Proliferation

Jul 15
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Find Your Next Website Design Muse

By | web development | No Comments

Website design is always evolving. Take a look at some of the best sites from the 90s and early 2000s, and you’ll see how far web design has come. Still, like all great artists, designers need a muse. Without a little inspiration now and then, designers can go stale. Nobody wants that.

Here are a few of our favorite websites to help reignite designers’ creativity. One of them could become your new muse.

Responsive Design

User experience and responsive website design is so important on today’s World Wide Web. Responsive Design dedicates itself to furthering responsive website design. Unlike a lot of sites that feature galleries of different design approaches, Responsive Design also digs deep into the code that makes each design possible.

Crayon

Crayon is easily one of the most inclusive sites out there for gathering visual design ideas. Everyone from designers to marketers can use the site’s extensive search features to sift through more than 35 million websites. That’s a whole lot of inspiring material.

Webdesign Inspiration

The name says it all. Webdesign Inspiration is unique because it allows you to search for sites by industry. If you’re designing a website for a marketing agency, you can see how other industry leaders design their sites.

Dribbble

Dribbble works first and foremost as a portfolio service for website design freelancers. It’s used by a lot of new designers, which means it hosts a lot of new ideas. Since the site works like one large portfolio, it makes it easy to contact and connect with other designers to collaborate on ideas.

CSS Zen Garden

This site is like the super old and extremely wise grandma of all web design sites. CSS Zen Garden has been around for a while, but it’s still entirely relevant. It’s unique in that every design uses the same HTML code with modified CSS files. The entire site is basically one big example of the power of CSS.

Web Design Ledger

Besides just another awesome gallery site, you can visit Web Design Ledger for tutorials, blog posts, interviews with other designers and downloadable templates. No wonder the web community loves it so much.

Jul 15
0

The Most Influential Advertising Execs of All Time

By | advertising, Utah | No Comments

We don’t know about you, but when we think of advertising geniuses, we think of “Mad Men,” Don Draper, Roger Sterling — basically anyone from the AMC hit series. But there are real Don Drapers in today’s market of advertising, and they have killed the advertising world. Advertising agencies not only in Utah but around the globe have looked to these individuals for inspiration and tips on how to be a better advertising agency. They have mastered the art of advertising and have made billions of dollars in revenue for their companies.

Not all advertising is about giving great presentations and using the right colors, and these advertising agency execs, can prove that to you. Some of these names you might not recognize, but their companies you just might.

infuentialadvertisorsREDO

Jul 15
0

What Do Beacons Mean for SEO?

By | SEO | No Comments

The world of SEO is always changing, but SEO experts are predicting an unprecedented change is coming — that change is called a Beacon.

What Is a Beacon?

The word beacon conjures up images of lighthouses and shining cities on a hill, but in this case, a Beacon is a small, Bluetooth-enabled device. While most aspects of the SEO world are digital, Beacons are placed in physical locations. Using an app, consumers can select to have alerts sent from a Beacon directly to their phones.

How Does It Work?

For example, a couple could choose to receive alerts from their favorite restaurant in Park City, Utah. The next time the couple is enjoying an evening stroll downtown and walks past the restaurant, the Beacon will broadcast a notification with the latest dinner deal for two. The notification will pop up on the couples’ cell phones, and what do you know, they think, “Maybe we will eat out tonight.”

Obviously Beacons aren’t exclusive to Utah. They aren’t even exclusive to restaurants. Small businesses, large businesses, retail stores, non-profit organizations, major corporations, events, airports and even entire cities could use Beacons at their physical locations to advertise to consumers. To top it all off, Beacons are small enough to place on a desk and inexpensive, costing an average of $30.

Beacons and SEO

So what do Beacons mean for SEO? Beacon technology is still growing and developing, but its immediate SEO effects include ratings and website traffic.

Initial consumer groups give Beacons positive reviews. As a business’ Beacon draws consumers in, many of them use corresponding apps to give the business positive reviews. This, of course, contributes positively to search engine rankings.

As Beacons reach out to consumers, they provide another opportunity for more individuals to visit Beacon owners’ websites. This creates higher numbers of new site visitors, in turn improving Google rankings.

The ultimate impact of Beacons on SEO is yet to be seen, but whether you’re a small business in Utah or a major city on the East Coast, now is the time embrace the Beacon.

Jul 15
0

The Holy Trinity of SEO

By | SEO, Utah SEO | No Comments

While most marketers and other internet-savvy people have a general knowledge of search engine optimization, as known as SEO, fewer people understand the key elements of SEO. SEO is used from the East Coast to Utah, by businesses both large and small — but how does it all fit together?

So what are the various processes that make SEO work? There are arguably three main aspects of SEO: on-site optimization, off-site optimization and analytics, or measuring those key SEO metrics to make sure your website is performing as well as it should. Take a closer look at the three main elements of SEO: the holy trinity.

FSEO-Holy-trinity-full

Jul 14
0

Key Members of a Successful Content Marketing Team

By | content marketing, Utah | No Comments

If it takes a village to raise a child, then it is safe to say that it takes an entire team to create quality content. Content marketing can be difficult to master, but when done correctly — content marketing has the power to exponentially build business. From Utah to Europe, content marketing draws in consumers and functions as the driving force behind great online business.

If your business, be it located in Utah or beyond, wishes to grow its content marketing capabilities, it need only to create the content marketing dream team.

Strategists

No content marketing campaign is complete without the help of a strategist. A strategist looks at the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing a businesses and helps generate content pertinent to those areas.

The strategist helps the team find the best places to put content, the best topics to write on and the most effective way to reach audiences.

Writers

You won’t have content if someone does not create it, so without writers, content marketing is non-existent. Quality writing is always in style and the better the writing, the better for business. Writers must incorporate SEO and know the voice of each client individually.

Designers

In an increasingly digital world, it is important that a marketing team use designers. Designers lay the content out in a way that is easy to read and easy to find. If readers can’t navigate the content, they are not likely to continue reading, thus designers are vital.

Designers are the bridge between visual and textual information. Without them, a content marketing team would be nowhere near complete.

The prefect content marketing team does not end there, though. For each individual business, other content marketing team members can be added to create a perfect and personalized team. Whether you’re in Utah or beyond, great content is generated by a great content marketing team.

Jul 13
0

The First Advertisement Was Aired 75 Years Ago

By | advertising, commercials, Utah | No Comments

Advertising agency employees from Utah to the East Coast use the month of July as one of remembrance. No, we aren’t mourning a loss. Seventy-five years ago, on July 1, 1941, the first legal commercial ran during a baseball game and television would never again be the same – except for baseball, that’s always the same *yawn*. This date is a reminder of the continuous cycle of innovation.

The Illegal Ads

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) originally ruled that advertisements weren’t allowed on television. Advertisers across the country were about as bothered by that fact as Tyrion is bothered by being short (“Game of Thrones” spoiler: he’s not).

Ad men thought television lacked the prestige that came with traditional media. As the men who “drink and know things”, they weren’t questioned. Radio reached 90 percent of American homes. It was hard to picture anything that could top that.

In the 1930’s the rebels of advertising who proved to be “bad to the bone” created product placement. The announcer of the baseball game ran an ad for Proctor & Gamble, Socony Oil and General Mills. He held a bar of soap, wore a cap and sliced a banana into a bowl of Wheaties — though it’s hard to imagine how awkward this looked, the loophole was a doorway for advertisers.

The First Legal Ad

Television’s first legal commercial was reminiscent of the radio ads that would run. Bulova, a watch company, ran a grainy, shaky, 10-second ad during another baseball game. During the live ad the announcer read, “America runs on Bulova time.”

The first ad cost Bulova’s advertising agency a whopping *gasp* $4 to create and didn’t even reach those in Utah. Television has now become a $70 billion market place.

The Future of Television

What was once considered the bread and butter of the advertising agency industry is now questioned for its viability. In an age where viewers can skip the commercials to see if Khaleesi will finally rule the seven kingdoms, it leaves professionals from the state of Utah wondering where the innovation will shift next.

Jul 11
0

Why you Should Hire an Actual Agency to do Your SEO

By | SEO, Utah SEO | No Comments

If you have a small business in Utah you may feel that your SEO needs are covered easily by yourself or whoever runs your company website. If your business starts to grow, your SEO needs are going to change, and hiring an actual SEO agency is going to be your next step to stay ahead of the game.

The Touch of Professionalism

No matter how nice your website or blog may look, at one point you’re going to want a professional writer who understands how to boost your personal SEO to be part of your company. At Fusion 360 for example, every writer has either an English degree or a Communications degree. With those credentials you know you’re hiring people who know what they’re doing and will do their best to represent you.

Secrets of the Trade

As a Utah business owner, you probably have more to deal with than where your placement on Google is. While you make the perfect cupcakes, find the best wedding dress or serve the best burger in the state, let someone who has studied the interstices of SEO standings and are positioned to help drive traffic to your business. There’s plenty you don’t know about how SEO moves, and keeping up to date is just one more thing between you and your business goals. Why waste the time when you can hire someone else to do it?

Worth the Cost

You wouldn’t have become a successful business owner if you weren’t smart about money, so value vs. cost is always on your mind when hiring out. Think of this though: How much more could you be making if you were at the top of Google listing for your Utah business? When you have the crowds flocking to your business, the more you’ll have to do to get done, so free up some hands with an SEO agency.

Jul 08
0

Print v. Digital: Why Your Money Should Be on The Digital Future

By | digital marketing | No Comments

Plenty of digital marketing firms struggle when deciding where to allocate portions of their marketing budgets. Should you go all in on digital? Should your split your budget down the center and drop some bread on print? Maybe ditch the paper goods altogether?

The reasons for going all-digital for your marketing strategy are many, though there are still plenty of marketers (and of course, print publishers) making a pitch for print advertising. Is there any credence to their words, or is print really breathing its final breath?

Let’s break down a few reasons why print can still be useful for marketing and explore why your best bet might be dropping cash on the digital future.

PRINT-V-DIGITAL

Jul 07
0

The Difference Between Content Marketing for a New Company vs. an Established Company

By | content marketing | No Comments

Content marketing is an art and sometimes it can be tricky to discern just what your company needs in terms of content marketing. Professional content marketing firms from Utah to Europe know the ins and outs of the marketing world, and whether your company has been around for 50 years or it is just starting, a content marketing firm can help.

Though many similarities exist, there is a difference in the approach to content marketing between new and establish companies. If young Luke Skywalker does different training exercises than established master Yoda, it stands to reason that new companies should be practicing different content marketing techniques than established companies.

New Companies

New companies often have a lot to figure out, and content marketing voice is one of those things. The voice and tone selected in the early phases of content marketing follow a company throughout its lifespan. Finding an appropriate voice is vital because this voice will be a part of every aspect of the company.

After a voice has been established, it is important that a formal strategy is created and plans and budgets are made. Without written plans, your marketing strategy is merely a wish.

In the beginning, do not over-exert yourself as you begin to grow an online following, this will come with quality content and time. In your efforts to create quality content and not over-exert though, don’t be afraid to branch out and try something new.

Established Companies

With a brand image and voice already well known, the biggest trick for established companies is remaining relevant in content marketing. No matter if your company resides in Utah or beyond, it is important to keep your content evolving.

Social media now plays a large role in content marketing because it connects Utah businesses not only with Utah but also with the world. Established companies often forget that in order to survive, they must adapt. Some companies refuse to adopt social media and because of that, marketing suffers.

Both established and new companies must be willing to make changes and sacrifices when it comes to successful content marketing. No matter the age of the company, with the right attitude and a solid creative team, success is attainable.

Jul 01
0

A Decade of Web Design Failure: What We Can Learn

By | web development, website design | No Comments

Within the past decade of website design and website development, there has been a lot that has been accomplished — and there have been things that we have been able to learn, both good and bad from both the successes of the good websites and the failures of the forgettable ones. Here are just a few things to take away in case you are hoping to up your website design game and create a website that is both attractive and efficient.

Believe in Yourself and Your Website

The first thing you can do to help yourself on your path to great website design is to believe in yourself and the content that you create. Being good at something like designing a website is very similar to being good at anything else. It takes a lot of practice and determination, but on top of that, you have to have a confidence and belief in yourself that you are great and that you can do great things if you simply put your mind to it. By simply having confidence in yourself, you give yourself the room to try new things and know that it is ok to fail, because those failures are going to lead you to your biggest successes.

The Four-Second Rule

The four-second rule is based off of the idea that you and anyone that visits your site should be able to take one look at your site and be able to decipher what it is about and what it is for in about 4 seconds or less. If your users cannot do this, then your website is too complicated and in need of some simplification.

Keep Constant Contrast

The definition of contrast in website design is the difference in visual properties that make an object distinguishable from other objects in the background. As this relates to your website, you simply need to make sure that the most important parts of your website are distinguished from the rest of it. By doing this, you also make your website much easier to navigate.

Navigation Is Key

The final tip is to make sure that the visitors to your website do not get lost in trying to navigate to different pages around your site. Just because you designed it and can figure it out, obviously does not mean that everyone can. The best thing that you can do is have other people such as friends or other website design professionals come and test your website and give you feedback on where you can improve the most and what aspects you succeed at.