February 2007 - Posts
Interested in increasing your
Technorati Rank? It's easier than you may think - and the rewards are additional exposure (website/blog traffic). While it should go without saying that writing great content will earn you links from your peers, there are some other important factors that are not so readily discussed - namely that the more Technorati members that mark your blog as a "favorite" the higher rank your blog will achieve. Technorati has made it easy to encourage others to show their affinity for your blog so you should make it easy for them to do so. If you're a Technorati user and appreciated this tip, Website Magazine kindly asks you to make this blog one of your favorites. We really appreciate it!
If you have yet to read our article on the
Blogetization of the Web, you may want to check it out.
Blogsvertise, one of the blog advertising networks featured in that article has made some enhancements to its model that are certainly worth mentioning. Payouts are increasing across the board in relation to the participating blogs Google PageRank (
the higher the PR, the more per post you could earn) but what caught my attention was that if you belong to a university (or know someone who does) and are able to publish a blog on the university site - must be an a .edu domain, Blogsvertise will offer payouts in the $25 range. I'll let you make your own assessment of using .edu domains for use in pay per post services, but for many this will raise a major red flag.
Some more enhancements include:
- Expanded its selection of affiliate banners. The company currently offers 20% commission on referred advertisers spend
- New Grab Bag features enables bloggers to act on offers not taken by others in the network
- Enhanced user interface which offers detailed information, notes and requests by mousing over a URL
Website owners that are not pleased with how their sites listings appear in the search results now have way to fix the problem. In the past, those websites which were listed in the Yahoo! Directory had those same titles and descriptions in the standard search results and not the default title tag and meta description from their web page. Today, Yahoo
announced a way for webmasters to have it their way and Webheads the 'net over are cheering as websites now have the ability to exclude the default Yahoo! Directory title and description by including the following within their sites meta tags:
<meta name="ROBOT" content="NOYDIR"> or
<META NAME="Slurp" CONTENT="NOYDIR">
Yahoo will need to reindex their Web content to make this change but the difference should be evident in the U.S. almost immediately. This will also (most likely) result in a Yahoo! Weather update (
code for a shuffle of the index). Stay tuned - big changes ahead.
_______________________________________
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yahoo, NOYDIR, yahoo search, yahoo serps, seo, yahoo directory
I'm always surprised when I speak to anyone that does not use a feed reader (Google Reader, Bloglines, MyYahoo) to manage their subscriptions to various weblogs or online newsletters. But the more I think about it, the more I realize that not much has changed in the past 18 months when it comes to RSS adoption. The percentage of users that subscribe to RSS feeds is still depressingly low. As I see it, there are several reasons for this. Primarily, most of the entire Web audience is not familiar with how RSS works and, as a result, maintain a preference for email despite the continuing (and in some opinions worsening) onslaught of unsolicited email (SPAM).
Here at the Website Magazine weblog, eight percent of our weblog feed subscribers opted to receive content via email instead of RSS. While I personally believe that RSS makes communication management much easier, you can't argue with statistics. If you have a weblog and want to generate a few more subscriptions, it's important to remember that email continues to be the primary and preferred way users receive information about you and your services. As such, Website Magazine has included a simple sign up form here (we use FeedBurner but many bloggers use FeedBlitz). Now you can get Website Magazine updates through email and RSS.
What are you waiting for? Receive an email each day with valuable content from the Website Magazine weblog.
Google has revealed that they will soon begin to display the URLs where advertisers' ads are located. If you are and AdWords advertiser, instead of digging through referral strings and raw logs, you will be able to see exactly where your ads are showing up. This will also make it easier to block sites where you don't want your advertisements appearing.
This change comes at the same time AdWords competitor Quigo was featured in a NY Times article all about challenging Google's PPC kingdom. Quigo gives advertisers the option to not only see where their ads are appearing, but also the choice to buy on only specific sites or pages of a site. Quigo seeks to re-establish the advertiser/publisher relationship that AdWords ignores.
In a time when Google, and advertisers, merchants and publishers, are used to setting the playing field, it's interesting to see them backpedaling. Not only offering transparency in where the ads are placed, Google will also soon allow advertisers to bid on contextual ads on specific websites and pages within websites, rather than just buying keywords. Transparency through Quigo offers an added benefit of increased revenue. Advertisers will likely spend more for clicks when they know the ad is running on a high-quality, high-traffic site. Jason Klein, co-chief executive of Special Ops Media, an interactive ad agency said, “With Quigo, you know it’s on ESPN.com, not Joe Schmo’s sports blog. It’s a premium site, and you’re willing to spend more money.”
Kim Malone, director of online sales and operations for Google AdSense doesn't seem worried. "“The David-and-Goliath story is always a great account,” Malone said, “but I think in this case, it’s just not accurate. We have a number of large publishers who have tried out other solutions, and they always come back.”
But perhaps that's because there has not been a viable solution other than AdWords in the past. A few big-name sites have switched to Quigo recently, including ESPN.com, FoxNews.com and Forbes.com.
Microsoft Corp. has announced plans to acquire Medstory Inc., a vertical search engine (VSE). The move by Microsoft can partly be attributed to Google's approach. The search giant recognizes health-related searches, then gives users the option to look for treatment, tests, symptoms and causes. According to a Pew Internet & American Life Project study, 113 million adults in the U.S. have searched for health information online. But the underlying driver for Microsoft's acquisition is the rise of VSEs.
VSEs are classic examples of targeting the Long Tail of search, as they are highly specialized and focused on returning relevant results for niche search queries. A classic, or horizontal, search engine relies on algorithms and crawlers to provide results. Whereas a VSE is created by users to return the most relevant results for their niche - these users know what their peers are looking for and know what sites are going to be the most useful. Outsell reports that the vertical search market will reach $1 billion in revenue by 2009.
While VSEs have a long, long way to go to catch up with Google, Yahoo and MSN, this acquisition is a sure sign that the big boys are paying attention. As more VSEs gain momentum you can bet they will be absorbed into the mainstream of search - as the Goliath's of search are forced to up the ante for the relevance factor.
Google announced back in November of 2006 that they would be making efforts
to protect users by identifying dangerous sites (those containing malware for
example) through notifications in their
Webmaster Tools section.
According to the official Google Webmaster Central Blog, they are now including
more detailed information and notifying sites of issues via email.
Google now not only flags suspect sites but now shows example URLs that have
been determined to be dangerous - very helpful since malicious content can often
be hard to find.
According to the official announcement "By providing example URLs,
webmasters are one step closer to diagnosing the problem and ultimately
re-securing their sites." Kudos to Google for their continued support
of both end-users and the webmaster community.
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Is that guy in marketing sending emails? Is that new lady in accounts receivable spending all her time on Facebook? If you're looking for a scalable solution which offers real-time representation of what users are actually doing on a network (and logging every action those users perform) take a look at SpyTech Software's latest release of
NetVizor.
The product now comes with features such as "
enhanced Top 10 reports, single-click network wide report generation, powerful log cross-referencing, enhanced web activity logging, and file usage and traffic data logging – all tied together by an intuitive graphical interface" according to the
release. NetVizor also has web-based remote administration capabilities that allow the network administrator to connect to each workstation on the network and see what programs are running, close active windows, browse the remote file system, perform security audits, perform lockdown functions, and even view the remote desktop in real-time.
NetVizor operates on Windows NT, 200x, XP, and Vista and is priced starting at $295.95 for five computers and can be downloaded immediately. For a free trial download and volume pricing information check out
www.spytech-web.com
Technorati Tags:
security, monitor, spytech software, computer monitoring software, netvizor, netvizor 5.0, spytech software and design inc, monitoring solutions, security solutions, nstant visual real-time representation
The email marketing community has long struggled with getting images to appear consistently in various browsers. According to a
Listrack press release, The
Email Experience Council released an image rendering report which examined 1,000 B2C and B2B email direct marketing messages and found that 21 percent appeared completely blank when their images were stripped, or when image viewing was turned off, on various e-mail clients.
Listrack (like any good mass email marketing software provider) has made some headway in the area by enabling clients to send messages in either HTML or text depending on the recipients set up and preferences. Forward thinking? Absolutely and something to keep in mind when marketing via email. If you are actively using email in any way (promotional or transactional), make sure to know your readers preference (HTML or Text) and segment accordingly. Email marketers should always request this information upon initial contact. If you're not doing this - start today.
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Technorati Tags:
direct marketing, email marketing, html email, listrak, targeted email, bulk email, targeted marketing, image rendering, deliverability, email marketing resources, email experience counsel, eec
OneUpWeb/AMA Webcast: Search Marketing Firm
Oneupweb and the American Marketing Association (AMA) will
sponsor a webcast entitled Search Marketing 2.0: Integrating User-Driven
Technologies Into Successful Search Marketing Strategies at 1p.m. EDT on
Thursday, March 22, 2007. Marketers may learn more and register free by visiting
MarketingPower.com.
And some more goodies we found today:
There are many practical uses of video for ecommerce, but
Yugster.com, a popular 'deal-of-the-day'
e-commerce site, has
already successfully harnessed the power of online video. Dozens of its VideoYug
product demos are available online making it one of the first such e-commerce sites to use video to describe and spotlight
its latest daily deals.
Since launch in late December 2006, VideoYugs have been a success
for the site, with dozens posted to date and garnering high rankings and attracting thousands of new visitors to the
Yugster website and community.
"Through our VideoYugs, we're able to help our customers understand better what
they're buying, with useful videos showcasing the product's ease, functionality,
and cool factor," comments Yugster founder Arthur Frischman. "A VideoYug also
serves as a valuable resource after purchase, as a demonstration of product use
and installation -- perfect for those who might be hesitant about purchasing
high-tech gadgets or peripherals."
Yugster produces its VideoYugs in-house, and plans to release hundreds of additional videos on over
90% of all Daily Offers throughout the next several months, as well as covering
such additional topics as Product Reviews, Tech Support, and Yugster itself.
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e-commerce, online video, youtube, computer security, daily deal, e-commerce video, product video, yugster, videoyug, product demonstration
Comscore is
reporting significant changes in click-through rates for Yahoo! sponsored
search ads since the
launch of the new ranking model on February 5th (Project Panama).
From the report release:
Using the week ending February 4, 2007 as a baseline for sponsored search
click-through rates (i.e. total clicks on sponsored search ads divided by total
searches) before the ranking model launched, comScore studied the two subsequent
weeks of click-through data to evaluate the impact of the new ranking model.
comScore’s data indicate that for each of the two weeks subsequent to the launch
(ending February 11, 2007 and February 18, 2007), Yahoo! Sites experienced a
noticeable lift in its sponsored search click-through rate. The week ending
February 11 saw a 5-percent increase, while the week ending February 18 showed a
9-percent jump.
Take the Survey:
Have you experienced a higher click through rate on your Yahoo! sponsored listings?
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yahoo, YSM, panama, advertising, advertisers, yahoo search marketing, click through rates
As the last (at least as of this moment) large untapped advertising
medium, mobile technology has the ability to deliver rich, effective messages to
an immense audience. According to Yankee Group, there are over 192 Million
people in the U.S with cell phones and 95.1 Million of those are considered
active text messengers. Over 12.5 billion text messages were sent in the U.S
during the month of June 2006, up 71% from 7.3 billion messages in June 2005 (Source
E-marketer). Also according to Yankee Group 2006 report, 42% of mobile
consumers are open to mobile advertising if it is relevant, if they asked for it
or if they will get coupons or free services.
The problem is getting the right message in front of the right prospects at
the right time. Text2Store seems to
have (at least in part) solved the problem by offering merchants an
opportunity to reach customers who request information through text messaging
coupons. The system looks simple for end-users. Tell Text2Store what you want to
buy, receive alerts on your mobile phone with store information and location and
go shopping. It looks equally simple for merchants. Add a promotional item and
qualified shoppers receive your promotion on their mobile phone. There is
currently a free trial available (no credit card required) for merchants.
Text2Store charges advertisers on a cost per text basis. Advertisers only pay
for text messages and e-mail coupon/promotions that are sent. Every time your
message (coupon, promotion, etc.) is delivered to shoppers, the CPT charge is
deducted from the advertisers account balance.
"The consumer is in full control of our application. Users control when they
get deals from businesses (day of the week or time) and how they receive a deal
(text message or e-mail) ", said Dr. Ayeni, founder and CEO of Text2Store. "Our
goal is simple, connecting local businesses to on-the-go consumers to receive
special offers or coupons on whatever they are looking to purchase."
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Technorati Tags:
news, fashion, technology, shopping, mobile marketing, sms, mobile coupon, coupon-codes
Hostway laucnhed WhoisProtector Lite this week, a way for domain name owners to keep their private contact information out of the hands of phishers, identity thieves, telemarketers and scam artists. The solution blocks the name and all contact information in the Whois database for the domain owner (
and not the administrative and technical contact email addresses). The solution only costs $4.95/year per domain, but in my honest opinion, I think there is a lot more to lose here than comes at first glance. Sure, you need to minimize the spam and silly requests you get from users, but at what cost? What if you lose some prospective partners or even clients? Is it worth it?
Take Today's WM Survey: Should keep you domain information private?
________________________________
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domains, privacy, spam, domain, phishing, website
For small businesses, convincing your customers that your site is every bit as secure as the giants like Amazon and Best Buy is paramount to a good conversion rate. And part of that perceived security lies in the visual elements of your site. Below are three tips to help show your customers that your site is safe and that you will deliver on your promises.
- Make sure that your company logo is relevant and prominently displayed on your site. Letters or just spelling out your company name in fancy text just won't cut it. Reputable businesses have recognizable, relevant logos and so should you. It doesn't have to be fancy or expensive to produce, but be sure it reflects the overall image of your business.
- Describe your products accurately and thoroughly. You could copy the text of your affiliate program provider, but that can cause a host of problems, including duplicate content issues that could drop your site in the search engine rankings. So, it's better to write descriptions. Give solid descriptions that highlight the features of the products, what they are used for, different options and related merchandise. I highly recommend consulting a style guide for proper usage and grammar but, at the very least, run a spell check. Potential customers will flee in droves if they see spelling errors. Customers don't trust sloppy vendors with personal information.
- Use trusted financial and security logos. Does your site accept Visa as a form of payment? Get that little Visa card logo on your site. Use PayPal - most online shoppers are familiar with the service and it is trusted. Look for security logos to display when a consumer is shopping your site. Finally, make sure your connection to your server is encrypted. A Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate is a good idea on transactional pages.
Missed the first installment of Smarter Communities? Read about how
specialization is taking on GooTube.
MySpace, the massive social networking site owned by News Corp. made a big impact in the social networking scene. It could be argued that, one day, MySpace will be seen as the "godfather" of social media - or remembered that way. For some, MySpace is an excellent networking tool and for others, it's a place to collect spam messages. One thing is for certain; businesses are left wanting more. Enter the competition.
ZedZone.com is a new social networking site that provides individual group websites called "CommZones," based on a community of your choice. Start a community for business organizations, schools, associations, clubs, interest-based groups, teams or virtually any group with a common interest. Members of the CommZones are then able to share photos, files, communicate through group email lists and forums. There is even a wiki functionality where members can write and edit other users' files and posts. Group moderators are able to invite others, moderate forums and wikis, manage privacy settings and determine which users have administrative capabilities within the group.
First impressions indicate that ZedZone is a very specialized style of social and business networking that provides higher functionality and greater control than MySpace. Once again the idea of smaller, smarter communities is encroaching on the territory of the giant social networking sites. And for good reason. Some users have simply out-grown MySpace or MySpace has grown to a point where personalization, privacy and targeted interaction just isn't feasible.
Missed the first installment of Smarter Communities? Read about how specialization is taking on GooTube.
The Live plugin created by Headzoo
that lets you watch your WordPress blog activity in real time. Similar to the
way Digg Spy works, the plugin allows bloggers
to watch as people are visiting their pages, leaving comments, and grabbing
feeds. If you're a WordPress user and are interested in watching your traffic in
real time this is the plugin for you. HeadZoo also has several other cool
plugins to check out, namely their aLinks
plugin, which takes a set of phrases and turns them into affiliate links.
Screenshot of the Live Plugin:
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wordpress, plugin, wordpress plugin, traffic statistics, seo, sem
Adobe Systems
announced it will supply online video-editing tools to Web sites in return for a share of the ad revenue in short order. By making these tools available on the Web, Adobe is making a play in the booming online video market and immersing itself in the potential of online advertising. It's first client will be
Photobucket, a free image and video hosting provider, that will make Adobe's tools available to 35 million users in March.
The video editing tool is a lightweight Flash application built Adobe Flex application development software. The technology is loaded into the Web browser, and doesn't require a separate desktop application. The editing capabilities are mostly drag and drop. Users will be able to drag and drop music, effects, transitions and titles to videos, as well as reorder, trim and split clips.
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adobe, video editing, photobucket, online advertising
Google will begin selling its suite of online software today. An annual license for the software bundle (
which includes email, word processing, spreadsheets, Google Talk and IM and calendar management) will be sold for $50 per user. The Premium Google Apps solution does not include a PowerPoint type solution or a CRM offering, but an enterprise blogging platform may be on the horizon.
Google has been offering a free version of its online software suite called Google Apps for the past six months. More than 100,000 small businesses and hundreds of universities nationwide are using the free service. The premier edition of Google apps however includes five times more email storage (10 gigabytes) with a 99.9% guarantee of availability and 24/7 support.
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Subscribers will be receiving the February 2007 edition of Website Magazine in the coming days, but if you just can't bear the wait and want a sneak peak within this issue, take a gander at the digital version. Website Magazine’s digital edition enables readers to easily search for content, email articles to friends and colleagues and even print for later review. And the best part? Access to the digital archive is free and will remain that way in the future - just like the print edition.
Already Subscribed? Log in to view the February 2007 edition of Website Magazine.
Not Subscribed? Get your own
free subscription to Website Magazine.
Internet commerce is an ultra-competitive environment. where consumers, not
marketers, exercise the power. With an abundance of alternatives, customer
satisfaction that much more important in the online world.
The University of Michigan has released its annual American Customer
Satisfaction Index (ACSI) E-Commerce Report and it's worth a look. A
cross-industry measure of customer satisfaction, the report focuses on what most
impacts people's future buying behaviors making it a good (if not great)
predictor of future consumer spending. ACSI has also demonstrated a link between
customer satisfaction and a company's stock price. The ACSI report measures
different sectors of the economy each quarter and reports just once per year.
Highlights of this year's report include:
- Customer satisfaction with e-commerce improves to
80.0, up for second consecutive year and nearing its all-time high of 80.8
set in 2003
- BarnesandNoble.com leads online retail, with its
new high-water mark of 88; Amazon is close behind at 87; both companies are
of the highest scoring in the service sector, online or offline
- eBay still #1 auction site, despite drop of 1% to
80; eBay finds itself competing against online retailers like Amazon
- Charles Schwab is best improved e-commerce site,
soaring 8% to 80; Fidelity is new kid on the e-brokerage block at 80; also
new to ACSI is TD Ameritrade (77)
- Online Travel is only e-commerce category to
decline (-1.3% to 76); Expedia still tops at 78; Orbitz is only gainer
(+1.4% to 75)
Request the entire report at the site of co-sponsor
Foresee Results
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ACSI, ecommerce, customer satisfaction, consumer satisfaction
An interesting Oneupweb search marketing study reveals that online Valentines
day buying peaked on February 6th while shopping continued through the 12th.
Another interesting point of the report was that the bulk of activity occurred
on Mondays and Tuesdays (probably while consumers were at work).
According to the
release:
The study underscores the importance of natural search optimization to
well-balanced e-commerce marketing plans, discovering that natural (or free)
search engine results provide 34 percent more traffic and 21 percent more sales
than paid search (or pay-per-click) campaigns.
The study is available free at
Oneupweb.com.
