We all seem to be inundated with those pesky phone calls from SEO companies promising to get us on the first page of Google (yep, even us at Bella Towers) but how do you chose the best one? Well, here are a few pointers and questions to ask:

• Do they promise to guarantee a #1 ranking? If they do, you have a serious reason to doubt their competencies. Google say themselves that no one can guarantee a #1 ranking. This is true even for not so competitive words
• What will the company base their keyword recommendations on? Keyword research is a necessity to determine relevant, targeted keywords in order for a SEO campaign to succeed. We often hear of companies guaranteeing a #1 rank for a search term which has a very low number of searches
• Get recommendations from friends, business partners, etc. Word of mouth is very important for the credibility of a company
• Does the SEO company use spam? Using black-hat SEO techniques can lead to long-term issues for your website and business
• How will your web site traffic be monitored and measured? What type of reports will you get and how often will you receive them?

Of course, there are many more factors to consider when choosing a SEO company but using the tips above should stand you in good stead.

Read further information on Bella Design & Marketing’s SEO services.

Things have been a bit hectic here at Bella Towers of late so profuse apologies for the lack of updates! However, fear not dear reader, let’s get you right back up to speed with this run down of what we’ve been up to of late.

Let’s start with recruitment news. The wonderfully talented Greg Ashley has signed up to Team Bella as a Web and Graphic Designer. Greg came straight in to the side and made an immediate impact with his own unique style of spectacles.

Thanks to Greg, Richard and the rest of the team, we’re currently on a run of 4 pitch wins in a row. This has happened in such a short space of time that the production team are still calculating how many hours of sleep they’ll be losing in the next couple of months.

Among the many web highlights of recent times, we recently launched our biggest e-Commerce site to date. With hundreds of products on offer, Increase Confidence is one of the UK’s largest self confidence websites.

On the print front, the new design team has completed a plethora of property brochures. For a sample of the work, take a look at the interactive brochures for King’s Court and Renaissance Court.

In SEO news, a further 3 clients have joined us this month with another couple in the pipeline.

All in all, it’s been a great couple of months here so a big thank you to all our clients, old and new.

This month Bella recommends Online Marketing from AVA Publishing – an accessible introduction into what is the most dynamic and fast-moving field in marketing today.

Online marketing is changing rapidly in keeping with technology and rapid consumer adoption of new media. This book considers the major online trends and highlights case studies such as eBay and Google which inspire great online ideas.

Author, Brian Sheehan is Associate Professor of Advertising at Syracuse University, New York. He has more than 25 years of professional experience with advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi.

‘Ava books themselves are testament to best practice in terms of production, design and sheer inspiration  - a truly beautiful product.’ K. Holmes, Project Publish

Here at Bella our designers pride themselves on keeping up to date with all that is new in the fast-moving world of Graphic Design and the Visual Arts. How better to hone our skills than by reading the latest state-of-the-art books from AVA Publishing. This month Bella recommends:

The Visual Dictionary of Typography

Written by design experts Gavin Ambrose and Paul Harris, this book is an invaluable reference tool that improves the reader’s understanding of the professional terms applied in the world of typography.  More than 250 common typography terms are explained with concise definitions, accompanied by compelling historical and contemporary illustrations. Each term is explained and contextualised, giving the reader an enhanced understanding of typographic terminology. From practical terms such as Accents, Bitmap and Classification to movements and styles such as Constructivism, De Stijl, Modernism and Swiss Typography, this book contains both modern terminology and the traditional terms still in current usage. A comprehensive resource for professional designers and budding students of Graphic Design alike.

Apple has just announced their annual top 10 list of all iTunes related products. The list includes their top music, movies, TV shows, podcasts and iPhone / iPad apps.

Here are the iPhone and iPad apps broken down into paid, free and top grossing categories for the year.

1. Angry Birds
2. Doodle Jump
3. Skee-Ball
4. Bejeweled 2 + Blitz
5. Fruit Ninja
6. Cut the Rope
7. ALL-IN-1 GAMEBOX
8. The Moron Test
9. Plants vs. Zombies
10. Pocket God

Top 10 Free Apps for iPhone and iPod touch

1. Facebook
2. Angry Birds Lite
3. Words With Friends Free
4. Skype
5. Tap Tap Revenge 3
6. The Weather Channel
7. Paper Toss
8. Bing
9. ROCK BAND FREE
10. Talking Tom Cat

Top 10 Grossing Apps for iPhone and iPod touch

1. MLB.com At Bat 2010
2. Angry Birds
3. Call of Duty: Zombies
4. Bejeweled 2 + Blitz
5. FriendCaller 3 Pro
6. Zombie Farm
7. TomTom U.S.A.
8. TETRIS
9. Plants vs. Zombies
10. Doodle Jump

Top 10 Paid Apps for iPad

1. Pages
2. GoodReader for iPad
3. Numbers
4. Angry Birds HD
5. Keynote
6. Glee Karaoke
7. WolframAlpha
8. Pinball HD
9. Friendly for Facebook
10. Star Walk for iPad

Top 10 Free Apps for iPad

1. iBooks
2. Pandora Radio
3. Netflix
4. Google Mobile App
5. Solitaire
6. Movies by Flixster
7. IMDb Movies & TV
8. Kindle
9. Google Earth
10. Virtuoso Piano Free 2 HD

Top 10 Grossing Apps for iPad

1. Pages
2. Numbers
3. Keynote
4. LogMeIn Ignition
5. SCRABBLE for iPad
6. Documents To Go Premium
7. Angry Birds HD
8. Real Racing HD
9. Plants vs. Zombies HD
10. Proloquo2Go

Winter scenes from the grounds of our offices in deepest Cheshire, taken only moments apart, just what is that pink apparition exactly?

An interesting way from Google to show us all just how damn fast their web browser is. See the video below and download their browser at www.google.com/chrome

[See post to watch Flash video]

It’s a web designer’s job to make it as easy as possible for visitors to find what they’re looking for. Whether this is to download software, make an enquiry or buy a product, the most powerful way of doing this is through calls to action.

I thought I’d write a quick post showing 5 examples of good calls to action I’ve seen recently.

Firefox

WeBuyAnyCar.com

Kalculator

Basecamp

280 Slides

This week sees the launch of the new website for Sale based Brookhouse Group. The company specialises in out of town retail development, both food and non food, with interests from Hamilton in the North to Christchurch in the South, with over 500,000 sq ft of  food retail and approaching 1.5 million sq ft of total retail, with all major multiples represented, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, DSG, Next, Argos, Focus, JJB, Homebase, Halfords and Comet.

To view the website please visit www.brookhousegroup.co.uk

See further details on our web design services.

Bella was honoured to sponsor the prestigious Estates Gazette  Awards 2010 which took place earlier this week.  Managing Director, Paul Watson and Account Manager, Tessa Blakemore were given the arduous task of wining and dining at  The Hilton Hotel in London’s Park Lane.  Hosts for the night were newsreader, Fiona Bruce and comedian, Tim Vine.

Paul presented the award for ‘Property Advisor of the Year – Industrial and Distribution’ which was won by Burbage Realty.

Left to right: Tim Vine, John Burbage, Paul Watson, Fiona Bruce

Bella would like to congratulate all the winners of the night:

Property Adviser of the Year – Retail
Twentyretail

Property Company of the Year – Retail
Land Securities

Property Adviser of the Year – Leisure
The Coffer Group

Property Company of the Year – Leisure
Travelodge Hotels

Property Company of the Year – Industrial & Distribution
ProLogis Developments

Property Adviser of the Year – Offices
CB Richard Ellis

Property Company of the Year – Offices
British Land

Young Property Professional of the Year
Jamie Acheson, Associate Director, Colliers International

Sustainability Initiative of the Year
Royal Arsenal

National Property Adviser of the Year
King Sturge

National Property Company of the Year
SEGRO

Estates Gazette Front Cover
Nationwide Commercial

IPD UK Property Investment House
F&C REIT Asset Management

Estates Gazette Outstanding Contribution to Property
Ian Coull, Chief Executive, SEGRO