Cross-channel attribution is about attributing the credit for marketing results to where credit is due. According to Forrester Research, about 87 percent of marketers and 85 percent of agencies misattribute credit: They either attribute all credit to the last touch point or have no way of attributing the credit in a meaningful manner. Marketers and their agencies make five common mistakes that can be avoided by deploying cross-channel attribution techniques.
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Social Media Helps Some Small Businesses Endure Bad Economy
from ClickZ
Whether it's a 50-cent discount for knowing architecture trivia on Twitter or a Hawaiian pizza night aimed at college students on Facebook, many small businesses say that social media sites have been godsends for weathering the current recession. With a dash of creativity, these companies - including some start-ups - have leaned on Facebook and Twitter as low-cost options to communicate with customers who, in turn, have helped spread the word. More
Suggestions to Encourage Web Spending
from SmallBiz Central
Online merchants who offer free shipping, special sales and product suggestions are finding these things can make the difference between a consumer purchasing on a Web site, or taking their business elsewhere. In a tough economic climate, it is more important than ever for Web retailers to remain competitive. A new study by Oregon State University researchers suggests that that there are several key items, or "cues," that make the difference between a consumer adding those extra "impulse" purchases or simply leaving a business' Web site.
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The Cost of a Poor Customer Experience Online
from Inside Retailing
With the rise of the internet, retailers need to focus on providing a better customer experience in all areas of their business. For retailers selling online, the return on investment from customer experience improvement projects becomes evident when measured through analytics such as traffic figures, goal achievement and conversion. More
Measuring Social Media with Web Analytics
from Search Engine Watch
Social media is increasingly becoming a measurable medium. However, many companies have yet to develop a social media measurement strategy, or they're struggling to get theirs properly implemented. This doesn't need to be the case, but unfortunately many companies aren't aware of the options that are available to monitor, measure, and track social media. More
Seven Ways to Make Pay-Per-Click Pay
from Smart Money Small Biz
Among Web marketers, it is the big debate: SEM versus SEO. Sound like just a bunch of letters to you? If you owned a Web site, you wouldn't think so. SEO stands for search engine optimization, a process that seeks to boost a site's traffic by helping it rise within a search engine's organic, or un-paid, search results. It is often seen as the Holy Grail for Internet marketers, as people tend to click those links over their paid counterparts. However, the conversion rate - that is, the number of shoppers that turn from browsers to buyers - tends to be lower in organic search listings.
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Tips for Talking to Your Boss About Social Media
from ClickZ
Back in the early digital days we often fielded panicked calls from in-house marketing personnel whose head of marketing or another C-level executive would demand that they secure the top organic search listings in the major search engines. Today's equivalent is the overworked, understaffed, and stressed out in-house marketing departments being presented with the demand to start tweeting or get a Facebook page up - yesterday. When your boss comes blowing into the room demanding that you make an immediate splash in social media, deflect any attempt at forcing an ill-conceived tactical launch by asking for a short period of time to gather and present your research, plan, and budget. More
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Marketing Budgets Spiral Toward Social
from eMarketer
Social marketing budgets are constantly going up, according to "The CMO Survey" from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business and the American Marketing Association (AMA). Marketers were already planning on upping spend in August 2009. They have continued to increase outlays since then, with respondents in February 2010 claiming they will devote nearly one-fifth of their marketing budgets to social media in the next five years.
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Government to Spend $25 Billion to Improve Internet Access
from The Wall Street Journal
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski's coming National Broadband Plan will propose up to $25 billion in new federal spending for high-speed Internet lines and a wireless network for police and firefighters as part of a broader plan that appears to be a win for wireless companies. The plan will also offer a variety of ideas for expanding Americans' access to affordable Internet over the next decade.
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