aimClear Search Marketing Blog

Our SES Chicago 2007 is complete and we’re heading back to the blustery ice and snow of Minnesota early tomorrow morning. It’s my understanding that Duluth received a little over 30 inches of snow in our absence. I want to express gratitude for the warm hospitality extended by the SES Kevins: Ryan & Heisler.

Today I put on my SeoRoundTable correspondent hat again which explains why we did not post in these pages. To those SEL/Sphinn friends who chose Vegas, we hope you had a hell of a time at PubCon. There were some tasty bits here on the SEM firm track for the experienced, which you would have found informative. Read the rest of this entry »

Though SEM agency pricing models fall into identifiable categories, percentage of spend, pay per performance, fixed hourly, customized services, and monthly retainer, there are many permutations. Most agencies settle on a hybrid business model encompassing facets each as apply to their unique business and clients’ needs. Also, there are advantages and disadvantages related to what types of prospects an SEM shop targets.

This post explores the pros and cons of common search-focused advertising agency models and the profiling of potential clients. Also the panelists, all seasoned SEM business veterans, named prices and shared freely. Read the rest of this entry »

While we love our websites and enjoy the benefits of allowing customers to do their own buying, there is still this little invention called the telephone. People are as connected to their cell phones as they are to the world wide web. In some industries, it’s a toss-up as to the number of customers who make their purchases online as to those who find the product online and then pick up the phone and call their orders in. Some people still like talking to a real person, especially if they have questions.

Moderator Chris Boggs, Manager, Search Engine Optimization, eMergent Marketing/BRULANT, Inc. along with Marc Barach, Chief Marketing Officer, Ingenio, Inc. and Dan Hight, Director of eCommerce Sales - Agency Division, Superpages.com remind us how to get connected with all those people using telephones. Read the rest of this entry »

Put your marketing program in context.  People are picky.  They like what they like.  The search engines work because people choose to use them.  It’s classic evolution – the most popular features will survive.  So how can you use that to your advantage? 

Some search engines convert better than others.  Dana Todd, Co-founder and Principal, Site Lab International Inc. moderated the esteemed panel of John Squire, SVP, Product Strategy, General Manger, Search Services, Coremetrics, Robert Heyman, Chief Search Officer, MediaSmith, and Isabel Sopoglian, VP of Search Marketing, Cars.com who all offered some savvy advice on how to get your customers to your site and convert them to buyers using the individual strategies of the various search engines. Read the rest of this entry »

Columbia Law School professor Tim Wu describes “Network neutrality as a network design principle. The idea is that a maximally useful public information network aspires to treat all content, sites, and platforms equally”.

This morning’s keynote speaker, David S. Isenberg, Principal Prosultant, isen.com walked SES attendees through basic concepts of net neutrality and urged us to get involved in order to save our businesses from monolithic and greedy telecom and cable companies. Read the rest of this entry »

This incredibly relevant session featured the generous tutelage of Patricia Hall, Investment Banker, Hallmark Capital. She walked the audience, comprised primarily of search related business owners, through a brilliant real-world overview of how the financial community looks at the SEM industry and evaluates companies for potential investment or sale.

Even if you’re not thinking about selling your company at this time, it’s important to always track it’s value. Knowing what it could fetch on the market helps keep your firm agile should opportunity arise. Read the rest of this entry »

Much has been written about the inevitable evolution of Search Engine Strategies which, though destined to occur eventually, happened cold turkey this week with the overlapping of PubCon. We’ll I’m here in Chicago and I’ve got feedback for you straight from the source. Read the rest of this entry »

So you have got people visiting your site and perusing what you have to offer. Are they visiting or intending to buy? Following on the heels of Landing Page Testing Overview, Kevin Ryan, Vice President, Global Content Director, Search Engine Strategies and Search Engine Watch introduced a panel of speakers to further your ability to get your customers to buy what you are selling. Jennifer Doss, E-Commerce Marketing Manager, Lids.com, Jamie Smith, CEO, Engine Ready, James Beriker, President, Efficient Frontier, and Chris Leggatt, Senior Account Executive, Moniker focused this discussion on conversion behavior and turning the customer into cash. Read the rest of this entry »

Your website is like any retail store. You want it to look clean and nice from the outside so customers will come inside. Once inside, you want to be able to grab their attention with products to buy. Your website must work the same way. It must gain the customer’s interest and attention to entice them to buy what you are selling.

Landing pages are vital to converting visitors to buyers. Amanda Watlington, Owner, Searching for Profit introduced Tim Ash, President, Site Tuners who gave advice and insight on how to fine tune your website to convert customers to cash.

Your goal is to get people to your site, have them take action, and to build retention and value with your company or brand. Retailers spend a lot of money on acquiring the customer and on retaining customers, but not enough on converting the customer to take action and buy the product. Read the rest of this entry »

Seth Godin, Entrepreneur, Agent of Change and Author of Meatball Sundae, addressed the attendees at SES Chicago 2007 in this morning’s keynote address. Marketing has irrevocably changed, leaving only the nimble willing to reinvent the marketplace from the ground up, as the new “gate keepers.” Read the rest of this entry »