Blog Guides - Best of the Best

Blog guides bring you the latest content from the world of weblogs. Here are a few of the best of the best Blog Guides:



Technorati.com

The authority on what's happening in the world of weblogs, Technorati brings you the latest content from over 29 million blogs, sorted and tagged. Definitely worth checking out, this is one of my favorites.



Blogniscient.com

Blogniscient tracks and filters news that's all the buzz in blogs they rank the "best" of the blogosphere. Read selected blog articles in Politics, sci/tech, sports, entertainment, and business. Everyone has heard the buzz about blogs, but finding the best information is a real challenge without the right tools. Blognisicient gives you all the right tools check it out and let me know which you like best.



Bloglines.com

Bloglines is a free service that makes it easy to keep up with your favorite blogs and news feeds. With Bloglines, you can subscribe to the RSS feeds of your favorite blogs, and Bloglines will monitor updates to those sites. You can read the latest entries easily within Bloglines. See the overview for more information.
Each of the products have their own strengths and weaknesses, but for the most part they are all exceptional. Please post back and let me know which you like best. For those of you that have been using either of these products let me know what you like about them.

VisiStat

If you're into all that web analytics and geo-targeting stuff, VisiStat sounds pretty cool. Arguably creepy, but really interesting none the less.


www.visistat.com

Search Engine Marketing: Make It Work For You

Its official: more companies are turning away from traditional advertising venues and toward search engine marketing and e-mail marketing. Advertisers in the United States and Canada spent $5.75 billion on search engine marketing in 2005, a 44 percent increase over 2004, according to the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization. That is a huge gain and all indicators point to continued growth: the same organization projects that spending on search engine marketing will reach $11 billion by the year 2010.

Companies are moving money away from traditional advertising venues like direct mail marketing pieces, because they cost far more per converted sale than online advertising (Stepforth.com). As more and more people turn to the Internet to research planned purchases, gain information and buy goods, you need to follow them and place advertising where more eyes will see it.

So what constitutes search engine marketing? The term includes paid placements, paid inclusion and organic search engine optimization. Currently, the bulk of the spending is on paid placement programs, where listings are guaranteed to appear in response to particular search terms, with higher ranking typically obtained by paying more than other advertisers. While paid placement is a great way to get your company name in front of the eyes of potential buyers, a well-rounded online marketing plan should include more than just one technique. Following are quick definitions for the two other search engine marketing techniques as well as pros and cons of using them:

Paid Inclusion
Paid inclusion is an advertising program where pages are guaranteed to be included in a search engine’s index in exchange for payment, though no guarantee of ranking well is typically given. So your page or Web site will be ranked based on its relevance to the given search terms, not based on position. Since there is no guarantee that you’ll get any traffic, these programs are like playing ‘search engine lottery’. You may not hit the jackpot with a ton of visitors, but since you are buying additional listings you may have more chances of appearing in various searches. If this happens, you may get plenty of quality visitors with less expense than through paid placement advertising programs.

Organic Search Engine Optimization
This type of program lists and rates Web sites according to factors such as keyword relevancy within a Web page as compared to the specific search terms. In other words, the listings are not influenced by direct financial payments, only by effective search engine optimization. This type of program can save you money, but you will probably have to hire an individual or company to effectively optimize your site. A professional knows how to increase your site ranking with links, strategically placed keywords, meta tags and more.

It’s obvious that the marketing tide is turning towards the Internet, not only because it is less expensive to reach more people than traditional advertising, but also because search engine marketing has several significant advantages over traditional venues, including:

• Up to the minute information – whether through a targeted email or by pulling up your site in an online search, your customers can get the most recent information about your dealership, including notices of special offers and sales. You cannot deliver this kind of immediate information with a mailed marketing piece.
• Makes you easier to find – numerous surveys have shown that search engines and directories are the most popular method used to find Web sites.
• People use search engines a lot – most web users search the web everyday, how many people do you know who read a magazine or a newspaper everyday?
• You get qualified buyers – the traffic that you get from search engines and directories is highly qualified because the users are actively searching for the information. This is a huge difference from blanketing a chosen area with a mailed piece.

Search engine marketing is here and it’s growing. If your dealership hasn’t explored how it can increase your leads and revenue, it’s time to find out. While traditional marketing and advertising venues are here to stay and are still useful, the best way to compound their effectiveness and increase your public exposure is to dive into the online world. There are companies in the dealer space who can help you maximize your online efforts, seek them out and watch your sales grow.

Ali Amirrezvani is President and CEO of DealerOn, Inc., a leading provider of interactive websites and online marketing solutions exclusively for the automotive industry. He has held executive and top sales positions throughout his 10 year career in the industry and currently serves over 750 dealers nationwide.

The article that never was…

The Carfeinator gave me a fair amount of grief over my last post and I am somewhat crestfallen.

“SPAM? Mary, you wrote about SPAM. I mean, it was well written (I was swamped so I skimmed through it), but SPAM??”

Ok, I acknowledge that complaining about SPAM is not the most original or awe-inspiring topic, but 1) you admitted that you did not actually read my rant and 2) you definitely did not shed any light on the purpose of SPAM.

Still and all, rather than point fingers or limn the terrible irony of the existence and marketing of Cialis Soft Tabs, I feel compelled to compensate for my earlier diatribe with a more relevant and somewhat original topic. So, here it goes…

It was late on a Friday afternoon - June 2, 2006 to be precise. The phone was ringing as it so often does, and I answered as I so often do. A gentleman by the name of Grant Repsher informed me that he needed to know all about DealerOn pronto so he could complete an article which was slated to appear in the June 12 issue of Automotive News (www.autonews.com).

Talk about a fantastic development. Automotive News is arguably THE industry periodical and he contacted us. I never even read that magazine, but I have heard of it, and I recognize good PR when it shows itself. Having had a brief and unsucessful stint in sales, this phone call felt very much like a hot lead does after spending days battling your way through cold calls.

Upon completing my Happy Dance, I forwarded Grant’s request to Ali for his review and response. The article’s focus? To highlight some of the latest initiatives available to automotive dealerships with an emphasis on website design, use of SEO/SEM, and Internet lead generation/management.

Mr. Repsher’s assignment absolutely screamed “DealerOn!” I did another little jig. Clearly, the Gods were smiling on us. This is our forte' and we could do no wrong. By 5:06pm on Friday, June 2 our answers were submitted.

And then we waited.

Two months and four issues later there is still no mention of DealerOn and I am officially crushed. My hot lead turned out to be a flake; a tease. In an effort to pick up the pieces of my shattered ego I decided to blog about it today. I started this intending to post the Q&A of the article that never was. Automotive News be damned; I’ve got a blog! Someone will read it, right?

I was sitting outside, smoking, and thinking about my Cialis joke when I had an idea; why continue to sulk over this disappointment when I can get to the bottom of it? I have everything I need – a desire to know, the gumption to initiate contact, and an email address. So I switched gears; I put the self-indulgent web log on hold and composed a carefully worded, overly polite inquiry. Fortune is in the follow up, as they say. It was a good decision.

It turns out that final edits were made earlier this week, the article should be published within the next two weeks, and DealerOn is definitely included.

So it isn’t really the article that never was… it’s more like the article that isn’t (yet).

SPAM - My Arch Nemesis

Am I an idiot, or does SPAM not make any sense?

I mean, I understand tangible junk mail. Fliers advertising our local pizza joint or coupons informing us of an upcoming retail sale (valid this weekend only!) create a sense of urgency. They are meant to spur us into action; to get us to spend those hard earned dollars on what we may or may not want, and probably do not need. They are easily spotted and discarded, but sometimes gems are found within the riff raff. I can always use an extra 15% off my total one-time purchase at Bed, Bath & Beyond.

But misspelled, nonsensical, and blatantly obvious SPAM? Malicious virus peddlers aside, how can anyone think that I could be talked into purchasing Viagra or, my favorite, CyIxAoLjIkS to improve my allegedly disappointing erection? I'M A GIRL. And what makes them think I have not already given Hoodia a try, huh? Finally, what is the point of sending me a page full of squares that communicate absolutely nothing?

My patience for poor grammar is limited to begin with so things like that, and the frequency with which I am bombarded with them, absolutely infuriates me. It is as if they are doing it on purpose; like they are pushing my buttons.

"Let's see if we can get Mary to really scrape her face off this time. Sound good?”
“Dude, are you kidding? That sounds awesome!”
*roll of the dice*
“And the winner is… Ephedra! MUAAHAHAHA!!!"

In all seriousness, though, I spend at least an hour every day cleaning out various work inboxes (yes, I am important enough to have access to other people’s unwanted and unfiltered electronic mail). I spend the majority of that hour+ adding those addresses to an ever-growing Junk Mail list and fostering a mean dislike of the faceless, and I would venture a guess at spineless, entities who think I can be duped into giving out my credit card number.

Sure, it is possible that I am not being very fair. Most of them probably have spines, even if it is only skeletal in nature, and others may not be as manipulative as my imagination has painted them. But I still find SPAM both annoying and insulting, and I believe it to be a huge waste of time and resources for all involved.

So let us get this straight, Internet Fiends: No, I do not want a Faux-lex watch. Yes, I want you to get a new job that you are not embarrassed to tell people about. And, no, I do not accept Paypal.

Link your Direct Mail and Internet Response Channels

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• Improve direct mail response rates.
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Using your campaign's Mail File, Look Who's Clicking generates and hosts a Personalized Web Address for each recipient, as well as automates the process of inserting these unique addresses into the mail file for inclusion in each direct mail piece.

Since studies have shown that nearly 33% of direct mail recipients prefer to respond online, Personalized Web Addresses provide a convenient response option.

Step 2: Interact. Capture Visits to the VIP Landing Page

When John visits his Personalized Web Addresses, he's visiting a VIP Landing Page built specifically to support the direct mail piece he holds in his hand.

For example, the VIP Landing Page's creative matches that of the mail piece. Upon arriving at JohnSample.MyOnlineReply.com, a welcome message thanks John for visiting.

Step 3: React. Generate Leads, Print Reports, & Follow-up

Look Who's Clicking captures John's activity for additional follow-up and lead generation - all in real time. Comprehensive reports display campaign response rates, visitor patterns, and detailed lead information. Follow-up with sales leads as they come in!

Outlandish: Landing Pages for Real Estate Agents

What is it?
Outlandish helps you easily deploy targeted landing pages resulting in a better return on your advertising spend. Managed and tracked under one central location, Outlandish is the missing link between your current website and your next advertising campaign.

How does it work?
People begin their search for homes somewhere other than your site. Most sites ignore that fact and ask visitors to search all over again, or register on a complex form. Outlandish was built on the idea that you need to deploy multiple landing pages relevant to each marketing campaign in order to reach the highest response rate

Create it
When you can make landing pages quickly and easily, you have the flexibity to deploy a highly relevant experience for the consumer. This results in more leads and a better experience for everyone.

Customize it
We have a simple yet powerful content management system tailored specifically to landing pages, as well as a flexible templating engine. This way, you can ensure continuity between your landing page and the rest of your marketing campaign.

Launch it
You're in control of putting a targeted experience anywhere you want on the internet (just about). If you don't have your own domain to bring to the party, we'll let you borrow one of ours.

Market it
Landing pages attract higher campaign response rates, increased usability for your consumers, enhanced profitability, and advertising campaigns with greater longevity.

Once your landing page is out there for the world to see, you just need to tell people about it. If you need help getting large amounts of drive-by traffic, just ask us. We're pretty good at that too.

Track it
Its important that you have measurable goals for the metrics of your campaign. We can help you make sure you're on track with those goals.

What's in a link?

A few years ago my boss signed me up for a few SEO newsletters in the hopes that I would rise to the occasion and become some sort of learned internet superstar; a lean, mean Search Engine Marketing machine. Much to his chagrin, however, I have remained relatively uninspired.

I rarely make time to read these daily newsletters as I am hampered by ringing phones, pressing emails, riveting discussions of the dictionary.com word of the day, and my treasured escapist smoke breaks.

Now, that is not to say that I have completely shirked this responsibility. That would make me a bad employee. I skim over the titles in my inbox and, when witty enough, I peruse the occasional article and one in particular has stuck with me.

In the March 9, 2006 issue of SEO-news Gary McHugh wrote a great article entitled "Stinking Linking Thinking". It's not the most refined piece of writing I've come across, but he makes an excellent point: the internet and its content should cater to people, not search engines, and the current obsession with page rank and site indexing is flawed.

Why? Because people, not algorithms, determine whether or not a site is good, and by good we mean successful. Algorithms are about as reliable as the weather but people, if given what they want, become loyal members and paying customers and that is the goal, is it not? Popularity is a means to an end, that end being profit, and while the two are closely linked they are not one and the same.

Gary also notes that "The advice from Google to link to "relevant" sites has always puzzled me. How useful would Google be if it followed its own advice and only linked to other search engines and those search engines only linked to other search engines? Does their advice make sense? Hell no!"

This statement amuses me more than I care to admit, but for the purpose of this post, I will elaborate. I have found myself confused by the concept of relevant links as well and I found my intellectual vanity challenged. I figured that if someone is in the market for a new car or a new website, could they not also be interested in travel, life insurance, or a new boat?

Alas, Google and my boss seem to think otherwise.

Perhaps my logic is flawed. It happens. Perhaps we should have seen this coming as I am the kind of girl who will type your name in Google Search and click I'm Feeling Lucky rather than research something useful. Perhaps I should read fewer "Harry Potter" novels and more SEM articles.

Landing Page and Web Site Optimization Services

Landing Page and Web Site Optimization Services

Landing Page and Web Site Optimization for your online business. Increase your conversion rates through multiple variable testing and sales funnel optimization.

ClickTracks Web Analytics for PPC, SEO and ROI stats. Log Analysis and ASP

ClickTracks Web Analytics for PPC, SEO and ROI stats. Log Analysis and ASP

ClickTracks Analyzer reveals website visitor behavior patterns. It reveals search engine queries and PPC ROI. Clicktracks: award winning web analytics that's fast and easy

Conversion Rate Optimization from Future Now: Redesign Your Website and Marketing to Convert More Traffic

Conversion Rate Optimization from Future Now: Redesign Your Website and Marketing to Convert More Traffic: "Conversion Rate Marketing - Future Now persuades your prospects to take action" Interactivity and the proliferation of media leave websites as the glue that binds all today's marketing efforts. Websites are the hub of the persuasive system that includes advertising, sales and all customer touch-points online and offline. Persuasive systems are more complex, interwoven and expensive than ever before.

Disconnects in and between marketing communications is what causes customers to ignore marketing. Talent alone is no longer sufficient to ensure that customers won't ignore marketing; a process for designing these systems is needed.

Persuasion ArchitectureTM is a rigorous process that helps customers buy how they want to buy. That is why conversion rate boosts of 30%, 100% or even 5500% aren’t unheard for our clients. Results like these are not accidental. They are part of a collaborative process that calls for deep thinking, advanced planning and hard work.

Most auto dealer websites convert an anemic 1- 4%; customers ignore website content when it doesn't immediately deliver the level of relevance they demand. Those results can be improved dramatically. Unfortunately, many executives’ expectations remain unreasonably low. Websites converting less than 10% are cause for concern.

Read more...

I highly Recommend taking a closer look at these guys
Ali

Web 2.0 - Wow, The Possibilities Here Are Endless!

Each day we see the Internet evolve as innovative companies emerge and new fortunes are created. I am amazed by this new chapter in the Internet's lifecycle and it is here where I plan to further explore it. I have created this blog to serve as a place to store my ideas and hopefully those of the people who read it.

As a business owner, one must learn to stay focused and not act on every idea that presents itself. At my company, there is no shortage of ideas. In fact, we have so many ideas that many of them never come to fruition. As you can imagine, this can be very frusting for those who envision them. So, this is a place for all of us to share them, and hopefully, see them put to good use.

Recent DealerOn, Inc. Newsletter - July 2006

I am currently looing for a few guest writers to submit monthly or quarterly articles to be published in my company’s monthly newsletter. So, if you have some valuable information to share and you work in either the online marketing or automotive industry, please feel free to throw me a line.

Here is a sample of the most recent issue: “eDealer Inteactive: DealerOn’s Newsletter” Our current reader base is slightly over 26,000 members, which are primarily automotive industry professionals.

Best regards,

Ali Amirrezvani
President & CEO
DealerOn, Inc. & eDealerTools, Inc.

Phone: 877-ED-TOOLS ext 5017 (877-338-6657)
Fax: 877-840-9311
http://www.DealerOn.com
http://www.CallProspector.com
http://www.eDealerTools.com

ConversionRuler Features

ConversionRuler Features: "ConversionRuler is a subscription based 'performance tracking' reporting service that provides detailed information on the effectiveness of your site marketing efforts."

Over the course of the next few weeks, I will be examining a series of different software applications relating to the testing and optimization of dynamically generated landing pages. I'll be posting my findings here, so please feel free to post comments about any of the applications or resources I list.