blog archive.

So the Cookie Law was implemented over the weekend and last week we noticed a number of high profile sites implement their solution to this new legalisation, including; The BBC, The Mirror and the Financial Times. 

On Thursday there was also the big announcement from the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office) that said website owners can assume that visitors have consented to the use of cookies as long as they were provided with the information. 

This change has watered down the initial legalisation somewhat and ensures that the implementation we have seen over the last few days comply with the new legalisation. 

If you haven't considered on the new cookie legalisation could affect you than please contact us for some advice or take a look at our best practice guide - here. 

More and more Company web sites are using ME. By that I mean they talk about themselves. A lot. "We have a great range of pipe cleaners". "Our business has been running for 250 years and we are brilliant". "Look at our interesting news all about us".

It's boring. And self-orientated. Even when including keywords and SEO-focused copy, the content itself still needs to be interesting and effective for the reader. Customer-focussed, if you like.

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE
We are WidgetWeb! We have a huge range of products including waterproof widgets. We offer good prices and are a well-established business of 30 years. Browse our site now!
OR
Got a leaky sink? Need to fix it fast, and at a low price? You'll find a full range of waterproof widgets here. In a hurry? No problem. You'll love our super-speedy order process.

Why has your web visitor come to your site? They have a leaky sink and need to find some waterproof widgets - quickly - and for a good price. They’ve not come to hear about how long you've been running for and a load of flowery 'me me me'.

See how Apple are putting this in place - lots more 'you' than 'we' in this iPad piece.

The copy on your site needs to address your visitor and their needs, quickly and effectively. Keep them focussed and you'll have a better chance of them making a purchase, or making contact, or downloading your latest offers... Talk to your customers, not at them.

And finally... For every instance of we, try to say 'you', at least twice.

If you'd like to chat about your web copy with one of the team here at Focus, drop us a line here.

Only 2 weeks to go!

On 26th May 2012 all UK websites must demonstrate compliance with the EC ePrivacy Directive. A few weeks ago we sent you our guide on what it means for you and your web site. For more information on this check out our: Cookies; Best Practice Guide. 

Cookie Audit

If you haven't contacted us in regards to a Cookie Audit please feel free to do so. We will undertake this before the 26th May 2012 (charge may apply), report on the cookies which exist on your site and our recommendations on the next steps to ensure your website is demonstrating compliance. 

For more information contact us on: cookies@thisisfocus.co.uk

MS Ireland have joined forces with McVitie's to organise a fantastic event to raise awareness and money for services used by people with Multiple Sclerosis and their families.

So, it was down to us here at Focus to come up with the campaign concept from the McVitie's brief. I've been lucky enough to get hands on with this wonderful project. As the newest member of the team it was particularly exciting for me to be involved with such a big project. Once everyone was happy with the logo, it was on to the site redesign. By this point I was carried away and had a real feel for the theme of the event so wasn't short of inspiration. McVitie's Tea Party is such a fun, bubbly and brilliant occasion that I thoroughly enjoyed reflecting this in the design. It was great fun putting all my energy in to this project and seeing it go live was a great achievement for me in my first six weeks in the job.   Not only am I getting the satisfaction of a job well done (even if I do say so myself) but I can also feel good in the knowledge that it's all for a great cause. Check out http://teaparty.ms-society.ie/tea-party if you fancy joining in on the fun and throwing a McVitie's Tea Party of your own!

Last week (which seems like an eternity ago) I went down to London to visit Internet World 2012. I was looking forward to seeing what the 'buzz' was this year and had picked out my choices of informative seminars. I've never been to IW before so I wondering if it would be any different to the exhibitions that I had been to before. 

First impressions were that it was a lot smaller than I had envisaged...it was the first day of the show so I'm sure a lot of the exhibitors had been up most of the night (or early morning) putting the final touches to stands. I had a wander around the show and spoke to a few different companies and looked forward to my first seminar on email marketing...then I saw the queue...I instantly realised that this wasn't going to happen. So I stopped off at an open Adwords seminar running in the middle of the show.

My next seminar was due to kick off in about 50 minutes so I made my way to see what was happening...queuing had started already! I was one of the fortunate few to get a seat for a seminar on Advanced SEO...it was a really informative presentation and confirmed a few of our suspicions whilst also drawing our attention to a few new things. 

I also saw a few eCommerce seminars which were very interesting and it's good to hear what we're doing and recommending to our clients is similar to others in the industry and forward thinking in our approach.

All in all I was impressed with IW...it provided some new information and also confirmed that we're top of our game in terms of trends and the working methods employed by us. I'm looking forward to next year's event.