Guy Martin Smalley of Bowery Creative on Web Design | SEO | Digital Marketing

What’s the hardest part about digital marketing?

The hardest part for us is ensuring the client understands that digital marketing is not an a-la-carte service. We have clients come to us all the time asking for a specific service, usually SEO. If we don’t think that SEO is in line with the client achieving their business goals, we might push them in the direction of a targeted PPC campaign. A lot of the time, clients get caught up in the vanity aspect of a no. 1 ranking, and don’t realize that it may not result in conversions.

How do you stand out from other digital marketing, web design and SEO agencies?

We take an integrated approach to everything we do. A lot of businesses go to a developer for a website, a freelancer for design, an agency for SEO, and another agency for marketing. This approach is wrongheaded. A website is marketing, and so is everything else I mentioned. Everything should be designed with purpose, and the purpose gets convoluted with too many 3rd parties involved. In this day and age you don’t need a developer to make a great looking website. You’re better off spending the money on a copy writer.

Where do you see your business going in 2015?

I see us focusing more on the design aspect of things, as well as digital public relations. I’d like to work on more bottom-to-top projects. Concept, creative, website, outreach. All of it. It’s the only way to maintain a clear and consistent goal for clients.

What has been the biggest challenge you’ve encountered related to your business and how did you overcome it?

Materializing our clients’ bad ideas for the short-term money. We’ve needed to do it in the past, but those quick-fixes, beer money projects always turn into long term hassles. They’re never worth it in the long run, and they can definitely compromise agencies integrity.

If you could leave our readers with one last piece of business advice, what would it be?

Find a fan base and offer them something of value. Even on Facebook – offer some worthwhile info. It amazes me how many people get on social media and just post pictures of their products with links to their site. Your fans don’t care how awesome you think you are, they’re already your fans! Show them something they didn’t know about. Ask them for feedback. Speak with your audience, not at them. If you went on a first date and talked only about yourself and how great you were through dinner, do you think you’d get a call back? Not a chance. Why would this work with selling your product?

And don’t get me started on the use of jargon in your copy. Unless you’re the biggest, best, or first, and have the numbers to prove it, leave the hyperbole at home. I sometimes recommend that clients edit their copy by taking out as many adjectives as they can. People would rather buy something than be sold something.

You can find out more about Digital Marketing / SEO / Web Design on their site  Bowery Creative + https://bowerycreative.com/vancouver-seo-company/