With less than three weeks until it is officially spring, we definitely have something to look forward to. July has been an exciting month for AlterSage, both in terms of client work, a new zest and focussed approach for the remainder of the year and things happening in the industry. In this edition Carla shares some insight as to what we've been up to and also introduces great finds on what we've been reading. We'll be introducing more great finds including blogs, articles or even designs in the future. If there is a particular website that you'd like us to review, be sure to email us!

What We're Up To

At the July PR Net event Nicole Chamberlin spoke about the media lessons she learnt as PR consultant to the British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa. At the next PR Net event Patience Stevens, the Executive Producer at Top Billing will discuss how to secure sought-after television coverage. Click here for more information.

Over 400 people attended the annual Internetix conference at the Lagoon Beach Hotel in Cape Town. Organised by Internet Solutions and sponsored by Cisco, the conference was superbly planned and definitely worth taking note of for next year. Read more about the conference here as well as view the presentations.

Out and About

On 26 August we will be attending Women's W(h)ine Night Out at the 1800˚ Restaurant situated at the Cape Royale Hotel. The guest speaker for the evening is Beverly Merriman and the event provides women the opportunity to relax and meet other women who share a passion for good food and wine. Contact Mariska du Preez for more information.

We are hosting a AlterSage workshop on the 20th of August. The workshop will provide an overview of all the online marketing elements with a focus on synergy and a through-the-line marketing approach. There is only space for 10 attendees. Email Carla for more information to attend this 2 hour workshop.

Client News

July marked the 12th month of a SEO campaign that AlterSage created, implemented and maintained for Oasiscentre.co.za , an addiction rehabilitation and treatment center in Plettenberg Bay. Over the last 12 months the number of monthly visitors to Oasis Centre from organic search efforts alone, increased by 650%. With a vastly increased presence on search engines (top ten results on search engines increased by over 84%), we kept them relatively busy with increased bookings throughout the year. We are very proud of the results we achieved for Oasis Centre and couldn't have done it without the help of the eager Oasis Centre team.

"AlterSage have been responsible for our website and SEO campaign with incredible results. We have really been impressed with their professional approach, excellent research into our services and efficient and friendly response to our numerous questions. Enquiries from the website have increased quite noticeably due to their constant updating of data. Oasis looks forward to a long and successful association with AlterSage." Mark Bowey Director: Oasis Treatment Centre

Industry News

How can Social Media Marketing help your brand:
With South African Internet usage escalating and consumer behaviour changing, more and more brands are starting to see the array of possibilities presented by social media. Read more.

Myths About SEO Copywriting
When many people think of SEO copywriting, or "optimised copy", they often think of keyword-stuffed text that makes for jarring reading. Notions about "optimal" keyword densities have been floating around for a long time. There are a number of myths which refuse to die about how best to optimise site content. Read more.

Internet Marketing Tip of the Month

Do you know which key phrases your visitors are using to find your website? If you do, you will be able to increase targeted traffic, increase your rankings on search engine result pages and consequently increase your return on investment (ROI).

Interesting Reading

Kevin Gibbons discusses several reasons why you should consider investing in PPC advertising even when you are ranking organically.

Louise Jack looks at why brands that embrace the online space have stronger relationships with their customers than those who don't.

The Last Word

We recently got involved with the Real Men That Can't Sing campaign and decided to upload our own video.  Watch it and please rate it! Be sure to also take a look at "treffers" such as "Hotel Phalaborwa" and "Can't Touch This" whilst you're there. If you're up for the challenge , why not create your own video, upload it and send us the link? The most original videos will be featured in our next newsletter and on our blog next month.

Be sure to sign up for our workshop and if you have any queries or comments feel free to mail or tweet us @altersage.

See the possibilities,
Christine and the Sages