HighlyStructured.com Online Marketing

What Does RSS Stand For?

Fri, 28 Apr 2006 08:11:53 -0700

I've been trying to think of a good way to relate RSS and email to people who know nothing or very little about it, and have been a little stuck. I'm a huge fan of RSS, and get a ton of targeted, useful information via the RSS feeds I subscribe to about online marketing, other data related to my job, and even food recipes. Meanwhile I basically use my email to filter out 5 pieces of spam to read one "real" message.

I'm sold on RSS and look forward to it becoming more popular and easier to use when the new version of Windows comes out and more people start using IE7 and other browsers with RSS readers built in. However, the majority of Internet-users do not use RSS, and probably most don't know what it is. And even after explaining to someone how the technology works and what is required from them to use it, there still remains an unconvinced look on their face. Missing from the presentation about RSS is that final "wow" factor, or tipping point when someone understands what it "really" does.

Technorati Tags: RSS really simple syndication really secretive syndication rss reader

Alexaholic - Alexa Traffic Analyzer

Thu, 13 Apr 2006 07:35:03 -0700

In a previous post, I talked about how Google PageRank and Alexa Rating might be linked somehow. With all the talk that Google PageRank doesn't really mean anything anymore (which I don't really agree with), it would make sense to look for another, perhaps more precise, top-level traffic indicator.

Enter Alexa. Alexa has been around for awhile but still seems to be something new to many Internet-users. Indeed Alexa even mentions on their site that their numbers are based on only 10% of Internet-users whom they believe have their toolbar installed. While 10% is nothing to scoff at, it is a smaller sample of overall Internet usage. However, by using the Alexa toolbar and following traffic patterns from known websites where I manage their analytic tools, I would have to say that Alexa is a pretty good initial traffic indicator for most websites.

Technorati Tags: alexa alexaholic google pagerank analytics

Corporate Blogs Vs. Content Updates

Mon, 10 Apr 2006 18:01:49 -0700

Ok, so the title of this post is a little deceiving. You'd think I'm implying that there is a difference between corporate blogs and regular content updates, but I'm not. My whole point is that "blog" in the corporate world is simply a catch-phrase.

I've been seeing a number of sites and businesses rise on the Internet that claim to offer corporate blogging services. These services claim that by adding a blog to a corporate website it can bring in new traffic and increase exposure. While this may be true, the term "blog" is completely superfluous.

Technorati Tags: coporate blog blogging content update crm

Website Statistics - Finding Your Peak

Sun, 09 Apr 2006 08:30:01 -0700

The goal of every online marketer is to increase website traffic, which means that you are in essence creating more exposure. The more exposure and traffic, the more page views, hits, visits, etc. you will accumulate.

One of the functions involved with online marketing is website statistics analysis. This is key to determining how successful different marketing campaigns and optimization techniques are performing. Without a measure of success, you may as well haphazardly try different approaches to increasing exposure. However, by analyzing your stats you can wisely consider which is the next most logical step in trying to increase your website traffic.

Technorati Tags: website statistics web stats website traffic

Black Hat SEO vs. White Hat SEO

Thu, 06 Apr 2006 09:14:27 -0700

The debate continues about black hat and white hat seo, and with the recent addition of a supposed black hat seo practitioner at SEOMoz.org, I thought I would comment.

I think the best analogy of black hat/white hat seo is to compare it to anti-virus and computer network security vs. "hackers". Hackers, virus creators and distributors, phishing scam creators, etc. are going to cause trouble and mayhem. But one could argue that these types of people also have a purpose in mind, to prove that they can successfully put together these types of programs and campaigns without getting caught. In doing so they are "foiling" an information security program and can claim some sort of notoriety and sense of self-accomplishment. The information security vendor then must develop and re-develop their programs to be more secure and prevent similar future attacks. This cycle is what keeps the information security industry going.

Technorati Tags: black hat seo white hat seo search engines

Writing a Web Design Proposal - Know Your Customer

Mon, 03 Apr 2006 14:33:26 -0700

Being involved with "web design" for quite some time, I've written my fair-share of web design and marketing proposals. While I think a template sort of approach may work for any project, the language you use, the length of the proposal, and the amount of information you present all play heavily into how well the proposal is taken by the possible client.

For example, while working for a marketing company for about 5 years, I often wrote proposals for small businesses. These businesses were all over the map as far industries were concerned, but they were all small businesses and none of them had much time to spend on their website development, let alone going through a lengthy indepth proposal. So long as I stated the basic parameters of the site or marketing plan, and the bottom line dollar amount was in tune with what they were looking to spend, the proposal was taken fine. I knew I was making a mistake if I got too indepth with the description or itemized every single step of the project.

Technorati Tags: writing a proposal web design marketing proposal

Affiliate Programs - Tips for Improving Ad Exposure

Fri, 31 Mar 2006 09:21:48 -0800

I have recently begun to start incorporating affiliate program ads on one of my websites. I have joined about 15 affiliate programs and have received the code for about 25-30 different ads. The ads have been incorporated into the website a number of different ways, and after seeing the ads, I can't help but feel like there is a better way to go about it.

Affiliate ads are great because they often display a specific message, rather than just the company's logo and tagline. Some ads might offer a discount on specific products, free shipping, etc. Most affiliates also supply a wide range of different-sized ads as well, meaning you can use the ads in just about any location on your site. I've incorporated 5 different sized ads in addition to text link ads. Now that the "standard" ads are in place, I need to develop ways to really get them noticed. Following are some ways I've thought of to really draw a reader's attention to the ad and hopefully induce a click.

Technorati Tags: affiliate programs increase exposure affiliate ads

Affiliate Program Experiment

Wed, 29 Mar 2006 13:06:19 -0800

Creating a website that passively generates revenue is the number one goal for most website operators. I shouldn't say that actually as there are many reasons people build websites. But many people, whether they are building a website to generate extra revenue or not, will ultimately start to explore ways of monetizing their website to generate some kind of income.

There are many different ways to "monetize a website". I attended the New York Search Engine Strategies Conference not too long ago and was astounded by the sheer number of pay-per-click and online advertising companies. Every one offered a program that was better, generated more traffic, or had a higher pay-per-click than the next. From a publisher stand-point they all promised highly targeted and relevant ads, that they are adding to their network everyday, and that their solution was the easiest to work with. Then of course there is Google and their AdSense program. There are text link ads, graphical banner ad servers, content matching ads...the list goes on and on.

Technorati Tags: affiliate programs pay-per-click online marketing website monetization

Online Marketing - The Value of Blogs

Mon, 27 Mar 2006 09:39:04 -0800

Online marketing is an all-encompassing term. Does it mean search engine optimization? Does it mean working on linking strategies? Does it mean sending out press releases? Does it mean putting together pay-per-click advertising campaigns? Does it mean maintaining and sending out to an email list? Online marketing means all those things and more!

One of the most important fundamentals to remember though is that you need something to market. Without developing new content, and developing it often, you will soon run out of steam with your marketing strategy. You may have all the systems and resources in place to use every kind of online marketing tool imaginable, but without fresh content, you have nothing to broadcast.

Technorati Tags: blogs online marketing search engine optimization

Find and Replace - PHP String Functions

Fri, 24 Mar 2006 07:45:40 -0800

After working with PHP for some time, you are undoubtedly going to have work with string functions. If you've ever manipulated strings using Microsoft Excel, the process is pretty similar. Here I am going to look at how to isolate the domain name from an email address. This technique uses several PHP string functions to determine the overall length of the string, isolate everything before the "@" symbol, and then finally return everything after the @ symbol, which is the domain name.

Technorati Tags: php string functions find and replace