aimClear Search Marketing Blog

* Sigh * As long as I can remember, spring and summer have been the time for (but not limited to) barbecues, swimming and the effects of semi-surprise search algorithm updates on our clients. Recently, we’ve seen Google tinker under the hood, announcing the Mayday and (long advertised) Caffeine algorithm changes. Yahoo has been making various mods as well.

To the benefit of our readers, we’ve put together a client case study that looks at measurement techniques for evaluating site performance through Google and Yahoo’s algo’ changes. Some precursor notes: for this particular study, we pulled conversion data using the surfing single analytics segments technique. The featured site is a small but very profitable trade publication in Google News.  Also, there was a major push to improve organic conversion in preparation for the Caffeine update. That adds for more intrigue to some cool reports further down the page. Read the rest of this entry »

[This is a guest post written by Dennis Yu, CEO of BlitzLocal.] We  get asked the “GA or Omniture” question often enough that we decided to offer up this analysis as a buyer’s guide to the marketing executive or CEO. So how well does a free product stack up against one costing six figures?

The main selling points of Omniture are engine-independence and paid support. Conceptually, there is something to be said about using a third-party tool to manage your spend across multiple engines. At the same time, the primary engines have formats (API and bulk loading) that make it easy to export and import campaigns. Read the rest of this entry »

Knowing and understanding how consumers interact with your website is valuable information that can be obtained by looking over their shoulder. This approach is creepy and tedious. Instead, you could utilize eye tracking studies, but they can’t tell you the whole story. Read on for coverage from the Eye Tracking Research Update session at Search Engine Strategies New York, where industry experts sung the praises of eye tracking with equal criticism. Read the rest of this entry »

Bottom line? Utilizing and understanding the analytic data behind your website traffic is absolutely essential if you plan on making money. The Introduction To Analytics session at Search Engine Strategies New York left the audience with a depth of courage to explore Google Analytics (GA), five elements of a CEO-worthy report, the best KPIs to measure and incorporating other analtyic data and tools from diverse sources.  Read the rest of this entry »

Should direct marketers place Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and/or other buttons as part of the template for every email blast?   What about PPC landing pages? Should Twitter and Facebook be exit-options for every PPC landing page impression? How should advertisers think about socialization as either primary or secondary KPIs (key performance indicators A.K. A “goals.”)?

At first gape, these questions seem easy, yes?  “Of course, yes, socialize everything” you shout!”  “After all, isn’t the ‘net  all about social media these days?” How could it be wrong to ever consider omitting the all-powerful and ubiquitous social media click-me-now badges? Read the rest of this entry »