AN ISLE of Wight businessman who turned his life around to helm a successful digital marketing agency has given some insight into his reformation and his company's work through the pandemic.

Charlie Clark, managing director of Minty Digital, grew up on the Island and moved between towns during his formative years.

Regularly getting into trouble with the law, at 17, he made a decision to leave the Island for a time ­— to make a new start in Brighton.

Eleven years later, he is the founder of his own company, and contributes toward the local community by helping businesses and mentoring youth.

Minty Digital is a Digital Marketing Agency which specialises in generating businesses more website traffic, leads and sales though Google.

"We specialise in two areas of online marketing ­— search engine optimisation and Google ads management," said Charlie.

"We are official Google Marketing Partners, and that has helped fuel growth, going from working with two clients on the Island to more than 100 worldwide.

"We started on the Isle of Wight, working alongside one of our first clients ­— a small restaurant in Cowes ­— before moving to an office over in Clarence Yard, East Cowes, and eventually expanding to London and Barcelona.

Isle of Wight County Press: Charlie Clark with members of his team.Charlie Clark with members of his team.

"Although we still work with a number of Island businesses, we wanted to expand our customer base and reach, so moving operations to the capital was the next best option.

"Brexit has raised some challenges with the overseas operations, but we have managed to get everything registered in time before the transition period so we can operate as usual from 2021.

"While we have moved from the Island we have not forgotten our roots.

"As well as working with Island companies, we are actively hiring for new staff and are advertising on the Island, though candidates may have to consider relocating to London or Barcelona.

"Once things open back up again, we will be looking to give more talks in colleges and schools on how to run marketing companies and how young people can go about starting their own online businesses.

Charlie says the pandemic hasn’t changed the way his business operates online, but has merely accelerated it.

"Making sure your website has the top spot on Google is now essential to ensure you’re not only generating local business, but also attracting customers from around the globe," said Charlie.

"Working remotely has always been part of our operations, so the transition throughout lockdown wasn’t too difficult to adapt to.

"One thing we did see a big change in was our customer base.

"A lot of our customers who owned online stores or who were thinking about SEO suddenly wanted to push forward with their online marketing, and we saw a big increase in enquiries.

"We were lucky enough to win 'SEO Service of the year 2020’ award for our outstanding results and customer service."