OBSESSED WITH RESULTS

Yes, the big blue guy and I have shared the same problem throughout the years – stuffing ourselves with too many cookies. Apparently though, my stomach isn’t the only recipient of cookie stuffing these days. As reported in ReveNews, eBay initiated a suit back in 2008 against an affiliate and alleging “numerous actions including fraud, racketeering activity under RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations), wire fraud and unauthorized access of eBay’s servers.” In June of this year, the FBI  Cyber Crimes Department brought indictments against this same affiliate for wire fraud and criminal forfeiture. Their crime? Cookie stuffing.

If you are not familiar with cookies, they are small files placed on your computer by the websites you visit. Cookies are actually useful and usually quite harmless. For example, Session Cookies are kept in your computer’s temporary memory when you visit a site and are used by that site to store session identification. They don’t collect personal information and they don’t identify you in anyway. When you leave the site, they leave your computer.

A Persistent or Stored cookie stays on your hard drive for a select period of time or until you delete it. These cookies collect data about you in terms of your web surfing behavior or your user preferences at a specific web site.

A Malicious or Tracking cookie is one that stores your online activity, following you about trying to build a profile about your web surfing habits and interests. Though they are not holding personally identifiable information about your identity (we hope) they are trying to learn enough about the kind of person you are so that they can direct the right advertising message to you at the right time. Why is this site showing me so many sports ads. . .hmm. . . ?

By now you are thinking, I am going to block or delete my cookies every day. Think twice though, you may find that on your favorite sites that allow you to personalize content your preferences will be gone. Many online shopping carts that use cookies won’t work either. In fact, with some sites you’ll often get a warning to turn on your “cookie allower” or you won’t see much of the site. If you are worried about your information, check the site’s Privacy policy to see how they treat cookies. If you can put up with the possible inconveniences, it’s best to clear cookies when you are done with your surfing and start from scratch each time you go online.

However, many sites now use Flash cookies which aren’t controlled by the standard cookie and privacy controls located in the Tools section of your browser. In a study by UC Berkeley of the Internet’s top web sites, only four of these sites mentioned these cookies in their Privacy policies. These cookies are created using the Adobe Flash plug-in (the one that allows you to see a lot of cool videos and effects) and because they are relatively unknown, can be used to store information and track users around the web. Use the Adobe Flash interface to get rid of these (see the Wired article referenced below).

But, what about this cookie stuffing business? Cookie stuffing is a practice where the website you visit decides to place a lot of cookies on your computer. In affiliate marketing, where an independent website owner sells other people’s stuff, making sure they get credit for selling you the item is important. After all, if you are shopping around you may end up making a purchase somewhere else. Some unscrupulous affiliates will resort to stuffing your computer with cookies to ensure that if you go to other sites run by other affiliates their cookies will override the new sites cookies.

More typical though is the nefarious activity alleged in these indictments, where cookies placed on a user’s computer cause clicks to secretly be made on an affiliate link allowing the affiliate marketer to defraud a merchant with phony activity. As described in the ReveNews article: “Hidden forced clicks are when an affiliate link is invoked without a physical click by the end user. Various forms of technology and/or coding are used so that the merchant’s site is not actually seen by the end user.” One reason for doing this may be to build traffic to a site and boost rankings. In this case it was to increase the number of computers storing their eBay affiliate tracking cookie. Interestingly, the “wire fraud” aspect of this case doesn’t involve money transfers, but “transmission of the tracking cookie between states and internationally.”

Though the majority of Affiliate marketers are by far honest business people, in an unregulated world many will push the limits of technology to gain an advantage. Prior to this case, cookie stuffing was not technically considered illegal. But as the average users and authorities become more technically savvy the criminality and creation of unfair advantage behind such actions can be discerned more easily. In this case, both judge and grand jury members were able to understand the fraud being perpetrated and act upon it. Though I am not an advocate of increased Internet regulation, as I would rather see the industry police itself, there is a lesson here for all black hat wearers. The honest will eventually catch up with you and take your cookies away. They might also stuff you into a small room with bars on the windows and doors.

http://www.revenews.com/kelliestevens/affiliates-indicted-for-cookie-stuffing/

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/08/you-deleted-your-cookies-think-again/#ixzz0xZi8iVns

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/08/you-deleted-your-cookies-think-again/

http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Internet/2007/all_about_cookies.asp

In the last year I have been helping to launch our performance marketing division and I have put together a list of criteria I use in order to select the top vendors to launch my campaigns.  My job is to guarantee that my client will get qualified leads and will continue to recognize the importance and value in lead generation campaigns.

In addition to the selection criteria I also take into account how quickly a vendor can build the campaign, flexibility, and reputation. Here are the questions I ask the list of potential vendors before I launch a campaign:

• If you have your own proprietary co-registration path – How many offers do you run at any one time? Do you provide exclusivity for certain categories?
• If you have your own “house” email lists, how often are they updated and cleaned? Do you specialize in any verticals or particular demographics? Do you have third party emailers that you work with?
• Do you own or use incentivized sites or paths?
• Do you provide lead validation? If so, is it through a third party or a proprietary system?
• Do you have your own sites as well as distribution partners?
• How many unique visitors do you reach and what kind of targeting you can do? (Geo-targeting, age, demographic and etc.)
• Do you offer scrub rates?
• How do you rate your lead quality compared to competitors? Can you provide open rates and CTRs?

I have learned vendors will offer value added services along with leads at no additional charge. The key is keeping your client happy by providing quality leads and your vendors need to be accountable in helping you accomplish that goal.

With Consumer confidence dropping in the USA and said consumer busily trying to get out and stay out of debt, people who sell things are having their challenges. When current customers have closed their wallets, “new business” becomes the mantra of the day. In fact, EMarketer, quoting a new study from CSO Insights states that “more than 91% of companies worldwide reported increasing new customer acquisition was one of their top strategic marketing objectives for 2010.”

New business acquisition requires a lead generation strategy. The latest tactics have included traditional and online media, with the most successful being email, followed by live events and then webinars. With two out of the three being online campaigns, it is surprising the report found that 51% of the respondents said that their efforts online this year were below expectations. Truth is that this number is better than the 68% in 2009 who felt their efforts were lacking, but disappointing still the same. Many feel that their online programs are in need of improvement.

The number one cause for disappointment and the biggest lesson learned was that those who had good tracking in place did much better than those without. “As more lead generation efforts shift to the Internet, tools to help develop, execute, and track campaign effectiveness will become a ‘must have’ rather than a ‘nice to have,’” said the report.

Tracking issues aside, with email being the number one method to garner leads, moving forward, how do we factor in the steady decline of “open rates” around the world? MailerMailer’s “Email Marketing Metrics Report” shows email open rates steadily declining from 14% in 2007 to just 11.2 % at the end of 2009. Looking at the industries whose open rates suffered the most we see entertainment, banking, medicine and general marketing messages. The winners were classified as agriculture, religion, transportation and those from large businesses.

The report concluded that cluttered in boxes and the growing use of mobile devices might be to blame. If true, then the ability to track results in order to make on the fly changes in messaging to get those emails opened becomes crucial.

But, getting your emails opened is just the first step. Enticing people to read and then click thru to your web site is quite another. The MailerMailer report showed click thru rates on opened emails have also been on the decline with a drop from 2.6% to 1.6% in 2009 alone.

It is not surprising then that in this mediocre economy religious and retail emails have some of the highest click thru rates. In fact, Experian Cheetah Mail reports that though nonprofit emails get opened more, catalogers get clicked on the most. One of the conclusions we can maybe draw then, is that today’s consumer is looking for ways to help others and perhaps find some bargains for themselves.

It is not surprising then that Coupons.com reports that this year they and their affiliates have already distributed more than $1 Billion dollars worth of coupons! They attribute much of the growth to more brands offering digital coupons along with consumers’ broader use of printable coupons. But let’s face it – people are printing coupons because they have to! Searches on Google for “printable coupons” are up 67% from last year and according to Harris Interactive 8 out of 10 current US coupon clippers say they will continue even when good times return.

Putting it all together, if you want new business – try emailing some coupons, tie them in perhaps with some charity or good cause and then track, track and track those redeemers and their conversions.

Source: Marketers Put More Lead Gen Budgets Online JULY 27, 2010 http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007833, CSO Insight’s “2010 Lead Generation Optimization Key Trends Analysis”

Why Email Metrics are in Decline, July 26, 2010 http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007831

Digital coupon clipping surged in the first half of the year July 27, 2010http://www.internetretailer.com/2010/07/27/digital-coupon-clipping-surged-first-half-year

Isn’t it great you don’t have to rely solely on TV or print to advertise anymore?!  After watching Don throw his client out of the door on Madmen’s premiere episode of season 4, I thought, poor Jantzen for not having other advertising options.   If you didn’t see the episode, Don presented a provocative swimwear layout to Jantzen.  A black bar covers the model’s top. “So well built, we can’t show you the second floor,” was the slogan.   Jantzen, a family oriented and conservative company didn’t like the risqué idea, thus making Don so mad he threw them out.   Can you imagine throwing your client out if they don’t like your idea?

Today, there are more opportunities than ever to advertise, anywhere really.  It made me thankful that I work at Ionic Media, in the advertising industry today, because we can be more creative than ever.  There are so many ways to reach the consumer…  iPhones, iPads, Blackberrys, portable TVs, Facebook, Wi-Fi everywhere (even on airplanes now!)!  How much you want to spend or who you want to reach is a good way to start.  You could advertise on TV or why not put the commercials on the web?   Utilize paid search or optimize your current website?  The key is to not depend solely on one element, which will in turn be more efficient and effective.   The trick will be to coordinate all elements to send a consistent message.

Wow, what a relief to advertise today where you truly can run with your imagination.

So, you have an advertising budget for your product and have done all the research to figure out where to run your advertisements, how to disburse between Search, Display, etc.  Now how do you make these ads convert?

The Advertisement:

1. Text and Tone:  Create a strong CALL TO ACTION (this is the #1 most important detail).
   1. Use strong call to action phrases and words.  Examples include:
      1. i.      Free “ex. Get your free copy by clicking here…”
      2. ii.      __% off  “ex. Get 25% off your online purchase…”
      3. iii.      Make the offer time sensitive…”for a limited time only…”
      4. iv.      List cost – example – only $19.99 in bolded text and eye catching color.
      5. v.      New, Premium, etc.
      6. Graphics:
         1. Use graphics that catch the users eye.  Keep in mind that your advertisement is competing for the user’s eye.  If it is text heavy and not appealing to the eye it will be overlooked.
         2. Make sure ads load quickly.
         3. Keep the ad simple to read (i.e. average sized text), no shaky banners (most sites will not accept these and you may not want to be responsible for an epileptic seizure…seriously they become annoying more than anything else and don’t convert into a true sale.)
         4. Adding the touch of human faces to an advertisement also helps the user ‘connect’ with the offer on a personal level.  Remember – many people out there on the web are visual and the competition is fierce to capture their attention and lead them into action.

The Sales Process:

1. You have a click…now what?
   1. The same practice should be applied to your landing page and purchase process as it is to your advertisement.  The key points to focus on are:
      1. i.      Reiterating your offer.  The landing page content/offer should match the advertisement.  If it doesn’t, your messaging will not be clear and the user may think he/she  has landed on the wrong site or that the offer was bogus.
      2. ii.      Strong CALL TO ACTION! Keep that call to action in every step.  What does the user need to do?  Keep it simple, snappy and easy to do.
      3. iii.      Keep the collection of data fields above the fold of each page.  This reduces drop-off rates.  The easier you can make a process for a user the more likely they are to complete the process and not drop off.
      4. iv.      Short transaction process (shorten the amount of pages a user needs to go through in order to hit that oh so important ‘submit‘ button.
      5. v.      Provide a safe transaction zone for the consumer. (i.e. secured shopping).  If you intend to use any  user information for future promotions you need to be up front and let them opt in to this.  Transparency gains trust and hopefully this consumer will not be a one-time shopper but become a loyal customer, fan on Facebook, etc.

Andrea Cravitz
Client Account Manager
Ionic Media

Affordable small business SEO not o nly uses the same old business and marketing basics, but also leverages the depth of accessible metrics for creating increased o nline traffic and better web site ROI.

Don’t put the cart before the horse.

You can’t do SEO (optimize your web site for search engines) until you’ve researched keywords. You can’t research keywords without a clear view of your target market, your prospect types, and how your offerings fill their needs.

Affordable Small Business SEO

Affordable small business SEO not o nly uses the same old business and marketing basics, but also leverages the depth of accessible metrics for creating increased o nline traffic and better web site ROI.

When small business people ask me how their web site could be improved by SEO, I give them some version of the following list of questions. When you know the answers to these questions, you’re much less likely to waste money o n SEO efforts, and more likely to succeed o nline. You might even pull off some of this stuff yourself- and that’ll save you big in consultant fees!

To find the right keywords to target with SEO and/or PPC, consider the following…

Goals: How much monthly traffic and sales do you get now? Where would you like these numbers to be? What are your most wanted responses- what do you want your ideal prospects to do o n your site? (e.g. buy something, sign up for your ezine, etc.)

Market Segmentation: Who’s your ideal customer or target market? If there is more than o ne group, characterize each.

Keywords that work: How do people find your site? What search phrases show up in your web logs?

PPC Metrics: Do you already use pay per click (PPC) advertising? What are your conversion rates? Are your bids profiting, or at least breaking even?

Getting more traffic is pointless if  your site isn’t an efficient sales machine

Profit Margin: What is your o nline profit margin for each offering?

Conversion Rate: What percentage of your offline prospects make the purchase? (to gauge expected conversion rate for your services and find disparity in o nline results)

Customer Loyalty: How many people are o n your ezine list? How often do you email them? What do you send them?

5 Common Critical Website Errors and How to Fix Them

About 75% of the web sites I’ve seen make all of these mistakes. As a result, their rankings and traffic suffer, and they lose potential sales revenues.

See more at: http://eden.boseviews.com/2010/06/13/affordable-small-business-seo-5-common-website-errors-and-how-to-fix-them/

A couple of weeks ago, Google announced a change in the way search results are delivered. Regardless of whether or not users are logged in or out of their accounts, Google is now delivering personalized results based on search history. This may not sound like anything new or unusual, but it has some pretty important implications for SEO. In the past, if 2 people did a search on the same keyword, one would expect that both would get the same results. Now however, Google monitors what you click from the SERPs and tailors your results based on the type of sites you seem to favor when you’re surfing the web. For instance, if I read the Washington Post every day, Google is more likely to rank this site on the first page of the SERPs when I’m looking for news related content.

Why this is a big deal: This is a feature that requires you to change your Google settings by opting-out if you want to see search results that have not been influenced by your own personal preferences. But let’s face it, most people will have no idea that their search results are being manipulated especially since it happens even when you’re not logged in! The way it works is that Google stores your search history indefinitely when you’re logged-in or for 180 days when you’re logged-out. It then displays search results based on the type of sites you visit the most. But again, only savvy users would be aware of this change at this point or even bother to go through the trouble of opting out.

What this means for us: For some SEO clients, you might rely heavily on ranking reports as proof of the fact that we’re adding value. This Google development presents a challenge and begs a couple of questions: 1) how do we continue to effectively influence organic rankings with this added personalization of search results? 2) do “accurate” search results still exist (or is this terminology even valid anymore)? and 3) how do we advise our clients to deal with this?

Presumably, “accurate” results still exist, provided you’ve opted-out or click the link asking Google to show you results without the personalized settings. All the old SEO marks of merit still apply: good content, authority, age, etc. If these things are still in place (useful content in particular), users are more likely to favor our sites and come back.

Keep in mind: Google has been manipulating search results for ages and indifferent ways: based on user login, geographic location, data centers, etc. This change however, is much more invasive in my opinion and can easily trick users into believing that the results they’re seeing are based entirely on Google’s democratic judgment rather than their own influence. This may turn out to be a good thing for users since Google will actually be catering to their tastes. My only beef with it is that it’s an opt-out as opposed to an opt-in deal that most people won’t notice is happening.

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/personalized-search-for-everyone.html

http://searchengineland.com/google-now-personalizes-everyones-search-results-31195

http://searchengineland.com/googles-personalized-results-the-new-normal-31290

Seth Godin’s blog has a nice little tip.  While we often use Compete.com and Quantcast to triangulate on traffic to specific sites (comparing a client to their main competitors, for instance), the bitly tip is impressively geeky.

You can see the referrals and traffic to an individual bitly twitter URL by copying the URL and adding + sign to it. For example, if you see something like this in a tweet: http://bit.ly/870Ry9 just copy it and paste it with the plus and you’ll see http://bit.ly/870Ry9+. I think that’s pretty neat. You can also track top retweets on an hourly or daily basis.

Great exhaustive analytical study that compared four of the biggest websites and their registration forms, in an attempt to quantify what made a form successful and easy to use.

The conclusions aren’t exactly rocket science, but for marketers always looking for an edge in conversion rates, these can be quite useful in ending the eternal design debate.

1. Use horizontal (top down) forms because they are easier to read
2. Left align labels rather than right align (better yet use bold and left align)
3. If possible, use labels inside the fields rather than external to fields (but they have to be smart labels and disappear when someone starts to type)
4. Use one column for fields, not multiple-columns
5. If you have more than one field on a line (like first name/last name) then keep them close together, make them look like one single piece of information
6. Use shading to group information, not headers
7. Don’t use asterisks to ask for optional fields. Users will fill out all fields and ignore the asterisk (or simply not see them). Instead make sure you absolutely need every field on the form (or put Optional in the form field)
8. Phone fields can be the toughest for users to figure out. Keep them simple: one field with no wierd formatting requirements. Don’t split into multiple fields.
9. Any tips or validation instructions should go to the right of the field, not below
10. Always breadcrumb the number of steps remaining in the process

Sometimes as marketers we can forget the basic stuff.  In football, coaches of all levels spend a ton of time focusing on blocking & tackling.  The basics.

Here’s a good reminder of some of the basics of ecommerce marketing - timely for Cyber Monday and a very-online focused retail buying season.