So what does this mean?

It means that Adao* are a trusted company that you can depend on to get the best out of your Adwords PPC (pay-per-click) campaign. Whether you want to set up a completely new Adwords campaign, or you want us to take over your existing campaign and optimise it to get the best out of it, Adao* have the skills to ensure your Adwords campaign is running the best possible. By using an Official Adwords Qualified Partner like Adao*, you can be sure that it is the best way to ensure maximum ROI for your hard-earned money.

It also means that the individuals who would be working along with you and your Adwords campaign are all qualified with Google.

How did we do this?

Google required two team members from Adao* to take and pass 2 challenging Adwords certification exams. In our case, both David Ohandjanian (Managing Director of Adao*), and Joshua Clare-Flagg (Internet Marketing Specialist) have completed this. The first is a fundamentals exam, which covers every single aspect of Adwords advertising in one exam. This is to ensure the candidate has a good general knowledge of the system. Next, David and Josh had to take a specialist exam. Both completed and passed the Search Advertising Advanced Exam. This covers the advanced best practices for managing Adwords campaigns. The exams are in-depth and cover every aspect of the Google system and best practices, with around 100 questions, lasting for 2 hours and requiring a score of 85% to pass. Another requirement is that Adao* has a decent good portfolio managing at least $10,000 worth of Advertising spending in 3 months.

With an impressive international Adwords client base, you can be guaranteed that Adao* will look after you marketing spend well! Our ideal location means that we are the best option for any looking for PPC in the Midlands.

Visit our Official Google Adwords Partner page here:
https://adwords.google.com/partnersearch/#profile;07336524711363104201

And of course, here is the certified icon provided by Google to prove our status.

Google+ The 30 second lowdown

Google+ is a new Social Network launched by Google that is attempting to gain a significant percentage of Facebook traffic.  The basic principles of Google+ are very similar to Facebook but there are a few small differences that set the platforms apart. Most notable are both the ‘Circles’ and the ‘Hangout’ features.  Google has big plans for the + platform, you can find a single page overview here with some insightful videos. Google+ also provides a range of features that can benefit businesses and this is what we will concentrate in this post.

Personal Search has Major Implications

Google is the de facto Search Engine of choice for most people (91% of all UK searches) If you are logged into Google and make a search, you will notice a +1 button within the result listings.  This button allows you to easily share content with one click from the Search Results.  On the flip side, those in your circles will also receive content highlighted in Search Results from those within their circles and from companies they follow on Google+.

Simply put: You have more chance of being found on Google Search Results and seen by potential and active customers because of an active Google+ Business page.

Hanging Out

Hangouts within Google+ allow for Real-time video chat through your Google+ business page.  These are free and do not require special registration.

Hangouts can be great for:

• Training
• Product Demos
• Customer Service
• Live Q&A
• Many more

Simply put: Communicate via video chat through Google+ to customers and suppliers.

Circle of Trust

Unlike Facebook, Google+ allows businesses to follow people who follow their page.  When a follower puts you in their circle they always see your posts.

Circles can be a great way of communicating with your customers and even separate them into different groups.  For example a coffee shop could send “early bird offers” for commuters who drop in for a quick take away coffee on the way to work and “lunch offers” for regular lunchtime visitors.

Simply put: Customers who follow your company can view your posts (or messages).  You can organise your customers into groups called circles.

The Conclusion

Google+ is still fairly new and the user base is still growing (although this is already at 100+ million). Although this is the case, you have the opportunity to get ahead of your competitors, understand and grasp Google+ for your business.  We cannot ignore this powerful new platform; Google definitely has the resource to make this work. As already indicated, Google+ has the power to affect search results, with this addition; many businesses will have to understand the significant value potential for business this offers.

If you are feeling a little lost, don’t fret, Adao is here to help.  If you would like to understand how your business could benefit from Google+ or would like help setting up your profile, feel free to give us a call on 0800 6125 611.

Don’t forget to follow Adao Design on Google+

View our step-by-step video guide to setting up a Google+ Page for your business:

What Sources are Driving Traffic to My Site?

Knowing where your visitors are coming from help you to:

• Find out which advertising is paying off (e.g. referrals from other websites, SEO campaigns)
• See which areas of your website marketing need some work

The screenshoot below shows the split between 3 main traffic sources:

• Search Traffic shows visitors who found your site via search engines like Google and Bing
• Referral Traffic highlights visitors referred by another website, e.g. a banner ad or link from a blog
• Direct Traffic indicates the visitor arrived at your site directly by typing it into their browser address bar or clicking a bookmark

How do I get there? Login to analytics => Traffic Sources => Overview

But is your website keeping people locked in after they arrive?

Is My Website Grabbing Visitor Attention?

Visitors Overview provides some useful details that indicate how people are interacting with your site.

The New vs Returning Visitor pie chart shows you what percentage of visitors are coming back for more. If you run a site that benefits significantly from returning visits e.g. an ad-revenue driven blog or a fashion retail online store you need to look for ways to increase this percentage. Alternative if your site is just a simple introduction to your company and contact details it’s less important.

Avg. Time on Site gives you a broad picture of how long visitors are sticking around. Again, retail sites with lots of products or information-based blogs will be aiming for a high number here.

How do I get there? Login to analytics => Audience => Overview

What if things look like they need some improvement? Time to dig a little bit deeper and find out what users are doing after they arrive at your site.

Where are Visitors Going After Landing On My Site?

Investigating where visitors navigate to in your site is a great way to discover:

• Does my website have enough clear calls to action (e.g. add to basket, contact us, etc)?
• Are some parts of my website difficult for people to find?
• Is some part of my website difficult to use, making visitors exit instead of before they get where you want them to be?

Some visitors will land on your site then exit without delving any further. This is called a bounce, and the Content Overview shows you this percentage as Bounce Rate. For most kinds of website the objective will be to reduce this percentage. A high bounce rate might indicate that the marketing driving visitors to your website is irrelevant, or that when visitors land on your site they aren’t seeing the content or calls to action which prompt them to stay on the site.

How do I get there? Login to analytics => Content => Overview

The Site Content => Pages overview shows top pages on your site in order of most viewed. The majority of the time the home page will be top of the list.

This view illustrated here has been altered slightly to show a pie chart and page titles instead of the URLs – the default is a table.

How do I get there? Login to analytics => Content => Site Content => Pages

What’s Next?

Google Analytics track a lot of information, which, when interpreted correctly can be an incredibly powerful tool for your business. Our SEO campaigns include regularly walking you through your analytics to make sure you’re getting the best from your marketing budget. Why not contact us about SEO to find out how we can help?

Mobile internet is the fastest growing trend in history, already with more Internet connections in the UK through mobile than regular desktop PC’s!

Is your business keeping up with the progression?  Do you have a website that is optimised for viewing on smartphones like the iPhone, Android or Blackberry devices?  If not then Adao Design has an irresistible offer lined up for you.

Special offer –  go mobile for just £299!

Yes, receive a beautiful mobile version of your website, perfect for Internet on the go and optimised for the Google Mobile Search Engine! See an example of some of our mobile websites in our portfolio.

Key considerations of a mobile website:

Rule the Google Mobile Search Engine and ultimately gain more business and leads with the fastest growing technology trend in history.

Call FREE on 0800 6125 611

or use our contact form Quoting “Go Mobile” offer.

Both new team members significantly increase the in-house skill set of the Adao team and are eager to get to know you.

We thought we’d ask a few questions to give you a brief insight into the new members of the team, but feel free to all intro duce yourself to both members by emailing at edward@adaodesign.com and josh@adaodesign.com.

Joshua Clare-Flagg

What do you add to team Adao?
I like to think I’m a love child of Dave and Edd’s abilities – a blend of Dave’s creativity and half of Edd’s technical wizardry. I’m not that just yet… when I am, I’ll be a happy bunny. Still learning the secrets of web domination!

Interests outside of work?
Rocking out in a band with my boss. Football. And watches!

Guilty pleasure?
America and Britain’s Next Top Model

Geekiest trait?
Being able to spot what watch people are wearing from 10m away.

3 words to describe yourself?
Dangerously Dashingly Delightful.

Edward Prendergast

What do you add to team Adao?
Cutting edge research and application of exciting new web technologies.

Interests outside of work?
Low-down bass playing in the dingiest dives.

Guilty pleasure?
Grace Jones.

Geekiest trait?
I’m a web developer,  everything I do is geeky!

3 words to describe yourself?
Dependable Flexible Bearded.

As a registered Google Engage agency, Adao Design was invited by Google to be in attendance for an interesting programme.

The following article reviews some key highlights from the day that we feel that our customers may be interested in.

WOW Stats

• SME’s embracing the Internet in the UK are growing 4-7 times faster
• In 2009 the Internet contributed £100bn – 7.2% of UK GDP
• 4/10 small businesses in the UK still do not have a website
• 20% of Google searches relate to a local product or business

Google+

Google reviewed the progress of their new social platform Google+.   So far Google+ has 40m+ users who have uploaded 3.4b photos.   There are also over 1m websites with the +1 button.

Click here for more information on Google+
Click here for more information on +1

Things to consider about Google+ & +1

• G+ posts can be publics so can be indexed in the Google search like a blog
• You can improve performance of Google ads with the +1 button
• What you do on Google+ can have a halo effect on overall rankings
• Circles can allow you to segment messaging to your customers

Simply, if your business has not already got a Google+ profile, get one now!  If you are unsure how to do this or have further questions, contact team Adao.

On Google+ already? Why not follow Adao Design here.

2012 is the year of the smartphone

Mobile Internet is the fastest growing technology trend in history.  In fact, Mobile Internet is growing 8x the speed that desktop Internet did.  Connections in the UK from smartphones will look to overtake the amount of connections from desktop in 2012!

In November 2012, 15% of ALL retail queries for popular gift items were made through a mobile phone.

It’s also Interesting to note that Google Mobile Search places rankings in favour of Mobile optimised websites.  Having a mobile optimised website can leapfrog you ahead of your competitors.

The age of the mobile phone is already upon us.  Does your company have a mobile website yet?  Don’t get left behind, why not contact Adao Design today for a competitive quote, start 2012 with a bang.  Our team is proficient at creating excellent mobile website experiences.

The three “Be’s” for successful business

Google gave us three be’s for successful businesses:

• Be Found
• Be Engaging
• Be Accountable

On of the best ways to assess these is you regularly view analytics and website traffic reports provided by software like Google analytics.  On this subject, Google revealed how they have totally recoded the new version of Google Analytics from the ground up and promised that we’d see some very exciting new features in 2012.

Why not read this article which overviews some of the new features already available through the new Google Analytics interface.

Summary

The day was very positive with lots of agency specific advice, tips and tricks.  There was a good amount of time dedicated to helping us understand the importance of mobile websites, mobile advertising and tracking in 2012.

Design Finger Friendly Web Pages

Finger tips are usually 40-80 pixels in size, it’s important to consider this when creating buttons, and elements on the page.  Design for the finger and not the stylus, make sure interactive elements are easy to use without needing to zoom.

Fingers can do more than just click, a lot of phones have access to gesture controls that can make the mobile experience a lot more interactive.

Optimize for “on rails” vertical scrolling

This simplifies the consumption of content for the user.  Vertical only scrolling allows the user to navigate the site with one hand and reduces the likelihood of users missing content if they don’t pan left or right.

Avoid Web Technologies that don’t work well on mobile

It’s important to consider that mobile devices have different capabilities than desktop browsers.  The following examples are elements that we should look to avoid when developing optimised mobile websites.

Framesets: they work but take up a lot of room and content can be hard to read.  Scrolling the content of the frame can also cause difficulty.

Tables: Don’t use tables for layout or positioning elements, that’s what CSS is for.  This is best practice on desktop, but even more important on mobile websites and devices.  However, you can still use tables for tabular data, in fact that’s exactly what they were designed for.

Image Maps: These typically rely on mouse over behaviour, most devices don’t support this.

Hover effects: Take for example drop down menus.  There is no hover state on most mobile phone browsers so these should be avoided for maximum compatibility.

Plug-ins: Most mobile devices don’t support binary plug-ins.

Mobile Design Considerations

Design content to match the size of the viewport and test across the range of mobile browser platforms.  Simplify your content, try to think of the users needs.  They are more likely to require important information like an address or contact details that read about your company history.  Make sure that text is easy to read and that images chosen are easy to comprehend.

Loading Speed

Be cognisant of the loading speed of your website.  Your user is likely to be on a slower connection that they would be on the desktop.  Google Mobile Search also puts great emphasis on the page load speed within its algorithm.  Sites that work better on mobile devices are likely to rank better.

OK time for a plug. Adao Design provides and range of web design and mobile website solutions. If you are looking for a fresh new mobile website to take advantage of the fastest growing technology trend in history, why not contact us for more information.

Free Apple in an hour session on Monday 27th February at 11am

Adao Design is hosting a session to help businesses who are interested in understanding the benefits of incorporating Apple technology.

Neil Emery, an Apple Education Mentor will demonstrate how Apple products can be used successfully in any business environment.  Neil will run an interactive session to show how Apple hardware and mobile devices can be seamlessly integrated into your company workflow.

The free session will be held at:
Main Meeting Room
Sir Frank Whittle Business Centre
Great Central Way
Rugby
Warwickshire
CV21 3XH

> View Map

Outlining a typical working day, areas such as Business Intelligence, Scheduling Meetings, creating presentations, right through to accessing and editing PC files.

Places are limited and will be allocated on a first come first served basis, please email david@adaodesign.com to confirm your attendance.

Our experienced web design team has worked on projects with companies based in Daventry to provide a beautiful online presence that provides real results. Our websites are designed and customised to your bespoke needs, reflecting your company in the most important place for businesses today – the Internet.

Why not contact one of our web design team for a free no obligation chat – 0800 6125 611

Our specialist website design team also provide mobile optimized websites for clients, find out more regarding our mobile website solutions.