Jeff johnson
Saturday, September 6th, 2008. Well, the WebProNews Video Blog has some top-rated videos from last month s SES conference that you won t find on YouTube at least not yet.
Here are three of them:
SES: The Power of Thumbnails and Images
According to Rebecca Lieb of the ClickZ Network, recent surveys show that video has a greater chance of being clicked if it has a thumbnail or image. These results are evident in the popularity of universal search. Rebecca advises marketers to take these statistics seriously and recommends posting related videos with each new video just as I suggested in my interview with WebProNews, which appears below.
Website Optimizer Activates Pruning, Modifies Reports, and More
As you can tell by the title, Google s Website Optimizer department has been busy. Tom Leung gives WebProNews the scoop on all their new features. First, through experiment pruning, users can disable any page that s not doing as well as was hoped for. They ve also enhanced their reports with a new color coded system, made it easier to validate tags on pages, and submitted several new demonstration videos to YouTube.
SES: Improving Conversion Rates
Landing pages can make or break a site, and no one wants that second situation to occur. In this interview with Mike McDonald, Frans Keylard, the director of optimization at Widemile, shares some tips that should help improve conversion rates.
There are a lot more interviews on the WebProNews Video Blog from SES San Jose 2008. That includes the five below with members of the Search Engine Watch staff.
SES San Jose: Kevin Ryan
WebProNews spoke with Kevin Ryan, the VP and Global Content Director of Search Engine Strategies and Search Engine Watch, at SES San Jose 2008!
SES: Focus On Call To Action
After going to all the trouble of getting users to your site, you don t want your landing page to turn them away. According to Tim Ash, a Search Engine Watch Expert Columnist, clutter is the most common problem with landing pages. Tim explains how you have to give users breathing space so they can focus on their main purpose for coming to the site.
SES: The Blessing and Curse of Conversions
Did you ever think of conversions as a blessing and a curse? As Sage Lewis, another Search Engine Watch Expert Columnist, tells WebProNews, everything is trackable online. In most cases, this is a blessing. But for those marketing efforts which do not convert, it can be a curse.
SES: Being Careful With Blogs
Blogs are powerful communication tools, and companies should embrace them. Yet there are things to watch out for, and Search Engine Watch Guest Blogger Amanda Watlington explores some potential pitfalls in this interview with Mike McDonald.
SES: Get on Top of Video Distribution
After listening to a spirited musical intro from a certain Search Engine Watch Blog Correspondent, WebProNews got me to tell my secret to video distribution. I explain how video optimization on your own website was enough in years past, but now in order to succeed you must distribute your optimized videos to sites like YouTube, Yahoo Video, and more.
Okay, taunting Buckeyes from The Ohio State University by having a Wolverine sing the University of Michigan fight song may seem like an odd way to open an interview, but it was payback for the interview below that I conducted earlier this year.
Mike McDonald of WebProNews, Web Video Guru, at SES NY 2008
Mike McDonald talks about the humble beginnings of e-business internet video channel WebProNews and some of its funnier moments of adolescence, like forgetting to hit record. Stay tuned ’til the end to see and hear the University of Kentucky Wildcats cheer!
Get it? Got it? Good.
Source: feeds.searchenginewatch.com
Google Analytics Now Shows When a Visitor Uses Chrome
Want to know when the uber early adopters and drinkers of the Google kool-aid are browsing to your site? Then check your Google Analytics.
GA is now showing Chrome in the browser section of your data. Chrome is the Google-developed browser that was released into, what else, beta this week.
Anyone checked their Analytics for this yet? Got anyone browsing from Chrome? Share in the comments!
Update from Kevin Newcomb: I wanted to share our early Chrome visitor stats for Search Engine Watch. For Wednesday and Thursday combined, we saw 4.4% of visitors using Chrome, compared to 51.7% using IE, 34.4% using Firefox, 4.5% on Safari, and 3.4% using another Mozilla browser.
It’s very early to tell, and entirely non-scientific, but it appears that Chrome is taking its share mostly from Firefox, with a small dip into IE. In August, the browser usage of SEW visitors broke down like this: 52.9% IE, 37.1% Firefox, 4.4% Safari, and 3.7% Mozilla.
Source: feeds.searchenginewatch.com
As consumers cut back, marketers offer recession specials
Earlier this week, comScore released the results of a study examining recent changes in consumer attitudes and perceptions about the state of the U.S. economy. The study found that consumers in all income segments are cutting back on spending due to concerns about the economy, and that they were doing so to an even greater extent in July 2008 than in April 2008.
So, what does this mean for search engine marketers?
Many consumers have become increasingly cost conscious and are turning to the Internet for pricing information. The survey findings revealed that nearly three out of four consumers believe the Internet has made it a lot easier or somewhat easier to find better, more useful pricing information.
In addition, 75 percent of respondents said that they believe the Internet will become an even more important channel for pricing information, with 41 percent of respondents saying it will be a lot more important and 34 percent of respondents saying it will be somewhat more important in the future.
Do you need some examples to drive this point home?
In New York, Andrew Jeffery of Minyanville.com reports, It appears the city that never sleeps has finally succumbed to the economic slowdown, and it s not just the neon Recession Special sign outside Gray s Papaya.
In San Francisco, Liza Zimmerman of the S.F. Wine & Cocktail Examiner reviews a Recession special: the Viansa 2007 Dolcetto is another well-executed example of using classic Mediterranean grapes on California soil.
When Hyundai asked the Complex Blog to review their first Genesis offering touching down in the states, the company best known for econo-boxes threw Complex the keys and we took this recession special for a ride.
But wait! There s more!
Go to the Rates and Registration Details page for SES Chicago 2008. Just like last year, there is an Early Bird Rate that enables you to save $200 if you register before November 21. But, unlike last year, there is also a Recession Special, which lets you save $600 if you register before September 26.
And if you want to appear as sartorially challenged as one SEM industry observer said the brains of Search Engine Marketing and Search Engine Optimization are, then turn up at SES Chicago wearing the Recession Special Shirt being offered by Ten Deep at Turntablelab.com. According to the review, Nothing like a nice, timely shirt that reflects things going on in today s headlines.
Of course, wearing such a shirt violates the dress code in the SES Speaker Guidelines, which states: “Business casual attire is recommended. Formal business attire is perfectly fine. If in doubt, overdress. You won’t feel out of place, as many speakers will also be in formal attire. How you look has an impact on how well the audience receives your presentation.”
It’s a classic dilemna for marketers: Follow the guidelines or take advantage of today’s headlines. What would I recommend? I’d advise you to jump on the “recession special” to save $600, but skip over the shirt. But, I should disclose that SES is a client. If you want to take more of a fashion risk, that’s a decision that you’ll have to make for yourself.
Source: feeds.searchenginewatch.com
