User experience, often abbreviated UX, is a term used to describe the overall experience and satisfaction a user has when using a product or system. Working from the premise that an organization engages in a complex set of interactions with their customers, of which the brand experience portrayed through their Web site is a major contributor, than the visual design, the interaction design, the information architecture all working together can positively contribute to brand image. By creating a user experience that is appropriate to our client’s audience, business goals, and the competitive landscape, we can positively reinforce customer brand experience.

HTML emails have great appeal and are widely used for all kinds of professional correspondence. When creating an HTML email, do not overlook testing. Testing your emails is crucial, since email clients are always changing standards, and each has its own little quirks. Take advantage of one of the many testing suites available at little to no cost - such as Campaign Monitor and MailChimp.

Each page has a certain amount of PageRank to pass around per Google's algorithm. In order to maximize where you're sending yours, try using the "nofollow" tag. When added to a link, this tag tells Google not to count the link's influence in their index. So if you have 10 links on a page, each link counts towards 1/10 of the page's link value. But if you nofollow unimportant links on a page such as "privacy policy" or "disclaimer" then the other links have more value (1/8 of the page's link juice).

Visit the IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau) Web site for industry news, research, insights and training. The IAB governs the standards of practice for interactive marketing and their membership is comprised of all the major players in this space. Check it out!

Twitter is a great way to get links to your web site - especially if you can get people to "retweet" your original tweets. This is done when someone replies to your tweet, adds an RT to the beginning and includes some of your original content (including the link). In order to make your tweets as retweetable as possible, make sure the character count is low so other people can add "RT" and their own comments as well within the 140 character limit.

Although studies indicate 51% of Hispanics online prefer Spanish Language Web sites, another Hispanic consumer segment that should not be ignored is the English-dominant, bilingual Latino who prefers to access information in English. English-dominants may identify themselves as culturally Hispanic, but do not necessarily respond to communication in Spanish. This is where cultural nuances come in to play and require a subtle, insightful integration into Hispanic targeted communications. Get to know the segment, understand the cultural nuances not just the language. By doing so you will connect to this segment on a deeper level, which can result in creating a stronger connection between this segment and the product or brand.

When viewers go to a site and watch video ads, nothing will turn them off faster than seeing the same ads over and over. That’s why it’s important to have a good ad-rotation going, while also being mindful to avoid overwhelming the viewer with too many ads when the fact is they came to see your content. Be sure to develop a solid strategy for frequency-capping and creative rotation.

When it comes to online marketing, there is nothing that comes close to the effectiveness and persuasion power of a well designed video message. When properly executed, video can provide marketers with the opportunity to combine sight, sound, motion, and the emotional impact of broadcast with the advanced measurement, targeting, and accountability of Interactive.

This doesn't mean that putting up a 10 minute video on your site today will automatically get you to double-up your conversion rates or that you will instantly sell more of your products. It takes a well crafted marketing approach, as well a dynamic, fast paced delivery to engage your audience.

While typically the domain of large Fortune 500 corporations, the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility should not be ignored by businesses of any side. Consumers and other businesses increasingly want to know that the companies that they do business with are good corporate citizens, whether it be supporting their community or the environment. Take a page from Fortune 500 companies and add a page on your Web site stating how your organization gives back.

Web analytics tools, like Google Analytics and WebTrends, offer marketers powerful technology to track the behavior of Web visitors on a variety of dimensions. However, to harness the full potential of Web Analytics, you need to establish, model, and track goals (sometimes referred to as conversions, objectives, or acquisitions). Most Web Analytics solutions allow you to easily setup these goals, which you can make the anchor of a sophisticated marketing dashboard often referred to as Key Performance Indicator dashboards.

If you haven’t used personas to guide decisions about Web site features and navigation, as well as advertising and communications strategy, you might be missing out on a powerful tool to understand and predict the reactions and desires of your key audiences. Personas are archetypes representative of actual groups of users and their needs. Well designed and data-backed personas bring customer needs to the forefront and create a shared vision of key users.

Getting your Web site listed in online directories is a good way to increase visibility and build high-quality inbound links. However, not all directories are created equal. Some are prone to spam or have been created for SEO reasons. To ensure you are submitting your site to a trustworthy directory, make sure that their editorial standards are rigorous, that Web site submissions are reviewed by humans, and that there is a posting fee.

Online gaming is a highly participatory medium and has the ability to create communities. In fact, a lot of multiplayer games do not work without a community, which creates a perfect opportunity to interact with a consumer that is always activated, concentrated and awake - ready to pick up advertising messages and to take action.

Sources: Online Gaming as Marketing and Sales Catalyst, University of St. Gallen

In the online world, a conversion is a completed transaction on a Web site. This can be anything from a customer completing a sale, requesting a price quote, signing up to receive a newsletter, or participating in some other lead-generating activity.

There are three things to consider to help you on the quest to improve your conversion rates.

1. Optimize your Landing Page – since your landing page is the first thing a customer sees when they land on your page, make sure it easy to understand. Whenever possible try to include a “deep link” to a specific product on your Web site.
2. Consider the navigation of your Web site – although you may have one of the most creative sites with lots of content and a unique design you always want to make sure it is clean and clear. A user may get turned off by the bad experience and leave your site.
3. Track your results – track conversion data at the account, campaign, ad group and keyword levels. This will help you optimize the performance of your campaign and ultimately drive more sales.

Source: “Bringing Home the Bacon” July 10, 2008 Roger Park Yahoo! Search Marketing Blog

It is a widely accepted fact that gay men are at the forefront of trends. The internet provides many vehicles to reach these trendsetters and hopefully turn them into advocates of your brand. The blogosphere is a great vehicle to get the GLBT community talking about your brand, as a recent study revealed that over 70% of GLBT internet users read blogs and more than 25% posted items or provided comments * (these numbers are much higher than the overall internet population).

*from eMarketer: Gay and Lesbian Internet Users: The GLBT Community

Link baiting is the practice of generating and posting Web content with the sole purpose of attracting links and improving your Web site’s SEO ranking. It is similar in nature to viral content, since it’s supposed to encourage sharing. One simple way to do this is to write buzz worthy articles or blog posts and upload them to social news aggregators such as Digg.com and Propeller.com

When planning a mobile marketing campaign, marketers need to keep in mind that SMS (short message service) initiatives are just the tip of a larger, integrated campaign iceberg. Users need to be exposed to a mobile campaign from various media angles to ensure a wide reach, so more potential users will opt-in to the mobile campaign. Marketers should leverage as many media vehicles as possible when executing an SMS mobile campaign to promote consumer participation. If you are planning to include mobile as part of the media mix for your next campaign, consider this tactic from the very early stages of planning to secure appropriate integration across all media platforms.

It's important to pick effective keywords to ensure a successful search marketing campaign. Some pointers:

1. Look for keywords on your own Web site. Think about what words your potential customer or client might be using to search for your Web site.
2. Consider creating an ad group for each of your site's pages with keywords specific to each page.
3. Pick a mix of broad and specific keywords:
   • Broad keywords will help a person become aware of your product/service during the research process, but may use too many clicks and end up using a lot of your budget.
   • Specific keywords may not get as many clicks but will more likely result in higher conversion rates.
4. Take advantage of the tools offered by Search Engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN such as Keyword Suggestion Tools or Standard and Advanced Match Types.

Source: "Are You Bidding on the Right Keywords?" August 5, 2008 Yahoo! Search Marketing Blog

Marketers exploring the idea of including SMS initiatives in their marketing campaigns should consider the value of these programs to consumers. Having consumers sign up to receive coupons or enter a sweepstakes are no brainers, but when asking consumers to sign up for text messages alone, marketers must ensure these messages are relevant and cater to their consumers’ specific needs.

Games are an ideal way to integrate a mobile platform into an advertising campaign because they support larger and richer creative than WAP pages (Wireless Application Protocol) on a cell phone or PDA. Games fill the whole screen and offer advertising free from competition for user attention. Gaming is also attractive since it is a leisure time activity when users are more receptive to marketing messages.

Sources: Mobile Game Marketing, Jim Durrell

Have you ever been to a virtual world and been one of only a handful (if that) of people in the world? Many virtual worlds suffer from great initial draw, but not enough compelling content to warrant an extended visit or repeat returns. The world looks great, but once visitors get a handle on the visual elements and navigation of the environment they get bored and leave.

So what sorts of things keep people engaged in virtual worlds?

1. Stimulation is important - you need things to do in the world. This might be games for certain demographics, entertainment for others and even education for some.
2. Fundamentally, there needs to be relevance and a shared interest. Define the wants and needs of the target market the world is pursuing - no single world can appeal to everyone.
3. People attract people (crowd effect). Newbies will stay to check out what all the excitement is about as frequent visitors return for stimulation, relevance and "to be where the people are."

Source: "50 Lessons In Virtual Worlds" KZERO.co.uk.blog/?cat=105

If you're trying to promote your brand within the GLBT community, the Internet should be your starting point. According to a recent study, GLBT Web users spend 57% more time online than their heterosexual counterparts.* Popular activities for this group include online shopping, personal finance and social networking.

*from eMarketer: Gay and Lesbian Internet Users: The GLBT Community

When describing the average Latino consumer in the United States, does “tech savvy” come to mind? It should. U.S. Latino Internet user growth currently outpaces that of the general market. Hispanics with Internet access outpace the general population in reported hours of daily media and technology use, identifying a total of 51 hours of total daily activities, including 27% of each day (14 hours) spent with technology, and 26% ( 13.5 hours) spent with media. (The general market identified only eight hours a day with technology and nine hours with media.)

Source: Conexión Cultural/Connected Culture Study, by Yahoo! Telemundo, 2007

Most organizations decide to redesign their Web site arbitrarily - usually when someone within the organization decides that it's time for a refresh or added functionality. A more effective approach is to utilize feedback from users via Usability Testing to determine when a Web site needs to be improved or completely redesigned. We recommend regular usability tests - at least annually.

Did you know Hispanics in the U.S. over index the Anglo general market in mobile content consumption and use of mobile applications? It's true. There's no question that the large (and growing) Latino population represents an extraordinary opportunity for brands because of its purchasing power and brand loyalty.

A recent Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) study reports that 32% of Hispanic consumers are moderately to highly receptive to mobile marketing messages, and are among the earliest and fastest adopters of mobile technology*.

So don't get hung up. Start mobile marketing to Hispanics, today.


*Source: MMA Academic Review: Hispanic Mobile Trends, 2007

If you're trying to place video into your Web banner, make sure your banner dimensions will accommodate it appropriately. Unless you are using a 300x250 size, generally, the best practice is to use rich media banners that expand.

If an agency tells you that Web copywriting is no different from copywriting for traditional media, they are wrong. Ask a traditional copywriter to draft copy for a well-ranked Web page and they will often provide snappy headlines and payoffs, with little regard to primary and secondary keywords that are crucial for relevant SEO rankings.

A savvy Web copywriter knows how to incorporate primary and secondary keywords in his/her headlines and body copy, in order for the Web page to rank well in Web searches (a strategy otherwise known as Search Engine Optimization or SEO). And if the Web copywriter is a real pro, he or she will be able to do so with impeccable written expression, absent annoying redundancies. So leave the snappy headlines for billboards. The Web requires more strategic writing.

As consumers visit more and more Web sites with cutting-edge interactive features and sophisticated marketing messages, companies are continually looking for innovative ways to engage them. A good example of this is the increasingly popular use of widgets, which are fast becoming one of the leading brand-building strategies for online marketers.

If you're thinking about developing a widget for your business, remember it cannot simply deliver an advertising message (in the manner of a Web banner or electronic billboard); it should function as a practical extension of the company's brand. In other words, it should provide a highly useful application for users that somehow demonstrates the brand's unique offering through its functionality.

When evaluating creative, it is critical that you objectively consider your audience. The most effective creative is developed by marketing executives and ad agencies who not only know their consumers inside and out, but who also push for what will appeal to the consumers while resisting the urge to tweak based on personal preferences.

Recently, Social Networking profiles have become one of the key components in developing an online campaign. However, having a great profile with no visits and interaction is a big waste of production resources. Treat these customized pages as you would any other site or microsite by making sure there is enough budget allocated to driving traffic to the profile.

Email marketing is becoming more and more popular as it effectively drives quality traffic. However, small successes tend to bring out the worst in the impatient. In order to protect your list, see it grow, and maintain quality leads time and time again, you need to follow through with due diligence. Confirm opt-ins (avoid spam complaints), do not over saturate your users (space out your deliveries), and stay specific to your users' interests. Keep your users happy and you will ensure the longevity of your campaign's success!

Widgets are shifting the dynamics of the Web and will change our user experience as we know it. From altering our homepages with scoreboards, to adding TV show logos onto user photos - like it or not - widgets are growing fast! Learn how they can affect your agency, business, or clients and keep tabs on where they're taking other businesses around the world.

Having trouble understanding how the pricing structure of online media works? It’s important to understand all basic terms of online.

1. Flat Rate — The advertiser pays you a flat rate to display their advertising on your site for a certain period of time.
2. CPM — Cost Per Thousand. The advertiser pays a certain rate for every 1,000 ad impressions.
3. CPC — Cost Per Click. The advertiser pays a fee every time a user clicks on one of their advertisements.
4. CPA — Cost per Acquisition or Cost per Action. The advertiser pays a fee every time a user clicks on their ad and continues onto their site and performs an agreed upon action. This may be purchasing a product, registering for a newsletter, or any other action that has value to the advertiser.

Literal translations of English text into Spanish generally fail in digital advertising (as indeed in all advertising). If you want to reach Hispanic consumers in their own tongue, you need the services of a bilingual and bicultural writing staff that knows how to both translate and/or adapt an English concept into Spanish. Otherwise, you run the risk of losing that play-on-words or double entendre you worked so hard to come up with. Or you could end up saying something you never intended.

Online Lead Generation programs are one of the most appealing vehicles available to online marketers, as they allow companies to pay only when they receive a lead. However, lead generation only works if you get qualified leads. By using classic customer segmentation to identify what the value of certain customers is, as well as what product or services are appropriate to which customers, marketers can utilize variable pricing in Lead Generation programs.

If SEO is an important part of your Web strategy, know that Flash and search engines don't mix well. Since search engines only see HTML, your site won't rank well if you have a Flash splash page, or a full Flash site. It may look cool, but you'll risk going unnoticed by Web searches. So if you're going to use Flash only on your site, be sure to create an alternate HTML version as well. Your search rankings will be much better.