My Blog

Category: SEO

  • Finding a Digital Agency: What to Look for in a Web Design or Web Development Agency?

    Narrow down your digital agency selection using our handy top ten tips on choosing a web design agency.

    1) Check out their own site

    Do you like it? Does it sell to you? Does it contain all the types of skills that you’re looking for e.g. good web design, well designed user interface, well built, works on mobiles. Does it impress you?

    2) Ask to look at their portfolio

    Are the case studies recent? Do you recognize the company names? Do a Google search and check that the companies exist and have the same website that the agency designed. Do you like the website designs they have produced? Ask yourself: Do they represent the company well? Would you use this website? Do they have experience of website design in your field? Do the website’s meet their objectives?

    3) Check References

    Ask the web agency if they can send you references or testimonials from customers. And when you get these testimonials, make sure you check them out. Call the clients up and check that the testimonials are real.

    Finally, ask how long the agency has been running. Age doesn’t always matter, but it does help to identify experience.

    4) Capabilities

    All agencies will be good at some things and not at others. Find out what they have experience in and what they do well, they often have a bias to one content management technology or another. Often, it’s helpful to get the CV’s of all staff employed. The best agencies will have a balance of online marketing, development and creative. If you have specific requirements – make a list and ask the agency what their proficiency is in the specific skills.

    5) Availability – Service levels

    Check that they can meet your needs. Quite often companies have a client account team in the UK but their main development team may be based elsewhere. Make sure you get a phone number not just an email address (and not a premium rate number either). Ask the web design agency what the turnaround time is for responding to emails.

    6) Resourcing

    You want your web design agency to be big enough to ensure that if your account manager is off sick or on holiday your business is not forgotten.

    Do you prefer a larger, higher resourced agency or a smaller, more flexible agency? The general rule would be to find a web agency that’s resourced to reflect the size of tasks and projects you require. If you have 1000 employees but your actual marketing and development budget is reasonably low, you are only likely to need an agency of 5-10 employees. If you have 100 employees, but you are heavily reliant on outsourced projects, a larger agency may be more suitable. No one size fits all!

    7) Age of agency

    Age doesn’t always matter, but in this industry it can be an important factor. The web has seen many changes in a relatively short space of time, if a website design agency has been in business for five or more years it have obviously been managed well. The internet has seen the boom and bust of many company’s; those that live to tell the tale are obviously being run well.

    8) Are the staff approachable and professional?

    It’s important that you connect with the people managing your account. The best results will be created when you forge a partnership with your web agency.

    Do they provide an off the shelf package, or do they tailor their resources to your needs? Do they use a lot of jargon or explain things clearly? Have they provided relevant suggestions suitable for your business? Far too often, company’s try to sell you products that you don’t need and are not tailored to your needs.

    9) Check out the agency’s terms and conditions

    This is quite important and helps avoid problems further down the line. Here’s some helpful questions to ask:

    • Are there any hidden costs, like set up fees or holding fees?
    • Can you make staged payments for your web project?
    • Are updates and maintenance included in the website design fees?
    • Are bug fixes charged for?
    • Will you get a copy of the source files?
    • Who owns the source code?
    • Who owns copyright of the design?
    • Are the files back-up?
    • Will it work on smartphones?

    10) Do they outsource their work?

    Check to see if your project will be developed in house or if it will be outsourced. Ask to meet the design or technical team. If work is going to be outsourced, find out where, are you able to contact the team? There are many cases of company’s who have an account management team, and an outsourced development team. It’s common for technical development to be done off shore as resources abroad are cheaper. The problem with this scenario is guaranteeing the quality of the work produced. Does the account management team check the back end code? Does it meet current guidelines and legal requirements? Can they be flexible enough to meet your needs?

    Want a web agency with a difference

    Reasons for choosing DAT (DAO)

    There are five main reasons for choosing DAO:

    •  You can create a site that can attract customers properly
    •  Gives comprehensive advice on the web
    •  Explains in easy-to-understand words without using technical terms
    •  A person in charge with solid experience and skills will support you
    •  Reasonable and cost-effective

     

  • Difficulty in Choosing a Web Agency

    Choosing an ideal Web Agency for your business is definitely tricky. Making the choice has to be a calculated decision..

    Some basic parameters I think that one should judge potential agencies on are as follows-

    1. Past Experience of the Agency across Creative, Technology and SEO capabilities: Weight 30% (Distribute weight across these parameters depending on your requirement).

    2. Ideas and Suggestions provided by the Agency: Weight 20%: This will give you an indication to their dedication towards the account, understanding of the brief and the application of their creativity.

    3. Cost: Weight 30%: Obviously this could be the deciding factor, but to start with you should give everybody a good hearing. Just so you know that in the end you are comparing an apple to an apple.

    4. Communication and Flexibility of Working: Weight 20%: Since a web design and development project is a very iterative process you need to have a good set of Account Managers who you think will understand you and will be flexible with your needs at times, when you really want some options.

    It is quintessential to weigh each agency on the fore-mentioned parameters. The task be seem simple but involves a good deal of thought to be put in. The right web agency can swing the online business as well as you brand image in the market to reflect success.

    Your website is your global office which can appeal to anyone anywhere. It is the single most powerful tool defining your presence as well as promoting it through the largest audience spanning a global coverage. Therefore the success of the website is directly proportional to the success of any business largely. This phenomenon is a responsive activity of the web agency making it the most cumbersome thought to choose the best one for your business. As a golden rule, one must rely on the experience which establishes expertise in the field, to get the best outcome from the web appeal.

    Webagentur in Vorarlberg

    Unsere Services von Webdesign aus Vorarlberg bis hin zu Marketingleistungen erreichen Menschen und Unternehmen am Arlberg, Vorarlberg, Tirol, Österreich und Deutschland. Zudem arbeiten wir auch für Personen und Unternehmen in englischsprachigen

  • Internet Marketing Services for Small Businesses

    Small businesses take part in marketing their business on the internet not only because most programs are budget friendly and completely customizable, but also because it has been proven that local internet marketing works for small businesses if done by professionals. Small businesses can also find deals that are made specifically for them when it comes to internet marketing in order to get their foot in the door when it comes to properly advertising their business. There are a few different options for a business to choose from when it comes to marketing via the internet as well.

    One of the most popular options for small business is the pay per click method of marketing, also known as PPC. This process consists of paying each time someone clicks on your website and visits it. This means you can monitor your marketing costs very specifically and it is a good way of evaluating how well the internet marketing is working for you.

    Another popular method of marketing for small businesses is by focusing online efforts to the market that is local to you. If the majority of your business deals with local customers, there is no sense in marketing in other areas. You can push all your efforts to searches that are specific to your area only, and not for markets you are not involved in. This is not only very budget friendly, but absolutely effective no matter what type of business you run.

    Search engine optimization is popular with any type of business that plans to market over the internet. The main basis of this type of marketing is to get your company at the top of a search that is relative to a product you sell, or relative to your business. Most people while searching online do not go any further than a few pages of the search. This is what stresses the importance of having your company name come up first during a search.

    Small businesses typically start out small with marketing costs and build their way up as they get more business. Internet marketing works out perfectly considering the budget concerns because you can literally spend as little as you want, or can go as high as you want when it comes to marketing. If you have not already started to advertise your business online, now is the time to do so. Most people shop online before actually going to a store, and will use the internet as a information tool for most types of non-product businesses, so tapping into this portion of the market is a necessity to grow your small business.
    Ink and Foil – Digital Marketing for Ambitious Small Business Owners and Sole Traders.