• How To Create Perfect Landing Pages
    Landing pages are just as important as paid-search ads. Brian Massey wants to remind marketers the page is not part of the company's Web site, but rather a stand-alone page waiting to convert the visitor into a buyer. With this in mind, he serves up advice -- including don't use the Web site page template to design the content, and only ask site visitors to provide necessary information. A series of screenshots and tutorials take us through the process of creating what Massey calls the perfect page.
  • Stepping Through Multichannel Funnels
    Here is another view as well as detailed instructions for creating non-branded custom segmentation in Google Analytics' multichannel funnels section. The tutorial and screenshots show how the guys at Slingshot created custom segmentation and compared them to show differences between non-branded, organic, and first interaction; all non-branded organic interactions; and all conversions.
  • Sharing In Moderation
    Some consumers who walk into a disheveled store may become overwhelmed and walk out without making a purchase because the disorganization becomes too much to deal with. Too many choices online or in a physical store can cause the same response. Joseph Putnam had that experience in a Santa Monica, Calif. ice cream shop. So he put together a study, related it to sharing content online, and served up the results in a post that provides several solutions.
  • Give Me A Search And Social Nudge
    With roots in search engine optimization, Liana Evans explains the importance of integrating SEO and social media. She tells us the key to understanding search optimization in social media resides in remembering that social media communities are not search engines, and people search differently than they converse. Evans explains why these are important, how to put the ideas to use, and what a marketer can gain from the experience.
  • Funneling Google Analytics
    Analyzing metrics on a Web site means determining the channels that contribute to conversions. Thom Craver tells us that Google Analytics now allows marketers to identify when multiple channels contribute to a specific goal. The tool, Multi-Channel Funnels, allows marketers to identify campaigns, sources, or channels that contributed to a visitor's "multi-visit" conversion. He tells us how the tool works, and the potential outcomes that marketers can expect.
  • A Sessionization Algorithm
    Avinash Kaushik tells us about the recent algorithm change in Google Analytics. One small change in the system caused a few other smaller changes in other parts of the system, and some people "freaked out." While the video included in the post explains the changes, one part not detailed in the clip centers on a bug that impacted user data. The bug temporarily made it seem that the impact was crazy because of the sessionization change. Google engineers identified the bug and fixed the data. Let's move on.
  • What The Heck Is RegEx?
    Rob Millard tells us Regular Expressions, or abbreviated RegEx, is not as complicated as it first appears. He explains the concept, touches on its many uses, and defines a long list of related characters and metacharacters including groupings, anchors, and shorthand. For example, he writes, when trying to match all URLs within a specific directory of a site, use ^products/.
  • Google Maps Hears You
    Google Maps offers voice search, making it easier to find hard-to-spell places or get directions without typing when driving. Using a plugin, the tool also enables searchers to see the world through Earth by speaking the destination. Jed Burgess provides tips for using the tool, and tells us it is available for google.com, Android and iPhone.
  • Groupon Down, Living Social Up
    Search marketers that are thinking about tying campaigns into daily deal coupon specials may want to take a look at the most recent numbers from Experian Hitwise. While the stats do not include mobile or application-specific traffic, the analyst firm numbers suggest that this summer, Groupon traffic fell nearly 50% since its peak in the second week of June 2011, compared with Living Social's 27% climb, according to Bill Tancer. He tells us about the overall traffic to daily deal sites and explains the results.
  • Don't Disregard Small SEM Gains
    Big things come in small packages -- even when it comes to conversions. Sometimes incremental gains are better than a big bang. Just ask Danny Iny, who explains just how beneficial small, incremental gains can be. Iny starts by defining macro and micro conversions, outlines the differences, and reminds us that every step a consumer takes across a brand's Web site before closing the browser window or jumping to another site should be considered a positive move.
« Previous Entries