Shannen's Blog

I am sure many of you have heard the term SEO thrown around, what exactly is SEO? How much time have you got? Simply put, Search Engine Optimisation is one of the most important tools to use when you are running a website, as it is vital in helping to rank you better. Or - not rank you at all if you get blacklisted! (but we'll only talk about the good things today!) Google is constantly changing its algorithm and forever making SEO that little bit harder. Back in the day many marketeers tried to 'cheat' the system by overloading its content with a certain keyword, or paying for backlinks that have no merit at all. They no longer work and you can actually be blacklisted for doing such techniques. Today, SEO is a more intelligent discipline. You can certainly boost your SEO without spending a penny, and its actually best this way, there is many things you can do such as On-page optimization, Quality content, Link Building and many other things. S...

''Here is one of the few effective keys to the design problem; the ability of the designer to recognise as many of the constraints as possible; his willingness and enthusiasm for working within these constraints.'' Charles Eames. Never heard of wireframing before? You know the way you get blueprints of your house before it's actually built so you can see how it will look? Well that's essentially what wireframing does for a website! Its simply your blueprints. You may wonder why and if it is really necessary but it's such an important step and important not to skip! If you are the designer you get to show the clients how their website will present, what goes where etc and then they can decide if they like the layout or if they have any changes to make. Rather than just showing them the final product and then they have changes. Plus, it's going to be their website so it's nice for them to be involved in the process and to have a say...

This is a model that offers you and the client a logical order for tackling your plan and allows you to critically assess the process. It is a very popular tool to a lot of marketeers and was created by PR Smith. Michelle's report in Jellies and Jaffas was very interesting to read, although I will admit it was a little frustrating to get to the end for her to say she thinks the model will not work for this type of business. Maybe this should have been disclosed in the beginning, however, it is a great example of how you can implement each section of the model and create a very detailed roadmap for the business. The SOSTAC methodology creates the perfect outline for a marketing plan. Michelle clearly details where Jellies and Jaffas efforts are best placed, she clearly defined their market positioning and highlighted what would need to be done to stand out from competitors. She also highlighted the importance of monitoring their online performance so that it a...

What is a User Persona? A persona is a fictional, yet realistic, description of a typical or target user of the product. A persona is an archetype instead of an actual living human, but personas should be described as if they were real people. – Aurora Harley Understanding your audience is fundamental when it comes to creating content that will generate a reaction. Learning their motivations and requirements helps in building user-centric products. You might think it's as simple as to just know what the user needs (wishful thinking), but unfortunately it's not and it's important to make sure to conduct thorough user research to reap the full benefit. As business owners or marketers, we must take the time to figure out what our audience wants to hear, not just what we want to say. So, what exactly is a Persona you ask? Simply put - it's fictional characters created to represented different aspects of your users such as their needs, goals and behaviours that m...

Blogging in 2020 Before Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat (the list goes on!), there were blogs. So it has been around for quite some time now albeit it has changed shape many times, it's core fundamentals have always been the same. From product reviews, travel guides, recipe collections and all these niche blogs all find dedicated audiences who are looking for detailed and on going content, it gives businesses the opportunity to build a knowledge base and is becoming much more important to them as it's not just used as an 'online diary' any more - it can be a very important (and successful) marketing tool. If you are a business trying to increase website traffic, having a blog is an excellent way to do so. It will give an exceptional boost to your SEO. Remember, keep the blog consistent and with relevant content and it becomes one of the best inexpensive marketing tools for you. Have you ever heard of the phrase - Content is King? Well it...