Archive for the ‘Online Marketing’ Category

Google have recently added a nice little enhancement to its Adwords service. You can now add a phone number to a text ad so that users can click on that ad and instantly dial your number. This is clearly to help mobile user to connect more easily with advertisers.

All non-clickable phone numbers displayed in AdWords ad text will be automatically converted into a Click-to-call number.

You will need to activate this on your account and once in place users will be able to click the phone number directly. The interesting bit is that you will only be charged for the clicks that result in a call.

And by getting the cofiguration right, you can get an extra line on your ad, making it larger, more appealing and more likely to get clicks.

Tracking will allow you to review how many calls you receive on the clickable phone number listed in your ad text for each campaign, ad group, keyword and ad on the Campaigns tab in your AdWords account.

If you would like to help configuring Adwords to get the best out of this new feature then just get in touch.

How Will Google+ Affect Search engine optimisation?

By now you’ve probably heard about Google+, the latest social networking craze and most recent effort by Google to take on Facebook and Twitter. But did you know that it could affect how your business’s website gets found on Google’s search engine?

In addition to building a social networking, Google aims, with its ‘+1′ button, the equivalent of Facebook’s ‘Like’ button, to determine the value of websites. They want consumers to add personalized recommendations to Web content and business sites.

More than 20 million people have already jumped onboard Google+ and many internet marketing professionals are beginning to wonder if those ‘+1′s will also start affecting how businesses appear in the search engine rankings.

Google+ has some remarkable similarities to Facebooks, utilities a similar suite of names for areas of the software, including ‘Hangouts’, ‘Circles’ or ‘Sparks’.

We have to assume at this stage that these ‘+1′s are likely to affect in some way the positions of sites within the search engine rankings. Only time will tell, either way, if you were to see recommendations against a certain site, how would that effect your decision process.

So how do you optimise for recommendations?

The more searching becomes about real people, the more we, as marketer, need to promote such recommendations in a natural a way as possible.

Watch this space…

April was a very productive month here at Masters Allen, I think we were all ready for the bank holiday!! Take a look at some of the sites we launched:

We helped Red 21, one of our long term clients, relaunch their webstore using Magento ecommerce. The site offers an extensive catalogue of luxury gifts, each with their own detailed product page allowing customers to get a better feel for the quality and intricacy of the items available. The catalogue is filtered and organised into a user friendly navigation with a big opportunity to feature products and promotions on the home page. Take a look and have a browse…http://www.red21ltd.co.uk/

LRS Liquid Rubber is at the leading edge of flat roofing and floor membrane systems and we have recently helped them launch their new Drupal website. The site offers technical product information and application guidance giving customers confidence in the brand and product. A very neat feature is the ‘Project Calculator’ which allows the customer to work out how much of the product they need for their particular job. The site has very clear contact details and calls to action prompting the customer to follow up on what they have learnt and make a purchase. Take a look..http://www.liquidrubbersales.co.uk/

Mander Cruickshank Solicitors asked us to design and develop their new site which is also built in Drupal, the site uses large imagery and big headings to support the brand and communicate the range of services on offer. The site is very easy to update by the Mander Cruickshank team as are all sites developed by Masters Allen, we use ‘open source’ technology which is tried and tested and very successful. Take a look at the Mander Cruickshank site, built using Drupal 7…http://www.mandercruickshank.co.uk

Masters Allen have been very busy launching some new sites, take a look:

www.acpltd.co.uk
Advanced Communications Projects are specialists in radio communications. Their site is clean and clear and provides any prospective customer with a clear indication of what they do and the sectors they cover through a rotating image gallery and supporting text.

www.blyth-richmond.co.uk
Byth Richmond are a family run investment management company who have over 30 years experience. Their impressive track record is communicated online by impactful imagery and messaging. Supported by a targeted news feed and a clear call to action, this website is ready to take enquiries!

www.vanbits.com
Vanbits is an impressive ecommerce site selling roof racks and accessories. Packed with functionality this Magento based site includes a single screen accordion style catalogue browser. Customers can find everything they need to meet their specific vehicle specification in one area.

Leicestershire based creative design and marketing agency Masters Allen have designed and created the portfolio based website for Three Point Design.

Three Point Design are based in Leicester with clients scanning the length and breadth of the country. The team wanted to show their commitment to their work and also highlight the brand awareness for Three Point Design’s customers.

Specialising in point of sale retail design, Three Point Design approached Masters Allen wanting to update their website and show the growth the company has had as of late. Working with several large clients such as Olympus, Exonmobil and JCB.

The project launched in October driving new enquiries towards Three Point. Managing Director Adam Gillott said “I approached Masters Allen after being recommended by several contacts. Three Point Design are an expanding company with a national account base and needed a new website to showcase our large portfolio. It needed to be easy to navigate and portray a large, creative design company.

From our very first meeting I found Masters Allen professional and very easy to work with. They interpreted our brief perfectly and gave regular updates via email and phone. Masters Allen delivered an excellent website which we are very proud of, and I will most definitely be using their services again. I would have no hesitation in recommending them to others.”

With an already growing portfolio and extensive knowledge of the retail design industry, Three Point Design are set to make a lasting impression on point of sale design and manufacture within the Midlands.

Although it is a bit of an old one now, it’s always a useful reminder of where the clicks are going on that all important first page in Google.

Enjoy!

Over recent years we’ve seen a shift in where businesses focus their marketing activities. Advertising spend online topped that of offline spend for the first time this year as companies are now fighting to find their space online, rather in traditional media.

So what do this mean for the typical business owner? Well they suddenly need to think about how to put together an online marketing plan. Do you sign up to Facebook? What about online PR? Should you start Pay Par Click advertising or create a Banner Ad? What about Blogging, RSS or Feeds?

All of a sudden, an understanding of a variety of new technologies is critical to taking advantage of the online marketing opportunities. No longer can you simply write a new plan and then carry it out. You need to either take on an Online Marketing Manager or find a suitable company to manage it all for you. Outsourcing your online marketing might be the right way forward as you would be taking on the expertise of a number of specialists and at the same time, drastically reducing the monthly outgoings required.

Either way the new technologies cannot be ignored, perhaps the first step is to start talking to someone who can help to shape the online marketing plan and to focus on the right places online to start marketing.