Web Development Web Marketing

Web Site Design Spotlight: Live, On-the-spot Critique of Retailers’ Sites

Internet Retailer 2008 — Chicago, IL

June 11th, 2008

Panelist: Stephan Spencer

A team of long time e-commerce experts will provide live reviews and makeovers for sites from the audience members. Retailers in the audience will be asked to bring search marketing, user experience, e-commerce strategy and other design questions to this session where experts will view the sites in question and provide answers to fix what ails their web sites. Audience members who volunteer their sites for critique will receive a $25 Starbucks gift card.

Panelists:
Lauren Freedman, President, the e-tailing group
Stephan Spencer, President, Netconcepts
Amy Africa, President, Eight by Eight

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Case Study: TRUSTcite

November 20th, 2006

TRUSTcite Logo

  • a showcase for Web 2.0 ‘done right’
  • site built upon web standards and accessibility
  • easy for visitors to find and compare service providers based on referrals and recommendations from business people and past clients
  • ranked search result based on peer reviews and user feedback
Continue reading »

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realestate.co.nz

September 25th, 2006

Realestate.co.nz screenshotrealestate.co.nz is operated by the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ). The site is a comprehensive meta-directory of listed properties in New Zealand and is currently the second most popular real estate site in New Zealand.

The site boasts a number of Web 2.0 features including RSS, Google Maps, microformats and AJAX. Every page, every search and every field has a corresponding RSS feed as well as email alert to which visitors can subscribe. This new site is of course search engine friendly, allowing spiders to traverse the site fully through text links. Dates and times of open homes can be saved directly to the calendar software such as Outlook, thanks to the use of microformats.

[ database | client admin cms | SEO ]

Visit the site: RealEstate.co.nz

DM News

June 1st, 2006

DM News screenshotDM News is the leading trade publication for direct, database and Internet marketers. It is both in print and online.

This total site revamp included user interface, look and feel, database, back-end programming, with SEO built in. The archives, with articles numbering over 25,000, is now completely open whereas previously it was restricted. Deep links to old articles have been maintained through 301 redirects.

The new site boasts a number of Web 2.0 features, including comments, trackbacks and RSS feeds. There isn’t just one main RSS feed, but every category has an RSS feed. A blog, also developed by Netconcepts, offers more informal views from DM News staffers and contributors (including this glowing testimonial of Netconcepts’ efforts by DM News’ founder Adrian Countenay).

The sophisticated content management system (CMS) that powers the site was custom-built by Netconcepts and specifically tailored to magazine publishers.

[ database | client admin cms | SEO ]

Visit site

Internet Marketing workshop

New Zealand DMA workshop — Auckland, NZ

October 7th, 2003

Workshop by Stephan Spencer

Join us for a hands-on, one-day workshop on Internet marketing tactics, including search engine optimisation, copywriting, conversion, and web project management. Each module will be jammed packed with practical advice, online resources, tools, tips, case studies - including the “inside scoop” on what worked and what didn’t - and interactive critiques of attendees’ websites and online marketing efforts. With a live Internet connection, we will examine in-depth:

Search engine optimisation
You want to get to the top of the search engines? Ah… but which search engines should you target? What keywords are your prospects searching for? And how do you get your site to the top for those keywords and then stay there?

Learn the tactics that will make your site ’scream’ in the search engines - ethically and sustainably - without costing you a fortune ongoing.

  • Hands-on keyword research
  • Fine tuning your content, HTML, design, and site architecture for optimal rankings
  • Workarounds for poor search engine practices (such as frames, question marks in URLs, Flash, pop-up windows, links that say “click here,” page titles like “Welcome to ABC.com”, pull-down navigation menus)
  • Making your e-commerce or database-driven site “search engine friendly”
  • Building links (directories, niche sites, etc.)
  • Google’s secrets revealed (PageRank, hyperlink text, etc.)
  • Pay-per-click search engines (Overture, etc.)
  • Benchmarking & competitive intelligence
  • Measuring the return on your search engine marketing investment

Improving conversion rate
So you’ve got visitors on your website, but will they “convert” to customers? Improving conversion on your site is an art and a science that involves a mix of clever copywriting, compelling offers, a follow-up strategy, meaningful metrics for measuring success, and more.
  • Developing a unique voice / personality
  • Active vs. passive tense
  • Verbs vs. adjectives
  • “You” vs. “we”
  • Toning down the marketingspeak
  • Fine tuning your offer
  • The call-to-action
  • Segmenting
  • Personalizing the content and the message
  • Marketing metrics: cost per click, cost per conversion, customer lifetime value, churn rate, etc.
  • “Blogging”

Working with your web developer
What are the ingredients for sucess when launching a redesign or a new site? What processes are helpful in keeping the project and the vendor on track? What are reasonable expectations of the client and the vendor? What goes into (and what doesn’t go into) an effective brief or specification? How do you manage the legal risk?
  • Writing a strategic brief, creative brief, functional spec, content plan, etc.
  • Budgeting and resource allocation
  • Vendor selection
  • The art and science of estimating time and costs
  • The web development process
  • Change management
  • The project extranet
  • Web development contracts
  • Liability and disclaimers
  • Ownership of source code
  • Terms & Conditions for your website users

We guarantee that after this intensive workshop you’ll walk away with loads of practical, actionable tactics and tips. So what are you waiting for? Register today.

BIOGRAPHY
Stephan Spencer, M.Sc., is the founder and president of Netconcepts, a full-service interactive agency with specialization in search engine optimisation, e-commerce, email marketing, and Web site auditing. They count amongst their U.S. clients: Birds Eye, Wella, Midwest Express Airlines, InfoSpace, Homestead.com, The Sharper Image, Cabela’s, and MP3.com; local clients include Westpac (NZ), The Fletcher Trust, nzgirl, SmokeCDs.com, TrustPower, and Business in the Community.

Stephan is a columnist for Unlimited. He has also written for Marketing Magazine, Management Magazine, Catalog Age, and Building Online Business. He has been featured on the cover of In Business magazine in the U.S. Stephan is a frequent speaker at Internet conferences around the globe - Berlin, London, Toronto, Santiago, Boston, New York, Chicago, San Francisco. He currently serves as a director of Sales & Marketing Executives International.

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Internet Marketing workshop

Marketing Today (New Zealand DMA annual conference) — Auckland, NZ

June 16th, 2003

Workshop by Stephan Spencer

Presented by Stephan Spencer, Managing Director of Netconcepts:

  • Search engine optimization
    You want to get to the top of the search engines? Ah… but which search engines should you target? What keywords are your prospects searching for? And how do you actually get your site to the top for those keywords and then to stay there? Learn the tactics that will make your site ’scream’ in the search engines - ethically and sustainably - without costing you a fortune ongoing.
  • Improving conversion rate
    So you’ve got visitors to your site, but will they purchase? Improving conversion on your site is an art and a science that involves a mix of clever copywriting, compelling offers, a follow-up strategy, meaningful metrics for measuring success, and more.
  • Email marketing
    Email can get you in front of your customers and prospects without relying on them to remember to come back and visit your site. But pitfalls abound. Get it wrong just once and you’ll significantly trim your list and burn your relationships. Learn what it takes to make great campaigns and newsletters, get the permission you need from your intended audience, and then test your assumptions scientifically.
  • Working with your web developer
    What are the ingredients for sucess when launching a redesign or a new site? What processes are helpful in keeping the project and the vendor on track? What are reasonable expectations of the client and the vendor? What goes into (and what doesn’t go into) an effective brief or specification? How do you manage the legal risk?

Presented by Kelly Goto, Principal, gotomedia, Inc.:

  • Usability
  • Information design
  • Workflow
  • Metrics for ROI from a user experience perspective

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Evolution of Web Site Strategy

eFoodservice — Chicago, IL

July 26th, 2000

Seminar by Stephan Spencer

Let’s face it, there is no need for eBusiness unless you have created a web site strategy. And creating it right is the key. This session will give you a step-by-step guide in order to make your strategy a success! After attending this presentation, you will know how to:

  • Create a site that is easy to navigate and compelling to the customer
  • Market through direct email response
  • Acquire the proper lists of names
  • Put together a permission based email marketing plan
  • Survey users to see what’s right and what’s wrong with your site
  • Increase response rates
  • Decide what kind of manpower you need to create a full time website
  • 24 hour, 7 days a week work force vs. outsourcing

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How To Audit Your Beauty Site For Maximum Online Effectiveness

Beauty Online 2000 — New York City, NY

July 19th, 2000

Workshop by Stephan Spencer

Are you absolutely sure that your web site is running at peak efficiency, dazzling customers, coming up high in search engines, generating an adequate ROI, and not leaving you exposed to unnecessary litigation?

Step-by-step, you’ll learn what areas to audit in your Internet presence, including: legal and procedural, public relations, financial, performance and reliability, customer service, Internet marketing task force, technical, user experience, accessibility, content, community, “findability”, e-commerce, privacy, and last but not least, security.

This interactive workshop will give you hands-on experience with:

  • Where and how to begin the evaluation process
  • What to audit and how often
  • Tools and resources to use in auditing
  • Benefits of auditing, risks of not auditing
  • Turning measurements and recommendations into an Implementation Plan
  • Applying all these tools and principles to your specific needs.

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How And Why To Audit Your Web Site (post-conference workshop)

Performance Measurements for Web Business -- Turning Your Internet Site Into an e-Business Profit Center — Chicago, IL

June 30th, 1999

Workshop by Stephan Spencer

Are you absolutely sure that your Web site is running at peak efficiency, dazzling customers, coming up high in search engines, generating an adequate ROI, and not leaving you exposed to unnecessary litigation? Step-by-step, you’ll learn what areas to audit in your Internet presence, including: legal & procedural, public relations, financial, performance & reliability, customer service, Internet marketing task force, technical, user experience, accessibility, content, community, “findability”, e-commerce, privacy, security, and last but not least Y2K.

This interactive workshop will give you hands-on experience on:

  • Where and how to begin the evaluation process
  • What to audit and how often
  • Tools and resources to use in auditing
  • Benefits of auditing, risks of not auditing
  • Turning measurements and recommendations into an Implementation Plan
  • Applying all these tools and principles to your specific needs

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InnSite Selected as “Best Inn Directory”

January 1st, 1999

by Netconcepts

Originally published in Yahoo! Internet Life

Staying at a bed-and-breakfast is just like spending the weekend at a friend’s
house — except that you can enjoy the homemade pancakes and coffee without
feeling obligated to reciprocate by springing for lunch later. Of course, you may have to endure a bit of awkward morning chitchat with total strangers, but many consider that a small price to pay for the B&B experience.

Continue reading »

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