Ignore search marketing, and internet marketing, and your audience may walk away from you. Here’s a few interesting stats from Understanding Searcher Behavior: Over half of search engine users now substitute internet search for the phone book. 43% of search engine users now use search engines to find local services. Local search is a growing… Read More

Testing works. It doesn’t just work. It kicks butt. Here’s a recent example: We ran a lead generation campaign for a client. We had 4 landing pages and made sure that 25% of our audience landed on each one. These landing pages were not all that different. We used two possible headlines and two possible… Read More

Internet Marketing

One lesson, two examples, and proof (as if it were really necessary) that I’m not infallible: First, the lesson: If an online ad venue is a flop at 1x, increasing it to 6x will only make it a bigger flop. I just got a call from a sales rep from an ad network. They explained… Read More

I'm on a bit of an internet marketing tear this week, with my little rant yesterday and now this post. I'm prepping for a breakfast presentation tomorrow, which may explain it. The first question in the presentation is 'What is internet marketing?'. Generally, when I ask that question, I get a range of answers, but none include 'my web site'. That's a major omission.

Go to Technorati.com and search for Internet Marketing. Half the posts that show up talk about search engine optimization. SEO does not equal Internet Marketing. It’s one piece of it, but it’s not all of it. Equating SEO and Internet Marketing is like saying an introduction is the same as a marriage proposal. Getting found… Read More

Internet Marketing

Three terms that make my right eye twitch: Web 2.0 isn’t. Someone building a ‘web 2.0’ web site is building a better web site. It’s not some sea change in how web sites work. A blog is not a revolution in internet technology. Blogging software is just a form of content management. Viral marketing is… Read More

Here’s a quick case study: Me. I’ve been marketing my book a bit for a week now, and had a nice burst of orders on the first weekend. Then things tailed off. A look at my traffic report told me folks are getting to the page and reading about the book , but not buying… Read More

Since 2004, pundits have been saying that political campaigning on the internet has come of age. I beg to differ – it’s just barely been born. Howard Dean showed us all the potential of grass-roots online campaigning. Moveon.org continues to draw attention. And the Republican party made amazing use of the blogosphere during the last… Read More

Seth Godin has given form to any designer’s worst nightmare: The marketer or boss who says “I’ll know it when I see it”. No you won’t. Check out what Seth says: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2006/05/marketing_potho.html

Internet Marketing

In case any of you have wondered why my posts have slowed a bit of late: I have just taken my first book to publication. Conversation Marketing puts down on paper the internet marketing method I’ve used for years. If you’d like to learn more about it, or maybe even buy a copy, you can… Read More

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

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.

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

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

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