I was on the phone with a vendor yesterday who saw our Google Partner Logo in the footer of a document I had previously sent over, and asked me to explain what Google Analytics was exactly, and why a software so intuitive would need consultants.  It is easy for us to assume that everyone interested in online marketing knows about the basics of web analytics, but we often overlook the fact that we are jaded by being in the industry and that many people don't know the basics.  This is why sharing a brief overview of the power of GA seems appropriate.  There is an ocean of tapped and untapped information out there about your consumer, your product, your strengths and your weaknesses, but this information is not always... Read More

Recently, a former colleague contacted me about their website and what they could do to improve its visibility in search engines. That sounds innocent enough, however, one statement in the email made me do a double-take: the former colleague asked me if they should create a different version of their homepage engineered just for search engines. Naturally, this raised a huge red flag for me, and brought to my attention that many people out there are still unaware of black hat SEO techniquesSeveral years ago, BMW tried to increase the rank of its German site by building doorway pages. Once Google found out about this, they removed the site from its index in a matter of days. So what is wrong with doorway pages? These pages were... Read More

This morning I received two emails that really sparked my curiosity because of the mixed feelings they caused me to experience as a user, from a state of admiration to a state of reproach.  Allow me to explain:Yesterday I went online to peruse some Father's Day presents.  I sifted through multiple gifting sites and looked up specific products that interested me on Google Product Search (which is pretty awesome).  This morning, I checked my email and one particular subject line stood out, it said: "Where did you go?  Come back...".The first question that came to mind in response was "how did they know I ever visited?".  It took a little while to register with me since I didn't login to their site, didn't... Read More

Conventional Source Attribution Isn't Good EnoughOne of the problems with conventional Web Analytics tools such as Omniture, Yahoo! Analytics and even Google Analytics is that they have limited source attribution functions. If a visitor arrives to your website from a Google Search typing in "red shoes", then 2 days later arrives from Facebook and makes a conversion, conventional Web Analytics systems will associate the conversion to Facebook. This is miles above the attribution detail available in conventional offline media, but it's simply not good enough. What about the Google search? It's completely ignored, and worse yet, your reporting makes it look like it was an junk visit - no conversion, no love. While it may have not... Read More

According to the latest data from comScore, Google has the dominant share of search engine market in the U.S. And according to the CIA World Factbook, English is the 3rd most popular language in the world. However, we cannot assume that search engine optimization techniques that work here will work in other countries. Let's take a look at Eastern Asia to illustrate this point. When doing SEO for a website in another country, language is a top concern. However, we must not forget that other languages are generally more complex than English. For example, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan use Traditional Chinese while mainland China uses Simplified Chinese.  I speak from personal experience in telling you that Japane... Read More

Some months ago, Google Analytics added a new feature called Intelligence reports, which offer both automatic and custom alerts about your data.  The auto alerts send you messages, updating you on significant changes in your site's data - changes which may go unnoticed by you because you probably don't run every possible report on a daily basis.  The auto alerts are categorized by daily, weekly and monthly tabs and can be accessed anytime.  If the auto reports show you a trend that you didn't account for previously, you can create an advanced segment in order to track that group of users thereon out. You can also setup custom alerts, where you tell Google what you wish to be notified about.   You have to... Read More

Why are our clients so enthusiastic about online marketing?  Our clients are in one of two places with online marketing- they are just getting started and see the opportunity and visibility associated with strategies like search engine marketing, web analytics and email marketing.  Or- they have been working with us for some period of time and are experiencing increased revenue and profitability through an online marketing strategy.In each case, the model works in a similar fashion.1. Identify an efficient customer acquisition model and test for the best results.2. Use web analytics to better understand your visitor and provide them with a website that meets their expectation.3. Use email to build a relationship with the... Read More

Social media continues to be the buzz leader online. We're no doubt helping clients succeed in with social media marketing as well as other online marketing vehicles like search, email marketing, and web analytics/optimization.A few things are worth considering again. Social media's biggest draw is the volume and growth rates. Everyone really is doing it. 300MM users can't be wrong. Facebook is on track to hit 500MM users, so it's not something to be ignored.By the same token, like many other online vehicles, there are limited opportunities for any real 'instant gratification.' Like anything else, to make social media work, you need a plan. Many folks aren't going to make the investment in an "unproven" medium (unproven, as they... Read More

Everyone is releasing apps these days, even banks. Here is an email that they are into customer service and are catering to the needs of their clients by simplifying customer's lives - allowing them to add a feature to their phone that locates nearby ATMs without the pesky fees.  On top of that, this bank is smart in using email campaigns to prompt their users to interact with their online accounts. A great marketing plan indeed, BUT, whoever sent out this email missed a number of key points.1. The call to action They include a navy blue button to download the new app today, BUT, there are two inherent issues with it.  First, it looks like t... Read More

Based on this article, describing our company as an internet marketing company will soon be an incorrect description.  Google TV is here and it will change the way we interact with TV and the internet forever.Companies will have more choices than ever when it comes to measured marketing.  It will require increased discipline, focus and commitment to benchmarking and testing.  More options do not always mean more results.  Many times it means companies stretch their marketing dollars to thin and don't spend enough time and money thoroughly testing channels.Stay disciplined- it's a matter of business life and death. Read More