“Don’t tell journalists what to write, ask them what they need.”

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Mike Essex is the Online Marketing Manager at Koozai, a leading UK Digital Marketing Agency. He has over 5 years combined experience as Online Manager for a creative agency and Online Project Manager at a major pharmaceutical conglomerate. This experience gives him a holistic view of the web; from design to online PR, Mike’s goal is to build the Koozai brand online across all platforms.

Often found exploring the newest online trends, his last online project was featured on BBC News, Radio 5Live, USA Today, ABC News and the Times. Koozai® are a highly accredited, forward thinking Digital Marketing Agency, dedicated to ensuring their clients succeed online. They provide creative and innovative Internet marketing services that deliver real results – and demonstrate ROI that can be clearly measured against a client’s bottom line.

MO: There are a lot of internet marketing agencies out there, what makes you different or better than your competitors?

Mike: Every aspect of the digital marketing we do focuses on the client’s brand and how we can help them achieve improved conversions. Some SEO strategies we see some other agencies use involve writing ‘thin’ content just for SEO value, but this can damage a brand if seen out of context. So we look at content that can add value, as well as seeking SEO keywords that have led to conversions and really looking at how a client’s bottom line can be improved.

MO: Koozai was founded in January 2006, how has the company evolved over the past 6 years? What have been the most significant changes?

Mike: As Koozai has always been a process driven business, and we spend so much time reading industry blogs, we’ve been able to refine what we do for clients via a process of constant innovation. Every time we see something new that can work for clients, it is fed back in to the process so it can benefit every Koozai client.

The most significant change was our rebrand as Koozai in 2011, which we did to stand out in a crowded marketplace with a unique identity. In this year we also opened our second office in London, and are looking at other growth areas for the future.

MO: How have you been improving awareness of the Koozai brand? What has your strategy been so far?

Mike: Having a unique name really helps. As a word and a business name, Koozai is entirely unique. It is also a trademarked term, which means everything written about the company can be traced back to us and we can monitor our brand online really easily. We respond to every social mention we get, and try to generate debate via our own blog and weekly videos.

In addition we regularly speak to some of the leading journalists in SEO and tech to see what content we can provide for their websites, and to make them aware of research we have done that would be relevant for their readers. We take the logic of “Don’t tell journalists what to write, ask them what they need “and this works extremely well.

MO: Koozai were ranked the 23rd fastest growing technology company in the UK by the Deloitte Technology Fast50. How did it feel to be recognized in your industry and what does that mean for Koozai?

Mike: It was a momentous achievement that our MD, Ben Norman, has been working towards since the start of the company. As the award is based on revenue growth over time it was fantastic to get a benchmark against the rest of the UK industry and to see how we had grown in comparison. To place so high helps indicate that Koozai has made large strides since the company was founded, and that we are on an upwards curve that presents great opportunities for the future of the business.

MO: What would your ideal client look like?

Mike: We work with clients globally of varying sizes so can adapt to most client needs. If I had to specify, I’d say that clients who are responsive tend to get more from their projects, as having a stream of information from a client helps us think of new ways to promote them. For instance, client news can help develop press releases, or a client may have a piece of great content we could link build to.

MO: What key changes or trends in digital marketing can we expect in 2012?

Mike: Google have already made a huge announcement in the form of “Google Search, Plus Your World” which adds recommendations from friends to the results. It means search has become more social, and it’s harder to define actual rankings. This means Bing is now the leading search engine offering a traditional search experience, and it could be a good opportunity for them to gain ground.

Other issues are the SOPA legislation, a bill which may pass and give the entertainment industry control to take down websites they disagree with – a massive issue for the industry. We’ve already seen sites like Wikipedia fighting against this with a blackout of their site on the 18th January.

In fact there are eight issues we’re fighting for in the Internet community right now that could change everything. You can join our debate by clicking here.