Posts by Ed Tankersley
“Retro Mod” Logo for CathyMacKnits.com
Cathy Mac is a knitting designer and instructor with a funky 50s aesthetic. Our logo for her captures that “space age” feel, based on design motifs from vintage fabrics that she provided to us as inspiration.
Read MoreImproving Search Ranking for a Local Business
Last week I got a note from a friend who was disappointed in the number of inquiries coming in from his website. He was specifically interested in knowing what he could do to improve search rankings for his small service business. I took a look at his website and wrote him some recommendations, and I…
Read MoreArizona Shuttle Logo Concept
This Photoshop sketch for Arizona Shuttle depicts our Arizona sun logo concept on one of their city-to-city vans.
Read MoreHow to Blog with an SEO Brain
To write effective website text that will be optimized for search, the most important thing is to write for the intended audience. The search engines’ natural language algorithms are highly adept at determining the topics and meaning within website text, so the outdated technique of stuffing text with keywords is not only unnecessary, it is…
Read MoreSeven Tips for Writing for Websites
Writing for websites is different from writing for print media. Numerous usability and eye tracking studies have shown that website visitors skim and click. They don’t read thoroughly or linearly. To draw users into your text and to improve your site’s “skim-ability,” use these well-documented tips: Get to the Point – Site visitors have a…
Read MoreFlying E Ranch Hits the Trail with New Website
This dude ranch in Wickenburg, Arizona, needed a website upgrade to coincide with improvements they were making to the property. Working with Ember Design for visuals, we planned and developed a full-featured website that showcases the attraction and charm of the Flying E, including its setting, its activities, and its lodging options. Features include a…
Read MoreEasy Checks for a Mobile-Friendly Website
In April, Google updated its search algorithm—the list of weighted criteria that Google considers to determine the order in which it will rank websites on search results pages. The core of this update was to give a search boost to sites that are mobile friendly. In short, if your website doesn’t work well on mobile devices,…
Read MoreDesert Botanical Garden Print Ads
Eight Trails’ founder Ed Tankersley served as creative director for the development of a print and outdoor campaign for Desert Botanical Garden. The campaign combined wordplay with vibrant images of the unexpected color and scenic beauty of the garden to dispel the misperception that it was all about cactus. The new tagline — Not Your Garden-Variety Garden…
Read MoreWebsite Design for Cannext Lab Passes with High Marks
Cannext laboratories, located in Phoenix and Las Vegas, provide medical cannabis testing services for cannabis dispensaries and patients. Eight Trails designed and developed a modern, fully responsive website that communicated the company’s professionalism through words and images.
Read MoreHow to Be Password Savvy in a Hack-Happy World
Passwords have gotten out of control. With all the online services I use and all the sites I manage, I have hundreds of them. Over the years, I’ve made my passwords increasingly secure — longer, less like actual words, more complex combinations of characters. In the past year alone, three sites to which I have…
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