Chichester Design

Google has made a major change to how consumers see local businesses online and how local businesses interact with these consumers: it has replaced Google Places with Google+ Local. Expanding the use of Google+ is the target but all the same, it’s a smart move by the company.

Perhaps the largest change for small businesses that have been using Google Places is that Google+ Local means that they have to embrace the social element that surrounds this marketing technology, by which we mean social media. Google+ Local is a step into the world of Twitter and Facebook, at a …

Nearly 56 million people have watched this video in the last five days. Now I’ve said that you probably don’t need to be told which video I’m talking about. Whatever your thoughts about the KONY 2012 film, it is a truly inspired use of the web.

I’ve watched the video and I’ve read the reaction, both supportive and questioning. The film is unarguably powerful and inspiring, and personally I think while some of the doubts raised have merit, this is at heart unquestionably a good cause. The Invisible Children group are using the power of the web, involving websites, …

It has been a while since we’ve posted a client profile on the Chichester Design blog, so this week I’m doing just that. We’ve recently completed a new website for the Old Post Office, a bar and restaurant in Wallingford, Oxfordshire.

This was a great project to work on, not least because we worked with a very nice people at the Oakman Inn Group. The company has spent a lot of time and effort refurbishing this pub, turning it into a very desirable destination, as you can see from the photos on the site, and they wanted to update …

Heady days at the Chichester Design office – we’ve been busy trying out the new Google Analytics Real-Time. “What’s so exciting about that?” I hear everybody say? Well, in short, it’s a tool that helps paint a clearer, quicker picture of return on investment on business websites.

With Google Analytics Real-Time plugged into a business website, the impact of any piece of digital marketing, whether it’s the uploading of a business blog or a web video, social media activity, or the hosting of a live event, such as a webinar, can be instantly tracked.

I think this immediate …

I’ve been keeping my eye on developments in the social media world this week and I see that Mr Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, has introduced a new subscribe tool to his network. There’s potential for businesses in this I think.

Facebook’s subscribe button is a clever response to Google+ Circle and a shot across the bow of Twitter – it allows a user to follow anybody’s or any company’s public updates regardless of whether they are Facebook friends. I think this opens another social media optimisation opportunity for businesses.

Companies already use Facebook local business pages and targeted advertising to market …