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digital agency

What Does A Digital Agency Do?

By Business, Design, MarketingNo Comments

What Is A Digital Agency?

The term ‘digital agency’, is a buzzword that’s too often thrown around and generally misunderstood. Although the term itself seems a reasonably simple concept, there’s still confusion as to what a digital agency actually is, and what it does.

We felt it important to clarify what a digital agency is, and what we do as one!

To put it simply, a digital agency encompasses all types of activity that promote your brand online. At Geek, we manage all aspects of a business’s online presence. There’s no denying that the world’s gone digitally mad. The problem with this is that traditional ways of marketing your business just aren’t sufficient anymore. So, it goes without saying that in this exciting and developing digital age, you need a digital agency to provide you with the vital services to market your business online.

From Web Design and Development to Search Engine Optimisation and everything in between, we’ve got you covered.

What Does A Digital Agency Do?

As a digital agency, design is extremely important to us. When your customers find you, you want to look good, stand out and be remembered. However, our focus goes beyond just the aesthetics of design. We consider the whole customer experience, concentrating on design functionality in order to deliver a seamless user journey across all channels.

Merging creativity with technicality, our innovative designers, savvy digital marketers and technical wizards work hand in hand to build your brand digitally. Whether you’re a start-up wanting to create a brand identity online or are an already established business looking to grow your presence…you’re in the right hands.

What Services Do We Offer?

Although offering similar services, no two digital agencies are the same. But here at Geek, we offer five main services to build your business online.

Web Design

As a business, if you want to have a digital presence, you need a website. Having a website is the very first step in building your business online. Nowadays, websites need to be visually attentive, as well as providing flawless user experience. Whether you’re after a simple brochure site, or an interactive website that perfectly demonstrates your brand personality, we can help. Our web designers and digital marketers collaborate to create a website that is entirely bespoke to you.

Web Development

Remember, as a digital agency, we don’t just focus on the aesthetics of design. It’s important not to forget functionality. We work with you to build digital tools that meet your business’s requirements. Our development services include web-based services, mobile apps, and desktop programmes. We’re able to create bespoke CRM systems, integrate software onto your site, and develop mobile-friendly apps that match your e-commerce site. We also take care of interactive elements and animations, aka the ‘cool stuff’ on your site!

Digital Marketing

I’m a digital marketer – so I may be biased – but marketing yourself online is one of THE most important things you can do as a business (or we can do for you). You’ve got your website as a starting point – excellent – now you need your own unique digital strategy in order to grow. We do everything, from Social Media posts to Paid Aids, to On and Offsite SEO. We’ll always tell you what we think is best for you. Simply give us your monthly budget, and from there, we can devise the most effective marketing plan to get you lead generation and brand awareness.

E-Commerce

Remember, user experience is key when creating an identity online. That’s why we offer businesses fully-functional e-commerce websites that provide visitors with a smooth shopping experience from the initial visit, through to the checkout process. Most e-commerce users (about 90%), use their mobile. We all know how frustrating online shopping can be, especially when the site is challenging to navigate, with lack of payment options. That’s why we build a mobile-friendly e-commerce site that doesn’t leave your customers annoyed, but instead wanting to return.

Design

Now, I know I said we look past just the aesthetics of design, but that’s not to say we don’t appreciate how important it is. In fact, our design team works with businesses to create unique logos through to branding packages. Again, when your customers find you, you want to stand out, and you want to be remembered. To aid your marketing efforts, we create consistency across your brand. We create design aspects that can be used across all platforms, and that work seamlessly with your new website.

Back To The Question…

We hope that this has cleared up the confusion surrounding what a digital agency is and answered your question of ‘what does a digital agency do?’. As mentioned, a digital agency does an abundance of things, and every agency is different. We can’t tell you what other digital agencies are specifically offering, but we can tell you what we do and how it will help your business.

So, if you’re looking for a digital agency for all your online needs, get in touch with a Geek!

Click now for a free consultation
March 30, 2020

Digital Agency vs Creative Agency: How do they differ?

By Business, Design, MarketingNo Comments

Can you be sure of the difference between a digital agency and a creative one?

The question every business owner has asked themselves – shall I hire a digital agency or a creative agency? In the beginning, we know (and so should you!) that every company needs a new website, social media accounts, branding, essentially all the building blocks to get your brand out into the big wide world. However, that’s where the age-old question is triggered. Is there one agency which better than another?

So, why the confusion between digital agencies and creative agencies?

Even before the creation of the internet, new and existing businesses have been using creative agencies. Using their artistic flair and creative imagination, it was their role to deliver all artwork, colours and branding needed. Essentially, what a creative agency would do is aid those who have a business idea but have no clue how to sell or brand it.

However, as time has changed and with the dramatic rise of the internet and a new game has entered the field. Marketing. Digital Marketing has become a distinctly technical activity. Not only does it incorporate branding, but also requires the understanding of the magical (and ever-changing) concept such as SEO – search engine optimisation!

Therefore, it is with no surprise that there has been total confusion! Business owners and directors not knowing who they should turn to. On the one hand, they could go to a creative agency who can provide them with graphic design services. But they could also go to a digital agency who could offer them social and search engine dominance. Sadly, it wasn’t and perhaps isn’t, as clear cut for everyone. Therefore, let us end this confusion once and for all!

What is a Digital Agency?

A Digital Agency helps business with elements such as PPC ads, website design, web development, e-Commerce and the minefield that is SEO. They will usually have an in-depth knowledge of the tools which are critical in ensuring success. From the little tweaks to an online advertising campaign to building websites that will display animations in the blink of an eye! As well as complex, multi-layered checkouts on an e-Commerce website, to anything in between!

  • Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
  • Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
  • Social Media Marketing
  • Content Creation
  • Lead Generation
  • Website Design and Development
  • Email Marketing
  • Mobile Campaigns
  • App Development

It goes without saying that digital agencies are a vital aspect for any business that is looking at excelling in this digital age. More often than not, companies will know to create an advertising campaign. Yet, lack the technical know-how to actually do it.

Overall, a digital agency can offer solutions to marketing efforts. Whether your businesses goals is to rank higher in Google search results (SEO), increase your ROI (PPC advertising) or capture your audience’s attention online (Web Design). Regardless, the job of a digital agency is to refine and optimise your existing marketing efforts tailored to your business.

What is a Creative Agency?

In simple terms, a creative agency will be the team of people responsible for the visual elements of a brand. Think of all the design that goes into marketing a product, service, or company – that will be the job of a creative agency.

  • Logos
  • Colour Schemes
  • Banners
  • Email Design
  • Infographics
  • Packaging Design
  • Videography
  • TV Ads

A creative agency is certainly a different beast. They are considered artsier, more imaginative based – what people know as the good old-fashioned design company. They would have no idea how to use software such as Google Analytics or Google AdWords. In fact, digital marketing is a foreign word.

Well, it may not be foreign, but it is certainly not the focus. Most of the time, creative agencies to do not see marketing efforts as a concern! Instead, by creating eye-catching designs, striking logos and beautiful branding, a company can attract customers.

Overall, a creative agency is full of brand experts who create all the graphic and visual design that is needed to define a service/product.

It’s safe to say, the definitions have become blurred. So, let’s combine the two!

So back to the question at hand. Shall I hire a digital agency or a creative agency? Well, as you can probably tell, there is a strong case that the two agencies should combine themselves. Businesses require that creative flair, yet also the know-how of the technical elements to be seen in front of the right audience. A company may go to one or the other, but does that have to be the case? Do you HAVE to choose between them both?

Well, no. It is clear that there no perfect definition of what agencies can or cannot do.

Here at Geek, it is safe to say we can offer both. Therefore, for all those business owners running around not knowing which one to go to still. Let us embrace your business, offer it that vital online presence and sell it to the world. We can provide you with creative designers that work hand-in-hand with our technical wizard digital marketing team in beautiful harmony. We will ensure that we keep your brand integrity consistent in every channel where you decide to dominate.

Therefore, if you’re looking for a digital AND creative agency, get in touch with Geek.

Click now for a free consultation
March 27, 2020

Google’s Local Campaigns – What are they and how do they help you?

By Business, featured, SEONo Comments

Google Ads introduces a new way to get customers to your storefront.

For people who don’t understand Google Ads itself, local ad campaigns are certainly going to go over your head.

People who are loyal to Local SEO will already understand how this technique can benefit your business by helping people find you in local searches. Local are basically the same, although this is a ‘paid SEO’ tactic.

This form of Google Ads campaign makes it much easier for you to promote your business across the search engine’s largest properties including Google Search Network, Maps, YouTube and Google Display Network.

All you really need to do is add some relevant text, a bid, a few assets and Google will optimise the rest to help your favourable users find you.

How do local campaigns work?

When you decide to set up a local campaign, the first thing you’ll need to define is the shop location you want to display to your customers. You can pre-set this by linking your Google My Business (GMB) account or selecting affiliate locations.

Affiliate locations are extensions that will help you reach consumers when they are deciding what and where to buy. They help searchers find nearby stores that sell your products.

Local campaigns – effective and easy to set-up.

Local campaigns are solely focused on being simple and driving your offline objectives. All you need to do is provide Google with your shop locations campaign budget and ad assets.

Google’s AI (artificial intelligence) will learn your goals and business. The AI will then automatically optimise your bids, ad placements and asset combinations. This is all to ensure you receive optimum performance.

Basically, put a computer will make sure that you get results, crazy eh?

The results you receive will aim to maximise the number of visitors you receive to your shop directly. The campaigns also promote the location of your business across Google’s different platforms.

Where do your ads appear?

Your ads will be approved to appear all over Google’s various properties.

Google Search Network: Groups of search-related websites and apps where your ad can appear. Your ad will appear when someone searches for one of your keywords.

Google Display Network: Your business will appear on various sites across the Internet to users who are interested in your product or services.

Google Maps: As the obvious states, your business will appear on the Google Map when a local search is made.

YouTube: It is frequently ignored when it comes to marketing, but honestly – YouTube can be a great place to display an advertisement for your business.

Localised campaigns are a great start for local business.

What better way to promote your brand by popping up on the search results and websites of interested Internet surfers?

However, we do understand that understanding the fundamentals of Google Ads can be challenging to let alone know how to set up a localised campaign to promote your business.

Luckily, you have these awesome guys called Digital Marketers who do all the complicated stuff for you.

All we need are your budgets and your goals, and we’ll do the rest. We highly recommend considering local ad campaigns if you want to get more customers through the door or ringing your phone.

If paid SEO is your preference for marketing, then feel free to give us a call:

CONTACT A GEEK
May 14, 2019

8 Psychological triggers that will WIN you MORE SALES

By Business, E-commerce, MarketingNo Comments

Psychological triggers could achieve you a BOOST in sales and profits

Today class, in psychological marketing 101, we are going to immerse ourselves in the psychology of sales. So LISTEN UP as we go through the 8 psychological triggers that are guaranteed to boost your sales!

As a small business owner, you know that closing a sale is crucial to your growth and success. Well, say hello to psychological triggers.

Customers often like to think they are in control, especially when it comes to sales – however, science has proven otherwise.

In reality, with subtle and clever adjustments to your website – you could successfully influence behaviour and motivate someone into purchasing your goods.

So, before we bore you, we’ll deliver what you came to this blog for – the psychological triggers that are guaranteed to drive sales and help close more deals.

SILENCE! The psychological of selling class shall begin…8 essential psychological triggers everyone should know...

Evoke Reciprocity

Remember the saying your mother probably once told you, “you don’t give to receive” well, scrap that!

Reciprocity works quite simply. If you give your customers something valuable, they’ll feel obligated to provide you with something in return. When we say “something”, we mean a sale.

Why does this work we hear you ask? Psychologically people tend to feel uncomfortable when they feel like they owe someone something. Therefore, to balance out this sense of unease, people return the favour. Your customer work the same way – if you do nice things for them, they’ll feel a compulsion to return the favour.

A simple and effective way to incorporate this psychological trigger into your marketing is by offering free products, sample and gift with purchases – who doesn’t enjoy a freebie?

Arouse Curiosity

Give customers just enough to make them want more! If you inject enough curiosity into your content, you’re creating an itch. No, not literally, but your customers are going to need to scratch that itch by taking action – aka by buying a product or reading on to discover more.

Whether it is a marketing email or blog post, this simple psychological trigger, you can evoke curiosity. How? Something a little like this:

  • Tell a story but don’t finish it – “Wondering if Bob met his weight loss target and lost 50 pounds? I think the results are going to surprise you! But first, let me share with you common mistakes among dieters…
  • Tell them where to go – “In this newsletter, you’ll find out which healthy foods reduce fat and help you lose weight! (See page 15 to find out what it is.)
  • Mention that others love the product – “Thousand of other women love our shapewear jeans and so could you!”

Attention is in the detail – Be Specific

More often than not, people are sceptical when they read bold, unrealistic claims – even if they are 100% legitimate! But, this doesn’t mean you should stop bragging about your services. No, no, no! All you have to do is be exact. Psychologically, customers are more likely to believe your bold claims if they specific. Take a look at the example below:

  1. “Last month Tracy made £2000 with Facebook Ads and you can too!”
  2. “Last month Tracy made £2254 with Facebook Ads and you can too!”

Even though these statements are the same, the second statement is more persuasive. That’s because it’s highly unbelievable that someone made precisely £2000. It is far more realistic that they made £2254.

Therefore, whenever you can be specific about a number or any other detail, DO IT!

Build credibility and trust

Remember from our last psychological trigger; people are sceptical. They have their defence shields up and asking themselves “why should I trust this person?’. So, you need to give your customers a reason to rely on you – in other words; you need to build your credibility.

Have you been on a companies website and read about their years of experience or list of numerous accreditations? There’s a method to their bragging. These are examples of reliability building statements. By mentioning how you and your business has succeeded over years of experience, helped multiple people and how you’re the real deal will psychologically make customers believe you are someone who can be trusted.

Do you have experience, credentials, a degree, awards or results in the field? If so, tell people! Sharing your success with your client is guaranteed to build your credibility.

Induce Consistency

People don’t view themselves as indecisive, wishy-washy customers who change their mind whenever the wind blows. People like to see themselves as decisive, so use this psychological fact to boost your sales.

In regards to business, this work by getting your foot in the door. By getting your name out to customers, or even getting them to buy something small from you. When you later ask them for a more significant purchase, they want to appear consistent and complete your favour.

Yes, this technique does work! If you ask your customers for a big sale right away – they will most likely outright say no. However, if you ask them for a small purchase to get your foot in the door, they are more expected to say yes later down the line.

It doesn’t just have to be buying and selling, for example:

  • Ask people to subscribe to your newsletter (easy), then ask them to buy your entry-level product.
  • Ask people who have liked your social media page to then share it.
  • Ask the customer to enter a free contest, then later ask them to register for a monthly subscription.

You get the idea. Once your foot is in the door with a small request, you can make larger requests in the future.

Social Proof

In psychological terms, customers are like sheep – they are unsure of themselves. Therefore they prefer to see what others are doing and follow along.

For example, have you ever been in a situation where you are sure of an answer, but others disagreement makes you doubt yourself and not believe you’re correct? This is an example of conformity.

The same can be seen in sales and marketing. By showing your customer that everyone else is buying your product or service, ‘liking’ your social media posts and subscribing to your emails – they are more inclined to conform in your sales process. This is called social proof.

An easy way to incorporate this within your business is through testimonials – it is not you telling them to buy but other customers! The bottom line is to show that other people are buying from you, which means ultimately more people will do the same.

Invoke FOMO (Fear of missing out)

Fear is an incredibly powerful psychological trigger. But, I’m not saying you should become Freddy Krueger or Pennywise the Clown to scare the life out of your customers! Instead, lightly touch the fear trigger to make an impact.

This is one of the most common and popular techniques for driving sales because of its success. From discounts which last only a few hours, or a bonus reduction to the next 100 customers, or only stocking a select few of an item – all these different methods create a sense of scarcity, boost urgency and in general a sense of fear – FOMO.

Radiate Authority

Have you heard of the Milgram experiment? The study in which ordinary, everyday people were told by an authority figure (who was a researcher in a white coat) to deliver an electrical shock to someone else they couldn’t see. Of course, the shocks weren’t real – but the subject of the experiment didn’t know that! Despite hearing fake screams, the participants kept delivering the shocks. Why? Because someone of authority told them to do so.

Please be aware we are not telling you to go round shocking people! But, instead, get people to listen to you and get them to do what you want.

You don’t have to have any specific credentials to position yourself as an authority figure in your niche. If you’re an expert – act like one! Speak with confidence in your blogs, emails and other content to help customer associate you with authority. Not sure if you’re in a position to emote authority – join ventures or gain testimonials from authority businesses are perfect techniques.

Understanding how your customers think and how you can influence their action is a powerful tool that will help you boost sales and profits. But, remember students – use these 8 psychological triggers wisely. After all, the best and most valuable connections with customers are built on trust and care.

Do you want to boost the sales of your business? Or would like our help to build and design a psychology approved website? Our designers and content writers can produce a website that is guaranteed to drive sale – so get in touch.

Contact the team of Geeks today
May 13, 2019
Things your website should not do

The Things Your Website Should NOT Do

By Business, DesignNo Comments

Where Am I Going Wrong With My Website? 

When designing a website – sometimes things can get a bit carried away with buttons here, there and everywhere! But, gone are the days where the more bells and whistles your site featured the more ‘cool’ it looked (why did we ever think bright, clashing colours were cool?)

Today, less is more. User experience is vital, and functionality should be your priority. But, we often see sites missing the mark in all 3 areas and making simple errors.

Website design is crucial to the success – or failure – of a business’s online presence. So, as we are generous here at Geek, we thought we’d explain some of the websites don’ts we see the most often, so you can check your site and see if it’s committing these sinful acts!

Bad Navigation

If you have been in a long queue (we live in Britain, of course, you’ve been in a line!) you’ll understand how much patience people have – not a lot. So when it comes to a website, there is very little forgiveness if it does not work. If your site has hard to find navigation, customers will not have the time to try and figure out where it is and how to progress through your website. Instead, they’ll leave and find what they are looking for elsewhere!

User experience and accessibility is key to a website’s success, so when designing your site, menus should be clear and distinct – don’t make it more difficult than it should be!

Hard To Read Text

Good website design will take into account the contrast between the background and the text colour. No sentence should take more a few seconds to read and hindering this could be costing you! Text colour and font style should be simplistic. Yes, those fancy, fun and quirky fonts do look good, BUT NOT FOR YOUR WEBSITE! Sorry, it’s a bugbear of ours. No more white text on a black background and no more Comic Sans MS – the text on your website is selling your services – wouldn’t you want everyone to read it?

Call To Actions

Don’t tell your customers how amazing and fabulous your services are but not tell them what to do next! Make it easy for them to get in touch. A simple ‘contact us’ call to action, or CTA shows customers you want them to call you. Psychologically, by telling people what you want them to do, means they are more likely to do it even if this is as simple as saying shop now. We know it may sound obvious, but it’s very effective – trust us, one of us has a psychology degree!

Poor Content – tut, tut, tut!

Yes, you may have a beautiful website, perfectly designed and looks just the part. But, if it doesn’t have relevant content, then this all becomes worthless. You don’t need to drone on about your years of experience in the trade or how big your clients are – write content for the person reading it, not your company.

Like we discussed earlier customers have very little patience when it comes to searching. If the information is not easy to find and you’re not describing the service you offer – you should consider a content refresh.

Links That Go Nowhere – AKA Broken Links

When we are doing our research (no, not scrolling through Amazon for the latest deal) we often find buttons that when clicked go nowhere. In the business, this is what we call a ‘broken link’. If your site is riddled with these, visitors will begin to believe your website is inactive and hasn’t been updated in a long time.

Broken links are easy to fix and make a big difference.

Not Including The Trusty Search Bar

Did you know that 40% of people agree that a search the most important feature on a website? Well, by not including one within your site design you could be turning potential customers away. A search bar is a simple, yet useful tool that allows customers to search for a product.

There you go, they were some (yes, just some) of the most common website design don’ts we are regularly horrified by. Of course, as with any website design, it is a process of trial and error. What once worked when you launched your site, may not be functional, user-friendly or ‘on trend’ in a year or two. But, have no fear the Geeks are here to help. So if you have any, and I mean ANY of these 7 website design don’ts, it would be best to call our team. We can help create a website that does scream cool – so get in touch with our forward thinkers.

April 12, 2019

7 Important Google Ranking Factors

By Business, featured, MarketingNo Comments

Does your website have what it takes to reach page 1?

Reaching the peak of Mount Everest isn’t going to happen without the right precautions, just like reaching page 1 of Google! Yes, both are entirely different, but both follow the same principles (in a way, it’s the closest analogy I could think of).

It’s everyone’s goal to reach page 1, and we’re not going to promise that we’ll get you there in a week. However, we can guarantee to get you there eventually. Eventually is the key word though, the length of this ‘eventually’ is all down to your digital marketing commitment and how your website looks.

Google’s algorithm is unpredictable; it continually changes each day without warning anybody. This is the issue many business owners don’t realise – you may be on page 1 now, but maybe not tomorrow.

Geek has the job of keeping up with the trends (sorry Kardashians) to check for what Google is looking for in websites. This way we know how to effectively market a site and get it up the search result pages.

So, without further ado, I present the 10 MOST important ranking factors:

1. Metadata keywords

This stuff is explained more in our SEO guide blog; however, for now, this is a KEY contributor to your Google ranking. You will need to optimise your metadata with the keywords that you want your website to come up under.

However, you must do this precisely, don’t go adding every keyword in your industry in the title and description; instead, keep it short and concise. But don’t forget to make sure your titles and descriptions make sense too!

2. Content Refinements

Google much prefers fresh content. Google is always on the lookout for regularly updated content, so much so that it will pay attention to the website who do this.

Having high-quality content is good, but it will need to be updated every month to ensure that your site is noticed amongst the crowd.

3. Linking

Internal or Outbound – links are a critical ranking factor and so why are so many businesses forgetting them? Internal links reference and link to other pages on the same website, whereas outbound links link elsewhere.

Implementing links into your content will get you noticed, this is because Google bots will analyse the information on your site and the connected pages or websites.

4. SSL

Now there are arguments as to whether or not SSL makes any difference to your Google ranking and it a way it definitely does. Google will see your website as ‘secure’ in comparison to a site that hasn’t an SSL certificate and therefore ranks you accordingly.

Users are also much more likely to click on a site that has an SSL certificate. Google alerts the searcher that your website isn’t secure if you haven’t an SSL certificate which will scare of customers, especially if you take online payments.

5. Mobile UX responsive design

In this day and era, people use mobiles much more frequently than computers and laptops – it’s all about convenience. Google ranks website well if they feature mobile optimisation; this is because they know they’ll be of use to an inquiring user.

Websites that aren’t updated to suit a mobile or tablet device will fall down Google’s pages after all new and useful sites have always been favourable.

6. Keyword in URL

Along with keeping the URL as short as you possibly can, it’s always very important to implement your ranking keyword in there too. Google actually crawls your URL also to find out more information about the page and what to rank it under.

It’s important not to stuff all your keywords into your URL as said before, the shorter, the better (in Google’s eyes). It also helps your customer; no user wants to type out a long URL – KEEP IT SHORT GUYS.

7. Image alt tags

Sticking any image on your website to make it look pretty isn’t going to help you get to the first page of Google by any means. Google appreciates imagery on a website, but for images to come up under the right keywords, it requires optimisation.

Implementing the right keywords into your photo and describing what’s in the picture will rank your website. Your image’s alt text can often be left out, remember to do this!

These are 7 of the most important ranking factors; however, these are also 7 of the most commonly missed factors. Google will admire a beautiful, seamless website, but you will also need to carry out these elements. This is all to ensure you remain noticed by the algorithm.

Reaching page 1 either runs on luck or consistency. However, unless you feel lucky and know that your competition is easy to beat, then we need to think about what to do.

Geek has many tricks up their sleeves to get your marketing plans the best they can be. If you need assistance or are curious to begin marketing your site, then we can certainly help.

Click ‘free consultation‘ to get your journey kick-started.

April 10, 2019

The Real Ways To Get More Website Traffic

By Business, MarketingNo Comments

If you’re tired of hearing promises and receiving no customers, then you’ve come to the right blog.

The thing is, the Internet is full of false hope disguised as good negotiation. Business owners have the all-important job to ensure that they fall for the right proposal.

Geek Designs often hear scary stories from new clients about how they spent thousands yet received no return on investment. Each customer was promised sales leads; however, the ones they did attain weren’t relevant or converting.

Well, let us tell you something honest.

Getting more traffic to your website will take time; however, sometimes it won’t (for the lucky ones). Everything is up to how persistent you are and how much you are willing to trust your marketing team.

Should I use a digital marketer?

The real question is, do you want to hand the responsibility to a professional or do you believe that you can get results?

Digital marketers understand how to optimise campaigns effectively and use organic SEO to your advantage. Quite often you’ll find ‘top tips’ on doing this yourself, but without a strategy, what’s the point?

Professionals can also put together a marketing plan that is unique to your business and goals. These plans detail exactly what they’ll do and what it will achieve, all with realistic figures.

So, before I bore you, here are some REAL ways to get traffic heading to your website:

LOCAL SEO

Organic SEO, the one thing most people will question with ‘is it worth it?’ Hell yeah, it is.

This type of SEO is mostly free. Unlike paid SEO which charges you every time someone clicks the link to your website, organic SEO requires a one-off payment each month for many website visitors.

Local SEO is in that category.

Nearly 1/3 of all Google searches feature ‘near me’ or a set location. If you’re looking for customers that are local to you, well, you’ll need this SEO on your website.

Digital marketers set up localise pages that rank under a particular location, therefore when someone searches for ‘pubs to escape the Mrs near me’ then your pub businesses will appear in the search results.

Post HELPFUL and ENGAGING blogs.

When we say put together blogs for your site, we don’t mean that a home improvements company should be telling their customers how they manufacture a wooden door. Instead, tell them why they should buy that wooden door.

Funny, emotional, surprising and useful blogs will get people heading to your website.

When you post about a new blog that you’ve got on your site, you’ve got to give a reason why they should.

–

Time is expensive; people will click onto your blog and bounce right off if they find it boring or irrelevant.

Do you find yourself often reading blogs? Admittedly, most of us will only pay attention to the interesting ones. We all like blogs that show failure, victories and information that provide us with ‘life hacks.’

Each industry is different, that’s why you’ll need to research competitors and put together a plan. Bullet point blog topic and see what your peers think.

Love it or hate it – Social Media.

Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn the lot. As a population, we either love using them or don’t. However, each business WILL benefit if they use the right channels.

Once you have a polished website up and running, then you can get sharing it to social media.

However, make sure you’re targeting the right visitors. Posting your website on the Facebook giant predominantly focuses on your homeowners and full-time mummies.

LinkedIn will open your website doors to professionals, making it a highly useful platform for B2B. Are you a creative industry? Get yourself on Instagram and Pinterest now!

Market your emails to existing and even potential customers.

I won’t lie; email marketing can be a right pain. However, despite its tendency to annoy people it has a high conversion rate– if you do it right.

Creating bespoke, eye-catching email designs will capture your customer’s attention. So while you’re at it, stick a link to your website on the email to show them where the beautiful email came from.

Digital marketers quite often take care of all the design work for you, all they’ll need is your preferences and your approval.

Email marketing is a direct form of marketing, it comes as close as waving your product in their face and demanding money (but much more subtle).

Use these tips and you will get more traffic to your website.

Trust me, I didn’t spend all this time writing a blog for nothing, these 4 pointers will work and maybe not today, but in 3 months time, oh definitely.

Geek has a marketing team at hand that can answer your queries regarding website traffic.

However we won’t tell you all the secrets to get website traffic or what would we be?

We can put together a free marketing plan for you. We have the questions, you’ll just need to ring us or email us to answer them.

But you can also try these 4 tips yourself. It’ll take experimentation and determination (not trying to sound to inspirational) to get results, but it’ll be worth the work.

Call us on; 01733 686100

or arrange for a free consultation.

April 5, 2019

Thinking Of Starting Up A Website? Follow Our Step-by-Step Guide

By Business, Development, MarketingNo Comments

Starting your own business can be scary, let alone moving everything online.

Allow us to simplify everything for you.

We perceive ourselves as unique to the web design and digital marketing industry as we prioritise one thing – our relationship with the customer.

That is why we have decided to help out the people who we aren’t yet familiar with but would love to work alongside.

Yes, this guide is for the courageous business owners who have decided it’s time to get their business off the ground by joining the World Wide Web.

However I understand, for newbies, the Internet is a pile of advice and strategies, so how would anyone know what’s right or wrong? Read this and you’ll find out.

After years of adapting to ins and outs of the digital industry, we want to assist you in making the right decisions for your brand when it comes to your website, marketing and social media.

So, let’s not bore you any longer with the introduction. Instead, let’s get your business onto the right path towards successful brand recognition.

1. Have you got a design brief?

Before you do anything, I can’t stress how important it is to create a design brief.

A design brief will tell your web design company precisely what kind of a website you are looking for and how you want your business to be viewed by your consumers.

I get it though, where do you even start with a design brief? Well, that’s easy just start by bullet pointing USP (unique selling points), your brand colours and the persona you prefer.

Your brief can be detailed or simple; it’s however clued up you are about how you want your website to look. However, some web designers will provide bespoke designs.

For example, a customer can come to us and say that they have utterly no idea what they want their website to look like and that would be no problem.

From there we would only ask a few details and create a layout that is entirely unique to their business, no website of ours will ever look identical.

So, let’s go over what you need to consider:

What does your business do?
What are you trying to achieve through your website?
What’s your persona? (Who is your customer?)
Do you have content and pictures or will the agency provide these?
Do you have any specifications for your website?
What is your budget?

All of these points will help towards the design process of your website, resulting in accuracy and a quicker time for completion.

However as I mentioned, this isn’t mandatory; instead, your web designer can talk you through what they recommend, and you can add or subtract from their opinion.

2. Be careful when choosing a web designer

Okay, we won’t be biased here (well try not to) but you need to find a web design company that you are comfortable with.

Think about it; these designers will be with you from the start to the very end of your website; therefore you need to consider if they’re worth your time carefully.

The key things you need to remember is that if you’re looking for low prices, the website and customer service will quite certainly be inadequate. You can usually tell that a company is only interested in the money when they are willing to give you a quote over the phone.

I know you’re eager for a price on your website, however, be wary of companies who don’t hesitate to throw a price at you over the phone without getting to know your business.

Geek Designs ensure we achieve a detailed memo of what the customer is looking for, ensuring we cover everything, including researching their services/products before providing the quote.

You can tell if a company cares about your business depending on how much they want to know about your brand and how you aim to improve its presence.

You may want to research your web designers; this could include checking testimonials on their website, Google reviews and Tripadvisor opinions.

It’s more than essential to leave your business in the hands of a trustworthy company who provides the right quote for what you need, not the cheapest.

But you also need to make sure the company isn’t charging you too much, as this can be a common problem. 

3. Have you got a marketing plan?

Google Adwords, SEO pages, PPC campaigns – all of that confusing stuff. A marketing plan will help significantly towards the success of your business in regards to marketing.

Marketing your business will only be as successful as you want it to be. Paying little will contribute to a negative ROI, but then so can spending too much.

This is where you need professional guidance, but then that’s just my best recommendation, you can still give it a go yourself.

However, if you are, you have to watch out for several factors that could impact the performance of your marketing. For one your Google Adwords need to lead to a useful ‘sales page’ that makes the website visitor want to stay.

The same works with PPC and PPI, your website needs to be engaging for your marketing to even work in this scenario.

SEO pages (localised pages) however can be added to make your website appear in different locations, for instance, your site may say that you’re situated in Peterborough, but you could then have a page that comes up under ‘Huntingdon’ which will link to your website.

Marketing is a significant process, and there are so many considerations needed to ensure you make the most of your money. However, it’s always best to consult a professional before making any advancement with this step as you could harm your business.

But most importantly – your website needs to be perfect because you need your customers to stay on your site. If you have too many users looking at your site then immediately falling off then your bounce rate will heighten.

The higher the bounce rate, the more likely that you’ll de-rank on the Google search engine.

4. Social Media

The first question is, have you set up a business page on the right social media?

Whether you have set up a page or haven’t, you need to think about what social platform is worth the time and hassle.

You may think it’ll be useful to have your business on every social media there is, but this will do you more harm than good.

It’s no good if you’re a plasterer and have a Pinterest account or being a lawyer and tweeting what you had for your breakfast. Instead, you’ll need to consider this carefully.

  • LinkedIn – Predominantly professionals, this platform is ideal for any business that wants to develop a brand identity (so any company should use this if I’m honest).
  • Facebook – Focuses on promoting content to the domestic sector, therefore if you’re a home improvements company, hairdressers etc. it will be worthwhile.
  • Instagram – A visual portfolio of work, ideal for businesses of a design nature including interior designers, digital agencies and e-commerce.
  • Twitter – General chitchat platform, ideal for corporate firms to discuss business and news matters.

6. Consider these too

I have guided you through the basics of composing an online presence for your brand; however, it doesn’t stop there.

There are still many other ways to get your business prompted further, for instance, you can pursue brochures, leaflets and vehicle livery to get your online business heard of.

Furthermore, you can also consider logo re-design. You may like your logo; however, if you think it could be refined more effectively, then this is definitely worth considering especially since it’s the identity of your business.

However, if you are stuck in any way, we will help guide you further towards the success of your online empire.

We understand that it can be a headache especially if you are only just looking to get yourself online.

Geek Designs can happily help you get your business heading in the right direction, all to make sure your website shows the real potential of your brand and that your marketing gets you the leads you need to prosper.

So, I hope I have delivered this guide clearly. I know that many things will still be going over your head; however, this is where we can come in a personally speak with you through the process.

If you are looking to get your business kick-started, then why not speak to our friendly team and have us talk you through what you should consider and the best approach to marketing your brand.

Click here to start your online business

January 23, 2019

Your website is great, but do you have a LinkedIn profile to match?

By Business, MarketingNo Comments

LinkedIn is the online forum for professionals and business – if your website looks good, so should your company page.

With over 500 million users and TWO new members each second, LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network. Out of the population, the potential of people finding your profile is high – in fact, a whopping 80% of LinkedIn members want to connect or follow companies.

 

LinkedIn allows your business to boost the presence of its services to professionals both local and international. Amidst the abundance of LinkedIn members, you must maintain a killer LinkedIn profile. Your page encompasses your brand, and your website – a good site and LinkedIn page go hand in hand. If you want to generate the best online presence, a professionally designed website sets the foundation for your growth. Without a successful site, your business isn’t ready for LinkedIn.

If you own a website that you’re proud of, then carry on reading my friend. Having a dated, unresponsive web page that doesn’t appeal to customer demands won’t appeal to 500million professionals. Engagement and conversions will be almost impossible if your professionalism isn’t reflected in your online ‘shop window’.

 

Once you have completed your website, that’s when we recommend ‘strutting your stuff’ to the expert-only social media platform. Following these tips will help you generate leads, establish partnerships and create brand recognition – LinkedIn is an invaluable social tool for your marketing strategy.

Deliver Good Content

The content you submit to LinkedIn must reflect that of the professional nature you’ll find on LinkedIn. The slightest hint of informality is quite often picked up upon, and this is where you’ll experience negative backlash. What you need to do is detect your customer’s ‘pain’ and provide a solution in your posts.

Share content that is engaging, sparks a conversation or debate, don’t bore your readers with promotional material. When sharing information regarding your company such as industry-related news or service announcements, ensure the consumer benefits from the information.  

Submit blog posts, slide-shares, podcasts and articles devised by company colleagues and keep your followers updated with job opportunities or relocations. Always put your audience first, post content that enriches a customer’s knowledge, teaching them how to solve problems or improve on their skills.

Target Valuable Connections

So you know what you want to post about, but who do you want reading your content? This is where you take advantage of LinkedIn’s targeting filters. Small businesses can aim their posts at a specific industry, company size and job roles of an individual. This way you can target the customers who would most likely invest in your products or services.  

For example, a post from a printing company in the UK advertising brochures might prefer to appear in newsfeeds of businesses with less than 100 employees that are UK-based. Aiming your content at specific individuals will make your marketing efforts more successful. Expressing matters that reveal your company’s services, as a solution to your target customer’s issues will certainly drive them to invest.

Used sponsored updates

By promoting your employees to create and complete a LinkedIn profile, will help the development of your business. Encouraging your staff to maintain a LinkedIn account that includes relevant photos, content and information on your business will help get your brand out there. The more employees you have using LinkedIn, the greater the connection and page visitors you’ll receive, thus driving your LinkedIn engagement.

Asking your employees to market the business and generate organic interactions will help you take your business further. A personal profile with a photo, reassures connections that they are indeed, human. A customer is more likely to approach a company when they can see that the employees are friendly and reputable.

Give A Face To Your Employees

By promoting your employees to create and complete a LinkedIn profile, will help the development of your business. Encouraging your staff to maintain a LinkedIn account that includes relevant photos, content and information on your business will help get your brand out there. The more employees you have using LinkedIn, the greater the connection and page visitors you’ll receive, thus driving your LinkedIn engagement.

 Asking your employees to market the business and generate organic interactions will help you take your business further. A personal profile with a photo, reassures connections that they are indeed, human. A customer is more likely to approach a company when they can see that the employees are friendly and reputable.

Track Your Progress

Your company page includes useful analytical data, showing changes in the size and performance of your LinkedIn follower community. You can access this data at any time to see how your shared content and page is performing. You will be able to see demographical information as well as location and job titles of your visitors.

Use these insights to start posting content that your most common audience wants to see. LinkedIn analytics allows people to view their content, analysing how many people have seen, interacted or hidden your efforts.

LinkedIn provides great opportunities: 

Your marketing skills and motivation will help you to put together the best LinkedIn profile. Now that you’ve got an aesthetic website, it’s time to promote your work to the professional customer base. LinkedIn is only of the most reliable platforms for coming across industry-leaders and businesses, which is why you need to ensure you are prepared to market on the social site.

 

Geek Designs spend hours researching new updates and news regarding LinkedIn and its algorithms, helping businesses to prosper on the social media platform. If you are stuck on how you plan to transform your LinkedIn profile, then leave it to our expertise.

December 26, 2018
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COVID-19

As a result of the developments of the Coronavirus and the Prime Minister’s statement, Geek Designs will be following the advice and all staff will be working remotely. The business will open as usual, but for the safety and well-being of our team, their families and of course, our clients, like many other businesses in these unprecedented circumstances, Geek Designs will operate remotely until further notice.

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