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SEO ENQUIRY

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SEO ENQUIRY

Which SEO services are you interested in?

SEO ENQUIRY

Anything you’d like to share with us at this stage?
A brief, technical scope, supporting documents or anything else?

SEO ENQUIRY

How soon are you looking to kick off this project?

SEO ENQUIRY

What budget guidance are you working on this project?

SEO ENQUIRY

What budget guidance are you working on this project?

THANK YOU

Thank you for getting in touch with Yellowball!

We’ve received everything and one of our team will be in touch very soon with the next steps. If your enquiry is urgent, you can call us on 020 8064 1832 – we’re open 9am – 6pm Monday to Friday.

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YELLOWBALL LITE

Unfortunately, you don’t qualify for a bespoke project, but there is good news!

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WEB DESIGN ENQUIRY

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WEB DESIGN ENQUIRY

Which web design services are you interested in?

WEB DESIGN ENQUIRY

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A brief, technical scope, supporting documents or anything else?

SEO ENQUIRY

How soon are you looking to kick off this project?

WEB DESIGN ENQUIRY

What budget guidance are you working on this project?

THANK YOU

Thank you for getting in touch with Yellowball!

We’ve received everything and one of our team will be in touch very soon with the next steps. If your enquiry is urgent, you can call us on 020 8064 1832 – we’re open 9am – 6pm Monday to Friday.

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YELLOWBALL LITE

The end-to-end delivery of bespoke web project akin to the style and quality of our portfolio typically start from £25,000.

Based on your budget guidance, we’d recommend exploring Yellowball Lite – our flexible WordPress theme that is perfect for small businesses, startups, consultancies and charities. Learn more about Yellowball Lite and speak to one of our specialists on this dedicated site. It’s all the best from Yellowball, now fast, affordable and available anyone, anywhere.

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GRAPHIC DESIGN ENQUIRY

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GRAPHIC DESIGN ENQUIRY

Which design services are you interested in?

GRAPHIC DESIGN ENQUIRY

Anything you’d like to share with us at this stage?
A brief, technical scope, supporting documents or anything else?

GRAPHIC DESIGN ENQUIRY

How soon are you looking to kick off this project?

GRAPHIC DESIGN ENQUIRY

What budget guidance are you working to on this project?

THANK YOU

Thank you for getting in touch with Yellowball!

We’ve received everything and one of our team will be in touch very soon with the next steps. If your enquiry is urgent, you can call us on 020 8064 1832 – we’re open 9am – 6pm Monday to Friday.

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GRAPHIC DESIGN ENQUIRY

Most design projects at Yellowball are typically more than £500 and our agency-wide hourly rate is £145 plus VAT.

We’re probably not a good strategic fit for this project but you could try the freelancer networks at Fivver.com or upwork.com.

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PPC ENQUIRY

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PPC ENQUIRY

What budget guidance are you working on this project?

PPC ENQUIRY

What budget guidance are you working on this project?

THANK YOU

Thank you for getting in touch with Yellowball!

We’ve received everything and one of our team will be in touch very soon with the next steps. If your enquiry is urgent, you can call us on 020 8064 1832 – we’re open 9am – 6pm Monday to Friday.

BACK TO HOMEPAGE
YELLOWBALL LITE

Unfortunately, you don’t qualify for a bespoke project, but there is good news!

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GOOGLE ANALYTICS ENQUIRY

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GOOGLE ANALYTICS ENQUIRY

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GOOGLE ANALYTICS ENQUIRY

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GOOGLE ANALYTICS ENQUIRY

What budget guidance are you working to on this project?

THANK YOU

Thank you for getting in touch with Yellowball!

We’ve received everything and one of our team will be in touch very soon with the next steps. If your enquiry is urgent, you can call us on 020 8064 1832 – we’re open 9am – 6pm Monday to Friday.

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Quick tips on how to improve website conversions
Oct 2024
12 MIN READ

How to increase website conversions: 10 Tactics for 2025

How to increase conversion rate: Quick tipsProvide easily accessible contact info Use high quality imagery Design for mobile Use in line CTAs Simplify your forms Consider social proof Try a live chat Add videos Consider microinteractions Consider using AI powered toolsWhat does website conversion mean? I am sure you have heard the phrase ‘website conversion rate’ being bounced around the office or at networking events, but what does it actually mean? Essentially it is the measure of how good your website is at getting your users to do w

Nic Lapham

website redesign
Sep 2024
9 MIN READ

Planning a Website Redesign? Follow These 7 Steps

Just like a physical store or office space, remodelling and updating your website is an important part of keeping your business an up-to-date and appealing space. However, there’s much more to a website redesign than a fresh, new look. By rebuilding the site from the ground up, the redesign process upgrades your website for improved functionality, better content quality, and faster performance, creating the best possible user experience and customer journey – and becoming the foundation of successful digital marketing strategies. What is a

Nic Lapham

What are Microinteractions and Why Does My Site Need Them?
Sep 2024
9 MIN READ

What are Microinteractions in Web Design and Why Does My Site Need Them?

Microinteractions are often overlooked features when you’re busy designing and building a website. When searching for “Key factors to consider when building a website”, none of the searches returned results on the first page of the SERPs even mentioned Microinteractions. This is despite the fact that they’re one of the key pieces of functionality. They provide useful feedback to users when they interact with (and become initially involved with) your business online.  What are Microinteractions?  Microinteractions (MIs) are small, inst

Nic Lapham

Aug 2024
5 MIN READ

🚀 We’re Hiring – SEO Account Manager

Yellowball are looking for a seriously talented and experienced SEO Account Manager to join our fast-growing team. Who are we? Yellowball is a multi award-winning digital marketing agency specialising in web, SEO, PPC, video and design, partnering with brands and businesses of every shape and size across the UK. With passion, creativity and razor-sharp commercial focus wired into everything we do, we’re trusted by organisations everywhere to deliver real impact and results. We love what we do and deliver a great, ROI-focussed service. As

Owen Hunnam

Dec 2023
5 MIN READ

What is Content Marketing, and Why is it Important?

What is the importance of content marketing? This article answers this question in detail, exploring its pivotal role in the world of digital marketing. In this guide, we dive into the significance, types, and benefits of content marketing.

Daniel Green

Dec 2023
6 MIN READ

How to Create a PPC landing page that converts

Creating a PPC landing page that converts is a common challenge as the digital marketing world is constantly changing. So if you're wondering, "How do I create a PPC landing page that actually converts?", in this guide, we'll unravel the strategies and best practices to ensure your landing page not only captures attention but transforms visitors into valuable conversions.

Daniel Green

Dec 2023
8 MIN READ

Website redesign: 10 Signs You Need a New Website

Do you really need a new website, or is an update sufficient? Keep reading to discover the best solution for you. In this article, we’ll explore the factors that indicate when it’s time to create a new website and what makes a website worthy in the first place.

Daniel Green

Dec 2023
6 MIN READ

Is WordPress Good for Web Development?

Among the many options available, WordPress offers a user-friendly interface and robust capabilities. In this article, we highlight all the key factors that make WordPress a powerhouse for web developers, freelancers, and just about anybody seeking to create aesthetically pleasing, functional websites.

Daniel Green

Dec 2023
4 MIN READ

Visual Search: Are You Ready for the Future of Search?

These days search marketing is more than just SEO and PPC. The quest for information, inspiration, and validation now spans various platforms, from social media to chatbots. That said, the future of search is not just text-based, but it's also visual.

Daniel Green

Nov 2023
5 MIN READ

What Are Content Audits & Why Are They Important?

So you want to know how to do a content audit? Well, you've come to the right place. Conducting a content audit is a valuable process for anyone managing a website, but it's not just about reviewing your content, it's about truly harnessing its full potential.

Daniel Green

Nov 2023
7 MIN READ

WordPress Security Tips: How to Keep Your Website Safe in 2024

Have you been hacked? Seeing strange characters on your website or in Google? If the answer is yes to either of these questions, it's time to up your security game. Websites play a crucial role in personal and business interactions, so ensuring your website's security is of paramount importance.

Daniel Green

Nov 2023
4 MIN READ

Must-Have Features for E-commerce Websites

When it comes to eCommerce, having the right set of features on your website can make all the difference as they can help to attract and retain customers. So what are the key features of an eCommerce website? Here are a few that every eCommerce website should consider:

Daniel Green

Nov 2023
6 MIN READ

How to Create Lead Capture Pages that Get More Leads

Are you looking to generate more leads for your business? In this article, we explore how to create a lead capture form and page to help you do just that. A lead capture page is a powerful tool for collecting valuable contact information from potential customers in exchange for something of value.

Daniel Green

Nov 2023
5 MIN READ

The Importance of User Experience in Web Design

User experience, often abbreviated as 'UX,' has become a central focus in the world of website design. Great user experience means that users can navigate effortlessly in a digital environment, fulfilling their needs, and moving easily throughout the online journey.

Daniel Green

Nov 2023
7 MIN READ

GA4 vs Universal Analytics: What’s The Difference?

Ever heard the saying, "Change is the only constant"? Well, this rings true for many things, and digital marketing and web analytics are no exceptions. The emergence of Google Analytics 4 (GA4) has led many to ponder whether it’s set to replace its predecessor, Universal Analytics (UA).

Daniel Green

Nov 2023
7 MIN READ

Top WordPress Plugins and Tools for Business Websites in 2024

The world of WordPress is overflowing with possibilities, offering over 60,000 plugins to transform and optimise your website. Yet, with such an abundance of choices, selecting the right plugins can be overwhelming. This is why our specialists at Yellowball assist businesses just like yours to install plugins for SEO, Social Media, Backup and Speed, as well as ones to assist in running your business.

Daniel Green

Nov 2023
7 MIN READ

How to Maintain a WordPress Site in 2024

If you're wondering "Do WordPress sites need maintenance?", then you should know that they certainly do, much like any other website. Neglecting this crucial task can lead to security vulnerabilities, technical glitches, and a decline in overall performance.

Daniel Green

Nov 2023
5 MIN READ

White Label Web Development – Benefits and Importance

White label web design refers to a practice in which one company offers web development and design services to another company, which then rebrands and resells those services as its own. This collaborative approach allows businesses to provide comprehensive web solutions under their own brand name without actually performing the development work themselves.

Daniel Green

Nov 2023
10 MIN READ

How to Speed Up Your WordPress Website

In our fast-paced digital world, website speed is paramount. If you find yourself asking, "Why is my WordPress website so slow?" you're not alone. Websites that take a really long time to load can be frustrating for both site owners and visitors as it can lead to decreased traffic, lower search engine rankings, and potentially lost revenue.

Daniel Green

Nov 2023
5 MIN READ

GA4: What is Google Analytics 4?

When you grasp the full functionality of analytics tools, such as GA4, you can truly harness the power of data. When compared to the previous version, there's a marked difference in its unique features and capabilities, so it's important to be aware of this new and improved version.

Daniel Green

Content management system written on a notepad.
Aug 2023
9 MIN READ

What is a Content Management System (CMS)?

Terminology helps people to sum up complex ideas in a word, a few words, or an acronym. But if you're just getting used to a new field, it can be baffling. Your CMS will be very important to your business’s website - and for many businesses, that website is among their top ways of informing the public about what they do and gaining new customers. So, what is a content management system? Once you’ve read this article, you’ll be ready to use the term “CMS” with confidence. Here are the basics. 

Rudi Carstens

Concept for SEO site migration drawn on a chalkboard.
Jul 2023
9 MIN READ

SEO Site Migration: Migrate Your Website Without Losing Rankings

Updating your website so that it doesn’t start looking dated or off-brand doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to undertake a site migration. In general, that’s pretty good news because it won’t affect all the hard work you put into Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). But when you do need to migrate, a careful SEO site migration process can help you to retain those precious search engine rankings. 

Rudi Carstens

Developer working on a responsive web design project.
Jul 2023
10 MIN READ

The Basics of Responsive Web Design

Interested in responsive web design? Let’s begin at the beginning by looking at what responsive web design is before getting into some of the basics you’ll need to achieve a responsive website. 

Rudi Carstens

Technical SEO concept shown by letters spelling SEO and spanner on a keyword.
Jul 2023
7 MIN READ

A Beginners Guide to Technical SEO

It’s not a mistake to think that keywords and content are important to your search engine optimisation (SEO) strategy, but technical SEO matters too. So, what is technical SEO and just how “technical” can it be? Like so many other things in life, it’s easy when you know how, so let’s go through some of the basics you’ll need to cover to perfect your SEO strategy. 

Rudi Carstens

Dial with various website domain name options.
Jul 2023
8 MIN READ

What is a Website Domain?

You decided it was time your business had its own website. After all, everyone wants to take a look at one’s website nowadays, and websites are also a great way to attract customers who might not otherwise have found your business. You might even attract customers from around the world instead of just your hometown. And, if you’re a local business, a website can help people in your area discover you by searching terms like “electricians in Notting Hill” and the like. 

Rudi Carstens

SEO content audit concept written on a chalkboard.
Jul 2023
10 MIN READ

How to Perform an SEO Content Audit

You did your homework, crafted an SEO strategy, and got to work creating content that you hoped would take the world by storm - or at least, make an impression. But then, your posts and pages underperformed. What should you do? 

Rudi Carstens

Magnifying glass and small chalkboard with the inscription WordPress.
Jul 2023
8 MIN READ

The Top 10 Benefits of WordPress

“Just another WordPress website?” It’s a statement you’re unlikely to hear, and in this article we’ll explain the benefits of using WordPress and why it can be as unique as you and your business are. And, once we’ve covered the many benefits of WordPress, we’re confident you’ll see why it’s the choice of professional website developers and businesses around the world. Let’s dive in!

Rudi Carstens

Needle of compass pointing to SEO.
Jun 2023
8 MIN READ

The Importance of SEO in Digital Marketing

Digital or online marketing promotes brands using the internet and online communication platforms. But the heart of any digital marketing campaign is the website it draws attention to. What if you could attract visitors to your website without paid social media posts, email campaigns that only reach your existing contacts, or costly web-based advertising? 

Rudi Carstens

WordPress speech bubble on hanging line.
Jun 2023
8 MIN READ

A Beginners Guide to WordPress

Looking to build a website? You'll be in good company if you choose WordPress. Over 43 percent of websites are WordPress sites and there are very good reasons why this platform is so popular. But if you’re new to all this, you’ll want to understand what WordPress is and get an introduction to a few bits of terminology you’re bound to encounter along the way. So, without further ado, let’s get started. 

Rudi Carstens

Man viewing analytics for his ecommerce website.
Jun 2023
9 MIN READ

A Beginners Guide to Ecommerce SEO

Ecommerce SEO consists of a set of techniques that are used to improve your ecommerce website’s search engine rankings. When people search online for products or services like yours, they’ll usually only pay attention to the results that appear on the first page of search engine results. Since you want to get traffic to your website where you can pull out all the stops to make sales, getting that page one ranking will be among your priorities. SEO gets you there. Looking for some ecommerce SEO tips? You’ve come to the right place. Let’

Rudi Carstens

Content strategy written on a notebook next to a laptop and lightbulb.
Jun 2023
6 MIN READ

How to Create an SEO Content Strategy

You have a website, but unless search engines display it near the top of their rankings for key terms, most people will never find it. Of course, you could pay for your moment in the limelight, but most people trust organic rankings more, and to get them, you need an SEO content strategy.

Rudi Carstens

Designing an Ecommerce website.
Jun 2023
9 MIN READ

What is Ecommerce Website Design?

You’re ready to sell your products to the world and that means having a highly attractive “storefront” on the information superhighway. That’s what an ecommerce website is and you want the best “real estate” you can secure in the world’s virtual business district. 

Rudi Carstens

Woman doing keyword research for SEO.
Jun 2023
11 MIN READ

A Beginners Guide to Keyword Research in SEO

You already know that search engine optimisation (SEO) helps your website to stand out from the crowd in search engine results. But which keywords should you target? Without good SEO keyword research, you’re taking a shot in the dark. You might target keywords that nobody uses in search, or you could err in the other direction and choose keywords for which there is so much competition that you don’t stand much chance of ranking for them. In this article, we’ll look at how to choose keywords for SEO so that you can power your website to s

Rudi Carstens

A website visitor doing an ecommerce purchase.
Apr 2023
9 MIN READ

Conversion Rate Optimisation: How to Improve Your Conversion Rates

When you launched your website, you had big dreams and ideas. Presumably, you didn’t get a website just for the sake of having one. You wanted to use it to persuade visitors to take some kind of action. The percentage of visitors who took that action represents your website conversion rate and it’s much more than just another number. It tells you whether you were successful in achieving the goal you set out to reach. 

Rudi Carstens

A web designer working on a website design.
Apr 2023
7 MIN READ

Website Design Tips and Ideas

If you’re about to design and launch your own website for the first time or are hoping to create an updated version that matches the best in modern website design, you’ll be looking out for website design ideas. You’d like your website to be unique, but there are many design pitfalls lurking in wait for the unwary. These website design tips cover general principles that every website designer should apply. Use them to guide your decision-making as you work towards creating a website that matches the needs of the most important stakeholde

Rudi Carstens

Keywords in wooden block letters with light bulb.
Apr 2023
7 MIN READ

SEO Keywords: What Are They and Why Are They So Important?

New to Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)? The term “SEO keywords” is sure to be among the first concepts you encounter. Knowing what keywords do, choosing the right ones to use, and sticking to your keyword strategy will help you to improve your website’s rankings in search engine results. It’s quite a complex area, but this introduction to SEO keywords will help you to get started. 

Rudi Carstens

SEO strategy with arrows on laptop.
Apr 2023
8 MIN READ

SEO Marketing Strategy: What it is and How to Create One

Although old-fashioned marketing methods like print advertising still have their place, most businesses are finding that they get far more bang for their marketing buck by applying online marketing techniques. An SEO marketing strategy can pay off in a big way, but if you’re new to all of this, or even if you already have some idea of it, you may have a few questions. What is an SEO marketing strategy, and what should it consist of? Let’s get started!

Rudi Carstens

Web hosting button on a computer keyboard.
Apr 2023
7 MIN READ

A Beginners Guide to Hosting a Website

You’re inspired and ready to get started on creating a new website. But before all the exciting design activities kick in, you need to get a few basics sorted out. Specifically, you need a domain name and a host. Most of us know that the domain name is the special address a website uses, for example: “yourbusiness.com.” But what is hosting, why do we need it, and what are your options? 

Rudi Carstens

A diagram of all the elements of SEO.
Apr 2023
10 MIN READ

What is SEO and How Does it Work?

SEO, meaning “Search Engine Optimisation” is a term that everyone who has a website should familiarise themselves with. But how does it work? Here are the basics. Search engines have a job to do. When people enter a query, they must offer relevant results. There may be hundreds or even thousands of results for a single search, so search engines attempt to rank them according to how useful they’ll be. 

Rudi Carstens

Jun 2022
4 MIN READ

A Guide to The Basics of SEO

Having a strong SEO strategy is crucial for businesses and website owners seeking online success. Search Engine optimisation (SEO) plays a pivotal role in driving organic traffic and enhancing online visibility.

Daniel Green

A Jeweler Inspecting a Diamond for Imperfections Like Googles URL Inspection Tool
Apr 2022
11 MIN READ

The Miracle of Google’s URL Inspection Tool For Diagnosing Indexation Issues

If you’ve ever worked in SEO, it’s likely there have been many instances where you’ve felt at the mercy of Google. You’re sure that you’ve done everything right, you’ve gone through Google’s guidelines with a fine toothcomb, and yet it’s almost as if Google takes some kind of sadistic pleasure in confining your website to the darkest corners of its search results.   Let us start by clarifying something: Google wants you to succeed, providing that you put in the work. This can be seen in how it makes the inner workings of it

Nic Lapham

A Spider Carefully Crawling On Its Web
Apr 2022
20 MIN READ

Crawl Budget: A Non-SEOs Guide to Ensuring Your Website’s Available to Google

“Crawl budget” is one of those bits of jargon that most SEO specialists throw at their clients to either make a point about what content should be placed on the site – or used to reaffirm their expertise to justify a retainer renewal during an annual status review!    Either way, a discussion about crawl budget can easily become overly technical or grossly over-simplified, with the results that business owners end up misunderstanding the concept or not knowing why or how it should be applied.    In this article, we’re gi

Nic Lapham

Screenshot of a Blank Google Performance Planner Dashbaord
Mar 2022
6 MIN READ

Why Should Your Business Use Performance Planner? And How to Get Set Up

For smaller businesses with limited budgets, digital marketing provides a cost-effective and high-impact means of connecting with your consumers and competing with much larger businesses. This is because many aspects of digital marketing can be managed in-house with available time and resources, or partially outsourced to supplement your own marketing team’s efforts. In this article, we’re taking a look at why Google’s Performance Planner is an essential for any business or marketing manager going this route, as well as how to get started

Nic Lapham

Hand HOlding APen Completing an SEO Audit Checklist on Paper
Mar 2022
22 MIN READ

How Much Does an SEO Audit Cost?

Depending on the size of your website, the type of SEO audit, and whether you choose a professional or DIY site audit, your costs for an SEO audit can range from the cost of the resources you allocate to the project to several thousand pounds. At Yellowball, we keep the costs of an SEO audit as reasonable as possible for our clients because we know how essential this service is to the overall success of your paid SEO services and strategy. In this article, we’ll look at the different types of SEO audit services, what the audits involve, why t

Nic Lapham

Image Of Network Cable Used By Host Server Providers
Mar 2022
11 MIN READ

WordPress Migration: How to Migrate a WordPress Site

In the beginning, website hosting services were a niche offering… and then, the internet exploded. Now, the number of web hosting services is in the hundreds of thousands, each promising better client features than the next. So where should you be hosting your WordPress website? And what should you do if you need to migrate your website to a new host?  Here’s why migrating your WordPress website to a new host may be the best strategic move for your organisation’s online presence. Who is WordPress? Founded in 2003 as a blogging platform,

Nic Lapham

Thin Content On Books Table of Contents Page
Mar 2022
19 MIN READ

How To Avoid Penalties for Thin Content (By Producing High-Quality Content)

Content is a crucial aspect of any SEO strategy and has been for quite some time, and it would be remiss to talk about content without addressing thin content. Ever since the Panda Update, the purpose of content has been providing an enriching and informative user experience rather than simply appeasing search engines. As will be explored throughout this article, content does not exist simply as a vehicle for keywords or a means to fill up space – to bulk up a website and make it look substantial. As we always say: bigger is not better…

Nic Lapham

A WordPress SEO Expert Walking With A Briefcase In Hand
Mar 2022
7 MIN READ

A WordPress SEO Expert Approach to SEO Friendly Websites That Google Loves

If you want more people to come to your website, to make sure your customers find you before they find your competitors, and to make sure that traffic is ready to convert into sales, you need powerful SEO. Here are the best tips and advice from our WordPress and SEO experts to ensure that you create a WordPress website that Google can’t get enough of! Dare We Reiterate, Why SEO matters Search engine optimisation, or SEO, is the practice of aligning your website with the practices that Google uses to rank website pages in search queries. Aft

Nic Lapham

small businesses
Oct 2021
14 MIN READ

Small business marketing essentials: Getting the basics right

Every business needs a solid marketing strategy, especially when you don’t have access to the resources and budget that bigger organisations tend to have. Fortunately, there’s no reason why a smaller budget should hold your business back – these days, success is all about marketing strategically and intelligently rather than simply having the biggest billboard or the most expensive prime time ad slot.  To make your marketing work for your business, it’s essential to get to grips with the fundamentals, which is why our marketing team in

Nic Lapham

wordpress
Oct 2021
14 MIN READ

Is WordPress a good CMS for my business in 2024?

If you are running a business and want a solid online presence, you’ve probably heard of WordPress, along with competitors like Drupal and Wix. Choosing the right content management system (CMS) for your business website is a critical decision because it will determine how your website works, how it is managed on an everyday basis, its security, how easy it is to modify, and much more. We’ve developed a useful guide to the WordPress CMS to help guide this decision, showing the features, pros and cons of this market-leading CMS. What is Word

Nic Lapham

online business
Sep 2021
13 MIN READ

Running an online business from home

If you are considering running a business from home, you’re not alone! The events of 2020 were a catalyst for many people when it comes to working. With the onset of remote working, businesses unable to run, and other challenges, running your own business became a much more viable and popular solution than it had been in past years. To help you out, we’ve put together a quick guide on running an online business from home, including the legalities and some tips on how an expertly designed website can help your business succeed. Defining your

Nic Lapham

A Beginner’s Guide to Website Maintenance
Aug 2021
12 MIN READ

A Beginner’s Guide to Website Maintenance

While every aspect of your business’s online presence is important, the ultimate goal of your online presence is to attract potential customers and sell through your website, making it the foundation of your digital operations. Just as with a physical store, your beautiful website design needs ongoing maintenance to keep it running smoothly and drawing in new customers. Our beginner’s guide will cover all the basics of why website maintenance is necessary, what it should include on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual basis, and how to

Nic Lapham

website design
Aug 2021
13 MIN READ

What Makes a Good Website Design? 8 Web Design Principles

Our team of website and graphic design team has put together a guide to what makes a good website, looking at the design principles that make a website truly effective as a digital brand platform. 8 Principles of Good Website Design:A Clear Purpose Strong Visuals and Branding Simplicity Design Layout Fast Page Load Speed/Load Times Great, Relevant Content Mobile-Friendly Sites Security1 – A Clear Purpose What is it that you want your website to do? The main functions of your website will help define the design and is especially critical i

Nic Lapham

parallex effect
Aug 2021
12 MIN READ

Parallax Effect When Scrolling on a Website | 10 Examples

Website design is an area that’s creative and constantly evolving, bringing new and interesting ways to showcase a business online. In 2011, parallax scrolling was an emerging design trend, but by 2021, it’s become a well-established and popular way to enhance the visual impact of a website. Here’s some insight into how the parallax scrolling effect works and some stand-out examples of this visually engaging graphic design technique. What is the Parallax Scrolling Effect? This is when the website background images move at a slower pace

Nic Lapham

website security
Aug 2021
15 MIN READ

How to Secure a Website | Top 7 Tips

A website gives your business a valuable online presence – unfortunately, this visibility not only attracts clients and customers, but it can also attract cybercriminals. If you have a website for your business, it’s important to ensure its properly secured against. Security breach to keep your records and data safe, securing your business and your reputation. Are small business websites safer from security breaches? The reality is that smaller business websites are very appealing targets for cybercriminals. Attacking a large corporation ma

Nic Lapham

digital marketing strategy
Aug 2021
15 MIN READ

How to Market Your Business in Today’s Digital World

No matter how useful your services, how innovative your product, or how unique your business is, it’s not going to succeed unless you have one thing: happy customers. Like every industry, marketing and advertising constantly changes and evolves, from newspaper and radio ads to TV ads and billboards. Today, marketing is digital. And as with all things digital, the options are endless – to the point of becoming overwhelming. Here’s how to evolve your marketing strategy for a digital world, cutting through the flash and fervour to talk about

Nic Lapham

one page website
Aug 2021
9 MIN READ

Considering a One-Page Website? Here are the Pros & Cons

One of the most recent trends in the web design industry is a one-page website. In this design, rather than having different pages for different products and services, visitors can see everything they need to know about your brand and business on, well, one page. It’s a simple and elegant solution that’s understandably appealing to many small business owners, but it’s important to understand both the advantages and disadvantages of this web design option before you take the plunge. That way, you’ll be able to choose the option that work

Nic Lapham

website marketing
Aug 2021
16 MIN READ

10 Steps to a Reliable Website Marketing Strategy

Your organisation’s website is the keystone of your digital marketing strategy; it’s the virtual storefront where you want all your clients, customers and interested parties ending up when they look for the kinds of products and services you are. It takes just 0.05 seconds for a user to form an opinion of your website that determines whether they say or go, so making a good impression online is critical. As a foundational piece of infrastructure, your website marketing strategy must be powerful, effective, and goal-orientated if you want to

Nic Lapham

Affiliate Links and SEO
May 2020
8 MIN READ

Affiliate Links and SEO

“Should we continue with our affiliate programme or not?” We get asked this a lot and it’s an important question. Given that most affiliate links are provided as part of an agreement – that is, in exchange for products or services – they’re viewed as paid links by search engines. As affiliates and paid links aren’t considered ‘organic’ links, they’re not always good for your SEO. This is because Google wants SERPs to be influenced by genuine and natural connections, as opposed to those that are simply paid for. That said, de

Nic Lapham

Women looking at three paintings in art gallery
Apr 2020
13 MIN READ

How to increase traffic with Google visual search and image optimisation

The key to driving relevant organic traffic is understanding ‘search intent’. This means getting to grips with exactly what kind of problem the user is trying to solve. As well as this, brands must account for the ways the search engine landscape is changing. Ben Gomes, SVP of search engineering at Google, outlined in 2018 that there would be three fundamental shifts to the way we interact with search engines: From answers to journeys – problem solving is now about providing an experience, rather than simply answering a question. A

Alex Chenery Howes

Idea Drop
Apr 2020
11 MIN READ

Should you outsource SEO link building or keep it in-house?

In an ideal world companies wouldn’t have to worry about link building. Perfect search engines with perfect algorithms would precisely rank content for every imaginable search. These infallibly indexed web pages would gain links naturally from other websites and we’d all sleep better at night knowing that link earning was taking care of everything.   Unfortunately, this image of search utopia is not currently how things work (well, for the vast majority of websites anyway). As everyone in the SEO world is all too familiar, not all webs

Nic Lapham

google adwords written in scrabble letters
Mar 2020
8 MIN READ

Paid ads & trademarks: what are the rules?

My immediate reaction when I spotted that a competitor was bidding on a client brand name, was to blow the whistle and report it to Google. ‘Surely people can’t capitalise on search volumes for your brand name simply by whacking some Google ads budget on it?’ I thought. In fact, the reality is that competitors are within their rights to bid on your brand keywords.However, there are restrictions on exactly how they go about it. We’ve gone through Google’s regulations and included a straightforward rundown with some examples below,

Nic Lapham

People looking at phones on train
Mar 2020
7 MIN READ

How to create a mobile-first content strategy

It’s a well-worn trope. You step onto the underground and everyone is staring at their phones, transfixed. Phone screens are demanding our attention more than ever and Google knows it. In response, the search engine giant will begin to  prioritise mobile-first indexing for all sites from September this year, meaning that the mobile version of your site will be more important than ever. This appears to be one of the final steps for Google switching entirely to a mobile-first index. What’s this got to do with content? Well, if you haven’t

Nic Lapham

Protest
Mar 2020
12 MIN READ

Google gives bad advice in ‘how to hire an SEO’ video

Last week we saw a strong and often adverse reaction from the SEO community with regards to a video published by Google themselves on 26th February. The video was titled “Tips for hiring an SEO specialist”. It all centres around their 3rd tip: to get a free technical audit before making your decision and was highlighted by Danny Sullivan on Twitter. Our initial reaction was somewhat similar to others. Full audits take a considerable amount of time and as such, any free audit is likely to be automated and of no real value. Then we started in

Simon Ensor

Waiting by laptop
Mar 2020
9 MIN READ

Should you lazy-load your content?

Page speed is a hot topic for SEO in 2020. The speed of a webpage (or a whole site, for that matter) plays a significant role in conversion rates. In fact, 40% of people abandon a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load, and a 1-second delay in a page’s response reduces conversions by 7%. And page speed’s role is only going to increase. So, shaving a few milliseconds here and there off of your load time can have profound effects on your business. One method for improving page speed is lazy-loading.  What is lazy-loading? Lazy-load

Nic Lapham

helping climber
Feb 2020
6 MIN READ

Which industries need SEO the most?

In 2020, SEO is vital to businesses looking to reach their audience online. Thinking about investing in SEO? Get the ball rolling by asking yourself these questions:Is your website your main source of revenue?  Do you offer something unique within a crowded market?  Are you trying to increase visits to your brick-and-mortar store?  Are you struggling to get results using ‘traditional’ marketing channels?If the answer to any of the above is yes, you’ve got a real chance of succeeding with SEO, providing you do it well. As an SEO age

Alex Chenery Howes

Website Scoping Part 3: Pitfalls in design & development
Feb 2020
18 MIN READ

Website Scoping Part 3: Pitfalls in design & development

To recap we’ve now explored how to prep both teams for the scoping project and also covered the main structure of how to scope a website. Before we move on to using a SoW during the project we just wanted to pump the brakes slightly. As we’ve mentioned before, we can’t just focus on the development side of life so running with that piece of advice we’ve split this article into web design and development. We’re going to be looking at some of the larger items that you will want to cover in your scope and also some common pitfalls to loo

Simon Ensor

Website Scoping Part 2: Creating the Scope of Work
Jan 2020
17 MIN READ

Website Scoping Part 2: Creating the Scope of Work

Welcome to part 2 of our website scoping series. We previously looked at some of the benefits of scoping a website project or website redesign scope and how to prepare teams for what could quite easily be considered a project before the project! Now that we understand why we are scoping the website I suppose we better get on with it. In this article we will be tackling the main bulk of ‘how to scope a website project’. We’ll be covering the following main points:Non-development items Preparing information Project objectives Sitemaps, us

Simon Ensor

whiteboard planning
Jan 2020
10 MIN READ

Website Scoping Part 1: Preparing to Start

It’s a wonder how there are so many digital agencies. Yes, it’s a service that isn’t sector specific and as such the demand is high. But it’s not an easy sell. A lot of businesses and individuals have had bad experiences with SEO agencies and just about everyone knows/has experienced a nightmare website project. The designing and building of websites has become somewhat of a natural lifecycle. It’s something that we all have to do (some of us more than others), so let’s look at how and why scoping a website project can prevent the b

Simon Ensor

Archaic SEO: how not to write content in 2020
Jan 2020
13 MIN READ

Archaic SEO: how not to write content in 2020

This blog is the second in a three-part series about outdated SEO tactics that you should avoid. Here, we’ll focus on content and other aspects of on-site SEO. You can read part one here, which details some common misconceptions about keyword research that people still abide, and part three will look at old link building tactics. Get ready to un-learn some archaic SEO!  In our previous edition of Archaic SEO, we looked at some outdated concepts and tactics that still plague the use of keywords. Hopefully (if we are doing our jobs well

Simon Ensor

Archaic SEO: how not to use keywords in 2020
Jan 2020
12 MIN READ

Archaic SEO: how not to use keywords in 2020

  This blog is the first in a three-part series about outdated SEO tactics that should be avoided. Here, we’ll focus on the use of keywords. Part two looks at outdated concepts in the world of content, while part three concerns link building. Get ready to un-learn some archaic SEO!  In the world of SEO, applying outdated tactics or operating on the basis of disproven concepts could potentially be damaging, if not fatal for the online presence of a business. Google are constantly fighting against sneaky strategies that aim to manip

Simon Ensor

badge of shame
Nov 2019
5 MIN READ

Badge Of Shame – Google and Speed

Google is a speed demon. Ever since the beginning of Chrome, Google has placed importance on how fast websites load, seeing it as a fundamental component in user experience. Since then, speed has become a key ranking factor for the search engine giant.And its impact is considerable. Over a decade ago, Amazon concluded that its sales would decrease by 1% for every 100ms delay in response time on their site – that amounted to a cool $245 million over the course of a year. Clearly this sum would be in the billions today! The world has only g

Nic Lapham

Let's Talk About Reddit and SEO
Nov 2019
11 MIN READ

Let’s Talk About Reddit and SEO

If you think this sounds a little random, it is. The idea was sparked by a random conversation with a complete stranger in the depths of Soho. After explaining what Yellowball did, the person in question asked whether her Reddit presence would be beneficial to SEO. Some questioning and a quick Google was followed by a, “I’m actually going to have to look into that because on the face of it I would say no…..but Reddit is huge so there may be something in it”. I originally wanted this article to be purely related to the potential SEO bene

Simon Ensor

White Hat
Nov 2019
8 MIN READ

An overview of SEO ‘hats’

If there is any topic that’s going to put fire in the bellies of SEOs far and wide, it’s Black Hat Vs. White Hat SEO. Whether you’re a seasoned SEO or just starting, the importance of understanding the implications and techniques of either approach cannot be overstated. We’re going to take a look at the differences between White Hat and Black Hat SEO, the techniques you’ll want to adopt and the ones you’ll want to drop like a hot potato. With the additional help of our handy blog and glossary, you’ll be soaring to the dizzying hei

Simon Ensor

small details
Sep 2019
20 MIN READ

Performing an SEO Site Audit | A Self-Service Guide

Every company, regardless of their industry or size, will need to perform a site audit on its website at least once in it’s lifetime. You’d be amazed how quickly websites become dated and fall out of pace with the latest best practices in website design, user experience and search performance. A site audit helps to ensure that your site is working at its optimum. Different digital marketing agencies have different ideas of how frequently you should be undertaking a site audit. Really, it varies from site to site. For smaller website

Nic Lapham

Website Migration SEO Checklist | Site Migration Guide
Sep 2019
14 MIN READ

Website Migration SEO Checklist | Site Migration Guide

For companies looking to revitalise their brand, a new website has many benefits. However, relaunching or ‘migrating’ a website will always have some form of impact on search engine rankings. In this article, we will advise on site migration best practice. This will hopefully help organisations create a foolproof website migration SEO checklist. What is a website migration? The term ‘website migration’ encompasses any large-scale changes that may influence SEO performance. Examples include:Changes to design, site structure, and navig

Alex Chenery Howes

Apps on a phone
Sep 2019
18 MIN READ

App Store Optimisation Guide: How To Do ASO?

It’s not an understatement to say that Apple App Store and Google Play are two of the most important marketplaces in the world. There are around 1.83 million apps on the Apple App Store and over 2 million apps on Google Play Store with 5.11 billion mobile users in the world using these apps. Not only are apps on the increase in terms of number and users, they are also quickly increasing into a highly profitable revenue source. In 2018, the global mobile app revenues amounted to over $365 billion US dollars, forecasted to increase to $935 bill

Nic Lapham

Check list
Sep 2019
16 MIN READ

E-Commerce Site Build Check List

On 3rd of September 2019, our Head of Design and Managing Director held a talk at AutumnFair 2019 in regards to “Building an E-Commerce Website that Works for You and Your Customers”. Having had such a positive response from those at the talk, we thought we’d transcribe the talk to share with the world. Without further adieu, here’s a number of useful tips for e-commerce sites, from improving an existing site, all the way through to designing and building a website bespoke, from scratch.   The process of developing an e-commerce websi

Nic Lapham

Penalty
Sep 2019
11 MIN READ

Google Penalties | Causes, Recovery and Avoidance

As SEOs, it’s our goal to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to improve your website’s rankings and get it seen by the right people at the right time. It’s also our responsibility to make sure that we’re doing so in the most ethical and effective ways possible. This means abiding by the guidelines set out by Google’s Webmaster Guidelines. The basic principles outlined in these guidelines are: Make pages primarily for users, not for search engines. Don’t deceive your users. Avoid tricks intended to improve search e

Simon Ensor

aliasing header
Sep 2019
8 MIN READ

Fixing Font Rendering Inconsistencies Across Browsers

Have you ever designed an interface or website and spent hours selecting the perfect font for your UI to find that as soon as your XD or Sketch designs are developed into a coded website, your ever so carefully selected font now looks a lot different on a web browser? Often the main issue as web designers we find is the font increases in weight. This can be a very frustrating realisation and can result in a website that you’re not completely happy with or more time spent finding a compatible font. Why do fonts render differently inside a brow

admin

How To: Optimising your YouTube Channel
Sep 2019
10 MIN READ

How To: Optimising your YouTube Channel

Video marketing has been increasing in popularity ever since YouTube started to rise to fame. Optimising your YouTube channel and videos as part of your digital marketing strategy is key to ensuring the success and ROI of these marketing tools. However, knowing where to begin is not always easy. If you use our simple guide to YouTube Optimisation, you’ll be shooting to the dizzying heights of the YouTube search pages in no time! Conduct Keyword Research Before doing anything else, the top priority for YouTube SEO is keyword research. There ar

Nic Lapham

Questioning
Aug 2019
9 MIN READ

10 Questions & 5 Red Flags When Hiring SEO Agency

QUESTIONS How much experience do you have? Determining how much experience your new SEO agency has is a key factor in deciding whether or not to hire them. Whilst everyone has to start somewhere if the person/team running your SEO has minimal experience in SEO, previous employment or otherwise, it simply does not bode well for the success of your campaign. How do you measure the success of a campaign? Any SEO agency worth their salt should have appropriate and effective KPIs in place to ensure that your campaign is on the right track. For examp

admin

Scales
Aug 2019
10 MIN READ

Pros and Cons of Shopify

Setting foot into the world of opening your own Shopify shop is an exciting time for any new entrepreneur. However, it’s important to make sure that it’s the right thing for you and that you have all of the facts and information before diving into your new business venture. So without further adieu, let’s get down to brass tacks. Pros Usability Shopify’s ease of use for businesses and consumers alike makes it an attractive solution to an often complicated problem – eCommerce. When setting up an online store the more that can be au

Nic Lapham

photographer
Aug 2019
8 MIN READ

Image File Types – Explained

A picture’s a picture, right? Not when it comes to web design and SEO. Believe it or not, image optimisation has a dramatic effect on your website’s SEO. So dramatic, in fact that we wrote an entire blog on it! Each file type has its own benefits, drawbacks and have their purpose. So, what’s the difference between PNG and JPEG? GIF and SVG? A Picture’s worth a thousand words (or 1,091)... Before we dive into the ins and outs of image file types, we’ve created this handy infographic for you to download, share with co-workers or frien

Nic Lapham

The 8 Elements of Visual Hierarchy - waterfall image
Aug 2019
9 MIN READ

The 8 Elements of Visual Hierarchy

Visual Hierarchy (VH) is the design principle that outlines the order in which a user of any given website interacts with and processes information on a page. By manipulating elements of a website to have a clearer hierarchy and designing a site effectively around this principle, designers can influence the importance that users perceive information across the website to have. You can guide your user’s eyes around through your website, focusing on CTAs and integral pieces of information. The 8 elements of Visual Hierarchy are:Positioning Si

Nic Lapham

climbing
Aug 2019
14 MIN READ

How to target featured snippets and increase traffic

Before you get too deep into this article, we advise you to first read our post on whether featured snippets are worth it for SEO, if you haven’t already. It sets the scene for the items we’ll be covering here, providing some background before we get into the more juicy ‘how-tos’ of this post. We’ll be expanding on how to identify the correct snippets to go after, as well as providing some tips on how to structure your content in order to get yourself featured. Why should you target featured snippets? Over the last 10 years, Google ha

Simon Ensor

question
Aug 2019
7 MIN READ

Google’s new “Request a Quote” Button

What is this new button? Google has added a new feature – the “Request a Quote” button. This button enables searchers to directly request a quote for your services, directly from the SERPs. It’s there to be more seamless, reduce friction between users searching for your business, and answers the no.1 question – “What will cost?”. So, what does this button mean for your SEO, and how do you get it? How do I get Google’s request a quote button? The only way to get the feature is to turn on the messaging feature in Google My

Simon Ensor

Stealing
Aug 2019
10 MIN READ

Is Google really stealing traffic?

There has been great outcry from industries that are seemingly under attack from the Big G. The search engine is constantly improving their service for searchers, offering flight comparison, job boards, books and more. This is all well and good for the users that make up 3.5 billion searches a day. However, it can be detrimental for platforms that have built their businesses on providing this service. But are Google really stealing traffic from publishers? As we discussed in our post on featured snippets, Google claim to be conscious of their p

Simon Ensor

Highlighted text
Jul 2019
11 MIN READ

Are Featured Snippets Worth It For SEO?

Once upon a time, SEO was solely focussed on getting to that number one position for high value search terms. The SERPs were linear and the goal was clear. To an extent this is still the case. Ranking at the top of the SERPs for your most prominent keywords can be incredibly lucrative. However, the SERPs are continually growing in complexity. Our analytics capabilities are getting stronger and stronger. Even the way in which we use search engines has changed dramatically. Remember this clip from College Humor? Notice anything different? We now

Simon Ensor

Globe
Jul 2019
10 MIN READ

Implementing International SEO For A Multi-Language Website

Maybe you have one website and all your content is in English, but you’ve realised that you have a lot of customers visiting your site from China. Or maybe you are expanding your services beyond your native country’s borders, and want to target English-speakers worldwide, and not just in England or America. When you are looking to implement SEO for a multi-language website, you’ll need to look into language targeting.  Language targeting is when you market your services or products towards users across the globe who all speak the same la

Nic Lapham

Map
Jul 2019
9 MIN READ

Expanding Overseas | International SEO For Multinational Websites

You’ve made the decision. You’ve started looking beyond your own borders and want to start selling your service or products to customers abroad as well as domestically. But how do you get your website ready for international expansion, and how do you make sure it’s SEO optimised for targeting users in multiple countries? When it comes to implementing country-specific SEO, country targeting is the best option available to you. Country targeting is when you market your services and products specifically towards audiences in more than one co

Nic Lapham

Image crop
Jul 2019
16 MIN READ

Web Image Optimisation for SEO

What is Image Optimisation? Image optimisation is the process of adjusting aspects of the imagery that is used across your website. It helps you achieve the perfect balance between quality and readability for humans and robots alike and is a key part of SEO. Factors such as the file size of your image, the file type (JPEG, GIF, PNG) and even the thumbnails in your site can all have an effect on the load speed of your website, and therefore your SERPs (search engine results pages) rankings. So, what does optimising your imagery entail? Let’s t

Nic Lapham

Global
Jul 2019
6 MIN READ

International SEO | What To Do When Going Global

Expanding into new markets is a thrilling time for any business, but it can also be a risky one. You’re moving up in the world, moving into new, uncharted markets (at least by you) and are eager to make the most out of the exciting opportunities that they offer. However, there’s also the risk that it won’t pan out. When you decide that you want go international with your website, it’s an all or nothing scenario. You can’t dip your toe in the water when it comes to making changes to your website to best target your new audiences. Y

Nic Lapham

Cursor Animation
Jul 2019
7 MIN READ

Should I Be Using Custom Cursors?

No, you haven’t hit your head and ended up back in 2007. Custom cursors are back like they never left and they’re the latest accoutrement to website UI/UX worldwide. These aren’t the gimmicky space invaders and sparkling unicorns of yester-year. The latest generation of custom cursors are sleek, sexy and designed with the user in mind… for the most part.  Are they worth it?  As with everything, it’s not necessarily the product - it’s how it’s made. Similar to the iPhone/Android debate, whilst some people love the physical desi

Nic Lapham

SEO: In House Vs. Agency
Jun 2019
13 MIN READ

SEO: In House SEO Vs. SEO Agency

Investing the time, energy and resources into a beautiful website without also investing in SEO, is like buying a new car and not buying petrol. It’ll sit on your driveway looking pretty, but it’s not going to get you anywhere. However, entering the world of SEO, how it works, and trying to make a decision about the best route forward for you and your business can seem like a mind-boggling task. We’ve taken stock of what’s out there and the different SEO solutions that are available. We’ve put together a comprehensive, transparent pro

Simon Ensor

Traffic lights
May 2019
10 MIN READ

How useful are the Yoast Plugin SEO & Readability Scores?

Let’s get one thing straight. The Yoast SEO plug-in is one of, if not the most popular SEO plugin for WordPress websites. It’s been around since 2008. It has over 5 million installations and at the time of writing, a 4.9 out of 5 rating from over 26,000 reviews on WordPress.org. It’s really useful. We use it at Yellowball on a lot of our clients’ websites. The plugin allows webmasters to update meta data with consummate ease. We’d highly recommend using it! However, there are some common misconceptions around Yoast’s SEO and readabi

Simon Ensor

Why Performance Based SEO Campaigns SUCK for Clients & Agencies
Jan 2019
25 MIN READ

Why Performance Based SEO Campaigns SUCK for Clients & Agencies

The concept of performance based SEO campaigns is simple. Formerly known as ‘Pay for Rankings’ campaigns, they’re based upon the agency being paid only as and when they deliver results (or a substantial amount of monthly fees withheld until results are produced). Awesome! If agencies are so confident in their SEO abilities, surely they would be happy to put their money where their mouths are? On the surface of it, yes. It looks great and believe me, as an agency, if we could make it work it would make our lives a hell of a lot easier when

Simon Ensor

Reviewing our SEO predictions of 2018
Dec 2018
15 MIN READ

Reviewing our SEO predictions of 2018

Reviewing our SEO predictions of 2018 At the end of each year, it’s become somewhat of a tradition for agencies to compile their SEO predictions for the following year. Back in January, we thought we’d look ahead as well! However, not many of these websites actually look into how accurate their predictions turned out to be. Considering the year is now coming to end, we thought it would be a good idea to see how well our SEO predictions played out throughout 2018. Continued rise of AI 2018 saw Google make some serious advancements in art

Simon Ensor

Website options
Dec 2018
9 MIN READ

How to Build a Website from Scratch

There are 3 main options to consider when building a website from scratch, including:Free website builders Bringing in a designer to amend a template Bespoke website designDiscover more about these three options and the advantages and disadvantages of each choice in this article. You might have a website, but either now or in the future it’s going to need a new lick of paint. Or it might be that your business is wanting to rebrand and you need a website to suit its new look. Or the management are in agreement that a new website is imp

Simon Ensor

UX/UI Illustration
Nov 2018
13 MIN READ

What is the difference between UX and UI?

UX and UI are both terms that are bandied around a lot, but there is often confusion as to what the difference is. There are important differences between the two, but they are becoming increasingly inter-mingled, as it is very tricky to have one without the other. This guide will outline the key differences and some of the history and theory of UX and UI design. The Basics   UI (USER INTERFACE) UI, or User Interface, is the surface look of a website and UI designers aim to maximise the usability and efficiency of a website. They will take

Nic Lapham

Report
Apr 2018
7 MIN READ

Google AdWords Metrics to Use for SEO

When we think of Google and how it can impact our businesses, or our clients’ bottom line, two main areas come to mind: AdWords and SEO. AdWords being Google’s ads that dominate the top spots and represent their cha-ching machine, while SEO is the process of optimising your website and content to increase organic rankings naturally, over time (as you are probably totally aware of). AdWords is hugely popular, first and foremost because it is instant; once set up, your ads (and website) are on Google’s first pages. Secondly, it’s tang

Simon Ensor

Analytics graph
Mar 2018
18 MIN READ

SEO reporting metrics: the definitive starter guide

Understanding how SEO works is meaningless if you do not also understand if it’s working. Marketers and businesses should always pay close attention to the effects of their SEO work in order to perfect their approach and drive valuable results. This is where metrics come in. Yes, they may seem boring at first, kind of like Times New Roman or Morrissey fans. But trust us, SEO reporting metrics are your friends. They help us understand the impact of our efforts. But how exactly should you go about effectively measuring the success of an SEO cam

Simon Ensor

Why Web Design is Critical for SEO
Jan 2018
7 MIN READ

Why Web Design is Critical for SEO

When you hear people talk about search engine optimisation you are most likely going to hear them talk about content and links. It’s no surprise considering that Google themselves have said that content and links are two of the three most important ranking factors (Rankbrain being the third). However, whilst these three may well garner the most attention, you are also likely to hear that there are ‘over 200 factors’ that influence a website’s ability to rank in the SERPs. These can range from title tags to preparing for Google’s upcom

Simon Ensor

Teaching
Dec 2017
11 MIN READ

Making Sense of SEO: The Core Theories

At its core, SEO is the practice of increasing a website’s ability to rank at the top of the search engine results pages (SERPs) for a set of target keywords, also known as ‘search terms’. In turn, this results in increased traffic to a website from search engines. There are no underhand tricks, it does not involve arcane magic or entry into a cult. Sure, granular details can get a little heavy, especially on the technical side, but we believe the core theories of search engine optimisation are easy to understand. If you only remember two

Simon Ensor

To do list
Dec 2017
8 MIN READ

Reaping SEO Rewards – First You Need to Start!

It happens all the time. You have a task that you know is going to involve something reasonably arduous. The difficulty can manifest itself in multiple forms whether that be some hard work, an investment of time or money or even just require a devotion of brain power. Your tasks may not even be that arduous, there might just be a lot of them. Whatever the reason is, the entirety of the task appears too daunting to even start. Too much to do, too complex, too little time, costs too much….all seemingly viable reasons. We see this all the time.

Simon Ensor

The best SEO learning resources for beginners
Oct 2017
10 MIN READ

The best SEO learning resources for beginners

So you want to learn about this thing called ‘Search Engine Optimisation’… We know, it’s daunting, it’s confusing, there’s so much to learn, and there’s all sorts of SEO specific terminology. Luckily for you, we live in the age of the internet: almost anything can be self-taught using the wealth of free resources available online. But with so much available on the web, how do you even get started without getting headaches from the information overload? We’ve done some of the legwork for you by pooling together a handy list o

Simon Ensor

Google logo
Sep 2017
16 MIN READ

8 Reasons why SEO works so well

The layman would be forgiven for thinking that marketing was all celebrity endorsements and outrageous give away competitions. Sure there are areas of the marketing industry that capitalise on stratospheric budgets, but for those of us that aren’t on first name terms with messers Dicaprio and Pitt, we have to choose the most effective marketing channel for our clients’ needs. Disclaimer: many of us at Yellowball have devoted a lot of time to becoming experts in the world of search engine optimisation so we hold our hands up…we are pro

Simon Ensor

Why Keyword Rankings are misleading for SEO
Aug 2017
10 MIN READ

Why Keyword Rankings are misleading for SEO

By its very nature, search engine optimisation is about increasing your website’s ability to rank for given search terms, which in turn should result in more conversions from the search engine results pages (SERPs). No wonder then that for a long time the primary focus of SEO campaigns has been on getting people to rank higher for their ‘target keywords’. The problem is that a blinkered focus on keyword rankings, especially if it is on a handful of ‘money keywords’ is a not a true measure of success. It can also lead you into some fun

Simon Ensor

5 reasons why you should put content first
Aug 2017
7 MIN READ

5 reasons why you should put content first

Content first design. It’s pretty much what it says on the tin. Creating your website’s main messaging and content before starting the design process.As designers we can completely understand the urge to charge ahead and kick start the design process. The content stage can often be far more time consuming and complex than you might initially think and usually requires the most investment from your end. When you have just signed off to start a website design project, to hold off on seeing the actual designs seems deflating after the init

Nic Lapham

Behaviour flow
Aug 2017
7 MIN READ

Do User Metrics Really Affect SEO?

Does Google take into account how people interact with your site when deciding to rank your website in their search results? A subject somewhat shrouded in mystery and confusing literature – leaving people unsure as to whether user and usage data is a ranking factor for SEO. Regardless of whether you read the evidence we have gathered below, along with some more speculative theories…improving user experience and flow through your website should be important to you regardless of whether or not it has an effect on SEO. Concentrating o

Simon Ensor

UI Wireframe
Jul 2017
9 MIN READ

Tips for an inclusive design: accessibility in UI

As web interfaces continue to evolve, it is becoming increasingly important not to get distracted from the main purpose of a site: to deliver a message. In order for this message to successfully reach your audience, the website needs to be easy to use – intuitive, with good information architecture and (preferably) beautiful. As the web has evolved, it has become an alternative world – a new “dimension” where we while away hours upon hours. Crucially, the web is all-inclusive and accessible. Therefore one factor we must not forg

Nic Lapham

DSLR
Jul 2017
8 MIN READ

How photos can make or break your website

A beautifully designed website with well-constructed copy will be undermined if the accompanying imagery is not high quality. Impressive imagery will engage the user, instigating authenticity and professionalism. Furthermore, studies show that visuals are not only processed 60,000 times faster than text by the brain but they also transmit significantly more information. Therefore, the right imagery improves the user experience, allowing visitors to navigate your site with ease and enjoyment. As a result, they are less likely to become frustrate

Nic Lapham

Responsive code
Jun 2017
7 MIN READ

The Pros and Cons of Mobile First Design

You don’t have to be an expert in digital marketing to know that mobile has been gaining significant territory over the last few years. If you want to stay ahead of the game, you need to understand the importance of a sound digital strategy to the overall success of your business. At the heart of this sits your website.Ensuring that your website is optimised for mobile is a given but what about designing for mobile first? In other words, you design your website first and foremost for mobile devices, with desktop designs comprising the sec

Nic Lapham

Stats
Jun 2017
9 MIN READ

Which SEO metrics should you use?

The confusing world of undefined metrics The SEO world has traditionally been thought of as the darker corners of the marketing ecosystem, full of hard ‘dark arts’ and terminology. Sure it takes a little time to get your head around all of the various factors involved and the terminology can be overwhelming but at Yellowball we love to provide clarity on the subject. So here we are again, this time looking at the overarching SEO metrics available to you. Which ones are important, which ones are redundant and should you pay attention to them

Simon Ensor

Tapping on mobile
May 2017
9 MIN READ

6 Ways to Increase Click-Through Rates from Search Engines

Impressions, clicks, CTR, queries, position, bounce rate, time on page. These are just a few examples of the overarching data that you can derive from Google Analytics and Google’s Search Console (formerly known as Webmaster Tools). It can all get rather confusing, especially when they all have their own merits for understanding the success of an SEO campaign. We wanted to deep dive into how you can improve your website’s appearance in search, therefore improving click-through rates from search engine results pages. High CTR = More Traffic

Simon Ensor

Strong camera brands
Apr 2017
7 MIN READ

Recognising the importance of a strong brand

Branding is one of the most fundamental aspects of your business to get right. It is the appearance of your business, it is your reputation and it is the beating heart of your organisation. Yet so many companies fall short of seeing the importance of a strong brand, or how to go about creating one. ‘Branding’ is a word that’s thrown about a lot, but what does it actually mean and what does it encompass? Essentially, a brand is people’s perception of a company, from their customer service and reputation to their logo and much, much more.

Nic Lapham

coins
Mar 2017
10 MIN READ

How much should you pay for SEO?

The old adage of ‘you get what you pay for’ rings true for the majority of industries and SEO is certainly no different. There are a multitude of companies and lone wolves offering cheap SEO services with grand promises of first page rankings and fast. In reality, the only way to achieve such a promise is by employing suspect black-hat techniques, which can land you in big trouble with the Overlord Google. With cheap SEO your risk profile for penalties and ultimately ending up in a worse position than when you started increases substantiall

Simon Ensor

10 quick SEO tips for a new website launch
Feb 2017
9 MIN READ

10 quick SEO tips for a new website launch

You may have noticed (well, we hope you have!) that we recently launched our shiny new website. We are absolutely delighted with the result and the response it has gained so far. Nevertheless, it has not been without its stresses and it is easy to underestimate the scale of such a task.The launch of a website is far more intricate than a beautiful new look and cool new features - there are a whole myriad of elements and issues to consider. As SEO experts, we also understand the importance of transferring any previous ranking authority over

Simon Ensor

Facebook company page screenshot
Jan 2017
9 MIN READ

How to push your posts up the Facebook news feed

Get to the top of a super competitive feed With a myriad of businesses all vying for the top spot in the Facebook news feed, it has never been more important to pay close attention to the organic reach of your posts. Facebook is a powerful marketing tool for businesses but competition for visibility in the news feed is constantly increasing; it is all too easy for posts to get lost in the depths of the ever overpopulated news feed. Businesses must step up their game in order to give their stories the best possible chance of featuring prominent

Simon Ensor

UX:UI mock up
Sep 2016
10 MIN READ

UX Design Part 2 | Information Architecture

Information Architecture (IA) is the method of structuring and organising content. The term is used in a variety of industries but as you might expect we are referring to it in the context of websites. Just like the foundations of a building, information architecture is the essential building blocks of a website. Without it, the rest of the site could fall apart. Despite this, IA can be an underestimated part of the web design process. Furthermore, often it is wrongly based on opinion alone, as opposed to careful research and planning. The aim

Nic Lapham

create instagram story
Aug 2016
8 MIN READ

Instagram Stories vs Snapchat Stories

Last week saw the bold release of Instagram Stories. Users can now share a string of photos and videos edited with drawings and captions that last for 10 seconds and self-destruct after 24 hours. Sound familiar? Familiar may not be a strong enough word. Rather, it seems more like blatant plagiarism of Snapchat’s most popular feature, reflected in their brazen choice to even use the same name. Nevertheless, the decision to introduce this new feature in such an unabashed manner seems to be a tactical move from Instagram. They want their users

Simon Ensor

UX Header image
Jul 2016
8 MIN READ

UX Design Part 1 | Introduction to User Experience

User experience (UX) is used to describe the way a person feels when interacting with a system. In a modern context, the term is most commonly applied with regards to a person’s experience with a website, web application or digital software. The aim of UX is to provide a high level of usability and satisfaction in order to establish an overall refined and exemplary experience for the user. The aim of this blog series is to consider the various factors that play into the broad topic of UX design. In this first post of the series, we will discu

Nic Lapham

JIRA kanban board
May 2016
8 MIN READ

Using agile development to improve your web project

Yellowball have successfully planned, designed, developed and launched hundreds of successful web projects in the last few years. This experience has given us a unique insight into the best and most effective ways to manage and oversee the successful delivery of projects for our clients. To achieve this, we deploy a range of project management methodologies for website design and development, depending on the requirements, complexity and time scale of each project. One methodology that is becoming increasingly successful is agile. What is agil

Simon Ensor

Good customer data is the beating heart of great business strategy
Sep 2015
7 MIN READ

Good customer data is the beating heart of great business strategy

I’ve spoken to many companies on this topic over the years, and it is the ones that have gained a clear understanding of how, why and where to collect data on their customers and prospects, that have become highly successful. The general opinion is that no lead-generating marketing campaign can be successful without high quality data. So, I thought I’d share with you what I felt seemed to be a consensus amongst all these data conscious businesses. Let’s start off with the how… All businesses should use a CRM (client relationship ma

Simon Ensor

UX Elephant
May 2015
4 MIN READ

User Experience Fundamentals

How users perceive a website is paramount to its success; does it give them value? Is it easy to use? Is it enjoyable to use? These questions run through their subconscious as they interact with the web. If the answers are positive to these then it is likely that they’ll be converted into a regular user. Here we want to share with you some expert tips to User Experience (UX) driven design. You have probably guessed that User Experience (UX) is essentially how a person feels when interacting with a website, application or piece of software. Th

Nic Lapham

responsive website mockup
May 2015
8 MIN READ

Should my website be responsive?

The new Google update, dubbed #mobilegeddon has turbocharged conversations around the need to be ‘mobile friendly’. Although we would certainly not argue against the importance of being mobile friendly in order to appear on mobile Google searches (it is very, very important), in actual fact only the top 5-8 results on Google get any meaningful traffic from the search engine.  So if your website does not rank on Google’s mobile search results, do you need to invest in a mobile friendly site?  Let’s weigh up the pros and cons, as well a

Simon Ensor

6 Top Tips for Email Marketing
May 2015
8 MIN READ

6 Top Tips for Email Marketing

At Yellowball we have seen direct results from the email marketing campaigns that we have managed for ourselves and for our clients. Email still represents a platform on which we spend a considerable amount of time, especially during working hours.  Combine this with smartphones and email marketing can be an incredibly effective strategy. Here are our top 6 tips to running a successful campaign: 1. Utilise the gatekeeper Let’s face it, opening emails that are obviously sent out en masse is not particularly high on our daily ‘to do’ list.

Simon Ensor

3 SEO mistakes that make your website invisible to Google
Feb 2015
8 MIN READ

3 SEO mistakes that make your website invisible to Google

Search Engine Optimisation can be a tricky business at the best of times. With over 200 factors to take into account it is all too easy to get distracted and miss out a few crucial first steps. The result? You can spend weeks, if not months, working on your site only to gain no more visibility on the search engines than you did previously. Fear not though, not only will a lot of your efforts be beneficial in the long run (except for the in the case of the last point in this article), but we at Yellowball have put together a list of easy-to-make

Simon Ensor

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