Cocoonfxmedia Ltd, a multi-award-winning digital marketing agency, has been awarded the prestigious Fair Payment Code (FPC) Gold Award. This accolade is given to companies that pay at least 95% of all invoices within 30 days and adhere to the principles of fairness, transparency, and collaboration with their suppliers.

Cocoonfxmedia Ltd has long been a champion of fair payment practices, consistently ensuring that its suppliers are paid within 30 days or sooner. Co-founder James Blackman has been actively advocating for better payment practices for over a decade, making fair supplier payments a key focus during his tenure as President of the Lichfield & Tamworth Chamber of Commerce.

“I have been working closely with the last three Small Business Commissioners to help level the playing field for micro-businesses. Ensuring timely payments is crucial for small businesses’ survival, and I have provided ongoing feedback to Liz Barclay, the current Small Business Commissioner, regarding the challenges small enterprises face in receiving payments on time,” said James Blackman, Co-founder of Cocoonfxmedia Ltd. “Receiving the FPC Gold Award is a testament to our ethical approach to business and our commitment to supporting a fairer business environment.”

About Cocoonfxmedia Ltd

Cocoonfxmedia Ltd is a multi-award-winning digital marketing agency based in Lichfield, UK. The company specialises in effective design solutions and digital marketing strategies that align with clients’ organisational goals while maintaining best business practices and environmental considerations.

Since 2020, Cocoonfxmedia Ltd has been a carbon-neutral company, further demonstrating its dedication to ethical and sustainable business operations.

For more details about the Fair Payment Code, visit: https://www.fpb.org/fair-payment-code

E-E-A-T is an acronym for experience, expertise, authority and trustworthiness in regards to Google’s page ranking algorithms. When you hit all the points perfectly, you’ll rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).

Many experts claim people never look past the first page of search results. Ensuring you rank as high as possible increases traffic and improves your chances for online growth. Knowing what E-E-A-T is and how to implement increases the chances you’ll gain significant SEO with just a little effort.

Google offers Search Quality Rater Guidelines for its third-party raters. They work with over 16,000 people to get feedback on various websites and how well they match user intent and offer excellent user experience (UX). However, businesses can tap into the recommendations to figure out ways to rank higher than the competition.

To better understand how to improve your search engine optimization (SEO), it’s crucial to understand how Google looks at E-E-A-T. Let’s define each element to fully understand just what Google looks for. We’ll also offer suggestions to improve each area for the best chance at better SERP results.

1. Experience

One of the factors Google considers is whether the person writing content for a website has experience in the area. Someone who has been in the field is much more likely to better understand terms and jargon of the industry. They’ll know first-hand what works and what doesn’t.

The problem brands sometimes face is learning how to translate that experience part of E-E-A-T into readable content. People can be quite knowledgeable but not able to break things down in a way that makes sense to a beginner.

The best writers have both experience and an understanding of the audience. To improve your content and meet this expectation from Google, try these tips:

• Know the topic better than the average person.
• Study the audience to understand their level of expertise and what language you should use.
• Define any industry jargon so anyone can understand the content. What terms aren’t known to outsiders? It’s okay to throw them in to show your experience but make sure you explain them and don’t overdo it.
• Look for topics or angles others haven’t covered. How can you present something useful but unique?

With a bit of effort, you’ll showcase the experience behind your brand without confusing people new to the industry.

2. Expertise

The difference between expertise and experience is often subtle, even by Google’s definitions. The person who is an expert likely also has experience in the field or with the topic. For example, a chef reviewing a local restaurant has expertise in the industry. However, if he hasn’t dined at local restaurants or that restaurant, he has no experience to base his article on. The best content merges both of the Es in E-E-A-T.

Knowing how buyers respond to content and promotions can also drive what websites publish. For example, the average retailer offers a sale of around 20 to 25% off several times a year and expects to see a sales boost around 20% during the promotion.

When content is centered around what the user wants, what the business knows and experiences, the numbers may be even higher. Google will also rank the content so it gets more eyes on it, drawing even more customers to the site.

3. Authority

Sites with authority are typically more established and have developed a brand reputation. For example, when you think of companies such as:

• Amazon
• Target
• John Lewis

Why do these sites rank so high in SERPs? You might have better content, more knowledgeable experts and a consistent keyword strategy and will still get outranked by big names.

Authority measures how established a site is, the amount of content, how well it meets user intent and if people trust the company. There are some things you can do to increase your authority, but there isn’t a fast approach to building up this aspect of your SEO strategy. You must put in consistent effort before you’ll be seen as the go-to on a topic.

You want a site that functions as it should, so avoid problem areas. For example, infinite scrolling can result in lower SEO and site speed can impact results.

Some things you can do is write articles for blogs and other sites and ask for a link back to yours. You only want to utilize high quality sites for this as the quality of the sites linking to yours matters. You should give talks, host webinars and consistently post on your own site. Even the age of your site impacts authority, so consider buying an established domain, too.

4. Trustworthiness

The final letter in the acronym stands for trustworthiness. The final consideration is the thing creators have the most control over. The search engines and rankers take into account factors like:

• Site security
• Transparency and information about site managers
• Accuracy
• Whether content matches headlines

The best way to improve trustworthiness is to write focused articles, share a short bio of any contributor, fill in information about site founders and all contact information. List any associations with reputable organisations. It’s crucial to have a strong site structure and avoid issues with hackers or downtime.

Meshing E-E-A-T Into a Cohesive Strategy

Google uses automated processes and a unique algorithm that changes constantly. However, ranking well means you must meet all the elements equally and continue to improve your content daily. Implementing an E-E-A-T approach for content SEO is a great start to getting ahead of the competition and attracting more organic traffic to your site.

Eleanor is the founder and managing editor of Designerly Magazine. She’s also a web design consultant with a focus on customer experience. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and dogs, Bear and Lucy

A Brief History of Google SGE and AI Overviews

Google has been integrating AI into its search results for years, but the introduction of generative AI in search has been a significant shift. Initially, Google launched the Search Generative Experience (SGE) as an experimental feature in 2023, using AI to generate answers to search queries. The goal was to provide quick, relevant, and comprehensive responses directly in search results.

Now, in 2024, Google is transitioning from the term “SGE” to AI Overviews, making it a core part of search rather than an experimental feature. The new AI Overviews are built upon Google’s AI models, pulling information from various sources to generate short, informative responses to user queries. This marks a significant change in how search results are displayed and how users interact with them.

What Do AI Overviews Show in Google Search Results?

AI Overviews appear at the top of the search engine results page (SERP), offering users AI-generated summaries of relevant information. Unlike traditional search results, which list websites ranked by Google’s algorithm, AI Overviews provide direct answers that blend content from multiple sources.

While not all searches trigger an AI Overview, Google is showing them more frequently for complex, long-tail queries where a synthesised answer is useful. These overviews often include:

• A short AI-generated summary
• Links to sources used to generate the overview
• Follow-up questions to refine searches
• Additional content, such as images, product listings, and local results

This means that rather than simply ranking websites based on traditional SEO signals, Google’s AI Overviews actively decide what information is relevant and credible.

How Does Google Decide What to Show in AI Overviews?

Google uses AI models trained on vast amounts of data to generate AI Overviews. The system determines the content by:

1. Understanding User Intent: Google’s AI interprets the query to decide if an AI Overview is necessary.
2. Pulling Information from Trusted Sources: It selects authoritative and relevant content to form the response.
3. Generating a Cohesive Summary: The AI synthesises information into a concise, readable format.
4. Providing Source Links: Unlike traditional search rankings, AI Overviews blend multiple sources to create a single, AI-written answer while displaying links to original content.

Not all queries receive AI Overviews, and the system constantly evolves. Google prioritises accuracy, authority, and user value when deciding whether to generate an AI Overview.

Will AI Overviews Replace Traditional Search Results?

No, traditional search results still exist alongside AI Overviews. However, AI Overviews change how users engage with search results. Since the AI-generated answer appears at the top of the page, users may rely on it rather than scrolling down to click on individual links.

This shift presents both opportunities and challenges for SEO professionals. Websites that traditionally ranked at the top of Google may now find themselves pushed further down, affecting organic traffic. However, if a website is featured within an AI Overview, it can lead to increased visibility and credibility.

How AI Overviews Affect SEO Strategies

The rise of AI Overviews means SEO strategies must evolve. Traditional SEO practices, such as keyword optimisation and backlink building, remain important, but new tactics are emerging to adapt to the AI-driven search experience.

1. Optimise for AI Overviews

Since AI Overviews pull information from multiple sources, businesses need to ensure their content is authoritative, structured, and relevant to appear in AI-generated snippets. This includes:

• Creating high-quality, well-researched content
• Using structured data and schema markup
• Answering common industry-related questions clearly

2. Focus on Long-Tail Keywords

AI Overviews often appear for long-tail search queries rather than short, broad keywords. By optimising content around specific, detailed queries, businesses increase their chances of being featured in AI-generated responses.

3. Monitor AI Overviews for Your Keywords

Google does not provide official tools for tracking AI Overview performance, but professional SEO tools can help monitor:

• Which keywords trigger AI Overviews
• Which sources are featured
• How AI Overviews impact traffic and rankings

Tracking these insights allows businesses to refine their SEO strategies accordingly.

4. Leverage Expertise and Authority

Google prioritises E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) when generating AI Overviews. Websites that demonstrate expertise in their industry are more likely to be referenced in AI-generated responses.

5. Enhance Content for Featured Snippets

AI Overviews often pull from content that already ranks in featured snippets (position zero in search results). Optimising for featured snippets increases the likelihood of being included in AI Overviews.

Can Businesses Track Traffic from AI Overviews?

Currently, Google Search Console does not provide direct tracking for AI Overview clicks. However, SEO tools can estimate potential traffic from AI-generated snippets, helping businesses predict the impact of AI Overviews on their organic search performance.

How to Compare Traditional Rankings to AI Overviews

To analyse how AI Overviews affect your rankings, SEO professionals can generate side-by-side comparison reports that:

• Show keyword positions in traditional rankings vs. AI Overviews
• Identify content featured in AI-generated answers
• Measure the impact of AI Overviews on website traffic

Understanding these dynamics helps businesses adjust their SEO strategies to maintain strong visibility.

How to Stay Ahead in the Age of AI Overviews

With Google’s AI Overviews changing search behaviour, businesses must stay proactive. The best way to ensure visibility in both traditional and AI-generated search results is by:

• Creating in-depth, authoritative content that aligns with AI-generated summaries
• Monitoring AI Overview trends for relevant keywords
• Leveraging professional SEO tools to track and optimise performance

Work With SEO Experts to Adapt to AI Overviews

The rise of AI Overviews presents both challenges and opportunities for businesses. Traditional SEO strategies must adapt to this evolving landscape to ensure continued visibility in search results.

At Cocoonfx, we specialise in cutting-edge SEO strategies that help businesses navigate AI Overviews and generative search. Our expert team provides insights, tracking, and optimisation techniques tailored to your industry. If you want to maximise your search presence and stay ahead of AI-driven search trends, contact us today!

Google Lighthouse is a free, open-to-everyone tool that lets you check how your website is doing—no need to bring in a web design company. Not straight away anyway! It gives you a report card on how your site performs, how accessible it is, how well it’s optimised for search engines, and even checks a few other best-practice boxes. Here’s a breakdown and then we’ll show you how to access and use it.

What does Lighthouse measure?

• Performance: Looks at how fast your site is and whether it works smoothly. It checks things like how long it takes for the largest elements to load (LCP), how stable your layout is (CLS), and how quickly the page becomes interactive (TTI).
• Accessibility: Makes sure your site is user-friendly for everyone, including those with disabilities. It reviews things like clear link names, readable text with proper color contrast, and properly scaled viewports for different devices.
• Best Practices: Evaluates whether your site is up-to-date with web standards, like using secure connections (HTTPS), avoiding unsafe links, and following coding best practices.
• SEO (Search Engine Optimization): Spotlights areas to improve so search engines can find and rank your site more easily.

Why use Lighthouse?

• Easy insights: Get a clear, detailed report showing what’s working and what’s not—great for making informed fixes.
• DIY-friendly: Whether your site is public or behind a login, you can run Lighthouse on it.
• Better website: Use the tips to boost speed, security, and user experience while meeting industry standards.

Some of the findings you may be able to do yourself – others you’ll most likely need the help of a web designer. The main point of the tool for me is that it gives you control, third party information that you can use to make informed decisions.

How to use Lighthouse

First off you need the Chrome browser, you can download it here. The rest is in the video and following screen shots below:

Step-by-step

Knowledge is power and Google Lighthouse is an independent 3rd party tool that you can use to help be properly informed about issues related to your site. We’ve used it with clients who have been confused about the conflicting advice they have been given when trying to develop their site for marketing. They can see for themselves if the advice been given matches up.

Give it a go, or if you want to learn more get in touch, we’ll be happy to take you through things.

Graphic Design Posters

Annie’s Burger Shack is an authentic American Shack, located in the historic city of Derby. Annie’s are very active. Always putting different events and nights through the year. This is where we were given the honour of designing some posters for internal promotions of upcoming events. In graphic design wise, we got full reign, although Annie has lots of ideas to incorporate too. 

SEO Campaign

A key goal of the campaign was to gain control of online PR pieces about the restaurant. Challenge accepted. First off, on-site work. Getting the site core integrated with standard requirements for an SEO campaign.

Once done, we set about rolling out a brand awareness campaign to saturate search engine results with company-branded keyword searches. They started at the bottom of page 1 with a single listing. The bulk of the campaign was spent developing quality backlinks and optimising Google listings. By the time the campaign had finished, Annie’s Burgers posts occupied the entire first page, with only one listing not directly controlled by the marketing team.

The brand campaign also had other impacts on the Google My Business listings. This is a key area when addressing local search and mobile usage. Visitors to a city using mobile phones on the go utilise Google My Business listings a lot more to access key information. It’s always worth considering boosts to local search campaigns around events that will be bringing extra visitors to your location.

Local SEO & Google My Business

In the map results under Google My Business, we managed to get Annie’s Burgers ranked number one.

They saw an increase in the visibility of Google My Business of over 30,000 image views per month. That’s 3000+ clicks to the website, 380+ phone calls, and 1500 requests for directions to the restaurants.

General organic traffic also increased to the website within the first month by over 1500 new visitors. For obvious reasons we can’t completely claim for ourselves, in the second month, between the marketing team and the SEO campaign, for the first time in the restaurant’s history, Annie’s Burgers had a full restaurant booking.

Overall, the campaign was successful in achieving its goal. Branded search was dominated and positive gains were made in organic search to place Annies Burgers in a position where they wanted to be.

It’s seemed so straightforward. That was until your business idea needed transferring to web design.

Whether your website plans are to support a growing business, rescue a declining one or promote a great new project – getting the idea from the workplace to cyberspace is a whole other matter.

Often businesses start immediately by focusing their web design ideas on other site examples, templates or images. But here at Cocoonfxmedia, we’ve seen how jumping straight into graphics web design can cause your marketing objectives to quickly become lost in translation.

So for a truly successful website, web design should start at the very basics – with stakeholder analysis.

Introducing Stakeholder Analysis for Web Design

Knowing your audience is vital when considering what information should be included on your website and how it should look.

After all, your audience is the people that will keep you in business.

But stakeholder analysis isn’t solely about your website audience. It involves those who endorse and use your website internally and externally.

So to properly inform web design, here are some helpful questions for you to consider and then we’ll look at how your answers could influence the final design.

Who are the stakeholders that need to be considered for your web design?

If you’re already involved in the running of a business you should have a good idea of who your stakeholders and customers are (otherwise you may want to do a bit of research).

Stakeholders can include more than just customers, they can be staff members who will be using and updating the site, partners that you are representing and management staff that require the site to deliver business objectives within an agreed budget.

Your customers can also be quite different, so it helps to profile them into groups depending on their demographics (or firmographics) so that you can identify those with similar needs and which groups should be your priority.

Impact on Web Design: Incorporating the priorities of your most important stakeholders when starting web design will ensure you start on the right path and avoid having to make large changes later. So next, you need to identify the stakeholders who hold the most influence on the success of your web design.

How important is each stakeholder to the success of your site?

Stakeholder mapping is a great way to identify who needs to be considered and consulted during the web design phase. This is where we can use a useful tool frequently referred to as Mendelow’s Matrix; simply add each stakeholder group where you feel they sit in the chart depending on their interest and influence.

Every matrix will be different – but once completed you will need to remember that stakeholders in quadrant A will need to be kept satisfied (possibly in a legal sense) and those in quadrant B will be the ones that will influence your site the most; their needs should definitely be included in any plans or design requirements.

Impact on Web Design: Once you’ve identified the stakeholders that matter the most for your web design, their needs can be incorporated at the earliest stages, especially when it comes to budgets and the function of the site.

What are the needs of your stakeholders? 

Now we know that we don’t have to worry about pleasing every single stakeholder, we can focus on those with the most influence over the success of your site.

So now it’s time to ask, what does each priority stakeholder need to accomplish from the website? It can help to list 2 or 3 important information needs of each stakeholder; for example:

For your marketing manager:

1. The ability to easily update content
2. Easy ways to monitor success and customer conversions

For your target market:

1. Solutions to questions and concerns easily available
2. Secure sites for purchasing
3. Easy ways to make contact
4. Resources for additional information to support them to make informed decisions

For your partners:

1. Approval for use of logo and information
2. An appropriate representation of their brand

For legal bodies:

1. Meeting agreed on terms and conditions
2. No content or actions that could breach UK legislation

Impact on Web Design: Definite requirements can finally be put into the web design, including how the site will be accessed both by customers and those updating the content, and which additional sections and security are required. This is where professional web designers will include the best approach for usability, accessibility and functionality.

How will your website marketing objectives be met?

With the basis of the web design now in place, it’s time to incorporate your business and marketing objectives – in other words, what do you want the site to deliver?

It may be that you wish the site to generate leads, increase sales or just boost awareness of your brand? It may be all of these, but it’s best to focus efforts on just one at the web design stage.

So if the motivation behind your website is to generate sales, the web design will focus on engaging first-time visitors and making the purchase process as simple and efficient as possible

If your objective is to generate leads, the web design will need to focus on having clear incentives and sign-up details available.

Impact on Web Design: when business objectives are set at the start of the web design stage, they can be built upon so that each decision for content, graphics and layout will all lead towards meeting business goals; making your objectives achievable and easily monitored.

Why will stakeholders use your site?

Now we’re getting down to the nitty-gritty of web design; user experience.

This is where your knowledge of customer profiles and preferences come in handy.

It’s important to have a website that resonates with the customer; if it’s informal and fun, it may appeal to the younger generation, but that approach may not work if your customers are serious and professional businesses.

So identify why your customers are there.

Are they looking for prices? Or are they searching for product specifications? Maybe they want to find reviews or answers to unique questions. If you fail to include quality content that your customers seek out, you could lose out to competitors.

Once you’ve determined the content and details to be included on your site, it now needs to be displayed in a way that can be easily viewed and navigated through expert web design structures and visuals – but based on the expectations and preferences of your audience.

Impact of Web Design: Structures used for web designs will vary depending on the audience preferences and purpose of the site. The main elements of web design at this stage are to make it as efficient as possible for users to complete tasks, which in turn meets your business objectives. Therefore, web design elements will include:

• site structure: which will mostly be covered during the stakeholder analysis stage and include the function and layout
• visual design: the colours, graphics, images, screen resolution and device access that meets the preferences of your website user
• site navigation: ensuring it is easy for users to locate and travel through the site without getting ‘lost’ or ‘confused’ by including a menu and predictable options such as search, contact or FAQ.

Setting Strong Foundations for Successful Web Design

The next stages following your stakeholder analysis and agreed content are for the production of wireframes or blueprints that show how your site will be structured.

Due to the intricacies of web design, we can’t exactly include all aspects of it in this blog such as coding, search engine optimisation, widgets and so forth. However, you can be sure that you’re on to a winner if you start the web design phase by considering the needs of your stakeholders and incorporating business objectives.

And remember to test, test and test your website design to ensure it is meeting the needs of your users and stakeholders. One way is to simply ask.

Ask your users/stakeholders what they like, dislike or find difficult about the site and then fix it.

You could also present two different web designs called A/B testing to see which users prefer and then use the more effective version.

Great web design is an evolving process, and will require reviews, alterations and adjustments every so often to keep up with changing customer behaviours and expectations – but if you’ve laid the groundwork with web design stakeholder analysis, you can be sure you’ll always be on the path to success with your business website.

For a free consultation on professional web design and development, contact Cocoonfxmedia or call 0121 8203659.Share

5 Sources of competitive advantage

Competitive advantage is a set of circumstances or conditions (such as being first to take a product to market) that puts one company in a more favourable position than the other. Here are the 5 sources of competitive advantage that you can identify and build upon in your company every day. 

Sources of Competitive Advantage:

1. Superior Skills

“The distinctive capabilities of key personnel that set them apart from the personnel of competing firms” 
“The benefit of superior skills is the resulting ability to perform functions more effectively than other firms” – Chadwick and Jobber

By having the right personnel with the same values, with the right skills and drive will completely separate you from the competition. It may be that some of you don’t have Masters Degrees but have the flare and creativity to make things happen.

2. Superior Resources

Having superior resources can help massively. “The tangible requirements for the advantage that enable a firm to exercise its skills” Such as;

• The number of salespeople in a market
• Expenditure on advertisement and sales promotion
• Distribution infrastructure
• Expenditure on R&D
• Scale and type of production facilities
• Brand equity
• Knowledge

3. Core Competencies

The distinctive nature of these skills and resources make up a company’s core competencies. Capabilities that are critical to a business achieving competitive advantage. “Core competencies are the most important sources of uniqueness” 1990 Prahalad and Hamel. They are a “harmonised combination of multiple resources and skills that distinguish a firm in the marketplace”.

Are they Core Competencies?

1. Relevance; they must give something that strongly influences the consumer to choose the product/ service.
2. Difficult to imitate; the competence must be difficult to imitate
3. The breadth of Application; Something that opens new markets. If it only opens a few small niche markets then success in these markets will not be enough to sustain significant growth.
4. Value Chain

The value chain is a high-level model developed by Porter. It is used to describe the process by which businesses receive raw materials, and add value through various processes to create a finished product, ready to sell to customers. The overall goal of the value chain is to deliver maximum value for the least possible cost to create a competitive advantage.

5. Differential Advantage

Unique benefits/ selling points/ characteristics that set the product/ service apart and above its competitors in the customer’s viewpoint.

Avoid the ‘me too’, syndrome otherwise price is the only thing you can be different about and the market is damaged. e.g. TkMaxx ‘big labels small prices’

• Promotion
• Price
• Distribution
• Product

Apply this model when drawing up competitive strategies for the market and explore what your company’s sources of competitive advantage are and how you can leverage them in marketing plans.