Well, to throw the switch that deflects that train (a massive traffic surge) into your switchyard (your website).
So, if we extend the metaphor - how do we know a train is coming?
You listen to the telegraph.
And since that feature isn't on anyone's iPhone - what we're really talking about here is listening acutely to the media.
Television, radio, web news outlets - these are all conduits for massive amounts of public (or business) attention.
Attention means traffic.
There is an opportunity to bend public attention to your benefit - but it requires nimbleness - a good reaction time.
For example; a financial planning client is offering a service related to investments.
Careful monitoring of the news reveals topics that are not quite on the public 'radar' (a new program proposed in a government budget, for instance). However, if you were to put out some feelers (perhaps a very low-bid paid search campaign) - you would be monitoring in near-real-time what search traffic is searching for.
When search heats up on any of these terms you have staked out - you can then respond by creating a more robust response by beefing up content on the site, having a specific landing page with relevant actions.
These strategies are persuasive arguments for;
1) employing a long-tail approach to keywords in your paid search efforts
2) quick turnaround on producing content, and
3) frequently reviewing website analytics
So next time that train is a-comin', you get some heads up - and are even awake at that switch.
Showing posts with label case study. Show all posts
Showing posts with label case study. Show all posts
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Keeping it simple - a manifesto
We've always been fans of keeping things simple.
In fact, we view complexity as a red-flag. Is there something we are not supposed to notice? Is there confusion about the central message?
We came across a tract written by our friends at 37signals - famous variously as being the developers of Ruby on Rails, a development environment, and such amazing products for business as Basecamp (project management) and HighRise (contact management).
Getting Real
...is a wonderful manifesto that can apply not only to software development, but any structured endeavor.
Declarations like 'Make it Smaller' and 'Be Relentlessly Truthful' give clues as to how these guys turn out crackerjack products - and still manage to write a book about the process!
Recommended reading.
In fact, we view complexity as a red-flag. Is there something we are not supposed to notice? Is there confusion about the central message?
We came across a tract written by our friends at 37signals - famous variously as being the developers of Ruby on Rails, a development environment, and such amazing products for business as Basecamp (project management) and HighRise (contact management).
Getting Real
...is a wonderful manifesto that can apply not only to software development, but any structured endeavor.
Declarations like 'Make it Smaller' and 'Be Relentlessly Truthful' give clues as to how these guys turn out crackerjack products - and still manage to write a book about the process!
Recommended reading.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Case Study: Traffic Segments
Use of Web Analytics to qualify traffic
Specialty clothing retailer
Challenged by our initial campaign results, the client was able to test, and then adjust their assumptions about ‘who’ the primary customers of their products were.
Mounting our web analytics on their existing website, we were able to demonstrate the sources of their most profitable traffic. By showing the relationship of keywords, search engines, and referrals, we were able to not only demonstrate where to focus resources, but identify previously unsuspected characteristics of a large segment of their visitors that 'converted' from visitors to customers.
The insight was that people that bought the specialty clothing were not, in fact, the people that used it. Who the purchase decider was - was in fact the caregiver or institution.
These new insights allowed them to re-deploy their marketing in a way that not only dramatically boosted their website inquiries and sales, but also meant they were able to eliminate wasteful spending.
Specialty clothing retailer
Challenged by our initial campaign results, the client was able to test, and then adjust their assumptions about ‘who’ the primary customers of their products were.
Mounting our web analytics on their existing website, we were able to demonstrate the sources of their most profitable traffic. By showing the relationship of keywords, search engines, and referrals, we were able to not only demonstrate where to focus resources, but identify previously unsuspected characteristics of a large segment of their visitors that 'converted' from visitors to customers.
The insight was that people that bought the specialty clothing were not, in fact, the people that used it. Who the purchase decider was - was in fact the caregiver or institution.
These new insights allowed them to re-deploy their marketing in a way that not only dramatically boosted their website inquiries and sales, but also meant they were able to eliminate wasteful spending.
Case Study: Analysis
Use of Analytics to drive conversions
Promotional products company
Conversion is that slippery state where the visitor makes the ‘buy’ or ‘action’ decision – which we were able to progressively refine for a client in a very highly competitive field.
Tuning the filters, campaigns and website itself yielded a continual improvement of results, where to best target their resources, and informed the client further about their most distinct offerings, as seem by the marketplace.
Promotional products company
Conversion is that slippery state where the visitor makes the ‘buy’ or ‘action’ decision – which we were able to progressively refine for a client in a very highly competitive field.
Tuning the filters, campaigns and website itself yielded a continual improvement of results, where to best target their resources, and informed the client further about their most distinct offerings, as seem by the marketplace.
Case Study - Segments
Distinguishing segments (sources, campaigns, keywords)
National Renovation Brand
We validated their conventional ad agency consumer segments - quite a nifty trick given the expense of the agency effort, and even added additional new categories to target revealed with online marketing research.
An additional benefit - demonstrated returns on investment (or not) of specific pre-existing external marketing campaigns, effectively auditing the performance of POS, print and media buys. Our client was able to lay out powerful decision support tools to measure strategic results.
National Renovation Brand
We validated their conventional ad agency consumer segments - quite a nifty trick given the expense of the agency effort, and even added additional new categories to target revealed with online marketing research.
An additional benefit - demonstrated returns on investment (or not) of specific pre-existing external marketing campaigns, effectively auditing the performance of POS, print and media buys. Our client was able to lay out powerful decision support tools to measure strategic results.
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