Web Development Webinars

Another innovation at eTail. Set away from the hurly burly of the conference, we are providing you with the opportunity to get an in-depth diagnostic treatment for your site.

4 dedicated stations will help you optimize every element of your website, from Search, to Analytics to CRM and Visualization, there is a cure for every pain point! Make sure you sign up for your 30-minute session today.

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I found the eyetracking study from Enquiro and Did-It unveiled last week at Search Engine Strategies and covered in Search Day fascinating. The aggregate heat map shown on the right (larger version here) shows where participants focused their eyes (and their attention) the most. As you can see, the first listing not only drew the most attention; the full listing was read more fully from left to right, than other listings.

Visibility drops the further down the search results you go, and clickthroughs drop even more markedly (as you can see from the graphs below). This got me thinking about Zipf’s Law. Zipf’s Law is applicable to Top Ten Lists, as Seth Godin explains, perhaps Zipf’s Law might be applicable to the SERPs (search engine results pages) too? (In general terms, Zipf’s Law states that being #1 is much, much better than being #2 which is much, much better than being #3 and so on. So dominating a Top 10 list is critical.) Although these graphs don’t follow Zipf’s Law exactly, nonetheless given this data I’d consider it foolish to be complacent if your search listings are not at the very top of the SERPs.

What is it about searchers that makes them so blind to relevant results further down the page? Is this due to the “implied endorsement” effect, where searchers tend to simply trust Google to point them to the right thing? Or is it just the way humans are wired, to make snap decisions, as Malcolm Gladwell insightfully explains in his new book, Blink? According to the study, 72% of searchers click on the first link of interest, whereas 25.5% read all listings first, then decide. My guess is that both effects (”implied endorsement” and “rapid cognition”) play a role in searcher behavior.

A few other important take-aways from the study:

1. 6/7 (85%) of searchers click on natural (”organic”) results (not 60/40 as the search engines and PPC (pay-per-click) vendors would have you believe).
2. The top 4 sponsored slots are equivalent in views to being ranked at #7 - #10 natural.
3. (corollary to #2): This means if you need to make a business case for natural search, then (assuming you can attain at least #3 rank in natural for the same keywords you bid on) natural search could be worth two to three times your PPC results.

In all, a superb research study. Great job Did-It, Enquiro, and EyeTools!

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The search algorithms of Google, Yahoo, and MSN power about 95% of all Web search queries, making high-ranking search listings in these three engines a marketer’s dream. With over 70% of search result clickthroughs going to the natural (unpaid) search results pages and the “implied endorsement” that goes with a top natural listing, it’s essential that marketers gain mastery in natural search optimization. Besides, where else can you reach such high penetration to highly qualified prospects at zero cost per click?

While natural search listings deliver untold millions in sales to some of the Web’s savviest online retailers, most Web sites are not properly designed to reach this market. How can you adjust or revamp your site so that the engines will love it?

Join Stephan Spencer, President of Netconcepts, Shaun Ryan, CEO of SLI Systems, and Joan Broughton, VP - Multi-Channel Programs at REI during this rich presentation to learn the essential strategies of putting the search engines to work for your Web site. You’ll learn the secrets of how to:

• Estimate missed opportunity costs
• Sell your SEO initiative to upper management then resource it effectively
• Ensure the search engine spiders crawls 100% of your site, including dynamic pages
• Design your pages to dominate rankings
• Build your importance score and pass it on effectively using your internal hierarchical linking structure
• Check your site’s natural search “pulse”
• Avoid getting banned/penalized by the engines
• Leverage your internal site search for search engine fodder
• …and much more!

Join us for an information-packed hour of concrete advice, definitive answers, best and worst practices, real-life examples, and interactive critiques.

Watch the archived webinar

Download: MPEG 4 (68 MB)

Speakers

Stephan Spencer, Founder & President, Netconcepts

Stephan has been helping companies exploit commerce opportunities online since 1995. Clients include REI, Verizon, Gorton’s, Kohl’s, Cabela’s, to name a few. Stephan started Netconcepts in 1995 and grew it from a one-person Internet consultancy to what it now a multi-national interactive agency, specialising in web design and ecommerce with search engine optimization built in.

Dr Shaun Ryan, CEO, SLI Systems

Shaun Ryan combines commercial experience and academic expertise to lead a company that consistently improves the search experience of millions of online shoppers, customers of stores like Etronics, Any Mountain and Harry and David. His commercial background includes positions with NBCi and consulting to organizations like international health technology company Invacare. With a PhD in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Canterbury, Shaun was one of the founders of SLI Systems’ unique learning search technology.

Joan Broughton, Vice President of Multichannel Programs/Online, Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI)

Service to REI since 2000. Former executive at Office Depot and America Online. Currently oversees strategy and operations of REI’s Multichannel Programs and Online businesses, including REI.com, REI-OUTLET.com, and REI Adventures. Serves on the boards of the American Hiking Society and Shop.org, an online retailer association. Enjoys hiking and running.

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1. The benefit of the internet to your circulation/audience development efforts, and how important it is to your company
2. How to use email to renew or acquire new subscribers
3. E-mail tests - what’s working, what’s not working
4. Search engine marketing - what are you using and how is it working
5. Banner ads - are they working, what have you changed, where do you have them
6. How has can spam effected your subscription efforts? How has it effected your list rental activities? How has it effected your use of outside lists for subscription promotion?
7. Web agents - are they still working?
8. Blogs - are they a source of names? How can we get subscription information onto a blog?
9. Email files - do you have separate files for circulation, web casts, eNL, or a combined database for all? Advantages and disadvantages for each.

Gloria Adams, Pennwell - Moderator
Laura Wilson, NEJM - Panelist
Sean Fulton, GCN Publishing - Panelist
Brian Klais, Netconcepts - Panelist

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Most companies don’t even realize their competitors are “eating their lunch” online - ranking higher in the search engines, getting more traffic, converting more visitors into buyers and enjoying better returns on their website investment. They simply don’t know how well their website is performing. And they are missing out on valuable e-business opportunities.

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Imagine an online ad that costs you nothing per impression, guarantees both a local and worldwide audience actively seeking your products and services, and offers 6 times the click-through rate of a banner ad… a search engine listing.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the ultimate targeted, low cost and high return weapon in the e-marketer’s promotional arsenal.

Learn how to maximize your reach through the “organic” (unpaid) results in the search engines:

• Which search engines to target
• Keyword research tools and tactics
• Writing copy that “sings” to the search engines
• Benchmarking against your competitors
• Link building strategies that work
• Optimal search engine architecture
• Best practices to emulate
• Scams exposed
• Case studies - including the “inside scoop” on what worked and what didn’t
• Making your e-commerce or database-driven site “search engine friendly”
• Measuring the return on your search engine marketing investment
• Developing a search engine marketing plan
• Criteria for selecting a search engine marketing agency
• Online tools and resources

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“My job is to make my boss look good, and when SecureWorks hired Netconcepts for SEO I expected them to make me look good - and they definitely did.”

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