Game Changers: Everything Old Is New Again

“Old media” like newspapers, broadcast television advertising and nonprofit appeals are moving in the right direction by forming alliances with social media, mobile and other emerging platforms.

Our latest “Game Changers” review of important news developments looks at recent changes that are impacting both old and new media in a positive way.  Here are four transformations worth keeping an eye on.    

The New York Times and Paid Content

The New York Times announced last week that it will begin charging for online content starting in January 2011.  The Wall Street Journal, Consumer Reports and a handful of other publications already charge for some or all of their content.  PM Digital’s Chris Paradysz predicted in a prior blog post that this would become a trend in 2010 – the NY Times move announced this week supports that.  As a long-time reader of the NY Times, I have watched the steady shrinkage of the paper.  Some of this has been due to cost-cutting and, more recently, fewer advertisements.  Circulation is down, too.  Surely the NY Times needs a new business model to withstand these circumstances. Should the paper ever wither away and shut down, it would be a real loss of quality content.  I support the Times’ new fee structure and definitely plan on paying for it.

Text Donations and the Evolution of Payment

Texted donations brought millions of dollars in aid for Haiti.  American Red Cross’ 90999 and UNICEF’s 20222 raised considerable sums though this method.   Based on the amount of individual donations received through texting, it appears that the simplicity and speed millions experienced in making their donations this way is appealing.  Another success driver is ease of advertising, which was done widely on TV.  Also notable is that the 90%+ abandon rates typically seen with website  donations were not a factor with the texting method. 

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Sears Marketplace and the Importance of Brand Control

Sears Marketplace launched last week with an impressive roster of retail clients for its new shopping portal.  On the surface, Sears appeared to have been quite successful at lining up an array of A-List partners.  Since PM Digital typically arranges and manages the feeds for these types of product listings, we were curious why many of our clients were there without our direct involvement.

It soon became clear that a few of our comparison shopping engine partners (CSEs) and their blind syndication networks were at play.  Our tracking revealed that Sears Marketplace was getting their content from Shopping.com.   Further research told us that Shopping.com was syndicating to Shop.com, which in turn was feeding to Sears Marketplace.

Unfortunately our own clients had never given permission to provide content to Sears Marketplace, and based on what many have told us over the past few days, they definitely would not have agreed to such a thing.  It is no surprise that marketers — especially those with upscale brands — would have preferred to decide for themselves whether partnering with Sears was brand appropriate.

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10 for 2010: What Matters Most for Natural Search Success in the New Year

As the New Year turns, it’s normal to look ahead. So here is my list of what’s coming up in the world of natural search for 2010.  In lieu of predictions, however, I’d like to offer up something a bit more actionable: a rundown of key areas that will require online marketers’ focus and attention to maximize natural search success in the coming year.

1.  Mobile Matters – I have actually been beating the mobile drum since I worked on mobile search in 1997, but this year, mobile really matters. (Google and Apple have spent almost $1 billion in the last quarter to buy mobile ad networks…that should tell you something!) The growth of mobile is torrid and with the rise of the smartphone and ubiquitous 3G, mobile search is working. In 2010, you will see an appreciable amount of traffic from mobile browsers. Are you thinking of how you can present yourself to the mobile user? If you aren’t now, you should be.

2. Images Matter – Visual search is hot. There have been dozens and dozens of early stage visual search engines that have been no better than demo-ware. But Google Image search has exploded, and we see that our clients are driving traffic through images searches. (If you are looking for a red dress, doesn’t it make sense to look for the red dress in pictures?) And with the advent of Google Goggles, image search will continue to explode. Are you optimizing your images to be relevant and available for image search?

3. Not Being a Dog Matters – Do you remember this incredible cartoon which touted the invisibility of who you are online? Well, the world has changed dramatically since then, and your reputation as a marketer is now well known on the internet. In 2009, I suggested that reputation was about to become an important part of the online world, and 2010 that will become even more valuable. How you behave as a marketer, how you share information with customers, and how you engage with customers will have an impact on your search visibility in 2010.

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DMNews Interviews Chris Paradysz on Marketing Trends for 2010

DMNews recently interviewed Chris Paradysz, CEO, PM Digital, and asked him to elaborate on the some of the key trends he saw for direct marketers in 2010.  The original DMNews interview can be found here.

DMNews: Search marketing continues to command the lion’s share of online budgets. How will we see that channel evolve this year?

Chris Paradysz: Consumers have radically improved their search and online sophistication as a result of having less cash but still buying what they need to live, feed and clothe their families, pay their bills, enjoy their passions and manage their health.  Search phrases are more targeted because they know more about how to get what they’re looking for.

DMNews: Does that make it more competitive for marketers?

Chris Paradysz: Definitely. Consumers are only willing to pay for the value they perceive and no more.  If they don’t like what they’re offered, they click away to a place where they can get it at the price they want.  From better targeting at the shopping engines to features like private sale sites, the top retailers are adapting. At the same time the squeeze is on consumers, the search engines have brought enormous changes to their technologies.  With the newly released Google Caffeine, for instance, posts from YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other social media are getting instant, top billing bringing an even more urgent real-time experience to searchers.

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The Outlook for 2010

The facts, the stats, and the true in-the-trenches business experiences from 2009 now tell us a lot about what to expect for 2010.  Below is a quick review of some of the key things online marketers should look for in the coming year.

A Slow Recovery

There will be continued slow recovery in US consumer spending, especially for large purchases due to a lack of discretionary cash (not income, per se), increased savings rates and a general adjustment to this new “now”.  2008 changed buying behavior to a “no”-first shopping mindset and 2009 cemented a value-only, thrifty approach.  2010 won’t change this.  Unemployment, under-employment and slow-growth for the private sector are the engines that are choking back substantive improvements in consumer confidence.  While there are certain job sectors re-igniting hiring, most industries will only begin to replace the attrition they forced during the lean 2008 and 2009.

Pent-Up Demand from the Jet-Set

For the super-wealthy demographic, expect that luxury items will be back in vogue as pent-up demand for jewelry, cars, homes, boats, fashion, at today’s reduced costs, increases.  Unfortunately, this is unlikely to offset the dramatic fall-off seen from the much larger affluent group that accounted for much of the demand growth during the run-up to the recession.

Personal Fulfillment for the Rest of Us

The definition of discretionary has changed relative to consumer purchases and buying behavior.  Where, pre-recession, this meant items people didn’t need but wanted, the recession and its epic duration have people focused on their hobbies and passions to relieve stress and to add back pleasure in their lives.  No longer considered discretionary, these hobbies and their related items and services have become part of the indispensable.  I anticipate revenues from home improvement, home-based interests like gardening and exercise, and passion hobbies like crafts, music, fishing, etc. stay in vogue and continue to capture wallet share.

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Last Minute Thoughts on Holiday Online Retail

The major snowstorm on the East Coast on Saturday and Sunday lifted online sales for 67% of PM Digital’s retail clients an estimated 10% vs. what they would have seen for the weekend without the storm.  For the apparel category, specifically, this lift affected 71% of PM Digital clients.

The strong weekend results for online sales is icing on the cake to a strong overall holiday season for ecommerce.  As has been reported by comScore and others, online sales are up year over year in 2009 vs. 2008, so there is a lot to celebrate.

Some of the key drivers in lifting sales this year in particular were 1) promotions; 2) gift cards; 3) egift cards) 4) accurate forecasting (running budgets high on the best days and scaling back on lower-converting days), and 5) taking advantage of best practices in search strategies.

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A Final Holiday Prediction for Online Retail

Significant marketing opportunities remain during the final shopping days of 2009.

Using this year’s performance data, including clicks, conversions and sales, combined with the current demand run rate versus forecasts, I anticipate a rapidly accelerating online growth curve beginning on December 16th and 17th and growing through that weekend. And, the last-minute burst on the 21st to beat the shipping cutoff is going to be unprecedented. There’s a big opportunity to get ahead of this with promotions, search copy and even bid management so retailers can capture the demand and take a little pressure off the order influx.

There have been significant buying pattern shifts all Holiday season, particularly during the Black Friday to CyberMonday run-up. Consumers who have been waiting it out for better promotions will be rewarded as they have been now for the past two seasons. We believe we’re going to see progressive growth starting this weekend, and that this year’s high-water mark could surpass CyberMonday.

Ready For a Cuppa?

Google Caffeine’s obsession with speed will bring tremendous opportunities for marketers in 2010 – but you’d better get moving now.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am mildly obsessed with coffee. I savor it, gulp it, glory in it. But really, it is all about the caffeine. Caffeine makes me feel alive. Caffeine makes me engaged. Caffeine makes my heart purr along at 600 beats per minute. Caffeine is essential. Google shares my love for the caffeinated lifestyle. They are obsessed with speed. They want their servers chugging along like they’ve spent the afternoon with 400 of their favorite baristas. Google is ready to rock Caffeine, their new internal search architecture.  Google Caffeine is ready to roll out after the holidays.

What Does Google Caffeine Mean to Marketers?

Fundamentally, it doesn’t change your current search positions a lot. The essential algorithm that Google uses to determine which sites are relevant for particular terms isn’t really changing that much in the near term (but look out…big changes are coming…more on that before Christmas). But there are nuances that are becoming evident:

1. Indexing - Caffeine is all about indexing speed for Google. How many more pages can Google add to its index and how quickly?  Caffeine represents a significant change in Google’s housekeeping. This is good for Google. They are speeding up the indexing because the web is exploding in its growth. (See my Here Comes The Flood for more info on the whats, whys, and wheres of the explosions).  Google needs to get faster so that it can keep up with the deluge of new information and links. The takeaway for marketers is that you can expect to see your newer pages show up in the index (but not necessarily well ranked) sooner. Speed of indexation is good, but a bigger index means that you have even MORE work to do to keep yourself visible. You will likely have to do less work to become seen by Google, but more work to be visible to searchers.

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Paid Search and ROI: A Sure Thing for Marketers this Holiday Season

Invest in search now to put you a step ahead in 2010.

Depending on your definition of ‘investment’ and ‘return’, search this Holiday is being asked to be as solid as investing in dollars in 2005.  And, for most, it will deliver. But search’s ability as an investment vehicle today is struggling, better yet, starving for capital.

Many players have narrowed paid search’s scope and potential because of the need to deliver month-over-month revenue and profit consistency, despite the fact that year over year, search has proven it can be a consistent, star performer. And in better economies, it was used to prod the market because of its unique ability to instantly gauge and measure interest in products, services, messaging, brand positioning, promotions and more.

As we sit here on Cyber Monday during a time of year when experimentation can be disproportionately higher (to capitalize on naturally higher yields), do we run the risk of compromising next year’s opportunities for this year’s demand and profits?  The answer is yes. But let’s be sure that we understand the expense implications for next year when aggressive growth will be back in vogue and required by management and shareholders.  There will be zero tolerance and jobs will be on the line – talk about pressure.

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Top 5 Free SEO Tools for Marketers

Our recent acquisition of SpinShark has enabled PM Digital to go deep with clients on new strategies for improving natural search and page rank.  While pretty much any business benefits from outside counsel and perspective regarding SEO, there are also things that marketers can do themselves to gain insight on how to continually optimize their web properties for maximum exposure.

To that end, below are five easy-to-use SEO tools that we encourage any marketer to check out. And best of all, they’re all free!

1. SEOTools Back Link Analyzer

Back Link Analyzer quickly determines anchor text, page title and number of inbound links to a page. This is a great tool that gives you insight to how the page gets its visibility in search. Links are food for search engines, and this tool gives you an idea how satisfying your page (or a competitor’s page) is. We use this tool to inform our link building and search improvement activities.

2. Website Grader

True to its name, Website Grader attempts to “grade” the effectiveness of your website vs. competitors. It provides a score that incorporates things like website traffic, SEO, social popularity and other technical factors. This tool gives you a great way to objectively look at your page from a search perspective. It looks at all of the on-page elements that search engines look at and points out your weaknesses. Website Grader is a great tool that provides objective measurement with a no-nonsense result.

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