Type Archives - Randall Branding Agency

January 21st | Digital Strategy SEO Website Design & SEO

Supercharge Your Website With a Solid SEO Strategy!

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a game that’s all about staying one step ahead of your opponents. One of the best ways to accomplish this is to be aware of how search engines are changing, and adjust your content, digital marketing and SEO strategy before your competitors have a chance to catch up. So let’s learn about some trends we’re seeing!

1 Increased Adoption of Accelerated Mobile Pages

Initiated this year, Accelerated Mobile Pages or AMP is one of the major projects that Google aims to utilize to improve the performance of the mobile web—which historically did not offer satisfying experience to many users.

And since it implementation, many SEO have started giving more effort to improve their site’s loading speed on mobile devices.

Google uses a streamlined version of HTML, CSS, as well as a Google-cached version of the website to

Make a page load 30X faster and use 8X fewer data than non-amp pages (which takes an average loading time of 22 seconds)

Google has already favored sites who have opted to AMP by giving them disability in a carousel and a small “lightning bolt” icons to let the user know a page is AMP of not.

And people want their content delivery in a lightning speed nowadays, AMP will certainly gain more importance this coming 2017 and beyond.

2 Denser, Quality Content

People, as well as search engines, have witnessed a lot of content in the web that keeps talking about the same topics repeatedly by changing some of the words and structure used in the previous articles.

Many content marketers have then produced thousand-word articles and guides to make their content more credible to read, but forcing people to read it throughly to understand the topic very well.

Because of this problem, many SEO experts say that content density will become a major standard amount content marketers this coming year.

Instead of using the amount of words used “per word value” will gain more traction

as the key metric for measuring the actual value of the content.

This is critical in driving traffic to the site a lot of people now have a shorter attention span today than the last decade.

3 Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence

The entrance of Google RankBrain in the search engine arena last year signifies a new age in SEO.

RankBrain serves as an extension of the Google Hummingbird to refine unconventional search queries.

And it’s been over a year since we’ve seen an update like RankBrain, it’s possible that Google will release more machine learning updates, or may even incorporate machine learning and artificial intelligence in other areas such data interpretation and marketing automation.

of the words and structure used in the previous articles.

Google RankBrain is currently in the 3rd spot for the most important signal in ranking

4 The Union of Personal Branding and SEO

We’ve been a proponent of personal branding as a core strategy for SEO for many years now. With a personal brand, you’ll have an easier time securing guest posts, building user trust, and driving more traffic to your website.

Personal Branding will gain more traction in SEO landscape this year

to help digital marketers to secure guest post, established a trust to readers, and drive more traffic to the website.

And though only a few websites are taking advantage of personal branding, it will also come handy this year since social media sites like Facebook continue to refine their algorithm to favor individual post over post created by business pages.

5 User Experience Optimization (UEO)

We are starting to see the user experience to gain more importance in the SEO landscape. As people are increasingly becoming more demanding in terms of the navigability of the website—especially on mobile,

User Experience Optimization is going to be an integral part of the overall SEO strategy

A satisfying user experience can immensely increase the time a user will spend on the website before they go back to the search results—called downtime—which is one important metric that impacts SEO.

This may either require few tweaks or total overhaul in the website, but overall, a website optimized for maximum user experience is one of the best ways to secure a decent spot in SERPs nowadays.

The SEO industry is always moving, so it pays to be aware of these evolutions. Contact us today to see how we can help your business get the most out of your web presence!

References:
https://searchenginewatch.com/2016/08/04/preparing-for-seo-in-2017-yes-its-that-time-already/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2016/11/09/7-seo-trends-that-will-dominate-2017/
https://blog.kissmetrics.com/get-started-using-schema/
http://digitalmarketingphilippines.com/google-amp-8-facts-you-should-know-infographic/
https://searchenginewatch.com/2016/09/06/google-experiments-with-new-desktop-serp-layout/
http://link-assistant.com/news/smx-east-2016-recap.html
http://searchengineland.com/google-reveals-20-percent-queries-voice-queries-249917

October 13th | Brand Strategy Design Process

Feedback. Ping. Pong.

At Randall Branding our design process is like a game of table tennis.

You review designs and ask for changes. Ping. We take your feedback, make improvements and send it back your way. Pong. This back and forth is part of the rhythm of life here at the agency.

We do our best to serve up (get it? serve?) great creative, but providing great feedback is just as important to a project’s success. Here are few examples of Supremely Triumphant Feedback and Not So Supremely Triumphant feedback.

Not So Supremely Triumphant Client Feedback

“I don’t know what it is, but the website just isn’t working for me”

“James and Ivan want to see the logo in blue. Britt’s favorite color is hot pink. Personally I think green looks best.”

“Let’s try a different photo on the cover of the brochure.”

Supremely Triumphant Client Feedback

“We want the website to feel a little more professional.”

“After some internal discussion, we’d like to see the logo in blue — I think this would help visually differentiate us from our competitors.”

“Let’s try a different photo where the mother is younger — we want the brochure to resonate with 20–30 year olds as well.”

Here are a few tips:

1. Try to make feedback as actionable as possible. Spend time thinking about what specifically is in need of improvement.

2. Consolidate changes into one organized punch list. This is especially important if you have multiple folks reviewing a project.

3. Be thorough, and don’t pull any punches! We’re out to make the best work humanly possible, and your critical thinking is invaluable.

4. Be as prompt as your time and schedule allow. The sooner we hear back from you, the sooner we can provide you with a new and improved design.

Great feedback helps us be efficient with our time, and it keeps your project on schedule. It eliminates a project’s weaknesses and amplifies it’s strengths. It also makes us want to stand up on our desks and sing.

It’s a game of table tennis that everybody wins.

September 28th | Color Design Design Process

Let’s talk Color: A simple guide to color spaces

Here’s a hypothetical for you: You’ve been working with us on a logo for your business. We’ve gone through the design process and arrived at a beautiful & thoughtful mark that reflects your unique characteristics. Awesome! What happens next?

We’ll prepare your logo in a variety of color spaces: RGB, CMYK, and Pantone. These color spaces are used in different contexts, and choosing the right file type for your needs depends on a few factors. It may seem confusing at first, but with some basic information, you’ll know everything you need to get by. Let’s break it down:

RGB

All RGB colors are made by mixing varying amounts of red, green, and blue light. You should use RGB files in any digital or screen-based context. This includes websites, email blasts, digital banner ads, and tv spots.

CMYK

All CMYK colors are made from varying amounts of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black ink. You should use CMYK files in any physical or print-based context. This includes business cards, letterheads, and brochures to name a few. CMYK is often referred to as four-color printing and is the most common (and usually the most economical) method of producing physical pieces.

Pantone

All Pantone colors are made from a combination of base pigments mixed in specified amounts. You should use Pantone files in any physical or print-based context where color accuracy is imperative. Pantone is often referred to as spot color printing, and its main benefit is consistency and predictability — a Pantone color will always look the same, regardless of vendor and production technique. Pantone Coated colors are used for glossy surfaces, and Pantone Uncoated colors are used for matte surfaces.

Bam! Now you’re a color space expert! Well, maybe expert is a stretch, but you should know pretty much everything you need to in order to use your logo effectively. However, if you ever feel like you’re out of your depth when it comes to color, don’t hesitate to contact us here at RBA.

If you want to know more about us, you can jump over here. If you’d like to see what we do, you can always jump over there.

Here’s what we’re up to.