[This article ran on Search Engine Watch on January 13, 2012.] It’s January, and all the industry pundits are buzzing with their biggest and boldest predictions of what’s in store for the year. But let’s talk about what we’re not going to see in 2012: the return of user search query data from individuals signed [...]
[This article ran on Search Engine Watch on December 19, 2011.] Fortunately, most Search Engine Watch readers know at least the basics of using a search engine, and we’re not 7-year-olds drooling over the hottest toy of the 2011 holiday season. (Although, with just the right holiday cheer, we too can go into orbit like [...]
Point of View on the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) (Amendment) Regulations 2011. If you would like to recieve a PDF copy of ”The future use of cookies in the UK: From informing to obtaining consent” please send an email to ukinfo at webliquidgroup.com ______________________________ Background What is the role of cookies? What is the [...]
[Part 2 of 5 / Table of Contents] What should you do? Unfortunately there is not a defined set of exact guidelines to ensure compliance. The main reason is that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport who are responsible for drafting the exact steps that businesses should follow have not finished these. However a [...]
[Part 3 of 5 / Table of Contents] The different forms for obtaining consent Various methods for obtaining consent are currently being discussed and evaluated by the ICO and industry bodies. Below is a description of the most significant. The use of browser settings. Unfortunately at the present time most browsers do not include advanced [...]
[Part 4 of 5 / Table of Contents] Recommended next steps Given the lack of specific guidelines on the implementation of the new legislation we recommend undertaking the following steps: 1. Undertake an initial audit of your site and the way cookies are being used. The audit should classify the individual cookies based on the [...]
[Part 5 of 5 / Table of Contents] References & Sources (1) Source: ICO “Advice on the New Cookies Regulation, 09/05/2011, Version 1 (2) Source: ICO “Advice on the New Cookies Regulation, 09/05/2011, Version 1 (3) Source: ICO “Enforcing the revised Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), 25/05/2011, Version 1 (4) Source: ICO “Advice on [...]
[This article ran on Search Engine Watch on July 1, 2011.] In recent weeks, we’ve looked at a number of trends related to holiday shopping, as well as other seasonal gifting occasions occurring at other points during the year. Still relying on Google Insights data and some statistical analysis, let’s look at some of the [...]
[This article ran on Search Engine Watch on June 20, 2011.] Last time, we began our look at behavioral search query insights around gift giving from a search marketing perspective by looking at trends in the use of “gift” as a search keyword in Google – and learned a few things in the process: When [...]
In this third installment of Microsoft Excel tips for marketers (Part 1, and Part 2), we are going to tackle some tips tricks and tools that I use in everything from media campaign trafficking to SEO to Social Media monitoring. Like usual, everything that appears in these tips posts works in both Excel 2008 for [...]
[This article ran on Search Engine Watch on June 2, 2011.] The next time you’re shopping online and moving toward checkout, pause and think about the gift wrapping option. Your gift recipient gets a nice little package, but the retailer or manufacturer gets a nice little gift as well. These folks can learn a lot [...]
In the face of rising cost-per-click metrics, there are a variety of solutions to stave off hyper-inflation within the paid search economy.
Marketers must acknowledge offline contributions to online innovation, starting with measurement of the ROPO effect (Research Online, Purchase Offline).
The on-going debate surrounding the disruptive noise created by the vuvuzela – the plastic horns adopted by locals and spectators during the South Africa 2010 World Cup, made me think of the disruptive “noise” created by data within Marketing departments. Digital marketing is blessed by a high degree of accountability; unfortunately accountability comes at the price. [...]
Adding search-enabled WOM insights to content development helps marketers create the editorial calendar to position content for ideal SEO.
Data mining is an essential weapon in a marketing arsenal, but consumer behavior is complex, and human intuition is what fosters brand relationships.
Bidding on extension keywords presents a significant opportunity to extend reach in the PPC channel, at a relative discount of approximately one-third (measured in Estimated Average CPC terms).
Marketers need to resist the temptation of giving in to “Clickthrough Determinism”: the tendency to boil down consumer behavior into the simple arithmetic of click patterns.
To Walgreen’s we tip our hats. Their progress in social media is an indication that they have embraced Service over Solicitation. The resulting increase in search activity around their brand name will also spawn demonstrable commercial gains.
Are clicks a relevant measure of the impact of online advertising? Consider this. If you know most users that are exposed to your media display and search will not click though – clicks provide a very limited view on the impact of your advertising. The problem is that if clicks are not the appropriate metric, what’s the alterative?
With new research from Google indicating that ad position does not impact conversion rates, we gain a fresh perspective on how to treat average-performing keywords.
Don’t advertise on social media sites. Lets be honest, advertising is about persuasion while social media is about empowerment ” service as opposed to solicitation. The difference boils down to consumer confidence – advertising and marketing messages are inherently persuasive and rightly perceived as biased whereas word of mouth messages naturally build (or diminish) confidence without perceived bias. Granted, the value of good advertising in social media or any other environment is in its ability to spark inspiration and need, emotion and thought; from those things that make up everyday life.
The nine most important factors to consider, to launch a Pay-per-Performance advertising program that drives revenue and return on investment (ROI).
Legend has it that Pablo Picasso was sketching in the park when a woman approached him. After studying her for a moment, he used a single pencil stroke to create her portrait. He handed the women his work of art. When asked how much he was owed, Picasso asked for five thousand dollars. The woman [...]
We define our clients’ success relative to the sustained return they obtain from their marketing investments. 2007 was a landmark year for our clients, in which their increased commitment to online marketing was rewarded by strong financial returns. In 2007 we generated GBP £125,422,639 (USD $251,655,481) in revenue for our clients, delivering a return on [...]
Digital Marketing has introduced a profusion of new channels to reach prospects with the aim to persuade, drive engagement and relationship; including PPC advertising, affiliate marketing, pay-per performance network buys, display advertising and email marketing. The proliferation and inherent advantages of multi-channel advertising have existed well before the advent of Digital Marketing. As early as [...]
As part of a major acquisition campaign for one of our travel clients, Web Liquid undertook an in-depth analysis aimed at identifying the relationship between 1) search and display advertising and 2) tactics to increase the value of each conversion. While the campaign generated strong return on investment across display advertising and PPC search, we [...]
While advertisers are allocating close to a third of their online advertising budgets to search (commercial and organic) very few have a clear and unified measurement methodology for the channel. Before examining the optimal measurement methodology for search, lets review how search works through the use of the “people in the room” metaphor. Imagine search engines [...]
We define our clients’ success relative to the sustained return they obtain from their marketing investments. 2006 was a landmark year for our clients, in which their increased commitment to online marketing was rewarded by strong financial and communication returns. In 2006 we generated $133,535,453 in revenue from our clients’ investments in online media, delivering [...]
With 2005 gone by and a lot of air over our wings we took a moment to reflect on our second full calendar year in business. We’ve added clients, staff and are doing work in 8 countries across all digital channels. But beyond all that we’ve identified one metric that really matters – the success [...]