Brand5's Philosophy

Potential clients always want to know our philsophy - what shapes our strategies and beliefs. Here's our approach no matter if we're deadling with new or old websites:

Do one thing really well first.
When thinking about what an online business should look like the day it launches, make sure it does one thing really well (as opposed to more than one thing done not so well). That one thing should be the core functionality – the reason the site exists. If your idea is to make it easier for people to share photos, make sure it’s easy for your users to upload and share their photos. Resist the urge to do the next 10 features that will make it even better. If that one thing doesn’t work, it will be hard to get people to try the other 9.

SEO doesn't have to be rocket science.
We won't try to overwhelm you with technical knowledge that "you wouldn't understand".

Quality content + fundamentals = success
Sure, there are hundreds of factors that play into a search engine's algorithm for listing websites in search results. And search engines have never published their formulas verbatim. But what we do know is that quality content always wins out in the end. If your website has a sound content strategy and does all of the SEO fundamentals, then it will perform well in search.

You have to be nice to Google.
Success in the online world is tied in large part to Google. If you do something to make Google mad, you may never recover. Why take that risk? Regardless of what you think is fair, you need to play the game. And that's what we're good at doing.

A lot of marketing decisions and behavior comes down to resources.
So many companies are aware of marketing or performance-related things they could be doing to help make their website more profitable, but don't do them for one reason - they don't have the resources. There's just not enough time. We've been there. We understand this. Our job is to help you figure out how to do the Internet marketing necessary given your time and budget.

Facebook and Twitter are amazing, but they aren't for everyone.
Keeping in mind that marketing resources can be limited, why are you spending time marketing to users on Facebook or Twitter when you're getting zero return? Using social networks can be powerful, but only when it's the right fit and it's done correctly. If we can prove that your audience is listening via social media, we'll help you figure out how to cut through the noise and be heard.

There are no quick fixes. Period.
One of the biggest lies in the Internet Marketing industry is the promose of the quick fix. Sadly, no matter how convincing the argument, the quick fix doesn't exist. The reality is that Internet Marketing takes a comittment. Over time will you start to see a return.

What do the numbers say?
Can we really make important design, usability, or marketing decisions purely based on gut feelings? No way. Not enough companies are making decisions based on what thier numbers are telling them. We thoroughly examine whatever data - like analytics for example - is available to us first. And if you don't have any analytics in place, we make sure you get one up-and-running right away.