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As a business, your website needs to deliver value, be easy to use, and most importantly, convert your audience.
However, if your website health is not maintained, or improved on, it may just be a very costly liability. You want your website to be an asset to your business and generate leads.
There are a wide array of factors such as site speed, navigation, onsite optimisation, design and user experience to name a few.
If you’re having trouble identifying whether your website is up to scratch, needs improvement, or needs a complete overhaul, you’re in the right place.
We’ve worked with our website, branding, and content specialists at Distl to create a website health checklist to help you make that decision.
We’ve broken down our checklist into key audit categories including:
<ul>
<li>General website health check</li>
<li>User Experience &amp; User Interface check</li>
<li>Content audit</li>
<li>Website health check tools</li>
</ul>
<h2>General website health check</h2>
We’ve broken the checklist below into three different categories to help you identify how important your website fixes are. These are:
<ul>
<li>High priority</li>
<li>Medium priority</li>
<li>Low priority</li>
</ul>
If, as you are working through this website health checklist, your response is “Yes, my site has that”, it may be time to get a new website!
<h3></h3>
<h3>High priority</h3>
<h4>It has a ‘cereal box’ design</h4>
Does your website design sit only within the margins? To the extent that not even your background images or colours extend to full width. This is the definition of a “Cereal Box Design”, because it looks like a cereal box.
Often these designs are quite old, tired, and busy. The use of high contrasting or clashing colours was commonplace to “grab attention”.
<h4>Your website is slow</h4>
Fast websites are the bedrock of a good SEO campaign. At Distl, one of our focuses are websites that load quickly.
A slow-loading website can frustrate your users and most likely lead to them navigating away from your site.
<h4>Broken pages and internal links</h4>
There may be pages on your site that aren’t loading. This may be some sections on the page, or the entire page itself.
There could be links within your site that link to other pages internally, this is something that needs to be fixed as it creates a navigation issue.
<h4>Your website hasn’t been updated in many years</h4>
As a rule of thumb, if a website is older than 2 or 3 years, it could need an update. This does depend on a few factors though:
<ul>
<li>What Content Management System (CMS) was it built on?</li>
<li>Was it a custom build or built on a bought theme/template?</li>
<li>It hasn’t been touched or updated regularly</li>
</ul>
If your site is older than 4-5 years, it’s time.
<h4>If your site isn’t mobile responsive (iPad and Desktop)</h4>
Does your website design respond nicely to a mobile screen?
If you look at your website on a mobile device and the design isn’t adapting and folding nicely, it’s not mobile responsive.
In this day and age, if a website wasn’t built with mobile in mind, it’s time.
<h4>The navigation menu is not easy to find what you’re looking for</h4>
Ensuring the navigational menu is structured correctly is extremely important. If not, users often can not find the information that they want, and may leave your site with a bad experience.
<ul>
<li>Are sub-pages nested under the right parent page?</li>
<li>Is there a clear and obvious contact page?</li>
<li>Does the Logo link to the homepage?</li>
<li>Are all live pages present?</li>
</ul>
<h4>Forms are broken</h4>
This one seems obvious, but you would be surprised how often it can happen. Website elements can break, and require fixing, this is a part of a website maintenance package.
However, if your site is not managed and your forms aren’t working, if users are trying to enquire and can’t submit a form, they may just give up and go to a competitor.
<h4>Website URL is HTTP and not HTTPS</h4>
Another simple one, but so incredibly important.
Is your website HTTPS secure? Have you had an SSL certificate installed?
You will be able to tell by the small padlock icon on the left-hand side of the URL search bar.
<h3>Medium priority</h3>
<h4>No clear page structure</h4>
Can your users find the information they are looking for?
Sometimes, websites have great content onsite, but no structure to the content.
The best example of this is a website with one or two giant blocks of text that are hard to read.
The flow of information is important, as is easily digestible content. Your content needs to be broken down into bite-sized chunks that are easy to consume and don’t make the user work hard.
<h4>Images are poor quality, too small/big, and show tech/products that are out-of-date</h4>
Image quality, relevance, and optimisation have a big impact on things like SEO, Conversion Rate, Page Load Speed, and User Experience.
Your images need to be appropriately sized for the design, not too in your face, compressed to load quickly, and relevant to the content.
In a perfect world, they would be professionally taken photography which includes your team, clients, and workplace/site.
<h4>Your branding isn’t incorporated into the website design</h4>
Sometimes this is the only issue with a website. While it’s not a functionality issue, it can still create a disconnected experience if what your users are seeing online is different to your current brand.
As a rule of thumb, if your business is refreshing or redoing your brand, your website should factor into your thinking.
<h4>Need to update your Content Management System (CMS)</h4>
If your CMS system, like WordPress, Magento, Shopify, or WooCommerce, for example are outdated, there can be quite a few issues that come from this.
Trying to make changes and updates to content and products can become quite difficult, speed can become an issue, as well as loss of new features which could improve your site.
<h4>There are no call-to-action banners or buttons</h4>
A lack of CTA’s can be quite common with old sites.
Clean, well-placed, and written call-to-actions can be crucial to converting your users into leads.
If your site is lacking, your users may find it hard to enquire or call should they want to reach out about your services or purchase your products.
<h3>Low priority</h3>
<h4>No smooth and subtle animations and hover effects</h4>
This isn’t a requirement of a website, which is why we’ve categorised it as low priority.
However, including elements such as hover animations on buttons or service/icon boxes can be a nice touch to give a modern feel. It may also help to improve engagement.
<h2>User Experience and User Interface check</h2>
<h3>Is my brand clearly communicated?</h3>
Are the Logo and brand colours and fonts visible? If I removed the logo from the site would you still be able to tell who’s site it is.
Am I selling to myself or the target audience? It might make sense to you but if the target audience doesn’t understand then you need to change.
<h3>Is my text readable?</h3>
Can I quickly skim the text to get the information I need? People are inheritably lazy. Ensuring that both the font as well as the content itself is easily readable and digestible.
Can I navigate the site easily? Is the menu design suitable for the target audience. Can I find my way around the site without getting lost?
<h3>Can I complete a goal or task easily?</h3>
If I need to buy a product, is it easy to add to cart and complete checkout? If I need to fill out a contact form is the form accessible? If I need to contact the company, can I find their contact details easily?
<h2>Content audit</h2>
Good quality content is such an integral part of a website. Whether you’re talking about SEO, PPC or Conversion Rate Optimisation, how your content comes together and informs the user is vital.
Auditing your content is just as important as a website health check.
We recommend you take time to work through your content and answer the following questions. This will help guide you to how much work needs to be done to improve or even overhaul your existing website content.
<h3>Is the content still relevant?</h3>
When was your content written? And is it still relevant in your industry?
Industries, much like websites, can evolve quickly. If your content becomes outdated because your industry is changing, or a new methodology is being introduced, you need to do so also.
If your competitors are diligent and updating their content to industry standards, your business may look behind the times even if that may not be the case.
Staying ahead and making content updates as your industry moves will give you the appearance of being fast-moving and adaptable.
<h3>Is the grammar and spelling, correct?</h3>
Bad grammar and spelling mistakes can be detrimental to a website’s performance as users lose trust in your company, you lose your credibility, and they leave your website.
This immediate loss of visitors has a harmful impact on SEO. With users leaving immediately, search engines view your site as unreliable and low quality, pushing your website even further down the rankings.
Sloppy grammar and spelling don’t just impact your website&#8217;s traffic but is also damaging to a company’s brand and image.
<h3>Do people actually visit the page?</h3>
It might sound stupid, but are users visiting the page? If not, why not?
Is the page too hard to find? Is the page hard to read? There are a number of factors why people aren’t visiting certain pages. Think in the mind of the user. What am I trying to find? Will I find it on this page?
<h3>Does the content convert?</h3>
As aforementioned, older sites usually lack clear CTA’s that are easy to navigate and make the user journey seamless. Design your page in such a way that makes the conversion process easy for your user.
<h3>Is there content missing?</h3>
Content is king. Make sure that there’s no content missing on your site. Not will a half-empty site have a negative impact on your SEO but the impact it has on the perception of your brand and the impact on the user’s experience.
<h3>Have I answered my user&#8217;s search query?</h3>
This is ultimately the purpose of your website, to give your users the information that they want.
If users can’t find the information they need on your website easily, they will leave. Simple as that.
<h3>Is my content too short?</h3>
Does your content seem too short? All the content on your website should be structured around providing value for your audience.
Regardless of the length of your content, if your content is answering your users search queries and providing value, you’re golden.
<h3>Is my content too long?</h3>
For SEO purposes, it is commonly known that long-form content reigns supreme. However, how long is too long?
Ensure your content isn’t just long for the sake of being long. Ensure that you’re still providing quality and value for your consumers. As a rule of thumb, if your content is solving your consumer&#8217;s problem and answering their questions, your long content is valuable.
<h3>Have you included relevant media?</h3>
Consider adding things like photos, videos, infographics, and maps to provide further information to the user and improve their experience.
<h2>Website health check tools</h2>
There are several great tools that can be used to check the health of your website. Here are a few to get you started.
<h3>Page Speed Insight</h3>
<a href="https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/</a> 
This tool gives you an insight into how your website speed performs both on desktop and mobile along with suggestions on how to improve your page speed.
<h3>Broken Link Checker</h3>
<a href="https://www.brokenlinkcheck.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.brokenlinkcheck.com/</a> 
This tool does exactly what it’s called – checks your website for broken links. This tool not only tells you if you have any broken links, but also tells you the location of these links so you are able to fix them.
<h3>Tiny JPG/PNG (Image File Reducer)</h3>
<a href="https://tinyjpg.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://tinyjpg.com/</a> 
While not a website health check tool, this tool is great for compressing images to improve the speed of your website. This tool creates an optimally compressed JPEG file while maintaining the valuable quality of your images.
<h3>Google Analytics</h3>
<a href="https://analytics.google.com/analytics/web/#/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://analytics.google.com/analytics/web/#/</a> 
Google Analytics provides an in-depth analysis into your website&#8217;s performance. Google Analytics works by pulling data from your website allowing you to build a complete picture of the users of your website and the way they behave while on your website. From this data you are able to analyse how to better optimise your website for your users.
<h2>What’s next?</h2>
You want your website to be an asset to your business and generate leads. If you’ve been working on your website and not getting the results that you want or have worked through our checklist and feel like you need some further support, <a href="https://wp.distl.com.au/contact-us/">get in touch today</a> and let us take care of all of your website needs.

Website health check: The 30 point checklist

Hailing from Turkey, via the United States, Ekin found her way to the Wild Wild West bright-eyed and ready to take on the world of web development.
It was here Ekin began developing her now world-class web development skills. Unbeknownst to her at the time, it was also the beginning of her journey toward Distl.
“While I was a student at UWA, I started my career as a dev by developing a web application solution for a local start up,” Ekin said. And that was just the beginning! After graduating, she continued building up her skills as a software engineer developing VR based learning products; quickly developing a well-rounded skillset.
“I think I have a diverse background in terms of the web technologies I have worked with so I can try to help the team on various types of issues.”
Ekin has been a welcome addition to the Distl family, and in her time here she’s made a huge impact already. With a strong desire to continuously want to improve, she lives and breathes our values by just being her.
“I would love to keep learning and growing as a developer,” Ekin explained.
Aside from her incredible work ethic and eternally positive outlook, she’s also blessed us with continuous fun and laughter. Never taking herself too seriously, she likes to think of herself as “that one comedy-relief character in the Marvel movies”.
After hours, Ekin enjoys writing romance novels (as if she wasn’t talented enough already!), playing Pokemon, online shopping and planning her next amazing set of nails.
We couldn’t be happier to have Ekin on board with us, joining a growing team of female web developers leading the way in some amazing website technologies.
“Distl is the first company I worked at where the majority of our development team are women! It’s absolutely great to see and I’m excited to have more diversity in the dev field in terms of any identity.”

From Turkey to Distl: Ekin’s web development journey

Like many businesses, you’re most likely using a multichannel marketing strategy running SEO, PPC, and Social Media campaigns.
But do your campaigns complement each other and your overarching digital goals?
This is where an <a href="https://distl.com.au/strategy/digital-strategy/">omnichannel marketing strategy</a> comes into play.
Omnichannel marketing is a seamless digital customer experience regardless of the marketing channel that your customer is on. The intention of this approach is that every touchpoint your customer has with your brand, it feels like a continuation of the previous touchpoint (think about a marketing funnel and what’s next).
This means that the strategy must be deliberately crafted from start to finish with a message that develops at each touchpoint and remains relevant to the stage of the customer journey and ultimately, the customer.
Your SEO campaign and content, your PPC ads, social media ads, and EDMs, need to be crafted in tandem to create a seamless digital marketing strategy that nurtures your customers to purchase or enquire.
While this can sound like a multichannel strategy, it’s not. Plain and simple.
Here’s why.
<h2>Omnichannel vs. multichannel strategy</h2>
The main point of difference between an omnichannel and multichannel marketing strategy is knowing where your customer is in their marketing journey.
Omnichannel marketing offers a personalised approach that places your customer at the centre of the strategy. The messaging within your strategy changes depending on how your customer engages, and what their needs are.
Every message across channels is created with specific intent and to serve based on previous interactions.
The better targeted messaging to their specific stage of the journey, the more likely your customers are to interact.
<h3>Customer centric approach</h3>
In a multichannel marketing approach, a business will be looking to cast a wide net and get in front of as many relevant eyeballs as possible. This will often be the case running, Google Ads, Facebook Ads, LinkedIn Ads, as well as running an SEO campaign. However, there will be no cohesion between these channels.
Whereas an omnichannel marketing strategy will intertwine each channel to engage customers holistically. This methodology is focused on creating a strong relationship with the customers and doesn’t simply target a large impression share.
<h3>Consistent messaging</h3>
A consistent message in your omnichannel strategy is necessary to deliver a high level customer experience. Businesses running an omnichannel strategy must be diligent to ensure their customers are receiving the same experience across all channels and through each interaction. 
If there are several internal departments or marketers working on an omnichannel marketing strategy, you need to ensure that they are all aligned and delivering the same message and brand image. If they are not in-tune, the likelihood of a successful strategy will significantly decrease.
<h3>Buyer effort levels</h3>
Another key component is the level of effort the customer needs as part of the journey. The intention of the omnichannel approach is to create a seamless experience. We want the customer to feel like their engagements do not create additional effort for them to do so.
A high level of data analysis and strategy implementation is required to ensure that every step is effortless for the customer. The less effort from customers, the more effective our strategy, leading to increased sales.
<h2>Who is an omnichannel marketing strategy for?</h2>
Is an omnichannel Marketing Strategy appropriate for every business? Absolutely not.
It’s crucial to identify how your audience behaves and whether the customer experience is a key factor in their decision-making process. This will help determine the right marketing strategy for your business.
Businesses that need to grab the customers attention, provide a high level of customer experience, and may also have a longer buying journey where customers need to be nurtured, are better candidates.
It’s also essential that you have the right tools, strategy, and process in place to be able to deliver an omnichannel approach.
<h2>What are the benefits of an omnichannel marketing strategy?</h2>
<h3>1. The advantage of customer data</h3>
Often businesses have customer data in excess and haven’t taken it to their advantage. For many marketers, this data is like finding gold. Utilising this data is what takes a good strategy and makes it great.
Here are a few questions you can ask yourself:
1. What experience are my customers having? 
2. What is my customer purchase process? 
3. What channels are my customers using to find my business? 
4. What channels are my customers using to buy my products/services? 
5. What experience are my customers having post sale? 
6. How many of my customers are becoming repeat business? 
7. Have we surveyed our customers for feedback?
Once you’ve gone through this process and answered all of these queries, you will be equipped with insights on where to improve your customer experience as well as what areas the business needs to improve. Ideally, you will also be able to gain a better appreciation for how to utilise your data at each step of your customers&#8217; purchase process.
The next step as part of your omnichannel strategy will be utilising this data to craft highly targeted messaging. These messages will be specific to where your customers are in the buyer’s journey and tailored to their preferences.
As part of your strategy, this data will also allow you to create automations to better reach out to your customers at the right time, with the right message, effortlessly.
<h3>2. Improve your personalisation with targeted messages</h3>
We just spoke about better targeted messaging. Now to unpack this further.
Personalisation is the heartbeat of an omnichannel marketing strategy. How we utilise the data to create hyper-targeted messages is the core of a successful strategy.
Segmentation is the next step to create personalised messages within your strategy. Segmenting your audiences into different interest groups will help you better create tailored messaging appropriate for their stage of the journey. The intention is to create a message which will provoke a desired action.
As an example, you can identify customers who haven’t made a purchase within the last 30 days. Now you can create a relevant message appropriate to their stage of the buyer’s journey and reach out to them with a promotional offer. Then using the data that you have collated about this type of customer; you can reach out on the platform that will yield the best return and will likely lead to a purchase.
<h3>3. Increased purchase rates</h3>
Utilising data, segmentation, and personalisation, the experience your customers will be having will be far greater than if you were running a Single Channel campaign. This greater experience directly correlates to an increase in purchases.
In 2020, marketing campaigns that utilised several channels vs. those that only ran one, lead to <a href="https://www.omnisend.com/blog/omnichannel-statistics/">a 287% increase in purchases.</a>
&nbsp;
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-3602" src="https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/10/Picture-1.png" alt="" width="716" height="436" srcset="https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/10/Picture-1.png 716w, https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/10/Picture-1-300x183.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 716px) 100vw, 716px" />
https://www.omnisend.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Single_vs_Several_channels.png
<h3>4. Increased average order</h3>
Not only are customers more likely to order from an omnichannel campaign, on average, they are likely to spend more per order.
Recently, statistics have shown that omnichannel marketing campaigns yield a <a href="https://v12data.com/blog/25-amazing-omnichannel-statistics-every-marketer-should-know/">13% increase in average spending per order.</a>
<h3>5. Increased customer loyalty &amp; retention rates</h3>
It can cost up to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jiawertz/2018/09/12/dont-spend-5-times-more-attracting-new-customers-nurture-the-existing-ones/?sh=4235bfa5a8e0">five times more to attract a new custome</a>r than it does to retain an existing one.
Also, according to a study done by Frederick Reichheld from <a href="https://www.bain.com/offices/perth/">Bain &amp; Company</a>; increasing customer retention rates by 5%, can result in profit increases of between 25% &#8211; 95%.
Now to relate this back. Comparing a single channel to an omnichannel marketing strategy, in 2020, <a href="https://v12data.com/blog/25-amazing-omnichannel-statistics-every-marketer-should-know/">customer retention rates were 90% higher</a> when an omnichannel campaign was implemented.
Combining increased purchase rates, increased average order, and increased retention rates, an omnichannel approach effectively sells itself.
<h3>Conclusion</h3>
Utilising an omnichannel marketing strategy will allow you to provide more value to your customers and an exceptional &amp; seamless customer experience. With the right business, and implemented correctly, the increase in sales, average order spends, brand awareness, and retention rates can lead to hugely positive results on business growth.
If you’re trying to decide whether an omnichannel marketing approach is right for your business, feel free to <a href="https://distl.com.au/contact-us/">reach out to the team at Distl.</a>

What is an omnichannel marketing strategy (and why do I need one?)

When you think about marketing through Google, your first thought is likely going to Google search or Google display network ads.
A combination of search and display ads can do wonders for attracting prospective clients to your business, driving awareness in relevant industries, or re-engaging with valuable customers.
But those two don’t have to be the only contributors to your Google advertising strategy.
There’s an underrated player in the realm of display advertising – and it’s time you paid attention to it.
YouTube is a part of the Google display network and is the largest video platform in the world. That’s a lot of eyes on your content.
How big is it, really?
Well, 16.3 million Aussies spend just over 25 hours every month on the platform.
<h4>So, why should you consider it?</h4>
&nbsp;
1. It’s tailored to each viewer
Video platforms and the way audiences watch video has changed dramatically in the last 20 years. We’ve gone from watching traditional prescheduled tv spots to our own individual programming, tailored by our searches, the content we consume and our subscriptions.
Watching YouTube is a very personal experience. You will happily dive down the deepest rabbit holes on the most obscure subject matter on YouTube, purely because it interests you, and you alone. Frankly, to have a friend or colleague dig through your YouTube sub feed can feel like a violation of your privacy.
But how does this impact your marketing success? Well, people are far more likely to respond to content that speaks directly to them.
&nbsp;
2. You pay for engagement
Pay per click advertising is built around the user’s response. If no one responds to your ad, you don’t pay, simple.
On Google you pay for an action taken, for someone deciding that what you’re offering is worth them investigating further.
YouTube ads are built no different.
With your typical discovery banner ad or video in-stream ad that plays before, during or after the users selected video, you only pay for a click through to your website, or if they viewed past 30 seconds.
This is ideal because you can structure your creative around these parameters so that every dollar you spend is on someone who is genuinely interested in what you offer.
For example, with an instream ad you try to qualify the user at the very start at of the video, by being direct about who the ad is made. That way, the person viewing can decide to skip if they aren’t your target audience (and you don’t pay a cent).
&nbsp;
3. It’s just like primetime TV
You don’t have to pay a premium to get the prime spot in between people’s favourite shows on televisions anymore.
With the rise of the YouTube app on smart TVs and streaming devices, it is now easier and cheaper than ever to present your product to viewers in the living room.
There’s something to be said about your ad being viewed on TV that gives you a certain level of authority or recognition. Naturally when we see a TV ad we think big/credible business.
&nbsp;
4. Measuring performance and tracking results is a dream
Unlike most traditional advertising media, you can track exactly how much engagement your ad has gotten and how many of those users lead to a sale or lead.
Better yet you can also retarget people who have watched or interacted with your video ads.
This can lead into either very basic or quite in-depth video ad sequences.
One of the more popular video ad sequence strategies among YouTube advertisers is Tease, Amplify &amp; Echo.
First, tease your audience with short and sweet ads that stir up interest but don’t go into too much detail.
You then amplify your message with a more long-form in depth video that can address any concerns or potential questions from your audience.
Using the engagers from the amplify list you then use short call to action video ads that echo your message and remind them to act.
&nbsp;
5. You don’t need big media budgets to make an impact
Many people believe to make it on YouTube you need to have some grandiose video production akin to that on tv. This is not the case.
The content people view on YouTube is incredibly varied in quality.
You can go from watching silly dog videos filmed on a 6th generation iPhone to watching Late Night with Jimmy Kimmel in a matter of seconds and not blink an eye.
Ads on YouTube can easily blend in with the content being viewed as there really isn’t a set standard like there is with traditional TV ads.
So long as your message is clear and your targeting is on point, you can go far with simple videos on YouTube.
&nbsp;
If you feel as though YouTube advertising could be a worthy addition to your marketing arsenal, <a href="https://wp.distl.com.au/contact-us/">get in touch with us today.</a>

Is YouTube Worth It In 2021?

Often, potential clients come to us with a preconceived idea of which services are right for their business. While it’s great to have a few things in mind, it’s important to maintain an open mind.
Often, the services our clients think they need are not the ones that are going to have the greatest effect on their bottom line.
At Distl, we focus on unearthing the nitty-gritty. We home in on all the details that make your business unique, and curate a laser-sharp strategy that’s designed to build a resilient business.
But how do we do it?
<h2></h2>
<h2>Our Process</h2>
We’ve seen a lot of change at Distl over the years. One thing that has continued to grow and develop is the way we onboard and meet with new or potential clients.
Rather than go straight from sales meeting through to inception and subsequent strategy, we’ve developed an in-depth approach that allows us to get to know our clients on a deeper level before we dive into work.
Our onboarding process is two-fold:
<ol>
<li>General workshop to understand the client and their industry,</li>
<li>Post research, a second meeting to recommend which services we believe are best suited.</li>
</ol>
This is just one of our many processes that allow us to go further, dig deeper and focus on the bigger picture.
&nbsp;
Recommending Additional Services
We get it &#8211; no one wants to feel “sold to”. But that’s not how we look at it.
When we recommend services, it’s because we’ve noticed an opportunity that could yield some promising results. All services have synergies with one another. We like to educate our clients on any opportunities and allow them to make an informed decision before they proceed. We empower them, not push them.
&nbsp;
Where It Usually Begins &#8211; SEO
Every client can benefit from SEO, because it exists to improve the bottom line performance for any business&#8217; online property. Creating a strong foundation will can prepare your website for other services like Google Ads or Paid Social media campaigns.
That’s why we like to start here.
Your website is your business&#8217; digital storefront. The key difference to Its physical counterpart is that thanks to search engines, it exists on a street with more foot traffic than ever before, but you share it wall to wall with all your toughest competitors. That is why we want to make sure your open sign is always up, and your lights are shining onto the street. Potential customers looking for a service you offer, need to feel enticed to come through your door and motivated to navigate your site to make a transaction; be it in the form of an inquiry or direct purchase.
Good User Experience (UX), clear and informative content, and fast website speed make an enormous difference and keeps Google happy.
Once we have addressed these foundational factors, we are more confident that other channels will be more effective.
So, how can you be sure your website is in good-nick SEO-wise?
&nbsp;
<h2>The Foundation Checklist for SEO</h2>
If you’re currently managing your own website, here’s a quick checklist to help you check your website:
1. Check your website load speed.
Make sure your website loads quickly, we like to see a score of 60+ for mobile and ~90 for desktop. Use Google&#8217;s PageSpeed Insights to see where you can improve: <a href="https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/">https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/</a>.
2. Make sure your Metadata (Titles &amp; Descriptions) are optimised and up to date
Meta data is the sales pitch for each page, using a tool such as SEO Meta in 1 Click will allow you to see whether your site has meta data input and whether it could be improved. Using a WordPress plugin like Yoast (<a href="https://yoast.com/wordpress/plugins/seo/)">https://yoast.com/wordpress/plugins/seo/)</a> can help you take control of your metadata and tell Google which keywords are applicable to your site you want to optimise for.
3. Make sure you have a logical menu structure
Is it clear and easy to navigate? Does it outline your service offering? outlines your service silos?
4. Have a clear and easy to understand URL structure.
Keep it simple and not too long! Let’s take one of Distl’s core services as an example:
Yes: .com.au/services/google-ads/
No: .com.au/our-digital-marketing-services/google-ads-sem-ppc-in-perth-australia/
5. Setup and use Google Analytics &amp; Tag Manager
If you’re not sure how to setup Analytics, here is a useful walkthrough: <a href="https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/1008015?hl=en">https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/1008015?hl=en</a>
Once setup, make sure your goal tracking is setup properly (Calls, Emails, Form Submissions).
Can you clearly identify attribution to your enquiries? (Where have they come from).
Are you physically receiving the same amount of phone calls, emails, or form submissions as your tracking suggests?
6. Setup and use Google Search Console
You can access Google Search Console through the same account you setup Google Analytics with (They’re part of the same suite of tools). Within Search Console, you’ll be able to identify which keywords people are searching to find your website, as well as which pages gain the most traffic.
7. Check your front-end
Look at the visual elements of your website and your copy.
&#8211; Are the engaging? 
&#8211; Is the copy easy to understand? 
&#8211; Have you included call to action buttons?
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<h2>When to bring in PPC / Paid Social / Content</h2>
It can be hard to know when an appropriate time is to start adding on additional services to SEO.
First, let’s quickly breakdown how to view each service:
&nbsp;
SEO
Great for attracting users entering with broader search terms. SEO tends to be a longer game as you’re trying to outrank your competition.
&nbsp;
PPC and Paid Social
This opens the door for us to niche down our targeting. We can target quality, qualified traffic that is further down the customer journey and ready to convert.
&nbsp;
Display Ads and YouTube
Great for raising awareness and nurturing users further down the customer journey if they’re not quite ready to convert.
&nbsp;
Organic Social
Also, an excellent channel to raise awareness. Often the first touchpoint and fantastic for building brand loyalty and engage with your audience.
&nbsp;
EDMs and Automations
Nurture. Nurture. Nurture. Helps to keep you front of mind with your audience when they’re still in the awareness and consideration phase of their buying journey.
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<h2>So, when do we need to bring in another service?</h2>
Well, it depends.
We need to align your business, industry, and current state with the service which will best reach your audience.
Once we’ve completed the foundational SEO checklist, we can start to branch out and investigate which additional services may best suit your business.
What are your short- and long-term goals? Have we either met your short-term goals, or is there still more to be done?
Often, this can come down to budget as well. Do you have the marketing budget to start advertising in new channels such as Google Ads or Paid Social?
Every strategy is different. Every client is different. There is no “one-size fits all” approach. Recommendations are based on what we see will achieve the best results for clients and deliver the most value.
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<h2>What’s next?</h2>
If you’ve been working on your own marketing and hitting roadblocks or worked through our checklist and need help with the next steps of your strategy, <a href="https://wp.distl.com.au/contact-us/">Get in touch with us today</a> and start your digital marketing journey with Distl.

Our Foundational Checklist for SEO

There was a time when team building exercises were perceived as nothing more than a distraction. Many struggled to see the value in taking time out of the working day for seemingly frivolous group activities.
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These days, attitudes have changed. Businesses across all industries are seeing the positive impact of fostering strong relationships in the workplace. From building trust to improving communication, bonding activities can boost productivity, job satisfaction and overall performance.
Here at Distl, we recognise the importance of having a cohesive, united team. In fact, it’s one of the core reasons why we rebranded as an agency back in 2020.
Every year we commit ourselves to one major team building exercise. In the past, we’ve completed a ropes course and battled it out on the paintball field, but this year we decided to tone down the adrenaline in favour of a more introspective approach.
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<h3>Our Team Building Workshop</h3>
We reached out to our long-term client People Solutions to assist us with running a team building workshop. As organisational development consultants, People Solutions offer a range of services that assess and develop the potential in individuals as well as teams.
Our aim was to walk away with a better understanding of ourselves, as well as our fellow team members, to enable us to work together more effectively. To help us gain insight, People Solutions used the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator as the foundation for the workshop.
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The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Based on the theories of Carl Jung, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a psychometric assessment that indicates your personality preferences. Created by Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers during WWII, the questionnaire was originally designed to help women enter the industrial workforce.
The MBTI test assesses you across 4 dichotomies to identify how you perceive the world around you and formulate decisions. It provides you with a personality type comprised of 4 letters that reflect your innate preferences and how likely you are to engage in certain behaviours.
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Finding Our Types
There are 16 different personality types that represent varying combinations of the 4 dichotomies. Ahead of the workshop, each member of our team completed the MBTI questionnaire, and on the day, we were given our 4-letter type as well as a supporting interpretative report. Based on our answers to the assessment, we were each able to see where we sat on the scale for each dichotomy.
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Extraversion or Introversion
The first letter in each personality type refers to how you direct and receive energy. People who prefer extraversion draw their energy from the outward world, while introverts prefer to spend time alone in quiet reflection to recharge.
Understanding each other
Our team was divided in two based on who was identified as an “E” for extravert versus an “I” for introvert. The exercise was simple: come up with three questions to ask the other group.
There was a stark contrast between how each personality type handled the assignment. While the extraverts headed outside and nailed their three questions in no time at all, the introverts struggled to voice their ideas. As the extraverts returned to the room and took their seats, the introverts frantically finalised their questions.
The extraverts wanted to know how to improve their communication and be more considerate of their introverted colleagues. After a few moments of silence, the introverts began to speak up and provide guidance to the extraverts.
The questions from the introverts were based on understanding extroverted preferences. Interestingly, the introverts learned their colleagues weren’t as different from them as they originally thought.
As an extravert, our Brand Account Manager Hannah (ENFJ) has now modified her behaviours in meetings following the workshop.
“I learned that introverts are less likely to speak up in meetings if there isn’t a break in the conversation. This is an opportunity for an extravert like me to encourage introverts to participate in conversation more during meetings,” Hannah said.
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Sensing or Intuition
The Sensing (S) or Intuition (N) component of the MBTI personality type relates to how you take in information. Those who lean more heavily towards Sensing are likely to rely on their five senses. They prefer tangible details and concrete facts, finding meaning in what they can see, hear, touch and taste.
On the other side of the spectrum, those with an “N” personality are more trusting of hunches and flashes of insight. They find meaning in the relationships between data, rather than the data itself, tending to look at the bigger picture.
A picture is worth 1000 words
Splitting into our two groups, we were presented with an image for a limited time and had to describe what we observed.
The “S” types made a very clear list of the details they saw in the image, identifying a hand, a rainbow, a ship, and a clock.
Meanwhile, the “N” types described the overall feeling of the image. As there was no logical link between the elements, the Intuitive ones brainstormed their own connections. Was it a dreamscape? Was it an album cover? Was it an artwork composed under the influence of recreational drugs?
It was very clear to see how people responded differently to the stimuli based on their type. Through discussion, it was identified that knowing someone’s type could improve communication and briefing processes.
Brand Account Manager Katie (ENFP) discovered how people with a Sensing preference see the world differently.
“I found it so interesting how the Sensing people were able to look at the image and see the granular details. They were able to point out objects in the image that I would not have noticed. Where I saw a story, they saw specifics pieces of a puzzle,” she said.
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Thinking or Feeling
The third dichotomy demonstrates how you make decisions and come to conclusions. Those with a Thinking or “T” type are likely to rely on logic, accuracy, and objective truth. Feeling or “F” types tend to base their decisions on their personal values, wanting to understand others and find harmony.
What would you do?
Once again, we separated into our two groups, only this time we were given a scenario where we stepped into the role of a grocery store manager. We witness a customer with a full trolley exit the store without paying and were asked how we would handle the situation.
Both the Thinkers and the Feelers wanted to understand the reasons why the customer walked out, recognising they could have made an honest mistake. In the scenario, however, the customer admits to intentionally leaving with unpaid goods.
The T’s immediately turned to what was most logical, and told the customer they had to go back inside and pay, but the F’s chose to dig deeper to understand the motivations behind the customer’s actions.
Our Digital Account Manager Emily (ENFP) found it interesting that both groups started with a very similar approach, before veering off in different directions.
“When we shared with the group, the Thinkers revealed they wanted to know which items were stolen, taking a fact and logic driven approach. In the Feelings group, none of us even considered the items. We wanted to understand the person, the circumstances and why they stole,” Emily explained.
“I found this super eye-opening, and I learned how the two sides can complement each other. It will be interesting to see how this will improve projects and communication in the future”.
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Judging or Perception
Lastly, the Judging (J) and Perception (P) dichotomy refers to how you prefer to lead your lifestyle. Those who like structure and order are more likely to be a “J” type, while those who are more flexible tend to be “P” types.
Plan Your Project
For the fourth and final time, we were separated into two groups and provided with an assignment. We were told we have 30 days to complete a project that requires 10 days of work. As a collective, each type had to decide how they would approach the project.
The J types were very quick to put a plan into action. Some wanted to pace themselves and space the work out over 30 days, while others wanted to get everything done upfront. Either way, each J type wanted to be nice and organised so that nothing would be left to the last minute.
On the other side of the room, the P types took a little longer to plan their approach. Ironically, they only just finished the exercise in the nick of time. Most of the P’s wanted to stagger their work over the 30-day period to leave plenty of time for rest, leisure and “vibe checks”. In the end, the P’s were organised, but it took more thinking and discussion before they were able to put a plan together.
“I found it interesting how some preferred to get their duties and responsibilities out of the way and then relax, while some preferred to enjoy their leisure time first, which helped them to be more effective and productive at work,” said Digital Account Manager Shayan (ESTJ).
“Now when I approach those who have a Judging preference, I know they will enjoy order, organisation and decisiveness. When it comes to those with the Perceiving preference, I know to be more flexible and open”.
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Our Takeaways
After discussing our key learnings, it was clear the afternoon was a success. There was a lot of enthusiasm and positive energy in the room as conversation flowed freely between extraverts and introverts alike.
“The workshop made me feel more connected to my colleagues. I had conversations with people I don’t often get the chance to speak with. Understanding the different personality types also helped me to be more accepting of others,” said Hannah.
Katie felt similarly, adding that, “It wasn’t your typical, what I would consider “cheesy” team building activity. Everyone walked away knowing more about who they are and knowing more about the people they spend their work days with… and that was pretty awesome”.
By gaining insight into other people’s personalities, we’re able to see situations from different perspectives and show greater empathy towards those who may have different preferences to our own.
“I learned a lot about how my preferences influence not only my work life, but also my personal and social life,” Shayan explained.
“Communication is key in any team setting, so learning how to communicate effectively with opposing preferences will help us form a more cohesive unit”.
Across the board, our team felt all businesses would benefit from completing exercises based on the MBTI framework.
“I think other businesses should consider doing similar team building activities to improve communication, teamwork and trust in the workplace. It can help to build positive company culture and further develop the types of behaviours that enable a business to thrive,” Hannah said.

Distl’s 2021 Team Development Day 

The festive period is almost upon us.
And with that, a series of important decisions for many business owners.
How long do you close for?
Do you even close?
How many staff will you need?
And most importantly, do you continue to run your digital marketing campaigns?
The default for a lot of business owners is to wind down and pause their marketing as they look to cut costs during this time.
While this can be an understandable approach as sales can dip during this time, we strongly recommend to budget for the festive period and continue your marketing campaigns through the whole break.
Here’s why.
<h2>What Happens When You Pause Your Marketing?</h2>
<h3></h3>
<h3>Google Ads / Search Engine Marketing (SEM)</h3>
Google Ads is one big auction, where you’re bidding for the top positions in Google.
When you leave bidding-based auction, you lose your position and let your competitors take your place.
With less competitors in the auction, they don’t need to pay as much for their efforts. This is the simple economic principle of supply and demand.
When you start again, you don’t get your old place in the auction, you start in a new auction. Your campaign will take longer to get back to the previous performance you experienced for this reason.
And don’t forget, Google is about the long game. They want advertisers to stay on their platform and spend money. Reducing your bids or total ad spend is a much better strategy than stopping everything.
<h3></h3>
<h3>Social Media Marketing (SMM)</h3>
Social Media has become quite sophisticated in the way it uses data and targets users. When running a social media campaign, you’re using machine learning based on desired user actions to optimise campaign performance.
When users complete the desired actions, this data is recorded and used to better deliver ads to a more relevant audience.
With campaigns turned off, there is no machine learning or data retention. This also means that if the campaign is turned back on and we’re using old data, audience targeting may not be as accurate as consumer behaviour changes depending on the time of year.
This often means we need to start the machine learning process again. Whether we’re running a 30, 60, or 90 day retention set, it may take some time for your campaign to be back to its optimal performance self.
<h3>Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)</h3>
Organic traffic is hard work to build up which is why SEO is often referred to as a long game. Now, let’s just have a quick overview of the many potential components of an SEO campaign:
<ul>
<li>Content Development (Blogs or Service pages)</li>
<li>Backlink Acquisition</li>
<li>Internal Linking</li>
<li>Technical Performance</li>
<li>Google My Business (GMB) Optimisation &amp; Posts</li>
<li>Onpage Optimisation</li>
<li>Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO)</li>
<li>User Experience (UX) Optimisation</li>
</ul>
Without SEO performance being managed, we often see drops in client rankings which tends to correlate with reduced traffic and overall conversions.
Like Google Ads, it can take longer to regain your rankings if they’ve dropped off while your competitors kept going.
<h2></h2>
<h2>Reasons to Continue your Marketing through the Holidays</h2>
If you’re a business owner, you’re probably looking forward to a break to zone out and spend time with the family.
We suggest putting a small amount of time towards planning your digital marketing strategy over the break before you stop.
People have more free time, they’re less stressed, more receptive to advertising and marketing, and attend more social events which means more opportunity for word of mouth.
You should take advantage of the festive break, and here’s why.
<h2></h2>
<h2>High volume of users on social media</h2>
As of January 2021, there were <a href="https://share.smperth.com/2021AU?_gl=1*guosm9*_ga*ODIzOTk2MjY0LjE2MzI4ODMyMTY.*_ga_343PC8JEGJ*MTYzMjg4MzIxNi4xLjEuMTYzMjg4MzkzNi40MA..">20.5 million social media users in Australia</a> which is approximately 80% of the population.
And on average, <a href="https://share.smperth.com/2021AU?_gl=1*1rm44ps*_ga*ODIzOTk2MjY0LjE2MzI4ODMyMTY.*_ga_343PC8JEGJ*MTYzMjg4MzIxNi4xLjEuMTYzMjg4MzkzNi40MA..">Australians spend 1 hour and 46 minutes on social media a day.</a>
With more free time during the Festive season, user’s social media usage tends to increase which means your advertising reach has the potential to grow significantly. Why not take advantage of this with themed campaigns and offers!
<h3></h3>
<h3>Competitors Pause – Cheaper Ad Spend</h3>
As mentioned above about Google Ads, there tends to be less competition during the festive season as your competitors pause their campaigns. But not you.
Creating promotional offers for your audience, maybe special pricing, or free delivery during this time, has the chance to be even more effective over the break.
You’d be competing against fewer advertisers and would have to pay less for the same conversions. Wouldn’t that be nice?
H3: It will take longer to build up sales in the New Year
You’ve paused your marketing, you come back to work on the first Monday in January (maybe Tuesday to stretch out your holiday), where are your customers?
Truth time: They’re probably buying from your competitors who didn’t stop their marketing. They didn’t know when you re-opened or any promotions that you were offering over the break or even into the New Year.
Now you have the arduous task of re-engaging your marketing to bring customers back. This may take some time to get your campaigns to the performance you previously had.
Now instead of a quiet December, you’ve had a quiet December and January. This can be a big financial hit for many businesses.
Food for thought.
<h2></h2>
<h2>Keep It Going &#8211; Maintain Your Performance</h2>
Reduce not pause.
If you’ve considered pausing your digital marketing over the festive period, we urge you to reconsider.
Dial it down and maintain your existing performance if you’re concerned about costs. In some industries, dial it right up and reap the benefits.
If you’re unsure how to approach digital marketing during the festive season, <a href="https://wp.distl.com.au/contact-us/">contact</a> our friendly team at Distl today.

Why the festive season is not the time to wind down your marketing

December 3 2020 was a momentous day for us.
We said our goodbyes to BirdBrain and Luminosity and officially launched Distl.
Now more than 6 months on, we thought we’d take the opportunity to reflect on our experiences so far and celebrate the milestones we’ve achieved.
<h2>Becoming Distl </h2>
You may already know the <a href="https://distl.com.au/the-making-of-distl/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">story of how we became Distl</a>, but to catch you up to speed, our rebrand was all about consolidating our two brands into one, seamlessly integrated agency.
Along the way, we also learned how to better communicate who we are and why we exist.
Since <a href="https://distl.com.au/insights/building-resilient-brands/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">refining our brand purpose</a>, every part of our business is now strategically aligned to our mission for building Australia’s most resilient brands.
“While the rebrand has been one of the most fulfilling stages of our business journey, it’s also had a positive impact on virtually every aspect of the business,” said our Director David Metcalf.
“Holding internal and public launch events to present the brand and then rolling out a communications plan across social media, blogs and video content has more clearly aligned our purpose, values, service offering and culture”.
Bringing our vision to life was a huge undertaking for our team, but as Digital Marketing Specialist and Culture Lead Jess Bacon explains, we’ve come through it stronger and more united.
“After a rebrand, you may expect everyone to be exhausted from the process. I think our team have experienced the opposite,” Jess said.
“We’re motivated and invigorated from the rebrand and everyone has a real fire burning under them. We’re now driven to push harder, to do better work and really get our name out there”.
<h2>Projects we’ve launched </h2>
Fuelled by our rebrand, we’ve tackled 2021 head on and launched a range of new brand and web projects for our clients.
Here’s a snapshot of some of the work we’ve done this year, from rebranding Sydney based design, fit out and construction business Cyclo, to launching a new website for Pilbara Solar, a young renewable energy development company.
<a href="https://wp.distl.com.au/works/cyclo/"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-3267" src="https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/08/Cyclo-1024x683.jpeg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/08/Cyclo-1024x683.jpeg 1024w, https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/08/Cyclo-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/08/Cyclo-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/08/Cyclo-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/08/Cyclo.jpeg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
Cyclo Group rebrand, bespoke website design and development
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-3268" src="https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/08/07_Momentum_Posters_1920 × 1280-1024x683.jpeg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/08/07_Momentum_Posters_1920 × 1280-1024x683.jpeg 1024w, https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/08/07_Momentum_Posters_1920 × 1280-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/08/07_Momentum_Posters_1920 × 1280-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/08/07_Momentum_Posters_1920 × 1280-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/08/07_Momentum_Posters_1920 × 1280.jpeg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
Momentum Engineering rebrand and website
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<a href="https://wp.distl.com.au/works/pilbara-solar/"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-3269" src="https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/08/PS_05_3xMobiles_1920 × 1280-1024x683.jpeg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/08/PS_05_3xMobiles_1920 × 1280-1024x683.jpeg 1024w, https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/08/PS_05_3xMobiles_1920 × 1280-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/08/PS_05_3xMobiles_1920 × 1280-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/08/PS_05_3xMobiles_1920 × 1280-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/08/PS_05_3xMobiles_1920 × 1280.jpeg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
Pilbara Solar bespoke website design and development
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<div class="mceTemp"></div>
<a href="https://wp.distl.com.au/works/ayres-composite-panels/"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-2751" src="https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/06/thumbnail-8-1024x682.jpeg" alt="" width="1024" height="682" srcset="https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/06/thumbnail-8-1024x682.jpeg 1024w, https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/06/thumbnail-8-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/06/thumbnail-8-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/06/thumbnail-8.jpeg 1526w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
<div class="wp-caption aligncenter">Ayres Composite Panels bespoke website design and development</div>
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<h3><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-3271" src="https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/08/DiskBank_1920x1280_00000-1024x683.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/08/DiskBank_1920x1280_00000-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/08/DiskBank_1920x1280_00000-300x200.jpg 300w, https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/08/DiskBank_1920x1280_00000-768x512.jpg 768w, https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/08/DiskBank_1920x1280_00000-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/08/DiskBank_1920x1280_00000.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></h3>
DiskBank bespoke website design and development
&nbsp;
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-3270" src="https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/08/ScopeAdvisory_1920x1280_00000-1024x683.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/08/ScopeAdvisory_1920x1280_00000-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/08/ScopeAdvisory_1920x1280_00000-300x200.jpg 300w, https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/08/ScopeAdvisory_1920x1280_00000-768x512.jpg 768w, https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/08/ScopeAdvisory_1920x1280_00000-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/08/ScopeAdvisory_1920x1280_00000.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
Scope Advisory bespoke website design and development
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<h3>Celebrating our clients </h3>
Our clients are the lifeblood of our business. We love working with businesses of all shapes and sizes, helping them to achieve their biggest, hairiest, most audacious goals.
Since rebranding, our relationships with our clients have only flourished.
“There was definitely a sense of excitement and intrigue from clients when they heard we were rebranding,” said Ryan Wilson, Digital Marketing Specialist and Client Service Lead.
“The big difference I’m noticing in our client base since the rebrand is having the knowledge of everything we have to offer. Marketing clients are being exposed to our branding services and branding clients are going through the entire journey, staying on for ongoing marketing”.
From new brands we’re working with to long term clients who are exploring new opportunities, here’s a few client highlights from 2021 so far.
<h4>New relationships</h4>
Our digital marketing team has taken on a wide range of new clients this year.
In February we began working with BGC Housing Group and already we’ve launched a new website for them in collaboration with Creative.adm.
We’ve been managing their SEO, PPC and paid social, and we’re due to start activities with their real estate brand Now Living Realty.
Executive recruitment firm Scotford Fennessy are another new client we’ve welcomed into the fold.
After engaging us for SEO and paid social, we’re now starting a new website project with them.
<h4>Long term partnerships</h4>
Owned by the Ecseri family, Tecsec Security Solutions and 21st Century Business Equipment have been with us for many years as SEO clients.
This year 21st Century Business Equipment introduced a new product called NXT21. More than a point of sale system, NTXT21 is a complete business solution for Perth’s hospitality industry.
To help their team launch NXT21, we produced a promotional brochure and a new landing page, using a PPC campaign and an eDM to help increase awareness and drive enquiries.
Another long-term client of ours is Remastone, a WA supplier of limestone blocks, cladding and paving products.
Over the course of several years, we’ve worked on a range of digital marketing activities including SEO, PPC, paid social, eDMs and Spotify advertising, and now we’re designing and developing a new website for them.
We’ve also begun to branch into new areas with our client R&amp;R Fencing, Perth’s leading manufacturer and supplier for fencing and gate supplies.
On top of our usual SEO and PPC efforts, we’ve now run a promotional radio campaign and produced a range of branded collateral for them.
<h3>New faces in our team  </h3>
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-3275 size-large" src="https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/08/MG_4514_forupload-1024x683.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/08/MG_4514_forupload-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/08/MG_4514_forupload-300x200.jpg 300w, https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/08/MG_4514_forupload-768x512.jpg 768w, https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/08/MG_4514_forupload-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2021/08/MG_4514_forupload-2048x1366.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
Our clients may be the reason why we exist, but we wouldn’t be able to produce our quality of work without the right people in our team.
At every stage of our business journey, we’ve put a lot of effort into ensuring we have the perfect mix of in-house specialists, selecting skilled individuals who fit our culture and align with our values.
We’d like to officially welcome our newcomers for 2021 and take a moment to acknowledge each of them.
Pictured left to right, we have Alice Hampshire, Ekin Bukulmez, Anthony Curnow, Andy Sexton, Shayan Azad, Joel Cook and Jan de Waal.
<a href="https://wa.campaignbrief.com/anthony-curnow-departs-brand-agency-to-join-distl-as-brand-and-communications-lead/">As reported in Campaign Brief</a> a few months ago, Anthony joined our team as our Brand and Communications Director to help shape the next phase in our evolution.
We’ve also brought on Alice as a Senior Account/Project Manager and Ekin as a new addition to our web development team.
Our digital marketing team has also expanded to cater to our growing client base, with Andy, Jan and Shayan joining our ranks.
After completing his internship with us at the beginning of the year, Joel has also come on board with us full time as Account Support to continue his learning and development.
<h4>Nurturing our culture</h4>
While it was exciting to unveil Distl to the world and start a new chapter, we knew it was important to nurture our team throughout the change.
Our Digital Marketing Specialist Emily Newman became part of our team at the pivotal moment when we launched the Distl brand.
“When I joined Distl, the team culture was like nothing I had seen before. There was such a sense of pride within the entire team. It was evident that years of hard work had led to this milestone, and everyone was making the most of celebrating together,” Emily said.
“Distl is a forward-thinking, welcoming, and empowering workplace. There’s never a dull moment. Whether you’re learning about a new digital trend, getting to know a new client, or collaborating with a teammate – it’s full of joy”.
Following the rebrand, we’ve focused on strengthening our culture by creating opportunities for social bonding and providing access to activities that support physical and mental health.
Throughout 2021 this has included team lunches, social drinks on Friday afternoons, in office massages, recreational events and access to a Class Pass company membership.
Last week we also held an internal development workshop with our long-term client People Solutions.
Under the guidance of their organisational development experts, we used the Myer-Briggs Type Indicator methodology to gain greater insight into each of our team members.
<h4>Learning and development</h4>
As our culture is built on collaboration and shared learning, we’re always seeking ways to increase our knowledge and further develop our skills, both individually and as a team.
Each team member is allotted time each week for self-development, and everyone is encouraged to complete training courses to help grow their skillset.
Most recently, Jess and Ryan (pictured below with one of our many office dogs Harper) took the Advanced Account Management course by the Advertising Council of Australia.
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-3294" src="https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2020/08/WEB-INNER_JessRyan_resized-1024x683.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2020/08/WEB-INNER_JessRyan_resized-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2020/08/WEB-INNER_JessRyan_resized-300x200.jpg 300w, https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2020/08/WEB-INNER_JessRyan_resized-768x512.jpg 768w, https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2020/08/WEB-INNER_JessRyan_resized-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://wp.distl.com.au/app/uploads/2020/08/WEB-INNER_JessRyan_resized.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
<h4>The future  </h4>
Everyone at Distl is committed to our vision and sustaining the momentum we’ve built so far. We know who we are as an agency and what we can achieve when we come together as a team.
“The rebrand was long overdue and it’s important that we don’t lose the value of what we’ve worked so hard to build,” said David Metcalf.
“The backend of 2021 will be about delivering on our purpose – building unstoppable, resilient brands for our clients”.

Beyond The Rebrand: Our Journey So Far

Internships usually go one of two ways. Either you’re treated as a glorified gopher who’s expected to take on all the grunt work, or if you’re lucky, someone will take you under their wing and nurture your development.  
 
Our Digital Marketing Specialist Jess Bacon has been on both sides of the coin. Four years ago, she was on the cusp of graduating with a degree in Marketing and Finance when she began to seek out internship opportunities.  
“It was important to me that I get hands on experience in an internship capacity, but my first internship at a financial planning office was not what I was expecting,” Jess said.  
“I was filing paperwork and told to complete admin tasks. I was more an assistant than an intern. I didn’t really get any opportunity to learn”.  
When she later secured a copywriting internship with Distl (then known as BirdBrain), she knew she had found the right place for her.  
“Our copywriter at the time was my mentor and she managed my internship. She gave me in depth feedback and continually pushed me to do great work. The whole marketing team really supported my development, I learned something new every day.” 
Over time, she was exposed to different parts of the business and was able to learn from other skilled team members, until eventually she put herself forward for a permanent role. What started as a part time position quickly turned into full time employment, and now four years later, Jess is one of the most highly skilled digital marketing specialists in our team. As part of her continued development, she has also taken on a role in our leadership team as Culture Lead.  
“The internship taught me from the ground up. I was able to practice the basics over and over until it became natural. Understanding the core fundamentals so well has helped me immensely when communicating with my clients,” Jess shared.  
“I knew as soon as I started here that this was the place I wanted to stay. The culture is supportive, it’s one of knowledge sharing and collaboration, and that resonates so much with me. I want to continue to promote that in my role as Culture Lead.”  
More recently, our Account Support Joel Cook completed his internship with us when he was fresh out of university. Being a graduate during COVID-19 came with unique challenges, and Joel quickly realised he had to be proactive in finding opportunities to gain hands on experience.  
“An internship gives you a taste of everything. It helps you discover which direction you want your career to head in. At Distl, I got exposed to everything the agency does and how they do it, while also gaining an understanding of the wider industry,” Joel explained.   
“I think it helps to start your career as an intern, especially straight out of university. You aren’t expected to know everything. No question is a stupid question.  People understand you’re still learning, and they’re prepared to share their knowledge with you.” 
Upon completing his internship, Joel was offered a full-time position with Distl as Account Support to enable him to continue his learning and development.  
“I decided to take the role not only for career progression, but also because of the great culture and people. Everyone is friendly and welcoming, making it a great environment to continue to learn and develop as a marketing professional,” Joel said.  
Our Technical SEO Sam Driessen took a slightly different path to Jess and Joel. While he also began his journey with us as an intern, he didn’t make the leap to agency world by applying for an internship in the traditional way. He already had some life and career experience under his belt and had recently completed a Digital Marketing Diploma that gave him a theoretical understanding of the digital space. Looking to apply his knowledge and gain practical experience, Sam was open to the idea of an unpaid internship.   
“I googled &#8220;digital marketing Perth&#8221; to get a feel for the agencies that were out there, what kind of work they were doing and how they approached digital. Distl (then BirdBrain) was the only company that resonated with me,” Sam said.  
“They were taking a tailored approach to digital, delivering bespoke work for each client. I reached out, asking for a chance to get my foot in the door and our Director David Metcalf replied to tee up an interview later in the week”.  
A senior SEO specialist mentored Sam one-on-one, enabling him to build his skillset and understand the practical applications of his learnings. Four years on, Sam is now our top SEO expert and a key member of our leadership team. As his internship gave him the opportunity to understand how we operate at Distl, he found it advantageous to continue with the same agency.  
“The internship taught me a great deal about SEO and digital marketing, but it also gave me valuable insight into how agencies run,” Sam explained.  
“Getting hired after my internship meant that I could hit the ground running. If I&#8217;d taken a role elsewhere, I&#8217;d have to take time to get up to speed with their systems and processes”.  
Based on their experiences, all three of our past interns would recommend today’s university students complete an internship before graduating to help set themselves up for the future. 
“There will be more opportunity and less competition if you get in touch with agencies that aren&#8217;t advertising positions. Seek out agencies doing the kind of work you&#8217;re interested in and ask if they&#8217;re open to showing you the ropes,” Sam said.  
Even if you’ve already pursued a career in another field and want to make the move to marketing, you can still apply the same approach. At Distl, we tend to offer 3-month internships on an annual basis with the intention of hiring if the candidate has shown promise and demonstrated they are the right cultural fit. As a full-service agency with in-house specialists, we can expose interns to every part of our business, offering mentorship to support your learning and development.  
If you want to stay up to date with our latest internship and job openings, follow us on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/distl">LinkedIn</a> today.

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