Search Engine Strategies, day 3
I'm just back from day three of SES Chicago 2006. I could feel the knowledge bouncing off of my overflowing brain-pan today. Last night, I couldn't sleep from 2-4am as I woke up obsessed with analyzing the conversion rate on a Google AdSense campaign. This morning, I realized that the entire campaign I was trying to calculate was something that my sleep-deprived mind had invented.But enough about my sanity. Here's my gross oversimplification of today's key learnings:
(1) Analytics are worth the effort
You're spending hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars every month on Pay-Per-Click campaigns (with costs going up about 80% this past year), and yet you still have no idea if it's working. Buy the right tools and learn to use them.
(2) Build trust through social networking
The social networks (whether it's MySpace, Digg, or Wikipedia) carry a lot of weight. If you want buzz, get to know the communities and take the time to contribute to them.
(3) Stop waiting for your "cat to bark"
The entire world of marketing is changing. Search users choose to come to you, and you have to play by their rules. You can wait all day for the cat to bark, but it just ain't gonna happen.
(4) Don't let visitors lose your "scent"
Search users expect a clear path from their search to your website to their desired outcome. If they lose the scent along the way, you've lost their business.
