So anyone who offers Search Engine Optimization as a service knows that good rankings take hard work, good content and back links. But I am going to spoil it for all the over paid SEO firms out there.
Good rankings also need dumb luck.
For example. This week, I have been seeing lots of random web traffic for the search term “web design firm arizona” So i decided to see what the fuss was about and google it myself.
I found this on google:
What!?!?! How cool is that.
Sure we have been actively working on getting better rankings for that term. but for me to out rank Mighty interactive – part of Off madison ave. (A high paid, well known firm) on the map results, that has to be sheer luck.
Maybe this listing is based off my IPs zip code, not really sure. But still pretty cool.
No moral of the story here. Paid SEO firms do probably help many of their clients. And someday we will probably offer more SEO services. Just know lady luck is always involved at one level or another.
I often see communication from companies that think we (consumers) are dumb.
Examples.
• Circuit City is filing for bankruptcy due to the economic colapse.
– The reality is that CC has been failing for the past 5 years. The last 6 months were merly the nail in the coffin.
• Microsoft is cutting 5000 jobs because the slow economy.
– Again, same story, Stocks and sales have been down for 2 years, yet apple reports one of the biggest profits (26% growth) ever for 4th quarter 08. Maybe the issue is bigger than the current economy.
• I recently switched cell phone carriers. My former carrier wants me back, and is offering me “special deals to come back”
- The problem is that these so called special deals, are not special. In fact, they are worse than the deals a new subscriber would get walking off the street.
• Locally, ASU is announcing huge budget cuts because the state is cutting some educational funding. They are dropping programs, loosing teachers, and making class sizes huge.
- The problem here is that ASU has raised tuition 233% in the last six years, and the ASU president makes $750k a year, plus $750K in bonuses. The average state school president makes $420k. Seems to me they are whining and cutting the wrong things. ASU is a business after all. Maybe they should run it like one.
Consumers are not a dumb as big companies think.
Some things are just screaming for an update… like the time share that I am in right now in Orlando.
It was new & “in” when Miami vice was having it’s inaugural years. The problem that this place faces is that it spent a TON of money on permanent fixtures that had a shelf life of less than 3 years. The developers didn’t really think through their design & development strategy very well. What really needed to happen BEFORE they built was to come up with a plan of how to update in the future without having to rip the whole thing back down the frame and start all over again.
You have probably noticed this design flaw in other places as well. You see it in restaurants and stores. You also see it in magazines & clothing lines. You also notice it in companies who build their identity around a very specific niche look and sell out to it so far that they can’t possibly adapt to the future.
So here are some good challenges for us all with design:
- How do we develop an unique market place identity that is pliable for the future and also stands apart now?
- What things must be kept as central in a corporate identity and what things are changeable?
- Are there foundations for building a ‘brand’ that can make it universal in natural?
One of the great lessons of the man we celebrate today, Martin Luther King Jr., is that change requires action:
“One of the great tragedies of life is that men seldom bridge the gulf between practice and profession, between doing and saying.”
That tag line on your ad stating that “customer service is the difference” is null and void if your organization practices terrible customer service. Claiming to be environmentally friendly, and actually doing it are two different things (Shame on you Dell Computers).
The list goes on and on.
Lets begin this new year, and this day, thinking on the words of Martin Luther King Jr.
have you ever noticed how many web pages you visit NEVER change after they are released? OR have you been to a website that has a posted item or a blog where the date is still form last year? What were your thoughts? Did you you think the company had died? Did you think that no body cared? Did you wonder if the owners & employees had lost interest in what they were doing? By chance did you think that you weren’t likely to engage with them because the would undoubtedly show you the same inattention as they do their own website?
Prevent your site from being stale!
Often organizations fall into the trap of assigning NO LEADERSHIP to their Internet presence. Sometimes they rely on the IT dept. to also be marketing geniuses just because they figured out how to put something out there in ‘cyber-space’. Think about these items:
- who is responsible (the leader) for your web content?
- what regular pattern do you want to adhere to for new content?
- what are the top 3 goals for your site to accomplish?
- what measurement do you have in place that enables you to know for sure that your site is driving traffic to your organization?
- does your audience find your site useful? how do you know? how long are they staying? how many pages are they reading?
there are so many things that you can be doing to make your site fresh, easy to use, and a powerful too for your organization. Give your website some love and attention and it will give it back to you.
Often I enjoy looking at my past work. No, not as a self-aware, look how great that came out, thing. The complete opposite. “Look how terrible that idea was”, or maybe a “What was I thinking?” thought. Looking back on history is great. Its good to know where you came from, to know where you should be going.
Here are some “terrible” ads from the early days of modern advertising. Sure its easy to look at these in shock and wonder what were they thinking. The harder thought is “What am I doing today, that I will look back on it 15 years and wish my name wasn’t on it?”.
My favorites:
Does your company stick to one style? How do you decide how to define your company? Is it important to have a distinct style?
Well this is what we call your brand. And yes it’s definitely important to be distinct and memorable. It’s what distinguishes you from your competition, it’s what tells your customers the quality of your product or service, and it’s what helps sell yourself. Your brand describes who you are as a company, your mantra. Coca-cola’s brand has stayed relatively the same since the creation of their logo in 1885. That shows a stable and dependable company, with a lasting quality that has survived a very long time. Customers appreciate this stability and have showed their appreciation through their continued business for years.
Now, how do I figure it all out? Every company is different and there is no set process on how to figure that out. However, some important things to think about: What is your vibe, is your company edgy and fun or corporate and professional? Who is your audience, college students or thirty year olds with families? How can you be different from your competition? Are you regional, national, international? These questions are vague and only intended to get the thinking process started but it’s important to be specific. Making decisions on the brand should take time and thought, nothing that can be done overnight.
At Factor 1, we look at other great logos for inspiration every time we design. It’s important to see what others have done in order to create something new and different. Great resources for logo and branding inspiration: Logo Pond Logo Design Love Logo of the Day
A great brand is:
- Memorable
- Unique
- Different from the competition
- Not just trendy, but able to stand the test of time
- Descriptive, it needs to explain who you are
What are some of your favorite brands? What makes them great?
www.placeofblessing.com
Factor 1 has been our church’s web design company on two projects now. It is totally awesome to be able to work with people who are 1,500 miles away and feel like their next door. The design team is fresh, edgy, and unique. What a breath of fresh air to be able to work with a company who has NO PROBLEM handling a hard-to-please staff. Way to go Factor #1!
Sincerely,
Jonathan Ferrell
Director of Student Ministries
Berachah Baptist Church
