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

This week I attended a small networking event that included a talk about how important a good CRM system can be to your business. This got me thinking about the fact that as search marketers we never really get involved with the back end of the conversion process. We’re the glory boys in some respects – get people to the website and encourage action but if processes aren’t in place to do something with these leads then you’ve just wasted a heap of cash!

So today I encourage everyone to take a look at not only integrating their media mix but also their back end systems. Get web leads to parse straight into your CRM tool, have live stock numbers listed on your e-commerce site, allow customers to view previous purchases! Full integration – that’s my new mantra! If you’re still unsure about this and you are an SME in need of understanding more about CRM integration then do please check out this innovative kiwi company: http://www.i-track.net/ which I think is my first plug!

Anyway on to today’s exciting news about search engines, web news and the like!

First is a gadget. Hot on the tail of the iPhone and the G-phone comes the equally ridiculously named BlackBerry Storm. Touch screen and full web browsers seem to be the future of mobile. More reason to ensure that your website is mobile compliant and look at i-mproving your mobile search if you think people might need your products or services on the move!

Bit of a techie article but a really important part of SEO. This article explains the problem of canonicalization. Please have a quick read, ensure you don’t have any canonicalization issues and then forget about it! URL Canonicalization: The Missing Manual

Last week I wrote about Firefox’s plans to integrate location software into their browser. Well the beta version was released today. Feel free to download it but if your machine dies – not my fault! New Firefox beta even faster than FF3

One thing within AdWords that has really caught our attention is the new feature that allows you to build your own image ad in a matter of minutes. No more long lead time for a banner for that tactical campaign. Build your own display ads in minutes. If you’re willing to give this a go let me know!

This article is a bit of a Google sales tool but there are some interesting take-outs from this posting. Worth a read if you have a quiet minute. Giving Your Competitors the Advantage? Website Optimization in Tough Times

Well, once again have a great weekend and until next time I’ll leave you with my website of the week. Everyone’s heard of flickr but my tip for this week is you ever need a great image or photo for a presentation try flickr. There are literally thousands upon thousands of copyright free images on the site that you can download and use! Great for those last minute rushes!

Well, doesn’t time fly? Another Friday, another quick tour around the world of search engines and internet news!

Firstly, technology news. Firefox yesterday announced that its latest release will include what they are calling “location-aware technology“. For a taste of what this will be able to do you can download the loki add-on right now! YouTube has reacted to last month’s launch of MySpace Music with the ability to buy tracks from iTunes and Amazon.com without leaving YouTube. This means you can watch a video, then download the track, without leaving YouTube.

Anyone ever sent a drunken email, then somewhat regretted it in the morning? Well our friends at Gmail have come up with an ingenious solution: Mail Goggles. Between the hours of 10pm and 4am if you try and send an email you will need to answer three mathematical questions before the mail gets sent! Ingenious…

So on to the good stuff…

Many of our clients spend months developing a new website and then use Google Analytics to analyse the behavior of visitors on their new website. Sometimes this just isn’t enough. Sometimes you need to ask your visitors straight. Did you like my website?, and did you find what you were looking for? If this sounds like you then you might want to check out this article about developing online surveys then try one out for real at http://4q.iperceptions.com/.

Whenever we discuss SEO with potential clients or indeed with paid search clients contemplating optimising their website we always ask why?, and what do you want to get out of it? It is always beneficial for us to understand the objectives of an SEO project, and then a strategy is then defined from there. If you haven’t yet committed to SEO but thinking about it then please read this article which explains the importance of having clear objectives and a defined strategy even before you talk to people like us! What You Need to Know Before Committing to SEO

The fundamentals of SEO as you have I’m sure you have heard me say before is code, content and trust. Trust boils down to links. Lots of relevant and authoritative links. Sounds easy but in reality link building is often a often a slow and laborious process. To get a bit more understanding about the importance of link building please read this quick article: SEO Link Building Fundamentals

Quick one on social media. If your current task list includes building a social media strategy for your organization (or yourself), then read this article that walks you through thinking about the branding created by the profiles you create. Branding Strategies for Your Social Media Profiles on the Web

This excellent article from Search Engine Land looks at tools currently available to monitor what your competition is doing on the video sharing sites. Not for everyone but useful nonetheless. Video Search Hacks For Checking Competitors

Thought that each week I would share one or more of my favorite websites or tools that are either fun or just a little brilliant.

This week I would like to introduce you to an invaluable tool called Crazy Egg. This tool supplements your web analytics and allows you to get much more information about how people use, engage and interact with your website. Much more accurate overlays, a really neat heat map and loads of other features. If you want more information on getting this working on your website just give me a shout!

Cheers and have a great weekend – hope the sunshine sticks around!

This week I’m excited to start our news round up with some news from right here in New Zealand. Google announced yesterday the ONE News YouTube Election Debate between Helen Clark and John Key, a history-making initiative with New Zealand’s public broadcaster, TVNZ. This marks the first time the head of a national government and a challenger will face YouTube video questions in an official live TV debate. The debate will be broadcast live on TV ONE on October 14. For your question to be included in the broadcast check out the NZ You Tube Blog.

I’ve been asked a number of times over the last couple of weeks my take on the Yahoo / Google Advertising Agreement. I’m afraid like most people I was a little confused about the whole arrangement so if like me, you are at all interested check out this site for a better answer than I can ever provide! http://www.google.com/yahoogooglefacts/.

We are at any one time running a multitude of pay per click campaigns for different markets, countries, industries and we are always amazed at the huge difference in CPC charges from as little as $0.05 to as much as $35. This has got a lot to do with the industry and the market but also a great deal to do with what Google calls “Quality Score”. In the same way that Google scores a website for organic search the same is true for paid search. By ensuring that your quality score (which includes factors such as: landing page relevancy, historical click through rate, page load time) you can start to see a major decrease in your CPC and thus an increase in your ROI. More on this here: Google Quality Score Explained

I guess it would be difficult not to mention the economic downturn and the effect it may, or may not have on digital marketing. I’ve been reading lots of contradictory information from people trying to speculate on what will happen to the advertising industry globally in the coming months. I like the article below as it uses what we as marketers understand best: trends. This article looks at what we should expect based on the outcomes of previous downturns… Economic Depression 2.0

One of the truly amazing things in my opinion is the way Google takes conformity and throws it on its head. A shining example of this is Google’s vision for our wireless future. “Earlier this week, the search giant filed a patent application with the U.S. Patent Office describing its vision of an open wireless network where smartphones aren’t tied to any single cell phone network. In Google’s open wireless world, phones and other wireless devices would search for the strongest, fastest connection at the most competitive price. Essentially, wireless operators’ networks would be reduced to “dumb pipes”. Google reveals wireless hopes in a patent

So, you’ve decided to start a new business, or you want to extend the business you have. One of the first things you’ll need is a domain name. As we know Google tends to give weight to keywords in the domain name. This increases the importance of selecting a good name. This article gives you a step by step guide to choosing an SEO optimised domain name: How To Choose Domain Names For SEO

Finally a couple of fun little posts: It was bound to happen but the headline from this BBC article made me chuckle: Google ‘Goliath’ Microsoft says. And, to celebrate its 10^th birthday Google is giving us the chance to step aboard a Time Machine: Search like its 2001.

Have a great weekend and ’till next week!