Internet Market benefits from the discoveries of many secret societies. It is time to reveal a truth that, otherwise, would be kept in the shadows and would be used to deceit the consumer.  Research lead us to the main source of this power.

From the Persian merchants to the markets of Les Halles in France, covens of many denominations have used these secrets to deceive the mundane people and make profit at their expense. They have managed to keep their identities secretly concealed, but don’t be fooled:  they are the hand that pulls the strings of economy.

They have used this cryptic knowledge to control the economic fate of many nations. Their signs are everywhere, like a silent warning to the ones who can read them:  “You will not give away the raw source of our power!”.

Do you want to know what lurks in the heart of marketers?  Can you take the fame and fortune that comes from this arcane knowledge, now applied to modern media?

Are you willing to pay the price?

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“If you lived here, you’d be home now”

The natural process of a neat search engine optimization has to keep in mind two things:  keywords and ease of navigation.  I know I’ve stressed the point to almost awkward levels:  your customers are people, not machines.  Some web designers tend to forget that we, the average joes, get easily confused.

If you need to know (you probably don’t, but it makes a good anecdote), last weekend I spent a good share of time wondering why my cellphone wouldn’t work until I realized that it wasn’t my cellphone…

It was my TV’s remote controller.  Makes you humble in a silly way, huh?

We get confuse easily.  Some of us more often.   That’s why having clear URLs is key.

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“Words are meaningless and forgettable”

(”Enjoy the Silence” - Depeche Mode)

Natural search engine optimization (SEO) relies heavily on words.  Just like everything else in this world.  Words are the bridge between our subconscious mind and our conscience, they help us elaborate the map we use to wander around the world.

Ever since the Dawn of Marketing, the way to approach potential customers has been a proper phrasing that matches queries in an accurate way.  So far, there has been no substantial changes in these dynamics.  Search engines are based on a simplified algorithm that evaluates the relative importance of a website based on the keywords the search was based upon.  While knowing the nature of one’s products and services is key, SEOs must know how to rapport the research patterns of a viewer to convert it into a customer.

“Speaking your customer’s language”, as stated on the last post, becomes crucial (if not urgent) at this stage. Read the rest of this entry »

“I am learning all the time.  The tombstone will be my diploma.”

(Eartha Kitt)

When it comes to Internet Marketing, I’m still a rookie.  There’s a lot I still have to learn.  Fortunately, the web designers in the company have been patient enough to teach me and show me how everything works.  It’s a lot of information for someone who still relies heavily on paper, pencil and a word processor to get the job done.  But I’m dealing and, what surprises me the most:  I’m learning.

Being humble is one of the toughest things to assume as a commitment.  Learning that you STILL have a lot to learn about anything (and, well… about everything) is not an easy task, but it is a really rewarding one.  It makes me happy to be able to share what I’ve learned while working for this company.

That’s exactly why I don’t like cocky techies.
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Ever wonder what pros do to improve page rankings on Google, Yahoo and Bing? Well, small changes make big differences and by making some corrections to texts or arranging different items on your website and campaigns you can achieve better results on your rankings. Visitors to your site will see the difference and computer programs scanning your information will also notice and register changes.
 To improve on SEO strategies you need to carefully examine your website and establish what you want to achieve with the information and design you are showing the public, with your marketing strategy and the way you want to reach the audience you want to reach. If the idea of your site is to sell, inform, entertain, collect information etc. You need to focus all your efforts towards achieving that goal, which in most cases requires good page rankings and positioning on search engines. Read the rest of this entry »

Sometimes I cannot sleep when I begin to think about the future of professional web designers.

It’s exciting (well… as exciting as office life can be) to see the designers all fueled-up when a project arrives.  They investigate, plan out, argue, try, fail, try again, correct, correct again, make last minute adjustments and then they pull out something amazing.  It’s kind of cheesy to say this, but you can actually see the guys love what they do. Or maybe they don’t really LOVE it, but they respect the tools of the trade and the trade itself.  One thing can be said:  they all expect to grow as professionals within the creative industry

That’s why Spec work makes me so angry. Read the rest of this entry »

Facts are facts: Google Adwords Jumpstart made even easier something that is almost indulgent.

When it comes to implementing Google Adwords in a web marketing campaign, it can’t be any easier. We have discussed in this blog several of the aspects that make an Adwords campaign an affordable and productive solution to your marketing needs. Many have enjoyed the benefits of this performance-based program to offer their products on Google and its network of partner sites.

But then, the good ol’ nice people from Google create the Jumpstart. We are pampered. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the many advantages that SEO represents to media is that they boost and ease the conversions rate of a site.  A broader audience might represent a bigger chance of turning prospects into clients.  Brent D. Payne, SEO Director of Tribune Company, raised the number of visitors to a hefty 20 millions/month optimizing the editorial contents for the electronic edition of The Chicago Tribune.

Does audience need rule the content? Read the rest of this entry »

At the end of the day, professional web design is all about money.  It costs you some, you expect to recover it and maybe make some more.  It’s true that Web 2.0 gave an element of individuality and self-expression to site contents.  Platforms became more user friendly and allowed newcomers to quickly get the hang of it.  Users became producers in no time:  software became easier to use and hardware was more affordable and available to anyone.  Social networks got smart and now they constantly upgrade their sites to make them as user-friendly as possible.

But companies got smarter. Read the rest of this entry »

Marketing campaigns on the Internet aim to provide the best service in the shortest period of time.  This has changed the way marketers interact with customers.  The  nature of these online businesses makes it necessary to set as many successful transactions as possible in order to be profitable.  People expect information, benefits, products and services immediately. Tolerance grows really thin when someone has to wait in line, let alone when someone has to wait more than a few seconds for a page to download.

Traditional Marketing vs. the Internet 101:  Customer service means two completely different things within these two marketing media.  While it is true that both make a strong emphasis on added values, traditional marketing takes a bigger chunk of time to secure the sale and solve the prospect’s questions.  It was a strenuous process of ego massaging, customer-pampering and uncertain results.  Sure, marketing is far from being an exact science, but we have all heard sad stories about salesmen who were pathologically unable to close a deal.  Always this close to make that sale but never there.  So, how does this change for Internet marketing agencies? Read the rest of this entry »