Follow Us
Facebook Twitter Linkedin
    Hyperdog Media Logo
    Contact Us

    Month: November 2018

    AOL’s new advertising platform

    by

    AOL could become another internet marketing powerhouse. The company has recently announced it’s new “Platform A”, a mixture of the technological successes of Advertising.com, TACODA, Third Screen Media, Lightningcast, and ADTECH’s global ad serving platform. Platform A is poised to be a powerhouse of ad distribution through tightly defined niches like mobile advertising, video ads, behavioral targeting, and more. AOL has noticed CPM advertising is requiring more than just selling a bundle of clicks. Internet Advertisers and search marketers are requiring more demographic information before purchasing CPM these days. Without the right targeting, return on investment for CPM can be difficult to track(or realize!). But Platform A also has the breadth of distribution to compete with Google: Platform A already reaches more than 90% of the domestic online audience, according to comScore. It will be interesting to test the two internet ad networks side by side: Each will likely have their own flavor, but one is going to clearly emerge as the leader. The competition will be good, but I doubt Google will be toppled just yet.

    Social Media Optimization: Important Real Estate

    by

    If you haven’t setup profiles for your organization on the larger social media websites, you might be missing out on an important opportunity for branding and online reputation management. 1. Branding URLs exist on many social media websites Major companies are increasingly spreading URLs like http://myspace.com/microsoft in their marketing campaigns, and these destinations have become important virtual real estate. Losing control of such a visible page location could damage a company’s online reputation and negatively influence branding campaigns. 2. Social Media destinations may be difficult to reclaim Myspace urges users to choose their profile destination wisely, saying it can NEVER be changed. That’s right – NEVER. If you are the first Corey Ryder or David Soard on a social media site, then you are the first. I think that’s more of a function of customer service than technology, but expect it to be a lengthy process possibly involving lawyers if you ever want to change your name. It’s much better now to spend an hour creating profiles on social media websites. And while you’re there, take a look around. Did your competitors think to create their profiles? 3. Think carefully about your brand before adding content As important as it is to claim your profiles, be careful of the message your profile may send. A local telecommunications company had “Does not want children” in their myspace profile. Not only is this harmful to the brand, but also detracts from the main message. And remember: archive.org makes anything posted on the internet live FOREVER. With new social media websites popping up everyday, where should you focus? Make a list of social media websites where your branding is most important. What sites would your potential customers and partners visit? What sites have the most visibility? Now that you have your list, spend that Friday afternoon staking your claims – your online reputation will thank you!

    Mobile Search Optimization: About to become obsolete?

    by

    Mobile Search Optimization has been a bit of a buzzword this last twelve months. Web sites have long ignored the cellphone-based web surfer, but lately there has been much interest. There may be huge opportunities for websites optimized for cellphones, PDAs, toasters, and all of the other crazy devices visitors might be using to surf the web. More and more consumers are requiring email and even web access on their cellphones. Initiatives are merging local search, coupons, and even GPS. Mobile search optimization surely is the next huge possibility for traffic. Is your website ready? It may not matter. With Apple’s impending introduction of the iPhone, everything may change. Again. Consider: 1. There will be a whole new set of expectations for how a phone should browse. With the iPod, Apple defined the niche. Competitors were weighed against Apple’s offering. With the introduction of full-featured browsing via the iPhone, consumers are about to demand more from their phones. They won’t demand a better mobile experience. They are demanding the full desktop experience in a mobile phone. 2. Who would visit a .mobi site, when the full featured experience of a .com is available? In most cases, I would be too lazy to attempt a .mobi surf – since I KNOW the .com is available. We all just want to get our data and get on our way. Only hobbyist surfers would want to go check out the .mobi sites. Who wants to look at a dumbed-down webpage? Was mobile search optimization a waste of time? Having a few major companies optimize their websites for cellphones probably didn’t make much of a blip on the radar. It’s hard to say what the ROI was for their efforts, but it was likely more of a bet for the future. What do you think – Is mobile search optimization worthwhile for your company or clients?

    Link Connector Contribution Released For Zen Cart

    by

    We just developed a free contribution for Zen Cart, allowing the easy integration of LinkConnector’s affiliate code. Zen Cart and LinkConnector are an excellent match: 1. Both help eCommerce store owners avoid the sizable fees associated with opening and operating a store. 2. LinkConnector offers a two month grace period for setup and recruiting affiliates before they charge their low ($50/mo for self managed) fee. 3. Their “Naked Link” technology helps INCREASE your search engine rankings. Get Setup: Signup for a LinkConnector Merchant Account Download the Zen Cart LinkConnector Contribution 11-21-2007 UPDATE:  Changed Link Connector Fees

    4 essential questions when planning a web design

    by

    Successful web development projects require a tremendous amount of planning, and planning starts with asking the right questions. Any web design benefits from extra planning, but 4 questions should define the entire project from the start: 1. Who is my target audience? Too many websites try to be all things to all people. Instead, think of your most important visitors and design according to their tastes. They may or may not appreciate animation. They may be on dialup connections or they may be visiting the site via a cell phone. Knowing your website’s target audience is vital to the project, even before a web site design has been created. 2. What do I want them to do? If the purpose of your website is to get prospective customers to call, be sure your phone number is prominently displayed. A link to the “Contact Us” page should also be prominently displayed. Other websites may want to capture email addresses or newsletter signups. Ecommerce websites want to make a sale. Whatever the objective, make it as easy as possible for your customers. 3. How will they get to my site? With competition among websites growing daily, it’s important to plan how you will increase the visibility of your website. Will you blog? Or participate in forums? You might even use pay-per-click advertising on Google AdWords. There are many ways to bring targeted visitors to your website, but they won’t come just because you’ve launched a new website design. Plan ahead, and watch your website bring you new business! 4. How can I measure the project’s success? Many smaller website owners do not measure their web site metrics or statistics. Without an idea of traffic patterns and popular keywords, it is difficult to tell if a new web site design is effective. Are web site visitors converting to leads? Is the web site generating sales? Only by measuring can you know for sure.

    6 PPC Secrets from a $100k campaign

    by

    There was an excellent story in the San Francisco Gate in May about Lake Champlain Chocolates, and the lessons they’ve learned with Pay Per Click Advertising. The story title is “PAY-PER-CLICK PROBLEMS: Emeryville gourmet chocolate company has a rough go of it“, but the real value of the article is the PPC secrets it gives away. The article discusses two chocolate retailers: Lake Champlain Chocolates and Charles Chocolates. Lake Champlain Chocolates has experienced successful growth due to their PPC campaign, but Charles Chocolates did see any measurable growth from theirs. 1. Use negative keywords In the article, words like “cheap” and “free” were used as negative keywords to avoid showing ads to less affluent searchers. Every time you show an ad it’s like holding out a dollar bill for your searcher to snatch away. Be sure to get a prospective customer in return! 2. Refrain from using the content network Google AdWords users expect that the content network will show ads in all the right places. In a perfect world, new customers would see your ad and keep you in mind for their next purchase. But it isn’t a perfect world(Don’t even get me started!). Consider: – Visitors probably will not click. Content ads are like billboard ads. How often do you see a billboard and pull off of the highway to make an immediate purchase? It’s highly unlikely. Like the company in the article learned, “The return was never there.” – Visitors who click your ad won’t buy that day. They were reading, not shopping. At best, they will signup for your newsletter or bookmark your page. Is the landing page converting them into bookmarking or signing up? Probably not. Either fix that, or turn off the content network for now. – Clickfraudsters will click your ad and keep half. Click fraud is a plague of the content network. Last June, Outsell estimated that click fraud could be as high as 14 percent. The real estimate is probably a little lower, but click fraud does exist. 3. Use large sets of focused keywords The successful Lake Champlain Chocolate seller had a keyword set as high as 70k at one time, and now has it trimmed down to 30k. That’s  a big keyword set! 4. Use advanced keyword features One of the issues Internet Marketing Consultant Lael Sturm found with the struggling Emerville Chocolate Retailer Charles Chocolates was that they “hadn’t modified the ad text to match each specific keyword.” Be sure to use the advanced keyword options that PPC engines like Google AdWords provide. In Google AdWords, the code is {keyword: your keyword}. This option shows the keyphrase your user was searching for in the text of your ad. 5. Measure and adjust Is money being wasted in your campaign? You won’t know unless you are measuring. Lake Champlain saw they spent money attracting a searcher for “Chocolate covered scorpions,” something they didn’t sell, and decided not to let that happen again. Along with measuring what ads are the most effective, be sure to measure what you are paying for and remove/adjust the ads lacking good ROI. 6. Outsource your campaign to professionals to dramatically increase your sales Even with Lake Champlain Chocolate’s success inhouse, they were able to DOUBLE their sales by outsourcing their PPC management to professionals. You just can’t beat having the right help. Get to your friendly neighborhood search marketing agency today!

    Search Marketing Standard: Read it twice

    by

    I’m still getting two copies of Search Marketing Standard magazine, but I’m not reporting it. First off, it’s so good that I don’t want to possibly miss an issue by having anyone mess with my subscription. With other magazines, I’ve found that fulfillment centers sometimes get confused, and it’s usually months before I realize a certain issue isn’t coming. I just can’t risk it. Every article is good. Secondly, I’ll probably read through it twice. Might as well have a fresh crisp copy the second time. I wonder if I’ll even dog-ear the same pages? Here are four excellent resources for anyone interested in SEO, internet marketing, ecommerce, and the affiliate scene: 1. Search Marketing Standard. If you’ve thought the SEO world moves too fast for print, think again. 2. Practical Ecommerce. Not just for ecommerce store owners. Every web developer creating ecommerce websites should be in tune with the industry. 3. Revenue. Great for affiliate marketers, ecommerce merchants, or any company creating PPC(Pay Per Click) campaigns on Google AdWords or Yahoo Search Marketing. 4. Internet Retailer. Especially important if you are helping larger companies with their SEO, SEM, PPC, and ROI! This publication is best at industry trends influencing larger retailers and online merchants. It is essential that web designers and web site developers start paying attention to the many facets that can make or break an online business. These publications can help get you serve your clients!

    7 Web design techniques that are thankfully being retired

    by

    1. Frames Frames were rarely done in a search-friendly manner. In the age of cellphone browsers and section 508 compliance, frames must go. 2. IE 5 Mac hacks Internet Explorer was a miserable little browser on every OS it ran on, but was particularly miserable on the Mac. It required CSS hacks that other browsers tripped over. Some standards it – inexplicably – did not support. Even on MacOSX, it sucked. 3. Splash pages These pieces of eyecandy were frequently skipped by visitors, and even more frequently cursed under their breath. Known to be slow-loading and pointless, it is nice to see them used less often. 4. Microsoft Frontpage Extensions These buggy little replacements for scripting would break if you looked at them funny, and gave years of frustration to unix admins. Even Microsoft is turning it’s back on the Frontpage product, and not a day too soon. 5. Popup and Popunder windows There are still sites that tout the effectiveness of popups and popunders, but let’s face it: We all hate them. Every good browser tries to block them, but every once in a while you’ll see one. They are the junkmail of web browsing, and it’s time for them to go far, far away. 6. Animated layers that block content on page load There are few things as annoying as a layer that suddenly slides over to block content you are reading. They usually make users dismiss the ad to read page content. I’ve gotten so that I dismiss anything that slides over, not even taking the time to read the ad. The web will be a better place when these web design techniques are no longer seen. Have others? Add a comment and let us know!

    Web design followup: What to do after the big site launch

    by

    After the launch of any web development project, stakeholders and web design firms might sit back proudly and call it done. There are, however, a few things that should be cared for after the big launch. 1. Check 404 error logs Be sure to check your logs after you launch that new site. A. Missing pages You wouldn’t move without forwarding your mail, would you? Don’t forget to forward your important (former) page locations, either! Instead of showing the (hopefully customized) 404 error page, make sure you 301 redirect that page to the appropriate new location. You’re not only saving your visitors a click, but you might just preserve the pagerank(and trustrank) Google has given that page. B. Images Were important images being shown on other websites? Perhaps your logo is being shown on a partner’s website. Of course they shouldn’t link directly to images on your site like that. But they did. And if the logo is now missing, it isn’t going to get visitors to click through to your site! You may also have traffic from Google’s image search or other sources. Make sure you know what happens to that traffic when images are suddenly missing. 2. Announce the site launch to vendors and customers A website launch is an excellent reason to get in touch with old and new partners, vendors and customers. Contact them via email, email newsletter, or a direct mail piece. Who knows – you may have a product they didn’t know you offered! 3. Make adjustments Luckily, changes can always be made after a website launch. Is something working? Not working? You can always fix it on the web. Everything web is measurable. Measure and adjust. These steps will help any website design launch go more smoothly. Remember – it isn’t over after the big launch. Sometimes a little more work is needed to put the professional touch on that site. Looking for a more organized approach to your next web design or redesign project? We HIGHLY recommend Web ReDesign 2.0: Workflow that Works.