Posts filed under 'Online PR'
With the credit crunch biting hard, economic slowdown and falling retail sales it is encouraging to read today that online retail continues to grow, with this years online retail spend expecting to grow by 32% compared to offline retail sales which expect to see a minimal growth of 1.2% according to the European and UK internet consultancy group Verdict Research.
Online retail is currently worth around £20bn, an estimated 7% of overall retail spend and by 2012 Verdict forecast that this figure will rise to 14% or around £45bn.
With shoppers increasingly turning to the internet as an effective means of seeking out bargains and low-priced products, will an online retail presence become the difference between commercial success or failure? And will online apathy lead to a retail sales disaster?
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June 19th, 2008
Online brand reputation is one of the big talking points at present, and in particular the part search marketing plays in the whole process. Google is no longer just a search engine. With the advent of blended search, Google (and the other major search engines) are introducing new channels to search results pages, and with this increase in use of Google as a primary source of research, the need to be perceived positively in the search engines is greater than ever.
More and more recently, I have been involved in campaigns where a primary aspect has been to protect brand perception not only from competitors but more and more often from negative pr, user generated content and other consumer reviews. Sometimes it is possible to respond in person to such issues however sometimes the problem is greater and search marketing can play a major part in reducing the effect of such activity. It should be noted the likelihood of making such ‘noise’ go completely away is nigh on impossible however you can do some things to reduce the effects, using existing online marketing tools at your disposal such as SEO, Online PR and Social Media:
1) Monitor what is being said.
There is a saying ‘knowledge is power’, and this couldn’t be more true within the corporate marketplace. There are a number of tools available online to monitor noise, both paid (Neilsen Buzzmetrics, Meltwater and Market Sentinel) and free (Icerocket, Blogpulse, Technorati and Google Alerts), however the most important aspect is ensuring that wherever you are being talked about, you are able to monitor whats being said and if necessary respond where appropriate to this activity.
Social networks should not be ignored. I have been working on a number of projects recently where political opposition has taken place on social networks such as Facebook, and these social networks should not be ignored during monitoring
2) Identify brand advocates.
This is a conversation I have had a number of times with a Managing Director of Connectpoint PR, Sandra McDowell, and something she passionately believes in. Brand Advocacy online is no different from brand advocacy offline. Identifying and working with brand ambassadors online can be a powerful tool in tackling potentially negative pr and translating this into positive brand perception.
This is something we used to do in the far and distant past whilst i was at Supanet. We used to identify potential ‘hotspots’ and react to them in order to try and ensure that any potential issues were dealt with quickly and early. However as Sandra has said many times to me previously, we need to be tackling issues proactively as well as reactively.
3) Get a website
Probably the most simple way of protecting your brand perception onin, particularly in the likelihood (albeit unlikely), that you don’t already have one. However saying that it is still suprising how many organisations have their brand domains and no website, and with advice regarding SEO friendly domains there are some organisations that do not have a brand-led domain. Introducing such a simple tactic is low hanging fruit and can be scaled further (ie develop more brand related websites in order to populate more real estate on brand searches.
4) Don’t forget about blended search
Blended search (or Universal Search) basically describes the use of images, news, feeds and maps as part of the the main search results. Many of these are integrated into a number of searches these days whether it be localised (generally Google Local results), product specific (use of Google Base Feeds), Cinema or use of video or imagery.
Search results these days provide more than one way of getting into the search engines, and effective use of PR can be one such way of dominating more real estate on the search engines. A well structured SEO-PR / Online PR campaign can pay dividends not just in terms of increased exposure, and increased exposure but also from increased brand exposure and coverage particularly on brand searches, not only from the articles and associated coverage itself, but also potentially in short term gains where Google deems an article newsworthy enough for the index.
5) Network
With the increase in popularity there is no reason you can’t use Social Networks to your benefit. In particular there exist a number of targeted social networks such as LinkedIn where business people can network effectively. Not only is this good for raising your profile but it also has the knock on effect of Google friendly content (only if you dont use limited profile), and a customisable URL all of which can be used to blend in with your brand reputation strategy.
There are also a number of other social networks such as Ecademy & Naymz where like minded business people can network, and facilitate introductions and business deals.
View Peter Young’s LinkedIn profile
Social Networks such as LinkedIn can also be a great way of finding the most relevant people within an organisation. Many of these social networks contain a very advanced search facility which allows you to more accurately define the person or people you are looking for.
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May 19th, 2008
It is often easy to forget that many of your activities on the internet leave some sort of trail. Whether it be a post on a blog like this, leaving your thoughts on a forum or participating on a social network, most of these leave an imprint that can be found later by others searches on a related subject.
Using as an example, A recent post on Joost de Valks blog regarding alleged exploitation of Dmoz, draw some heated discussion from some high profile comment from many high profile people (such as Rand Fishkin and Fathom) within the SEO industry. There are other similar examples over the last couple of months such as the Fused Nation/Global Media/Bigmouthmedia, which can sometimes deliberately done so in order to trigger discussion or conversation (often referred to as LinkBait).
Another high profile SEO example in the not too recent past has been the SEO/SMO (social media optimisation) is ‘bullshit’ comments by Jason Calacanis. Whilst I obviously do not share Jason’s rather extreme comments, this type of commentary obviously leaves a footprint, that both Jason and participants of these discussions can often be traced back on. It should be noted that many of the larger search organisations (such as Bigmouthmedia, Neutralize and iProspect - and to their credit) are often not drawn into such discussions or often associated with more ’shady’ tactics such as linkbait unless absolutely necessary.
These days, it is also often to see what participants are being involved in your discussions whether passively or actively. Tools such as mybloglog allow you to see who has been visiting your log (for those that have signed into mybloglog). Other avenues such as social networking also allow you to meet other likeminded people - such as LinkedIn, Facebook or MySpace.
Recent Forrester research identified what is called social technographics, highlighting at the head of the ladder, a group called ‘creators’. This group are often identified as the most active, and despite being the smallest group of technographics, often cause a disproportionate level of influence. Such people are also often responsible for raising either the profile of discussions or even starting many of the discussions mentioned above.
Therefore one thing should be considered, whatever tactical moves you make online - consider them carefully both in term of what you want to achieve, and probably more importantly what its possible consequences may be.
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April 23rd, 2008
Many organisations approach Online Marketing and Web Design/Development, as two seperate entities, and often this is translated into the development of new sites in particular. New sites will be developed and then potential online marketing partners (such as SEO specialists or Paid Search management specialists) may be approached on completion of the site to market the site (and lets be honest there are still a number of organisations that dont even do this). However how early should you start thinking about your online marketing. Well, from the very start, and heres why….
Domain Strategies
We recently undertook a pitch for a client, whose strategy entailed a number of very random domains, whose very existance was not based on functionality, requirements or merely targeting, more on lack of awareness of the web and how they could best maximise not only visibility but conversion
This was an extreme case but it did highlight a number of areas in which SEO experts play an important part as early on as the concept stage of a web design project. For example:
- Which URL is best to use from an SEO perspective
- Is this URL acceptable from a user pespective (I know us SEO’s love hyphens - but this strategy should only be considered where you have the non-hyphenated domain as well - IMO the shorter the domain the better)
- Which URL is to be the primary domain
- Acceptable use of canonical domains - Matt Cutts (from Google) wrote a very good blog on SEO URL canonicalisation on his blog quite a while back
- Correct usage of domains - From a technical perspective - it still amazes me how many people dont correctly implement this correctly. For example use ‘mysite.com’. Most developers will remember to setup the www.mysite.com - but what about mysite.com (note no www). Correctly implementing this part of your domain is not only good from a user perspective (users not typing in www can still find your site), but also from a search engine perspective as Google et al are all presented just one ‘copy’ of your site - not two.
Good domain management is not just limited to sites/organisations with an existing online presence. This is even more the case for new websites. I was recently talking to a web development colleague regarding a site they were looking after where the decision was made to create a brand new domain (and redirect the existing site with good search engine visibility). Unfortunately the SEO in particular was not considered, and subsequently the new site disappeared from the search engines. They are now addressing this iissue, but surely it wouild have been easier to think about this from the very beginning!
User/Search Engine Management
Guiding users to your website is fundamental to online marketing, no matter whether it is a behavioural or SEO based campaign. However unlike in Paid Search, and Behavioural activity, Search Engine Optimisation is reliant on third party activity, and thus even the best laid strategies can come unstuck if all aspects have not been considered.
This is particularly the case where a new site has replaced a legacy site, along with a new hierachiel structure, and page naming convention. Here a well structured SEO campaign can pay handsomely, redirecting both search engine spiders and users to the correct pages. This is often a part of web development, often neglected by the web development companies and one that can mean a lot of problems. For example, what about those users entering your site via a bookmarked page that no longer exists. A 301 from the old page to the new page will direct those users through to the replacement page. However at the very least, implement a bespoke 404.
Secondly, and maybe a little more contentious. Search Marketing agencies rely on stats for a number of reasons
- See what channels browsers are coming from
- See what terms browsers are coming into the site from
- Measure the effectiveness of their channel against existing/benchmarked channels.
- however one often missed aspect is - how are users using your site - what do they do when they get to your site, and why … which leads us on to
Conversion
I was recently presented with the existing statistics of a client we are now working with. The client had previously worked with a very big media agency (no names obviously mentioned), but despite a significant outlay (circa £50K) the total number of online conversions was 6. The client in question admittedly does work in a congested market, however a CPA of just under £10000 seems a bit high.
However one aspect of the client was their website. Whichever way you look at it, Online Marketing in nealy all cases is reliant on the website, either to further inform or convert customers. A badly delivered website won’t convert, just as irrelevant traffic won’t convert, and therefore all aspects of your online mix need to be considered if your online marketing strategy is to work effectively and deliver a cost-effective marketing channel for your organisation. This is particularly the case, with smaller organisations which can’t rely on brand power to make up for any issues there may be in the conversion funnel
Online Marketing needs to be considered right from the very beginning, probably even before your website has been considered. These days with digital spend and therefore digital awareness rising, you can’t afford to get it wrong….
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January 20th, 2008
According to a survey carried out for the Online Marketing Show, commitment to spend on Online Marketing has increased dramatically over the course of the last year.
The Online Marketing Show survey, follows research carried out by the Internet Advertising Bureau which saw digital marketing continue to grow, breaking the £2bn spending mark for the first time. The OMS show research highlighted the following trends:
- One in five respondants spent half of their total marketing spend online
- 47% of respondants said they plan to work with a digital agency in the next year
- SEO, E-Mail Marketing, Banner advertising and Paid Search were the primary investment areas over the course of the last year. The continued mass interest in social media and Online PR took investment away from mobile and iTV channels
- Social media and online PR were cited as focus areas for investment by over 50% of respondents in the upcoming year
To see the survey in full, please visit the Online Marketing Show website
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June 13th, 2007
It appears to me from having worked with a number of Manchester based PR agencies that there is still a certain level of uncertainty regarding the opportunities that can be leveraged from utilising online as a mechanism for PR distribution. Sometimes this seems to be down to ignorance, other times just a reluctance to embrace new opportunities, however there are a couple of PR agencies starting to take note. However this dearth of the use of Online PR, only serves to highlight the gab between SEO companies trying to embrace PR and PR companies trying to embrace SEO. I would suggest neither is serving the client as well as they could do.
On one hand we have the PR agencies using clever wordplay trying to create an impression compelling with the end user, with little or no consideration for algorithmic news and search engines, on the other optimisers generating content solely for ranking purposes, with little or no consideration for newsworthiness, or the end user. Press Release spam is unfortunately on the rise, and such activity (which often includes little or no editorial review) reduces the credibility of the wire services utilised and decreases the potential of your news being taken seriously (either now or in future).
This creates somewhat of a conundrum, to write particularly with the end user in mind, or focus more on either maximising syndication, and/or potential in terms of online marketing. I would suggest assessing the function of your press release is as good a place to start as any. Does you press release need to:
- Target and engage with end users
- Benefit the search marketing activity of you/your clients site.
- Tackle any existing issues - ie crisis management
- Do you need to maximise exposure in terms of pickup
Such questions will give you a reasonable basis to start writing your release. Setting a tone for your release is an important step in writing the release and understanding the functional requirements of the release will provide a solid foundation for use of keyword and linkage within your release. For example, should your release be part of an ongoing SEO campaign, the use of key terms and contextual linkage would be a necessity within the release; similarly, if you are writing the release with a defined end user in mind, then the wording and tone of your e-mail will be as important for your online release as they would be offline.
Just as importantly is the distribution mechanism. We highlighted a number of reasons which may determine how your press release may be written. This though will also affect, how your release should be distributed, however I would add budget will be a factor in many peoples agendas. However saying that there are a number of releases that can be effectively utilised, such as:
Services such as Marketwire, Businesswire and PRNewswire, although more expensive can be particularly useful particularly if more aggresive targeting is required. For example, Marketwire allows targeting by country (both online and offline sources), as well as segmentation by industry/sector. Getting this right can often be the difference between success and failure.
A knock on effect of such activity can result in increased visibility on services such as the following
News search engines:
Blog search engines:
Social Bookmarking/Tag based engines:
If media coverage is an issue, then do your homework to identify target publications with their editorial calendars in mind. Follow this up by sending appropriate journalists personal emails/pitches on your story. Don’t waffle, keep it succinct and include a url to the full release. It is also advisable to not include the entire release within the e-mail can be negatively perceived by some journalists. It can also be useful to make use of an optimised press centre in order to allow journalists, and customers to ’subscribe’ to your press center and be advised when new releases are added. It is also advisable to include relevant links to past releases, past media coverage, contact info, high resolution photographs, executive bios and links to applicable employee blogs (should this be available - Search Latitude are a good example of doing this well). The availability of all releases via a RSS feed can also contribute to increased exposure when a release is distributed.
There is no doubting that online has the potential to significantly impact on the performance/effect of a press release, particularly if the release is correctly focussed and targets the applicable channels effectively. This though requires a lot of hard work, good research, and often some imagination and luck.
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June 4th, 2007
I recently came across a “whitepaper” from Daryl Wilcox of Daryl Wilcox Publishing (associated with Sourcewire etc), which provided a very interesting overview of the future of traditional PR, which began with an interesting conjecture in 2017
However it soon returns to normality, and highlights what many PR organisations are starting to consider, namely whether to adapt to changing trends and behaviours as to how people read and gather news. To quote the whitepaper:
“The worst case scenario for PR, and this is real world and not fantasy, is that PR loses significant ground to an apparently more dynamic and imaginative profession - search marketing. The danger is this new discipline will take a bigger slice of the marketing budget at the expense of search marketing will start to take on communications roles which were previously part of the PR function”.
As the report goes onto state, there is already significant evidence of this. Many traditional offline publishers are now pouring money into online. Just look at the BBC. The cricket world cup has coverage from every angle including the widespread use of blogging in order to provide a more personalised overview of the world cup.
Search engines are also the weapon of choice when researching products or services, once the sole domain of offline publishers. Companies are getting wise to this, and the associated spend online is reflective of this trend. Added to this, is the ability of search marketing in order to drive traffic to the site.
Search marketing budgets are often similar to PR budgets nowadays - ranging from retainers for small clients of circa £500 per month to budgets of over circa £50000+ per month. However search marketing has one significant advantage over traditional PR in as far as it can demonstrate return on investment more effectively, easily and objectively. This is particularly important in many companies where every penny is accountable. As a result many search engine marketing companies are offering a range of online PR services such as PR syndication. This impacts PR as many organisations that would never have previously considered PR are now introduced to PR by search marketing agencies.
However the PR industry have been fairly slow in response. The report highlighted the CIPR conference in November 2006, where not one of the 14 sessions had any Online PR bias. As the report puts it - “The transformation of the media by the Internet was not a revolution, it was a slow burn. Now it as a raging fire”
However I am in danger of singing the whitepapers praises too highly. Whilst I fully agree with much of the report (particularly with my SEM hat firmly on), the reference to PR professionals being potentially better at SEO than search marketeers seems slightly of the mark. SEO is not all about numbers, numbers is merely a part of the fully equation, and it is this attention to the numbers along with the terminology and phrasology, that allows us search marketeers to leverage this ROI from online.
However Daryl’s document is written with the PR sector particularly in mind, and as such does an excellent job as such in advising PR of the potential of the Internet, whether or not they choose to utilise that information is another question. To be honest, there is no reason why Search Marketing and PR cannot cohabit side by side. I am currently working with a well respected PR agency, who are wholly embracing Online PR and the opportunities it can offer, and I am sure they want be the last.
To PR agencies. If you haven’t embraced the Internet, call us for a quick chat, to find out more on 01282 411170
To download the whitepaper go to http://www.dwpub.com/whitepapers.php?int=Public_Relations_Versus_Search_Marketing
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April 11th, 2007
According to a recent report by Technorati, the increase in the popularity in blogging shows no sign of slowing down. The report stated that Technorati are now tracking over 70 million blogs worldwide, approximately 13 million more than the number detected by the last Technorati report in November 2006.
Blogging by its very nature is more informal than other forms of “content websites” and many build up a considerable fan base, which revisit the site on a frequent basis. These sites are often more respected and trusted by the general public and perceived as being a more reliable source of information than many editorial or official websites.
As blogs are become more mainstream and accepted by commerce as a way of interacting with customers, however there is a danger that this perception will change, and there have been some well documented cases as such, with the Walmart blog probably one of the more well known examples.
However, due to the growing popularity, there has also been the associated problems such as spam blogs, or “Splogs”. These are automated blogs that contain little or no unique content and instead use content lifted from an RSS feed, which is then republished with a link. These are of no real value to human readers and exist largely for black hat search engine optimisation, however these can often rank highly in SERPS or search engine results positions.
Blogs can be an effective tool to interact with potential clients, however it should always be considered
- Who is the potential audience - Ensure that a blog is suitable
- How are your potential audience likely to interact with the blog - If you have a very negative public perception, perhaps such an interactive forum may be inadvisable - however saying that it may be a master stroke if implemented strategically
- What is the tone of your blog - personal/corporate - is this right for your target audience
- How often are you likely to update your blog - the best blogs are updated very regularly and often for this reason alone perform well in the search engines, as well as build up large followings.
- Do you wish to “syndicate” your content - this is important when deciding what platform/software to use - this for example uses wordpress.
- Is search engine optimisation important - you may need some technical tweaks in order to make your blog more friendly
There are a number of blogging experts out there, who can help with a long term Online PR or blogging strategy. If you are in any doubt, contact an expert such as E-Gain to find out more.
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April 10th, 2007
According to a recent report by the British Market Research Bureau (BMRB), only 19% of adult internet users have downloaded a podcast in the last six months (this is a rise of only 2% on the 2006 figure), this despite a surge in use of podcasts over the last year.
The study also stated that for those users who had ever downloaded a podcast, 72% weren’t interested in them, 38% didnt fully understand them and 18% wanted to know how to download them first.
Such figures, I feel do reflect the public perception of Podcasts/Vodcasts with many directly associating them directly with i-pods, which may in itself be reflected in the above figures. Whilst such technology is useful in tech-savvy environments, whether podcasting is suitable for mainstream marketing at this point is certainly up for debate.
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March 23rd, 2007
