In the beginning, there were lots of search engines. Our SEO service used to optimise client websites for AltaVista, Yahoo, InfoSeek, Lycos and others. Each of which had their own priorities and methodologies. Great fun. Then came Google, and that was more or less that. As an early adopter of Google, I found it interesting that the very issue that initially … Read More
The most tragic website design mistakes #1: the wrong links
Most websites see the majority of their visitors arrive at the home page. From that point on, the website designer is in control of what happens next. Unless, that is, they make mistake #1 – the wrong links. The links you put on your website pages aren’t there to look good, fill space or offer a means of accessing every single … Read More
Roller coasters on thin ice – the need for marketing
The recession is over (for now), but for many businesses, the after-effects are proving to be more painful than the event itself. There’s never been a more important time for your business to be actively engaged in effective online marketing. Some companies are realising they survived the recession, breathing a sigh of relief, and sitting back comfortably. This is a … Read More
Software Customer Acquisition Methods
TrialPay have released an interesting (and puzzlingly dated) report covering the costs of customer acquisition, the most effective means of acquiring customers, acquisition trends and more. 184 software companies took part in the survey, and TrialPay even break-down the demographics of the participants. It’s unfortunate that the majority are selling to consumers, and 40% are selling games. Yet the data … Read More
Digital coupons opportunity?
A recent report issued by Coupons.com indicates impressive growth in the popularity of digital coupons: “Printed savings from Coupons.com and the Coupons.com digital network for the 12 months ending June 2010 exceeded $1 billion. This includes savings printed or loaded to a store loyalty card and represents a 100 percent increase compared to $529 million the year before.“ Easy to … Read More
25 ways to get Google AdWords wrong. Mistake #4: broad match fear (or complacency)
Like it or not, broad match is a vital component of Google AdWords management. The only way to avoid broad match is to play it 100% safe – perhaps by only using exact matched keywords. But 100% safe doesn’t work in advertising, marketing or Google AdWords. There are, unfortunately, no 100% guarantees, but you can reduce the risks significantly by understanding … Read More
25 ways to get Google AdWords wrong. Mistake #2: insufficient ads
A significant part of AdWords management involves educated trial and error. No matter how well you know your product, your markets and Google’s system, there is no way to accurately predict which ads will work and which will fall flat on their faces. AdWords visitors are probably quite different from your regular visitors – different needs and behavioural patterns, so new strategies may … Read More
25 ways to get Google AdWords wrong. Mistake #1: bad names
AdWords is complicated enough already. Don’t add to the chaos by using strange abbreviations. A new campaign named first-cont-01 might make sense next week, but in a year’s time, the person handling your account may be baffled. There’s a better way. Clear names make navigation and analysis quicker and easier. Campaign: discounts US and Canada Ad group: 20 percent Use the … Read More
Buying a diamond
I’m not. But I thought it would make a good example. Let’s imagine I was twenty years younger, and looking to buy a diamond. Being a twenty year old male means that I wouldn’t know the first thing about diamonds, so my first port of call to expand my mind would be to Google: “advice on buying a diamond”. Let’s … Read More
Great deal, bad design
I just received an email from one of the UK’s main grocery outlets. The email looked clean, fresh and inviting. For each of the offers they had a picture of the product, the name, price, saving and original price. Here’s what I found interesting. I was more interested in the original price (shown with a line through it) than the … Read More
