2009 August | Online Marketing Blog RSS Ray

Archive for August, 2009

The Ins and Outs of Professional Services Marketing

Monday, August 31st, 2009

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

Show Date: September 2, 2009 at 1 pm Eastern, 10 am Pacific

Mike Schultz, President of Wellesley Hills Group

Show Topic The Ins and Outs of Professional Services Marketing

Show Guest: Mike Schultz, President of Wellesley Hills Group

About Mike Schultz: Mike Schultz, President, is world-renowned as a consultant and expert in services marketing, branding, and rainmaking. Co-author of the book Professional Services Marketing (Wiley, 2009), Mike is an engaging and thought-provoking speaker, delivering dozens of keynotes each year in-house for clients and at leading industry conferences. Mike is also Publisher of RainToday.com, the world’s foremost publication and membership site for insight, advice, and tools for growing a service business.

Sample Questions for Mike Schultz:

• How would you rate the effectiveness of Professional Services Marketing?
• What makes for a strong value proposition for a firm that they can use in their marketing?
• What are the top tactics for generating leads?

Show Topic: How to Use Automated Email Marketing to Grow Your Bottom Line

Ross Kramer, CEO of Listrak

Show Guest: Ross Kramer, CEO of Listrak

About Ross Kramer: Ross Kramer is President and CEO of Listrak LLC. A serial entrepreneur by nature, Ross has started several marketing technology ventures, the first of which was a web hosting company in his Penn State dorm room. His latest marketing technology venture is Listrak, an email marketing service provider serving over 300 clients in the United States, Europe and the Middle East. Listrak features an intuitive web-based graphical user interface that allows permission-based marketers to manage, send, track and grow their email marketing investment.

Sample Questions for Ross Kramer:

• What is event triggered messaging?
• What type of company would benefit from event triggered messaging?
• You’ve been able to break down every conversation into five basic steps what are they?

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

RSS Ray’s Comments: “Mike Schultz is an authority on Professional Services Marketing,” stated RSS Ray, host of “Online Marketing with RSS Ray.” RSS Ray went on to say, “Ross Kramer’s knowledge of email marketing is second to none.”

Tags: Email Marketing, Listrak, Mike Schultz, Professional Services Marketing, Ross Kramer, Wellesley Hills Group
Posted in Email Marketing, Show Announcements | 1 Comment »

Are Web Analytics Easy or Hard?

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

Akin Arikan, product strategist for Unica, discusses web analytics and whether or not they are easy enough for everyone to use and understand.

Akin Arikan - Unica Believe it or not, that question has been a heated debate in our little industry.

Looking from the outside, you might think that we just breed over web site usage reports all day long to dream up ways for increasing usability, conversion rates, or sales.

But you need to know the following fact about us:

While people looking from the outside might feel that the topic of web analytics is so boring that it could cure insomnia, for us on the inside, there is deep passion for the subject.

The fire of passion is burning:

In web analysts who are trying to get their advice heard in their companies
Among vendors competing with each other like gladiators in Rome, e.g. Unica, Omniture, Coremetrics, and Webtrends
Between vendors and consultants who have epic debates over whether the bottleneck for success is in the tools or how they are being used
In all of us, trying to advance web analytics from mere tactical reporting to a strategic source of customer insights for the business

So, it isn’t surprising then maybe that all this passion has led to a bitter debate among the best minds in our field

Are analytics “easy” and can even be done on the side sometimes? Or are they “hard” and difficult and need closer attention to get right?

Some of our brightest are on a crusade to make analytics intuitive and spread their adoption to the masses. Others of our brightest are on a crusade to reveal all the pitfalls that exist and that have prevented too many companies from generating ROI from web analytics.

It is a good thing the world has me to now reveal the answer to this epic debate!

The answer is, of course, that web analytics are both easy AND hard.

There are aspects of analytics that are easy or at least straight forward. For example:

If you measure that visitors coming to you from search keyword XYZ have a high bounce rate, i.e .they are arriving at the landing page and them immediately leaving, chances are that either the landing page doesn’t fit their expectations or the keyword isn’t a good one for your offering.
If you create two test versions of the landing page with essentially the same content but different layout, design, etc. and you find that one leads to higher engagement and conversion rates, chances are you should keep the better performing page.
If you measure that visitors coming to you from search keyword ABC have a great conversion rates but there are only few people reaching you via this keyword, you probably want to check whether you should try to rank higher for that keyword ABC.
If you measure that visitors buying from you are all shopaholic until they reach your page where you reveal exorbitant shipment costs or a long form that they must complete, chances are that improving these items will decrease leaks from your funnel

If you did nothing but the above, you’d likely create very respectable ROI from analytics.

But there are other valuable aspects of analytics that are far from easy. In fact, the harder you look at any individual metric the less it seems to say. The more you know about analytics, the less sure you become what any individual report really means.

Huh?

Well remind yourself of the following:

If search keyword ABC has great conversion rates, is that because of only the keyword itself or have visitors been exposed to other ads or emails of yours that led them to search for ABC in the first place? Most obviously, anyone searching for your brand or product names must have heard them elsewhere.
If you create two versions of a landing page with different offers and one performs better for conversion rates, you may still find that you hurt your company by producing lower sales or profits. That happens if you accidentally lead people towards products that are cheaper or less profitable
If people leak at a particular page in your funnel is it because of something you said? Or is it the point where they have learned enough from you to stop and check first what the competition has to offer? Think about how you shopped for auto insurance online, for instance. Of course, you drop out after receiving the quote and before buying the policy.

So given easy and hard options, which would you pick to work on first?

Tackling the more difficult questions is critical for working towards the ultimate optimization summit whereas the easier questions may leave you working towards a local optimum.

But the easy questions have potentially higher % ROI because you put less effort into them. So you might be inclined to start with the easier tasks and work yourself to the more difficult questions over time.

But would it be a waste of time to optimize the layout of a landing page, for example, if optimizing the offer on the page could yield much higher overall returns?

Argggh… Analytics are both easy and hard.

Tags: Akin Arikan, Conversion Rates, Online Marketing, ROI, Web Analytics
Posted in Conversion Rate Improvements, Online Marketing, Web Analytics/Web Metrics | No Comments »

A Social Media Don’t

Tuesday, August 25th, 2009

Shawna Vercher, CEO of VTi-Web, discusses the importance of a well made webpage and what it takes to truly benefit from social media marketing.

I recently read an article entitled “Is Social Media a Fad?” or something similar. The author seemed to feel as if the answer was up for debate, but that definitely his new website (insert his not-so-subtle self-promotion here) was part of the glue that might hold this delicate web marketing fabric together.

The effectiveness of self-promotion as part of an article syndication strategy is questionable, but this particular article appeared on a national online publication and probably received about a million views. Out of those million views, I’m sure that more than a few did take the bait and click on this gentleman’s website. And therein lies the problem.

The website was broken.

Words appeared, graphics appeared, but not much else worked. I tried to sign up for the free trial, but the form’s “Submit” button was broken. I tried to learn more, but that button led nowhere. I went to the page that was supposed to show me more about their services and it said, “Comming Soon.” I wish I could say that typo was mine.

Social media is a fantastic way to promote a product, enhance your brand, manage customer service…the list goes on and on. But it does not work in a vacuum. It is a not a magic bullet. What’s more, its audience (all of us) is a bit unforgiving. Use social media wisely and you’ve got an effective and measurable marketing tool. Use it poorly and you have collateral damage that can cripple web sales.

The social media phenomenon should not cause businesses to abandon the “tried and true”. Not only does it take time to be effective, but there are other tools in the toolbox (so to speak) that may be better at actually closing a sale or retaining a client. If you find that your organization is embracing these media in a race to keep up with the proverbial Jones’ then take the time to see what path you need to travel to reach the ultimate finish line – better profitability being a common goal for most businesses. In other words, map out exactly how social media will ultimately lead to customer acquisition or customer retention.

Now here’s my not-so-subtle self-promotion: In order to truly capitalize on the benefits of social media, consider hiring a social media strategist. Not a techie that serves as a walking instruction manual on how to set up a Facebook page, not a marketing firm that rushed to tack on these services, but someone that actually specializes in converting social media into dollars. A good strategist will settle for nothing less.

Shawna Vercher is the CEO of VTi-Web, a national speaker and a social media strategist. Look for other social media stumbling blocks in her book, Web 2.No, in bookstores this fall or learn more about her firm at www.vti-web.com.

Tags: internet marketing, Shawna Vercher, Social Media Marketing, VTi-Web, Web Design and Usability
Posted in Online Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Web Design and Usability | 1 Comment »

Social Media – Managing Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter

Monday, August 24th, 2009

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

Show Date: August 26, 2009 at 1 pm Eastern, 10 am Pacific

Show Topic Social Media – Managing Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter

Show Guest: Shawna Vercher, CEO of VTi-Web

About Shawna Vercher: Shawna Vercher is the CEO of VTi-Web, a web media company focused on helping small businesses compete online. She was a CEO Magazine’s CEO of the Year Award Finalist 2008 and her company was listed as Listed as a Top 25 Web Firm in Tampa Bay in 2007 & 2008 by the Business Journal.

Sample Questions for Shawna Vercher:

How has marketing been changed since the rise of social media?

How can businesses harness the potential of social media marketing?

What are the best ways for small businesses to use Facebook? Twitter? LinkedIn?

Show Topic: How to Use Web Analytics and Multichannel Marketing to Improve Your Results With Paid Search

Show Guest: Akin Arikan, Product Strategist of Unica

About Akin Arikan: Akin Arikan is product strategist for internet marketing at Unica, a provider of Enterprise Marketing Management software. He is responsible for ensuring customer satisfaction with Unica’s web analytics and internet marketing solutions. He also runs the popular blog Multichannel Marketing Metrics and has written the book “Multichannel Marketing: Metrics and Methods for On and Offline Success.”

Sample Questions for Akin Arikan:

How have multimedia marketing and web analytics impacted the online marketing industry?

How important is it for companies to utilize paid search in their marketing campaigns?

What type of ROI can be expected with paid search?

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

RSS Ray’s Comments: “Shawna Vercher is a master of social media management” stated RSS Ray, host of “Online Marketing with RSS Ray.” RSS Ray went on to say “Akin Arikan’s knowledge of multimedia marketing is second to none.”

Tags: Akin Arikan, Facebook, LinkedIn, Multimedia Marketing, Shawna Vercher, Social media, Twitter, Unica, VTi-Web, Web Analytics
Posted in Guest Announcements, Social Media Marketing, Web Analytics/Web Metrics | No Comments »

“Best Of” Show This Week

Monday, August 17th, 2009

“Online Marketing with RSS Ray” features a “best of” show from our archives this Wednesday at 1:00 PM Eastern, 4:00 PM Pacific.

RSS Ray is out of town this week but that doesn’t mean there won’t be some great information for you on “Online Marketing with RSS Ray.”

We’ve gone through our archives to find the best interviews that will improve your bottom line. This Wednesday, August 19 at 1:00 PM Eastern, 4:00 PM Pacific we’ll bring you two of these interviews on wsRadio.com.

Don’t miss out!

Tags: Best Of Show, Online Marketing with RSS Ray, Online MOnline Marketing Podcast, RSS Ray
Posted in Show Announcements | No Comments »

Simple Strategies to Increase Your Conversion Rate

Friday, August 14th, 2009

Bill Leake, CEO of Apogee Search, offers simple strategies that can significantly increase your website’s conversion rate.

SEO and PPC efforts can drive qualified traffic to your website, but in order to justify the time, effort, and expense, the site must be able to convert that traffic into either a lead or a sale. Different websites experience different obstacles, such as building trust, brand recognition, or simply experiencing high abandonment rates, and therefore require different solutions for improving conversion rates.

The best place to start analyzing your conversion rate is to look at entry pages with the highest traffic, such as home pages or high ranking landing pages. These pages are extremely important in forming the right first impression with any visitor or potential customer to your site. If visitors are only spending a brief amount of time on these pages and you are experiencing a high bounce rate, consider using bullet points, bolded text, and more compelling headlines that grab every visitor’s attention and gets your message across in a clear and concise manner. If an individual is spending a great deal of time on your website then leaves without completing any sort of action, consider adding more calls to action to guide them into the conversion process.

Lead form optimization is also an effective way to increase conversion rates on your website. In order to increase the amount of lead forms that are submitted with complete and accurate information and avoid abandonment, it is important to ensure that your forms are simple to complete, establish more trust with individuals, and only ask for information that is necessary and beneficial in obtaining a lead. Improving the conversion rate for e-commerce lead forms is slightly more involved. The amount of steps required in an e-commerce website can make conversion optimization seem daunting. Let’s separate problems with e-commerce purchases into three buckets:

Customer’s ability to find the product they want
Process of adding products to the cart
Process of purchasing the product once in the cart

Web analytics data can help you identify which of these steps is causing problems. These common problems can be resolved by working the individual into a pipeline, increasing the persuasion on the pages, inserting more calls to action, and discarding unnecessary requests for information that may deter an individual from completing the process.

In general, analytics tools like Google Analytics can help you pinpoint problems; while usability analyses, best practices lists, and case studies can help you identify possible solutions. However, replicating a method that may have worked for someone else is not guaranteed to work for you. Testing different solution ideas is crucial for ensuring an improvement in conversion rates.

Bill Leake is the CEO and Founder of Apogee Search, the largest search engine marketing firm in the Southwest, one of the 20 largest in North America and one of the fastest growing companies on the Inc. 500 list. In addition to leading Apogee Search, Bill also serves as the president of the Austin Interactive Marketing Association, and as the chairman of the SEMPO (Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organization) committee.

Tags: Apogee Search, Bill Leake, Conversion Rates, Online Conversions, Online Marketing
Posted in Conversion Rate Improvements, Guest Articles | 4 Comments »

Today’s Show Canceled

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

Due to unforeseen circumstances “Online Marketing with RSS Ray” will not be on live today. wsRadio will be playing a show from our archives at our regular show time, 1:00 PM Eastern, 10:00 AM Pacific.

We will be rescheduling both Heather Vale Goss, Co-Founder of LWL Worldwide Inc. and creator of Interviewing Unwrapped and Joel Lunenfeld, CEO of Moxie Interactive at a later date.

Be sure to check theupcoming shows page to see our excellent lineup of upcoming guests.

Posted in Show Announcements | No Comments »

Creating Excellent Content with Interviews

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

Heather Vale Goss, Content Director of LWL Worldwide, Inc. explains the importance of conducting good interviews for your business.

Heather Vale Goss It’s a standard recommendation from internet marketing teachers: if you want to build a list, drive traffic to your website, or create a quality product fast, find some experts in your niche and interview them.

After all, interviewing allows you to leverage many aspects (that means you do a little work for big results). You can leverage knowledge (you don’t have to know a lot about the topic, because your expert does), celebrity name power (people will buy your product based on who you interviewed) and traffic (you can have the expert promote your interview to their subscribers and customers).

You can use your interviewing skills to host teleseminars, podcasts, create information products and books, and more. You can use them to sell products that are yours, products that you’re an affiliate for, or you can make the interview the product itself.

It’s the perfect solution… and it’s easy, right?

Well, it certainly is simple, but that doesn’t always mean easy.

First of all, how do you get those experts to say yes?

And then once they do, how do you know what to ask them?

Most marketing teachers will leave you to flounder on your own, because while they know how powerful interviews are, and often even have a natural skill for it, they don’t know how to teach what they do. In fact, they usually don’t know that they’re doing anything besides having a conversation and recording it, so that’s what they’ll often tell you to do.

But a regular conversation differs from an interview in a few ways. A regular conversation is weighted pretty equally, while an interview puts the spotlight on your guest. And a regular conversation is between two people, while an interview is all about that invisible third party: the audience.

And honestly, let’s face it… most conversations aren’t worthy of being recorded or sold. They’re just plain boring.

Going into an interview thinking it’s just going to be just like a conversation is one of the three biggest mistakes new interviewers make. And what they end up with is a bunch of lightweight, shallow fluff rather than hard-hitting, deep, informative content.

If your interviews don’t deliver on providing information that your audience doesn’t know, or can’t find elsewhere, you’ve failed. Your interviews won’t drive traffic, or help build your list, or get you loyal customers. You might get people at first who are hoping for something good, but once they hear the quality of what you’ve created, they’ll never support you or buy from you again.

Knowing how to ask the best questions possible for any situation, and how to draw unique content from your guest, is vitally important to conducting top-quality interviews.

The good news is, it’s not that difficult to learn the techniques and methods that the best interviewers in the world use. You can do it by watching and listening to other interviewers, determining exactly what they do that works, and then using the process of trial and error in your own efforts; or you can get some guidance from someone who’s been there.

Personally, I did a combination of both, over 15 years ago. I made a lot of the same mistakes other beginners make, but I couldn’t let them keep happening. My interviewing career started on TV, with a lot of people watching, so I had a lot of motivation to get good, fast!

And I’ve spent the last five years interviewing hundreds of experts online.

That means I know exactly what to do… and what not to do.

I’ve also interviewed numerous other top online interviewers to find out what they do to get the best content possible from their interviews. And I put it all together in an easy-to-understand physical package called Interviewing Unwrapped, so you don’t have to do this the hard way.

Interviewing is something everyone can learn to do well, if they want to. Just like any other endeavor you undertake, it all boils down to the desire to do it.

Sure, it can be scary at first… but if you go ahead and do it anyway, you’ll find it becoming easier, and your content getting better, every time you get behind the mic (or the phone).

Heather Vale Goss has been interviewing experts and celebrities since 1993, when she began her media career as host and producer of an award-winning TV show. She is now on a quest to share the interviewing skills she has developed with others, so they can create top-notch online content too, through speaking engagements, interviews, and her physical home-study resource Interviewing Unwrapped.

Tags: Content Creation, Heather Vale Goss, Interviewing, Interviewing Unwrapped, Interviews, LWL Worldwide
Posted in Guest Articles, Podcasting | No Comments »

Creating Top Notch Interviews to Improve Your Bottom Line

Monday, August 10th, 2009

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

Show Date: August 12, 2009 at 1 pm Eastern, 10 am Pacific

Heather Vale Goss, Co-Founder of LWL Worldwide Inc.

Show Topic Creating Top Notch Interviews to Improve Your Bottom Line

Show Guest: Heather Vale Goss, Co-Founder of LWL Worldwide Inc.

About Heather Vale Goss: Heather Vale Goss is known as “The Internet Interviewer” for her prominence in the medium, and as “The Unwrapper”™ for her interviewing style (and because many of the sites she founded revolve around the branding of the concept of “Unwrapped”). She is the co-founder of LWL Worldwide, as well as the creator of Interviewing Unwrapped, a product that helps businesses create quality content using interviews.

Sample Questions for Heather Vale Goss:

Is being a good interviewer a natural talent or something anyone can achieve?

What are the skills that every good interviewer needs to possess?

What sets apart a good interviewer from a bad one?

Show Topic: The Do’s and Don’ts of Branded Content Development and Execution

Joel Lunenfeld, CEO of Moxie Interactive

Show Guest: Joel Lunenfeld, CEO of Moxie Interactive

About Joel Lunenfeld: Joel Lunenfeld is the CEO of Moxie Interactive, one of the largest full-service interactive marketing agencies in the United States. Moxie’s capabilities include communications planning, media planning and buying, search marketing, branded entertainment, digital advertising, ECRM, experiential and sponsorship services and campaign management. At the heart of the agency is its proprietary offering, Sunao. A Japanese word meaning the ‘untrapped mind,’ Sunao is a team of experts whose mission is to deliver innovation to clients through trend-spotting, consumer insights and analytics.

Sample Questions for Joel Lunenfeld:

What is the key to creating quality content that gets attention?

What is the most important content that a company should produce?

What common mistakes do you see in branded content development?

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

RSS Ray’s Comments: “Heather Vale Goss” is a fantastic interviewer with a talent for teaching essential interviewing skills” stated RSS Ray, host of “Online Marketing with RSS Ray.” RSS Ray went on to say “Joel Lunenfeld’s innovative marketing strategies are incredibly valuable for anyone looking to create quality content.”

Tags: Content Development, Content Execution, Heather Vale Goss, Interviewing Skills, Interviewing Unwrapped, Joel Lunenfeld, LWL Worldwide, Moxie Interactive
Posted in Guest Announcements, Online Marketing, Podcasting | 1 Comment »

Ray Raps…20 Questions with Fionn Downhill

Friday, August 7th, 2009

Learn the latest search engine optimization strategies from Fionn Downhill, CEO of Elixir Interactive.

Fionn Downhill, CEO of Elixir Interactive, talks SEO, social networks, Bing, and leprechauns in this month’s Ray Raps.

1. How has Search Engine Optimization changed over the last few years?

Search Engine Optimization is now about universal search and ensuring that all assets are optimized and search engine ready. The traditional 10 blue links do not exist anymore for many searches with videos, images, news appearing in the top 10. The searcher is drawn to the images and more graphic results making the image in the middle of the page the #1 result to that searcher. The top 10 organic results as we knew them are gone forever. Increased focus on quality of links rather than quantity.

2. Are there any search changes in the horizon that are going to really shake up search engine optimization?

Personal search. Everyone will potentially see a different results page. By optimizing and distributing your digital assets you are taking the early lead in the race where page 1 visibility will have less of an impact. Being present in multiple channels – especially where your clients and prospects are most likely to be, increases your chances of being found and improves awareness for your brand.

3. What are the most important steps to focus on when attempting to get high natural search engine rankings?

Site accessibility – can the search engine “bots” get into the site – if there are any obstacles preventing them from indexing (i.e. storing the content in their database) the site, then they will not be able to display that content to the user – such as robots.txt.

Site structure – is there duplicate content or pages that redirect them endlessly? Certain server related (IT issues) can make it difficult for the spider to index the content.

Relevancy of the search – does the content contain the keywords that people are using when they search? If not, how can the search engine display that content?

Links – many search engines use the number and more importantly, the quality of the links pointing to a website or piece of content in order to determine its popularity. Think of a link as a vote – from registered voters. The more votes a site/content receives, the more popular it is.

4. What are the best ways to get quality inbound links?

Create content that people want to link to. Create a blog and build good quality relevant content that not only attracts links but can pass link juice to the main site. Get people to write about your products and services. Nothing has changed here it’s all about the content.

5. Are there any methods of search engine marketing that aren’t as valuable now as they used to be?

Directory submissions with the exception of maybe 4 are a complete waste of time. Doorway pages. Keyword Density percentages.

6. What are your favorite ways to get higher rankings that not everybody knows about?

Internal linking on your site. The rest are trade secrets!!!

7. What exactly is personalized search?

Google recently added the ability to “promote” or “remove” a search listing based on whether you felt it was relevant and/or appropriate based on your search.

Search results are personalized based on your previous searches. The goal of the search engine is to provide the most relevant results based on your query – as social-based functionality (i.e.. Voting) and web history evolve the importance of page 1 ranking will be significantly diminished. Companies will need to focus more on conversions (ex. sales, leads) that originate from organic search as the more important metric of success.

8. Some people are saying that personalized search signals the end of the importance of high rankings. What do you think?

I do not agree. You will still need high rankings you will simply need to rank highly for a lot more than your web pages. You just have to ensure that all your content is out there and ranked by the search engines. If the only content you create and optimize is your web pages you could be in trouble. When people turn off certain searches you need to be there somewhere else.

9. How can businesses prepare for personalized search results?

Ensure you have more content available, more content equals more opportunities for your customers to vote and have it part of their history. You really need to be there for the research phrases as well as the conversion phrases, for example, you can answer the research questions on your blog, then when they need to commit they have the site in the history, Google will raise the profile of your site in the results, the visitor already knows the brand and will more likely click on it than someone they don’t know. Overall increased brand recognition, higher rankings, and increased conversions.

10. What do you think of Microsoft’s new search engine, Bing?

The results are the same as before unless they do something about that when the hype dies down they will go back to obscurity as a search engine.

11. Do you think that Bing will affect how companies perform their search engine optimization?

12. Will Bing ever replace Google as the most popular search engine?

No and the decision by Yahoo to use their results is suicide.

13. When you Google certain companies, like Best Buy, you get not only a link to their homepage but also links to specific sections of their site. How can companies get this type of organic listing?

Good linking and SEO. Ensuring the internal linking structure (menus) are accessible to the spiders.

14. How much attention should companies pay to social media sites like Twitter and Facebook?

Twitter is an excellent tool for sending out messages to your followers. Think of it as an opt in e-mail data base with a lot less management or investment in infrastructure. All companies should monitor what is being said about them on Twitter. If you receive a bad comment about your service from an account that has 20 followers there’s no need to panic but if they have 10,000 follower then you do need to reach out and address it. I am seeing a lot of fake twitter accounts created by competitors now.

Facebook can be used the same way. It’s a great way to send messages and keep in touch with people who have chosen to be a fan and receive that message. All companies should perform searches on Facebook you would be amazed how many pages are set up by customers, some not so complimentary. All companies should ensure they own their twitter name even if they do not use it, it stops a disgruntled customer using it.

15. How can Twitter play a role in a company’s search marketing campaign?

Monitor and track and ensure you have a process to respond to positive and negative comments.

16. How can Facebook be used in search marketing?

I have personally found Facebook ads very valuable. However, it depends on the industry the lifestyle companies do much better than companies selling boring widgets. Most people on Facebook are there for social reasons and do not want to buy boring widgets. Every company should have its own Facebook page. If nothing else it will show up high in a Google search for your brand and give you a valuable result in universal search.

17. What about MySpace, can it be effective and how does it differ from the other two?

I cannot really comment on MySpace, some of our clients use it but do not get the same traction as Facebook and Twitter. I think its value in business has diminished considerably with the explosion of Facebook’s popularity. It is still valuable if your target market are millennial’s.

18. Is there any danger in participating in too many social networks?

Well yes your time is precious. If you use Twitter, Facebook, Linked In and You Tube you will have most of the traffic covered.

19. How can mobile marketing be used in conjunction with other online marketing methods?

Geo targeting mobile paid ads will allow you to find people searching for Pizza who are within a few miles of your store and will allow you to send them a coupon to use for a free promotion. So how can you combine this with other online marketing? Good damn question.

20. If you could have a top Google Ranking for one word that was entirely nonbusiness related, what would it be and why?

“Irish Travel Writer” because I would love to tell more people about my beloved native Ireland and be paid to do it. I could set the record straight like “there are no leprechauns unless you drink 20 pints of Guinness.”

Fionn Downhill is the founder and CEO of Elixir Interactive, a full service digital marketing agency that helps companies connect with their customers and build trust through search and social media. You can read her blog here.

Tags: Elixir Interactive, Facebook, Fionn Downhill, MySpace, Search Engine Optimization, SEO, Social Networking, Twitter
Posted in 20 Questions, Ray Raps, Search Engine Optimization, Social Network Marketing | 1 Comment »

Beyond Web 2.0: Delivering on the Promise of the Engaged Web to Win Business

Thursday, August 6th, 2009

AJ Harring, President, EPiServer US offers a glimpse of the “engaged web” and explains how to profit from it.

Most marketers understand that one-way communication with customers is no longer effective in today’s Web 2.0 world. Knowing this is one thing; understanding how to effectively utilize Web 2.0 platforms to form meaningful connections with prospects and customers is another. In fact, while many marketers still struggle to understand Web 2.0 and social networking, the next generation of “the engaged web” has arrived – and with it even greater opportunities for organizations to effectively turn web traffic into qualified leads and revenue.

Rather than cling to traditional approaches of building web sites on pillars of content, companies should take advantage of new interactive, community and conversation-based tools and services that engage visitors. The current Internet generation no longer simply browses; they interact. They create content, share opinions, show videos and join communities to connect with others who share similar interests.

So how can we, as marketers keep up with all the changes taking place, and how should we leverage the engaged web to create more meaningful customer interactions?

First, we must stop thinking about how to push content and messages to key audiences, and instead focus on a) understanding and b) addressing the individual needs and preferences of those audiences. This may sound complicated, but by simply investing less time and energy in promoting ourselves, and more time fostering compelling, two-way conversations with the audiences we want to reach, we’ll be able to create more meaningful relationships. As a result, we have a better chance of winning their business, and we might prompt word-of-mouth referrals too.

Here are a few tips outlining how to successfully market products and services in the new, conversation-based Internet economy:

Focus on users rather than content: Personalize web content for individual users and make their online experience more meaningful by fostering two-way communication.

Think “relations” rather than “sessions:” Create a website with individual users and their specific needs or issues in mind rather than maintain a website using a “one size fits all” approach.

Use what you know: Use the data you have at hand to gain insight into user behavior and preferences – whether it’s from software that tracks how they interact with your site or click-through analytics – and deliver an online experience that matches their needs.

Only when we fully understand the individual needs and goals of our customers can we develop deeper, more fruitful relationships with them. Companies that fail to make the leap to dynamic web engagement may not survive the transition into the next digital age.

As President of EPiServer’s North American organization, A.J. Harring has more than 17 years of IT software sales and management experience. Prior to joining EPiServer, A.J. led teams at leading companies like Check Point Software Technologies, Pointsec Software Technologies, Compuware, and Platinum Technology. Contact: aj.harring@episerver.com.

Tags: AJ Harring, Engaged Web, EPiServer, Interactive Marketing, Social Networking, Web 2.0
Posted in Guest Articles, Social Network Marketing | No Comments »

Profiling a Web Searcher With Log Data

Wednesday, August 5th, 2009

Dr. Jim Jansen, Assistant Professor at Pennsylvania State University explains what relevant information can be found about your customers using search logs.

One of my conference presentations, To What Degree Can Log Data Profile a Web Searcher?, addresses research about developing a profile of a Web search using just the few fields in a search log.

Typical search logs really don’t have that many fields, a dozen or so at most. Even when one enriches the logs (i.e., combining fields to make new ones of greater insight), the logs are still sparse.

So, in this research, we set out to determine what we could find out about a user based on a record or so in a search log. We found out that we could actually determine a lot!

Here are some examples.

- With the IP address, we can get a fairly accurate pin point of the location. From geo-targeting data in the query, we can tell the location of focus.

- From the query, we can do a topic analysis to determine the searching focus.

- We can use algorithms already available to determine what type of content is desired (e.g., informational, navigational, transactional).

- We can determine if the query has commercial intent and where in the buying cycle the user is at.

- Using session level data, we can determine the level of engagement (i.e., how motivated is the user to get the desire content).

- Based on pattern analysis, we can determine with a fair degree of accuracy what will be the next query reformulation.

- Using out-of-log sources, such as http://adlab.microsoft.com/Demographics-Prediction/, we can determine the gender bias of the query.

- Using neural network techniques, we can determine the probability of the user clicking on a result listing.

- With enough temporal data, we can reasonably determine the identity of the searcher.

I am not a big online privacy dude, but the results surprised me when you put all the techniques together. And, techniques are just going to get better and better.

There are some really interesting aspects for advertisers, great possibilities for consumers, and concerns for all.

Dr. Jim Jansen is an associate professor in the College of Information Sciences and Technology at Pennsylvania State University. Jim has more than 150 publications in the area of information technology and systems, with articles appearing in a multi-disciplinary range of journals and conferences. His specific areas of expertise are Web searching, sponsored search, and personalization for information searching. He is co-author of the book, Web Search: Public Searching of the Web and co-editor of the book Handbook of Weblog Analysis.

Tags: Dr. Jim Jansen, Log Data, Search Data, Search Logs, Web Profiling
Posted in Guest Articles, Search Engine Tools | No Comments »

Free Webinar: Why Use Email Marketing?

Tuesday, August 4th, 2009

Free email marketing webinar, Wednesday at 4:00 PM Eastern, 1:00 PM Pacific.

Whether you want to acquire more new customers, convert your existing leads, or upsell your past clients, email marketing is an excellent and inexpensive solution to your needs.

If you’re not using email marketing effectively, you might be costing yourself a lot of money.

Tomorrow at 4:00 PM Eastern, 1:00 PM Pacific, RSS Ray (Brian Offenberger) will be offering a special free webinar to discuss exactly why you should use email marketing.

We highly encourage you to attend and learn all about email marketing. During the webcast, Ray will discuss why it’s important, the best ways to use it to increase profits, and more.

To register for this event visit the Right On No – Bull Marketing website and go to the free internet marketing webinars section.

Tags: Email Marketing, Free Webinar, Online Marketing Webinars, Why Use Email Marketing
Posted in Email Marketing, Show Announcements | No Comments »

The Latest Search Engine Research That Every Marketer Needs To Know

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

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

Show Date: August 5, 2009 at 1 pm Eastern, 10 am Pacific

Show Topic The Latest Search Engine Research That Every Marketer Needs To Know

Show Guest: Jim Jansen, Assistant Professor of Pennsylvania State University

About Jim Jansen: Dr. Bernard J. Jansen (Jim Jansen) is an assistant professor in the College of Information Sciences and Technology at The Pennsylvania State University, USA. Jim has more than 150 publications in the area of information technology and systems, with articles appearing in a multi-disciplinary range of journals and conferences. His specific areas of expertise are Web searching, sponsored search, and personalization for information searching. He is co-author of the book, Web Search: Public Searching of the Web and co-editor of the book Handbook of Weblog Analysis.

Sample Questions for Jim Jansen:

How has the way we search the Internet changed in the past few years?

Given current trends, what is the best way for search marketers to improve their overall performance?

What accounts for searchers clicking on paid search only 16% of the time?

Show Topic: The Engaged Web – Delivering More Social, Revenue-Centric Online Experiences

Show Guest: A.J. Harring, President of EPiServer North America

About A.J. Harring: As President of EPiServer’s North American organization, A.J. Harring brings more than 17 years of IT software sales and management experience. Prior to joining EPiServer, A.J. has lead teams to unparalleled levels of growth and success at leading companies like Check Point Software Technologies, Pointsec Software Technologies, Compuware, and Platinum Technology.

Sample Questions for A.J. Harring:

Why are websites with social capabilities more effective then those without?

How can a company create its own online community?

What is the best way to encourage people to participate in your community?

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

RSS Ray’s Comments: “Jim Jansen’s search engine research is changing the way online marketers do business” stated RSS Ray, host of “Online Marketing with RSS Ray.” RSS Ray went on to say “A.J. Harring is changing the web with his innovative approach to community websites.”

Tags: A.J. Harring, EPiServer, Jim Jansen, Online Community, Search Marketing, The Engaged Web
Posted in Guest Announcements, Search Engine Marketing, Social Network Marketing | No Comments »