We’re now 6 months into 2009, and if you’ve embarked on a program of Website/ Marketing optimization, you’re probably looking for some clear, common-sense benchmarks to measure your progress.  Here’s what you should be looking at:

Cost Per Visitor (CPV) – How many advertising, marketing, SEO, etc. dollars do you need to spend to bring in each Website visitor you’re getting.   Don’t look at conversion just yet – it’s your website’s job to convert the visitors; marketing’s job…

...continue to read "Have You Given Your Website a Mid-Year Check-up?"

Since OnTarget debuted, we’ve been learning a lot about why certain clients succeed with optimization, and why others succeed “less.”  To use the exercise regimen metaphor we often refer to, many people start exercise programs with goals of losing weight or a better physique, but not everyone sticks with it and achieves their goals.

We thought we’d share some insights so that if you’re thinking about an optimization program, you can avoid the pitfalls and reap the rewards.

There are many, nuances…

...continue to read "Four Steps To Optimization Success"

How much are you investing in analytics? My friend Mel Carson is asking on the Microsoft AdCenter Analytics blog.

In the UK last week Brand Republic reported that UK spend on search engine marketing would reach £2.75bn this year.

However, just a tiny fraction of that cash – £330m – was spent on the art of SEO or search engine optimisation. The lion’s share of web site owner’s budget went on paid search solutions like Google AdWords or Microsoft adCenter.

SEO is an essential…

...continue to read "Speed! Why Optimization Should Be Sexy"

It was in the late ’90s when Jeffrey and I first met Jason. Business plans where stacked to the ceilings, valuations based on eyeballs were outrageous and everyone was staking their claim to an online gold mine on. Jason, a great guy despite being a reformed lawyer and accountant, was one of those entrepreneurs.

He was visiting the CEO of the Internet incubator we were advising about his portfolio companies in New York. The CEO introduced us and I showed Jason…

...continue to read "Free Whitepaper: “Marketing in a Recession” (Don’t Miss This)"

Yes, it’s that time again!

Recessions are the economy’s little reminder that your marketing needs to be more efficient. Lots of our friends and clients are being asked to produce more sales with less resources. (And if you’re reading this post, that might sound familiar to you.)

Traditionally, in the offline world during recessions, marketers had their advertising budgets cut, then pressure was placed on sales teams to close more sales. But in the online world, marketers are expected to deliver both…

...continue to read "Recession-Proof Your Online Marketing"

Sean Carton does a great back-of-the-envelope calculation of $3,000 to create a web page in his ClickZ column: How Much Does A Web Page Cost?

I don’t disagree with Sean about the absolute costs. Different companies may use a different mix of people so any given page may cost more or less. His point, that it’s more expensive than you think is a good one. Plus you probably now need to pay for traffic to that page; that isn’t cheap either…

...continue to read "Have You Flushed $3K Per Web Page Down The Drain?"

How to justify the value of those who understand persuasive online copywriting

Last time I examined the qualities we value in a persuasive online copywriter. The way we look at it, copywriting for persuasion is about significantly more than using power words and devising catchy phrases. It’s also a lot more about speaking to your visitors’ buying process than it is pushing your sales process (that piece of the equation may be your raison d’être, but it must remain transparent to…

...continue to read "A Persuasive Online Copywriter is Worth More"