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Jun 26
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TCmarketing SEO

Is Link Building Still Relevant for SEO in Brighton Today?

By Link Building, SEO

The more of your competitors believe that link building is dead, the better for your own Brighton Business. The truth is that links are still the most important factor for Google’s ranking algorithm and should remain a part od any effective SEO strategy. However, the type of link that points to your website makes a huge difference.

Don’t be fooled by Google’s smoke and mirrors game

When it comes to backlinks, Google is giving advice that confuses a lot of people. In addition, Google’s Penguin updates have created the impression that Google doesn’t like backlinks. Actually, Google only dislikes artificial backlinks.

The problem is that many people do not understand the difference between ‘link scheming’ and ‘link building’. Link scheming leads to penalties. Link building can greatly improve the rankings of your website.

The difference between link building and link scheming

Any links intended to manipulate PageRank or a site’s ranking in Google search results may be considered part of a link scheme and a violation of Google’s Webmaster Guidelines. Google penalises websites that have link scheming links.

The following link types are a red flag for Google and it’s likely that your website will be penalised and are not recommended for SEO:

  • Paid links that do not use the rel=nofollow attribute, including advertorials, paid blog posts and paid footer links.
  • Links from article sites or press releases with over-optimised anchor texts.
  • Backlinks that have been created by tools that create backlinks in bulk.
  • Links from low-quality directory or bookmark sites that only exist to create links.
  • Keyword-rich or hidden links embedded in widgets that are distributed across various sites.
  • Links from forum comments with optimised anchor texts in the post or signature.

How to decide where to get links

So which type of backlinks are okay with Google and good for SEO? Just ask yourself: would that link make sense if there were no search engines? If the answer is yes, then the link is a good link that will have a positive influence on the rankings of your website on search engines.

You do not need special metrics to judge the quality of a web page. When you find a web page that could link to your site, ask yourself the following questions:

  • Does the linking page look good to the average web visitor?
  • Does the page have interesting content?
  • Is the content closely related to my area of business?
  • Does it make sense if the web page links to your site?
  • Would you be happy to give them a link i.e. recommend the site to your site visitors?

If you can answer all questions with “yes” then you should try to get a backlink from that page. It doesn’t matter if that page has a low PageRank as long as it has good content and is relevant to your area of business.

Google uses a technology called Latent Semantic Indexing to try to imitate common sense with its algorithm. If you use common sense in your link building efforts and follow the tips above, you make sure that the backlinks to your website will help you in your search rankings and you are unlikely to have to worry about any future updates of Google’s algorithm.

If you would like to know more about our search engine optimisation services in Brighton please leave a comment below or call us on 01273 328877

Jun 17
Love0
web design in Brighton by Tyler Consutants

Web Design in Brighton

By responsive design, web design

Are you a Brighton based business owner or company marketing director wondering how successful your current web design is? Excluding social media, do you actually have a local web presence at all? Whether you’re a Brighton estate agency, a local artist or fitness coach you still need to be reachable online through more ways than ever before. Take a look at the most accomplished Brighton based organisations online and a quick search will reveal they all have one thing in common – a solid web design.

Web design in Brighton has evolved quickly over just the last few years due mostly to the explosion in smartphones and tablets, with mobile usage now beginning to overtake traditional desktop use in Brighton. Therefore it is crucial that your website or blog can be accessed easily on multiple sized screens at any moment. This can be achieved using the latest responsive web design technology. This is vital not just for your customers, but also important for Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) with Google recently confirming it was now ranking website results based on how mobile friendly their presence was. For example, a Brighton Florist with a responsive web design will now likely rank above their local competitor, naturally enjoying more visitors. Can you afford to miss out on this latest local trend?

At Tyler Consultants we understand better than anyone how to engage with the local Brighton online community. You only have a few seconds to grab the attention of your online audience so your website design needs to load quickly, be easy to navigate and be usable on all modern devices. Our bespoke web designs specialise in online call to actions too, encouraging Brighton visitors to engage in your website either by placing an order or contacting you for a quote.

If you are based in Brighton, Hove or surrounding areas and would like a free chat about your current web design solution then give us a quick call today on 01273 328877, or, if preferred, leave a comment below.

May 28
Love0
The Best Colour Generator

The Best Colour Generator on the web

By Design, Logo/Branding, Recommended

Finding a colour scheme for your brand has never been so easy!

Coolors, the super fast colour generator for cool designers is by far the most efficient way to get yourself a groovy colour palette for your latest project.

So how does it work? A single tap of your keyboard’s space bar will generate a perfectly good colour palette. But it doesn’t stop there! You can click a colour column to lock it and tweak colours via a HSB/RGB/CMYK & PMS slider. This combined with the fact that you can place your own colours into the tool means that you can look only for colours which compliment your current scheme.

A truly complete colour tool but simple enough for anyone to use.

Even on mobiles. Coolors is just as effective and easy to use on mobile devices. Not only is there an app available for iOS and Android (though these require a fee) but the website is responsive and just as addictive as ever.

It’s worth mentioning that while Coolors is a truly powerful app, it’s not completely groundbreaking. In fact colour generators have been around for quite some time, a simple Google search will find you plenty. The difference here is how much more effective Coolors is at actually finding and tweaking those generated palettes.

Coolors also has a browsing function, letting you see which colour palettes have been downloaded and viewed the most. This is useful if you’re just looking for inspiration rather than something in particular as you can see much more colour palettes at one time.

Personally I prefer the full colour generator as opposed to the browser though. Having the full size columns makes it easy to immediately recognise when you’ve found what you’re looking for. Plus there’s just something about hitting that spacebar repeatedly and watching colours fly by which is great fun.

If you’re looking for any more help with your branding or you’re just looking for some advice give us a call on 01273 328877

May 27
Love0

How Picture List Posts could boost your Blog Traffic

By Design, Marketing, Social Media

Reaching your target audience through a viral blog post can sometimes feel like a fantasy. You want to create content that gets shared and builds an audience, but it can often feel like trying to win the lottery.

You know there have got to be a few tips and tricks towards reaching that golden post. Here is one such tip which according to Buzzsumo and Canva’s data should absolutely give you a massive boost to blog traffic.

That tip is picture list posts. Picture list posts are blog posts which essentially list information using frequent images to engage the reader and give overall a more memorable experience. The results are quite staggering…

Why does this boost blog traffic?

It’s long been known that most people find images as opposed to typography much more engaging and memorable. Let’s be honest it’s not hard to see why. We are hard wired to recognise visual cues, reading can capture our imagination briefly but those depictions will never match a truly detailed image.

So exactly how much more effective does this make your blog traffic? Over the last three months Canva & Buzzsumo looked at 100 million Facebook posts. They found that posts without an image on average earned 164 interactions. Posts with images over double that figure with an average of 372 interactions.

Socialbakers found in their research that 93% of the most engaging posts on Facebook were images as opposed to status updates, links and video.

Images have instant gratification, which simply leads to a higher chance of being appreciated and shared. People know subconsciously that their friends are more likely to respond well to a shared image than a shared wall of text.

That’s where Picture List Posts come in. We like to share posts with images in, so it only makes sense to produce content with a series of curated images. Think along the same vein as an infographic where the images are used to deliver clear values and information. Picture list posts have a clear purpose for which their images are being used for example:

Storytelling

The Guardian used a Picture lists post to demonstrate the results of overpopulation and overconsumption. The photos in this article are at times quite frightening. The same impact just could not have been achieved using a standard written post.

How-to posts

This is a simple post in Wikihow on how to make pancakes. This article placed second in Google to the BBC’s Easy Pancakes on the search query “how to make pancakes”. An impressive feat to be sure, not to mention the hundreds of other pancake tutorials it’s topping just amongst other wikihow users. What really sets it apart is the detailed step-by-step instructions accompanied by images.

Comparisons

The Guardian use a series of Picture List posts “Then and Now” to compare locations present with their past. This particular example is of Australia, but the series is particularly potent in areas which have been affected by natural disasters.

Lists

This image is from a post by Awwwards a website dedicated to giving website awards. They also produce content relevant to designers. This is a list of top 100 free fonts, really useful for designers and very shareable.

Getting started

Hopefully these examples can give you some pretty good insight to what types of content will perform best in a pictures list post. However, if you’re still not sure how to translate this into your industry or niche, here are some questions to get you raring to go:

  • What type of stories work in your area? How does one of your successful projects or case studies look as a series of images?
  • What comparisons can you make with images? For example, how have products in your area changed over time.
  • Are there any processes or tips in your area that could be explained better through a series of images?
  • What ‘how to’ picture post might work in your area?

If you want to learn more about this process or you’d like a little bit of design magic in your project give us a call on this number: 01273 328877

We’re always open to giving advice!

May 18
Love0

How to Increase Your Web Conversions by 102% with One Simple Tweak

By Marketing, web design

Are your website conversions stagnating?

Find yourself checking your web traffic only to see that bounce rate still high as ever?

Even those who don’t bounce from your site immediately rarely end up actually getting in contact, let alone become a lead.

You know there must be something you can do make your landing page more enticing, but what?

There’s all kinds of advice out there but ultimately, it’s all pretty vague and often even contradicts itself.

Truth is there is only one sure fire design trend which will completely blow up your conversion rate.

This is a tale about how Highrise (subsidiary of Basecamp) went and turned their conversion rate right around!

Highrise were faltering in their conversions, with very few sign ups to their landing page. But after many A/B tests they discovered one particular technique completely outshone all others when it came to converting visitors. And you can bet that Highrise are not the only company reaping in the rewards of this rather simple technique.

So what exactly is this highly coveted super secret sauce of supreme subscriptions? Well, as mentioned earlier it’s a rather simple one. In fact you might even go to say it was obvious. The best way to increase your sign-up increase is through big quality images.

BIG IMAGES MEANS BIG PRIZES

I’m sure you’ve all seen websites these days which sport huge quality pictures. It’s not exactly a secret that they are capable of an immediate visual impact.

But that’s not why “hero images” are so prominent on big branded websites like Microsoft, Apple & Amazon. These brands will have had incredibly thorough and detailed tests on their websites and the results are all heading towards this trend.

Apple are known for masterful imagery on their website, with their already desirable products it’s no wonder that they are doing so well right now.

However, until relatively recently big images like these were seldom seen. This is because these images will slow down the load time of your website. That said, it seems like the pros have finally outweighed the cons and our internet speeds are able to put up with these weighty file sizes.

 

The beauty of hero images is that they aren’t just beautiful, they are practical too. Giving visitors the ability to examine every detail of your image leads to a much more engaged and confident sign up.

Not only are people more likely to convert they are less likely to regret doing so. Allowing visitors to see exactly what they are signing up to will always improve your results, so it makes sense that powerful images convert.

May 15
Love0
TCmarketing Design Icon

The Impact a Great Logo could have on your Business

By Design, Logo/Branding

A common misconception about logos is that they are used for the purpose of creating a good first impression. It’s true that having a logo which stands out and connotes clear brand values can help distinguish your brand from competitors.

But the truth is that a logos greatest strength isn’t in the first time you lay eyes on them, it’s the umpteenth time. Logos aren’t just important for a first impression their real draw is making your brand memorable.

Giving great service or value to your customers means a whole lot more when ultimately your customers remember that experience and want to return.

Brands today have achieved such a great depth of recognition that they have arguably impacted what colour means to us.

If I was to ask you what comes into your mind when someone mentions the colour red, sure there will be natural connotations like danger, power and passion. But also you are very likely to think of a large brand which has impacted you maybe Coca-Cola, Virgin or even Manchester United.

Having this level of awareness for a brand is invaluable. Which according to the BBC is why global scale companies are willing to pay tens of millions on their logos, in example UK oil group BP paid £136 million introducing their new logo back in 2000.

Something to keep in mind about logo’s is that they aren’t necessarily aiming to be love at first sight. Remember, the true value is in how memorable a logo is and how easy it will be for people to recognise.

There are three points which your brand needs to cover to attain a memorable logo:

  • Relevant to the business, both in terms of industry and the business’ values.
  • The logo must be simple enough for  even a glance of your logo to be recognised as your brand.
  • Plus a great logo will always be original, blending in with the rest of your industry is not what a logo is about.

Your logo is what people identify your business with, and it should most definitely not be overlooked. The best logos take months of planning and iterating before the final designs are completed.

If you’re looking for a logo which is highly polished, carefully considered and designed by an experienced, proven team why not get in touch? Call 01273 328877 for a free audit.

May 11
Love0

Why You Should Use Podcasts to Market your Business

By Marketing, Website

It’s been a well known fact that blogging is a seriously cost-effective way to gain solid exposure on your brand. Blogging is a great way to market your business because when implemented correctly, it’s a natural process where visitors want to spread your content to their friends and followers and the it works great.

Marketers who have prioritised blogging are 13x more likely to enjoy positive ROI

Companies who blog receive 97% more links to their website

So what is it exactly which separates this blogging phenomenon from other marketing methods? Advertising, while generally a more invasive format can still be highly informative, relevant and valuable to a user – particularly online.

We’ve all been in the situation where you have been looking out for a shirt on Amazon only to find on the next few websites you visit a whole load of brands advertising their shirts. Sure, it might feel like they are interrupting your browsing experience but sometimes that ad can be exactly what you’re looking for.

The real secret to the success of Blogging is that content can feel great to share. Sharing content which has valuable statistics or useful information from a credible source puts you in a respectable position. Likewise sharing entertaining or funny content makes you yourself look witty. Sharing great content is cool. People are much less inclined to share an advert, unless it really is truly exceptional.

However, for all the great success stories there are with blogging there are plenty of failures too. Yes, not every Blog is given the time it deserves. Yes, web traffic can fluctuate so you’ll not necessarily gain the consistent numbers you have earned.

But ultimately, some Bloggers are just simply not good enough at writing or do not have the time to devote to good writing. That’s why if you are not having the success you are looking for I think that it’s worth seriously considering Podcasting.

Podcasting has many of the same qualities as Blogging. It is still a shareable, entertaining and potentially resourceful platform. Remember, there’s no shame in being a poor writer or even a podcaster. What’s important is to cater your marketing to what skills you do have and to develop those skills over time. If you’re going to do this properly it won’t feel like a chore that’s when you’ll know you’ve found the best platform for you.

67% of podcast listeners don’t mind sponsorship messages and occasionally find them useful, compared to 6% of television or commercial radio listeners.

During an annual survey, 15% of adults listened to a podcast in the month prior to the survey in 2014, up from 9% in 2008.

Podcast consumers index very highly for social networking behaviors.

Only 3% of marketers use podcasting in social media marketing, but 32% have a desire to learn how to use podcasting and 23% have plans to increase podcasting.

While it’s definitely true that more people tend to read blogs than listen to podcasts, it’s still fair to say that podcasting is booming right now. Not to mention that the volume of content created in the podcasting space is significantly less than blogging. Yes there are less listener’s than readers but you have a lot less competition in the space to make up for it.

So if you decide podcasting is for you what’s the best way to go about it? SoundCloud seems the obvious choice with over 175 million monthly listeners and over 200 countries listening each hour there is definitely the potential to shift huge volumes of traffic from SoundCloud.

Not to mention the service is free, is easy to set up, has a solid infrastructure due to the large organisation behind it and comes with deep, detailed built-in analytics. When it comes to making some noise in the podcasting space, SoundCloud is the clear choice.

Hopefully this will be useful for those of you out there who understand that digital marketing is a highly effective route to generating leads but just isn’t comfortable with writing a blog.

Of course there are other means of marketing digitally but pod-casting is one of the cheapest in the long term, much like blogging.

Apr 22
Love0
TCmarketing SEO

Brighton SEO Tips – 5 things to do to gain page 1 rankings

By SEO

Getting listed on Google’s first results page can be very difficult. There are many tools and services that promise to get your website listed. What exactly will help you to get the results that you want for your Brighton business? There are five things that will get your website on Google’s first results page. Guaranteed!!

Step 1: You have to know what you’re doing

Don’t just blindly follow the advice of gurus and self-proclaimed SEO experts. Don’t believe everything that you read on the internet or receive in your inbox either. When it comes to SEO in Brighton, make sure you listen to people with proven expertise and a good track record.

If you have the skills or the resources you can do your own tests. You could even create a website just for testing purposes and find out what works and what doesn’t. Educate yourself and keep current. That is very important because SEO changes rapidly. Keeping up to date with the ever changing SEO landscape is an essential requirement for successful SEO in Brighton

Step 2: You have to work with your web pages

Some people think that SEO is a one-off ‘on-page’ thing, or that SEO can be done on auto-pilot. Unfortunately, that doesn’t work.

If you want to succeed, you have to invest a lot of time and effort in your search engine optimisation activities. There are several things that you have to do to make sure that your website becomes a success:

  • keyword research
  • continual optimization / refresh of your page content,
  • fixing technical errors, etc.
  • responding to search engine algorithm changes

Without putting the time and work into your web pages, you won’t get the best results.

Step 3: Convince the search engines that you’re serious about it

Google wants to list high quality, relevant websites in their search results. This is the mysterious “authority” that is often mentioned in SEO articles.

To build a website for a Brighton business that has ranking authority, you have to do several things. The most important is to create web pages that have good content and present that content in an attractive way and engage with your audience.

Essentially, your website has to deliver what the web searchers want.

Step 4: Be smarter than your competitors

Every Brighton business owner wants their website to be listed on page one of Google. The website that is given most attention will get better rankings.

If your competitors invest more time or money in search engine optimisation, they will get better rankings.

It’s also important that you invest your time or money in doing the right things. A person who is working hard but on the wrong things won’t get good results.

If you work smarter than your competitors, you will get better results. If you do the right things in the right order, you will get results more quickly.

Step 5: Be patient

Successful website promotion takes time. It is possible to get some quick wins but lasting results that will deliver a steady stream of new visitors to your website can take some time depending on how good the websites of your competitors are.

It takes time to research the right keywords, it takes time to optimise your web pages, it takes time to fix the architecture of your website, etc.

Be patient, do the right things, or use the right people to do the right things for you and your website will get the rankings that it deserves.

Website promotion isn’t rocket science. The five steps above are a sure way to get in Google’s search results. If you would like to know more about our SEO services for Brighton businesses please leave a comment below or call us on 01273 328877

Apr 01
Love0
Adobe Comp CC Formats

Adobe Anywhere

By Design, Recommended, web design

Adobe Release New Mobile App, Comp CC

On March 30th Adobe released the latest product in their suite of software, Adobe Comp CC. By creating a connection between your mobile and desktop applications with Creative Cloud, Adobe have been able to fill a need which has long been in the undertaking but never quite fulfilled. Capturing those moments of inspiration and ingenuity while away from your desk.

While for some time now we have had access to a multitude of productivity apps, none have been quite like this.  Comp is designed to allow designers to capture their thoughts and concepts into the Adobe’s system wherever you are. Not just as a note, but as a professional standard wireframe or layout – which can then be imported by the appropriate Adobe tool e.g. Illustrator.

A website layout designed in Adobe Comp CC

How does it work?

The beauty of this system is in how easily and naturally the app works. Adobe have recognised that a full suite of features is simply not going to work on a tablet or mobile device.

So creating print, mobile and web design layouts while on the move requires a completely new approach. Adobe have tackled this with appropriate techniques for the device, namely you’ll be using gestures to create and edit your elements. Here are a few examples:

  • To create a circle you’ll only need to attempt drawing one by hand and Comp will automatically correct it into a perfect circle for you.
  • To create a headline you only need to draw a rectangle and tap a dot beside it. Text is even simpler! Just draw lines followed by a dot to find your lorem ipsum perfectly in place.
  • Images can be added by drawing an X shape where you would like the image.

As you can see, while the platform is limited in what you can create, you can build it fast even using the unrefined touch-screen input. Another really handy feature of Comp is being able to connect to various locations for your image or typography files.

Here are a few examples of Adobe Comp in action:

Some Example Images of Adobe Comp

While I imagine these examples have been spruced up by desktop editors in combination with Comp, I still think that the concept is really strong and something I would seriously consider investing in. It’s worth noting that Adobe Comp CC is only available on iPad, so android tablet users unfortunately lose out here.

While in the past few months it’s looked like Adobe might be shaken by some competition mainly with Affinity this is a sure sign that Adobe aren’t going to sit and wait for everyone else to catch up and will continue to innovate.

Mar 31
Love0
Brighton web design

Learn Why Cheap Website Design in Brighton is Not Good Value

By web design

You’re no April fool, so learn why a cheap website is not good value!

Can A cheap website make a fool of you?

People can be thoroughly confused when they get quotes for web design in Brighton. Prices can range from extremely expensive to downright cheap! The project is the same, the requirements are the same, so why are the prices so different?

It’s easier to understand price differences when we take time to understand the product being bought. As an example; an off the peg suit that costs £80.00 or so will have low expectations. It is unlikely to be made from superior cloth, it will not fit your body shape perfectly because it’s cut from a standard template pattern based on a ‘one size fits all’.

If you buy an off the peg website it may well serve its purpose in the short term but, like the cheap suit, it won’t last long, will soon need to be replaced and therefore it’s not great value in the mid or long term.

By contrast a bespoke tailor made suit costing in the region of £500 or more can be expected to be unique, without short cuts in the design process and crafted by a skilled expert. An expensive suit will be durable and made from premium materials; it will fit perfectly and last for many years.

Cheap website design in Brighton will not have hand written code, it will utilise a generic (non customised) template, it will not be unique with bespoke features or functionality and it won’t be a perfect fit your business goals. A ‘one size fits all’ website is a low budget option, but it won’t meet your needs for long and there is no room for it to grow as your business grows. For your business to succeed online your website, which for many businesses is a ‘shop window’ needs to measure up.

When cheap becomes expensive

“Good work isn’t cheap and cheap work isn’t good!”

There are many elements involved in building a high quality website for Brighton businesses, there are no short cuts. A website needs secure foundations and this takes time and expertise from skilled Brighton website developers and costs more than a ‘take away’ website. A good website will help you achieve your business growth ambitions – it should generate a return on your investment and quickly recover the cost of producing the website.

A cheap, website, with boring or inadequate content will quickly disengage users. Remember lost traffic is lost revenue. A bad website can damage your brand, a huge cost in terms of lost business opportunities. Defective copy content can lead to penalties from Google and ultimately make your website invisible in the search engine results. If these pitfalls sound familiar, your only choice is to start again and build a new quality website making your initial choice to go for a cheap website a wasted investment. Cheap does not always make economic sense.

You only get what you pay for
A website needs to be updated regularly, it will not maintain itself and publishing fresh new content on your website should be an ongoing process. A good Brighton web developer will monitor the website performance and help you to measure the return on your investment.

A so called ‘cheap’ website can quickly become expensive with hidden updating fees, or worse, be left to become stagnant and worthless. A cheap website might look visually pleasing at first but without expert development it’s no more than an enticing shop window display, in a shop that is permanently closed, situated in a road that nobody uses! It becomes easy to understand why a cheap website does not equal good value.

“Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.” – Oscar Wilde

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