NDG Communications is proud to announce that Tyler Jeffrey has come aboard as an Account Executive. Prior to joining NDG Communications, Tyler served at Delucchi+ in Washington, D.C. as an Account Executive, supporting the day-to-day operations of the account services staff, and as an internet marketing specialist at previous posts. Tyler received his bachelor’s degree from The University of South Carolina, and enjoys running and discovering D.C.’s newest restaurants in his free time.
NDG Communications is proud to announce the launch of the new Fulton Research website www.FultonResearch.com, where you can:
• Register to receive a free subscription to Residential Market Trends, which provides key market statistics and important indicators every month. With your free subscription, you will also gain access to the complete archive of past editions.
• Stay up to date with ON TARGET, the Fulton Research blog, which comments on current market events, and gives you early notice of big news on the horizon that affects your business.
• Learn more about Fulton Research’s project profiles and how their comprehensive services can give you the competitive edge you need to make smart, informed decisions about everything from marketing and sales to investing tactics and long-term business strategies.
We’re very proud of the work we’ve created for Fulton Research and encourage everyone in the builder, real estate, development, and housing industries to visit their new website for some of the most up-to-date insights and analysis available.
Tags: e-marketing, fulton research, ndg communications, real estate marketing, website designOn Thursday, March 19th, 2009, The Advertising Club of Metropolitan Washington, D.C., held its 41st annual ADDY® Awards Gala to recognize the best in creative excellence in the metro Washington area. The ADDY® Awards are the advertising industry’s largest competition.
NDG Communications was recognized with a Silver Addy Award for our work for Civista Health. NDG developed the hospital’s new website, www.Civista.org, and we’re honored to share this recognition with Civista.
Now Civista can provide all the information the community needs to take charge of their own health, and all the information they need about the medical center, in a single online resource. From the new health resources page, which provides brief and easy-to-understand articles about almost every health concern, to presenting the latest health news, the new Civista website is truly a comprehensive portal to good health.
Visitors can use the new Civista website to find a doctor, download a welcome kit for those who will be patients at the medical center, and even watch videos of Civista staffers share their experiences, of patient testimonials, and even a take a video tour of the brand-new facility. With their new website, Civista can now truly say Good Health Starts Here.
NDG Communications is an award-winning, nationally recognized advertising and interactive marketing agency just outside Washington, D.C. Check us out at www.NDGCommunications.com.
Tags: Awards, e-marketing, medical marketing, ndg communications, website designNDG Communications is proud to announce the launch of www.GibsonsGrant.com, the new community website for Kent Island’s premier natural Chesapeake waterfront community, Gibson’s Grant. This outstanding community offers select homesites, nature trails, numerous amenities including a community center, and a 55-acre nature walk that offers breathtaking views and opportunities to take in Maryland’s flora and fauna up close. We’re very proud of our work for the community, and equally proud to work with an esteemed client such as Elm Street Development who understands the importance of preserving our natural spaces.
Tags: e-marketing, ndg communications, real estate marketing, website designFrequently we come across blog postings, white papers, and articles in magazines regarding the use of Flash-based websites and its negative effect on search engine optimization (SEO) efforts. Almost unanimously, many who claim to be experts condemn the use of Flash and label the technology as a “death wish” for those who wish to achieve high search engine rankings, especially on Google.com.
The Facts: Optimizing Flash is not easy, but far from impossible.
Flash is now a viable technology that helps create rich online experiences and, with common sense tactics, can be optimized to target search engine results. Innovation in Flash website development practices, combined with other development technologies (like JavaScript) can now help produce high Search Engine Results Page (SERP) rankings for Flash websites.
In July 2008, Google and Adobe (the developers of Flash) announced a joint-venture update to resolve the Flash/SEO issue. The introduction of Google’s Flash algorithm means most Flash sites are, by default, search engine-friendly—assuming your programmer is up to date on the latest techniques required to effectively optimize Flash.
Of course, some issues remain, but these are being addressed and industry-standard work-around solutions have been developed to make Flash a viable technology to use for websites. And with Google now capturing 64% of the search engine traffic, and providing reliable indexing of Flash sites with their new algorithm, Flash should be a major component in the technical palette of every web designer and programmer.
Still Not Convinced? More in-depth technical explanations of these techniques can be found online. There are many sources where more specifics can be provided on actual SEO for Flash tactics.
Here are some examples of Flash-based websites with effective SEO from the NDG Communications portfolio:
This Flash-based website is optimized for several key phrases, but our main phrase is “Townhomes in La Plata.” Our Google SERP (search engine results page) has this site ranking consistently between #2 to #4.
Using the search phrase “Chestertown Waterfront Homes,” the Google SERP ranking for this Flash-based website is consistently #2 or #3.
So, while Flash is not necessarily the best choice for every website, it has been proven in usability research to enhance the overall user experience by making a site more interactive and intuitive. Remember, you have approximately 4 seconds to really grab a website visitor’s attention and help them make the decision to stay and consume more of your content. For now and the foreseeable future, Flash is still the best technology available to website designers to achieve real engagement and to convert visitors to registered users, and it can now be properly indexed by the world’s most dominant search engine, Google.com, ensuring that SEO goals are attainable.
Tags: e-marketing, Flash, ndg communications, SEO, website design
