5 tips showing how to Google Analytics to review your marketing campaign performance better

Value: [rating=4] Our commentary: I wrote a guest blog post on the dotDigitalBlog this week which has been quite popular, so I thought I would alert you to it here. Marketing implications: My post covers 5 techniques or measures which are opportunities I find are often missed when training marketers, so I hoped to make people aware of them. Recommended link: 5 tips on using Google Analtyics to review marketing performance…

Significant new feature will change clickthrough rates

This week, Google recently launched an update to its search results page (SERP) which allows visitors to preview a website within the results page before making the decision to click-through. The update currently only affects Natural Search listings but it is a useful tool for Google users and reports from Google themselves are saying searchers are 5% more likely to be satisfied with the result they click after using the preview. So our recommendation is to check out what happens when you press the magnifying button next to your listing for your brand search. Here is an example from the excellent analysis by Simple Usability on the Impact of Google Instant Previews on user behaviour - a must read for all online marketers. According to Google,  if you get this right you could expect up to…

How do your PPC costs compare? Should you take a closer look at Bing

The latest Q3 2010 paid search market data from Efficient Frontier gives some interesting insights into the big 3 Search Engines. In short it shows an increase in activity on Bing (Up 90% in Q3 2010) & Google while Yahoo saw drops. Why is this interesting? Well, we know that Microsoft have been working hard on Bing to try and claw its way back into the lucrative Search market and the current data is showing positive signs that they are succeeding. * Data from Efficient Frontier report - CPC Graph This is an important trend to recognise as a business. Most people focus their Paid Search efforts on Google due to the volume of traffic available there. This…

Connect 2010 email marketing conference summary

"It's all about the conversation" was a key message from Connect2010 email marketing conference which I attended in October. Organised by eCircle, and now in its 5th year, the event included a rich mixture of clients and guest speakers notably Halfords, eSpares, Webtrends, RichRelevance and Stephen O'Brien (Customer Insight Partnership). The day ended with a resonating presentation from Gianfranco Cuzziol, Planning Consultant eCircle, which was an alternative look at how fundamentally it all comes back to the conversation, and key thing you need to be asking is not necessarily which channel but do I have something to say?

Some key principles for all email marketers

Watch and listen before even speaking "You can learn by just listening to web behavior, click-stream activity, social engagement, offline activity. Digital body language is an important source of information Find the incentive for…

SEOMOZ Industry Report

Value: [rating=3] Our commentary: I don't believe SEOMOZ will require much of an introduction these days but I felt there recently released Industry survey results deserved a quick mention. They're of particular interest to SEO specialists working for companies or agencies. The survey covers the international market place and gives great insight into how people work within the search industry and budget investment in SEO. Well worth a scan, checkout the results and great infographic: Recommended link: SEO Industry Survey…

Yesterday, Facebook launched 'Deals' - a new application within Facebook's now updated iPhone app - it will let you find deals at nearby businesses. It's only available on iPhone for now, and only in the US until early next year. Mashable explains that there are four types of deals: "Individual Deals (for discounts, free stuff or other rewards), Friend Deals (where you and a pal claim something together), Loyalty Deals (for the regulars) and Charity Deals (which allow you to donate to a cause)". The concept is simple enough - users look for the yellow icon when they Check In using Places. You then click on the deal to claim…

Social network LinkedIn beefs up company profile pages

Aside from improvements to the user profiles and implementing Groups half-way through this year, Techcrunch have posted about the beefed up Company profile page, a feature originally launched back in April this year. Now with over 1 million company pages already, LinkedIn is clearly seeing the value and creating new ways in which to members and companies can interact within the network. The expansion appears to not only make the network a more social place but to also provide meaningful data to users about the company, to really start opening up and provide new ways to mash-up the 75 million+ members"€™ data. We can only assume that this is something that we are going to see more of from LinkedIn.

So - what's interesting in the update?

Company profiles are getting more social. Admins can…

7 Steps To Help Guide Social Media Planning

Value: [rating=4] Our commentary: Lee Odden, of Top Rank blog fame,  has pulled together a pretty detailed list covering his key areas to check when creating or refining a social media marketing plan - I thought it would be useful to our followers so here's a short summary plus a link to the full post: Organisation: Who is the senior sponsor that is going to give you support at board level, is there appetite in the organisation? Think through the human resources necessary, who are the key staff who'll benefit and how will the wider team be involved? Listening: Open your ears (via software) to general brand mentions, customers referencing you, what are prospects talking about in your market - and what's the competitor behaviour, are they being mentioned too. Goal Setting: This is going to be key when getting senior management buy in. How are you going…

Did you know that YouTube is now the second largest search engine? Here's some proof of its importance and techniques to engage your audience

Value: [rating=5] Our commentary: For the last 2 years You Tube has been widely recognised by most as the second largest search engine in the US, if not worldwide. First reported in October 2008 (view article) YouTube has continued to dominate as a video orientated social network.

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Key issues to consider for a website refresh

Many site owners are painfully aware that a site redesign or enhancement to the page templates and content for their site are long overdue. Websites provide customers with access to your company 24/7. Today a website is an intrinsic element of a company"€™s marketing mix so it"€™s essential to get it right. SMEs don't have the big budgets, teams and agencies of corporates so the approach of continuous improvement isn't realistic here. But what are the secrets to success for a redesign which need to go into the business case? Here are what I think are the main issues which we find arise again and again in a site redesign. They're also useful to forward to CEOs and others that need convincing.

1.       Decide your objectives

What do you want to get out of your website? To generate leads To…