Warmest thanks to all of the clients and partners that we’ve worked with throughout 2008. We hope you all have a great Christmas and New Year, and we’re looking forward to achieving further success for you in 2009.

We’ve got some fantastic new projects in development at the moment, including some major site launches set for the beginning of 2009. Keep an eye on the blog for updates, which will be coming very soon. Our industry articles will be continuing apace in the New Year, with an insider series on email marketing just about ready to get going.

If you’ve been looking at what we do and you’d like your company to be one of our 2009 success stories, then we’d love to hear from you.

Last of all - our studios are closed from 19th December to 5th January - all the best from everyone here at Green Media.

Our portfolio page has been updated today with some typically festive projects that were created this month. Warrington Audi’s fantastic Winter Event e-flyer sets the scene with a crisp blue and white theme, while North East Audi’s weekend sale mailer keeps it simple - and very, very effective.

In another supercar campaign, the incredible Maserati Quattroporte GT is the star of a promo for Lancaster Maserati Sevenoaks - a hero image in every sense of the word.

Take a look!

In the last of our SEO articles for 2008, we’re exploring one of the most enduringly misunderstood and misused terms in the business - “first page results”.

Don’t get us wrong, first page results are absolutely fantastic, they’re the goal of any SEO - but only ever on lead generating keywords. It’s absolutely pointless achieving first page results on keywords that no-one ever searches for.

When you view SEO as an indiscriminate race to get keywords - any keywords - on the first page of Google, it’s quite a simple process. In reality though, it’s a little more involved, especially if you’re looking to achieve the massive business benefits that SEO is capable of delivering.

The tide is slowly turning on this - just last month Google-guru Matt Cutts discussed the likelihood that “ranking was dead” - but some SEO companies are still pedalling it out as an indication of their so-called expertise. Here’s a little insight into why they’re wrong, and how to go about approaching SEO properly.

Lead generating keywords

Accessible through their PPC interfaces, Google, MSN and Yahoo all have accurate systems that show how many searches any given keywords rack up over a monthly period. Once you know the level of searches that a keyword is generating, you’re in a better position to decide on your target list. If a term doesn’t get many searches, then it’s obvious that while it’ll be relatively easy to rank for, it’ll probably not generate any level of interest. It’s always worth running your initial keyword list through one of these systems, you might be surprised at the level of searches they generate.

Unless you’re working in a genuine niche market with a totally unique product or service you’ll be required to compete, and the competition will naturally be fiercer on the lead generating keywords. This tends to be the point at which SEO companies who bleat on about “first page results” make their excuses and disappear. It’s important to formulate your target keyword list around lead generating terms, or else it’s quite a pointless exercise.

Fluidity of results

No matter how successful your SEO results may be at any given time, it needs to be kept in mind that search engines are constantly evolving, and your competitors are likely to be fighting tooth-and-nail on the very same keywords that you’re optimising your site for. Even if you do get a great result there’s no guarantee you’ll be there at the same time the next week, because when you jump up some positions, your competitors notice and react. However, with a well-strategised SEO programme you’re in for the long haul, and you’ll be able to fight back when required with proven techniques.

Return on investment

This is the single most important factor with SEO, and the reason why the vague claim of “first page results” just doesn’t cut it. SEO is no different to any other type of business marketing in as much as it needs to have a positive return on investment (ROI), otherwise it’s a complete waste of time and money. Adopting the “first page for anything” mentality that’s so common in the industry simply doesn’t achieve ROI - if you’re getting results on unpopular terms then how can it?

In this third article on SEO misconceptions we’re dealing with search copywriting, and particularly the way in which keywords are used.

If you’re aiming to be found by people searching online - which you are - then it’s your use of keywords that will make it happen. If you get your keyword frequency wrong however, you’ll risk poor performance on searches and even getting your site penalised - so it’s important to know what boundaries you’re working within.

Getting it wrong

The overuse of keywords in online copy - either deliberate or unintentionally - is generally known as ‘keyword stuffing’. Like a lot of SEO methods, keyword stuffing did used to work to some degree - once. However, search engines are now incredibly sophisticated compared to what they were, and such crude techniques are spotted a mile away. If your copy is loaded up with keywords to a degree that makes it basically unreadable to your audience, then you’re keyword stuffing.

It’s not just the body content that you should be considering here either, keep in mind your page titles, H1 tags, anchor tags and even navigational link titles - they’re all opportunities to over-do your keywords, potentially by accident.

Getting it right

Getting it right on keywords is easier than most people realise, as long as you keep the real purpose of what you’re doing in mind. “Create a positive user experience” should be the mantra of any SEO-savvy web developer, and the same definitely goes for search copywriters. As we’ve said on Green Notes before, copy really doesn’t need to be prize-winning novelist standard, it should simply be informative, interesting, on-topic and easy to read. If it’s staccato with keyword repetition then it’s unlikely to be any of these.

For more information on search copywriting, read our article on refreshed content or take a look at our search copywriting services page.

It’s commonly known that link building is a key element of search engine optimisation, but as with most SEO factors, taking short cuts can actually have a detrimental effect on your website search performance so it’s vital to do it in the right way. In this article we cover the misconceptions and mistakes that surround link building for search, and look at the most effective way to get results from the process.

The biggest mistake

It’s often thought that simply having a massive volume of backlinks is the way to go with link building, and there are countless companies offering link building as a quick-fire service. However, these services more often than not involve masses of links from irrelevant sites, link farms and generally disreputable sources. Take a quick look in your junk folder and you’re sure to find a promo email from a company selling this service - there’s a very good reason it’s been classed as junk… Using these services results in hundreds (or thousands) of new links being added at once - a great way to set alarm bells ringing when your site is indexed. Once the service is finished, which won’t take long, you’ll be saddled with a load of pointless - and at worst negative - links attached to your website.

Think quality over quantity

Quality, effective link building for SEO is a straight-forward enough process, but it takes a good deal of planning and time to implement correctly.

Building your links steadily and regularly shows search engines that you’re developing organically. Aim for between five and ten quality new links a week, with sites that have relevant themes. Working this way over six months or so will result in a good batch of backlinks that present your website as a reliable and authoritative resource.

Outbound linking

Don’t restrict yourself to inbound links either. Although inbound links are absolutely more important from the mechanics side of SEO, having a good range of useful outbound links can provide a helpful service to your visitors and give them another reason to come back to your site. Think of outbound links simply as good content that enrich the user experience - the ultimate goal of SEO.

The Green Media portfolio page has been updated today with a selection of November’s work, including some fantastic email marketing campaigns for Bentley and Audi.

Next month’s updates will include a suitably stylish Maserati campaign as well as the amazing new website for specialist motor brokerage Precious Metals.

Google’s Matt Cutts had some interesting comments this week on the question “is ranking dead?” in an excellent interview with Mike McDonald from WebProNews, which vindicated our entire approach to SEO here at Green Media.

“I’m not sure I would say ranking is dead but it’s not as important as it used to be,” said Cutts. “The fact is the smart SEOs (search engine optimisation companies) are not just necessarily looking at the rankings. They are looking at conversions, they are looking at their server log. It’s great if you’re ranking for a phrase but unless that leads to sales that doesn’t help you very much.”

“The challenge is not to pay so much attention to ranking, pay attention to traffic, pay attention to conversions and keep building good content and don’t worry about ‘can I show people that I rank number one for my trophy phrase,’” he added.

These sentiments echo precisely what we’ve been saying here at Green Media for a long time now. We mentioned the problems with purely ranking-orientated SEO in a blog entry back in July 2007, when discussing our own approach to search. As we pointed out way back then, it should always be about conversions and ROI - something that’s only now being acknowledged by the wider SEO industry and those at the very top of Google.

If you’re still using an SEO company that is preoccupied with getting “1st page rankings” over all other considerations, then you’re wasting your time and budget. SEO, like any other type of business marketing, simply needs to be accountable - and there’s no value whatsoever in boasting about a 1st page result on a term that absolutely no-one is searching for, no matter how it’s dressed up or shouted about. When your SEO is delivering massive ROI and genuine business benefits across targeted markets, then you’ve really got something to boast about.

We wrote last week about how it was absolutely critical for businesses to continue marketing during the economic downturn in order to keep their message out there in front of prospective customers. Well, exactly the same approach should be applied for website search engine optimisation (SEO).

SEO is about getting your weblink in front of people precisely when they’re looking for what you offer. Looking at it from such a brass tacks angle, it’s the ultimate form of web marketing and as such it really shouldn’t be optional for business anymore - it’s nothing less than essential.

Organic SEO is an incredibly rewarding process at the best of times, but the value of a regularly high-ranking position on a prominent keyword during a downturn cannot be underestimated. It’s as effective as any targeted marketing and it’s out there all of the time, 24/7, on the world’s most used medium.

To find out how you can take advantage of SEO during the downturn and beyond, get in touch.

It’s really easy to get used to a particular approach to online marketing and stick to it. More often than not an initial wave of good results will cause this, but you’re likely to find that churning out a repetitive promo will end up generating less and less interest over time, and even turning your customers off completely.

There are plenty of ways to keep things fresh, and with a little strategising you can find a number of different approaches that you can keep to hand in your marketing arsenal, picking and choosing to suit. Here’s an effective one to try out…

Occasionally promoting an individual product or service can be a great way to generate interest in your wider offerings. Singling out one area of your business can create a more exclusive focus to your marketing, making a refreshing change from more general sales advertising. When you’re only taking about one thing you’ve got a better chance of streamlining your message and getting a positive reception - then opening the door to other opportunities.

A recent e-flyer for Aston Martin Lancaster Cambridge (take a look at it in our portfolio) showcased a rare V12 Vanquish, presenting the car as a ‘last chance’ for prospective buyers. Another email marketing campaign for Porsche Centre Cambridge highlighted a unique pink Boxster, the only one of its kind available at the time. Both campaigns played on the ‘opportunity’ of the offering, instantly demanding attention.

As well as drawing attention to a particular product or service, this type of marketing can also generate interest in your other offerings and create clear selling opportunities that otherwise wouldn’t have existed. Although you’re genuinely advertising a single item to begin with, you’re ultimately exposing your prospective customers to everything else that you’ve got to offer once they click-through to your website or walk into your shop.

Think about what you’ve got to promote from every angle, and you might find that an occasional detour from a usual approach can deliver results.

Take a look at our newly updated portfolio page to see a selection of what we’ve been creating here at Green Media during October. You’ll find our debut Lamborghini and Toyota e-flyers, the website for Brenikov Training and the latest Aston Martin email marketing.

We’ll be updating the page regularly, so be sure to check it out again soon. Next month’s additions include an absolutely stunning Bentley email marketing campaign, which is our first sole branded work for the classic marque.