Zeald, New Zealand’s largest website development and digital marketing company has undergone a tactical executive management restructure. After 15 years as CEO, company co-founder David Kelly will be moving into the role of Zeald Chairman.

 

This strategic decision has not been implemented lightly, and will see Zeald aligning with a tested ‘visionary and integrator’ business model. This approach will put Zeald in the best position for future growth in an ever changing industry.

 

With the organisation having reached its current size, the board and executive management felt that the often disparate roles of ‘visionary’ and ‘integrator’ should no longer be handled by one person alone. With this in mind, it was decided that leveraging David’s natural strategic and planning capabilities would be the best way to ensure that the company's vision is a key priority, and is interwoven into the very fabric of the organisation. This direction will see David focused on executing the company’s strategic plan, and moving away from the day-to-day management that an ever growing company requires.

 

David Kelly, incumbent CEO of Zeald says: “This move marks the next chapter in what has been a very exciting history for Zeald. Stepping into the role of company chairman is by no means an attempt to distance myself from the company. The truth is quite the opposite. I have always seen myself as more of a visionary, so completely support the decision, and am looking forward to investing myself in each individual facet of the company, developing it from the inside-out.”

 

While David moves into a more strategic role, Zeald’s CFO, Andrew Forsyth will be moving into the role of company general manager. Andrew will take the part of ‘integrator’ and fulfil the operational requirements of the company. Andrew has many years experience managing companies at an executive level, having been CEO of Premier Books and GM of Monarch, before joining Zeald in 2014.

 

“I have the utmost confidence in Andrew’s experience and ability; he is a tried and tested leader and I wish him all the best in his new role”, adds David.

 

This new structure will go a long way to bolstering Zeald’s existing position as a market leader and help them to stay ahead in a continually evolving digital landscape.

At the end of 2015, Google announced something called ‘customer match’. Customer match is a facet of Google AdWords that allows you to target your advertising more effectively. It works by uploading a database of customer email addresses (minimum 1000) to the AdWords interface. When these email addresses are used to log in to a Google service (Google Search, YouTube or Gmail) they will be served targeted ads through the websites they are visiting. 

Customer match is an interesting form of marketing as it targets high value existing customers, as opposed to new opportunities. This can be very useful for things like reward programs. If you are marketing an airline for example, and your existing customers start searching for flights via Google search, you can use customer match to target them with advertising around air miles or the latest travel deals you’re offering. Using customer match can be tailored very specifically to customers that are most likely to click your link, because they’re already looking for something similar. If you think of traditional broad advertising as throwing a net out, customer search is more like spear-fishing. 

You may recall a similar product from early 2015 called RLSA (Remarketing lists for search ads), or ‘remarketing' . Remarketing targeted existing customers in a similar way, but got the database through different means. Instead of having a list of email addresses, it needed a tag on your website that would track visitors and install a cookie in their browser. Then Google could track the customer while they visited other websites and serve relevant ads as they browsed. Again, the minimum database size to use remarketing is 1000.

Both of these approaches have their benefits. Customer match is useful for split-testing, as it is easy to submit certain groups of email addresses to the target database, remove them to add a different group, and then compare the results. Remarketing doesn’t depend on obtaining an email address, so customers can be added to the database just by visiting your homepage, without filling out any forms. 

The question therefore is not ‘Which one should I use?’, but ‘How do I use both effectively?’. Obviously there is going to be an overlap when using both products. New email addresses that are obtained will most likely be from visitors to your website, in which case their information will be captured by both customer match and remarketing. If you are wanting to have only unique users to target, you would have to write exclusions for these lists. 

The point to take away here is that in order to maximise the potential of AdWords, you need to be constantly maintaining and tweaking the targeting. Much like a successful website, successful marketing is not something that can be left alone for months at a time. It must be dynamic, evolving with technology and with your business as a whole.

If you want to set up Customer Match, AdWords, or need help with digital marketing in general, get in touch for a free consult.

Having a mobile website isn't just to boost your website sales and enquiries. Research from Google suggesting that the relationship between digital and in-store shopping is far more connected than you might think.  In fact, having a good mobile website could lead to a better in-store shopping experience. 

The study, by Google, Ipsos MediaCT and Sterling Brands, reveals that consumers want more information and customized experiences during their shopping journey: Two in three shoppers who tried to find information within a store say they didn't find what they needed, and 43% of them left frustrated. And 71% of in-store shoppers who use smartphones for online research say their device has become more important to their in-store experience.

Retailers need not worry that customers may just use their mobile to shop on their ecommerce store. However, 3 in 4 survey respondents who find local information in search results helpful are more likely to visit stores. 

Shoppers would find this information very useful in search results:

75%	74%	66%
PRICE OF ITEM AT A NEARBY STORE	ITEM IS IN STOCK AT A NEARBY STORE	LOCATION OF CLOSEST STORE WITH ITEM IN STOCK
63%	59%	56%
DETAILS ABOUT LOCAL STORES (HOURS, PHONE NUMBER)	MAP SHOWING WHICH STORES CARRY THE ITEM SEARCHED FOR	WHAT ELSE IS AVAILABLE AT THE STORE

The reality is shoppers are using their smartphones to search for items nearby so they can visit your store. Often, they will know what they are looking for and be browsing online before walking through your doors. You should use this opportunity to make your website your best sales assistant by answering the above needs. Since Google now rank those with responsive design higher in mobile search, you should seriously consider getting responsive design for your website if you don't have this already. 
 

According to Nielsen, 80% of NZ’s internet users are visiting Facebook. Making it the third most visited website in New Zealand. (Data from Alexa.) Given the popularity of the social network, it is no doubt why NZ businesses would be interested in Facebook Marketing. However, before you decide to spend money with Facebook, take a moment to read the following points.
 

1. Your audience is not your customer.

The platform is not under your control, so you need to realise that the list of fans and followers you are building are actually Facebook’s customers. Sure, they follow your business, but, Facebook has the complete control of the content visible to them. Relying on this platform for promotion alone might lead to a sudden downfall in sales.
 
Instead of trying to build your Facebook following, you want to use the platform to drive people to your website and perhaps sign up for your email list. Once you get those leads to your website, you will have the opportunity to offer them your services and create a life-long business relationship with them. 
 

2. Frustrating decrease on organic reach. 

As Facebook urges businesses to spend on advertising, organic reach has declined to 6% according to a study conducted last December. So your followers will see less and less of your page's posts on their timeline.

What does it mean to businesses?

Gone are the "glory days" of free engagement with your followers. Organic reach is the content you post to your page. However, with the recent change on FB’s algorithm the post you worked so hard on will only be visible to about 6% or less of your followers. If you want to reach more audience, then you will need to pay Facebook for ads.
 

3. Do fake fans really exist?

In July, BBC News released a negative report about Facebook. According to their investigation, businesses have wasted so much money on advertisements to gain “likes” from Facebook users who are not interested in their products. The same report also stated that early in 2012, Facebook admitted that up to 54 million profiles are fake. 
 

4. Be prepared for change! 

Facebook are aware of the power they have to show followers posts. Like Google, another big player in the online world, Facebook continuously change their algorithms, so certain types of posts get displayed more or less. For example, sometimes a post with photos is more engaging, and then the algorithm changes and posts with text and links are shown more. However, you still only will get about 6% reach through these organic methods. 
 

5. You can be more successful with diverse strategy

Facebook is the social media king, considering that it has a billion users around the globe. However, it’s not wise to put all of your eggs in one basket.

Using diverse strategy will provide your business with more success. you should think about website optimisation, SEO,  Google AdWords, email marketing, and other social media channels. So people who are genuinely interested in your business, see you everywhere as an expert in your industry.

If you are interested in including Facebook advertising in your overall marketing strategy, we can help you, click here to talk to us>>

The Christmas holidays are just around the corner, but, for retailers, this holiday period is by no means a time of relaxation with the annual shopping rush providing more business challenges and opportunities. 

To try and gain a boost in sales before the pre-Christmas rush, many notable New Zealand retailers are following trends in the US, by holding sales on "Cyber Monday" or "Click Monday" on 23 November. You can get involved with the official site, or promote your own sale.

But what does December hold for retailers this year? We can look at the December 2014 Online Retail Sales Report released by BNZ, which shows how Kiwi’s love to shop online. See the infographic below. 

"So what does marketing actually do?" As a marketer, this is a question I have been asked on more than one occasion. So for those of you who are too timid to ask; marketing is communication. Marketing connects your product or service to a potential customer. You are a problem solver, and you need to communicate that you are the one with the solution. Often in marketing you need to explain the benefits of your product. 

But here's the thing; everything that you do is marketing. From your brand, the way you answer the phone, to the images and language you use on your website. How you communicate is important, and can often be your first, and only, impression

In the past, consumers sought information through brochures and advertising. While this is still available and in some industries works quite well, there are problems using these marketing avenues. In terms of communication, this is shouting at your potential customer. There is little to no interaction between your company and the person viewing your ad. 

Using a knowledgeable salesperson is great to help you seal-the-deal, but getting the person in front of the salesperson can be challenging. 

The internet has changed the way we look for information. Consumers are now able to go to one place to find out about a business. That place? Google! As a search engine, Google has a global desktop search engine market share of 62.74%. It's possible to compare businesses and products in just a few clicks. To appear in a favourable position on Google, your business needs to have a good online marketing/promotion plan in place using AdWords and other paid search advertising. You also need to have a long-term SEO plan in place, and a good persuasive website. 

​94% of internet users in New Zealand look for information about products online, World Internet Project NZ 2013. People aren't just looking to buy right then and there. They are looking for a comparison. They are looking and comparing products and services. Your website's job is to convince them to make a decision. 

Because, shopping is decision making. Your job, or your website's job, is to change someone from undecided to decided. Essentially you want to make them say yes, add to cart, fill in a form, call you for a quote. You don't want to spend time and money promoting your business using a service like Google AdWords to then have your website fail to convince your website visitor to take action. You should invest in a copywriter for your homepage and consider a dedicated landing page for your AdWords ad. 

If you are unsure where to start, we can help you. Zeald has teams of people who can assist with all the services mentioned in this article. Contact us for a free consultation. 

The look and feel of your web design are integral to your website's street credibility.  In fact, according to Stanford Web Credibility Research, 75% of users judge the trustworthiness of the company based on the website design, while a whopping 94% of first impressions are design related. Based on these statistics, there should be no question about how important good web design is!

However, people won't just judge your website by aesthetics alone. No matter how superb your design is, it will never be enough to achieve your desired results when you are missing the valuable features of what every web design should have.

Here are some of the factors you need to consider when creating your website’s design:

Your web design is appealing, but you aren't relevant to your audience.

The details are not the details. They make the design. - Charles Eames

It can be challenging to move beyond what just looks good. The most important details are the ones that lead your website visitor to your desired outcome. Your end-goal should be the whole focus of the design. Even if your website has the best graphics, images, colours and typography, it won't matter unless you get a result.

Your web design looks good, but you are too pushy.

The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources - Albert Einstein

When you decided to build your website, you had the goal in mind to expand your business. Whether you admit it or not, your goal is to encourage people buy your products or services. But, there is a fine line between having a good persuasive website and driving away potential customers.

The secret to being persuasive without being pushy is to think about what your customer needs and how your product or service can solve their problem.

Your web design is fresh, but you lack functionality!

Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works. - Steve Jobs

Web functionality is one of the crucial aspects of a good and efficient web design. But why is it so important? The answer is simple.

We determine web functionality by the way your audience interacts with your site. In other words, it would be difficult for you to build a strong relationship with your potential customers when they find it awkward to use your website. It would be easier just to leave your site when it does not work. That may sound harsh, but it’s the reality. Think about the missed sales opportunities if your add to cart button doesn't work!

Your web design is awesome, but you need valuable content!

Content is king - Bill Gates

According to Emerald Insight, 75% of web queries are expressing informational intent. So most of your visitors are visiting your website to find content that would help them solve a problem.

You can offer your customers multiple resources to answer their questions, and hopefully solve their problem through your product or service. Content can be in the following format: blog articles, videos, infographics, images, pdf reports, and other media that balances information and entertainment.

Aside from SEO purposes, providing valuable content will brand you as an expert in your industry and will mark a real and lasting relationship between you and your audience.

Your web design feels trendy, but you are not mobile-friendly!

Intuitive design is how we give the user new superpowers. - Jared Spool

Your web design should be flexible to adapt changes and to cope with the needs and lifestyle of your audience.

According to Nature World News, Smartphone use means “more brain power at your fingertips”. New technology empowers users by allowing them to stay connected to the internet and have access to online tools they need to remain active online even when they are not in front of a computer. This is made possible through the continuous development and growing usage of smartphones and tablets.

This trend challenges all website owners to extend their reach to mobile users and improve their web designs to be mobile friendly. Both Zeald, and Google, recommend using responsive design for making your website mobile friendly.

These are just some of the factors you need to consider in creating a good web design. If you want to provide a great user experience for your audience, you need to look at your website holistically.  

Hopefully, you find this article helpful in building a better and result-driven web design for your business! If you have any trouble with crafting the best design for your website, Zeald is here to help you.
 

As Google Partners, Zeald were  delighted to host 'Googlers' Laura Retsos & John Ball from Google Australia at an exclusive event in September 2015. The presentations were informative about how you can use Google tools to promote your website and then persuade your visitors to become customers once they hit your landing page/ website. 

John Ball,  Google AU/NZ Country Director - SMB, spoke about The NZ Digital Landscape. He covered some interesting statistics including how much mobile has changed the way we interact with businesses online. Google call these interactions micro-moments. 



Google Agency Development Manager AU/NZ, Laura Retsos, went on to talk about Your Business on Google. Laura covered the basics of Google AdWords and how Google online marketing tools can be effective for small businesses. 

Finally, Brent Kelly, Zeald Sales and Marketing Director, talked about Smart Results Online with Google. The biggest takeaway here is that you can spend time and money using all the tools Google can offer you, but still not get any results if your website doesn't convince your visitors to become customers. 

We will have video clips of the event available shortly, so stay tuned.  If you have any questions about how Zeald can help you with your online marketing or website, get in touch >>


L-R John Ball (Google AU), Brent Kelly (Zeald), Laura Retsos (Google AU) & Dave Cullen (Zeald)
 

View more images of the event

Email scams are designed to trick people into thinking they have come from legitimate senders. We were made aware of a current email scam that is trying to pass off as Zeald. We take this kind of trademark infringement pretty seriously because we've worked hard to build our brand to where it is today.

We just wanted to let you know that we are aware of this scam and don't be fooled into thinking this email is from Zeald or a Zeald associate. The Department of Internal Affairs is also aware of this particular scam. 

The email comes from a gmail account and uses the recipient's website address as the subject line.

The email content is as follows:

Hi, my name is Amelia and I am an online-strategist.

I would be more than happy to advise you on SEO and provide you with a detailed proposal outlining what I would be able to offer you and how I would achieve you with a first page listing for your desired keywords along with a FREE ranking report for your desired keywords.

Our pricing structure is heavily dependent on the keywords you wish to target for your website. If you can send me a list of your desired keywords I would be happy to analyse your website and determine where you are currently ranking and provide you with a detailed proposal outlining how I would achieve a first page ranking on Google for your desired keywords.

In the meantime, if you wish to have a look at our portfolio of clients please respond back to this email with your phone number and we will call-you back.

Look forward to your response.

Regards,
Grace Hayden
Digital-Marketing-Specialist
CREATIVE ZEALD  GOOGLE CERTIFIED PARTNER  
Headquarters:  Level 4, 147 Parnell Road, Parnell 1052, Auckland.New Zealand 
 Other Offices: Northland | Christchurch | Wellington | Hamilton | Tauranga & Dunedin
 Global Presence: Hong Kong & China | USA | AUS | UAE | Singapore

 

Zeald client, Leukaemia & Blood Cancer NZ supports and raises funds for the 6 Kiwis a day who are diagnosed with blood cancer or a related condition. The foundation receives 75-80% of its revenue for research, support services, and information through their website. This means events they have to find creative ways for generating exposure for the cause, and fundraising. 

Shave for a Cure is their biggest campaign to generate funds each year, and this year Esther Shimmin from the Dedicated Super Support team raised her hand.  Esther was familiar with the Shave for a Cure campaign from Zeald developing the website and decided what better an opportunity to kick start her charitable year. 

For Esther, this is just the start of her year-long campaign to give back to her adopted country. To date, the Scottish native, has raised over $2400 for the cause, more than double of the Zeald participants last year, through a number of creative fundraising events, some of which included an in-office table tennis competition, and a silent auction. 

Zeald would like to thank local barber, Tara from Cut Loose for helping the cause by donating her time to shave Esther’s head. 

If you would like to donate to Leukaemia & Blood Cancer NZ, and support Esther, you can do so at my.leukaemia.net.nz/esthershimmin

Zeald and GoSweetSpot integrate, making shipping your goods to your customers more simple and affordable. GoSweetSpot is a  courier and freight agent, they can provide you with attractive rates for services from their carefully selected domestic & international supplier partners.  The GoSweetSpot  system integrates with your Zeald website and  accesses and analyses your freight options, allowing you to optimise your order processing.

GoSweetSpot is all about introducing time and effort efficiencies, plus cost savings and visibility for you and your business.

New Zealand's Biggest  Freight Aggregator :  No other company in New Zealand integrates with as many freight companies as GoSweetSpot.

Competitive rates for all volumes

Their software aggregates rates from numerous freight companies so you get the best rate regardless of size or destination.

Easy To Use Software

   Fast, user friendly interface takes the guesswork out of calculating freight costs
Ability to optimise the best use of these couriers and freight companies – beginning with the cheapest option appearing at the top of your screen.

Print it - Stick it - Book it

1.Pack yourself and print your despatch using your own printer OR 
2. Use a thermal printer for even faster despatching.


 

Stored consignment notes for quick tracking and reporting

You’ll have full visibility from the electronic reporting available, including full track and trace for all consignments, including “click of the button” POD’s with a scanned  image of the signature online.

No more buying pre-paid tickets

GoSweetSpot load linear rates for you, accessed via their system. No more paying for weight and space you’re not using. E.g. your 7 kg parcel heading inter Island would normally cost you a 10kg prepaid ticket. However, as a GoSweetSpot client you’ll only pay for 7kgs, because you pay incrementally by kilo or cubic equivalent resulting in  impressive savings.

Simplified billing process

At the end of the month you’ll receive one invoice from GoSweetSpot that covers all carriers utilised for that month. Within that invoice you’ll have full visibility of cost centre spend.

 

You may be aware that Google likes it when you have a website with responsive design. In fact, they like it so much, that they have decided to update their search algorithm on 21 April 2015, to rank websites with responsive design, higher than those who don’t have it, for searches using  a mobile device.  

EDIT 20/04/2015: The NZ Herald incorrectly reported today that websites without responsive design would be "cut" from  Google searches. They have since  amended this; "An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that websites which did not meet the requirements for mobile could be cut from Google's search engine."  If you do not have responsive design, your site will appear lower in Google searches that originate on a mobile device. 

What is responsive design?

Responsive design  enables your website to be viewed on many different size devices such as smart phones, tablets, and laptops. The benefits of this is that your content , products and services are able to be viewed just as clearly as if the customer was viewing your website  at their desktop computer.

Some of you may have received an email about this, that will look like the following:

Where to go from here?

If you have received the above email, it is a good opportunity to talk to the team at Zeald about how to go about getting responsive design. You can do this by either calling Zeald on  0508 932 748 ext 1, or email support@zeald.com
 

Visionare is a goal setting app and website which allows you to draw from the experience of people who have already achieved your dreams.

If when the clock struck midnight on December 31st and you decided that 2015 was the year you were going to become more cultured, or be a better boss; then this is an app you should definitely check out.

Zeald are all about goal setting for your website and business, but with the Visionare goal setting app you can extend your goals to your personal dreams too.

If you’ve always been meaning to learn how to kite surf, but just never got around to it or didn’t know where to start, then the app gives you the opportunity to follow templates as a “how-to guide” to achieving your desired goal. In a nutshell this is a checklist app for your goals.

This is a good looking app, with great flat animated design. It hasn’t been out of beta testing long, but is definitely one to watch.

Check it out on  iTunes   or  the Visionare website 

The 2014 NetGuide Web Awards were held at the Hilton in Auckland last night. MC, Urzila Carlson from 7 Days entertained the crowd, showcasing how much web related humour she had learnt since MC'ing last year. 

Zeald won Best Web Developer, sponsored by Microsoft Azure, for the fourth year in a row.

"We would like to thank all our clients, supporters, and the wider Zeald team, who voted for us. Four years in a row, is not an easy feat, and we are stoked!"

- Evan Cooper, Zeald Marketing Manager.

A full list of winners are as follows:

Best Real Estate Site: realestate.co.nz
Best Employment Site: Seek.co.nz
Best Blog: WhaleOil.co.nz
Best News Site: NZHerald.co.nz
Best Lifestyle & Recreation Site: NZDating.com
Best Entertainment Site: TVNZ On Demand
Best Shopping Site: Grabone.co.nz
Best site for Gamers: MightyApe.co.nz
Best Online Forum: GeekZone.co.nz
Best Web Developer: Zeald
Best Online Fundraising Initiative: givealittle.co.nz
Best Travel Site: Airnewzealand.co.nz
Best Government Site: ird.govt.nz
Best Financial Site: asb.co.nz
Best Site for Small Business: Xero.com
Best Site for Students: Kidspot.co.nz
Best Site for Families: TVNZ On Demand
Best PC Manufacturer: Lenovo
Best ISP: Spark
Best Mobile Network: Spark
Best Mobile App: GrabOne
Best Homepage: facebook.co.nz
Overall Winner: GrabOne.co.nz

After working hard on the design of your website, you want to ensure it is looking its best. An easy way to do this, is to make sure your text is formatted properly. Having had your website designed by Zeald, our designers will have worked hard to create a branding guide for your text. This means, that you have a text style in your website's CMS that is just right for your brand.

Benefits of formatting your text:

• Zeald designers have created a look that is just right for your brand, and designed to look good on your website.
• Formatting your text ensures your website looks clean.
• You are able to manage how your text is positioned on the page, and where everything should sit.
• The ability to keep all your text consistent across your website.

In this video, we show you how easy and quick it is to format your text. 

If you have any questions,  call our Support team on 0508 932 748 ext 1. Comment below if there is something you would like us to cover off in the next video!