Obama transformed campaigning and politics through his use of the Internet as a campaign tool.

He did not stop with a simple website, as many candidates have posted in the past, or a simple money raising campaign as Howard Dean and Ron Paul effectively ran.

Obama created a complete internet package for his political campaign that took full advantage of the new medium in ways that had not been fully imagined before.

Remember his videos – which he compared to Roosevelt’s “fireside chats” — on YouTube? Those were viewed millions of times — for a total of 14.5 million hours. How much would Obama have had to pay for 14.5 million hours of television advertising time? According to the New York Times, $47 million.

And with the YouTube videos and internet messages, Obama was able to get his own message out, the way he wanted it told and as long as he wanted it to be. He wasn’t constrained by 30 or 60 second advertising spots, and he wasn’t filtered and quoted by journalists.

His message was framed, produced and presented entirely according to his own standards and what he wanted to accomplish. Best of all in a political campaign, the cost was negligible to reach those hundreds of thousands of potential supporters.

For politicians, this internet opportunity is the merging of all the best possible factors for campaigning: unfiltered messages going directly to supporters, low cost, wide accessibility, and good credibility as a source of information – great messages for individuals and businesses to keep in mind as well.

Your online presentation is an important aspect of your business, and you want the appearance and functionality of your site to reflect your philosophy and your products in a way that is accessible and easy to use.

Build Trust

Your company website projects an image and an attitude. Really, the business website should be considered a part of your overall marketing campaign. The immediate impression that a visitor gets from your website tells them about your business.

If your site is well organized, well designed, and fully functional, then customers will trust your business and the products you offer. If the website looks amateur or filled with frivolous advertising unrelated to your products, they’ll likely have a negative impression and distrust your business.

Invest in great web design to create the image you want you business to portray.

Ease of Use

Great web designs are also easy to use. Make sure that there are plenty of links that connect customers with important information, and that they can easily get back to where they want to be on your site.

Today’s customers expect high quality, professional design on a website. They do respond to good marketing and great design, and want to be able to navigate around a site easily. They want to find the information, products and services that they need quickly and logically, or they’ll soon be off to find another site.

Functionality

Your website design also needs to be functional. Links need to be active, and the code needs to be complete. Simple coding errors can lead to “broken” websites that can’t be seen by viewers. Even simple things can prompt viewing errors. Not only does this deter customers, but your Google rankings drop with non-functional links.

You want to be sure your ecommerce solution is intuitive, security and functional so that your customers feel comfortable making purchases on your site. Any ease of use functions add to customer satisfaction, and that leads to repeat purchases.

Get Design Expertise

The web designers at Webdatamation know just how to design effective and creative websites that meet customers’ needs. Our designers can add any elements for interaction, information and commerce to make your site both highly attractive and highly functional.

Normally, this is a good thing for the business (and, of course, the SEO). A talented and hard working SEO can bring good gains to a business. For example, if a web site is already producing $500,000 in sales before the SEO gets involved, and their efforts result in those sales increasing to $1,000,000, then there is plenty of room for paying the SEO something for their work.

Unfortunately, it does not always happen quite so simply. It can happen that the business results don’t follow the SEO work, even if the SEO is very competent, and diligently does a good job.

Sometimes this happens because the company does not give the SEO the support they need. For example, the SEO initiates a link building campaign that they have agreed upon with the client, and the client is expected to develop content to support that campaign. If the client company does not follow through on that, the SEO ends up not being successful.

There are many of these types of scenarios, but let’s assume that the client company provides all the required support and think a bit about how it still might happen:

Poor focus. Many times I get in these conversations where the client is concerned about growing a weak part of their business. For example, let’s imagine that they have 3 product areas, each operating at 30% margin. One of them produces $1M in revenue per month, another that produces $200,000 per month, and another that produces $5,000 per month.

So the client focuses the SEO on the $5,000 per month product line, and after 6 months the SEO has done a fantastic job and scaled revenue by 4x. Client sales have increased by $15K per month as a result, and the additional margin dollars are $4,500 per month. This is not a lot of additional margin to the bottom line in return for the investment.

But what happens to the margin dollars to the company if they grow the revenue of the $1M per month product line by 4x? Plenty of money to pay the SEO.

This does not mean that companies should not invest money in SEO on weaker parts of their business. However, it is important to realize the the dollar return on that investment is likely to take a long time to materialize, so it should some from a “strategic” part of the budget, instead of the “operational” part.

Another example of this thinking is the SEOs search engine focus. Periodically clients ask us to focus on Yahoo and Live Search as our primary tasks for SEO work, because their Yahoo and Live Search revenue is far less than they see indicated by market share statistics that get published by companies like comScore.

The problem is the estimated market share of the 3 engines: Google (65-70%), Yahoo (15%), Live Search (5%). So just as before, would you rather we double the Google traffic or focus on the other two?

Note that in principle, a solid SEO strategy should cause increases in all 3 search engines. But, there are some things that can be done a little differently for Yahoo and Live Search, and I would suggest that you pass on them and focus on growing the larger opportunity.

Not enough opportunity. In this scenario, the SEO knocks it out of the park, and the increase in search rankings is great, and the company dominates on every term they are pursuing. But not enough sales result. How can this happen? If the opportunity the SEO focuses on is too small.

So let’s discuss an example, using a small business that operates a pizza shop in Seattle. The goal of the company is to dominate on the term “Seattle pizza.” The SEO does a great job and gets the company to number one on that term.

Unfortunately according to Wordtracker, Seattle pizza gets 7 searches per day. That equates to 210 searches per month. Even with a 20% CTR (42 visitors), this may result in the sale of one extra pizza per month. Not a lot of money to pay your SEO there.

So, two main takeaways from this:

1. Focus, focus, focus. Focus your SEO efforts in the places where you will get the biggest bang for the buck. No point in throwing money away after all. And as I said before, if you decide to invest in a new product line or business, just realize that the financial returns may take some time to achieve.

2. Set goals and measure. You need to measure the results of your SEO investment. This starts by creating a baseline of the traffic and revenue from organic search. Then overtime you can measure how that grows. Better still, when you get started set some goals. While any competent SEO will tell you that predicting results is impossible, you should still set goals.

Rather than looking for links obsessively, focus on capping the link flow and internal linking within your own site to seal up any hemorrhages your website may have. By doing this, your pages become less dependent on external links (granted they have authority).

Create Authority:

Naturally the next question is what is authority, to put it simply, an authority website has a great foundation of useful content. By the merit of the content it attracts a steady base of readers or new visitors.

Create Popularity:

Website popularity toggles authority and trust, so without igniting the proper metrics, you can have solid internal links and great content, but without traffic to endorse your site or a few backlinks from the right places, the time it take to gain authority and trust will take longer.

So, authority is great content, strong internal links augmented by popularity, time and trust. But, before you can develop trust, search engines and people have to know your content exists, which is why building links is important.

Link From Within:

Going back to basics the rule of thumb is build links from within to make inbound links more effective. So, here is one simple tactic we use to manage the way a website ranks.

1) Check you server logs for the keywords or the most searched queries your website received.

2) Identify the most appropriate pages to funnel those keywords. Most websites have one relevant page, if there are two or more then make sure the internal links from the 2nd, 3rd, 4th in line all point to the preferred landing page to funnel link weight.

3) Go back and edit older pages that have sprouted authority or page rank and can rank in the SERPs, one good way to find sleepers in your site is look for pages that are returned from your own site using a link:mydomain.com search command in Google or use our nifty little SEO Tool.

Use Internal Link Self -Referral:

Also, sub folders have a tendency to rank like external sites if you use absolute links in your own site http://websitename.com/page.html instead of /page.html

The point is, once you find those pages, edit the first link in the body copy to the root phrase of the anchor text for the most traffic phrases deciphered from your analytics. By doing this, you are invigorating keywords that have the metric of traffic and creating buoyancy within your own site through an internal linking self-referral mechanism.

This is a particularly great method to create surges of link weight into pages starving from link attrition. If pages do not have a sufficient influx of links, traffic (popularity) then the tendency is for them to wane in the search engine result pages as well.

Reflect to Move Forward:

Here are other posts that provide more in depth strategies about this topic:

• SEO Sleuthing – Tracking Your Progress
• A Great Post About Tilling Keywords from the Past
• How to Create Synergy with On Page / Off Page SEO

Hope you enjoy the optimization tips and thanks for visiting SEO Design Solutions.

The three entities involved in PPC advertising are the visitor, the host that carries the advertisement and the advertiser, who has advertised a product or service on the host website, usually a leading search engine. In this form of advertising, advertisers have to bid on keywords and phrases. Whenever someone searches a product or service using certain keywords, the search result page will feature those advertisements which contain the keywords using which the visitor actually searched in the first place.

The internet is fast becoming the battle ground for business to garner their share of the market. With increasing internet usage, people around the world are searching for all sorts of products and services online these days. It has therefore become important for almost every business to have a significant online presence. Merely having an online presence though will not guarantee business. Websites need to attract traffic and this is where PPC advertising steps in.

PPC advertising is growing rapidly at a mind boggling pace. Its popularity can be gauged from the fact that out of the total amount of money that is spent on search engine advertising, a whopping 81% is spent on PPC advertising. These figures do not come as a surprise to those businesses that have benefited from PPC advertising. There are several success stories of businesses that have been able to make the most out of PPC advertising campaigns.

The key reasons for the popularity of PPC advertising include:

1. The risk involved is low since the investment is minimal.
2. These advertising programs are fast to implement when compared to other media.
3. Advertisers can manipulate ad positions and also control costs with them.
4. Instantaneous results are a good possibility with PPC advertising.
5. PPC advertisements give an opportunity for businesses to test their products for online marketing feasibility.

PPC: A Brief History

Contrary to popular perception PPC advertisements are not a recent phenomenon. They have been in existence for well over a decade now. The term was increasingly heard during the mid 1990s when the dotcom boom happened. One of the companies that pioneered the concept was goto.com which later on was rechristened Overture. In 2003 Yahoo took over Overture. The actual PPC scene began to see hectic activities once Google launched its ‘Ad Words solution to PPC. Almost every major search engine is into this form of advertising these days.

The minimum price for click which is popularly referred to as ‘cost per click’ varies from one search engine to another. It also depends on the competition involved for a particular keyword list or phrase. It is for this reason that particular keywords and phrases are known to cost more on leading search engines.

Steps Involved in an Effective PPC Advertising Campaign

Although PPC advertising can look a relatively simple process, there are several issues that you will need to deal with once you decide on an advertising campaign. From choosing the right keywords to designing an attractive landing page, you will need to take care of several aspects.

A PPC Ad.
Several businesses have taken advantage of PPC advertising to make profits. With proper planning, you can implement a meaningful PPC advertising campaign, which can in turn mean more profits to your business. Let us look at the steps involved in making an effective PPC advertising campaign.

1. Selection of the appropriate keywords or phrases is the first step involved in PPC advertising. Remember, keywords and phrases are the cornerstones of success in a PPC advertising campaign. They are the foundation on which the entire campaign is built upon and developed. If you are already advertising on other media, then you also need to ensure that your PPC advertising campaign also complements them too.
2. Before you implement your PPC advertising campaign, you must first of all decide your budget. Proper planning will ensure that you do not overspend, while at the same time get effective results from your advertising campaign.
3. You must be clear as to who your target consumers are. This way you will ensure that you reach potential consumers through effective advertisements.
4. One way to target your target consumers would be to decide on a niche. Even if your niche market were to be small, a well directed and created PPC advertising campaigns can work wonders for your niche business area.
5. It is not enough if you just advertise and then assume that it would be effective in getting more business. You should constantly monitor your PPC advertising campaign. Always remember that the internet is a dynamic place, where things change very fast. You therefore need to make sure that your PPC campaign is in tune with the changing trends.
6. You must have a close look at statistical reports that are associated with your online advertising campaign. This will help you gauge the effectiveness of your PPC advertising campaign.
7. The best way to go about creating a PPC advertising campaign would be to hire the services of professionals. This is so because they will be experienced in creating the right copy or content for your PPC advertisement. A well written and concise copy can make the difference between success and failure in a PPC advertising campaign.
8. Along with working on your PPC advertisement, you should also simultaneously make sure that your website is attractive and easy to navigate, since your PPC advertisement will be leading web visitors to your website.

This form of advertising ensures a win-win situation of all the parties involved and it is no wonder that it is growing at a rapid rate. With increasing internet connections, the future holds immense possibilities for PPC advertising.

Apple’s commercials are funny, the campaign was successful and it worked. A lot of people moved over to Apple. Apple even managed to lower Vista’s credibility.

Personally, I don’t like Apple and their tactics (not talking about their products). Don’t get me wrong, I love the IPOD, I think Apple brings out quality products which raise our expectations.

I think I get it about these commercials. Microsoft is trying to do two things, one, be part of everyday conversation and two, appeal to the middle age crowd who didn’t necessarily grow up owning a computer but have grown up with the TV show Seinfeld.

Got it!!!

Assessing Where You Are

For most, SEO comes down to budget and chronology. When you start pursuing a keyword matters and just how you go about it all have an impact on the reaction the algorithm returns. Although resources matter, never overlook the power of ingenuity and prowess in chipping away at a competitive phrase.

What to Expect

If you have a new site, the likelihood of your content having the appropriate indicators may be bleak, however this should not discourage you from picking up some low hanging fruit along the way.

Compare a Like to a Like, Measure Success in Relative Stages

Perspective is everything, how you measure the impact of your site is through relevant traffic and sales conversion. Instead of comparing your website to the leading site in the industry (who obviously is holding down the most competitive keywords) instead use another metric to categorize a successful SEO campaign.

For example, the ability to amass thousands of long-tail keywords or “phrases that have less competition typically containing more than 3 words” is a great way to set the stage and groom your sites profile for bigger and better targets for keywords.

Build a Natural Link Profile

The concept of managing link weight and creating a conducive link profile for your site, based on how themed it is (if it has a topic or not), how well the site architecture is built (to reinforce itself) all play a part in the saga. However, in this instance it is more about off page SEO than on page SEO factors.

Use a Wide Array Of Keywords

The idea here, to gain multiple rankings is to mix things up. Target keywords that are attainable, but always keep your eye on the prize. Depending on how aggressive the competition is, how Google and other search engines see your site (as an authority or a new entrant), the link popularity your pages have and how useful your content is, will determine just how fast you climb the ladder to the helm of a keywords root.

]]> http://www.webdatasource.com/2008/09/targeting-keywords-within-your-reach/feed/ 0 http://www.webdatasource.com/2008/08/the-democrats-lose-comparing-the-convention-web-sites/ http://www.webdatasource.com/2008/08/the-democrats-lose-comparing-the-convention-web-sites/#comments Tue, 26 Aug 2008 21:33:57 +0000 Akshay Sura http://www.conversationmarketing.com/2008/08/democrats-lose-convention-web-sites.htm I've been fighting this sinking feeling that we're headed for another four years (or eight) of a Republican President. Not that I have anything against John McCain except that I'll never vote for him. But I'm a pretty staunch Democrat, and it'd be nice to blame my own party for the world's problems for a change.

In the last presidential election, I formulated a theory that the most social media-savvy party would win. John Kerry and the DNC pretty much screwed the pooch every chance they got. Bush, on the other hand, had some remarkably media-savvy folks doing everything from real-time blogging and spin of debates to carrying their Swift Boat campaign to YouTube.

Kerry, of course, went on to lose by 3 million popular votes and a lot more states.

Could John Kerry have reached another 3 million people online? Dunno. But surely a few smart moves online could've helped when his image started to crumble.

Fast forward. It's 2008. The Democratic National Convention is going on now, and the Republicans start theirs in a week or so. So I decided to compare their respective convention sites based on simple stuff.

I may just have to change my party affiliation.

Broken Links: Democrats Lose

I checked the Republican National Convention site using Integrity. 1000 pages, no broken links. A few timeouts, but that was it.

I checked the Democratic Convention site. 2000 pages, 200+ broken links. Ouch.

Democrats lose.

Social Media Hooks

Then I checked each site for social media 'hooks': Ways to easily follow each party on Digg, Twitter, etc.

The Republicans seem to have their act together:

The Democrats don't. They opted for 'gavel to gavel' hidef video. Which is neato, but not quite as helpful. Plus they made a totally unexplainable technology choice. But I'll get there in a second.

Brand

The Democrats have billed their convention as open to all. Their home page, though, looks more like a Nike commercial:

It's pretty. It's also utterly devoid of any updates, any text, or any call to action for me, a long-suffering Democrat. Oh, yeah, and given how many e-mails and phone calls I've gotten from the party asking for unity, don't you think the home page should, I dunno, ask for unity?!

Oh, yeah, and the DNC home page still shows 'one hour to go' as one of the blog headlines, 24 hours later. Way to stay up to date, guys.

The Republicans' home page, on the other hand, is kind of folksy, like you're going to a county fair:

Not my style, but I'm not their audience. And their page has several calls to action: Form a local 'watch party' (which somehow makes me think of the McCarthy era, but no one's perfect) or sign up for e-mail updates. The DNC site has the e-mail signup too. But I could actually find it on the Republican site.

Video: PHAIL

I'm old, so I'm not sure I used 'Phail' right. But the Democratic National Convention site uses Silverlight for all video:

Huh?

Why on earth wouldn't you use YouTube, or another video streaming service, or at least use Flash on your own server?

So, playing video on the DNC site required that I download not one, but two plugins. Not a major hardship for me. But kind of dumb if you're trying to spread the word to as many people as possible.

Oh, did I mention the dire warning message I got when I tried to install the plugins:

In 2012, when you're running to unseat John McCain, try using Flash, which has a ridiculously large user base. Or at least get up-to-date certificates for your plugins.

I know, Microsoft probably wrote them a big honking check to use Silverlight. But isn't "we're for sale" kind of the wrong message to send when you're trying to elect a President? Even if it's true?

To Be Fair

The Republican National Convention site has its problems, too: Two conflicting e-mail signup forms, a writing style that makes me cringe and a candidate that can't remember how many houses he owns.

It's About the Effort, Stupid

It cost about $15 million to prepare the Pepsi Center for the Democratic National Convention. Plus a whole lotta money for security.

I'd cheerfully have built their web site for, oh I dunno, $250,000. My therapy bills would probably top that by the time we were done.

For this tiny slice of the pie:

I would have cheerfully made the effort run a link checker on the damned site. I would've thrown in a few social media links for good measure, made sure their plugins worked properly, and hit them with furniture when they mentioned using Silverlight as their video platform.

I hope I'm wrong. At least a President from my party will take my money and give it to the poor, instead of taking it and giving it to Iraq. But if not, you guys know where to find me in 2012.

The Obama campaign is expected to send out the news sometime before the candidate’s rally on Saturday to everyone who has given it their cell phone numbers. The plan has political junkies and bystanders alike buzzing about the imminent Obama text message in a way that would make brand marketers swoon.

Mobile marketers are studying the Obama campaign’s initiative, which offers lessons for startups hoping to help big brands reach consumers on their cell phones. Advertisers have been slow to market via mobile phones, but that is changing thanks to a rash of mobile marketing startups and increased use of text messaging and mobile Internet.