I can’t think of a single product or service that isn’t improved by easy. Easy doesn’t mean simple, doesn’t mean basic and doesn’t mean less. It means that whatever you want to achieve can be accomplished with minimal effort. Easy doesn’t threaten quality, power, efficiency, functionality or speed. It’s one of the most effective four letter words that you can … Read More
M is for Mac, Marketing and Madness
At this year’s Software Industry Conference in Boston, USA, I gave a presentation on The A to Z of Online Marketing. Letter M dealt with the Mac. Chances are that you don’t have or use a Mac, and aside from seeing them in a store, you probably only know one or two people who have one. I’m guessing they’ve already … Read More
Make your website work for you – CNN vs. BBC
The new CNN website is scheduled to go live next Monday, and a TechCrunch article gives us some details and screenshots of what’s to come. The New CNN.com (First Screenshots) I don’t really visit CNN for news, but have always found the similarities (and differences) between their main navigation and that of the BBC News website oddly interesting. CNN’s is … Read More
Google vs. Yahoo – the pyramid of realism
Google recently announced a year-on-year 7% increase in revenue, with profits up $25 million. Not bad for a recession. Yahoo, meanwhile, just announced (or tried not to) a 12% decline in quarterly revenue, with a 19% decline in search-ad revenue year-on-year. Paid search appears to have three contenders, in theory. Yet the charts speak for themselves: Google: Microsoft: Yahoo: At … Read More
Marketing Q & A plus free exposure
In 24 days I’ll be speaking once again at the European Software Conference in Berlin, this time on Google AdWords and also the subject of online marketing. I’ve been working in online marketing since 1997, and have spoken at conferences in the United States, Russia, Germany, France, Belgium and the United Kingdom. As I’ve had the pleasure of working with … Read More
Cybercrime opportunity and lessons learnt from Norton
The anti-virus companies are the unsung heroes of the modern PC. Back in the day when “normal, everyday people” were only starting to think about buying a PC for home use, the anti-virus companies were ramping up their marketing efforts. And by the time PCs for the home had become a norm, anti-virus software had been transformed from a paranoid-geek’s … Read More
Wikipedia, ignorance and missing the point
You’ve probably heard that Wikipedia are planning to introduce a new editing process, to reduce the visibility and impact of vandalism. Wikipedia represents both the best and worst of online behaviour, with over three million articles in English, contributed by more than 10 million users. But there have been abuses of the open system over the years, and Wikipedia’s new … Read More
AdWords ads have moved!
The more observant or caffeinated of you will have already noticed that the ads displayed alongside Google’s search results have moved closer to their natural counterparts. On a lower resolution system you might not have noticed, but whereas the ads used to be on the far right side of my 1680 x 1050 screen, they are now nestled quite cosily … Read More
Greed, haste and desire kill sales
In an age when people’s private information has become a commodity, some companies have decided that it’s reasonable to force their customers to share their data. I recently called a support phone number for a well known supplier of network hardware. To open a ticket, they needed to know the name and model of the product, where and when I … Read More
What do you mean you haven’t heard of Baidu?
From Wikipedia: “Baidu is the leading Chinese search engine for websites, audio files, and images. Baidu offers 57 search and community services including an online collaboratively-built encyclopedia (Baidu Baike), and a searchable keyword-based discussion forum. In October 2008, Baidu ranked 9th overall in Alexa’s internet rankings. In December 2007 Baidu became the first Chinese company to be included in the … Read More