Google Ad Planner - Initial Impressions
July 6, 2008
We received our beta invitation to the Google Ad Planner and quickly gave it a test run. Our first impression? Intuitive, fast and easy. Once again, Google shows that while they are an engineering and advertising driven company, they know how to design and interface that keeps us productive (not frustrated). That leads to a fast learning curve and an increase in usage.
What are Families Looking for Online? A Compete.com Pro Review and Example
July 4, 2008
We’ve been testing Compete.com’s new pro search analytics. Among the more interesting functions is the ability to see the top search words for behavioral interests. We took a look at family interest and were surprised at the results. While they may not represent all family interests, as the topics lean toward online activities for children, they do show a solid trend in the popularity of children’s online entertainment brands.
Recommended Search Engine Optimization Reading for Communications Professionals
July 4, 2008
A strong basic understanding of SEO is an increasingly important skill set for communications professionals. Whether marketing material or an article, writing something that is properly optimized for search engines is critical to having the right audience find the content. Here is a list of suggested pages and web sections to read from seomoz.org:
- http://www.seomoz.org/article/beginners-guide-to-search-engine-optimization
- http://www.seomoz.org/blog/my-personal-opinion-90-of-the-rankings-equation-lies-in-these-4-factors
- http://www.seomoz.org/article/search-ranking-factors
Here are some tools to try to get an idea for using SEO tools in day to day work:
- Keyword data from Wordtracker and Overture (Yahoo! Search Marketing)
- Term targeting from SEO Moz http://www.seomoz.org/term-target shows how well a page uses a keyword (such as the keyword people use to find information).
- How well a page is optimized for search - http://www.seomoz.org/page-strength
- Google’s keyword suggestion tool - https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
- Compete’s keyword suggestion tool based on a web site or user interest area - www.compete.com (sign up for the pro version)
The video viewing pie grows
June 13, 2008
Ipsos Insight came out with some data showing shifting habits in where people watch video. There’s no shock here in terms of TV having less of the video pie and other platforms growing. Nevertheless, even TV may win in the end as Web video gets delivered to the television. There are a few important things to note in terms of how the overall pie is growing and how habits are becoming more segmented.
Higher Consumer Engagement Online is the Future of Television
January 27, 2008
Strategic communications programs are best executed using a variety of tools that allow for specific targeting in terms of editorial, context and audience. However, this is still a huge challenge when trying to communicate key messages via television advertising. TV ads can still be too broad as compared to other communications tools (e.g., search engines, direct mail etc). However, if online video is any indication of the future of television, the day is near when television ads are used for highly targeted communications. Read more
