Managing director Rob Shaw said, ”We are very pleased that the judges and Econsultancy recognised our hard work over the last 12 months. Epiphany has seen a dramatic return for our clients due to our innovative approach to search and the successful campaigns we have taken on.”

Epiphany received a trophy for ‘Best Use of SEO‘ at this year’s DADI Awards and was also commended for their work on another campaign within the same category.

To view the list of nominees for the 2012 Econsultancy Awards, click here.

We’ve also created an infographic that looks at the anatomy of an innovative agency. Check it out below!

Lace up your trainers and head to Leeds on Wednesday, 21 December for ‘Run with Chrissie’ in aid of the Jane Tomlinson Appeal and featuring four-time Ironman World Champion Chrissie Wellington. We’ve been a partner of the Jane Tomlinson Appeal since early 2011 and are proud sponsors of this event, the first of its kind in the UK.

In addition to creating a strong brand identity for the event we designed, built and optimised www.runwithchrissie.com and are also helping out with the social media campaign for the event. Fans can use the #runwithchrissie hashtag to show their further support for the charity and Chrissie (story continues below image).

After her recent success in Hawaii last month, Chrissie is now a four-time Ironman World Champion. Through hard work and determination, Chrissie continues to inspire people around the world. Chrissie was invited to be the patron of the Jane Tomlinson Appeal last year.

Our managing director Rob Shaw said, ”We are absolutely delighted to be working with the Jane Tomlinson Appeal and a world class athlete like Chrissie Wellington. Chrissie is an inspiration and we’re really proud to be associated with this amazing event.”

The afternoon and evening, hosted at Leeds Metropolitan University’s Headingley Campus, will kick off with a 5km run and then 200 fans will have the opportunity to participate in group training sessions with one of the best athletes in the world. After a quick change and shower, we’re laying on a buffet and guests will then have the chance to ask questions at an exclusive, ticket only Q&A event. There are only 200 tickets available for the full day (including the evening), and just 100 tickets available for the evening Q&A session. In addition to meeting Chrissie, guests will get a high tech Run with Chrissie t-shirt.

We’ll be blogging live on the day and after the event. Follow @epiphanysol and @janesappeal for updates.

Be sure to sign up now at www.runwithchrissie.com.

You can find out more about our web development services here.

See coverage on the event in the Yorkshire Evening Post.

Rob Shaw, who accepted the award said, ‘We were pleased to be shortlisted for two awards in the organic search category, but winning the award is even better and is a testament to the team’s hard work.’ These two innovative campaigns delivered staggering results for the clients with the BANK fashion brand outranking the Bank of England, which was a remarkable achievement.

CEO Shane Quigley said, ‘We have one of the biggest teams working in search centric digital marketing. The new office space gives us the freedom to recruit even more experts as we forecast new business and further growth in 2012′. Epiphany has invested a great deal in staff welfare this year, with an introduction of internal benefits that mirror the culture and environment that foster Epiphany’s uniqueness.

To complement the continual growth at Epiphany, the award-winning agency also recently appointed Tom Salmon, who joined the team in October as marketing director. Tom previously worked extensively in higher education marketing and events management. With a background in strategic planning and business development, Tom is responsible for branding, communications planning and PR. The marketing team is working on several new campaigns that will launch in 2012.

About The DADI’s
The DADI’s (The Drum awards for the digital industries) recognise and reward digital excellence. These awards are open to any business, including agencies and clients, who are producing effective digital strategies. Bringing together individuals and companies at the forefront of digital and providing the opportunity for those entering to prove how good they are.

Through analysis of the strategies behind UK companies and their adverts for holiday-related keywords, the report showed Teletext Holidays was the highest ranking brand amongst the 4.7 million relevant searches.  For both organic and paid searches, the results revealed the travel operator obtained the highest comprehensive share of reach.

In addition to this latest accomplishment, Teletext Holidays has also seen a dramatic increase in conversion rate since appointing leading search specialist, Epiphany Solutions, to manage their national PPC campaign. In just four weeks, the campaign has also successfully increased conversions by 176 per cent.

Based in London, Teletext Holidays is synonymous with last-minute affordable getaways. Since turning off their analogue television service in January 2010, the company has focused on establishing itself in the digital world, with this latest appointment underlining the brand’s commitment to increase its web presence.

Mark Bloxham, Marketing Director at Teletext, said ”Epiphany has delivered some amazing results at this early stage. We are really impressed with them and look forward to collaborating further with them in the future.”

Robin Skidmore, Commercial Director at Epiphany, said “We’re delighted that Teletext Holidays has appointed Epiphany to manage their PPC campaigns. We’ve been told that our detailed appraisal of their Adwords account accurately demonstrated the high level of sophistication in terms of campaign management and also the expertise our analysts have.”

This has been a great year for Epiphany, which has seen growth in turnover, team size and client list. The agency opened a second location in Leeds, to complement its London base and existing Leeds office.

CEO Shane Quigley said, ‘We have one of the biggest teams working in search centric digital marketing. The new office space gives us the freedom to recruit even more experts as we forecast new business and further growth in 2012′.

To complement the continual growth at Epiphany, the award-winning agency also recently appointed Tom Salmon, who joined the team in October as marketing director. Tom previously helped shape the marketing and business development strategy for Leeds University Union, supported by a £42 million budget. With a background in strategic planning and business development, Tom is responsible for helping secure Epiphany as one of the best known brands in search.

Epiphany recently won an award for Best Use of Organic Search at the DADI Awards and has been nominated for Digital Agency of the Year and Yorkshire Business of the Year in this year’s MiAwards as well as the Innovation Award for the Leeds Digitally Awards.

Teletext Holidays joins brands such as JD Sports, Pets at Home, JD Williams, Allianz and Symantec, who all trust Epiphany’s innovative and transparent approach to search engine marketing.

Conversion Thursday is a monthly forum for like-minded professionals to discuss online marketing and conversion. Since 2006, it has attracted hundreds of attendees and been held in Barcelona, Madrid, and London. The London Conversion Thursday is especially popular and according to the organisers, it should be another great event to network and learn about online marketing.

For more information, visit the Conversion Thursday site or follow Rob Jackson at  @conversion_guru.

(Photo: Rick Harrison 2011)

The festival, which takes place in November, has already kicked off with events like AweSEOme, an SEO roundtable where leaders in the industry – including Epiphany’s head of search Andy Heaps – discussed the latest trends and updates in front of an audience of both agency and non-agency members. The event was a huge success and led to the creation of Sociality, an event which will also feature an expert panel and discussions about the latest and greatest developments in social media. It will take place at The Adelphi this Wednesday between 12pm and 2pm.

The event is to be run by volunteers and representatives from the digital community, as well as Leeds City Council. Though previous attempts to launch a digital festival have been unsuccessful, designers like Battersby are confident that this festival will be the start of something special for both Leeds and the industry at large.

”Leeds is full of talented individuals and agencies, and this festival is an opportunity for us to share this talent and make Leeds known as the digital city of the north,” said Battersby.

”We have already seen a fantastic level of commitment from so many people to help make LDF2011 success. Loads of people are giving up their own time regardless of agency allegiances, family and workloads to make LDF2011 an event with national impact.”

If you are interested in joining the team of volunteers for the Leeds Digital Festival, be sure to attend the next open meeting this Thursday, 18 August at 6pm at the Midnight Bell, 101 Water Lane, Leeds.

Epiphany Solutions, a leading search marketing agency, has teamed up with the North Leeds Leopards junior rugby league club to sponsor their first ever home game, an under 10s clash branded ‘The Epiphany Challenge’, against the Dewsbury Celtic. The match will be on Sunday, 17 July at 10:30am at Alwoodley Primary School.

The Leeds-based agency will provide individual medals to each participating child as well as an engraved trophy for the winning team. Representatives from Epiphany will be there to present the medals and cheer the Leopards along with local councillors who have welcomed the club to the area.

”We are very excited to sponsor the North Leeds Leopards and to introduce their first home match as The Epiphany Challenge,” said Shane Quigley, CEO at Epiphany. ”As a Leeds business, we are very keen to support the local community.”

The club which attracts more than 50 youngsters to training in four age groups aged 5 to 11 is based at Moortown Social Club, Cranmer Bank and celebrated its year anniversary in May.

Laurence Fox, Chair of Functions and Fundraising for the Leopards welcomed Epiphany as a new sponsor and expressed his delight that the challenge will become an annual event.

”This will be the Leopards first home game and it is fantastic for everyone connected to have the Epiphany trophy being awarded to the winning team to keep for a year,” he commented. ”It is great to see a local business being involved in such a special event.”

The Leopards’ annual barbecue will follow the match at the New Rover Cricket Club, located in Adel.

For more information on the match, visit the Leopards website: http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/northleedsleopardsjuniorrlfc/.

Whittaker, previously a Director of Corporate Finance at KPMG and former partner at BTG McInnes, will support existing directors Shane Quigley, Robin Skidmore and Rob Shaw in the delivery of the company’s growth strategy. Prior to these roles, Jim served as Auditor at Price Waterhouse Coopers, where he received his accountancy training.

Mr Whittaker commented: “Epiphany Solutions is enjoying strong year on year sales growth of more than 50 per cent, driven by the increased need of businesses to drive relevant customer traffic to their websites and, crucially, convert such traffic to sales.”

Shane Quigley, CEO of Epiphany Solutions, said: “This is a new position at Epiphany and is indicative of where we are now in our growth cycle. It reflects our ambitions and confidence going forward.

“Jim brings a considerable amount of financial expertise to the business and will provide invaluable assistance with our expansion strategy.”

The agency has also recently announced a succession of new business wins that are solidifying Epiphany as one of the leading agencies in search. These include charities Run For All, The Jane Tomlinson Appeal, and Lloyds Pharmacy.

Following an outstanding year in 2010 with growth in revenues of 63%, Epiphany is moving into a larger office in London to mark their expansion in the region. Based in Farringdon, the new office space better represents the brand and accommodates the increasing client roster.

Epiphany has welcomed seven new members of staff so far this year and is set to continue steady growth throughout 2011. Joining the Google Accredited agency is Michael Maslona (New Business Director) who moved from competitor icrossing. Michael has more than 12 years industry experience and previously worked with brands such as Toys R Us, HSBC, Total Jobs and Fitness First.

In his first month at Epiphany, Maslona has already secured international property consultants King Sturge, which has offices in more than 40 countries and is continually expanding its agency and consultancy services across the globe. The PPC team at Epiphany have commented they’re eager to smash the conversion targets set by the client.

In addition to King Sturge, Epiphany can also add Dennis Publishing to their significant client portfolio. Dennis was impressed with Epiphany’s approach and, after a successful three-month trial, asked the agency to work on 13 additional titles, including The Week and Men’s Fitness.

“We were impressed by Epiphany’s transparent approach to search marketing and continue to be. We’ve got a great relationship with the team there; it’s a pleasure working with them”, said Richard Ayerst, Digital Marketing Manager at Dennis Publishing.

Robin Skidmore, Commercial Director of Epiphany said, ”It’s exciting times for Epiphany. We’ve worked hard for our reputation as an employer of choice and our high client retention rate reflects the world-class service that we continually strive to deliver”.

But they aren’t just the brightest; we think they are also the fastest!

We are proud to be working with the Jane Tomlinson Appeal and Run for All, and will be entering a team of 10 into their Leeds 10k Corporate Challenge.

Think you can do better?  We are laying down the gauntlet to other agencies to see if you can do better.  With the support of The Drum, we hope to get as many agencies involved in the Leeds 10k Corporate Challenge and see who really is the fastest!

It’s a great cause, and training for a 10k and getting healthy is never a bad thing… and of course there are those bragging rights!

So don’t delay, the race is on Sunday June 19^th. You can find how to enter the Corporate Challenge here…

http://runforall.com/events/leeds-10k/corporate-challenge/

When you have entered a team let us know by putting a comment at the end of this blog post and we will put a league table together of each agency team.  We will then compile the results after the race and announce the fastest agency in The Drum.

Keep everyone posted on how your company training is going (and intimidate the competition!) with the Twitter hash tag #fastestagency.

The charity, formed by the late Jane Tomlinson, has raised more than £3 Million to date for charities both locally and nationally with monies being donated to causes such as Martin House Hospice and Yorkshire Cancer Research

Epiphany, the fastest-growing search agency in the UK, has already embarked upon the research phase of the campaign, with the goal being to dominate search results relating to running events. Epiphany will also be building a social media strategy that aims to engage with key influencers on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and blogs in order to put the charity ‘first in mind’ of the running community and build a loyal support base.

Epiphany’s MD Rob Shaw said,” We are absolutely delighted to be working with Run For All and The Jane Tomlinson Appeal to generate a winning search campaign – not only because they’re a great charity doing astounding things, but because their ethos fits with our brand. And also because there are lots of sporting enthusiasts here at Epiphany!

After the initial review, our talented team will implement their strategies to ensure success in both rankings and traffic.”

As well as three highly successful 10k runs in Hull, Leeds and York the Jane Tomlinson Appeal recently announced its first Swim For All event, the Yorkshire Swimming Festival. With more than 25,000 people due to take part in this year’s events, it’s set to be another fantastic year for charitable sporting events in Yorkshire. For the first time Epiphany will be joining around 500 other corporates to take on the challenge of being the fastest team in this year’s Clarion Leeds 10K corporate challenge.

Mike Tomlinson said, ”We selected Epiphany based on their reputation in the industry and we liked the fact that they’re head office is locally based. I’m looking forward to seeing our charity and its site raise greater awareness, in the hope that we can increase both participation and knowledge.”

Here’s a list of our blog posts based on popular categories including SEO, PPC, Social Media, Mobile, Technology and Industry News.

SEO, PPC and Link building

• Steve shares his views on the changing faces of Google, and tries to rationalise the appearance of natural, paid and real time searches. What is it all about?
• Chris R. wonders why Website Optimisation is full of surprises and gives us an example to prove it.
• Pete gives us a walkthrough for the upcoming Facebook Sponsored Story Ads
• Aimee kindly shares some tips to help create Pay-Per-Click Ads.
• Tom Bates talks about the new tests being carried out on PPC by Google and gives us some screenshots to talk about.
• James H. talks about the recently released Contextual Targeting Tool by Google and shares his first thoughts on it.
• Lu gives us a quick overview of what to expect from the new PPC changes implemented by Google.

Social Media, Facebook and Twitter

• Andrew L. had a look at how Social Media has changed the outbreak of a sex scandal, with an analysis into the scandal involving TV presents Andy Gray and Richard Keys.
• Abi looks into the recent sex survey taken by a US magazine, which shows the stats on how people find love, sex and ex’s these days.
• Mike provides some useful tips on managing a Social Media Strategy for businesses looking to get started on blogging, tweeting and sharing.
• Nicole gave some predictions for the Super Bowl match and talks about the new social media strategies implemented by various advertisers this season.
• Rachael looks at some of her favorite apps and social media tools championing various charities, and it all started with a countdown to the next Red Nose Day.
• Fay talks about the ASOS Marketing Model of getting customers to do their marketing for them using social media.
• Tom Bagnall talks about the Day V Lately ad from Yellow Pages and gives his opinion on it.
• Steve W. shares some tips on how to use Twitter to boost your ranking.
• Abi talks about tweets related to a Revolution especially with the tweets that were linked to the Egypt crisis.
• Nicola shares some figures to confirm she’s not alone when it comes to feeling pressured to say something on Facebook.
• Daisy talks about the features of the newly updated Facebook pages and mentions some benefits for business owners.
• Mike informs us of the new voting method for contestants in American Idol’s Season 10.
• Matt talks about an innovative way to build links to your website and promote social media all at the same time. Note – might not be suitable for your business.
• Emma F. talks about her obsession with Pinterest and is also giving out invites for those interested in it. Hurry up and get an invite.

Mobile, Technology and Innovation

• Gaz gives us some lessons to take away from the Google Wave Experience.

Industry News

• We were nominated for Top 35 Online Marketing blogs last month and Dan went on to rally some votes.
• James D. shares his point of view on the recent trap set by Google for Bing.
• Amy talks about the recent allegations of Google and Facebook looking to buy Twitter and looks at its recent growth.
• James H. looks into the upcoming Google Chrome Operating System with some of its key features, which is expected to make it stand out.
• Andy lists some of the conferences we at Epiphany Solutions will be attending over the first half of 2011.

These are the round-ups of posts from the Epiphany blog in the month of February, and a favourite of everyone this month was the Day V Lately post. Well done Tom!

Feel free to drop comments and retweet our articles for this month. Be sure to look out for our next monthly round up!

I’ve been desperate to blurt that out but I’m banned from saying it in the office.  Apparently it’s a (really annoying) habit I have at the end of every month and the start of the next.  But it’s true, time is flying, and  things are constantly changing in the digital world.

Over the last few weeks the office has been buzzing with the news that the Press Complaints Commission has ruled that all material published on Twitter cannot be considered private.  It is public and can be published.  Also, don’t waste your time trying to shoehorn a DIY disclaimer into your Profile Biog – it won’t stand up in court.  Gulp!

While us avid microbloggers were frantically censoring our accounts, the PPCers were revelling about much more important stuff.  At the beginning of this month, Google decided to implement a new PPC ad format.

Here’s a quick overview of the changes you will be experiencing:

WHAT?

Any first line of a description which ends in punctuation has been moved to the headline and separated with a dash.

WHY?

Aims to improve user experience and ad performance as relevant information can be viewed more quickly and easily.

WHO?

This applies to all ads which appear in the top positions on Google, above the natural search listings.  There is no way of opting out.

This feature is here to stay and we expect it will have a significant impact on results.  Keep an eye on your Click Through Rate and if you want to know more about this, and how we are reacting, take a look at this blog post by one of our PPC team members – http://www.epiphanysolutions.co.uk/blog/google-gets-testy-with-adwords/.

What else is there to report from Epiphany Towers?

We’ve all developed an unhealthy obsession with big fat gypsy weddings!  We just had our annual karaoke night on Friday and it was awesome!  Oh, and if you fancy a touch of ‘computer geek chic’ like us, you might want to get yourself a pair of these…

Or if you’re truly committed to the cause…

To spice the infographic up a little, I added a little animation to each of the pieces of information. These all run when the page loads, but if you missed any you can simply hover over the graphic to see it run again (my favourite is the kettle). We think this makes it more interactive and interesting than a flat graphic.

There are a few challenges to having the infographic animated though. The page is coded up in valid HTML5, using some of the newest code available, such as <header>, <section> and <footer> tags, and uses some great new CSS3 tricks to select the different elements on the page.

The animations and movements are done using Javascript. I’m a big fan of the jQuery library, and I’m using it and some of its plugins to rotate images, animate along paths, and a few other tricks. jQuery is robust enough that you can be confident of the animations working across all the different browsers, although I stopped short of supporting Internet Explorer 6 as it would involve rewriting most of the scripts. Instead I’ve put a conditional comment in that swaps the dynamic page for a static image and alerts the user that they could upgrade to a better browser.

Infographics like this are a great way to drive traffic to your site, and fulfil a dual purpose:
1. They show off your knowledge – in this case, how Epiphany has changed over the last 12 months. But it could be facts about your industry, which tells your (potential) customers that you’re an expert in that field.
2. They encourage people to share, and the more engaging the infographic, the more it’ll be shared! Adding a button for your visitors to share the infographic on Facebook or Twitter makes it a simple task for them to share, and gets you more hits and more links.
Our End of Year Infographic is just one example of how you can increase traffic to your website, and one that often spreads to a huge number of people very quickly: simply by being shared on Social Networking sites by a few hundred people you can be exposed to several thousand in a very short time.

With the huge number of infographics out there, it’s important to get it right – simply regurgitating old news won’t get people interested. But by publishing new information or by doing something a little differently, as we have with the animations, you can drive a lot of useful traffic to your site.

The fastest growing search marketing agency in the UK announced today that it would be overseeing the SEM for one of the country’s leading retailers of hearing aids. The Hearing Company, who provides hearing aids from more than 300 stores nationwide, has tasked Epiphany Solutions with increasing search rankings and improving online enquiry rates.

The team at Epiphany will commence work with the retailer immediately, assisting The Hearing Company as it looks to increase its online presence to supplement its many stores.

Epiphany’s strategy will include improving the ranking of the website on targeted keywords and ensuring that onsite conversion rates increase month-on-month.

The Hearing Company, which boasts more than 50 years’ experience in hearing care, carries out all its services through qualified Hearing Aid Dispensers.

Robin Skidmore, Commercial Director at Epiphany Solutions, said: “We are delighted to be appointed by The Hearing Company to lead its search strategy and drive up enquiry rates. We are looking forward to increasing their online presence in line with their extensive network of stores.”

Martin Elwell at The Hearing Company, said: “Epiphany’s proven track record in improving search rankings and onsite conversions means we’re confident going into this campaign. We will see an uplift in traffic to our website and helping us to hit our e-commerce goals.”

“The Hearing Company looks forward to working with Epiphany and consolidating our place at the cutting edge of hearing aid retail in the UK.”

Epiphany won the account following a competitive three-way pitch, and will commence work immediately, concentrating its efforts first on a comprehensive and extensive architecture review of the site. Following this, the company will begin more specific measures to increase site visits and encourage increased conversion rates on the 14,000- strong product range.

Maplin, which boasts 180 stores across the UK and a history of nearly 40 years, is the market leader in the specialist consumer electronics field.

Shane Quigley, Chief Executive at Epiphany Solutions, said: “We are delighted that the UK’s largest specialist electronics retailer has chosen Epiphany Solutions to oversee its SEO development.

“Following our initial site architecture review, we will implement our recommendations and look forward to seeing the resultant uplift in both site traffic and search engine rankings very soon.”

Gareth Pownall, Internet Project Manager at Maplin Electronics, said: “We are pleased to announce Epiphany’s appointment today and look forward to working with their talented team of experts.  Whilst we are the UK’s largest specialist retailer of consumer electronics, we are keen to further enhance our online presence.

“We are confident that Epiphany Solutions will be able to meet our brief of increasing site traffic, improve rankings and conversion. We eagerly await the results of all their hard work.”

Epiphany are celebrating following news that they have beaten stiff competition to win the coveted ‘Sites and Search’ category at the annual Fresh Awards held at the Manchester Hilton on Thursday 30 September.

Epiphany scooped the award based on work for exhibition systems specialist Marler Haley and beat six other shortlisted agencies at the prestigious awards night.

The awards, which showcase the best work from creative agencies across the UK, were particularly competitive this year, with multiple previous categories under the SEO and website development banner being amalgamated into one award; ‘Best Sites and Search’.

Robin Skidmore, Commercial Director of Epiphany Solutions, said: “We’re delighted to have won such a competitive category at the Fresh Digital Awards.

“To say that we have out-performed competition such as MediaCom is a real accolade and I’d like to personally express how proud we are of the team and their accomplishments.  Without doubt, they have excelled in their hard work and ongoing commitment to the clients campaign and this award is testament to that.”

Epiphany today announced the latest in a clutch of high-profile account wins as it revealed it has developed a new website for experts in consumer data management, Callcredit Information Group, along with ongoing work to oversee the company’s SEO and PPC.

Epiphany Solutions, the UK’s fastest growing search marketing agency, designed the new website for Callcredit, which went live last week, consolidating five of the group’s brands and existing sites in one streamlined, search-friendly website.

Following the success of the website build, Epiphany has now commenced SEO and PPC campaigns for Callcredit, which will be pivotal in the promotion of the website following launch, aiming to drive awareness and generate leads for the industry leader.

Callcredit, whose cutting edge technology and industry expertise provides businesses with better insight to help them reach more responsible decisions and deliver stronger customer engagement, enlisted the help of Epiphany as the company looks to increase its web presence and boost the prominence of key brands in its stable.

Robin Skidmore, co-founder of Epiphany, said: “We are delighted to announce our work with Callcredit and look forward to assisting them as they undergo a significant overhaul of their online presence.

“Callcredit are strong leaders in their field and we are thrilled that they recognised our credentials in web development and search marketing.

“We are delighted with the new website and look forward to seeing the knock-on effects as we progress both SEO and PPC campaigns for Callcredit.”

David Swift, Marketing Director at Callcredit Information Group, said: “We needed a new website that provided a central hub of information that was easy to navigate and had a fresh look and feel and we’re delighted with the results delivered by Epiphany Solutions.

“As our business grows, we look forward to working with Epiphany to continue to develop, enhance and optimise our website.”

I thought I’d stray from my usual on-line related topics this month to write a brief race report from the recent Ford Lakeland Challenge the Epiphany Directors have just completed. A number of our clients and many staff were generous enough to make donations for the Wooden Spoon Charity we were supporting (a really great and little known outfit that does some amazing and innovative work to bring smiles to disadvantaged children in the UK – www.woodenspoon.com). All we had to do was canoe Britain’s longest lake, cycle its steepest pass and climb up and down its highest mountain, how hard could it be?

So, our race day started at 5am which gave us chance to get a carb-filled breakfast down us before we began up to 12 hours of racing at 7:30am. The first surprise of the day was to awaken thinking the shower had been left on, only to realize that torrential rain had started (and would stay with much of the day). After a very subdued breakfast, the team boarded our Epiphany Battle bus (very kindly donated by Ford for the event) and began the first navigational challenge, to get from the hotel at the top of Lake Windermere to the Canoe start at the bottom. This was a battle of wits across the 16 teams taking part, as no one wanted to set off first and take responsibility for leading the whole group. Trailblazers that we are, the Epiphany team set off first and led the way.

Canoe

On arriving at the canoe start Shane, Robin and myself loaded up the canoe with energy drinks and gels, registered with the marshals and hit the water. Our training from a few months ago came back quickly and we headed out to the start line. A few minutes of positioning and 16 teams were then lined up in the water ready to race. 3,2,1 and we were off, let the mayhem begin!

It was a hectic start with boats battling for position, often colliding and trying not to be the first team to capsize into the cold water. After 10 minutes we had navigated through the hazards of other competitors and boats moored in the lake and hit open water. The following 2 hours and 16 minutes are something of a blur. Most vivid memories are Robin counting consistently to 10 to keep our stoke timing smooth for the entire time and the occasional need to bail out the boat due to the intense rain throughout. After crossing over from the east to west sides of the lake and avoiding the Windemere ferry that was never going to stop for a 3 man canoe, we had land in site and thoughts finally began to turn to the biggest challenge of the day, the bike section!

Bike

After dragging the canoe out of the water and registering our race time we ran to meet our driver (Ryan) who had brought the battle bus to the northern tip of the lake with our bikes. A quick change from drenched clothes into the bike gear and a mandatory hand and face wash to remove any blue/green algae from the lake and we were ready to hit the hills!

Our race plan of keeping Robin at the back of the group to stop him riding away into the distance soon fell apart and he was a spec in the distance only to be seen when we reached a turning in the road that would require directions from my bike GPS (as team captain I had obviously put in the hours ahead of time planning race nutrition, equipment, directions and associated technology needed).

We kept a steady pace of fast down hills and slow spinning uphill until we hit the infamous Wrynose Pass. We all valiantly tried to keep on our bikes but at a gradient not dissimilar to trying to ride up a staircase we were soon pushing the bikes. Thoughts of walking the bike being an opportunity to recover our breath were soon lost as the gradient and the rain meant it was a challenge simply walking up such steep tarmac. Even cars passing us on the narrow roads were struggling and stalling with the gradient. The team dug deep, kept our heads down and pushed on to the top of the hill where we re-grouped, took on some food and headed on to the second of Britain’s steepest passes, Hardknott pass. My enjoyment of the initial downhill after our steep ascent was soon lost for 2 reasons. Firstly the descent was so steep the entire time was spent trying not to fall over the front forks of the bike, and secondly because as we hit the flat with the chance to get up some speed and make progress before the next big climb, my chain snapped in 2 places leaving me with a useless mode of transport. At this point both Shane and Robin were out of earshot and off making progress towards the foot of Hardknott pass – we had agreed that we would next re-group at its peak. This left me with a very long run ahead as I attempted to catch them up. 15 minutes later I could see the outline of Shane and Robin in the distance beginning the second major climb. Again cycling soon gave way to pushing the bikes up the many switchbacks. One big effort and I finally caught up with Shane to explain our predicament, I then pushed on to catch up with Robin in an attempt to get to the top of the pass where there would be a marshal who may have some equipment to help repair my bike. After more yomping up the steep incline I reached the top, found the marshal but was disappointed to find that he was armed only with jellybabies rather than any spare links for my bike chain. Just as we thought all was lost and I would be retired from the race, I did a final search through my spares kit (always prepared) and found not one but two spare emergency links that I had packed the week before. Some speedy repairs later (and some assistance from a marshal who’s hand’s were warmer than mine) and the bike was back!

We were told that we had completed the last of the big hills and that everything would be downhill from here. That turned out to be untrue but certainly what lay head was manageable by comparison. After many more miles of further hills we had Wastwater in sight which lies at the foot of Scafell Pike, indicating the mountain section would soon be upon us. We had to push hard in the final miles to ensure we didn’t miss the safety cut-off time for the bike section and with 500 meters to go, I pushed my bike too hard and the chain snapped a 3^rd and final time! With the end so near it was another run with the bike to cross the line and start preparations for the mountain.

The Mountain

In the final section of the race we made a driver change as Shane’s long-standing foot injury meant he wouldn’t be able to attempt the mountain section. In stepped Ryan to take his place and after changing into our walking gear we completed the mandatory safety kit check and began our ascent.

Preparation again served us well here, as we had completed a practice climb some weeks before and with the assistance of our iPhones running GPS mapping software we were confident of our route to the top. This was our chance to claw back time lost on the bike section as we made swift progress up the mountain in terrible conditions with driving wind and rain and visibility down to 10 meters. What we didn’t know during our journey to the top was that we passed 5 teams who were all struggling with navigation. This would ultimately cost them dearly because any team who cannot make the top of the mountain within an agreed safety time limit will be forced to go back the way they came rather than continue down the far side and head on to the finish line. We made it to the top with time to spare, didn’t waste any time admiring the view (we were stood in a cloud and there was nothing to see!) and began the final push to the finish. The descent was an unknown as, we had not been able to practice this particular route and despite one wrong turn which had us climbing up a waterfall at one point, we kept to the correct route. One final obstacle lay ahead which was to cross the weir at the bottom of the mountain leaving a short run to the finish line. Due to a full day of torrential rain, a crossing that should have simply wet the soles of our boots had us wading through water just below our knees! We knew the finish was in sight so we gritted our teeth, adjusted our clothing ready for the finishers pictures and ran for home!

It was a welcome sight to see the Ford Lakeland Challenge banners and the line as we rounded the last corner. Shane had competed the long drivers route around the bottom of the mountain and was there to meet us at the finish with the good news that we had passed 5 teams and finished 9th overall.

Finally, many thanks to Shane, Robin and Ryan for being such a great team and to everyone who sponsored us, it’s a very worthwhile cause. Now we just need to decide what to do next year….!

Heading up the new department are brand new appointments to Epiphany, award winning designers, Gareth Battersby and Chris Marsh, who boast a collective 20 years’ experience in the field. Further team members will be appointed as the department continues to grow.

Key initiatives for the new department will be transforming the presentation and reporting of key data both internally and externally, whilst also developing custom applications for clients that will incorporate social media and community engagement strategies with SEO campaigns.

Rob Shaw, MD at Epiphany Solutions, said: “We’re thrilled to launch our new Research and Development department today and to welcome Gaz and Chris to the wider Epiphany team as well.

“Our new department underlines our ongoing commitment to delivering world class service to our clients, through new and innovative ways of reporting and creating bespoke applications that really enable them to increase their rankings through social media interaction.

“Both Chris and Gaz were closely involved in the creation of tools such as www.tweetlection.co.uk earlier this year in the run up to the general election.  It’s this type of innovation and creativity that we want to add to our existing on-line strategies to enhance the results we are currently achieving for our clients.

“The communications landscape is changing at a rapid pace and the new department will enable us to stay ahead of the curve in the digital marketing industry.”

Epiphany, which will work with JD for an initial six-month period, has already conducted a preliminary review and begun boosting SEO. Results so far have been very positive across Google, Bing and Yahoo for the market’s most competitive keywords.

JD Sports Fashion Plc, which is listed in the FTSE 250, owns some of the most prominent sports and fashion retail brands across the UK, with over 400 stores and a significant market share of the lucrative sports fashion sector.

Robin Skidmore, co-founder of Epiphany Solutions, said: “We are thrilled to be working with JD Sports as they look to further enhance their presence online and boost overall revenue as a result. JD Sports are incredibly successful and we are delighted to be working with them. They are another big name we have added to our growing portfolio of blue chip clients.

“We are pleased that initial reports have already yielded very positive results. We look forward to building on these results over the coming months, helping to consolidate their position at the top of the sports fashion tree in the UK.”

Chris Bracken from JD Sports said: “We are really pleased with the initial results from Epiphany’s work and are excited about boosting our SEO as the work continues apace over the coming months.

“JD Sports is a prominent name on the High Street and we are sure that Epiphany will further enhance our online offering and market prominence too.”

The UK’s fastest growing search specialist was chosen by Pets at Home on the strength of its sector credentials and initial results have boasted significant improvements on rankings for key search terms, including ‘dog food’, ‘cat food’ and ‘dog beds’ which rose 64 positions to be ranked 6th on Google!

Epiphany also confirmed that initial work over the past month led to an impressive 13 per cent increase in site conversions from non-brand organic referrals. Pets at Home, which has over 260 pet stores across the UK, is keen to capitalise on its growing online presence through the SEO campaign.

Epiphany will continue boosting Pets at Home’s ranking for key search terms, improving overall site visibility and increasing site referrals as the campaign continues.

Shane Quigley, Chief Executive at Epiphany Solutions, said: “We are thrilled to be working with Pets at Home and to reveal that our initial work on their behalf has already yielded excellent results. We look forward to working with the company as they seek to increase their online visibility.”

Matt Stead from Pets at Home said: “We were impressed by Epiphany’s track record of improving online visibility and search rankings over key terms and we are pleased with the initial results from their work. We recognise the importance of increasing our online presence and we are confident that Epiphany have the skills and expertise to ensure this happens.”

With the mature market increasingly embracing online retail, Bonmarché is keen to make sure its online presence is sufficiently prominent to capitalise on this growth market.

Epiphany have been overseeing the build of the new website, ensuring that Bonmarché is ideally placed to attract a growing segment of the online mature market.

Following the initial launch period, Epiphany will tailor the campaign to ensure key product lines achieve online prominence and boost sales for the retailer, which will celebrate its thirtieth anniversary in 2012.

Robin Skidmore, Co-Founder of Epiphany Solutions, said: “We are thrilled to be appointed by Bonmarché at such a pivotal time in the life cycle of the company. An increasing proportion of over 45s are shopping online and we are keen to enable Bonmarché to attract an increased segment of this lucrative market.”

Donald Angus, Direct Marketing Manager at Bonmarché said: “We were impressed by Epiphany’s credentials and look forward to seeing our search rankings improve following the launch of our new website. There is no doubt that the mature consumer is turning to the internet as a fast and effective way of purchasing clothes and we look forward to capitalising on this growing trend.
“We are excited by Epiphany’s specific product-led campaign approach and the prospect of boosting sales across specific product lines and making sure that our online presence goes from strength to strength.”

Joining the Google-Accredited company are, from left to right, Paul Martin (SEO Analyst), Lu Jackson (Account Manager), Christian Milburn, (Client Services Manager), Tom Bagnall (Business Development Manager) and Dave Sellars (Web Developer) – not pictured.
With the agency poised to reveal the names of major new clients in the coming weeks, the five new staff will be well placed to enable the company to capitalise on its recent account wins and facilitate further growth as 2010 continues.

Robin Skidmore, Co-Founder of Epiphany Solutions, said: “We’re thrilled to say we have had an unprecedented start to 2010 and our five new members of staff are testament to that.
“ The fact that we have been able to employ additional staff across all divisions of the company is further proof that the agency is growing strongly, in all areas of the business.
“Our growing workforce also means we’re ideally placed to undergo further expansion in future months. This strategic growth, coupled with being on the cusp of revealing some major new clients means we’ve had a fantastic start to the year.”

Epiphany Solutions, which won the contract to work with the JD Williams group, has conducted preliminary SEO work on behalf of six main brands.

Initial site modification, in addition to content and architectural changes, have enabled Epiphany to maximise the visibility of JD Williams’ sites.

Epiphany will now spend the next six months modifying the six clothing brands’ websites to ensure they are fully optimised.

Shane Quigley, Chief Executive, said: “We are delighted with the preliminary results from our first six months activity with JD Williams and the positive effect this will have on their business. “To see such dramatic improvement in just six months is testament to the quality of work undertaken by our team and we look forward to further improving the SEO of the well-known and well-loved brands in JD Williams’ stable over the next six months.”

Tony Wood of JD Williams said: “We have been impressed by both the speed and scale of improvements Epiphany has brought to bear on our websites and we look forward to continuing to work with them as our online visibility grows.”

Epiphany began the dedicated PPC campaign on July 01 2009 with the express aim of capturing newly qualified and existing doctors practising in the UK. The BMA is the leading professional body and trade union for doctors in the UK.

Epiphany helped to increase the membership of the association through the use of a tailored landing page on the BMA’s website with clear calls to action, including a direct link through to the initial sign-up form and prominent contact details. A substantial number of new members were recruited through the campaign in its first six months, Epiphany exceeded initial targets and the campaign has been extended by the BMA due to its success.

As a result of the success of the campaign, Epiphany has also been asked to tender proposals focussed on improved interaction with members who are already engaging with social media.

Shane Quigley, CEO Epiphany Solutions, said: “We are delighted by the results of the PPC membership campaign for the BMA and pleased that the campaign is being continued due to its enormous success.

“It is a privilege to work with the BMA. We are now very excited about the next stage of the campaign”

Gemma Matthews, Membership Recruitment Marketing Manager at BMA, said: “We are very impressed with the results, professionalism and ethos displayed by Epiphany Solutions. The first stage of their campaign has been a success and we are looking forward to seeing their proposals for our social media strategy.”

Thanks for all of the great entries and to everyone who submitted a response. Keep them coming by tweeting your suggestions using the #youwouldnt hashtag on twitter.

Each month, the best suggestion will feature in our double page advert and we’ll reference the winner’s twitter handle. Each winner will also receive an iPod shuffle.

The advert is in today’s issue of The Drum:

You can follow @epiphanysol or keep visiting our blog for winners and latest info.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW OTHER ENTRIES

Epiphany is pleased to announce the addition of a premium clothing company to its rapidly expanding roster of clients. Pure Collection, the online cashmere specialist, has enlisted the help of Epiphany as it looks to grow revenue and increase site visibility for customers across the UK.

Following a competitive pitch, Epiphany won the prestigious account, based on its proven approach to SEO.

Pure Collection, which sources the finest grades of cashmere from sustainable herds in Mongolia, recognised the importance of improving its online presence and appointed the agency based on its industry credentials.

As part of Epiphany’s work, site architecture will be adapted and a strategic link acquisition campaign will commence to enhance overall online visibility.

Robin Skidmore, Commercial Director of Epiphany Solutions, said: “We are thrilled to be appointed by Pure Collection to assist the company as it looks to boost revenue and increase online visibility.

“The company offers a premium product that deserves premium rankings and we look forward to offering them just that. Beating off competition from some of the largest search agencies in the UK is testament to the quality of our work and the creativity of our approach.

“We look forward to enabling Pure Collection to garner more market share at the top end of the online clothing industry.”

Stuart Lee, e-commerce manager at Pure Collection, said: “We are delighted to appoint Epiphany as our search agency, we understand the power and influence of the web and anticipate this activity playing a big part in our company’s continued growth”.

“Epiphany’s approach stood out for us, particularly their straightforward and tangible approach to social media and we look forward to our online sales increasing over the coming months.”

Previously Head of SEO for the Latitude Group and responsible for delivering campaigns such as Haven Holidays and Swinton Insurance, Andy will head up all search production teams covering PPC, SEO and Conversion Rate Optimisation. Recently named as one of the most influential people in search marketing, Andy brings with him a vast array of experience, knowledge and talent.

Managing Director Rob Shaw commented on the appointment: “Andy is well respected both for his technical knowledge, his vision and leadership; he is a valuable addition to the Epiphany team.

“2009 was a great year for Epiphany and bringing Andy onboard will ensure the agency continues to push the boundaries of Search Marketing in 2010.”

The appointment of Heaps comes on the back of unparalleled growth for Epiphany in 2009 beginning with the appointment of Shaw as MD and followed by a string of new business wins including Ventura, The British Medical Association and Savills as well as several new appointments across all areas of the business.

Talking about his new role Andy Heaps commented: “I’m delighted to be joining a dynamic agency that has demonstrated such success and growth. I’ve been aware of Epiphany for a number of years now and their prominence in the industry is increasing at a phenomenal rate.

“I’m looking forward to working with them on their growth strategy as well as bringing new and innovative ideas to market. They have a large and talented production team that has delivered results consistently for their clients and I’m relishing the opportunity to help drive strategy and innovation to help cement their position as market leaders.”

As well as managing SEO and PPC teams Heaps will oversee the expansion of the company’s Web Converter service – Epiphany is one of only a handful of companies to be awarded Google Conversion Professional (GCP) accreditation.

Talking about the year ahead, Shaw added: “We spent 2009 focussing on our core strengths, bringing the right staff on board and securing some great clients. We are in a fantastic position to capitalise on this in 2010 –the company has a clear vision of where it intends to go and talented individuals like Andy will ensure that we get there quickly.”