Netconcepts

Web 2.0 & Search Engines

Chris Smith — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 22:08:26 +0000

An overused and amorphous term, “Web 2.0″ nonetheless encompasses an evolutionary shift from the typical web user experience of a decade ago. Some aspects of the “new” web environment are great for improving your search traffic. Other developments may lead you to make serious SEO errors. Among other things, Web 2.0 is about new user interface designs that speed up user actions with techniques such as AJAX (Asynchronous Javascript and XML), which allow users to perform operations nimbly without loading a new HTML page. This session will cover AJAX, CSS, user-generated content, and other new trends in web design and user experiences that may require a re-think of your SEO strategy.

Speaker:
Chris “Silver” Smith, Lead Strategist, Netconcepts

Integrated Email Marketing and Online Communications

Jacqui Jones — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 05:00:24 +0000

Is your email marketing right on target?
Do you want to improve open rates and conversion rates?
Do your customers view your email communications as spam?
Do you know how to use RSS and blogging to complement your email marketing and online communication efforts?

The value of email marketing in New Zealand has been growing steadily over the years. Not surprisingly email marketing and online communications are the most popular media of choice now, particularly email marketing.

Email is a powerful marketing tool and it integrates well with traditional media. It spurs immediate action, thus generating direct sales, registrations, growth of database and more. It is also more cost effective than paper-based direct mail and achieves greater ROI. However, it is wrought with challenges. And with the passing of the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act, it’s important for organisations to ensure compliance whilst developing their marketing plans.

Integrated Email Marketing and Online Communications takes a practical approach to ensure continued acquisition, growth and retention of customers through targeted, robust, tried and tested strategies to help lift your email marketing strategies. To help you gain the upper hand over your competition, the course also covers some popular online communications tools that you could implement to supplement your email marketing strategy.

DAY ONE
Digital Communications — Email Marketing, Online and Offline Media
Customers today have more choice available than ever before of how they are communicated with. Customers ultimately want to control the frequency, the content and how they receive their communications. This session covers how email fits within the full marketing mix and how it integrates with other online and offline media.

What are digital communications?
How do digital communications fit within the full marketing mix?
Marketing through email, RSS, blogging, txt, websites
Platforms – desktop computers, mobile devices
Integration with other online media
Integration with offline direct marketing

Developing an Email Strategy
Many companies spend a lot of time, effort and budget acquiring email addresses, but neglect to develop an effective communication strategy once they have them. You’ll learn to develop strategic communication plans to maximise the potential for robust marketing strategies through this session.

Developing the digital communication strategic plan
Objectives, strategies and tactical elements
Understanding the email marketing and digital communications
process
How to integrate email marketing into other online and offline media

The Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act: Your Legal Obligations
Understand and ensure that your organisation meets the requirements of the Electronic Messages Act 2007.

Definition of spam
Definition of permission levels
Permission vs. memorable permission
Industry guidelines and best practices
How will the Act affect your marketing plans?
What are the penalties and costs associated with breaches?
How tight is the current legislation – what are the ways around it?
How to ensure compliance
International spam laws – do they apply to companies in NZ?

Data Management: Building and Maintaining a List
Data is at the heart of any form of direct marketing including “email”. It pays to identify the data that you need to collect in order to personalise communications and provide effective reporting.

Structuring your database – what type of data do you need?
What are the reporting data requirements?
“Quantity” vs. “Quality” – retaining the active subscriber
Cleaning and maintaining data – changes, adds, deletes, fixing misspellings
What is “provable permission” – recording and time stamping of permission received
“Offline permission” – how to record permission granted through the call centre, trade shows, network meeting and face-to-face sales activity
Managing permission across an organisation

In-House or Outsource – Assessing Email Service Providers
Finding the right email service provider is a critical choice for any company. You will explore and learn ways to find the right vendor and technology to manage your campaigns now and into the future through this session.

How to assess your needs
Questions you should be asking
Assessing email service providers in NZ and overseas
Liaising with your email service provider

DAY TWO
Winning Creative Strategies & Execution for Email
Create email messages that stand out, get read and get the response you plan for.

“Memorable permission” – planning content your subscribers actually want to read
Exploring the 19 creative elements (the from line – email brand value, the subject line, the preview pane, position of logo, ratio of text to images, design layout, number and type of links, navigation bar, inclusion of photography, feature offers, location of call-to-action, the words you use and personalisation etc.)
Email mandatories
What are the technical specifications?
Designing effective landing pages and forms
Use of rich media – video and audio
Eyetracking and multivariate testing

Increasing Conversion Rates
This session covers how to use data to improve conversions such as open rates, click rates, inquiries and sales.

Reporting data
Behavioural targeting
Event triggered campaigns

Deliverability, Filters and Rendering
Learn techniques to avoid the dreaded “spam” folder and “report spam” button.

Data collection and tracking
Filters and list management
Deliverability reporting codes – messages sent back from ISPs
About false positives
Whitelisting – how to get your message delivered every single time
Image suppression – what’s getting delivered?
Authentication and reputation
Rendering your message in email readers

RSS – Spam Free Communications
Is RSS the holy grail of online communications? Lean how to send communications that are completely spam free.

What is RSS and why use it?
What are some of the popular RSS readers available?
iRSS – individualized RSS, sending personalised communications just like email
Content distribution and syndication

Blogging – Participating in the Ongoing Conversation

The New Zealand and international blogospheres
Starting a blog - how to choose a theme
Posting content – what, how, when
Dealing with comments
Making friends – increase your presence in the blogosphere
Integrating your blog with email and RSS
Use of video (vlogging) and audio (podcasting)
Reporting on performance

Audio Interview with Expedia.com SEO manager Chris Alan

Stephan Spencer — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 19:35:00 +0000

In this interview, Stephan Spencer, Founder and President of Netconcepts, sits down with Chris Alan, SEO manager for Expedia.com. Chris is a SEO veteran who currently manages all aspects of Expedia’s natural search channel, including keyword campaigns, landing pages, and more. We talk about common pitfalls that companies fall into when managing large, keyword campaigns as well as a number of other useful tips for big and small websites.

If you prefer to read this interview, check out the abridged transcript.

This podcast is now available for you to listen to.

Interview with Matt Cutts, Head of Google’s Anti-Spam Team

Stephan Spencer — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 19:35:05 +0000

In early December, I spoke at the PubCon conference where I had the chance to sit down with Matt Cutts, head of Google’s anti-spam team.

Matt was kind enough to agree to an interview, where he shared invaluable tips about Flash, syndicating content, the change to their supplemental results, and a lot more. His insight and advice is really helpful; he provides clarity on topics that can be really confusing.

If you prefer a written transcript, you can read the interview transcript with Matt Cutts on my blog. I invite you to listen to the podcast interview, which is available now.

Alternative Discovery and SEO - Feeds, PDFs, and Blog SEO

Stephan Spencer — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 18:48:36 +0000

Learn the best tips, tools, and techniques for non-traditional optimization for both indexing as well as ranking support. This includes files such as PDFs, docs, podcasts and RSS feeds.

Panelists:
Rick Klau, Strategic Partner Development Content Acquisition, Google
Stephan Spencer, Founder & President, Netconcepts
George Aspland, Founder & President, eVision

Interactive Marketing: Reaching Customers

Stephan Spencer — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 18:35:00 +0000

Search engine marketing

Making your site “search engine friendly”
“Pay-per-click” search advertising
Benchmarking, competitive intelligence and ROI analysis
Trends in contextual, behavioral and local advertising

Creating a buzz — viral marketing

Blogs, RSS feeds, forums, wikis and more
Harness “word of mouse” to enhance your brand
Identifying the “sneezers” who will spread your viral message

Web analytics

Speakers:
Stephan Spencer, Founder and President, Netconcepts

Interview with IBM’s Mike Moran

Stephan Spencer — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 20:05:22 +0000

In this interview, Stephan Spencer, Founder and President of Netconcepts, sits down with Mike Moran, Distinguished Engineer for IBM Corp. Mike is an author and search marketing pioneer, who brought SEO to IBM and was able to use techniques to implement best practices on a massive scale. From establishing ROI to savvy uses of corporate resources, we talk about how powerful SEO can be for huge corporations, and how search marketers can navigate their way through corporate channels to effectively test new marketing strategies, attract customers, and incorporate SEO into their daily lives.

If you prefer to read this interview, check out the transcript.

This podcast is now available for you to listen to.

Interview with Persuasion Architect, Bryan Eisenberg

Stephan Spencer — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 13:46:52 +0000

Persuasion Architecture is based on Bryan’s idea that, “everybody does things for their own reasons.” These reasons translate into four, distinct preferences, the how and why people do the things that they do. Once you understand the four basic personality types — emotional, logical, fast-paced, and disciplined — you can build perspectives or snapshots that give you insight into how your customers might want to purchase your products. Once you understand the “how,” then you can build the “who.” Who is buying your products from your site? That’s where profiles come into play, small pictures to what Bryan says will “give us a little better understanding of who that grouping or that mode of behavior is going to be — and then ultimately two personas.”

Listen to Stephan Spencer’s interview with Bryan Eisenberg for more about how to boost your site’s conversion rate.

SEO Through Blogs & Feeds

Stephan Spencer — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 06:00:22 +0000

Not yet running a blog? Not syndicating your content through web feeds? Then you’re missing out on an important area that can help your overall SEO efforts. Learn more about the unique advantages blogs and feeds offer to search engine optimization.

Speakers:
Greg Jarboe, President and Co-Founder, SEO-PR
Stephan Spencer, Founder and President, Netconcepts, LLC
Rick Klau, Strategic Partner Development, Google
Doug Hay, Principal & CEO, Expansion Plus Inc.

Interview with Maile Ohye from Google

Stephan Spencer — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 21:09:00 +0000

Do you lie awake at night wondering whether or not Google wants to know what you’re thinking? Find out by listening to this interview with Maile Ohye, Google’s Senior Support Engineer, and Stephan Spencer, Founder and President of Netconcepts.

In this 24 minute interview, Stephan and Maile discuss how your feedback influences Google’s decisions for user and webmaster support, Google’s “New” Webmaster Guidelines, and a wealth of technical SEO “best practice” questions related to things like cloaking and paid links.