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Archive for July, 2008
Jul. 31st 2008
Microsoft and NBC are gearing up for the Beijing Summer Olympic Games, which being on August 8, 2008. NBC partnered with MSN to provide audiences with wall-to-wall live and on demand coverage of the Games on NBCOlympics.com. Although the Games will be available to all visitors, Microsoft says that those with Silverlight 2 will have an enhanced viewing experience. According to Perkins Miller, senior vice president of digital media for NBC:
At its peak, NBCOlympics.com will broadcast 20 simultaneous streams online in the richest video format available on the Web today. To put this into perspective, if you made watching the 2008 Summer Olympics a full-time job, it would take you more than two and a half years to watch all the content.
According to Scott Guthrie, from the Developer Division of Microsoft, Silverlight will provide an immersive and interactive video experience. He said:
Silverlight enables new types of functionality, such as the “control room” view, which allows multiple streams of video to be previewed simultaneously, enabled by the playback performance of Windows Media video on PCs and Macs. The picture-in-picture feature will allow viewers to watch multiple feeds simultaneous and quickly switch to the current feed that interests them most, all in high-quality video. Other features enable users to set alerts so they won’t miss their favorite event, and the ability to share a feed they’re watching with a friend. Adaptive streaming provides the best possible streaming experience for the viewer, regardless of network conditions, via sophisticated techniques that adjust the delivery bit rate on the fly.
There’s little doubt that the 2008 Summer Olympics will also provide unprecedented opportunities for Internet marketing and advertising.
Jul. 31st 2008
If you’re new to Internet marketing and hear other people talk about it, no one would blame you if you thought they were speaking in a foreign language. There are so many acronyms and “insider” words bandied about that Internet marketers can sound like members of an exclusive club - and you’re not invited.
Well, we’d like to open the door and welcome you to the club. The truth is that every industry has its own vocabulary, but it’s not hard to learn. Here, then, are some key terms that you’ll need to know as you set off to drive more traffic to your website.
Keywords: Keywords are words or phrases that people use to find information on the Web. When you enter a query into Google, you’re using keywords. If you’re trying to make your lawn green and Google “lawn fertilizer,” then “lawn fertilizer” is a keyword phrase. Search engine robots comb websites and index keywords and phrases, which partially determine the results you get when you do a Google search. Keywords are important components of website design (so search engines can find the site) and of Internet marketing campaigns (so searchers will be directed to your site when they type in certain keywords).
CTR: CTR stands for click-through rate. This is a standard of measurement used to gauge the success of an Internet marketing campaign. In a pay-per-click advertising campaign, for example, the CTR is the percentage of people who click on your ad. In an email marketing campaign, it’s the number of people who click on the link in your email divided by the number of people who opened your email.
Opt-In: Opt-in is a term used to signify that a person has subscribed to an email list. Essentially, the person who opts in (buy giving you their name, email address, and/or other information) gives you permission to send them emails. Opt-in is generally subdivided into “single opt-in” and “double opt-in.” Subscribers are considered single opt-in when they sign up and receive a confirmation email with a choice to unsubscribe. Subscribers are considered double opt-in when they have to click on a link in the confirmation email to reiterate their desire to be on a mailing list.
Check back tomorrow, when we’ll cover some other Internet marketing terms you should know.
Jul. 31st 2008
It is said that Rome wasn’t built in a day, and the same adage applies when it comes to promoting your web site to a top notch ranking in the search engines. You have probably already spent days - if not months - planning out and building your web site. Completing your web site is just the beginning of the job, leaving the realm of web promotion to actually get users to your site.
Web site promotion is a complex business, full of half understood variables and trends. The good news is the approach can be incremental and provide increased benefits with each step in the process. Total success in increasing traffic to the web site and optimizing the ranking in search engines will take several months to a year. Many of the steps taken along the journey provide worthwhile improvements through more visits to the site and higher ranking in search engines.
Directories are a first step in your web site promotion efforts. This may take between 3 and 12 months to complete. There are hundreds of directories worldwide that list web sites that desire recognition. There are two main directories noted by experts as very important, as many search engines use their feeds for indexing web pages. The directories are Yahoo and the Open Directory Project. You take your information, package it in a fairly straightforward admission format, and submit the information for listing in the directories. It is easy enough to do yourself in most cases, but several Internet marketing companies can assist you with directory submissions or even do it for you.
The next major step is to improve your ranking with search engines. Your ranking in different search engines will vary, as the algorithms they use to rank sites vary greatly. Using keywords is your content is almost universal in importance, but other strategies, such as coding meta tags, cloaking, banner ads, and link listings may be necessary to fully optimize your search engine ranking results.
Jul. 30th 2008
Although Yahoo! made peace with 5% shareholder and proxy warrior Carl Icahn by offering him and two of the people on his slate seats on Yahoo’s board, it looks like T. Boone Pickens is another unhappy shareholder with a soapbox.
Pickens, a wealthy Texas oilman, has recently made news when he announced an initiative to turn away from oil and put money into wind farms. Now, he’s in the news again, telling the San Francisco Chronicle’s editorial board that he’s dumped his Yahoo stock over the company’s inability to reach a deal with Microsoft and calling Yahoo! management “pathetic.”
Some Internet marketers share Pickens’ viewpoint, while others hold out hope for a stronger Yahoo! to emerge after Friday’s shareholders meeting.
Jul. 30th 2008
The best type of advertising is (almost) free - it’s the positive coverage your company gets in the media. When you have a timely, well-written press release, you can generate the kind of media coverage that money can’t buy. Tantamount to an endorsement, press coverage let’s your prospective clients know that you’re trustworthy and that you’re an expert in your industry.
We’ve talked about the elements of a good press release in previous entries, so suffice to say that you need a newsworthy angle, strong writing skills, and highly targeted distribution. Keep in mind that newspapers, magazines, television, and radio aren’t the only game in town anymore. Websites have an unquenchable thirst for content, and bloggers can be extremely important in setting the tone for new products and services. When you have a press release that covers all bases, you’ll exponentially increase your chances of positive coverage.
Now that we’ve covered the seven most important facets of website promotion, what’s the bottom line? That there’s no magic bullet. Internet marketing involves using a variety of strategies in tandem, but the whole is always greater than the sum of its parts. So, the next time you consider trying out a new Internet marketing angle, don’t stop what you’re already doing. Remember, each strategy builds on and amplifies others.
Jul. 30th 2008
From the time of its inception, popunder advertising has had mixed reviews. Some Internet users hate popunders, but advertisers love them because they have been shown to be very effective marketing tools. You can dramatically increase traffic to your website - and that traffic can be targeted - if you choose the right tools for your popunder campaign.
Popunders work because your image is the last one the viewers see, and that image stays with them. However, perhaps the best reason these campaigns succeed is that it’s possible to reach both a large and a targeted audience.
In order to ensure success, the person who manages your popunder traffic campaign must attach the popunder windows only to sites that are relevant to your product or service. If your website deals in office tools and accessories, then the campaign can be attached to ads of big companies like Staples or OfficeMax. This increases the power of the popunder as a marketing tool. If viewers don’t like what is available at the big office stores, maybe what you are offering will appeal to them.
The targeted marketing firms that offer these campaigns guarantee a certain number of visitors to your website, so you have nothing to lose. Make certain that the company you choose has a money-back guarantee if you don’t get the number of visitors promised.
The other advantage of popunder campaigns is that you see results right away. It’s not unreasonable to think that you can get this type of campaign set up and start driving visitors to your site within 24 hours.
Popunder campaigns give you a variety of options, at a price that is a fraction of what you’d pay for pay-per-click search engine advertising. Typically, popunder campaigns allow you to choose how many visitors you want coming to your website every day - ranging from hundreds to thousands. You can also make changes to your popunder in the middle of a campaign if you choose. If the ad you are running is not yielding the results you’d like, then you can re-evaluate it and make adjustments or insert an entirely different ad.
Popunder campaigns are great for testing new messages and new products. It’s one of the few advertising strategies that has the ability to fine-tune the campaign as it runs.
Affordable. Instant. Flexible. What more can you ask of a marketing campaign?
Jul. 29th 2008
Microsoft recently announced that it will split the company’s Platform & Services Division in two: one for Windows/Windows Live and the other for Online Services. Current PSD President Kevin Johnson is leaving Microsoft.
Although the company already has people in place to take over the Windows/Windows Live division, Microsoft is searching for a candidate to head the Online Services division. This ads fuel to the assumption that Microsoft is trying everything it can to be in a position to effectively compete with Google in the Internet advertising arena. Microsoft’s press release said, in part:
Microsoft recently announced a strategy to redefine search through innovations in the user experience and business models. As an example, the company’s cashback search program, announced in May, is already generating strong momentum among online shoppers and advertisers.
We’ll keep our eyes and ears open for further developments.
Jul. 29th 2008
Yesterday, we discussed the fifth in a series of strategies for effective website promotion - article marketing. Today, it’s time to talk about search engine registration.
Search engine registration is a make-or-break proposition. It can help your site rise quickly through the ranks of your competitors and put you on top, or it can relegate your site to the bottom of the heap. That’s why most successful websites use a search engine registration service. Ensuring that a site is included in search engine databases is both an art and a science. Marketing professionals understand the importance of accurate submissions, as well as the ripple effect good submissions have. Because thousands of smaller search engines use data feeds from the big guns, the importance of getting it right can’t be overstated.
Tomorrow, we’ll discuss the seventh aspect of effective website promotion: getting the word out to the media.
Jul. 29th 2008
When it comes to web advertising, rumors abound. Here are two common myths about web advertising.
1. A good advertising campaign starts with a good website
Although great web design helps convert prospects to sales, the bottom line is that you need to first have a great (or at least necessary) product or service. Next, you need to understand your target audience. Who will use your product or service? What do your customers have in common? Once you’ve done your market research, you have the information you need to build a good website. Once you have that, then you’re ready to undertake web advertising.
2. More traffic means greater profits
Just because people are visiting your site, it doesn’t mean that they are going to buy products or enlist your services. Before you spend a lot of money on banner ads, pay per click advertising, and web directories to generate traffic to your website, you have to think about conversion.
Talk to people that you know, including clients and colleagues, and ask them for their frank feedback about your site. Are you clear about what you are offering? Do you enumerate the benefits to your target audience? Listen to their feedback and use it to improve and revise the site. After that, send out personal invites to people who may be interested in what you are offering. Later, get in touch with them, either personally or via a survey. Did your website make them want to do business with you? If they are interested, you know that you are doing the right thing. If not, then you should take another look at your site and see what can be changed.
Successful web advertising starts by finding the right product or service, and effectively communicating the benefits to your target audience. When you do, your web advertising efforts will pay off handsomely.
Jul. 28th 2008
Google Software Engineers Jesse Alpert and Nissan Hajaj tossed out a startling number the other day: the search behemoth found 1 trillion unique URLs on the Web. In their blog post, Alpert and Hajaj noted that Google’s first index (in 1998) contained 26 million pages, and the year 2000 marked the one billion milestone.
The engineers are quick to say, however, that “the size of the web really depends on your definition of what’s a useful page, and there is no exact answer.” They go on to write:
We don’t index every one of those trillion pages — many of them are similar to each other, or represent auto-generated content similar to the calendar example that isn’t very useful to searchers. But we’re proud to have the most comprehensive index of any search engine, and our goal always has been to index all the world’s data.
Those who follow Internet marketing, however, are committed to going the extra mile to ensure that Google finds their pages and indexes them.
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