October 30, 2006 by ian
Seattle24x7 just published a piece I wrote about simplifying your web site. If you want to read my theory as to why the ugliest web sites are the best, check it out. Technorati Tags: internet marketing…
October 30, 2006 by ian
Imnotadoctor writes that Google still seems to reward link spammers. For those of you who aren't familiar with the concept, link spammers will build a site and then purchase or otherwise collect thousands of links from other, unrelated web sites, for the sole purpose of improving their search ranking. Google frowns (glowers, actually) on this practice, but it's not always easy to detect. If you find an instance of link spam, or any other attempt to fool the search engines, please report it using this form. Link spam is the toughest to stop - no guarantee Google will act…
October 30, 2006 by ian
A few folks have very astutely asked me whether my test on http://www.mmmzr.com/ generated quality, targeted traffic. The answer is a qualified 'yes'. So far I've received as much traffic in any 24-hour period as I usually get in a week. Average time on the site is down to about 3 minutes from 4 minutes. Average page views per visitor is the same - 2 page views per session, with an important qualifier: That includes RSS feed views. Take out the RSS feed and it's closer to 7 pages per session. I have about 15 more folks on the…
October 30, 2006 by ian
Just finished an experiment with a client. First, this was the situation: They wanted the #1 position for their biggest keyphrase. But they couldn't afford it - they received too many clicks in the course of the day. We reviewed their site and sales statistics, and noticed that most of their customers arrived at lunch time and just before the end of the workday. So, we only spent top dollar for the top positions on Google when they were likely to get customers. Instead of buying the #1 spot 24 hours/day, we bought it for 4 hours/day. The result:…
October 28, 2006 by ian
Seth Godin had an article about MMMZR on his site. The concept was so bizarre and so interesting that I purchased an ad. Basically, it's the ultimate pyramid marketing scheme, gone viral. It was expensive. Really expensive. But, on the other hand, it's sent as much traffic to this site in the last two hours as I got all day yesterday. We'll see how it works out. Further bulletins as events warrant... Technorati Tags: internet marketing…
October 25, 2006 by ian
The Holiday Inn shows how opt-in marketing should be done. I was in Chicago last week, speaking to a conference about search marketing. I stayed at a Holiday Inn there. It was great, by the way. When I got home, this e-mail was waiting for me. Nothing pushy. And note, it asks for my permission to keep in touch. If I don't respond, they won't send me more stuff. Absolutely textbook Conversation Marketing. Technorati Tags: e-mail marketing, internet marketing…
October 25, 2006 by ian
Marketing is scary. Spooky. It requires leaps of faith. Brian mentioned this today, and pointed me to a post on Seth Godin's blog. Very insightful. Remember it the next time you're brainstorming and you stop yourself with a line like 'but that will never happen' or 'but they won't like that'... Technorati Tags: internet marketing…
October 22, 2006 by ian
Kvelling, in Yiddish, means 'gloating', 'full of pride' or the state of being delighted about something. I'm kvelling for a moment: My company was chosen as one of the 100 fastest-growing companies in Puget Sound. Number 48, to be exact. That growth is a testament to my clients, who have worked with us for years and been great partners, as well as the Portent team, who manage to stay creative, smart and efficient, all at the same time. Thanks everyone!…
October 16, 2006 by ian
SiteProNews had an article in my in-box this morning when I got to work. The best quote: “With articles and books being written about the Web's natural ability to access niche markets ('The Long Tail' by Chris Anderson), businesses will soon realize that delivering meaningful content to interested audiences takes precedence over attracting volumes of uninterested traffic. High volumes of traffïc may be the goal of sites that make their money by delivering traffic to advertisers, but if you have your own product or service to sell, it's about the quality of traffïc not the volume.†Gee, wish I'd…
October 13, 2006 by ian
For those who don't know, Coca-Cola has been accused of hiring paramilitary death squads to keep labor unions out of their Columbia bottling plants. The accusers have launched 'killercoke.org' and 'killercoke.com'. If you search for [killer coke] on Google, or 'coca cola columbia', or just about anything else, one of these two sites are in the top 3. Coca-Cola is nowhere to be seen, though, except for their standard 'Official Coca-Cola Store' ads. What should Coca-Cola do? Here's my list: First, build a small issue site explaining your side of the story, what you're doing to investigate, and what…
October 12, 2006 by ian
What if marketing and ad agencies paid clients bonuses? Beau Fraser has an editorial on page 13 of this week's Advertising Age that suggests just that. And internet marketing might be the perfect place to start. Here's how it could work: Client and agency agree on a goal: Generate, say, a 3:1 return on a $250,000 advertising buy. Client pays agency 15% of the total buy as a fee. That's $37500, plus creative. Client agrees to say 'we like it' or 'we hate it' and avoid endless revisions, design by committee and throw-it-all-in redirects that kill the concept. Agency…
October 11, 2006 by ian
Brian writes about the No Excuses Ethos. I'm struck by how well this applies to marketing, too. I screw up all the time. I encourage clients to bet big and lose big. Why? Because you learn either way. If you lose big, you learn big, and your chances of succeeding the next time grow exponentially. One quick example: We ran a campaign for a client, on a well-known ad network. It was a slam dunk. We couldn't lose. The campaign was a hideous, dismal failure. I paid for the campaign out of pocket. That cost me $2000, sure. But I…
October 9, 2006 by ian
You can now listen to my September 28th seminar at Adhost. It's in MP3 format, 25 megabytes, 86 minutes, and is available for free. Just click and it's yours. In it, I cover the entire Conversation Marketing process, from start to finish. I also answer some great questions from the audience. I also, apparently, say 'um' at least 423 times. I did you all the favor of editing those out... Listen: September 28th Seminar | MP3 Format | 25 megabytes | 86 minutes Technorati Tags: internet marketing, podcast…
October 4, 2006 by ian
I've tried for years to explain to clients why a Flash splash page is a bad idea. But SEOMOZ has the best comparison I've ever heard: “When we have clients who are thinking about Flash splash pages, we tell them to go to their local supermarket and bring a mime with them. Have the mime stand in front of the supermarket, and, as each customer tries to enter, do a little show that lasts two minutes, welcoming them to the supermarket and trying to explain the bread is on aisle six and milk is on sale today.†Don't mess…
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