Archive for the 'Search Engine Marketing' Category

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Web Makeover Gives GolfEtail a Boost

GolfEtailScreenShotWhat a difference a Web makeover makes.

Over the past year we’ve made several changes to the GolfEtail e-commerce Web site, including the addition of rotating Flash banner ads; the launch of a blog that features golf player and product news; and the introduction of The DealTeam, animated characters designed to facilitate a sense of community among GolfEtail users.

The users have responded well to the changes as the site has experienced an uptick in traffic since the implementation of these components. Organic visits to the site have increased nearly 170%. Sixty-five percent of those visitors were new, and they account for nearly 60% of the transactions conducted on the site. Keywords have played an important role in new traffic as well, with more than 19,000 keywords driving search traffic up 330%. Almost 85% of keyword traffic was new.

What this means for the online golf apparel retailer is that Web 2.0 practices are working the brand, drawing traffic primarily using search engine optimization. SEO – through Web copy, the blog, and customer reviews – have introduced GolfEtail to a new customer base flocking to the Internet looking for the best deals on quality golf equipment.

Wolfram Alpha: Like Meth to a Mathematician

WolframAlpha3We first heard about Wolfram Alpha – a new “computational knowledge engine” – in an article on CNN.com about a new era of Internet search that we may be entering. The article lists sites like Twine and hakia – among others with unique qualities – which try to personalize searches, separating out results you would find interesting, based on your Web use. But Wolfram Alpha piqued our interest for two reasons: 1) we haven’t come across a search engine as comprehensively computational as Wolfram Alpha, and 2) we have a love-hate relationship with long division. Math is our nemesis.

Not everyone is singing Wolfram Alpha’s praises, however. This article on PCWorld.com by 49.96-year-old writer David Coursey, posted earlier today – when Wolfram Alpha officially launched – suggests that the engine may not be the “cyber wonderbrain” some might have expected.

Still, it’s pretty remarkable. And unless you have a tiny clone of Albert Einstein tucked away in your pocket protector, it will likely be useful at one point or another.

As an example, we’re picked a random date in time – June 17, 1984. When we entered that date into Wolfram Alpha, this is what we got:

Continue reading ‘Wolfram Alpha: Like Meth to a Mathematician’

More Global Internet Statistics Coming Your Way

StatCounter recently (march 3rd, 2009) launched a new “GlobalStats” site, making all of their aggregated internet usage stats available for public consumption. This is not the first of its kind, but StatCounter’s contribution is a good one.

Statistics on internet usage consistently rate among the highest read posts on HiringTheInternet and are often searched for.  We like ‘em too.  The more services provide thiskind of information, the better we’ll be able to accurately assess the use of the Internet.

The interface is clean and easy to use, and they’ll let you download a CSV (you can open this in MS Excel or Apple Numbers) with raw numbers. Continue reading ‘More Global Internet Statistics Coming Your Way’

Is Inbound Marketing the Dawn of a New Era?

inboundmarketingvenInternet marketing company Hubspot published a blog post recently on inbound marketing – that is, marketing focused on being found by customers – and how, because of the global economic crisis, it’s starting to replace outbound (or traditional) marketing, which helps companies find customers.

In fact, the folks at Hubspot have so much confidence in their position that they’re calling this shift “a new era of marketing on the web.” Snazzy.

And even though we’re still holding a grudge against Hubspot for recently doubling its monthly fees, we tend to agree that these tight financial times are causing marketers to turn to thriftier means of bringing in new business.

Continue reading ‘Is Inbound Marketing the Dawn of a New Era?’