Yup -- you read the headline right. Avinash Kaushik, author of our top
inbound marketing
article this week, isn't kidding, and we agree.
Kaushik's blog post focuses on the concept of direct traffic and why you should take advantage of the valuable opportunity it offers.
1. Excellent Analytics Tip #18: Make Love to Your Direct Traffic
Author: Avinash Kaushik on Occam’s Razor
Direct traffic, in the words of Avinash, "contains all visits to your website wherein people arrived at your site directly (by typing the URL) or via a bookmark."
Kaushik discusses the value of visitors who have reached your site via direct traffic, in that they are the visitors who have proactively sought you out, not those you've "begged" to show up. He writes about how companies generally don't give them the love they deserve and analyzes the reasons why.
Marketing Takeaway: Implement web analytics tools appropriately so you can correctly identify and give your direct traffic visitors the love they deserve.
2. Web Analytics, The Wonder Cure for Funnel Crappiness
Author: Evan LaPointe on Search Engine Land
While we're on the topic of web analytics, this Search Engine Land article cites a blog post by Seth Godin, which emphasizes the terrible, contagious disease that is Funnel Crappiness (FC). The solution? Web analytics, of course!
The article goes on to describe how web analytics can alleviate FC , by helping you lessen the occurrence of tactical arguments, improve your operations, and help your chief financial officer do his or her job.
Marketing Takeaway:
Take advantage of web analytics to reduce the crappiness of your funnel.
3. Rules for Your About Page
Author: Seth Godin on Seth Godin’s Blog
Speaking of Seth Godin, we love the simple guidelines he offers in this article for an effective 'About' page. Because your About page is often the first page a person visits when accessing your website for the first time, he stresses the importance of making it humanized and welcoming. Godin's five tips:
- Don't use meaningless jargon.
- Don't use a stock photo of someone who isn't you.
- Make it easy to contact you.
- Be human.
- Use third party comments and testimonials to establish credibility.
Marketing Takeaway:
Your About page should be personal and make it easy for site visitors to learn more about you.
4. Is Our Addiction to ROI Killing Social Media?
Author: Matt Ridings on Convince & Convert
In an industry where we're obsessed with the ability to clearly demonstrate ROI, Matt dares to question whether measuring the ROI of social media campaigns is always necessary. His main point is that sometimes social media measurements can be tied directly to financial transactions, but sometimes they can't. Additionally, he recognizes the flaw in spending more time counting than actually doing.
Matt concludes his article by saying that you should measure the ROI of your social media programs as best as you can, but the inability to precisely measure ROI shouldn’t be an obstacle to social participation.
Marketing Takeaway:
Measuring your marketing is important, but don't obsess over ROI when it comes to
social media marketing
.
5. How to Maximize Your Google Places Page
Author: Jay Ehret on The Marketing Spot
Have you claimed your business' page on Google Places ? Google Places, says Ehret, is a modern-day version of the Yellow Pages, and it comes with a free ad for every business in the form of pages.
He expresses the importance of maximizing your page, particularly for local search benefits, and tips for getting the most from your page through a five-minute video tutorial and three written tips: getting customer reviews, creating current content, and adding photos and videos.
Marketing Takeaway: Claim and optimize your Googl e Places page for local search benefits.
Photo Credit: Certified Su
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Curtis Andrew 9:03 AM on October 04, 2010
Great list of important articles.
Seth Godin always makes me laugh with his articles.
I really found Matt's article interesting and I think he is on to something here. Let's focus on building relationships with social media first, ROI second.
How do you measure the ROI of all the conversations you had at a cocktail party? That doesn't mean it wasn't valuable to network and socialize...
Promo Direct 9:32 AM on October 04, 2010
Seth Godin is always remarkable, I improved my marketing skills mostly reading his blog post.
Secure Wireless Networks 10:08 AM on October 04, 2010
I agree with the top article about direct traffic. The visitors that have directly searched you out need specific attention! They are sometimes the most qualified because someone referred them to you or they have already heard about you and are ready to make a purchase!
Kelly Marsh 11:07 AM on October 04, 2010
Local marketing is huge right now, thanks for the tips.
Matt Ridings 1:21 PM on October 04, 2010
Honored by the inclusion here, and thanks for the comments.
Eddie Gear 9:55 PM on October 04, 2010
Awesome article. Well written. Thanks for sharing this Pamela. A question though, If every one followed the same way of writing an about page dont you know that it would be robotic and seemingly static. I think pages like about us need to have a personal twist to make it unique.
nirwana 12:32 AM on October 09, 2010
Your article is very good, because Kaushik discusses the value of visitors who have reached your site through direct traffic, that they are visitors who have been proactive in seeking you out, not those you have "begged" to appear.