I’m not a great fan of Amazon. But as much as I dislike their practices, I can’t stop using their services. One of the things that I grudgingly admire is their website. And considering the amount of money they make from all of us, I think it’s only fair to take a few of their ideas and use them on … Read More
Google declare war on desktop software (for now)
Don’t skim this post. It may affect you – if not today or tomorrow, then at some point. If you sell desktop software through AdWords, you need to be aware of Google’s new stance against your business. Google recently unveiled a new AdWords policy on desktop software, “Unsupported content: free desktop software”. “The AdWords policy on unsupported content will change in April 2015. … Read More
You may not have to be that much better
Why do Google keep updating Analytics on an ongoing basis? It’s not just about keeping up with new technology, and it certainly goes a lot further than cosmetic changes. So why do they invest an immense number of developer hours into something that is not only free, but has almost no competition? It’s all about tiers. Every market has different levels … Read More
The components of loss and retention
Retaining customers has a lot in common with getting more exercise. We know how important it is, we sometimes feel powerless to affect it, and it often takes a crisis to make us actually do something constructive about it. One of the reasons for this is the apparent lack of tangible data points for us to latch on to. Every Wednesday … Read More
A brief interview with Jason Cohen
Over the next few months we’re going to be interviewing some of the more interesting people in our industry. The first of these, Jason Cohen, really needs no introduction, and his list of accomplishments is both extensive and impressive. Most of you will know him as the founder of Smart Bear and WPEngine, and also the writer behind the excellent a smart bear … Read More
Don’t give up on us
You may have noticed that the frequency of our posts has plummeted slightly over recent months. We’re moving the whole of our website into WordPress, and it’s slow and painful. Which is why we hired a company to do the job for us. Equally slow and painful. But we’re almost there – please bear with us, we’ll be back very shortly.
Invalid Clicks are meaningless?
Click Fraud poses one of the greatest threats to the future of Google, a company whose 2011 unaudited accounts show advertising generating over 96% of their total revenue. If Click Fraud were to spiral out of control, and advertisers were to realise that a significant percentage of their ad spend was fraudulent, it wouldn’t take long for a significant number of … Read More
Google remarketing: persistence or stalking?
Google’s remarketing allows you to reach people who’ve visited your website. The question isn’t whether or not the system works. We’ve picked up new work at a low cost. The question is whether or not the basic strategy is a good idea.
Pain is bad
I won’t name and shame, but I’ve just found a software solution that would make my life easier. The company selling it, however, have forced me to jump through so many hoops before buying it that I’ve given up. The mathematics are simple. The benefits of using your product have to outweigh the pain involved in obtaining it. But users … Read More
Open mind vs. experience
Self-belief and confidence can play an important part in success, but it’s easy to go too far.