NEWS

News, Insights & Opinions
Are you really on page one of Google? - SEO blog
Are you really on page one of Google? - SEO blog
|Steve Maybury
Everybody wants their company to be on page one of Google. And now, thanks to Google’s tailored searches, everyone thinks they are. Simply put, Google will look at your search history and tailor search results so you get the websites it thinks you’re looking for. So, if you visit your own website a lot (and you really ought to be), then it will feature higher in SEO terms than, say, your rivals’ sites. This is great if you’re a consumer, as it means you spend less time trawling through results... Read more...
NationalRail.com on the right track with Podium
NationalRail.com on the right track with Podium
|Podium
Podium has delivered the successful re-launch of train ticket sales website nationalrail.com, securing large revenue increases in its first two months. The nationalrail.com website has been owned and operated by Chester-le-Track Ltd for over ten years, but operated with an outdated site that had limited earning potential. Podium supplied a complete rebrand for the site, along with technical SEO work, ongoing news and blog content, a social media presence and on-site advertising to create an additional revenue stream. The site, built by Union Room – now cleaner-looking, fully responsive and... Read more...
The effect of Dragons Den on Website Traffic! Watch Live!
The effect of Dragons Den on Website Traffic! Watch Live!
|Podium
It has always fascinated me when watching Dragons’ Den that companies do not ensure their website is ready for a huge influx of traffic. Without fail, every single time I go on a pitching company’s website, it crashes. As long as the idea is good, regardless of whether the dragons invest, it’s an amazing platform to showcase your product and drive huge awareness in your brand. So why don’t companies plan ahead? I was delighted when I found out that one of our clients would be pitching to the dragons... Read more...
Podium helps Northern Bootcamp reach 13,000+ people with social media competition
Podium helps Northern Bootcamp reach 13,000+ people with social media competition
|Steve Maybury
The beauty of social media for businesses is that it enables companies to communicate directly with their audiences. News, opinions, product launches, statements videos and images can all be sent straight to interested users in a strategic, targeted way. However, in most cases, the number one aim is to achieve audience engagement – that is, having people ‘favouriting’, forwarding and responding to your content. This is why it’s crucial to keep updates interesting, entertaining, informative and frequent. Podium client Northern Bootcamp, which runs residential weight loss boot camps in Northumberland,... Read more...
Introducing Podium
Introducing Podium
|Podium
Introducing Podium, the new name for BIM Creative. After nearly three years of helping our clients stand out more, on search engines, on social media and in the press, we want to stand out more ourselves. So we have changed our name to Podium, because everything we do is about making our clients be seen, be heard, and stand out from the crowd. Legally, we have the same bank details, the same company number and the same VAT number… and of course, we are still pink! However, our emails are... Read more...
Achieving SEO results with Podium
Achieving SEO results with Podium
|Podium
Podium examines the outstanding performance of an SEO, content and social marketing campaign after the first 12 months. Achieving outstanding page-one-on-Google search results isn’t easy, particularly because of the ever-changing algorithms that Google implements to ensure the cream always rises to the top. Essentially, ‘organic’ search is exactly that: organic. The days of artificially setting up a website to ‘cheat’ Google have gone: it is a meritocracy and only the best, most frequently-updated websites will prosper. We have written on here before about how long it takes to achieve results... Read more...
Using PR to boost SEO campaigns
Using PR to boost SEO campaigns
|Podium
Podium has demonstrated the power of PR when it comes to boosting SEO results with some outstanding national and regional media coverage for a client, leading to a huge spike in web traffic. We produced a one-off media relations piece for our technical SEO client, Agents Property Auction, about a property that was going under the hammer with a starting price of just £1. The ‘fixer-upper’ property is in Middlesbrough, so we worked with the Evening Gazette on a piece before the auction, and then on a follow-up piece that... Read more...
Hiring : Paid Social Media Intern
Hiring : Paid Social Media Intern
|Podium
Growing SEO, PR and marketing agency Podium is hiring. We are looking for a social media intern for an initial paid six-month contract, to work on developing the social media accounts of our increasingly diverse, and always-interesting, client base. Joining a small team, the successful candidate will be expected to hit the ground running and will be given responsibility for working on live accounts from day one. No photocopying or tedious data entry will be required. You will be working with a number of our existing clients to develop their... Read more...
Should you spend more time on content creation?
Should you spend more time on content creation?
|Podium
Some bloggers spend as much as 10 hours per week on content creation, on top of their full-time jobs, according to The Drum. The research, unveiled as part of Social Media Week London, underlined the importance of keeping content updated, fresh, informative and entertaining. It’s so important that people are spending 40 hours per month on maintaining their blog. The growing influence of bloggers and the utter dominance of online media (social and otherwise) as a way of receiving news and information would suggest it’s probably time well spent. The... Read more...
Maintaining marketing momentum with Podium
Maintaining marketing momentum with Podium
|Podium
One of my favourite quotes of all time came from Andy Warhol, writing in 1975, and goes as follows: What’s great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca-Cola, and you know that the President drinks Coke, Liz Taylor drinks Coke, and just think, you can drink Coke, too. A Coke is a Coke and no amount of money can get you a better Coke than the one the... Read more...
Media relations: Podium secures Chronicle PR coverage
Media relations: Podium secures Chronicle PR coverage
|Podium
Podium has worked with its public relations client, Thompson and Co Solicitors, to secure prominent double-page PR coverage in the Newcastle Chronicle this week. The coverage relates to the successful conclusion of a clinical negligence claim, in which Thompson & Co secured an apology and out-of-court settlement on behalf of its client. Media relations campaigns are an outstanding way for law firms to raise their profile and to increase awareness of the work they do. Thompson & Co represents scores of clients who have been the victims of industrial illness... Read more...
Hiring: PR & Social Media Intern
Hiring: PR & Social Media Intern
|Podium
Please note we are no longer accepting applications for this position. Podium is hiring. We are looking for a PR and social media intern for a fixed six-month contract, to work on developing the social media output of our increasingly diverse and always-interesting client base. Job outline below - to apply, send us a CV and covering letter to info@onthepodium.co.uk or give us a ring on 0191 233 6397 if you have any questions. Growing PR, marketing and SEO agency Podium has a six-month internship position available for a recent... Read more...
Is Facebook appropriate for businesses?
Is Facebook appropriate for businesses?
|Podium
“Should businesses use Facebook?” remains a very pertinent question. There are times when using Facebook can feel like a strangely hollow, unrewarding experience. In fact, I’d go so far as to say it frequently makes me despair of the human race. It has become a wasteland of recycled jokes and memes, bandwagon-jumping, pieces of so-called ‘wisdom’ delivered in picture form, baby pictures, selfies, clickbait, compliment fishing and cries for help. There are still plenty of people on my news feed who make using Facebook worthwhile. I won’t flatter their egos... Read more...
SEO - achieving more page one search terms with Podium
SEO - achieving more page one search terms with Podium
|Podium
We recently blogged about the importance of companies using the data at their disposal to create online content. Far too few companies do it, so we thought we’d take the opportunity to lead by example, and have taken a look at some of the data behind our clients’ successful recent campaigns. One of the key measurements we use (although there are many) is to look at ‘Page One search terms’: basically, the number of different words or phrases that, when typed into Google, will result in our client being listed... Read more...
Firms must use their data for online content and PR
Firms must use their data for online content and PR
|Podium
Not enough companies make use of the data at their disposal to create PR stories and web content, says Steve Maybury This week, the Guardian has given us the news... Read more...
Press Coverage for Newcastle Clinic
Press Coverage for Newcastle Clinic
|Podium
Podium has worked with Newcastle Clinic to secure press coverage in one of its target geographical areas, Cumbria. The opportunity was spotted by the Clinic, home to the North East and Cumbria's only open-sided MRI scanner. A news story revealed a Carlisle man was being forced to pay for a second MRI scan on his injured knee because another private clinic had gone into administration. Shaun Fryer, MD at Newcastle Clinic, stepped in to offer a free scan to the gentleman, which was completed within days - instead of the... Read more...
SEO sounding good for Acoustic door company
SEO sounding good for Acoustic door company
|Podium
We were approached recently by Norsound, an acoustic door seal company based in the North East following a dramatic drop in their website rankings. Their rankings had slipped and they... Read more...
Is it time you gave your marketing a competitive edge?
Is it time you gave your marketing a competitive edge?
|Podium
I arrived in work the other morning to find a box of chocolates on my desk. Posh orange liqueurs, they were, presumably from an admirer. My immediate response was, naturally,... Read more...