Digital marketing insights.

Like a lot of marketers, you keep an eye on your analytics and user flows. And, you’ve probably spotted some inefficiencies in your site. So you might be itching to start a redesign project or you might even be in the middle of an overhaul. Let's do it right.

Given the SEO fallout around web directories of the past, there is a lot of confusion (and perhaps fear) around the use and effectiveness of local business directories, and rightfully so. They were known – once upon a time – as “link directories,” and auto-submitting your URL to hundreds of them for about the price of a bowl of poutine was pretty common.

WordPress is an amazing platform. Since its launch twelve years ago, it has grown to power over 25% of the ten million most popular websites – an impressive achievement by any measure. (The next most popular content management system is Joomla, with just 2.8% market share.)

Not long ago, I posted a piece of unconventional advice: that you shouldn’t necessarily assume every small or local business needs search engine optimization. Despite what a lot of “experts” will tell you, there are some times when it just doesn’t make sense to devote your attention, energy, and resources to achieving a higher Google ranking.

Where do you find inspiration for your next website design? If you’re like many business owners and marketers we meet with, it might come from studying the competition.

It is generally a given that a larger number of mobile web users translates into increased social engagement. The notion is incredibly straightforward: when we all have access to Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus and other platforms on our phones and tablets, it’s much easier to comment, interact, and follow our favourite connections.

If you are like most marketers we meet, the idea of managing pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns on top of your marketing duties might seem a bit overwhelming. So you'll be forgiven if you choose to delegate the task to an PPC/SEO firm. And, you probably have plenty of other things to do, right? (Not to mention the fact you may not feel confident that you can get the same kind of results a professional would.)

To make the most of your marketing efforts for 2016, you'll want to focus your efforts on your very best prospects – the ones who are most likely to do business with you soon, and keep buying from you well into the future. Gain insights into what your prospects are looking for with this free tool from the people at KAYAK.

As many clients and friends already know, I’m a #craftbeerfan. It’s not just that I enjoy drinking craft (although I very much do), but I do love how the brewers offer some pretty out-of-the-box ideas. Craft brewers aren’t afraid to do things differently, and sometimes make seemingly mismatched ingredients work together in fun and interesting ways. Isn’t that really the essence of creativity, regardless of the canvas?

Somewhere around a decade ago, I was enjoying one of my regular coffee chats with my elderly uncle Wally. He's an exceptional fine artist who has spent 70-plus years painting some of the most incredibly detailed wilderness scenes you'll ever encounter. We generally talked about family, art, business, and people as well.

For all the ways that digital media has changed the marketing world in the past few decades, it has done very little to alter the way that designers, agencies, and marketing firms themselves actually work. With a handful of notable exceptions, most still follow an old-world approach that was prevalent in the ’40s and ’50s… and probably even earlier than that.

Often, the hardest part of launching a new website or getting a marketing plan off the ground involves getting content from different members of the team or organization. Having multiple perspectives and ideas is helpful, but it can also turn something that seems simple into a herding exercise.

If part of your job involves helping your company to find new customers, especially over the Internet, then there’s a good chance you’ve been hearing a bit of chatter about agile marketing or agile web development.

Colour is a part of everything we do.

From selecting our clothing for the day, to picking out the vehicle we choose to drive, colour makes a continuous impression on us each and every day, but does it have any impact at all on the websites we choose to visit, and if so, why?

One thing you’ll notice if you stop in to see us at Kayak, is that our team is quiet eclectic. From young people to industry vets, we run the gamut. What you won't see though, are unpaid marketing interns.