Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Advanced Landing Page Strategies for Higher Pay Per Click Conversions Webinar
I am about to start a Webinar entitled "Advanced Landing Page Strategies for Higher Pay Per Click Conversions." Landing pages are customized pages promoting a specific call to action based on the keyword, PPC ad combination that generated the click. More to come on what they are recommending. So far, they have an example of an HVAC contractor so I am hopeful that this will be focused on true small businesses.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Bing a success...so far
Bing, the much hyped new search engine developed by MSN has so far lived up to its tremendous and expansive marketing campaigns. Microsoft might have finally learned that when web site users think of online search, MSN is not top of mind. It is still a distant third in the search engine battle (Google, Yahoo, and then MSN, now Bing).
However, some of the new search features of Bing are quite fun to use. The importance for my online marketing is that Bing is becoming a much effective online marketing tool. We are seeing steady and profitable increases in conversion rates and click through rates for Pay Per Click campaigns from MSN since it morphed into Bing. Accounts with Pay Per Click budgets on MSN that were never reached are now maxing out at the mid month point. Conversions are up as well but only time will tell the overall conversion rates and ROI for our campaigns.
While it is too early to tell about how effective Bing will be against Google's dominant market share, we are seeing very nice returns from the new launch. Once the honeymoon effect of their marketing expenditures tails off, we will keep an eye out on this new/not new search engine.
However, some of the new search features of Bing are quite fun to use. The importance for my online marketing is that Bing is becoming a much effective online marketing tool. We are seeing steady and profitable increases in conversion rates and click through rates for Pay Per Click campaigns from MSN since it morphed into Bing. Accounts with Pay Per Click budgets on MSN that were never reached are now maxing out at the mid month point. Conversions are up as well but only time will tell the overall conversion rates and ROI for our campaigns.
While it is too early to tell about how effective Bing will be against Google's dominant market share, we are seeing very nice returns from the new launch. Once the honeymoon effect of their marketing expenditures tails off, we will keep an eye out on this new/not new search engine.
Monday, April 6, 2009
New Terrys Tips Weekly Newsletter - The Difficulties of Making Money at Expiration
The Difficulties of Making Money at Expiration
A nice piece of how making money with stock options trading can be so tricky.
This is the kind of regular updating that we want all of our website customers to be making even if it can only be quarterly.
Content is king!
A nice piece of how making money with stock options trading can be so tricky.
This is the kind of regular updating that we want all of our website customers to be making even if it can only be quarterly.
Content is king!
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Ben and Jerry's April Fools Website Revealed
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Local Firm Vermont Design Works Partners with Ben and Jerry’s on Cloned Milk “April Fools” Website
Burlington, VT, April 1, 2009 - For the past week, a website for “Cyclone Dairy” (www.CycloneDairy.com), a company that allegedly produces milk from cloned cows, has been the subject of intense speculation in the blogosphere: are the company and the website real? Are consumers really drinking milk from cloned cows?
This morning the website was revealed to be an “April Fools” joke by Ben and Jerry’s, intended toraise awarenss that food from clones could be in our food supply and consumer have the right to know. Milk from cloned cows is in fact approved for consumer consumption by the FDA and does not have to be labeled as such on food packaging.
The website was created by local web and graphic design firm Vermont Design Works (www.VermontDesignWorks.com).
“When Ben and Jerry’s came to us with this idea, our entire team was excited by it,” says Vermont Design Works owner Andrew Allen. “We have a long history of working with Ben and Jerry’s and with other socially responsible companies. This fit right in with our mission.”
The challenge in designing the site, says Vermont Design Works’ Director of Web Strategy Craig Chevrier, “was to make what looked almost like a perfectly legitimate corporate site, but hinted at activism. We had to strike just the right balance so that when the truth was revealed, it would all make sense.”
“Once bloggers found the site, it took off like wildfire,” says Allen. “We’ve had a great time following the online forums. People were speculating that it was animal rights groups, Food and Water Watch, etc.. But all the buzz has done exactly what it was intended to do – to create awareness and get people thinking seriously about an important issue affecting our food supply. We are proud to be a part of this project.”
For more information about Vermont Design Works’ involvement in the Cyclone Dairy project, please contact cyclone@vtdesignworks.com or call 802.383.7679. For more information about Ben and Jerry’s anti-cloning mission, visit www.cyclonedairy.com, where videos and activism links were posted this morning.
Vermont Design Works was founded in 1999 to help businesses and non-profit organizations build a presence in the marketplace and on the web by offering a full range of graphic design and website development services. The company jumped into the Vermont business community with a big splash by designing the 2000 summer marketing campaign for Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. Since then, Vermont Design Works has created hundreds of successful websites and graphic design projects for large and small businesses and nonprofits, including Nantucket Nectars, Equipe Sport, New England Naturals, GlobalZ Data Processing, and Gardeners Supply “Flower Power” Fundraising.
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Local Firm Vermont Design Works Partners with Ben and Jerry’s on Cloned Milk “April Fools” Website
Burlington, VT, April 1, 2009 - For the past week, a website for “Cyclone Dairy” (www.CycloneDairy.com), a company that allegedly produces milk from cloned cows, has been the subject of intense speculation in the blogosphere: are the company and the website real? Are consumers really drinking milk from cloned cows?
This morning the website was revealed to be an “April Fools” joke by Ben and Jerry’s, intended toraise awarenss that food from clones could be in our food supply and consumer have the right to know. Milk from cloned cows is in fact approved for consumer consumption by the FDA and does not have to be labeled as such on food packaging.
The website was created by local web and graphic design firm Vermont Design Works (www.VermontDesignWorks.com).
“When Ben and Jerry’s came to us with this idea, our entire team was excited by it,” says Vermont Design Works owner Andrew Allen. “We have a long history of working with Ben and Jerry’s and with other socially responsible companies. This fit right in with our mission.”
The challenge in designing the site, says Vermont Design Works’ Director of Web Strategy Craig Chevrier, “was to make what looked almost like a perfectly legitimate corporate site, but hinted at activism. We had to strike just the right balance so that when the truth was revealed, it would all make sense.”
“Once bloggers found the site, it took off like wildfire,” says Allen. “We’ve had a great time following the online forums. People were speculating that it was animal rights groups, Food and Water Watch, etc.. But all the buzz has done exactly what it was intended to do – to create awareness and get people thinking seriously about an important issue affecting our food supply. We are proud to be a part of this project.”
For more information about Vermont Design Works’ involvement in the Cyclone Dairy project, please contact cyclone@vtdesignworks.com or call 802.383.7679. For more information about Ben and Jerry’s anti-cloning mission, visit www.cyclonedairy.com, where videos and activism links were posted this morning.
Vermont Design Works was founded in 1999 to help businesses and non-profit organizations build a presence in the marketplace and on the web by offering a full range of graphic design and website development services. The company jumped into the Vermont business community with a big splash by designing the 2000 summer marketing campaign for Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. Since then, Vermont Design Works has created hundreds of successful websites and graphic design projects for large and small businesses and nonprofits, including Nantucket Nectars, Equipe Sport, New England Naturals, GlobalZ Data Processing, and Gardeners Supply “Flower Power” Fundraising.
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Sunday, December 14, 2008
Terrys Tips latest post...
We are offering a special, buy 1 of Terry's books and recieve his new book for free! Just $12.94 (when using Discount Code Tee) at www.Making36Percent.com and you get both books for the price of one.
To learn more about his books, review today's newseltter posting: Christmas Gift Ideas from the Conservative Options Strategy Website.
To learn more about his books, review today's newseltter posting: Christmas Gift Ideas from the Conservative Options Strategy Website.
Terrys Tips Newsletter Posts
Adding content is critical! For Terry's Tips, we took their weekly newsletter which they were sending to their entire newsletter list every Monday and posted it to the website with an archive tool. We are now adding 1000 new words to the home page every week and adding articles to the archive. Within a week, this content is indexed by Google and appears in the search engines. And we are providing a great service for first time visitors. They get a tone of what Terry's Tips is all about and a snapshot into what the service being offered.
If you can, create a strategy that includes adding new content about your services, products or industry every week! Daily is best. Weekly is good. Monthly is a minimum.
And each of Terry's newsletters focuses on "trading stock options" which is one of their number one sought after keywords.
If you can, create a strategy that includes adding new content about your services, products or industry every week! Daily is best. Weekly is good. Monthly is a minimum.
And each of Terry's newsletters focuses on "trading stock options" which is one of their number one sought after keywords.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Google's 2009 Search Engine Results Page Change - Behavior search
This year at Pubcon by Webmaster World 2009 in Las Vegas (a trade show for everything happening in search and search engine optimization) there was a buzz about the changes in how Google is going to display search engine results pages (SERPs). Google's vision is that search will become more personalized by the user's location and previous searches.
In other words, your particular search results will be tailored to your pattern of search and your geographic location (called behavior based search). Google will begin to give personalized Organic search page results as well as more targeted Pay Per Click ads on a world wide basis.
This has been available now if you log into your Google account and perform your searches. A good example is the keyword "delta". For stock options trading website Terry's Tips, the keyword delta means "The ratio comparing the change in the price of the underlying asset to the corresponding change in the price of a derivative". Nonsense to most of us but easily understood by Terry. However, to someone in New Orleans, "delta" probably refers to "landforms where the mouth of a river flows into an ocean."
Google will now be changing the results to suit the particular user based upon their location and what other things they search for on a regular basis.
Since Terry of Terry's Tips performs most of his searches about the stock options market and trading, Google will deliver websites about options investing. While a searcher in New Orleans will get websites about rivers flowing into the ocean.
The problem for SEO folks such as us is that we can no longer do a search on Google and get the same results as when our clients do the same search. Reporting on where a site ranks in the search engines will now become subjective and very difficult to report progress to our customers.
For the customer, it will be very difficult to gauge the effectiveness of organic search engine optimization efforts performed by themselves or by their SEO firm.
Next time: What does this mean for your search engine optimization efforts today and in 2009?
In other words, your particular search results will be tailored to your pattern of search and your geographic location (called behavior based search). Google will begin to give personalized Organic search page results as well as more targeted Pay Per Click ads on a world wide basis.
This has been available now if you log into your Google account and perform your searches. A good example is the keyword "delta". For stock options trading website Terry's Tips, the keyword delta means "The ratio comparing the change in the price of the underlying asset to the corresponding change in the price of a derivative". Nonsense to most of us but easily understood by Terry. However, to someone in New Orleans, "delta" probably refers to "landforms where the mouth of a river flows into an ocean."
Google will now be changing the results to suit the particular user based upon their location and what other things they search for on a regular basis.
Since Terry of Terry's Tips performs most of his searches about the stock options market and trading, Google will deliver websites about options investing. While a searcher in New Orleans will get websites about rivers flowing into the ocean.
The problem for SEO folks such as us is that we can no longer do a search on Google and get the same results as when our clients do the same search. Reporting on where a site ranks in the search engines will now become subjective and very difficult to report progress to our customers.
For the customer, it will be very difficult to gauge the effectiveness of organic search engine optimization efforts performed by themselves or by their SEO firm.
Next time: What does this mean for your search engine optimization efforts today and in 2009?
Monday, October 6, 2008
Google to change inbound link policy
Links on websites that point back to your website are one of tools that Google uses to find new websites and rank the importance of web pages. Google also uses the "anchor text" that is placed in the link to tell Google the topic of a particular web page.
For example, TerrysTips.com. When someone wants to place a link on their website or blog or forum to Terry's Tips, Google will look at that link and attribute credit to Terry's Tips for the link. How much value is much debated. http://www.terrystips.com/ is one way to link. A better way for Terry's Tips is to link stock options trading strategies at Terry's Tips. This way, Google knows that the owner of the website believes that the Terry's Tips home page is about "stock options trading strategies".
However, there has been much abuse of this kind of linking. Link pages that just have a series of links are common these days and have been a bit effective with getting good rankings. And pages that have hundreds or thousands of links (called "link farms") have spread around the web and have been ignored out of hand by Google for years.
Google has recently hinted that they are adjusting the way they follow and give credit for inbound links. No longer will a list of links on a page give much or any credit to a site. Google wants to see links within the body of a web page that gives the web visitor more information on a topic but will clearly be related to the page that the visitor is currently reading.
So "relevant" links are now even more important than ever. Google has stressed relevant since the beginning of time (OK, well not exactly...there was actually a time before Google). "Black hat" search engine optimization folks have been abusing inbound links for years and Google is finally putting their foot down.
Cheers.
For example, TerrysTips.com. When someone wants to place a link on their website or blog or forum to Terry's Tips, Google will look at that link and attribute credit to Terry's Tips for the link. How much value is much debated. http://www.terrystips.com/ is one way to link. A better way for Terry's Tips is to link stock options trading strategies at Terry's Tips. This way, Google knows that the owner of the website believes that the Terry's Tips home page is about "stock options trading strategies".
However, there has been much abuse of this kind of linking. Link pages that just have a series of links are common these days and have been a bit effective with getting good rankings. And pages that have hundreds or thousands of links (called "link farms") have spread around the web and have been ignored out of hand by Google for years.
Google has recently hinted that they are adjusting the way they follow and give credit for inbound links. No longer will a list of links on a page give much or any credit to a site. Google wants to see links within the body of a web page that gives the web visitor more information on a topic but will clearly be related to the page that the visitor is currently reading.
So "relevant" links are now even more important than ever. Google has stressed relevant since the beginning of time (OK, well not exactly...there was actually a time before Google). "Black hat" search engine optimization folks have been abusing inbound links for years and Google is finally putting their foot down.
Cheers.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Use Analytics to measure SEO effectiveness
Google Analytics is a free program which was based on the $500 per month Urchin Live web statistics program. None of our customers could afford this program. But when Google purchased Urchin, they offered their premium service to the world...for free.
While it does take some time to properly set up analytics, with basic HTML skills you could do it yourself. If not, it will take your web people about an hour to set it up right.
What analytics provides you as the site owner is insight into how web surfers are finding your site, what pages they are looking at, how long they spend on the site, what countries they are from, what screen resolution they are using, what internet speed they are using, what internet browser they are using, etc.
The question becomes how can you use Analytics to direct your SEO efforts. Today, we did exactly that for a real estate company. Using their analytics, we discovered that 2 out of their 6 top level navigation points accounted for less than 1/10th of 1% of all of their traffic. What they thought was their primary place to rpovide information to web visitors turned out to be the least visited. And after Property Search (which accounted for over 60% of the traffic), mortgage information was next most popular. And amazingly, all the mortgage information was buried in the 2nd level.
So we are using this information to move the mortgage information pages to the 1st level of navigation and burying the 2 very unused sections of the website. We will then optimize heavily for popular regional mortgage information keywords to capture additional traffic.
While it does take some time to properly set up analytics, with basic HTML skills you could do it yourself. If not, it will take your web people about an hour to set it up right.
What analytics provides you as the site owner is insight into how web surfers are finding your site, what pages they are looking at, how long they spend on the site, what countries they are from, what screen resolution they are using, what internet speed they are using, what internet browser they are using, etc.
The question becomes how can you use Analytics to direct your SEO efforts. Today, we did exactly that for a real estate company. Using their analytics, we discovered that 2 out of their 6 top level navigation points accounted for less than 1/10th of 1% of all of their traffic. What they thought was their primary place to rpovide information to web visitors turned out to be the least visited. And after Property Search (which accounted for over 60% of the traffic), mortgage information was next most popular. And amazingly, all the mortgage information was buried in the 2nd level.
So we are using this information to move the mortgage information pages to the 1st level of navigation and burying the 2 very unused sections of the website. We will then optimize heavily for popular regional mortgage information keywords to capture additional traffic.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Beware SEO firms that gaurantee
I got yet another call from a client today that went something like this "A web design firm just called me and told me that my website is not optimized for search engines. They said they could guarantee me #1 listings in Google for $99. I would like to do the work with you but can you offer me that deal?".
After I have had a chance to calm down, I remind myself and my customer that NO ONE can guarantee listings in Google (without Pay per click that is and then usually not for $99!). No one can buy listings in Google, no one can guarantee. Have I made that clear? No one can guarantee placements. Anyone or any firm that guarantees ranking positions should be avoided like the plague.
Achieving rankings in the search engines (Google, Yahoo, and MSN representing 95% plus of the market) takes consistent effort and vigilance. Most companies do not have the resources in house in terms of expertise to be able to do this. And to get good rankings in the search engines for the right keywords takes effort and/or monetary resources. Figuring out how much to spend, how much effort to make, always depends on the Return on Investment. If a new customer is worth $100 per year to you as a business, what can you afford to spend to acquire that new customer? $50, $75, $100? It will depend on your renewal rates and how aggressive you want to be.
Any firm or SEO person worth hiring will review your own particular ROI situation and put together a plan accordingly.
Many firms have no way of measuring ROI. Tune in next time to figure out how to measure ROI for your company.
After I have had a chance to calm down, I remind myself and my customer that NO ONE can guarantee listings in Google (without Pay per click that is and then usually not for $99!). No one can buy listings in Google, no one can guarantee. Have I made that clear? No one can guarantee placements. Anyone or any firm that guarantees ranking positions should be avoided like the plague.
Achieving rankings in the search engines (Google, Yahoo, and MSN representing 95% plus of the market) takes consistent effort and vigilance. Most companies do not have the resources in house in terms of expertise to be able to do this. And to get good rankings in the search engines for the right keywords takes effort and/or monetary resources. Figuring out how much to spend, how much effort to make, always depends on the Return on Investment. If a new customer is worth $100 per year to you as a business, what can you afford to spend to acquire that new customer? $50, $75, $100? It will depend on your renewal rates and how aggressive you want to be.
Any firm or SEO person worth hiring will review your own particular ROI situation and put together a plan accordingly.
Many firms have no way of measuring ROI. Tune in next time to figure out how to measure ROI for your company.
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