| LED Digest 1505: Darwin and the World Wide Web |
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================================================== The LED Digest Moderated Discussion List "Effective Online Advertising, Since 1997" ================================================== List Moderator: Published by: Adam Audette LED Digest ................................................. January 28, 2003 Issue #1505 ................................................. .....IN THIS DIGEST..... ===== NEW ======================= -=Darwin and the World Wide Web=- ~ Dirk Johnson "...most business owners...are in deep denial about the capability of the web..." ==== CONTINUING ================= -=Search Engine Optimization (SEO)=- ~ Kevin Jackson "...the term SEO is incorrectly being used to include many activities..." -=Subscription Management Software=- ~ Peter Warnock "...focus on developing a stronger presence before venturing into content subscriptions." ===== GEEK TIPS ================== -=Multiple Browsers=- ~ Philip Chave ==== BILLBOARD =================== -=Understanding Internet Advertising Pricing=- ~ Ivan J. Jimenez ====== NEW ======================================= From: Dirk Johnson Subject: New Topic - Darwin and the World Wide Web > ... his closest competitor cut costs by setting up an > intricate e-commerce enabled website and reduced > his staff by 40% - today, 58% of revenue comes from > website sales. > Where's my friend? Scrambling to catch up with a > very 1995 looking site offering information only (no > e-commerce capabilities). - Ivan Jimenez, off-list correspondence Ivan, You are not alone here in witnessing this. In fact, I would put most business owners into this category. They are still in deep denial about the capability of the web to drive low-cost business. Because this prevalent attitude was directly affecting my webmaster / web marketing business, I've looked the reasons for this. I now purposely look for clients who do not fit this profile, and avoid those who do. This has even caused me to focus on other niche aspects of web work (specifically, reciprocal linking), where my clients tend to be very web-savvy and cooperative. - Most business owners do not use the Web very much themselves. Thus, they have no gut feel for it's potential. Worse, they consider those who do use the Web extensively to be society's fringe characters (irrelevant, impoverished social malcontents). Even worse yet, much of this "stereotyping" is done in order to make themselves feel viable. Some business owners are outright hostile toward the Web and it's users. - Marketing on the Web presents a slew of new concepts, methods and vendors that are very hard to grasp for a traditional business owner. To "get it" requires considerable self-education through some very murky water. And many owners have either heard horror stories of being ripped off, or have already been ripped themselves by some of the service providers. This makes them extremely gun shy going forward. - At the most basic level, there is a huge disconnect between what a "webmaster" provides and what a business owner expects. A properly developed website is one that is coordinated with the entire business. Actually, it takes a "web strategist", who should sit down with the owner and develop an integrated approach to the website. This approach carefully considers the overall marketing of the business, as well as the operations, and how the site will affect or enhance them. Properly done, it provides both cost savings as well as increased sales. - A web strategist is someone who has considerable business and marketing experience, as well as a thorough understanding of web technologies, well beyond simple HTML. This is actually a rare person. Most webmasters and / or Web developers are not trained or experienced enough for this rather complex role as a business consultant, and they should not be expected to be one. They should be hired by the strategist to perform their particular skills. - Unfortunately, most website projects have no strategist. The owner incorrectly expects the webmaster to assume the role, and the webmaster may not be prepared to do it, and rightfully consider it outside of their scope of work. The result is a very poorly integrated web presence, which leads to a very poor return on investment for the owner. And this reinforces the owner's belief that the web is worthless. - Even if they do hire a qualified strategist, the owner then spends most of their time thwarting their effort, through a lack of cooperation in delivering content, or through budget constraints, or through meddling that significantly alters the strategic objectives and design / development of the site. - Owners with limited surfing experience of their own tend to bring a very strange and often incorrect set of assumptions and concepts about what works to the table. Then they insist that the webmaster to apply these rigid beliefs to their own sites, often to their own detriment. This often puts the webmaster at odds with the owner, creating tension and doubt. - Expectations are high and patience is low as owners expect immediate, dramatic results from this "web" thing. Webmasters inevitably become the scapegoats for a process that was doomed from the start by the owners themselves. The overall result of all of this mayhem is that most businesses get pathetic results from their websites, which simply reinforces their bias toward additional website investments. The upside is that, for those with an open mind and a willingness to use their heads, a website can greatly reduce operating costs while reaching a whole new realm of prospects and customers. In the end, it is solely the attitude and determination of the business owner that makes or breaks a website investment. The webmaster, or even the web strategist, cannot do it. The owner is ultimately responsible, and they must educate themselves properly in the ways of the medium, or allow the opportunity to slip from their grasp. And, as Ivan points out, when the light finally comes on for the footdraggers (if it ever does), it's often too late to catch up. Which is what makes the World Wide Web such a tremendous opportunity for those who do take it seriously. It really is economic Darwinism applied to a relatively short timespan, and we are just now starting to see the consequences. Thanks! Dirk Johnson, Owner LinkStrategy.com http://www.linkstrategy.com ===== CONTINUING ================================= From: Kevin A. Jackson Subject: SEO clarified Happy to see the old LED come back to life, it was a source of much inspiration when I first subscribed (in 1997!). I have spent the intervening years as a SEO specialist, a portal publisher, and co-founder of a web development company. I think the term SEO is incorrectly being used to include many activities; keyword buying, pay-per-click campaigns, reciprocal link campaigns, and campaigns to get listed in Directories and Industry specific portals. Each of these activities requires careful attention to detail, industry savvy, and a consistent, professional approach. Contrast that to my definition of Search Engine Optimization: A properly optimized site is designed so that when an automated Search Engine crawler finds it, the desired terms and words are found, indexed, and given the maximum possible relevance ranking against the other words on the site, and the same words on other websites. Many factors come to play in increasing that relevance, HTML, content, reciprocal links, etc. Results are best achieved if implemented at the time a website is first designed and built, and then given time to get indexed and ranked. Like good wine, good rankings improve with time. To me, the art of Search Engine Optimization includes only these activities, and the term should not be confused with other methods of online marketing. The Internet is maturing, and part of that process includes having a clear and realistic understanding of the roles needed to make it work. Cheers Kevin Jackson http://www.biz-zone.com ------- new post - new topic ------- From: Peter Warnock Subject: Subscription management > ... thinking about turning a website to a subscription > only basis for selected pages. Does anyone have > any good recommendations for a beginning > subscription management package. - Jeff Meister, LED 1502 I'd focus on developing a stronger presence before venturing into content subscriptions. Consider having a unique logo developed so that you can build a recognizable brand name. Hire a designer to develop a professional looking dynamic site that **you** can manage via forms. People won't buy content because it is hidden behind a door; if they do, it won't last for long. The site should be very professional in appearance, and clearly indentify what the consumer is paying to see. Before accepting payments, you will need to build trust with your visitors by having a privacy statement backed up by an organization like TRUSTe or the Better Business Bureau. You will also need a security certificate, preferably from Verisign or Thawte. Lastly, make sure the content you are selling, isn't available for free elsewhere. If so, your investments in the items mentioned above are wasted. Peter Warnock, technology webstructor webstruction.com ===== GEEK TIPS =================================== From: Philip Chave Subject: Multi-Browsers on one machine Hi all I've got 3 browsers running successfully on my machine - IE5.5, Netscape 4.7 and Netscape 6.1. This is quite useful when checking how a browser interprets page code, including java scripts, applets and table structure etc. But I've never managed to get the AOL browser to run alongside these, on my Win98 SE machine, without everything crashing or hanging. A lot of my customers use AOL and it would be helpful for me to be forearmed when using their own office machines to demonstrate their work. Am I missing something obvious, or is it not possible? I'd be grateful for any assistance on this or any other obscure browsers that people use. Thank you, Philip Chave Antique Collector http://www.antiquecollector.uk.com ==== BILLBOARD ==================================== From: Ivan J. Jimenez Subject: CPM 101 > I'm a novice in Web-based marketing. Can somebody > explain the pricing model for Banner Ads... What does > CPM mean? - Partha Chatterjee, LED 1503 $XX is the price you'll pay for every 1000 times your banner is displayed. If possible, try to advertise with someone that'll charge you based on click-throughs (i.e.: you only pay when someone clicks your banner ad and actually visits your site). Most importantly, realize that when your paying for impressions (not click-throughs), you need to be absolutely certain that your banners will attract as many people as possible ready to purchase -- this isn't the way to "test" your banner design for maximum effectiveness. Also keep the following in mind: Search engine and similar "free" advertising: these should attract as many people interested in your product / service as possible; once you have their interest you can keep in touch with them via newsletters, etc. so you're there when they ARE ready to purchase Pay-per-click advertising: this is where you'll want to attract people interested in purchasing your product now; since you're only paying for click-throughs, it's also a great tool for testing which banners / sales copy works best -- you won't be paying for banners that don't entice people to click them : ) Pay-per-impression advertising: this is what you do once you're completely satisfied with every aspect of your selling process (at least via your website); since you're paying each time someone sees your banner, you'll want to make sure that they will want to click it; like free adverting, these banners should pull in as many prospects as possible -- since you're paying regardless of the results, you may as well pull in as many interested visitors as possible and communicate with them as you would above (see: Search engine and similar "free" advertising) Hope this helps. All the best, Ivan J. Jimenez, business development cosmicbreath.com marketing group ------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 1995-2003 Adam Audette. All Rights Reserved. ----------------------------------------------------------------- "... but the man worthwhile, is the man who can smile, when his shorts are too tight in the seat!" - Judge Smails |
