Date Archive: July 2007

Conversion rates differ by engine and by keyword, but also by match type and whether the search is coming from Google.com or Google’s syndicate partners.

As 2007 is now half over, it seems a good time to compare the performance of the Big Three search engines year-to-date.

Robust on-site search is an essential component of a successful retail website. Site search apps, however, depend on good SKU-level attribute data. Mercado’s Kevin Lindsay discusses data quality and “searchandising.”

You can clean up your Microsoft Outlook contact list using Excel, easily and at no cost.

Rule #1 of the Attention Economy: if I want to communicate with you (or market to you) I need to capture your attention and earn the right to keep it. Putting first things first and leveraging prominence and prioritization can help your site win a few points in the competition for online attention.

Our recent post over at Search Engine Land asks the question, “Does it ever make sense to use stronger keywords to subsidize weaker keywords? We suggest the answer is “Yes—when done correctly.”

Broad match keeps getting broader. Examining logs reveals valuable insights.

The May 8th Search Illustrated post over at SEL presents PageRank as a mighty mountain. While the visual metaphor is inexact, it does give a good sense of the non-linear nature of PageRank.

Leigh Vosler from Sierra Trading Post shares data feed marketing best practices.

As many web marketing programs are managed through web apps, a little browser hackery can go a long way towards increasing the efficiency of the web marketing team.

Microsoft’s new site analytics tool was mentioned at the Shop.org workshop, just a day before a few screenshots were released.

The Shop.org 2007 Online Merchandising Workshop just wrapped up a few hours ago, and it was a great show.

Some interesting links, no particular theme.

My beef is not so much about the Long Tail concept as it is with the name.

As a marketer, wouldn’t you love to receive permission to charge your customer’s credit card for a new order once a month? Or at least every 2 months? Or three?
How much of your margin would you be willing to sacrifice for this frequency?

Robots run half of Staples.com’s Chambersburg, PA warehouse.

Google continues to comprise three-fourths of our agency’s total monthly PPC spend. In June, Yahoo held steady, while Microsoft picked one point of share from Google.

Getting the most out of your SEM requires proper management, but “proper” depends on the type of agency you’ve hired.

The new Common Craft video on Social Networking will remind you that independent of any media or site, the real connections happen between people.

While the 800Junk guys manhandled debris into their truck, I reflected that our paid search agency employs a similar pricing model.

Feeburner PRO is now free. Thanks, Google.

Test your knowledge of the marketing implications of social media on this 40 question test.

McConnell and Huba discuss social media.