You really should use Google Analytics

Are there still companies that do not use web analytics? Yes, there are. However, with the arrival of free web analytics tools such as Google Analytics, every day more organisations start using web analytics.
Unfortunately many companies do not get past plain old measuring web site traffic: page views, unique visitors, entrance and exit pages, number of visits per visitor, you name it.
And of course Web Analytics is much more that that. It’s about gaining insights into your customers, your business and your online marketing activities.
Below you will discover five good reasons to use web analytics.

1. Find out the exact yield of your online marketing efforts

In a competitive environment where everybody is involved in online marketing and a global economy where budgets and yields are continuously under pressure, efficiency has become the number one issue. Are you obtaining a maximum yield? What you need to do is compare your results to the objectives you defined earlier. This is true for all online efforts, including corporate websites, newsletters and web logs.

2. Do as your colleagues do

Imitating others may not seem an ideal way to achieve the best online marketing results. But we know from experience that there’s much to be learned from others. For example, one of the main concerns of professional marketers is to find an optimum method to measure the return on marketing investment. And it is essential for online marketing. By the way, you need not copy everything you see. You can stand out from the crowd by measuring actions your competitors have overlooked and by applying what you’ve learned to make your web analytics more professional and more profitable at the same time.

3. Get to know your visitors

No doubt you have a fair idea of the number of people visiting your website or reading your newsletter. However, the mere number of hits is quite meaningless in itself. Wouldn’t it be far more interesting to get to know the people behind these figures? And the answer to this question will, in turn, lead to other questions. Are you reaching the right target groups? Is your website affecting them the way you want it to be? There is so much to find out about your visitors’ behaviour and there are so many ways to take advantage of this knowledge. The possibilities are endless. It’s all a matter of web analytics.

4. Find out what your customers and prospects want

It’s one thing to know who your visitors are; to know what they want is quite another. By mapping out the behaviour of visitors to your website, if possible in relation to their profiles, you can find out a lot about their needs and wishes. And, hence, about the needs and wishes of your customers, prospects, and business partners. And what’s more, your website incorporates the easiest way – and the most cost-efficient way – to find out what your visitors want. Simply by asking them!

5. Obtain an overall picture of your communication efforts

Though terribly exciting, the life of a marketing professional is not an easy one. And, on the face of it, it’s getting more complicated all the time. Media are multiplying, while media consumption is becoming more fragmentary. And contact moments are increasingly diverse and varied. But it doesn’t have to be all that complicated. Web analytics is the single most crucial part of your overall approach to online marketing communication. And while mapping out the contact moments of customers and prospects, you will discover a fascinating world revolving around profit and efficiency on the web.

COFA Media At Adobe MAX

Flash on the iPhone? Well sort of. The big buzz that everybody seemed to want to know was if flash will finally be released on the iPhone. Well they did showcase flash running on the iPhone (in iPhone applications) but seeing flash in a browser wasn’t quite there yet.

Adobe MAX 2009 was held in Los Angeles, California at the infamous Los Angeles Convention center (right next to the staples center were the Lakers play) The event was held from October 4th-7th.  Adobe Max brings everything from entry level designers to the highest level flex and air developers, no matter what your skill level your sure to enjoy the event.

Adobe MAX 2009

Keynote

The keynote is always fun because they introduce new technologies and showcase some new products.  Of course the big talk was flash on the iPhone but a couple other innovative items of topic were flash 10.1, coldfusion 9, air 2, and augmented reality.  Perhaps the biggest surprise was John Mayer (yes that’s right the singer) who showcased his Interactive Augmented Reality music video.  He did a very impressive job explaining the technology and had a great sense of humor as well.

Classes and Labs

Last year I enjoyed the sessions much more than the labs mainly because I found them more inspiring and useful in everyday situations.   Probably my favorite of the entire conference was the augmented reality class.  I went into it really knowing very little and came out feeling like I could develop something myself.  Jesse Freeman, Rich Tretola and James Alliban showcased some of their work which was very impressive.  Everything from creating music, going into space and fighting monsters.  I felt it was extremely helpful they talked about how you can start, how they started, and were it’s going.

Sneak Peeks

One of my favorite parts about the conference was the fact they have a sneak peeks session were adobe showcases what they have been working on.  Everything from the newest flex and air additions, to their newest projects such as browser labs and adobe ROME.

An extremely impressive project adobe has been working on is “browser labs”.  With so many different browsers and so many different versions testing is a nightmare for front end developers.  Well the project is still in beta (and free for now) it still boasts many features.  Unlike the typically browser compatibility service adobe browser labs lets you view many different browsers with the click of a button, no waiting around wondering when you’ll see results.  I definitely do my far share of front-end development so I was extremely excited to see this new service.  This is without a doubt the most impressive browser compatibility service I’ve seen to date.  The only downfall is that they only have around 7 browsers you can test in, but it is in beta and they plan to add more in the future.

Another item Adobe has been working on is an application that bridges the gap between developers and designers.  Often times designers will just hand over the psd’s to developers with very little communication on how they envisioned items to work and function.  Flash Catalyst hopes to bridge that gap making it easy for designers to showcase how the site should work with everything from roll-overs, drop downs, transitions and other functionality.  I must say I was very impressed with how easy it is to use and absolutely no code necessary whatsoever.  The only caveat is that it is mostly designed for flex, air and flash developers, but can still be used in the prototyping phase of the project.

MAX Bash

Perhaps the favorite among everybody at the conference is the “Max Bash” which is their annual party.  This year it was held at espn zone.  It was very impressive, open bar, free food, free games and a band.  It’s amazing how well they can accommodate thousands of people.  The party was incredible and I was able to talk to some of the biggest people at adobe including Ted Patrick and Ben Forta to name a few.

Conclusion

I came away from the conference feeling very confident about the industry where it’s going and how we all can help contribute to it.   More importantly I felt very inspired by many of the speakers and presentations and was glad to see how much I knew and how much I can know.

Aolani - San Diego’s best charter option

Cofa Media is proud to announce the launch of the new Aolani website. Aolani is a beautiful 58′ SUNCHASER American Catamaran, that can be chartered for corporate events, weddings, birthday parties, whale watching or holiday cruises.

Aolani Home page

“We wanted to give the Aolani a fresh and hip look and feel.”, says Martijn Lap of Cofa Media. “When you open this website, you want to book this yacht.”

The website was built in PHP, features a word press blog, as well as a variety of social components, such as Facebook and Twitter.

Samsung Developers Contest

Cofa Media is proud to announce the launch of the Samsung Widget Developers Camp contest. Cofa Media partnered with Online Marketing company Evisibilty and Public Relation Company MWW and designed the look and feel for the contest. The contest is geared towards the best mobile and web developers.

“It just show once again how we can work together as a team, eventhough all of us have different backgrounds. The Guys as Evisibility understand the web, so that makes things easy.” says Edwin Lap of Cofa Media.
“Evisbility are experts in contest creation and management. They know how to maximize conversions.”

Mobile and Web Developers will pull an all-nighter with Samsung Mobile in San Francisco at our first Widget Developer Camp! Beginning on September 12.

If you are interested and have the knowledge and know how, then please sign up at https://samsungwireless.com/devcamp/.

CSS Creme Gets New Look and Feel Thanks to Two Leading Web Design Agencies

Cofa Media and Web Design Beach, Well-Established Companies in the Web Page Design, Web Development and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Fields, Are Launching the New CSS Creme Website

CARLSBAD, CA–(Marketwire - July 15, 2009) - Web Design Beach and Cofa Media announced the launch of the new CSS Creme website today. These well-established companies in the fields of web design, web development and search engine optimization (SEO) wanted to give the CSS site gallery a new look and feel with added functionality, tutorials, website showcase and designer profiles.

css_creme_new_design

Edwin Lap of Cofa Media Group and Nikola Mitic of Web Design Beach recently acquired CSS Creme, a free gallery of the best looking and most original sites based on CSS technology. With these new features, they hope CSS Creme will serve as a valuable resource for inspiration when working traditional ad agencies.

“By improving website content and website usability, CSS Creme will enable us to showcase the best designs and websites, and connect potential clients, traditional ad agencies and anyone interested in good design,” said Edwin Lap of Cofa Media. “We focused on website showcase galleries, web designer profiles, tutorials, latest trends and news. We want CSS Creme to become one of the leading CSS galleries. It should serve as inspiration when you have no idea what to do with your website next.”

Nikola Mitic of Web Design Beach said it was a challenge to redesign CSS Creme, being that it was already an outstanding gallery from a look and feel perspective. “We’re involving all our departments, from web design and development to our SEO and SEM specialists, to provide more quality content and improve rankings and traffic,” said Mitic. “The new CSS gallery combines a website showcase, international designer profile, knowledge base and industry trends.”

About Cofa Media:

Cofa Media is a San Diego based firm with years of experience in web design and web development. Their interactive marketing and web design services have a proven track record with both small and large businesses from the medical field to the action sports industry. You would be hard pressed to find another web design agency with such a wide range of past experiences, yet such a keen look to the future of effective online marketing strategies and applications.

Cofa Media launches non-profit website Toby Wells

Cofa Media is proud to announce the launch of the new Toby Wells Foundation website. Cofa Media collaborated with Web Design Beach and creative director Martijn Lap in creating a fresh new look and feel for the non-profit organization.

tobywells.org

The website is built in HMTL, CSS and PHP/MySQL and has our proprietary Photon CMS.

“This was a fun project and most of all a feel good project. We were touched by the whole back ground story and the positive attitude by the Wells family. Simply put - Great Karma.”

“It just shows that Non-Profit, does not always mean no money or boring. This project put a lot of things in perspective, what is important in life etc.” says Edwin Lap of Cofa Media.

“We love working on these type of projects, because at the end of the day, you can sit back and be proud of what you did.”

Cofa Media recently helped the International Hair Restoration Institute, another non-profit project, with their re-branding and re-design earlier this year.

Cofa Media launches new Anon Optics site

Cofa Media is proud to announce the launch of the new Anon Optics website. Cofa Media collaborated with Burton Snowboards and creative director Thomas Morris in creating a fresh new look and feel for the 2009/2010 season.

The website is built in HMTL, CSS, Flash and PHP/MySQL and connected to the Burton store front, as well as all other dealers, whom sell the Anon Optics products.

“The guys at Anon were super easy to work with and even the guys at Burton were always there to help out.”

“This simply shows how well companies can collaborate with one another. There were no egos, no problems or issues, simply a project that went as smooth as possible” says Edwin Lap of Cofa Media.

“We simply love working with the action sports industry and enjoy to help, guide and grow these companies with their online business model”.

Cofa Media recently helped Taylor Steele launch the new PoorSpecimen website and worked hand in hand with Gravis Footwear to launch their new spin off brand IVSK8.

Anon Optics New Site

Web Hosting Misconceptions

“Can’t you just move this site to my other account.”

I seem to get this question nearly every week from clients. It is just transferring files right? Well not necessarily. Sure some sites you can just copy the files from one server to another, but in this day and age of everyone wanting the latest technology and everybody having the new latest and greatest idea, those sites are few and far between. I’ve literally spent sleepless nights so called “just transferring files.” So why is it so difficult the client says? Well that really depends on multiple factors:

-   What platform are you on, Windows or Linux?

-   Is there a CMS or back end to your site?

-   What type of hosting service are you on, dedicated or virtual?

-   Who is your hosting provider?

-   What version of PHP/ASP are you running?

I could seemingly go on for days but I’ll stop there. For a smooth transition from one host to another both servers must be similar in at least most of if not all of these otherwise you’ll end up running into major issues.

To prevent this from happening I strongly suggest doing a little research before you even build the site. Find out the answers to all of the above questions and TEST TEST TEST before you move the site over to the new platform. This allows for a much smoother transition or lead to that dreaded conversation with the client telling them why they should have chosen a Linux server over the Windows one they just purchased.

1st generation vs latest 3gs I-phone

I was excited to get the latest i-phone 3gs last Friday. Like a kid in a candystore, I was anxisously awaiting the UPS deliver person. At 8:30 am, I recieved my latest gadget - the new iphone 3gs.

I love all of the improvements in functionality, speed and battery life, no question about it. The one thing, that bothered me a bit was the plastic design, identical to the previous 3g version. I never owned that model, as I thought that the first generation i-phone was much more beautiful and aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
Something that Apple has always set apart from the competition.

I wish they would have brought back the aluminum case, which makes the iphone a bit “weighty” , but i liked that about the old i-phone.
Perhaps, Apple will design and develop a higher end I-phone, so that us snobs and design aficionados can still feel superior over everyone else. Just look at the latest Mac Book pro models, no other lap top comes even close to apple’s design.

COFA Media Acquires More Digital Real Estate

SAN DIEGO, CA–(Marketwire - June 9, 2009) - Web Design Beach and Cofa Media are pleased to announce their acquisition of CAD Website Design. The purchase will allow these companies to work with more small business clients and achieve their online business development goals even with a limited budget.

“CAD Website Design will allow us to develop beautiful and user-friendly websites for small to medium sized business,” said Edwin Lap of Cofa Media. “Having a small budget shouldn”t mean living with an unattractive or poorly designed website. Now we can cater to all types of business, from the typical mom-and-pop-shop up to large corporations.”

CAD Website Design was founded by Jeff Phillips seven years ago. The company comes with a solid reputation in the Internet industry and well-deserved top rankings in both Google and Yahoo! search engines.