2009 February | Online Marketing Blog RSS Ray

Archive for February, 2009

Ray Raps…20 Questions with Sally Falkow

Friday, February 27th, 2009

RSS Ray Interviews Sally Falkow, President of PRESSfeed, on the importance of RSS feeds to your business.

RSS Ray recently sat down with Sally Falkow, President of PRESSfeed, for the latest installment of Ray Raps. Read on to discover just how important RSS Feeds really are to your business.

Tell us what we mean by the term, content syndication.

Instead of putting content only on your own website you make it available to be used elsewhere. Just like in mainstream media, when a column is written by one person and published in one newspaper, and then republished by other newspapers across the country, that’s content syndication. You can write articles, publish them on your own website and then have them republished on many other websites.

What is an RSS Feed?

It is a technical application that allows you to make your content available to others. People can subscribe to the feed, so they get new content every time you add any data to the feed, or other sites can access and use that content. If you see this orange icon on a site it means it has feeds and you can subscribe to that content.

Why is content syndication so important to a business?

The days of a static website are long gone. Search is very important to any business today. To do well in search engine rankings – be on page one in the top five – you have to add new content on a regular basis and you have to build up your links. You can do both with content syndication. You can reach new and niche markets that you don’t have access to. Syndication will drive qualified traffic to your site. It builds a presence online in many different places and raises brand awareness.

Why are these page one rankings so important?

Because people do so much research prior to purchase online. And what they see online influences their purchase behavior. 80% of the business goes to those in top five on a search results page.

Are there other more effective ways to get page one search rankings?

There are certainly other ways – more effective, I don’t think so. You can add content and build links without using feeds, but it is a tedious way to do it.

Is content syndication a way to get top natural search engine rankings for local businesses or just the big boys?

Oh no it works for small local businesses too. It works for anyone who does it right. Great content positions you as a thought leader. Syndication leads you to new audiences. Syndication builds links and helps you to build relationships with other websites. Every business needs that. See our case study on Pacific Outdoor Living – a local SoCal garden and paving contracting business.

Why use an RSS Feed to syndicate content instead of article distribution services for inbound links?

Article distribution is a good strategy but you have a finite number of sites to go to. You are only getting your content on article distribution sites. With syndication your articles appears in all kinds of websites who have used your content because they find it useful and relevant to their audience.

What kind of content is good for syndication?

Something that is well written, useful and interesting. News, helpful educational articles, expert opinion pieces, podcasts, videos, tips, how-to, recipes, tech updates, and the list goes on.

What are common content syndication mistakes you see made by small companies and how can they best be avoided?

They don’t do it. And when they do syndicate, the content is not interesting and helpful, it’s too promotional. No one will want to republish a marketing piece for you.

What are two or three steps to getting started with a content syndication program?

Start with a content strategy – what does your audience online really need and want. Listen to the conversations and see what they talk about. Do keyword research. Find five phrases you want to be on page one for. Optimize your site for these terms. Produce content and syndicate it in a feed, linking to your site on the chosen keywords and phrases.

Are there certain industries better suited to content syndication?

No.

How else can content syndication benefit local businesses?

Raise their profile. Open new markets.

Is it hard to set up an RSS Feed?

It is technical but there are services to help you do it if your in house webmaster or IT person can’t do it.

Do I need to hire help to develop and implement a syndication program?

You can subscribe to one of the RSS services like PRESSfeed. We’re producing how to tutorials for our clients. If you are not a writer or you don’t have the time to create regular content, you probably should hire a writer, and one who knows SEO. Many small business owners do just fine on their own.

How can I tell if a firm has the right expertise to generate results for me?

Ask them for examples of their work. See if they use RSS feeds themselves. Look at the content they are syndicating – is it text and video? What words do they link on? Check Google for those words. See if they are on page one. For example check out content syndication on Google. PRESSfeed is #3 out of 17 million pages. We’re a small business. If we can do it so can you!

If you could tell local companies one thing about doing syndication the right way, what would your message be?

Create great content. No one reads or republishes boring content.

How popular are RSS Feeds amongst users and what’s in store in the future?

It’s much higher than we think. The name RSS is deceptive.Yahoo did a study and found that when they asked people if they used RSS they said no. But when they tracked the behavior of MyYahoo users, almost 80 percent were using the feeds. The number of journalists who use feeds has jumped dramatically in the last year.

Tell us about your companies and how they help people?

PRESSfeed was formed because I could not find what I wanted – an easy way to add content to a site and syndicate it. I did not want to be a techie. I did not want to learn to program the website. I did not want to have to pay a webmaster every time I wanted to add content. So in the end I built PRESSfeed with a partner who does the tech side. We used it for our clients initially and now other businesses and agencies use it too.

How can readers best stay in touch with you?

Read the blog or follow me on twitter.

Name the 3 people you’d love to have over for dinner and why you’d like to dine with them.

Doc Searls - one of the authors of The Cluetrain Manifesto and a Fellow with the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University. Need I say more? He’s awesome!!! I have been his biggest fan since 1999.

Rebecca Lieb – the new CEO of Econsultancy. She’s wicked smart and I really like her.

Katie Paine - So we could talk about social media measurement, which is my passion at the moment.

Sally Falkow is a veteran PR practitioner and has been evangelizing the use of technology and the Internet in the practice of PR for 7 years. She is the President of PRESSfeed, a social media and internet marketing tool used to create RSS feeds for web content syndication.

Tags: Content Syndication, PRESSfeed, Public Relations, RSS Feeds, Sally Falkow, Search Engine Optimization, Search engine rankings
Posted in 20 Questions, Public Relations Online, RSS Marketing, Ray Raps | No Comments »

Understanding Digital Body Language

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009

Steven Woods, CTO of Eloqua, explains key concepts from his new book Digital Body Language.

Digital Body Language

In today’s digital age, the behavior of prospective buyers – the way they identify, understand, evaluate, and buy products – has fundamentally changed. In the past decade, buyers have achieved new capabilities to understand an industry’s trends, translate that into business pain/opportunity that can be addressed, assemble a list of potential vendors, and analyze the best solution for their specific needs – all without the involvement of a sales professional.

Buyers are leveraging these new information sources, rendering the salesperson to a secondary role (or even a non-presence) – particularly early in the process. As the professional salesperson somewhat fades from view, so, too, does his ability to observe and understand the buyer.

In this environment, it is far more challenging to align the prospect’s buying process with the company’s selling process – which are no longer synonymous. And that carries significant implications for lead qualification and hand-off. When a prospect appears on the corporate Web site – perhaps to download a white paper – he is most likely merely “kicking the tires” and is not ready to buy. As a result, the sales rep disqualifies the lead and ejects the prospect from the funnel. It’s not that the prospect isn’t going to buy – he’s just not going to buy right now.

This creates the “leaky funnel” with which most marketers are painfully familiar. They devote huge efforts to generating raw leads, but if those leads aren’t in a perfectly synchronized phase of their buying process, the sales team will waste marketing’s efforts by ignoring the lead. Sirius Decisions found that, of the leads passed over to sales, a shockingly low 20 percent actually received follow-up from the rep. Of that 20 percent, the rep sets aside 70 percent of them as “disqualified” – even though subsequent objective analysis shows that 80 percent of them eventually buy a solution (usually from another company). They were good leads – just early leads.

So what should we, as marketers, do to meet these growing challenges? The answer requires understanding the buyers’ web activity – their digital body language — in context of how you are communicating with them. Here are a few key things to look for and how you can respond.

Know where the prospect is in the buying process. By looking at downloads, areas of interest, and search terms, you can understand whether they are in an education phase, selecting potential short-list vendors, or validating a vendor choice. Once you understand this you can tailor your email marketing messages to match each buyer’s interest stage.

Understand the prospect’s level of interest. Research shows that many email recipients will think of an email as spam, even if they legitimately subscribed, if they are no longer interested in the company or products behind it. By watching recipients’ web activity, you can determine their interest level and identify those who have “emotionally unsubscribed,” even if they have not explicitly clicked an unsubscribe link. Catering your messaging content and frequency to this awareness will keep you more engaged with your audience.

Determine their area of interest. By understanding which product line, what industry, or what type of information a prospective buyer finds interesting, you can match the content of your email marketing to their interest area. Dynamic content capabilities are available in most leading email and marketing automation platforms. By leveraging the insights available in a prospect’s web activity, you can make dynamic content even more powerful.

The complex, consultative process is experiencing dramatic shifts that are transforming the very way in which buyers conduct transactions as they accrue and exercise new power. Marketers who adapt to this new buying reality will thrive. Those who don’t will find themselves consigned to a steady erosion of relevance, influence, and value.

Steve Woods is cofounder and CTO of Eloqua, a leading provider of marketing automation technology. He is the author of a forthcoming book, “Digital Body Language,” and also writes on the topic at his blog.

Tags: Buying Cycle, crm, Customer Relationship Management, Digital Body Language, Eloqua, Online Marketing, Sales Cycle, Steven Woods
Posted in Conversion Rate Improvements, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Guest Articles | No Comments »

Learn to Read the Digital Body Language of Your Customers

Tuesday, February 24th, 2009

Online Marketing with RSS Ray and RSSRay.com announces a new episode that you do not want to miss.

Steven Woods, Cofounder & Chief Technology Officer of Eloqua

Show Date: February 25, 2009 at 6 pm Eastern, 3 pm Pacific

Show Topic Learn to Read the Digital Body Language of Your Customers

Show Guest: Steven Woods, Cofounder & Chief Technology Officer of Eloqua

About Steven Woods: Mr. Woods cofounded Eloqua in 1999 and has held the position of Chief Technology Officer since that time. Steven brings to Eloqua years of experience in software architecture, engineering and strategy, and is responsible for defining the product strategy and technology vision at Eloqua. Steven’s insights into the application of technology to the marketing profession have been key to Eloqua’s consistent record of client satisfaction and he was recently named as one of Inside CRM’s Top CRM Influencers of 2007.

Sample Questions for Steven Woods:

What is digital body language?

Why is reading a buyers digital body language important?

Do you think that the traditional sales cycle is dead?

Jen Cano, VP of Education of HammerTap

Show Topic: Creative Ways to Drum Up New eBay Business

Show Guest: Jen Cano, VP of Education of HammerTap

About Jen Cano: Cano, HammerTap’s spokeswoman, is an eBay Certified Consultant and is recognized as an eBay market research expert. She currently acts as a contributing editor for eBay Radio, providing weekly reports on “What’s Hot on eBay,” and creates and hosts monthly workshops for the eBay community. Cano also serves on the content committee for Online Market World (a nationally recognized convention), and speaks at many industry events each year.

Sample Questions for Jen Cano:

How can eBay sellers use market research to increase their final sales amount?

When would you concentrate on increasing sell-through rates instead of sales price?

Tell us about how you can use eBay market research to make eBay sales on a niche website.

How to Listen: Live on wsRadio.com or available by Podcast on iTunes or by RSS Feed.

RSS Ray’s Comments: “The art of reading digital body language is both highly profitable and massively underutilized. It will be fascinating to learn from the person who literally wrote the book on the subject.” stated RSS Ray, host of “Online Marketing with RSS Ray.” RSS Ray went on to say “eBay is one of the most important sites available to eCommerce sellers. Jen will be discussing some excellent strategies that every eCommerce business should utilize.”

Tags: crm, Digital Body Language, eBay Sellers, eCommerce, Eloqua, Hammertap, Market Research, Sales Cycle, Sell-Through Rates
Posted in Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Guest Announcements, eCommerce Marketing | No Comments »

Why Even the Best Writers in the World Fail With Online Marketing

Monday, February 23rd, 2009

Announcing a free webinar on how to create content for search engine optimization. This Wednesday, February 25th at 4:00 pm Eastern, 1:00 pm Pacific.

When writing copy for your marketing campaign you should focus exclusively on your customers, right?

WRONG

That might have been true in yesteryear, but in today’s competitive online market, focusing on the customer is only half of the equation. Now it’s all about the search engines. For marketers to be effective online, they not only need to write engaging copy that sells, but they must also write in a way the gets them noticed by Google.

Without traffic to your website, you could have the most amazing copy in the world and still not get any sales. Writing for a search engine is a whole lot different than writing for people and you have to know what you are doing.

On Wednesday, February 25th at 4:00 pm Eastern, 1:00 pm Pacific, RSS Ray will be hosting a free webinar to discuss how you can get started writing your marketing messages with search engine optimization in mind.

Join us this Wednesday as we discus anchor text, tagging, and how to create search engine friendly content.

It’s free to attend, so register today at http://www.brighttalk.com/channels/595/view.

Tags: Anchor Text, Free Webinar, Keywords, Online Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, SEO, Tagging, Writing for Search Engines
Posted in Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization | No Comments »

What’s Old Is New Again

Wednesday, February 18th, 2009

Jen Martino from Project X Media explains why online branding is still about making real connections.

There’s something to be said about actually interfacing with someone – in person – rather than via email. And while some believe social networks are set up solely to allow individuals to connect with as many people as you possibly can, it’s really a tool that should be used in the same manner as you would introduce yourself and your company at a party or over the phone – with a personal touch.

Mind you, there’s nothing I enjoy more than sharing a tasty morsel on Twitter or posting a new happening on my Project X Media’s Facebook page. I am the first to acknowledge the power of these wide-reaching tools. I believe there is a lot of value to occupying cyberspace – after all, the more your brand is seen, the more powerful it becomes, and the more it resonates with the customers/clients.

But it’s HOW you engage with people that’s equally important. You and your company’s brand is on the line each and every time you “follow” a new individual on Twitter or “friend” someone on Facebook. So before you open your virtual doors to just anyone, keep in mind that these rules still apply:

Choose your online connections wisely – It’s not about quantity, but quality. When you get an invitation to connect with someone online, decide whether you truly know this person. If you’re on a professional site like LinkedIn, this is especially important. You may be asked if you know this person, and if you would recommend him/her.

Be true to your brand – When you are posting something online, like a website news posting on your blog, or adding a comment on a social networking site, be sure that the content you post is aligned with your company’s mission, vision and values. By staying loyal to your brand through the content you post, it will elevate your status as a guru in the industry and breed trust through your followers.

Nurture your “inner circle” – Part of social networking, especially sites like Twitter, is about the social interaction between you and other online community members. It’s not just about posting your latest happenings, but commenting and replying to your followers as well. (Hence the word “social”.)

Walk the talk – Do what you say you’re going to do or can do. If you say you’re an expert, be sure you can back it up. Nothing is worse than finding out someone is a fake, or posting misinformation. How disappointing to find out you can’t live up to the expectations you’ve set in the presentation of your online brand.

The rules of engagement have dramatically changed through the introduction of the aforementioned social media sites, however the way we present ourselves through being authentic has not, and should not change. I’ve personally coached our clients on how to blog and write content, and one of the fundamental principles is to stay true to your brand. When interacting with social media sites, be your own “brand police” – is this something that directly represents your core values? If the answer is yes, then go for it!

About the author: Jen Martino is the Principal at Project X Media, a San Diego-based branding and design firm that helps companies become industry leaders in the ultra-competitive brandscapes of the 21st century. She can be reached at jen@projectxmedia.com

Tags: LinkedIn, Online Branding, Online Marketing, Project X Media, Social Networking, Twitter
Posted in Branding, Guest Articles, Social Network Marketing | No Comments »

Online Marketing With…Matt Moran?

Wednesday, February 11th, 2009

Founder of Kreative Knowledge, Matt Moran, to host this week’s Online Marketing with RSS Ray.

You might notice a few changes on this week’s airing of Online Marketing with RSS Ray. That’s because past show guest and founder of Kreative Knowledge, Matt Moran, will be stepping in to take RSS Ray’s place as show host.

Matthew Moran is a nationally recognized speaker, business management consultant and strategic technology adviser. Providing workshops and consulting that combine a passion for value-based results with actionable and strategic planning and implementation.

Matt has authored numerous articles on technology, business, innovation, and professional development. His book, The IT Career Builder’s Toolkit, focuses on proactive career strategies, employee value, personal marketing, soft-skills, and project development as critical factors in growing a long-term and profitable career in Information Technology.

Matt is also a singer/songwriter, performing at intimate venues and at house concerts. Find out more at MatthewMoranOnline.com.

Join Matt today at 6:00 PM Eastern, 3:00 PM Pacific at wsRadio.com to listen to the show live.

Tags: IT, Kreative Knowledge, Matt Moran, RSS Ray, Show Host, Technology
Posted in Show Announcements | No Comments »

Small Business Online Marketing Tips for Profit in a Tough Economy

Tuesday, February 10th, 2009

Online Marketing with RSS Ray and RSSRay.com announces a new episode that you do not want to miss.

Show Date: February 11th, 2009 at 6 pm Eastern, 3 pm Pacific

Show Topic Small Business Online Marketing Tips for Profit in a Tough Economy

Show Guest: Harry Brooks, Director of Search Marketing of Network Solutions

About Harry Brooks: Harry Brooks is an expert in SEO, PPC, link building and Website marketing, Harry created and launched the Internet Marketing Webinar series for Network Solutions in 2007 to provide marketing education for Website owners and small businesses. Since, Harry has trained thousands of business owners on how to develop a search marketing strategy to increase traffic to their website. Harry regularly engages business consumers in a variety of capacities, including being a regular contributor to Network Solutions Online Marketing Blog, and has appeared as a featured guest on Technically Speaking Radio to discuss search marketing.

Sample Questions for Harry Brooks:

How do I develop a search marketing campaign?

Why should I use search marketing?

Is it cost effective to use in tough economic times?

Show Topic: Boost Your Profits with Business Blogging

Show Guest: Yaro Starak, Founder of Blog Mastermind

About Yaro Starak: Yaro Starak is a young entrepreneur from Australia that has created, managed and sold several different Internet businesses since 1998. He currently teaches people how to make a full time income from blogging part time through his Blog Mastermind mentoring program.

Sample Questions for Yaro Starak:

What separates a good blog from a great one?

What are some common mistakes you see bloggers make?

What search engine optimization techniques do you use on your blog?

How to Listen: Live on wsRadio.com or available by Podcast on iTunes or by RSS Feed.

Tags: Blog Mastermind, Business Blogging, Online Marketing, Search Marketing, SEO
Posted in Blogging, Guest Announcements, Search Engine Marketing | No Comments »

Ray Raps…20 Questions with Jim Sterne

Friday, February 6th, 2009

RSS Ray interviews Jim Sterne, President of the Web Analytics Association, on why web analytics is an essential part of your online marketing strategy.

RSS Ray recently sat down with Jim Sterne, President of the Web Analytics Association and founder of Target Marketing of Santa Barbara for the latest installment of Ray Raps. During the interview, Jim offered some important insights into the world of web analytics that you can’t afford to skip.

What is web analytics?

The Official WAA Definition of Web Analytics:

Web Analytics is the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of Internet data for the purposes of understanding and optimizing Web usage.

How does it work?

There are a number of ways to collect information about visitors to your website. Each web server has a Log File that stores data transmission information, the pages themselves can contain javascript that helps track a visit and each visitor can get a cookie to help recognize them as a previous visitor – and a lot more.

How is it used?

These data are brought together for benchmark reporting (how well are we doing compared to last month?), website optimization (how easy is it for people to use our site?), process optimization (how do we get more people to sign up for our webinar/download our whitepaper/buy our products?) and marketing optimization (which message/offer seems to get the best response?).

Why should companies use web analytics?

How much are you spending on your website? Wouldn’t it be nice to know if that’s money well spent? Wouldn’t you like to earn more return on your Internet investment? If you don’t measure it, how do you know?

What is the measure of a successful web analytics strategy?

When a consulting client tells me:

"We run our website by the numbers. We have specific business goals we are trying to achieve and we are using the data from our website to tell us if we are moving in the right direction. We can actually use our web analytics data to inform the rest of the company about what features to add to the product and how many to ship to which parts of the planet. We are basing our promotional pitches on the radio and in print based on how people respond online" then I say, "My work here is done."

Why aren’t more small companies paying attention to web analytics the same way they do a P&L?

Smaller companies look at web analytics as another opportunity rather than another fire to put out. If you had the opportunity to hang new curtains in the den or put out a fire in the kitchen, which would you choose? The problem with this perspective is that your website *is* a fire – it’s burning money! Web analytics gives you the visibility you need to see where that money is being wasted and how that website could be made to more than pay for itself.

What kinds of results can one expect?

Reports – lots and lots of reports. What results can you expect from a gym membership? If you don’t use it, use it sporadically, use it wrong, you can expect nothing, little or injury. By the way, the reports are very interesting, but without applying some brain power (analysis) they are not useful. They tell you what the numbers are but you have to decide what the numbers mean, what to do about it and then measure the impact of those actions. Then you can expect great and continuous results.

What are the steps to creating a successful web analytics strategy?

Have clearly identified business goals.

The ability to make website modifications easily and quickly.

A willingness to test things rather than assume you know what’s best.

Recognize that you are not the target audience and let the numbers tell you what your visitors like.

Put more attention into the people you hire than the tools you use.

Look for low-hanging fruit (things that need fixing, conversion processes with unambiguous success metrics) so you can show off your progress.

A commitment to continuous improvement.

How does one get started with web analytics?

The three things to get started are:

a) Carefully tagging all of your website pages or at least the ones you want to track.
b) Assiduously watching the numbers against a specific goal set.
c) Hiring somebody who is naturally curious and really understands your business goals.

What tools do you recommend for getting started with web analytics?

Google and Yahoo! have free tools you can use and they are a lot more powerful than you could hope for. With no experience in web analytics, the most sophisticated website could use these free tools for a year without running up against some of the reasons that there are other companies selling web analytics software-as-a-service and applications.

Is a web analytics campaign something that needs to be constantly monitored, or can companies set it up and forget about it for awhile?

Is steering your car something you can set and forget? You can get away with cruise control if you’re on an empty road in the middle of nowhere, but try that in the city and be prepared for higher insurance premiums. No – you may not forget about it. That’s because the Internet is not a brochure. You print a brochure once in a while and it flies off the shelf – great. But the Internet is a two way street and you cannot ignore how people are consuming your information nor what they are saying about you to 10,000 of their closest friends.

Are there certain types of industries better suited to using web analytics?

The websites that are not suited to web analytics are those that have been abandoned by their owners. If you have a website and you want it to improve, then web analytics is the way to go. If you don’t care, then neither does anybody else.

The most obvious website to benefit from web analytics is the eCommerce site. But that’s only because the goal is obvious. B2B companies are making great strides in improving how well their websites act as lead generation tools and how well they improve customer satisfaction.

Is web analytics a venture a company can undertake itself, or should they hire outside help?

It’s easy to get started, it’s hard to get started in a meaningful way that will lead to a long term strategic program. Haphazard is never in it for the long haul. It might be interesting to sprinkle some tags on some pages and see what the reports say, but doing it well and interpreting those reports well is a skill – one that I recommend you rent-to-own. Hire a consultant to come in and help you set it up and then teach you how to get the most out of it.

If hiring outside help, how can I separate the good from the pretenders?

Talk to their clients.

How much should I expect to pay to get started and on an on-going basis?

This is a young industry and there are lots of consultants with a large range in pricing. Talk to their clients.

What is the Web Analytics Association?

The WAA is a non-profit, membership driven, volunteer organization that … wait… where’s the official… Ah, here it is: The Web Analytics Association leads and supports the members by providing quality education, developing standards and best practices, conducting research and advocating for issues that advance the industry.

The WAA got started because the audience at the eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit wanted to keep working together to guide and build the industry. Now we’re 1,700 people strong and growing.

Who should join and why should they join?

Anybody whose job depends on knowing what their website is doing and making it better should join. They should join to network with others in their same situation, to take courses that teach best practices and tricks and traps and to help define what the standards might be. We are trying to put some logic into an industry that’s only been around for a dozen years or so.

What are the major learning events for the association in 2009?

The eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit is the official conference of the Web Analytics Association. More about the nine events this year at http://www.emetrics.org. There is also an online course run out of the University of British Columbia and the University of California at Irvine that has been a huge success. We are also starting to roll our Base Camp workshops which help introduce people to web analytics.

What do you see as the future of web analytics in the next 3-5 years?

Web analysis is a different sort of data analysis. It isn’t just stirring up the data to look for patterns, it’s also optimizing specific processes. Today, those are website visitor processes, tomorrow they will be strategic marketing processes. The day after tomorrow, we will be using web data to provide strategic business insight. Some companies are doing that today.

The group I most need to join is ___________ because ______________.

The Web Analytics Association, an eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit, the Yahoo! Web Analytics Forum, and a Web Analytics Wednesday gathering near you because if you’re not measuring the success of your website, you cannot manage your website.

Jim Sterne is the President and Founding Director of the Web Analytics Association and the founder of Target Marketing of Santa Barbara. In 1994 he produced the world’s first Marketing on the Internet seminar series. Today, Sterne is an internationally known speaker on electronic marketing and customer interaction. A consultant to Fortune 500 companies and Internet entrepreneurs, Sterne focuses his 20 years in sales and marketing on measuring the value of a web site as a medium for creating and strengthening customer relationships.

Sterne has written five books on Internet advertising, marketing, and customer service including, his most recent, “Web Metrics: Proven Methods for Measuring Web Site Success.”

Tags: Jim Sterne, Online Marketing, Ray Raps, Target Marketing, Testing, Web Analytics, Website Optimization, Wen Analytics Association
Posted in 20 Questions, Conversion Rate Improvements, Online Testing Programs, Ray Raps, Web Analytics/Web Metrics | No Comments »

Free Webinar on How to Maximize Website Effectiveness

Thursday, February 5th, 2009

RSS Ray discusses how to measure and improve website effectiveness in a free webinar on Monday, February 9 at 4:00 pm Eastern, 1:00 pm Pacific.

Your website should make and/or save you money. Is your website doing its job?

Join RSS Ray on February 9 at 4:00 pm Eastern, 1:00 pm Pacific for a free webinar about measuring website effectiveness. You’ll learn how to tell if your website is performing up to par, and what you can do to maximize its profit impact to your company.

This is one of the most popular introductory sessions that RSS Ray presents to thousands throughout the country each year. Join us February 9th at 4:00 pm Eastern, 1:00 pm Pacific and learn how effective your website is for you.

Tags: Improving Conversion Rates, Measuring Websites, Online Marketing, Online Testing, Web Analytics, Website Effectiveness
Posted in A/B Testing Programs, Conversion Rate Improvements, Online Testing Programs, Web Analytics/Web Metrics | No Comments »

What Marketers Should Know About LinkedIn and Using Personalization in a Tough Economy

Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009

Online Marketing with RSS Ray and RSSRay.com announces a new episode that you do not want to miss.

Show Date: February 4th, 2009 at 6 pm Eastern, 3 pm Pacific

Show Topic What Marketers Should Know About LinkedIn

Show Guest: Jason Alba, CEO of JibberJobber.com

About Jason Alba: Jason Alba, CEO of JibberJobber.com is a social media expert and the author of “I’m on LinkedIn — Now What???”, “I’m on Facebook — Now What???”, and the yet to be released “I’m on Twitter — Now What???”. He is also a professional speaker covering topics including career management, networking, blogging, and numerous other social media topics.

Sample Questions for Jason Alba:

How can I get my customers and contacts to add me on LinkedIn?

How can I set up a good profile on LinkedIn?

What is LinkedIn: Answers and how can I use it?

Show Topic: Using Personalization to Succeed in A Tough Economy

Show Guest: Bob Cell, CEO of MyBuys

About Bob Cell: Bob Cell is an expert in retail, advertising, and consumer products. Most recently, Bob was Chief Executive Officer of AdSpace Networks, where he led the company through rapid growth and strategic restructuring to focus on becoming a mall advertising network while also growing, and subsequently, divesting its CoolSign video merchandising enterprise business. Under his leadership as Chief Operating Officer at Blue Martini Software, a pioneer in e-commerce solutions, the market capitalization tripled, license revenue doubled, and net results increased by $40M.

Sample Questions for Bob Cell:

Why is personalization important for e-commerce businesses?

Are there any privacy concerns when using personalization?

Why do customers like personalized messages?

How to Listen: Live on wsRadio.com or available by Podcast on iTunes or by RSS Feed.

RSS Ray’s Comments: “LinkedIn is a valuable social network that every marketer should be a part of” stated RSS Ray, host of “Online Marketing with RSS Ray.” RSS Ray went on to say “Personaliztion is important in good times and bad and Bob is the perfect guy to tell you how it’s done right”

Tags: eCommerce, JibberJobber, LinkedIn, MyBuys, Personalization, Social media, Social Networking
Posted in Guest Announcements, Social Network Marketing, eCommerce Marketing | No Comments »