Boxcar Marketing Blog http://www.boxcarmarketing.com/blog/ Boxcar Marketing: Vancouver Internet Marketing Strategists, Web Design and Social Media Experts, Vancouver, BC en Monique Copyright 2009 2009-09-17T21:13:26+00:00 Increasing Traffic to Your Website: Monique Trottier on Lab with Leo http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BoxcarMarketing/~3/DIw8uvUiaak/ http://www.boxcarmarketing.com/blog/increasing-traffic-to-your-website-monique-trottier-on-lab-with-leo/#When:20:13:26Z 5 Steps to Increasing Traffic to Your Website: An astonishing number of people are leaving money on the table because their websites are invisible in search results. They spend a lot of money building a site but don’t pay attention to ensuring their site appears in search results. Watch this segment from G4techTV Canada.

5 Steps to Increasing Traffic to Your Website: An astonishing number of people are leaving money on the table because their websites are invisible in search results. They spend a lot of money building a site but don’t pay attention to ensuring their site appears in search results. Watch this segment from G4techTV Canada.

]]> Services, Guest Speaking 2009-09-17T20:13:26+00:00 http://www.boxcarmarketing.com/blog/increasing-traffic-to-your-website-monique-trottier-on-lab-with-leo/#When:20:13:26Z IMC Vancouver: September 16 - 18, 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BoxcarMarketing/~3/fEsjO6ANcTA/ http://www.boxcarmarketing.com/blog/who-youll-see-at-imc-vancouver/#When:22:32:27Z Need something to do this week? Internet Marketing Conference (IMC) Vancouver is in town and, although the training day (Sept 16) is sold out, the conference and workshop days (Sept 17 -18) still have room left. IMC Vancouver will cover everything you need to know to successfully do business online, including analytics, strategy, content, SEM, SEO, email marketing, social media, on-site behavioral targeting, and multivariate testing. It’s a great event for both new and seasoned Internet marketers. This year’s speakers include: Google’s analytics evangelist Avinash Kaushik, author of the best-selling book Web Analytics: An Hour a Day Facebook’s newly appointed Canadian representative Louise Clements Linkedin’s head of advertising sales and operations organization, Steve Patrizi SEOMoz’s Gillian Muessig Google’s Sandra Cheng and Rob Torres Yahoo’s Adam Muscott Vancity’s William Azaroff Bell Canada’s Adam Muscott VKI Studios’ John Hossack Details from the website The program will mix presentations with discussion panels and networking opportunities. Meet with those who have dared, pioneered, and succeeded. Learn from mistakes by others. Whether you’re an advertiser, a marketer, or a business analyst, our goal is to provide you with valuable and actionable knowledge. Newbies and seasoned Internet marketers alike will find something they can take back to the office. IMC is produced by experts, for experts, and for all of you who’d like to become experts. Over the past nine years, it has been held in eight North American and European cities. Location Four Seasons Hotel 791 West Georgia Street Vancouver, BC September 16 - 18, 2009 Cost Tickets for Sept 17 and 18 cost $995 CDN. You can also buy tickets for individual days. For more information visit the IMC Vancouver website. Register here. Need something to do this week? Internet Marketing Conference (IMC) Vancouver is in town and, although the training day (Sept 16) is sold out, the conference and workshop days (Sept 17 -18) still have room left.

IMC Vancouver will cover everything you need to know to successfully do business online, including analytics, strategy, content, SEM, SEO, email marketing, social media, on-site behavioral targeting, and multivariate testing. It’s a great event for both new and seasoned Internet marketers.

This year’s speakers include:

  • Google’s analytics evangelist Avinash Kaushik, author of the best-selling book Web Analytics: An Hour a Day
  • Facebook’s newly appointed Canadian representative Louise Clements
  • Linkedin’s head of advertising sales and operations organization, Steve Patrizi
  • SEOMoz’s Gillian Muessig
  • Google’s Sandra Cheng and Rob Torres
  • Yahoo’s Adam Muscott
  • Vancity’s William Azaroff
  • Bell Canada’s Adam Muscott
  • VKI Studios’ John Hossack

Details from the website
The program will mix presentations with discussion panels and networking opportunities. Meet with those who have dared, pioneered, and succeeded. Learn from mistakes by others. Whether you’re an advertiser, a marketer, or a business analyst, our goal is to provide you with valuable and actionable knowledge. Newbies and seasoned Internet marketers alike will find something they can take back to the office. IMC is produced by experts, for experts, and for all of you who’d like to become experts. Over the past nine years, it has been held in eight North American and European cities.

Location
Four Seasons Hotel
791 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, BC
September 16 - 18, 2009

Cost
Tickets for Sept 17 and 18 cost $995 CDN. You can also buy tickets for individual days.

For more information visit the IMC Vancouver website.
Register here.

]]> Services, QuickLearn 2009-09-10T22:32:27+00:00 http://www.boxcarmarketing.com/blog/who-youll-see-at-imc-vancouver/#When:22:32:27Z What’s the Difference Between Organic and Campaign Landing Pages? http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BoxcarMarketing/~3/LnYX3Flq74o/ http://www.boxcarmarketing.com/blog/organic-versus-campaign-landing-pages/#When:19:00:41Z Ion Interactive held a landing page optimization webinar in August, where they highlighted the differences between organic landing pages and campaign landing pages. These differences are important to keep in mind when creating and optimization your own landing pages. Organic Landing Pages: Are pages on your site. Need to appeal and work for everyone. Should be focused on the lowest-common denominator. Should be optimized for global, organic traffic. You have little control over the message. Work with closed-ended experimentation. Campaign Landing Pages Are pages that are created for a specific purpose. Have a specific message and receive specific traffic.  You have total control over the message, placement and the link behind the message. Should be optimized for your highly targeted, campaign-specific traffic. Need open-ended experimentation to get better conversion rate and quality. You need to test, learn, and adapt. Campaign landing pages need to be hyper-local. You should be developing different, context-specific landing pages for different campaigns, different groups, different search engines, and different traffic sources. For example, if you were advertising for a French language-learning series you would need to have a different message for your three different audience groups: Students who are learning French because they’re required to: “Ace your French exams” Travelers who want to learn French for a fuller travel experience: “Experience France as only a French speaker can” Business People who are short on time: “Business French in 10 minutes a day” Because your different audience groups would all buy the product for different reasons, the landing page that you direct them to should reflect their different needs. For more on landing page optimization watch the webinar. Ion Interactive held a landing page optimization webinar in August, where they highlighted the differences between organic landing pages and campaign landing pages. These differences are important to keep in mind when creating and optimization your own landing pages.


Organic Landing Pages:

  • Are pages on your site.
  • Need to appeal and work for everyone.
  • Should be focused on the lowest-common denominator.
  • Should be optimized for global, organic traffic.
  • You have little control over the message.
  • Work with closed-ended experimentation.

Campaign Landing Pages

  • Are pages that are created for a specific purpose.
  • Have a specific message and receive specific traffic.
    •  
  • You have total control over the message, placement and the link behind the message.
  • Should be optimized for your highly targeted, campaign-specific traffic.
  • Need open-ended experimentation to get better conversion rate and quality. You need to test, learn, and adapt.

Campaign landing pages need to be hyper-local. You should be developing different, context-specific landing pages for different campaigns, different groups, different search engines, and different traffic sources.


For example, if you were advertising for a French language-learning series you would need to have a different message for your three different audience groups:

Students who are learning French because they’re required to: “Ace your French exams”
Travelers who want to learn French for a fuller travel experience: “Experience France as only a French speaker can”
Business People who are short on time: “Business French in 10 minutes a day”

Because your different audience groups would all buy the product for different reasons, the landing page that you direct them to should reflect their different needs.


For more on landing page optimization watch the webinar.

]]> Services, Web Strategy, Web Marketing 2009-09-03T19:00:41+00:00 http://www.boxcarmarketing.com/blog/organic-versus-campaign-landing-pages/#When:19:00:41Z IMC Vancouver http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BoxcarMarketing/~3/5ztIUwOdyIM/ http://www.boxcarmarketing.com/blog/imc-vancouver/#When:20:16:28Z Internet Marketing Conference (IMC) Vancouver will be in town September 16 - 18.  This year’s event includes keynotes from Google, Facebook and LinkedIn. Location Four Seasons Hotel 791 West Georgia Street Vancouver, BC September 16 - 18, 2009 Cost A full access ticket for all 3 days costs $1,095.00. You can also buy tickets for individual days. Why Should You Go? There will be 50+ speakers from the web’s top companies, including Yahoo, Google, Facebook, Linkedin, Bell Canada, Overstock, Aircell, BazaarVoice, Vancity, and Tribaldd. You’ll learn how to get your company to take advantage of the new way that media is being consumed - with social media and blogs, rather than TV and newspapers. You’ll learn industry best practices for converting more of your site visitors to spend more time on your site, achieve better sales and user signup conversion, and better site engagement overall. Still not convinced? Take a look at photos from last year. For details visit the IMC website. Register here. Internet Marketing Conference (IMC) Vancouver will be in town September 16 - 18.  This year’s event includes keynotes from Google, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Location
Four Seasons Hotel
791 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, BC
September 16 - 18, 2009

Cost
A full access ticket for all 3 days costs $1,095.00. You can also buy tickets for individual days.

Why Should You Go?
There will be 50+ speakers from the web’s top companies, including Yahoo, Google, Facebook, Linkedin, Bell Canada, Overstock, Aircell, BazaarVoice, Vancity, and Tribaldd.
You’ll learn how to get your company to take advantage of the new way that media is being consumed - with social media and blogs, rather than TV and newspapers.
You’ll learn industry best practices for converting more of your site visitors to spend more time on your site, achieve better sales and user signup conversion, and better site engagement overall.

Still not convinced? Take a look at photos from last year.

For details visit the IMC website.
Register here.

]]> Services, QuickLearn 2009-09-02T20:16:28+00:00 http://www.boxcarmarketing.com/blog/imc-vancouver/#When:20:16:28Z Become a Web Marketing Genius http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BoxcarMarketing/~3/2bdiiERCIic/ http://www.boxcarmarketing.com/blog/become-a-web-marketing-genius/#When:13:55:00Z According to a recent study, 61% of Canadian consumers turn to social media when researching purchases. Yet only 27% of Canadian organizations have a social media budget and only 15% have measurable social media objectives in place. Why are companies not taking advantage of social media? Because most companies do not have the knowledge to develop and execute a successful, integrated, online marketing strategy. Common questions include: “How do you manage all of the time required?” “What best practices should I follow?” “How do you measure success?” And “Why do I care if someone had coffee this morning?” Boxcar Marketing is working on easy-to-use checklists, templates and guides to help you with high-level strategy and day-to-day workflows. Are you interested in that resource? These documents are paid products that are a step between the free content on the blog and the full-blown consulting services we offer. We would like to know what you think. Please tell us what would be most valuable to you. Take the 1-minute survey. Want to get started right away? Here are some of the free resources you may have missed: Internet Marketing: How to Measure Success. 3 steps to measuring the success of your online marketing campaigns. 

7 Tips for Creating an Effective Email Newsletter.
 Best practices for writing and sending email newsletters. Ask for Support: Excel Tip for Separating Full Name into First Name Last Name. Learn how to separate first name and last name using formulas in Microsoft Excel. According to a recent study, 61% of Canadian consumers turn to social media when researching purchases. Yet only 27% of Canadian organizations have a social media budget and only 15% have measurable social media objectives in place.

Why are companies not taking advantage of social media? Because most companies do not have the knowledge to develop and execute a successful, integrated, online marketing strategy.

Common questions include:
“How do you manage all of the time required?”
“What best practices should I follow?”
“How do you measure success?”
And “Why do I care if someone had coffee this morning?”

Boxcar Marketing is working on easy-to-use checklists, templates and guides to help you with high-level strategy and day-to-day workflows. Are you interested in that resource?

These documents are paid products that are a step between the free content on the blog and the full-blown consulting services we offer.

We would like to know what you think. Please tell us what would be most valuable to you.

Take the 1-minute survey.


Want to get started right away?

Here are some of the free resources you may have missed:

Internet Marketing: How to Measure Success.
3 steps to measuring the success of your online marketing campaigns.



7 Tips for Creating an Effective Email Newsletter.

Best practices for writing and sending email newsletters.

Ask for Support: Excel Tip for Separating Full Name into First Name Last Name.
Learn how to separate first name and last name using formulas in Microsoft Excel.

]]> Services, Underwire Newsletter 2009-09-02T13:55:00+00:00 http://www.boxcarmarketing.com/blog/become-a-web-marketing-genius/#When:13:55:00Z PICK 20 Roundup of Canada’s Leading Web 2.0 Pioneers http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BoxcarMarketing/~3/SOGxiKkqiGg/ http://www.boxcarmarketing.com/blog/pick-20-roundup-of-canadas-leading-web-2.0-pioneers/#When:01:08:55Z Backbone Magazine has announced the second annual PICK 20 roundup of Canada’s leading Web 2.0 pioneers. Created by Backbone and KPMG, the PICK 20 is the only national ranking of its kind and some of the judges and winners are our friends. Among the Judges Super-smart social media and digital marketing expert, Kate Trgovac is president of LintBucket Media, a boutique marketing agency headquartered in Vancouver which focuses on social media, community building and digital content creation. We love Kate and her marketing and technology blog. Among the Winners #8 NowPublic Friend Michael Tippett http://www.nowpublic.com Crowdsourced/participatory news gathering A winner last year, “NowPublic continues at the forefront of the reinvention of news media,” according to O’Connor Clarke. “They continue to impress with the rate of their growth, their constant innovation and their overall leadership in defining the future of citizen media.” Napier said the company’s “scan tool, which acts as a filtering system, appears to be positioned to help readers get the information that is most valuable and relevant to them,” but Trgovac, while impressed by the company, is “still not sure how they make money.” 11 ThoughtFarmer Friend Chris McGrath, and social media gurus Darren Barefoot and Julie Szabo who introduced me to ThoughtFarmer http://www.thoughtfarmer.com Intranet software which incorporates social networking features A winner last year, ThoughtFarmer “is still great, although they’ve got some tough competition. Still, it has a solid team, smart products and really cool marketing,” according to O’Connor Clarke. Trgovac also sees “lots of competition in the marketplace” but also calls ThoughtFarmer “one of the best social intranet applications I’ve seen, with a great interface and features.” #20 Pixton Friend and CEO/Creator Clive Goodinson and Creative Director Daina M. Goodinson http://www.pixton.com A site where people create, publish, share and remix comics Geist enjoyed seeing something “new and creative” and Shende said Pixton “outputs creativity, collaboration, crowdsourcing and community all in an innovative new spin on an old, previously non-democratic medium.” The judges hope Pixton can monetize the service. “If the company can continue to attract classrooms willing to try the solution, and highlight the value delivered to entice institutions to pay for the subscription, the company could turn a fun comic-strip tool into something that’s really adding value and providing a revenue stream,” Napier said. Congratulations to all 20 winners! Backbone Magazine has announced the second annual PICK 20 roundup of Canada’s leading Web 2.0 pioneers.

Created by Backbone and KPMG, the PICK 20 is the only national ranking of its kind and some of the judges and winners are our friends.

Among the Judges
Super-smart social media and digital marketing expert, Kate Trgovac is president of LintBucket Media, a boutique marketing agency headquartered in Vancouver which focuses on social media, community building and digital content creation. We love Kate and her marketing and technology blog.

Among the Winners

#8 NowPublic Friend Michael Tippett
http://www.nowpublic.com

Crowdsourced/participatory news gathering

A winner last year, “NowPublic continues at the forefront of the reinvention of news media,” according to O’Connor Clarke. “They continue to impress with the rate of their growth, their constant innovation and their overall leadership in defining the future of citizen media.” Napier said the company’s “scan tool, which acts as a filtering system, appears to be positioned to help readers get the information that is most valuable and relevant to them,” but Trgovac, while impressed by the company, is “still not sure how they make money.”

11 ThoughtFarmer Friend Chris McGrath, and social media gurus Darren Barefoot and Julie Szabo who introduced me to ThoughtFarmer
http://www.thoughtfarmer.com

Intranet software which incorporates social networking features

A winner last year, ThoughtFarmer “is still great, although they’ve got some tough competition. Still, it has a solid team, smart products and really cool marketing,” according to O’Connor Clarke. Trgovac also sees “lots of competition in the marketplace” but also calls ThoughtFarmer “one of the best social intranet applications I’ve seen, with a great interface and features.”

#20 Pixton Friend and CEO/Creator Clive Goodinson and Creative Director Daina M. Goodinson
http://www.pixton.com

A site where people create, publish, share and remix comics

Geist enjoyed seeing something “new and creative” and Shende said Pixton “outputs creativity, collaboration, crowdsourcing and community all in an innovative new spin on an old, previously non-democratic medium.” The judges hope Pixton can monetize the service. “If the company can continue to attract classrooms willing to try the solution, and highlight the value delivered to entice institutions to pay for the subscription, the company could turn a fun comic-strip tool into something that’s really adding value and providing a revenue stream,” Napier said.

Congratulations to all 20 winners!

]]> Services, Underwire Newsletter, Monique's Pick 2009-08-13T01:08:55+00:00 http://www.boxcarmarketing.com/blog/pick-20-roundup-of-canadas-leading-web-2.0-pioneers/#When:01:08:55Z SES San Jose: Day 2 & 3 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BoxcarMarketing/~3/V5xerEblRZ0/ http://www.boxcarmarketing.com/blog/ses-san-jose-day-2-3/#When:01:25:16Z As I mentioned last week, Search Engine Strategies is taking place in San Jose August 10 to 14. I’m envious of those who get to go so this is my pitch for what sessions you should attend so that I can follow the tweets and blog posts. August 12 - Wednesday, Day 2 9:00am-10:15am Geek Speak Track: Duplicate Content & Multiple Site Issues I love to speak geek. And I’d love to better understand duplicate content and content syndication through RSS and feeds—“Will other sites be considered the “real” site and rob you of a rightful place in the search results?” 10:45am-12:00pm Geek Speak Track: Landing Page Testing and Tuning Geekdom 2x. Tim Ash of SiteTuners.com is one of my favourite speakers. I get him. 4:00pm-5:15pm Vertical & B2B Track: The BuyerSphere Project: Understanding B2B Buyer Patterns I know I left a long break here but I’d probably be chatting or attending the Google sponsored session. I would definitely be back from hiatus in time for Gord Hotchkiss, another dynamo and not-to-miss speaker. According to the session notes, “A major B2B research initiative, conducted by Enquiro with input from Google, Business.com, Covario, Marketo and DemandBase, showed that most marketers aren’t effectively leveraging online assets to their best potential.” Did we need a full study? Yes, because the BuyerSphere project looks at how online strategies became artificially separated from traditional best practices, how they can be more effectively integrated and the part search plays as a major influencer. B2B is big. Moderator: Gord Hotchkiss, President & CEO, Enquiro Speakers: Mark McMaster, Senior Planner of B2B and Technology Markets, Google Ben Hanna, VP Marketing, Business.com Susan Scarth, VP Marketing, Demandbase Jon Miller, VP Marketing, Marketo Dr. Matthias Blume, Chief Analytics Officer, Covario August 13 - Thursday, Day 3 9:00am-10:00am Morning Keynote: How to Prepare for the Future of Search Keynote Speaker Charlene Li, Co-Author, Groundswell, Founder, Altimeter Group, is 100% worth hearing. 10:30am-11:45am Organizational Track: Electronic Contacts and the Long Arm of the Law Johnnie Law my friends is worth knowing. The ease of e-commerce over brick-and-mortar business does not preclude the legal requirements that are unique to internet businesses situated anywhere in the world. Even offshore internet businesses can be held accountable under a variety of US federal and state laws concerning gambling. Know the rules. Moderator: Anne F. Kennedy, SES Advisory Board, Founder Partner and CMO, http://Joblr.com and Managing Partner & Founder, Beyond Ink Speakers: Robert Friedman, Partner, Kelley Drye & Warren Mark Rosenberg, Of Counsel, Sills Cummis & Gross P.C. 12:45pm-2:00pm Organic Track: News Search SEO Boxcar Marketing likes online press releases and news search engines so we’d be ready for this panel on generating targeted traffic with the use of press releases and news content. Extra! Extra! Geek Speak Track: Follow the Carrot: Cool Mobile Apps Our double whammy of course is that friend and colleague Matthew Snyder, CEO of Mobify, is on this panel discussion about user migration to a mobile environment. And yes, stick out the whole day. It’s not to late ... Register Today!

As I mentioned last week, Search Engine Strategies is taking place in San Jose August 10 to 14.

I’m envious of those who get to go so this is my pitch for what sessions you should attend so that I can follow the tweets and blog posts.

August 12 - Wednesday, Day 2

9:00am-10:15am
Geek Speak Track: Duplicate Content & Multiple Site Issues
I love to speak geek. And I’d love to better understand duplicate content and content syndication through RSS and feeds—“Will other sites be considered the “real” site and rob you of a rightful place in the search results?”

10:45am-12:00pm
Geek Speak Track: Landing Page Testing and Tuning
Geekdom 2x. Tim Ash of SiteTuners.com is one of my favourite speakers. I get him.

4:00pm-5:15pm
Vertical & B2B Track: The BuyerSphere Project: Understanding B2B Buyer Patterns
I know I left a long break here but I’d probably be chatting or attending the Google sponsored session. I would definitely be back from hiatus in time for Gord Hotchkiss, another dynamo and not-to-miss speaker. According to the session notes, “A major B2B research initiative, conducted by Enquiro with input from Google, Business.com, Covario, Marketo and DemandBase, showed that most marketers aren’t effectively leveraging online assets to their best potential.” Did we need a full study? Yes, because the BuyerSphere project looks at how online strategies became artificially separated from traditional best practices, how they can be more effectively integrated and the part search plays as a major influencer. B2B is big.

Moderator: Gord Hotchkiss, President & CEO, Enquiro
Speakers:
Mark McMaster, Senior Planner of B2B and Technology Markets, Google
Ben Hanna, VP Marketing, Business.com
Susan Scarth, VP Marketing, Demandbase
Jon Miller, VP Marketing, Marketo
Dr. Matthias Blume, Chief Analytics Officer, Covario

August 13 - Thursday, Day 3

9:00am-10:00am
Morning Keynote: How to Prepare for the Future of Search
Keynote Speaker Charlene Li, Co-Author, Groundswell, Founder, Altimeter Group, is 100% worth hearing.

10:30am-11:45am
Organizational Track: Electronic Contacts and the Long Arm of the Law
Johnnie Law my friends is worth knowing. The ease of e-commerce over brick-and-mortar business does not preclude the legal requirements that are unique to internet businesses situated anywhere in the world. Even offshore internet businesses can be held accountable under a variety of US federal and state laws concerning gambling. Know the rules.

Moderator: Anne F. Kennedy, SES Advisory Board, Founder Partner and CMO, http://Joblr.com and Managing Partner & Founder, Beyond Ink
Speakers:
Robert Friedman, Partner, Kelley Drye & Warren
Mark Rosenberg, Of Counsel, Sills Cummis & Gross P.C.

12:45pm-2:00pm
Organic Track: News Search SEO
Boxcar Marketing likes online press releases and news search engines so we’d be ready for this panel on generating targeted traffic with the use of press releases and news content. Extra! Extra!

Geek Speak Track: Follow the Carrot: Cool Mobile Apps
Our double whammy of course is that friend and colleague Matthew Snyder, CEO of Mobify, is on this panel discussion about user migration to a mobile environment.

And yes, stick out the whole day.

It’s not to late ... Register Today!

]]> Services, Underwire Newsletter, Monique's Pick 2009-08-07T01:25:16+00:00 http://www.boxcarmarketing.com/blog/ses-san-jose-day-2-3/#When:01:25:16Z SES San Jose 2009, August 10-14 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BoxcarMarketing/~3/s0beYzD2rLg/ http://www.boxcarmarketing.com/blog/ses-san-jose-2009-august-10-14/#When:00:38:45Z Search Engine Strategies is the event for search marketing and optimization. It’s one of my favourite conferences and I’m disappointed that my schedule doesn’t allow me to attend this year. But if you are going, I’d love to have notes or feedback on the conference. And if you’ve never gone before and are going to San Jose, here’s what I would do. August 10 - Monday (Training Day) 9:00am-12:00pm SEO and Direct Marketing Tactics for Ecommerce Websites with Matt Bailey, SiteLogic Half-day $645 The world of ecommerce is fascinating to me and Boxcar Marketing is starting to work on a number of ecommerce projects. I’m interested in how principles of Search Marketing and Direct Marketing can increase the sales rates, impression and visibility of a site. 1:00pm-4:30pm Search and Social Media Tactics and Case Studies with Aaron Kahlow, Online Marketing Summit, and Hallie Janssen, Anvil Media Inc Afternoon Session Only $495. Social media gets a lot of attention but I don’t think that Search should be left by the wayside. This session promises lessons on Integrated Search, Social Media and Website best practices from the trenches of the world’s leading brands to the local business. Stories and case studies are always interesting to me. August 11 - Tuesday, Day 1 9:00am-10:00am Keynote Speaker, Clay Shirky, author of Here Comes Everybody, is great to listen to and inspirational. Get up and go to the keynote. 10:30am-11:30am Search & Measurement Track Always be Testing: Marketing Optimization in Challenging Times Rising costs and shrinking marketing budgets are never going away, nor is increasing demand for accountability. This means you can’t afford not to test, whether it’s A/B or multivariate testing. If you don’t know where to begin, Bryan Eisenberg is the perfect guy to tell you. I find his work exemplary and would love to attend this session. Bryan Eisenberg, SES Advisory Board & Co-Founder, Future Now, Inc, go look him up. Trying searching (lol). 11:45am-12:45pm Search Fundamentals Track Successful Site Architecture I spend a lot of time talking about site architecture with designers and developers. Successful architecture, such as specific page elements and design technologies, affect organic search rankings. Directory, file structure, server-side includes (SSIs), 404 error trapping, JavaScript, robots.txt use, frames, secure area usage—do you know how these affect the ability for customers to find your site? 1:45pm-2:45pm Search Fundamentals Track Turn Brain Science into Bucks: Incorporating Persuasive Messaging into Your Content Strategy Oooo, who doesn’t like the brain and its inner workings. At Boxcar Marketing we are constantly thinking about Twitter, white papers, optimized web pages, blog posts, and any other possible opportunity to help our clients capture the attention of prospective buyers, open up communication with customers, build strong b2b and b2c relationships as well as c2c relationships. I think the showcase of online content campaigns and strategies would be very interesting given the social proof, neuroscience, and psychology twist the speakers will provide. Moderator: Greg Jarboe, President & Co-Founder, SEO-PR Speakers: Graeme McLaughlin, Manager Digital Marketing, British Columbia Automobile Association and Heather Lloyd-Martin, CEO, SuccessWorks 3:00pm-4:00pm Search & Community Track Stop the Presses! How SEO Can Help Save the Publishing Industry Publishers absolutely need to know how to leverage SEO and drive traffic to their sites. I can’t talk about this enough so it would be great to hear someone else’s perspective. 4:30pm-5:30pm Search & Measurement Track Extreme Makeover: Conversion Edition Bryan Eisenberg, I’m a fan. I’d be back to hear Bryan speak in this session on metrics, usability and persuasion. Plus it ties into the A/B test in the earlier session. The big sell: “This session will instruct you on how to identify the critical barriers to success on the sites selected and how this team of experts would go about fixing them in less than 48 hours.” I hope someone will share notes here. Moderator: Anne F. Kennedy, SES Advisory Board, Founder Partner and CMO, http://Joblr.com and Managing Partner & Founder, Beyond Ink Speakers: Bryan Eisenberg, SES Advisory Board & Co-Founder, Future Now, Inc. Ethan Giffin, CEO, Groove Commerce Day 2 and 3 thoughts coming up ... Search Engine Strategies is the event for search marketing and optimization. It’s one of my favourite conferences and I’m disappointed that my schedule doesn’t allow me to attend this year.

But if you are going, I’d love to have notes or feedback on the conference.

And if you’ve never gone before and are going to San Jose, here’s what I would do.

August 10 - Monday (Training Day)

9:00am-12:00pm
SEO and Direct Marketing Tactics for Ecommerce Websites with Matt Bailey, SiteLogic
Half-day $645

The world of ecommerce is fascinating to me and Boxcar Marketing is starting to work on a number of ecommerce projects. I’m interested in how principles of Search Marketing and Direct Marketing can increase the sales rates, impression and visibility of a site.

1:00pm-4:30pm
Search and Social Media Tactics and Case Studies with Aaron Kahlow, Online Marketing Summit, and Hallie Janssen, Anvil Media Inc
Afternoon Session Only $495.

Social media gets a lot of attention but I don’t think that Search should be left by the wayside. This session promises lessons on Integrated Search, Social Media and Website best practices from the trenches of the world’s leading brands to the local business. Stories and case studies are always interesting to me.

August 11 - Tuesday, Day 1

9:00am-10:00am

Keynote Speaker, Clay Shirky, author of Here Comes Everybody, is great to listen to and inspirational. Get up and go to the keynote.

10:30am-11:30am

Search & Measurement Track
Always be Testing: Marketing Optimization in Challenging Times

Rising costs and shrinking marketing budgets are never going away, nor is increasing demand for accountability. This means you can’t afford not to test, whether it’s A/B or multivariate testing. If you don’t know where to begin, Bryan Eisenberg is the perfect guy to tell you. I find his work exemplary and would love to attend this session.

Bryan Eisenberg, SES Advisory Board & Co-Founder, Future Now, Inc, go look him up. Trying searching (lol).


11:45am-12:45pm

Search Fundamentals Track
Successful Site Architecture

I spend a lot of time talking about site architecture with designers and developers. Successful architecture, such as specific page elements and design technologies, affect organic search rankings. Directory, file structure, server-side includes (SSIs), 404 error trapping, JavaScript, robots.txt use, frames, secure area usage—do you know how these affect the ability for customers to find your site?

1:45pm-2:45pm

Search Fundamentals Track
Turn Brain Science into Bucks: Incorporating Persuasive Messaging into Your Content Strategy

Oooo, who doesn’t like the brain and its inner workings. At Boxcar Marketing we are constantly thinking about Twitter, white papers, optimized web pages, blog posts, and any other possible opportunity to help our clients capture the attention of prospective buyers, open up communication with customers, build strong b2b and b2c relationships as well as c2c relationships. I think the showcase of online content campaigns and strategies would be very interesting given the social proof, neuroscience, and psychology twist the speakers will provide.

Moderator: Greg Jarboe, President & Co-Founder, SEO-PR
Speakers: Graeme McLaughlin, Manager Digital Marketing, British Columbia Automobile Association and Heather Lloyd-Martin, CEO, SuccessWorks

3:00pm-4:00pm

Search & Community Track
Stop the Presses! How SEO Can Help Save the Publishing Industry

Publishers absolutely need to know how to leverage SEO and drive traffic to their sites. I can’t talk about this enough so it would be great to hear someone else’s perspective.

4:30pm-5:30pm

Search & Measurement Track
Extreme Makeover: Conversion Edition

Bryan Eisenberg, I’m a fan. I’d be back to hear Bryan speak in this session on metrics, usability and persuasion. Plus it ties into the A/B test in the earlier session. The big sell: “This session will instruct you on how to identify the critical barriers to success on the sites selected and how this team of experts would go about fixing them in less than 48 hours.” I hope someone will share notes here.

Moderator: Anne F. Kennedy, SES Advisory Board, Founder Partner and CMO, http://Joblr.com and Managing Partner & Founder, Beyond Ink

Speakers:
Bryan Eisenberg, SES Advisory Board & Co-Founder, Future Now, Inc.
Ethan Giffin, CEO, Groove Commerce

Day 2 and 3 thoughts coming up ...

]]> Services, Underwire Newsletter, Monique's Pick 2009-08-01T00:38:45+00:00 http://www.boxcarmarketing.com/blog/ses-san-jose-2009-august-10-14/#When:00:38:45Z Online Video Tips and Tools http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BoxcarMarketing/~3/eluFoPbX44A/ http://www.boxcarmarketing.com/blog/online-video-tips-and-tools/#When:13:45:21Z Crissy, the Boxcar Marketing intern, has been working on a number of video projects this summer, and we wanted to share our tips and tools with you. Video on the web is used for much more than entertainment. For businesses, it can be a great way to get your marketing message out — video content is the most commonly shared type of content online. Below is a list of tips and tools on using video for marketing. Getting Started Content and sound quality are the most important elements of online video. That said, you do not need expensive equipment or a high production budget. Check out Craigslist.org for used equipment and experiment with free editing software like iMovie and Windows Movie Maker. In terms of content, decide what kind of video you are going to make. Will it be informative, entertaining, shocking, funny? The more entertaining a video is the more potential it has to go viral. On the other hand, an informative video might be more useful to your audience. Decide on how you want to position your brand. And remember, short, concise and less scripted videos are best. Posting Your Video Post your video everywhere! The more places it is, the easier it will be found. Some sites to consider: blip.tv YouTube Flickr iTunes Or use a service that will post your video to all of the video sharing sites for you. For example, Visible Measures or Tubemogul. Optimizing Your Video Optimizing your video is key if you want people to find it. Using descriptive, straightforward keywords in your title, description, and tags will help your video show up in relevant search results. Make sure you promote your video! Once you have uploaded it to a video sharing site, use the embed code provided to post your video on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, and your blog. The great thing about embedded video is that it can be posted in multiple places, and unlike text, Google does not have a duplicate content penalty. Analyze Why make a video if you do not analyze and track its success? Here are some tools to use to see who is watching your video, where they are coming from and what they are finding engaging about it: YouTube Insights blip.tv stats Plus, Visible Measures and Tubemogul provide analytics across multiple video sites. Resources How to Use Online Video for Inbound Marketing by Hubspot. Hubspot hosted an excellent webinar that covered content development, equipment needed, editing and publishing, optimization, and analytics. How to Make YouTube Videos Look Great by Squidoo. This Squidoo article tells you how to encode, compress or optimize your videos to get them to look their best. Make Internet TV is a step-by-step guide to recording and publishing online videos. This is a great site. It covers everything: equipment, shooting techniques, video tutorials for using editing software, licensing explanations, publishing options and ways to promote your video. Video Toolbox: 150+ Online Video Tools and Resources by Mashable is excellent. They cover online video how-to sites; online video editors, converters, sharing and hosting sites; vidcasts and vlogging; video mashups; mobile video apps; video search; and online video downloading services. Video SEO Tips and Techniques in the Reelseo collection includes tips for beginners to advanced users. Crissy, the Boxcar Marketing intern, has been working on a number of video projects this summer, and we wanted to share our tips and tools with you.

Video on the web is used for much more than entertainment. For businesses, it can be a great way to get your marketing message out — video content is the most commonly shared type of content online. Below is a list of tips and tools on using video for marketing.

Getting Started

Content and sound quality are the most important elements of online video. That said, you do not need expensive equipment or a high production budget. Check out Craigslist.org for used equipment and experiment with free editing software like iMovie and Windows Movie Maker.

In terms of content, decide what kind of video you are going to make. Will it be informative, entertaining, shocking, funny? The more entertaining a video is the more potential it has to go viral. On the other hand, an informative video might be more useful to your audience. Decide on how you want to position your brand. And remember, short, concise and less scripted videos are best.

Posting Your Video

Post your video everywhere! The more places it is, the easier it will be found. Some sites to consider:

blip.tv

YouTube

Flickr

iTunes

Or use a service that will post your video to all of the video sharing sites for you. For example, Visible Measures or Tubemogul.

Optimizing Your Video

Optimizing your video is key if you want people to find it. Using descriptive, straightforward keywords in your title, description, and tags will help your video show up in relevant search results.

Make sure you promote your video! Once you have uploaded it to a video sharing site, use the embed code provided to post your video on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, and your blog. The great thing about embedded video is that it can be posted in multiple places, and unlike text, Google does not have a duplicate content penalty.

Analyze

Why make a video if you do not analyze and track its success? Here are some tools to use to see who is watching your video, where they are coming from and what they are finding engaging about it:

YouTube Insights

blip.tv stats

Plus, Visible Measures and Tubemogul provide analytics across multiple video sites.

Resources

How to Use Online Video for Inbound Marketing by Hubspot. Hubspot hosted an excellent webinar that covered content development, equipment needed, editing and publishing, optimization, and analytics.

How to Make YouTube Videos Look Great by Squidoo. This Squidoo article tells you how to encode, compress or optimize your videos to get them to look their best.

Make Internet TV is a step-by-step guide to recording and publishing online videos. This is a great site. It covers everything: equipment, shooting techniques, video tutorials for using editing software, licensing explanations, publishing options and ways to promote your video.

Video Toolbox: 150+ Online Video Tools and Resources by Mashable is excellent. They cover online video how-to sites; online video editors, converters, sharing and hosting sites; vidcasts and vlogging; video mashups; mobile video apps; video search; and online video downloading services.

Video SEO Tips and Techniques in the Reelseo collection includes tips for beginners to advanced users.

]]> Services, Underwire Newsletter, Online Marketing Tips, Technology for Non-Techies 2009-07-23T13:45:21+00:00 http://www.boxcarmarketing.com/blog/online-video-tips-and-tools/#When:13:45:21Z ExpressionEngine Roadshow, Seattle, Oct 2 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BoxcarMarketing/~3/TCc4CjYvSPA/ http://www.boxcarmarketing.com/blog/expressionengine-roadshow-seattle-oct-2-2009/#When:23:07:49Z Friday, October 02, 2009 8:00 AM - 7:00 PM Pravda Studios, Seattle, WA Register Here http://eeroadshow.eventbrite.com Come join us for a day-long series of sessions on ExpressionEngine, our favourite content management system. Summary of Sessions 8:30-9:30 am Breakfast and Registration 10am-11am “Introduction to ExpressionEngine - From The Man” by Leslie Camacho 11am-noon “Making Money Selling EE Add-Ons” by a great group of panelists Lunch and hang out time 1pm-2pm “Deploying and Maintaining ExpressionEngine Using Version Control” by Jason Hudnutt 2pm-3pm “Performance Tuning ExpressionEngine” by Matt Perry 3pm-4pm “10 Ways to Improve Your ExpressionEngine Site Development” by Ryan Irelan 4pm-5pm “Five Minute Demos” by You! Cocktail reception Full Session Details… Location 1406 - 10th Avenue, Suite 200 Seattle, Washington http://www.pravdastudios.com See the map… Have a Question? Just ask…   image

Friday, October 02, 2009
8:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Pravda Studios, Seattle, WA

Register Here
http://eeroadshow.eventbrite.com


Come join us for a day-long series of sessions on ExpressionEngine, our favourite content management system.

Summary of Sessions
8:30-9:30 am
Breakfast and Registration

10am-11am
“Introduction to ExpressionEngine - From The Man”
by Leslie Camacho

11am-noon
“Making Money Selling EE Add-Ons”
by a great group of panelists

Lunch and hang out time

1pm-2pm
“Deploying and Maintaining ExpressionEngine Using Version Control”
by Jason Hudnutt

2pm-3pm
“Performance Tuning ExpressionEngine”
by Matt Perry

3pm-4pm
“10 Ways to Improve Your ExpressionEngine Site Development”
by Ryan Irelan

4pm-5pm
“Five Minute Demos”
by You!

Cocktail reception

Full Session Details…

Location
1406 - 10th Avenue, Suite 200
Seattle, Washington
http://www.pravdastudios.com
See the map…

Have a Question?
Just ask…

 

]]> Services, Guest Speaking 2009-07-22T23:07:49+00:00 http://www.boxcarmarketing.com/blog/expressionengine-roadshow-seattle-oct-2-2009/#When:23:07:49Z