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Website design news archiveEach month we update the news items and all our clients receive a news letter email. We also blog on LinkedIn and keep up to date with the latest web trends.
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Start up businesses will probably require a new logo for their business. If you design a logo for a website it's probably not going to be good enough quality for your business cards and signage. Here at Oast House Media web design our logos for all media calling on over 30 years experience in the print and signage trade. Find out more about our website logos and how they can be adapted for other media KCC launched a new broadband portal: www.makekentquicker.com The on-line survey is being used to assess Kent’s future broadband requirements with KCC/Government/Private investment of over £40,000,000 identified for Kent broadband users. Kent is one of the lowest broadband speed counties in a country that is 9th in the EU speed tables. Comparison table based on average broadband download speeds 1. Finland - 21.7Mbps How do I check my broadband? Go to: www.speedtest.net Click on ‘Begin Test’. The system first ‘pings’ a test signal from your positions to the allotted test ‘hub’ in the UK. It then calculates the download speed to your position, then the upload speed from your position. The download speed will always be quicker than upload Click on My Results (top tab) and compare your results with the rest of the world (disappointed?) The KCC campaign is an attempt to locate the ‘no’ spots in the county so if you know of anyone in a ‘no’ area forward this email onto them. In theory if they ID a cluster they will invest the upgrade resource
From Feb 2012 Oast House Media are offer training for new website owners. Courses are aimed at anyone considering a new website purchase or a business that already has a website but wants to get more business through their web pages The half day course will cost from just £95 and includes:
By the end of the course you will understand the process of web design, what to expect from your web pages, best practice when setting up web pages for google and how to make google work for you. If you decide to use Oast House Media to complete a website design for your business we refund the £fee in full!
New websites go live and top of google Both Harbour print and A and C Pumps websites went top within hours of google re-caching the new design. Both sites already had a weak google presence on old design but using our unique google launch platform and on-page SEO we managed to get these client top on their pre-agreed search terms FREE consultations for new website clients 14th Jan 12: Oast House Media offer a FREE 2hr website design consultation for new clients in the Kent area. During the meeting we discuss website design, web logos, google, search engine optimisation, web name purchase etc and answer all your questions about how to build a website New websites go straight to no.1 on google 16th Jan 12: A and C pumps and Harbour print went live mid Jan 12 and using their respective keywords you will find them no. 1 on google. try it yourself? www.google.co.uk 'Packaged sewage pumping stations in kent' and 'sign makers in dover' Oast House Media - website design speakers at Kent BizBuzz 18th Jan 12: Managing Director Nigel Stevenson gave a 45 minute seminar at Kent BizBuzz (Deal 18th Jan 12) on website design for new businesses. "I'm not to bad at public speaking so the worry was more anyone turning up - we got a full house and a round of applause at the end - can't be bad'. The event held at the Astor Theatre in Deal, Kent was the first of several planned for this year Sandwich Events new website design goes live Sandwich Town community groups are now featured in one website created by Oast House Media to showcase each months activities. This new design will feature a calendar of events to keep locals up to date, see: sandwichevents.org.uk and our budget website design portfolio for clubs and charities December11: 2 new website designs go live just before Christmas 11. www.sandwichevents.org.uk is a local events calendar showcasing the community groups in the Sandwich area. Oast House Media are website design partners offering this design at a discouted price [see clubs and charities discount website design] Recent website designs Sepember 11: South East Coachworks and CrossKeys Coaches websites go live on the same day - as the saying goes 'buses all come at once' - well it happened to us - South East Coach works commissioned a re-design of their old site to showcase their expertise in bus conversion with galleries and project descriptions Crosskeys Coaches requested a trip organiser and e-ticket solution for their Kent based operation which includes membership discounts and fleet galleries Unlike the old bus joke, we were on time and not too full! And if 2 bus companies wasn't unusual enough - how about a website for a thatcher! Mark Padfield's Kent based thatching business Padfield Thatchers has gone from strength to strength since he started his own business 2 years ago with thatch project in California and the Ukraine added to the portfolio. Take a look at the photos on this site Another first for Oast House Media was The Queens pub (Boughton-under-Blean) website. Superb photos capturing the warm friendly atmosphere generated by the landlord Dave helped this site and a good lesson for any would be web owners - it's worth the extra cost to get a pro in to do this Worth an mention - Medical Portfolios re-design. After the successful launch earlier this year the redesign included Barclays EPDq payments system along with the existing PayPal merchant account, new galleries and photos supplied by Oast House media. We also worked with the clients video company to create a fully integrated shop and showcase web site It's always nice for us when a client asks us to re-design their existing website. Medway Cutters needed a refresh having invested in new equipment and offering new services. Oast House Media completed all the on-site photography for this project along with copy writing and design. Basically the same format the new site is already hitting page 1 on google for the clients trade keywords Clients update our websites Google PPC (pay per click) How did I know that? – simple, statistically 70% of you will not click on the PPC links so the majority of you reading this article click in fear of what? Tell me, what is the difference between a company paying Google to be top of the sponsored listings (PPC) and a company paying an SEO company to be top of the natural listings? (it happens) Trust? 30% of you don’t care and on Google that’s still a large market for your business. Google charges per click so you set the click value within your Google account. The higher the value the higher up the list you go. In competitive markets that can be very expensive and you may have to set your daily budget in £100’s! One of our clients had a £2,500 per month PPC account! So how can your business use PPC on a medium to low budget? PPC is not a dark art! Google Place Maps – is your business ‘pinned’? Over the past few months Google has been developing its ‘Places’ map search offering a better value results page for local searches. Try it yourself. Go to www.google.co.uk and type in your trade name, ie: “oast house media in kent” and see if you have a Google Places web page. If you have but do not have a Google account that means Google has already collated your company details and set up a Google Places page for you. If you get zero results you may need to set up a Google Places account. In both cases we can help, remember – your competitors probably already have a Google Places page and are taking trade away from your business Google Places results are always top of the page! Your website v Google top tips
Every few weeks it is worth checking your ‘natural’ listing position on Google’s results pages. It only takes a few minutes to quickly type in your top search terms and compare results month by month You website is a major income generator so here’s a few tricks we use to stay top of Google (“website designers in Kent”) Add you website address to as many trade and local directories as possible. Google can see these ‘back links’ and values their inclusion against your Page Rank value. Google also values the type of directory you use, ie: a .gov directory has a much higher value than say porn or gambling directories (we’ve researched this extensively!) Become active on social media websites. Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter can generate a valued and healthy back link to your website. We use LinkedIn extensively and generate enquiries through discussion forums Create a news feed on your home page. Use topical subjects and refresh monthly. It really can make a big difference, for example last month as you know we added home page editorial about “Is Yell.com good value?” – go to www.google.co.uk and search “Is Yell.com good value?” – we are on page 1! We did the same for “Mobile web pages (WAP) design” – again – page 1! How to design a website? To help we’ve created the website design planner (PDF), a step by step FREE download guide to help website clients put together the information we require to build a new or re-design an existing website. The feedback over the past few months has been very positive since we launched The Website Planner last year. It really is a great help for both new and existing clients So if you are an existing website owner or thinking of a new design, here are the salient points...
Mobile web pages (WAP) design For more about getting your website mobile, call 01304 369440 Is Yell.com good value? Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter - social media websites. What's the point? Google Places (web maps), how does it work? How to optimise (SEO) my website
What is Google ‘places’? What you do not know about this service Google ‘places’ is a massive web traffic driver – call 01304 369 440 for more information and examples of our success in this expanding search arena. NEW: Coming soon – NFC (Near-Field Communication) So What. How’s that going to increase business for me? What’s happening at Oast House Media (shameless plug) Referrals from existing clients have also proved to be highly successful with a Deal based builder website and his wife’s dog grooming salon website (thanks to Deal Chamber of Trade) now completed and a website for a national mobile dental service for care home residents (Thanks to Alpaca Creative). If you’ve ever watch Chelsea, Arsenal, Fulham FC’s and thought to yourself where do all those stewards come from – the answer is in Great Mongeham, Deal, Kent!!! Premier Events are based in the village and manage their London based stewards service for AFC,CFC, FFC plus many other clubs in the London area including all Wembley stadium events. Oast House Media completed their website last week and wish the PE team every success with the new design Last 48 hours: Our sister website www.seowl.co.uk (dedicated website for search engine optimisation) goes top of www.google.co.uk “search engine optimisers Kent” Wendy’s work: Director Wendy Stevenson continues to supply editorial for Life Group Magazines. Wendy has been supplying research and editorial for titles such as Dulwich Life, Sevenoaks Life, Greenwich Life for the past 3 years. Wendy also writes for local businesses including web copy and weekly ‘blogs’ for Medway based 21st Century Hearing, Deal based Vurley Fencing, Nick Cunningham Plumbing and Heating and Dover College, plus recent nation clients such as First Car Magazine, Men and Motors, Horse and Hound, The Guardian and Exchange and Mart to name but a few Training Courses That’s it for now, thanks for reading this far and call anytime if you have a question Nigel [01304 369440] PS – Oast House Media Ltd are part of ID Matters, a working cooperative which includes a Graphic designer, Printer, Photographer, Sign maker, Work wear/embroidery supplier. Oast House Media are also Trading Standards approved/audited through the ‘Buy with Confidence’ scheme (www.buywithconfidence.gov.uk) and members of the FSB (www.fsb.org.uk) |
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