Hit Reach | Web Design & SEO

A big thanks to Avinash for picking up on my Google Analytics feedback and passing it onto the GA team to deal with as mentioned on the most recent Google web analytics tv.

It’s pretty amazing that with goals being such an important part of reporting and analysis that this has been overlooked for so long by Google and surprising that more noise hasn’t been made about it from users.

Avinash seemed just as amazed that it wasn’t possible and called the feature ’absolutely key’ and ’criminal’ that they coulnd’t be added into the reports.

It’s great though to see how proactive the GA team are and how valuable users feedback is to them (If you want to submit questions for web analytics tv just add them to the GA moderator site) rather than trying to dictate how the service will be developed and forcing users to shoehorn how it works into their real world application of the tool.

If you are interested in web analytics then I thoroughly recommend; Web Analytics 2.0 by Avanish Kaushik. As if it wasn’t worth it’s wait in gold anyway 100% of the author’s proceeds are donated to 2 charities, The Smile Train and Ekal Vidyalaya. Analytics enlightenment and helping those in need.

(NB: I have no affiliation with the author or product)

When it comes to designing a new logo or brand identity each designer has their own preference for how to approach it.

Some designers use note pad and pen and doodle and scribble until they get something to work with then onto the computer they go. Others dive right into their favourite design program and start cranking away until something falls into place. Other designers will sift through books/magazines/websites/stock imagery and any other reference material they have lying around to get a kick start.

Personally, I tend to use a mix of all these methods but the one thing I always tend to lean towards is choosing a typeface first of all. This to me is one of the most important parts of creating a new identity and brand.

Of course the actual brand/company name can carry a lot of weight when it comes to font choice, for example you’re not going to start sifting through your light weight sans serif type faces when researching a design for a new Clown College logo and likewise, you shouldn’t find yourself trawling through all those great hand written fonts when it comes to a design for a top of the line jewellery store. There are the odd occasions when somethign off the wall can work really well but there are always a few things you should keep in mind when it comes to choosing your typeface:

• Will the weight of the typeface suit, compliment and reinforce the brand?
• How well will the typeface sit with a graphic/icon that may need incorporated into the design?
• Will your choice of typeface seem dated within the next year or so as design trends change? It’s essential to think ahead and give your design longevity

It’s also important to make sure you are not “accidently” copying something you have seen or liked before. This can be hard when it comes to design as our influences tend to be the things that really make an impression on us and this can sometimes lead to them creeping into your own designs.

It is always good to take your time, step away from the design after a bit of time and look at it again with fresh eyes, even send it round some friends or colleagues to get feedback before sending it to the client or review.

by Simon Lamb

1. Collectively over 75 years experience in this industry
2. Worked with respected brands including IBM, Sony, Lexmark, Greenpeace, Barclays, Oxford University Press, UK MOD, EA Games and many more
3. A team of less than 10 which allows us to be dynamic, flexible and very customer centric
4. Individuals are experts in specific areas instead of all being mediocre at everything
5. We’re professional, fanatical about our work and committed to helping our clients achieve their goals but still friendly and fun to work with
6. Our proactive approach to business and projects is regularly recognised and commented on
7. Our business number is free to call
8. If you’re a web agency and want to confidentially sub contract work to us you can
9. We have never advertised, EVER. Word of mouth has been our exclusive revenue channel which is testament to the quality of our work
10. Our rates are extremely competitive and we don’t have ridiculously high minimum charges
11. Typically acheive a 24 hour turnaround for standard updates
12. Priority and immediate queues for urgent and emergency jobs
13. Detailed and itemised monthly invoices
14. Happy to integrate with inhouse teams
15. Developers can be deployed on site
16. On site training and consultancy is available
17. We each have clear rolls in the business so we can manage work flow very easily
18. Skilled in PHP, C#.NET, ColdFusion, SQL and many other languages and technologies
19. Experienced with several Content Management Systems
20. Experienced e-commerce development and payment gateway integration
21. HND and degree-level educated web developers
22. In house development and testing servers
23. Knowledgeable regarding the latest hosting trends and can arrange or advise on hosting
24. Experienced with server administration
25. Can provide remote support
26. Direct access to the developers if you need to talk technical
27. An account manager you can talk to if you don’t!
28. Developers who strive to understand your business to help ensure that the spec fits and is not blindly followed
29. Always keeping upto date with current design trends
30. Regardless of the size of job 100% is always given
31. Enjoy pushing ourselves to new levels
32. Love working closely with clients to create the maximum level of satisfaction
33. Enjoy design challenges in all aspects of our work
34. We don’t have big, fancy glass fronted offices so you don’t get big inflated bills
35. Our web analytics knowledge can help explain your web stats and suggest improvements to your sites based on facts rather than opinion
36. Goole Analytics Qualified
37. Create, manage and report on your PPC campaigns
38. Create custom reports about your site and marketing successes and failures for different departments in your company
39. Help you track your on and off line marketing campaigns
40. Optimise your website and market it online
41. Help you identify which keywords convert your traffic into sales and which ones could but you don’t currently rank for
42. Give you impartial advice on which CMS will suit your needs best. We don’t own one we try to shoehorn your project into like most agencies
43. Are very transparent and will be completely open and honest with you – even if the truth isn’t what you might want to hear
44. Don’t try to retain code and IP we develop for you and charge you more to release it
45. Happy to discuss partnering for a share of the project or business
46. Have a network of trusted resources we utilise if specialist jobs are required
47. Most of our customers become long term clients
48. Often recommend existing 3rd party products we think clients can leverage instead of taking their money to build them
49. Care about our clients and their businesses
50. We love our work

There’s probably a lot more we could think of but we really need to get back to work…