The Dawg Blawg || End-to-end E-Commerce Everything

A Virtual Reality

2008-12-15T16:36:00.000-08:00

We at YellowDawg have begun to wonder what’s next. What will be the future of the web design business? How will YellowDawg remain competitive as more and more web design companies emerge in the Victoria, BC, market? Of course, as always we hold a strong devotion towards customer service and client interaction. But what about our end product? How can YellowDawg deliver websites that meet and exceed our client’s wildest imagination? The key, we believe, is to find new ways of understanding our clients’ visions.

Is it no secret: to run a successful web design business you’re going to have to find ways to make your clients thrilled with their new websites. Knowing their vision and understanding their ambitions play an essential part in this. However, this is no small feat. Differences between our clients’ vision and our own vision may differ. Two different parties can, nevertheless, see things in completely different ways – especially considering many of our clients come from backgrounds completely different than our own. To counteract his we have adopted new communication technologies like Jing, and relied on Skype to relay quick messages when necessary. Of course, these will never take the place of meeting with a client in person, but they do, we think, markedly improve communication and contribute to the positive customer experience that has long set us out from the competition.

But, getting back to my original question, what’s next? What can YellowDawg and its clients look forward to in the future? One slightly Orwellian answer might come from the good folks at Japan’s ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories. It is here that scientists have developed brain analysis technology that can reconstruct the images inside a person’s mind and display them on a computer monitor. No…seriously. No joke.

Although only currently able to reconstruct peoples thoughts in small measures of black and white dots, scientists believe that with further development the technology may soon make it possible to view other people’s dreams while they sleep, and – more importantly to us, be utilized in the world of art and design. In fact, they posit that it might even become possible to quickly and accurately access images existing inside an artist’s head (or, in our case, a client’s head).

So, fear not people, one day YellowDawg might even be able to read your mind and anticipate your deepest website desires even better than we do today!

Check out the link for the full article: http://www.pinktentacle.com/2008/12/scientists-extract-images-directly-from-brain/

4 Reasons why textual content is pivotal to the development of your website

2008-12-10T16:31:00.000-08:00

The importance of a website's textual content, or 'copywrite' as it's called in the biz, is embodied in the very same reason you're reading this sentence. Visitors read your website. However, whether that's for 2 minutes, or even 2 seconds, has a lot to do with the care and thought you put into making your written content count.

In the better interest of mankind, here at YellowDawg we've compiled a list of 4 important reasons why your website's textual content is pivotal to its development.

1. Usability

How many times have you visited a site and spent more than 30 seconds trying to find out what it is you're looking for? If you have, chances are you don't even recall what the purpose of that website was – never mind bookmarking, signing-up for their newsletter or recommending it to a friend.

In a society where time is money, good textual content gives your visitors a reason to browse your website. In fact, it will not only capture your visitor's interest, it will help them navigate and enjoy their browsing experience. By carefully considering vocabulary, placement and structure, textual content will direct your visitors to the information, products or services you're trying to communicate and/or or sell. And, quite frankly, nothing about your website is more important than that.

2. First Impressions

Perhaps it's due to my liberal arts background, but nothing puts me off more than finding misspellings and/or grammatical errors while browsing through a website. Granted, the proverbial 'typo' does happen - we're all guilty of them. However, a website is not your average email or Facebook wall-posting, rather it is the transmitter of your company's first impression. And call me crazy, but I'll guess that your intended first impression does not involve incompetence.

In many ways the content on your website is like the cover letter on a resume. It should be intriguing, informative, to-the-point, and have some sort of well-structured flow. Negating this jeopardizes your chances of making that positive first impression.

3. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

With the rise of Google, SEO has become a preeminent lion of the internet kingdom. Simply stated, the more conducive your website is to Goolge's search engine algorithms, the better chance it has of showing up at the top of a search page. 'The lions share' of this conduciveness is achieved through your website's textual content – both in terms of quality and quantity. Key words, for instance, have a large degree of influence, but simply writing down as many of them as you can is not as effective as incorporating them into a constructive piece of writing.

If you're thinking of looking to web traffic as a significant part of your business plan, pick up a book on SEO. From what I've read thus far, Search Optimization for Dummies gives you a great general overview of the topic and will have you content-crazy in no time. Check it out here

4. Be distinguished

A website with well-written textual content is miles ahead of websites which have otherwise. Much like a good newspaper or magazine, it will endure time and people will look to it as a reliable source of information or advice. If you're a company launching a new website and your competitors already enjoy a strong web presence, well-written content is a great way to distinguish yourself.

If you're interested in learning more about how to create distinguishing content, drive traffic, improve first impressions, and make your website 'sticky', we at YellowDawg can help.

Call (250-391-6406) or email us with your questions, we'll be glad to answer them for you!

Effective communication: using new technologies to bridge the gap

2008-12-08T11:19:00.000-08:00

Hello there, my name is Owen Perry. I’m new to the Yellow Dawg team here in Victoria, BC. Over the next little while I’ll be bringing you stories about interesting trends in the web design business and how Yellow Dawg is continually trying to improve value for their customers.

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Effective communication: using new technologies to bridge the gap

Having worked in the Systems and Technology division of Canada’s largest telecommunications company, I certainly know useful email can be. On the flip side, however, I also know what it’s like to be up to your neck in it. In fact, I vividly remember a point during a major system release where I sat motionless, gazing in awe as a steady stream of new email populated my inbox in an almost intravenous-like fashion. Was there substance behind every single message? Of course not. Most of them were minute-by-minute updates from our PMO team, or contained impertinent information from adjacent departments having absolutely nothing to do with the projects at hand.

I guess the point I’m trying to make here is this: while it’s clear that email occupies an ever more pivotal role in our daily communications, it can often be a little overwhelming. And this, in turn, brings up a important question: is email the best way to communicate your key messages or ideas these days? More tangibly, can you be sure your email will stand-out amongst the hundred or so other emails flooding your client’s inbox? Will they pay attention to what you have to tell them? As of late, the happy elves of YellowDawg.com have been considering just such questions and are busy at work brainstorming new and unique ways the drawbacks of email can be alleviated.

“Time and time again,” says James Manke, owner of YellowDawg.com, “our most successfully designed websites are those where good communication exists between us and our client.” Exploring ways to augment this vital communication, without bombarding clients with truckloads of requests or approvals via email, is of chief concern. One way James and the team believe they can accomplish this is through a new software called Jing.

At its root, Jing allows James and the team to instantly capture screen shots or record desktop videos of the projects they’ve been working on for clients. These images and video can then be uploaded to a temporary website where Yellow Dawg clients can view their emerging project and provide direct feedback at a time of their choosing. “It cuts down on email, phone and in-person consultation, yet improves transparency for our clients,” says James, “Clients want to be a part of the creation of their website’s design and functionality. Jing’s ‘Visual conversation’ technology empowers them to do this.”

Watch the official Jing video to learn more about this exciting technology:

http://video.techsmith.com/jing/latest/demo/introvideo/index.html?keepThis=true&TB_iframe=true&height=440&width=640

Stock Images for your web site

2007-06-08T11:55:00.000-07:00

Finding the right imagery for your site is so important! The photos should have meaning, tell a story to your viewer and at the same time following your brand. A lot of our clients ask us where to find the best pictures for the best price. Check out istock photo. This is a great resource and images are as low as $1

Tell Google Your Business Location

2007-04-24T16:06:00.000-07:00

Google wants to know your business location. Why not help them out (and yourself) by filling out their online application ?
Go to the Google Local Business Center and fill out all the necessary information. Shortly after you submit your details, Google sends you a postcard in the mail. On the postcard is a PIN number, which you input back into the Google Business Center in order to be verified.

It says on the postcard that your business will be listed in about 6 weeks, and you can check its status by returning to the Local Business Center.

The postcard also comes with a coupon for "Free Google Advertising Credit". If you've been thinking about giving AdWords a try, then here's a bit of incentive. Google recommends a budget of about $25 / month, to start an AdWords campaign. The campaigns are easy to setup and the ads only appear to those in your target area.

This ties in with an announcement made by Google on February 2, 2007 to start personalizing search results. Basically this means that there could be different search results for different people. A great article by Dave Davies outlines a few of the possible scenarios which could arise from this change.

Google Sandbox - Tips to a site launch

2006-11-27T16:38:00.000-08:00

The Google Sandbox and your new website?

The Google Sandbox is a system made by Google with the purpose of filtering out spam sites by placing all new websites under a hold for a period of 3-6 months.

Although the Google sandbox was designed to filter out spam sites, in reality it affects all new websites. Your new site will sit un-found for up to 6 months from a "launch date"

The way YellowDawg launches sites is forward thinking in its procedure. Once we start on a new project the first thing we do is launch a welcome page for your site. This welcome page has a brief overview of your products and services and your contact information if needed.

The page is created with proper keywords and title data and is search engine spider friendly. This way we are able to work on your project over the next month or two depending on size and let Google and other search spiders determine your site as valid.

Rebuild or update?

2006-09-01T10:03:00.000-07:00

Here's the scenario. You have an art company. You have an old website that you love. It works well for what it is, but you have a major content update to do with many new pieces and copy. You have different categories of updates which are not accomodated on your old site, which will require part of the sites navigation to be overhauled, as well as many pages to be updated.

So what are your choices? Well there are two clear choices. Update the site or make a new one. What? Make a new one? Lets break this down.

Advantages for staying with current website:
Cheaper than getting a new site done
The site is familiar to regular visitors
The update would happen a little bit faster than re-doing the entire website this time around
Requires little time to request the site update

Advantages for having a new site done:
New web technologies, such as Content Management Systems (CMS), allow for massive updates that do not break the structure of the site. The other benefit to using a CMS is the speed of the updates is always faster.
Planning a site with realistic business objectives in mind always produces a finer product. Chances are that the requirements have changed or have become more clear -- IE: Where are you making your money? Lets talk about that.
Is it time for a company re-brand? Are you already in the process of re-branding? A new website is the perfect opportunity to launch a new identity, including logo and taglines.

Optics to consider with staying with the old website:
It's going to stretch the website to it's limits at best, appear cluttered at the end, and ultimately make you look somewhat disorganized.

Items to consider with going through the process of building a new site:
Since this is your second time around, it is likely that you will have a much more straight forward idea of what the new site needs to accomplish for the business. You have the experience of the process already, and know where to start. This isn't your first time, so it ought to be an easier process. That being said, you also know it takes time to carefully plan it out and execute the plan. Understand that it is going to cost some more now, and that it is an investment that is strictly for 1) making the company more money in a direct or indirect way and 2) save money later by being considerably faster (and hence less expensive) to update.

In this day and age, everyone who is really in business has a website, but that doesn't mean that it's doing anything for them. I highly encourage you to speak with an expert about your site in business and marketing terms if you are unsure about your current site and what it's actually doing for you. It could make an enormous difference to your online presence.

The Value in Connections

2006-08-21T09:31:00.000-07:00

This isn't specifically design related, or even marketing related, but it is business related.

"I know this guy who knows this girl who knows this guy and he does exactly what you're talking about. You have to meet him." How many business relationships start this way? I read the other day in some business piece about how acquaintances [much] more frequently turn into successful working relationships than good friendships do. So, there is value in just saying hello and making idle chit chat while in traffic.

Opportunities work that way.

And being open to communication from strangers is your conduit for such activity. So, unless you're having a really bad day, take out your earbuds, get off your cell phone and take in your surroundings -- and give your surroundings a chance to take you in as well. Say hello.

Planning: Worth Money

2006-08-18T15:13:00.000-07:00

Lets get right to the point here. Smart planning has always saved money in business. In this day and age, it starts with your business plan. Plan what you are going to do, how you're going to do it, and when.

It's like anything else. Going to Staples without a list of what you need will certainly yield you a good solid hour of looking at black leather dayplanners (if you're a guy) or color coded paper products (if you're a girl) and maybe you'll leave with a red stapler, wondering what just happened. When you get back to the office you will come to the startling realization that you went to get ink for the printer, and you'll have to spend the time to go back, get what you really needed in the first place, and come back.

So then, lets say it takes you two hours instead of an hour to get an ink cartridge. If we are to measure the value of ones time in ink cartridges, an hour of ones time would be worth half an ink cartridge at this point. I know, that sounds bad. It is.

You haven't just wasted time; you have effectively cut the value of your time in half.

Lets apply this to a business process of a marketing campaign; lets say it is a poster job for your new music store. You see two or three draft designs to start off. You sign off on the direction of one of them. But you haven't done your business plan yet and you don't know what genres you will be specializing in. You see a beautiful final version of a poster with awesome colors, your logo looks fabulous, and there is some young good looking person on it listening to music on their iPod. The approved poster goes to print; ten thousand copies, appearing all over the city in brilliant full-bleed color. A week later, you have nailed down that you are specializing in Country music, and you fill your boots with the first order form with your music suppliers. Cowboy up! Posters go up, the store opens, and everyone is excited that you have the new Eminem since they saw him on the poster for your music store. What? Who? Uh!

In the few seconds that it took you to say "yes that looks great," a significant portion of your marketing budget, if not all of it, has been decimated by sheer and utter lack of planning.

You may think this is an unrealistic scenario. It is not. Once the wheels are set in motion in business, they can only be reversed with money. Be wise with yours. Plan ahead.

Gently Shifting Blog Content

2006-08-10T09:24:00.000-07:00

Hello all, my name is Davin Greenwell and I am the Production Lead and Junior Art Director at YellowDawg. Here, I do everything from file management to photoshoots, content gathering to design, corporate identity to marketing strategy as well.

In the past I have worked in web management at the provincial government level, done public relations for crown corporations, spent 5 years in community and commercial radio, and also run a music label on the side. All of this combined will give you an idea of where my perspective comes from -- it's that of a marketer, getting one message to the masses with utter success. If you've made it here, I can assume that you want to do the same. So over the next while, I'm going to share some secrets, some stories, and some tips on how to make the most of your marketing efforts from the start.

New blog author party time!

Also Jordan, our Creative Director here at YellowDawg, will be joining me in this here lil blog. He will also bring a wealth of business, design and marketing experience -- so stay tuned.

The Year of The Dawg!

2006-08-03T15:14:00.000-07:00

The entire team here is excited to share with you the new face of YellowDawg: End-to-End E-Commerce Everything.

We've grown tremendously over recent months to round out a comprehensive service offering, encompassing business-winning design, industry-standard custom web programming, and best-of-breed search engine optimization and marketing.

Why the Dawg? We've always identified with our mascot's values of approachability, friendliness, loyalty and reliability. We invite you to explore the new site and contact us with feedback and any questions about how we can work together to energize your business.