I’ve been playing a game with myself lately. When I search for something on Google, I try to analyze why I am pulled to click on a particular listing in the organic (not paid or sponsored) search return. Clearly page one status helps, but not always. Sometimes I think the real kernel of truth lives on page two or three, hidden from the general public. Those long URLs? Forget it. They make me think they are unrelated to what I’m really searching for. Descriptive headlines in the listing? Very helpful and cause me to click more rapidly. More and more, I think the good brands are very focused on this and look for ways to improve not just their ranking but what it says. It’s still the early days for this area of specialty within marketing. The real brand builders and marketers (not the web tech guys or companies that only do SEO) are the ones who are going to figure this out and make a real difference for their client’s brand.
Online Marketing
Synergize Your Search Marketing
With limited budgets, high expectations, and short timelines, marketers are increasingly looking toward online channels to build their brands, acquire and retain customers, reduce costs, and capture any remaining trickle of available revenue the recession hasn’t evaporated. The quest for the best online investment of the precious marketing dollar often leads to search marketing and is met with confusion. What is more effective: optimization (SEO) or paid search (PPC)? The answer is simple: Yes.
There is no doubt that a well-optimized website and a dedicated effort to continually manage and expand the effort yields results. High natural or organic rankings can produce almost magical results; but a #1 organic ranking in Google, the holy grail of search marketing, is nearly as difficult to achieve as the one sought by Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark, to say nothing of the effort to keep it.
A Brand’s Reputation Can Be Severely Damaged In Seconds
As evident from 10,000 tweets an hour about the Swine flu outbreak to Domino’s video fiasco, brands can no longer turn a blind eye to managing their online reputation. What does this really mean? Well, in simple terms listen, learn and engage in the conversation. Sounds straightforward, right? It can be if brands are properly using social media channels. To be honest, we remain astounded at how many companies are still “watching” the online space versus beginning to maximize it for building their brand, interacting with consumers and managing a crisis situation in real time, before a situation gets out of control.
Using Analytics to Increase Online Marketing Effectiveness
Tom Davenport, the noted Babson College and Harvard Business School scholar, has written extensively on how companies that effectively employ analytics to leverage business intelligence data into fact-based decisions can build a competitive advantage. His team has researched large organizations such as Proctor & Gamble, Bank of America, Wachovia, and Harrah’s, and makes some points that translate well to businesses of all size and the importance of capturing and, more importantly, using analytics data.
Twitter Joins the Social Network Club
Social networks are just that, social, by including people from all over the world and a network, providing an opportunity to interact with others online. On Facebook, members can join groups and become a “fan” of a specific company or product. On LinkedIn, members can join and engage in discussions in groups and search for companies to learn more about them. Recently, Twitter joined the social network club with the addition of an application called Twibes.
