I have had 2 great coincidences whilst I have been travelling.
1. In London I stayed in an apartment in Queensborough Terrace, Bayswater. It is just minutes from the centre of the city - opposite Hyde Park.
Anyway, that was the only street in the entire city that I knew where it was.
As Mel and I were walking about 3 kilometres from the apartment when 2 ladies approached me for directions. I said jokingly, "You are asking the wrong guy - I have only been in this city for 2 hours and do not know anywhere. But try me anyway."
You guessed it - they wanted to know where Queensborough Terrace was!
The only street I knew in Europe's biggest city and I knew where it was. Man, was I looking smart!
Number 2
My wife went shopping in Charing Cross St mainly because she wanted to see if her favourite bookstore - 84 Charing Cross (as in the famous book) - was still there. It was gone (it is now a Pizza Hut).
She wandered around and entered a bookshop and bought me a book she thought I might like.
Now This Is A Lot Of Google AdWords - This Person Manages $31 Million Per Year
I'm in London at the moment where I've held meetings on Thursday and Friday with a person who is responsible for quite a number of Google AdWords.
This person manages $42 million pa in AdWords. Yep, that's right. $42 million Australian (that's $31 million US) per year spent on Google AdWords.
This person would be recognised as one of the world's leading authorities on Google AdWords. The information that this person imparted to me was simply mind blowing and has put me ahead of the pack by a long, long way.
Learnt More From Dinner
We had dinner both nights and I learnt more in a conversation over dinner than I did over the past 12 months or so of pretty heavy AdWords study.
I've made a lot of notes and will talk more about the strategies when I get back to Australia.
Off To Paris
I'm off to Paris for some more meetings tomorrow and then my wife and I are off to Venice and Rome for a week's R & R.
I have to go.....................my wife has gone shopping on Oxford Street. I'd better go rescue my credit card!
According to Anne Holland over at MarketingSherpa.com, "This year marketers will spend roughly 1/8th of their search budgets on Search Engine Optimisation, and 7/8th on paid search ads."
That, to my mind, is insane.
Search engine optimisation (that is, developing your site in such as way that it gets high search engine rankings) makes far more medium to long term sense than Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising. The return on investment keeps going up and up as rankings rise.
With PPC the return on investment stops the minute the ads do.
Probably Google's best-known page ranking factor (but not a hugely important one) is what's called PageRank (if you want the technical explanation go here). Web Masters are in dispute about the importance of PageRank, with many pundits saying it doesn't matter at all, with others saying it is a very important compoenent of a site's ranking.
The truth lay somewhere in the middle I imagine, although I always say it's far better to have a link from a site with a high PageRank than a site with a low PageRank.
Google Assessing PageRank Now
If you see your PageRank changing now (it can fluctuate quite a lot from hour to hour) don't worry about it. Google is currently readjusting their PageRankings right now.
Our PageRank has increased from 5 to 6 which is great for us.
How Do We Know That?
How do we know that? Easy - see the green bar (I've drawn a red circle around it) in the image below. That's our PageRank - it's on a thing called the Google Toolbar.
If you want to be able to see what your PageRank is, as well as be able to search from every page of your browser, then download the Google Toolbar here.
Okay, now these results are from a web site that's been live for 10 days.
It's a site selling horse tack (horse bits). It's a new design of horse bit and for that reason people want to check it out thoroughly and see what others say.
The testimonials page is the most visited page on the site. It gets twice as many visitors as any other page.....and that's despite it not being a top level navigation button (it links from every page via a text link).
Testimonials Reduce Perceived Risk
With this product, industry experts have given it the thumbs up. And that reassures visitors to the web site that the bit is quality and useful. Which increases sales.
Here at Tailored we see a tremendous opportunity for online video - whether it be to aid branding, demonstrate product or do the many other things online video can do.
As the web developer on a site it matters a bit what I think across a whole range of areas. After all, I'm the one with the usability experience, marketing expertise and general web knowledge.
But when it comes to what content to have on a page it doesn't matter too much what I think.
And the reason is simple. I'm not, usually, the target market of the web site.
Develop According To Your Visitor's Needs & Wants
The content of your web site must be developed according to what your target market wants to see. No good talking about the great colours of your product, when all the client wants to know is "Is it compatible with my PC/Bookshelf/iPod/Green Jacket/Whatever?"
So developing an effective web site is about knowledge. And knowledge comes from research, asking questions and putting yourself in your customer's shoes.
Only then can you get the right information.
And Then........
And then there is information delivery.....
For example:
If the visitor is over 40 years of age you need to use a bigger font.
Does your typical visitor learn best through reading, listening (maybe a podcast??) or viewing video on your site??).
Taking the time to find out provides great results. One of our sites has a massive 13% conversion rate (up from the usual 2% for the site) because we deliver the right information the right way.
And that has a tremendous effect on the bottom line.
ContentBiz estimates online publishers who placed Google's AdSense contextual ads on their sites in return for a cut of the revenues made about $1 billion last year.
Pay per click advertising is very effective............. for both advertiser and publisher. And the person buying products obviously.
Now you might be fooled by the photo of me on this site and think "Man, Brendon is one ugly dude. Yeeeeeeew"
You'd be wrong. I'm a damn fine looking man! And I have a story to back me up (even if the photographic evidence isn't that strong).
In 1994 I was a Registered Nurse/Nursing Sister working in a Hobart, Tasmania hospital and was caring for an older lady who would have been about 85 years old. She was a delightful lady and another nurse and I were having a joke with her one day when I, unsurprisingly, commented how utterly handsome I am.
"I'm Better Looking Than Errol Flynn."
"I'm very good looking......I'm better looking than Errol Flynn!" said I. (Errol was born and raised in Hobart, same as me.)
The little old lady looked at me and said, "Yes, you are......and I should know because I was Errol's girlfriend, or one of them, in High School. I remember kissing Errol behind the school hall when I was a lass of 12 or 13."
So There You Have It
I'm better looking than Errol Flynn!
So to the person who emailed me and said "You're stupid and you're ugly" - 2 things:
1. I'm better looking than Errol Flynn 2. I assume you don't want to be my Valentine!
She Kissed Me Too
And yes, just in case you're wondering, the little old lady kissed me too!
If you want to read some great communication with your customers that positions the brand brilliantly and reassures customers at the same time then read the release of istockphoto.com announcing the deal.
I especially love this line: "If you want things to stay as they are, things will have to change."
How Close Was I & Important Medical Training That Could Save A Life
How Close Was I & Important Medical Training That Could Save A Life (Or At Least Make Dying A Little Nicer)
In this post I mentioned RocketBoom.com'seBay auction of an ad to be shown at the end of their daily 3 minute video news show for a week.
I guessed the winning bid would be $62,980. Looks like $40,000 won it (though it hasn't been confirmed as a genuine bid as yet).
I was a bit off (but I am in Australian and $40,000 US = $54,120 - which gets me closer!).
Life Saving Knowledge - But Maybe Not
For those who want to learn CPR and have a little fun and see the interesting use of a video blog should check out www.frenchmadetv.com. I'll try and find some numbers re their visitors.
(The first episode they have shows just how easy it can be to do a video podcast.)
In marketing, we have to find the point of difference for a product from its competitors. But it can't be just any point of difference. It has the be the point of difference between your product and the competition that influences your market in its buying decisions.
New Horse Bits
One of our clients is selling new horse bits. These have been developed to be far 'softer' or easier on the horse's mouth, whilst also providing greater control for the rider.
New Horse Bit
Now that's great and it will be an influence on the buyer, but is it enough to make them buy this sort of horse bit over another?
Horse Bits Is Often About Price.....Or Versatility......Or No Lugging......Or...
So what you have to do is find the thing about your product that influences the customer to buy. And here's where you have to do a bit of marketing detective work:
Basically what you do is segment your market. The market for the Pee Wee Horse Bit is, obviously, people who care for horses. But there are many different segments:
1. Horse trainers - the point of difference benefit of the bit for them is that the bit prevents lugging and pulling. 2. Pleasure riders - the point of difference benefit of the bit for them might be that the bit is softer on the horse's mouth and therefore gentler. 3. Equestrian riders - the point of difference here might be the superior control the bit gives. 4. Pony Clubs/Trail Riding Camps - a point of difference here might be that the Pee Wee Bit is versatile and can replace the need for using 3 different bits - thus, there is a cost saving.
We use that in an effort to grab the readers attention and lead them into the various parts we want them to visit.
We use testimonials in an effort to appeal to the different market segment that might visit - i.e. we have a farrier, a horse breaker, a trainer, an equestrian rider, etc.
The Trouble With That.....
But there is a problem with that of course. It's difficult to be all things to all people the instant they visit the page. And because people will very quickly make decisions about your offer on a web page it's vital to grab their interest.
We need to appeal the right way to the particular profile of the person visiting so that we can give them the choice influencing information they need to make the right decision - which is to buy.
Different Marketing Strategies Give Us Some Options
And here's where our segmentation of our market comes in handy.
We need to market differently to the different segments. If we're marketing to horse trainers we might use direct mail, advertising within online communities of horse trainers, Pay Per Click advertising and a search engine optimisation campaign.
For example, if our Pay Per Click advertising key phrase we target is "horse trainers" we want the visitor to be taken to a page devoted to horse trainers.
Direct To The Page They Want.....
With all of those strategies we can send the horse trainer directly to the page we want them to visit. And it's on that page that we provide the information they want - i.e. the information that will influence them.
No good telling a horse trainer about the pretty colour of the horse bit, because that doesn't influence his/her decision.
Our research of horse trainers tells us that the overwhelming point of difference benefit of the Pee Wee Horse Bit is that it will stop lugging/pulling. So that's what the copy of that page will focus on.
Continual Research
And marketing is about continual research. Reviewing the analytics to see what's working, what's not. How people react, or don't, to what you're offering.
As I'm sure you can imagine, when you get an article featured on the top of the home page of SitePoint.com (one of the world's leading web developer resources) you tend to get a lot of visitors to your site. I've called into the office after going for a run and found quite a few emails from readers which alerted me to the article being live.
So thanks for those.
I'll point to a few of what I hope are interesting bits around this site and other resources that could be useful.
Useful Resources
I'll provide these links in a sequence to what I mentioned in the article.
The holiday resort Case Study I mentioned - A simple step-by-step example of taking an accommodation web site from 0 sales to 115 in 8 short weeks. Includes full site data. Please note - This case study is in format for viewing with Adobe's Acrobat Reader.
The Ex-Champion Athlete
Pat Carroll is one of our clients and has been for a few years. Pat was one of Australia's best every marathon runners (PB of 2:09:39) and is a legend within the industry.
Anyway, Pat and I talk fairly regularly on web strategy and he's always appreciative of our feedback. Pat has seen our 'Brag Wall' a number of times and was kind enough to contribute with the fantastic signed singlet you see here.
It makes a real impact on people coming into the office.
As it's generally people in the web development industry who visit SitePoint and who would read the article, here are a couple of web business related reports that might be useful in marketing your business:
Here at Tailored we produce our own podcast and audio for clients. We're doing video for online use as well.
Tina is our AV specialist and today she shot some footage for a promo video we'll be using online.
I'm in the video for a little bit and let me tell you: it's hard work. It's so strange being in front of the camera being animated and expressive.
There is still a bit of work to do editing the video. In the meantime, here are some photos of the action. Excuse me whilst I go and prepare my Oscars speech!
Tina Struts Her Stuff (I painted the picture on the wall in the background - Tina, after being here 2 days, said "I'm not keen on the picture. Who painted that!" It's a miracle she's still here!)
Pew Internet have just released some findings that make interesting reading:
"Only 38% of users are aware of the distinction between paid or Â?sponsoredÂ? results and unpaid results. And only one in six say they can always tell which results are paid or sponsored and which are not."
That's interesting because most people say they would not use a search engine if the paid and natural results were confusing - according to this new report the average visitor can't tell the difference anyway.
Click here for the report. Other data I've read (and I can't find the source at present) tells me that only 17% look at the PPC ads down the side, and just 3% click on them (that's 3% of the total visitors, not 3% of the 17%).
To the left is an example of Google Ads displaying down the right hand side of their page.
What That All Tells Me
What that tells me is that search engine optimisation and Pay Per Click advertising both play important roles in your online marketing efforts. If you're not implementing Pay Per Click strategies, now might be the time to do it.
Amanda Congdon and Andrew Baron are the talented duo who put out the amusing, relevant (for many) and just plain quirky RocketBoom.com - a daily (weekday) video blog talking about the weird and wonderful on the web.
With in excess of 130,000 viewers per day, Amanda and Andrew have been looking at ways to monetise their video blog and came up with the idea of auctioning off, via eBay, 5 15-60 second ads to play at the end of their RocketBoom.com show for 5 days.
Bidding is currently at $14,999 US. Which is a bargain for gaining access to 130,000 people per day for 5 days.
And it's a pretty niche demographic - "Rocketboom reaches innovators, technological leaders, futurists, trend-watchers, cutting edge internet users and media observers, including bloggers and journalists. Our viewers are international, informed, lifestyle conscious and are the first adopters of technology."
The Keys To A Successful Ad On RocketBoom.com
I'd say that the keys to a successful ad on RocketBoom.com are:
1. Your brand has to be innovative, quirky and just plain fun. 2. The product has to be the right 'fit' with the RocketBoom.com audience.
Microsoft wouldn't be a good fit. But Apple might. Especially advertising something like their video capable iPods.
Would shown their still edgy, would get their product in front of an almost perfect target market (tech heads who watch video blogs) and would get a bit of media coverage for being different.
My Guess For The End Bid
I'll take a stab in the dark here with 3 days 17 hours to go and say the ad will go for $62,980. We'll see how close I am!
72% Of Parents Would Change The Supermarket They Use If The Lolly Aisle Was Removed
72% Of Parents Would Change The Supermarket They Use If The Lolly Aisle Was Removed
A recent survey released by lobby group the Parents Jury found that 72% of parents would consider changing where they shopped if a rival supermarket offered lolly-free checkouts.
I assume this is because the parents have to deal with whiny kids in the checkout wanting to buy lollies.
No Value Whatsoever
This sort of survey has no value whatsoever. There is almost no way that having or not having a lolly-free aisle would be a choice influence significant enough to make people change their supermarket choices.
People say they would consider changing because it sounds good. But when it comes down to it they wouldn't - of that I have no doubt. The major choice influences on the supermarket use would be (I imagine):
price
convenience
parking
food quality
range of brands
opening hours
When you review data relevant to your business you have to apply your own nous. Your own experiences. Your own gut feel.
Every now and then I get asked why we have Google AdWords on this web site. After all, this is a site that is meant to position us as clever, knowledgeable and...did I say clever already?!
Some people see having ads on the site as devaluing the site a little. "Heh, they must be going bad....they have to put advertising on their site!"
The Real Reason
The real reason is a little less exciting than that!
You see, because we run online advertising campaigns for a range of clients we need as much information as possible about ads, ad placement, ad colours, etc.
And because this site gets rather a lot of visitors this is the best site to test things on. The best place to figure out what works best for our clients.
One of our sites is www.seobookreview.com. On that site I review an ebook called SEO Book. It's an affiliate site which means I get a % of the sale for those sales that derive from my recommendation web site.
(I've mentioned this site a few times over the past couple of weeks - in my Podcast show as well - I'm not doing that to try and promote the site, it's just because I'm thinking about the site a bit more.)
Marketing Only Via Google AdWords
Anyway, the only way I have been marketing the site is via Google AdWords. Basically, I select what search terms I want to be found under and my ad displays everytime that search phrase is searched for.
For example, if someone goes to Google.com and types in "Aaron Wall's SEO Book" then my ad used to display. People would click on the ad and I'd be charged for the visitor.
I say "used to" because that phrase isn't one of my advertised phrase anymore. And there are a couple of excellent reasons for that:
Specific Searches Have Already Visited Aaron's Site
1. I figure if people are searching for the book specifically they are searching for reviews rather than the actual site that sells the book. They would have been to visit Aaron's site already - which means if the buyer then revisits Aaron's site via my site and buys, then I don't receive any money.
So it's a waste of time marketing using Pay Per Click for those very specific terms (my conversion data backs this up too).
2. This site and this page are ranked # 4 and # 5 for the term "Aaron Wall's SEO Book" in the 'natural' listings. So what a waste it is to advertise for the same terms when I'm there already!
Looking back now I can't believe I spent as much time as I did advertising to people who wouldn't be of any value to me as far as commissions go. And I was advertising in a space where I already had a highly credible position.
Like, duh!
Don't make the same mistake I did. Target your advertising to a clearly defined niche. Good luck!
My beautiful daughter Laura, who I mentioned below, has this morning (I dropped her off at 6.30 am) started her first Public Speaking lesson. It's an 8 week course held by a local Toastmasters group.
Public speaking terrifies most people - it's usually listed as people's major fear.
** Winner Web Design Library - Best Book of the Web Industry 2004 **
The Web Design Business Kit is a compilation of everything Brendon has ever done and every document he has ever used to build and grow his business!
It contains two huge ring-bound folders with over 700 letter size (8.5x11) pages, plus a CD-ROM which has everything you need to build a thriving Web Design Business...
To find out more about The Web Design Business Kit click here
format for viewing with Adobe's Acrobat Reader.
pdf file)
