Ok, so we’ve all heard about Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus. There is much confusion though about what exactly the difference is between the social sites and how their uses are different. Below we’ve outlined what we consider the major uses and differences between the social sites. We hope this helps with the confusion!
Twitter:
Facebook:
Google Plus:
YouTube:
The internet is full of choices and different technology. As designers we’re forced to think about the different display devices, and how our websites will be viewed on these different devices. In recent years iOS, Android, Windows, and Blackberry devices have sprung up from every direction. iPads, Android tablets, Windows phones…the internet landscape is changing. At Leinicke Group we feel it is important to offer the user a mobile friendly version of your site. Utilizing javascript and mobile detection can be a great way to change the format of your website design according to what device the user is viewing from. Mobile devices are great, but they do have their limitations. It’s important to give the user a fast loading website which won’t eat up their data plan and that will display properly on a smaller screen. If your interested in a mobile website so that you can give your user the best experience, just let us know!
Leinicke Group recently performed a website facelift to goophandcleaner.com. Goop’s lead-in headline “The Trusted Brand for Generations” establishes trust and reliability for the company that pioneered the industry over 60 years ago.
The home page slide show emphasizes other popular uses for the multipurpose hand cleaner “Around the house, in the garage, on your pets.” A complete line of products and their descriptions help distributors, as well as consumers, search for the right product.
Every publication has mechanical ad specifications due to the fact that the publications run on high-speed web presses that have certain print limitations.
For instance, there will be a minimum text size (probably around 7 point) and minimum text size that will successfully reverse (maybe 10 point.) Other considerations that will help your ad to print correctly:
Color density
Max of 300% is common.
For example, a color panel of 100c, 100m, 60y and 100k = 360% will have too much ink coverage and will not absorb into the paper and simply smear across the sheet.
Tint Screens
Text of 12 point size or smaller should be built of solid color and not of tint screens which will appear blurry.
Rich Black
Build a “rich black” of 30c, 30m, 30y and 100k for good coverage to ensure your solid black doesn’t look washed out.
Safe Zone
Keep all critical imagery, text, and logos about 1/2 inch in from the magazine’s trim to avoid undesirable effects.
Always review the publication’s ad specs prior to layout for best print results.
Flash is a great tool. It can create visually stunning and compelling animations, Rich Internet Applications, games and more. 5-10 years ago Flash was the go to choice for designers on the web. But as we all know, the web is changing, constantly being updated, and always growing. In recent years it’s come to our attention that Flash no longer works on all platforms. Specifically, Flash is unable to render in iOS, iPhones, and iPads. This is a huge drawback for anyone who has previously had their website built in Flash. But don’t worry! Javascript and jQuery can replace your Flash components and still make your website dynamic, animated, and feature rich. In fact, Apple recommends using HTML5, CSS3, and Javascript to handle that load. In today’s web world you can’t afford to miss out on 20-30% of the smart phone and tablet market. More people are buying and using them everyday.
If your interested in having your Flash website or animation converted to javascript, just let us know!
We all know how important it is to create an online presence in todays economy. With the internet growing at an alarming rate, it’s more important for business than it ever was. We now have a place where people half way across the world can purchase our items, read our thoughts, or grow with us by suggesting ideas through a forum. With smart phones and tablets on the rise people are becoming more connected and have a need for more information in a quicker time frame. The struggle most small businesses (and large for that matter) have right now is being found. Search engines have more and more data to crawl through these days and the internet’s growth isn’t slowing. Staying on top is a competitive game that takes knowledge, content, strategy, coding, innovation and more. It’s not just adding a tag to a page anymore. The major search engines have complex algorithms that require a lot of studying to analyze. We’re going to offer you a few tips on how to keep up with their growth.
1) Analyze the competition.
In order to keep on top of the competition you have to have a sound strategy for doing so. We recommend taking a look at your competition’s website to figure out why they are doing so well. Not only should you analyze your competition, but you must also do it on a frequent basis. Site’s content changes, and so do the methods of placing your website at the top of Google!
2) Track your site with reports to analyze your own site.
Relying on your businesses site without tracking how well it is doing is a bad move for any business. You have to know who’s visiting your site, what device or operating system they’re using, and how they are getting there in order to develop new strategies to stay ahead. Analyze your keywords, check your top landing pages, and do frequent searches under multiple keywords to see where your site is struggling. We recommend using Google Analytics, a free product offered by the top search engine. There are advanced features that allow you to track visitors, pageviews, landing pages, keywords and more. Most importantly you have to configure it right! Make sure to block your own IP so that your results are not skewed. Leinicke Group has spent a lot of time becoming familiar with Google Analytics so that we can provide quality results that are not skewed by our own traffic.
3) Submit your pages to Google.
If you want to become recognized by Search Engines they have to know you are there right? We recommend submitting your site to as many search engines as possible. Pay special attention to the big 3: Google, Yahoo, and Bing. Use the links provided by them and make sure to submit all your pages. For example, Google has a special place on their site to submit your URLs.
http://www.google.com/addurl/?continue=/addurl
Aside from submitting your URLs, make sure to submit an advanced xml sitemap of your pages, images, and important parts of your site. Contact Leinicke Group if your confused, or if you need help in these areas.
4) Become an authority in your market by offering fresh content and quality advice.
We live by these words. In fact, it’s part of the reason we’re writing this today. In order for Google to trust you as an authority, it must recognize that other people respect your business as an authority. Google’s search algorithms are complex but the easiest way to top their charts is to become a popular site among your peers. Offer quality advice and engage users to bring more traffic, and more recognition to your site. It’s not easy. This takes constant thinking, quality advice, direct consumer engagement, and more. Google will not put you there over night so build your site with the user in mind. Don’t just copy and paste content from other sites. Offer your own input and talk to your users at eye level. As well, keep a blog that is updated with news, tips, and friendly advice that will keep people coming to your site. ENGAGE!
5) Last but not least, code your pages using SEO guidelines.
Make sure to read Google’s tips about properly coding your site. Items like title tags, h2 tags, and keywords can really make a huge difference in whether search engines will see your site. Make sure not to over do it, as search engines will recognize “keyword stuffing.” Google has a list of “Black Hat” techniques it recommends staying away from. Black Hat techniques are bad techniques which may knock your site out of its ranking, or get you blacklisted as a spam site. Learn the difference between “Black Hat” and “White Hat” techniques.
This is just a short list of techniques, but using this as a guideline can greatly increase your website’s performance. Contact Craig Leinicke for more details on how Leinicke Group can help you with these processes.
SEO infographic – SEO in a nutshell
SEO in a nutshell infographic
Colette Kolar has joined the Leinicke Group creative team as a graphic designer. Expect to see her name on your email chains. You can welcome Colette at colettek@leinickegroup.com
So your website is up-to-date and chock full of vital information…but where are the visitors? Just because your site is posted to the world wide web doesn’t mean visitors will find you. In fact, they’re going to need some help. But how?
For more details on how to drive more traffic to your website, call Craig at 636-227-4424.
Getting free samples is as easy as picking up your phone. Leinicke Group designed print ads for ITW Dymon’s SCRUBS® Brand Hand Cleaners provide a QR code that the reader can scan with their smart phone and view a video about the product at their website. At the end of the video is an option to receive the free sample. It’s that easy.
Leinicke Group also created the video that links to the ad. Watch the SCRUBS Free Sample Video on our website.
