# Mogul > Mogul is where technology and strategy converge to create exceptional growth for your organisation. We cut through the noise with actionable insights and precisely targeted campaigns, leveraging the right platforms—from advanced SEO and automation to emerging AI—to achieve your objectives. We're not just marketers; we are your dedicated growth architects in a complex digital world. --- ## Pages - [A collaborative approach to digital transformation.](https://mogul.nz/work/a-collaborative-approach-to-digital-transformation/): A collaborative approach to digital transformation. Client: GREENSTUF INDUSTRY: Insulation Manufacturing PROJECT: Website Refresh CONTACT: Caroline Stephan, Digital Lead What... - [Elevating brand presence and engagement.](https://mogul.nz/work/elevating-brand-presence-and-engagement/): Elevating brand presence and engagement. Client: FIRST72 /EPOD INDUSTRY: Emergency Preparedness PROJECT: Brand Implementation & Website CONTACT: Harry McPhail, General... - [The evolution of Foodeast Haumako.](https://mogul.nz/work/the-brand-evolution-and-implementation-of-foodeast-haumako/): Brand evolution & implementation of Foodeast. Client: Foodeast Haumako INDUSTRY: Food Innovation Hub PROJECT: Brand Implementation & Website CONTACT: Mel... - [Wāhine-led reimagining of the Heretaunga Women's Centre.](https://mogul.nz/work/wahine-led-reimagining-of-the-heretaunga-womens-centre/): Wāhine-led reimagining of the Heretaunga Women's Centre Client: Heretaunga Women's Centre INDUSTRY: Charitable Organisation PROJECT: MARCOMMS Plan, Empathy Interviews &... - [Liquid Laundromats: A user-centred website redesign.](https://mogul.nz/work/liquid-laundromats-a-user-centred-website-redesign/): Liquid Laundromats: A user-centred website redesign Client: Liquid Laundromats INDUSTRY: Self-Service Laundry PROJECT: User Audit and Website Development CONTACT: Cath... - [Speed Optimisation](https://mogul.nz/speed-optimisation/): Speed Optimisation. The faster, the better Speed is Life. Speed isn't just a luxury - it's a must-have. Gone are... - [Technical and Marketing Support](https://mogul.nz/technical-marketing-support/): Technical & Marketing Support. keeping things on the boil Seamless operations & effective marketing. From security vulnerabilities and software updates... - [Web Development](https://mogul.nz/web-development/): Web Development. Why Mogul? The Mogul Advantage. With years of experience and a portfolio spanning various sectors including eCommerce, retail,... - [Web hosting](https://mogul.nz/web-hosting/): Web Hosting. Only the Best Specialised WordPress hosting services. As a proud WP Engine partner since 2016, we bring unmatched... - [Conversion Rate Optimisation](https://mogul.nz/conversion-rate-optimisation/): Conversion Rate Optimisation. Maximise Conversions Turn your website into a conversion powerhouse. Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) focuses on maximising the... - [WordPress Security](https://mogul.nz/wordpress-security/): WordPress Security. Is it yours? Your website's security is our top priority. At Mogul, we understand that your website is... - [Brand transformation for the Masonic.](https://mogul.nz/work/brand-transformation-for-napier-district-masonic-trust/): Client: Napier District Masonic Trust INDUSTRY: Eldercare PROJECT: Branding, Posioning and Website Development CONTACT: Vicki Lee, CEO What NDMT was... - [SpacePlan is the future of warehousing solutions.](https://mogul.nz/work/spaceplan-crafting-the-future-of-warehousing-solutions/): The future of warehousing solutions. Client: SpacePlan INDUSTRY: Warehousing Solutions PROJECT: Branding and Website Development CONTACT: Finn Steele, Storage Consultant... - [User-first approach for Food and Fibre CoVE.](https://mogul.nz/work/user-first-approach-for-food-and-fibre-cove/): Client: Food and Fibre CoVE INDUSTRY: Research & Education PROJECT: Branding and Website Development CONTACT: Michelle Jones, Marketing and Communications... - [AI Training](https://mogul.nz/ai-training/): AI Tools & Training. Get on the bus Join the AI Revolution. We're at the forefront of the AI revolution... - [API Integrations](https://mogul.nz/api-integrations/): API Integrations. What does it mean? Integrations allow machines to talk to each other. We all know the pain of... - [Customer Experience - UX audits and workshops](https://mogul.nz/cx-ux/): CX Workshops Transforming customer experiences through design thinking. Exceptional customer experiences are the cornerstone of digital success, and Design Thinking... - [Content marketing](https://mogul.nz/content-marketing/): Content Marketing. What actually works? Content is king. Content is the currency of engagement. We specialise in creating content marketing... - [Web Design](https://mogul.nz/web-design/): Web Design. Why should I care? Web design matters. Your website is often the first point of contact between your... - [RBP Workshop Funding](https://mogul.nz/rbp-workshop-funding/): RBP Workshop Funding. Regional Business Partners (RBP) We are an established RBP provider. We believe every business should have access... - [WooCommerce](https://mogul.nz/woocommerce/): Woo-Commerce. End-to-end setup eCommerce with confidence. Get a fully functional, customised WooCommerce store without the technical headaches. Mogul's expert team... - [Google Analytics & GA4 Tracking](https://mogul.nz/ga4-tracking/): Google Analytics Tracking. Advanced Analytics Solutions Future-proof your analytics with Google Analytics 4 (GA4). Understanding your audience and their behaviour... - [Email Marketing](https://mogul.nz/email-marketing/): Email Marketing. Still the killer marketing app Reach your audience where it matters most: their inbox. Turn your email marketing... - [Google Advertising](https://mogul.nz/google-ads/): Google Advertising. Explore Pay-per-click Ads We are Certified Google Partners. As a certified Google Partner, Mogul brings significant expertise to... - [Search Engine Optimisation](https://mogul.nz/seo/): Search Engine Optimisation. Get found Be seen where it matters most. Dominate search results and capture more clicks by securing... - [Support and Maintenance](https://mogul.nz/ongoing-support-maintenance/): Support & Maintenance. Stay ahead of potential threats Protect your website with a Mogul support & maintenance plan. Websites are... - [Digital strategy](https://mogul.nz/digital-strategy/): Digital Strategy. Tailored Support for Your Business Since 2010 we have been providing online marketing strategy and consultation services. One... - [Skills](https://mogul.nz/skills/): Skills. Our Core Skillset Key areas of work. We offer a wide range of services and tailor them to our... - [Consulting](https://mogul.nz/consulting/): Digital Consulting. Tailored Consulting For your business Experienced advice is a vital element in business success. We provide tailored consulting... - [WordPress](https://mogul.nz/wordpress/): WordPress. WE are WordPress experts We have been using WordPress since 2008. So we're comfortable saying we are advanced WordPress... - [A family of websites for Tumu Group.](https://mogul.nz/work/a-family-of-websites-for-tumu-group/): Client: TUMU Group INDUSTRY: VARIOUS PROJECT: WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT CONTACT: Trish Scott, Marketing and Communications Manager What was Tumu Group looking... - [Work](https://mogul.nz/work/): Work. Success Stories Introducing our most recent case studies. We help our clients transform their businesses and achieve their goals... - [Contact](https://mogul.nz/contact/): Get in touch. We’d love to hear from you. Phone: +64 6 877 7478 PO Box 8879, Havelock North 4157... - [You](https://mogul.nz/you-2/): You. WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Most of our clients aren't just looking for a website. Yes, they usually do... - [Us](https://mogul.nz/us/): Us. What sets us apart Digital is our core strength. We've been operating in digital since 2007, which means after... - [Home](https://mogul.nz/): WHY MOGUL? Is Mogul the right agency for you? If these attributes are important to you, like they are to... --- ## Posts - [The AI Wave is Here. Is Your Digital Strategy Built to Surf, or Sink?](https://mogul.nz/blog/the-ai-wave-is-here-is-your-digital-strategy-built-to-surf-or-sink/): Are you prepared for the AI revolution, or is your business at risk of being anchored to yesterday's digital solutions?... - [Forget "How much do you charge for a website?" - Ask the Better Question!](https://mogul.nz/blog/forget-how-much-do-you-charge-for-a-website-ask-the-better-question/): "How much do you charge for a website? " After more than 20 years in this game, I’ve heard that... - [The Digital Shift: How AI Is Changing the Rules of Digital Marketing (and What Smart Agencies Are Doing About It)](https://mogul.nz/blog/the-digital-shift-how-ai-is-changing-the-rules-of-digital-marketing-and-what-smart-agencies-are-doing-about-it/): The rules of digital marketing are changing faster than many businesses can keep up with. Artificial Intelligence (AI) isn't just... - [The "Why" Before the "How": Turning Digital Projects into Business Assets](https://mogul.nz/blog/the-why-before-the-how-turning-digital-projects-into-business-assets/): In over 15 years of digital project management and development, I've witnessed countless projects that were technically brilliant yet commercially... - [Beyond the Brochure: 5 WordPress Security Essentials Your Business Cannot Afford to Ignore](https://mogul.nz/blog/beyond-the-brochure-5-wordpress-security-essentials-your-business-cannot-afford-to-ignore/): Your WordPress website isn't just a digital brochure anymore. It's your 24/7 salesperson, your main marketing channel, and often the... - [Fresh new look for Killarney Capital](https://mogul.nz/blog/fresh-new-look-for-killarney-capital/): There is a lot that sets Killarney apart from its competitors, but they are best known for being good people... - [What Does the Future Hold for Marketing Automation?](https://mogul.nz/blog/what-does-the-future-hold-for-marketing-automation/): As marketing evolves at an unprecedented pace, one crucial question emerges: what lies ahead for marketing automation? The answer is... - [Understanding SEO for New Zealand Businesses](https://mogul.nz/blog/understanding-seo-for-new-zealand-businesses/): Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the process of optimising your online content so that a search engine likes to show... - [Windborne Charters: RBP coaching engagement](https://mogul.nz/blog/windborne-charters-rbp-coaching-engagement/): Client: Windborne Yacht Charters Industry: Luxury yacht charter services Objective: Enhance website functionality, increase traffic and bookings, establish a strong... - [The Rise of AI in Digital Marketing: What it Means for NZ Businesses](https://mogul.nz/blog/the-rise-of-ai-in-digital-marketing-what-it-means-for-nz-businesses/): This year Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a game-changer. For this reason, 2023 has been the most interesting year... - [Email Deliverability Changes Coming in February 2024](https://mogul.nz/blog/email-deliverability-changes-coming-in-february-2024/): There are some big changes coming to email marketing in 2024. In October 2023, Google and Yahoo announced updates to... - [Marketing Automation in 2023: Automation with a human touch](https://mogul.nz/blog/marketing-automation-in-2023-automation-with-a-human-touch/): Personalised customer experiences and efficient marketing processes are two keys to business success. Marketing automation tools have emerged in the... - [Designing for Success: Key Strategies for Optimal Website User Experience](https://mogul.nz/blog/designing-for-success-key-strategies-for-optimal-website-user-experience/): Your Website's First Impression: A 3-Second Audition for Your Business Your website is your hardest-working salesperson. It works 24/7, never... - [Goodbye 2022. Hello 2023!](https://mogul.nz/blog/goodbye-2022-hello-2023/): We hope 2022 went well and we are sure you are looking forward to a better one in 2023! Read... - [Halliday + Baillie: Exporting high-end architectural hardware](https://mogul.nz/blog/halliday-and-baillie/): Halliday + Baillie is a successful New Zealand business that designs, manufactures, and exports high-end architectural hardware. They work both... - [FILTEC: Making Water Safer](https://mogul.nz/blog/filtec-making-water-safer/): FILTEC is a leading Australasian engineering solution provider for water and wastewater treatment. FILTEC's mission is "Making Water Safer". Their... - [A new site for Creo, The Playground Builders](https://mogul.nz/blog/creo/): We recently launched a new website for Creo, New Zealand's leading playground design company. https://creospace. co. nz "We were looking... - [Vanguard Group - engineered safety solutions](https://mogul.nz/blog/vanguard-group-engineered-safety-solutions/): Based in Lower Hutt, Vanguard Group (https://www. vanguardgroup. co. nz/) provides safety products, traffic management solutions, and engineered safety solutions... - [A campaign to promote sustainable timber](https://mogul.nz/blog/a-campaign-to-promote-sustainable-timber/): This year we have been working on a campaign to promote sustainable timber. Deforestation is extremely damaging for the environment... - [New website for ABC Software](https://mogul.nz/blog/new-website-for-abc-software/): ABC Software is a local Hawke's Bay success story. Started by trailblazing ex-Wattie's software developer Sharon Chapman, ABC is a... - [Two new websites for Numat](https://mogul.nz/blog/21411/): We recently launched two new websites for Numat, New Zealand's leading provider of recreational and agricultural surfacing. https://www. numat. co.... - [Playcentre Aotearoa](https://mogul.nz/blog/playcentre-aotearoa/): The last couple of years have been challenging for just about everyone in the education sector, and early childhood educators... - [New website for Dexibit](https://mogul.nz/blog/new-website-for-dexibit/): Dexibit is a New Zealand software company that provides big data analytics software to many of the world's most popular... - [New website for Urban Connection](https://mogul.nz/blog/new-website-for-urban-connection/): Urban Connection is an engineering consultancy with team of engineers across New Zealand who work closely with private sector clients,... - [OVĀVO: Freeze dried avocado powder](https://mogul.nz/blog/ovavo-freeze-dried-avocado-powder/): Valic is the owner of King Avocado, one of New Zealand’s largest avocado orchards, supplying supermarkets and food service customers... - [Harland Construction website](https://mogul.nz/blog/harland-construction-website/): Mathew Harland owns a construction business in Havelock North. This year he built an awesome deck at our house. So... - [Webinar - August 31: How to create wealth through effective digital marketing strategies](https://mogul.nz/blog/webinar-august-31-how-to-create-wealth-through-effective-digital-business-strategies/): Here's a great event we're running on August 31. It's a virtual webinar put on by Findex and Mogul:... - [The case for a great mobile website](https://mogul.nz/blog/the-case-for-a-great-mobile-website/): It's 2021 and by now you are most likely aware of the fact the mobile has become very important for... - [Free Digital Boost workshop in Napier May 31](https://mogul.nz/blog/free-digital-boost-workshop-in-napier-may-31/): My newest job title is... Digital Business Ambassador for Hawke's Bay! As part of MBIE's Digital Boost programme, I'm holding... - [Want more organic traffic? Try our DIY SEO coaching](https://mogul.nz/blog/want-more-organic-traffic-you-may-be-interested-in-our-do-it-yourself-seo-coaching-services/): Searching Engine Optimizing SEO Browsing Concept In 2018, we had a simple idea: why not help our clients improve their... - [Readability 101](https://mogul.nz/blog/readability-101/): An often-overlooked component of developing websites is creating the content for them. It seems easy enough on the surface: To... - [5 tips for hardening and protecting your website](https://mogul.nz/blog/5-tips-for-hardening-and-protecting-your-website/): We've all heard the stories about websites being attacked, hacked, breached and otherwise messed up. Having cleaned up and rebuilt... - [How can I use conversion optimisation to grow my business?](https://mogul.nz/blog/how-can-i-use-conversion-optimisation-to-grow-my-business/): I once worked for a software company that had a photo of the founder on the app, asking for donations.... - [Is it time for a content clean?](https://mogul.nz/blog/is-it-time-for-a-content-clean/): Keeping your website's content up-to-date and fresh can often fall in the too-hard basket. I get it, you have more... - [eCommerce close-up series – is WooCommerce right for my business?](https://mogul.nz/blog/ecommerce-close-up-series-is-woocommerce-right-for-my-business/): There’s a bewildering array of options available for businesses wanting to sell products online. In this series we will take... - [Simplifying the UX (User Experience) design for website planning](https://mogul.nz/blog/simplifying-ux-user-experience-planning/): I have been known to clap my hands with joy when UX design comes up in conversation - not because... - [Stop spying on me: the end of the road for cross-site tracking cookies](https://mogul.nz/blog/stop-spying-on-me-the-end-is-nigh-for-cross-site-tracking-cookies/): You might have seen a few stories in the news lately about tracking cookies. If you haven’t been reading the... - [5 Reasons It's Time For a New Website](https://mogul.nz/blog/5-reasons-its-time-for-a-new-website/): Websites take time, money and the right people. In the past just having a website was good enough regardless of... - [Why grading tools aren't everything for your website](https://mogul.nz/blog/why-grading-tools-arent-everything-for-your-website/): Website grading tools have come a long way over recent years. The days of just measuring 'page speed' are long... - [Rule Number One: Listen to your customers](https://mogul.nz/blog/rule-number-one-listen-to-your-customers/): It sounds so obvious, but most of us are really bad at it - talking (and listening) to our customers.... - [The 5 things that every successful business gets right](https://mogul.nz/blog/the-5-things-that-every-successful-business-gets-right/): As a digital marketing company we come into contact with all sorts of different businesses. Some are very successful, some... - [Shutting the door on plugin vulnerabilities](https://mogul.nz/blog/shutting-the-door-on-plugin-vulnerabilities/): Wordfence reports up to 90,000 attacks on WordPress sites every minute. That is clearly a problem. Both for me, as... - [Website Vulnerability Report - January 2021](https://mogul.nz/blog/website-vulnerability-report-january-2021/): Plugins are great and provide us with ways to add all kinds of functionality to our WordPress built websites. But... - [eCommerce close-up series - is Shopify right for my business?](https://mogul.nz/blog/ecommerce-close-up-series-is-shopify-right-for-my-business/): There's a bewildering array of options available for businesses wanting to sell products online. In this series we will take... - [Advanced search engine options for WordPress](https://mogul.nz/blog/advanced-search-engine-options-for-wordpress/): I've recently been working on the search engine for a large, information-dense WordPress site. The Hawke's Bay Knowledge Bank has... - [Reflection on the craziest year and finally discovering work/life balance](https://mogul.nz/blog/reflection-on-the-craziest-year-and-finally-discovering-work-life-balance/): Let's face it, it's been a pretty sh*t year and one most of us will be pleased to see the... - [Improving Your Online Store](https://mogul.nz/blog/improving-your-online-store/): The latest data from NZ Post's eCommerce Spotlight suggests that the recent increase in online shopping may mark a long-term... - [Power searching with Google](https://mogul.nz/blog/power-searching-with-google/): The ability to find and understand information really is one of the most valuable work and life skills you can... - [A simple website audit for digital marketing](https://mogul.nz/blog/a-simple-website-audit-for-digital-marketing/): Your website is almost always the most important part of your digital marketing mix. It’s the only bit of digital... - [Correctly sizing images for your website](https://mogul.nz/blog/correctly-sizing-images-for-your-website/): Sizing images for your website can be a painful and complicated task. We know how tricky it can be so... - [Mogul Partners in Action](https://mogul.nz/blog/mogul-partners-in-action/): We recently launched our new Mogul Partner offering and we've had a remarkable response so far! The key feedback we... - [How-to: WordPress + jQuery DataTables](https://mogul.nz/blog/how-to-wordpress-jquery-datatables/): Sometimes you just need a big list of data. It's not the most glamorous kind of web development, but we're... - [Automatic Updates: Too Good To Be True?](https://mogul.nz/blog/automatic-updates-too-good-to-be-true/): Plugin vulnerabilities represent 55. 9% of the known entry points for website attacks. It is an unfortunate reality: the most... - [How to prioritise digital marketing tasks](https://mogul.nz/blog/how-to-prioritise-digital-marketing-tasks/): First of all, let’s remind ourselves what marketing actually means: Marketing is about identifying and meeting human and social needs.... - [How to create a content marketing plan](https://mogul.nz/blog/how-to-create-a-content-marketing-plan/): Any brand can increase brand awareness and sales by the odd post here and there but those who are really... - [How to select images for your website](https://mogul.nz/blog/how-to-select-images-for-your-website/): You don't get long to make an impression on the web these days. Website visitors can be harsh critics. Quick... - [Google Ads sanity checklist](https://mogul.nz/blog/google-ads-sanity-checklist/): Google Ads can be a really great way to get your products and services in front of a lot of... - [What's the best eCommerce solution for your business?](https://mogul.nz/blog/whats-the-best-ecommerce-solution-for-your-business/): Even before the improbable series of calamities we know as 2020, the growth figures for eCommerce were staggering. From an... - [A change for the better](https://mogul.nz/blog/a-change-for-the-better/): For the last 13 years, we have passionately created custom WordPress themes for our clients, but COVID gave us an... - [Staying home and thriving](https://mogul.nz/blog/staying-home-and-thriving/): We are shifting the way we work at Mogul at the moment. Dreaming bigger, working smarter and creating our own... - [Mentoring and Internships](https://mogul.nz/blog/mentoring-and-internships/): Recently, Mogul had the pleasure of welcoming an intern aka Greg to the office. A BCS student at the Eastern... - [What is the data NOT telling us?](https://mogul.nz/blog/what-is-the-data-not-telling-us/): Data is everywhere these days. We are constantly assaulted with it, in just about every sphere of our lives. At... - [Workshop: add value to your social media channels](https://mogul.nz/blog/adding-value-to-your-social-media-posts/): In 2020, everyone is on social media. Your friends, your favourite restaurant, your grandma (she doesn’t really know what she’s... - [What's in a domain name?](https://mogul.nz/blog/whats-in-a-domain-name/): Choosing the right domain name can be tough. Should you get a . nz or a . com? What about... - [The Mogul office is closed. We are looking for new premises.](https://mogul.nz/blog/the-mogul-office-is-closed-we-are-looking-for-new-premises/): We have closed the Mogul office at 10 Cooper Street, Havelock North. It was a great space but during the... - [How to come out of lockdown stronger - Team session](https://mogul.nz/blog/how-to-come-out-of-lockdown-stronger-team-session/): Like most businesses in the world, we've taken a hit with COVID. We have had clients cancel, postpone, and unfortunately,... - [Google and its box of tools](https://mogul.nz/blog/google-and-its-box-of-tools/): Chances are you have ‘Googled’ something before. There you go, the title of Captain Obvious goes to yours truly and... - [Top 10 things when moving back to the office after lockdown](https://mogul.nz/blog/top-10-things-when-moving-back-to-office-after-lockdown/): Now that we've come out the other side of lockdown, here are some tips to make the transition to the... - [How to make KPIs work for you](https://mogul.nz/blog/how-to-make-kpis-work-for-you/): There’s an old saying in management: If you can't measure it, you can't manage it. Good instincts are important in... - [How to create an effective email newsletter](https://mogul.nz/blog/how-to-create-an-effective-email-newsletter/): In these changing times, communication with our customers and clients is so important. As we move in-between alert levels we... - [New free virtual workshops focusing on Marketing and E-commerce](https://mogul.nz/blog/new-free-virtual-workshops-focusing-on-marketing-and-e-commerce/): UPDATE: First workshops are already full. New workshops are on May 13 and May 15. Here's some more great news... - [Take the bull by the horns now to prosper in a post-Covid economy: SME 1:1 Support Services](https://mogul.nz/blog/sme-11-support-services-take-the-bull-by-the-horns-now-to-prosper-in-a-post-covid-economy/): We've created an exciting new offering for businesses: 'Take the bull by the horns now". This is a tailored advisory... - [Why is no-one in America visiting my website?](https://mogul.nz/blog/why-is-no-one-in-america-visiting-my-website/): Concentrate on what's important: your customers and why they buy from you A client contacted me last week asking why... - [How to add a Covid-19 banner to your website](https://mogul.nz/blog/how-to-add-a-covid-19-banner-to-your-website/): Covid-19 has drastically changed how many of us do business, and many of our clients have needed to communicate how... - [So You Wanna Pick a WordPress Plugin?](https://mogul.nz/blog/so-you-wanna-pick-a-wordpress-plugin/): Adding functionality to your WordPress website can be a daunting task. Whether you want a contact form, a security scanner,... - [COVID-19: Mogul office open at Alert Level 2](https://mogul.nz/blog/covid-19-mogul-office/): Updated: 14 May 2020 The Mogul office is open in accordance with COVID-19 restrictions from the New Zealand government to... - [How to create a colour palette](https://mogul.nz/blog/how-to-create-a-colour-palette/): Before we dive deep into the “how-to” section of this blog there are a few things we need to really... - [My web project has gone pear-shaped, why?](https://mogul.nz/blog/my-project-has-gone-pear-shaped-why/): Not an unusual thing to hear in our game. And it’s far from surprising when you read the statistics on... - [The power of human emotion in your brand](https://mogul.nz/blog/the-power-of-human-emotion-in-your-brand/): As a designer I often find myself judging brands by their visual identity, but experiencing a brand isn’t just what... - [Lift off! What to consider when launching a website](https://mogul.nz/blog/lift-off-what-to-consider-when-launching-a-website/): 3... 2... 1... Launching a website is an exciting but sometimes stressful time. Months of hard work are finally coming... - [The 11 Commandments of Website Pop-Ups](https://mogul.nz/blog/the-11-commandments-of-website-pop-ups/): Using pop-ups on your website is a great idea, isn’t it? The homepage of your website, specifically the area above... - [Tips for launching a startup](https://mogul.nz/blog/tips-for-launching-a-startup/): This is a quick list of tips for anyone who is thinking about launching a startup business. (A quick definition:... - [Tips for launching a new product or service](https://mogul.nz/blog/tips-for-launching-a-new-product-or-service/): This article is a quick checklist of digital marketing steps for established businesses who are thinking about launching new products... - [What's new in Google snippets?](https://mogul.nz/blog/nosnippet-google-snippets/): Nosnippet – not just what I said to my wife’s request for a vasectomy. When your webpage is listed in... - [Lean UX: Less effort, greater results](https://mogul.nz/blog/what-is-lean-ux/): What is all the buzz about? A Lean UX approach can be considered part of the Agile methodology as it... - [Cross-device design: designing for the ever-changing device size](https://mogul.nz/blog/multiple-device-design/): When using an app or a website as a customer, we want to feel like the experience was designed specifically... - [When should I put a contact form on my website?](https://mogul.nz/blog/when-should-i-put-a-contact-form-on-my-website/): One of the most important functions of a website is to make it easy for the public to get in... - [Ask someone. Ask a few people.](https://mogul.nz/blog/ask-someone-ask-a-few-people/): This article is the next in a series about business planning. It sounds boring. It is not. It features killer... - [Are you optimised for voice search?](https://mogul.nz/blog/voice-search-optimisation/): Voice search may seem like it’s not much of “a thing” yet but is fast becoming one of the more... - [Tasks! 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You’ve probably heard of it (and are quite possibly sick... --- # # Detailed Content ## Pages - Published: 2025-04-17 - Modified: 2025-06-27 - URL: https://mogul.nz/work/a-collaborative-approach-to-digital-transformation/ A collaborative approach to digital transformation. Client: GREENSTUF INDUSTRY: Insulation Manufacturing PROJECT: Website Refresh CONTACT: Caroline Stephan, Digital Lead What GreenStuf was looking for. GreenStuf, a leading provider of insulation solutions, sought to refresh their online presence. The result was a successful website refresh that significantly improved GreenStuf's online presence, providing a modern, user-friendly platform that effectively showcases their brand and products. This project highlights the importance of strategic platform selection, collaborative workflows, and a careful and considered approach to design implementation in achieving GreenStuf's digital transformation goals. Visit the GreenStuf website Project Collaboration Working out how to work together. Our close collaboration with GreenStuf's team ensured a seamless transition from their detailed Figma concepts to a fully functional website. This partnership, combined with a clear understanding of their brand objectives, was crucial for the project's success. GreenStuf's existing website used the Shopify platform which wasn't an optimal solution for a non-ecommerce website, potentially limiting flexibility and performance, but they were open to discussing alternatives. They had already invested in creating detailed wireframes and design concepts in Figma, and wanted a partner to bring these to life. A structured process was required ensuring accuracy and completeness, including technical planning sessions to align on implementation details and the use of Bugherd for efficient feedback and issue tracking. Key Challenges. Platform Suitability: Mogul recommended and implemented a migration from Shopify to WordPress to provide greater flexibility and better suit GreenStuf's non-e-commerce needs. Translating Figma to Responsive: Translating complex Figma designs, with their... --- - Published: 2025-04-16 - Modified: 2025-06-27 - URL: https://mogul.nz/work/elevating-brand-presence-and-engagement/ Elevating brand presence and engagement. Client: FIRST72 /EPOD INDUSTRY: Emergency Preparedness PROJECT: Brand Implementation & Website CONTACT: Harry McPhail, General Manager What FIRST 72 was looking for. First72 emerged as a complete emergency preparedness solution after Cyclone Gabrielle to help communities across New Zealand prepare and stay ready for emergencies and disasters. Their EPODs were already in market, but they saw an opportunity to also provide communities with equipment, training and support The project goals were to boost customer engagement and improve brand perception of EPODs and the newly formed FIRST72 to become a trusted name in emergency preparedness. Visit the FIRST72 website Project Collaboration Seamless integration of agencies. The collaboration with Blackdog Design was instrumental in delivering a successful project for FIRST72. There was a seamless integration of creative design expertise with Mogul's digital development and strategic implementation. Design concepts were not simply handed off for execution, but rather developed and refined through close communication and shared understanding of FIRST72's brand and objectives. The synergy between Black Dog Design's aesthetic vision and Mogul's technical capabilities appears was a key ingredient in elevating the look and feel of the website and significantly boosting customer engagement and brand perception for FIRST72. Mogul's approach to partnering with FIRST72 focused on a design-centric and collaborative methodology, resulting in the following solutions: Key Challenges. Strong Visual Identity: FIRST72 recognised the importance of a visually appealing and elevated overall look and feel to be perceived as a trusted and professional organisation. Effective Market Positioning: They... --- - Published: 2025-01-28 - Modified: 2025-06-27 - URL: https://mogul.nz/work/the-brand-evolution-and-implementation-of-foodeast-haumako/ Brand evolution & implementation of Foodeast. Client: Foodeast Haumako INDUSTRY: Food Innovation Hub PROJECT: Brand Implementation & Website CONTACT: Mel Lewis, Services Manager What Foodeast Haumako was looking for. Foodeast Haumako wanted to create a fit-for-purpose website that accurately reflected its role as an innovation and collaboration hub - so they went to market to find the best partners. The organisation has evolved since its concept phase and the current brand no longer accurately represented the organisation's purpose, services, and the community that it serves. They chose Mogul and Blackdog Design to support them in the next stage of their brand evolution. Visit the New Foodeast Haumako website Project Collaboration How great collabs work. We put Foodeast at the heart of the collaboration to deliver the best solutions and outcomes for them. Mogul & Blackdog have been working together for over 10 years and we fit like a glove. Foodeast Haumako, our client with a noble mission - to Feed the Future of Aotearoa. Blackdog is a brand specialist who leads the brand evolution and design development. Mogul contributes to brand and design ideas for the website then implements them into a purpose-built online platform. Key Challenges. Evolving Identity: Foodeast was still defining its brand and journey, making it crucial to create a flexible website that can adapt to changing needs. Brand Understanding: There is a need to clarify the meaning and context of the existing logo and create a cohesive style for communication. Brand Communication: The website must clearly... --- - Published: 2025-01-20 - Modified: 2025-01-28 - URL: https://mogul.nz/work/wahine-led-reimagining-of-the-heretaunga-womens-centre/ Wāhine-led reimagining of the Heretaunga Women's Centre Client: Heretaunga Women's Centre INDUSTRY: Charitable Organisation PROJECT: MARCOMMS Plan, Empathy Interviews & WEbsite Reimagining CONTACT: Deidré Venter, Centre Manager What the HWC was looking for. Part of the new strategic plan for the HWC was to raise its profile and to move into new areas such as business mentorship. In order to do that, the HWC needed a robust marketing and comms plan. We knew we needed to work on a new way of talking about the HWC that connected and engaged with all women. We knew the best place to start was to talk to the wāhine who use and love the centre. Visit the New HWC website Bottom-Up Approach Why empathy interviews work. We wanted to avoid the traditional external consulting assignment that wouldn’t go far enough in meeting the needs of the Heretaunga Women’s Centre. To properly understand the experiences of the HWC staff, volunteers and community, there was no better place to start than talking to them. Then we could craft an authentic story, brand and website that better reflects who they are, and why they exist. Short Term Outcomes The team understands the project, actions, roles, responsibilities and outcomes The team gains clarity and conviction about the project We have great raw material for the brand reset and website content with clear themes and patterns. Long Term Outcomes A visual representation of HWC as a vibrant, welcoming community of women and an online presence that truly reflects... --- - Published: 2024-09-30 - Modified: 2025-06-27 - URL: https://mogul.nz/work/liquid-laundromats-a-user-centred-website-redesign/ Liquid Laundromats: A user-centred website redesign Client: Liquid Laundromats INDUSTRY: Self-Service Laundry PROJECT: User Audit and Website Development CONTACT: Cath Stewart, Project Co-Ordinator What Liquid Laundromats was looking for. Proudly New Zealand owned and operated, Liquid Laundromats have over 120 sites nationwide in New Zealand and are experiencing rapid growth in the Australian market. Liquid Laundromats approached Mogul in 2023 looking for a trusted partner who did great work with similar clients and had a solid reputation in the market. We were a great fit and Cath Stewart commented "From the very beginning, it felt like a genuine partnership. It wasn't just about Mogul wanting our business; they genuinely cared about what was best for us. They were a valuable sounding board, always available to discuss our concerns and offer helpful advice. " Visit the New NZ Liquid Laundromats website Two-Pronged Approach Data-informed decision making. It's very easy to dive straight into a website rebuild without taking some time to understand what is currently working - and what is not. By starting with the user audit, we identified some key challenges and some smarter solutions for the rebuild. The new website has been met with overwhelmingly positive feedback from staff, business partners, and customers. The company is confident that the new website will support its continued rapid growth, particularly as it expands into Australia. They are particularly pleased with the scalable design that enables seamless integration of new locations and features as the business grows. User Audit 90% of traffic... --- - Published: 2024-08-15 - Modified: 2024-08-19 - URL: https://mogul.nz/speed-optimisation/ Speed Optimisation. The faster, the better Speed is Life. Speed isn't just a luxury - it's a must-have. Gone are the days when three seconds was an acceptable load time. In 2024: 1 Second: The new benchmark for mobile page load times 47% of users: Expect a page to load in under 2 seconds 70% of consumers: Say page speed impacts their willingness to buy from an online retailer 16% decrease: In customer satisfaction for every 1 second delay in page load time The consequences of a slow website are dire: Lost Traffic. Up to 60% of visitors will abandon a site that takes more than 3 seconds to load. Reduced Conversions. A 1-second delay can result in a 7% reduction in conversions. Lower SEO Rankings. Google's Core Web Vitals now heavily influence search rankings. Damaged Brand Perception. Slow sites are often perceived as unprofessional or untrustworthy. Increased Bounce Rates. Slow-loading pages lead to higher bounce rates, affecting overall site performance. Competitors Taking Your Marketshare. If your competitors are outperforming you in speed, you're going to see a reduction in enquires and sales. Speed Things Up. Every millisecond counts. Don't let a slow website hold your business back. We have a proven track record with years of experience in accelerating websites across different industries We are across the latest speed optimisation techniques We consider your entire digital ecosystem, not just surface-level, short-term fixes We recommend clear metrics and reporting to demonstrate improvement Our optimisations aligned with current SEO best practices... --- - Published: 2024-07-31 - Modified: 2024-08-19 - URL: https://mogul.nz/technical-marketing-support/ Technical & Marketing Support. keeping things on the boil Seamless operations & effective marketing. From security vulnerabilities and software updates to server management and email deliverability, the complexity of running an effective digital business can be overwhelming. Additionally, achieving marketing goals requires a strategic approach, involving campaign planning, content creation, SEO, and more. Without reliable technical and marketing support, businesses risk downtime, security breaches, lost revenue, and ineffective marketing campaigns. Technical Support. Website maintenance and updates Hosting and server management Contact form troubleshooting Email deliverability (DMARC, SPF, DKIM) DNS management Caching and speed optimisation Google maps integration Marketing & Content. Campaign planning and execution Content development and creation Email marketing campaigns CRM integration (Hubspot and others) Business Support. Research and recommendations on procurement of third-party systems and tools Project management support to ensure smooth execution of complex projects AI-driven insights for enhanced decision-making and customer targeting Strategic consulting to align digital marketing with overall business goals Training and workshops to upskill client teams in digital marketing best practices We've got your back. Expertise: Our team comprises seasoned professionals with extensive knowledge in technical and marketing support. Customised Solutions: We tailor our services to meet the specific needs of your business. Proactive Approach: We anticipate issues before they arise, ensuring smooth operations. Comprehensive Services: From website maintenance to campaign execution, we cover all aspects of technical and marketing support. Proven Results: Our clients experience tangible improvements in website performance, security, and marketing effectiveness. Hungry for growth or change? We'd love to... --- - Published: 2024-07-04 - Modified: 2024-08-19 - URL: https://mogul.nz/web-development/ Web Development. Why Mogul? The Mogul Advantage. With years of experience and a portfolio spanning various sectors including eCommerce, retail, manufacturing, professional services, education, and government, Mogul has a proven track record of delivering successful web development projects. Tailored Solutions: Every project is custom-designed to meet your unique business objectives. Technical Innovation: We leverage cutting-edge technologies to future-proof your digital presence. Scalable Architecture: Our solutions grow with your business, ensuring long-term value. User-First Approach: We prioritise exceptional user experiences that drive engagement and conversions. Comprehensive Support: Our commitment extends beyond launch with robust support and maintenance plans. Our Skillset We Are Specialists. At Mogul, we don't just build websites; we craft digital ecosystems tailored to your business needs. Our advanced web development services include: Front-End Development. UX/UI design and prototyping for intuitive and engaging user interfaces. Responsive and mobile-first design for seamless experiences across all devices. In-browser design and build for real-time development and refinement. Cross-browser compatibility to ensure consistent performance across all major browsers. Performance optimisation to enhance load speeds and improve user experience. WordPress Development. Custom WordPress themes and plugins tailored to your brand and functionality requirements. Complex site architectures and multisite networks ensuring scalability and ease of management. Data migration and automated content loading for smooth transitions with zero downtime. Security and performance optimisation to keep your site fast and secure. API integrations that seamlessly connect your site with other platforms and services. eCommerce Solutions. WooCommerce experts in implementation and customisation. Secure payment gateway integrations to ensure... --- - Published: 2024-06-30 - Modified: 2024-08-19 - URL: https://mogul.nz/web-hosting/ Web Hosting. Only the Best Specialised WordPress hosting services. As a proud WP Engine partner since 2016, we bring unmatched expertise and reliability to your web hosting needs. At Mogul, we understand that your website is a critical component of your business. Our partnership with WP Engine allows us to offer the best-in-class hosting solutions tailored specifically for WordPress websites. Whether you’re a small business or a large enterprise, our hosting services provide the reliability, security, and performance you need to succeed online. Why Mogul? Choose Mogul for your web hosting. Experience the Mogul difference with our specialised WordPress hosting services. Let us handle the technical details while you focus on growing your business. Unmatched Reliability. With WP Engine’s robust infrastructure and our expert management, enjoy unparalleled uptime and reliability. Enhanced Security. Comprehensive security features protect your site and data from threats. Superior Performance. Optimised hosting ensures your site is fast and responsive, improving user experience and SEO. Scalability. Easily scale resources to accommodate growth and traffic surges. Responsive Support. Fast, personalised support and strategy from our dedicated account managers. Peace of Mind. Rest easy, knowing your site is hosted on one of the best platforms with expert support. Why WP Engine? Why we choose WP Engine. WP-Engine stands out as a premium solution among the countless hosting options available today. Here's why we believe WP Engine is the ideal hosting platform for you, to ensure that your website not only performs at its peak but also remains secure, scalable,... --- - Published: 2024-06-30 - Modified: 2024-08-19 - URL: https://mogul.nz/conversion-rate-optimisation/ Conversion Rate Optimisation. Maximise Conversions Turn your website into a conversion powerhouse. Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) focuses on maximising the effectiveness of your website's interactive elements. This includes WooCommerce online storefronts, HubSpot lead generation forms, email newsletter signups, donation pages etcWe understand that every one of these interactions on your website is an opportunity. Our tailored CRO strategies are designed to unlock your website's full potential, turning visitors into loyal customers and advocates. With a focus on WordPress and WooCommerce, we leverage our expertise to deliver measurable results that align with your business goals: Increased Revenue. Higher conversion rates directly translate to more sales and leads. Improved User Satisfaction. A better user experience leads to happier, more loyal customers. Data-Driven Decisions. Make informed improvements based on concrete data rather than guesswork. Client-Centric Focus. Collaborative partnership focus on your customers with transparent communication. Reduced Customer Acquisition Costs. By optimising your existing traffic, you can acquire more customers without increasing your marketing spend. Enhanced Brand Perception. A smooth and enjoyable user experience can strengthen your brand image and foster customer loyalty. Why Mogul? Our optimisation approach. We employ a data-driven, user-centric strategy to continuously improve your website's performance and conversion rates. Comprehensive CRO Audits. In-depth Website Analysis: We conduct thorough audits to identify bottlenecks and opportunities. Heatmaps and User Recordings: Visualise user interactions to pinpoint areas for improvement. A/B Testing & Multivariate Testing. Data-driven Testing: Implement controlled experiments to determine the most effective design variations. Real-time Insights: Utilise advanced custom GA4 analytics... --- - Published: 2024-06-30 - Modified: 2024-08-19 - URL: https://mogul.nz/wordpress-security/ WordPress Security. Is it yours? Your website's security is our top priority. At Mogul, we understand that your website is a critical asset to your business. Ensuring its security is paramount. With our extensive experience in WordPress security, we utilise industry-leading tools like WordFence, Cloudflare, WP-Engine, and Pentest Tools to provide comprehensive security monitoring, optimisation, and emergency response services. Why Mogul? Why Choose Mogul? Secure your digital presence with Mogul’s expert WordPress security services. We provide tailored security solutions that meet the unique needs of your business, ensuring maximum protection and minimal downtime. Experienced Team. Our team of security experts brings years of experience in safeguarding WordPress websites. We stay ahead of the latest security trends and threats, ensuring your site remains protected. Comprehensive Protection. By integrating multiple layers of security tools and practices, we offer a holistic approach to website security. From real-time monitoring to emergency response, we've got you covered. Peace of Mind. With Mogul handling your website’s security, you can focus on growing your business. Our proactive measures and swift response strategies ensure that your site remains secure and your data protected. Why Mogul? Our security approach. Secure your digital presence with Mogul’s expert WordPress security services. We provide tailored security solutions that meet the unique needs of your business, ensuring maximum protection and minimal downtime. Continuous Monitoring. WordFence Integration: We deploy WordFence to monitor your site in real-time, providing robust firewall protection, malware scanning, and login security. Cloudflare Deployment: Leveraging Cloudflare's DDoS protection, we safeguard your... --- - Published: 2024-06-25 - Modified: 2025-06-27 - URL: https://mogul.nz/work/brand-transformation-for-napier-district-masonic-trust/ Client: Napier District Masonic Trust INDUSTRY: Eldercare PROJECT: Branding, Posioning and Website Development CONTACT: Vicki Lee, CEO What NDMT was looking for. Napier District Masonic Trust (NDMT) is a leading provider of aged care services in Hawke’s Bay. NDMT offers specialist facilities, hospitals, retirement villages, and rental accommodation, dedicated to ensuring every elderly person has a place they can call home, built on love, respect, and care. Their CEO Vicky Lee approached Mogul in 2023 with the big picture in mind - a complete rebrand and repositioning in the market to reflect who they are, why they exist, and their place in the world. "When we first got in touch with Mogul, we were really looking for a partner who could help us give our entire brand and online presence a fresh new modern look. Our aim was to update our image so that it better reflects our purpose, values and mission, and to make sure it resonates well with our residents, their families, and our staff. Essentially, we needed someone who could help us tell our story in a modern, engaging way that truly captures what we’re all about. " Visit the New NDMT website A team of experts Rethinking NDMT and elder care. The project aimed to rebrand NDMT to convey their story, values, and purpose, develop a new visual identity, launch new brand components, and overhaul their outdated website using emotive photography that shared their sense of place and people. The new brand needed to shift the... --- - Published: 2024-06-25 - Modified: 2025-06-27 - URL: https://mogul.nz/work/spaceplan-crafting-the-future-of-warehousing-solutions/ The future of warehousing solutions. Client: SpacePlan INDUSTRY: Warehousing Solutions PROJECT: Branding and Website Development CONTACT: Finn Steele, Storage Consultant What SpacePlan was looking for SpacePlan, a leading provider in the warehousing industry, specialises in designing and delivering high-quality, thoughtful storage solutions. “Can we fit another 200 pallets in here? ” That’s the sort of question that SpacePlan’s clients ask them. SpacePlan offers a fresh new approach to warehouse design and build. With a focus on integrating expertly with other facility functions, SpacePlan prides itself on its industry expertise and innovative approaches. So when they were looking for a digital partner, they wanted a supplier who shared these values and approach to business solutions. Mogul stepped up as the ideal partner for SpacePlan. A new business making a big impact. As SpacePlan sought to become its own entity, the need for strong branding and website became apparent. They required a partner who could offer not just technical expertise in design and website development, but also strategic consultancy to refine and articulate their market offering effectively. VISIT the SpacePlan Website Delivering results How we worked. Every project is different and clients have unique requirements, but a robust approach and process is the key to delivering efficient and effective results. Process & Collaboration. The collaboration kicked off with an initial workshop where George and the team from Mogul showcased their technical capabilities and strategic understanding of SpacePlan’s objectives. A pivotal moment in this partnership was the face-to-face workshop session. This interactive and... --- - Published: 2024-06-24 - Modified: 2025-06-27 - URL: https://mogul.nz/work/user-first-approach-for-food-and-fibre-cove/ Client: Food and Fibre CoVE INDUSTRY: Research & Education PROJECT: Branding and Website Development CONTACT: Michelle Jones, Marketing and Communications Manager What Food and Fibre CoVE was looking for. EIT's Food and Fibre Centre of Vocational Excellence (FFCOVE) sought out Mogul to overhaul their brand and outdated website. The existing site, managed in-house, had become hard to navigate, overly text-heavy, and lacked essential SEO features. FFCOVE needed a brand refresh that reflected their position in the market and a website that could effectively tell their story, showcase their project initiatives, and serve as a central information hub. Michelle Jones, the Marketing Manager at Food and Fibre CoVE, spearheaded the project, and reached out to us with a clear vision of what the revamp should accomplish. Visit the New Food & Fibre CoVE website A fresh, objective perspective A new brand and approach. The aim was to give Food and Fibre CoVE’s brand and website a fresh new look that was user-friendly and clearly communicated their mission, key projects, activities, and methodologies. We also wanted to make sure it was easy to find online by implementing good SEO practices. 2020. 2020. The original F&F CoVE website was done in two days. It was a brand new entity with little content, so we created a very simple one-page site that organically grew into a full website over the years. 2024. In 2023, we started a complete brand refresh and rebuild based on what F&F CoVE's customers wanted to know about them. As... --- - Published: 2024-06-23 - Modified: 2025-06-27 - URL: https://mogul.nz/ai-training/ AI Tools & Training. Get on the bus Join the AI Revolution. We're at the forefront of the AI revolution in digital marketing. Our AI Training program is designed to empower your team with the knowledge and skills to leverage powerful AI tools like Claude, ChatGPT, and Shortwave, dramatically improving your productivity and unlocking new creative possibilities. How do we do it? Why should you care? AI tools are no longer optional—they're essential for staying competitive. Our training helps you: Boost Productivity. Save hours on tasks like content creation, research, and data analysis. Automate routine tasks and focus on high-value work. Free up your team to focus on strategic, creative work. Enhance Output Quality & Creativity. Produce more polished, engaging content with AI assistance. Generate fresh ideas and content at unprecedented speeds. Improve Customer Experiences. Deliver faster, more personalised service Create Cost Savings. Reduce time and resources spent on repetitive tasks Improve Decision Making. Gain data-driven insights for better strategic choices. Stay Ahead of Competitors. Harness the latest AI technologies before they become mainstream. Stay ahead in your industry by mastering cutting-edge AI tools. Why Mogul? Why choose Mogul for AI training? Don't let your competitors outpace you in the AI race. Equip your team with the skills they need to thrive in the AI-driven future of digital marketing. Real-world expertise: We don't just teach AI - we use it every day to solve actual business challenges. Cutting-edge knowledge: We're always learning, so you get the latest AI insights and... --- - Published: 2024-06-23 - Modified: 2024-08-19 - URL: https://mogul.nz/api-integrations/ API Integrations. What does it mean? Integrations allow machines to talk to each other. We all know the pain of managing multiple systems, and yet loading the same content over and over again. An API (Application Programming Interface) is a set of protocols and tools that allow different software applications to communicate seamlessly with each other. The vast majority of internet traffic is machines talking to each other. API integrations enable your software systems to connect, communicate, and automate processes and data. They are crucial for business efficiency and growth. What are the business benefits? Automation: Eliminate manual data entry and reduce human error. Real-Time Data Sync: Ensure all your systems have the most up-to-date information. Enhanced User Experience: Provide seamless, integrated experiences for your customers. Scalability: Easily add new features and capabilities to your existing systems. Improved Decision Making: Access comprehensive, real-time data across all your platforms. Whats possible? What you can do, and what we have done. There are many use cases for API integrations, and we've successfully implemented them across various industries and platforms. Common API Integration Use Cases. Payment Processing: Integrate payment gateways for secure, real-time transactions. Inventory Management: Sync inventory across multiple sales channels. Customer Relationship Management: Connect CRM systems with marketing tools for better lead management. Social Media Integration: Incorporate social feeds and sharing capabilities into your website. Shipping and Logistics: Automate shipping processes with carrier APIs. Analytics and Reporting: Combine data from multiple sources for comprehensive insights. Our API Integration Experience. eCommerce Integrations:... --- - Published: 2024-06-23 - Modified: 2024-08-19 - URL: https://mogul.nz/cx-ux/ CX Workshops Transforming customer experiences through design thinking. Exceptional customer experiences are the cornerstone of digital success, and Design Thinking is a human-centered approach to ideas and innovation. "Design thinking is a process for creative problem solving. It encourages organisations to focus on the people they're creating for, which leads to better products, services, and internal processes. " - IDEO U Design Thinking principles can help create meaningful connections with your customers while understanding the needs of your team, the possibilities of technology, and the requirements for business growth and success. Your Customer -Centered Purpose. Our signature Customer Experience (CX) Workshop is a transformative, day-long session that helps you discover your customer-centered purpose. It's like finding your value proposition, but with more soul. Workshop Process: Company Deep Dive: We uncover the essence of your company - your origins, values, and unique qualities. Customer Analysis: We identify and analyse your key customers, their challenges, and how your products address these issues. Needs Identification: We help you pinpoint your customers' most crucial needs and desires. Story Framework Creation: We develop a narrative that weaves together your customers' needs with your company's purpose and offerings. Experience Mapping: We outline touchpoints where you can create emotionally resonant experiences for your customers. Hungry for growth or change? We'd love to hear from you. We work with companies who are hungry for growth or change. For them, standing still is not an option. We help our clients see into their future. Where do you want to... --- - Published: 2024-06-23 - Modified: 2024-08-19 - URL: https://mogul.nz/content-marketing/ Content Marketing. What actually works? Content is king. Content is the currency of engagement. We specialise in creating content marketing strategies that not only attract attention but drive meaningful business results. Content marketing is the art and science of creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and ultimately, to drive profitable customer action. Creating stories that connect and convert. Depending on the needs and resourcing of the organisation, activities can include: Blog Posts and Articles Infographics and Data Visualisations Videos (Explainers, Tutorials, Testimonials) Podcasts and Audio Content Ebooks and Whitepapers Social Media Posts Email Newsletters Case Studies Webinars and Online Courses Why content marketing matters. How does content marketing pass the 'so what' test? Builds Trust: 70% of consumers feel closer to a company as a result of content marketing. Drives Traffic: Content marketing gets 3X more leads than paid search advertising. Improves SEO: Websites with blogs have 434% more indexed pages. Increases Conversions: Content marketing has 6X higher conversion rates than other methods. Our methodology The Mogul content marketing process. We believe that effective content marketing is a strategic, data-driven process that delivers measurable results. Our comprehensive approach ensures that every piece of content we create works hard for your brand, engaging your audience and driving your business forward. Discovery. Discovery. We dive deep into understanding your brand, target market, and business goals. Strategy. We create a tailored content plan aligned with your target market and business objectives. Strategy.... --- - Published: 2024-06-23 - Modified: 2024-08-19 - URL: https://mogul.nz/web-design/ Web Design. Why should I care? Web design matters. Your website is often the first point of contact between your business and your potential customers. It's not just about looking good - it's about creating a connection that engages, informs, and converts. First impressions count. First impressions count. Users form an opinion about your website (and therefore you) in just 0. 05 seconds. Mobile matters. Over 60% of web traffic comes from mobile devices for most businesses. How does your brand show up on a mobile phone? Mobile matters. Speed is key. Speed is key. 53% of mobile users abandon sites that take longer than 3 seconds to load. And not just mobile users. SEO impact. Well-designed websites rank higher in search results. Fact. SEO impact. Leverage our web design expertise. Since 2007, Mogul has been at the forefront of web design, creating compelling digital experiences that drive results for our clients. This is what we know: Seamless experiences across all devices and screen sizes creates confidence in users. Intuitive interfaces guide users effortlessly making them more inclined to come back. Weaving your brand identity into every aspect of the design makes it feel like 'you' and not like 'everyone else'. Create compelling content that engages and resonates with your audience. Do I need this? Who needs professional web design? Everyone. Seriously. A professionally designed website is your 24/7 digital storefront, sales representative, and brand ambassador, so it doesn't matter who you are, you need one! Small Business looking to... --- - Published: 2024-06-23 - Modified: 2024-08-19 - URL: https://mogul.nz/rbp-workshop-funding/ RBP Workshop Funding. Regional Business Partners (RBP) We are an established RBP provider. We believe every business should have access to high-quality digital marketing training. Our workshops are 50% funded by Regional Business Partners (RBP)*, making it easier for you to invest in your business’s growthAny eligible business can apply for up to $2,000 of funding from RBP to access this service. If this sounds like you, register for your assessment, or get in touch with your Regional Business Partner (RBP) Growth Advisor. REGISTER About the support. Are you ready to elevate your business in the digital world? We recognise that every business is unique. Our goal is to help you take control of your digital marketing, identify new opportunities, and carve a new path for your business. How we can help Training objectives and outcomes. Our workshops are designed to upskill business owners in digital marketing, and tailored to your specific needs. Whether you're aiming to improve your SEO, master Google Ads, leverage AI, or optimise your online shop or Google Business Profile, our expert team will guide you every step of the way. We will focus on maximising your online presence, attracting the right audience, and driving sustainable growth. By the end of the workshops, you’ll possess the knowledge and skills necessary to advance your digital marketing and eCommerce efforts. Key training objectives and outcomes include: Understanding digital marketing and eCommerce concepts. Build a strong foundation in digital marketing principles. Develop a strategy tailored to your business goals... --- - Published: 2024-06-22 - Modified: 2024-08-19 - URL: https://mogul.nz/woocommerce/ Woo-Commerce. End-to-end setup eCommerce with confidence. Get a fully functional, customised WooCommerce store without the technical headaches. Mogul's expert team provides end-to-end WooCommerce setup, so your online store is optimised for success from day one. We handle everything from installation to configuration, tailored to your business's specific needs. Professional setup that follows eCommerce best practices Faster time-to-market for your online store Seamless integration with your existing WordPress site. Unique store design for your brand. Take a hard-pass on off-the-shelf templates, and stand out with a unique design. Our team creates custom WooCommerce templates that reflect your brand identity and enhance your users' shopping experience, ensuring your store looks great and functions flawlessly. Differentiate your online store with a design that captures your brand essence and drives conversions. Improved user experience leading to higher conversion rates Mobile-responsive designs for all devices. Industry-Specific Expertise Tailored solutions for your unique industry. Get a WooCommerce solution that's tailored to your industry's specific requirements and best practices. With experience across a wide range of sectors Mogul understands the unique eCommerce needs of different industries. Our Approach: Industry Analysis: We conduct thorough research to understand your sector's unique challenges and opportunities. Competitor Benchmarking: We analyse successful eCommerce strategies within your industry to ensure your store stands out. Custom Feature Development: We create industry-specific features that address your particular needs. Compliance & Regulations: We ensure your store adheres to industry-specific regulations and standards. Scalability: We build your store with future growth in mind, allowing for easy expansion... --- - Published: 2024-06-22 - Modified: 2024-08-20 - URL: https://mogul.nz/ga4-tracking/ Google Analytics Tracking. Advanced Analytics Solutions Future-proof your analytics with Google Analytics 4 (GA4). Understanding your audience and their behaviour is crucial for business success. Yet, many businesses struggle to harness the power of their data effectively. This is where Mogul's expertise in Google Analytics 4 (GA4) comes into play, providing you with actionable insights and a competitive edge. Businesses often face the daunting task of managing vast amounts of data from multiple sources. Without a clear strategy and the right tools, it’s easy to get lost in the numbers, missing out on valuable insights that could drive growth. This complexity can lead to poor decision-making, inefficient marketing spend, and missed opportunities. Streamline your tracking with Google Analytics 4. Simplify your marketing operations and gain more control over your data collection. At Mogul, we turn complexity into clarity. Our expert team leverages the advanced capabilities of Google Analytics 4 to provide you with a comprehensive understanding of your customer journey. We focus on: Customisation: Tailoring GA4 to fit your unique business needs. Integration: Seamlessly integrating GA4 with your existing systems. Training: Empowering your team with the knowledge to use GA4 effectively. SETUP AND TRACKING Align your data with your goals. Implementing GA4 with Mogul is a seamless and structured process designed to maximise your data’s potential. Why choose Mogul for GA4? Expertise: Our team consists of certified GA4 specialists with extensive experience. Customisation: We tailor our approach to meet your specific needs. Results-Driven: Our focus is on delivering measurable outcomes.... --- - Published: 2024-06-22 - Modified: 2024-08-19 - URL: https://mogul.nz/email-marketing/ Email Marketing. Still the killer marketing app Reach your audience where it matters most: their inbox. Turn your email marketing efforts into a powerful tool for customer engagement and business growth. Email Direct Marketing (EDM) remains one of the most effective channels for customer communication and business growth. We work with you to craft personalised, timely, and impactful email campaigns that resonate with your audience and drive business results. Increased customer loyalty through personalised communication Higher conversion rates with targeted messaging. Align your efforts with your strategy. Change your email marketing approach to align perfectly with your business objectives and target audience. Whether you're focused on repeat business, membership retention, subscriptions, or stakeholder communication, our EDM strategies are customised to meet your specific goals and audience needs. Targeted Campaigns: We create customised campaigns that speak directly to your audience segments for maximum impact. Measurable Results: We track performance against your specific KPIs to ensure your email marketing delivers a strong ROI. Personalised Content: We craft engaging content tailored to individual subscribers, boosting open and click-through rates. Automated Workflows: We nurture leads and customers with automated email sequences that guide them through their journey with your brand. Data-Driven Optimisation: We use A/B testing and detailed analytics to continually refine your campaigns for optimal performance. Why Mogul? What you can expect from Mogul. Email marketing offers one of the highest returns on investment (ROI) in digital marketing. With costs as low as a few cents per recipient, it's an incredibly cost-effective way... --- - Published: 2024-06-22 - Modified: 2024-08-19 - URL: https://mogul.nz/google-ads/ Google Advertising. Explore Pay-per-click Ads We are Certified Google Partners. As a certified Google Partner, Mogul brings significant expertise to your Google Ads campaigns. We have a proven track record of creating data-driven, cost-effective campaigns for diverse clients globally. Leverage our Google-certified expertise to maximise your ad spend and reach your target audience effectively. Access to latest Google Ads features and best practices Campaigns optimised by certified professionals Confidence in partnering with a Google-approved agency. Reach customers who are ready to buy. Connect with high-intent customers at the exact moment they're looking for what you offer. Google Ads taps into the world's largest intent-based advertising network. Unlike traditional advertising, your ads are shown to people actively searching for your products or services, increasing the likelihood of conversion. Higher conversion rates compared to traditional advertising Reduced ad waste by targeting interested prospects Immediate visibility for your products and services Why Mogul? What you can expect from Mogul. Our Google Ads packages offer a comprehensive approach to digital advertising, combining strategic planning, creative execution, and data-driven optimisation. Whether you're a new website needing immediate traffic, a business in a competitive market struggling to rank organically, or seeking more control over your messaging, our Google Ads management services are tailored to meet your specific needs. Get more than just ad management – partner with a team dedicated to your digital success. Personalised. Get a customised Google Ads strategy that aligns with your business goals and market position Personalised campaigns addressing your unique challenges... --- - Published: 2024-06-22 - Modified: 2024-08-19 - URL: https://mogul.nz/seo/ Search Engine Optimisation. Get found Be seen where it matters most. Dominate search results and capture more clicks by securing a first-page position on Google. In today's digital-first world, simply having a website isn’t enough. If your business isn't visible on search engines, you're missing out on a critical mass of potential customers. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the key to unlocking your website's potential, driving more organic traffic, and ultimately, growing your business. Without a solid SEO strategy, your competitors are just a click away from taking your potential customers. The SEO Difference. Mogul delivers results-driven SEO strategies tailored to your unique business needs. Without Good SEO Invisible to Your Audience: Poor SEO means your website is buried in search results. Lost Revenue: Missing out on organic traffic translates to lost sales opportunities. Competitive Disadvantage: Competitors with better SEO will dominate the market. With Mogul's SEO Solutions Increased Traffic & Conversions: Attract more visitors and boost conversion rates. Improved Rankings & Visibility: Enhance search engine visibility and reach. Enhanced Audience Insights: Understand audience behaviour for better targeting. Higher ROI & Growth: Achieve long-term results with cost-effective strategies. How we can help SEO solutions as unique as your business. Whether you're a small startup or a large corporation, our SEO services are customised to meet your specific needs and goals. Our unique approach is tailored to meet the specific needs of your business, ensuring maximum visibility and engagement. Here's how we do it: Comprehensive SEO Audit. We start with a... --- - Published: 2024-06-22 - Modified: 2024-08-19 - URL: https://mogul.nz/ongoing-support-maintenance/ Support & Maintenance. Stay ahead of potential threats Protect your website with a Mogul support & maintenance plan. Websites are constantly at risk from a wide range of threats. If you are on one of our plans, our experienced team conducts regular monthly website maintenance. Some of our plans also include support time that can be used for tasks such as: Support queries Content loading training/support Minor changes DNS support Third-party support eg. liaising with your IT company. Comprehensive business risk management. A well-maintained website is a critical piece of infrastructure for most modern organisations. Having a plan in place is a great way to minimise your business risk and ensure that your website is always backed up, regularly updated, and secure, so you can relax and get on with your day job. You pay a fixed monthly fee at a discounted rate, so it’s easy to fit into your budget. Why a Mogul SLA? Focus on your business while we focus on your website. There are so many things that can go wrong with a website if it is not maintained regularly, that it’s best to check it at least once a month to ensure there are no problems. It is not unusual for websites to get hacked or even ‘go dark’ for weeks before their owners even realise that something is wrong! We've seen it all and we're prepared for everything: Defense against malicious hackers and cyber threats Management of plugin updates and compatibility Monitoring of web server... --- - Published: 2024-06-21 - Modified: 2024-08-19 - URL: https://mogul.nz/digital-strategy/ Digital Strategy. Tailored Support for Your Business Since 2010 we have been providing online marketing strategy and consultation services. One of the most common questions we hear is “What should we be doing? ” A digital strategy goes far beyond working out what should be on your website homepage – it’s about transforming your entire business – and your worldview. We will help you decide where to focus your energy and budget, what initiatives to embark on, what to cut back, connect you with a network of expert specialists, and even help you hire the right people to execute your vision. Who needs a strategy? Business success does not happen by accident. Creating long-lasting valuable organisations is serious work, and always involves a commitment to a well-thought-out strategy. Do any of these scenarios sound familiar? You lack a focused approach to your digital marketing efforts. You're not seeing the desired growth from your online activities. Your digital marketing investments aren't delivering the expected returns. You're struggling to reach and engage your ideal customers online. Your website isn't effectively converting visitors into paying customers. If any of the above sounds like you, then you need a strategy to make sure you deliver on your objectives. A well-crafted digital marketing strategy can provide the roadmap you need to navigate the complex digital landscape and achieve your business goals. Why do i need one? The benefits of a sound strategy. The benefits of a strategic approach are that you can be confident that... --- - Published: 2024-06-21 - Modified: 2024-08-20 - URL: https://mogul.nz/skills/ Skills. Our Core Skillset Key areas of work. We offer a wide range of services and tailor them to our client's requirements, but these are the key areas of work we usually deliver to our clients. Strategy. RBP Coaching Workshops Consulting Digital Strategy Content Marketing Strategy Design. Web Design Web Development WordPress WooCommerce API Integrations Delivery. Technical & Marketing Support Google Advertising Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) Email Marketing Google Analytics & GA4 Tracking Support & Maintenance Optimisation. Speed Optimisation Web Hosting WordPress Security AI Tools & Training Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) Our methodology How we work. We work in different ways based on customer needs, but how we deliver our services is a strength and we are recognised for using our tried and true method: Discovery. Discovery. We are keen learners so we’ll ask you considered questions to understand every aspect of your business, because that’s the way we get results. We gain a solid understanding of your business vision and drivers, and we achieve a clear insight into what success looks like for you. Clarity. We work hard to ensure the brief and requirements are crystal-clear so that we deliver to your expectations. We communicate and collaborate effectively, and we use robust systems and processes to ensure the project is delivered on time and to budget. Clarity. Execution. Execution. We combine our capabilities, do our due diligence, and consider all options before recommending robust solutions. We execute with precision, and we deliver high-quality, customised solutions that will deliver the... --- - Published: 2024-06-21 - Modified: 2024-08-19 - URL: https://mogul.nz/consulting/ Digital Consulting. Tailored Consulting For your business Experienced advice is a vital element in business success. We provide tailored consulting services to business leaders, C-level managers and their teams to ensure they are meeting the challenges of today’s digital economy and taking full advantage of the opportunities that present themselves. What does that look like? : The type and level of engagement depends entirely on your requirements. We work on short-term projects or an ongoing basis. The most important outcome for us is that your organisation sees tangible, sustainable improvement. Expert advice and fresh thinking You don't know what you don't know. If there is indecision in your organisation’s leadership about what digital activities you should be prioritising, or even what your objectives should be, then we can help. Common concerns or questions are: Are we maximising our digital channels for growth? What's the ROI of our digital marketing spend? How does our digital strategy compare to our competitors? Are we allocating our budget effectively? Are we enhancing customer experience with digital? How can we use digital to reach new markets or customers? What emerging digital trends should we prepare for? How secure is our digital infrastructure? How we can help What you can expect. Engaging someone to gain a deep understanding of your business in order to fast-track you to achieve your business goals (often growth), comes with high expectations. When you engage Mogul you can expect: Clear understanding of key opportunities and priorities to keep your organisation focused... --- - Published: 2024-06-21 - Modified: 2024-08-19 - URL: https://mogul.nz/wordpress/ WordPress. WE are WordPress experts We have been using WordPress since 2008. So we're comfortable saying we are advanced WordPress developers. WordPress is the world’s most popular website content management system (CMS), and it powers more than 60 million websites around the world. We have been using WordPress to build custom-designed websites for our clients since 2008 and we are extremely experienced in it, from design, mobile, plug-ins, speed optimisation, security, search engine optimisation, and eCommerce. Who uses WordPress? Who doesn't? WordPress is a general-purpose website platform that is suitable for anybody who wants an online presence. You will find it's widely used by different industries and organisations: Universities Multinational corporations Governments Sports clubs Online shopping websites Newspapers Magazines TV channels Why Wordpress and Mogul? The benefits of choosing WordPress and Mogul. Over the years we have used and had exposure to many CMS's but we still choose WordPress. WordPress is a great platform to build a website on, and it ticks just about every box you can think of for a CMS. We can design a theme from scratch to give you exactly the look and feel your brand needs. We know the best plugins to use to give you the extra features that you need. We know how to speed WordPress up - and we know how to keep it secure. Powerful and Flexible Platform. Scalable solution suitable for websites of any size or complexity Extensive plugin ecosystem for enhanced functionality Easy integration with third-party services and APIs... --- - Published: 2024-06-17 - Modified: 2025-06-27 - URL: https://mogul.nz/work/a-family-of-websites-for-tumu-group/ Client: TUMU Group INDUSTRY: VARIOUS PROJECT: WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT CONTACT: Trish Scott, Marketing and Communications Manager What was Tumu Group looking for? Tumu Group, an iconic Hawke’s Bay family business with diverse entities and interests, faced the challenge of establishing a robust online presence. The team at Tumu chose Mogul from a competitive pool of providers, for our innovative solutions and customer-centric approach. We received a very clear brief from Tumu. The deliverables included best-of-class customer experience, intuitive navigation, multi-site administration, easy to use CMS and future-proofed. We love working with Tumu Group. They are one of Hawke’s Bay’s iconic brands and we are proud to collaborate on their wide-ranging portfolio of businesses and organisations. WHAT WE DELIVERED (AND CONTINUE TO DELIVER) A family of websites. The goal was clear: to build a family of websites that were not only cost-effective and efficient but also reflective of the unique needs of their various businesses. Tumu Group. Tumu Group. The parent company and the original site that we used to clone and build out websites for the other businesses and entities. We made sure this site had any content features required by the other businesses. Visit the site Tumu Property. Tumu Property was the first clone project. We planned out what needed to be different including brand elements and page structure and delivered a brand new site at a fraction of the cost. Visit the site Tumu Property. Peakviews. Peakviews. Peakviews was a clone of Property, but only a one-page website for... --- - Published: 2024-05-29 - Modified: 2025-06-27 - URL: https://mogul.nz/work/ Work. Success Stories Introducing our most recent case studies. We help our clients transform their businesses and achieve their goals through innovative design and strategic thinking. Here's some insight into how we do it: GREENSTUF A collaborative approach to digital transformation. FIRST72 / EPOD Elevating brand presence and engagement. Foodeast Haumako Brand evolution & implementation of Foodeast. HERETAUNGA WOMEN'S CENTRE Wāhine-led reimagining of the HWC LIQUID LAUNDROMATS User audit uncovers big opportunities FOOD & FIBRE COVE User-first approach for Food & Fibre CoVE. TUMU GROUP A family of websites for TUMU Group. Spaceplan Crafting the future of warehousing solutions. NAPIER DISTRICT MASONIC TRUST Brand transformation for NDMT. Hungry for growth or change? We'd love to hear from you. We work with companies who are hungry for growth or change. For them, standing still is not an option. We help our clients see into their future. Where do you want to go? Get in touch --- - Published: 2024-04-18 - Modified: 2025-06-27 - URL: https://mogul.nz/contact/ Get in touch. We’d love to hear from you. Phone: +64 6 877 7478 PO Box 8879, Havelock North 4157 Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand Sales enquiries: info@mogul. nz General enquiries: office@mogul. nz Technical support: support@mogul. nz Accounts enquiries: accounts@mogul. nz Digital Marketing Workshops Regional Business Partner (RBP) Funding. Mogul is an established Regional Business Partner (RBP) provider and our coaching workshops are registered with the Management Capability Development Fund*. Any eligible business can apply for up to $2,000 of funding from RBP to access this service. If this sounds like you, register for your assessment, or get in touch with your RBP Growth Advisor. More --- - Published: 2023-07-21 - Modified: 2025-03-12 - URL: https://mogul.nz/you-2/ You. WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Most of our clients aren't just looking for a website. Yes, they usually do need one, but the most effective leaders we've worked with know that a website on its own is not enough to enable an organisation to reach its potential and deliver on its goals. They want to close the gap between where they are now, and where they want to be. They know the results will be much better with the bigger picture in mind. They want good, smart thinking and advice. They are looking for a long-term trusted partner. They don't want to be let down. We're on the same page We want the same things. We focus on delivering exceptional outcomes for our clients. It’s our mission to help you meet your strategic business objectives. Once we know your endgame, we work hard to get you there. What makes you different. You know that demonstrating your point of difference clearly will set you apart from your competitors. Exceptional user experiences. You know it's important to ensure their customers can find relevant information quickly and be wowed a little in the process. Drive new business. Your stakeholders want to be assured that this investment will attract new prospects to generate high-quality enquiries that lead to new business. Loyalty with existing customers. You know the key to sustainable revenue is connecting and engaging existing customers to build or maintain long-term relationships. Responsive to you and your needs. You want to know... --- - Published: 2023-07-19 - Modified: 2025-06-27 - URL: https://mogul.nz/us/ Us. What sets us apart Digital is our core strength. We've been operating in digital since 2007, which means after delivering thousands of digital projects with business leaders and decision-makers from around the globe and across a wide range of industries, we have a deep specialist knowledge. BUT THAT'S NOT ALL. We also think beyond digital. While web design and development are at our core, we recognised early on that digital is inextricably linked with a wider strategic business conversation. This means when you work with Mogul, you work with a big-picture business partner. We also think beyond digital. We start with the end in mind. We start with the end in mind. We make sure we understand what your long-term success looks like in order to make the best possible recommendations for solutions that will deliver on your short-term goals. It's what we do best. We can be relied on to challenge your thinking, contribute smart ideas, and develop innovative, robust solutions to ensure you achieve your digital goals and remain relevant and successful. It's what we do best. SINCE 2007 Why are we still in business after all these years? We think it boils down to these key points: We're Good. We do great work. We’ve won awards, worked with organisations of all sizes and across all industries, and helped businesses reach their goals throughout New Zealand and around the globe. We are creative yet pragmatic. Only the A-Team. We're a tight-knit team and everyone knows your business.... --- - Published: 2023-07-07 - Modified: 2025-06-27 - URL: https://mogul.nz/ WHY MOGUL? Is Mogul the right agency for you? If these attributes are important to you, like they are to all of our clients, then we're an excellent choice for you: Fit. We click with our clients. We listen to what they say and we know what they need. We value good old-fashioned honesty and accountability. And so do they. Experience. We've seen and done a lot, for a lot of organisations since 2007. There aren't many digital agencies that have been around for as long as we have, so our experience is hard to beat. Reputation. Reputation is everything. Agencies only stick around if they are respected and can be trusted. We've worked really hard to build a reputation we're proud of. Ask around. Clients. Do our clients look like you and your business? Are they in your industry or sector? Do you like the work we have done for them? How long have they been our clients? Responsiveness. We are well-known for being responsive. On the daily. Our clients know we’ve got their backs and we don’t leave them hanging when they need us. Delivery. If we say we’re going to do something, we do it. Or if for some reason we can’t, we communicate well in advance. Not once or twice, but consistently. You need to know ABOUT AI-powered search summaries. SEO and search is changing rapidly with AI soon to become the default way for people to find information. Without this, you're essentially invisible to the... --- --- ## Posts - Published: 2025-06-13 - Modified: 2025-06-27 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/the-ai-wave-is-here-is-your-digital-strategy-built-to-surf-or-sink/ - Categories: AI, Consultation, Digital Marketing, Technology, Web Tips Are you prepared for the AI revolution, or is your business at risk of being anchored to yesterday's digital solutions? Imagine this: You’re cruising on your yacht - maybe just off the Noosa coast - you're feeling good and you're just about to open the bar. The forecast seems clear, but beneath the surface, an enormous seismic event is changing the currents of the entire digital ocean. This isn’t a distant storm; this is the reality of the AI-powered business landscape. It’s not about if this wave will arrive - it's already here. But first check this out. This guy surfed the world's most dangerous waves in the dark. Absolute legend. Yesterday's Digital Blueprint is Obsolete For years, the goal was a professional website and a basic marketing plan. Today, that’s just table stakes. While many businesses are still focused on routine maintenance, forward-thinking organisations are leveraging AI to create an almost unfair advantage. We're no longer talking about science-fiction hypotheticals. We're talking about practical, results-driven applications: Machine Learning Algorithms that forecast customer behaviour and market trends with startling accuracy. Natural Language Processing (NLP) that powers chatbots and support systems to resolve your customers' queries instantly and effectively. AI-driven Personalisation that dynamically alters your website content for each visitor, boosting engagement and conversions. Here’s the hard truth: If your current digital provider still operates with a "set-and-forget" mindset from 2015, you're not just missing an opportunity - you're actively falling behind. Is Your Digital Partner Stuck in the Past? Let’s... --- - Published: 2025-06-12 - Modified: 2025-06-13 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/forget-how-much-do-you-charge-for-a-website-ask-the-better-question/ - Categories: Digital Marketing, eCommerce, News, Planning, Web Tips "How much do you charge for a website? " After more than 20 years in this game, I’ve heard that question thousands of times. It’s a fair question, but it’s the wrong one. Asking for a "website" in 2025 is like walking into a high-end car dealership and asking for "a car. " What kind of car? A ute for the farm? A track car for Hampton Downs? An EV for the city commute? The question itself reveals a mindset that is holding countless businesses back. It treats a website as a line-item expense or a box to be ticked: a digital brochure to be designed, delivered, and then forgotten. Let’s be clear: If your website isn't your hardest-working salesperson, your most efficient operations manager, and your most insightful market analyst, then it’s not a business asset. It’s a digital business card, and business cards don't build empires. The Shift: From Digital Brochure to Integrated System A modern digital presence that actually drives growth isn’t a single thing called a "website. " It’s a highly integrated system - a success engine. It’s a machine where every part is designed to work together to attract, engage, and convert customers. What are the core components of this engine? Strategic User Experience (UX): It’s not just about looking pretty. It’s about designing a clear, intuitive path that guides a visitor from curiosity to action. Every button, every form, every sentence is engineered to reduce friction and increase conversion. Technical Excellence: This is the... --- - Published: 2025-06-11 - Modified: 2025-06-11 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/the-digital-shift-how-ai-is-changing-the-rules-of-digital-marketing-and-what-smart-agencies-are-doing-about-it/ - Categories: AI, Consultation, Digital disruption, Digital Marketing, Planning, SEO, Technology The rules of digital marketing are changing faster than many businesses can keep up with. Artificial Intelligence (AI) isn't just another tool in the stack; it's fundamentally reshaping how we build websites, run campaigns, and measure success. In our 20 years of experience, AI is the biggest, most rapid change we have seen. It's both a challenge and an enormous opportunity. The AI Trap: When Efficiency Becomes a Liability The biggest shift? AI is lowering the technical barriers. Once, you needed a skilled team to build a fast, search-optimised WordPress website. Now, AI-powered builders can spin up decent sites in hours. But here's the catch: decent isn't enough in a competitive market. Brands need custom strategies, optimised customer journeys, and digital assets that drive growth - not just another cookie-cutter template. The surface-level efficiency that AI provides can quickly become a liability if it leads to generic, undifferentiated web presences. Beyond the Hype: Augmenting Human Strategy Where AI really shines is augmenting the strategic layer. We now use AI for predictive SEO (spotting keyword gaps before competitors), smart content clustering, automated reporting, and rapid prototyping. It allows us to move faster, but with more precision. Instead of replacing humans, it's freeing our teams to focus on strategy, creativity, and stakeholder outcomes. AI handles the heavy lifting of data processing, while experienced strategists interpret the outputs and translate them into business results. For clients, this means: Faster delivery times without sacrificing quality More actionable data and insights Smarter campaign optimisations driven... --- - Published: 2025-06-10 - Modified: 2025-06-10 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/the-why-before-the-how-turning-digital-projects-into-business-assets/ - Categories: Client Service, Consultation, eCommerce, Planning, Technology, Web App Development, Web Tips In over 15 years of digital project management and development, I've witnessed countless projects that were technically brilliant yet commercially disappointing. Most of them were developed by other agencies, but we've had our own share of bombs (not many lately, touch wood! ). The difference between a digital project that becomes a genuine business asset and the one that becomes the world's most expensive 404 page isn't found in the code, design, or technology stack - it's found in the strategic foundation laid before the first line of code is written. The Technical Trap Too many digital projects begin with the "how" conversation. Clients arrive with predetermined solutions: "We need a website with e-commerce functionality" or "We want an app like Uber but for our industry. " While these technical specifications might seem nice and clear, they're actually constraints that limit the project's potential business value. This approach creates what I call the "technical trap" - where project success is measured by feature completion rather than business impact. The result? Websites that look impressive but don't convert. Apps that function perfectly but don't solve real problems. Digital solutions that tick every technical box - while missing every business opportunity. Start with Strategic Objectives The most successful digital projects we've managed at Mogul begin with a different conversation entirely. Before discussing platforms, features, or functionality, we explore fundamental questions about your business: What specific business problem are we trying to solve? Who is our target audience, and what do they actually... --- - Published: 2025-06-09 - Modified: 2025-06-09 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/beyond-the-brochure-5-wordpress-security-essentials-your-business-cannot-afford-to-ignore/ - Categories: Security, Web Tips, WordPress Your WordPress website isn't just a digital brochure anymore. It's your 24/7 salesperson, your main marketing channel, and often the first thing potential clients see when they Google your business. But there is a downside... WordPress powers 40% of all websites, which makes it a massive target for hackers. But don't panic. Securing your WordPress site isn't about becoming a cybersecurity expert. It's about getting the basics right. After 20 years working with business websites, I've seen what happens when security gets ignored. A small oversight can turn into a major headache fast. Here are the five non-negotiables every business owner needs to implement. 1. Get a Proper Security Plugin Think of this as hiring a security guard for your website. WordPress on its own is like leaving your office unlocked overnight. What you need: Web Application Firewall (WAF) - blocks dodgy traffic before it hits your site Malware scanning - checks your files regularly for nasties Brute-force protection - locks out people trying to guess your password My recommendations: Wordfence Security or Sucuri Security both have solid free versions. Perfect starting point. 2. Keep Everything Updated This is where it goes wrong for most people. Every PHP language update, WordPress update, plugin update, and theme update contains security fixes. And it's nearly always free. Ignoring that little update notification is like getting a car recall notice and binning it. Your weekly routine: Check for WordPress core updates (apply minor ones immediately) Update all plugins and themes Remove any plugins... --- - Published: 2024-10-12 - Modified: 2024-10-21 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/fresh-new-look-for-killarney-capital/ - Categories: Work There is a lot that sets Killarney apart from its competitors, but they are best known for being good people who do good deals. Killarney Capital specialises in funding property projects that do not meet the criteria of banks and mainstream lenders. They're part of the Tumu Group family and they've been financing nationwide property projects since 2010. Killarney recently underwent a fresh, new rebrand and the new website launched late last month and focuses on the different types of financing they do, and the breadth of projects they have financed. See their completed projects. --- - Published: 2024-08-22 - Modified: 2024-08-23 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/what-does-the-future-hold-for-marketing-automation/ - Categories: Cool Stuff, Digital Advertising, Digital disruption, Digital Marketing, eCommerce, Technology, Web Tips As marketing evolves at an unprecedented pace, one crucial question emerges: what lies ahead for marketing automation? The answer is found in the cutting-edge trends and technologies that are swiftly transforming the industry. To stay ahead, businesses must not only understand these developments but also adapt to them, as they promise to fundamentally reshape the marketing landscape. Here’s what you need to look out for: AI and Machine Learning: Artificial intelligence and machine learning are driving the next wave of marketing innovation. These technologies are revolutionising predictive analytics, enabling marketers to anticipate customer behaviour with remarkable precision. Hyper-personalisation is now a reality, as AI-driven algorithms tailor content to individual preferences in real-time. Automated content creation and AI-powered chatbots are elevating customer support by delivering instant, data-driven responses, thereby streamlining operations. No-Code/Low-Code Platforms: The rise of no-code and low-code platforms is democratising the marketing technology landscape. Marketers can now design and implement complex workflows without needing extensive coding expertise. This accelerates time-to-market while allowing for greater flexibility and creativity in campaign development. Data Privacy and Security: As data-driven marketing becomes the norm, data privacy and security are of paramount importance. Compliance with regulations such as GDPR and CCPA is no longer just a legal necessity but a cornerstone of maintaining customer trust. Marketers must prioritise secure data management practices to protect customer information and mitigate the risk of breaches. CRM Integration: Integrating Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems with marketing automation platforms is essential for gaining a comprehensive view of the customer... --- - Published: 2024-04-10 - Modified: 2024-08-23 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/understanding-seo-for-new-zealand-businesses/ - Categories: Digital Marketing, SEO Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the process of optimising your online content so that a search engine likes to show it as a top result for searches of a certain keyword. For New Zealand businesses, this means tailoring your content to meet the specific interests and search behaviours of your target audience, whether they're in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, or Ekatahuna (yes, we actually have a client there! ). Why SEO is Vital for NZ Businesses Local Reach: Optimising for local search is essential for attracting customers in your area. With tools like Google Business Profile, you can enhance your visibility in local search results, making it easier for Kiwis to find you. Global Audience: New Zealand's unique products and services have a global appeal. SEO can help you reach an international audience, ensuring your business is visible to potential customers worldwide. Cost-Effectiveness: Compared to traditional advertising, SEO offers a cost-effective marketing strategy by targeting users actively searching for your products or services. It's a bit like the Yellow Pages or classified ads (if you can still remember them). Key SEO Strategies for NZ Businesses Here are some really important things you need to be doing for SEO. Keyword Research: Understand the phrases your potential customers use when searching online. Tools like Google Keyword Planner can provide insights into the search volume of specific phrases both locally and globally. Quality Content Creation: Create valuable content that addresses your audience's needs and questions. This includes using the right keywords naturally within your... --- - Published: 2024-01-29 - Modified: 2024-08-23 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/windborne-charters-rbp-coaching-engagement/ - Categories: Case Studies, Coaching, Digital Marketing, News, Work Client: Windborne Yacht Charters Industry: Luxury yacht charter services Objective: Enhance website functionality, increase traffic and bookings, establish a strong branding identity, and improve SEO and digital marketing knowledge. Funding: Partially supported by Regional Business Partners, a New Zealand government initiative. Background Windborne Yacht Charters, a luxury yacht charter business in Whitianga, New Zealand, sought to elevate its online presence and operational efficiency. Mihaela Vlanic, the business owner, was aiming to boost web traffic, enhance bookings, and solidify their brand identity. A key challenge was their limited visibility in Google search results compared to competitors. Mihaela selected Mogul from a number of coaching providers registered with Regional Business Partners (RBP) . Challenge Mihaela summarised the challenge: “I was wondering why we were nowhere to be found in Google search results while our competitors always seemed to be ahead of us. We also wanted to ensure the backend of our website was running properly, fast, up-to-date, and secure. ” Solution Our approach to coaching assigments like this is always tailor-made for each client's individual needs. For this one it has included a number of Zoom calls to provide coaching focused on these areas: Strategic Analysis: Conducting a SWOT analysis to understand Windborne's position and opportunities in the market. SEO Enhancement: Focused training on SEO, including practical changes like meta tag optimisation. Branding Clarity: Clarifying branding concepts and identifying Windborne’s unique “tribe” of clientele. Website Functionality Improvement: Training on website management, ensuring speed, security, and user-friendliness. Digital Marketing Tools: Instructing Mihaela in... --- - Published: 2023-12-15 - Modified: 2024-08-23 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/the-rise-of-ai-in-digital-marketing-what-it-means-for-nz-businesses/ - Categories: News This year Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a game-changer. For this reason, 2023 has been the most interesting year in digital marketing since the smartphone was introduced. OpenAI's ChatGPT has dominated the headlines (and given Google a massive kick in the a***) with its nifty generative content creation skills, but there is a lot more to AI than a chatbot that can write a Shakespearean sonnet about parking buildings. Many of the digital marketing tools we use are now incorporating AI into their standard workflows. With its ability to analyse data, predict trends, and personalise content, AI is transforming how companies approach their digital strategies. Understanding AI in the Context of Digital Marketing AI in digital marketing refers to the use of machine learning algorithms, natural language processing, and data analytics to automate and optimise marketing campaigns. From chatbots providing customer service to algorithms predicting consumer behaviour, AI's applications are diverse and far-reaching. Why AI Matters in Digital Marketing Data-Driven Insights: AI analyses vast amounts of data, providing businesses with insights into consumer behaviour and preferences. This information is crucial for developing targeted marketing strategies. Enhanced Personalisation: AI enables hyper-personalisation, allowing businesses to tailor their messaging and content to individual consumers, significantly improving engagement and conversion rates. Efficiency and Automation: Routine tasks such as data analysis, customer queries, and email marketing can be automated using AI, freeing up valuable time and resources for more strategic activities. Impact of AI on New Zealand's Digital Marketing Landscape 1. Smarter SEO and... --- - Published: 2023-12-15 - Modified: 2024-08-23 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/email-deliverability-changes-coming-in-february-2024/ - Categories: Digital Marketing, Email Marketing, News, Planning, Security, Web Tips There are some big changes coming to email marketing in 2024. In October 2023, Google and Yahoo announced updates to their sender requirements. This move aims to maintain the reliability of email communication and enhance inbox security for users. These new regulations are set to be implemented from February 1, 2024. TL;DR Effective February 1, 2024, Google and Yahoo will implement new email sender requirements to enhance email reliability and user inbox protection. These updates focus on stricter email authentication, streamlined unsubscribe processes, and maintaining low spam complaint rates. If you rely on bulk email sending, you need to make sure you comply with the new requirements. Key changes: Focus on Authentication: Starting Feb 1, 2024, all senders with over 5,000 daily emails to Gmail and Yahoo must implement stricter email authentication protocols: SPF (Sender Policy Framework): Defines authorised senders for your domain. DKIM (Domain Keys Identified Mail): Cryptographically signs emails to prevent sender spoofing. DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance): Tells receivers what to do with unauthenticated emails (e. g. quarantine, reject). Improved User Engagement Metrics: Mail providers will prioritise emails with high engagement (opens, clicks, etc. ). Low engagement could land your emails in spam folders. Mobile Optimisation: Ensure emails are optimised for mobile devices, as most users check email on their phones. Compliance Actions for Senders: Implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC: If you send over 5,000 daily emails, this is mandatory for Gmail and Yahoo deliverability. Monitor Engagement Metrics: Track open rates, click-through rates, and unsubscribes.... --- - Published: 2023-12-08 - Modified: 2024-08-23 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/marketing-automation-in-2023-automation-with-a-human-touch/ - Categories: Digital Marketing, Email Marketing, Planning, Technology, Web Tips Personalised customer experiences and efficient marketing processes are two keys to business success. Marketing automation tools have emerged in the last few years and have become a must-have for many organisations, and we are seeing more and more of our clients adopting them. Examples include HubSpot, Marketo, and Salesforce. The Benefits of Marketing Automation Tools 1. Enhanced Efficiency: Automation tools streamline repetitive tasks like email marketing, social media posting, and ad campaigns. This frees up valuable time for marketers to focus on creative and strategic tasks. 2. Improved Customer Segmentation: Automated tools can segment customers based on their behaviour, preferences, and engagement, allowing for more targeted and effective marketing efforts. 3. Personalised Customer Experiences: By leveraging data, automation tools help in delivering personalised content and recommendations, significantly improving customer experience and loyalty. 4. Better Lead Management: Automation aids in tracking and nurturing leads throughout the sales funnel, ensuring that potential customers are engaged at the right time with the right content. 5. Data-Driven Decisions: These tools provide analytics and insights, enabling marketers to make informed decisions and continuously optimise their strategies. Setting Up Automated Workflows 1. Identify Repetitive Tasks: Start by identifying tasks that are repetitive and time-consuming, such as email campaigns, social media posts, and lead nurturing sequences. 2. Choose the Right Tool: Select a marketing automation tool that aligns with your business needs. This article on the Zapier site, 'The best marketing automation software in 2023' reviews seven of the most popular options. 3. Define Your Goals: Be... --- - Published: 2023-12-01 - Modified: 2025-06-10 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/designing-for-success-key-strategies-for-optimal-website-user-experience/ - Categories: Consultation, Design, eCommerce, Mobile Devices, Planning, SEO, Web Design, Web Tips Your Website's First Impression: A 3-Second Audition for Your Business Your website is your hardest-working salesperson. It works 24/7, never calls in sick, and it's often the very first interaction a potential customer has with your brand. In the time it takes to read this sentence, they've already made a judgment. Is your website making the right impression, or is it quietly sabotaging your sales? For over 15 years, I've seen businesses with fantastic products fail online because their website experience was confusing, slow, or just plain broken on a phone. A great user experience (UX) isn't a "nice-to-have" - it's the bedrock of digital success. It's the difference between a visitor who clicks away in frustration and one who becomes a loyal customer. Here are the key strategies to implement. The Mobile Mandate: It’s Not 2010 Anymore Remember when having a separate "mobile version" of your site was a novelty? Those days are long gone. Today, the majority of your customers are likely finding you on a smartphone. This isn't just about convenience; it's about survival. Since 2019, Google has been operating on a mobile-first indexing policy. In plain English, this means Google primarily looks at the mobile version of your website to determine its search ranking. If your site is a mess on mobile, you're not just losing customers; you're becoming invisible to them. A fully responsive website that looks and works flawlessly on any device - desktop, tablet, or phone - is no longer optional. It's the... --- - Published: 2023-01-09 - Modified: 2024-05-21 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/goodbye-2022-hello-2023/ - Categories: News We hope 2022 went well and we are sure you are looking forward to a better one in 2023! Read our latest newsletter to find out what we've been doing - and talking about. We look forward to helping you achieve your goals this year. Cheers Matt, George, and the rest of the Mogul team --- - Published: 2022-12-16 - Modified: 2022-12-16 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/halliday-and-baillie/ - Categories: News, WordPress, Work Halliday + Baillie is a successful New Zealand business that designs, manufactures, and exports high-end architectural hardware. They work both with architects, merchants, builders, and directly with clients. The H+B showroom in Parnell, Auckland is an inspiring space for designers and end users - and they wanted the same feel for their new website They also needed the new site to cater to their different export regions, so we built the site on a WordPress Multisite network. H+B Director Tiffiny Hodgson is stoked with the result:   "We love our new website, and have been getting really good (unsolicited! ) feedback. It has definitely taken us a big leap forward both in our digital footprint, and in our ability to engage with our disparate client groups and selling regions. Being able to tell stories, and show clients we understand their needs, rather than just list a whole bunch of products is a fundamental change in how we present ourselves, and better reflects the ethos of the company. " Tiffiny Hodgson Director, Halliday + Baillie --- - Published: 2022-12-16 - Modified: 2022-12-16 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/filtec-making-water-safer/ - Categories: News, Work FILTEC is a leading Australasian engineering solution provider for water and wastewater treatment. FILTEC's mission is "Making Water Safer". Their capabilities range from design and construct to existing plant optimisation, municipal water treatment plants for towns and cities of any size to individual home water treatment systems. This year we designed a new website for FILTEC that showcased their work in New Zealand and Australia and their new focus on residential offerings.   "Mogul provide efficient turnarounds on website development updates. They keep us up to date through regular reports on our website performance and search ad results. They also fitted both our websites with a user-friendly editing platform that allows us to easily edit and create new content. " Nicola Potts, Marketing Specialist, FILTEC --- - Published: 2022-12-13 - Modified: 2022-12-13 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/creo/ - Categories: Mogul News, Work We recently launched a new website for Creo, New Zealand's leading playground design company. https://creospace. co. nz "We were looking for web company who could translate our design to web with high level technical proficiency. We also needed them to be strong communicators and timely in their execution. Mogul was all these things. We value the Mogul’s expertise and the way they listened to us during the design phase of the project and delivered what we wanted. We also appreciate the care they have taken to ensure the website continues to run smoothly. This gives us peace of mind that our customers are getting a great experience. Mogul have become a trusted partner, helping us achieve the website we wanted. We look forward to working with them on future website projects. " Jon Coursey, Marketing Team Leader --- - Published: 2022-12-13 - Modified: 2022-12-13 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/vanguard-group-engineered-safety-solutions/ - Categories: News, Work Based in Lower Hutt, Vanguard Group (https://www. vanguardgroup. co. nz/) provides safety products, traffic management solutions, and engineered safety solutions across a wide range of industries in workplace safety, road safety, civil works, building and construction, and public spaces. Marketing manager Craig McLean engaged Mogul to create a new website showcasing Vanguard Group's wide range of safety solutions and the industries they serve, as well as making it easy for clients to browse their products, ask for quotes, and book consultations. The new site went live in September and is already attracting a lot of attention. It features a novel mega menu for easy browsing and a powerful 'Quick search' feature.   --- - Published: 2022-06-10 - Modified: 2022-06-10 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/a-campaign-to-promote-sustainable-timber/ - Categories: Mogul News, Work This year we have been working on a campaign to promote sustainable timber. Deforestation is extremely damaging for the environment and it's rampant. Illegal logging is responsible for the loss of tropical rainforest area the size of Belgium every year. The New Zealand Timber Importers Association (NZTIA) and NZ Imported Timber Trade Group (NZITTG) advocate for the sustainable management of forests, and have launched the Ethical Hardwood campaign. Its goal: 100% ethically-sourced hardwood into New Zealand. We launched the campaign's website recently. https://timber. org. nz/ Rowe McGregor , NZTIA's president said they chose Mogul "as they have a very good reputation and provide leading edge websites and are also known to deliver a very good website at the price they scoped, something very unusual today. Both the NZTIA and NZITTG organisations are non-profit so achieving good value was very important and we certainly achieved that. We would highly recommend Mogul to anyone wanting a new website, new brand or updating your existing brand. " --- - Published: 2022-06-10 - Modified: 2022-06-10 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/new-website-for-abc-software/ - Categories: Cool Stuff, Mogul News, Work ABC Software is a local Hawke's Bay success story. Started by trailblazing ex-Wattie's software developer Sharon Chapman, ABC is a company that has evolved from custom software development to become a specialist in software for orchards selling its suite of SaaS products globally. https://www. abcsoftware. co. nz/ We launched the new ABC Software website this year, and we have been working to develop their digital presence in the key Australian market. Sharon was stoked: "We chose Mogul because were looking for a company who understands what we do. We really appreciated Mogul's good advice for what should go into the website, and timeliness of delivery. " --- - Published: 2022-06-10 - Modified: 2022-06-10 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/21411/ - Categories: Mogul News, Work We recently launched two new websites for Numat, New Zealand's leading provider of recreational and agricultural surfacing. https://www. numat. co. nz/ Jon Coursey, Numat's marketing leader was very nice about the work we did! "Our goal was to create two new websites; one for our NumatREC brand and one for our NumatAGRI brand. The websites had to fit our brand’s individual styles and provide effortless user experiences for our customers. The websites look amazing and they function very well. Chris’ responsiveness, proficiency, and speed in creating the new websites was exceptional. This made the whole journey easy for us. Mogul are a highly experienced and reliable web team. Excellent communication and flexibility make them very easy to work with. " --- - Published: 2022-06-10 - Modified: 2022-06-10 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/playcentre-aotearoa/ - Categories: News The last couple of years have been challenging for just about everyone in the education sector, and early childhood educators have done it especially tough. Playcentre Aotearoa is at the forefront of early childhood education in New Zealand. There are 420 Playcentres around New Zealand, cooperatively managed by parents and supported by staff at a national and regional level. This year Playcentre Aotearoa commissioned Mogul to design a new website that allowed them to communicate the huge amount of rapidly changing information for their diverse community of parents and caregivers. https://www. playcentre. org. nz/ Claire Gullidge, Playcentre Aotearoa's project lead: "We were looking for a digital agency that could provide an aesthetic design that told Playcentre Aotearoa's story, whilst providing functionality and making large amounts of information easily accessible. Mogul are extremely knowledgeable about web design, strategy and marketing; but what impressed us the most is the dedication to their work and constant innovation. Mogul researched our brand and made sure they understood our requirements before crafting solutions. Their project management was excellent, and they were responsive whenever we had a query or required assistance. " --- - Published: 2021-12-10 - Modified: 2021-12-10 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/new-website-for-dexibit/ - Categories: News, Work Dexibit is a New Zealand software company that provides big data analytics software to many of the world's most popular visitor attractions, like museums and theme parks. This year Dexibit CEO Angie Judge and her team engaged Mogul to revitalise the Dexibit website and help with their digital marketing. The new site went live in September and the Dexibit team are stoked! "We chose Mogul because we were looking for a partner who understood our SaaS business model, our customers (visitor attractions) and our global positioning, that could help design our online presence in a way that represented our industry authority and thought leadership branding yet captured lead generation flow for growth. We're really proud of the end results - the website is clean, modern and delivers on conversion. We have seen a huge lift in our online brand presence and ability to convert web traffic to leaders. Mogul have delivered great results on time and on budget. " - Angie Judge, Dexibit CEO --- - Published: 2021-12-10 - Modified: 2021-12-10 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/new-website-for-urban-connection/ - Categories: Mogul News, News, WordPress, Work Urban Connection is an engineering consultancy with team of engineers across New Zealand who work closely with private sector clients, local councils and Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency. We launched their new website in September 2021. "We were looking for that right balance between cost and getting a high quality product. We were also keen to have a local supplier to not only support local but to be able to meet face-to-face to build a relationship The most value was the workshop George ran with our leadership team to establish what UCL stands for as a company and to get our messaging right which informed the structure of our new website. We have gone from a website that was just a presence to one that makes us standout against competitors. It was an enjoyable process and you can’t underestimate the value beyond the building of the website that the right partners can make. " - Tony Harrison, Technical Director, Urban Connection --- - Published: 2021-12-10 - Modified: 2021-12-10 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/ovavo-freeze-dried-avocado-powder/ - Categories: Case Studies, News, WordPress, Work Valic is the owner of King Avocado, one of New Zealand’s largest avocado orchards, supplying supermarkets and food service customers across New Zealand, Australia and Asia. Andrew from Valic and NZTE Beachhead Advisor Geoff Devereux approached us to develop a website to market freeze dried powder from avocado flesh to sell as an ingredient to the food and cosmetic industry. Under the new value-add brand OVĀVO (the name was George's idea! ), we also developed a digital marketing strategy to maximise search traffic for the new brand and generate leads with Hubspot. Design thinking guru Peter Roband also helped hugely with a fantastic workshop on Auckland's K Road. "We needed an agency that could deliver a first-rate website for our innovative new product range, as well as the strategic vision to help us develop our brand and marketing strategy. Mogul have delivered in every respect, and we highly recommend them. " - Andrew Vivian, OVĀVO Innovator --- - Published: 2021-12-10 - Modified: 2021-12-10 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/harland-construction-website/ - Categories: Case Studies, News, WordPress, Work Mathew Harland owns a construction business in Havelock North. This year he built an awesome deck at our house. So we built a website for him! With a growing portfolio of stunning projects, Matt knew it was time to present them on a website so he approached Mogul to bring his vision to life. "I was looking for an experienced design agency. My clients expect their buildings to be constructed to the highest spec with the best materials, and I needed a website that would match my demanding standards. Fortunately Mogul have delivered: the new site is the absolute bomb and I would recommend Mogul to anyone who demands the best. The only downside has been that my team and I are now so busy with projects that I have no time for golf! " - Matthew Harland, Managing Director, Harland Construction Ltd. --- - Published: 2021-08-12 - Modified: 2021-08-18 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/webinar-august-31-how-to-create-wealth-through-effective-digital-business-strategies/ - Categories: Digital Marketing, News, Web Tips   Here's a great event we're running on August 31. It's a virtual webinar put on by Findex and Mogul: "How to create wealth through effective digital marketing strategies" We'll show you how great digital marketing strategies can impact on your bottom line and ultimately, the value of your business - and because it's a virtual event, you won't need to leave the house - even if we're in a full Level 4 lockdown! Our expert panel (including yours truly) will discuss the following: Which digital approaches and new ideas are working well Digital habits that are well past their use-by date How to convert leads into new customers and the impact this will have on your revenue, gross profit and net profit Strategies to improve your revenue, gross profit, and understanding of overhead expensesSave the date - 12 noon on August 31 - and we'll see you there. Click here to register now - and you can even ask us a question beforehand! https://register. gotowebinar. com/register/6509568848939457549? source=Mogul --- - Published: 2021-06-25 - Modified: 2021-06-25 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/the-case-for-a-great-mobile-website/ - Categories: Digital disruption, eCommerce, Mobile Devices, Planning, Web Design, Web Tips It's 2021 and by now you are most likely aware of the fact the mobile has become very important for website owners. In fact, mobile devices accounted for over 54% of the world's website traffic in Q1 of this year. It is clear that mobile is no longer the afterthought it once was and therefore we all need to take it seriously.   Your brand and mobile   It makes sense that people are more likely to recommend a brand after a positive experience on their mobile site. A website that is not responsive can be a frustrating battle of swiping and pinching that leaves the user feeling lost and unable to achieve what they want to. Backing that up, when people have a negative brand experience on mobile, they are 62% less likely to purchase from that brand in the future than if they have a positive experience. So no matter if you are a glass-half-empty or glass-half-full person, the data unequivocally points towards having a better mobile site.   The "I want to buy" moment Obviously a big part of the web is buying things and as the usage of mobiles goes up, so too does the confidence of consumers to purchase items online via their mobile devices. A key part of a customers journey is the "I want to buy moment". This is the moment where a consumer decides to put dollars behind their decision to purchase an item and initiates the purchasing journey by jumping online... --- - Published: 2021-05-25 - Modified: 2021-06-01 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/free-digital-boost-workshop-in-napier-may-31/ - Categories: Digital Marketing, News, People, Web Tips My newest job title is... Digital Business Ambassador for Hawke's Bay! As part of MBIE's Digital Boost programme, I'm holding a FREE 90-minute Digital Boost workshop at the Business Hub in Ahuriri, Napier on Monday May 31 at 8am. Digital Boost is a series of free online courses to give you the digital skills to do business smarter. They’re taught by Kiwi experts who make it all straightforward. And because the courses are online, you can jump in and out whenever suits you. In the workshop show you how you can use the new digital business tools to get through these uncertain times and maybe even achieve unprecedented success. . and I'll give you some top tips from my years in the digital marketing business at Mogul Digital NZ. The workshop will cover: - How to use digital tools in your business to remove manual working hours and free up your time - How to market to your ideal customer using Facebook, Instagram, Google and Youtube - How to increase customers through your website and learn how to build one yourself - How to sign up for the free online Digital Boost platform If you're keen to come along, you can get in early and pre-register here: https://www. eventbrite. com/e/digital-boost-workshop-with-digital-ambassador-matthew-miller-tickets-154338182659? aff=ebdssbcitybrowse --- - Published: 2021-05-05 - Modified: 2021-05-06 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/want-more-organic-traffic-you-may-be-interested-in-our-do-it-yourself-seo-coaching-services/ - Categories: Digital Marketing, Google, News, SEO, Web Tips, WordPress Searching Engine Optimizing SEO Browsing Concept In 2018, we had a simple idea: why not help our clients improve their own Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) on a regular basis without needing to pay us? In a world dominated by search engines, SEO is something you should be doing on a regular basis. If you’re not on the first page of Google, hardly anybody is going to find you, because hardly anybody looks beyond page one. We thought it would be especially useful to help our clients write well-optimised blog posts as they wrote them. We looked at the two most popular WordPress SEO plugins, All in One SEO and Yoast (which most of our clients use anyway), and neither of them did this at the time so we decided to build our own SEO plugin. We wanted our plugin to provide a % score on each page to rate its content against a specific SEO keyword or phrase so the publisher would be able to tweak and test it to make it more attractive to Google for organic search. After hundreds of hours of work (as all these internal projects are) we started using the Mogul SEO plugin on our own website, as well as the websites of our search marketing clients, with great success. But we never found the time to do anything more with it than that. Fast-forward to February 2021: we decided to revisit our SEO plugin to see if it might still be a valuable tool... --- - Published: 2021-04-29 - Modified: 2021-06-01 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/readability-101/ - Categories: Content, Google, SEO, Web Tips, WordPress An often-overlooked component of developing websites is creating the content for them. It seems easy enough on the surface: To start, throw a few words together to create some sentences Secondly, repeat the above step a few times to create some paragraphs And lastly, repeat steps 1 and 2 Clearly those steps are bit tongue in cheek, but the reality remains that if you want good content you need to think about it a bit more. One of the ways of doing that is by taking a look at your content's readability.   What is readability? Readability is a measure of how easy a piece of text is to read. Simple enough. But we can often lose sight of this, instead focusing on cramming keywords and the like into our content. The result is content that is hard to read and even harder to understand. Don't get me wrong - keywords are a great way to improve your website's SEO. But so too is making your content readable.   How to improve readability Improving readability is not as hard as you may think. Sure - some of us are not naturally gifted writers, but regardless of your ability there are some simple guidelines you can follow.   1. Shorter sentences and words Shorter sentences are easier to read and help prevent reader fatigue. In addition, shorter words can help readers understand your content more easily.   2. Spelling and grammar This one should be obvious. Bad spelling and grammar turn... --- - Published: 2021-04-22 - Modified: 2021-04-22 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/5-tips-for-hardening-and-protecting-your-website/ - Categories: Security, Web Tips, WordPress We've all heard the stories about websites being attacked, hacked, breached and otherwise messed up. Having cleaned up and rebuilt my share of hacked sites, I've seen the most common security mistakes time and time again. Here are my top 5 tips for keeping your site - and your customer data - safe and secure. 1. Keep up to date This one applies to pretty much all software on the internet, but none more so than WordPress and its plugins. When a security vulnerability is identified in a piece of software, the developers will usually release a fix in the form of a security update. As a website owner, you want any relevant security updates applied to your site as soon as possible, to limit your exposure to the vulnerability. A regular maintenance plan is a good idea, because it's easy to let things like updating software slip behind other priorities. 2. Hide behind someone bigger and tougher One of the easiest things you can do with most websites is use a service like Cloudflare. It stands between your website and the rest of the internet like a big, usually-invisible bouncer, automatically questioning suspicious characters or blocking them altogether. You can also give it your own instructions, including geo-based rules to determine which countries can visit your site freely, who should be challenged with a captcha, and who is not on the guest list at all. Anecdotally, I've seen geo blocks on the usual suspects reduce the automated attacks on... --- - Published: 2021-04-15 - Modified: 2021-04-15 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/how-can-i-use-conversion-optimisation-to-grow-my-business/ - Categories: Digital Marketing, Planning, Web Tips I once worked for a software company that had a photo of the founder on the app, asking for donations. When they added a picture of his cat, the conversion rate went from 1. 5% to 3%. Revenue doubled overnight. Because of a cat! This is called conversion optimisation. It means making small changes to your website that lead to huge results. Conversion is a word you see used a lot in digital marketing. The best way to think about it is for it to count as conversion, someone or something has to convert - i. e. change - in a meaningful way. If we treat marketing as a series of attempts to change people’s behaviour, then conversion occurs when our relationship with that person changes because of something they have chosen to do. E. g. once a stranger becomes an acquaintance, they can never go back to being a stranger (unless you lose your memory, of course... ). Once someone buys something from you, they are now a customer. You have a commercial relationship with them, and that is extremely powerful. When someone signs up for your email newsletter, you now have permission to send them relevant information about your offerings, possibly for the rest of their life... again, very powerful. These are examples of good conversions. Others can include: Someone signs up to a recurring subscription A customer upgrades to a more expensive/profitable plan Someone donates to your nonprofit There are also what I call viral conversions. These... --- - Published: 2021-03-24 - Modified: 2021-03-24 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/is-it-time-for-a-content-clean/ - Categories: Content, SEO, Web Tips Keeping your website's content up-to-date and fresh can often fall in the too-hard basket. I get it, you have more pressing issues or tasks to deal with and changing a few words or images on your website doesn't seem worth the time. Well, simply put... it is. But why? Why update your website's content? A website littered with old or poor content reeks of unprofessionalism. Your website is often a potential customer's first impression of your business and by showing them your not-so-best side you can turn them away before you've had time to state your case. You may have the best product or service but that may mean nothing if your credibility has already taken a hit via poor content. It is also not just humans who can be so harsh when judging your website's content. Search engines look down on poor content. Google in particular likes websites whose content is regularly updated and well-structured. Therefore, keeping your content well thought-out and fresh should help your search rankings. Do the opposite and you may take a rankings tumble. What can you do about it? Sure, updating content can take a while. But thankfully, it can be broken down into smaller more manageable tasks. Below are some of the areas worth focusing on. It's up to you which ones you tackle and how often but if there is one thing I want you take from this article it is the importance of regularly reviewing your website's content. So please make... --- - Published: 2021-03-17 - Modified: 2021-03-17 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/ecommerce-close-up-series-is-woocommerce-right-for-my-business/ - Categories: eCommerce, Planning, WooCommerce, WordPress There’s a bewildering array of options available for businesses wanting to sell products online. In this series we will take a look at the most popular eCommerce platforms, to help you decide which one is right for you. Today we’re looking at WooCommerce WooCommerce is the world's most popular eCommerce software, with a market share of around 26% at time of writing. If you shop online, chances are you've used WooCommerce even if you didn't know it at the time. Because it's built on WordPress, a WooCommerce store will usually be fully integrated with the website's design, so you probably won't even know you're using a WooCommerce store unless you know exactly what to look for. Who is WooCommerce for? It's fair to say WooCommerce is the most flexible and customisable eCommerce platform around, so it can be used for just about any size or type of store. It is arguably a bit overkill for a really basic store with just a handful of products and categories, but you don't have to customise it; as long as your WordPress theme supports WooCommerce, you can use it right out of the box. If you need to get fancy, WooCommerce will get as fancy as you want. A subscription website where customers buy products by weight or length instead of quantity, with special discounts for resellers? You got it. You're not going to be able to build a replacement Amazon. com with it, but for medium-sized sites and smaller ones with special... --- - Published: 2021-03-11 - Modified: 2021-03-12 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/simplifying-ux-user-experience-planning/ - Categories: Consultation, News, Planning, Web Design I have been known to clap my hands with joy when UX design comes up in conversation - not because it's the new hot topic - but because user-first is how we have approached website projects since 2007, way before before it was one of the top five in-demand skills according to a LinkedIn report (2020)*. So what is UX design? Put simply, it's how a user interacts with a product/platform/service. Done well, the experience should be easy, seamless and enjoyable. When it's done badly the experience will be jarring, disappointing and frustrating. I love this example of a bad user experience from CareerFoundry. com**: But there is so much information online about, and associated with, the UX process (customer interviews, persona planning, customer experience journey planning, site architecture, wireframe planning, prototype planning, prototype testing), and it can be confusing and hard to understand. Absolutely UX design for apps can be extremely complex and require intense and extensive planning, but I think UX design for marketing websites can be overcooked. And while the KISS methodology isn't the best approach either, hopefully this article will help to simplify what UX design might look like for a simple marketing website. Back in the early 2000s, UX design wasn't really a thing yet, but while other web companies and marketing agencies were saying “you have three boxes on the homepage, what content do you want to put in them? ”... ... we were asking questions about who their customers were, what were they... --- - Published: 2021-03-04 - Modified: 2021-03-04 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/stop-spying-on-me-the-end-is-nigh-for-cross-site-tracking-cookies/ - Categories: Digital Advertising, Google, News, Web Tips You might have seen a few stories in the news lately about tracking cookies. If you haven’t been reading the news (and I don’t blame you if you haven’t) then you might have noticed content about cookies in other places. Like your antivirus software firing up with warnings about tracking cookies. Or if you have visited any websites based in Europe, you will have been bombarded with notices about how the website uses cookies and do you consent?   Unfortunately most people don’t really understand what cookies are and don’t really care. So I thought I would write a few words on the topics of privacy and digital marketing to let you know where things currently stand and what changes we can expect to see in the near future, especially regarding a major update to Google Chrome, the world's most popular browser. First of all, what is a cookie? A cookie is a bit of code that a website puts on your computer when you visit it. The main reason is so that, if you leave the page and come back, the website knows it’s still you. This is incredibly important if you are logged in to a website. Without it, it would be impossible to stay logged in. The same goes for a website with a shopping cart: every time you visit a new page on the site, it needs to keep the same items in your cart. Some cookies persist for days or weeks - if you add... --- - Published: 2021-02-18 - Modified: 2021-02-18 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/5-reasons-its-time-for-a-new-website/ - Categories: Mobile Devices, News, Planning, Security, Web Design Websites take time, money and the right people. In the past just having a website was good enough regardless of how well it functioned or looked. But those days are long over and today's users expect a certain quality when visiting websites. Anything less and they are quick to move on. With that in mind it might be time for a new website. But how do you know if what you currently have is good enough? There's only one way to find out and that's by putting on your critical thinking glasses and reviewing your website. So open up your website in another browser window and read on to find out if and where your website falls short and requires an upgrade.   1. It just looks bad! First up, it's the obvious one: your website just looks bad. Usually this tends to be because the site looks so outdated that it transports you back in time to the mid 2000s. A reminder, that was 15 years ago. A long time in any business but especially long in an industry that changes so quickly as online does. If you cringe when viewing your own website, what do you think your users and potential customers do? Get a designer in and give your website a more modern look. Your customers will thank you for it.   2. Users hate using it   Is this one of your websites users? Your customers and potential customers are meant to be able to use... --- - Published: 2021-02-10 - Modified: 2021-02-10 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/why-grading-tools-arent-everything-for-your-website/ - Categories: Content, Mobile Devices, Technology Website grading tools have come a long way over recent years. The days of just measuring 'page speed' are long gone; modern tools now provide sophisticated reports showing measurements for every aspect of your page content, along with useful suggestions for improvement. The other thing they give you is a nice big score or grade, usually colour-coded red, yellow or (hopefully) green. While it's great to be able to summarise so much detail in such a simple way, it's important to remember that getting a high score is not the ultimate goal with your website; it's just a tool in your toolkit. Scoring goals As a website owner, your site's goals are what you decide they are. Maybe you want to drive enquiries for your sales team, or maybe you want the website to convert the customers itself. Sometimes you are just trying to tell your story, or stand out from your competitors when potential clients are researching their options. Whatever your goals are, the way to achieve them is with an effective website for that purpose. 'Effective' in one case might mean a lot of high-res images or video, with a bunch of tracking scripts to understand exactly how your users are interacting with the site. In another case, an effective site might have just one purpose and no need to sell itself - maybe it's a transactional site accepting registrations for an event, or providing some official documentation for a product. These sites are going to look and... --- - Published: 2021-02-04 - Modified: 2021-02-04 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/rule-number-one-listen-to-your-customers/ - Categories: Client Service, Consultation It sounds so obvious, but most of us are really bad at it - talking (and listening) to our customers. As Matt said last week, understanding their customer is one of the most important things that a successful business gets right. And at Mogul, what we enjoy most is developing and maintaining valued, high-trust relationships where our clients know we have their backs and they can trust that we will always deliver. So we've started the year doing some of our own customer research to understand what our clients want from Mogul in 2021. Most of our clients want to achieve these 3 Key Digital Goals: Grow leads and enquiries Find efficiencies eg. create team capacity, streamline workflows Achieve or keep their competitive edge   What is Mogul going to do about it? In the past couple of weeks we have developed and committed to a plan of: Regular 1-1 direct contact in person or via Zoom Checking up on our clients and pushing them to achieve their digital goals Helping them to track and measure in order to sell more/be more efficient with resources Proactively sharing relevant technology and marketing trends, ideas focused on sales and efficiencies, timely information to reduce risk Keeping them up to date with any funding opportunities   Where are we going to start? We’re kicking the year off with an 1-1 consultation to run through these 3 critical questions: What do you need from your website and/or marketing this year? e. g. increase website... --- - Published: 2021-02-03 - Modified: 2021-02-03 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/the-5-things-that-every-successful-business-gets-right/ - Categories: Consultation, Digital Marketing, Planning As a digital marketing company we come into contact with all sorts of different businesses. Some are very successful, some muddle through, and some never really get out of first gear. As marketers we can help with a lot of things, but there are certain fundamentals that, if they are not done correctly, mean that the business will never provide a living for its owners or employees. For a lot of people, including me, running a business can seem like the most complex, difficult, frustrating thing that anyone has ever attempted. But it’s not. The most complex, difficult thing ever invented is actually golf. However, anyone who has ever played golf to a high level (not me - yet) will tell you that golf is actually very simple. All you need to do is these five things: Find out where the hole is. Hit the ball as close as you can to the hole. Walk quickly and find the ball. Go back to step 1 until the ball is in the hole. Pick up your ball and walk quickly to the next tee. If you can follow these simple instructions without throwing your clubs in the bushes, then you’ll play with a smile on your face, you’ll make great friends and you’ll enjoy golf for the rest of your life. You might even get so good at it that you make a lot of money and get famous. Business is very similar. You don’t have to be perfect but you... --- - Published: 2021-01-28 - Modified: 2021-01-28 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/shutting-the-door-on-plugin-vulnerabilities/ - Categories: News, Plugins, Security Wordfence reports up to 90,000 attacks on WordPress sites every minute. That is clearly a problem. Both for me, as someone who maintains websites and for you, as someone who runs or owns a website. So what can we do about it? Well the first step to solving a problem is understanding it. And today, in this article we are going to focus on understanding one of the causes of so many of these attacks, vulnerable plugins.   What is a plugin? Plugins, the giver of so much functionality yet so much potential grief are bundles of code that provide extra functionality to your WordPress based website. They do this by plugging in (get it? ) to your website, essentially inserting themselves in your website and becoming part of your websites environment. And to say there is a lot of them would be quite the understatement. In fact, according to the WordPress plugin directory itself there are 58,392 that currently exist. That's a whole lot of guests you are inviting to your website by installing them. And just like inviting guest to a real party, that means that there is always potential for someone unwanted slipping through.   What threat do plugins pose? Plugins pose a threat to your website through plugin vulnerabilities. What is this you may ask? Quite simply it is an issue in the plugins code that gives hackers an opportunity at exploiting your website. How they do this depends on the vulnerability type but some commonly... --- - Published: 2021-01-26 - Modified: 2021-01-26 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/website-vulnerability-report-january-2021/ - Categories: WordPress Plugins are great and provide us with ways to add all kinds of functionality to our WordPress built websites. But they are unfortunately not perfect. Those same plugins that provide so much benefit to us can also open the digital door of our websites to opportunistic hackers. That's an invite we do not want to extend. So what can we do about it then? Well the first step is to stay informed. You can't fix a problem you don't know about. That is why starting this month we will be posting a monthly report on the recently found vulnerabilities that exist in plugins. So read on to find out what vulnerable plugins could be putting your website at risk in January and take the first step in keeping your website safe. Contact Form Submissions Plugin Summary of the vulnerability: Successful exploitation of this bug may allow authenticated attackers to steal sensitive user information like password hashes and in certain scenarios, lead to a complete compromise of your WordPress installation. Our recommendation: This plugin does not appear to be maintained anymore, the last update was 11 months ago and the developer is not active on the support forums. Therefore we recommend that the plugin is removed immediately and replaced with a similar more up to date plugin. Advanced Custom Fields Plugin Summary of the vulnerability: Data from an attacker could be interpreted as code by site visitors' web browsers. The ability to run code in another site visitors' browser can be... --- - Published: 2021-01-20 - Modified: 2021-01-20 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/ecommerce-close-up-series-is-shopify-right-for-my-business/ - Categories: eCommerce, Web Tips There's a bewildering array of options available for businesses wanting to sell products online. In this series we will take a look at the most popular eCommerce platforms, to help you decide which one is right for you. Today we're looking at Shopify. Shopify began life as a custom, one-off snowboard store in the mid-2000s. It has since become home to over a million merchants, who have collectively made over US$200B in sales. Who is Shopify for? Shopify was originally designed for small stores selling a reasonably limited range of products, and it's fair to say this is still where Shopify shines. The cheapest plan is US$29/month, which gets you everything you really need to sell online. The most expensive plan is a hefty US$299 month, and this is the only plan with calculated shipping rates at checkout. If you're looking at this plan, there are probably better options for you than Shopify. It has tools to let you easily manage a few dozen products, but you'll start to struggle when you get into the hundreds or thousands. One of the biggest limitations is its category structure, which won't go beyond two levels without awkward workarounds and theme hackery. Last year Shopify launched Shopify Plus which is aimed at the enterprise market, offering more advanced features than the standard platform. Pricing starts at US$2000 / month, so it's clearly at the Serious end of the off-the-shelf eCommerce market. Should you use Shopify? It's a great option if you are comfortable... --- - Published: 2020-12-10 - Modified: 2020-12-10 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/advanced-search-engine-options-for-wordpress/ - Categories: Developer resources, WordPress I've recently been working on the search engine for a large, information-dense WordPress site. The Hawke's Bay Knowledge Bank has more than 36,000 documents published and searchable, so there is a plenty of text information for a search engine to work with. In this post I want to take a look at some of the search engine options available for large WordPress sites, and go into a little more detail on the solution I arrived at. Vanilla search The default WordPress search engine is perfectly fine for small sites (up to a couple of hundred pages), perhaps with a plugin or two to manage which content types and custom fields are indexed. However, it's only a very basic keyword search. It does make an attempt to sort by relevance, but it doesn't offer too many features beyond that unless you build them yourself. It also directly searches your website database, which is not going to scale with a large site, especially if it's busy. Relevanssi - a big step up For a while we used Relevanssi. This plugin is a full replacement for the default WordPress search, and a major improvement too. You can get the free version installed and working in a few minutes. Unlike some plugins, the free version has most of the core features you really need (the premium version does things like indexing PDF files, which might be an attractive feature in some cases). If you're a developer, it also has good documentation and a bunch... --- - Published: 2020-12-03 - Modified: 2020-12-03 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/reflection-on-the-craziest-year-and-finally-discovering-work-life-balance/ - Categories: General news, Mogul News Let's face it, it's been a pretty sh*t year and one most of us will be pleased to see the back of! We started the year by downsizing the team to 'core' and focusing on the type of work we wanted to be doing. For Matt and me that was ramping up our consulting work, and for the production team it was focusing on projects that sit neatly within our wheelhouse and skillset. That was all going very well, then - COVID. Lockdown for us was an easier transition than perhaps for many. We were already set up with our key cloud tools - Slack, Google Drive and Zoom, so we were able to keep calm and carry on throughout. Daily WIPs and weekly team meetings on Zoom became 'BAU' (business as usual) and regular client catch ups on Zoom 'normal'. Then when the RBP COVID funding was announced we quickly introduced a new cloud tool to our toolbox - Mural, which allowed us to conduct co-design strategy sessions with clients up and down the country. When we moved back into the office in June it all felt a bit weird. We'd been trying to find 'roommates' to help fill our 466sqm office when we got back from the holidays at the beginning of the year, but we then made a decision to start advertising in earnest. To our surprise and delight, a large company from Christchurch appeared in the office one day and said they'd take the whole building... --- - Published: 2020-11-25 - Modified: 2021-01-25 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/improving-your-online-store/ - Categories: eCommerce, Google, Web Tips, WooCommerce The latest data from NZ Post's eCommerce Spotlight suggests that the recent increase in online shopping may mark a long-term shift in the way consumers purchase their goods. Gone are the days of tentative online purchasing where shoppers have been reluctant to trust digital selling. Instead, we have seen shoppers grow more and more confident in online stores as they dive headfirst into the Internet to do their shopping. Selling online: is it enough? If you've already got an online store, you may be patting yourself on the back after hearing that shoppers are migrating to the web in increased numbers. But having an online store is only the first step to having a successful online business. The second step is making sure it is optimised. That's where this article comes in. Because if you want the best results you'll need to make decisions, and to make decisions you'll need data. If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it. - Peter Drucker Data is everything in the online world, and to get data you need to measure things. In this case, the case of an eCommerce website, that data comes from a smart offering by Google Analytics called Enhanced eCommerce. Enhanced Ecommerce Want to get to know your customers or potential customers? Want to see how they behave on your website? Well, look no further than Enhanced Ecommerce. By setting up enhanced eCommerce on your eCommerce website you'll be able to gain insights into how your online store is... --- - Published: 2020-11-19 - Modified: 2020-11-19 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/power-searching-with-google/ - Categories: Google, SEO, Web Tips The ability to find and understand information really is one of the most valuable work and life skills you can have these days. Yes, I'm talking about 'Google-fu'. Anyone can type something into a search box and get some results back, but quickly and effectively finding specific information is a real skill which can be developed and improved. In this post I want to look at some tips and tricks to power up your Google searching. Many of these also apply to other search engines (yes, there are some others). Smooth operators Photo by Duncan Meyer on Unsplash The words you type into the search box are still the main factor in determining your results. In the early days of search engines they were the only factor, but these days Google tries to meet you halfway (or closer) by factoring in as much context as it can, considering: who is paying Google the most money your geographical location your past searches every other aspect of your life Google can measure, harvest and monetise While you can't do too much about these factors, you do still have a lot of control over how Google handles your search queries via 'search operators'. These let you tell Google much more specifically what you want to see in your results, and what you don't. Let's take a quick look at some of the most useful search operators: "Exact phrase" Putting double quotes around your search will ensure Google looks for that exact phrase, not... --- - Published: 2020-11-11 - Modified: 2020-11-11 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/a-simple-website-audit-for-digital-marketing/ - Categories: Consultation, Digital Marketing, Planning, Web Design, Web Tips Your website is almost always the most important part of your digital marketing mix. It’s the only bit of digital real estate that you actually ‘own’, you are in complete control of it, and there is no excuse for it to be shoddy. You only get one chance to make a first impression, after all. So what’s your website like? And what would a checklist for a digital marketing audit even look like? It depends to certain extent on why people visit your website. Everyone’s website is different and you need to apply your own experience to create the ideal audit. Fortunately for you, I have found that a really easy way to organise your thinking around this is the Value Proposition Canvas. First: imagine the most important person who is going to visit your website today. They might be the person who spends the most money, or the person who needs what you’ve got the most. Or a super-talented person looking for a new job. Then, imagine the most important things they want to do on your website. Then put these jobs in order from most important to least important. This is called ‘Jobs to be done’. This important person’s list of jobs to be done might look something like this: Get your phone number Get your email address Make an appointment Find out if you might be a suitable supplier for them Find out why you are so special Buy something Browse your products Find out your address... --- - Published: 2020-11-03 - Modified: 2020-11-30 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/correctly-sizing-images-for-your-website/ - Categories: Design, Web Tips Sizing images for your website can be a painful and complicated task. We know how tricky it can be so we have created a simple step-by-step guide to help you correctly size images for your website. NB. you can find out how to choose images for your website based on your brand in Jerome's post here. Why is it important? Having the correct image size is important for 2 main reasons: 1. Visual Consistency When you add new images to your website you want them to look well-positioned and consistent with the other images on your site. It's also important that they line correctly and fit nicely with the content on the page. 2. Speed optimisation We all love big, beautiful, high-resolution images, but large file sizes slow down your website’s load speed. Not only is this an awful user experience, but Google will penalise you when ordering your blog within search results. How to size your image You have chosen your image and it looks great! Maybe a photographer took it, or you took it on your iPhone, or you downloaded a stock image. We need to make sure it's the correct size. While we tend to use Photoshop, that's not an option for most of our clients, so we have been recommending this free tool to clients for years to help them size images. It's super-easy and intuitive. Go to https://pixlr. com/x/ Click “create new” on the left-hand side of the screen. It has a variety of pre-set... --- - Published: 2020-10-14 - Modified: 2020-10-14 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/mogul-partners-in-action/ - Categories: Consultation, News, Partners We recently launched our new Mogul Partner offering and we've had a remarkable response so far! The key feedback we have received from our recent clients has been that they have really appreciated working with Mogul because while we have led and managed the project, we have been able to pull in experts as and when required. As a result, the whole process has been valuable, easy and seamless. Currently, we are seeing two ways that our clients want to engage with us: 1. Mogul in a leading role The RBP COVID Funding has been a godsend for hundreds of businesses across the country and we have been lucky enough to be working with quite a few of them. The funding has given them an opportunity to look at their business from a more strategic perspective and with a forward-thinking approach. We are finding that these companies are all looking for very similar things: 1. How to position their company in the current competitive market to attract and retain clients 2. Understand how their clients’ needs have changed, how they can continue to meet their needs, and/or meet their new needs. 3. A clear implementation plan for moving forward into the future. The brilliant thing about Mogul Partners is when we are working with a client who has specific needs, in a specific industry, we can bring in our expert partners to provide the best possible advice based on years of experience. In our recent Mogul Partners projects, we have... --- - Published: 2020-10-06 - Modified: 2020-10-08 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/how-to-wordpress-jquery-datatables/ - Categories: Developer resources, WordPress Sometimes you just need a big list of data. It's not the most glamorous kind of web development, but we're often asked to build user interfaces for viewing or working with data stored in a WordPress site. There are countless ways you can do this, but recently a couple of projects have reintroduced me to a simple and effective approach: jQuery DataTables This venerable plugin goes all the way back to 2008, but is still being actively developed and offers a lot of features with relatively little code. It also has good documentation, heaps of examples and a large userbase which makes it easier to find help with any issues you encounter. Here's my quick how-to for getting up and running with DataTables on WordPress. Step 1. Get the jQuery DataTables assets onto your page Let's do this the proper way, in your functions. php Nothing fancy there, just enqueuing the JavaScript and CSS files, and telling WordPress to load jQuery before the DataTables plugin. Step 2. Add the basic table structure You don't need much HTML for the table - the rows and columns will come from the plugin, so just add the basic structure and column headers. This example has some extra PHP because it's a custom WordPress page template, but the (minimal) HTML is the important bit. Step 3. Create a data source Now we need some data for our table. I am going to let DataTables handle all the filtering and searching, so WordPress just needs... --- - Published: 2020-09-29 - Modified: 2020-09-29 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/automatic-updates-too-good-to-be-true/ - Categories: Web Tips, WordPress Plugin vulnerabilities represent 55. 9% of the known entry points for website attacks. It is an unfortunate reality: the most common entry point for WordPress website attacks is via an out-of-date plugin. Unfortunate because keeping WordPress plugins up to date is a reasonably straightforward, albeit time-consuming exercise. Therefore the stat above does not just give us a wake-up on the merits of regularly updating our websites plugins but also serves as an opportunity. An opportunity to put in some effort to reap some large security boosting rewards. But how much effort do we really need to put in? Automatic Updates Traditionally, the updating of plugins is done entirely manually. A developer runs the updates and then checks that all is still well on the website from a functional and visual perspective. But this can be very time consuming and if things go wrong (which they do) can leave you with a broken website. That's where Smart Plugin Manager comes in. Smart Plugin Manager (SPM) is a tool released by the web host WP Engine that aims to solve this problem. SPM can run those updates for you, all automatically! Genius! Not only that but SPM visually checks that the plugin updates have not changed anything on the website. If it does notice changes it reverts the website to its pre-update state and lets you know via an email. On the face of it, SPM seems to be the real deal, keeping your website up to date without the need for... --- - Published: 2020-09-24 - Modified: 2020-09-24 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/how-to-prioritise-digital-marketing-tasks/ - Categories: Digital Advertising, Digital Marketing, Email Marketing, SEO, Web Tips First of all, let’s remind ourselves what marketing actually means: Marketing is about identifying and meeting human and social needs. One of the shortest definitions, from Kotler, is “meeting needs profitably. ” But that’s a bit boring. How about... ? “Telling such a good story that your customers forget about how much they are paying you”. Just about everything you do in digital marketing is communication. Communicating the right message at the right time in the right place to the right person. Everything else you do is in support of these activities. These can include gathering information, asking questions, reporting, forecasting, playing around with software, doing spreadsheets etc. In fact, there are roughly a million different things you can do in digital marketing. You can create websites, send emails, create display ads, post on Instagram, tweet, write blog posts, pay for listings on other websites, and create landing pages and snazzy lead generation forms. A digital marketer can quite happily fill their days being extremely busy. But all of this activity costs time, and therefore money. Any time you spend time or money, you only get to spend it once, and you need to be fairly sure it’s the best thing you can be spending it on. So we must prioritise. Prioritising Marketing Tasks Ask yourself “What is the most important thing I could be doing right now? ”. Quite often, the answer is “I don’t know”. That’s OK. That just means that the most important thing to do is... --- - Published: 2020-09-15 - Modified: 2020-11-18 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/how-to-create-a-content-marketing-plan/ - Categories: Content, Digital Advertising, Digital disruption, Digital Marketing, News, Social Media Any brand can increase brand awareness and sales by the odd post here and there but those who are really successful have a plan and make smart strategic decisions. Without a strategy, success or failure is just luck. This guide will walk you through key steps to develop and execute your own content marketing plan to grow your business and generate leads. 1. Set your goals The most important part of any strategy or campaign or venture. Set your goals. What are you trying to achieve from your content marketing plan? Typical goals include Increased sales and getting more high-quality leads, which will help you meet your revenue goals. Increase traffic to your site, as the more traffic, there is, the greater the possibilities for meeting business goals, sales and brand awareness. Social media engagement, which can help with both traffic and authority. Build credibility in your brand, become a well-known name in your industry where people go for credible information. 2. Know your audience Before you can create successful engaging content you have got to know your audience. You need to be clear about who your audience is and create the right type of content on the right channels to reach them. Google Analytics, social media analytics, and email subscription lists will give you the data you need on your audience’s: Age Gender Education Location Interests Use these tools to see what content your audience is already engaging with, which social platforms they are using. This valuable information will... --- - Published: 2020-09-07 - Modified: 2020-11-19 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/how-to-select-images-for-your-website/ - Categories: Content, News You don't get long to make an impression on the web these days. Website visitors can be harsh critics. Quick to judge, they will not hesitate to navigate away from your website if given even the smallest excuse to do so. That is why it is important to give good thought to the images on your website. Below are some things to think about when selecting and using images on your website to make sure your images say "keep reading" and not "time to leave".   Choosing Images First and foremost you've got to select your images. We want them to show professionalism and a certain level of competence. They should also be on brand and stay in line with the messages your website is trying to convey. Take a look at the criteria below and ensure your images satisfy each. On Brand All images on your website should reflect your business. Not just what you do but how you do it. Are you a serious law firm? Then your images should probably give off a serious and trustworthy tone. Or perhaps your website is focused at kids, in which case your images should be playful and fun. Either way, the messages you give off through all media (not just images) on your website should be consistent so that it is clear to your viewers. Image Source Hopefully you have already decided upon a brand theme that your images should reflect (see the above point). That way when selecting your... --- - Published: 2020-08-26 - Modified: 2020-08-26 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/google-ads-sanity-checklist/ - Categories: Digital Advertising, Digital Marketing, News Google Ads can be a really great way to get your products and services in front of a lot of good prospects in a hurry. But it can also be incredibly frustrating, complicated, and confusing. And if you get it wrong or if you’re not paying attention to the right things, you can spend a lot of money without getting the results you need. If you’re running Ads campaigns for your boss or for a client, it can drive you insane. Over the years I have seen fine people reduced to snivelling wrecks, lured down the numerous rabbit holes and circular logic traps of Google’s vast marketing empire. So when I’m working on Google Ads for a client, at least once a month I go back to basics: my Google Ads sanity checklist. In this article I’ll go through the list one item at a time. In a spirit of generosity and in the interests of your mental health, I’m going to share it with you here: 1. What campaigns are running? OK. Real basics here. Let’s make sure we are advertising the right things for the client. If enrolment has finished for the semester, let’s turn off that campaign. If we’re in a pandemic, let’s stop selling cruise ship tickets. 2. What is the budget? Is it being spent? It’s all about the money with Google. You should know exactly how much money the client is comfortable spending each month. And you should try to hit that number. If... --- - Published: 2020-08-18 - Modified: 2020-08-18 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/whats-the-best-ecommerce-solution-for-your-business/ - Categories: Cool Stuff, eCommerce, News, Web Tips, WooCommerce Even before the improbable series of calamities we know as 2020, the growth figures for eCommerce were staggering. From an already-impressive $562 billion in global eCommerce sales in 2010, the figure had hit nearly $5. 5 trillion in 2019 (source). The global COVID-19 pandemic has of course accelerated this wildly, with reports in April 2020 showing online spending in New Zealand up more than 100% on April the previous year. Along with this huge increase in online purchasing activity, a diverse range of online marketplaces, self-hosted applications and 'software as a service' platforms have emerged to fill various niches in the eCommerce ecosystem. With so many options available, how do you begin to decide which one is best for your business? Fundamentals At Mogul we have been building online stores and customising third-party eCommerce platforms for most of the past decade. We've learned to start with a few fundamental points when advising any client on how they should approach selling online. Cost There's no getting around it, cost is always a critical factor for any business solution. The costs of eCommerce include up-front costs for getting up and running, ongoing maintenance and the often less tangible cost of managing the online store over time. Then there's marketing to draw new customers in, plus analysis and refinement to remove obstacles and encourage customers to get all the way through to a purchase. Control How much control do you have over the customer experience, and how much do you need? Can you... --- - Published: 2020-08-12 - Modified: 2020-08-12 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/a-change-for-the-better/ - Categories: Mogul News, Planning, Technology, WordPress For the last 13 years, we have passionately created custom WordPress themes for our clients, but COVID gave us an opportunity to review and rethink this strategy. When we started using WordPress in 2007, while very popular with many web companies, we found off-the-shelf WordPress themes awful, clunky and difficult to add custom functionality to. We wanted to create beautiful, fast and functional websites so discarded using themes as a viable option for our business, and decided not to work with any WordPress theme websites. However, we were creating every single website from scratch and quickly realised that we were reinventing the wheel with every build and looked for ways to reuse common code to reduce time and cost. So we invested our time and energy to create and maintain our own WordPress framework to address two key pain points: reduce time/cost by not having to create everything from scratch each time make it easier for our clients to manage their content It has been a wonderful platform over the years, it has enabled us to deliver high-end websites at a fraction of the cost of a high-end custom build, and it has allowed our client's businesses to grow - without growing out of their websites. But lately, there have been a few niggles that we have been endeavouring to address and we came to the conclusion that we had two options - start again, or look for a standard WordPress framework that is well-known, widely used and will meet... --- - Published: 2020-08-06 - Modified: 2020-08-11 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/staying-home-and-thriving/ - Categories: Careers, Cool Stuff, General news, Mogul News, News, People, Planning We are shifting the way we work at Mogul at the moment. Dreaming bigger, working smarter and creating our own opportunities. We catch up with Becca for some tips to pivot and thrive in tough times. What keeps you productive, inspired and focussed? I've had experience working from home in the past so the transition has been an easy one for me personally. I have come to enjoy the minimal distractions and peacefulness of being out of the busy office environment. One of the main things that keep me inspired is my little office set up. I've got my laptop set up close to the window that gets the most natural light in the house. It’s so great to start every morning with a nice cup of coffee and beautiful morning light pouring across my screen as I check my emails and plan my day. In terms of productivity and staying focused, I write lists and plan out my day first thing every morning. I write everything down that I need to do (for the day or the week). Getting it all down on paper keeps my mind at ease and I know I haven’t forgotten anything. From there I prioritise the tasks and work out which are achievable within the day and which things can be pushed out till tomorrow. This routine sets me up for success every day and also keeps me accountable. What're your top tips for working from home? As a team it's important we stay... --- - Published: 2020-07-23 - Modified: 2020-07-27 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/mentoring-and-internships/ - Categories: Careers, Cool Stuff, Mogul News, News, People Recently, Mogul had the pleasure of welcoming an intern aka Greg to the office. A BCS student at the Eastern Institute of Technology, Greg was required, as part of his studies, to complete an internship. Knowing how to spot a great opportunity from a mile away, Mogul took Greg on as an intern and assigned him the task of taking one of Mogul's services (SLAs) to the next level. The Project Goal Setting Priority numero uno was setting the goals of the internship and more specifically the goals of the SLA Project. What did we want to accomplish? What did Greg want to get out of being an intern at Mogul? Both needed to be thought about and a solid project foundation needed to be built from the answers. What was also important was getting Greg on board with the project from the start. Since he was to be completing the bulk of the work he needed to understand each component in as much detail as possible. This would mean that if project decisions needed to be made he could provide his own thoughts on those decisions and be able to back them up with solid evidence. Service Level Agreements SLAs or Service Level Agreements are essentially regularly occurring bouts of website maintenance. As our websites here at Mogul are WordPress based this means the SLAs generally consist of updating a websites plugins and checking the websites core functionality continues to work as it should, post these updates. As such,... --- - Published: 2020-07-15 - Modified: 2020-07-15 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/what-is-the-data-not-telling-us/ - Categories: Digital Advertising, Digital Marketing, News, Planning, SEO, Web Tips Data is everywhere these days. We are constantly assaulted with it, in just about every sphere of our lives. At work many of us are ruled by KPIs (key performance indicators - see my earlier blog post). Our businesses run on cloud-based systems like Xero which allow realtime tracking of all sorts of metrics that we used to have to pay an accountant a fortune to provide. You can’t watch sport on TV without getting an endless stream of statistics, and if you turn on the news you’ll get the running Covid-19 total for the day. With all this data around to help us make better decisions, you would think we would be the most perfectly-optimised, happy and effective generation to ever inhabit the earth. Maybe we are... but I’m not feeling it.   As a digital marketing company, one of the questions we hear over and over again is “What is the data telling us? ”. Data can tell you whatever you want. It depends on what you need to know, the questions you’re asking, and your motivation for finding out. But I’ve seen plenty of projects turn bad because not enough thought was put into measuring whether things were actually working or not. (Warning: I’m the guy in the room who, after everyone high-fives, asks awkward questions like “What have we not thought about? Who should be in the room but isn’t? Who have we not talked to? ”) When it comes to data, I am much more... --- - Published: 2020-06-25 - Modified: 2020-06-26 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/adding-value-to-your-social-media-posts/ - Categories: Blogging, Cool Stuff, Design, Digital Advertising, Digital Marketing, Social Media, Web Tips In 2020, everyone is on social media. Your friends, your favourite restaurant, your grandma (she doesn’t really know what she’s doing but you bet she’s on there! ) Liking, posting, tweeting, sharing. Some people are doing it the right way... and others... well... are making a bit of a mess of it.     We, at Mogul, obviously want to make sure what we're doing with our social media accounts is right. But it's also important that we are adding value to the business and building relationships with our audience. I've been doing the odd post here and there on the Mogul channels but I realised a while ago that what we were missing was some focused goals. What were we actually trying to achieve with these posts? So I got the team together and ran a workshop (during lockdown! ) to brainstorm ideas of what content we could be creating that adds value to our clients and audience. We used Mural which is an awesome digital workspace for visual collaboration.   What are we trying to achieve? We discussed and decided on an overall goal for our social media channels and content marketing. We decided the main goal was to grow the brand and build awareness of who we are and what we are all capable of both individually and as a team. Post relevant and insightful content We all agreed that the blog posts we write are a great way to show off what we are capable of... --- - Published: 2020-06-11 - Modified: 2020-06-11 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/whats-in-a-domain-name/ - Categories: Technology, Web Tips Choosing the right domain name can be tough. Should you get a . nz or a . com? What about . cricket or . pizza? Your domain name is an extremely important part of your online presence. Clearly it represents your brand, but it's also a critical component of your IT infrastructure, email, website or ecommerce store. Image from Vecteezy So what is a domain name? In the simplest terms, a domain name works a bit like a name in a phone directory. If you know the name, you can find the correct phone number to get in touch. With websites, a domain name is translated into an IP address via a system called DNS and the connection is made. Similarly, to deliver an email to your@address. co. nz, DNS is used to find out which server handles mail for address. co. nz and the email is routed there. How do I choose a good domain name? Once upon a time your customers would need to write your website address down, then type it into their computer later. A short and memorable name was essential. With the rise of digital marketing and search engines like Google which (hopefully! ) bring customers directly to your site, your exact choice of domain name is arguably not as critical as it used to be. However it's still good to pick the simplest option you can, if only because you will have to live with it. You will inevitably end up typing it out... --- - Published: 2020-06-10 - Modified: 2020-06-10 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/the-mogul-office-is-closed-we-are-looking-for-new-premises/ - Categories: News We have closed the Mogul office at 10 Cooper Street, Havelock North. It was a great space but during the Covid-19 lockdown we found that our team is just as productive working from home. So we're all working remotely. But... we are still actively looking for new premises. Our focus is to establish a smaller space that is optimised for group work like meetings, workshops, and presentations rather than individual desks, cubicles and workstations. So if you know of anywhere that would be suitable, please let us know! --- - Published: 2020-06-04 - Modified: 2020-06-04 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/how-to-come-out-of-lockdown-stronger-team-session/ - Categories: Consultation, Planning Like most businesses in the world, we've taken a hit with COVID. We have had clients cancel, postpone, and unfortunately, some of them have gone out of business. And while we have been lucky enough to still have work to do through lockdown, we haven't been at full capacity with billable work so we talked to the team about how they might help us to come out of lockdown stronger. At the time we couldn't jump into the boardroom at the office around the whiteboard, so we used Mural, a virtual whiteboard app, and had a team session to brainstorm about improvements we could make, and identify new opportunities. Here is the session structure we used: 1. We defined our problem statement We started with our problem statement. It was important to define exactly the problem that we were trying to solve. This focused everyone on the task at hand, and if the conversation started to go down rabbit holes, we could bring everyone back to it:   2. We brainstormed as many ideas as we could Everyone got their thinking caps on and created sticky notes for every idea that popped into their heads. There are a few rules of brainstorming: defer judgement go for volume stay on topic build on the ideas of others encourage wild ideas be visual ... but there were no bad ideas, we were looking for ALL the ideas. PS. These were the ones that were left of ours, there were twice as many,... --- - Published: 2020-05-21 - Modified: 2020-05-21 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/google-and-its-box-of-tools/ - Categories: Cool Stuff, Digital Marketing, Google, News, SEO, Social Media, Technology, Web Tips Chances are you have ‘Googled’ something before. There you go, the title of Captain Obvious goes to yours truly and I graciously accept the honour. But the fact of the matter is Google plays a big part in our daily lives. It answers life’s greatest questions: What time does the local pub open? And details about the Rugby World Cup (as was the case last year in NZ). But Google also offers us a number of tools we can use to bring out the best in our websites. In the following paragraphs, I will be giving an overview of three of the most important tools and explaining why you should be using each of them. 1. Google Search Console First up we have Google Search Console, a tool that helps us notify Google about our website and lets us know of any search-related issues. Submit Your Sitemap Our first to-do here is making sure that Google is aware of our website and we can do this by submitting our sitemap to Google Search Console. What this allows us to do is control, to an extent what comes up in the search results on Google. The main takeaway here is to ensure that pages that negatively impact your websites SEO are not included. An example of this is any pages that contain duplicate content as Google prefers unique content and will punish those pages that oppose this. Coverage Up second we have coverage. Which as you may guess refers to what... --- - Published: 2020-05-18 - Modified: 2020-05-18 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/top-10-things-when-moving-back-to-office-after-lockdown/ - Categories: News Now that we've come out the other side of lockdown, here are some tips to make the transition to the post-COVID world of work a bit easier... Take the COVID-19 banner off your website We don't need to know your plans for Level 3 or 4 any more. If you're using a WordPress banner like us, just deactivate the plugin. Redirect your business phone back to the office from home Wonder why your phone isn't ringing in the office? Maybe you redirected it to your home number during lockdown. If so, call your telco and get them to take off the redirect. Set up contactless visitor tracing at your office Visitor tracing is a great way to manage the spread of infectious diseases without wearing a hazmat suit. Contactless is the way to go. We are using MyVisitorLog. No more annoying pen-and-paper visitor logs with all their privacy issues. Take any references to the lockdown out of your Google Ads We don't want to be reminded of your obsolete COVID policies when we search for you. Check your vehicles' registration and warrant of fitness haven't expired You might be surprised to find out they have expired. Don't make this amateur mistake. Consult with your staff about your safety plan Some of your staff might be concerned about coming back to the office. Have a plan to keep them safe. Full disclosure is essential. Print out some COVID safety posters from the COVID website It's amazing that some people need a... --- - Published: 2020-05-14 - Modified: 2020-05-14 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/how-to-make-kpis-work-for-you/ - Categories: Consultation, Digital disruption, Digital Marketing, eCommerce, Planning There’s an old saying in management: If you can't measure it, you can't manage it. Good instincts are important in business, but the best companies base their decisions on evidence - hard data - and KPIs are vital.     A KPI is a key performance indicator. It's a measurement of something important that shows how well your business is performing. Since the purpose of your organisation is to solve problems and deliver value, the most important thing for a business to measure is how well you are solving problems for your customers or stakeholders and delivering value to them. A well-chosen set of KPIs will show how your organisation is performing across a wide variety of areas and even better, show you where you can make the biggest improvements. Even though KPIs always measure something that happened in the past, they offer great predictive power. They will let you know if something is going wrong in your business, before it becomes a major problem, and they can be useful when you need to assess if staff or suppliers are doing a good job. What makes a good KPI? KPIs should align to your organisation’s core value propositions, i. e. it should tell you how well you are delivering on your promises to your customers. For example, if your value proposition is to deliver the fastest pizza in town, the first thing you measure should be the speed of each delivery. Next, they need to have SMART goals. You know:... --- - Published: 2020-05-05 - Modified: 2020-11-18 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/how-to-create-an-effective-email-newsletter/ - Categories: Content, Digital Advertising, Digital Marketing, Email Marketing, General news, Web Tips In these changing times, communication with our customers and clients is so important. As we move in-between alert levels we need a way to tell our customers how we are operating and communicate any changes that affect them. That's where email newsletters come in. Email newsletters are a staple in the marketing world because they can be super effective if used in the right way. It works and it’s awesome.   Evaluate do you need an email newsletter? First thing is to look at whether you really need a full email newsletter. Can your update to your customers be posted in a small Facebook update? Do you have enough clients or customers on your email database for it to be worth sending? Email newsletters are great but they have a place, sending a small update out 2-3 times a week probably isn’t the best use of an email and will have lots of people unsubscribing pretty quickly. So you have done some research and decided you do need an email newsletter. What next? Create clear goals Email newsletters are often cluttered and unfocussed, they try to tell you about every aspect of the business and don’t focus on one clear goal. Before you start it’s important to set a goal for the newsletter, what are you trying to achieve? eg. Drive sales Company news updates or changes Promote a new product or service Pick the main goal for each newsletter and ensure each section supports that goal. Trying to promote... --- - Published: 2020-05-01 - Modified: 2020-05-05 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/new-free-virtual-workshops-focusing-on-marketing-and-e-commerce/ - Categories: News UPDATE: First workshops are already full. New workshops are on May 13 and May 15. Here's some more great news for Hawke's Bay businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown... Regional Business Partners (RBP) have announced a new series of free virtual workshops focusing on Marketing and E-commerce. I've been running workshops on business continuity throughout lockdown and we've been having fun and getting a lot of good work done. Now that marketing and e-commerce is on the agenda, I will be running a new series of workshops next week. The topic of my new workshops is: "Hit the ground running: First steps in creating a successful online business" Wednesday 13 or Friday 15 May @ 10. 00am (90 minutes) With 18 years experience in online sales and marketing, a global social media brand, and an award-winning digital agency in Havelock North, your facilitator Matthew Miller is ready to take you on the path to digital success! This interactive workshop will equip you with the tools you need to: - design a unique online business that makes a real difference - assemble the team that is right for you - prioritise your digital marketing tasks - measure what's working and what's not - allocate your precious digital marketing spend Please fill in your details and I'll add you to the list. https://forms. gle/EcjSRcqM2Mcx9wVM6 See you soon! To access the full schedule of virtual workshops please click here. If you have queries about other RBP support and services please email... --- - Published: 2020-04-21 - Modified: 2020-09-07 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/sme-11-support-services-take-the-bull-by-the-horns-now-to-prosper-in-a-post-covid-economy/ - Categories: Consultation, Digital disruption, Partners We've created an exciting new offering for businesses: 'Take the bull by the horns now". This is a tailored advisory service for SMEs who want to look past survival and focus instead on thriving in the post-Covid economy. Online is now the dominant platform, it will be for some time, and we can help! Mogul is an established Regional Business Partner (RBP) provider and any business affected by Covid-19 can apply for up to $5,000 of funding from RBP to access this service. If this sounds like you, check the criteria at the bottom of the page and either register for your assessment, or get in touch with your RBP Growth Advisor. Description: This support is aimed at helping businesses to regain control, identify new opportunities and carve a new path. We'll help you prioritise what you can do right now, and you'll start working on how you're going to kick ass in a post-Covid world. Take the bull by the horns in the post-Covid economy SME 1:1 support may focus on: How your customer’s needs have changed and how we can continue to meet their needs, and/or meet their new needs. Ways to unlock value from existing assets - people, infrastructure, resources etc. Opportunities to adapt products and services, or create new ones. Attract and retain valuable clients and find new ways to add and extract value. Examples of how you might use this support: Design a customer experience to take your business online, including online ordering and contactless... --- - Published: 2020-04-07 - Modified: 2020-04-07 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/why-is-no-one-in-america-visiting-my-website/ - Categories: Digital Advertising, Digital disruption, Digital Marketing, Partners, SEO, Web Tips Concentrate on what's important: your customers and why they buy from you A client contacted me last week asking why they weren't getting much search traffic in the US. They have a New Zealand-based business and they asked if there was some setting in the back end of the website that would make their website much more visible to people browsing in the US. Man, wouldn't it be great if every website had a switch you could flick that was marked 'Make my website much more visible to US audiences'? if digital marketing was that easy, then I would be out of a job. It takes a lot of time, effort, brains, and sometimes luck to get to number one in Google, especially in a place as big and competitive as America. And even if you do, there's no guarantee anyone is going to click through to your site. Maybe no-one's searching for any of the words you're at the top for. Maybe they've never heard of you and all you've got on your website is your brand name. Maybe your search engine listing is completely incomprehensible to an American. Maybe it's right next to a big ad for your competitors. Maybe your company name is the same as a big American brand that sells something completely different. If you want to get serious traffic in America, it can be done. I've seen it done many times, in all sorts of different industries. But it's not easy, and even when... --- - Published: 2020-03-30 - Modified: 2020-03-30 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/how-to-add-a-covid-19-banner-to-your-website/ - Categories: News Covid-19 has drastically changed how many of us do business, and many of our clients have needed to communicate how they have been impacted by Covid-19. One way to keep everyone informed during these uncertain times is to send emails (you have probably received an inbox full of these in the last few days). An even easier way is to add a banner to your website. With a banner message, you can let your visitors know: if you are still open for business any restrictions you currently have in place any changes to the situation as they occur To add a banner to your website you first need to add the banner functionality. There are several ways this could be done. In this case, due to the urgency that Covid-19 has brought to the business world, we have settled on using a WordPress plugin named "Simple Banner". Please note that we have not developed this plugin ourselves. Instead, we have chosen an external third-party plugin and thoroughly tested it and run it through our plugin picking steps.   The Steps The finished product. Step 1 - Go to your website's plugin section Log into your WordPress website and head to the 'Plugins' section. Step 2 - Add the plugin 'Simple Banner' Click the 'Add New' button and using the 'search plugins' search box type in 'Simple Banner'. This is the name of the plugin we will be using to add the banner to your website. The "Simple Banner" plugin. Step... --- - Published: 2020-03-19 - Modified: 2020-04-07 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/so-you-wanna-pick-a-wordpress-plugin/ - Categories: Web Design, Web Tips, WordPress Adding functionality to your WordPress website can be a daunting task. Whether you want a contact form, a security scanner, or some other piece of functionality, the options are usually: doing it yourself; or paying someone else to do it for you. Whilst the second option will most likely guarantee your needs are met, sometimes the first can be worth exploring - assuming, of course, that a) you know your way around your WordPress website and b) you can deal with the potential issues that come from getting it wrong. So if you choose the DIY approach, what options are there? In most cases, unless you are a software engineer, custom development can be ruled out. If you really need custom work done, then paying someone else is 100% the way to go. That leaves the option we will discuss in this article: Using a WordPress plugin. A WordPress plugin does what a mobile app does for your smartphone: it adds functionality. The big difference is that your phone is private and your website is not. Any issues caused by installing the wrong plugin (app) on our website can lead to disastrous results for you and the users of your website. With over 55,000 plugins available in the WordPress. org plugin directory, there is certainly a wide range of potential functionality to add to your WordPress website. But it is not as simple as picking the first plugin you come across. Now that's a lot of plugins! So before you... --- - Published: 2020-03-16 - Modified: 2020-05-14 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/covid-19-mogul-office/ - Categories: News Updated: 14 May 2020 The Mogul office is open in accordance with COVID-19 restrictions from the New Zealand government to safeguard public health and the health of our employees and customers. We are: keeping records of our employees and all visitors to enable contact tracing keeping our employees and visitors 1 metre apart to the extent practicable meeting all other health, safety and hygiene requirements Please let us know if you have any questions. Otherwise, keep safe. --- - Published: 2020-03-04 - Modified: 2020-03-05 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/how-to-create-a-colour-palette/ - Categories: Design, News, Web Design Before we dive deep into the “how-to” section of this blog there are a few things we need to really understand first to be able to make the best decisions about how to create a colour palette. Choosing colours for your brand or business isn’t just about picking the colours you like, but more about who you are, what you stand for, and who your audience is. Understanding what type of business you are, and who your key target audience is, will help you to choose the best primary colour for your brand. This choice has the potential to influence buying decisions, the mood and behaviour of your customers, and also how your brand is perceived in the market - so it's important to set the right mood and tone in your brand and brand collateral. Each colour has a different meaning and strikes different emotions with different users, depending on their experiences, and other relationships they have had with similar colours. Although each individual is different, there are some general associations (which are quite often linked to company values) to each colour below: Blue - Trust, Smart, Calm, Stable, Power Red - Love, Immediacy, Energy, Passion, Anger Black - Bold, Rich, Power, Elegance Green - Soothing, Natural, Jealousy, Balance, Eco Yellow - Cheer, Attention, Childish, Warm, Energy Orange - Health, Attraction, Wealth, Innovation, Creativity   Once you have picked an overall brand colour, we can start creating a colour palette. Below I will walk you through the steps to... --- - Published: 2020-02-12 - Modified: 2020-04-06 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/my-project-has-gone-pear-shaped-why/ - Categories: Client Service, Partners Not an unusual thing to hear in our game. And it’s far from surprising when you read the statistics on project failures: According to a 2017 report from the Project Management Institute (PMI), 14 percent of IT projects fail. “However, that number only represents the total failures. Of the projects that didn't fail outright, 31 percent didn't meet their goals, 43 percent exceeded their initial budgets, and 49 percent were late. ” According to many people, “anyone can build a website”. There’s no denying that DIY website builders like Wix, Squarespace, and Wordpress. com make it easy to whip up a basic website these days. But can anyone build a commercial-grade website that delivers to the business’s goals on time and on budget, while ensuring it’s secure, fast, well-optimised and up to best-practice web standards? No, that’s the hard part. We always debrief as a team after every major project, and when a project hasn’t gone as we’d hoped, the same learnings arise just about every time. The usual suspects are: Inadequate capture of requirements Inadequate communication, including signoff processes Changes, and management of them Insufficient testing It’s not that we are slow learners; it’s that doing the work can be really hard. The computers are actually the easy part. When problems arise, 9 times out of 10 it’s people-related. Naturally, when a project fails or doesn’t go as planned, the finger is usually pointed at the supplier: “You’re the expert. You should have known what you were doing. ”... --- - Published: 2020-01-16 - Modified: 2020-01-16 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/the-power-of-human-emotion-in-your-brand/ - Categories: Design As a designer I often find myself judging brands by their visual identity, but experiencing a brand isn’t just what you see. It’s not the colours or the font, it’s the way the brand makes us feel. The photography, the emotive language and the story the brand tells us. To survive, brands need to stand out from the crowd. Brands can’t afford to be faceless entities anymore. Customers want a connection with the brand and your product alone isn’t enough to create a differentiating value proposition. Emotional Logic It’s great for us to think all our decisions are rational, but decision-making is deep-rooted in our emotions. Subconsciously, emotional logic is one of the strongest factors for purchasing products or choosing services. This knowledge is a huge opportunity for brands to leverage and will also drive a competitive advantage in the emotional value they are adding. A strong, lovable brand can be a major asset to ensure continuous growth and return customers. We all know we often choose brands because we see something deeper in them, something that resonates with, and inspires us. Take Nike, for example. Nike presents itself in a way that provokes its customers and uses heroism as the centre as their story. Instead of using an external enemy, Nike uses our internal laziness as the enemy. An enemy in all of us. Nike has become the symbol of the inner athlete in all of us changing our mindset and forming habits. They make us feel like we... --- - Published: 2019-11-20 - Modified: 2019-11-20 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/lift-off-what-to-consider-when-launching-a-website/ - Categories: Digital Marketing, Email Marketing, Mobile Devices, Planning, SEO, Web Design, Web Tips 3... 2... 1... Launching a website is an exciting but sometimes stressful time. Months of hard work are finally coming to a close and your customers, no, The World will finally get a chance to see your amazing new site. via GIPHY Before you start thinking about popping the champagne there are a few important steps that you can take to ensure things go smoothly. Check the Functionality Is it working? Websites can range from the simplest of brochure sites to the most custom and complex builds. Regardless of your website's functionality, it still needs to be given a thorough test both before the launch button is pressed and after. This might include the most basic of visual checks through to more user intensive ones such as: checking forms submit properly emails are sending and, in the case of an eCommerce website, that orders can be processed effectively You DO NOT want to be launching a website that is broken! Be Prepared Have your launch-day mise en place ready to go Ease the stress of launch day by making sure you are prepared and everything that needs to be is ready to go. However, also be aware that some things can take time and in some cases, you will not be in control of them. A classic example of this is when getting your website's domain configured and pointing to your new website. Waiting at least for some time while the change propagates is inevitable. This waiting time is an... --- - Published: 2019-11-20 - Modified: 2019-11-20 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/the-11-commandments-of-website-pop-ups/ - Categories: Digital Marketing, Mobile Devices, Web Design, Web Tips Using pop-ups on your website is a great idea, isn’t it? The homepage of your website, specifically the area above the fold, is often the most valuable real estate that we own. Often we use it to promote new products, services or seasonal content. This is a great way of reaching our largest audience and building awareness around the promoted item. With such valuable real estate, it’s often tricky to prioritise which piece of content is used in these hero placements. We can maximise the opportunity with ‘hero’ placements by serving a pop-up on the homepage. Now, lots of people will recoil with horror when you suggest this, and I can literally hear people shouting ‘But you’re covering the content! ’ as I type. Hear me out though! Normally a pop-up has a small close button in the top right hand corner, allowing the user to clear the pop-up revealing the content that was placed underneath. Now that is maximising the opportunity. Many large companies use them to maximum effect as people browse through the site. Pop-ups offer an excellent way of harvesting user data such as names and email addresses, preventing shopping cart abandonment, and generating a sense of urgency among items with limited stock or availability. The problem with pop-ups, and my perception on where they get a bad reputation from, is when they’re badly placed, poorly executed or prevent a call to action from taking place. As such I’ve created the ten commandments of best practice use... --- - Published: 2019-11-05 - Modified: 2020-04-06 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/tips-for-launching-a-startup/ - Categories: Partners, Planning This is a quick list of tips for anyone who is thinking about launching a startup business. (A quick definition: a startup is a new business that is designed to scale, i. e. grow beyond the founder, hire employees, and hopefully get really big). (And now a sobering stat: Within 3 years, 92% of startups fail). Let's say you’ve got your idea, you’ve got your business plan, you’ve sorted your financial backers... Now, you need to hit the ground running because you’ve got a limited amount of time to test your idea against the market before the money runs or your investors get cold feet (how much time depends on how much funding you can secure, and how long you can stick at it! ). At Mogul, we know that you need to get maximum results as quickly as possible. Brand To tell a compelling story to investors and potential customers, you need a brand. We’ll work with you to ensure that you’ve got the brand basics nailed down and clean for the initial launch, with room to expand your brand collateral once your idea has legs. Website design and development A startup nearly always needs a web presence, and a website is a crucial starting point. What you don’t need, however, are all the bells and whistles straight away. To start with, a simple but cleverly designed website with a clear call to action - e. g. purchasing a product, registering interest, or getting in touch is all you... --- - Published: 2019-11-01 - Modified: 2020-04-06 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/tips-for-launching-a-new-product-or-service/ - Categories: Partners This article is a quick checklist of digital marketing steps for established businesses who are thinking about launching new products or services. If you own (or work for) an established business, you probably already have a carefully curated customer base and your website is stable, secure and fast. Now let's say you have a brilliant idea for a product or service that’s going to take your business to the next level. Marketing and launching your next product to that same audience should be a piece of cake, right? At Mogul, we’ve worked to help launch many new products and services for established businesses. With a solid strategy for marketing, you’ll be able to avoid as many pitfalls, while taking advantage of as many opportunities in the process as possible. The first, and most crucial step is to check in with your intended market: Who is your ideal customer? What are their pain points? What can you offer to meet those needs? How much would they be willing to pay for it? Why would they choose your offering? You have a much greater chance at success if you launch a product that meets your market’s need rather than trying to convince your clientele that they want your product. With a market and need established, you’ll need a launch plan. That requires some consulting. Together we’ll work out: Who do you need to get in front of? How are you going to entice new clients? How are you going to leverage your... --- - Published: 2019-10-22 - Modified: 2019-10-21 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/nosnippet-google-snippets/ - Categories: Cool Stuff, Digital Marketing, Google, News, SEO, Web Tips Nosnippet – not just what I said to my wife’s request for a vasectomy. When your webpage is listed in a search results page, traditionally Google would display the contents of the title tag and the description tag next to your site's listing. In creating your page, you can nominate a description and title tag of your design. Over time, Google has adjusted what displays in the description tag. If Google considers that there’s a section of copy of the webpage (a snippet) that’s more suitable for the specific search a user has entered, Google will choose to display this to them instead or your nominated description. Google’s exact statement on this is as follows; “Google uses content previews, including text snippets and other media, to help people decide whether a result is relevant to their query. The type of preview shown depends on many factors, including the type of content a person is looking for and the kind of device they're viewing it on. ” As search engine optimisers, we’ve long been able to offer Google users a richer experience for some specific types of search, for example; recipes, events and job opportunities have been able to use Google’s structured data tool to mark-up webpages to offer a richer search experience, such as cooking times, star ratings, or even to ensure that a page is listed in a national job search directory. What's new in Google snippets? With the launch of the new snippet mark-up options, we should be... --- - Published: 2019-10-17 - Modified: 2019-10-30 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/what-is-lean-ux/ - Categories: Cool Stuff, Design, News, Web Design What is all the buzz about? A Lean UX approach can be considered part of the Agile methodology as it shares the same basic principles. Lean methodologies came from Toyota’s approach to manufacturing processes; Producers should aim to cut out waste, and "waste" is anything that customers wouldn’t pay for. The book “Lean UX: Applying Lean Principles to Improve User Experience” by Jeff Gothelf and Josh Seiden was published in 2013. The essence of Lean UX, from a business point of view, is to focus on "results" (short term goals, which may or may not be tangible), rather than on "deliverables" (typically a large-scale end product). You should create/build just enough to prove your idea works before rolling it out in front of real clients to gather their feedback. From there, you analyse the results and either start over again or continue experimenting. These days, when everything is online, this works for almost any digital product; From a small e-commerce website with just one product to multi-billion dollar giants. Lean UX is design thinking in real life. Lock-n-load. The core principles of Lean UX: Cross-functional production teams Small units of like-minded people, who are able to cover most of the expertise fields related to the product. Having a range of expertise within a single team allows these guys to work autonomously without needing to "book a meeting with that guy from marketing next Friday" before being able to progress to the next step. Results before deliverables Measure your progress by... --- - Published: 2019-10-10 - Modified: 2020-03-19 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/multiple-device-design/ - Categories: News When using an app or a website as a customer, we want to feel like the experience was designed specifically for our device. We want to feel like the site works naturally and seamlessly, and not that it has just been stretched or smushed into our device. We live in a world where instant gratification is the norm. If we don’t get the information we want right away we move on to something else. Nothing puts us off a product or website quite like bad usability. We want to be able to read the text, click the buttons, find the prices. In order for us to create the best UX for the customer, it's important to develop a plan to target the range of devices and screen sizes efficiently and effectively. 1. Identify the main device Each app or website we create will have a core user experience. There will be the one device it will be primarily used on and for. The first step is to define which main device (or group of devices) is most appropriate. By using this as a starting point we are making sure the users are getting the correct user experience that they require. More often than not the app or website will be primarily used on one or two groups of devices. Not all of them. For example, your fitness tracker app. It's highly likely that you check your fitness habits on your mobile device first and foremost. You’re on the go, at... --- - Published: 2019-10-10 - Modified: 2019-10-30 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/when-should-i-put-a-contact-form-on-my-website/ - Categories: Digital Marketing, Planning, Web Design, Web Tips One of the most important functions of a website is to make it easy for the public to get in touch with you. Some companies go to great lengths to avoid people getting in touch with them (e. g. PayPal, Facebook), but for most organisations, it’s important that people can contact them. My golden rule about web design is to make things as simple as you can. The Internet is fiendishly complex - there is no point in making it any more complex than it needs to be - so it pays to use the most low-tech approach you can that satisfies your business needs. For most businesses, it’s enough to put your phone number, postal address, and email address on your contact page. If you like visuals, maybe you can embed a Google map on your contact page with your location highlighted. (Thanks Zurb. com) But sometimes publishing this simple contact information is not enough. For example, you might want to: Record all the details of people who contact you in a database automatically. Get specific information from them, e. g. what make or model of product they are asking about, or what region they are in. Find out quickly what department the query should be sent to, e. g. is it a sales, support, or a finance inquiry? Get specific contact details from them, e. g. their phone number, their company name, their job title. Analyse the pages on your website that are generating the most enquiries. If... --- - Published: 2019-09-20 - Modified: 2020-04-06 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/ask-someone-ask-a-few-people/ - Categories: Digital disruption, Digital Marketing, Partners, Planning, Technology This article is the next in a series about business planning. It sounds boring. It is not. It features killer robots and a photo of Ted Danson. The previous article was 'Business planning: new approaches in the digital era'. I recommend you read it - there is some good stuff in there! In that post, we talked about how to map out a vision of your ideal future state. This exercise should give you a good idea of what business you want to be in, i. e. the customers you want to serve, what you'll be selling them, how you will get to them, and most importantly, why they will buy from you. If you have done this exercise, you will now be basking in a rosy dreamscape of future world domination. But if you are reading this blog post, world domination clearly hasn't happened for you yet. It's time to go and talk to some real people who you think might be your future customers. When you have a new business idea, the temptation is to find someone who vaguely looks like a customer and in your excitement, blurt out all the amazing things you are going to offer them ("We're going to create a robot nightclub bouncer! it's going to use AI, facial recognition, and pheromone sensors to tell if someone is too drunk, underage, or are about to start a fight! Then it will give them an electric shock and shoot pepper spray in their face! This... --- - Published: 2019-09-19 - Modified: 2019-10-08 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/voice-search-optimisation/ - Categories: Digital Marketing, General news, Google, Mobile Devices, News, SEO, Technology, Web Tips Voice search may seem like it’s not much of “a thing” yet but is fast becoming one of the more talked about topics when it comes to Search. The idea of voice search started with smartphones and then very quickly escalated to smart speakers such as Google Home Assistants and other voice assistants on the market. Now, we are in a voice search revolution with virtually every generation getting amongst voice search in their everyday lives. Currently, worldwide there are 3. 25 billion voice assistants in use and that’s predicted to more than double by 2023 with 8 billion voice assistants in use around the world (Statista). With this significant rise in voice search forecasted, it's essential that we produce content that's optimized for it because if we don’t, businesses and organisations will struggle to get any traction organically in the search results. Taking into consideration all the competition gunning for top search engine rankings, its definitely going to become a tougher road in the months and years to come. Why is voice search growing so much? Imagine you're preparing a dinner that you made recently after a long day at work, you are up to your armpits in the ingredients and you can't seem to remember the recipe, you don’t really want to wrap your sticky hands around your smartphone so what do you do... ? You can use your voice search assistant to repeat the recipe instructions to you and you can proceed on without a hitch! It's... --- - Published: 2019-09-12 - Modified: 2021-05-11 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/tasks-management/ - Categories: News, Planning, Web Tips Do you ever have those days where your task list seems so massive you have no idea where to start? Yeah, me too. The “to-do” list is central to staying organised both in life or with your project, but when this list runs to pages long it can easily become overwhelming and unworkable. Here are a few tips on keeping your to-do list manageable; 1. Don’t Sweat the small stuff Not every minuscule task should be on your to-do list. When you start adding every cough and *ahem* into your list, then you will spend more time managing and grooming your list than you will be attending to the work and striking those items off your list. Another note about tasks is not to multi-list, that is, if you've got an important email to a client that you need to reply to and you’ve snoozed it in Gmail for it to ping you at the end of the day, don’t then add a “Reply to email” in your list. Keep your list tight! On the flip side of this, is to make sure that the tasks on your to-do list are realistic. A task like “Build a website” is going to get you nowhere. Break this down into actionable and bite-sized chunks. 2. There will be order! Coming from a long stint in Germany has infused me with a *kind of* love of order. When putting together a list of tasks, grouping them and/or putting them in order of importance... --- - Published: 2019-08-08 - Modified: 2020-04-06 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/everyone-hates-timesheeting/ - Categories: Client Service, Partners, Planning, Web Tips Product businesses sell products, and service businesses sell their time. In fact, all service businesses have to sell is their time. Even with automation, human input is still necessary if you want to deliver value to your customers. So timesheeting, or time tracking, has always been the lifeblood of the service business. It certainly has been for ours. As the famous saying goes "you can't manage what you can't measure” so if you're not tracking time, you can't tell if you are making money, or burning through cash. And then sometimes even though you measure you still burn cash - but that's for another blog post. Unlike a lot of agencies, we have only ever expected our FTEs to work 40 hours a week (with rare exceptions), and we offer flexibility as long as the 40 hours are worked. Obviously, that is self-limiting as to how many billable hours we could possibly hope to bill in a week / month / year, so apart from creating other income streams (we have built two products), we have had a strong focus on productivity. For anybody who is trying to; manage a web project estimate how long it will take how much money you need to charge for it, and, to anticipate the riskiest areas where stuff usually takes much longer than you thought the easiest way is to analyse what's happened in the past. And the only way to effectively do that is for employees to record the time they spend... --- - Published: 2019-07-25 - Modified: 2020-04-06 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/10-tips-for-better-email-marketing-campaigns/ - Categories: Email Marketing, Partners, Web Tips It’s almost impossible to imagine what the world was like before email. I just looked at my Gmail and I have 223,197 email conversations in my account. I set it up about ten years ago, and I delete anything that I don’t want to keep, so that works out to about 60 legitimate, important email conversations per day - every day for 10 years. Imagine getting 60 snail-mail letters in your letterbox every morning - and being expected to respond to nearly all of them almost immediately! You would need to have a secretary to deal with it and you would probably never get anything else done. Yet 60 emails per day is nothing compared to say, my wife, who routinely deals with 200 to 300 daily. via GIPHY How do we do it? And why do we keep signing up for more and more of these messages? It’s because email is one of the most efficient communication services ever devised. It’s basically free, you can respond when you feel like it, you can ignore or delete them if you want, and you can tell your boss you haven’t done any work because you’ve been ‘clearing emails’. You can also set up an autoresponder that says you’re not checking email while you’re on holiday - and check it anyway. Because of its simplicity, email is still one of my favourite digital marketing channels. Compared to social media feeds and search engine results, an email inbox is (usually) ordered from newest... --- - Published: 2019-07-18 - Modified: 2019-09-19 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/404-page-not-found/ - Categories: General news, Google, News, Web Tips Broken links are frustrating Broken links could just be the number one contender when it comes to things that annoy a website user. And why wouldn't a user be annoyed, when a 404 error essentially represents a slammed virtual door in the face? Show me the information! There is nothing worse than being slapped in the face by a 404 page. It’s a backhand you don’t quite expect: One minute all is fine in the world, up is up, down is down and links go to where they say they will. Sadly, not all links are what they seem and next thing you know you are being ambushed by a 404 page. Aside from being irritating to deal with broken links do nothing for user experience. A lot of the time pushing a user closer to giving up on your website and taking their business somewhere else. Bottom line if a user is given the promise of more information via a link then you had better deliver, or risk alienating them completely. via GIPHY Google hates 404 errors just as much as you You are not alone in your distaste for broken links. In fact, the Ruler of the Internet, Google, finds them just as annoying as you and your users do too. So much so that having multiple broken links on your website will negatively affect your website in the eyes of Google. 404 errors make a search engine crawler's job much harder and can even stop them dead... --- - Published: 2019-07-11 - Modified: 2019-07-11 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/keep-in-touch-with-your-web-dev/ - Categories: General news, News, Web Tips Why you should keep in contact with your website creator Ever had a toothache? Nothing major, just a niggle. Maybe only when you’re eating something cold? Did you ignore it, hoping it’d go away? Right itself if given enough time? Or, did you book yourself in with your dentist for what turned out to be a relatively painless visit with a quick diagnosis of exposed dentin and easy treatment with sensitive toothpaste? What if you had left it? And the pain got worse! When you finally did make your appointment with the dentist, your sore tooth has turned into an abscessed one, and you’re looking at an expensive and painful extraction. Having and maintaining a website can be much the same. Although one hopes without the literal, physical pain. If there’s something about your site that’s irking you slightly or not quite working how you wanted - it’s usually better to get in touch with your web developer sooner rather than later. Brush up on regular maintenance In website - specific terms, it can be as small as ignoring the small “plugin updates” notification in your backend’s top right navigation bar. Your best defence against keeping this from creeping up is with the regular maintenance updates included in Mogul’s Service Level Agreement offering, brushing your website "teeth", if you will. via GIPHY If regular check-ups aren’t your thing, even a one-off maintenance update when that notification number creeps up into double digits or starts to trigger your obsessive compulsive tendencies... --- - Published: 2019-06-20 - Modified: 2019-06-19 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/how-to-make-your-website-successful/ - Categories: Cool Stuff, Digital Advertising, Digital Marketing, General news, News, SEO, Web Design, Web Tips Creating a successful website starts before you talk to developers, and doesn’t end when the new site launches. There are many moving parts involved in making a website effective for your specific business need. 5 tips for building an effective business website Know yourself, your customers and your competitors before you start Have an updated responsive website / progressive web app that is fit for purpose Use digital marketing to attract people online Engage with customers once they’ve found you to increase leads Measure your efforts and learn what you can do better, or what you should stop doing If your company wants a new site, or are wondering why your current one isn’t working for you, then discuss the points below with your team or with whichever one of us you most like the look of. 1. Know your customer, and yourself You’re human and you create online messaging for other humans. You need to think a lot about the real life person you’re trying to reach when planning an effective website. Think beyond how customers may interact with your website, think beyond what they may do during their buying journey for your specific product and think about their deeper motives, interests and desires. If you know a lot about those you are wanting to reach, then you’ll have good groundwork in place for successful website design. Read the great advice from Geri here about being customer centric. If you don’t know who you are yet, then answer that... --- - Published: 2019-06-18 - Modified: 2019-06-07 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/71-more-web-enquirers-in-the-past-year-for-eit/ - Categories: Case Studies, Digital Marketing, SEO While paid search ads and search engine optimisation (SEO) can be worked on in isolation, it's often better to do them in a combined way because the insights from each can help to improve the other, leading to better results faster. The Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT) is the tertiary education provider for the East Coast of New Zealand's North Island. They offer an extensive range of programmes of more than 150 postgraduate, degree, diploma and certificate level programmes, across an impressive range of subject areas. EIT's domestic marketing team wanted more New Zealand search visitors to find their website and to enquire or enrol from the site. They also had specific programme areas in need of filling for the Semester 1 intake. We quickly discovered by looking at EIT's paid Google Ads that they were focused heavily on brand name words (like 'EIT') and were attracting mostly search visitors that knew about them already. Conversely, EIT wasn't showing up in organic search results for many of the words that people looking for tertiary courses actually used. We used keyword research, on-page optimisation, and tech SEO to double the amount of search words they were visible for and boost EIT's online enrolments.   Image: Increase in organic traffic activity on the online enrolment link on the graduate diploma of business page.   Technical SEO refers to website and server optimisations that help search engine spiders crawl and index your site more effectively (to help improve organic rankings). On-page SEO is... --- - Published: 2019-06-12 - Modified: 2019-06-12 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/hack-attack-how-secure-are-your-systems/ - Categories: News, Technology, Web Tips, WordPress Hollywood has a lot to answer for when it comes to the popular understanding of hacking. The on-screen version is usually pretty dramatic, involving a lot of keyboard mashing, words like 'firewall' and 'mainframe', and often a large confirmation message flashing "HACK COMPLETE". Sometimes it gets very silly: https://www. youtube. com/watch? v=msX4oAXpvUE It's understandable that the producers of TV shows and movies want to make hacking very visual and intense, but the reality is very different. So what exactly is hacking? Hacking can mean a lot of different things in different contexts, but a common theme is that an attacker wants to run their own code within your system. For example, if I can get my own PHP file onto your WordPress web server via any means, with a few lines of code I can: Create myself an administrator account in your content management system Delete your administrator account(s) Read your database credentials Steal your customer data Deface your site Start serving malware to your visitors Delete your site entirely Zombies and bot-nets The most common form of hacking involves no human interaction at all. It's just a compromised computer (sometimes called a zombie or a bot) working its way through a list of target computers, doing the digital equivalent of a burglar trying door handles and windows looking for something unlocked. If it finds one of those windows or doors unlocked, it might immediately break in or it might just note the address and move on to the next... --- - Published: 2019-06-11 - Modified: 2019-06-11 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/hustler-smashing-competitors-for-balefeeders-in-google/ - Categories: Case Studies, Digital Marketing, SEO Hustler Equipment is a New Zealand company that manufactures innovative livestock feeding machinery. Brent Currie, Hustler's VP of Business Development International, wanted the company to be more visible in Google for their core business focus, bale feeders. Unfortunately for Brent, there are a number of competitors also investing in search engine optimisation (SEO) work who dominate the search engine pages for this category.   Image: Hustler Equipment are maintaining the higher search visibility position above their tracked competitors (for the total collection of ‘bale feeder’ words that we are watching).   But with a well-planned effort over a few months including research into keywords and competitors, we were able to use tech SEO and on-page optimisation to launch them to the number one position in Google NZ for a number of their important words, including 'bale feeders'. Technical SEO refers to website and server optimizations that help search engine spiders crawl and index your site more effectively (to help improve organic rankings). On-page SEO is the practice of optimizing individual web pages in order to rank higher and earn more relevant traffic in search engines. On-page refers to both the content and HTML source code of a page that can be optimized.   Image: Number 1 position in organic Google NZ for search word ‘bale feeders’   As a result, Hustler is now receiving 25% more free web visitors to their bale feeder pages compared to this time last year, and they are getting significantly more enquiries.   If you’re... --- - Published: 2019-06-05 - Modified: 2019-06-06 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/44-more-organic-website-views-for-kinetic-electrical/ - Categories: Case Studies, Digital Marketing, SEO Kinetic Electrical is an electrical services company with New Zealand-wide network of franchises. One of the issues Kinetic Electrical’s business development director Ken Parsons had was the problem that not all the franchises were getting web enquiries. This was partly because not all of their pages were actually visible in Google, and if they were, their competitors would often appear above them in search results for location-specific words. Ken needed help to improve their Google visibility, so the regional franchises could attract more free web visitors and therefore more enquiries. The Search Visibility score is the percentage of clicks we estimate you receive based on your organic rankings positions, across all of the keywords you're tracking in your campaign.   Image: Group of ‘hawkes bay’ terms we are tracking. This graph shows how you (Kinetic Electrical, in blue) have overtaken the tracked competitors for these words since starting your SEO spend.   We used a combination of keyword research, on-page optimisation, and tech SEO to improve Kinetic Electrical’s Google visibility for their franchise location pages. They now rank above their competitors for many location area searches. Technical SEO refers to website and server optimizations that help search engine spiders crawl and index your site more effectively (to help improve organic rankings).   Image: Group of ‘industrial’ terms we are tracking. This graph shows how you (Kinetic Electrical, in blue) have overtaken the tracked competitors for these words since starting your SEO spend.   We also used Google Tag Manager to... --- - Published: 2019-05-28 - Modified: 2019-05-28 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/automated-full-screen-screenshots-using-laravel-dusk/ - Categories: Developer resources I've been working on my first substantial Laravel application recently. The application is designed to automate maintenance and testing for some of our WordPress websites. Laravel has a lot of cool features and add-on packages, but one which was of immediate interest was Dusk. Laravel Dusk provides an expressive, easy-to-use browser automation and testing API. By default, Dusk does not require you to install JDK or Selenium on your machine. Instead, Dusk uses a standalone ChromeDriver installation. However, you are free to utilize any other Selenium compatible driver you wish. Now, Dusk is mainly geared towards testing your own Laravel application. You run its tests via the Artisan CLI so it's not really designed to be run from within the application itself. Nevertheless it is possible - and actually not so difficult - to run your own tests and automated actions within your Laravel application. Here's a stripped-down example of taking a full-screen screenshot - it even handles lazy-loaded images: --- - Published: 2019-05-21 - Modified: 2019-06-06 - URL: https://mogul.nz/blog/5-basic-checks-to-ensure-your-websites-technical-seo-is-up-to-scratch/ - Categories: Digital Marketing, Google, News, SEO, Technology, Web Tips Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is a common and well-used term. You’ve probably heard of it (and are quite possibly sick of hearing about it! ). You might even be engaging in some SEO practices yourself or have some smart folks doing it for you. Working on on-page search engine optimisation is fantastic. It can help shoot your rankings up Google’s search results higher than a SpaceX rocket, but have you thought about Tech SEO? What is Tech SEO? What can it do for you? Does it even matter? The foundation Tech SEO is the base that all other SEO can build from. You wouldn’t build a house on mud and similarly, you shouldn’t implement an SEO plan without considering the technical aspects of a website first. Without a good technical SEO foundation, you will find it much harder to progress other aspects of your website's SEO. With that in mind here are: 5 checks you can make to start getting your Tech SEO in order 1: Sitemap A successfully submitted sitemap If there is one thing in Tech SEO that you need to make sure is done properly it's your sitemap. Your sitemap is an XML file that contains your website's URLs. You can think of it as a directory of your website pages. Much like a directory, it is designed to provide an organised and easy way for search engine crawlers to navigate your website and its pages so that engines can then display the pages in search results.... --- ---