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SEM Firms, What They Did and What They Do Now

Steve Thomas — Mon, 04 May 2009 16:25:53 +0000

“The purpose of this meeting is to explain what it is your firm does.”

It was very kind of one of our clients to introduce us to a new prospect. We had worked with this client for over a year in service areas ranging from design to technical mixed with a heavy dose of strategic meetings and social marketing campaigns. The relationship has been great, one of those win-win pairings where we seem to always be on the same track. Equally there is a healthy respect between “them and us” as there are no turf wars between IT and marketing teams. (Which can sometimes happen when marketing talks to IT.)

Most of our new business these days comes from referrals or expanded business in satisfying additional needs from current clients. So the request to “explain what you do” is a pretty normal one. Our reply, “No problem, I’ll send you our information as it relates to your firm.” Before doing so, out of curiosity, I pulled out an old “What We Do” document and compared it to more recent ones. Wow. It’s kind of like being away from a niece or a nephew for a few years and seeing them as they hit their teenage years. Wow.

The “maturing” of your services can sneak up on you over time just like the growth and aging of the people around you. You don’t recognize the difference in them (or in you) until you do a compare and contrast to old memories or old photos. Especially true with drivers license or passport photos! This recognition changes your perspective.

In our case, this contrast and review made me think about the “What We Do” propaganda we currently send out. In a typical interaction with a modern day web marketing client, what do we do?

Where we impact clients starts with their Internet strategy

What is the purpose of their site(s)?
Who (visitors) are they wanting to attract? Multiple whos?
What do they want to tell them?
What do they want these visitors to do to support the firm?
How do they know if that is working?

We move on then to research and study:

Review of any and all analytics data
Study their competitive environment
Look at what makes that firm “unique”
Determine how that helps them on the web in a competitive manner
With that knowledge then we tackle tactical planning:

SEO

Create a plan to harness any existing social energy
Come up with ideas to create online awareness
Support their efforts, tech, design, content dev and analytics
Ideas to improve conversion

Finally we dive into communication and support:

Here’s what we know
Here’s what it leads us to
Here’s what needs to be done
Here’s how we can help if, when and where you need us

And, oh yeah, you need to keep it up. So, for many clients we perform:

Content development
Email marketing
Social marketing
Creative and design
Technical support, application development and hosting
Analytics review
Keep their team updated on trends and opportunities
And more…

So, in a quick synopsis, I guess what The Net Impact does today is help clients understand their current presence on the web, assist in developing strategy, confirm their plan, create actionable tactics and throw our support their way wherever, however and whenever required.

I wonder changes next year’s snapshot will bring?

Home Page Pointers

Steve Thomas — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 21:45:45 +0000

Five Helpful Tips for Above the Fold

Artistic Sensations Quality Kids and Teen Room Decor

Every once in while it’s good to review the basics for conversion like, “What is working on my Home Page?” For this conversation, I selected a small but mighty retailer of teen and kids furniture, Artistic Sensations. The Net Impact is currently running several Google Optimizer tests on this site including several to improve conversion. Yes, you always want to improve conversion. Many of the elements on the current home page for Artistic Sensations are the results of previous tests. What did we learn and how does it relate to this Home Page Pointers post? Here are a few quick and easy take-aways:

: What works

Let’s start with the arrows:

Red Arrow: Artistic Sensations deals a lot with parents and grandparents that would rather pick up the phone and have a live person assist them with their purchase. The prominent toll free number provides a genuine invitation for this customer.

Blue Arrow: Note the Authorize.net badge of security. Again, with parents and grandparents, as well as other clients purchasing big ticket items online, displaying security provides a big advantage in the battle to gain trust from new customers.

Black Arrow: The simple easy to read on any browser shopping links are a terrific aid to customers; these are heavily used and stand out from item images that provide graphic calls to action.

Purple Arrow: Yeah, the search box gets good use.

Time for the boxes:

Red Box: The two “big” divisions of products, “Kids” and “Teen”, are called out in a very prominent and clear manner. We are going to further test ways to increase traffic to the store from here as this buyer can be looking for entire room makeovers and is clearly looking for a specific type of product for a specific age.

Purple Box: Image driven calls to action are a big plus for spontaneous and gift shopping. Putting new, test and top selling products right up-front increases traffic to the store area.

What we didn’t mention yet:

Branding with a strong name and logo element lets the customer know where they are immediately. Constant testing of ideas like the Baseball Themed bedrooms, the visibility of sales and promotions and the top of page easy access to shopping cart and account information are all proven. Grouping, look carefully at the way calls to action are grouped together. Remember, people scan a site in a blur but really focus in on parts of the page in small parcels. If you do not group related areas together, (Contact Us and phone proximity as an example) they may not see them.

Top Five Take-Aways for Above the Fold

Provide an easy brand identity and 411. Display a prominent logo, phone number and easy to find contact us for both shopping and customer service.
Design for your customer. For Artistic Sensations, the toll free number and a knowledgeable representative to talk to are real positives to the parents and grandparents making purchases.
Badges and Trophy Case items. Autorize.net, BBB, etc. whatever you possess provides additional measures of security for the customer when they pick you before they pick product.
Different options for different visitors. Visually graphic calls to action with images for returning shoppers and those interested in new ideas, buttons indicating big divisions in shopping patterns for those on a mission, same with the easy to shop links on the right (red box), the search box for the “in a hurry” shopper. Remember, each type of shopper should be considered in designing your entry points to shopping.
Keep your site current. Seasonal products and new information are absolutely expected by the customer. Make that obvious to your visitor.

Finally, keep testing and making changes. All we know is that this version of your site is what the customer likes today. As for tomorrow?

Great Article Alert: Should You Include Keywords in Your URL

Steve Thomas — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 18:50:03 +0000

Every once in a while we find a post worth sharing. Today, really enjoyed reading latest from Search Marketing Standard, “Should You Include Keywords in Domain Names”. For those of you fixated by web marketing detail it’s a good read. Keyword in Domain Name Post

Managing Your Online “Friendships”

Steve Thomas — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 22:52:03 +0000

Getting a Grip!

Can You Post, Comment, Link, Reply and Tweet Yourself into Stressville?

Whenever we speak to a group about social marketing, the common complaint is, “I just can’t keep up with it all!” Many people are overwhelmed just trying to keep up with their volume of emails at work. Much less everything else. I have often thought, and maybe you can identify with this, you can spend all day responding to emails and still get absolutely nothing accomplished. When do you initiate actions of your own? If not, how does your own agenda move forward?

If keeping up with email volume is a tough one for you, how are you doing with Google alerts, tweets (Twitter), Linked In announcements, Plaxo bursts, Merchant Circle, Facebook walls, Naymz alerts, blog reader filling up….well you get the idea. Oh wait, I almost forgot, occasionally your phone may ring or chime you with a new text.

What’s the famous ad say? “Wanna get away?”. Well you can’t really get away, not if your work involves staying in touch. What you can do though is get it under control.

First things first. This generation of tech workers is the same one that over-scheduled their kids (or increasingly, they are the kids that were over-scheduled). You get conflicting calendars for sports, school, family and friends right? How is your desktop any different? You don’t need to Jones out over every, pinging, blinking and chiming application bearing your oh so clever user name. How to cope?

Separate!

Separate your professional network from you way-too-personal social network. Like, oh yeah, tell your stepfather to send his viral emails to your Yahoo address. You can read (or delete) those then at home. Know the difference between LinkedIn and Facebook? One’s a resume builder and one can be a resume killer. Do you really want to engage your boss in Mafia war or send a drink to a co-worker? And how about those great beach party pictures from last summer? Want those displayed for EVERYONE to see? Thought not.

Prioritize!

What are the “need to do’s”? Email is an essential right? How about the rest? My advice is to pace yourself. Got a blog, then yes, frequent refreshing content is essential. Here is your personality on display. Don’t fake it. How about the rest of those social networking temptations?

Enjoy Yourself!

I love LinkedIn. It has allowed me to keep up with a lot of professionals from my past and current work efforts in a positive structured environment. How about all of those clubs you can join? Some are way too overactive; some are so dead they shouldn’t even exist. To me, if you feel stressed out about keeping up with a Linked In club, either ignore it or drop it.

I also enjoy Twitter. It’s easy to relate to. You can follow only those tweets you want to see, and you can log on and enter your own messages very easily for the benefit of your social network and colleagues. If it is your goal to have more followers than Matt Cutts then go for it. We all have ambitions. If not, like with your blog, be yourself and let the chips fall where they may.

Feel Good About Your Invested Time!

Other personal relationships of course exist with charitable and social organizations that are personal and important to you. Well, that’s what the web 2.0 is all about. Have at it, and please do make a difference.

The main point is don’t let your inbox, where ever it resides, drive your day. If you do well, then rest assured that Stressville is a pretty crowded place. Take your mobile!

The Face of Web 2.0. I Call Her “Dear.”

Steve Thomas — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 01:48:02 +0000

Web 2.0. You Can Study It At Home.

Many times when we discuss with our TNI clients “What is social marketing?,” a.k.a. Web 2.0, you see their eyes glaze over. And why not? Social marketing is as simple as the tax code. It’s as straight forward as the NFL draft. It’s as uniform as drink choices at Starbucks. Of course, none of those statements reflect reality. So, how do we put social marketing in simple terms? Let’s try to put a “face” on Web 2.0. Where to start? How about in your own home?

How do you like your web? 1) Safe and serene to be used as needed from you desktop at home or the office? 2) Daily, frequently and available via laptop at any coffee shop? or 3) Urgently, constantly and with the agressive pressure and pleasure of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and blogging?

Which of the users above, 1, 2 or 3, take advantage of social marketing? The truth is, and I know this from personal experience, they all do. In our household, I am a web user somewhere between 2 and 3. I tweet (TNIMAN), I blog both personally and professionally. I read dozens of posts, newsletters and articles weekly. I Facebook. I LinkedIn. (Are those now verbs?) I love reviews and feedback from users. I even occasionally like viral emails from my father-in-law regardless of our political differences. So, I could easily and effortlessly be identified as a web 2.0 today. Yeah, I need it just like my morning coffee!

But, I’m not the only social marketing maven in the family. As a matter of fact, I may be the number 2 power user of Web 2.0. My wife, the “Dear” in the title, is much more of a power user of social marketing than she realizes. The truth is, many people are. Yes, Jodi is a type 1 web user. She can wait to get online until she’s at home. She doesn’t carry a phone that gives an annoying “PING” every time some profile is hit. Her web use is safe and serene…yet very very active and personal. So, how is she a Web 2.0 black belt? How is my “Dear” the face of social marketing? Simple. She surfs, reads, researches and communicates online about many things every day but especially about her passion – distance running. Check out just one typical weekend’s interaction online strictly regarding this activity.

Friday:

Checked out http://www.runnersworld.com for advice, news, interesting articles and tips.

Went onto http://www.fleetfeetstl.com to check out her log-in area for her running group and to Google map Saturday’s group run.

Verified event entry for the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day run at www.irishparade.org/run

Looked at other potential March/April races on http://www.getregistered.com and www.StlouisTrackclub.com

Saturday:

After being concerned about an increasingly sore heel, went onto www.Webmd.com and researched Kinesio tape (you know, like they used in the Olympics) at www.Kinesiotaping.com (probably bought it too, but I’ll never know.) Also, booked an online appointment with her chiropractor for an appointment to check it out.

While resting and checking email, looked into http://www.yahoo.com and read articles on blogs: http://www.sportsgeezer.com (for me she says) and www.Runtrails.blogspot.com.

After reading, she did some writing and posted today’s activity on her own blog, www.runninglikeagirl.com. She posts on the average every other day in a frank open manner with NO ADVERTISING. Get this, to her, it’s not all about AdWords.

Sunday:

Did a little shopping on http://www.titlenine.com, www.NationalRunningCenter.com, http://www.tenniswarehouse.com, and, of course, bidding on some running shoes on www.Ebay.com.

That’s 16 websites with interdependence and interaction all related to the single activity of distance running in one weekend. Other days could have included reading about races, reviews of clothes that other runners liked, uploading and downloading some Garmin data, posting more information onto her site, www.stlouisbasketballcourts.com, logging onto photo albums of friends on Flickr.com or checking out something viral on YouTube.com. So, how do you begin to explain social marketing? How do you put a face on Web 2.0? For me it’s as simple as looking at my wife. I call that face “Dear.”

The Pros and Cons of Subdomains

ssawall — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:50:39 +0000

A client recently inquired about the use of subdomains versus subfolders and the benefits of each. From an SEO perspective, much of our research points to using subfolders rather than subdomains as the best answer. However, there are some cases in which a subdomain can be a good choice. The following points illustrate the pros and cons of subdomains.

Subdomain PROS

Concise and easy to remember URLS can make marketing and branding easier, but it may also take some client education to ensure that users don’t type in the www.
Links between a subdomain and a main domain may be treated with slightly more weight than an internal link, but if the subdomain and main domain are hosted in the same place links between the two will be given the same weight as internal links.
It is possible to get links from directories in multiple categories if the topic of the subdomain would fall under a different category than the main domain.

Subdomain CONS

It takes more work to build up page rank and links on a subdomain just as if it were a new top level domain.
The content on a subdomain is not necessarily considered relevant to the main domain.
The relationship to the main domain is not as clearly established as a subfolder to the main domain.
Search engines don’t always pass the same authority from the main domain to the subdomain.
Link juice is split between main domain and subdomain.
Subdomains are often not seen as distinct enough to show up in the search results as a different site alongside the main domain. So, dominating the space on page one with your main domain and subdomains is unlikely.

Many of the subdomain cons are the subfolder or subdirectory pros. The advantages of subfolders are that they directly contribute to the content and authority of the main domain. Subfolders keep the link juice concentrated on the main domain rather than splitting it as a subdomain does. Therefore, it is easier to build up page rank and links to the main domain. Some of the subdomain pros can also be seen as the subfolder cons. For example subfolder URLs are often not as concise and easy to remember as a subdomain. Also, as a general rule it is better not to bury pages too deep within folders making them hard for users and search engine robots to find. In general, subfolders tend to be the better choice unless there is a really compelling reason to use a subdomain. If you have questions about redesigning the architecture of your site, please contact us.

Sources:

http://www.seomoz.org/blog/subdomains-subfolders-and-toplevel-domains

http://www.isedb.com/db/articles/1424/0/Subdomains—What-are-the-SEO-benefits/Page0.html

http://searchengineland.com/how-changes-to-the-way-google-handles-subdomains-impact-seo-12899.php