Archive for February, 2010

Search Analysis – Olympics

February 28, 2010

Hitwise Search Intelligence data reveals the top websites from the complete list of websites that received traffic from the search term ‘olympics’.

The results are ordered based on the volume of traffic for the week ending February 20, 2010.

Olympics

Olympics

I was surprised to see Hitwise data show Google News was the third most popular destination for Olympic searches.

Athens Greece In 3D With Google Earth

February 27, 2010

Now Google Earth users can see Athens, Greece in 3D. To view make sure the “3D Buildings” layer is checked in the Layers panel.

VIsit http://earth.google.com to download Google Earth.

Publcize WordPress Blogs To Facebook

February 26, 2010

You can now send WordPress.com posts to Facebook.

Publicize WordPress Facebook

Publicize WordPress Facebook

From the WordPress Blog:

These connections are per blog and per user, so those of you with several blogs can choose which ones to connect, and those of you with multiple authors on one blog can each hook up your Facebook accounts separately.

I use WordPress Publicize to Twitter, but doubt I will ever publicize any of my WordPress blogs to Facebook.

Television’s Most Effective Marketing

February 25, 2010

The following spots highlight the most effective TV marketing according to Nielsen for the week ending 01-10-10.

[clearspring_widget title=”Nielsen IAG” wid=”496fac9b3f179562″ pid=”4b869761d4d9919a” width=”304″ height=”274″ domain=”widgets.clearspring.com”]

Nielsen’s most effective television marketing reel includes the top ad, the top product placement and the top hybrid spot.

Nielsen uses their Brand Recall methodology to selects the winners.

I guess if brand advertising on television can’t be held accountable for whether it increases completed brand sales transactions or not, then a good Brand Recall score is the a best brand marketer can hope for.

Computer Mediated Transactions

February 24, 2010

The video below is of Google’s Chief Economist Hal Varian’s keynote at the American Economic Association meeting in January, 2010.

Varian’s talk is titled “Computer Mediated Transactions.”

Google Web Analytics TV

February 23, 2010

Google Analytics experts Avinash Kaushik & Nick Mihailovski answer questions about Analytics and other Google tools.

Topics covered in this Episode #6 video include macro vs. micro conversions, using analytics on affiliate sites, tracking different domains, and more.

Does Your Business Have A Searched, Blended Or Branded Web Presence?

February 22, 2010

After managing web traffic at a variety of different businesses for over a decade now, I have concluded there are three general types of businesses online – the searched, blended and branded web presence.

The following examples illustrate each of the three different types of sites and their positioning for web traffic.

Let’s start with the least common of the three types of traffic – the searched site.

The searched site has been organized, designed and optimized to attract and extract the maximum search traffic available from a particular business category.

The searched site business understands market demand for their particular niche and has set out to capture mind, search and market share at the expense of their competition.

Any business originating the majority of its traffic referrals from organic search relative to its direct and other traffic sources falls into the searched category.

Top Traffic Sources CBG

Top Traffic Sources CBG

Searched businesses are the exception not the rule.

Top Traffic Sources MP

Top Traffic Sources MP

The second type of business positioning online is the blended site.

The blended site is much more common and is usually the result of several design iterations over the course of time by several different parties.

Although not fully optimized for search market demand, the site receives its share of organic search engine referrals, yet receives a higher percentage of its traffic from direct navigation and other referrals via other forms of online and offline advertising.

Top Traffic Sources IT

Top Traffic Sources IT

Established and mature businesses usually enjoy a blended online presence through past years of offline and now online marketing and advertising.

Top Traffic Sources S

Top Traffic Sources S

Businesses with a blended presence often have the resources and budgets to experiment with site design and optimization which their site’s traffic referral results reflect.

Top Traffic Sources P

Top Traffic Sources P

Often blended search presence site’s experiment with and embrace paid search (CPC) advertising  to further exploit their initial positive search engine results.

Top Traffic Source GS

Top Traffic Source GS

CPC search often then becomes a major source of predictable recurring traffic and results for the blended business site.

Top Traffic Sources RPS

Top Traffic Sources RPS

A small percentage of businesses with blended traffic recognize the positive economic impact paid search (PPC) has had on their site and business, then preferring paid search traffic sources to all others.

The Branded web presence is the final type of website traffic position.

Top Traffic Sources SE

Top Traffic Sources SE

The branded business site is one that typically enjoys a strong market presence offline yet has experienced little competitive pressure online.

As a result, the branded business hasn’t yet established a web presence or reached an audience beyond the direct navigation traffic it receives which most likely comes from its existing customers who use their browsers to navigate directly to the brand’s website address.

While customer retention is important for brands, branded web presence sites can draw from the positioning strategies of the searched and blended sites to both attract and acquire new customers that it otherwise wouldn’t have attracted or acquired through a branded presence alone.

Which type of web presence does your business have: Searched, Blended or Branded?

Brand Trust?

February 21, 2010

Yesterday many Twitter accounts received phishing attempts via direct messaging.

My account was no exception.

I am sure neither of the Twitter account holders below are even aware their accounts were hijacked.

Direct Message Phishing Attempt

Direct Message Phishing Attempt

This isn’t the first time Twitter has been compromised.

How many more times can Twitter afford a breach of trust of this magnitude without permanently damaging their brand?

Brand Trust?

Brand Trust?

Follow The Google Buzz Team

February 20, 2010

Have issues with Google Buzz?

Follow the Google Buzz Team @Google.com/Profiles/Googlebuzz#buzz and let then let them know what you think.

Google Buzz Team

Google Buzz Team

About the Google Buzz Team account:

Hey all — this is the account for the Google Buzz team.  We’ll post all sorts of updates here about what we’re working on.  Feel free to give us feedback and ideas on Google Buzz!

Social Media Is The Next Search?

February 19, 2010

When “social media” collectively has verifiably produced 1/100 the sales Search has, I will stop laughing at these types of Analysts and their proclamations.

Social Media Is The Next Search

Social Media Is The Next Search

Until then, No… Social Media isn’t the next Search.

No Sale.