For bloggers and smaller websites, Clicky is a good analytics option
I sort of stumbled across a new analytics package recently, and thus far I’m a big fan. Clicky started as analytics for blogging, but apparently has its sites set on the broader world of analytics. I installed it on this blog and have been tinkering with it the past couple of weeks. Its interface is almost ridiculously clean -
The simplicity of this is great for smaller websites and blogs where you just want to do some basic behavioral tracking and keep an eye on your traffic sources and such. If you want to do more complex things, like setting up funnel analysis, don’t be fooled by Clicky’s stripped down looks, because it can handle those as well. There’s a free version to trial, so there’s really no reason not to give it a look.
But the coupe de grace is this - Clicky plays with your mobile phone! As I write this, I’m checking out my traffic on my Blackberry. I have been jonesing for Google to take their Analytics mobile, but looks like Clicky beat’em to the punch.
Check it out, you may just like what you find.
3 Reasons Not To Choose An Internet Marketing Company
Everyone loves lists. There are entire sites dedicated to top ten lists of everything from skin lotion to punk rock bands. I recently realized that I haven’t ever written anything in list format. A terrible, empty feeling began to overtake me. So while I may have missed the Hypercolor shirt trend when I was a kid (don’t remember Hypercolor? Shame on you!), I’m the kind of guy that will buy one off Ebay now just to say that I didn’t miss the trend completely.
This could be me!
Sad? Perhaps. But I’m going to make it count.
Speaking of counting, I figured I’d run in the opposite direction with my first attempt at “listing”. Having inherited a healthy dose of skepticism over the years, I figure it’s time to tell you what NOT to look for in an Internet marketing company, whether it be ad placement, pay per click management, search engine optimization or even web analytics. So let’s get to this list, shall we?
The first reason not to choose an Internet marketing company: They’re not business people. There are a million people out there offering search marketing services in particular, promising you number one rankings faster than you can microwave a bag of popcorn. First off, never trust someone that tells you this. Second, what’s the ultimate goal of their service? Clicks? Visits? How do they devise their keyword strategy? Do they understand your market? Do they have tangible business experience? If they don’t understand business, or if they don’t take the time to understand the uniqueness and complexities of your company, they likely won’t get you the results they want.
The second reason not to choose an Internet marketing company is if they lack a “face”. One of the first clients I worked with at Netvantage Makreting told us about some large faceless organization (that shall remain nameless) who sent them their SEO report each month showing some keywords went up, and some keywords went down. No explanations, no rhyme, no reason…just ranking reports. When they called to try to contact someone in regards to some further explanation, they would get redirected endlessly to someone who didn’t know or really seem to care who they were. You need a person or people that you have a direct relationship with that will act as a partner. If a company doesn’t offer a dedicated individual for your account, this is a huge red flag.
The third reason not to choose an Internet marketing company is a lack of transparency. I’ll be blunt. Much of what we do is NOT rocket science. Managing Google AdWords doesn’t take a degree in neuroscience from Stanford (and may not help at all, actually). It does take time, resources, inclination, and a pretty rounded marketing mind, however. I have always been straightforward with our smaller clients when I tell them that if I’m really doing my job well, and they have available time, they could eventually take over their campaign. Clients should be able to look at their raw data, otherwise, it’s too easy to cook the books or paint rosy pictures. If you can’t look at raw analytics, PPC data, or activity logs for SEO work, how will you hold this firm accountable. Whether you have any desire to ever look at this information is beyond the point. If there is any significant hesitation about transparency in information (aside from figuring out the best way to provide it to you), proceed with caution.
Of course it makes sense to do your standard due diligence when seeking out a vendor, but often times Internet marketing is outside the standard comfort zone of a lot of SMBs. This list should make a nice edition is you aim to trim down your list of potential providers.
Not so fast with that internal site search!
Over the last year or two, particularly with some of the innovations made available with Google Analytics, internal site search reports have gained a lot of notoriety among industry experts. Of course, there is some evidence to back up the hype. Research has shown that roughly 10 percent of traffic to a site is likely to use internal search. As such, of the “reports you should be paying attention to” this one seems to always pop up in the conversation. I don’t disagree, but I see a danger in people putting too many eggs in this basket when it comes time to make decisions about moving forward with changes to your site. What’s really needed is context.
What do I mean by context? Largely, I’m referring to a better understanding of your existing segments, and where that sits in the overall strategic endpoint for your website. If your site repesents three distinct product groups and services, but you currently receive very little traffic for one of those groups, how will those visitors change how our site is used? To clarify, certain products can be addressed more generally, while others may require far more specificity. Let’s take an industrial equipment manufacturer for example. While they may produce full products like turbines, they may also provide parts. A Yahoo search for turbines may land them on the site’s turbine page, which lets the visitor select between six available models. The likelihood this user will utilize site search for anything more than an occasional case study or supplementary documentation is unlikely.
What if this same site had recently added a parts section to the site, but not yet started the associated Internet marketing push. Strategically, this may have a goal to eventually drive 80 percent of site activity. Further, someone reaching the site having searched “Brand X turbine parts” is far more likely to have highly specific site search needs. With the long term strategic vision of the site in mind, this can save you from making potentially damaging changes to your site, and the functionality of your site search.
Think about it. If your site is still evolving, in the above situation it could be very easy to come to the conclusion that it makes sense to move your universal site search bar to a less prominent location. Currently, it’s of little value, so this would be an easy conclusion to come to without the broader strategic context.
Another instance where you could make a damaging change is by altering the layout of your search results. In the site’s current state, searches were highly specific, so providing less search results per page, potentially with accompanying thumbnails or graphics could be a beneficial move. However, if the search function is going to primarily be used for a broader range of parts, this could be a disastrous change. What if parts users tend to search by partial product numbers? In that case, more results per page would likely benefit the user, rather than forcing them to attempt multiple searches.
So while site search is certainly an important topic to tackle in your web analytics, it’s vitally important to understand what your analysis tells you within the desired end state of your website. It’s too easy to put the cart before the horse and start whipping it, and I don’t think that will end well for anyone.
Bailing out GM with Google AdWords
First off, I’m not going to take sides here, I’m simply going to talk hypothetically about something I would do if I were GM. Something, quite honestly, I’m surprised that they’ve already started doing (to some extent), and that’s utilizing paid search.
It’s no secret that I’m a big proponent of paid search marketing, and maybe I’m just on too much of a kick with this lately since I started digging into the brilliant use of defensive PPC and Internet marketing by Obama’s campaign, but I think I’m onto something. One of my Facebook friends posted an item the other day titled “GM Facts and Fiction” which led to the website of the same name. The site is a GM run marketing tool which does a nice job of segmenting why you should support the bailout from a variety of perspectives - employee, retiree, dealer, concerned American, and supplier.
Further, the home page limits options to a few clear, but highly actionable paths. You either segment yourself for targeted marketing efforts, forward the site to others, watch a video, or go to a “learn more” page that further pounds home the message.
As Americans seek to learn more about the effects of these bailouts (last month Google reported over 4,000,000 searches for the term “bailout”!), this is obviously a good political tool to sway public opinion in your favor. But this is only one step. The site, like any, is useless without some marketing efforts getting people to it. A quick search for “gm bailout” showed me the following sponsored link in Google:
GM bailout Adwords Ad
Without much thought, we think, “Good move GM, way to get your message out.” But I feel this is shortsighted. First, the budget for GM has to be tight, so they should be pinching every penny on this (or at least giving the appearance that they are), so why am I seeing this ad in Michigan, where politicians and the general public are both firmly behind this cause already? Ultimately, they’re preaching to the converted…and paying for every click!
If I’m running this campaign, I would be geo-targeting the ads to constituents with representatives deemed most likely to change their position. My marketing mind says, I’d aim the campaign at areas where the representative voted in favor of the first bailout, or represents a large number of autoworkers. Making sure these people are presented with the message, and providing them tools (the site’s forwarding option) could be a very effective way to develop grassroots support for GM’s cause.
As it stands, the effort can still be effective, just not cost effective. Sadly, I’m not surprised.
Another seminar in the bag
So the 11 on 11 event at Claddagh’s went down without a hitch, and our sincere thanks to everyone who made it out. General feedback was great and we look forward to holding another one in the near future! If you’d like to keep up with upcoming events, check out the seminars page on our site, or go to our news section so you can sign up for our newsletter.
A special thanks to Claddagh’s for the hospitality and the great food. We’ll have pictures up soon and we’ll be sure to share them.
