| LED Digest 2672: Fuel Prices and Ecommerce |
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The LED Digest Moderated Discussion List "Effective Online Advertising, Since 1997" Data > Information > Knowledge > Wisdom http://www.AudetteMedia.com : the LED's Publisher The Internet Marketing Boutique: SEO, SEM, Social Media http://www.SEOToolSet.com/training/ : the LED's Premier Sponsor Bruce Clay's Search Engine Optimization Training & Certification ================================================== List Moderator: Published by: Adam Audette LED Digest adam, led-digest.com http://www.led-digest.com .............................................. June 30, 2008 Issue no. 2672 .............................................. .....IN THIS DIGEST..... ==== CONTINUING ================= --== Measuring SEO Results ==-- ~ Sandra Combs "Is this SEO's approach the commonly advised one or have we wasted our money?" --== Internet Marketing ==-- ~ Annie Kent "Are you feeling the fuel crisis at your sites?" ~ Reg Charie "...the Ryze network works well. At least it does for me." ~ Peter D'Aprix "...most companies need a comprehensive marketing strategy..." ~ David Spahr "I was seriously thinking of ending my subscription after more than ten years..." ======== CONTINUING =============================== From: Sandra Combs Subject: Measuring SEO results I too am reading these posts about measuring SEO results with a lot of frustration. I'm a web designer with a client who is a non-profit organization. The non-profit organization is small, but competes for traffic with much larger and more famous organizations. A foundation who has provided funding for the site has expectations of traffic levels that will compete with the older, much larger organizations' web sites. Unhappy with the level of traffic we have achieved, they hired an SEO consultant. Before the expert was involved, we could put in our chosen key phrases and come up near the top in Google. The problem is, that the key words and phrases that relate to our site content are not heavily searched terms. So, no matter how high we place on Google, the traffic is not coming in droves to our site. Unique visitors are in the thousands per month, but not the 6 digit values wished for. You may suggest that we use different keywords on which to optimize, but we thought we'd see what the expert advised. Their keyword research came up with phrases that have only a vague relationship with our content and would disappoint users if they came looking for that information. My thought was that getting authoritative links to our site might have been the best place to start, but the expert said no. The SEO consultants said we needed to follow their plan before worrying about keywords or link building. First phase: the SEO expert had us change the colors, the banner, the sequence of items in the menu. They had us remove most of the content on the home page, leaving just short teasers to the real content. Second phase: they are now in the process of "optimizing" the content - promising we will see amazing results by August. We have just about spent all of the funder's money allotted for this SEO consultation. Measurement of SEO results. Our site does not sell anything so measuring SEO by tracking sales is irrelevant. The only measurement statistics we are interested in are number of unique visitors and length of time on site and the number of visitors taking some action such as signing up for our newsletter or emailing one of our articles to a friend. So far, after 4 months, there has been no increase in traffic or the rate of newsletter subscriptions or other activity. I can see where improved navigation by changing the menu could keep someone on the site longer, but they have to come to our site first. Bottom line: Is this SEO's approach the commonly advised one or have we wasted our money? Sandra Combs ============ Begin Sponsor Message =========== -------> JULY 4TH GRAND OPENING <------- AudetteMedia, the Internet Marketing Boutique, opens to great fanfare on July 4, 2008. Picnics, parades and massive fireworks celebrations are planned all across the U.S. Check out what's causing all the fuss: http://www.AudetteMedia.com/blog ============ End Sponsor Message ============= -------- new post - new topic -------- From: Annie Kent Subject: Internet marketing and SEO > I'll probably discover that driving traffic > to a merchant's website is discouraged or > forbidden on Craigslist but are there > comparable sites around that I should know > about if I'm selling hardgoods? Is this > considered direct response marketing? - Jim Gatton Craigslist spam is usually frowned upon (they define spam as any ecommerce retailer or whatever posting links/ads to their stuff). It's a true classifieds. There's nothing that compares to Craigslist, nope. The reason it works so well is because they're so vigilant about keeping the spam at bay. Basically, what Adam said is right on the point - SEO is internet marketing is doing business online. It's just semantics. So let's talk about stuff beyond Google, ok? That's where we need to focus. What I'm wondering is how other small businesses are dealing with this fuel crisis. I just spent $90 at the pump and my tank wasn't even 3/4 empty. Are you feeling the fuel crisis at your sites? Don't know about you, but to me this is the best time to invest in strong ROI opportunities (aka the internet). Thanks LED, Annie Kent -------- new post - same topic -------- From: Reg Charie Subject: Internet marketing > ... what other methods or websites similar > to Craigslist really work when we're > selling red and blue widgets? - Jim Gatton, LED 2671 - http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/2086/190/ While not exactly like CraigList I find the pet friendly sites good for bookings at my client's AprilPoint.ca website. We market the cottages in a number of BC Tourism and privately run vacation portals and the pet friendly sites return about 8 times the referrals. Another of my clients has a machine shop and we use the following portals to drive new customers. http://www.thomasnet.com http://www.kellysearch.com http://www.globalspec.com http://www.mfgquote.com http://www.macraesbluebook.com My FantasticMachines.com website is fed from numerous tutorial and graphic filter sites. Putting the demo software up on download.com and similar sites also helps. If you are in a business that is doing service related products, support, coaching, design, marketing, and similar, the Ryze network works well. At least it does for me. If anyone is interested in a small business related network, please contact me and I will send you an invitation and show you around. If you would like to do it on your own, my Ryze page is http://www.ryze.com/go/RegDCP and you can join up there. Ryze is free or paid membership. Paid members get to run networks, get a few contact perks, and a bigger picture. I am active on a number of networks, notably http://www.ryze.com/networkindex.php?network=ThinkTank I also run three networks, http://tis-network.ryze.com - http://alink-network.ryze.com - http://zerogriefhosting-network.ryze.com Marketing can come from a number of sources and I am eager to hear more. Reg Charie http://DotCom-Productions.com -------- new post - same topic -------- From: Peter D'Aprix Subject: Internet Marketing RE moderator comment of SEO and Internet Marketing: > Yet the devil in me says... what you're > describing with Craigslist actually IS SEO > Jim. Part of the problem is how SEO is > defined. Sometimes "internet marketing" is > happening, it's just lumped into "SEO." Hi Adam I agree with you. If had me a bit confused when I first started trying to sort out the naming conventions. But I think the hierarchy is reversed. Internet marketing often can have no tangible connection with the site except indirectly. But SEO can be very much part of Internet Marketing. I rather think that SEO should be one of the tools listed under SEM (Search Engine Marketing) since some of the SEM tools can exist outside of the web, say trade ads and/or editorial print stories that can lead to your web site as its goal or one of its goals. This is based on my conviction that most companies need a comprehensive marketing strategy of which the internet is one factor but not the only factor. It requires a synergy of many tools. Peter D'Aprix - Visual Communications http://peterdaprix.com -------- new post - same topic -------- From: David Spahr Subject: Let's Not Talk SEO Wow, Adam, I'm glad I didn't have to say it. I was seriously thinking of ending my subscription after more than ten years due to the boredom and the droning. I would just as soon go to a shoe salesman's convention. I have tried to point out how much of this SEO conversation exists in a little box where position in the SERPS, sales figures, and traffic numbers are it and there is nothing else. I decided to give up posting where no one responds or sees that there is more. I require more imagination. David Spahr stereoviews.com (c) Copyright 1995-2008 Orange Wheel, LLC. All Rights Reserved. ----------------------------------------------------------------- "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines." - Ralph Waldo Emerson |
