It's Digital Marketing

10 Insider Tips to Win a Search Agency Pitch

Gary Robinson — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 22:24:40 +0000

When you’re a search agency pitching to potential clients, how many times do you wonder:

What is it that they really want?

What are they thinking right now?

Are we doing okay?

Was this tie/shirt combo a good idea?

The last question is anyone’s guess (spots over stripes, really??) and whilst you can never truly tell what the people with the scorecards are thinking, there are plenty of things you can do to feel more confident about their evaluation of your pitch.

Over the past 10 years, I’ve sat through my fair share of pitches from search agencies, creative agencies, and PR agencies, and whilst there is some overlap, the approaches taken have varied considerably.

As the Client, it’s great every once in a while to meet an agency that just ticks all your (scorecard) boxes. You can tell that their preparation was thorough, that they have a bright team and have given your situation – and possible solutions – a great deal of thought.

Others, unfortunately, can leave you scratching your head.

If you’d rather be the former and not the latter in your next pitch, read the full 10 Insider Tips to Win a Search Agency Pitch article here.

Ryanair Cheap Flights and Cheap Service

Gary Robinson — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 22:56:09 +0000

Oh dear. I guess the folks over at Ryanair, the cheap flights specialist, haven’t been doing much reading on the power of self publishing and social media lately. It’s the only way you could really explain the two-feet-firmly-in-mouth approach to their public relations over the past week.

If you’re not familiar with the story, it appears that last week staff from Ryanair got in a little argument with a freelance developer, Jason Roe, over his personal blog comments about a bug he discovered in their booking process whilst looking for cheap flights. Ryanair staff seem to have taken exception to this and replied with comments such as:

“Jason! You’re an idiot and a liar!”

And it didn’t stop there. Read the full Ryaniar Cheap Flights and Cheap Service article here.

Is Search Marketing Really That Important?

Gary Robinson — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 13:14:42 +0000

Is Search Marketing Really That Important?

I was asked that question in a rather indirect way recently. It wasn’t exactly said outright, but the pained expression at the mere suggestion of doing it, told me all I needed to know.

The answer, in short, is Yes. Whether you’re a multi-national corporation, a high street retailer or a taxi service in Leeds, if you want to trade on the web or you want people to know who you are or what you do or where to find you, then yes, you need to be doing it. If it’s your business, you can’t leave this stuff to Lady Luck. Especially, as it’s highly likely your competitors are already doing it.

Read the full Is Search Marketing Really that Important? article here.

To Find a Job Think like a SEO

Gary Robinson — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 08:30:57 +0000

Competition for a job is usually fierce at the best of times, but in our current economic climate it’s become considerably more challenging.

With the announcement this week that unemployment in the UK has hit a 12 year high of nearly 2 million, the job market is flooded with people chasing a smaller pool of vacancies (approx. 500,000 according to PM Gordon Brown).

Whilst watching the news recently and pondering how these unfortunate people would be able to set themselves apart from the competition when it came to job interviews, it occurred to me that perhaps the biggest priority would be to be spotted in the first place. How do you stand out in the crowd and avoid being lost in the pile?

Then in an odd leap of thought, I noticed the similarities with search marketing and specifically SEO.

Read the full ‘To Find a Job Think Like a SEO‘ article here.

What next for I Spy Search? Jim Brigden new CEO

Gary Robinson — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 13:06:15 +0000

Interesting times are ahead for UK search agency I Spy Search, as it was announced on Friday that former The Search Works CEO and Tradedoubler MD, Jim Brigden is to join the company as CEO.

Read the full ‘What next for I Spy Search? Jim Brigden new CEO‘ article here.