Key Internet advertising options for 2011

In a recent post, I asked readers of SmartInsights to give their views on Internet advertising. Although some who completed the survey were in favour of online advertising and use it regularly, the majority have either not used it or or tried it once and not used it again since it's less effective than other techniques. This follow-up post is to show that there are an increasing number of options to use Internet advertising. These have the option that you can reach your audience outside of the search engines. This has the clear advantages that: A finite number of searches occur for each keyphrase each month The cost per click in many categories often makes Adwords expensive People won't search if their unaware of a product type or category Your ads outside the search engine can help increase searches for your brand term or increase conversion due to…

A briefing on using Quora for digital marketing

Before I start my mini-rant I have to say I do see the value of online Q&A services. I really enjoy answering questions and reading answers - it's one of the best ways to learn. They can also help in a small way in learning about customer needs and making folks aware of your services.

Buzz about Quora

I decided to write this summary since there's been a massive amount of chatter about Quora in the digital marketing world in the first week of 2011. Like me, you're probably thinking: "what is it", "what makes it different from Yahoo! Answers?" and "how can it help my online marketing?" I think many became aware of it through this widely shared article on the Telegraph and similar stating that "Quora will be bigger than Twitter". I initially picked up on it through a Tweet giving this giving an…

To complete our look at trends to review to include within your Internet marketing strategy in 2011, here are my suggestions on key issues to consider when considering your social media strategy in 2011.

1. Content

Social media is nothing without content, your content, partners content and of course customers content. As marketers incorporate social media more to engage visitors in their brand or business, they will wonder how they can make use of the several profiles that have been set-up. It's my belief is that the realisation will be that the answer lies squarely with content. As social guru Chris Brogan commented about a year ago, "it's the firewood around which social campfires form". 2011 will see marketers see the results of content investment (ebooks, video, PowerPoint presentations) and test the waters en masse. Though great content is born from the unique intersection between your brand and the needs of the…

Its always a popular time of reflection at the start of a New Year & 2011 is undoubtedly no different for most of us. However, I want to look forwards & give some practical recommendations on how you can use new features within paid search to help you in 2011. While I may not be a 100% right in my predictions, a lot of the techniques I'll talk about are already available and you may be missing out - to help I'll link to sources to find out more. Making some bold decisions for pushing your paid search strategy in 2011 maybe just the start to the year you are looking for!

5 techniques to review in how you approach paid search in 2011:

1. Mobile will alter PPC as we know it

The volume of people now using the internet on their mobile phones is continuing to grow as phones adapt & grow…

The start of a new year quite often means lots of reflection & sets in place new ideas / learnings for the year to come. 2011 is no different; its always difficult to remember where you were 12 months ago, but digital marketing and search as part of that came a long way in 2010. Search in my opinion has matured, enough people now understand enough for it to become more widely accepted and feared less. The smoke & mirrors, black hat techniques and complexity that used to make it inaccessible to so many has finally been broken down. Moving into 2011 I believe Natural Search will start to work its way into marketing teams & businesses rather than outsourced to "specialists" or left to specific roles in the business, it will as my first trend talks about become integrated.

Recommended reading on SEO success factors for 2011

I've been checking out the…

Our suggestions on getting more from your web analytics

Rather than just looking at predictions or trends in analytics, I've tried to make these practical to show quick wins or changes to your digital strategy which can help get better results.

5 success factors for your web analytics in 2011

Since we're big advocates of using Google Analytics, we've tried to apply many of these practical suggestions to Google Analytics. 1. Make Smarter use of your analytics. (more…)…