SEO Werkt!

The other week we were delighted to be part of Marketing Week Live, exhibiting in the Online Marketing Show, and more excitingly, speaking in the Search, Affiliate and Display Arena (the video link is at the end of this blog).

Matt Hopkins, our MD, examined The Evolution of Online Marketing, looking at:

• the various stages in the development of the business website
• the changing factors within search engines and social media
• the demands of information-hungry consumers
• how marketers have adapted so far to keep up
• the challenges they face today and in the future

He focused on three key takeaway points for the audience:

1. Search vs Discovery.
What are the differences between search and discovery, and how can we as marketers use both to create the right audience for a brand?

There are two ways that people access information online. Search we’re all familiar with. To ‘Google it’ has become a commonly used phrase because search is really an essential part of life for most people.

Discovery, on the other hand, is different, and has traditionally been ‘owned’ by offline marketing channels. Browsing through a magazine or passing a billboard you may stumble on the latest gadget to change your life. You didn’t know it existed before, but now you need it!

The point is that search delivers expected results, whereas discovery yields the unexpected. Tweet this!

2. Brands are now publishers.
The nature of the business website has moved on, and to attract and retain readers – not traffic – you must adopt an editorial approach to your online marketing.

For businesses to be successful in their market they need to engage customers early in the buying cycle. And this doesn’t mean hitting them with your sales pitch from the start.

Building loyalty for your brand starts with content – for engagement, education, information and persuasion. Tweet this!

3. Convergence.
Social media isn’t replacing search; it generates content and relationships. Search helps us sift through content and conversations in pursuit of a specific goal/information.

Technical SEO on its own no longer works. Content on its own goes nowhere. Social on its own is just conversation. Marketers must integrate all three to be successful. Tweet this!

Part of Marketing Week Live!, the Online Marketing Show opens tomorrow in the Grand Hall, Olympia, and runs over 27th-28th June 2012.

If you are interested in finding out about the latest inspirational ideas and best practice for any and all aspects of Online Marketing, you need to be there.

As a leader in the search industry, naturally we’ll be there too!  Come and see us and Red Rocket Media at stand A306 for help and advice on SEO, Paid Search, Content marketing and Social Media.

Additionally, we are delighted to announce that our MD, Matt Hopkins will be delivering a seminar on The Evolution of Online Marketing at 1320 in the Search, Affiliate and Display Arena (just around the corner from our stand).

What you can expect:

In the world of online marketing, change is the only constant.  In this session, Matt Hopkins reflects on the evolution of online marketing and discusses the key catalysts for major changes over the past decade or more.  He will also discuss more recent events and how significant market and technical shifts mean that online marketers must adapt to survive.  In particular, he will discuss the convergence of social media, search marketing and content marketing as one of the major responses to these events.

You can register to attend the Online Marketing Show for free via the website.  We look forward to seeing you there!

Wow, it’s been a big year for the VL team.

2010-11 has seen the business grow by 65%, the expansion of our services, new team members, a new website and a whole new brand!

Over the year we’ve continually developed our content marketing services portfolio, adding Evergreen content and Social Media content to our highly successful News content service. This is in direct response to the growing need to integrate content with search marketing and social media.

We’ve also broadened paid search services, adding Display, Mobile and Remarketing to PPC, and have achieved some impressive results for customers using paid search and social media this year.

The move to expand the search marketing service offering has meant the addition of ten more talented people, taking the team to thirty-five.

Another highlight of the year was the creation of a vibrant new brand identity for Vertical Leap, as showcased here on our new website!

One of our most significant events this year was the launch of a new brand, Red Rocket Media. The new brand was created to service online marketers, providing content marketing strategies for businesses using websites and social media to grow their audience, build reputation and attract and engage more customers. Since the launch in September 2011, the Red Rocket Media team have been building relationships with high profile PR and creative agencies, as well as prominent B2C businesses.

In October 2011 we celebrated ten years of industry-leading services and innovation in search marketing. When Matt Hopkins founded the company in 2001 it was to provide honest, fairly-priced and effective services to customers, a philosophy that has continued to appeal the market, proven with a 97% customer retention rate.

Matt has no plans to slow down for the coming year:

‘2011 has been another great year for Vertical Leap. To be successful with search marketing today you need more than traditional methods and it is becoming harder than ever for businesses to market themselves effectively online.  Our content-driven approach provides customers with everything they need to gain visibility in every corner of their market.  We have expanded our services to meet the needs of our market, and have ambitious plans to continue this growth over the next twelve months.’

If you’d like to find out how we can grow your business, get in touch today.