We also recognize that all of our performance and success would not be available to us without the freedom to operate within an economic system based upon individual rights, individual liberty, and individual responsibility.  It is for this reason that we created EngineWorks.org.

Please feel free to post your comments on our free market advocacy site; and let us know your opinion of this wonderful country of ours.

To quote the American journalist John Gunther, “Ours is the only country deliberately founded on a good idea.”

]]> http://www.engineworks.com/blog/2009/07/04/the-fourth-of-july-celebrating-independent-markets-and-minds/feed/ http://www.engineworks.com/blog/2009/06/30/zonder-launches-new-vacation-rental-web-site/ http://www.engineworks.com/blog/2009/06/30/zonder-launches-new-vacation-rental-web-site/#comments Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:25:32 +0000 Sean McMahon http://www.engineworks.com/blog/?p=846 Having provided Zonder.com, the premier online vacation rental site, with professional search engine marketing services, we at EngineWorks would like to bring your attention their newly launched Web site which went ‘live’ last week.  This new site enables you to conveniently book vacation rentals online in the same manner as booking hotel rooms at popular travel sites such as Orbitz or Hotwire.

We are very impressed with the functionality and ease-of-use of Zonder’s new site, and highly recommend you try-out their easy search tools which include the ability to search by city, state, country, zip code, or airport code.  You can also narrow your search results based on price, availability, distance, group size, and amenities.

The other fantastic attribute of Zonder’s new site is the fact that they have thousands of vacation rentals across North America, Central America and the Caribbean available at the click of your mouse. In addition, the site features full-color photographs and accurate, detailed descriptions of each property to help you select the perfect rental for your vacation.

Congrats to our friends at Zonder!  We are privileged to have partnered with such an outstanding company.

This highly informative education and networking event is being held at Hotel Monaco in beautiful downtown Portland.  Structured around topics that drive audience action, including Search Engine Marketing, social media business strategies, Paid Search Marketing campaigns, and conversion tracking, OMS Portland is the must-attend event for online marketing professionals and regional businesses throughout the Pacific Northwest.

To receive your 20% discount to OMS Portland, simply enter the following SEMpdx discount code into the registration form on the OMS Web site:

SEMPDX20

Here is the link to the registration page for this exciting marketing summit:

Online Marketing Summit Registration

In addition to a full day of informative presentations from leading search marketing experts, OMS Portland will conclude with a unique panel session titled ‘Search Marketing Six-Pack: SEM Tips You Can’t Live Without’.  EngineWorks own Vice President of Strategy and co-founder, Kent Schnepp, will be a featured presenter on this panel, and will impart his expert advice on effective site optimization techniques, off-site promotional tactics, and successful social media strategies.

Given the invaluable insight to be gained a OMS Portland this year, I highly recommend you take advantage of this 20% discount from SEMpdx.  Also, if you would like to get together at this event to discuss the tremendous benefits of professional search marketing, please drop me a post.

This newest evidence reveals that more and more individuals are researching and purchasing more and more products and services through search engines than ever before.  Also contained in this report are the current market share percentages for the most popular search engines in the country.

Note, that you can always stay informed of the current search engine market share by visiting the Resources page on our EngineWorks Web site.

From a May 2009 report by comScore, eMarketer conveyed that total unique visitors to Facebook increased by ninety-seven percent (+97%) during the past twelve (12) months to more than 70,278,000.  This compared to a five percent decrease (-5%) in total unique visitors of 70,2550,000  at MySpace during the same time period.

The following chart reveals the Top 20 social networking sites across the country, and the percent of change from May 2008 to May 2009.

One critical fact to point-out, however, is that MySpace still dominates Facebook in terms of advertising revenue.  As noted in this eMarketer article, “MySpace also led the revenue category, predicted to earn $495 million in 2009, 115% more than its rival.”

However, if Facebook continues to rapidly add new visitors at its current pace, it won’t be long before the most popular social networking site surpasses this total ad revenue at MySpace.

Let us know if you perceive Facebook to be a more viable social media channel than other popular networking sites.

I just received the June 10, 2009 e-mail blast from Search Engine Guide, the self-proclaimed educational Web site aimed at translating the search marketing world into something that small business owners can understand.  This most current edition features at report from WordTracker that identifies the Top 300 search queries within the largest Meta engines (e.g., Metacrawler, Dogpile, etc.) during the past 48 hours.

I am shaking my head, because a quick cursory glance at the first thirty (30) search queries on this list reveals that 22 of these queries (or more than 2/3) are ‘direct’ keywords (i.e., exact keywords that can be entered into your browser to navigate directly to a specific site).  For example, the four (4) most popular search queries on this list (1. google, 2. youtube, 3. yahoo, and 4. facebook) could each be typed into a browser directly, rather than be searched-for through a search engine.

This phenomenon, which is not unique to the past 48 hours, leads me to speculate that the majority of today’s Internet users are either: 1. uninformed, or 2. creatures of habit.

There are individuals out there – perhaps, even the majority of individuals – who perceive that the only way to access a Web site is through a search engine.  On one hand, this is a testament to the impressive job that Google (and, the other major engines) has done in thrusting itself, and the services it offers, into the everyday lives of individuals.  On the other hand, it might just be a testament to the fact that many people (especially, new Internet users) are not aware of the most efficient means of accessing recognized sites.

This seemingly cumbersome means of visiting popular Web sites could also be a result of the fact that most of us adopt a routine for our everyday activities.  Think about it.  You more than likely performed your required tasks getting ready to go to work today in the exact same order as yesterday, and the day before.  Shower.  Hair.  Teeth.  And, so on.  I’m confident that a large percentage of Internet users get into the habit of using their favorite search engine to navigate to any and all Web sites.

One important take-away from this report, in terms of effective search engine marketing, is to realize that branded keywords are significant drivers of qualified traffic through search engines.  For many campaigns, relevant ‘long tail’ search terms can deliver substantial conversion rates.  However, branded keywords can dramatically increase the quantity of individuals arriving at your site.

For example, the Google Squared search results for the query ‘cat toys’ presents a logically formatted grid containing relevant headings including Item Name, Image, Description, Price, and Viewing, whereas the query ‘real estate’ configures results under the headings Item Name, Image, Description, Area, Type, and Zip Codes.  Rather than present the well-recognized 10-per-page list of search results, Google Squared provides a spreadsheet-style grid designed to make information gathering simpler and more intuitive.   An example of this is the ability to add additional columns or rows to customize each grid.

What the engineers at Google are attempting to do is present information in a manner that (ostensibly) aligns with the purpose of each search query.  While this may be a rote exercise for humans, it is an extremely difficult activity for algorithms.  Google Squared is yet another evolutionary step in this omniscient pursuit.  It may also present challenges and opportunities for the future of search engine marketing.

Let me know if you perceive that Google Squared will catch-on with all the hip kids.

The reason for this make-over, as conveyed by Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer, is that “We want to do better.”  Given that Microsoft currently captures less than a ten percent (10%) share of total online search queries in the United States according to the Nielsen Online  MegaView Search in May 2009, as apposed to Google’s share of more than sixty-four percent (64%), I would say that Mr. Ballmer very astutely identified the desire for this development!

As noted in this AP article, Microsoft has been relegated to third place behind Google and Yahoo! in terms of search market share for years.  This fact is important, since Google’s reported revenue of more than $4.7 billion in Q1 2009 is inextricably tied to its search market dominance.  Microsoft, by contrast, reported a net loss from its online advertising business in the first quarter of this year.

When asked why Microsoft chose Bing, Mr. Ballmer responded, “The name is short, it’s easy to say, it works globally.”

I guess he perceives it to be shorter, easier, and more global than Live.

Let me know if you think this latest incarnation of  Microsoft’s search product will have an impact upon Mr. Softy’s position within the search space.

At EngineWorks, we are very excited to see the culmination of our partnered work with Resort Technology Partners, a professional design and development agency specializing is custom solutions for the travel and tourism industry, be realized through this new cutting-edge Web presence for RockResorts.  The new online presence features thirteen (13) new Web destinations that offer online travelers a smooth booking process, rich photographs of resort locations, and detailed travel information while they research their next vacation.

In addition to ensuring a smooth transition from the previous RockResort sites, we incorporated our the latest SEO techniques and strategies into all facets of these new destinations.  These enhancements are designed to dramatically improve the Natural search engine rankings for all RockResorts properties, and deliver incremental qualified Web site traffic through the major search engines.

In addtion, we have implemenented advanced Social Media Marketing strategies that are enhancing community networking efforts for RockResorts.   Through our customized Facebook profiles created for each RockResorts location,  prospective lodging guests are invited to directly interact with other individuals who have stayed at, or are considering staying at, specific resorts owned by RockResorts.

Daniel Swanson, Corporate Marketing Manager of E-Commerce at RockResorts & Vail Resorts Hospitality, expressed his excitement pertaining to our new partnered launch through the following, “RockResorts takes pride in delivering unparalleled service and exquisite experiences to our resort guests.  Our new enhanced Web sites convey this fact instantly.  Which is why we chose EngineWorks to ensure that they are easily discovered by individuals searching for luxury resort accommodations.”

We invite you to share the wonderful experience of RockResorts, and their new online destinations, through the following sites:

RockResorts
Hotel Jerome
The Osprey at Beaver Creek
The Pines Lodge
The Arrabelle at Vail Square
The Lodge at Vail
Tempo Miami
La Posada de Santa Fe Resort & Spa
The Landings St Lucia
Snake River Lodge & Spa
Rum Cay Resort
One Ski Hill Place
Third Turtle Club

As shown in the eMarketer graph below, it is paramount that your products and services appear in top search due to the fact that, even though 31% of online users actually click on banner ads, a full 27% use search engines to research the brands featured in these banner ads, instead of clicking on the ads.

This interesting discovery into user behavior punctuates the need to leverage your display advertising campaigns with effective search marketing strategies designed to achieve highly ranked search listings.

Here are the qualifications that we expect you to be able to bring to our adept team of search marketing specialists:

• Search Engine Marketing knowledge
• Experience managing Paid Search PPC campaigns
• Excellent organizational and analytical skills
• Experience working in client and/or departmental services
• Integrity, independence, and a desire to apply your skills
• Complete proficiency of Microsoft Office suite
• At least one year of professional Internet experience
• Associate Degree in Business, Journalism, or Technology (or equivalent)

This exciting opportunity is a three (3) month internship with an accelerated opportunity to advance of full-time.  In addition to gaining invaluable interactive marketing skills, our newest team member will also have the opportunity to directly enhance the performance of some of the Internet’s most successful companies.

If this is the opening to a new career that you have been looking for; please send your resume to careers@engineworks.com.

Now’s the time for you to achieve power through search engines!

This new report reveals that of the six (6) major advertising channels (i.e., television, magazines, newspapers, online, radio, and outdoor media), only online advertising experienced growth in 2008.  As shown in the the eMarketer chart below, total online advertising increased an impressive seven percent (+7.0) in the fourth quarter of last year, and more than four percent (+4.6%) for the full year compared to 2007.

Once again, it is evident that, as more and more consumers choose to research and purchase more and more products and services online, today’s savvy marketers continue to shift a substantially greater portion of their advertising budget to interactive marketing.

Each day, search engines seek to improve the Internet experience for millions of people by connecting them to information buried amidst billions of unwanted pages. On the way to reaching this weighty goal, many small enhancements are made, in which a good search marketer (which is my own goal), should keep up with.

So throughout my work weeks, I rely on Twitter to scour the web for the latest and greatest information on search engine optimization, paid search marketing, social media marketing, and general search industry news.

Of all the great insights provided by some of the brightest minds in the game, I’ve decided to share my favorites. Each week, I’ll provide the articles, blog posts, and online discussions that gave me insight into the rapidly growing search engine marketing field. This week features posts pertaining to paid search marketing, analytics, social media and link building:

Dear Avinash: Web Metrics & Analytics Questions, Facebook Edition

Avinash Kaushik writes:

A few weeks back I had asked this question on Twitter: Inspire me: If there is one web analytics question you want answered what would it be? What’s your juiciest / mundane, daily, challenge? The result was this post: Top Web Analytics Questions, Twitter Edition.

Click Fraud 101

Ron Jones writes:

Click fraud often comes up in discussions with clients and during training seminars. Is this something you should worry about? And what should you do if it happens to you? Those of you who run PPC campaigns should arm yourself against this potential foe.

4 signs you’re a social media failure

Denise Zimmerman writes:

Market research firm Gartner projects that more than 75 percent of Fortune 1000 companies with websites will attempt some kind of online social media initiative for marketing or customer relations purposes. Gartner also projects that 50 percent of those efforts will fail.

Link Building from A to Z

Wiep Knol writes:

Although you can easily find lists with 21, 66, 69, 75, 101 or even 131 link building strategies, numbered (link building) tip lists remain very popular. Not because these articles provide shocking new insights - most of the aforementioned mentioned lists mention pretty much the same tactics - but because they remind people of how work intensive the ongoing process of link building can be, and because they make people think due to their in-depth nature.

As shown in the eMarketer chart below, almost an equal number of individuals across the globe trust information from online news sources (40%) as individuals who trust content from television news ( 41%) and newspapers (39%).

Another interesting fact from this survey is that people tend to trust information from online expert reviews and industry Web sites more than from company Web sites and user forums and reviews.  This is an important fact to take into consideration when designing and implementing advanced search marketing campaigns, such as Social Media Marketing and external Link Building strategies.

Speakers:

Matthew Brown, NY Times
As Director of Search Strategy for the New York Times Company since 2005, Matthew Brown continues to drive the research and technology side of the search marketing effort for the Times, the Boston Globe (Boston.com) and the International Herald Tribune. Matthew is responsible for the architecture and execution of solutions that deliver a more engaged audience to these online properties.

Melissa Casburn, ISITE Design
With 12 years of experience as a web strategist, information architect, project manager, and instructional designer, Melissa can get a lot done in a day. Comfortable in both corporate and agency environments, she helps much-loved companies bask in the glow by adding stickiness to their sites. She’s good at spreading the love too, creating experiences that inform, connect, and empower users. As the Director of User Experience for ISITE Design, she leads a team of web strategists, information architects and content strategists whose focus is helping clients create and protect their competitive advantage online.

What you will receive:

• Real-world advice from a panel of search engine marketing experts.
• Detailed examples of how to get your Web site prominently ranked within the search engines.
• Tips on user experience, keyword research, copywriting, link building and search engine friendly Web design.
• Dinner & drinks!

Register Today!

As depicted in the chart below from this eMarketer article, of the total number of retailers participating in this April 10, 2009 survey, almost sixty percent experienced an increase in online sales in the first quarter of the year.

Just as encouraging is the fact that more than seventy percent of consumer brand manufacturers reported increased sales through e-commerce channels during this same time period.

As more and more consumers choose the convenience and security of Internet purchases, it’s becoming more and more evident that online marketing continues to be a bright spot in today’s advertising industry.

“Blogging activity presents new opportunities for marketers to influence – and monitor – conversations that may be relevant to their businesses,” says Paul Verna, eMarketer senior analyst.  “These conversations will continue to happen with or without participation from marketers, but those who join in—whether through their own sites or through a brand presence on independent ones—will have a place at the table.”

As depicted in the following graph from this eMarketer article, within the next several years, more than 37.6 million individuals in the United States will update a blog on a monthly basis, up from 27.9 million who currently do so.

More importantly for businesses, however, is the projection by eMarketer that by 2013, more than fifty-eight percent (58%) of individuals using the Internet in America will read a blog at least one time each month.

The obvious take-away from this eye-opening article is that today’s blogs offer the direct means for companies to engage with target audiences, interact with community influencers, and create two-communications pertaining to their brands.  And, as noted, it’s only going to get bigger!

Now’s the time to get with your interactive marketing services provider to make sure that your company is at the forefront of your customers’ discussions.  It’s also important to realize that your blog, and your blogging activity, should be components of an integrated social media campaign.  If you’d like to see how we can create a comprehensive campaign for your site, simply drop us line.

Mike Pilgrim is a successful author/blogger/programmer who is currently employed by Google, Inc. His informative post sparked my interest in HTML 5, the much anticipated recommendation that is expected to be released in September 2010. Specifically, I wanted to learn more about any changes which could affect search engine optimization efforts. Good thing, I did . . . because here are several important aspects of HTML 5 which should be brought to the attention of the SEO community.

Semantics, Semantics, Semantics

As many of you know, search engines possess great computational power. However, they can’t evaluate the context of a message, paragraph, or block of text. Therefore, search engine algorithms rely on basic HTML elements, such as the H1 Tag, to ascertain the context of specific text, in this case the header. This is called semantics. When the final HTML 5 recommendation is released by the editors Ian Hickson (also employed by Google, Inc.) and David Hyatt (with Apple, Inc.), this semantics concept will be refined and expanded beyond its current iteration.

The Future of Link building: Link Relations

One of the most intriguing recommendations to be featured in HTML 5 will be the enhanced link relation attribute. Link relations provide a way to clarify to the search engines why you are linking to another page. Many of you will be familiar with the ref=nofollow attribute, which “indicates that the link is not endorsed by the original author or publisher of the page” (source). However, you may not be familiar with several of the other link relation attributes that have been added to or enhanced since the previous HTML 4 spec. Therefore, let’s take a look at a few relations that could have significant implications to search engine optimization and link building.

rel=alternate

The “alternate” relation simply indicates that the referenced document is an alternate representation of the current document. This is important to anyone who has a multi-language site, PDF’s with duplicate content, or RSS/XML feeds. Typically, this relationship attribute would be used when you have duplicate content that resides in a different file format, or when the same content exists in a different language.

rel=archives

The “archives” relation will be extremely valuable to bloggers, as it will solve many of the duplicate content issues associated with the major blogging platforms. This relation indicates that the referenced document is a collection of records or archives.

rel=author

The “author” keyword, as you can probably guess, indicates that the referenced document provides additional information about the author of the specified content. This relation has potential for increasing authority and trust, specifically when you are quoted or referenced in a document.

rel=nofollow

The “nofollow” relation has not changed much, although the description has been expanded to the following: “[rel=nofllow] indicates that the link is not endorsed by the original author or publisher of the page, or that the link to the referenced document was included primarily because of a commercial relationship between people affiliated with the two pages” (source).

What Else Is New in HTML 5?

There are many, many more changes to come in HTML 5; some which may have significant impact upon search engine optimization and link building strategies. These changes include a new Header Tag, new time elements, and new phrase elements. You can read more about them in the most recent HTML 5 Draft Recommendation, the W3C Working Draft and HTML 5 Differences From HTML 4.

If you have come across any other refinements or additions that were released in the latest draft of HTML 5, please let us know!

It’s hard to miss all the attention being paid to social media lately. You have surely noticed the increase in referrals from traditional advertising points to Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, or other online networking forums. Businesses catch consumer attention through these traditional channels, however they’re now engaging and converting them through social media. Social media is fun, captivating, and certainly popular, but what is the bottom the line for businesses from all this socializing?

To better understand the value of social media, and in true social media fashion, I explored two in-depth industry lists. The first is a list of the top 50 social brands in March 2009 from Social Radar, which ranks brands based on overall ‘conversation volume’, or how often the brand was mentioned on the Web. The second list is the Interbrand Best Global Brands List in 2008. On this annual list, Interbrand ranks the top global brands based on numerous traditional criterion.

By comparing the relationship between these two lists, I was able to surmise the effect of increased social media efforts to overall brand value. Below are some of my observations of current online social media marketing strategies by well-known companies from these lists, which contributed to answering the question posed by this post.

Apple

Apple garnered the second highest change in brand value (33%) on the Interbrand list. The popularity of the iPhone, iPod, and Mac has challenged long time rival Microsoft’s monopoly within the computing world. Apple’s recent use of social media to convey their new product releases perfectly leveraged and engaged their loyal brand users without the assistance or associated cost of mainstream media channels. These tactics, combined with the popularity of their products, should contribute to the firm’s pursuit to surpass Microsoft’s brand recognition and market leadership.

Ford Motor Company

Ford is the one company that experienced a drop in the 2008 Interbrand Global Brand list. This occurrence was most likely due to the dramatic effect the macro economy has had upon the auto industry. Scott Monty, Ford’s Digital & Multimedia Communications Manager, is leading the social media charge at Ford, by providing news and information to Ford’s audience, in an attempt to reverse this trend. Through social media, Mr. Monty is able to coordinate, manage, and respond to his 18,072 Twitter followers averaging 44 responses per day. We’re looking forward to seeing how much impact these efforts will benefit the world’s fourth largest automobile manufacturer.

Nike

Nike’s brand has become somewhat stagnant on the Interbrand Global Brand list. For the past two years in a row, they have been ranked 29^th on this list. However, their push in social media should enable the sporting goods leader to make a charge in 2009. Nike, the pride of the Pacific Northwest, is the only sporting goods manufacture to be listed among the top 50 social brands list. If there is any doubt that Nike is still the champ, take a look at where their top competitors Adidas and Under Armor are on the social media list. You won’t find them on the list.

Amazon.com

Amazon experienced a 19% brand value increase in 2008, and finds itself in the top 20 for social brands in 2009. Amazon CTO and VP, Werner Vogels, and his staff have leveraged widgets, Twitter, and affiliate marketing to remain the Internet’s top shopping hub. The popularity of their ‘Deal Widget‘ has allowed Amazon to stay only one click away from their customers at all times.

Disney

Disney, one of the world’s most recognizable brands, has remained in the 9^th position on the Interbrand Global Brand list. Disney has leveraged social media to engage with kids, families, and parents to remain the gold standard of a cross-generational brand. Thomas Smith, Disney’s Social Media Director, has been hard at work implementing its ‘Communication Revolution’, the company’s major new social media initiative inspired by Duncan Wardle’s, VP of Global PR for Disney Parks. Disney’s dedication to social media proves it’s a small world after all.

Nokia

Nokia’s past company acquisitions are starting to pay off and come full circle. The Interbrand number five global brand is also a top 20 social brand. Senior Manager of Social Communications, Charlie Schick, leads the conversation with a team of inspiring and motivated members. The electronics giant incorporates social media as another extension of the conversation that starts with your phone.

Go Social!

Interbrand’s list proves you don’t need social media to have a great brand, evidenced by the fact that both Coke and McDonald’s are within Interbrand’s top 10, yet are outside the Top 50 for social brands on the Social Radar list. However, the brands with the greatest increase in brand value, Google and Apple, are ranked number two and 12 for social brands.

The immediate impact of social media upon your bottom line may not be readily apparent, however innovative social media marketing campaigns certainly contributes to having your brand become apart of conversations within your engaged communities. Companies that have yet to embrace this fact appear to shy away because of the perceived unquantifiable nature of this new form of communication. However, after comparing these two lists, it is obvious companies with this perception are missing significant opportunities. Loyal customers relish the chance to promote their favorite brands. Listen and engage with your audience through social media, and you too can become part of the conversation.

The following graph from this article reveals the seventeen percent (+17%) increase in online activities anticipated by domestic small businesses during 2009, as compared to last year.

As we have continuously conveyed in posts on this blog, we at EngineWorks are experiencing this same momentum.  More and more of our current and prospective clients are shifting ad dollars away from traditional channels to data-driven, ROI-based solutions.  As noted in this eMarketer article, clients are focusing on “activities for greater impact with less budget risk”.

Professional Search Engine Marketing, with its direct ‘targetability’ and precise ‘measurability’, delivers this value proposition.