Posted by steve loszewski at 7:55 am | Filed In AdWords
May
16
I’ve read in places about display URLs affecting quality scores. However, the discussion always surrounded around how a display URL affects the clickthrough rate of an ad, which in turn, is used to calculate quality. The relationship was presented as an indirect one. Anyone interested in knowing the nitty-gritty of quality scores will be interested in knowing that there is also a direct relationship between quality scores and display URLs. This fact popped up when I noticed that one of my favorite AdWords help pages was recently edited. The help page discusses the factors that go into the different quality scores Google uses, and it has two points added. First for calculating a keywords minimum bid, it states that one factor is “the historical CTR of the display URLs in the ad group.” Second for a keyword’s ad position it also states that the display URL is a factor. Before and after shots of the change are shown below, click to get a full image.
Read More »
Posted by cjuon at 12:48 pm | Filed In Entrepreneurship
May
15
In a conversation with an out-of-stater earlier this week, I was asked what’s going on in the Michigan technology community, and what were the groups to connect with?
I rattled off a few, and started Googling for a list, figuring this had to be documented already. But I didn’t spot anything immediately. So here’s my first stab at a list of technology organizations in Michigan (particularly southeast Michigan), and please add comments with additional resources. I look forward to hearing about your favorite technology networking groups!
Networking “Groups” for Technology Entrepreneurs
- Digital Edge - Connecting Michigan’s Digital Entrepreneurs With a World of Resources (with some emphasis on those seeking capital)
- Michigan Innovators - A video blog of Michigan companies in the Global Innovation Economy, with real-world events in the making
- SPARK - Promotes the economic development of innovation-based businesses in the Ann Arbor region by offering programs, great resources, and more
- MSBTDC - Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Center - Although not limited to technology, they have been a huge resource for us, so this list wouldn’t be complete without them!
- New Enterprise Forum - Also not exclusively focused on technology, but a place where you’ll find technology companies making their pitch for investment
Networking “Groups” for Technologists (and friends)
- A2B3 - Possibly THE networking event for job seekers and posters in technology in Ann Arbor, even though (or perhaps because) it’s one of the most informal
- Open Coffee Networking Group a group organized by SPARK for entrepreneurs to network in an informal environment (over coffee once a month in a morning), again not limited to technology, but given Ann Arbor’s environment, it includes several technology types
Niche Technology-ish Groups You Might Find PV’ers and Friends at:
- Southeast Michigan Ruby Users Group - a gathering of local Ruby enthusiasts
- Ann Arbor Drupal Users Group - a monthly meeting for the proficient and just curious about Drupal, an open source content management system
- Web Analytics Wednesday (looks like there’s not a current event scheduled, but should be soon)
- Michigan Usability Professionals Association chapter meetings - a group of user experience design, usability, and information architecture folks, meets almost monthly. Current officers include PV’s very own User Experiologist Mike Beasley and our Director of Happiness, Dunrie Greiling
- Agile Groupies - an informal networking group for those practicing and those interested in agile methods
- Refresh-Detroit - monthly forum for web professionals promoting standards, usability, and accessibility in the Ann Arbor/SE Michigan area
Annual Technology-ish Events
Posted by dgreiling at 14:05 pm | Filed In Usability
May
13
Personas are part of our usability practice, and, although they’re gaining increasing acceptance in website and software design, not everyone understands them or recognizes their value.
Described by Alan Cooper in his book The Inmates are Running the Asylum, personas are sketches of individual people used in the design process. They are related to target markets and have associated demographic information, but instead of demographic descriptions of groups of people, they are narrative depictions of an individual rather than a group or population. Their particulars come from user research, such as interviews with site visitors or potential customers.
The importance of a persona is that it can be used as a filter or lens through which to view and judge the website’s success. They keep the marketing and development team honest and accountable, ensuring that we focus our efforts on the right audience - a potential customer or client rather than the stakeholders at the planning meeting.
Mirror personas get in the way
Personas are used to combat the “mirror persona” (look in the mirror and you’ll find yours). Very naturally, people unconsciously use the mirror persona when they do design and development, and of course that mirror persona is diverse and varied. Folks sitting around the same table may argue based on differing ideas of the target audience and differing individual preferences (everyone’s got a different mirror).
When design discussions get stuck in a “I say”-”you say” conflict, the “winner” might be the best debater, or perhaps the HIPPO (highest paid person’s opinion) rules. That may or may not be the right answer. The user may lose, and the site’s performance could suffer.
The antidote - user driven design
Personas, user research, and quantitative data provide a better basis for decision making.
Personas are one of many tools that can help ensure that a website remains focused on the end users, rather than the needs or beliefs of those involved in the design. Rather than asking “how would I use this site”, a persona provides a point of focus which forces everyone involved in the site to ask: “how would this person use the website”. Ideally, personas are created based upon interviews with target users, though less detailed efforts can still positively influence the development process.
Persona resources
Posted by doneil at 16:36 pm | Filed In Social Media
May
8
As a company, Pure Visibility has always been a fan of social media. However, individual members of our team have been more or less enthusiastic about it. We’ve had internal discussions about its effectiveness, particularly when compared to more traditional ROI metrics such as Cost Per Conversion, which can be easily and simply proven. Slowly, however, we’ve been gathering information about this exciting and deeply engaging constellation of concepts that have led us to believe that a rigorous, metrics-based approach to the field is possible.
Over the next month or so I think I’ll be blogging pretty regularly on Social Media and how more egghead-y, skeptical types like me might quantify its value. But I’m excited, because as I’ve said repeatedly to people within my own organization, if you can get me on board with these concepts, then you’ve made your hardest sale.
I also wanted to share a link to a wonderful Social Media FAQ that started my shift on the topic. It goes deeper than many FAQs (in some way it’s really a series of detailed blog posts), but if you spend a little time in there, I think you’ll find your own understanding of social media, at least from Jeremiah Owyang’s perspective, can be easily explained to people who are just learning more about it.
So have fun, go deep. And don’t be scared; at the end of the day, I think the ride I’ll be blogging about in the next few months will look a lot more familiar and welcoming than many people believe.
Posted by Mike Beasley at 16:29 pm | Filed In Social Media
May
7
In his March 31st Alertbox newsletter, Jakob Nielsen wrote that “Facebook and the current generation of social networks are trying to replicate the walled garden strategy that failed ten years ago. It’ll fail again.” He points to an article he wrote 9 years ago, “Metcalfe’s Law In Reverse,” about the futility of trying to achieve dominance by cutting your network off from the rest of the Internet (for example, AOL’s Instant Messenger).
I’m just not sure Nielsen really “gets it” with regard to things like Facebook, for example. “Walled garden” is an oversimplistic characterization. If Facebook is a walled garden, then it is a poorly built wall. Content from Twitter, Flickr, Youtube, LinkedIn, and more can be integrated into Facebook. You can find friends in Facebook by having Facebook search through your Gmail, Hotmail, AIM, etc. contact lists for people that have accounts.
Interconnectedness is essential to this generation of web applications, and Facebook gets this. Their entire system is based on that assumption. In fact, Facebook’s explosive growth only started after they opened their system to plugins through the API late last year.
It might be better to think of Facebook as a rich hub with some native content, almost like a USB hub, into which other applications can be plugged if someone has the proper communication protocols (also known to geeks as an API). An open API is at its very core a measure of interconnectedness and community, because it is the technical glue that makes it possible.
By that measure Facebook is one of the most interconnected tools currently available on the web.
Posted by dgreiling at 11:58 am | Filed In AdWords
May
6
Pure Visibility is offering our Monthly Google AdWords Success Workshop 5/9/2008. This class provides an opportunity for individuals and businesses to get more from their pay-per-click advertising. Missed the May 9 training? Check out our schedule of classes and events - we’ll continue to offer this monthly on the second Friday.
Here are some reviews from last month’s class:
I thought the following were definite strong points about the class:
- Being comprehensive and starting with the basics
- Really good definition of key terms at the beginning and reinforced throughout the class
- It is VERY cool that we sign in and perform labs on our own accounts
- I really like the emphasis on “”pressure points”" in the process…what levers (keywords, ad copy, landing pages) can be tweaked and what their impact is on the core metrics.
- It was good length; I thought pacing was very good; time for “lecture” vs “labs” was good.
There were several things I really liked about this class. The first of which was how figuring out how much you should pay for a lead or a sale was addressed. I, for one, never considered this as an important component to setting up an AdWords campaign. The explanation of how it was calculated was very simple to understand and it’s definitely something I would have never touched on personally if you hadn’t brought it to my attention.
Secondarily I thought the class was useful to a wide range of people. I had some experience with AdWords prior to the class and I certainly learned something and [the colleague]…I brought with me had hardly any experience with AdWords at all and he learned a ton.
Lastly, I think you did a good job of taking someone from setup to activation of an account. I’m confident that anyone could setup their own account using these materials provided in this class.
I think that you also did a really nice job responding to questions and diving into topics of specific interest to our small group. I imagine that this would be much more difficult to do in a larger group (at least without blowing past your time time slots); but I felt quite privileged to be part of a small class with so much time spent on questions.
Again, this was a really great class that exceeded my expectations. Thanks very much.
Heard enough? Come on and join us for the next session! The training class is suitable for quick-witted beginners and seasoned veterans. Register now.
Posted by Mike Beasley at 10:27 am | Filed In Usability
May
6
On average, users read fewer than 28% of the words on a web page, according to Jakob Nielsen. How do you make those 28% of words count?
In his May 6, 2008 Alertbox, How Little Do Users Read, Nielsen writes about calculations he did based on research on how people behave online. He calculated that the portion of words that users read declines as there are more words. Users read only half the words on pages with 111 words or few; 28% of the text on pages with 593 words. He points out that these are maximums, and that users may, in fact, read fewer words.
Read More »
Posted by dgreiling at 10:09 am | Filed In AdWords
May
2
Looking for help with your Google AdWords? Want a how-to guide to help you optimize your paid search return on investment? Look no further!
We are thrilled to announce the upcoming publication of O’Reilly Media’s Website Optimization: Speed, Search Engine and Conversion Rate Secrets. This book details search engine marketing best practices: showing readers how to optimize their conversion rates and performance tune their websites to boost the return on any Web site investment.
This is the second edition of a book written by Ann Arbor, MI website optimization guru Andy King. The book covers organic or natural search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click management and optimization, conversion rate optimization, web performance optimization - including CSS and AJAX optimization, plus metrics.
In this edition, Andy tapped us to contribute two chapters: Chapter 3 - Pay Per Click Optimization and Chapter 4 - PPC Case Study featuring our work for Body Glove International.
Our AdWords and PPC Optimization Guide (Chapter 3)
- Pay Per Click Basics and Definitions
- The Pay Per Click Work Cycle
- Common Problems with Pay Per Click Optimization
- Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, and Everybody Else
- Differences in Bulk Editing: Uploading Spreadsheets vs. the AdWords Editor
- Differences in Geo-Targeting
- Differences in Minimum Bids and Quality Scoring
- Summary of the Differences Between AdWords, adCenter, and YSM
- Goal Setting, Measurement, Analytics Support, and Closing the Loop
- Calculating Return On Investment
- Goals and Values
- Tracking and Metrics
- Closing the Loop
- Targeting and Qualifying Visitors
- Qualifying Visitors Who Are Late in the Sales Cycle
- Relevant Landing Pages
- Closing the Loop Offline
- Using Metrics to Set a Budget
- Return on Investment and Profits
- Pay Per Click Return on Investment and Goals Summary
- Keyword Discovery, Selection, and Analysis
- Keyword Research
- The Right Keywords and the Myth of the Long Tail
- Target Part and Model Numbers
- Broad Matches versus Direct Bidding
- Organizing and Optimizing Ad Groups
- Guidelines for Grouping
- Example Themed Ad Groups
- Optimizing Ad Groups after Launch
- Optimizing Pay Per Click Ads
- Measuring Ad Performance
- Optimizing Ad Copy
- Creating Ad Copy Variation
- Testing Ads the Easy Way: AdWords Optimized Ad Serving
- Testing Ads the Hard Way: Confidence Interval Testing
- Dynamic Keyword Insertion in Ads
- Pay Per Click Ad Optimization Summary
- Optimizing Landing Pages
- Landing Pages for AdWords
- Landing Pages for Visitors
- Complete Conversions with Clear Calls to Action
- Use Persuasive Copy
- Support the Ad Claims that Triggered the Visitor’s Click
- Include Multiple Conversion Points for Different Stages of the Buying Cycle
- Display Large Images of Products or Services
- Forgo Navigation Menus
- Testing Landing Pages
- Optimizing Bids
- Penalties for New Accounts
- Initial Bid Strategies
- Bid Gaps
- Adjusting Bids
- Automated Bidding
- The Big Picture
- Branding
- Bid Optimization in Action: The e-grooming Book Example
- Other Pay Per Click Issues
- The Content Network
- Click Fraud
- Trademark Issues
- Overview of Optimization Techniques
Want to know more?
Pre-order the book (set for release mid-July). Can’t wait until July? Then sign up for our Google Adwords Success Workshop!
Posted by steve loszewski at 21:25 pm | Filed In Google, Google Relevancy Ranking
Apr
30
Wheeeee. Google updates PR numbers in the toolbar every few months, and another update is happening. The numbers on the toolbar don’t represent anything that Google uses for rankings in its algorithm, except in an abstract way. The hip thing to do if you’re an SEOer is just to ignore it. I have the Google toolbar installed on my browser, and I still look at the numbers. Here’s what I use the numbers for:
- Get a general idea if Google’s spider sees a page or counts it for anything. In particular, I look out for the grey bar.
- Get a general idea of whether a page has links or whether a page is linked to from other pages that have links.
- Show clients that, indeed, I have gotten their site some new links, pointing out an increase in toolbar PageRank.
Read More »
