Author Archive » Gareth
Gareth is a Digital Marketing Manager at SiteVisibility, specialising in ecommerce and retail SEO clients.
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What are QR Codes?
They are basically a funny looking 2 dimensional code that can be scanned by any modern smart phone in order to display a number of things relating to a company a URL, phone number, video or just a message. They can be read both vertically and horizontally and can be encoded in a much smaller space, which allows for more data than a normal barcode which can only identify a product, the ability to embed more information on a QR code allows the ability to display much more information.
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What is a press release?
A press release is a piece of company literature that is issued to the media and consumers of your service or product, it is used to announce an important piece of information about the company, an event or a product.
A press release can be written by anyone, but tend to be written by publicists or the marketing function within a company. This would then be distributed to various media channels such as newspapers, TV, radio and not forgetting influential websites.
A press release should be carefully constructed so that it gets the message your company wants to purvey across in the best possible way. The contents should be genuinely newsworthy and if you know your target audience or writing style of your particular media contacts then it is worth making it as easy for them to promote it without them having to make too many modifications. It is also worth noting that it should be written from an unbiased point of view and from a journalistic stance rather than a marketing one, with the aim of informing people not hard selling to them.
A well-written release can dramatically increase your sales, expose your company to the masses, and greatly enhance the image of your business or products. But can also help you search marketing efforts. Read on
What is a whitepaper?
Originally White papers have been issued by the government and lay out policy, or proposed action, on a topic of current concern. More recently, the term “white paper” has also come to refer to documents used by businesses as marketing or sales tools. White papers of this sort argue that the benefits of a particular technology or product are superior for solving a specific problem. Whitepapers can be a great way to build links and it’s a tactic we’ve been using too.
What are whitepapers used for?
A white paper is basically an essay that persuades someone of a better way, solution or technique of doing something, then all wrapped up and presented in a way that would make a magazine article look dull. They are used by companies as part of their marketing mix and in the sales process to attract new clients.
Some interesting stats on how they are used by potential clients;
MarketingSherpa has reported that 69% of prospects download a white paper as part of their buying cycle, and 36% of those pass along the white paper to a supervisor.
IT Toolbox has reported that about 70% of large companies rely on white papers, compared with only 59% of smaller companies. Read on
Recently SiteVisibility have been lucky enough to begin work with Penhaligons a luxury perfume company based in London.
As part of the campaign setup we were invited to experience the brand first hand in their Covent Garden branch, to get a real feel for the brand and their way of portraying themselves.
We had all read their marketing material and were keen to immerse ourselves in the brand first hand. So after an early start for us all we arrived in London at the shop and we were met by Emily marketing manager at Penhaligon’s and our guide for our time at the boutique perfume store.
First impressions of the store were the amazing smells on the way in, fragrances that really do encapsulate ‘liquid emotion’. We sat down to listen to Emily brief us on the fascinating Penhaligon’s history beginning in the Edwardian era with the founder William Penhaligon. The same scent recipies that he made all those years ago are still available as part of the range today!
It was interesting to learn of the heritage of this brand and how London has always been part of that history. Also the way Penhaligon’s sees their master perfumers as the brand ambassadors not any celebrity representation.
Another eye opener was some of the strange ingredients that go into perfumes, such as Ambergris Lumps of oxidized fatty compounds, whose precursors were secreted and expelled by whales, with a large price tag to match if ever you stumble across any washed upon the beach.
Next came our scent profiling a totally free service offered by Penhaligon’s to help customers be expertly matched to a scent that will suit them. We were asked a series of random questions in order to gauge the type of people we were, the service usually takes 45 minutes but in our case because there was a number of us Emily only had ten minutes to match each of us to a scent and she did well.
I was matched to invigorating cologne called Quercus which smells great.
Alex was matched up with Malabah, a semi-oriental fragrance, after being asked Whiskey or Wine? (Wine) and to describe her favourite dress (Black silk maxi dress with large brightly coloured orchids). It was an excellent experience and she genuinely wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the experience to a friend. You don’t just get a perfume, you get an experience and leave with a fragrance which is an extension of your personality.
Here at Sitevisibility each person receives one day a year that they can spend helping the local community or a charity of their choice. This is on top of team activity days that we spend helping the local community in various ways.
hard at work
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After expressing an interest in learning about PPC, an area of internet marketing I have not yet had much experience in as I mainly work in natural search, an email appeared in my inbox from a colleague, which had a list of training courses for all areas of expertise at Google’s London HQ.
photo credit: Andy on Flickr
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When it comes to optimising your website, there is one area not to overlook: your images. Much like video content on web pages, people are now beginning to see that images can create links and traffic through photo sharing sites, such as Flickr and search engines, such as Yahoo and Google.
photo credit: Russ Nelson Target the right image to use and make it relevent to your audience.
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In addition to my previous post Beginners Guide To Local SEO, today we noticed a new addition to Google Adwords Keyword Tool, which lets you target local keywords when doing keyword research.
The keywords used in the screenshot below demonstrate how Trainers is a more popular UK search term than Sneakers pretty obvious, but could prove useful in determining which keyword to target for which country.
Sneakers vs Trainers Google Adwords Keyword Tool
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Google Maps is fast becoming best platform for small businesses to improve their online visibility and to increase visitors & sales from both their website and business premises.
Google Maps Ten Pack
There are various tactics being used by SEO experts to help clients improve rankings in Google Maps here are some of the more basic ones which meet best practice guidelines.
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The recession has raised its ugly head again and this time it’s ITV that has brought to its knees. This week ITV announced they will be axing 1000 jobs in various areas of the business, one thing can be for certain the ITV executives wont be using the mantra that television is a “brand builder”, while Google is a “brand finder” as companies slash Television advertising spend in favor of other advertising avenues, such as online.
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