Very Good Read: Drake Morton

Seven Lessons From Steve Jobs

For Search Marketers

by Aaron Goldman , Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011

I just finished Walter Isaacson’s epic Steve Jobs biography. Beyond being a captivating (and surprisingly quick, considering its 571 pages) read about the life and times of one of the most influential and controversial people in technology, the book imparts some important lessons for search marketers.

1. Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. This was the tagline that adorned the first Apple II brochure in 1977 and became a mantra that stuck. “The main thing is that we have to make things intuitively obvious,” Jobs said in discussing his design philosophy. Much of this approach was rooted in his Zen Buddhist training and Bauhaus influence. I see the results firsthand each time my three-year-old daughter swipes to open our iPad, pulls up the Netflix app and finds a Curious George video to watch instantly.

For search marketers, it’s easy to get lost in the complexity of data analysis and campaign management — but sometimes, you have to step back and focus on the basics like creating a compelling call-to-action in your ad copy. Tell people what you want them to do. And clearly state why they should do it.
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SEM Need to Read: Drake Morton

From A-ZMOT: What You Need to Know

About Google Today

by Aaron Goldman , Tuesday, June 14, 2011

If you’re in search marketing, you probably hang on Google’s every word. It’s time to start hanging on every letter!

Here’s what every search geek needs to know about Google today, from A to Z…

AdMeld: Google is doubling down on the display space, which is on pace to surpass search spending by 2015.

Blogger: Boring. Buzz: Busted. B is just not Google’s letter.

Chrome: Now with apps on the menu.

Display: Gotta fill that search funnel somehow! Watch this space.
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Focusing on Analytics and Accountability

AUGUST 10, 2010

Closing the gap between measurement and marketing effectiveness

Most marketers are on board when it comes to analytics: They recognize the importance of measuring marketing effectiveness, especially when they are asked to justify spending and possible budget increases. But there is room for improvement in formalizing approaches and communicating results.

According to a survey of senior marketing executives by Forbes Insights and MarketShare Partners, nearly seven in ten said they used analytics to measure marketing effectiveness. Marketers with large budgets were significantly more likely to do so than those with spending of less than $1 million, but many in that group planned to adopt analytics in the future. (more…)

You need to think about this: Drake Morton

Why SEO Doesn’t Translate

by Guy Gilpin , Monday, August 9, 2010

SEO is a laborious and, to be frank, rather tedious task.  So it’s lucky that once you have SE-optimized your Web site in English, you can just have it translated without the need to repeat all that effort in foreign languages, right?

Unfortunately, no.  Robert Frost’s definition of poetry as “what gets lost in translation” could apply equally to SEO.  It is sadly not possible to pre-optimize your Web copy before translation — it has to be re-optimized as part of the translation process. (more…)

You need to be aware: Drake Morton

What is your SEO Objective. . . 

The efficiency of SEO against various marketing objectives including increasing revenue, lead generation, brand or product awareness and more.

See how B2B and B2C organizations differently perceive the efficiency of these SEO objectives.

 

You need to know: Drake Morton

Get Your Search House In Order

For The Holidays

by Stephen DiMarco , Friday, November 6, 2009

The numbers are in. The National Retail Federation (NRF) is, not surprisingly, predicting another dip in holiday spending in 2009, starting with an 1% drop in sales during the eighth-largest U.S. spending holiday, Halloween.  It’s a dismal outlook for marketers, but one that doesn’t have to leave us scratching our heads and biting our nails until the actual sales figures are reported.

Even with dour consumer spending and strained marketing budgets, smart marketers can adjust their marketing strategies to divert search traffic from rivals and gain an online competitive advantage. (more…)

Good Information: Drake Morton

And Now: The New News Regime

by Gord Hotchkiss , Thursday, October 8, 2009

This week, I moderated a session at SMX about real-time search. Personally, I find the convergence of social and search to be perhaps the most significant trend of 2009. Social adds an entirely new dimension to search. Traditionally search has been used to find “what” you wanted to know more about. Social adds the dimension of time. Suddenly, relevance isn’t the only measure. Search now needs a “stale date,” a measure of the freshness of the results.
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Google continues to grab market share in the battle of online search

Are You Measuring Real Success?

by Todd Friesen , Friday, April 17, 2009

I’ve been doing SEO for 10 years now. I was there to witness the passing of Infoseek (RIP), Black Monday at AltaVista and the unstoppable rise of Google. In all that time and through all that change there is one thing that has remained constant and generally never ceases to amaze me.

People still have very little idea how to measure success online. There a few recurring scenarios that pop up all the time when I’m talking to potential clients about search marketing:
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Good Information: Drake Morton

Display Ads Lift Paid and Organic Search 155%

The presence of display advertising significantly affects click-through and search style across paid and organic searches and such ads can lift both types of search an average of 155%, according to a study by Specific Media, writes MarketingVox.

The study, which demonstrates a correlation between display advertising and search, finds that consumers exposed to display advertising are more likely than unexposed consumers to search for brand terms (such as “BMW” in the automotive category), and segment terms (such as “635 CSi”). (more…)