Now, that vintage look is long gone just like 50′s paraphernalia. Pixel Art became a skill only a few designers like to keep alive and only a few people can appreciate.

I myself don’t use such techniques anymore. When building websites, we now have access to millions of colors. But from time to time, designers like me like to go back to the root of everything. So I went ahead and recreated the Frogman team, one pixel at a time.

Hope you like it!

Shannon directed us to create an entire digital media kit for the event, accessible through the Aldersgate Recovery Center website. Our kit, which you can see here, included a Media Advisory, a slightly different take on the traditional press release specific for private events where media is invited. We created message points for the media advisory, teased the media just enough to let them know this was important for the Topeka region, and let them know we had professionals ready for interviews. We also included a still photography gallery download of the newly unveiled Aldersgate Village Recovery Center, complete with images of the new, high-tech equipment (e.g. an anti-gravity treadmill created by NASA) utilized for state-of-the-art rehab. We rounded it out with downloadable logos of the new Aldersgate Recovery Center, which we created just a few weeks ago.

The digital media kit is just what the media likes… path of least resistance. I remember that concept from my days in the TV News business and it still rings true today – if not even more in these times of converging media outlets. So, you ask, what kind of coverage did we receive? Front page news with the headline above the fold in the Topeka Capital-Journal.

We also got lots of coverage on the Topeka Capital-Journal’s website, not to mention TV coverage from WIBW 13 News. Needless to say, our client contacts at Aldersgate Village were ecstatic with the results. News you can use – brought to you by your friendly, neighborhood Frogmen and the folks at Aldersgate Village!

Originally, the team at Galloway Ridge opted for a minimalistic look and feel with the use of a few selected colors, mostly dark brown and light green – colors they picked for a print campaign they developed last year. But that was for the cold days! Galloway Ridge has hung its winter coat back on the rack and slipped on its summer shrug. The entire print collateral was redesigned with more earthy colors, subtle textures and ornamental flourishes and of course, the website had to adhere to the wardrobe adjustment.

Some may think the whole ordeal must have been quite painful. And to that we say: “on the contrary my pessimistic friend!” At Frogman, we make every effort to ensure our products are efficient and scalable. So, we altered a few lines of code, tailored a couple of images and voila! Galloway Ridge’s new garment, warm and inviting, ready for the season:

And did we mention we’re about to showcase their Phase II expansion? We’ll talk about that metamorphosis another spring day.

We all think we know how people find us on the Web. We think we know the words and phrases our visitors put into that search bar that magically bring them our sites. Or do we?

We have had the pleasure of working with the Surry County Tourism Development Authority on their website, www.VerySurry.com. This site promotes Surry County and its four main towns in the Yadkin Valley – Elkin, Mount Airy, Pilot Mountain and Dobson. Each town has a distinct atmosphere and a myriad of offerings from fine dining to shopping to excursions for history buffs. There’s biking and hiking, rock climbing, fishing, horseback riding, camping. And don’t forget wine tasting.

Whenever people think of getting away they look for a place to stay. So it makes logical sense to us as Web developers and site owners that “lodging” is a keyword we should be pushing. Or is it?

Actually, the data shows that no one has come to VerySurry.com as a result if using the word “lodging” in a search. Shave me down and call me okra – because that is quite surprising. Upon further investigation, we found that some of the main lodging related search terms were “bed and breakfast” and “hotel”, and that the rustic experience of cabins and cottages made the corresponding page on VerySurry.com among their most popular. That tells you something about the people who use the Web to look for getaways in North Carolina. Surry County offers the Southern pleasures and hospitality that people want when escaping for a long weekend, so they are not looking for a Red Roof or Super 8.

After adjusting the keywords within the code of VerySurry, we are happy to report that site performance is up when it comes to searches related to staying overnight. You can also see that even a page that has been performing well can perform better.

Here’s some lodging-related keyword performance information.

Hence, the tourism site with no lodging. And that has turned out to be a good thing. Next time I need a break from the charts and graphs (and okra), I know where I’m headed. And if you want me to look at YOUR charts and graphs, leave me a comment below!

I’m like a cross between Ross Perot and Abbie from NCIS. As Search Special Agent, its my job to get qualified traffic to our clients’ sites. I comb through the data of site performance – graphs, charts, stats, reports, findings, figures and percentages. More importantly, I interpret all that data and set forth creative ways to keep sites performing. On behalf of our client Royal Oaks, a retirement community in Sun City, AZ, I recently had an occasion to put on my Abbie hat (or collar more like it) and investigate something Google has been up to. Something that in the Webmaster world is downright criminal.

See that (not provided) and the relatively large numbers of visits associated therewith?  When someone performs a search while logged into Google, that search is encrypted, and the queries these searchers use are hidden. This started in the beginning of November of last year when Google updated its search algorithms. Since then, the number of (not provided) visitors has steadily increased. Some Webmasters report upwards of 12%-20% of their visitors have their searches encrypted by Google. So like any human, if you tell me I can’t have something, getting it can become…personal. Especially when it concerns my bottom line.

That (not available) category is just a piece of evidence waiting to be put through the mass spectrometer, revealing more than meets the eye. Of course we build our entire case on all the evidence – our sites are constructed with search engine optimization in mind. If you are interested in Search Marketing and Pay Per Click advertising, let us know. As Search Special Agent, I have years of field experience and I have reported for duty at Frogman Interactive.