Hi Everyone,
just wanted to let you know that we have uploaded a great video about Google Webmaster Tools to diagnose crawling from Google.
Google's Search Evangelist Adam Lasnik talks about:
- The robots.txt file diagnostic tool that tells you whether your robots file is stopping Google from crawling/indexing your site.
- The WebCrawl diagnostics tool that analyzes whether i.e. your host stops the Google robots from indexing your site.
See the video at: http://www.internet-experts-live.com/group/1stgooglemasterygroup/forum/topic/show?id=2029533%3ATopic%3A7070
Let us know what you think of these tools.
Karl
iEL Team
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
New Google software lets any website add social networking
Google Inc. on Monday plans the release of Google Friend Connect, a service that enables any website to provide social networking features for its visitors.
Read More [http://www.internet-experts-live.com/group/1stgooglemasterygroup/forum/topic/show?id=2029533%3ATopic%3A5769]
Read More [http://www.internet-experts-live.com/group/1stgooglemasterygroup/forum/topic/show?id=2029533%3ATopic%3A5769]
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Website Content Management Automation
I was recently asked to explain how to publish site content to the web sort of automatically. Plus how to receive new content to your site.
Voila- here is the short version of how you can do that FR.EE:
PUBLISHING CONTENT: Take some content from your website and put in your blog (if you haven’t got one, you can set up one for free at e.g. Wordpress.org).
Find your RSS feed on your blog and ‘burn’ this feed in Feedburner.com. Feedburner will then automatically notify ‘the web’ whenever you write something new in your blog.
RECEIVING CONTENT: If you want to receive updates directly into your website whenever new content has been published, you simply integrate the respective RSS feed into your site or blog. You can find the RSS feed of a blog/site by looking for the orange RSS feed symbol or you can just look up the RSS directories to find any feed.
‘RSS’ sounds rather technical, but just think of it as a (zero emission ;-) sports car that gets you to where you want to go faster. How much of its electronic ignition do you really need to know to be able to drive that (RSS) car? Zero, right?
Let’s make a quick example: I mentioned to Steve Oxlade the other day that I would love to have quotes from his great book (The Abundance Zone) on our IEL website. Ideally new quotes every day. (Marketing for him - inspiring new content for me. Win-Win.) To make this work Steve would put a couple of quotes from his and Matt’s book onto his blog every other day. Done in a minute or two. I would ‘subscribe’ to the RSS feed from his blog and integrate it into my site. Whenever Steve puts some new quotes into his blog, they show up on my site, automatically. So when visitors come back to my site, they see (Steve’s) new content -magic.
This can be done with any content really and there are many ways how to use RSS which I will explain at another time.
p.s. RSS also helps your search engine optimization because Google and the others like fresh content! It really is a win-win-win.
So long for now, take care and god bless.
Karl
Voila- here is the short version of how you can do that FR.EE:
PUBLISHING CONTENT: Take some content from your website and put in your blog (if you haven’t got one, you can set up one for free at e.g. Wordpress.org).
Find your RSS feed on your blog and ‘burn’ this feed in Feedburner.com. Feedburner will then automatically notify ‘the web’ whenever you write something new in your blog.
RECEIVING CONTENT: If you want to receive updates directly into your website whenever new content has been published, you simply integrate the respective RSS feed into your site or blog. You can find the RSS feed of a blog/site by looking for the orange RSS feed symbol or you can just look up the RSS directories to find any feed.
‘RSS’ sounds rather technical, but just think of it as a (zero emission ;-) sports car that gets you to where you want to go faster. How much of its electronic ignition do you really need to know to be able to drive that (RSS) car? Zero, right?
Let’s make a quick example: I mentioned to Steve Oxlade the other day that I would love to have quotes from his great book (The Abundance Zone) on our IEL website. Ideally new quotes every day. (Marketing for him - inspiring new content for me. Win-Win.) To make this work Steve would put a couple of quotes from his and Matt’s book onto his blog every other day. Done in a minute or two. I would ‘subscribe’ to the RSS feed from his blog and integrate it into my site. Whenever Steve puts some new quotes into his blog, they show up on my site, automatically. So when visitors come back to my site, they see (Steve’s) new content -magic.
This can be done with any content really and there are many ways how to use RSS which I will explain at another time.
p.s. RSS also helps your search engine optimization because Google and the others like fresh content! It really is a win-win-win.
So long for now, take care and god bless.
Karl
Monday, February 04, 2008
Business building failure rate
Last week I posted about 'Building A Successful Internet Business' and the perils of it . The rate of over 90% of small businesses failing within the first ten years shocked me.
Can you imagine all the broken dreams and the financial hardship left behind? This is unbelievable and apparently there are not enough people out there helping smaller companies to start, survive and grow their business.
That got me thinking ... and deciding I want to do something about this horrible failure rate.
We will put a program together that will support entrepreneurs in building their business, making sure they survive and grow their dreams!
Since we focus on the Internet side of things, this will be a program that supports people in building an Internet business. It will be a program where we combine advice from the Internet experts with the support from 'coaches' to make sure things really happen and are not just digested as great information.
More on the program later in this blog.
For now I just want to mention that I have set-up a 'draft' forum to get a feel for where entrepreneurs might want support the most. Here is the link: "Successful Internet Business Building"
Cheers,
Karl
Can you imagine all the broken dreams and the financial hardship left behind? This is unbelievable and apparently there are not enough people out there helping smaller companies to start, survive and grow their business.
That got me thinking ... and deciding I want to do something about this horrible failure rate.
We will put a program together that will support entrepreneurs in building their business, making sure they survive and grow their dreams!
Since we focus on the Internet side of things, this will be a program that supports people in building an Internet business. It will be a program where we combine advice from the Internet experts with the support from 'coaches' to make sure things really happen and are not just digested as great information.
More on the program later in this blog.
For now I just want to mention that I have set-up a 'draft' forum to get a feel for where entrepreneurs might want support the most. Here is the link: "Successful Internet Business Building"
Cheers,
Karl
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Building A Successful Internet Business
For anyone currently building their Internet Business I would like to briefly mention Michael Gerber's highly recommended book 'The E-Myth Revisited - Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About I'.
Here is a short overview over his basic business building concepts and principles:
1. Every year over 1 million people start a business of some sort and statistics tell us that by the end of year ten over 90% of these small companies have failed. (These statistics are from the States but I doubt very much that the horrific failure rate is much different in any other country!)
2. Most businesses are started by so called 'technicians', people who are skilled at what they enjoy doing. Technicians assume that they understand how a business works but most of the times they don't.
3. Building a business, according to Michael Gerber, takes three skill sets: (1) The entrepreneur, (2) The manager, (3) The technician.
4. Businesses generally go through 3 phases of growth:
- Infancy - When the technician is required mostly
- Expansion - when better management skills are required.
- Maturity - when an entrepreneurial perspective is needed
The business that is built and managed by someone who combines the approach of the three roles will have a far greater chance of survival and success than the one guided by someone thinking like a technician alone.
Michael Gerber's main idea to save (small) businesses from failingis that you should view your operation as the prototype for a franchise business or a turn-key solution. The main challenge in doing so he sees in maximising the amount of time you spend working ON your business rather than IN your business.
Michael Gerber has been a consultant for small companies for many years and his company E-Myth Worldwide has put together a business development process by which a successful franchise prototype can be built in seven distinct steps and a foundation of three key activities.
See the Summary of the 'E-Myth Principle Based Business Development Process', click here. Even if you have read the book before, this summary is a great reminder of the main ideas.
P.S. If you would like to get great tips & feedback for your specific business, here is the link to a brand new Forum "Successful Internet Business" to discuss some of the challenges and advantages building a business online.
Here is a short overview over his basic business building concepts and principles:
1. Every year over 1 million people start a business of some sort and statistics tell us that by the end of year ten over 90% of these small companies have failed. (These statistics are from the States but I doubt very much that the horrific failure rate is much different in any other country!)
2. Most businesses are started by so called 'technicians', people who are skilled at what they enjoy doing. Technicians assume that they understand how a business works but most of the times they don't.
3. Building a business, according to Michael Gerber, takes three skill sets: (1) The entrepreneur, (2) The manager, (3) The technician.
4. Businesses generally go through 3 phases of growth:
- Infancy - When the technician is required mostly
- Expansion - when better management skills are required.
- Maturity - when an entrepreneurial perspective is needed
The business that is built and managed by someone who combines the approach of the three roles will have a far greater chance of survival and success than the one guided by someone thinking like a technician alone.
Michael Gerber's main idea to save (small) businesses from failingis that you should view your operation as the prototype for a franchise business or a turn-key solution. The main challenge in doing so he sees in maximising the amount of time you spend working ON your business rather than IN your business.
Michael Gerber has been a consultant for small companies for many years and his company E-Myth Worldwide has put together a business development process by which a successful franchise prototype can be built in seven distinct steps and a foundation of three key activities.
See the Summary of the 'E-Myth Principle Based Business Development Process', click here. Even if you have read the book before, this summary is a great reminder of the main ideas.
P.S. If you would like to get great tips & feedback for your specific business, here is the link to a brand new Forum "Successful Internet Business" to discuss some of the challenges and advantages building a business online.
Friday, June 15, 2007
‘Digital Mums’ to the web
‘Digital Mums’ to the web
Three quarters (75%) of women with children under the age of 18 now regularly access the internet across the UK, marking a growth of 7% since 2005, according to new research.
The findings form part of a new ‘Digital Mums’ study from the European Interactive Advertising Association (EIAA), revealing insights into the digital lifestyles of Britain’s online mums.
The research highlights that 76% of the time digital mums spend online is for personal reasons and that online activities are becoming a valuable and crucial part of their busy everyday lives.
Keeping Mums in Control
The research reveals the wide array of websites that digital mums are using to enrich different areas of their life, from saving time, to carrying out research and making the most of online entertainment. 73% of British digital mums who use all media find that the internet provides what they want quickly and saves them time and 47% state that the internet helps keep them ahead of the game.
Mums in the UK are increasingly using the web as a reference point for their family’s health needs (an increase of 37% year-on-year). Their use of auction sites has grown by 33% and 39% of digital mums are now using price comparison sites.
Not ones to fall behind on local and national news and events, they are also researching and catching up via the web - 58% regularly visit news sites and 58% look for local information online. (7% year-on year growth since 2005)
Age Matters
The research also indicates that across Europe, the websites that digital mums visit, their online activities and shopping habits vary accordingly to the age of their children. Mums who use the internet and have babies and very young children (0-4 years old), are far more likely to visit family and kids websites (61%) and banking and finance sites (63%), whereas women with children aged 16-18 take time out to focus on film websites (49%), possibly a reflection of their family’s interests as well as their own.
Online shopping
Digital mums in the UK are even more frequent online shoppers than women without children. 94% of all digital mums have bought items online, spending an average of €1022 and buying 19 items in just six months. Across Europe, mothers of younger children are the most likely to buy online - 86% of women with children aged 0-9 years old bought a product or service online compared to 75% of women with children aged 10-18. This indicates that online shopping is proving a useful way for mums to get jobs done whilst saving time spent on the high street or in the supermarkets with their babies or very young children - something that is often seen as an unwanted challenge!
Entertainment Value
The research clearly highlights how British digital mums are developing a deeper involvement with online content in using the internet for relaxation and entertainment. There has been a 28% increase since 2005 in the number of mums who regularly listen to the radio online, a third (34%) regularly download music and 18% enjoy online gaming sites. Broadband penetration amongst all UK women has now reached 83% and penetration amongst women with children who use the internet in the UK has increased 49% since 2004.
Keeping in touch
Mums in the UK are also using the internet to engage with other people. The number of mums making telephone calls via the internet has increased by 300% since 2005 and 40% of mums now use instant messenger. They are also getting increasingly connected with tools made popular by Web 2.0: 24% regularly access social networking sites, 14% get involved in blogging and the use of forums grew by 31% – evidence of digital mums’ desire for personalisation and participation.
Media Multi-Tasking Mums
It also seems clear that once the kids are safely in bed, mums are taking advantage of the peace to tackle tasks online or use the web for ‘me-time’ as logging on in the evening is most popular – 65% access the internet between 5.30pm-9pm. Adept at multi-tasking, mums are also likely to mesh their media: 26% use the internet whilst watching TV and interestingly 66% of women with children do something less often as result of the internet.
Alison Fennah, Executive Director of the EIAA says, “For time-pressed, multi-tasking mums, the Internet is increasingly playing a crucial role in enriching their busy everyday lives. Not only does the Internet help mums maximise time and keep control of family life and demands but it is also proving to be a valuable networking tool. It’s great to see a bigger presence of mothers online and to see how the online community is meeting their unique needs.”
Source: www.eiaa.net
Three quarters (75%) of women with children under the age of 18 now regularly access the internet across the UK, marking a growth of 7% since 2005, according to new research.
The findings form part of a new ‘Digital Mums’ study from the European Interactive Advertising Association (EIAA), revealing insights into the digital lifestyles of Britain’s online mums.
The research highlights that 76% of the time digital mums spend online is for personal reasons and that online activities are becoming a valuable and crucial part of their busy everyday lives.
Keeping Mums in Control
The research reveals the wide array of websites that digital mums are using to enrich different areas of their life, from saving time, to carrying out research and making the most of online entertainment. 73% of British digital mums who use all media find that the internet provides what they want quickly and saves them time and 47% state that the internet helps keep them ahead of the game.
Mums in the UK are increasingly using the web as a reference point for their family’s health needs (an increase of 37% year-on-year). Their use of auction sites has grown by 33% and 39% of digital mums are now using price comparison sites.
Not ones to fall behind on local and national news and events, they are also researching and catching up via the web - 58% regularly visit news sites and 58% look for local information online. (7% year-on year growth since 2005)
Age Matters
The research also indicates that across Europe, the websites that digital mums visit, their online activities and shopping habits vary accordingly to the age of their children. Mums who use the internet and have babies and very young children (0-4 years old), are far more likely to visit family and kids websites (61%) and banking and finance sites (63%), whereas women with children aged 16-18 take time out to focus on film websites (49%), possibly a reflection of their family’s interests as well as their own.
Online shopping
Digital mums in the UK are even more frequent online shoppers than women without children. 94% of all digital mums have bought items online, spending an average of €1022 and buying 19 items in just six months. Across Europe, mothers of younger children are the most likely to buy online - 86% of women with children aged 0-9 years old bought a product or service online compared to 75% of women with children aged 10-18. This indicates that online shopping is proving a useful way for mums to get jobs done whilst saving time spent on the high street or in the supermarkets with their babies or very young children - something that is often seen as an unwanted challenge!
Entertainment Value
The research clearly highlights how British digital mums are developing a deeper involvement with online content in using the internet for relaxation and entertainment. There has been a 28% increase since 2005 in the number of mums who regularly listen to the radio online, a third (34%) regularly download music and 18% enjoy online gaming sites. Broadband penetration amongst all UK women has now reached 83% and penetration amongst women with children who use the internet in the UK has increased 49% since 2004.
Keeping in touch
Mums in the UK are also using the internet to engage with other people. The number of mums making telephone calls via the internet has increased by 300% since 2005 and 40% of mums now use instant messenger. They are also getting increasingly connected with tools made popular by Web 2.0: 24% regularly access social networking sites, 14% get involved in blogging and the use of forums grew by 31% – evidence of digital mums’ desire for personalisation and participation.
Media Multi-Tasking Mums
It also seems clear that once the kids are safely in bed, mums are taking advantage of the peace to tackle tasks online or use the web for ‘me-time’ as logging on in the evening is most popular – 65% access the internet between 5.30pm-9pm. Adept at multi-tasking, mums are also likely to mesh their media: 26% use the internet whilst watching TV and interestingly 66% of women with children do something less often as result of the internet.
Alison Fennah, Executive Director of the EIAA says, “For time-pressed, multi-tasking mums, the Internet is increasingly playing a crucial role in enriching their busy everyday lives. Not only does the Internet help mums maximise time and keep control of family life and demands but it is also proving to be a valuable networking tool. It’s great to see a bigger presence of mothers online and to see how the online community is meeting their unique needs.”
Source: www.eiaa.net
Social Commerce Revolution
Seven steps to social commerce revolution
How can the growing popularity of user-generated content be best applied online?
Word of mouth has always been the leading form of marketing. But now, with the growth of web accessibility, web commerce, and tools to share opinions, word of mouth is critical for customers and marketers alike.
If a brand surveys customers after an online purchase and asks how they found the site or why they chose a product, it’s likely the majority will reference something like ‘advice from a friend’.
On the web, word of mouth takes the form of user-generated content. Shoppers desperate to find authentic, credible and relevant sources of product advice follow these dances to make their purchase.
Analyst firm Forrester found that 77% of online shoppers in the US seek out ratings and reviews before making a purchase. 97% of consumers said they trusted recommendations from peers. In addition, a study by Edelman Public Relations (US-based) found that ‘trust in someone like me’ has tripled in three years, from 20% to 68%. Why are people turning to the advice of strangers?
Early Learning Centre, a multi-channel store for children’s products, will soon launch ratings and reviews using the Bazaarvoice platform.
“Due to the increase in social networking and the focus on user generated content, it’s become increasingly important to effectively engage with our customers and give them a way of contributing towards the site. Adding a ratings and review function is an ideal way of enabling this,” said Matthew Legge, e-Commerce Manager at Early Learning Centre.
“Peer reviews are so much more effective than the brand reviewing its own products – Mums value and trust what other Mums think.”
The steps to a‘social commerce revolution’, and the resulting benefits, look something like this:
1) Get to know your influencers: According to the book The Influentials, approximately 10 to 15 percent of a brand’s customers are ‘influencers’; meaning they have a psychographic profile to share their opinion with others. The profile of an online reviewer spans across multiple demographic segments, but in the main they are the most loyal and frequent purchasers. According to a study by management consulting firm McKinsey, users who post reviews revisit the site nine times more than users who don’t participate, and are twice as loyal. With a ratings and reviews system integrated with a site’s “My Account” login, brands can invite and identify their most valuable customers to share their voice; further cementing the relationship between brand and consumer. From there, companies can launch new relationship campaigns such as discounts or early bird notifications.
2) Accelerate customer purchase decisions: Once authentic reviews from a brand’s most influential customers are visible online, shoppers then have the credible and relevant content they need to make a purchase. With ratings and reviews next to a product, customers get what they need to accelerate a purchase decision. Bazaarvoice clients have seen anywhere from 16% to double conversion rate on products and categories that have reviews. With ‘top rated’ product merchandising, navigation and sorting, brands can create a new purchase path delivering up to 60% higher conversion than other purchase paths.
3) Attract user-content-seeking customers: One of the key benefits of product reviews is that they attract new customers through natural search optimisation. Search engines, and the shoppers who use them, feed on this authentic content, and an increasing percentage of shoppers are searching for phrases and keywords that match review text. Bazaarvoice has analysed web analytics for several clients and found that more detailed searches, such as “Puma shoe reviews”, are growing faster than generic searches such as “football shoes”. Brands can also use ‘top rated products’ merchandising in emails, RSS feeds, and other online marketing to improve the impact of these vehicles. Golfsmith, a US Bazaarvoice client, saw 46% higher revenue per email featuring top rated products.
4) Market and advertise with customer voice: Now that you have the voice of your customer as a digital marketing asset, it’s time to take it offline. Brands can also feature top rated products and quotes from customers in catalogues and advertising to boost their impact.
5) Improve products and assortment: I once attended an online retailer industry conference where the Director of eCommerce for Gap suggested he saw their job to be a ‘trusted editor of fashion’. The best retailers are the trusted editors of products for their customers. What they choose to put in catalogues, online and in stores is a key part of their brand and shopping experience. Product ratings and reviews help retailers choose the right products to buy, promote and merchandise. Moreover, brands can help suppliers improve products they carry.
6) Power your partnerships: Many online marketers short change the impact and opportunity for reviews, limiting their usefulness to the product page. However, they can use the rich data from product ratings to improve their site search and web site navigation (top rated products), integrate with a web analytics platform, improve personalisation and cross-sell algorithms and integrate into email for automated campaigns. One Bazaarvoice client saw a 49% higher conversion and 60% higher average order value when featuring the “Top Rated Products” navigation filter to each category, through an integration with their search partner.
7) Develop a customer-centric culture: The final step of evolution in a user-generated marketing strategy is a change of the culture. Ultimately, brands need to integrate the voice of their customer into their day to day activities, so that employees pay closer attention to what customers are saying about products. As the results from user generated marketing become clear, they will start to look at the reports and leverage the data in many of the ways described above. Once that happens, a higher level of customer-centricity will be achieved than could ever be reached with research reports and focus groups.
Over the past few years, several factors have conspired against marketers to remove them from the driver’s seat. Customers have more control, more choices, more information and more access to opinions of others. At Bazaarvoice we have a Latin motto for the new marketing strategy of today and tomorrow: Aquiro, Sermo, Dilato. Translation: Acquire the conversation and amplify it. With the right tools and strategy, brands can enable their ‘scout bee’ customers to do their waggle dance on their web sites, for the rest of their shoppers.
By Sam Decker
Sam Decker is VP of Marketing and Products for Bazaarvoice (www.bazaarvoice.co.uk), a hosted and managed solution for ratings and reviews and social commerce.
How can the growing popularity of user-generated content be best applied online?
Word of mouth has always been the leading form of marketing. But now, with the growth of web accessibility, web commerce, and tools to share opinions, word of mouth is critical for customers and marketers alike.
If a brand surveys customers after an online purchase and asks how they found the site or why they chose a product, it’s likely the majority will reference something like ‘advice from a friend’.
On the web, word of mouth takes the form of user-generated content. Shoppers desperate to find authentic, credible and relevant sources of product advice follow these dances to make their purchase.
Analyst firm Forrester found that 77% of online shoppers in the US seek out ratings and reviews before making a purchase. 97% of consumers said they trusted recommendations from peers. In addition, a study by Edelman Public Relations (US-based) found that ‘trust in someone like me’ has tripled in three years, from 20% to 68%. Why are people turning to the advice of strangers?
Early Learning Centre, a multi-channel store for children’s products, will soon launch ratings and reviews using the Bazaarvoice platform.
“Due to the increase in social networking and the focus on user generated content, it’s become increasingly important to effectively engage with our customers and give them a way of contributing towards the site. Adding a ratings and review function is an ideal way of enabling this,” said Matthew Legge, e-Commerce Manager at Early Learning Centre.
“Peer reviews are so much more effective than the brand reviewing its own products – Mums value and trust what other Mums think.”
The steps to a‘social commerce revolution’, and the resulting benefits, look something like this:
1) Get to know your influencers: According to the book The Influentials, approximately 10 to 15 percent of a brand’s customers are ‘influencers’; meaning they have a psychographic profile to share their opinion with others. The profile of an online reviewer spans across multiple demographic segments, but in the main they are the most loyal and frequent purchasers. According to a study by management consulting firm McKinsey, users who post reviews revisit the site nine times more than users who don’t participate, and are twice as loyal. With a ratings and reviews system integrated with a site’s “My Account” login, brands can invite and identify their most valuable customers to share their voice; further cementing the relationship between brand and consumer. From there, companies can launch new relationship campaigns such as discounts or early bird notifications.
2) Accelerate customer purchase decisions: Once authentic reviews from a brand’s most influential customers are visible online, shoppers then have the credible and relevant content they need to make a purchase. With ratings and reviews next to a product, customers get what they need to accelerate a purchase decision. Bazaarvoice clients have seen anywhere from 16% to double conversion rate on products and categories that have reviews. With ‘top rated’ product merchandising, navigation and sorting, brands can create a new purchase path delivering up to 60% higher conversion than other purchase paths.
3) Attract user-content-seeking customers: One of the key benefits of product reviews is that they attract new customers through natural search optimisation. Search engines, and the shoppers who use them, feed on this authentic content, and an increasing percentage of shoppers are searching for phrases and keywords that match review text. Bazaarvoice has analysed web analytics for several clients and found that more detailed searches, such as “Puma shoe reviews”, are growing faster than generic searches such as “football shoes”. Brands can also use ‘top rated products’ merchandising in emails, RSS feeds, and other online marketing to improve the impact of these vehicles. Golfsmith, a US Bazaarvoice client, saw 46% higher revenue per email featuring top rated products.
4) Market and advertise with customer voice: Now that you have the voice of your customer as a digital marketing asset, it’s time to take it offline. Brands can also feature top rated products and quotes from customers in catalogues and advertising to boost their impact.
5) Improve products and assortment: I once attended an online retailer industry conference where the Director of eCommerce for Gap suggested he saw their job to be a ‘trusted editor of fashion’. The best retailers are the trusted editors of products for their customers. What they choose to put in catalogues, online and in stores is a key part of their brand and shopping experience. Product ratings and reviews help retailers choose the right products to buy, promote and merchandise. Moreover, brands can help suppliers improve products they carry.
6) Power your partnerships: Many online marketers short change the impact and opportunity for reviews, limiting their usefulness to the product page. However, they can use the rich data from product ratings to improve their site search and web site navigation (top rated products), integrate with a web analytics platform, improve personalisation and cross-sell algorithms and integrate into email for automated campaigns. One Bazaarvoice client saw a 49% higher conversion and 60% higher average order value when featuring the “Top Rated Products” navigation filter to each category, through an integration with their search partner.
7) Develop a customer-centric culture: The final step of evolution in a user-generated marketing strategy is a change of the culture. Ultimately, brands need to integrate the voice of their customer into their day to day activities, so that employees pay closer attention to what customers are saying about products. As the results from user generated marketing become clear, they will start to look at the reports and leverage the data in many of the ways described above. Once that happens, a higher level of customer-centricity will be achieved than could ever be reached with research reports and focus groups.
Over the past few years, several factors have conspired against marketers to remove them from the driver’s seat. Customers have more control, more choices, more information and more access to opinions of others. At Bazaarvoice we have a Latin motto for the new marketing strategy of today and tomorrow: Aquiro, Sermo, Dilato. Translation: Acquire the conversation and amplify it. With the right tools and strategy, brands can enable their ‘scout bee’ customers to do their waggle dance on their web sites, for the rest of their shoppers.
By Sam Decker
Sam Decker is VP of Marketing and Products for Bazaarvoice (www.bazaarvoice.co.uk), a hosted and managed solution for ratings and reviews and social commerce.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Get Credit for Links
"How to Get Credit for All Your Inbound Links - Consolidate WWW and non-WWW Links"
Strangely enough, the following addresses are considered separate websites by the search engines:
http://www.yourdomain.com (the "www" version)
http://yourdomain.com (the "non-www" version)
Though visitors see the same content, in the search engine world this situation poses a serious issue relating to link popularity. If the "www" version of your website has 300 inbound links and the "non-www" version has 300 inbound links, then each version is getting credit for only 300 links rather than the total 600.
Here are some immediate steps you can take to minimize the problem:
I recommend the "www" version because this seems to be the most common method used to type in an address. If you agree, use the format http://www.yourdomain.com on every link you can control.
Website Review.
Review your website and fix any links that use the "non-www" version. For example, if you have a link on every page back to your homepage and it uses the non-www format, switch it to the www-format.
Fix What You Can Offsite.
Repair any offsite links that may be directing traffic to your website using the wrong version of your address. If you have partnerships with other websites or advertising campaigns that use the wrong URL, ask them to change the links where possible.
Remove the Problem Entirely.
Next minimize the damage of incorrect backlinks from any other sites by having your webserver "tell" the search engines that the non-www URL is now permanently redirected to the www-version.
After you do this, if someone types in or clicks on a non-www version URL, they'll be automatically redirected to the proper www-version URL. Best of all, search engines interpret this redirect positively and will forward all link popularity to the www-version URL.
Consequently, you will have consolidated the popularity from both URLs into a single website which can significantly increase link popularity and search engine rankings.
Implementing this "server-side 301 redirect" will require the aid of a technical person comfortable with making website alterations. Refer your technical aide to the following tutorial:
"How to 301 Redirect Non-WWW to WWW URLs" (www.stepforth.com/faq/non-www-redirect.htm).
Google offers a feature in Google Webmaster Tools (www.google.com/webmasters/tools/) that allows you to tell Google which version of your domain to use within the Google search engine.
You'll need to login to an existing account or create a free one for your site. Once you verify that you control the domain, on the Webmaster Tools My Sites page, click on the link to "Manage http://yourdomain.com". In the left navigation menu go to Tools > Preferred domain to make your selection. Realize, however, that is a Google-only work-around and not a fix. It's far better to implement the 301 redirect described above which corrects the problem for all search engines.
Once you've consolidated the value of all the links pointed to your site you are another step closer to securing better search engine rankings.
Source: Ross Dunn, CEO StepForth SEO Services
Strangely enough, the following addresses are considered separate websites by the search engines:
http://www.yourdomain.com (the "www" version)
http://yourdomain.com (the "non-www" version)
Though visitors see the same content, in the search engine world this situation poses a serious issue relating to link popularity. If the "www" version of your website has 300 inbound links and the "non-www" version has 300 inbound links, then each version is getting credit for only 300 links rather than the total 600.
Here are some immediate steps you can take to minimize the problem:
I recommend the "www" version because this seems to be the most common method used to type in an address. If you agree, use the format http://www.yourdomain.com on every link you can control.
Website Review.
Review your website and fix any links that use the "non-www" version. For example, if you have a link on every page back to your homepage and it uses the non-www format, switch it to the www-format.
Fix What You Can Offsite.
Repair any offsite links that may be directing traffic to your website using the wrong version of your address. If you have partnerships with other websites or advertising campaigns that use the wrong URL, ask them to change the links where possible.
Remove the Problem Entirely.
Next minimize the damage of incorrect backlinks from any other sites by having your webserver "tell" the search engines that the non-www URL is now permanently redirected to the www-version.
After you do this, if someone types in or clicks on a non-www version URL, they'll be automatically redirected to the proper www-version URL. Best of all, search engines interpret this redirect positively and will forward all link popularity to the www-version URL.
Consequently, you will have consolidated the popularity from both URLs into a single website which can significantly increase link popularity and search engine rankings.
Implementing this "server-side 301 redirect" will require the aid of a technical person comfortable with making website alterations. Refer your technical aide to the following tutorial:
"How to 301 Redirect Non-WWW to WWW URLs" (www.stepforth.com/faq/non-www-redirect.htm).
Google offers a feature in Google Webmaster Tools (www.google.com/webmasters/tools/) that allows you to tell Google which version of your domain to use within the Google search engine.
You'll need to login to an existing account or create a free one for your site. Once you verify that you control the domain, on the Webmaster Tools My Sites page, click on the link to "Manage http://yourdomain.com". In the left navigation menu go to Tools > Preferred domain to make your selection. Realize, however, that is a Google-only work-around and not a fix. It's far better to implement the 301 redirect described above which corrects the problem for all search engines.
Once you've consolidated the value of all the links pointed to your site you are another step closer to securing better search engine rankings.
Source: Ross Dunn, CEO StepForth SEO Services
Friday, March 30, 2007
Exit Traffic Strategies
Exit Traffic Strategies : What are you doing to stop people leaving your site?
You spend lots of time, effort and probably money attracting people to your site. So what do you do about those that come in and leave straight away - do you just let them go? If you are, you are crazy...
...So [in terms of Exit Traffic Strategies] what are we talking about?
The trusty pop up window. Before you scoff and leave, my finance client hated pop ups too! Until it added £1 million worth of income to his bottom line that is...
...[and] I'm not talking about delivering adverts via popups when people visit the site. No, No, No. This is what gives popups a bad rap!
These are popups with a difference. In fact, they should be called exit consoles!
...
What you put in that popped up window is key! Don't just put in a banner ad or an advertisement! Give them something of value or use.
Why are they leaving? Because they didn't find what they were looking for. So help them do that. Give them options. Open with something like...
"Sorry you did not find what you were looking for."
This shows them you are trying to help and gives the visitor the impression that the resources being delivered are recommended.
Secondly, brand it like your site but don't open it as a full window. Create a mini branded console. This tells them where this window has come from.
In this window, you can do lots of things but in the main, you want to try and direct them back to your site, get them to leave an email address, or give them a 'phone number so they can call you.
...
There are other clients that used their Exit Console to carry out customer research, build a mailing list, offer exclusive deals, drive traffic to their call centres and generally earn an income from people that were leaving their website.
So if you have a high traffic or medium traffic site, you could be generating a revenue from those that are leaving your site.
Obviously there is a bit more to it than that. But this article was just to get you thinking about the possibilities.
If you would like to discuss your website and what you could be doing with Exit Consoles why not drop me a line or visit our Exit Traffic Strategies section?
by Jason Hulott, Director
[article shortened, to read the whole article get in touch with jason@speediepr.co.uk]
You spend lots of time, effort and probably money attracting people to your site. So what do you do about those that come in and leave straight away - do you just let them go? If you are, you are crazy...
...So [in terms of Exit Traffic Strategies] what are we talking about?
The trusty pop up window. Before you scoff and leave, my finance client hated pop ups too! Until it added £1 million worth of income to his bottom line that is...
...[and] I'm not talking about delivering adverts via popups when people visit the site. No, No, No. This is what gives popups a bad rap!
These are popups with a difference. In fact, they should be called exit consoles!
...
What you put in that popped up window is key! Don't just put in a banner ad or an advertisement! Give them something of value or use.
Why are they leaving? Because they didn't find what they were looking for. So help them do that. Give them options. Open with something like...
"Sorry you did not find what you were looking for."
This shows them you are trying to help and gives the visitor the impression that the resources being delivered are recommended.
Secondly, brand it like your site but don't open it as a full window. Create a mini branded console. This tells them where this window has come from.
In this window, you can do lots of things but in the main, you want to try and direct them back to your site, get them to leave an email address, or give them a 'phone number so they can call you.
...
There are other clients that used their Exit Console to carry out customer research, build a mailing list, offer exclusive deals, drive traffic to their call centres and generally earn an income from people that were leaving their website.
So if you have a high traffic or medium traffic site, you could be generating a revenue from those that are leaving your site.
Obviously there is a bit more to it than that. But this article was just to get you thinking about the possibilities.
If you would like to discuss your website and what you could be doing with Exit Consoles why not drop me a line or visit our Exit Traffic Strategies section?
by Jason Hulott, Director
[article shortened, to read the whole article get in touch with jason@speediepr.co.uk]
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Enhance your search engine results
How to enhance your search engine results with the professional network 'LinkedIn':
In addition to your name, you can also promote your blog or website to search engines like Google and Yahoo! Your LinkedIn profile allows you to publicize websites. There are a few pre-selected categories like “My Website,” “My Company,” etc.
If you select “Other” you can modify the name of the link. If you’re linking to your personal blog, include your name or descriptive terms in the link, and voila! instant search-engine optimization for your site.
To make this work, be sure your public profile setting is set to “Full View.”
according to Guy Kawasaki
In addition to your name, you can also promote your blog or website to search engines like Google and Yahoo! Your LinkedIn profile allows you to publicize websites. There are a few pre-selected categories like “My Website,” “My Company,” etc.
If you select “Other” you can modify the name of the link. If you’re linking to your personal blog, include your name or descriptive terms in the link, and voila! instant search-engine optimization for your site.
To make this work, be sure your public profile setting is set to “Full View.”
according to Guy Kawasaki
Improve your Google PageRank
Have you thought of improving your Google PageRank with a professional network? Here is how you do it:
The network LinkedIn allows you to make your profile information available for search engines to index.
Since LinkedIn profiles receive a good PageRank in Google, this is a way to influence what people see when they search for you.
To do this, create a public profile and select “Full View.” Also, instead of using the default URL, customize your public profile’s URL to be your actual name.
To strengthen the visibility of this page in search engines, use this link in various places on the web. For example, when you comment in a blog, include a link to your profile in your signature.
The network LinkedIn allows you to make your profile information available for search engines to index.
Since LinkedIn profiles receive a good PageRank in Google, this is a way to influence what people see when they search for you.
To do this, create a public profile and select “Full View.” Also, instead of using the default URL, customize your public profile’s URL to be your actual name.
To strengthen the visibility of this page in search engines, use this link in various places on the web. For example, when you comment in a blog, include a link to your profile in your signature.
Friday, March 23, 2007
Youngsters less open to Online Ads
Youngsters make far more use of the Web, but are less receptive to online ads than their elders, according to a new pan European study.
The 14th session of the NetObserver Europe study looked at the online behaviour and perceptions of more than 210,000 Internet users in 5 European countries; UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy.
The research focused on the web characteristics which distinguish the younger generation (ages 15-24) from their elders (25 years and over).
The Novatris/Harris Interactive study examined the behaviour of the European Internet users focusing on time spent online, communication and entertainment activities, the perception of ‘Web 2.0’ and views of online advertising.
There is a higher proportion of females amongst young Internet users
Whatever the country, the feminisation of the Internet has a larger impact on the younger generation. Indeed, within the group of 15-24 year olds, females are either of the same ratio to males (Italy, Spain) or in a majority (UK, Germany and France).
On the other hand, there are more males in the over 25 age group, even though their proportion is similar to that of women in the UK and France.
The younger generation undoubtedly spends more time online than their elders
The majority of young Internet users connect several times per day. However it is not just the frequency of connection, but the time spent online that distinguishes the younger generation from their elders.
For each of the 5 countries studied, there are more young Internet users who spend more than three hours per day online in comparison to their elders. Reversely, a higher proportion of users aged 25 and over spend less than one hour per day online.
Above all, for the younger generation the Internet is a communication tool
Young European Internet users are larger consumers of various online available communication tools than their elders.
15-24 year olds regularly use more direct (through instant messaging, telecommunication software with the Internet, chat rooms) or indirect (through discussion forums or blogs) communication tools than those aged over 25.
Looking at the main differences from one country to another, it is clear that young Spanish Internet users use instant messaging the most (80% regularly use instant messaging) and that young German Internet users use ‘chat’ the most (46% regularly use ‘chat’).
But the Internet is also a medium of self-expression and entertainment
The younger generation is more likely to not only consult blogs and community sites, but also to create their own online personal space (blog or personal page). They are also more likely to listen to radio online, play online videogames and use an audio or video podcasting service.
The five countries studied countries have their own characteristics:
46% of young British Internet Users regularly listen to the radio online. Whereas nearly half of young Germans regularly play online video games. As for the young French Internet users, 46% of them regularly visit blogs, personal pages and community sites.
Finally, regarding Spain and Italy, their young Internet users come out ahead in the usage of podcasts and videocasts: 36% of young Spanish Internet users regularly use podcasting services (audio or video) in comparison to a quarter of young Italian Internet Users.
Young Internet users perceive ‘Web 2.0’ more useful than their elders
Owing to the younger generation being larger consumers of the new features allowed by the technological evolution of the Internet (Ajax, XML…) it is understandable that they are more likely than their elders to consider these features useful.
The publication and sharing of information (text, audio or video) amongst a community (Facebook, Myspace, Yahoo! 360°…) is the feature considered to be the most useful by both generations. Besides, one can note that this feature is appreciated even more by the young Spanish and Italian Internet users because no less than 88% of them consider it
useful!
Customisation (My MSN, My Yahoo!, Netvibes...) is the second feature of ‘Web 2.0’ which strikes a chord with a large majority of young people. Nevertheless, its degree of usefulness is somewhat close to that of the contribution to collaborative sites (Wikipedia) and that of RSS feeds.
On the other hand, for those aged 25 and over, RSS feeds are more useful than customisation or collaborative contribution. This is not surprising as European Internet users aged 25 and over, regularly receive more RSS streams than the younger generation.
For the younger generation, the contribution of content to collaborative sites or wikis (Wikipedia) lies in third position. For the young Germans, this collaborative aspect of ‘Web 2.0’ even has the same degree of usefulness as the publication and exchange of information.
RSS feeds are the least popular in terms of the most useful features according to young people. Nevertheless, it is not a matter of rejecting this functionality outright because there is always more half of them who consider it useful.
Consequently, the level of usefulness received by RSS feeds is similar between both generations. Yet the level of usage of RSS feeds is lower amongst young people as they use the Internet less to keep them informed than their elders do.
With the exception of the United Kingdom where advertising is considered to be particularly creative, young European Internet users are less appreciative of online advertising than their elders.
Overall 15-24 year olds are less interested by the majority of advertising that they see on the Internet than those aged 25 and over. All the same, fewer young people in comparison to their elders estimate that advertising helps them make better purchasing decisions. They are also less numerous in thinking that advertising helps them find products and services that they search for in comparison to those aged 25 and over.
An important part of young Internet users recognise, however, that advertising helps them to discover new products and services.
Finally, the majority of young Internet users find that online advertising is creative and innovative. In other words, advertising agents are compelled to adapt their communication strategy when using the Internet to reach young people. They could, for instance, refer to the communication, self-expression or entertainment aspects that constitute the main motivations of young people when using the Internet.
Source: NetObserver, March 2007
Novatris/ Harris Interactive
The 14th session of the NetObserver Europe study looked at the online behaviour and perceptions of more than 210,000 Internet users in 5 European countries; UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy.
The research focused on the web characteristics which distinguish the younger generation (ages 15-24) from their elders (25 years and over).
The Novatris/Harris Interactive study examined the behaviour of the European Internet users focusing on time spent online, communication and entertainment activities, the perception of ‘Web 2.0’ and views of online advertising.
There is a higher proportion of females amongst young Internet users
Whatever the country, the feminisation of the Internet has a larger impact on the younger generation. Indeed, within the group of 15-24 year olds, females are either of the same ratio to males (Italy, Spain) or in a majority (UK, Germany and France).
On the other hand, there are more males in the over 25 age group, even though their proportion is similar to that of women in the UK and France.
The younger generation undoubtedly spends more time online than their elders
The majority of young Internet users connect several times per day. However it is not just the frequency of connection, but the time spent online that distinguishes the younger generation from their elders.
For each of the 5 countries studied, there are more young Internet users who spend more than three hours per day online in comparison to their elders. Reversely, a higher proportion of users aged 25 and over spend less than one hour per day online.
Above all, for the younger generation the Internet is a communication tool
Young European Internet users are larger consumers of various online available communication tools than their elders.
15-24 year olds regularly use more direct (through instant messaging, telecommunication software with the Internet, chat rooms) or indirect (through discussion forums or blogs) communication tools than those aged over 25.
Looking at the main differences from one country to another, it is clear that young Spanish Internet users use instant messaging the most (80% regularly use instant messaging) and that young German Internet users use ‘chat’ the most (46% regularly use ‘chat’).
But the Internet is also a medium of self-expression and entertainment
The younger generation is more likely to not only consult blogs and community sites, but also to create their own online personal space (blog or personal page). They are also more likely to listen to radio online, play online videogames and use an audio or video podcasting service.
The five countries studied countries have their own characteristics:
46% of young British Internet Users regularly listen to the radio online. Whereas nearly half of young Germans regularly play online video games. As for the young French Internet users, 46% of them regularly visit blogs, personal pages and community sites.
Finally, regarding Spain and Italy, their young Internet users come out ahead in the usage of podcasts and videocasts: 36% of young Spanish Internet users regularly use podcasting services (audio or video) in comparison to a quarter of young Italian Internet Users.
Young Internet users perceive ‘Web 2.0’ more useful than their elders
Owing to the younger generation being larger consumers of the new features allowed by the technological evolution of the Internet (Ajax, XML…) it is understandable that they are more likely than their elders to consider these features useful.
The publication and sharing of information (text, audio or video) amongst a community (Facebook, Myspace, Yahoo! 360°…) is the feature considered to be the most useful by both generations. Besides, one can note that this feature is appreciated even more by the young Spanish and Italian Internet users because no less than 88% of them consider it
useful!
Customisation (My MSN, My Yahoo!, Netvibes...) is the second feature of ‘Web 2.0’ which strikes a chord with a large majority of young people. Nevertheless, its degree of usefulness is somewhat close to that of the contribution to collaborative sites (Wikipedia) and that of RSS feeds.
On the other hand, for those aged 25 and over, RSS feeds are more useful than customisation or collaborative contribution. This is not surprising as European Internet users aged 25 and over, regularly receive more RSS streams than the younger generation.
For the younger generation, the contribution of content to collaborative sites or wikis (Wikipedia) lies in third position. For the young Germans, this collaborative aspect of ‘Web 2.0’ even has the same degree of usefulness as the publication and exchange of information.
RSS feeds are the least popular in terms of the most useful features according to young people. Nevertheless, it is not a matter of rejecting this functionality outright because there is always more half of them who consider it useful.
Consequently, the level of usefulness received by RSS feeds is similar between both generations. Yet the level of usage of RSS feeds is lower amongst young people as they use the Internet less to keep them informed than their elders do.
With the exception of the United Kingdom where advertising is considered to be particularly creative, young European Internet users are less appreciative of online advertising than their elders.
Overall 15-24 year olds are less interested by the majority of advertising that they see on the Internet than those aged 25 and over. All the same, fewer young people in comparison to their elders estimate that advertising helps them make better purchasing decisions. They are also less numerous in thinking that advertising helps them find products and services that they search for in comparison to those aged 25 and over.
An important part of young Internet users recognise, however, that advertising helps them to discover new products and services.
Finally, the majority of young Internet users find that online advertising is creative and innovative. In other words, advertising agents are compelled to adapt their communication strategy when using the Internet to reach young people. They could, for instance, refer to the communication, self-expression or entertainment aspects that constitute the main motivations of young people when using the Internet.
Source: NetObserver, March 2007
Novatris/ Harris Interactive
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
The future of advertising
Hi everyone, the following is a bit lengthy but I think an interesting article so I thought I'd share it with you. If you do naything around advertising or PPC the following might be of interest to you:
"Ad revenue-sharing - The future of advertising?"
Paying users a share of ad revenues for submitting content to websites is becoming a popular practice. Andrew Davies, Marketing Director at idio, looks at the impact this emerging business model could have on the advertising industry at large.
YouTube's introduction of an advertising-revenue-sharing scheme for contributors, a story that even 6 months ago would have been confined to the technology press, made the mainstream news a few weeks ago. YouTube is not the first company to offer contributors a share of advertising revenue, but its market-leading position does in some way legitimise this method as a valid business model.
Advertising-revenue-sharing allows contributors of content to be remunerated based on their content's popularity. Although looked down upon by traditional publishers, it provides a great way for contributors to be rewarded for their (often considerable) effort, for online publishers to attract better quality contributors, and for advertisers to better reach the increasing millions of eyeballs that view the social web every day.
However, traditional publishers do have a valid point: User generated content will, for the foreseeable future, be limited to certain (they would say "cheap") subject types. For example, whilst user generated content might create an abundance of funny videos and semi-professional industry opinion blogs, it certainly doesn't yet produce documentaries with the depth and reputation of Planet Earth or Panorama.
A similar quality issue faces advertisers: Because controversial content attracts viewers, the new "popularity equals revenue" equation for contributors exacerbates the much-discussed fear of unknowingly placing advertising alongside unsuitable user generated content.
So how can advertisers balance the necessity of effectively marketing to the mass audiences/participators in social networking, with the need to secure quality delivery and positive placement of advertising? An obvious answer is through some form of publisher moderation/editorship of content, whether it is on a user level (where user know they will be rewarded fairly for the value they actually deliver to advertisers), on a site level (where publishers endeavour to select and deliver only the best user generated content), or on a network level (where advertising networks develop a method for categorising content into marketable verticals).
However, fully exploiting the inventories of social networks is not the final frontier. The big step up in campaign effectiveness needs to come when forward-thinking advertisers start to use the mass of personal information to actually personalise their advertising. Publicly available profiles, and the behaviours of these online personalities, provide immense opportunities for adverts to become so targeted, and so linked to user action, that they reflect the same characteristics (relevant, helpful and unobtrusive) as Google AdWords and the search advertising phenomenon.
This leads to another key question arising when marketing to the audiences of social networks: What should the relationship be between the content and the advertising, both contextually and spatially? Although it obviously varies between product types, most advertisers see the benefit of advertising that is contextually relevant (i.e. a user interested in the content will be more likely to be interested in the advert) and spatially suitable (i.e. catching the eye of the user without intruding to the point of annoyance).
For example, many of the generic networks (eg MySpace and YouTube) have not been able to connect their advertising with their content, leading to a situation where the advertising generally drags down the user experience, with the company forced to rely on increased pageviews to gain more revenue. On the other hand, many of the more specialised social networks are integrating the advertising to a much greater extent, not only improving the user experience, but adding value to the advertiser. And especially where the advertising-revenue-share model is used, the value and acceptability of the advertising in the community's eyes increases significantly.
Instead of users being force-fed advertising; it needs to be subconsciously accepted and even sought out. As adverts start to actually add value to users (whether by being humorous, engaging, or just plain relevant) the increasing effectiveness of campaigns will ensure that, through the strengthening of the advertising-revenue-share model, contributors get their just rewards.
Andrew Davies
Andrew Davies is the Marketing Director at idio, a personalised digital magazine that matches quality content and immersive advertising with the interests of the individual. This is achieved through a unique system of weighted tagging which intelligently adapts to readers' interests as they rate the appeal of the content they view. idio therefore allows advertisers to dramatically improve the targeting and effectiveness of their campaigns via non-intrusive, full screen rich media formats. Advertisers are charged on a CPM basis with revenue shared between content providers based on their content's popularity
www.idiomag.com
Source: Netimperative
"Ad revenue-sharing - The future of advertising?"
Paying users a share of ad revenues for submitting content to websites is becoming a popular practice. Andrew Davies, Marketing Director at idio, looks at the impact this emerging business model could have on the advertising industry at large.
YouTube's introduction of an advertising-revenue-sharing scheme for contributors, a story that even 6 months ago would have been confined to the technology press, made the mainstream news a few weeks ago. YouTube is not the first company to offer contributors a share of advertising revenue, but its market-leading position does in some way legitimise this method as a valid business model.
Advertising-revenue-sharing allows contributors of content to be remunerated based on their content's popularity. Although looked down upon by traditional publishers, it provides a great way for contributors to be rewarded for their (often considerable) effort, for online publishers to attract better quality contributors, and for advertisers to better reach the increasing millions of eyeballs that view the social web every day.
However, traditional publishers do have a valid point: User generated content will, for the foreseeable future, be limited to certain (they would say "cheap") subject types. For example, whilst user generated content might create an abundance of funny videos and semi-professional industry opinion blogs, it certainly doesn't yet produce documentaries with the depth and reputation of Planet Earth or Panorama.
A similar quality issue faces advertisers: Because controversial content attracts viewers, the new "popularity equals revenue" equation for contributors exacerbates the much-discussed fear of unknowingly placing advertising alongside unsuitable user generated content.
So how can advertisers balance the necessity of effectively marketing to the mass audiences/participators in social networking, with the need to secure quality delivery and positive placement of advertising? An obvious answer is through some form of publisher moderation/editorship of content, whether it is on a user level (where user know they will be rewarded fairly for the value they actually deliver to advertisers), on a site level (where publishers endeavour to select and deliver only the best user generated content), or on a network level (where advertising networks develop a method for categorising content into marketable verticals).
However, fully exploiting the inventories of social networks is not the final frontier. The big step up in campaign effectiveness needs to come when forward-thinking advertisers start to use the mass of personal information to actually personalise their advertising. Publicly available profiles, and the behaviours of these online personalities, provide immense opportunities for adverts to become so targeted, and so linked to user action, that they reflect the same characteristics (relevant, helpful and unobtrusive) as Google AdWords and the search advertising phenomenon.
This leads to another key question arising when marketing to the audiences of social networks: What should the relationship be between the content and the advertising, both contextually and spatially? Although it obviously varies between product types, most advertisers see the benefit of advertising that is contextually relevant (i.e. a user interested in the content will be more likely to be interested in the advert) and spatially suitable (i.e. catching the eye of the user without intruding to the point of annoyance).
For example, many of the generic networks (eg MySpace and YouTube) have not been able to connect their advertising with their content, leading to a situation where the advertising generally drags down the user experience, with the company forced to rely on increased pageviews to gain more revenue. On the other hand, many of the more specialised social networks are integrating the advertising to a much greater extent, not only improving the user experience, but adding value to the advertiser. And especially where the advertising-revenue-share model is used, the value and acceptability of the advertising in the community's eyes increases significantly.
Instead of users being force-fed advertising; it needs to be subconsciously accepted and even sought out. As adverts start to actually add value to users (whether by being humorous, engaging, or just plain relevant) the increasing effectiveness of campaigns will ensure that, through the strengthening of the advertising-revenue-share model, contributors get their just rewards.
Andrew Davies
Andrew Davies is the Marketing Director at idio, a personalised digital magazine that matches quality content and immersive advertising with the interests of the individual. This is achieved through a unique system of weighted tagging which intelligently adapts to readers' interests as they rate the appeal of the content they view. idio therefore allows advertisers to dramatically improve the targeting and effectiveness of their campaigns via non-intrusive, full screen rich media formats. Advertisers are charged on a CPM basis with revenue shared between content providers based on their content's popularity
www.idiomag.com
Source: Netimperative
Effective Business Emails
The Creative Group, a staffing service, surveyed advertising and marketing executives about annoying aspects of communicating by email with colleagues and business contacts.
The most oft-cited annoyances were "receiving unsolicited large files" and "unnecessarily being copied on reply-to-all messages”. These were followed by “messages that are too long”, “typos or grammatical errors” and “having to scroll to find information”.
The most oft-cited annoyances were "receiving unsolicited large files" and "unnecessarily being copied on reply-to-all messages”. These were followed by “messages that are too long”, “typos or grammatical errors” and “having to scroll to find information”.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Top 10 men’s magazines online
"UK Top 10 men’s magazines online"
Maxim is most popular online men’s lifestyle magazine in the UK, while Bizarre is fastest growing, according to new research.
The findings, from Nielsen//NetRatings, also indicate that Monkey has the most loyal audience, while Loaded has the greatest affinity with men. Maxim is currently the most popular men’s lifestyle magazine online with 479,000 Unique Visitors in January 2007 – 27% more than second-placed FHM (378,000).
FHM was the most popular in October 2006;
Monkey the most popular in November and December 2006
Most popular men’s magazines online by Jan 07,
by
Rank Magazine Unique Audience Jan 07(000’s) Publisher
1 Maxim 479 Dennis
2 FHM 378 Emap
3 Monkey 347 Dennis
4 Zoo 198 Emap
5 Nuts 176 IPC
6 GQ 113 Condé Nast
7 Men's Health 81 NatMag Rodale
8 Loaded 80 IPC
9 Bizarre 78 Dennis
10 T3 73 Future
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings, UK NetView home & work data, Oct 06 - Jan 07"
Maxim is most popular online men’s lifestyle magazine in the UK, while Bizarre is fastest growing, according to new research.
The findings, from Nielsen//NetRatings, also indicate that Monkey has the most loyal audience, while Loaded has the greatest affinity with men. Maxim is currently the most popular men’s lifestyle magazine online with 479,000 Unique Visitors in January 2007 – 27% more than second-placed FHM (378,000).
FHM was the most popular in October 2006;
Monkey the most popular in November and December 2006
Most popular men’s magazines online by Jan 07,
by
Rank Magazine Unique Audience Jan 07(000’s) Publisher
1 Maxim 479 Dennis
2 FHM 378 Emap
3 Monkey 347 Dennis
4 Zoo 198 Emap
5 Nuts 176 IPC
6 GQ 113 Condé Nast
7 Men's Health 81 NatMag Rodale
8 Loaded 80 IPC
9 Bizarre 78 Dennis
10 T3 73 Future
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings, UK NetView home & work data, Oct 06 - Jan 07"
4 Basic Web Design Skills
Four basic skills your web designer needs to do a good job for you.
1. Graphics software ability and an artistic sense.
Geeks can run graphics programs, but unless the geek has a trained artist's eye, these graphics won't look right -- and neither you nor the geek may know the difference. You need to pay a person with graphic design experience. An alternative, if you must, is to use a pre-designed template included with build-it-yourself web tools, such as Site Build It! or Yahoo! Small Business Hosting. At least these templates will have been designed by a professional.
2. HTML ability.
Lack of HTML knowledge isn't usually the problem. You can find good website design tools, such as Macromedia Dreamweaver or Microsoft FrontPage. With one of these tools, you don't really need to know much actual HTML code. The design program creates the code for you. Yes, they tend to build websites that are a bit bloated, in terms of the amount of mark-up code used, but this isn't usually the fatal flaw.
3. Navigation and usability design experience.
Without such experience your designer is likely to produce a website that can't expand beyond five or six webpages as your business grows and which will cause a poor visitor experience. Software is no substitute for experience, since there are no one-size-fits-all rules of thumb here. Yes, a novice can read a basic website design book like Web Design for Dummies or a usability book such as Usability for the Web. However, the chances are very high that he will bumble through your website without realizing the mistakes he is making. It's better to pay an experienced professional to do the basic design. If you're a budding website designer, don't despair. These things can be learned with practice. Build a first website for your own online business; you'll learn a lot in the process.
3. Basic search engine optimization skills.
Sadly, some website designers don't have a clue how a site is found by the search engines. My friend with a life coaching website ended up with the home page titled "Home Page" in the title tags. With a title like that, the site will never appear under a search for "life coaching," and if it were to, no one would click on a search result entitled "Home Page." Before you contract with a website designer, make sure that she knows something about SEO. If need be, buy her a copy of Dr. Wilson's Plain-Spoken Guide to Search Engine Optimization to educate her on the basics. Your designer doesn't need to be an SEO guru to understand and insert appropriate keywords in the title tag, description meta tag, headings, and body text. But your designer must do this or you'll be dead in the water.
4. Provision for the site owner to make changes.
Far too many websites look beautiful but can't be altered by the site owner. If all changes must go through the site designer (who is now working on someone else's project), they probably won't be made in a timely manner. Two easy ways to fix this are: (1) Have you site designer build your site within the structure of a site-building system with a web interface, such as Site Build It! or Yahoo! Small Business Hosting. That way you can add webpages that will be based on the existing template and will have automatic links to the navigation system. (2) Use a tool that allows any webpage to be edited by the site owner using a web interface. Two applications to consider are edit.com (monthly fee) and interactivetools.com's Page Publisher (one-time fee).
by Dr. Ralph Wilson
For more information on webdesign go to: http://www.wilsonweb.com/articles/12design_print.htm
1. Graphics software ability and an artistic sense.
Geeks can run graphics programs, but unless the geek has a trained artist's eye, these graphics won't look right -- and neither you nor the geek may know the difference. You need to pay a person with graphic design experience. An alternative, if you must, is to use a pre-designed template included with build-it-yourself web tools, such as Site Build It! or Yahoo! Small Business Hosting. At least these templates will have been designed by a professional.
2. HTML ability.
Lack of HTML knowledge isn't usually the problem. You can find good website design tools, such as Macromedia Dreamweaver or Microsoft FrontPage. With one of these tools, you don't really need to know much actual HTML code. The design program creates the code for you. Yes, they tend to build websites that are a bit bloated, in terms of the amount of mark-up code used, but this isn't usually the fatal flaw.
3. Navigation and usability design experience.
Without such experience your designer is likely to produce a website that can't expand beyond five or six webpages as your business grows and which will cause a poor visitor experience. Software is no substitute for experience, since there are no one-size-fits-all rules of thumb here. Yes, a novice can read a basic website design book like Web Design for Dummies or a usability book such as Usability for the Web. However, the chances are very high that he will bumble through your website without realizing the mistakes he is making. It's better to pay an experienced professional to do the basic design. If you're a budding website designer, don't despair. These things can be learned with practice. Build a first website for your own online business; you'll learn a lot in the process.
3. Basic search engine optimization skills.
Sadly, some website designers don't have a clue how a site is found by the search engines. My friend with a life coaching website ended up with the home page titled "Home Page" in the title tags. With a title like that, the site will never appear under a search for "life coaching," and if it were to, no one would click on a search result entitled "Home Page." Before you contract with a website designer, make sure that she knows something about SEO. If need be, buy her a copy of Dr. Wilson's Plain-Spoken Guide to Search Engine Optimization to educate her on the basics. Your designer doesn't need to be an SEO guru to understand and insert appropriate keywords in the title tag, description meta tag, headings, and body text. But your designer must do this or you'll be dead in the water.
4. Provision for the site owner to make changes.
Far too many websites look beautiful but can't be altered by the site owner. If all changes must go through the site designer (who is now working on someone else's project), they probably won't be made in a timely manner. Two easy ways to fix this are: (1) Have you site designer build your site within the structure of a site-building system with a web interface, such as Site Build It! or Yahoo! Small Business Hosting. That way you can add webpages that will be based on the existing template and will have automatic links to the navigation system. (2) Use a tool that allows any webpage to be edited by the site owner using a web interface. Two applications to consider are edit.com (monthly fee) and interactivetools.com's Page Publisher (one-time fee).
by Dr. Ralph Wilson
For more information on webdesign go to: http://www.wilsonweb.com/articles/12design_print.htm
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Google Offer: Click Fraud Protection
Beginning April 2007, Google plans to give advertisers the ability to prevent their PPC (pay-per-click) ads from being shown to competitors suspected of repeatedly clicking on the ads.
The move, to be announced in Google's AdWords blog on Thursday, is an effort to curb click fraud, which involves generating clicks solely for the purpose of increasing the cost of an advertiser's pay-per-click ad.
Google, will allow advertisers to specify which Internet Protocol addresses--numerical addresses assigned to individual computers--will be blocked from receiving the ads.
The move, to be announced in Google's AdWords blog on Thursday, is an effort to curb click fraud, which involves generating clicks solely for the purpose of increasing the cost of an advertiser's pay-per-click ad.
Google, will allow advertisers to specify which Internet Protocol addresses--numerical addresses assigned to individual computers--will be blocked from receiving the ads.
Increase Conversions Quickly
Here are ten quick ways to increase your web site conversion rates:
1. Blue and underlined links
2. Custom 404-redirect
3. Links in body content
4. Visible phone number
5. Fix typos and grammatical errors
6. Fix broken links
7. Show prices and shipping info
8. About us page
9. Calls to action
10. Answer emails and phones
For information on how to use the above correctly, click here.
1. Blue and underlined links
2. Custom 404-redirect
3. Links in body content
4. Visible phone number
5. Fix typos and grammatical errors
6. Fix broken links
7. Show prices and shipping info
8. About us page
9. Calls to action
10. Answer emails and phones
For information on how to use the above correctly, click here.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Skype landline calls: €2 p.m.
Skype has lauched a premium service across Europe that combines the Internet telephony firm’s most popular features with calls to domestic landlines and Skype Certified hardware, for a flat fee of €2 a month.
The Skype Pro’s subscription package includes zero cents per minute calling to domestic landlines in UK previously €0.017 per minute.
Users also get: free Skype Voicemail (normally €15 per year) and a €30 discount on SkypeIn numbers, and various discounted offers on hardware.
The service is available in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Portugal, Spain or the UK, with Skype promising to release it to other countries worldwide later in 2007.
The standard Skype services, video calls, instant messages, transferring files, conference calls for up to 10 participants or joining in Skypecasts (live moderated conversations with up to 100 people) remain free to all Skype users across the world.
Skype users can also make free calls from one Skype account to another.
The Skype Pro’s subscription package includes zero cents per minute calling to domestic landlines in UK previously €0.017 per minute.
Users also get: free Skype Voicemail (normally €15 per year) and a €30 discount on SkypeIn numbers, and various discounted offers on hardware.
The service is available in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Portugal, Spain or the UK, with Skype promising to release it to other countries worldwide later in 2007.
The standard Skype services, video calls, instant messages, transferring files, conference calls for up to 10 participants or joining in Skypecasts (live moderated conversations with up to 100 people) remain free to all Skype users across the world.
Skype users can also make free calls from one Skype account to another.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Blog Marketing Tips
Here is a “short” list of tips for marketing and optimizing a blog:
Decide on a stand alone domain name www.myblog.com or directory of existing site www.mysite.com/blog. Sub domain is also an option blog.mysite.com. Avoid hosted services that do not allow you to use your own domain name!
Obtain and install customizable blog software - WordPress and Moveable Type are my favorites.
Customize blog look and feel templates - aka design.
Research keywords and develop a glossary - Keyword Discovery, WordTracker, SitePoint, SEOBook Keyword Research.
Optimize the blog:
- Template optimization - RSS subscription options, social bookmark links, HTML code, Unique title tags, URLs, Sitemap
- Add helper plugins specific to WordPress or MT
- Create keyword rich categories (reference your keyword glossary)
Enable automatic trackback and ping functionality.
Create Feedburner Pro account and enable feed tracking.
Setup Google acount for Sitemap, validate and prep for future submission.
Identify authoritative blogs, web sites and hubs for outbound resource links and blogroll.
Format archived posts, related posts.
Enable statistics for tracking - Performancing, Google Analytics, ClickTracks.
Submit RSS feed and Blog URL to prominent RSS and Blog directories / search engines.
Engage in an ongoing link building campaign.
If podcast or video content are available, submit to Podcast and Vlog directories.
Submit blog url to paid directories with categories for blogs - Yahoo, BOTW, bCentral, WOW, JoeAnt.
Optimize and distribute a press release announcing blog.
Request feedback or reviews of your blog in relevant forums, discussion threads. If you have a resourceful post that will help others, point to it.
Research and comment on relevant industry related blogs and blogs with significant centers of influence.
Post regularly. If it’s a news oriented blog, 3-5 times per day. If it’s an authoritative blog, 3-5 times per week, but each post must be unique and high value.
Monitor inbound links, traffic, comments and mentions of your blog - Google Alerts, Technorati, Blogpulse, Yahoo News, Ask Blogs and Feeds.
Always respond to comments on your blog and when you detect a mention of your blog on another blog, thank that blogger in the comments of the post.
Make contact with related bloggers on AND offline if possible.
When making blog posts always cite the source with a link and don’t be afraid to mention popular bloggers by name. Use keywords in the blog post title, in the body of the post and use anchor text when you link to previous posts you’ve made.
Use social networking services, forums and discussion threads to connect with other bloggers. If they like your stuff, they will link to you.
Remember when web sites were a new concept and the sage advice to print your web address everywhere you print your phone number? The same advice applies for your blog.
by Lee Odden
Decide on a stand alone domain name www.myblog.com or directory of existing site www.mysite.com/blog. Sub domain is also an option blog.mysite.com. Avoid hosted services that do not allow you to use your own domain name!
Obtain and install customizable blog software - WordPress and Moveable Type are my favorites.
Customize blog look and feel templates - aka design.
Research keywords and develop a glossary - Keyword Discovery, WordTracker, SitePoint, SEOBook Keyword Research.
Optimize the blog:
- Template optimization - RSS subscription options, social bookmark links, HTML code, Unique title tags, URLs, Sitemap
- Add helper plugins specific to WordPress or MT
- Create keyword rich categories (reference your keyword glossary)
Enable automatic trackback and ping functionality.
Create Feedburner Pro account and enable feed tracking.
Setup Google acount for Sitemap, validate and prep for future submission.
Identify authoritative blogs, web sites and hubs for outbound resource links and blogroll.
Format archived posts, related posts.
Enable statistics for tracking - Performancing, Google Analytics, ClickTracks.
Submit RSS feed and Blog URL to prominent RSS and Blog directories / search engines.
Engage in an ongoing link building campaign.
If podcast or video content are available, submit to Podcast and Vlog directories.
Submit blog url to paid directories with categories for blogs - Yahoo, BOTW, bCentral, WOW, JoeAnt.
Optimize and distribute a press release announcing blog.
Request feedback or reviews of your blog in relevant forums, discussion threads. If you have a resourceful post that will help others, point to it.
Research and comment on relevant industry related blogs and blogs with significant centers of influence.
Post regularly. If it’s a news oriented blog, 3-5 times per day. If it’s an authoritative blog, 3-5 times per week, but each post must be unique and high value.
Monitor inbound links, traffic, comments and mentions of your blog - Google Alerts, Technorati, Blogpulse, Yahoo News, Ask Blogs and Feeds.
Always respond to comments on your blog and when you detect a mention of your blog on another blog, thank that blogger in the comments of the post.
Make contact with related bloggers on AND offline if possible.
When making blog posts always cite the source with a link and don’t be afraid to mention popular bloggers by name. Use keywords in the blog post title, in the body of the post and use anchor text when you link to previous posts you’ve made.
Use social networking services, forums and discussion threads to connect with other bloggers. If they like your stuff, they will link to you.
Remember when web sites were a new concept and the sage advice to print your web address everywhere you print your phone number? The same advice applies for your blog.
by Lee Odden
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