The Ocean Agency

So this week, our Chicago SEO company made a big change. Really, it’s not that big, but it has made a big difference in how we think about writing for SEO and for communities.

Until this week, our department had been using Yahoo! Messenger, which incorporates a lot of features that we didn’t really need (stock ticker, news, Y! Voice) and was invasive to our PCs and workflow.  Our manager Timothy suggested the switch to Yammer, which our department promptly adopted. And… pardon the creative spelling here… we loooooooove it.

For those unfamiliar with Yammer, it functions similarly to Twitter: you update your own status, and it is shared in a feed. But you must have a company email address to join, and only people from your company are included in your network and can see your updates. Your company’s feed is private. Yammer also has a desktop application, so you can keep it open in a window and view your coworkers’ updates. For us as a company, this is incredibly useful for two major reasons:

At our Chicago SEO company, we content developers spend hours struggling over the perfect words for the homepage of websites we create. Organization and layout are crucial, and we consider every possible connotation of each selected word. To put an exclamation point or not can be a serious point (pun intended) of contention! And all this careful attention pays off– we nail down the message in just a few sentences right there on the first page that the average visitor sees.

But what about the inside pages? As a content developer or business owner working on a site, do you still consider every word carefully? Do you monitor the consistency of tone and message closely? As views of a page decrease, does your attention to its content, too? It shouldn’t.

A complete website will have finely-tuned content on every page. Here’s why: SEO companies know that usable, optimized content drives an SEO campaign and that users, like Google, recognize quality content.

We  know that you absolutely never procrastinate at work– Neither do we. We found these entertaining viral apps at home on our own time, we swear. And we are only sharing them with you so that you can understand how to make your own apps viral– not so you can while away the last few hours til the weekend. Check these links out:

I was just having a conversation with a friend about one of his favorite Chicago restaurants, and it turned out that the place was right around the corner from my new apartment. (Incidentally, the conversation started because I saw him raving about Twin Anchors leftovers in his GChat status message– so there’s another example of online word of mouth for you.) This highly-regarded Chicago tavern is full of history; it’s been around since 1932 and claims to be a favorite of Frank Sinatra. But in the vast culinary landscape of Chicago, which is constantly expanding with new restaurants and bars, how does a traditional tavern and BBQ joint stand out? How does it parlay a crowd of loyal regulars into a new and growing customer base?

Leah had some great thoughts on online quizzes and how to utilize them. Check them out below!

Quizzes: Tools for Building a Community Around Your Website

I am a bit of a procrastinator. I also really like answering questions about myself. (Yea, I’m honest!) And, guess what, I’m not the only sometimes-distracted narcissist on the web. When used properly, online quizzes are rewarding marketing tools that will increase your site’s interactivity and traffic.

Art is the most social of objects– it is made exclusively to draw out human emotions, get people talking, and cause congregations.  And the homes of art,  galleries and museums, have a long history of social interaction, too. The people of the art world gather for gallery openings and for the debut of an artist’s new works. Galleries all over the country team up for a monthly celebration of the arts through First Friday events or similar festivals.

Our agency is proud to present a new web presence for Douglas Allergy Relief Source, a well-known seller of allergy relief products in Highland Park, IL. Douglas Kritz, a highly esteemed contributor in the purification and allergy control industries, has been focused on his customers since 1963, and his new website notes absolutely no departure from his tradition of the highest level of customer service.

Sometimes, you just can’t plan the best exposure.

So by now, you’ve probably seen this video, which recently exploded across the internet. Maybe it’s the catchy Chris Brown song, or the joyful wedding party, or just the general gutsiness it would take to do this that makes the video so addictive– whatever it is, it’s already gotten almost 2 million views on YouTube. Here at Ocean, our office has been bumping to “Forever” all day.

The “JK Wedding Entrance Dance” is the first and only video posted by Jill and Kevin, a couple from Minnesota. And that may just be the reason behind it becoming such a viral hit. It feels real, genuine and legitimate, and not like content created by a marketing company and planted on YouTube to drive traffic to a website or spread brand awareness. People love to share it, the defining characteristic of a viral success, because it comes from other people just like them, who were looking to share a moment of their life. If you are trying to create a viral smash hit, remembering the importance of the urge to share and emulating Jill and Kevin in their genuiness would probably take you a long way toward success.

Who benefits from this kind of viral video, though? Clearly, Jill and Kevin weren’t pushing any agenda with their wedding day stunt, but just expressing their personality and sharing it with friends. This time, Chris Brown may actually be the winner. According to The Idolater, his song “Forever,” is “currently No. 45 on the iTunes Store’s singles chart, and No. 41 on the corresponding chart at Amazon MP3.” Around a year after this song made it’s original pop chart splash, that’s a big deal. It also makes us agree with The Idolator writers–  maybe Chris Brown should send Jill and Kevin a wedding present for the free press. You know, something nicer than a breadmaker.

Our web design company is proud to present one of our most recent projects, the rejuvenation of MagellanSells.com. In addition to their Chicago apartments website, Magellan needed an easy to use and pleasing site where customers could find all the information they needed on buying a condo or townhome in one of Magellan’s many developments.

Now, it’s easy for potential customers to find what they need– the properties are easily searchable by development, location, price or other attributes. The new site has extensive photos and videos, so users can really experience the property, too.

The Magellan experience has also been refocused on the online community of Magellan owners, renters and potential buyers. You can read the blog of Magellan’s Senior Vice President of Sales, Leila Zammatta, or see what’s going on from the Magellan side of things by checking out the News blog. You can catch up with the Magellan team on Twitter and Facebook, right from the homepage of Magellan Sells. If you’re interested about what’s going on in Chicago, take a look at the Chicago Life section of the site, where you can find events and entertainment throughout the city.

To make information easily accessible for potential buyers and current clients, Magellan invested in a renewal for their web presence, and our web design company was proud to be involved with the largest development company in Chicago.

Our web design firm would like to formally introduce our most recent launch: MedicareSupplementsForYou.com. The new site for this supplemental insurance vendor features a clean design and very simple to use navigation– perfect for anyone who needs information but isn’t entirely web-savvy.

For senior citizens in Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Illinois, you can visit the new site to get the information you may need about your medicare supplement plans. As the Medicare and insurance markets change with the administration, Medicare Supplements For You can help you understand the changing policies and choose which plan is best for you.  With one simple step of filling out a contact form, you start the ball rolling. Medicare Supplements For You will find and compare the best options for your supplemental plan, and supply with a quote of the lowest rates available.