SEO Tip – Build User Engagement
SEO Tip:
Is there a way to secure more business from you current traffic?
Build User Engagement
Remember the Web has multi-media potential to offer. Have you ever thought about enhancing your content with a video tutorial or something to get visitors engaged with you?
IE9 & Browser Wars
Now that IE9 is out, the battle of the browsers has begun for the next generation. We have IE9-32bit, IE9-64bit, Chrome 10, Firefox 4RC, Safari 5, and Opera 11.01 to choose from. From the tests run by ZDnet, IE has definitely improved (except for the 64-bit version), but overall Chrome still seems to be the speed dog. I think what it is going to come down to is the compatibility with new web technologies that will affect the long term standing of these browsers, such as HTML 5 compatiability. I think Adrian pulled out the key factor in maintaining the performance trophy in that Google has the more aggressive update cycle and will be better able to keep up with the advanced web development being utilized today and tomorrow.
One of the biggest issues I see with IE9 is that it requires you to run Windows 7. I love Windows 7, but not everyone has the ability to upgrade their OS just to get a better version of IE.
Here is the conclusion to the ZDnet article IE9 vs Chrome 10 vs Firefox 4 RC vs Opera 11.01 vs Safari 5 - The BIG browser benchmark! by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
Conclusion
OK, so what conclusions can we draw? Well, let’s begin with the obvious and say that Internet Explorer 8 64-bit is an absolute dog when it comes to JavaScript performance. This is to be expected given that IE 9 64-bit is using an older, slower JavaScript engine, while IE 9 32-bit was using the newer, more efficient Chakra JIT.
OK, with the loser out of the way, what’s the winning browser? Well, out of the four benchmarks, Chrome 10 won two, IE9 32-bit won one and Firefox 4 RC won one, so in the strictest sense, Chrome 10 is the winner. But in the SunSpider test there is so little separating the four fastest browsers (a shade over 40 milliseconds) that you could almost say it is a tie. Then there’s the V8 test, which Chrome 10 aces, but then that’s to be expected given that Google, by its own admission, use that benchmark to tune the V8 JavaScript engine.
So, what’s the conclusion? Simple, IE9 64-bit is shockingly bad, and all the other browsers are, on the whole, pretty evenly matched. I’m pleasantly surprised that IE9 32-bit actually aces the SunSpider test, but I expect that over the coming weeks Google will manage to catch up and take the lead once again (Microsoft’s painfully slow update cycle for IE (especially compared with Google’s aggressive update cycle) works against it in the long run. Microsoft has worked hard on IE, taking it from being the slowest in the pack to one of the fastest. That itself is worthy of recognition.
Note: The 64-bit version of IE is only available to those with a 64-bit OS, and even then you’ve got to go searching for it. My advice, don’t bother.
Bottom line, I really don’t think that JavaScript performance is an issue any more, and certainly in real-world testing it’s hard to see a difference between the browsers (some HTML 5 sites not withstanding, given that many are optimized for a particular browser). In fact, unless one of the players managed to boost JavaScript performance by an order of magnitude, shaving a few milliseconds off here and there hardly matters any more.
Windows 7 GodMode
This looks to be a really cool hidden feature in Windows 7.
Create a folder called GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C} and upon opening it will contain many customizable operating system features.
See the original article here: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10423985-56.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
ChannelAdvisor Lays off 19%
ChannelAdvisor Lays off 19% of its Workforce
Sad to say, I was one of them. Apparently there were 32 Employees let go in the US offices.
http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y09/m01/i23/s04
http://onlinesaleschannels.wordpress.com/2009/01/22/my-liquid-lunch-with-ex-ca-employees/
I look at this as a good thing though as I was the only member of the Seattle office left on staff after they vacated the office building in Oct 2008. (Yes, no more west coast office). I have had to work out of my home office since then. It will be nice to be able to get back into traveling to work and getting to talk to other people, sharing and learning new things.
If anyone knows a company looking for a Search Marketing guru feel free to contact me at steve @ ironvine.com!
My condolences to all the other employees that were let go this week I wish you all the best, and to my former co-workers it was a great 2 years. Take care!
ChannelAdvisor Announces Acquisition of RichFX
CHANNELADVISOR ANNOUNCES ACQUISITION OF RICHFX
Acquisition Helps Internet Retailers Offer Increased Usability, Improve Conversion Rates with Fewer Clicks via Rich Media Applications
Research Triangle Park, NC– July 16, 2008 – ChannelAdvisor, the leading provider of e-commerce channel management solutions, today announced the acquisition of RichFX, further increasing its multi-channel offerings to online retailers. A leader in the rich media image space, RichFX’s rich media solutions have been helping retailers design, implement and manage effective rich media across online channels since its inception in 1997.
The combined companies will offer three new rich media products for Internet retailers with proven abilities to increase website usability and improve conversion rates with fewer clicks. ChannelAdvisor’s myRichFX™ is a hosted rich media platform that enables retailers to quickly implement and manage enterprise-scale rich media image, catalog and circular solutions including:
• RichImage™ – The Rich Imaging solution allows retailers to manage their digital assets and add dynamic merchandising to their e-commerce products. In addition to standard zoom and pan functionality, comprehensive merchandising solutions are possible such as builders, configurators and more.
• RichCatalog™ – For retailers that have a printed catalog, the catalog can now be brought online with a much richer and integrated experience. Consumers can click through the RichCatalog experience directly into the e-commerce site.
• RichCircular™ – For retailers with regional circulars, RichCircular brings the regional circulars online. Buyers can now search, click and view multiple regional circulars and then buy the products online or order them for in-store pick-up.
RichFX has over 200 retailers as customers, including over 45 that are included in the coveted Internet Retailer 500 list. RichFX’s customer list includes Wal-Mart.com, Disney, Saks, Lillian Vernon, Men’s Warehouse and Brooks Brothers. RichFX customers report a 10%+ increase in online conversion when their online merchandising is enhanced via one of the RichFX offerings.
“MyRichFX provided a cost effective way to help me dramatically increase clicks and conversion rates,” said Anthony Johns, Web Merchandising Manager of Lillian Vernon. “I was amazed at the platform’s usability and flexibility right from the start. The rich media experts proved that they cared about my results with insights and tips after the sale, and provided personal attention throughout the implementation and incorporation processes. A great overall business decision.”
“As we’ve worked with thousands of retailers to manage their e-commerce channels, we have become convinced of the advantages of conversion enhancement technologies,” said Scot Wingo, CEO of ChannelAdvisor. “We are constantly looking for ways to open up more multi-channel functionality to our customers to help them succeed. With rich media’s ability to enhance website interactivity and attract more conversions, RichFX appeared to be a natural extension of ChannelAdvisor Complete core capabilities.”
ChannelAdvisor plans to aggressively offer rich media solutions to its existing customer base. In addition, ChannelAdvisor will extend its ChannelAdvisor Complete e-commerce solutions for search, comparison shopping engines and marketplaces to the existing RichFX customer base. Several integration points are being developed as well. ChannelAdvisor is also working on solutions tailored to SMB and mid-tier internet retailers. Before the ChannelAdvisor/RichFX combination, world-class rich media Internet solutions were out of reach for mid-tier and SMB retailers.
Eoin Townsend, RichFX CEO, will join ChannelAdvisor as General Manager and Vice President of the RichFX business unit.
“At RichFX, we’ve been dedicated to finding innovative ways to help our customers increase conversion rates. That’s why partnering with a company like ChannelAdvisor who is equally committed to customer care seemed to be a perfect fit” said Eoin Townsend, General Manager and Vice President of ChannelAdvisor. “We see this combination as an ideal opportunity to apply our understanding of the elements of enhanced conversions with a like-minded focus on expert services to increase the multi-channel sales opportunities for our customers.”
To learn more about the new rich media Internet solutions, ChannelAdvisor will host a webinar for existing ChannelAdvisor customers and prospects on Wednesday, July 23 at 3:00 pm EDT. To sign up, visit http://www.channeladvisor.com/richmediawebinar.
About ChannelAdvisor Corporation
ChannelAdvisor Corporation provides technology and services that enable leading online retailers to maximize their products across multiple e-commerce marketplaces such as eBay, Amazon.com and Overstock.com, comparison shopping engines such as Shopping.com, Shopzilla, Nextag and Google Product Search and search engines such as Google, Yahoo! and MSN. In 2007, ChannelAdvisor managed over $2.1 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) on behalf of its customers. ChannelAdvisor solutions combine best practices, on-demand software and integration technology to help retailers sell more products, faster, by automating labor-intensive, manual functions so they spend less time optimizing campaigns and more time solving marketing and business issues. ChannelAdvisor's customers include GSI Commerce, Brookstone, Abebooks and Motorola. ChannelAdvisor Corporation is headquartered in Research Triangle Park, NC with offices in Atlanta, New York, Seattle, the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland and Germany. For more information, visit http://www.channeladvisor.com/.
Yahoo on Click Fraud
As I posted last week over at SearchMarketing.com, Yahoo has done a good bit to give more insight into what it is doing to combat click fraud.
While there is not a lot of everyday usefulness in the update, they are making a good faith effort to combat the very controversial topic.
Technorati Tags: Yahoo, Search Marketing, Click Fraud, Ironvine
eBay/PayPal Promo Code
Here's an eBay PayPal coupon promo code for someone to use:
eBay/PayPal Coupon: 10% off purchase up to $100
Here's how to redeem this offer:
1. Start shopping on eBay. Be sure the seller accepts PayPal.
2. Pay for your item with PayPal before the expiration date: June 30, 2008 11:59:59 PM PDT.
(Make sure the email address on your eBay account is also on your PayPal account. Find out how.)
3. Enter the redemption PayPal code: CJUNE0810P
New Search Engine Searchme.com
Here is a first look at a new visual search engine at searchme.com.Searchme does look good, resembling a mashup of Google with Apple's popular Cover Flow three-dimensional graphical user interface used on its iTunes service, with a little of Ask.com's categories thrown in.For now, Searchme is only going into private beta, adding users by invitation only.To create the page-riffling effect, Searchme has been working with Adobe. The top screen, after a search term has been entered, then creates a stack of pages to represent the page links on a list below.Technorati Tags: Searchme, Searchme.com, Search, Engine, Google, Apple, Ask, Ironvine
adExcellence Certified
Steven Terjeson of ChannelAdvisor is accredited as an official Microsoft adExcellence Member. A Microsoft adExcellence Member has completed comprehensive online training on managing Microsoft adCenter search engine marketing campaigns and has demonstrated expert knowledge by passing the Microsoft adExcellence accreditation exam.
This completes my suite of certifications, Google, Yahoo and now MSN.
Technorati Tags: adExcellence, Certification, SEM, adCenter, ChannelAdvisor, Ironvine
SES San Jose ’07
SES was a pretty good conference. The event hall was pretty well staffed with vendors including Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, Ask, iProspect, and many more. There were lots of Search companies, link building companies, and various other web companies.
My conference was highlighted by the Google invite only Agency Lunch and the Google Dance at the Google Campus in Mountain View.
The Google Lunch was a small group of invite only agency people. I sat at a table with the CEO and a few other people from advertising.com. The presentation was basically all about the new Google offerings in addition to search, Print, TV, Radio, etc. Print as well possibly. I'm sure some of our clients already do radio ads and could be pretty easy to migrate over. The nice thing is that Google offers ways to track the performance, like dedicated phone numbers which they offer for free or by using dedicated trackable entry points.
Google Dance 2007 was a huge bash at the Google campus in Mountain Home.
You can see more pics from Google on picasa: http://picasaweb.google.com/gdance2007/GoogleDance2007WeRockedIt
There were lots of product demos on all the Google applications, Meet the Developers, food, drinks, a huge dance party in the rec hall, green screen karaoke, and my favorite the Candy Bar.
All in all it was a great trip. Met lots of people in the event hall and the sessions had some decent information. Next time I hope to get into some of the other sessions to see what they are about.
Technorati Tags: SES, San Jose, Search Engine Stratagies, Search, Paid Search, Marketing, Advertising, Ironvine, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo
ChannelAdvisor Top INC 5000 Award
I am proud to announce that ChannelAdvisor debuted today as #835 on the INC. 5000.
You can view the award and information on the www.inc.com site. Way to go!
Technorati Tags: ChannelAdvisor, Channel Advisor, INC, Business, Marketing, Ironvine
GoDaddy Promo Codes – April 2007
Here are some GoDaddy Promotion Codes for April 2007.
Because we all work on the internet having your domain name secured, or purchasing new domains and services is an important part of everyday business. I hope these promo codes help. Check out the latest special - Register, renew or transfer TWO .NET domains for just $10!
gdm0405b: Save $10 on your order of $40 or more at GoDaddy -- Expires: 4/9/07
gdm0312: Get 6.95$ .COM registration at GoDaddy -- Expires 4/9/07
gdm0323c: Get GoDaddy's Traffic Blazer at 50% off! Get your Web Site listed today on Google, MSN, Yahoo, and more! -- Expires 4/15/07 - NEW
gdm0315k: Get 20% off a .COM registration at GoDaddy -- Expires 4/15/07
gdm0412c: Register, renew or transfer TWO .NET domains for just $10 at GoDaddy -- Expires 4/30/07 - NEW!!
Find more active GoDaddy promo codes at the dedicated GoDaddy promo page including non-expiring codes!
Technorati Tags: GoDaddy, Promo Codes, Codes, Promo, Promotion, Coupons, Domain, Hosting, Ironvine