Ten Things I Love about Pixelsilk

by Lisa on March 2, 2009 · 1 comment

in SEO + SEM, Uncategorized

Pixelsilk at SMX
Pixelsilk launched at SMX West last month and we’re excited to have completed their training. Here are my top 10 things I love about Pixelsilk.


1. Cost-effective for business to control their own content. Other than blogs, most business owners day to day either have off-site or in-house programmers to implement changes in content or wait to change content based on budget, limitations of their site, etc. Pixelsilk’s SEO Friendly CMS makes it simple to change site content.

2. Easy to upload videos. Video is a powerful tool, but many businesses don’t pursue this marketing tool because they’re concerned about the technical aspect of uploading videos and they’re not certain it leads to ROI. Pixelsilk easy upload makes it cost-effective to test.

3. Easy to add PDF’s and articles. Adding keyword-rich article titles and abstracts is simple in Pixelsilk. Making it easy makes it more likely that businesses will invest in rich content for their customers.

4. SEO-friendly CMS. Implementing keyword-rich, relevant content in a CMS isn’t always SEO-Friendly. Pixelsilk has worked with Bruce Clay and other SEO powerhouses to make sure that their CMS allows for the flexibility and clean coding needed for foundational SEO.

5. Easy ecommerce integration. Changes to the Pixelsilk system are reflected in Ecommerce solution product-content making sure you have a single-version-of-the-truth product catalog.

6. Easy to add new pages. Whether you’re editing current pages or adding new pages or even new navigation, the process is intuitive and xml and html site map is uploaded based on changes.

7. Easy to change navigation. Did I mention easy to change navigation? Okay I did, but I’ll say it again because, inevitably, you’ve storyboarded and wireframed to everyone’s satisfaction and once the site is live, visitors actions necessitate a change in navigation. This can cause headaches for programmers and marketers alike, but in Pixelsilk changing navigation is as easy as adding a page.

8. Best practices and stability for code. As a search marketer who invests a great deal of time understanding best practices, it’s not always possible for those to translate for even well-versed programmers. Pixelsilk code is clean and adheres to best practices so you can focus on the marketing message and SEO/SEM that brings your clients real results.

9. Easy integration of 3rd party apps. Email, event registration, site search, blogs and discussion boards are either part of the app or easily integrated through 3rd party.

10. Great team & Service. I’ve known CEO, Mark Knowles for just three years, but he and his team are sharp, hard working and enthusiastic about Pixelsilk. They approached creation of Pixelsilk from the standpoint of SEO’s so they could create a tool that’s reflective of SEO needs. So far, it looks like they’ve hit the mark.

I’ll share more about our Pixelsilk experience as we launch our site next month. Cheers

Understanding Link Value

by Lisa on February 27, 2009 · 1 comment

in Linking


SEOmoz Whiteboard Friday – Dude, Your Links Kinda Suck from Scott Willoughby on Vimeo.

Great video from Rand Fishkin, CEO of SEOmoz.org. I see a lot of business owners that ENORMOUSLY misunderstand linking as a search marketing strategy. All links are not created equally. Watch this video and we’ll spend time next week giving you some strategies for pursuing quality, authority links.

Cheers,
Lisa

Win or Lose in Just 8 Seconds

by Lisa on February 12, 2009 · 5 comments

in Uncategorized, Website Usability

8 Seconds

My brother was a bull rider. He had a lot of fun, even created some of his own bull riding events and raised bulls. It’s the source of a lot of joy for him still. It was also the source of a lot of pain; he had broken bones, blood clots and had every bone on the left side of his face smashed by the horns of a bull as he lay unconscious at a rodeo in Austin, Texas (he’s still a gorgeous young man thanks to the miracle of a Texas plastic surgeon who does nothing but fix broken bull riders).

He said the best advice he ever got about bull riding was to be consistent (the riders who consistently got 73’s won more money than the rider who occasionally threw up an 85) and to pretend like you have to stay on the bull for 9 seconds instead of 8. The theory goes that it’s, in part, a psychological game. If you think you have to stay on for 9 seconds, it makes it easier to stay on for 8. This theory can be applied to web design. Websites have 8 seconds to capture a visitor’s attention and cue them to continued time on site, pretend like you have only 7 seconds. As web marketers we like to cover our bases. Did we talk about our products? Did we establish our value proposition? Did we share our philosophy? There are many questions to be answered from a single page, but make certain you establish the important ones on a cursory glance of your web site.

Today’s more sophisticated algorithms deliver traffic deeper into a site, not just to the home page. That means we need to be even more vigilant when we’re assessing the purpose of a page. Here’s a great exercise for your team. Pick the top 20 landing pages on your site and review them one at a time (get customers to help with a mini focus group if possible) and ask these questions:

*What does this company do?

*What is their value proposition?

*Is it clear what I should do next?

If they’re able to assess these questions and act in 8 seconds you’re doing your job. If not, spend time discussing how you can improve your landing pages. Remember that, at the end of the day, your visitors have the final say. Review your analytics and assess how well you’re accomplishing these goals based on visitor action.

Another element of web design is acknowledging different personas on each page. Some visitors may be ready to buy, others may want to get to know you (lead generation) and others may just be looking for information to help them make a decision. Some personas are browsers, some search with pinpoint accuracy. Delivering the design, content and site elements your visitors need to make decisions is a daunting, but not impossible task.

Just as you wouldn’t have a house built without an architect, so should you not build a website without a designer. Designers understand these elements in a way the marketer and web programmer do not. They understand white space, how colors and fonts evoke emotion, spatial elements that trigger eye tracking and other design principles. You can avoid some of the pain of web design by engaging with a professional.

It’s also important to understand the principles of usability. Shari Thurow has been a mentor since I first began web marketing as a career. Her constant pleas to give as much focus to website usability as we do to SEO are finally being heeded (especially now that site performance is becoming more important and relevant to Google’s algorithm). She reminded us that, as search professionals, we have two customers, the search engines and our visitors. You can make a lot of design mistakes and the engines won’t punish you, but your visitors will. At the end of the day your visitors buy your product or service. Engage a web designer at the beginning of your plans for development. Allow your visitors to find what THEY want, and they’ll do what YOU want.

In bull riding the rider is given two scores, one for the rider and one for the bull, a potential of 50 points for each for a total of 100 points. If only one is performing, the score will reflect that lack of performance. As a search marketing professional, your web designer is a foundational part of your web score, don’t leave them out of the mix. (Also remember that, just as in bull riding, it’s nearly impossible to get a score of 100;)

SEMpdx: SEO, Meet User Experience

by Lisa on February 6, 2009 · 3 comments

in Uncategorized

How are you optimizing your site: based on what you want for your users, or what your users really want? Join us for a presentation on the changing landscape of web-based marketing, the importance of user experience design, and how to incorporate these insights into your SEO strategy.

Matthew Brown, NY Times
As Director of Search Strategy for the New York Times Company since 2005, Matthew Brown continues to drive the research and technology side of the search marketing effort for the Times, the Boston Globe (Boston.com) and the International Herald Tribune. Matthew is responsible for the architecture and execution of solutions that deliver a more engaged audience to these online properties.

Melissa Casburn, ISITE Design
With 12 years of experience as a web strategist, information architect, project manager, and instructional designer, Melissa can get a lot done in a day. Comfortable in both corporate and agency environments, she helps much-loved companies bask in the glow by adding stickiness to their sites. She’s good at spreading the love too, creating experiences that inform, connect, and empower users. As the Director of User Experience for ISITE Design, she leads a team of web strategists, information architects and content strategists whose focus is helping clients create and protect their competitive advantage online.

Join SEMpdx Tuesday, February 10th, 2009, at Hotel DeLuxe for an eventful evening of SEO and user experience.

What You Will Receive:

* Real-world advice from a panel of search engine marketing experts.
* Detailed examples of how to get your Web site prominently ranked within the search engines.
* Tips on user experience, keyword research, copywriting, link building and search engine friendly Web design.

Sign up today at SEMpdx!

Top 6 List for Building a Search Marketing Relationship

by Lisa on January 28, 2009 · 1 comment

in Uncategorized

If you’ve started a business, you know you need to wear many hats. You also know you need to look for expertise to fill the gaps you can’t fill; a great accountant, a savvy lawyer, an experienced sales rep. As a part of your online business strategy, search marketing is no different. SEM is not a “set it and forget it” discipline. Though there are stories, for most companies, one SEM strategy does not a business make. After 12 years in web marketing and 8 years in search marketing, if one empirical lesson could be shared it would be this, a relationship with a good search marketer is as good as gold.

Here is Top 6 List for Building a Search Marketing Relationship

1. Know that you’re ready for a relationship. If you’re more interested in the “Get listed on Google for just $149.99″, pursue that. “Life’s lessons are very rarely transferable”. Every business owner should have one bad experience with trying to get search marketing on the cheap. Then you’ll appreciate it when you’re getting great value. If you understand that search marketing adds enormous value to your online business and that it takes time to implement and maintain, you’re ready. If you believe you need to invest in a search marketing relationship so you can reap the benefits of that alliance, you’re ready. If you’d rather try “speed dating” (spend $149 every 6 months to try some get to top of Google quick scheme) you’re not ready. If you request proposals from 10 different agencies in the hopes you’ll learn some search marketing “magic” and do it yourself, you’re not ready. Invest slowly in the relationship just as you would with any other. Start with a small project and let your search marketer provide you with great results. You wouldn’t get married after one date, nor would you hand over every penny of your marketing budget after your first meeting. But your willingness to investment in the relationship is the first step.

2. Don’t start with “What is this going to cost me?” This is a very important question and any search marketing professional worth his/her salt will create an SEM plan that gets positive ROI and grows your company and they will share with you the details of that plan. But asking us “what is this going to cost me?” is like asking a dentist how much it’s going to cost to maintain your teeth for your lifetime. There are a lot of variables. Do you brush and floss regularly? Do you eat a lot of sugar? Will you have an accident that requires emergency service? Will you keep your 6 month maintenance appointments? The dentist doesn’t know how much it will cost during a lifetime to maintain your beautiful smile, but he does know how much the next cleaning will cost. Same with search marketers. Let’s get down to specifics, share your product or service, how competitive the space is, what your goals are, in which strategies you’re willing to invest. Then a search marketer can create a project plan, outline strategies and projected outcome that will create an expectation for results and return on investment. But don’t call and ask “What is search marketing going to cost me?” Some clients use a pay for performance model. They don’t mind paying the agreed upon percentage of sales generated by search marketing efforts because they’re making money. Some clients use a fee for project model, they don’t mind paying because they know their search marketer will establish and achieve their goals. They learned this over the course of the relationship. Share your business goals. Give the provider some tangible expectations so they can deliver what you need.

3. Research and interview different agencies and consultants. It’s a bit like dating. Just because someone is great, doesn’t mean they’re great for you. Know what’s important to you and push for that. If you like to see simple dashboards for your analytics and don’t want to be bothered with the nitty gritty details of how you got there, share that. If you want to know of every adgroup result, comment shared, link pursued and social network mention, share that. Review how your search marketing agency or consultant shares reporting details. Ask the tough questions NOW, during the interview process. Don’t wait until you’ve signed a contract then tell your vendor you have a big reputation management issue or that you don’t think you can afford it. During the proposal phase is the time to share details of your needs, openly. Just as in dating, don’t wait until you’ve been together for 2 years before you share that you want 5 kids, maybe your potential partner doesn’t want any more kids. Research and interview and make sure it’s a good fit, from a business standpoint and from a personal standpoint. If you don’t have a good relationship that meets both of your needs, it will be short lived and you’ll be starting over with a new vendor. If done correctly, you’re going to create a relationship that lasts for the lifetime of your business.

4. Create long and short term goals and reward accordingly. We all want to see progress. Create tangible, quantifiable goals so that you both know when you’re winning. And be happy about it. John Steinbeck summed it up best in “Travels with Charley”. He acknowledges that many things in life that run smoothly, without attention or pain or unexpected results often get ignored; the faithful wife, the perfect child, the car that never needs repair. If you’re search marketer is providing consistent results and you’re happy, let them know and reward them for their efforts.

5. Treat your Search Marketer the way you want to be treated. These are tough times, but the reality is that good search marketing professionals are busy. They can choose their clients, the same way you can choose your vendors. Know that investment in the relationship will gain you results. Continuing the momentum of a web project created for you works better when you’re invested in the relationship. If every other month you’re doing RFP’s for new projects and you’re not reading your monthly status reports to understand benefit of search marketing efforts, your vendor may look for other relationships.

6. Give the relationship time to work. Will your relationship with your search marketer be perfect? Probably not. Will they disappoint you at times or miss a deadline? Chances are, in the course of the relationship, you may be disappointed. But, as with any relationship, look at the big picture. Your search marketing consultant has brought you quarter after quarter, 100%+ gains in revenue. Are you really going to start interviewing other agencies because they missed the mark this one time? And if the answer is yes, you may be that business owner who is never happy, who never finds the right vendor, who always finds fault in results, no matter how compelling. You may never find true happiness with your search marketer. But, just as in relationships with friends, spouses, children, siblings and family, you have to make the commitment to the relationship to truly know what fruit it will bear. And if, no matter how well your search marketer performs for you, you still want to “play the field”, do it. Just know you’re new vendor will find it suspect if you’re asked “what didn’t you like about your last search marketing provider” and you don’t have an answer.

If I could be granted one wish as a search marketer, it would be that business owners lose the idea that search marketing is magic and that one great campaign will launch you into super wealth. Search marketing is like many other things in life; raising a child, creating a wine, being fit, becoming good at a sport, creating a successful business, you have to make an investment. “You cannot create success upon any other terms than upon the terms of equality.” Invest in the relationship with your search marketer, just as you would in any other important business relationship. (I’d love comments from the business community and search marketing community on this topic).

Top 11 Ways My Friends, Family & the Famous are Using Social Networking

by Lisa on January 12, 2009 · 0 comments

in Social Media Marketing, Uncategorized

Madeleine’s Lost Tooth

I forget sometimes that online Social Networking isn’t commonplace for a lot of people. If you don’t tweet, haven’t MySpaced, Stumbled Upon, Dugg or even Facebooked, here are some good ways “regular folks” use social networking to make their lives easier, better, more transparent and more interesting.

1. My sister Kristen posted a video of her daughter Madeleine when she lost her first tooth (declaring that the tooth fairy was coming and that she is “very sneaky”). So damn cute and we’re all happy we can take part in the little things even if we’re not next door.

2. A mother I’ve volunteered with at our schools for years updated her profile on Facebook from Married to Separated. She’s more acquaintance than friend, but someone I’ve known for many years and our daughters are involved in many of the same activities. Knowing she was experiencing a life change from Facebook was better than me blurting out that I hoped she and her husband would be at my Holiday party. Though it may not be optimal, life is busy, and having a bit of knowledge about friends who aren’t in your inner circle can be enormously helpful.

3. My friend is starting a new business. We used Twitter to find out who is taking part in the conversation about the solution his business provides. Go to Twitter, create an account, complete your profile. Go to search.twitter.com, enter the keywords and phrases that apply to your business or interest and follow the people you find interesting (if they think you’re interesting, they might follow you back).

4. My girlfriend sent me updates via Twitter during the recent snow storms to keep us alerted to their changes in travel plans.

5. My mom is going to create a Facebook account after she saw some fun photos of us in Hawaii. Now we can share photos and comments more easily than we did when we emailed pics.

6. I sent a picture from my Birthday Brunch to my girlfriends who aren’t on Facebook. Easier than sending thank you postcards (though I haven’t entirely abandoned that tradition).

7. My girlfriend Stumbled a review and info about Gran Torino and shared with me, I went that night. Fabulous! Stumble Upon is a bookmarking site that allows people to give thumbs up or down on a site. Great way to get the skinny on a lot of web content.

8. My President Elect (and First Lady) used Twitter to share information about the Presidential Inauguration.

9. My daughter looked up restaurant reviews on Yelp to help us to decide on a Thai restaurant in Portland.

10. An acquaintance and wine lover sent me a review of a Walla Walla wine he loved because he saw a Syrah review I had placed on Corkd (an online social network for wine aficionados). There are social networks for a ton of topics (from wine drinking, to kayaking, to knitting to scrapbooking). Match your interests with an online social network.

11. My son finally accepted my friend request on Facebook (then promptly disparaged me for commenting on his wall-the online social networking equivalent of your kids asking you not to hug them in public). Okay, online social networking doesn’t work in every situation, but it can be enormously helpful (and easy).

Don’t be intimidated. You don’t need to be a technical wizard to join online social networks.
So forget your preconceived notion of social networking being for tech geeks (it’s not). Choose a site, complete your profile, start interacting and see how it works for you.

SearchFest 09' and Danny Sullivan

by Lisa on January 8, 2009 · 1 comment

in Uncategorized

SEMpdx is pleased to announce that the premier Search Engine Marketing conference in the Pacific Northwest, SearchFest 09, will take place at the Oregon Zoo in Portland, Oregon on March 10, 2009. This year’s exciting full-day event features Danny Sullivan, Editor-In-Chief of Search Engine Land and founder of Search Marketing Expo (SMX), as our prominent keynote speaker.

In addition to this special appearance by Danny Sullivan, SearchFest 09 will present multiple informative learning tracks, workshops, and panel sessions designed to provide direct insight into the most up-to-date strategies and technological advancements in online search marketing. Industry experts and thought leaders from around the country are scheduled to deliver in-depth presentations ranging from basic SEM fundamentals to specific advanced techniques.

SearchFest 09 is open to all individuals interested in learning the latest advancements in enhancing search engine performance to deliver more visitors and customers to your Web site. Conference tracks will cover a wide variety of topics, ranging from search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) fundamentals, to more advanced tracks that include leveraging Web 2.0 to increase online visibility and sales, Web analytics, and future trends.

SearchFest 09 is scheduled for March 10, 2009. (from SEMpdx)

Google Algorithm Changes Taking Usability into Consideration

by Lisa on December 30, 2008 · 10 comments

in Google, SEO, SEO + SEM

Ian Lourie, Google Analytics Guru Extraordinaire, wrote a great article yesterday, “SEO 2009: Adapt or Die”, that succinctly sums up changes to expect from Google’s algorithm that truly reflect site value. Organic click thru rate, time on site and bounce rate, which are reflective of real site performance and usability, will presumably begin playing a larger role in the SERP’s.

Why is this so important? Up until now, it can be argued, a disproportionate part of search placement had to do with SEO tactics that were more technically driven than user driven. Understanding the ins and outs of title tags and meta descriptions, linking strategies and other “traditional” SEO technical on page issues will still be important, but those elements will be complimented by good old fashioned “performance” marketing. The sites that do a better job of truly addressing searcher intent with solution will beginning winning in the SERP’s.

The best part of this change is that, for the most part, it can’t be faked. The proof will be in the pudding. If a visitor clicks through to a site, spends time on a site, takes action on a site, the site will have more value than a site that visitors just click on from the search results and abandon.

This is great news for companies who have invested in website usability. Shari Thurow, a highly respected usability expert, has been touting this concept for years-if you have an online presence, you have two customers, the search engines and your visitors. These changes will make visitors a more important part of the search equation.

So how do you prepare for these changes? Begin focusing effort, not just on SEO, but on website usability. What are the business goals of your website? What do you want people to do once they get to your website? Do you make it easy for them to take that action? Have you created a site that provides a solution for your online client?

These questions will begin having impact, not just on your conversion, but on your search placement.

So how do you know if your site is “usable”. Here is a checklist:

*Have you defined your online business goals?
Ask the question, what do you want your visitors to do online? We have a real estate client that had a bounce rate of nearly 50% (an average bounce rate). We redesigned the site to meet the visitors goal for the site, search for property. We utilized above the fold prime positioning on the home page to address that goal. The client examined the main elements of a property search: price range and location. This change improved the bounce rate from nearly 50% to 12.91% bounce rate, meaning that, after the design change, about 87% of visitors take at least a single action on the website. Google will see this as a positive for the site as their job is providing the most relevant results for their customers.

*Are your business goals apparent on your website?
We had a client whose business goal was to get people to call the office for a quote, but the phone number was nowhere to be found on the home page. Make sure your business goals (and your relevance to your visitors) is apparent on your home page. If you want to use your site as a lead generator, make it easy for a visitor to leave at least an email address so you can begin the sales cycle. If your top seller is a red suede pump, make sure that your customers can single click from the home page to the red suede pump, choose a size and check out. In a word, respect your visitors. One of my favorite analogies for assessing and adding value to a web visitor is assessing value of a visitor to a brick and mortar clothing store on Madison Ave in New York City. What is the value of that visitor? As a proprietor, you’ve purchased/leased an expensive location, you’ve advertised and marketed your business. The minute a visitor walks in the store, staff treat them like gold because it has cost a great deal of money just to get them to walk into the store. As online businesses, we need to address our visitors with the same amount of care and respect. If a visitor comes to your website, you should serve them the information and guidance they are seeking, if you do anything else you will lose them. Up until now, that was just a great way to improve conversion on your website, now it may mean the difference between being found or not being found online by your potential customers.

*Are your customers converting from a “click” to a “customer”?
This is where the rubber meets the road. It doesn’t matter what your CEO believes, or what your lead designer believes or what your SEO Firm believes. Visitor behavior is what matters. If your visitors take the action you prepare for them and become customers and contribute to the bottom line, you’re winning. Whether your business goal is to generate a lead or close a sale, your visitor defines the success of your site, not just ranking #1 for a specific term or having the most visits. The great news is that now conversion isn’t just a usability goal it’s a search goal and, ultimately, a most important online business goal.

Top 5 Things You Can Do in 2009 for Your Web Presence

by Lisa on December 17, 2008 · 1 comment

in SEO + SEM, Website Conversion

Every important endeavor in life requires time and patience.

Of course there are exceptions, such as winning the lottery, but most would agree these virtues are paramount to any worthwhile pursuit. Pursuits such as being a good parent, being fit, having good relationships or having a successful business.

Yet there is still an expectation that Search Engine Optimization and Marketing is the result of one single strategy or campaign. This “Single Bullet” theory doesn’t work any better for an SEO/SEM campaign than it would for a traditional marketing campaign. You wouldn’t expect big results from one radio or tv spot or a single print ad.

Let 2009 be the year you make a real, concerted effort to leverage the power of SEO/SEM to grow your business. Here are Top 5 Things You Can Do in 2009 for Your Web Presence. As a bonus, I’m going to add some examples of how we applied these strategies for our clients and the growth that resulted from those efforts.

5
Assign a resource (in or out of house) to manage Search Marketing
Search Marketing has to be someone’s job. Could be the Ecommerce Manager on your team, could be an agency or consultant or it could be a combination of both. But someone needs to own it and be accountable for it to have impact.

CASE STUDY
We were hired to help with SEO/SEM efforts for a company that was having some success online but was looking for more growth. Visits have increased by more than 300% and revenue has increased by 129%.

4
Create quantifiable goals
Please don’t let your only goal be “rank #1 on Google for my most important keyword”. This is a fantastic goal, but as an industry it’s important that we look, not just at the rankings, but the results of those rankings.

CASE STUDY
We coordinate SEO/SEM efforts with a local boutique winery as well as some offline efforts that direct traffic online. We create quarterly goals and monitor our success. We have not only met our goals, but we’ve generated more orders this year than we’ve had in the 2 years prior combined. By creating quantifiable results the principal and investors can see growth quarter to quarter as well as year to year.

3
Monitor results
Google Analytics is a great way to monitor results and learn about trends in your online traffic that can help you grow.
Companies who don’t do or just dabble in search marketing think that a handful of keywords will drive their online business and (I’ll say it again) ta da, you’re finished. Most healthy campaigns have hundreds, even thousands of keywords driving traffic and conversion. If you’re waiting on your one big word to make you famous (and again, there are exceptions, it may) you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to drive more traffic and, more importantly, drive higher conversions. People who type a search query such as “toyota prius trailer hitch” are going to convert far better than someone who searches on “trailer hitch”. We wouldn’t abandon “trailer hitch” as a keyword, but the product plus the vehicle make and model provide exceptional results for the searcher as well as the business because they are closely matching intent (if I type in toyota prius trailer hitch, chances are I’m looking for that precisely. If I type in “trailer hitch” my intentions could be many fold).


CASE STUDY
Conversion for searches that include make and/or model resulted in conversion rates as high as 80%. By focusing on on page content and link development for those keywords/phrases, we were able to more than double revenue for the year.

2
Share results
Share results with your team, give credit where credit is due (one of our distributors/sales people came up with some great offers for the tasting room that we pushed online and they created great results. Shout out to people in the trenches who know way more about the product than vendors). If you don’t monitor and share results people will make them up. Not because they’re bad people, but because their business acumen leads them to believe a certain thing. One of my clients said in an investor meeting that 75% of our online sales were from our repeat customers. Reality was that we had 70% new customers and great opportunity to spend some time creating relationships with our current customers and grow them into repeat customers, creating a better lifetime value of a customers. Let everyone know when you did (or didn’t) make your goals and talk about. If you just make goals, but never review them, continued goal creation could be met with a deaf ear. People get tired of spending effort on ideas that they don’t see come to fruition. Transparency into your goals and results is good for you, staff, investors and share holders.

CASE STUDY
Creating new offers is a big part of our quarterly plans and sometimes it’s those that are closest to the product who can create the right offers. We noticed a new employee had a flare for creating offers and merchandising so we now include him in our planning efforts. We’ve seen a 12% increase in revenue above projected outcome for online efforts due to improvement in our offers.

1
Make commitment to Search Marketing
Search Marketing works. As traditional marketing budgets are declining, companies are making commitment to digital marketing because of the exceptional ROI. Now is the time to make a real commitment to Search Marketing. Create a plan, designate a resource, create some quantifiable goals and monitor results. A little success will inspire you to keep your commitment.


CASE STUDY
I have 2 clients launching re-designed sites in January. One client is committed to the week to week evolution of her project, she’s engaged, she offers valuable advise, she responds promptly to requests. She works with Fortune 500 companies and governmental agencies and is well-versed in professional protocol and applies that as steadily to her redesign and search marketing project as she does to all other elements of her business. The other provides ambiguous feedback, rarely responds to requests, has unreasonable expectations, and changes her mind about design and navigation elements constantly. Though both clients will get exceptional service from our team, the engaged client will see results, not just at launch, but during the lifetime of her web presence because she gives it the time and attention it deserves. Think of your investment in search marketing like your investment in your health, your children or loved ones, other parts of your business and 2009 will be the year you get real value from your website.

At the risk of sounding like a Google Groupie…

by Lisa on November 21, 2008 · 1 comment

in Google, Keyword Research

Okay, my last blog was about Google tools, but this is worth noting. Googles New Search Tool in beta is kinda cool. The premise is reverse engineering keywords as an intelligence tool (of course they want you to use it to increase ad spend for AdWords, but whatever.

*Based on actual Google search queries
*Matched to specific pages of your website with your ad and search share

They load keyword suggestions based on content already on your site. Then it shows you how competitive the word is and, here’s the self serving element, cost af the word in an AdWord campaign.

Try it and tell me what you think;)

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