Digital Natives. Small Business Focused. Minnesota-Based.
Blue Ox Websites & Marketing is based in Minnesota, with remote employees across Central Minnesota and the Twin Cities. We love helping small businesses, startups, and nonprofits get found online so they can spend less time worrying about their website or marketing and more time serving customers.
We’re dedicated to strengthening our local economies and communities, which calls for resilient businesses. Most of our team members stay with us for 8 years or more, not just because we build great websites, but also because we value learning, teamwork, remote work, and family.
What Drives Blue Ox
Mission
We build innovative websites and honest marketing strategies to help small businesses and nonprofits grow—and make a bigger impact in communities.
Vision
We’re here to grow alongside local small businesses and nonprofits, building lasting partnerships that help communities thrive.
Guiding Values
Creativity: Custom solutions, not cookie-cutter.
Reliability: We show up and follow through.
Approachability: No jargon, no gatekeeping.
Community: We grow with the businesses and nonprofits we support.
Remote First
At Blue Ox, we prioritize flexibility and choice while focusing on making meaningful connections with our coworkers and clients. While we’re primarily virtual and WFH, our teams meet in person a few times per year to celebrate accomplishments and brainstorm big, new ideas.
Benefits & Perks
Flexible PTO & Company Holidays
Prioritized work-life balance, with flexible PTO and 23-25 observed days off.
Family Planning
Paid family and medical leave, including for adoption.
Employer-Matching 401K
50-100% retirement matching.
Perks & Stipends
Monthly internet and equipment allowances to support remote work.
Learning & Development
Mentorship from senior team members, conferences, certifications, and online learning opportunities.
And More!
Meet the Blue Ox Team
Meet the team! We’re a small, local crew of real people who care about helping businesses succeed online.
Employees
Logan Gruber
ReFounder / Marketing Director
Base: Sauk Centre, Minnesota
Tenure: 2016
Katie Carlson
Designer / Developer
Base: St. Cloud, Minnesota
Tenure: 2015
Kelsey Meyer
Designer / Developer
Base: St. Joseph, Minnesota
Tenure: 2017
Jonathan Gamble
Writer / SEO
Base: Cottage Grove, Minnesota
Tenure: 2024
Zeineb Kadhkadhi
Social Media / Designer
Base: St. Cloud State University
Tenure: 2018
Jen Gruber
Social Media / Designer
Base: Sauk Centre, Minnesota
Tenure: 2024
Careers At Blue Ox
Application
Display Ads: The Billboards of the Internet
/in Ads, SEORunning an efficient digital marketing campaign requires a diverse range of tactics. One successful method used is display ads. Display ads can vary in the type of ad you use including everything from text and images to flash animation and videos. Also known as banner ads, they are used to project your message and entice internet users to click on them to bring them back to your website. Display advertising is a form of paid digital advertising in which your ad will be posted on other sites strategically chosen to reach your target market. They are an essential tool that should be part of your digital marketing strategy.
This is an example of a display ad. When running display ads there are normally 8 or more variations depending on the size of screen.
Display Ads: The Billboards of the Internet
Any time you drive down the road; it is likely that you are bombarded with billboards for any number of industries all to capture your attention, cement their brand in your head, and encourage you to purchase their product or service. The problem with roadside billboards is that they are not specially targeted to your specific market, and are placed in hopes that enough people who need your service will see it and act on it to generate ROI. Billboards can start at over $1000 per month, and are stagnant, only appearing in one location. Display ads differ in that you could run a successful display ad campaign for a conservative budget of only $200 per month. Furthermore, your display ads could appear on a variety of strategic websites whether you place them on weather.com or hgtv.com.
Why Are Display Ads So Important?
Display ads are not new. In fact, banner ads were one of the first forms of digital advertising on the internet. In the early days, banner ads were highly successful. However, their usefulness and use declined. However, display ads have come a long way from the standard sized banner ads. Better targeting on the right websites, internet speeds allowing the rapid use of audio and video, and various sized ads for maximum effect have once again brought display ads to the forefront. Furthermore, the cost of display ads has also decreased making them a very sound investment.
At Cohlab, we fully understand the importance of display ads. It is critical that prospects be targeted with the best message, in the best manner, at the best time. Creating a strategy can be a challenging effort. That is why we “cohlaborate” with you to ensure you get the most out of your efforts.
Learn more about our PPC Management Service and the special limited time offer that will build your brand and your ROI at an incredible rate. Our team would love to speak with you and answer any questions you may have. Our mission is to provide you with Cohlaborative digital marketing solutions to meet your organization’s needs.
Display Ads: The Billboards of the Internet
/in Ads, SEORunning an efficient digital marketing campaign requires a diverse range of tactics. One successful method used is display ads. Display ads can vary in the type of ad you use including everything from text and images to flash animation and videos. Also known as banner ads, they are used to project your message and entice internet users to click on them to bring them back to your website. Display advertising is a form of paid digital advertising in which your ad will be posted on other sites strategically chosen to reach your target market. They are an essential tool that should be part of your digital marketing strategy.
This is an example of a display ad. When running display ads there are normally 8 or more variations depending on the size of screen.
Display Ads: The Billboards of the Internet
Any time you drive down the road; it is likely that you are bombarded with billboards for any number of industries all to capture your attention, cement their brand in your head, and encourage you to purchase their product or service. The problem with roadside billboards is that they are not specially targeted to your specific market, and are placed in hopes that enough people who need your service will see it and act on it to generate ROI. Billboards can start at over $1000 per month, and are stagnant, only appearing in one location. Display ads differ in that you could run a successful display ad campaign for a conservative budget of only $200 per month. Furthermore, your display ads could appear on a variety of strategic websites whether you place them on weather.com or hgtv.com.
Why Are Display Ads So Important?
Display ads are not new. In fact, banner ads were one of the first forms of digital advertising on the internet. In the early days, banner ads were highly successful. However, their usefulness and use declined. However, display ads have come a long way from the standard sized banner ads. Better targeting on the right websites, internet speeds allowing the rapid use of audio and video, and various sized ads for maximum effect have once again brought display ads to the forefront. Furthermore, the cost of display ads has also decreased making them a very sound investment.
At Cohlab, we fully understand the importance of display ads. It is critical that prospects be targeted with the best message, in the best manner, at the best time. Creating a strategy can be a challenging effort. That is why we “cohlaborate” with you to ensure you get the most out of your efforts.
Learn more about our PPC Management Service and the special limited time offer that will build your brand and your ROI at an incredible rate. Our team would love to speak with you and answer any questions you may have. Our mission is to provide you with Cohlaborative digital marketing solutions to meet your organization’s needs.
Google’s Panda Update: It is All About Quality
/in SEOGoogle is once again changing the game with its Google Panda update. We’ve often discussed the importance of SEO optimization being in-line with Google’s algorithm. In addition, we’ve shared the importance of having high-quality content on your website. Panda is another Google SEO algorithm update that makes this even more crucial. Google designs its algorithm to ensure that the best quality and most relevant sites for a given search term is offered in search engine results. Obviously, websites that are higher to the top of the list will have more traffic and more conversions than websites on page two or three of the results. Content is a significant driver that determines your site rank.
What Is The Panda Update and Why Should You Care?
Panda is an update to the Google algorithm that is now integrated into its core SEO engine. Named for Google engineer Navneet Panda, who developed the technology to implement the algorithm, Panda is specially designed to lower the rank of websites with “low-quality” or “thin” content. Due to Panda, it is now more important than ever that your site contains content that is of the highest quality. Panda was first introduced in 2011 and is updated periodically. This latest Panda update allows websites that were previously penalized by Panda for poor content to rise to the top of the rankings once more if the website made the appropriate changes. However, the update also places more importance on quality. This means that if your site has been enjoying positive results from your organic SEO strategies if your success did not include the use of a higher-level quality in content, your traffic could see a significant drop.
How to Handle the Panda Update
If your website already uses exceptional content, you should have nothing to fear. In fact, it is likely that as poor quality sites begin dropping in rank, your site’s rank will rise. The best way to determine how Panda is affecting you is to use Google Analytics and keep an eye on your stats. However, if you know or are unsure if your site has the level of quality Google now requires, there are ways to overcome a possible drop in rank. Matt Cutts, the head of spam at Google describes the type of content the new update is looking for.
“This update is designed to reduce rankings for low-quality sites—sites which are low-value add for users, copy content from other websites or sites that are just not very useful. At the same time, it will provide better rankings for high-quality sites—sites with original content and information such as research, in-depth reports, thoughtful analysis and so on.”
Given that description, you may have some work to do to freshen up the content on your website.
At Cohlab, we fully understand the importance of digital marketing through the use of quality content. It is critical that customers and prospects be targeted and provided the best message, in the best manner, at the best time, and that you fully understand their needs through solid data. Creating and delivering content of this caliber can be a challenging effort. That is why we partner with you and take the time necessary to ensure you get the most out of your efforts. We “cohlaborate” with you to generate the right message, and our strategy is proven to be exceedingly successful for our digital marketing clients.
Did you know that online reviews are becoming increasingly important?