Finally, we can now safely say that the year of mobile has arrived. According to Nielsen, 50% of US mobile phone users now have smartphones. Looking at your web analytics you're probably seeing upwards of 5-10% of your traffic coming from mobile devices (for some industries that traffic can be significantly higher). Less than a year ago, sites were only seeing 1-2% of their traffic from mobile visitors.
It's time to jump on the bandwagon...It's time for a mobile site (or app) and you need it now.
Looking at the right things
Before you run out and start developing (or updating) your mobile presence, it's important to realize that mobile visitors aren't all the same, and their needs vary dramatically based on the device they are using.
Traditionally the biggest question most people have had when they look at web analytics is: Who are all these people that come to my site? However, for mobile visitors it's critical to step back and ask yourself what do they want and how they are seeing it. Then make sure they find what they need when they arrive.
Getting more granular, when you take a look at... Read more
Archive for Peter Platt 
“Where” may be more important than “who”
Is your search traffic really helping your business?
Most people are pretty happy when they take a look at their web site traffic and see that a large share of traffic coming to their site from search engines. The natural reaction to these numbers is likely to be "Isn't this great? Look at all these new prospects who are finding me on the web!" But in many cases, such assumptions about who's finding your site via search may be completely wrong. Before I give you some tips on how you can improve your search results, let's take a look at how people use search engines today.
How do people search?
It all begins with a need or interest—something inspires a person to search for a certain topic. Let's use a hypothetical example of person considering buying a new camera. A typical search begins pretty broadly. Type "camera" into Google (65.9% of searches happen on Google according to ComScore, December 2011); the results page brings up a bunch of links for places where you can buy cameras, some photos of cameras, links to manufacturer's sites, and so on. Great—but you're not even sure what you're looking for yet. So you go back to the top of the page and start adding qualifiers... Read more
Inspired!
That's the best way to describe the outcome of this week's iMedia Breakthrough Summit in Miami. Over the last few years I've attended every Breakthrough summit and they seem to just keep getting better. This year's theme was focused on the future of media and technology, and we had three days of inspiring presentations, working sessions and conversations that really got people thinking! Taking a look at the tweet stream #imediasummit today, it appears I'm not the only one who felt that way...."intense workout for the brain", "too many good ideas", "my favorite iMedia so far"
We got off to a strong start at Mobile Media Bootcamp on Sunday. Why would 70 of us spend the better part of Sunday (8 am - 3:30 pm) sitting in a well chilled conference room on a 75 degree sunny day in Miami...because there was great information shared about what's really going on in the industry. We started with a opening keynote focused on the impact social marketing is having and how we need to focus on 4 core areas of impact: Search, Rate, Buy, Report. Consumers are quick to jump to their mobile phones today to check out a new product, rate a... Read more
I’m running on Google…I’m covered, or am I?
Last month I was on a panel where we discussed whether or not Google is taking too much credit. The premise of the discussion was based on a report from Google stating that their search and advertising tools generated $54 billion (yes, that’s a “b”) of economic activity in the United States in 2009.
While Google clearly deserves credit for helping people find product information and pushing them through the end of the sales funnel, the thing that this report overlooks is that in order for consumers to find something on Google, they need to be inspired to search for it first.
The Snuggie is a good example of such inspiration. The keyword “Snuggie” receives a huge number of searches (over 165,000/month according to Google’s keyword tool), and Google definitely helps people find out where to buy this product … but 2 years ago no one searched on the term Snuggie. Google didn’t start the Snuggie craze; it was the Snuggie direct response television campaign that inspired the initial interest. And this effect is not just limited to new products. We’ve seen similar trends with many of our digital marketing campaigns. For example, we typically launch branded keyword campaigns on search engines... Read more
Pizza for breakfast?
While checking my email this morning I was drawn in by today's Groupon offer...a local pizza place offering more than 50% off. I used to eat there all the time, but because of a change in my commute, I'd stopped going there. The food is great, service is fantastic, and it's really not that far out of my way. So, thanks to Groupon (and a smart marketing person at the restaurant), they'll be getting my business back - and not just for the one-time offer.
Of course, the marketer in me kicks in whenever I take advantage of this type of deal and I pay special attention to the process. The thing that surprised me most: as of 7am this morning, 75 people had already taken advantage of the offer. So my little local pizza joint sold a lot of pizza this morning, while their doors were still closed, probably before the lunch crew came in to start making the dough.
Groupon clearly provided value for this small community effort, but it applies to larger businesses as well. Recently I received a Groupon offer from a large national retailer (the type that has a store in every major mall). So here was... Read more
