On the Ninth Day of Creative: Nomad

As told by Developer, Jon Clawson,

On the Ninth day of creative, we are anticipating the launch of the Nomad Temporary Housing mobile application which will provide a better experience to process reservation requests for both clients and their internal team. Through the current website, and now the mobile app, Nomad offers a comprehensive search feature that allows users to quickly locate potential destinations for temporary living and submit a reservation request. The website also features many admin tools for communicating property information via email, PDF distribution and the soon-to-launch customer facing phone application.

The Nomad system has provided me the opportunity to work on a task orientated application with new, interesting technologies including server side code, data, API’s, and several JavaScript frameworks. Myself and the Dev team took the Challenge head-on. It has proven our ability to adapt and evolve with the technology industry and remain at the head of the curve by continuing to provide effective solutions. The phone application is scheduled to launch in January 2016 so keep an eye out for more to come!

Branding in San Diego | Jacob Tyler

On the Third Day of Creative: Neofluidics

As told by our Visual Designer, Carli Cohen…

On the Third Day of Creative, I’m excited to share the project that we did for our client Neofluidics – a start-up seeking to improve and disrupt technologies in the world of Microfluiducs.

This was an especially intriguing project for me as I got to dive in and learn the technology behind the company while spending time in their labs. I was able to to get a first hand look into how Neofluidics is challenging a field that has remained unchanged in over fifty years.

It was an awesome experience to work with such a passionate and driven team. To see their brand come to life from the beginning of the process to the end could not have been more rewarding!

To learn more about Neofluidics and to see our work, check out neofluidics.com

Branding by Jacob Tyler

Is Anyone Watching This? – Video Ads and Viewability

In the beginning of this millennium, around when the DVR became ubiquitous and the Internet realized its potential as the platform for content delivery, the television ad was pronounced dead. The perpetual march of technology, combined with a growing distrust for traditional advertisements, was implicated in the TV ad’s demise. The death certificate, however, was written far too early. After all, the advertising spend on the 2015 Super Bowl was the largest ever, and shows no signs of slowing down. Sure, less people view ads on televisions these days, but the visual advertisement continues to dominate the media landscape – by way of the Internet. Both advertisers and publishers have increasingly focused on video ads over the last few years, resulting in both more video ads – and more questions about their effectiveness. Advertisers, in short, want to know – “Is anyone watching this?”

Web pages draw a much less captive audience than do TV screens. Visitors move about freely, clicking links and refreshing pages to locate the content they desire, rather than having it fed directly to them. Merely placing a video ad on a page offers no guarantee that the ad will be seen. Rather than base ad costs and effectiveness on delivery metrics, advertisers and publishers are now relying on a metric called “viewability, ” created by the Media Rating Council, which measures the percentage of the time a particular ad is seen. An ad is considered “viewed” when at least 50 percent of its pixels are on screen for more than two seconds. Viewability is an evolving metric, but it represents a shift in the way advertisers are doing business.

Google’s recently released State of Ad Viewability report offers some important insight on ad visibility, including where ads are being seen, how often they’re being seen, and how format and placement affects viewability. The following are a few major takeaways from the report:

Averages

The average video ad viewability across the web (not including YouTube) is 54 percent. With YouTube, it’s 93 percent. The difference between YouTube and non-YouTube ads isn’t quite as striking as it appears, since only the YouTube numbers accounted for viewability on mobile devices.

Heard, Not Seen

Video ads that played in the background (in a separate tab, etc.) but were not technically “viewable” still resulted in a 33 percent increase in ad recall, when compared to those who had no exposure to ad at all. It’s better to bee seen than heard, but better to be heard than nothing!

Going Mobile

The massive shift to mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets, is reflected in viewability data. YouTube video viewability is 94 percent on mobile devices – due largely to the fact that videos often utilize the entire screen on these devices.

Why Videos Fail the Viewability Test

The majority (76 percent) of videos not seen were due to the video playing while in a background tab. The remainder (24 percent) was due to visitors scrolling away from or clicking off the ads in less than two seconds.

Size Matters

Unsurprisingly, viewability increased step by step with screen size. The largest format (848 x 477) had an 87 percent viewability rate, while the smallest (300 x 250) had less than 20 percent viewability.

It’s All About Location

Google’s report showed that not only player size, but also location on the page is an important factor in viewability. Ads placed at the top of the page vertically, and in the center of a page horizontally, had far better viewability rates.

What Does it All Mean?

While viewability is an important step in determining where advertisers should focus spending, it doesn’t tell the whole story. Ad content, audience identification and a solid marketing strategy will ultimately determine an ad’s true effectiveness, and move potential customers from viewing to conversion.

Jacob Tyler | San Diego’s Best Branding Agency

Are You Ready for Mobilegeddon?

In April, Google officially rolled out its “mobile-friendly” search ranking update. In short, this means that Google will now boost the rankings of what it considers to be “mobile-friendly” pages – and penalize pages that it does not – on its mobile search. The update is intended to reflect the rise of Internet access through mobile devices, which now constitute more than half of all Google searches. The update is expected to negatively affect many websites – popular industry blog TechCrunch found that 44 percent of Fortune 500 companies failed Google’s mobile-friendly test – and could impact revenues for those websites who do not meet the new mobile-friendly standards.

Let’s take a look at the basics of the new search update and what it means for your website.

What will change?

The mobile-friendly update will impact web page search rankings based on accessibility and usability on mobile devices.
The change affects only search ranking on mobile devices.
The update applies to individual pages, not entire websites.

What makes a website mobile-friendly?

According to Google’s blog, the following basic criteria will be used to determine “mobile friendliness” in search results:

Websites that avoid software that is not common on mobile devices – like Flash.
Websites that use text that is readable without zooming.
Websites that size content to the screen so users don’t have to scroll horizontally or zoom.
Websites that place links far enough apart so that the correct one can be easily tapped.

Is my website mobile-friendly?

If your website features responsive design or adaptive design, or has been configured specifically for use on mobile devices, it may not be affected by the new search algorithm. Older, more “static” websites, however, will likely suffer a loss of ranking under the new search rules.

To determine if your website is mobile-friendly, simply paste your URL into Google’s quick and easy mobile-friendly test.

How can I optimize my website for mobile?

Google recommends responsive web design as the best way to ensure sites remain relevant across all platforms. According to Google’s blog, responsive design:

Makes it easier for users to share and link to your content with a single URL.
Helps Google’s algorithms accurately assign indexing properties to the page rather than needing to signal the existence of corresponding desktop/mobile pages.
Requires less engineering time to maintain multiple pages for the same content.
Reduces the possibility of the common mistakes that affect mobile sites.
Requires no redirection for users to have a device-optimized view, which reduces load time.
Saves resources when Googlebot crawls your site.

In a nutshell –

The new mobile search ranking is an undeniable shakeup of the status quo, but should eventually optimize the search experience for both consumers and businesses. If your website lost rank status on April 21, it can regain that status once it is optimized and becomes mobile-friendly, as Google will reclassify the newly updated site.

If you would like to learn more about how to optimize your website for mobile, fill out the form to the right and let’s chat!

Jacob Tyler | San Diego’s Best Web Design Agency

Design For The Internet of Things

Technology continues to march on, and the world continues to become more connected. The next great wave of technology is expected to be the “Internet of Things.” What is the Internet of Things, you ask? Basically, it refers to anything connected to the Internet – a list that grows longer by the day. Soon, our appliances, cars, furniture and– who knows – maybe even our pets will join the endless potential of the Internet of Things. The best contemporary example of this phenomenon is wearables, like the Apple Watch. Wearables are a logical next step in technology. After all, why pull a phone out of your pocket to check your email when you can just look at your wrist! More than email though, wearables have the potential to house multiple applications. A restaurant, for instance, could alert guests that their table is ready, or their takeout order is prepared. A washing machine could be started remotely, or a lawnmower could automatically perform its duties with a tap on one’s wrist. Already, wearables like the Fitbit track your activity and monitor your sleep. Undoubtedly, the uses of wearables will continue to evolve.

Wearables pose a new challenge for web designers. While responsive web design will optimize websites for wearables like the Apple watch, designers must make additional considerations when creating designs and user experience for the “small screen,” including:

Device Utilization

An important consideration for design is determining the utilization of the wearable platform. For instance, a business that delivers pizza may have a large portion of its customers interacting with them through the wearable device, whereas a B2B construction company might only require its phone number to be easily accessible through the device. Designers should set priorities based on the portion of expected use of each type of device.

Text-Heavy Simplicity

Small screens – the Apple watch clocks in at about 1.5” – require very basic, simple and easy to use designs. Text is key, as even those with 20/20 eagle vision will have a difficult time reading text on such a tiny screen. The utilization of large text and readable fonts should be design priorities.

It’s All About U/X

When it comes to designing for wearables, user experience is by far the most important aspect. Creating a good user experience requires a deep understanding of both the intended functionality of the site/device and the preferences of its intended users. Users should be able to easily navigate and inherently understand how a design works. Optimally, there should be zero learning curve.

Have you considered utilizing wearables in your business? If you’d like to discuss, drop us a line!

Website Design in San Diego | Jacob Tyler

Google to Penalize Non-Mobile Friendly Websites in Search

If you’ve been putting off upgrading your existing website to a responsive web design, it’s officially time to reconsider. Starting on April 21, 2015, Google will begin penalizing non-“mobile-friendly”(read, non-responsive websites) by downgrading those websites’ rank on Google searches. In short, this means that non-responsive sites will essentially lose hard-won SEO rankings with the flip of a switch. Imagine standing in line for a ride at Disneyland for two hours, and just as you reach the front, a trap door opens. It’s kind of like that.

Google stated:

“Starting April 21, we will be expanding our use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal. This change will affect mobile searches in all languages worldwide and will have a significant impact in our search results. Consequently, users will find it easier to get relevant, high quality search results that are optimized for their devices.”

Like it or not, the Internet is Google’s domain, and we’re all just living in it. Google may be our overlord, but it’s not necessarily a vengeful one. The new search rankings are designed to reflect the undeniable trend of people accessing the Internet via mobile devices – smartphones, tablets, etc. Mobile access has reached a tipping point, quickly outpacing desktop access, and Google’s new search algorithm reflects this reality. The news isn’t a surprise. Web developers and SEO experts have been expecting this development for the last couple of years as mobile devices exploded. We knew it was coming, we just didn’t know exactly when. Now we do. And it’s not bad news – it’s an opportunity. Not just to upgrade your website, but to rethink it altogether.

The rise of mobile hasn’t just changed the devices we use to access the web, it’s changed the way we consume content. Our information consumption tastes have veered from buffet to à la carte. We expect singular information on demand – where’s the closest restaurant, what’s the current temp in Boise, how much do beach cruiser bicycles cost, etc. Of course, not every business deals in singular information. But the best websites are constructed as if they do. Upgrading to a responsive website will not only improve your search rankings, it will give you a chance to rearrange your information architecture. By applying an “inverted pyramid” information flow, you can ensure you most important information – your contact info, your basic services, etc. – turn up first in mobile searches, allowing you to then guide your audience through a linear, user-friendly information discovery.

The digital landscape is shifting once again. But it’s not a hindrance. It’s a chance to get ahead of the curve. Contact Les Kollegian at Jacob Tyler Brand Communications if you want more information about Responsive Design or how we can help convert your current Website.

SEO by Jacob Tyler in San Diego

Attention Retailers: Facebook Product Ads Have Arrived

Remember the days of catalogue shopping? A slew of catalogues would arrive on your doorstep – JC Penny, Eddie Bauer, Sears, etc. – and you’d flip through hundreds of pages to find the items that you wanted or needed. While a 300-page catalogue full of products could be exciting at first – with seemingly endless possibilities to quench your retail thirst – it was often cumbersome. There’s not a person on earth that could possibly want or need every product in the JC Penny catalogue. Product catalogues worked much like Encyclopedias (remember those?) – you had to physically search for products that matched your desires.

The days of receiving 5-pound catalogues in the mail are largely gone (though the Yellow Pages continues to mysteriously appear on my doorstep). But catalogues aren’t. Have you ever been to Ikea’s website? It features thousands and thousands of products in hundreds of countries. A virtual catalogue. Ikea is a phenomenal business with an international reputation. But what about smaller retailers? Are consumers willing to wade through hundreds of web pages of products to find what they’re looking for? In today’s climate of endless choices, probably not.

I’ve written before about the importance of brands reaching out directly to engage consumers in the virtual spaces they inhabit. With more than 700 million daily users, Facebook is the world’s most populous virtual space. Facebook is an important channel for retailers to engage audiences. And with Facebook’s latest evolution to its advertising service – “Product Ads” – retailers can now promote individual products from their catalogues to consumers. The service, introduced in mid-February, could be a game changer for brands with extensive product lines.

Facebook’s announcement described the new service: “Product ads offer businesses a number of ways to highlight different products on Facebook. Marketers can upload their product catalog and create campaigns targeting certain products to specific audiences, or let Facebook automatically deliver the most relevant products to people. Products can be shown in single- or multi-product ad units.”

The new service should take a lot of the guesswork and tedium out of how to reach the right audience at the right time for brands. However, brands must continue to raise the bar on creative presentation and engaging content. Does your brand’s creative stand out from the crowd? Contact us using the form to the right – we’d love to help!