Capitalizing on Local Directories

Posted by steve on December 20, 2007 at 11:31 AM

As an important and increasingly popular source of business information, local online directories provide businesses with an opportunity to further expand their presence, message and offerings throughout the Web. To help ensure you are capitalizing on another avenue of potential revenue generation, here are a few questions that you should be asking yourself: Is your business currently listed in local directories? Although you may not have submitted your business to directories such as Google Local, Yahoo Local, Live Maps or Ask City (as well as others), that doesn't mean that it's not listed. These directories pull information from a variety...

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Cyber Monday: Is Your Online Store Ready?

Posted by teal on November 26, 2007 at 11:50 AM

In November 2005, Shop.org coined the phrase Cyber Monday to help create buzz around the sales increases online retailers were experiencing the Monday after Thanksgiving. Is your website ready for this year's holiday rush?

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But Where are the People, Man?

Posted by tim on October 19, 2007 at 01:08 PM

I recently returned from this year's New Media Expo in Southern California. Well, it feels like recently, but I guess the show wrapped almost a month ago now. It's fitting though, because that kind of pace seems to just about fit perfectly with the world of new media that we're seeing right now. Meeting with people at the show and just hearing about some of the ideas floating around, it's obvious that as the barriers to access keep getting lower and lower for people to live life in a mixed media world, the potential for excellent, creative content is basically...

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Subscription-Based Web Content - A Dying Practice

Posted by steve on September 25, 2007 at 11:15 AM

Last week, The New York Times announced that it will no longer be charging visitors to access parts of its media site, NYTimes.com. This previously-blocked content, published specifically for TimesSelect subscribers, is now open to all readers. This announcement comes exactly two years after the decision was made to create the TimesSelect program and make portions of the site's content subscription-based only. Why the change? After all, the goals of TimesSelect were met. The program drew 227,000 subscribers and generated $10 million in revenue a year over the past two years. The problem, though, is that these goals were low...

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Google to Determine the Presidential Election

Posted by vern on April 27, 2007 at 12:06 PM

With all of the media coverage of presidential candidates and their campaigns you'd think the election was only months away. The pollsters, pundits and prognosticators are fixtures on the cable news channels and the blogosphere is buzzing. But what about Search? How are the candidates positioning for searches on their names? Are they using Paid Search to their advantage? I decided to do a little research. I limited my searches to Google and Yahoo. I searched on the candidates full name and found no surprises in the organic results. The SERP's listed the official candidate sites at or near the...

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Online Promotions Shouldn't be Stranger Than Fiction

Posted by duncan on April 11, 2007 at 09:23 AM

I was recently impressed by the film Stranger Than Fiction. Being the search infovore that I am I just had to go online and do some searching about the movie. I went to MSN.com and typed in movie search, just to see if they were being honest. Ah ha, they were. MSN.com's number one listing for my search is the still little known Internet Movie Data Base, or IMDB.com. I lobbed Stranger Than Fiction into the search box at IMDB and with a click, I was off to explore. While there are many films titled Stranger Than Fiction, I drilled...

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Yawning at Search Engine Super Bowl Ads

Posted by duncan on February 02, 2007 at 09:14 AM

As the big game quickly approaches, even us online marketers get excited about the advertisements. It's not like we are the only ones. There's likely someone in every profession that at least quietly enjoys the barrage of advertising that goes on during the game. Since people from all walks of life use the search engines, I thought it would be neat to see how the big advertisers are gearing up with their multi-channel approach before the game. So, I thought, "What of the Super Bowl ads appearing in the paid listings of a major search engine as the kick off...

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YahoOL?

Posted by tim on November 01, 2006 at 10:17 AM

There are rumors starting to fly that Yahoo! has approached Time Warner about buying AOL. Since I can't even reasonably pretend to have an intelligent discussion about corporate buyouts, I'll leave that to other sources. As a search marketing professional though, I hope there is truth to this for the sake of the Yahoo! Search Marketing Network. We've watched Google expand its reach for years now, which has dug deep into Yahoo!'s potential inventory. With Microsoft entering the search marketing arena several months ago, Yahoo! suffered a direct hit. It would be a great move for Terry Semel and Yahoo!...

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Creating Content for Holiday Shoppers

Posted by steve on October 18, 2006 at 01:32 PM

Shoppers....start your engines! The holiday season is just around the corner (mind-bogglingly, I already heard a Christmas song on the radio!!) and retailers across the country are gearing up for a swarm of holiday shoppers. I want to take a moment to focus on online retailers in particular and offer some helpful advice for gaining more of a web presence during this crucial time of the year. As more and more people take advantage of internet conveniences to both research and purchase products, so too do retailers. This convenience, which allows shoppers to quickly and easily compare a multitude of...

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The Birdies & Bogies of Online Marketing

Posted by on April 17, 2006 at 09:25 AM

The Masters wrapped up recently with everybody’s favorite lefty (Phil Mickelson) taking home his 2nd green jacket. And at the same time, warm weather is starting to break here in the Midwest. Time to think about pulling the sticks out of the garage and loosening up the ole’ back for a Sunday stroll. However, it’s more like a lost stagger, weaving from fairway to rough to out-of-bounds back to fairway, than it is a stroll. Yes, it’s the time of year when all of us average Joe Weekend golfers suddenly think we should be shooting par when we haven’t picked...

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Do B2B's and B2C's Collide in Search Marketing?

Posted by duncan on February 21, 2006 at 11:05 AM

I talk with marketers and IT folks all across the country about their web sites and their potential to use the search engines to drive traffic. Many point out that their company is business-to-business and they want to work with someone who specializes in that space. Still others are in the business-to-consumer space and are sure they need a specialist in that realm. Often I almost lose each group's attention when I say we specialize in both. They pause. The silence is defining. I try to get them back, "Both B2B and B2C's want to position well in the search...

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No Static at All: SES Wrap-up on WebmasterRadio.fm

Posted by on December 22, 2005 at 09:21 AM

Be sure to tune into WebmasterRadio.fm today at 10:00am EST for a live special on the recent Search Engine Strategies conference held in Chicago. The special will be hosted by SES chair and organizer Danny Sullivan and WebmasterRadio co-founder Daron Babin. Guests include Bruce Clay, Dan Boberg of Yahoo! Search Marketing, Detlev Johnson of PositionTech and Oneupweb's very own Tim Kauffold. The special will provide an inside look at the event and help attendees get the most out of the SES experience. It will also be available via podcast immediately after the live show....

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Going Home (Page) For The Holidays?

Posted by on November 11, 2005 at 10:17 AM

So you have the clicks, but do you give them what they want? A great paid search campaign can only get you so as far, what’s important is what a user finds once they pull back the curtain. Whether you’re managing your own PPC strategy or have a SEM vendor managing things for you, it’s important that just as much attention is paid to your landing pages as to the campaign itself. You’ve already won half the battle when your ad appears after a search and it’s so compelling that the searcher clicks, but then what? Regardless of whether you’re...

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Theories are for science!

Posted by on November 09, 2005 at 09:56 AM

Just recently I had an interesting conversation with a fellow PPC colleague of mine that left me curious and frustrated at the same time. The discussion surrounded the topic of local sponsored search campaigns. She was explaining to me how local search listings, like those of Yahoo’s Local Advertising, or Google’s geo-targeted network, allow the marketer to have a more focused listing while costing less per click. Now I’ll admit I am a bit green to the vast world of SEM. However, as a recent graduate with some professional business experience under my belt, I feel as though I can...

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Tiny Screen, Big Opportunity: Mobile Search Today

Posted by on November 07, 2005 at 04:52 PM

In July 2005, Oneupweb released a free white paper, entitled Mobile Search and Its Implications on Search Engine Marketing. The paper covered mobile search demographics, behavior, technology, and evolution. We also identified what steps marketers can take today to make sure their businesses are mobile-friendly tomorrow. Since July, a lot has changed in the mobile search landscape. What hasn't changed is our prediction that mobile search is on the cusp of becoming an essential marketing channel for B2C and B2B businesses alike. Whether you're trying to sell a pizza to a hungry guy walking down the street, or a group...

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Are the Kids All Right?

Posted by on October 14, 2005 at 04:25 PM

While it's no surprise that children have poorer reading comprehension, manual dexterity, and abstract thinking skills than adults, it would seem that adults don't do a great job making web sites that children are able to use.

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Welcome Aboard. Now Get Out!

Posted by on October 07, 2005 at 03:45 PM

According to new research by Spencer Stuart cited in CMO magazine, the average CMO in business-to-consumer companies only lasts about two years. The research was based on the “time in office for the top marketing officers at 100 companies.” The article makes a humorous comparison to elephant babies, who spend more time in the womb than CMOs spend in a position. Why so short? It seems they’d just be getting settled in. In the CMO article, Arun Sinha, CMO at Pitney Bowes, says that other C-level executives tend to be much better at proving their ROI than chief marketers. Hey,...

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Blogs Help Those who Help Themselves

Posted by on September 13, 2005 at 05:01 PM

2004 was the Year of the Blog, and in its loquacious aftermath, many companies are scrambling, wondering if they're too late to the party. And who can blame them? The blog has been widely hailed as a powerful PR tool, direct line to the grass roots, vanity plate, and the "New Journalism". But while a blog can be all of these things and more, it's the idea of the blog as an SEO strategy that inspires many companies to dive head first into the blogosphere. The blog's reputation as an SEO silver bullet is not entirely unfounded. Many blogs enjoy...

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Tell Me Something, Do You Know What it is to Be Optimized?

Posted by tim on September 07, 2005 at 04:37 PM

Trade Shows are always great. It’s amazing how much we are able to learn when we talk to the attendees. I’m sure this never really crosses their mind when we have the chance to talk, since so many of them are there for the classes and sessions themselves, but it really is enlightening. Recently at the SES show in San Jose, it stood out the number of people that told us they’d been optimized already and just needed that “last little bit”. Upon further review though, you have to start to wonder what they are being sold as optimization. A...

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Isn't it Just Six of One, Half Dozen of Another? No

Posted by tim on February 24, 2005 at 03:35 PM

No way to deny it, picking the best strategy for search marketing can be a real headache. On the one hand, there is an avenue onto virtually every search engine and search site on the Internet with pay-per-click (PPC). Between Overture PrecisionMatch and Google AdWords (and the networks each supports), you can reach nearly 90% of all those who conduct a search. Add in the next layer of PPC engines like FindWhat, Kanoodle, and vertical PPCs like Business.com, and soon pretty soon you've cast an pretty decent net. PPC can be attractive too since it lets you choose thousands of...

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When Local is National

Posted by tim on February 16, 2005 at 10:29 AM

Many times the push for search marketing in a company is driven by one person or a small team, desperate to show the rest of the company the value of this marketing opportunity. Perhaps the most common misunderstanding about search, and thus argument against it, is from companies that feel like they can only serve a local area. To them, search seems too far reaching, too global to justify the expense. I can't argue, there is some validity to that. A well designed site, rich in content, and based on solid, fundamental coding practice, can gain position for a wide...

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Wide Right!

Posted by tim on February 09, 2005 at 08:49 AM

Last week I was wondering about how well all the Super Bowl advertisers would do moving their high price TV ads into an integrated search marketing campaign. According to Reprise Media, they didn't do all that well. No great surprise. In looking for a silver lining though, it's great that this is being talked about. It probably bodes well for the future. More and more of the mid-size companies that take a gamble on something like the Super Bowl are going to understand the value of a mixed campaign like this. I'm hoping that big companies actually lead the way...

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Super Bowl, Super Opportunity

Posted by tim on January 31, 2005 at 01:57 PM

Super Bowl week is upon us. Known as much for the commercials (if not more) as for the games, this is a big week for many advertisers. Buying just a 30 second spot to show during the game is a huge investment for any company. For some, the expense doesn't look nearly as large, but $2.4 million is a lot of money for anyone. I think one of the really interesting things to watch for will be how companies handle the campaigns after the game. I'm curious to see who ties themselves in to an integrated online effort. It's reasonable...

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Look! No-handed Vacuuming

Posted by tim on January 20, 2005 at 09:40 AM

The makers of the Roomba robotic vacuum have been making news lately for the great success of a search marketing program. Hats off to iRobot (the parent company). This is a great example of the power of a carefully crafted and well managed search marketing effort. AdAge has a nice story about this (free subscription required). I'm not going to excerpt the whole thing here, but I wanted to touch on a few of the key points that I think were most important. "The 2004 Roomba promotions were supported by a tightly integrated advertising program including heavy TV and radio...

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Say it ain't so!

Posted by tim on January 12, 2005 at 08:57 AM

Steve Hall runs the great site Adrants and on Monday he posted this little gem. Steve makes his take on it pretty clear, but I hope the feeling about search marketing, internet marketing in general, and other non-traditional methods isn't quite the same at all the big old-school agencies. Here's just one highlight (this quote isn't from Hall, but rather an agency exec): "The trend I would love to see die is the frantic production of non-traditional, non-TV marketing ideas. In the quest to be smart, effective and media-agnostic, many marketers have become manic." It's really just too bad. Some...

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The Rising Cost of Paid Search

Posted by tim on January 06, 2005 at 02:45 PM

John Battelle touches on the MediaPost coverage of a recent Fathom Online report that says prices on ppc keywords surged 24% in Q4 of 2004. Most of this huge surge can be attributed to a few key areas (travel and retail most notably). It will be interesting to see if the holiday shopping season is largely the reason for this, or if keyword bidding has found another gear. Regardless, it's a trend not likely to change anytime soon. All the more reason to be extremely vigilant with paid search. Spikes like this can cause a monthly spend to skyrocket in...

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Growing Up or Just Booming Again?

Posted by tim on December 27, 2004 at 11:15 AM

Business Week takes a look at advertising online as it speculates on what 2005 will have to offer. The article speaks in very general terms, taking into account all online advertising, including banners and all the rest. Search does of course fall into this mix and is touched on, if only very subtly. Recently, another search optimization and marketing firm announced that it had been purchased by a larger ad agency. Is it the eventual growth and maturation of the Internet as an ad medium, or is this just another fad fueled craze? Are companies and agencies really learning the...

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It Just Comes Naturally

Posted by tim on December 21, 2004 at 02:10 PM

In less than a year, we've seen the winds of fancy swing far and wide in the world of search. We just got back from the SES conference in Chicago and as usual, conversations were interesting and enlightening. Back in March, at SES New York, paid search was a hot topic. Seemed that most of the folks we talked to there wanted to know what we could do for them when it came to PPC. Summer came, SES landed in San Jose, and PPC was still a big, big issue for a lots of our visitors. SES Chicago had a...

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Get a Fix in the Mix

Posted by tim on December 11, 2004 at 10:30 AM

As hundreds of writers, commentators, pop figures, and bloggers will remind us steadily for the next several days, this is the season of the list. What's hot, what's not, the next big thing, the last big thing, ad infinitum, etc., etc. In that spirit, numbers are pouring in about the growth of search marketing. The dollars spent on search marketing are well into the billions, and there appears to be no slowing down. Some estimates have the market for search spending as high as $9 billion by 2007. All very encouraging. On the other side of the fence though, there...

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Stop Hogging the Wheel. The Passenger View Can Be a Good One

Posted by tim on December 02, 2004 at 11:17 AM

Search is not going away. This is not a fad. Expect 55% growth for 2004. The reason search works? Customer control. One of the biggest hurdles to a successful search marketing strategy for many companies is language. All too often a company decides on their own dialect of market-ese and then they run with it. And they never stop running. Guess what? Customers never started running with them. People use natural, simple language to share ideas. They don't care about a "bleeding-edge, innovative, time management tool to reshape lives", a desktop calendar will do nicely, thank you very much. And...

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It's worth it. Worth every bit.

Posted by tim on December 01, 2004 at 10:52 AM

Recent numbers from TSN Media Intelligence/CMR shows that online advertising is up in 2004 by 25.8% from the same period last year. Similar stats are coming out from many sources has third quarter numbers are finalized. Online advertising/marketing is exploding right now, growing faster than any other advertising medium. More importantly, it is projected that by the end of 2004, the Internet will have accounted for $106 billion in direct online purchases and it will have influenced more than $180 billion in offline spending. (from the Dieringer Research Group) Turns out the pot at the end of the rainbow is...

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Quick Hitting Numbers

Posted by tim on November 22, 2004 at 04:05 PM

77% of Internet users use search engines (more than 117 million users) The so-called "big 4" search engines (Google, Yahoo, AOL, MSN) command 95% of the search market Think organic search might not be of real value? Consider the following numbers that show how user interaction breaks down between the natural listings and the paid listings: 72% click natural vs. 28% clicking paid on Google 60% natural vs. 40% paid on Yahoo 50% natural vs. 50% paid on AOL It's widely believed that the layout of the pages has a tremendous influence on these interactions as well. Should AOL make...

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Blowing Out Low Prices!!

Posted by tim on November 18, 2004 at 10:08 AM

While there are those who'd have you believe otherwise, search marketing shouldn't be shopped as a commodity purchase.

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Don't Start Playing the Pipes Just Yet

Posted by tim on November 10, 2004 at 12:23 PM

If you never realized that brand was alive, do you have to go to the funeral now that it's dead?

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Convert First

Posted by tim on November 01, 2004 at 08:45 AM

There's no overstating how important it is for a web site to produce conversions. In fact, that should be the primary focus of a web site. Iron that out before you start any optimization strategy.

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Why Not Just Go Direct?

Posted by tim on October 29, 2004 at 04:36 PM

Working directly with Pay Per Click Search Engines can offer a lot of great benefits. It can also create some noticeable pitfalls.

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Natural Search or Pay Per Click

Posted by tim on October 29, 2004 at 04:00 PM

Both natural search optimization and pay per click offer distinct advantages. It's hard to say one is better than another until you understand the goals of your marketing campaign.

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