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An informed linking strategy for your web site will improve your rankings in the search engines and set you apart from your competitors. Most of the major search engines encourage web site owners to increase the number of back links a site has in order to encourage greater and more targeted traffic. 

In the democratic world of search engines, the more back links you have for a chosen keyword, the higher you will rank in the results. Of course, this implies that the process is very simple, which is certainly not the case. There is a myriad of additional variables to consider, not least the authority of the web site and the link relevance. 

We’re working on the principle that the vast majority of web site owners who are looking to improve the performance of their website care little for the technicalities of search engine algorithms; their interest is in the results. So regarding links; the general rule is that back links are good, as long as you concentrate on creating links to your site in the right places. 

The thought process you should go through when thinking about your back links is very important. For example, the keyword or phrase you would like your site linked with should be well researched. If your business wants to rank well for “Rental properties in Thatcham”, you should use that phrase as your link. 

If you’re an Estate Agent in Thatcham and “Rental properties in Thatcham” is indeed your chosen keyword, your first task would be to understand more about your competitors for this phrase. For example, how many back links do they have, who is utilising the local business results, what keywords are they using in their page titles. 

Once you understand all of this, you can start to build a campaign that takes into account their strategy for ranking for that phrase. You can identify how many links they have, which search engines their links are indexed in; if you know what you are looking for you can identify their whole search engine optimisation strategy. Of course, many companies have a list of targeted phrases, so you can begin to see how complex this task could be. 

This is a very simplistic way of looking and this has been done on purpose. I know we have some experienced SEO people who read this blog and I’ll be in the dog house for trying to simplify this process, however we have a larger number of marketing people, sales people and folk who do not want or need to lift the lid on complex algorithms, and instead just want a broad understanding of how search engines work. 

These are the people that we meet every day as part of our role as a digital marketing agency. They are looking for more information about link building, online PR and SEO because their business is putting them under pressure to ensure their web site is performing. This is where many companies are struggling; there could be 1,001 reasons why the site is not performing, with SEO being a small part of that. 

We believe that search engine optimisation is just a part of the online marketing strategy. It’s an ongoing process, where the rules and the competitive landscape changes almost daily. I don’t know a single senior marketing professional who has the time to monitor all of this. They need enough information to be able to satisfy their business that they are increasing the effectiveness of their online channel.

This is where a close relationship with a digital marketing agency pays dividends. By sharing the goals and objectives of your web site, your agency can come up with a detailed marketing plan that is designed to deliver against your business objectives. The great thing about online marketing is that it is measurable. What a great way to work; goal based objectives, regular analytics and no need to try and become a web guru in order to satisfy the demands of your business. 

What do you think? Please feel free to comment below, are we being fair to marketing professionals? Do you think they do have enough time to become experts in this area as well as experts in their businesses? If you would like to discuss this blog post or what Generate UK could do for you, please do not hesitate to call us on 01635 550431.

Due to being a nerd, I like to make a note of when a social media platform starts receiving brand recognition outside of their traditional user base. Usually it is when my mum makes reference to a particular platform or a story is carried in the Sun newspaper, as was the case with Twitter recently. The Sun were following up on famous Twitter users such as Barack Obama (who has the largest number of followers), Britney Spears and our soon to be unsuspended superstar; Jonathan Ross.

For the uninitiated, Twitter is a micro-blogging platform. So called because it allows you to send mini updates (about whatever you want) to your followers. You basically set yourself up as a user and woke up and I need coffee” (which begs the question about what is more important; Twitter or coffee) to general chit chat.

Is there a business benefit to Twitter?

As a digital agency, we’re often asked about the benefits of social media, and it is fair to say that it is not always clear at first glance. However, with Twitter we’ve identified quite a few uses for it.

• It’s a great way to interact with likeminded people, which is always handy. For example, we were recently let down at the last minute by one of our speakers at a seminar we were running. We posted on Twitter for a replacement and had six companies respond, all of whom would have done a great job.
• It’s a good way to get a heads up on new techniques and ideas. A lot of people use Twitter to share useful web sites. Sometimes these web sites turn out to be great resources, so it is a perfect way to stay informed without spending huge amounts of time researching.
• If you’ve not bought into the business benefits of blogging; then we’re not reaching you properly. From our perspective, we cannot think of many reasons why a business would not have a blog, there’s many reasons for this covered here. Micro-blogging is an extension of this and all of the benefits are the same.
• It’s simple to interact with Twitter via your mobile phone. In fact as one recent amateur photographer recently found out, it’s possible to become world famous in a matter of minutes. With this type of pulling power, the potential of Twitter is unlimited.
• If you are in a business where from time to time you have spare capacity such as hotels, restaurants, cinemas etc; then it is possible to use Twitter to communicate special offers and promotions to your followers. Twitter users are very active and conversion rates are extremely high for companies using this type of marketing.
• If you’re a larger organisation with a brand, you may find that you need to keep an eye on how your brand is represented online. If people are Tweeting about you, then you may as well Tweet about yourself and control the conversations. Otherwise, you should follow Tweetscan to see what is linked to your name/brand. As you can see, even Tesco is getting in on the act.
• We’ve already mentioned that Twitter is great for networking with likeminded people; if you take this to the next level, it is also a great way to reach out to them. Perhaps you’re looking for specialist technical skills? Need a quote for some printing? Or would like to post a link to a new position at your company? It’s all possible with Twitter.

I’m sure as more people begin to use Twitter; the business opportunities will grow. If you would like to Tweet with Generate UK, you’re more than welcome to follow us on Twitter also. We’re looking forward to your tweets.

Was this post helpful? Do you already use Twitter for your business, would you like to share your comments below? If you or your company would like to discuss social media, using Twitter or digital marketing in general, please call us on 01635 550431.

Momentum Sash Windows specialises in sash window restorations and refurbishments. They work throughout the UK providing quality sash window delivery and enhancement. With over 25 years of experience, the proprietors of Momentum have achieved the highest level of craftsmanship. This leadership in their field has meant that Momentum have worked on some of the country’s most well known establishments.

To support their continued success, Momentum decided that they would look to identify new channels to showcase their work; particularly on the Internet where they did not have a web site. It was expected that the website would support new business initiatives and help drive new sales enquiries.

The brief was to deliver a website on a limited budget. The web site had to also support continued growth and therefore needed to be flexible in terms of adding and editing content.

Generate UK consulted with Momentum in order to understand their exact business needs, web requirements and what they saw as the role of the web site.  Both parties worked through the Generate Web Development Checklist which ensured that all success factors were logged and agreed in advance.

During this stage it was established that Momentum wanted a simple web site that showed new and existing customers details of their projects. The site should not be too many pages and encourage visitors to contact Momentum.

The project lasted six weeks from sign off to completion and is evidence that you can produce a professional website on a small budget. During these tough economic times the Internet represents a very effective opportunity to grow a business. Generate UK are delighted to be working with Momentum as they begin their online adventure.

Aidan Dear, A Director of Momentum stated “Generate UK understood our business needs from day one, our budget was restrictive however Generate UK delivered a fantastic site and the service first class” 

Click to view the Momentum Sash Window site.

If you’re interested to discover what Generate UK can do for you, please do not hesitate to contact us on 01635 550431 or via our site. If you’re quick, you can still take part in our New Design for 2009 promotion.

Wow, what a tough year it was in 2008 and if you believe the papers and all the hype, 2009 is going to be an even harder year!

Businesses are going to strive hard to try and increase revenues whilst keeping an exceptionally tight rein on their marketing budgets.

So if companies are slashing their marketing budgets where are they going to focus their spend and how can companies be assured that the marketing channel they use will give them the return that they want?

In a just-released survey from eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit more than 64% of respondents say the current economy probably won’t affect their overall marketing budgets, but most report plans to increase or maintain their budgets for Email (83.6%), Online Advertising (77.2%), Keyword Search Campaigns (75.5%), Social Media (61.8%), and Video Advertising (38.2%). eMetrics’ analysis states,

“34.5% of respondents’ marketing budgets are negatively impacted by the economy but only 10-15% of respondents are cutting budgets on online channels. This would suggest that confidence in online marketing effectiveness continues to grow.”

According to the survey web analytics have become increasingly important to senior management.

“Web analytics helps us maximize the effectiveness of our shrinking marketing dollars by pointing out our strengths and weaknesses and providing an actionable roadmap to our most impactful ROI channels online. Tough times really do call for tough measures.”

You can download the entire survey results from the eMetrics web site.

So it appears that digital marketing is the way forward as through the use of analytics it is 100% visible and that means 100% measurable!  However a question which many marketer asked themselves on a daily basis, which online channel is best for me?

Many companies through using the analytics will trial a number of different campaigns and then through the metrics work out the best return on the investment made.  As the statistic show email marketing is the most popular activity and this is because through past experience for many marketers (mine too!) email has been one of the most cost effective routes to increasing communication, prospect engagement and subsequently business.

Online Advertising and PPC is also up there in the stats and this is because again it’s so measurable. You spend a £1 you get £2 back, brilliant let’s spend £1000! Of course it’s not as easy as this and to gain the returns, you need to put some thorough research into finding the right environments to advertise and research the right keywords. This will provide you with some good solid traffic that is most importantly, targeted!

Interestingly social media and video advertising have both come a very long way in a relatively very short space of time. Companies are finally latching on to the power of social media and the advantages of video advertising becoming viral often through the social media sites and can often catapult a brand to a next level.

If I was a business owner (with a website that has been optimised) experimenting with digital marketing for the first time I would obviously do my own research, however  I would most likely start by delivering some small targeted email campaigns (researching the appropriate email marketing software to deliver my campaigns).  I would then, depending on my product/services use some of my budget to trial and deliver a PPC campaign (I would have probably employed a company to provide me with some extensive Keyword research in the first place so that I’m making sure I’m not wasting my precious marketing budget!). 

In conclusion; do your research, there are many ways to market your company and the online spectrum has multiple channels. However one thing is clear in my head as well as many top marketing executives; is that Digital Media is certainly the way forward through these hard times when budgets are being slashed but you’re still being pressured to produce the result! 

What do you think? Do you have any new ideas to add? Please comment below or add to the debate. Please do not hesitate to contact Generate UK for more information and ideas about how to we can help you with your digital marketing in 2009.

At Generate UK we like to continually research and investigate marketing and web based software.  Content Management has been a hot topic for quite a while now for companies looking to continually manage and develop their website.  What CMS should you use?  How much should I invest? What features should I look for?  We like to think that we have researched quite a few systems within the market place built using .net, php and other open source platforms and therefore can provide a good recommendation when choosing a CMS system. 

A good CMS system is not just about having all the bells and whistles as this is not necessarily going to always be the best option for your business. It boils down to your business needs vs. requirements vs. cost.  We believe that the investment in web technology, as with any business investment, must produce a strong financial return for the owner or otherwise we perceive it to be a bad investment.

The two key components to choosing a good CMS is usability and functionality, you must feel comfortable using the system and it must contain the functionality needed to operate your website.

There are many cheap and nasty CMS systems in the market place so be careful and request a full specification and a demonstration. http://www.cmsmatrix.org/ is a good place to start as you read about different CMS and compare functionality against cost. Generally speaking you would expect to either pay a one off cost and a yearly maintenance fee or a yearly/monthly license fee. 

A good CMS should allow for: 

• Non-technical users are able to manage the content of their site without the need for external specialists.
• Low cost of support and continuous version upgrades.
• The ability to manage your site from anywhere in the world.
• Allow for excellent search engine listings.
• Should satisfies all known international accessibility and compliance standards
• Seamless integration into existing IT systems protecting previous investment.
• Integration into other software applications such as e-commerce and e-booking systems to provide streamlined e-business.
• Reducing costs in print and promotion.
• The ability to generate sales leads through forms and download areas.
• Rapid deployment of new designs and content

Established back in 1995, Sitekit has been at the forefront of web content management systems development in the UK.

The Sitekit software empowers website designers and website managers by removing the technical barriers to creativity, and delivering online excellence through technology, training , support and like with many technologies the older it gets the more reliable it becomes and far less buggy!

The Sitekit CMS is used by some very high profiled clients including the likes of BT, The Times and ADT and operates across a number markets including Health Care, Travel, Media and the Public Sector to name a few.

Sitekit has many features to its software which includes all of the above points of what you should look for in a quality CMS, plus many more.

Sitekit offer two license variants:

CMS Corporate
CMS Advanced

The main difference between the two licenses is that if you’re looking at publishing multi websites or portals with a different URL’s then the advanced option would be the option you need.  The corporate site comes with the same level of functionality however just one license for one website is. 

For a list of features go to http://www.sitekit.net/Product-Overview.html

From a technical perspective the latest version of Sitekit CMS, version 8 requires; a .net application server; MSSQL database; Windows Server 2003 operating system; using programming languages, ASP,.NET, NET2 extendable via web services. 

I hope this posting has been useful for those looking for a feature rich, flexible and easy to use CMS.  

What do you think? Was this blog post useful? Please comment below or add to the debate. Please do not hesitate to contact Generate UK for more information and ideas about how to we can help you with content management systems.