which social media approaches to adopt and what are the challenges in trying to integrate them overall with the rest of their sales and marketing activities?

This report commissioned by B&V Digital addresses some of the issues, including whether companies could be making more of interactive media and identifying the potential pitfalls.

The report considers the opinions of Danny Habel (MD - Habels), Gareth Lloyd Jones (MD, Hippowaste), Peter Manley (Marketing Services Manager, Selwood Group), Claire Peers (Director of Marketing, Wilkins Kennedy), Robert Sanders (MD, Custom Covers), James Walters (MD, Walcon Marine).

You can download a copy of White Paper: Making A Return On Impact, or you can read it by clicking on the link on our home page: B&V Digital.

This is the second of a two part White Paper, the first part can be read here: White Paper: The Website Challenge.

If you have any questions or comments please do get in touch.

Do you want to be top of Google?

2011-02-23T11:04:00.003Z

This is a question many business and website owners hear at the beginning of sales calls every day of the week (and of course we would all say yes), but much of the time that introduction leads to poor selling and misinformation. I take calls weekly from salespeople saying that they ‘have a space on the first page of Google’ or that they ‘guarantee they can make your website appear first on Google’. Because many people don’t understand much about search, tactics like these often work.

At B&V we are happy to offer a consultation service to give our clients, or anyone who is looking into SEO services, some no obligation advice about the basics of SEO, pay per click advertising and digital marketing in general.

Search marketing holds no hidden secrets. It is about following best practice, being creative with content and working hard to provide your customers with what they are looking for. We really believe in the power and value of our industry and aim to share the knowledge!

Social Media Sussed

2011-02-22T17:01:00.004Z

The digital marketing world is constantly evolving and those of us working in it have to do everything we can to keep up. At B&V we take our professional development seriously so we regularly attend courses, refresher sessions and training programmes so that the service we provide exceeds our clients' expectations.

Social Media is one of the growth areas in our market, and a channel that retains huge potential for business. In February I was lucky enough to attend an Online PR & Social Media course at Econsultancy, run by Michelle Goodall. Michelle really knows her stuff and I came away with lots more insight into Social Media and even more ideas of how to make the channel work smarter and harder for our clients.

If you would like to find out how adding social media to your marketing mix can reap real, measurable results please call us on 023 8043 3348 to arrange a free consultation.

Keeping our video skills honed

2011-02-21T10:39:00.001Z

People often wonder what I do in my spare time. OK, not true - nobody's ever asked. But to my mind, when you work in a creative industry, it's important to stay on top of things - so any 'extra curricular' activities that can help to hone and develop your skills are well worthwhile.

That's my sketchy reasoning for the footage that follows...

Ben is a friend of mine who celebrated his 21st birthday last week. He's quite a character, so I teamed up with a mutual friend - Tom - to create a song and music video for Ben.

Tom re-wrote the lyrics to Enrique Iglesias' "Hero", booked in some time with me at my home studio to record the song, and then we set about filming the video. I drew up a video script and had the visuals clear in my mind before we started shooting, which meant we were able to complete the whole shoot in around two days.

We showed the video at Ben's surprise party on Saturday, and it was met with rapturous applause and cheering. Ben took it all in good humour!

The video is below. I hope you enjoy it.
(Please be warned, there's a mocked-up crash scene in the middle that may not be entirely appropriate for young eyes. It's fairly clearly a dummy we're hitting, but parental discretion may be required!)

If you require a comedy music video for your next project, why not give B&V Digital a call on 023 8043 3348!

New client site finished, all safe and sound!

2011-02-11T09:44:00.009Z

Well, it was a while in development, but the all-new site for Armorgard Security Products has now broken cover and is loose on the Web!

Armorgard are a local company who supply a wide range of site security products – mainly secure storage boxes, but lots of other things as well – to the construction trade. It's a competitive market with some big players offering stiff competition and we had to ensure that Armorgard's offerings were pitched in there with the best of them.

With such a broad range of products on offer, we wanted to make it as simple as possible for customers to explore not only the wider range, but also the individual features of a given product. So we've employed a number of strategies in various areas of the site, including embedded video, pop-over detail panels and product-based tabsets. It was a pretty complicated project with a lot of detail and variable data to be conveyed, but we've done it and we – and they – are very pleased with the results!

Take a look for yourself: www.armorgardsecurity.com

Social Networking – the most powerful tool of the computer age?

2011-01-28T09:45:00.004Z

Anyone who's read my posts in the past will know that I'm something a Radio 4 devotee, usually in the evenings while waiting for one or other of my daughters to emerge from whichever activity they're up to on that day. But this week I made a point of tuning in for Wednesday's fascinating little documentary 'The History of Social Networking'. Well, I say I "tuned in" – couldn't actually listen live at 11.00am, but we now live in an iPlayer world and thank goodness for that!!

Anyway, for anyone out there who's maybe interested in this '"new phenomenon" of social networking but either doesn't know much about it or reckons it's not "relevant" to their business, I highly recommend you check it out. It's a 3 parter, this week being part 1, and it traces the origins of social networking back to the tail end of the hippy-geek culture of West Coast America. OK, they may have been geeks, but where would we be today without them? The first steps in social networking were being made as far back as the early 1970s (so it's the same age as me!) and even then, with only a handful of people using it, it proved to be a very valuable tool for sharing ideas and business opportunities.

That was back in a day when personal computers were barely more than pie in the sky dreams – most computers with any power were the size of a large room! No-one had a mobile phone and anything like the iPad was surely the stuff of science fiction?! Crikey, Star Trek was still fresh to most of us and the year 2000 seemed SO far in the future... But even back then, the basic principles for what we now take for granted were being discovered and refined, and were proving very useful from the start.

So ask yourself this question: given how much our lives have changed technologically in the interim 40 years, how much better the equipment's become and how many more of us are online every day, can business really ignore the opportunities that social networking could open up? At B&V Digital, we don't think so! If you'd like to know more about how you can tap into this potential, give us a call or drop us a line – just hit the Contact Us link above.

In the mean time, I'd recommend the Radio 4 programme – very informative, sometimes surprising, and an easy and entertaining listen. Catch it on the BBC iPlayer at http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/xw14v/

Make the most from the Web in 2011

2011-01-10T17:15:00.002Z

Happy New Year from B&V Digital.

Now we are all full back in the saddle after the holidays we really feel it's time to take on 2011 with a renewed energy and enthusiasm - and we are sure you all feel the same.

We are offering a FREE website analysis and consultation with our online marketing experts so that you can plan to boost your business as we move into a new decade.

Whether you would like to know more about how your website is performing, how you can get more people to look at your website, how you can increase conversions or what you can do to raise profits, B&V Digital can help.

Simply fill out the contact form on our site and we will be happy to take a look at your web presence and give you the benefit of our skills and experience. There really is no time like the present!

Playing keepy-up 2: is your site a peacock?

2010-11-18T11:08:00.009Z

OK if I'm honest, I didn't expect there to be a part 2! But since Google's implementation of Instant Preview, it seems that my previous musings have been somewhat justified (thanks, Google!).

As Ross so ably outlined, the SEO and Design implications are pretty hefty really, but I'd like to explore the design implications in a little more depth...

As a designer, it seems to me that this latest move from Google could really have some fairly drastic effects. We're all pretty aware that people have got used to the Internet providing instant information without having to work too hard to get it. This is, I have no doubt, a hugely positive thing – the ability to share information so widely and so quickly has really transformed so many aspects of modern life and business. However, there is also a quite natural tendency for our collective attention spans to suffer somewhat as a result. I'm sure that, if we're honest about it, most of us would admit that we tend to follow the biggest, brightest, most eye-catching links – this isn't big news: advertisers and sellers have worked on this principal for decades and there's a huge amount of evidence to back it up. A picture, as they say, is worth a thousand words.

So what about Instant Preview? Well, think about it for a minute. Until very recently (last week in fact), you might search for something on Google, be presented with a page full of suggestions and then you'd click through to see what the sites offered. But with Instant Preview, you now get a visual clue as to what to expect from the site before following any links. Now, unless you happen to be browsing on a 60" monitor, the real content of these previews isn't going to be legible but the viewer will still form an opinion of the site from its design – we can't help it: we all make snap judgements all the time, based simply on how things look.

It seems to me then that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to suggest that, even if your website is THE best site in its field, there's a good chance that it may be overlooked if it doesn't LOOK it! That may seem superficial, but we're talking about human nature here. Sure, a serious researcher will be more interested in content, but if your site is in competition with sites that look funkier, fresher or more appealing than yours, then you may well have a problem! And I think this will be particularly true for sites that haven't been updated recently. Older sites tended to be narrower to fit 4:3 monitors, with smaller text and – due to connection speed issues – smaller images. As a result, their Instant Previews will probably look pretty drab. But the goalposts have moved a huge amount in the last few years and so many of the old "no-nos" are simply not applicable any more. And even if a site's content is perfectly good and up-to-date, if it's in an older site design I suspect that people will be attracted to the brighter sites first – so, just as with peacocks, it may well be that the sites that can offer the best Preview displays will end up attracting the most visitors.

Could it be time to freshen up your web presence? Get in touch to see how we can help.

Google Instant Preview

2010-11-15T12:44:00.005Z

Things never stand still in search marketing and this week has been no different. Google has released a new feature that allows users to see a full preview of a site without leaving the results page. As you can see from this screen grab, it is a really major development and will have a huge influence on the user.

Users can click on a small magnifying glass next to the search result to bring up the preview. The preview covers the paid ads on the right of the page, which is an issue that has raised some concerns. According to Google, previews for paid ads are another development in the offing.

This screen shot shows that there is also a box highlighted with a section of the text on the page that best matches the users original search. The highlight box doesn’t always appear for every site preview at the moment, however it will be a big area for SEO development as it could easily sway the user to click on that particular site.

The Google Instant Preview feature has big implications for search engine optimisation and web design. Searchers need to be able to find what they are looking for easily on your site, and they need to like the look of your site, otherwise they will just move onto the next one.

With Instant Preview in mind Google has issued some guidelines that are worth knowing.

1. Keep your pages clearly laid out and structured

2. Avoid ad pop-ups, or other elements that interfere with your content. These elements could be picked up in your page preview, making the screenshots less attractive.

3. Instant Preview does not affect the search algorithm, rankings, or how clicks are tracked. Previewing a result doesn't count as a click.

4. If you add the nosnippet meta tag to your pages, they won't show a text snippet or a preview in Google's results. Google advises against this because their studies showed that sites with previews were four times more likely to be clicked on.

5. Some videos or Flash content in previews are not being rendered properly. Google is working on this.

As always search marketing is proving an exciting and fast moving industry. With the introduction of Instant Preview, not only having good content, but having a clear and modern design to your site has never been more important.

Fortunately, B&V Digital can help with both. For a free consultation please get in touch.

Playing keepy-up!

2010-11-09T09:35:00.005Z

Browsing around the other day I came across this fascinating little animation which illustrates the global growth of the Internet during the decade 1998-2008:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8552410.stm

OK, so this in itself isn't surprising – we all know that the Internet has grown HUGELY, especially in the last 5 or 6 years. But what really got me thinking was how much the technology we use to actually SEE the Internet has evolved in that same time frame, and the implications of that. Desktop PCs are infinitely more powerful (and comparatively much cheaper) than they were in 2000, the take-up of broadband access is accelerating all the time, along with connection speeds, all of which is contributing to the ever-increasing pace of development of websites and their capabilities. And think of the portable connectivity we have now – certainly dreamed of in 2000, but already a reality for many of us and sure to become more and more important in the near future.

So where's this going? Well, I also thought back to some of the first websites I ever worked on (a long time ago in a position far, far away) and how basic and limited they were compared with what we now take for granted. So just for a bit of fun, I thought I'd look up a few I've worked on in the intervening decade+(!) and see how they've changed over time. Bearing in mind the time frame here, it was no surprise to see that some had disappeared altogether, while others had changed beyond all recognition. What was more worrying was the number which were essentially – and in some cases totally – unchanged since their initial launch (I'll not name any, for obvious reasons). At the time, the clients were often very excited, if a little wary, about their brand new web presence. The trouble is that, in the intervening years, they've not done anything to change their sites. So all the latest developments, trends and possibilities have – and still are – completely passing them by.

Now a lot of us (especially me!) like a bit of 'retro': clothing, furniture, even graphic design – things keep going round and round, and some great fun can be had with 're-imagining the past'. But clunky old websites aren't 'retro' – they're just clunky and old. And what does that say about the company whose website it is? They may not BE clunky and old, but the viewer will certainly get that impression of them! A company's website is their shop window – on a global high street. It is very often the first contact that potential customers will have and, as such, needs to set the tone for the whole of their future relationship. Websites can now be SO powerful, incorporating so MANY features we couldn't dream of including 10 years ago – but all this potential is being missed if a website hasn't been touched, even if only for a year, let alone a decade!

Unfortunately there does seem to be a tendency for people to treat their website as being just another box that needed ticking: "Website? Check. Move on." But leaving it there basically means that every day that goes by, that website is effectively moving backwards – it's search engine rankings will plummet, visitor numbers will melt away and any chance of leads or sales will go the way of the dodo.

But help IS at hand! B&V will happily audit an existing site and produce a report detailing what we'd recommend doing to shake things up and start making that old website work much, much harder. So much has changed in such a short time, and the pace of change shows no sign of slowing. We can help to breathe new life into an old site and begin to get it noticed again. After all, if it's worth forking out the fee for the domain name, it might as well be seen! Why not contact us on 023 8043 3348 and see how we can help.

Could It Be Magic?

2010-10-29T16:02:00.004+01:00

Today, tickets went on sale for Take That's 2011 tour - their first with Robbie Williams in 16 years. The tour promises to satisfy the appetites of Take That fans from the period with and without Robbie, plus enthusiasts of Robbie's solo work.

And websites Ticketmaster, Ticketline and See Tickets have taken a battering.

Since 9:00am this morning, the online ticket retailers have been gasping for breath under the crushing weight of teenage girls (ok, who am I kidding... members of Generation X pretending to be young and hoping they won't be spotted) fighting for the revered tickets - and furiously stabbing the refresh button at the frustrating timeout messages and capacity errors.

Before even 30 minutes had passed, ticket touts had capitalised on the fever, and were selling pairs of tickets for up to £490 on eBay.

In the modern age of InstantEverything™ it is inconceivable to some that the infrastructure might still buckle under such pressure... but experts say this could be the most in-demand tour in UK pop history - and with over half a million Take That fans on Facebook, there were plenty of web-savvy clickers ready to descend on the ticket sellers this morning.

This same week, in a report commissioned by Google, it has been announced that in 2009 the internet contributed £100bn to the British economy - astonishingly placing eCommerce above the construction, transport or utilities industries.

What's more, the growth of online shopping has meant that households are now estimated to be saving an average of £1000 per year.

The immediacy of eCommerce is a benefit for both retailers and consumers: retailers can capitalise on demand like never before; consumers can brawl and fight their way to the front of the virtual queue from the comfort of their own homes, without so much as a scratch. It's fast and convenient for all. As Take That would say – It Only Takes A Minute.

Speak to B&V Digital about incorporating eCommerce into your website. Call our experts on 023 8043 3348.

Studio Time

2010-10-19T14:57:00.011+01:00

As the nights draw in and we are all wearing more layers to work, our studio has been kept busy with plenty of new and exciting projects…

Email marketing is more popular than ever with our clients, and it’s no wonder. A personalised message to your customers can increase brand awareness, enquiries and sales… and it really is so easy to do.

Our latest client to make the most of their database of contacts is IGT Industries. IGT specialise in the design and manufacture of Control Panel Assemblies including cutting edge technology like Capacitive Touchscreens and Capacitive Switch Control with rear illumination.

Our designers have created a modern, clean looking template for their email marketing campaigns, and using our email software to send the communication and monitor all of the analytics really is easy.

Meanwhile, our SEO team have also been busy with the start of a development programme for Workplace Services provider SO Group. SO Group supply recycling services, indoor plants, water coolers and mats to businesses across Hampshire and the surrounding areas.

We have started work on a strategy to enhance the SO Group web presence and online visibility to drive up traffic and enquiries.

At the core of what we do though is website design. One brand new site we have leaving the programmer’s grasp soon is for Armorgard Security Products.

We have been working with Armorgard on their online presence for a quite a while now and a new, user friendly, media and content rich site is sure to give them a substantial boost. Armorgard supply secure storage solutions to the construction industry.

If you would like to talk to our expert about all, or any part of your online marketing please do drop us a line on 02380433348 and we’ll be more than happy to give you a FREE consultation.

New Media Routes to Customers' Consciousness (BBC Radio 4, 7.10.10)

2010-10-08T08:56:00.005+01:00

For a long time now I've been a devotee of Radio 4 in the evenings (usually over a sink of dirty dishes, or waiting outside some place for one of my daughters to come out of whatever activity it is this week!) and a gem of recent times has been Evan Davis' The Bottom Line. For any who don't know the programme, it covers many wide-ranging aspects of business, using a panel of 3 established or up-and-coming people from all walks of business life to discuss a topic from a number of angles. This frequently results in some fascinating discussions, sometimes about stuff I didn't have an inkling about, sometimes stuff I find particularly relevant (and yes, sometimes I find myself talking to the radio – come on, who doesn't!?). Last night's programme was definitely in the latter category – rather than trying to sum it all up here, I'd urge people to have a listen to the show. It's available on BBC's iPlayer at http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/v1rg1/.

Although I can't say I agreed with everything I heard, there was certainly much food for thought, especially for anyone who may feel that Social Media isn't 'relevant' to their business. Do check the programme out and see if you end up nodding sagely to yourself, or yelling at the radio like I did (but, I have to say, in agreement!).

Don't be afraid of social media...

2010-09-27T17:18:00.001+01:00

It is amazing how many clients I still speak to that don’t want to broach Social Media, find it scary or don’t think it’s relevant for their business. However, most still want to be active in employing a Search Engine Optimisation campaign. The two really should go hand in hand!

Search engines can’t afford not to take notice of social media and the impact it has had on internet use. Facebook alone has over half a billion users. You Tube itself is the second largest search engine and there are roughly 50 million tweets a day. These are huge figures that represent huge amounts of information and a huge impact on search.

The introduction of Google real-time is proof that social media content is being taken seriously in search. It is not only content that can appear in real-time results on the search engine results page. Profiles themselves can be picked up so putting keywords in your profile name could be an excellent way to pick up rankings and traffic.

It doesn’t stop there though. Reputation management is something that should concern all brand managers, and use of social networking sites can really help. Profiles on these sites, especially Facebook and Twitter, do tend to rank well for brand name and can therefore take up room in the SERPs when users search on a company name. Not only can they do well in rankings, if you are active on the account then they can drive traffic & potentially sales up.

Social media can also be used for keyword research. Just looking at what your customers, competitors and industry are talking about can be a great source of ideas when looking for keywords or phrases.

And there are still more reasons why everyone should be looking to engage in social media. Your SEO can really benefit from social sites providing a channel for building links back into your website. To really optimise your social media link building make sure you use keywords in your tweets and when using a URL shortener try and put your keywords in there too. And remember you can import your blog to your social profiles so that when you post it automatically transfers to your profiles. Remember as well, to add keywords to any pictures or videos that you upload and share.

So, there are loads of great reasons to get active on social media sites. There really isn’t any reason why your brand and business can’t make the most of it and integrate it into your SEO campaigns.

Google Instant - First Impressions

2010-09-23T17:40:00.002+01:00

Google Instant is the new search update that supplies a page of results as you type your query. Since its launch a couple of weeks ago, debate and speculation over what the new technology will mean has run wild.

It is a massive change that is definitely going to take some getting used to – and I’m sure the success and consequences of it won’t be known for quite a while. As it stands GI is only available in a select number of countries (US and UK among them) and you have to be logged into a Google account for it to work. Not only that but you can turn it off – and a lot of people have already reported that that is exactly what they have done.

But what do marketers need to know about Google Instant now?

The main feature of GI is speed. Streaming results are presented without the user having to press ‘enter’ meaning the user may find things more quickly. GI also offers predictions of what you are searching for as you type.

Google say that there has been no change to the algorithm for AdWords and so the initial affect of GI on paid search will be focused on impressions. The number of impressions could soar as ads appear while the user is typing. Google say impressions will only count if a selection is made from that page of suggestions, if the user hits ‘enter’ or if the page is left inactive for at least 3 seconds.

As for search there have been lots of suggestions on how it will affect SEO and search queries. Sites that rank well for broad and long tail terms are likely to see a spike in impressions as search results are narrowed while the user types. Crucially GI will pass the search term referrer as the full predicted keyword, even if the result is clicked on with a partially spelt out phrase.

Another development to keep an eye on is the predictive results and how they can be personalized. The big brands do seem like they will get more exposure as their sites appear at the start of most searches and suggestions after typing a couple of letters seems to back this up. There is also the question of localisation of search, for example if you type w for weather the streamed results you get are local. Will this expand for all searches…?

Loads of things to think about and already many people have aired their ideas of where they think this will lead. Does it mean a bigger opportunity for marketing on mobile devices as users tend to be logged in to their accounts? Will streaming results mean account managers for paid search will have to target broader search terms as well as long tail queries? Does this mean localised search results, paving the way for demographic based personalisation, as Google holds all the information to make it happen?

One thing is for sure, Google has a driving force that will not let it stand still, which makes it a sometimes worrying, but always exciting, playing field for marketers.

Google updates can be terrifying!

2010-07-01T16:57:00.002+01:00

Whenever Google makes an update to their search algorithm great debates are sparked over the fairness of the search model and whether Google has too much power. It is understandable that people complain about an update if it has a negative effect on their ranking, and therefore their business. Some commentators ask if the best thing to do would be to regulate Google, or even make the algorithm public.

Complaints run along familiar lines. Google keep things secret so web publishers don’t know what the ‘rules’ are and when updates are made, without prior warning some businesses suffer greatly. This coupled with the fact that search is such a large part of the economy now, means that one company should not be too dominant. The argument goes that therefore, the algorithm should be made public.

Some of the points made are genuine concerns to consider but the step into making the algorithm public is a step too far. It would bring far too many problems. Primarily the search experience would suffer. Spam is a massive problem in electronic communication and I have little doubt search results would be quickly infiltrated by spammers. Legitimate sites would find it harder to rank well and the whole mantra of a search engine would be compromised.

Essentially the more secret the algorithm is, the better protected the search results are. Google, and Bing and Yahoo for that matter, work on the premise that they will return the most relevant web resources for your search. All of the added value you can get with their other services help but the core remains the same. The challenge is to make your site more useful and a better user experience than the competition.

If you would like to speak to an SEO consultant about your website and how Google can affect your business please call us on 02380 4233348.

Competitor & Keyword Research

2010-06-21T17:23:00.003+01:00

Before embarking on a link building programme for any client preparation is vital. Part of that preparation will be competitor research and part will be keyword research.

If you are engaged in a link building programme for someone else then it is essential you have a good relationship with them and ask as many questions as you can to build up a good picture of their marketplace and competitors.

Among the most important questions you can ask will be naming the companies competitors and the keywords that they want to rank for. You should not assume the competitors are the same for all the keywords you want to compete for. It is a good idea to research the backlinks of industry competitors as well as keyword competitors.

There are a number of different tools for checking backlinks to a particular URL. I use Yahoo Site Explorer most often. You enter the URL you would like to look at and select ‘inlinks’ and then ‘show inlinks except from this domain’ and it will return the results you are looking for. It is very simple.

Trying to add a bit of value to a link request is something that will help when contacting webmasters and should mean a higher success rate in link acquisition. You should be targeting sites where a link to yours can add something to the user experience but that may not always be enough to encourage a webmaster to go to the trouble of editing their page for you.

One technique that can be used to try and gain links is to run a quick check on their site with Firefox’s check page links tool. It allows you to see if there are any broken links on the page and to let the webmaster know if there are. It doesn’t take long but really can encourage someone to do you a favour if you are doing one for them already.

This technique is particularly of use if you are trying to obtain a link from high authority sites like ac.uk or .gov sites because the people in charge of them are unlikely to have much time to audit links, and are likely to appreciate it if others do a little leg work for them.

Link building is a key part of any overall SEO project. Please get in touch if you would like any advice on internet marketing.

Web Design and Development Projects

2010-05-10T16:36:00.009+01:00

We’ve had some exciting web design and development projects recently at B&V Digital so we thought we would share them.

The biggest project has been the rebranding of Stannah, the Lift manufacturer. We’ve been busy implementing the new branding document developed by brand consultancy, Interbrand. Our objectives at this stage have been to create the new look whilst keeping the fantastic usability and site performance built up on the previous site. Changes in the tone of the copy and style of photography are still to come….

HR Consultancy, First HR already had a website with a content management system but it just wasn’t working hard enough for the company. Our development work has included the addition of a whole raft of content, social media links, a blog and an overhaul of the site design. It has made the site a usable and powerful asset for First HR and their clients alike.

Armorgard Security Products manufacture and supply secure storage units. Their website development has involved technical and on-site optimisation, design improvements, the addition of new product pages and the creation of downloadable technical documents.

These are just a few of the ongoing projects keeping us very busy! If you’d like to talk about any aspect of your website or online presence we’d love to hear from you.