Viewing category: Advertising Advice
Page 1 of 4
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
| >> 
|
Thursday, 15 July 2010
Posted By Will- Senior Web Designer on July 15, 2010
Let's face it. Social media is big and it's here to stay. In fact, FaceBook has become so popular that on any give day, more people us it over Google. Wow, talk about a paradigm shift! But how can your business get the most out of it's FaceBook page. Well, now there's a great new website called the SOCIAL PAGE EVALUATOR that acutally measures your FaceBook page's return on investment. This free tool analyses your companies FaceBook page and the make recomendations to help you get the most out of it. It will even tell you how much POTENTIAL return on investment you could get from your page if you maximized your efforts. Monday, 21 June 2010
Posted By Rusty- President/CEO on June 21, 2010
 I personally believe Digg is one of the most underrated social media sites on the web. What it is: DIGG is a social news site where people go to add and read news about just about anything. If you have a business, you should be writing news about it here. The more people who "digg" your article, the higher it places in the Digg ranks. Bloggers go here to digg up good subjects and articles for their blogs. Digg is also a very popular place to store your website links. -- SEO Value: High - Search engines like to see that lots of people have links to your site on their Digg profile pages. It’s a great place for keyword link ranking assistance. Your website will also get indexed quicker because Google loves Digg articles and so do bloggers who will post your story on their blogs. -- WEBSITE TRAFFIC Value: High - Great place to get your blog articles noticed and drive traffic to your site or to find bloggers in your industry. -- BRANDING Value: High - As long as your article doesn’t read like an ad this is one of the best places for online press promotion of your brand. -- CUSTOMER COMMUNICATION: Low - But Digg wasn’t meant for direct communication with your customers. Use FaceBook or Twitter for that. Digg is an article submission site to get you posted on other people’s blogs. Avenue 25 has some of the top Phoenix, AZ advertising, web designers, graphic designers and internet marketing professionals in the industry. If you need any assistance with your website or marketing, please call us for a meeting.
Wednesday, 9 June 2010
Posted By Rusty- President/CEO on June 9, 2010
 For most clients...as Jack Nicholson once said “You can’t handle the truth!” (Watch this short YouTube video to see the truth.) How does 6 to 18 months grab you? You can’t just have a website designer make a site for you and expect to find it on Google. You need an SEO specialist and it still takes time.
With a good SEO company, your site could be on page one of Google within a few months for certain keywords if your keywords are in your domain name and the competition isn’t like the last Suns/Lakers game. But that's just for words in your domain name, other keywords will take more effort and time. The most difficult aspect to overcome is Google's “age of site” issue. Not only do they want to rank older sites first, but your site must be optimized with your desired keywords for a serious length of time before they’ll give it credibility. (Please note that Yahoo and Bing have different algorithms and ranking is generally much faster. But with 70% of the search market, Google is by far the best traffic source.)
It also takes a LOT of continuous work to make your site rank well. During this time consuming adventure, you will experience such things as instant high ranking followed by a large drop in ranks (a little joke Google plays.) Then it’s a slow, steady climb with intermittent, unexplainable stagnations and dips here and there. Finally, there will be a sudden quick climb to page one and a battle for top positions.
What do we charge to go to SEO war for you? First there is a setup fee of $1200 to $5000, and there is a monthly charge of $1200 to $3500 (and we’re on the low side.) Actual fees depend upon how many pages you want optimized, how many search phrases you want optimized for, the competition for those words and how hard you want us to work to get you there and keep you there.
Words of caution: beware of the SEO company who guarantees top ranking in a short time. I don’t care what they tell you, these companies will use “black hat” techniques. Your site may reach page one position, but it will get busted and quickly banned by Google (after your check has cleared.) The best and quickest way out after this debacle is to build a new website and change your domain name. But if you’re looking for the best web design Phoenix has to offer, Avenue 25 has some of the most experienced Phoenix web designers and graphic designers in Arizona. Avenue 25 is one of the top white hat internet marketing agencies and advertising agencies in Arizona.
Friday, 7 May 2010
Posted By Rusty- President/CEO on May 7, 2010
 Many of you probably “Tweet” but is it the right social media tool for your business? Over the next few weeks, we’ll be covering 8 social media web sites to help you decide. Here’s the scoop on Twitter. What it is: Twitter has been termed a “micro-blogging” site. It allows you to post and send short 140 character messages about anything happening with you, your business or web site at the moment. It also allows you to add short URL links in the Tweet. -- SEO Value: Low – Although a tweet might momentarily rank high in searches, it’s of little value to your web site. URLs in your tweets are too short for SEO use. -- WEBSITE TRAFFIC Value: Medium – If you’re very good at it, there is big potential to drive traffic to your website. But it’s a dodgy undertaking. Many try it, few succeed. Successful ones put lots of time and creativity into it or they hire a pro. -- BRANDING Value: High – Let your fingers fly! Twitter is an excellent tool to promote your brand to current customers. It integrates well with your website driving interested visitors to your Twitter page where (if you’re not a twit) your engaging and creative communication skills give personality to your brand developing loyalty and "Re-Tweets" of your witty and interesting comments. -- CUSTOMER COMMUNICATION Value: High – Twitter is a great communication tool to tell your customers what’s happening at your business at this very moment, one sweet tweet at a time. Use programs like TwitJump to see what people are saying about you and your competitors. Need more help? Let Avenue 25 set up a social media marketing program for your business or organization. We are a full-service, boutique Phoenix advertising agency with the top Phoenix web designers, website developers and internet marketing professionals on staff. We'll do it for you or we'll teach you how to do it yourself. Thursday, 29 April 2010
Posted By Rusty- President/CEO on April 29, 2010
 Social media is the latest marketing buzz word. But what is it and do you need it? Over the course of the next few weeks, I will be writing this Leveraging Social Media column to help you understand the differing values of the major social media sites as they relate to marketing your business. Businesses small and large are scrambling to hit the social media landscape, but honestly, most just don’t know what they’re doing. They’ll insist they need a Facebook and Twitter presence, but don’t know why. The purpose of this column will be to provide you with a clear understanding of these tools so you can choose the one(s) right for you. What Is Social Media Marketing? Social media is simply a different way of connecting with your customer. It is a more personal connection which takes place on a website. It all started with internet website blogging then sites like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn popped up. Now companies can virtually “talk” with their customers on a personal level through one of these sites. Visitors or “friends” of a company page usually expect some kind of special deal or discount for being a “friend” of the brand. It’s also a good place to meet with other people who share your love for a brand. The “talk” can be through the typed conversation, short article, a few words or even through video. Where does Social Media Marketing fit in with your corporate marketing department? Because of the necessary constant flow of text and the need for proficient writing skills, I see social media as an arm of the public relations department which must work closely with the promotions department. Larger corporations may appoint a person or people to act as the “voice” or “personality” of the organization through one or more of the organization’s social media sites. Or they might hire a social media marketing company like Avenue 25 to either provide these full services or for consulting. Although social media marketing is in its infancy, it is very effective when handled properly. Marketing professionals around the world are still trying to forecast the direction social media is headed and how to best exploit these opportunities to our client’s best interest. Not the least of which is how to accurately measure results. What we are certain of, is that these are powerful new tools and this is an exciting new era of advertising and marketing. At this time, Avenue 25 is one of the few Phoenix web design and advertising agencies to offer social media marketing. And we’re excited to be playing an active role in developing this new field of marketing. Avenue 25’s Phoenix web design, advertising and internet marketing professionals are here to help you with all your advertising, web design and marketing needs.
Posted By Rusty- President/CEO on April 29, 2010
 "When two men in business always agree, one of them is unnecessary."
--William Wrigley Jr. Tuesday, 13 April 2010
Posted By Rusty- President/CEO on April 13, 2010
 So you think you’ll use a script style font in your brochure because it’s pretty. Or maybe you have some strange love affair with Comic Sans or some new techno-funky font out there. Well you’re probably chasing business away. We’ve been preaching this to clients for almost 20 years. Most of them agree to our pleas, but there’s always that crazy one out there who insists on using a bad font for whatever reason. If you’re one of those people intent on using “pretty” script fonts in your marketing materials or website design, perhaps this study will bring you to your senses (and put more dough in your purse.)
Back in my beautiful home state of Michigan, Hyunjin Song and Norbert Schwarz of the University of Michigan Psych. Department did a little research. Three studies were conducted in which various students read instructions printed in either an easy to read font or a hard to read font. The easy to read 12 point Arial font was used and hard to read fonts Brush and Mistral were used for comparison. One set of instructions was for an aerobic exercise and the other was a recipe for making a Japanese Roll. After reading the instructions, the participants were asked how long they thought it would take to learn the exercise or to make the Japanese Roll. Get this, the participants who received the instructions written in a hard to read font believed it would take them 59% (Brush) and 83% (Mistral) longer than did the people who read the instructions in the easy to read font (Arial.) Just as important is that they also thought it would require more skill and were less willing to engage in the activity.
But before you go rushing off to change everything in your system to Arial, don't. Arial might be a fine choice for some applications, like this blog for instance, but certainly not for others. There are numerous things to consider and many other fonts to choose from that could be more effective. So either begin studying up on fonts or call us, because it's what we do.
The Verdict: Use easy-to-read fonts for your marketing and web design needs and save those pretty, fancy fonts for personal use. Please. If you want to improve the results from your marketing materials or website design, call Avenue 25 Advertising, Website and Design Studio!Friday, 9 April 2010
Posted By Rusty- President/CEO on April 9, 2010
 Luck is a dividend of sweat. The more you sweat, the luckier you get. - Ray Kroc - McDonalds CEO who created the most successful fast food chain in history.
Call Avenue 25 to make your business successful. We provide Phoenix web design, internet marketing, advertising and graphic design services to local and national businesses of all size.
Wednesday, 7 April 2010
Posted By Rusty- President/CEO on April 7, 2010
 About 95% of the world’s consumers live outside the United States. So what are you waiting for? Here are 3 more good reasons to consider going global.
Diversification Successful business professionals know the best method for managing risk is diversifying your customer portfolio. For instance, you can sell mittens in the U.S. for only part of the year. But add the Australian market and you’ve got a year-round gig.
It’s not that difficult. You already have a computer and a website. With a few modifications to your site, it’s likely you’ll be most of the way there. And the small business barriers are typically more perception than reality. The skills you already have will translate internationally much better than you think. Check out resources like Export.gov and the National Export Initiative for more details.
Opportunity awaits in developing countries. Many developing countries are eager to partner with U.S. small businesses to benefit from our exciting innovations and business sense. To learn more about developing international opportunities in these countries visit government sites like Export.gov, ustr.gov and helpful private sector sites like a section on the FedEx website believe it or not.
And when you are ready to make an impact, remember that Avenue 25 is a Phoenix web design, advertising and graphic design studio equipped to handle all of your marketing needs.
Friday, 12 March 2010
Posted By Rusty- President/CEO on March 12, 2010
.jpg) Why 2 Out of 3 Shopping Sites are Re-Designing in 2010
A recent InternetRetailer.com and Vovici survey found that two thirds of online shopping websites are planning a new website design in 2010. This is mostly attributed to the increase in consumer-centric focus demanded by customers who are looking for a seamless shopping experience. And of course this is expected to increase revenues. According to the research, the top priorities in order of importance include a refreshed look with better organization (44%), better search engine optimization (40%), clearer navigation (32%), faster checkout (28%), and more community features (28%).
The primary features to be included in these revamped e-commerce websites are reported to be video or streaming media (33%), customer reviews and ratings (33%), blogs or forums (27%) and personal product suggestions (25%).
Notice that one quarter of these redesigns are planning to incorporate personal product suggestions into their new website. That's the area of a product page that says "If you like this. Then you might also like these items..." The problem is, with imperfect algorithms, these automated recommendation systems have to be highly customized per site and are difficult to implement properly. With the exception of Amazon, they get very mixed reviews from shoppers who mostly complain the systems show items that aren't relevant to their searches. But that doesn't seem to stop them from buying recommended items. It seems 6 out of 10 online shoppers report buying additional items based on suggestions found on a product detail page. So even if the system isn’t perfected, you have to admit, the program gets results.
Avenue 25 is a leading Phoenix, Arizona e-commerce web design firm, Phoenix internet marketing agency, advertising and graphic design studio. If you’re planning a website redesign, call us for a free consultation and quote.
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
Posted By Rusty- President/CEO on March 3, 2010
 Here are 8 simple steps you can take to increase your ranking on Google. Doing any one of them should help. Doing them all, might just take you to the top if there’s little competition. Although these are amateur SEO techniques, you’d be surprised at the number of website designers who don’t know them. (Note to our SEO customers: Please don’t call us when you notice we didn’t do these things to your site. Our professional SEO and internet marketing services employ much more complex and effective strategies.)
STEP 1: Find 3 or 4 of Google’s most searched phrases for the goods or services your business offers by using Google’s keyword tool website.
STEP 2: Make pages on your website using your chosen search phrases as the “long-tail” url for those pages. For example: www.abcproducts.com/cheapbaseballhats
STEP 3: Write text for each page using your selected keyword or key phrase many times but not more than about 5% of the time. Use it in plural form too. Write numerous short sentences and several short paragraphs.
STEP 4: Use the search phrase in at least one headline text and at least once near the top of the page.
STEP 5: Every important page of your website should include text links to all the other important pages using their keywords or phrases as the link text.
STEP 6: Add all your website’s pages to your menu bar using their keywords or phrases. If not at the top, then design a small footer menu at the bottom of each web page.
STEP 7: Make sure all images on each page have text alt tags that using the keyword or phrase.
STEP 8: Add a “Links” page where you can list other relevant websites for your visitors. Search for related websites out there who are on page one of Google, then send them an email asking if they would post your link on their site and you will do the same for them. (Ignore negative things you hear about “reciprocal linking.” If it’s a good, relevant site, Google will reward you.)
Avenue 25 is the leading Phoenix internet marketing and website design firm. We also rank as one of the top phoenix advertising agencies and graphic design studios. Give us a call, we do it all! Thursday, 11 February 2010
Posted By Rusty- President/CEO on February 11, 2010
 In the world of advanced web design and online advertising, eye tracking is the method used to discover which areas of a web page its visitors gravitate toward. This research is conducted by placing a specialized device on a subject’s head that tracks eye movement when she's viewing a website, magazine, etc. The results provide us with very important information for developing a site in order to achieve our client’s goals for optimum ROI. Of course this information is also important for calculating potential ROI when purchasing or selling online advertising space. It tells us which ads people actually see on a page and how they might interact with paid advertising.
Most online advertising is sold by “impressions,” which is the number of times a web page is visited. For example, if one person visits the home page of a website five times, that would count as five impressions. But how many times has this person actually seen your ad? That’s what you want to know.
One study found that an ad placed above the fold is visible to 100% of site visitors, but only 60% of them actually see it. (Above the fold is the area of the page you see without having to scroll down.) Another eye-tracking study found that even though almost 70% of visitors might visit a page “below the fold” only about 25% of visitors actually see the ads down there.
It’s important to understand that this particular information does not take into account the website's design, or any particular web designs or ad designs for that matter, which could greatly influence results. Testing your specific web site(s) would be necessary in order to provide detailed information in this regard. However what's provided here is good, general food for thought when purchasing your online advertising.
Contact us if you are interested in having Avenue 25 perform eye tracking research on your website. Although this type of research might be cost prohibitive for some, it is considered a necessity when developing sites for larger organizations.
Avenue 25 is considered one of the top three Phoenix web designers and internet marketing firms in Arizona. We provide full advertising, graphic design, video and web development services all in one place.
Tuesday, 19 January 2010
Posted By Rusty- President/CEO on January 19, 2010
.jpg) Okay, so you have a great web design. Now you’re wondering where the business is. “Build it and they will come” as Kevin Costner believed in the movie Field of Dreams is a common misconception among those with little or no website experience. So here’s an abridged step by step lesson on web design and internet marketing.
1. Pay for a good web design structured to keep people on your site and to collect leads from them. A bad site can kill your business. So tell your nephew “thanks but no thanks.”
2. Have an analytics program installed on your site, such as Google Analytics (free). This tells you everything you need to know about the people visiting your site.
3. Pay a professional to do SEO (search engine optimization) for your site. This is what brings it up on the first page of Google “naturally” when someone is looking for your “custom tennis shoe laces.” SEO is a specialty and most web designers aren’t also SEO professionals but might tell you they “can do SEO.” Not what I mean. Professional SEO will cost you a monthly fee of $500 to $5000.
4. Until your SEO pays off, run a Google PPC (pay-per-click) campaign on Google Adwords. Do it yourself or pay the SEO professional to do it for you. You are essentially paying to appear at the top of Google when someone enters your keywords. You can be at the top within the day. But Google charges you every time someone clicks on your link. So just do this until your SEO campaign gets you top 3 listings “naturally” for your keywords. This could take many months.
5. Run a monthly email campaign.
Avenue 25 in Phoenix, Arizona provides web design, search engine optimization, internet marketing, pay-per-click and email campaigns. We are also a full service graphic design and advertising studio.
Thursday, 7 January 2010
Posted By Rusty- President/CEO on January 7, 2010
 It's tough to break into this business. The things you need are a college degree, a few good internships, a portfolio of your relevant work, an attitude that says "I love this stuff," and face to face meetings with recruiters looking for someone just like you. The first part is up to you, but here's a hot lead on some big advertising agencies, marketing firms, media companies and web design recruiters on the prowl.
Mosaic Career Fairs 2010 is sponsored by Leo Burnett USA, The Walt Disney Co., and Gannett and USA TODAY. Last year, hundreds of college students from across the country and representatives from more than 60 of the top advertising, marketing and media companies in the country participated. Registration is free for students and recruiters. Recent graduates can also attend, so buy those airline tickets and get moving!
Here are the dates and links: Feb. 4 Draftfcb, New York; Feb 19, Walt Disney Co., Anaheim; Feb. 24, Leo Burnett, Chicago; Mar. 4, USA Today, McLean, VA.
GOOD LUCK! Avenue 25 is one of the top Phoenix advertising agencies, Phoenix web design, graphic design and a leading Phoenix internet marketing firm. Wednesday, 25 November 2009
Posted By Rusty- President/CEO on November 25, 2009
Ever wonder how those images got to be at the top of a Google search page? Depending upon the search words, Google will often times display several related photos out of the billions it has discovered. When you click on one of these images, you will be taken to that website. Here's how to do it. You don't have to be a web developer or internet marketing pro, but you will need to know a bit more than the average Joe.
1. Create a file name for the image that uses the key words and separate the words with a hyphen. Here roulette-wheel.jpg would be good.
2. Create an appropriate Image Alt attribute and Title attribute using the same key words such as <img src="roulette-wheel.jpg" alt="Roulette Wheel" title="Roulette Wheel">.
3. Google likes big images so make it a respectable size and add the size information to the Image Tag. It might look like this: <img src="roulette-wheel.jpg" alt="Roulette Wheel" title="Roulette Wheel" width="500" height="350">.
4. Content near the image is important, so make sure the words Roulette Wheel are near the image.
5. Finally, optimize the rest of your web page for those keywords for best results.
SEE YOU AT THE TOP!
Avenue 25 has been named as one of the top three Phoenix web design firms. Our services include Phoenix internet marketing, website design and development, graphic design, online Phoenix software development and full advertising services.
Page 1 of 4
|
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
| >>
|
|
The Latest Posts!
Archives
Categories
Bookmarks
Search
Syndicate This Site
|
