Spyder Trap Online Marketing Blog » Minneapolis Search Engine Optimization http://www.spydertrap.com/blog Just another WordPress site Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:45:50 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.1 Online Marketing Quick Tip #4 – Social Media – Benefits of Corporate Blogging http://www.spydertrap.com/blog/2009/02/online-marketing-quick-tip-4-social-media-benefits-of-corporate-blogging/ http://www.spydertrap.com/blog/2009/02/online-marketing-quick-tip-4-social-media-benefits-of-corporate-blogging/#comments Tue, 03 Feb 2009 15:40:21 +0000 Brad Wellman http://www.spydertrap.com/blog/?p=342 Continue reading →]]>
Brad Wellman
Spyder Trap Online Marketing

A lot of people have asked me, “Should my company start a blog?” or, “What are the benefits of corporate blogging?” In our fourth video installment of our weekly Online Marketing Quick Tip, I briefly discuss some of the benefits to corporate blogging, and you will see how not blogging may be hurting you more than you think.

Thanks for watching, and stay tuned to the Spyder Trap Online Marketing Blog each week for our Online Marketing Quick Tip. Also, we would love to hear from you, so feel free to ask a question, post a comment or make a suggestion!

]]> http://www.spydertrap.com/blog/2009/02/online-marketing-quick-tip-4-social-media-benefits-of-corporate-blogging/feed/ 0 Online Marketing Quick Tip #2 – Search Engine Optimization – XML Sitemaps http://www.spydertrap.com/blog/2009/01/online-marketing-quick-tip-search-engine-optimization-xml-sitemaps/ http://www.spydertrap.com/blog/2009/01/online-marketing-quick-tip-search-engine-optimization-xml-sitemaps/#comments Mon, 19 Jan 2009 19:12:26 +0000 Mike Rynchek http://www.spydertrap.com/blog/?p=295 Continue reading →]]> Mike Rynchek
Mike Rynchek
Spyder Trap Online Marketing

Here is our Online Marketing Quick Tip video of the week. This week I discuss the “what,” “why” and “how” of XML sitemaps in terms of your search engine optimization efforts. You can also download a copy of the PowerPoint using the link below.

Thanks for watching, and stay tuned to the ST Blog as we will have our weekly Online Marketing Quick Tip posted every Monday. Also, we would love to hear from you, so feel free to post a comment, make a suggestion or ask a question!

Download the XML Sitemap presentation here.

]]> http://www.spydertrap.com/blog/2009/01/online-marketing-quick-tip-search-engine-optimization-xml-sitemaps/feed/ 3 Online Marketing Quick Tip – Search Engine Optimization – Robots.txt Files http://www.spydertrap.com/blog/2009/01/online-marketing-quick-tip-search-engine-optimization-robotstxt-files/ http://www.spydertrap.com/blog/2009/01/online-marketing-quick-tip-search-engine-optimization-robotstxt-files/#comments Mon, 12 Jan 2009 19:11:13 +0000 Mike Rynchek http://www.spydertrap.com/blog/?p=244 Mike Rynchek
Mike Rynchek
Spyder Trap Online Marketing

Robots.txt Files

  • Tells the Search Engine what to/not to crawl (pure data)

    • - Java Files
    - Flash (swf)
    - CSS

  • Keep certain pages from showing in SERPs
  • Add to root level of site

    • - Google Webmaster account

  • Declare xml sitemap

Sample Robots.txt File

Sample Robots.txt File

Stay tuned to the Spyder Trap Online Marketing Quick Tips, as next week we will discuss xml sitemaps.

]]> http://www.spydertrap.com/blog/2009/01/online-marketing-quick-tip-search-engine-optimization-robotstxt-files/feed/ 0 Online Marketers Need to Stress Benefits Not Jargon http://www.spydertrap.com/blog/2009/01/online-marketers-need-to-stress-benefits-not-jargon/ http://www.spydertrap.com/blog/2009/01/online-marketers-need-to-stress-benefits-not-jargon/#comments Mon, 05 Jan 2009 19:48:28 +0000 Glenn Seaberg http://www.spydertrap.com/blog/?p=148 Continue reading →]]>
Glenn Seaberg
Spyder Trap Online Marketing

Most respected industry reports predict increased online marketing spending in 2009.  Yet many marketers are reluctant to embrace this as readily as traditional marketing.  How could this be?

The answer is simple. Most people avoid that which confuses them. Maybe you’ve witnessed an online marketing guru say something like this:

“If you take a look at organic SEO and PPC, then vet them against your KPIs, you can easily see SEM as the thing to do. But don’t overlook title tags, meta tags, and alt tags, and even long-tail keywords or your SEO could be SOL.”

WTF?

As online marketing professionals, our job is to explain why online marketing is worth the investment, even at the expense of traditional media budget – especially in this economy. Therefore, we shouldn’t speak in jargon and TLAs.* We need to clearly explain the unique features and business benefits of this new marketing frontier; efficient targeting, ease of testing, instant trackability and real-time analysis & correction (among others). These are the concepts that all marketers understand and embrace.

After all, the real benefit of online marketing is increased ROI. And that’s the only acronym that matters to the decision makers, whether they are VPs, CMOs or CEOs.

* TLA = Three-Letter Acronym
—
For a cheat sheet of online marketing jargon, watch for my next post “The Unfortunate Glossary of Online Marketing.”

]]> http://www.spydertrap.com/blog/2009/01/online-marketers-need-to-stress-benefits-not-jargon/feed/ 2 Online Marketing in a Tanked Economy 101 – Part 2 of 2 http://www.spydertrap.com/blog/2008/12/online-marketing-in-a-tanked-economy-101-part-2-of-2/ http://www.spydertrap.com/blog/2008/12/online-marketing-in-a-tanked-economy-101-part-2-of-2/#comments Mon, 22 Dec 2008 17:13:17 +0000 Brad Wellman http://www.spydertrap.com/blog/?p=99 Continue reading →]]> Mike Rynchek
Mike Rynchek
Spyder Trap Online Marketing

Thanks for tuning in for Part 2 of Online Marketing in a Tanked Economy.  Below I have listed out three online marketing tactics to focus on when the economy is down.

1.    Sponsored Search – Why?  As I mentioned above, any well researched and placed media buy should quickly achieve measurable results.  Sponsored search allows online marketers to take a scalpel approach to their marketing efforts.  For example budgets, keywords, geography, and impressions can all be quickly and easily tracked and modified based on results.

2.    Email Marketing – Why?  Most firms already have some type of CRM program in place or at least have a qualified list of prospects.  This is an important list to focus on because they are considered “hand raisers” or people who have already demonstrated interest in your product or service.  If you haven’t already, develop a strategy to take inbound leads and nurture them into conversions or sales.  One final note is that email is cost efficient and highly measurable, and allows immediate responses along with the flexibility of testing.

3.    Optimize current website and conversion paths – Why?  Whether your marketing budget is one dollar or one million dollars optimizing the conversion process is essential.  What does this mean you might ask?  It is really a mix of art and sciences.  Making sure to deploy some usability tactics is key.  Below I have listed some quick reminders to keep in mind when optimizing your conversion process.  Our goal with this step is to take advantage of every visit to your website in order to increase sales and conversions.  The tips listed below work for both landing pages and websites and are listed in NO priority order:

a.  Use web analytics to make informed decisions for not only your website but your marketing efforts as well.
b. Remember the 6 second rule.  You have 6 seconds to show people exactly what they are expecting to see when they land on your website or landing page.
c. Use clear calls to action and keep them above the fold or horizon.
d. Remove extra or unnecessary links, text and graphics on landing pages.
e. Test, test, test…  Test required fields on contact form, ad copy on sponsored search programs.
f. Allow multiple points of conversions.  (Ex. Top and bottom of landing page.)
g.  Benchmark key performance indicators (KPIs) and work to improve them.  Ex. Reduce bounce rate of homepage, increase click-throughs on banner ads, etc.
h. Develop with the consumer in mind.  Try to keep internal thoughts and feedback to a minimum.  Only the user can speak for their tastes and trends.

The above tips will help organizations take advantage of their marketing efforts regardless of budgets.  I will try to keep posting content on this topic as individuals continue to ask economy based questions.

Feel free to post any questions or comments and I will try to respond accordingly.  Or contact me directly at mrynchek@spydertrap.com or via Twitter at @mikerynchek.

]]> http://www.spydertrap.com/blog/2008/12/online-marketing-in-a-tanked-economy-101-part-2-of-2/feed/ 3 Google Search Goes Social! http://www.spydertrap.com/blog/2008/11/google-search-goes-social/ http://www.spydertrap.com/blog/2008/11/google-search-goes-social/#comments Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:00:38 +0000 Mike Rynchek http://www.spydertrap.com/online_marketing_blog/?p=62 Continue reading →]]> Mike Rynchek
Mike Rynchek
Spyder Trap Online Marketing

Google SeachWiki Screen Shot

Today Google announced their new search functionality, which includes promoting, and demoting, commenting and deleting search results.  Users can also create basically Google favorites by adding their favorite post to their own account.  My initial thought is that this might change the way we think about Search Engine Optimization if Google is now taking into consideration users feedback.

Today, Google just announced SeachWiki, a way for Google users to customize searches by re-ranking, deleting, adding, and commenting on search results.  Users can write notes attached to a particular site and remove results that they don’t wish to see.

For more information, check out the official Google blog here: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/searchwiki-make-search-your-own.html

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