Yearly Archives: 2006
Ian Lurie12 May, 2006
747? Cessna? Pondering Internet Marketing
When you’re making a decision about online marketing, think about what you want: A 747? Or a Cessna? That may sound derogatory. It’s not. I’ve sat at the controls of a Cessna (while it was flying). It’s wonderful. Simple, forgiving and reliable as all get out. A Cessna will get you from place to place.… Read More
Ian Lurie11 May, 2006
The Year of Internet Marketing?
Google just released a nifty new trending tool. It shows and compares search traffic and trends for phrases you type into the tool. On a whim, I did a search comparing ‘search marketing’ to ‘internet marketing’. Lo and behold, it looks like internet marketing is making big gains. You can see the search result here.
Ian Lurie10 May, 2006
Too Much SEO
There’s a great article on Search Engine Watch today titled “Curbing SEO’s Who’ve Gone Wild”. The main point? Too much SEO can get you penalized by search engines. And by your customers. If you’re working to attain that #1 spot in Google’s brain, make sure that you stay #1 in your customer’s brain, too. The… Read More
Ian Lurie5 May, 2006
What’s the Difference?
Internet marketing is not just a phrase that some agencies use to bill more. An internet marketing agency is altogether different from, say, a web site design firm or a search engine marketer. Internet marketing agencies do all of the things you’d get from these kinds of firms, but they pull it together in a… Read More
Ian Lurie2 May, 2006
Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt
I read an article in the Wall Street Journal yesterday that discussed e-commerce and how it’s now a requirement. Which leaves me wondering: Why do so few retailers do e-commerce right? I have my suspicions. Read on and see why so many online stores fail, and how to avoid their mistakes. Yet so few businesses… Read More
Ian Lurie28 Apr, 2006
SEO, Trust and Other Issues
An article on Search Engine Watch notes that around 90% of American consumers now distrust advertising. That’s a lot. It’s also a fairly new development. How do you respond? One strategy is to focus on marketing venues that aren’t perceived as advertising. Search engines are a great example. Online PR/Blog marketing is another. It’s easy… Read More
Ian Lurie31 Mar, 2006
Fifty Reasons
Scott Heiferman has a great list of 50 reasons folks don’t use your web site: 50 Reasons Why It’s a great read. Enjoy!
Ian Lurie29 Mar, 2006
Amazon Marketing Bloopers
Mike sent me a priceless e-mail from Amazon.com. Here’s the important content: “For the next few days, you can pre-order your copy at a savings of 0% by following the link below.” Then below you see that the price is $6.96, for a savings of $.03. No doubt, this was generated by some of Amazon’s… Read More
Ian Lurie24 Mar, 2006
Ugly Websites Win
Ugly websites work best. Think back on the most successful sites on the internet: Google? Ugly. Craigslist? Ugly. Ebay? Ugly. Yahoo? Most successful when they were ugly. IMDB.com? Astonishingly ugly. And right behind them come Blogger.com, Amazon.com, etc.. None of these sites will win any design awards. They have faces only an investor could love.
These sites succeed because they put message and function first, form second…
Ian Lurie13 Mar, 2006
When Creativity Overcomes Good Sense
The state of Washington is launching a new, $442,000 marketing campaign. They undoubtedly invested a lot of time in coming up with a slogan to rival ‘I love NY’ and ‘What happens here, stays here’. In the end they came up with ‘SayWA’. Yes, SayWA. Huh? After choking on my morning cereal, I decided that… Read More
Ian Lurie17 Feb, 2006
Most Web ‘Pros’ Don’t Measure
You don’t have to take it from me. A Forrester Report states that only 13% of web professionals at 89 online companies said they actually measure the ROI of all web site changes. Only half said they measure the ROI of major changes. Half said they don’t measure the ROI of any changes at all,… Read More
Ian Lurie13 Feb, 2006
Search Engine Optimization Fraud
The Wall Street Journal posted an article about a search engine optimization company called Traffic Power. It’s a great lesson in how not to hire an SEO firm. Traffic Power’s tactics included ‘doorway pages’, which are pages invisible to users but crawlable by search engines. These pages are packed with keywords, in order to draw… Read More
Ian Lurie1 Feb, 2006
Judging, 2: That Cover Thing Again
Previously, I talked about the moment when a web site visitor decides to stay or leave. Seth Godin has another great post about it: Wait!. Be smart, be focused, and don’t ignore the needs/wants/questions of your audience, or they’ll end up ignoring you.
Ian Lurie31 Jan, 2006
Tested, Two: In A Nutshell
Tested Advertising Methods distills marketing and advertising down to a few critical rules: That which works, sells. That which looks good and works, sells better. That which looks good but doesn’t work, sells nothing. No wonder I love this book… See my previous post about this book.
Ian Lurie31 Jan, 2006
Tested Advertising Methods
I am rereading Tested Advertising Methods, by John Caples. It’s the definitive work on effective advertising, copy and ad testing. If you want to learn all there is to know about successful ad campaigns, read this book. It provides great insight into testing ad campaigns and then adjusting those campaigns for the best results. Here’s… Read More