Conversation MarketingRuminations on the world of internet marketing, by a grown up. We won't use the word 'synergy' once, we promise...Local Search Ranking Factors- June 17, 2008 David Mihm kindly invited me to take part in his first ever Local Search Ranking Factors survey. You can read the results here. Don't read it because of my drips and drops of information, though. Look who else got involved. A veritable who's-who of SEO geekery: Mike Belasco SEOverflow Mike Blumenthal Blumenthals Local Search Blog Mary Bowling Blizzard Internet Marketing Tim Coleman Convert Offline Miriam Ellis Solas Web Design Steve Espinosa eLocal Listing Brad...http://www.conversationmarketing.com/2008/06/local_search_ranking_factors.htm Firefox Goes for Record, Crashes Instead- June 17, 2008 Firefox wanted to break the world record for downloads with their new Firefox 3 browser. Neat! I signed up for 'Firefox Download Day', which is today. I go to their site and see this: Can you give me a D’OH! My piece of internet marketing wisdom for today: If you want to try to break a download record, be sure you have the bandwidth and servers to handle it. Oh, and you might want to test, too. Update: 2 PM PDT - I just downloaded Firefox 3. It’s dang nifty so..http://www.conversationmarketing.com/2008/06/firefox-goes-for-record-crashes-instead.htm If Your Competitor Jumped Off the Brooklyn Bridge, Would You- June 17, 2008 In internet marketing, following the crowd, even if they’re successful, can get you in trouble. A Little Introduction Skip to the next section if you don't like to read background stuff. How many people here grew up on the East coast (Ian raises hand) How many people heard this quote from their mother, father or grandparent If your friends insert stupid act here would you, too (Ian raises hand) Mine typically involved the Brooklyn Bridge or Empire State Building....http://www.conversationmarketing.com/2008/06/internet-marketing-if-your-competitor-jumped-... How To: Create a Great 404 Page Not Found Error Page- June 13, 2008 I hate seeing these: It’s a waste. You put all that work into creating a great site. Someone makes a mistake like mis-typing a page name, or they click a bad link on someone else's site, and you drive them away with the internet equivalent of a wagging finger. By the way, this is a competitor’s site: A marketing agency that claims to offer internet marketing. Why am I not a multi-millionaire You can have a much friendlier ‘page not found’ page - also known...http://www.conversationmarketing.com/2008/06/create-a-great-404-page.htm I'm on Internet Radio- June 12, 2008 If you're interested, I'm on Mike Corso's most excellent talk show on Talkshoe: Listen herehttp://www.conversationmarketing.com/2008/06/im_on_internet_radio.htm How Internet Marketing Keeps the Ball Rolling- June 11, 2008 Internet marketing is better at keeping the ball rolling, business-wise, than any other medium. I swear, this diagram will make perfect sense by the time you’re done reading: Step 1: All Marketing Starts With Discovery You start marketing your product or service when someone discovers it and assigns a value to it. I’m not talking about dollar value. I mean the kind of value that says “This won't end up in the attic a week from now”. Online, discovery happens.http://www.conversationmarketing.com/2008/06/internet-marketing-keeps-the-ball-rolling.htm How To: Choose a Hosting Company That Won't Drive You Insane- June 11, 2008 I spent the morning trying not to pop every blood vessel in my head. My blood pressure increased as I had to dump first one, then a second hosting company in a period of 8 hours. I won’ go into the details. It’s still too painful. What little stomach lining is left needs some time to recover. Suffice it to say I ignored my Four Rules For Picking A Hosting Company. Site hosting is critical to an internet marketing campaign. If your servers choke, you get no customers. If your...http://www.conversationmarketing.com/2008/06/how-to-choose-a-hosting-company.htm Conversation Marketing: Now Standards Compliant- June 11, 2008 Finally. With a lot of help from my staff, I've got a blog that's W3C standards compliant: I know you're saying "So" right now. But I have to get my little victories where I can. My CSS would be compliant, too, except for the stupid hacks we have to make for Internet Explorer. Bill, Bill what are we going to do with youhttp://www.conversationmarketing.com/2008/06/conversation_marketing_now_sta.htm Internet Marketing Basics: The Players- June 6, 2008 It's Friday. I'm burnt out on Web x.0, Moo! and all the other drama du jour. So I'm heading back to internet marketing basics. If you're a beginner at all this, or need a refresher, read on. What are the big vehicles in internet marketing these days Where can you get traffic What should you ignore Here's my list: Unpaid (Organic) Search Engine Results Depending on who you ask, search engines generate anywhere from 60-75% of all traffic online. I'm willing to bet lunch that it's.http://www.conversationmarketing.com/2008/06/internet-marketing-basics-the-essentials.htm The Internet Marketing DO List: Get Earning, Stop Talking- June 5, 2008 Every internet marketing decision you delay wastes money. "But Iannnnn," you say, "What if I'm wrong People will laugh at me!" It's true, I may laugh at you. It makes me feel better. But do some math: Decide to invest $10,000 in internet marketing campaigns. 50% are successful. 50% fail. The failures cost you $5,000. Ouch! Fire the damned internet marketer! He's a moron. But wait: The successes, earning a modest 2:1 ROI, earned you $10,000. You broke even. Get a more...http://www.conversationmarketing.com/2008/06/internet-marketing-do-list.htm |