Microsoft — You’ve Got My Attention September 22nd, 2010

I was duly impressed this evening. Brett Brewer, the GM of Microsoft Live Labs put on a kick-ass demonstration of Microsoft’s latest web browsing technologies. The event was hosted by MITX, and was held at Fidelity’s Center for Applied Technology (who knew Fidelity even had a center for applied technology?) It was a beautiful venue with environmentally-friendly decor mixed with high-tech gadgets.

Microsoft is bucking the system with Live Labs. Their approach is almost like a web-browsing bill of rights. Brett repeatedly voiced his dissatisfaction with how data is provided online, and how poor online image quality is. The reason for his impatience is because Microsoft has found a way to solve this with three products ready for prime time now; Pivot, Seadragon, and Photosynth.

Pivot lets a user view large quantities of data in a useful and easy to understand way. Pivot can dynamically display data according to any number of criteria, and it does so in real-time, without having to wait for loading bars, or placeholder image blocks. Check out this introductory video.

Seadragon, (or Zoom.It as it is now called) eliminates the need for low-res, crappy quality images on the web. Every image online can be super high-resolution. Sound like a dream come true? It does this by loading only the data needed at each magnification level. See it work on their website. Goodbye 100px thumbnails!

Photosynth digitally stitches separate photos together to create a seamless scene where you can rotate, advance into, or zoom out of. The complex software identifies the hard corners in the photos and them lines them up. It even warps areas that are wrapping around corners. And it displays online in real-time as if it were a pre-made zoom or pan.

See all three of these technologies presented in this demo:

While Microsoft’s Silverlight plugin enables and enhances these tools, some of them can also be incorporated without a plug-in via their API and AJAX. And it does it all in real-time over the Internet. Microsoft is helping us rethink the way we use the Internet and data online in a positive and proactive way. Big brother, now I’m watching you.

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Search Engine Marketing: Hiring Managers Rock The House in Boston June 25th, 2009

Search Engine MarketingThe excitement felt at the SEM Community Mega-Event event, sponsored by Search Engine Strategies and Onward Search, was certainly a refreshing change from the constant hum of economic downturn news. The Wall Street Journal’s report of unemployment reaching nearly 10% by 2010 was certainly not the topic of conversation at the House of Blues in Boston on Monday night. About 200 search marketing professionals mingled with their peers as they heard industry leaders and hiring professionals line up to announce that their companies are hiring search engine experts.

After a short meet and greet, it didn’t take long for recruiting agents to dart forward to the front of the room, line up and get their company’s pitch in. Tom Ellis from Adverplex, Inc. was one of the first up to pitch his company and service while making the bold statement: We are hiring. Need look no further than the front page of every commercial newspaper and magazine headline; the point is being made clear, social media and SEM is the new wave of marketing and human communication. After speaking with Katie Donovan, the managing director at the Sempo Institute, it is clear that SEM is the backbone of this new integration of marketing, PR, advertising, internet research and social media. Companies of all sizes are just getting started using Pay Per Click Advertising to pursue active users to follow their blog and Facebook as the ROI for social media is beginning to be realized.

Although the tremendous potential of online networking is creating a stir, one question still remains: how to increase the ROI from SEM?

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What You Can Do Without Paying a Marketing Company: SEO 101 June 23rd, 2009

Search Engine OptimizationJust three years ago, “Google” was added to the dictionary. The trademarked term is not defined, however, by the company bearing the name but rather the act of searching for something online using the Google search engine. This addition is just one example of how search engine use in the past decade has infiltrated most aspects of our culture. And it’s not a surprise: the use of search engines has skyrocketed over the past ten years. So it’s no wonder that companies are willing to pay for their page to rise to the top of a result page. A report released by eMarketer shows that paid placement on search engines and organic search engine optimization (SEO) are more effective than traditional advertising and marketing tactics and is the most cost-effective way to gain new customers. Channels of communication with consumers are evolving and growing significantly in online space, so making sure that your site shows up in a Google or Yahoo search is critical to businesses. Marketing firms have entire teams of people that work on optimizing your search engine placement, but here are a few ways to raise your SEO for those with a tight budget (we are, after all, in a recession). Many of the most-used search engines today (like Google, Yahoo, Bing, MSN, etc) are all crawler-based. They each have an algorithm that “crawl” or “spider” the web to create automatic listings. What they collect through the information provided in the title, body copy and elements of your website design is then put into the ranking algorithm that is eventually delivered to the searcher. But SEO isn’t rocket science, and there are several steps you can take without having to break the bank that will bump up your rank.

Enhance Your Page Titles
One of the first things that spiders look for is page title. Make sure you have a title that is specific to your product—don’t be vague or general about titling the information on your page. Having a static title on every page of your site that only includes your company name or the overall site name will undoubtedly drop your site on the search engine result page and make it harder for consumers to connect with you. Instead, include both the website title and the page title so that crawlers can pick up more information.

Only Publish Unique Content
It’s hard to know exactly how many websites exist at any point in time. But netcraft, a company that surveys the web in attempt to accurately report the number of pages in existence, estimated last month that there are over 235 million websites in existence. How can you stand out competing with hundreds of millions of other sites? With the ever-increasing number of sites competing for the same audience, the way to get hits on your page will be to have content that no other site has. And because so much of search engine results are based off of the content, it is almost necessary that your content be search friendly—don’t bother with Flash, Javascript or AJAX when it comes to the body copy on your page.

Think About Your Image Names
When you’re designing web pages, it’s easy to keep get lazy with your labeling system and save your images with nondescript titles, like “IMG_001″. But making sure that your images have relevant titles will help with optimizing your placement on the result page—put yourself in the shoes of the search engine user and try to anticipate what they would search.

Utilize the Tags
This advice is for all the bloggers out there (and companies or organizations that have a blog on their site). Blog search programs, like Technorati, search tags to deliver results to those using their services, so make sure you utilize them correctly. Try to stick to a rotation of no more than 20 subjects and tag every post with no fewer than two tags. Not only will proper tagging make page navigation easier for the reader, but it can actually bring more readers to your site.

Linking
The final thing that you can easily do to better your position on a search engine result page is to make it easy for others to link back. This step can be as simple as adding a widget that allows readers to easily “link back to this article.” If you really want to increase your presence online, though, it may take a bit more work. We’ve all heard the old saying: “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” Although admittedly clich‚, this phrase is fitting: networking is a fundamental part of running a website. Try to get other bloggers in your niche to link to you and encourage your readers to submit your posts to digg or StumbleUpon.

There you have it. Five tips that you could implement by the end of today. And if it weren’t obvious enough, don’t forget to link back to this post.

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An Extreme Website Makeover Event in Boston — Move That Mouse! March 29th, 2009

Extreme Website Makeover BostonSo what’s the connection between a website and a party? Consider your website as your brand ambassador — your host/hostess — smartly dressed but not over flashy. The overall theme is decidedly trendy but not so funky that it will become dated tomorrow. Can people find you (the host) and your location? (Note how many times this week you can’t find a phone # on a website). Then there’s content, your community and the conversation. Plan ahead. Match your theme to your attendees.

Join your peers and industry leaders Wednesday, April 29th from 6:00 – 8:30 PM at 28 Degrees in Boston to see what site deserves an Extreme Website Makeover!

I promise not to shout MOVE THAT MOUSE! But, I will do a before and after presentation to show how the winning website has:

• Branding — serves as a brand ambassador — a party host per say!
• SEO features — keywords and design to attract and wow a crowd
• Call to action — lead capture tools; ways to draw an audience
• A RSVP or more info spot
• Means to get the buzz into the community

These aren’t just nice things to have in a good web site design, they are required. So why do so many web sites fail? Why are so many parties boring? Because web technology, search, and social networking have rapidly changed the overall marketing and community landscape.

Keeping up with the latest technology requires constant effort. For example, when you scroll down a page, you move away from the navigation bar. To solve this usability issue on our blog, we found a nav bar that follows you down the page. Although there are multiple solutions for this, we chose one that has a smooth sliding movement — like a Travolta move (on most current browsers) and stays in a fixed position on older browsers.

“Search” is the hip party term for all things relating to Search Engine Optimization. Making your site searchable goes much deeper than just getting found. With concerted effort and smart design, you can get your company cataloged, linked to, and talked about. Searchability really is key. This can be done by carefully planning the hierarchy of content, and by using keyword-rich typography as a design element. Good design firms optimize the back-end code for search and include unique keywords on page titles. Extraneous code is separated from the main pages to allow for easier indexing of content by search engines. (See some upcoming trends on the Search Engine Journal blog.)

Social Networking blends both technology and search into an additional network of interactivity and community. (Read Bob Cargill’s post: Five Important Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Use Social Media) To start with, social networking helps your company on a brand loyalty level. Customers who “belong” will not only promote your brand, but will protect it as well through blogging, comments on other blogs, and recommendations. Social networking is also viral. So the more people who are in your network, the faster (exponentially) you are able to broadcast your message. And social networking offers opt-in subscription models to ensure that people who want to hear from you never miss your message.

Usability is often overlooked in favor of fitting all the “right” content on the page. Of course you have a lot to say, but you need to show restraint in your message. Say only what you need to in order to get the desired response. Other usability factors include section titles, navigation options, and e-commerce paths. Make it easy and quick for your users. Give them a positive experience so they talk about you and come back for more. Note to self: When is our next party?

Call-to-Action — What are you trying to get your site visitor to do? Buy a product? Download a demo? Sign up for a mailing list? Call you on the phone? Whatever it is, it should be everywhere and prominent. Stay focused on the call-to-action. The purpose of your web site may not actually be to educate the user about your product, but to get them to buy it. Educate only as much as you need to achieve that goal.

You’ll see what I’m talking about on April 29th. One lucky organization will be selected for a homepage redesign, social media PR makeover and email marketing offer. In front of a partying crowd of marketers, social media makers and my peers, I’ll show you a quick before and after presentation. Complete with gratis martinis and tasty apps. Networking and tweeting is optional! Sign up here!

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Cut your AdWords budget and increase your Conversions February 19th, 2009

Sound too good to be true? Search Engine marketing genius Sandra Niehaus of Closed Loop Marketing used a great illustration in her Conversion Optimization presentation. Basically, instead of pouring more money to create more hits on your web site, why not just widen the net in which you use to capture your leads? By focusing on how you capture and convert leads, you can make your marketing engine a lot more efficient. (You should also be carefully analyzing your keywords to determine which ones are working the best for you, but that is a topic for another post.)

Conversion optimized landing pageLet’s talk about Landing Page Design. They are commonly used for e-blasts and online advertising, but they can also be useful for natural searches as well. Here are 5 things often overlooked on a landing page design:

1) You need a good product or service. Identify your USP (Unique selling proposition) and exploit it. If you don’t have anything unique or compelling, then you’re going to have a hard time selling.

2) Say it quickly and concisely. Pretend for a second that your target market is skeptical and doesn’t care about you or your service. (Hard to comprehend, I know.) State your business – maybe in a set of bullets? You can always link to “more info.” Copyblogger has some great writing tips here.

3) Prove it. You’ve got an amazing product or service? Prove it with testimonials (with a photo?), statistics from leaders like Forrester Research, or even a mini case study.

4) Call to action. Provide multiple, easy ways to contact you. Phone numbers, emails, and a mini form. Capture their info! How about an incentive or offer with that form (Free trial or a free whitepaper download? Maybe a limited time discount code?)

5) Test. Try using a couple of landing page designs. In just a few days, you’ll see one working better than the other. Figure out why, adjust the design, and test again. You are your own best research firm.

Remember: use your landing page real estate wisely. You’ve got a lot to say? Tough. Your viewer doesn’t want a lot to read. I think a viewer should be able to comprehend your offer in less than 4 seconds, or they’re lost. Some up-front investment in a good landing page design can go a long way. Here are a few more tips posted on Articlesbase.

Are your landing pages too wordy? How interactive are they? What have you found to work really well? I’d love to hear some of your ideas.

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Are You Ignoring Google? February 15th, 2009

Google Logos on TVGoogle is THE advertising channel in the near and forseeable future. If your marketing plan doesn’t include Google optimization at this point, then you’re probably still hoping Betamax wins, you still buy cassettes for your Walkman, and your roller skates have four wheels — not in a row.

I recently attended the Web & Interactive Design Summit 2009 at the Harvard Medical Conference Center. Honestly, I was on the fence about going because they were mainly talking about how to use the new CS4 suite to design web sites, and I have a pretty good handle on that (although seeing the new CS4 features was kinda cool). But what impressed me most was Sandra Niehaus from Closed Loop Marketing’s presentations on Web Strategy in Search Dominated Environments.

Sandra’s first slide titled, “Opt out of the recession” says it all. The media landscape is no longer like the fertile fields of 1960′s TV where you had a huge captive demographic on one of 3 major networks. It is now so fragmented across TV, radio, outdoor, and social marketplaces (to name a few) that you can’t guarantee viewership of your marketing message. Technology has allowed your message to be muted, skipped, or just distracted from. But one channel that is growing is online usage, and if you want to be found online, then you better be speaking Google’s language.

Basically, you need your code to be Google-friendly, you need your content to be Google-friendly, and you need other web sites to link to your site. Of course, getting found is just the first step. I’ll speak about converting leads into customers in my next post!

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