Leapfroggs Getting Greener!

We have always made a huge effort to be as ‘green’ as we possibly can, we run a virtually paper free office and have done since Leapfrogg time began, 11 out of 13 froggers walk or take public transport to and from work each day, we use PDQ as our office supplier who in my opinion has to be one of the most environmentally friendly office suppliers in the world! The list goes on…..

Since the move from serviced offices into our very own leased offices we are doing even more about reducing our Carbon Footprint. We have recently set up a mini recycling centre in our offices and have enlisted the help of Magpie, our locally based recycling gurus, to help us recycle anything that we possibly can!

As we continue to set up the services for the new office we will be making sure that we select suppliers that think the same way we do when it comes to doing what’s best for the environment and our local community and of course are in tune with our moral and ethical standards! Watch this space, as froggs we have a duty to get even greener!

The 'Leapfroggers' move into their new home!

A few weeks ago we received the keys to our new office. Back then it didn't look much - dated, bland and slightly scruffy around the edges. As this is a massively exciting time for us (moving from serviced offices to our very own) we wanted to document the work involved and the finished space. And what better place to do so than the 'Froggblog!'

So, here we are in action putting the finishing touches to modernising the new space:



And the finished result:





A special thanks to our office manager, Jody, who has project managed the various contractors involved and ultimately ensured the smooth transition from our old home to the new one.

If you are in Brighton and fancy dropping by we would love to see you at the new home of the 'Froggers'.

Leapfrogg are on the move!

On Tuesday of this week we received the keys to our new offices! Having come on leaps and bounds (sorry!!) over the last year we have made the commitment to a huge, leased office space that we can very much make our own! Woo hoo! There is still much work to be done before we are ready to move in so we thought a few 'before and after' shots would be of interest.

Main office space


Main office space (its so big not even the panoramic view on the camera will fit it all in!)


More of the main office space - what will be the meeting area


The cable guy and office manager Jody deep in discussion!


What will be the kitchen and chill out area

So as you can see lots to be done before we move in on the 28th April! Check back then for the 'after' shots.

Until then...

Leapfrogg Gets Recognition From Google!!!!

When we opened up our browsers this morning we were over the moon that Google had finally seen fit to recognise Leapfrogg and put an image of our frog leaping on the Google home page.



Ummmmmmmmmmmmm ........OK so perhaps Google might not be referring to Leapfrogg in particular but hey ho we though it was a nice touch :)

Having said that it IS a LEAP year so hurrah for LEAPFROGG we kinda feel its our day today. So have a nice one everyone and to anyone who is thinking of asking THAT question today we reckon you should go for it!!!!

Leapfrogg Newbie and Google Base

Lo and behold, here is another Leapfrogg trainee making the jump into their first blog post. Laurence has kindly made the introductions; I am Claire, the other new addition to the Leapfrogg clan beginning to carve out a career in the SEM industry. I am currently getting to grips with the wonders of PPC, SEO and link building and one of my first tasks at Leapfrogg has been to unravel the mystery behind Google Base product listings. So here goes…

Google Base is a free Google Service that allows users to publish almost any kind of information on Google Base or other Google services. Users can submit products, job listings, house listings, recipes, blog posts, personal ads and much more. Searchers may find items on Google Base in results for searches on Google Product Search and even the main Google Web Search depending on the item’s relevance to the search terms entered.

All types of online and offline content can be submitted to Google Base and all this content is searchable on Google. There is the opportunity to link searchers to the original website if the content is already available online, thus Google Base is potentially a good way for companies to increase their site’s visibility on the web.

How does it work? Users must have or create a free Google Account to use the Google Base service. Users can post individual items by completing a web form or if posting multiple items (10 or more) then there is the option to submit a data feed. Items will be given a unique web address and can be edited or archived whenever the user wants.

All items can be posted with a list of attributes which describe the qualities and characteristics of an item to help people find them when they conduct related searches. Essentially, the attributes make the product easier to find during a search on Google Base. Therefore, users must optimise the individual item and/or data feed to get significant results. By creating custom attributes for an item, rather than using Google’s generic/suggested attributes the user has a better chance of attracting targeted visitors and converting those visitors into buyers. The more information the user provides in the list of attributes for their item, the better the results will be. So the recommendation would be that users should supply Google Base with a concise product description, a photo, product prices, and a specific URL to direct traffic to the relevant page on their website.

Sounds easy as pie doesn’t it? There have been mixed responses to Google Base and its usability issues, for example, items in data feeds can be tricky to update if there isn’t a CMS behind the website to pull all the product information off. It would be great to hear if anyone out there reading this blog has used/does use Google Base and how this has turned out. All feedback is welcomed by this newbie…Claire.

Is it a Leap year? It is for the frogg!!!

Following on from the previous post we at Leapfrogg wanted to wish our readers a Happy New Year!!!

We hope 2008 brings you all much prosperity both business and personal.

We at Leapfrogg have a few new years' resolutions we would like to share with you.

• To continue to provide an excellent service in the field of search marketing


• To delve into even more creative ways of gaining our clients visibility across the web


• To extend our offerings in all aspects of social media


• Continued extensive research into the field of search marketing


• To make sure we are on top of our game with new technologies e.g. mobile (should it ever take off)


• To persuade ALL our clients to become more active in video and audio content on their sites


• To continue to grow as a company whilst maintaining our extremely high and personable levels of customer service


• To be the best we possibly can in everything we do


• To ensure we remain a great company to work for


• To make our clients as much money as possible


• To develop this blog as one of the top resources for SME's wanting to learn about and develop skills in search marketing

We are delighted to reveal we grew by 215% in 2007 and our Leapfrogg staff family grew by 200%. We hope that is testament to the great service we provide our clients.

In 2008 we aim to continue this level of growth by providing our bespoke search marketing service to more and more SME's, helping them grow their companies too by the power of the Internet!!

So here is to a prosperous 2008 please feel free to share any of your resolutions with us too!!

LeapFrogg Summer Outing: Goodwood '07

Friday 15^th June saw the Leapfrogg team enjoy a luxury summer picnic within Chichester’s Bishop's Palace Gardens before heading over to the horse racing at Goodwood.

Nestled on top of the Sussex Downs, Goodwood is internationally acclaimed as one of the most beautiful racecourses in the world and provided an outstanding setting to absorb the electric atmosphere, whilst reviewing the costs and benefits of betting on either the favourite or an outsider.

Despite winning 80p on the first race it was a relatively unlucky evening for me personally, whilst other members of staff including Christos and Ben were more fortunate. However the evening was great, with fantastic weather and plenty of opportunities to enjoy a cold pint after my first week here at Leapfrogg.

Yet even after the last race, conversation slipped back to the implications of Google’s take over of DoubleClick, whether the major such engines might develop a feature to ‘bury’ poor and spam related websites and if the term ‘Google it’ should be replaced with ‘Yahoo it’.
Conclusions must then reside with the notion that not even for a night can you take the Leapfrogg staff away from the Internet…

To view our photos, check out our Flickr account.

Or if you would like more information on Goodwood, check out their website here:

Allow me to introduce myself....

An introduction that Cilla Black would be proud of… My name is Simon Dance and I reside in my hometown of Brighton, after some four years living in arguably the North East’s greatest city – Newcastle. Of predominance, my interests lay within online media in addition to design, contemporary art, reading business biographies and cooking.

As a new member of the team here at Leapfrogg I will be involved in the implementation of link and social media campaigns for all our clients in line with the evolution of algorithms and development of social media platforms. The current climate of search marketing dictates a continual creative approach in not only stimulating brand awareness but also custom in this increasingly competitive marketplace.

I join Leapfrogg with a passion for new media, having successfully run a number of websites and online businesses over the last five years and it is this passion -or call it an obsession- that sustains my excitement for the Internet. With a mentality of “I wonder what will be uploaded tomorrow”, I am most looking forward to getting my teeth into our client’s campaigns, and as part of the new division I aim to use my existing experience within online PR and social media to provide effective and efficient campaigns for our clients that are heavily driven by research.

Who knows more...Tesco or Google?

The continued debate about Google, their recent aquisitions and their long term goal not just to organise the worlds information, but organise your whole life(!?), is clearly a concern for many.

Google want to create a better search experience for us all. That's understandable (and often needed!). Personalisation is the way to go Google believe. However, to do this requires information on our past searches, the websites we visit, the time we spend on them and so on, hence the release of many data collection vehicles (cleverly disguised as free tools) and their strategic aquisitions. All of this makes people nervous. However, it was a comedian (funnily enough - sorry!) just the other evening who opened my eyes to the fact that there are dozens of organisations who know just as much, if not more, than Google are seeking at this stage. The example, the comedian gave was Tesco. Have you got a clubcard? Well if so, this massive organisation know everything you have ever bought at Tesco, the time, the place, etc. Not bothered? Well what about your bank, credit card company, mobile provider, ISP, insurance company and so on. Combined, these organisations know more about you than, well, probably you know about yourself. So before we all jump on the Liberty bandwagon, sit back a minute and consider just how much information is already known about you by organisations who want to do a lot more than simply improve your search experience.

I agree that there does appear to be more to this. Google want to do a lot more than simply improve your search experience but for now little is known about their longer term aspirations. I have no doubt they have big plans to become an even more integral part of our lives. But lets cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, I dont see a major issue in the type of data they want IF it improves the search experience. Unfortunately, I also happen to doubt that it will - for various reasons that I will explore in greater detail another time.

Who Actually Reads Blogs?

Probably not who you'd guess - they're wealthier and most likely balding for a start

Most of us probably imagine the typical blog reader as some trendy student type, stabbing at the keyboard over a pan of cold beans and lager. A recent survey conducted by Blogads, has discovered the opposite. The demographic are older, wiser, richer, discerning, well informed and decision makers.

Out of the 17,159 blog visitors that took part in the May 2006 survey, 40 percent of them earn around $90,000 or equivalent, 61% were over 30 years old, exactly 37% being 41 to 60 with under 10 percent being in their teens and earlier twenties and 75% of them were male. It also showed that most of them read blogs because they had news they could not find else where and for a better more Honest perspective. 17% of them are bloggers themselves, and the reason they blogged was to Keep track of their thoughts, let off steam or Formulate ideas.

(unfortunately only 15% used blogs to smite enemies which I think has huge potential) 1.7% of those questioned were CEO’s, 4.95% were Judges, 8.87% were retired and only 5% are students and most of them read National Geographic or Liberal Political journals.

Why are Blogs fundamental to intellectual property?

A recent study by Columbia University shows that the News we read is being adapted from blog posts. The report, using data sourced from 1,202 journalists both US and European based, shows that 51% of journalists use blogs regularly and this number is growing rapidly. 70% of them are reported to use Blogs for work-related tasks, daily, i.e.: researching and referencing facts, finding sources and uncovering breaking news.

Blogs can also be used as a soap box for employers and manufacturers. Companies receiving bad press for example, can harness the speed of the blogosphere and answer allegations, spread viral apologies and deter propaganda in seconds.

How blogs differ from Other Editorial Content

• Anonymous creation (the identity of a blog poster can forever be a pseudonym
  
• No Use by date (The lifespan of a Blog post is infinite unlike a other digital news forms)
  
• Real time updates (Changes are immediate)


• Positively Interactive (Blogs are a open line of communication, a forum for ideas and discussions)

For Sourced Content (Why are Blogs fundamental and How blogs differ) go to: http://www.levick.com/

“The Horrors of not managing online buzz”

Kryptonite in the BlogosphereHow ten days of internet ranting crippled a company.It took just 10 days for Kryptonite locks to become the poster child for how not to handle the online buzz. In response to a video showing how the Kryptonite Evolution 2000 U-Lock could be opened with a bic pen and with a flood of complaints on forums by bike-owning enthusiasts demanding the Locks withdrawal. Krytonite responded with a statement that can be best described at ‘dismissive’ as well as publicly ignoring the problem. Whilst working in the background to try and resolve the issue, the New York Times got hold of the story and released the headline “The Pen Is Mightier than the Lock”. Exchanges for the faultily locks were offered 10 days after the video release, by that time Kryptonite’s reputation was sullied and the company had lost around $10 million. Source http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/17/nyregion/17lock.html?ex=1178942400&en=2767e0c7fd12541d&ei=5070

Electronic Arts the mighty EMPLOYMENT MONSTER

Electronic arts learned a hard lesson when a blogger called “EA Spouse” blogged about the awful working conditions her husband suffered in the employment of Electronic arts. Even though the comments were posted on a relatively insignificant blog, they were rapidly picked up and the press quickly stepped in. The outcome was that Electronic arts recently had to settle a 15 million dollar lawsuit brought against them by employees. http://ea-spouse.livejournal.com/
For Sourced Content: (Krytonite and E.A Spouse stories) http://www.levick.com/

BUSINESS BLOGS are Doing it for themselves

Information gathered from the Fortune 500 Business Blogging Wiki shows that Only 22 of the 500 largest U.S. companies operates public blogs. That amounts to a measly 4.4%. Here are 3 of those I rather liked.

McDonalds Corporation blog – Open for Discussion was launched on the 20th of March 2006, Created by I'm Bob Langert, Vice President for Corporate Social Responsibility, it offers an open forum for employees to chat and ask questions about promotional issues, ideas etc. McDonalds say “it’s a way of showing what happens behind the scenes and listening to what people want”. It’s got PR of 5, Loads of recent posts and topical discussions and has been tagged 1,179 by del.icio.us http://csr.blogs.mcdonalds.com/

General Motors – Fast lane blog was launched on the 7th of January 2005 and I must sing it’s praises even though I don’t like cars particularly, this blog is exactly what a blog should be, a way of the consumers to interact with the BIG WIGS at GM. It’s honest, forthright and not afraid to welcome criticism. It’s basic in its general aesthetic but it has a neat little bread crumb trail to guide you out of the lengthy comments pages, as most posts has around 30 or more comments and its fresh content has been tagged over 300 times by del.icio.us. http://fastlane.gmblogs.com/

My Favourite was Southwest Airlines - Nuts about Southwest. They quite plainly want people to get involved, the user help page stating “Our goal with this blog is to give our readers the opportunity to take a look inside Southwest Airlines and to interact with us. This is as much your blog as it is ours”. It was launched on the 22nd of April 2006 and its just fun, nice big friendly images, peanuts scattered all over the background and the entries are written in a warm forthcoming way. It has PR of 6, has snatched up over 80 tags from del.icio.us and has over 7,000 Yahoo links. http://www.blogsouthwest.com/

Lastly: (a moan) I had high hopes for Nike Basketball Blog when I first saw it, the slick design, high res photos of basket ball players, downloadable Nike goodies; it was as statuesque as Nike herself. But after a few minutes it becomes whelming, and you release that it’s just another nicely constructed advert for Nike. It also doesn’t allow comments, which kind of defeats the whole object of a blog. http://blog.nikebasketball.com/