Yearly Archives: 2008
Ian Lurie8 Feb, 2008
Ham for Chanukah: Why You’re Wasting Money on that Rented E-mail List
Rented and purchased e-mail lists seem like a great idea. Lots of addresses, targeted to you, dirt-cheap. But they rarely work. Why? Their lists are messy. Chances are they got a lot of the names on their list through something called ‘e-mail append’, where they take existing direct mail lists and scour the web for… Read More
Ian Lurie7 Feb, 2008
People Search for Answers, not Keywords
75% of all those online will use a search engine to find you. But they’re not looking for keywords. They’re looking for answers. You may be inclined to modify your entire site to get that top spot for ‘mufflers’. It’s a nice, juicy keyword. If you get the top ranking for it, your boss will… Read More
Ian Lurie5 Feb, 2008
IT Department Wrecking Internet Marketing? It’s Your Fault.
At least once a week, I see an e-mail exchange like this: Portent: Please make this one change on all pages of your site. Client: OK, we’ll have that done in 2 months. Portent: What?! Client: Our IT (Information Technology) guys told us it’ll take 2 months. Portent: We’re asking you to change ‘bumpers’ to… Read More
Ian Lurie4 Feb, 2008
Internet Marketing Strategy Weekend: April 5, Seattle
April 5th-6th, I’ll be offering a 2-day internet marketing weekend. Here are the details: Everyone leaves with an internet marketing plan for their site, reviewed by peers. It’ll be informal. It’ll be in Seattle. I promise to be as sarcastic in person as I am online. I will prepare a worksheet for each site before… Read More
Ian Lurie1 Feb, 2008
15 Principles of Internet Marketing
In no particular order: No one’s lives depend on what we do. But people’s livelihoods do. So take your work seriously, and take pride in it. 75% of your audience uses a search engine to find you. Get used to it. All the banners and ‘viral’ marketing on earth won’t come close to results produced… Read More
Ian Lurie31 Jan, 2008
Internet Marketing for Publications: Reviewing PerfectWeddingGuide.com
The latest victim in my site review series is PerfectWeddingGuide.com. I’ve turned this review into a quick primer on internet marketing strategies for publications. Rex’s site is a perfect case study insofar as he’s in a very competitive space, and lives (I assume) on visitors and pageviews. More visitors and pageviews mean more advertising, and… Read More
Featured Ian Lurie30 Jan, 2008
Support Conversation Marketing: Donate
Do you find this blog useful? Like what I write? I’ve got a business proposal for you: Donate $3 to my blog, once. I’ll keep writing the same stuff I always do. Tips about internet marketing, strategic advice, site reviews and of course, the occasional rant. I’ll do it whether you donate or not. But,… Read More
Ian Lurie30 Jan, 2008
Save Me: Vote For Someone Else
SEOMoz is holding voting to see who gets to go up against the search engines in SMX Search Bowl 2008. Right now, I’m in first place. If I win, I will be massacred by the likes of Matt Cutts. So please go here (Polldaddy Poll) and vote for someone else.
Ian Lurie29 Jan, 2008
Bounce Rate: The Stat You Need To Know
There’s an internet marketing metric you’re not watching, but you should be. You’re tracking visitors. You’re tracking pageviews. Hopefully, you’re even tracking keywords and conversions. But are you tracking bounce rate? Bounce Rate is the percentage of visitors leaving your site after viewing only the page on which they landed. If I visit your site,… Read More
Ian Lurie28 Jan, 2008
Warning: Do Not Hire Sam’s Club for Search Marketing
Sam’s Club has thrown their hat into the SEO/PPC scam ring. In what’s becoming a weekly tradition, I’ve volunteered to point out why you’d have to be brain damaged to hire them: 1. They Can’t Market Themselves. Can They Market You?! In marketingspeak, Sam’s Club’s online marketing page is the south end of a northbound… Read More
Ian Lurie24 Jan, 2008
When In Web Design Doubt, Simplify: Aldebaran Web Design Review
Jill bravely volunteered her site aldebaranwebdesign.com for a review and six recommendations. In internet marketing, like any other form of marketing, the simplest message that communicates, wins. The poster with one compelling sentence will do better than one with a so-so photograph. The web site that attempts to do the least wins, too. The Aldebaran… Read More
Random Ian Lurie23 Jan, 2008
All I Need to Know About Internet Marketing I Learned from David Ogilvy
About Running an Agency “In the advertising industry to be successful you must, of necessity, accumulate a group of creative people. This probably means a fairly high percentage of high strung, brilliant, eccentric nonconformists.” — Confessions of an Advertising Man, p. 39 Amen. My best friends have always been eccentric nonconformists, too. The conversations are… Read More
Ian Lurie22 Jan, 2008
2 Sure Ways to Launch a New Product Online. And 2 Sure Ways to Blow It.
You’ve got something new, and nifty. You’re excited about it. Of course everyone else wants to know about it, too. But how to get the word out? 2 Good Ways To Get The Word Out On the Internet Both these methods are about audience building. You build audience by giving them information, not a sales… Read More
Ian Lurie21 Jan, 2008
Slow Posting Week, Sorry…
I’m traveling this week, so posts may be a bit thin. Which is ironic, given that I’ll be eating burgers and fries 2 meals a day, no doubt. Here are a few recent posts folks seemed to like, to tide you over: 11 Internet Marketing Trends to Ignore in 2008 65 Easy Ways to Improve… Read More
Internet Marketing Ian Lurie18 Jan, 2008
Conversational Marketing = Conversation Marketing
I admit it. This is a blatant attempt to clever stratagem brilliant marketing move to manipulate the search engines by writing about the phrase ‘Conversational Marketing’. I would never really do such a thing. I am only joking. I swear. Of course, I usually write about ‘Conversation Marketing’. But since Jack Meyers is writing about… Read More