SEO stands for “search engine optimization.” It is the process of getting traffic from the listings on search engines. All major search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing list results whether it is videos, blogs or other websites based on a search in the order that the search engine deems "relevant" to the search by the user.

When a search engine lists its results these are some of the things that matter:

• Words
• Page Titles
• Links
• Words in links
• Reputation

With the holiday season fast approaching, and things in many cases starting to slow down as everyone prepares for a much needed break, many businesses are preparing their plans of attack for 2012 - they are planning advertising in print, radio or online (or all three), they are deciding just how much each customer is worth to them. Are you ready to meet your competitors head on with your own well structured plan, backed up with eye popping new sales and marketing material? Are you ready to make your claim on some online real estate, and make your mark on the internet landscape?

We're here to help you maximize new business, by creating stunning printed and online materials, HD video that will put your head above the crowd, and pin sharp copywriting that really puts your message across. We look forward to hearing from you.

In the last few weeks, the Marshall Creative Agency team travelled north to Auckland - the big city! We Can Create, the inaugural international design conference hosted by The Church, was taking place at the Aotea centre. Featuring speakers from places as far afield as London, New York, Amsterdam, and San Francisco, the conference was inspiration of the purest kind. Stunning video work, complex coded interactive pieces that drew input from the public around the world, and incredible photography were all on show.

Some of New Zealand's brightest talent was also present, and it's from this that we drew perhaps the greatest pleasure. We returned refreshed and have since completed a piece of work for a client that we think might be a game changer. If you'd like something that very few people are able to provide, perhaps you'd like to share our secret. Come on in and ask us about it.

There's an interesting article on one of our favourite design sites at the moment, www.core77.com. It's about a new type of energy saving lightbulb developed by Philips. We've all seen these bulbs before, and probably been slightly frustrated that although we want to do our part to preserve this incredible environment we live in at the southern edge of the world, we also like being able to see properly. Energy savers are notorious for their dim light, making it awkward to read by comparison to older incandescent bulbs. Philips have found what they believe to be the answer. Winning the US Department of Energy's prestigious L-Prize, their new EnduraLED bulb produces equivalent light to a 60W old style bulb while using just 9.7W of electricity. The implications are obvious, and although every user should investigate whether the higher cost of these bulbs is right for them and their home or office, the principle is sound. We need to use less energy.

Here in New Zealand, we're blessed with a largely unspoiled natural environment. The downside to this is that the land's rugged nature can make it difficult to move around....leading us in turn to drive a large number of highly inefficient, emission heavy vehicles. This in turn creates a more dangerous environment for road users, particularly those on bikes and in smaller cars. Can we find a better way? Furthermore, can we encourage design that saves energy, and encourages good stewardship of our greatest asset? Can we use less water, insulate our houses more effectively, learn to be more careful? Right now New Zealand only has around 4 million inhabitants, but that's going to change. Imagine it with 40 million. There's plenty of space. This is an opportunity to put better ideas into use earlier, and to keep New Zealand pure.

Have a look at the full article here.

A lot has been written recently regarding Google's new social networking venture, Google+. The idea is that users are able to separate their "Friends" into groups, or Circles as they're know in Google+. This means that when you post updates, photographs, and links, that you can choose who gets to see them. Despite being intended to provide a simpler solution to social networking, this feature introduces yet another factor to be considered in an already complex modern issue - who do you share with, and should they have the right to demand access to your stream of information? Can someone rightfully feel snubbed if they're relegated to "Acquaintance" status? This new etiquette has some interesting implications for the workplace, and for businesses who wish to leverage the massive power of social networking technology in order to generate revenue and mindshare.

How might "Circles" be useful in determining your target markets? Would you tailor your advertising, comments and so on for their intended audience? Could this feature potentially replace other forms of marketing or social network utilisation? The interface is certainly in line with many of Google's other offerings, with added drag and drop convenience and little of the clutter that some people feel Facebook suffers from. Created by Andy Hertzfield, the original designer of the Apple Macintosh "look and feel", Google+ is certainly a fresher, cleaner approach to an online world that already seems to be wearying.

It is, however, still in "Beta" form, and is not yet recommended by Google for business users - the firm recommends that corporate users hold off until new features targeted at their needs are made available. We think you should take a look, and make up your own mind. We're here to tell you more when you're ready.

That Facebook has over 500 million active users? Did you know that those users are mostly (70%) outside the United States, and that the average Facebook user has 130 friends? That 700 billion minutes a month are spent on Facebook per month worldwide? See http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?factsheet for more details.

Twitter (www.twitter.com), a service that allows you to talk to the world in messages of 140 characters or less, is another way to find out what your favourite brands, personalities and services are up to - you can "follow" their messages, or "tweets", and they in turn can follow yours. One of the really great things about Twitter is the ability to search for tweets mentioning any particular word or phrase worldwise - making it very easy to learn a vast amount very easily and quickly about almost any topic.

These huge wells of information give you and your business access to an amazing number of potential customers, with very little effort. Easily updated from mobile devices such as iPhone, iPad or many of the Android based cellphones, Facebook and Twitter have the potential to revolutionise how you do business. Call us to find out how we can help you to grab new opportunities and expand your reach.

We're always thinking about design. Not just the finished product, ready to be sold or used, but the process of design itself. Part of this process involves a comprehensive examination of existing ideas and concepts. Core77 (www.core77.com) is one of the most exciting resources available online, edicated to product, architectural and digital design. Featured over the last few weeks have been stories on the Salone Milan 2011 design show as well as Zaha Hadid’s incredible Phaeno Science Centre building in Wolfsburg, Germany, the Bicycle Film Festival, and an examination of what it takes to produce effective design for life in the Antarctic. Check it out.

Here at Marshall Creative Agency, we're fascinated by the way in which great architecture can redefine the way a place impacts daily life. Is your city somewhere that's as easy to move around as it is pleasant to look at? Do you feel like you have space to breathe, to commune with others and to generate new ideas? Some cities succeed admirably in this respect; others less so. Resources that might stimulate new thoughts and ideas include the website of Frank Gehry’s practice (www.foga.com) - his team of architects, designers and digital fabrication specialists have created some of the world’s most incredible buildings, including the Experience Music Project in Seattle, Washington (www.emp.com) and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain (www.guggenheim-bilbao.es/?idioma=en). Using folded and curved paper, Gehry’s team create models of buildings that would be impossible to realise using traditional methods. Partnered with Zahner (www.azahner.com), they have pioneered the use of software normally associated with aircraft and vehicle design (www.catia.com) to cloak buildings in flowing sheets of metal, patterns and colour that redefine how we view structures in the built environment.

Our new sign is here and looks fantastic - please come and visit to see for yourself. You'll find loads of parking behind the studio off College Street, plus hot coffee and a comfy couch inside.