SEO and Internet Marketing News Roundup – Friday 24 October
I’ve spent much of the week working on an interesting pitch and I started to think that when writing a proposal or indeed developing a PowerPoint presentation for a pitch it is so important to know who your audience is. What type of person are they. What’s their background, what motivates them, how tech savvy are they? In the world of web 2.0 all these questions can be answered very quickly using a mixture or tools like Google, People Finder and also social media sites such as LinkedIn.
I’m not advocating stalking, but using publically available information it is often quite easy to build up a profile about a potential customer, or indeed your competition. This can help in numerous ways and quite simply give you somewhat of a competitive advantage. But conversely, it is also really important that you ensure that the information that people can find about you online is for lack of a better word: favourable! Check your profile on LinkedIn, search for yourself on Google just to see what type of picture someone could build about you online! If you’re not happy with it, then do something about it!
So, what’s been happening of note out there on the web? Well the big “techie” news of the week is the new functionality Google has added to Google Analytics. For a list of all the changes take a look at the article linked below but in a nutshell Google has added some very powerful filters allowing you to segment your traffic, the ability to create custom reports, and much more. All these features are being slowly rolled out so I’ll let you know if any of them are really worth looking at! More Enterprise-Class Features Added To Google Analytics
If you need any more proof that search is the advertising medium of choice for the recession then the fact that Google’s profits recently saw a rise of 26% should start to convince you. According to the BBC, Google earned US$1.35bn in the third quarter of 2008, easily beating analysts’ expectations. Google shrugs off slowing economy
For all you marketers who like me where schooled in the four Ps or marketing: Product, Price, Place and Promotion this article will be of real interest. This article argues that the four Ps of inbound marketing are now: Personas, Participation, Publishing and PageRank. Are the Four Ps of Marketing Dead?
Here at SureFire we of course think that the secret to a successful web business is a winning search strategy, an engaging website and an optimsed conversion funnel. Well, yes it is, but let’s face it, if your idea is no good then it doesn’t matter how many people find your website no one will come back. And that’s why a web business is no different to the latest bar to open in Ponsonby. If no one talks about it or recommends it to their friends then it will close soon after the doors have opened. This idea is also backed up by a new study by Rubicon Consulting that states that word of mouth and online reviews are the most influential factors in consumer purchasing decisions. Word of Mouth, Online Reviews Most Influential in Purchase Decisions
Well, that’s pretty much it for today though just wanted to mention my “site of the week”, and this week it’s not a website at all but a browser. Firefox. If you don’t have Firefox installed on your computer then do yourself a favour and check it out. It’s not hugely different to IE in look or feel but the real killer app within Firefox is the little add-ons you can add to your browser. Have a look at the list in the article below but I recommend you check out StumbleUpon for a really cool new way to surf the web and Foxmarks which is awesome if like me you have a computer at work and at home as it syncs your bookmarks between the two! 15 Must-Have Firefox Add-Ons
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