Atilus Internet Marketing & Web Development

If you perform any kind of web services, particularly web marketing services, you are probably familiar with many of the keyword tools available. Pay per click marketing, and search engine optimization gurus, for example, are probably all-too-familiar with Google, Yahoo and Wordtracker’s keyword tools. There are many keyword tools available (some free, some not so free), that allow you to find and extract keywords that your target audience is searching for.

But, today, a revolution has happened!!!!!

Google released their amazing “Google Insights” tool.

The tool, pulling data directly from Google’s database of searches, allows you to target categories, timelines, and even… specific areas!

By choosing some or all of the above you can then hone in on words and phrases that are a) not only currently being heavily searched for but also b) find terms that are quickly gaining speed. Every web or internet marketer needs to add this tool to their repertoire immediately!

P.S. you can also use the tool to predict the future.

06 Aug | Post by Zach Katkin. Filed under Internet Marketing.

Don’t break the rules! I just discovered an interesting thing. My colleague, senor Scott Clark, wrote a post about his new blog youtech.me. I did a quick search for the title online:

http://www.google.com/search?q=Promote+your+web+venture

Atilus does pretty well, between 1 & 2 depending on when you search. Not bad at all! Google is routinely indexing the site and we have seen our posts on Google in as little as 5 minutes.

But, as many of you know I authored a post the other day on “How to get on techcrunch.com,” and I decided to quick see if that one was popping up:

http://www.google.com/search?q=How+to+Get+on+TechCrunch.com

No Atilus. Strange.

I then searched for the actual page and wah-lah (is that how you spell that)…. nothing.

It seems that Google completely ignored or excluded this page from their index. Why? Well, it is really my fault. Most of it was copied (although cited) verbatim from the original post.

The point is DO NOT COPY TEXT FROM OTHER websites. It will not be indexed and may hurt your rankings.

I am going to lick my wounds, edit the post, and pray that Google forgives me.

30 Jul | Post by Zach Katkin. Filed under Internet Marketing, SEO, Search Engine Optimization.

YouTech.me, created by serial web entrepreneurs for web entrepreneurs, know how difficult it is to simultaneously create, operate and market a new web venture.

That is why they have created Youtech.me, which offers an avenue to showcase your new application to the tech world.

They are going to be scouring the internet looking for new and old web based applications that they fancy to write reviews of these applications, which will include notes on design, functionality and ease of use among others.

But you can grease the wheel, so don’t be shy and navigate to their contact form and fill out all sections, including a 3-4 sentence comprehensive description of your application that you wish for them to include in a blog post about you.

Yes! They are eager to write a review of your site!

Things just got fun again!

29 Jul | Post by Scott L. Clark. Filed under Internet Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Tech Trends.

Found this fantastic information from Guy Kawasaki’s “How to Change the World” blog.

Ever wondered how you can get on techcrunch.com? Techcrunch is one of the most visited blogs about technology, particularly web-based start-ups available. Landing a writeup on your product or company can send hundreds of thousands of visitors your way and has been responsible for launching the careers and dynasties of many web based businesses. So how do you get on?

Well according to editor Michael (Mike) Arrington it seems pretty simple.

Getting To Pitch

There are two conventional ways to pitch to Techcrunch.com (pitch to have your company or website written about):

1. Easiest way is to send a pitch to editor@techcrunch.com. According to Arrington approximately 30 pitches per day come in through this email.

2. Keep great company. The second most popular, and the most effective way to get on to techcrunch.com is through a venture capital company or a tech celebrity that can vouch for you. Much like the mafia Techcrunch.com will only speak to you if you’re known - or know someone that. Approximately 10 pitches come to techcrunch.com through “known” sources or VC’s.

Unconventional (not recommended): It’s been rumored for years that Mike has a recurring nightmare about Dolphins. So, it has been suggested that you can wait outside Mike’s Atherton California residence dressed as a Bottlenose and bully him into listening to your pitch.

Pitching it Right

Mike and his team have seen a lot. At over 40 pitches a day, they have to wade through a lot of messy web apps. “We combine one’s love of cats with Google maps…” really? The truth is a great pitch is less about how polished you are (your fingers can be shaking as you type), and more about how solid your company and idea is.

Some key suggestions the article and Mike mention in his presentation is something you should have learned in your sophomore English class, stay away from cliche’s and hit him quick! No “revolutionary, web 2.0, social”… if you can help it of course. And, don’t use two words when one will do.

Check out the full article or watch the video below:

28 Jul | Post by Zach Katkin. Filed under Blogging, Internet Marketing.

Thanks to Joe Baz and digg.com found this tidbit.

U.S. businesses will spend $US105.3 billion on Internet advertising and marketing in 2008, according to new the third annual advertising and marketing report from . It’s a milestone measurement as that figure now exceeds spending on TV, radio and movies which is worth $98.5 billion.

Three-quarters of the more than 1,000 U.S. advertisers surveyed for the report said that websites were their most effective lead generation tool, even when put up against activities such as exhibitions, trade magazines and custom pubs.

Original Article

For companies doing Internet marketing and measuring the results, the matter is clear:

Websites [are the] most effective lead generation tool

No matter what business you are in, no matter what geographic region you target, no matter what demographic, there are no more excuses, the most effective way to get business is online.

25 Jul | Post by Zach Katkin. Filed under Internet Marketing, Uncategorized.

If you run a search for “Comcast Sucks” on Google, you will find a tremendous number of search results (approximately 125,000) all centered around the media company’s lack luster image. There are a serious number of popular blogs, viral videos, and chat forums that have chosen lamb basting Comcast customer service as their niche.

SO why is Comcast still a national leader in cellular and telecommunication services despite the lack of favor shared for their customer service by a growing number of their consumers?

Even in consumer reports Comcast ranks fourth from last among leading internet service providers (ISP), third from last among nationally branded television service providers, fourth from last in long distance telecommunication services, and SECOND FROM LAST in overall national scores!

And yet these are the profit results from Quarter 1 2008:

Snapshot: 1Q Results
COMCAST
Revenue: $8.4 billion, up 14%
Operating Income: $1.6 billion, up 23%
Free Cash Flow: $702 million, up 59%

The LA Times reported that in the fourth quarter of 2007, Comcast said it signed up 613,000 digital video subscribers and added a net 508,000 digital phone customers along with 488,000 high speed Internet subscribers.

SO again, why is Comcast still a national service providing leader if they fail to meet the needs of the consumer, particularly in customer service?

Marketing.

Comcast has “moved to a more aggressive marketing plan,” Comcast chief operating officer Steve Burke said, with new double- and single-play offers, increasing marketing spending in the quarter about 20% year over year. (Multi Channel News)

They are buying their way to the top.

But how long until the internet, with the help of social media tools and applications, builds momentum giving the consumer a louder, clearer more powerful voice that can neither be stifled nor ignored?

How long until media conglomerates and other big businesses will have to begin spending more on damage control and less on buying their consumers?

25 Jul | Post by Scott L. Clark. Filed under Internet Marketing, Tech Trends, social media.

I attended a search engine marketing seminar last week and wanted to share some of the information that was talked about and some of the VERY interesting statistics provided.

SEM – Search Engine Marketing, stands for all of the techniques and strategies involved in marketing your website on search engines (google, msn, yahoo, etc.). When you do a search you will see two lists of results, one typically on the left hand site, called the organic results. These are non-paid positions, these are the pages that Google thinks you are looking for. The other set of results, usually on the right as well as sometimes at the very top are the paid or sponsored results, these are ads who have said to Google, “Google when someone searches for XYZ I want my ad for XYZ to appear.”

Search engine optimization is the practice of coming up in the first set of listings (the organic listings). Pay Per Click marketing (PPC) is the practice of placing, and paying for the ads on the right side, or sponsored links section.

Pay Per Click Marketing - As the name implies, pay per click ads only cost money when they are actually clicked on. IE, you are only charged when quality, targeted traffic is sent to your website. This is unlike a magazine, or website banner ad, where typically you will  pay for general placement and/or the number of times it is shown.

Interesting Statistics:
70% of users click on organic listings
30% of users click on paid listings, but these are much more well informed consumers who are ready to purchase or buy

5.6 Billion searches are currently done each month
95% of searches are done for local products, services, resources
Only 5% of all advertising online is spent on locally targeted advertising

54% of consumers have completely switched from the yellow pages as their primary resource for finding stuff (businesses, services, etc.) to online

Results from PPC are typically experienced from a campaign that has been firing on all cylinders for 3 – 6 months.

Wow! Those are some amazing statistics. Unfortunately the sources were not mentioned, but if they are true they shed some tremendous light on the industry and where it is headed. First of all it is very encouraging to hear that the 30% of people who use the sponsored links are looking to purchase. I don’t feel so bad about trying to break some 25% click-through-rate (CTR) barriers. This stat, if accurate, can be used by search engine marketeres as the true barrier of PPC CTRs.

And 95% of searches are done for local goods and services, but only 5% of advertising online is spent on this market. As heavily involved in both these realms, pay per click marketing and local business, this was a no-brainer, but this statistic really drives the point home. It feels that the online market, especially for local business is here for the taking, and with only 5% targeting this audience (and most NOT doing such a great job), competition is low and so are prices.

So in conclusion, whether you use a professional or do-it-yourself, if you are a small business,  your audience is online (more than half have completely turned away from the yellow pages), and you should be using search engine marketing (PPC, SEO) to get to that audience.

21 Jul | Post by Zach Katkin. Filed under Internet Marketing.

I was laying in bed last night thinking about Kevin Costner - as I do most Wednesday evenings. I had just finished watching The Guardian, a terrific tale of heroism, bravery, and overcoming ones past. I decided to get up to get a glass of water, when in my sleepless state I wandered onto Digg.com (if you’re not familiar with Digg I highly recommend checking it out).

Anyway, one of the top Digg’s of the day was “8 Memorable Movie Misquotes,” one of which quoted my idol KC (my nickname for Kevin Costner). I was reading the list when all of a sudden, BAM, it hit me…

Kevin Costner Killed the Inter-Web!

Most people who have seen, or have heard of the movie Field of Dreams, knows the flick is famous for the line:

If you build it, they will come.

But, unfortunately that’s not entirely true. Many times this seems to be the mantra of many new or potential clients. All I need do is built it, a web presence (a website, a shopping cart, a web application) and they will come - customers, clients, leads, sales, etc. But, unfortunately the quote really went:

If you build it, he will come.

Just one word, but a profound difference. And that’s how the Inter-web works, and life and business works too. If you build your site and adhere to a certain set of guidelines one or two or a few may come, but really, how is anyone supposed to know you’re there, know your products beat competitors or know you have a service that will solve some need?

Marketing!

The web is no different. Rough estimates put nearly 110 Million distinct websites on the Net, with nearly 20 billion pages. What is going to differentiate you, how are your customers going to find you through all of this mess?

So, keep Kevin Costner in mind when building your website (and in your general life too), he is a wise man, but a misquote from a nearly 20 year old movie has led to a lot of unsucessful web ventures.

17 Jul | Post by Zach Katkin. Filed under Internet Marketing.

You have already taken a huge step towards marketing success by choosing to create a website to promote your company, sell your products and services, as well as brand your company online.

But with all the ways to conventionally and unconventionally market your website, which direction is best?

Read the rest of this entry …

16 Jul | Post by Scott L. Clark. Filed under Business, Internet Marketing.

For the most part, I understand StumbleUpon.com, and certainly since receiving great reviews and excellent ratings, I very much appreciate Stumble Upon.

After limited research, I have not been able to find significant information regarding the specifics of the system and algorithm used by Stumble Upon to garner a sites’ star rating, which star you are rated at and why, and at what level your site/page is served to participating Stumblers as they Stumble. I am sure that the number of Stumbled page views, subsequent ratings, whether thumbs up or down, play a majority role, but at what level?

More specifically, I have the following questions:

1) How are sites/pages given a star rating? What is that rating based upon? How can a rating be affected positively or negatively?

2) Is there a more refined directory of pages that have been stumbled? For instance, Atilus.com has many Stumbled pages with varying ratings, so where is a list of those pages so that I can actively monitor success?

I would love to understand this excellent service more. Can anyone offer me insight on this topic? Please provide me and my readers with as much information as possible, and I will personally respond to all those that post.

Thanks.

11 Jul | Post by Scott L. Clark. Filed under Community, Internet Marketing.