Manoj Jasra is currently a Sr. Analyst at Shaw Communications Inc. Prior to Shaw, Manoj was the Director of Technology and Sr. Strategist at Enquiro Search Solutions. He has been in the Search Marketing Industry since 2002, since then, his learning in marketing and business strategies as they relate to online has led him to become an expert in Search Marketing/Web Analytics, providing consultation and implementation strategies for clients. Manoj frequently writes in his blog about the latest in the Web Analytics and SEM Industry.
There are often cases where a business will choose to develop a custom content management system (CMS) rather than buying something off the shelf. The key to a developing a good CMS is to first understand the purpose of your website (requirements) and secondly to design the framework (database, business logic, GUI) to support it. There are also some fundamental SEO related guidelines you should build into your proprietary CMS if you hope to rank well in the search engines....
Sphinn is a social site for search and interactive marketers. It's designed to allow you to share and discover news stories, read and take part in discussions, discover events of interest and network with others. If you're an Internet marketer with a blog you will quickly understand that the referrals your get from Sphinn are very often more qualified than ones from Digg or Reddit....
Google is planning on offering a free webinar on July 8th covering 3 of its most useful products: Google Analytics, Google Website Optimizer and Google Webmaster Tools. This trio of tools is key to the success of any business. Analytics, Landing Page & A/B testing and website configuration for organic insight are an absolute must even if you don't use Google products....
ClickTale has just launched a new analytics product called Form Analytics. Form Analytics reveals how visitors interact with online forms and provides recommendations that can increase form completion rates and shopping cart conversions....
More and more each day you probably see Google's custom search engine functionality appear on site's across the Internet. If you are looking for a simple way to enhance your users' engagement level on your site then I recommend you take a closer look at Google custom search engine. Below are few of the top reasons I like it so much...
Do you consider yourself an advanced Gmail user? I thought I was too until I saw the post titled: "57 Habits of Highly Effective Gmail Users" at CollegeDegrees.com. The team over there has a compiled a list of 57 tips, shortcuts, and features available in Gmail, categorized into 4 main topics. Here are a few from each topic:...
Ever wonder how your websites' data in your analytics reports would be affected based on the placement of your analytics code on the page? Eric Enge and his team at Stone Temple Consulting have begun answering this question by testing the placement of the same analytics code within the top and bottom of a web page....
Web Analytics is not easy and can take up much of you time so it's important to concentrate on the things which have the most benefit to your business. Below I have outlined the types of things you shouldn't measure as well as some areas where you could potentially end up wasting time...
People seem to really appreciate the simplicity of lists and also have an easier time going throw their content, hence their immense popularity. In fact, I would have to say that 80% of my most popular articles on Sphinn have been lists. But what makes a good list? Below I have suggested 5 ways in which you can create a strong list...
Having frequently been involved with the web analytics process I have noticed some consistent issues with web analytics both from an agency and in house perspective. I am not talking about data quality or even vendor selection, I am talking about how web analytics strategically fits in within an organization....
Recently I have been involved in creating a search marketing training program which some very clear objectives: help new search marketing strategists get up to speed quicker, allow them to work on billable client work sooner/more efficiently and get them prepared to participate in high-level brainstorming strategies. As much as I can teach the new strategists, I have learned it's as important to learn from them to continually tweak and improve the program. Below I have outlined 3 steps to creating a stronger search marketing training program....
In the past I have discussed how to create Successful Facebook groups, however I still find the regular (non sponsored) Facebook groups very limited. Below is my personal wish list for Facebook Groups...
The main purpose of a competitive analysis should be to gain awareness of the competitive factors analyzed and to leverage the client's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) to their advantage. So what kind of factors should be included in an online competitive analysis...
Google Analytics has quickly become one of the most popular analytics software available, additionally there are numerous resources available which deal with configuration, implementation, analysis, and reporting. Below I have compiled some of the most useful resources for Google Analytics related strategies....
SEMPO, today released the results of its annual State of the Market Survey and the results indicate that the search marketing industry has exceeded the project spending allocations that were expected in 2007 and that the overall consensus from marketers it that the industry will continue to positive growth....
Paid search is much more than bid management and click-throughs, it's about devising a strategy that compliments your overall online marketing program and providing ROI based on performance which has been quantified at the keyword level. Below are 25 paid search resources ranging from the basics, to best practices, to advanced strategies to measurement....
WordPress is an excellent blog platform which provides complete customization which is both user and search engine friendly. Here are some of the tips, tricks and plug-ins that I use when I setup WordPress blogs....
The Online Marketing Blog recently ran a poll asking readers which SEO tactic they plan on using most in 2008 and the winner with 25% of the vote was Blogging. This doesn't surprise me because blogging is an excellent way to manage PR, offer technical support as well as interact with users. In 2008 Blogging will be about refining your content and applying strategies to help distinguish your blog from the thousands in your vertical. Below are 6 great tips from the past to help with your blogging strategy in 2008...
Writing and promoting unique content on your own blog is great but there are times when you can leverage more authoritative sites within your vertical by republishing the same content to in order get an even higher lift the second time...
Image optimization and video optimization are not secondary organic strategies anymore, they are essential in creating a well-rounded online presence. There are numerous resources you can turn to help perfect your strategy but I wanted to take a look at some techniques you may never thought of as well as some additional questions to ask yourself before applying any tactics....
Hitwise has just released their 2007 holiday report. Heather Dougherty, Research Director at Hitwise and author of the report does a great job covering the retail trends, traffic sources, uses of Social Networking/Email/Search, and the key findings. Below is a summary of the report....
The Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO), http://www.sempo.org/, today announced this and other top line findings from its first-ever survey of in-house SEM job salary compensation. I had a chance to chat with Duanne Forrester, co-chair of SEMPO's in house committee, about the findings from the survey....
Dennis Mortensen, COO of Index Tools and author of the blog Visual Revenue, has summarized the 18 most popular posts of 2007. His list includes posts from 6 different authorities in the Web Analytics industry including: Occam's Razor, Web Analytics Demystified, Web Metrics Guru, Visual Revenue, Web Analytics World, and Luna Metrics....
If you're an online retailer and you're looking to maximize this year's Christmas season then I suggest you check out Jessica Hupp's post at VirtualHosting.com because she has come up with over 50 ways that you can optimize your website for Christmas. From Landing Page Optimization to Usability to Analytics, she covers it all....
Over the last year I have really noticed a decrease in the time it takes Google to index pages, specifically articles and blog posts. Pages being indexed used to take days and then hours and now I am noticing minutes. This is without being logged into my Google Account....
comScore recently released its Search Engine rankings for the month of October 2007 in the US and the results favor Google which is up 1.5% from last month. Both Microsoft and Yahoo showed decreases in search market share while ASK held steady at 4.7%....
If you are the type of blogger who writes daily then it becomes important for you to post consistently because your readers begin to expect that from you. However, what do you do when you're fresh out of ideas and still want to get something valuable out to your readers?...
Feed subscribers are quite possibly your most loyal readers therefore it's important to grow your subscriber community as much as possible. With Google's purchase of FeedBurner as well as their own proprietary subscriber calculating technology don't be surprised to see feed subscribers becoming a variable in Google's ranking algorithm. In today's post we'll talk about how to increase your feed subscribers with some very simple tips....
Google's vision of creating open platforms for both OpenSocial and Android (Open Handset Alliance) is absolutely genius. Not only does it help Google competitively but it also helps create a stronger user experience and a strong support community. Here are some of the major benefits to open platforms such as OpenSocial and Android
So you were all excited when you first discovered Facebook Groups and noticed that all the cool kids had their own and you quickly jumped on the bandwagon to create one for yourself. You went through the process of creating an enticing title/description, selected the perfect logo and then proceeded to invite all your friends to join...but now what???
Hitwise, recently announced the launch of a new version of Hitwise Lifestyle, an online targeting tool, which now features Experian MOSAICâ„¢, a preferred household consumer segmentation system. Hitwise Lifestyle provides marketers with robust attitudinal and behavioral customer segmentation data on more than 30,000 websites.
Today at the Google Blog, Mihai Parparita discussed the new way Google will be calculating feed subscribers. This was in response to many people noticing huge fluctations in their RSS subscribers counts. Mihai says there is a difference between how subscribers are calculated at Google compared to FeedBurner. ...
The Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO), www.sempo.org, today announced it is launching its first ever salary survey of in-house search engine marketing professionals. The survey is open to all in-house SEM professionals whether or not they are currently SEMPO members. Organic and/or paid-search, in-house professionals are all invited to take the survey....
MarketingSherpa today released the fourth annual edition of its Search Marketing Benchmark Guide. The search marketing industry is still expanding rapidly - as much as 31% in the United States and 39% globally for 2007....
So you just started a new job in the "Insert Category Here" industry and are instantly expected to get up to speed so you can begin helping your team with billable work. You've heard that blogs are a great resource to begin your education, however you discover that there are literally a million blogs you could read, so where do you start?? This situation is one that probably many individuals face and I can understand where they are coming from especially since it's quite difficult to believe which bloggers are actually telling the truth or which bloggers' strategies actually work....
Hitwise announced today that Google accounted for 63.98 percent of all US searches in the four weeks ending September 1, 2007. Yahoo! Search, MSN Search and Ask.com each received 22.87, 7.98 and 3.41 percent respectively. The remaining 48 search engines in the Hitwise Search Engine Analysis Tool accounted for 1.68 percent of U.S. searches. ...
What if you had the ability to launch a smarter email campaign which allowed you to determine the level of your subscribers' engagement down to individual conversions? This is essentially what ClickTracks and Lyris have done by integrating Lyris' email management platform with ClickTracks' analytics product....
Web Analytics Associations's experts will provide insight into what is required for a job in Web analytics and why it's tough to find the right people. From marketing skills to technology know-how, find out what employers are looking for, what your peers are doing to land their next jobs and what the business opportunities are in this growing industry....
Facebook is one of the most powerful social networking services currently available. Its interface and framework allow a person to spread news virally as quick as any social bookmarking service. Facebook Groups, communities of friends with similar interests, are also becoming extremely popular. But, why create a Facebook Group?...
Ever since I started blogging I have noticed that Yahoo! has provided abnormally low number of search engines referrals to my blog. Over the last 4 months, the number of Yahoo! referrals in relation to all search engine referrals to my blog has been 2% whereas Google's share is over 80%. So why is Yahoo! so low...
One of the most interesting presentations at Search Engine Strategies was presented by Bill Macaitis, VP Online Marketing at Fox Interactive. Bill Macaitis provided a list of 20 ways to push SEO projects past existing in house/client related barriers. Below is Bill's list and I have also added descriptions as I saw fit....
The web analytics implementation process can often be a long and grueling process which includes numerous resources and environments. When you're trying to focus on items such as accurately trying to integrate with a CMS or ecommerce solutions, forgetting the little things can often occur. Here are a few items worth double checking before you declare the implementation 100% complete......
Behavioral Targeting is the ability to target users based on their behavior on your website (this is one form known as on-site targeting). The concept of behavioral/on site targeting is exactly how business should be done: offer a customized solution to your end users so that they are truly engaged with your website....
In mid July we mentioned that Google's Gmail was doing some A/B testing to help drive more Gmail registrations. During the test we noticed at least 5 or 6 different types of messaging to help lure new users to sign up. The messaging include phrases such as "Start Fresh," "Sign up for Gmail," "Pick a Name," etc...However we believe the test must be pretty close to completion as we have noticed "Pick a Name" with a dark blue background appearing fairly consistently....
Recently I connected with WebTrends' Director of Product Marketing Matt Langie in order to get some more insight on version 2 of their Marketing Lab product. In the latest version, WebTrends introduced two new additions, WebTrends Score and WebTrends Visitor Intelligence. WebTrends Score allows you to assign a score to different visitor interactions on your site and WebTrends Visitor Intelligence takes the 'engagement score' (as well as visitor behavior) and allows you to deliver customized website experiences to your visitors. Here's how it went.......
Google's Analytics Evangelist, Avinash Kaushik, has just published his quarterly update for the top ten Web Analytics Blogs. Avinash uses Feed Subscribers and Technorati rankings in order to rank the Web Analytics blogs appropriately....
Sketchcasting is basically podcasting with a whiteboard. Rather than publishing content through text or audio, authors express their ideas on a whiteboard (through video). I think this method of conveying thoughts and ideas to your audience is very effective because it will engage readers at a whole new level....
Aodhan Cullen, CEO of web analytics provider, StatCounter has taken home the prize of Europe's top Entrepreneur under the age of 25. The young StatCounter CEO edged out other leaders from companies such as JT International and Amsterdam's Wakoopa....
Considering Google uses A/B testing to optimize the performance of their pages, shouldn't all site owners do the same? If you haven't noticed, Google's Gmail home page has been running a small A/B test to help promote new Gmail sign-ups. In Google's case, they are running an A/B/C/D/E test....
The search marketing industry is currently going through a transition phase in which many companies are considering bringing SEO in-house rather than relying on the services of 3rd party search marketing firms. With training from organizations such as the SEMPO Institute as well as the need for companies to have tighter integrations with online marketing efforts, the transition to in-house becomes a much more obvious choice....
To recap, Universal Search is a term coined by Google in which results from different vertical search engines (images, video, news etc...) are integrated into Google's regular search results. The idea is that textual listings may not necessarily be the most relevant result for a user's query. But when will these different search results show up? For example, what causes a video of a scene from Star Wars to appear within the organic search results for the query: "Darth Vader."...
The key to success in blogging, whether you want to make money, gain more subscribers, or increase visitor engagement is to constantly test new strategies. With A/B or Multivariate testing and using web analytics to measure its performance anyone can move closer to their ideal formula of success. The results from the multivariate testing will allow you to test various alterations before they are 100% live as well as allow you to capitalize on the best performing combinations....
Marketing professionals who need to know how to leverage pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns for maximum effect and return on investment will benefit from the SEMPO Institute’s new, intensive distance learning class: Advanced Search Advertising, the third class in SEMPO’s (Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization) new series of online classes designed to help marketers better understand the intricacies and dynamics of search-based marketing....
If you're looking for a great way to pinpoint conversion issues or test landing pages then consider Eye Tracking. Here are 5 reasons why you should incorporate Eye Tracking into your search marketing strategy....
Analytics provider, VisiStat, has been busy improving its web analytics software with enhancements over the last month. If you haven't used VisiStat before, I actually compared it against Google Analytics late last year....
Usually Google is the search engine known for its innovative new products. Lately, I've noticed some interesting developments from Yahoo! which have started to peak my interest. Yahoo! has had a slow start to 2007 with their latest statement of revenue falling short of financial predictions....
When visitors arrive on your website, what are they doing? Is it what you want or expect them to do; or are they aimlessly wandering around and not finding what they came in looking? Are your potential customers abandoning your site just seconds after their arrival? If you are puzzled because you don't know what visitors are doing, or why, then how can you ever create a decent strategy to offer your visitors a better experience on your website?...
VisiStat has now been collecting data on my blog for about a month and a half and I thought, rather than simply talk about VisiStat's product features and its pros & cons, it would be better to compare it to another reputable product in the industry: Google Analytics....
Having analytics in place is just half of the solution, actually using them and tailoring them to provide solid information and reasoning is what separates those on the leading edge from those on the bleeding edge....
When providing services such as Search Marketing strategies to large B2B tech firms you will find that there are several levels of management to please (this is the case for many large corporations). With above average sales cycles and the focus to produce quality leads it’s important to establish the right metrics to satisfy all levels within the company....
If your IT team decides that an analytics implementation project is too daunting of a task to code on individual pages, I would suggest that you start with a cost/benefit analysis. According to the time value of money, the NPV of a 2% higher conversion rate (and revenues associated with that) will more than likely be worth a lot more than the cost of the implementation in the first place....
There are business owners who continually push off the purchase of analytics until their company is financially ready to make the leap and online commitment; or until over inflated marketing projections prove to be just that, and mistakes need to be quantified. Something that the majority of business doesn’t seem to realize is the immense insight and knowledge they are missing out on by waiting....
Most search marketing companies have it ingrained in their minds that media on a site is considered a negative feature because search engine spiders can’t index the content. After all, if they can’t find your content, there goes the relevance that could otherwise have influenced your rankings....
There has always been a certain buzz in the online marketing industry regarding metrics; namely, which metrics to measure and how to accurately track them? I find, more and more that many business owners are sometimes paying attention to metrics that make their business look appealing from an image perspective, rather than to metrics which actually show value to the bottom line....
Web Analytics and tracking user behavior are more popular than ever before, partly because of the availability of robust tools, and partly because of the need in the wake of a growing competitive landscape. It isn’t enough just to be online anymore you have to be effective and efficient to capture a larger share of your target market....
When visitors arrive on your website, what are they doing? Is it what you want or expect them to do; or are they aimlessly wandering around and not finding what they came in looking? Are your potential customers abandoning your site just seconds after their arrival? If you are puzzled because you don't know what visitors are doing, or why, then how can you ever create a decent strategy to offer your visitors a better experience on your website?...
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