You're Reading the Title, But How Much More?
By Paul Richlovsky | May 9, 2008
A new study seems to have the answer. From Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox comes a very interesting mathematical formula quantifying how little text people actually read during average Web page visits. The summary states:
On the average Web page, users have time to read at most 28% of the words during an average visit; 20% is more likely.
Ponder that for a minute.
There's a lot of things I take away from this:
1. The web is massive, and people are busy, so it's natural that they'd read selectively.
2. If people are spending less time reading, then video and images are imperative.
3. I'm lucky if you read beyond my block quote or numbered list.
I understand the importance of scanning, but a part of me fears for the future of literacy, even though the study shows that it's highly literate people who are doing the scanning. Maybe I'm just paranoid. Thanks for reading.
Tip of the hat to Aaron Wall's recent post on strategic content for the study citation and inspiration.
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We Are All Witnesses ... to Long Lines
By Dominic J. Litten | May 8, 2008
Here in Cleveland, the entire city is abuzz today about 23-cent pizzas at area Papa John's stores. Papa John's announced that 86 stores in Cleveland, Columbus, Toledo and Youngstown are in on the deal, each prepared to sell more than 900 pizzas today.
Papa John's agreed the deal as an apology to Cleveland Cavaliers fans after a franchisee in Washington, D.C., made T-shirts calling star James a "crybaby." While all the goodwill was said to be a PR/marketing coup after threatened boycotts, it is becoming apparent that chain may have overlooked how hungry our fine city is.
The Plain Dealer is reporting more that more pizzas are being sold than anticipated. One news station even has a live video cam at the Papa John's store in Euclid where police are on the scene to reduce line jumping and direct traffic for the estimated 1,200 people. One of our own fine employees drove by to see a line of over 200 people at the Garfield Heights store before 11 a.m.
So for all the kudos, what happens if stores run out of pizza or has to close early? Jim Sweeney from Sweeney Public Relations summed it up best in a story in today's Crain's Cleveland Business:
Looks like Papa John's shouldn't be congratulating themselves just yet.
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How Many People Reject Your Business Because of Negative Reputation?
By Paul Richlovsky | April 23, 2008
A new customer service study noted by Douglas Quenqua in ClickZ finds a strong link between a company's online reputation and the willingness of potential customers to do business with it.
... 72 percent of respondents used social media to research a company's reputation for customer care before making a purchase, and 74 percent choose to do business with companies based on the customer care experiences shared by others online.
Judging from the results of this study, businesses everywhere should be sure to:
- pursue excellent customer service
- foster loyalty and strengthen audience ties via social media
I can think of no more compelling reason to take part in social media. It's probably also true in general that the more attention you pay to customer service, the less likely you would be a victim of online smears. Of course, your business's reputation consists of more than just a high-ranking negative Google search result or one bad Facebook comment. But it's useful to understand social media regardless.
Let us help you learn how to maximize social media activity . View Matt Keough's video white paper: "Getting Started: Social Media" and contact us for a product demo on Online PR and Link Referral.
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Web Video Seminar: May 28, 2008 - Join Us!
By Jim Kukral | April 21, 2008
We're putting on an event on May 28th that will help you learn everything you need to know about internet video and how it can generate more leads, sales, and publicity for your website.
We'd love to have you come by. Get the details and sign up here.
Event Information
May 28, 2008
8:00am-Noon
Doubletree Hotel
Independence, Ohio
$25 Per Person
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Perplexing Search Marketing "Growth" Numbers
By Mike Murray | April 21, 2008
At least in North America, fresh data from the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO) suggests the industry is growing - $9.4 billion in 2006 to $12.1 billion in 2007 - a 29.8% increase.
It's a surprising increase given past growth and the amount of search marketing interest and budgets we're seeing from companies.
SEMPO is starting to release details from its latest survey, "The State of Search Engine Marketing 2007."
In terms of the study, is it really notable growth when search media giants like Google and Yahoo! gobble up $2.4 billion of the $2.8 billion increase between 2006 and 2007?
Consultants and in-house staffs took in much of the remaining $356 million for their work in natural search engine optimization and paid search management.
The $356 million doesn't even compare to what happened between 2005 and 2006 when the industry grew 72% -- from $5.7 billion to $9.4 billion.
Sure, search engines got the bulk of the extra cash in 2006, but marketers did pretty well too.
For example, companies dedicated $817 million more in 2006 over 2005 for consultants and internal specialists focusing on SEO and paid search.
More specifically, spending on SEO soared from $642 million in 2005 to $1.1 billion in 2006. Similarly, paid search management (apart from the actual cost of the ads themselves) grew from $513 million in 2005 to $866 million in 2006.
Marketing dollars may have hit an all-time high in 2007 for consultants and in-house ($1 billion for paid search and $1.2 billion for SEO), but the increases from year to year have slowed.
Despite concerns about the economy, the slowdown suggested by SEMPO's survey seems a bit unusual.
We're seeing companies expand budgets (adding money for SEO, paid search or online video) to capitalize on search marketing given what little they need to spend to connect with B2B and B2C customers at the very moment in time they're searching.
If they've been neglecting SEO, business executives are saying SEO is an opportunity they can't ignore. Many companies also are looking for guidance on the paid search front - either to set up a program for the first time or to improve what they've been trying to manage on their own. They're also interested in a holistic approach that ties everything together, including email marketing and online videos.
It's easy to slice and dice the numbers. The bottom line is that millions of people conduct searches every day. Smart marketers will spend what they need to if they want their companies to be discovered.
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Cleveland Rocks Google Street View
By Matt Keough | March 31, 2008
Cleveland is now getting the Google street view treatment. Below is a screen capture of the areas covered on an overlay of Google Maps.
It does not make it all the way out to my neighborhood, but many of the local attractions are covered. It is Opening Day, so let's enjoy one last view of Jacobs Field! For those who don't follow Cleveland sports closely, Jacobs Field was re-named Progressive Field before this season. The street view was captured sometime before the signs were changed.
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The Evolution of the Social Media Newsroom Continues
By Dominic J. Litten | March 31, 2008
With the advent of social media the need for online public relations and reputation management has exploded. Companies that use the phrase "lay low and let it grow" as a business philosophy are realizing that their competitors are becoming increasingly transparent and interactive with customers and their peers. Additionally, with the amount of white noise emanating from the internet, companies must do a better job of highlighting success stories and news items.
With that in mind, and as a way to help combat the white noise, the Fathom SEO team is unveiling the Fathom SEO Social Media Newsroom (or pressroom), our take on what has become an evolving conversation in the online public relations world.
The pressroom does exactly what a traditional online newsroom is supposed to do: highlight recent news and offer a snapshot of our company to the media. Where it differs is that it consolidates our online identities for those who wish to contact us through social mediums. Unlike those who lack any engagement with their respective audiences, the social media elements of our pressroom are completely functional and will continue to be updated moving forward.
Our inspiration for developing the pressroom began with SHIFT Communications social media newsroom template and further advanced by the functional newsrooms at SHIFT and GM Europe.
Over the next few weeks, we'd like to gather opinions on our pressroom from around the blogosphere or anywhere else. Leave us a comment, or better yet, find me on Twitter and let us know what you think. Let's keep the conversation moving.
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The 25 Best Health Blogs
By Paul Richlovsky | March 25, 2008
An apple a day keeps the doctor away, but reading a good blog every day can keep you well-informed with enlightening commentary. It may even prove to keep the doctor away, too. Recently I put together a rigorous list of the 25 best health blogs, and I'd like to share the apples with you.
The all-English-language honorees were chosen with the following criteria in mind:
- frequent, regular posting (daily/near-daily)
- quality design (readable, pleasing to the eye, no overwhelming advertising/clutter)
- distinct viewpoint
- depth and breadth of health commentary
If you prefer audio-visuals, check out my interview of Jim Kukral, Fathom SEO Internet video marketing specialist and blogging strategist. We talk about the qualities of good blogs.
Finally, with 120,000 healthcare blogs out there, ask yourself, Why aren't I blogging? Or, Does my blog distinguish itself from the masses? Let this guide tell you.
And feel free to view more Fathom SEO material about online healthcare marketing and general online marketing tips, such as getting started with social media.
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You Got Problems and Google Knows It!
By Matt Keough | March 14, 2008
There are endless SEO philosophical debates on Sphinn, Twitter, various forums and virtual water coolers about how much you should listen to Google. I'm in the camp that says we should listen closely to what they say, observe what we can about their actions and always keep in mind that they will ALWAYS act in their own self interest. In other words, if the "Jump!" edict is issued, it is wise to look at where you might land before you ask "How high?".
With that soft disclaimer, let's look at an instance where it makes perfect sense to listen to Google; when they tell you about problems on your website.
Recently, they announced that they will generate messages about problems to be retrieved at Webmaster Central, even before you verify. This is far better than trying to circumvent inevitable phishing schemes that would follow email outreach to webmaster@domain.com attempts.
Webmaster Central verification will allow you to see feedback from Google in areas of crawl problems, what the Google crawlers see, the text in links from other sites. It goes on and on.
One area I'd like to point out is the non-indexable content category. I usually try to keep most of my content indexable. However, I was able to take off my SEO hat for the weekend recently and threw a flash tease page on a friend's website. It was very refreshing. Soon I saw in the content analysis section a warning about non-indexable flash content. The other content they might report here include video or images. Because I really didn't care about the SEO impact of the splash page, I made no effort to correct it.
According to the Webmaster Central help, the other content problems they choose to report:
Data that may be included on this page includes:
* Title problems: Potential problems with the title tag on your pages, such as missing or repeated page titles.
* Meta description problems: Potential problems with duplicate or otherwise problematic meta descriptions.
* Non-indexable content: Pages containing non-indexable content, such as Flash files, video, or images.
As I stated earlier, I'm not suggesting that you spend every ounce of energy making certain that Google doesn't have any problems to report. There are many variables that you have to consider. But you would be a fool to not even listen to what they have to say.
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Eliot Spitzer + Client 9 = Internet Marketing Feeding Frenzy
By Paul Richlovsky | March 12, 2008
Anyone who reads political blogs or Mickey Kaus probably already knows about the Feiler Faster Thesis. The point of this post is not to rehash its message: that a faster news cycle makes politics move faster, and people consequently are able to process this fast-paced information more comfortably. Rather, let's look at the current Eliot Spitzer scandal for a lesson on FFT in action combined with an Internet marketing twist.
During the day of March 10, news about the Spitzer scandal breaks. By Tuesday morning (3/11), all major U.S. papers lead with the bombshell that Spitzer, "Mr. Clean," is "Client-9" for a high-end escort service. No surprise there about the front-page play, but contributors had already begun on Monday to diligently edit his Wikipedia entry with a reference as high as the 4th paragraph from the top. Also note there is a whole new evolving section on the scandal at the bottom.
Not impressed? Also on Tuesday, ClickZ reported various entities purchasing "Eliot Spitzer" keywords on Google to sell news stories (NYPost, Newsday.com) and semen detection test kits (Brickhouse Security). On the same day, Wired blogger Betsy Schiffman noted how miscellaneous speculators bought Client-9 domains minutes after a particular New York Times story went online. My own Google search this morning of "Eliot Spitzer" revealed Client 9 T-shirts just below the Newsday sponsored ad:
So, let's explore the significance. Eliot Spitzer political news breaks, and people begin to process its political, moral, and legal implications. People also begin to process ways to cash in on a good story with an awesome buzzword: Client 9. PPC AdWords and domains are bought. Parties as diverse as news outlets, adult content publishers, T-shirt hawkers and security firms all look for Internet marketing tie-ins.
Who's next? I'm waiting for some songwriters to produce scandal songs. There's got to be several YouTube videos being created as I write this. How about a band called Client 9? Maybe a reality TV show ... TV channel ... clothing label? The possibilities for branding are endless. Feel free to add some more (real or imagined) in comments below this post.
Does it make you a little dizzy to think about it? The FFT tells us we should not be phased by the Category-5 speeds of news cycles. Relax. Take a cue from the Emperors' Club and just enjoy the atmosphere. Enjoy marveling at the intersection of politics and search engine marketing. Not only do we comfortably process information faster, but we are also ready to profit from it just as quickly.
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