Google has updated the way it ranks pages of websites in it’s search results, to help prioritise fresher content that is more relevant to certain topics. The new “Freshness” update:
Queries that deserve freshness such as events and discussion are now deemed more important based on the inception of that page or content. If we write a great post about what has been happening this week (such as a specific episode of a tv program), you can forget about it if somebody writes about next week’s episode. Having an RSS feed has become more important, because it includes a time stamp in each post’s meta data.
However now that we have had a couple of months to digest the changes, in practice leading search engine optimisation specialists are saying this latest update is much more subtle than previous updates. In all honestly google has recognised fresher content as better value in search rankings for years. This update merely focuses the importance of content freshness in search queries which are clearly related to events and discussion based on events.
Google fellow Amit Singhal posted examples of the types of content that will be most likely to be affected:
Factors to be aware of are:
We develop all of our websites with search engines in mind and actively encourage our clients to keep their sites up to date and their audiences informed. Our websites are developed using popular content management platforms, giving our clients the tools and opportunity to make the most of web and help keep the on going cost of their website at a minimum.
If you are interested in taking action to improve the visibility of your website on search engines, then please get in touch with us by using our contact page. Alternatively you can network with us on twitter or facebook.
Happy new year to all from FreshSpark creative, we hope you had a sufficiently indulgent holiday and are feeling ready for what 2012 has lined up.
have you been meaning to get that website up and running?
perhaps your business cards or branded stationary need replacing?
maybe it’s time to refresh your company image altogether, to bring it up to date and help get you noticed in 2012?
we have worked tirelessly during 2011 to help illuminate the projects of our clients.
check out our portfolio of work.
You can also get in touch with us by using our contact form.
Over the last 2 & 1/2 Years, FreshSpark creative has provided people from all over the UK with websites, graphic design and marketing materials such as business cards, posters, leaflets and flyers.
Each project is designed and developed uniquely and this can often lead to varied prices for each project we work on.
We have reviewed all of our past projects and worked out the average amount our clients have paid for different types of work.
These prices are provided only as a guideline and a more accurate estimate is provided once we have been informed of the client’s specifications.
Graphic Design & Print Prices
| Item | Description | Price |
| Logo Design | 2 stages of 8 designs, gradually matured until logo is finalised | £75 |
| Corporate Identity | Research & development of logo and identity, various stages of documented progress and examples of application | £750 |
| Business Cards Design | 2 stages of 8 designs, gradually matured until design for front and back are finalised | £75 |
| Letterhead Design | 3 Mock up designs & 1 final design | £45 |
| Poster Design | 3 – 5 hours design time recommended | £150 |
| Leaflet Design | 1.5 hours per side of leaflet | £90 |
| Poster Print | 50 A4 posters on 120gsm paper | £37 |
| Business Cards Print | 100 single side digitally printed cards on 350gsm paper | £20 |
| Business Cards Print | 100 cards with up to 10 different images on the back, contact details on the front, digitally printed on 350gsm paper | £31 |
| Business Cards Print | 250 matt laminated lithographically printed business cards | £42 |
| Business Cards Print | 500 matt laminated lithographically printed business cards | £65 |
| Letterhead Print | 500 A4 lithographically printed on 120Gsm Paper | £120 |
Again the prices of these example websites have been standardised to give an average price, you can expect to pay roughly 25% more or less depending on your requirements.
Web Design & Online Prices
| Item | Description | Price |
| Contact Page | 1 x HTML Page with social media plug ins, contact details and short write up | £210 |
| Info Site | 5 x HTML Page, Sliding banner, contact form, gallery, 10 x E-mail Address + all above | £300 |
| CMS / Blog | Content Managed Site, database driven, powerful system + all above | £750 |
| Ecommerce | Ecommerce Site, Content Management System, Take Payments online | £900 |
| Bespoke System | Large, functional site to serve a specific need. Multi-level user environments, complex booking systems, hierarchical management systems and collaborative working tools. | £3000 |
| Hosting | Contact Page / Info Site CMS / Blog Ecommerce |
£30.00 £60.00 £90.00 |
| Domain Names | .co.uk .com |
£10 £20 |
I watched a very interesting talk on TED recently about why Sir Ken Robinson believes that schools kill creativity. Its a subject that hit a particular chord with me, because during my GCSEs I decided not to focus on the work which I decided to be mundane and unnecessary, but instead on having a ‘social’ education, developing my skills in how to make people laugh and have a great time. Unfortunately this often led to me disrupting classes and causing chaos, ultimately leading to me not being selected for either of my first choices for GCSE, Art & Music. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life until I was 21, but all along I suspected it would have something to do with computers as we were bought our first computer when I was just 7. But how can a child today expect to know what they want to do with their life? Some industries are moving so fast now that they could be radically different in just 5 years and children starting school this year will be retiring in 2070.
Sir Ken argues that creativity should be treated with the same significance as literature and the education system should be revolutionised to help prioritise creative thinking. Young children are amazingly creative, I’ve recently lived with a good friend of mine who has a three year old daughter & I’ve never consumed so much imaginary food in my life! Children also aren’t afraid to be wrong and Robinson suggests that schools undermine creativity because they teach us that it’s good be right and bad to be wrong. Being wrong isn’t the same as being creative, but if you are not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.
For FreshSpark, creativity is obviously of paramount significance. Being able to provide our clients with a unique look and ability to provide an experience to their audience makes a big difference. I personally love creating the graphics that help you get noticed and it’s often not something I get right first time. Our most successful results come through a gradual process of maturation, working collaboratively with our clients to achieve a polished final deliverable.
If you enjoyed the videos or have any comments then let us know on twitter or facebook. Alternatively you can get in touch with us using the details on our contact page.
Some cool stuff to keep you occupied…
Have you heard of Graze.com? They deliver boxes of nibbly treats in the mail and have a lovely website that you can use to fine tune what you will be nibbling on. You can use this link to sign up for a free box, but make sure you cancel your deliveries if you don’t want to continue recieving the boxes. At first I was a bit put off by the fact that most of what they offer is dried fruit and nuts, but once you use their website to choose what you would like and wouldn’t like, I surprised myself in how little I actually excluded. The website itself is rich with functionality, added to the fact that you are essentially choosing what to eat as if you were reading a menu, which leads to a great user experience.
Next, The Cool Hunter brings us this video of a publicity stunt by French digital agency DDB Paris for Voyages SNCF:
Escape Machines – Surprise from The Cool Hunter on Vimeo.
A large black box placed in the middle of a city attracts a crowd as it stands motionless until an onlooker approaches. The resulting show is absolutely ridiculous and very well executed. Well worth a watch!
Another man who has brought smiles to the face of my friend’s and I this week, is Jolyon Rubinstein – a presenter and author over at online arts, music, style & culture magazine Don’t Panic Online. He initially caught my attention with his spoof reporting of the Occupy events that have recently taken place in cities around the world. Jolyon presents the peaceful protesters as blood lusting mentalists, with police ‘Frozen by terror’ as he gets into “the heart of the story” – Absolute class!
Also from Jolyon’s portfolio “Will you be my friend” – light hearted humour applying some of our social network community staples to real life situations.
If you enjoyed any of these, or have some amusing digital media of your own, then please get in touch with us on twitter or facebook.
