After using an Apple iPad for over a year, and in the process becoming . . . → Read More: Acer Aspire ICONIA A500 Tablet Reviews]]>

The Acer Aspire ICONIA A500 Tablet is great value and is more than a match for the original iPad. If you are looking for a great Android tablet at a great price this is the one to go for.

After using an Apple iPad for over a year, and in the process becoming the number one advocate for tablets, I was keen to compare the experience with an Android Tablet. Great though the Apple product is I found the lack of FLASH frustrating and the need to pay for mediocre Apps upsetting.

I needed a low cost Android Tablet with 32Gb of hard disk space and child friendly construction to deal with everything a three year old can do it. After much shopping around I decided on the Acer Aspire ICONIA A500 Tablet.

My brief was . . . → Read More: The Future for Creativity In Digital Is Bright]]>

I had a great day at Manchester Metropolitan University Business School this week. After reading the article in NMA by Michael Nutley about how Creativity in digital goes way beyond advertising I was keen to learn how the next crop of leaders in the digital sector may take on the challenge.

My brief was to give the students an insight in to how a digital agency approaches a pitch and enable the team to gain some experience pitching an idea to a prospective client. I worked with the students studying a range of MSc and MBA courses.The scenario we worked on involved a small independent high street cycle shop with a modest online presence. The outcome is essential reading for any small retailer wishing to get the best out of online trading or any prospective digital employer looking to recruit exceptional talent to lead their online strategy.

The students divided in to teams of four. Each team assumed the role of a digital agency.

All of the teams were given the same brief and were asked to present their recommendations in only three hours. The resulting presentations were first class. A downloadable PDF shows the diverse range of ideas and suggestions that the team produced. This is a model any independent business with an ecommerce presence should follow.

The brief  focussed on a real life cycle shop so the teams could do some real world research. I have changed the detail to protect the anonymity of the cycle shop in question:

Craig Johnson Cycles has had a website for a number of years but doesn’t get much business from it. You have twenty minutes out of Mr Johnson’s busy schedule to identify areas for improvement in his online marketing strategy and show how he can benefit from the following digital services provided by Photolink Creative Group:

•    Website Design and Development
•    Email Marketing
•    Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
•    Pay per Click Advertising (PPC)
•    Social Media (SMM / SMO)

In this scenario you have already had a fact find meeting. You know that Mr Johnson currently spends £50k each year on his marketing in the regional press, website updates, directories and leafleting. His website is three years old and cost over £10k to build. He has a database of 10,000 clients with email addresses. Most people who find the website in search engines use terms like ‘Craig Johnson’ or ‘Hexham Cycle Shop’.

His biggest seller is the Specialized Rock Hopper mountain bike and his average order is £250. He makes a 40% margin on this product. If you need any other facts to complete your pitch just make them up, or use your questioning skill to tease additional information from Mr Johnson during the pitch.

Identify ways to convince Mr Johnson that this budget could achieve a better return on investment if channelled through digital options. Look at the existing website and identify areas for improvement with regard to the wording, design and its ability to perform in search engines.

The resulting presentations were first class. A number of diverse themes were highlighted in detail:

• Web Design: The teams identified many improvements to make the site easier to use and showcase products more effectively. One group even presented a wireframe design despite the fact there was less than 3 hours for the task!
• Web Development: Using an off the shelf ecommerce system with a simple checkout process was  highlighted as a way to make buying easier and also save time and money updating the latest offers.
• Website Content: Diversifying content to include reviews, suggested routes, videos, 360 degree images and professional photography was suggested to improve the sales message and engage potential customers.
• Search Engine Optimisation: Technical, content, linking and research elements were correctly identified as areas for improvement to increase customer numbers, generate sales, improve brand perception and grow market share.
• Email Marketing: Growing the database, more targeted messages and effective tracking were identified as essential to keep existing customers coming back for more.
• Social Media: Utilising Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, MySpace and LinkedIn were highlighted as online places to engage with new customers whilst portraying a softer sales message.
• Pay per Click: The return on investment calculations highlighted by some of the teams were compelling and worthy of commitment from the client on the day. One group correctly identified the return on investment on an easy to follow spread sheet.
• E-CRM: The need to collate all marketing data to analyse customer habits and formulate effective targeted campaigns was presented in an effective manner.
• Competitions, Promotions and Events: Using offline events and viral competitions would reach out to new customers.
• Usability and Information Architecture: The detailed knowledge demonstrated in these areas by some students is close to that one would expect from a professional designer!

When collated together the collective creative ideas and lateral thinking from the students was more than a match for many small digital agencies.

The compelling way that the different approaches were presented was more than a match for many journeymen sales people currently trying their arm at selling digital services.

The day was very enjoyable, worthwhile and rewarding for all. If the crop of students studying at Manchester Metropolitan University Business School is representative of future entrants in to the digital marketplace than I am convinced the future for creativity in digital is bright.

Don’t just take my word for it – download the online marketing tips for cycle shops PDF summarising the collective thoughts presented on the day and give me your comments below.

If you are an ecommerce business and want to work with a team who will deliver these ideas today please contact me or give me a call at Photolink Creative Group

Most catchy valuable domains are already registered so it is a hard task thinking up great ideas for domain names in the first place. Once you have identified a domain name that is not registered it is then a task . . . → Read More: Cheap Domain Names]]>

Buying cheap domain names at the cheapest prices can be a time consuming task.

Most catchy valuable domains are already registered so it is a hard task thinking up great ideas for domain names in the first place. Once you have identified a domain name that is not registered it is then a task trying to find the best deals on cheap domain names.

As any experienced domain name owner will tell you the price you pay can vary significantly from one provider to another. Different extensions have different prices and not all websites provide the best rates for every extension – To get cheap domain names it is recommended that different extensions are registered with different providers.

To make this process easier here are my suggestions for locating cheap domain names.

.co.uk cheap domain names

Buying cheap domain names ending with the extension .co.uk is best done via 123-reg. This company have been helping internet marketeers take advantage of their great service for years. The service is slick, the control panel well equipped and help desk satisfactory for almost any online operator. The service is very competitive and even enables webmasters to transfer .co.uk domain names free of charge.

.com cheap domain names

A .com domain name is the preferred extension for most businesses. Having a .com domain indicates an established site and has international coverage so is great for global organisations. GoDaddy is difficult to beat for cheap domain names ending in .com. Millions of domain names are hosted with this service and the website is easy to navigate. Look out for GoDaddy promo codes to make additional savings on domains.

I think that this opinion is way off the mark and . . . → Read More: Reciprocal Links Can Be Good For Your Site]]>

SEO professionals appear to be united in their condemnation of reciprocal links as a worthwhile  SEO tactic. It is alleged that search engines are seeking to penalize the rankings of sites that engage in the oldest traffic generating toll in the tool box.

I think that this opinion is way off the mark and that  reciprocal links can be good for your site.

For example, take a lowly blog like this Fly Fishing site. The traffic levels are likely to be unremarkable. The site is hardly bursting with quality content and the brand awareness of this is a big fat zero! If this blog was able to get some good quality reciprocal links from established angling websites for publishers and retailers this would be likely to increase traffic, particularly from website owners with similar properties. Some good unique content may encourage the audience driven to the site by reciprocal links to even set up one way links.

The phrase ‘sprat to catch a mackrel’ springs to mind.

Alternatively, the site could resist reciprocal linking and continue to stagnate forever.

On a more extreme note: Could a credible web marketer turn down a reciprocal link with the BBC or the public sector?

In 1996 this was . . . → Read More: Old Man Of New Media Launches Blog]]>

Welcome to Craig Johnson’s blog. After 13 years advising hudreds of website owners – including newspaper publishers, radio broadcaters, retailers, football clubs and many other firms – I decided to put my money where my mouth is and launch a blog dedicated to getting the best out of digital publishing.

In 1996 this was what was known as ‘New Media’ when I first knocked on by bosses door at the Hexham Courant newspaper and told him I thought we could make some good money out of the ‘Information Super Highway’. Thankfully he backed my ideas,  unlike the dozens of regional press executives who in 1997 belly laughed at my suggestion that their monopolies of motors, recrutiment and property advertising could be under threat. I doubt they still find this amusing.