Edmund Wilson, the noted literary critic, once said, “No two people read the same book.” It could also be said that no two people will make the exact same analysis from a complex set of marketing data. There are a number of ways to read the numbers and a wealth of solutions for each problem or challenge they present.
This article describes two ways to look at your marketing data and two potential approaches based on what you find.
Optimization
The first scenario could have a number of first steps. Perhaps you’ve recently launched a new campaign, product or website. Or maybe you have happy shareholders or a board of directors that is pleased, but you now have access to some new insights or data.
When your numbers are good – but not quite great – and you know that some small changes or additional tactics could help, it’s time to optimize.
Optimization can take a number of forms. It could be reevaluating some of your vendors’ performance or adjusting your media mix. Perhaps it’s time to adjust the creative – again. It could even be optimizing the user experience to incorporate responsive design into your web platforms. As long as what you do... Read more
Tagged 'Optimization' 
2 Ways to Read Your Data
Google's SEO Over-Optimization Penalty
It's not often that Google tells us about algorithm changes they're about to release but, at this year's SXSW conference, Matt Cutts let it be known that Google engineers are working on an over-optimization penalty. At the heart of the discussion for most site owners is one quote in particular that Google will,
"…start to look at the people who sort of abuse it, whether they throw too many keywords on the page, or whether they exchange way too many links, or whatever they are doing to sort of go beyond what a normal person would expect in a particular area…"
With the implication that a site's use of keywords and links will be inspected, many site owners have become concerned that they might get caught by the coming over-optimization penalty. In today's short post, I'd like to highlight the SEO practices that are likely to be penalized by the new algo, present items that should be inspected and finally offer a few tips for remediation.
Likely To Be Penalized:
Link exchange networks
Paid links
Forum/blogspam
Pages with ultra-high target keyword density & little semantic context
Inspect the Following:
"soft" duplicate content/canonicalization
sitewide incoming links
footer links (incoming and outgoing)
heavy advertising above the fold
blending of JavaScript, AJAX, Flash, images,... Read more
DATA: Are you using it to your advantage… or just to make you look good?
In it’s ideal form, data should be unassailable. But it’s not.
Data can be twisted, tailored or censored to tell many different stories.
It’s not uncommon for marketers to skew their data because they’re afraid that showcasing the “real” numbers behind a marketing program could illuminate a failure. Web analysts, on the other hand, don’t have any motivation to skew data; their goal is to make informed decisions to optimize results.
The practice of web analytics has evolved over the years, and today analysts can provide key stakeholders with actionable insights. For various reasons, however, that information often goes ignored.
More marketers are adopting web analytics programs, so it’s more imperative than ever to utilize the data to optimize. Sure, using data to make you look good can reap immediate satisfaction and maybe impress people who aren’t asking the right questions. But, in the long run, you could hurt your company by ignoring what the data is really saying.
Here are a few simple ways to use web analytics data to make informed decisions:
Dive deeper into bounce rates. Bounce rates on landing pages can show how well the page is at engaging visitors, but look further into bounce rates from different traffic sources or campaigns.... Read more
App Development Strategies for a Fragmented Market
Recent announcements from publishers detailing plans for optimization of their web-based content for the iPad are a clear indication of Apple's clout. Publishers who distribute content in digital formats have been conditioned to anticipate the launch of new Apple devices with deferential trepidation. This time it's the print industry's turn and, as a whole, the industry seems determined to keep pace with the perceived shift in consumer behavior the device is expected to bring.
At the same time, agencies and their clients are increasingly creating unique content as a way of keeping websites fresh and staying relevant to communities that have formed around their brands. The push toward content creation has aligned the concerns of dedicated publishers with content producing brands. Both want to be sure that their content will be accessible on new platforms as they are made available.
We know that The Financial Times, The WSJ, Wired and doubtless many more publishers are looking for ways to deliver high-fidelity experiences on the iPad or at least to make sure what they've already got is accessible from it.
In practical terms this means two things. Developing a Flash-free version of their website optimized for the iPad and finding an alternative to Flash... Read more
