If you are not focused on explicitly measuring your internet marketing efforts and tying those efforts back to an actual increase in revenue or reduction in costs then you should just start over from scratch.

Here’s a recent article from Search Engine Watch that should help to spark a few ideas around tracking your offline and online conversions.

Want to become an email marketing expert? No problem.
Need to start a pay-per-click advertising campaign? Easy.
Looking to create a cool microsite for a new product? Done.

When you start pulling all of the pieces together things tend to get complicated. How do you make sure that all of your efforts are working in concert and that your overall spend is being put to good use? I use a pyramid analogy to demonstrate the basic building blocks required to successfully execute on an internet marketing plan.

Lets look at each one of the pieces and how they all stack up together:

1. Compelling Websites – This one is not really about internet marketing as much as it is about common sense. If you do not have a website…a *compelling* website…than you are wasting your time. Whether you are promoting a product or selling a service, the rules are the same. Having an engaging site that pulls people in and makes them want to stay is Internet Marketing 101. You would be surprised at how many organizations miss this (especially in the B2B world) so it’s not as obvious a point as one might think.

2. Search Engine Marketing – Once you have your house in order then it makes sense to start promoting it. This building block of the internet marketing mix breaks down into search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. By focusing on Google first, Yahoo second and Microsoft third, you will be able to drive both organic and paid traffic to your…ahem…compelling site.

3. Email Marketing – Still the most effective way to engage in a conversation with customers and prospects, this is one of the keys to your internet marketing mix. Whether or not you operate in a B2B or a B2C environment, the people on your house list have ASKED to be there. These people expect to receive information from you and it would be a shame to let them down.

4. Social Media – This is the most fluid area today based on the constantly changing landscape of services coupled with finicky consumers. The point always remains the same, however. You can choose to ignore them but communities are forming everyday around your brand. Choosing to participate in these communities is equivalent to choosing to support your brand and its reputation. Choosing not to participate is the equivalent of choosing to operate at a competitive disadvantage. It’s your choice.

5. Analytics – You can explicitly measure everything online. Everything. That’s the best part of the internet marketing mix. Your analytics can be used to gain insight into trends from real time data which then allows you to adjust your strategies. The results are nothing short of beautiful when your analytics are in place and well understood.

If you understand and execute on these five points you will be well ahead of your competition with few exceptions. Good luck and feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss a speaking opportunity or want more information about some of the details.

Read the first post about Google Suggest and its affect on SEO

UPDATE: Since posting this article Google has updated their terms of service for the Google Chrome product. Still not entirely consumer friendly it is *much* better than the original and even carries a Google apology along with the terms of service amendment.

Is it just me or does that new model car on the road make the model only 1 year older look like it has aged decades? You know the feeling. You put down a massive amount of money on a new car and 1 year later the new model comes out. Your car looks completely outdated at that point. I suppose we can chalk the sensation up to good design.

Speaking of which…..I hopped on the Google Chrome bandwagon as soon as it was released. Switching back to Firefox 3.0 gave me that old car sensation. Is Google onto something? I wouldn’t say that they have completely changed the landscape but they have created something very useful.

Pros –

1. Javascript heavy web apps load a heck of a lot faster. Noticeably faster. I mean *really* fast.
2. The minimalist design is worth mentioning. The amount of screen real estate available for websites is increased without sacrificing necessary browser features.
3. Desktop shortcuts for your favorite web applications: Similar to Mozilla’s Prism offering you are able to create desktop shortcuts for any web app that you frequent. Handy.
4. The name….Google Chrome. While I may not have tricked out my car, I have tricked out my internet experience.

Cons –

1. Third party cookie support…ugh. This is the biggest con for me and something that everyone should be paying attention to. Google Chrome allows for third party cookie support out of the box. You are then required to turn this feature off in the options menu if you so desire. My opinion: By default, all browsers should disable third party cookies thereby creating an opt-in solution vs. an opt-out solution.
   <sarcasm> I wonder if this has anything to do with DoubleClick? </sarcasm>
2. Privacy. Google Chrome has the potential to leak massive amounts of information about you….the internet user. While nothing catastrophic in the way of an overflow or other attack has been discovered, the potential is there.
3. As per usual, the Google terms of service is not very consumer friendly.

UPDATE:  Since writing this post a watchful and attentive reader (Michael of CloudSherpas.com) has pointed out that PicLens has been re-branded and launched as Cool Iris.  I find myself using Cool Iris almost exclusively for image searches via Google images or Yahoo photos.  Extremely useful and worth everyone’s time.

A picture is worth a thousand words.  Right? Well, along that same line of thought several visual search engines have been developed.  Here is a quick rundown:

- Kartoo: This is the best visual search engine for determining relationships of sites based on your search term.  They group similar listings in folders and show the interconnected web that we weave….presumably through a link popularity algorithm.

- Quintura:  This site is visual only in the sense that related search terms are displayed in a large column on the left hand side.

- Searchme:  Coverflow for your search results.  ‘Nuff said.

Overall, I prefer Searchme as a visual search engine.  The interface is clean and the results are comparable to Google.  We all love eye candy and Searchme delivers in this area.

One thing to note about visual search engines would be their SEO/SEM implications.  If visual search catches on (I wouldn’t be surprised to see this feature in Gng sometime soon) than not only will your current SEO/SEM efforts contribute to your success but the visual layout will also be an important factor.  An interesting mix of SEO and user interface design efforts will be required to rocket you to the top and……more importantly……capture those eyeballs with a click.

• July 11th is the launch date for the new 3G iPhone.
• July 11th is also the launch date for the App store in iTunes.

From an internet marketing perspective, you should care about this date even if you do not own an iPhone (only a few million of us do at this point).  You should care because the launch date of this new phone is likely to place a renewed emphasis on the GPS chip that is already in many smart phones today.  I’m not giving Apple credit for putting a GPS chip in a cell phone……hardly……but I am giving them credit for putting the tools required to take true advantage of this functionality in the hands of developers.

Keep your eye on the ball.  Here are a few trends to watch:

Geoblogging: location-aware blogging adds a new layer to one’s posts and comments on the internet.

Location-based Advertising (Are we calling this something else yet?): You are in a new city…….say, Seattle…..and you really want a cup ‘o joe.  Power up the GPS enabled cellphone with Google Maps loaded on it and off you go.  Oh yeah….and Google Adsense will be adopted to provide coupons/discounts to those stores closest to you.  Location based advertising will be HUGE.

What I really like about Seth’s blog posts, books and public talks is his ability to boil things down to the most simple terms.

You should read his most recent post on B2B marketing. Twice.

The challenge for B2B marketers is still how to most effectively use the internet to their advantage. I’m still seeing far too many corporations struggle with how to engage their prospective clients online. Sure, sure….you can do some basic things.

- Publish a white paper.
- Hold webinars for new product releases.
- Make sure your email marketing habits are consistent.

But at the end of the day I can easily argue that B2C marketers have mastered the “art of the close” online.

Point:
How Social Networking Could Kill Web Search as We Know It

- “Search, as we know it, is dead.”
- …the people in your online social network should know you better than a mathematical equation…
- …we are essentially meta-tagging ourselves through our social networking memberships…

This point is an interesting attack on search and how the game is changing. In previous posts I have argued that social search is ultimately Yahoo’s strategic bet.

Counterpoint:
Finding the Right Signals to Rank Search Results

- “Search has always been about people.”
- “It’s about getting people what they need.”
- “Signals from your friends are better signals, stronger signals.”

All of the quotes from this counterpoint come from Udi Manber, VP for search quality at Google. The message here? Google is paying attention and is well aware of our collective ability to tag information. Ultimately, this can only help Google to deliver better search results….not hurt them.

Now, Facebook is a different beast altogether. You have a generation of college students out in the workforce who spent a good portion of their college careers hanging out on Facebook. They are still visiting the site regularly but their lives have shifted to the business world.

Enter Twitter. This short messaging phenomena has had a solid 1.5 to 2 years of growth and even Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have an account. Evan Williams strikes again.

OK…still with me?

Enter Qik. This one was a point of no return for me. Buy a Nokia phone (more will be supported as this product moves out of Alpha) and stream *live* (fairly decent quality) video to the internet. An impressive service indeed…

So lets pull it all together.

You are a real estate agent (for example). You build a network of prospective buyers on Facebook (immediate notification is not key but staying in the loop for your clients is a must). You build a network of real estate professionals on Twitter (immediate notification in short message form is a must for this group). Then you stream live video of properties for sale via Qik.

Qik sends an automatic update to Twitter (immediate notification for real estate professionals). The whole thing is eventually archived on Facebook (to keep your prospective clients in the loop).

Your cost for these services? Currently they are all free but require that you painstakingly build a network of individuals and groups that are interested in what you have to say.

I hope you’re still with me.