Business has been hectic, in the best possible way, and I have been consumed by it and in the process lost the need/inclination to maintain a personal blog.

The reality is that I know that a personal blog is an all in thing or it’s just pointless.

As is the case with so many people and brands who take on too much on the web and more especially the socials space and then don’t give these enough attention I too have neglected this tool that I initially envisaged would be a rgeat platform for personal learning and growth.

A great someone said that “there is no time like the present” so excuse my absence but I am going make the time to get back into this and hopoefully through this blog and my participation in discussions elsewhere on the web I will not only keep on learning and being inspired but possibly do the same for others.

I think there is a much bigger message in it than just the two different modes of transport… the additional competition is going to do wonders for South Africa because like Taxi’s there are just too many monopolies and cartels in the country that hit the “little guy” in the pocket.

Prompted by the FIFA 2010 world cup soccer there has been a revolution in terms of new developments in both infrastructure and business. The competition brought about by all these innovations is ultimately going to effect have a huge positive spin off for the average man on the street.

From Transport to internet provision and bandwidth speeds coupled with the international recognition for the country there are so many factors at play that hopefully will put South Africa and Africa as a whole on the map.

The Joburg transport challenge: Taxis vs BRT | Zoopy | Share videos, photos, audio and notes

These are bound to, once again change, the face of human interaction with the internet/information and the manner in which content is indexed and represented in search, resulting in necessary changes to SEO strategies to cater for modernised search algorithms.

The Giants make a rumble

In the second quarter of 2009 search engine analysts and search engine related blogs were creating a bit of buzz about the immanent launch of Microsoft’s ’new’ search engine believed to be launching with the name Kumo. We now all know that Bing was the name of choice and I personally have been impressed by the engine which really is a part of the make or break strategy Microsoft must be taking to ensure they have a foot hold in the software business going forward, especially with the up and coming competition that Google is brining to the operating system (OS) table (article on topic to follow).

Google search which has constantly been evolving has had to kick into action some serious modifications and although I am sure they were on their way it can definitely be seen that the giant of search is having to respond to the competition which is something the behemoth has not had to do in its history to date. The most notable addition to the Google search results pages is the more options tab which displays filters for the search results that are definitely quite handy.

Yahoo continued to plod along and it is fair to say that the focus of this the third largest search engine has been more about creating an audience as can be seen by there well designed and functional landing page which saw a number of changes in July that actually lean towards a renewed focus on search users with a less ‘designed up’ interface and greater focus on the search field of the site.

Ramblings of the Yahoo! and Microsoft joining forces were rife in July see this, and this… it made a lot of sense and outlined how the deal could work with Microsoft bringing search technology to the table and Yahoo working to monetize the search audience.

An deal is made!

On the 29th of July Yahoo! and Microsoft announced that a ten year search deal had been struck that will as expected see Microsoft provide search technology to Yahoo! and in return (at least for the 1st five years)  for a major portion (88%) of search advertising revenue from Yahoo! audiences. More info on the deal… 

The likelihood is that this added market using Microsoft’s search technology will ultimately result in better search quality via search quality improvement programs making use of a larger number of users and adoption to using it as the search provider of choice as it proves to be an innovator in search that fulfils the promise of good relative search results.

I have for a long time been of the opinion that Microsoft is fully aware of the necessity for it to get internet search down so that it can have one last attempt at it before the Google machine engulfs the entire internet.. this move shows the faith the company has and those around it in their search technology. Interesting days are ahead…

From the left field

Google is not only having to contend with Bing gnawing away at its search market share but July saw a number of real-time search engines joining the race for your searches.

Real-time search poses a big threat to the more traditional search engines and SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) strategies because because for the engines it means having to contend with small innovative start-ups (that have awesome product offerings) and SEO taking a whole new meaning as social real-time content added to the internet starts to work its way to the top of search results pages.

Watch this space for more info on real-time search as I will be posting on the topic in the coming days.

The search landscape…

One thing is for sure and that is that search is undergoing some radical changes and July 2009 is sure to be just the beginning of an extremely competitive fight for dominance in this extremely lucrative market.

Contrary to most Microsoft nay-sayers I really do hope that Microsoft can master search and build on its market share because that alternative where Google has such dominance and continues to extend its hold on new markets such as advertising, email, web analytics, books and everything else it can get its fingers into is very concerning!

Early last week Microsoft launched their latest and greatest attempt at cracking the search engine industry with the launch of the beta version of bing (www.bing.com).

I had recently been scanning the web with regards to search engine usage statistics in preparation for a presentation I was giving and came across a couple intriguing articles on the immanent launch of Microsoft’s  new search engine supposedly going to be launched as Kumo. I must say that I think the name Kumo would be a slightly cooler web 2.0 type name than bing, but I know that my view of the word bing is tainted by the fact that it is the surname of the local KFM radio surf reporter who sounds like he should hardly ever be taken seriously!

That aside one things for sure and that is that this bing is no joke. It is immediately apparent to someone who has been keeping tabs on Microsoft’s most recent previous search engine, Live Search (and which bing is the evolution of), that bing is definitely  giving far more relevant search results. One thing that Live Search just didn’t seem to get right was relevant local search results which bing seems to be doing with ease.

Cool features include:

Search suggestions in the search field based on popular search terms

Related searches along the left of the screen listing popular search terms related to your initial search query

Popular indexed pages appearing under a sites listing (based in part on sites SEO)

Coolest image search around (was already around with Live Search)

The advanced link situated next to the number of results found also launches a number of functional tools for refining your search

and the coolest and most unique of the lot…

The snapshot preview of the sites listed within search engine results which shows some intro copy and main pages within the site is pretty unique and very functional. 

Check out this in-depth review of bing on the TechCrunch website.

Only the half of it

One thing that is for sure is that this is a serious contender in the game of search and with commentary from the big shots at Microsoft stating that this is just the beginning of things to come for bing its great to see that search is about to get truly competitive because only the users can win!

Microsoft has been re-aligning their entire existence for a more dominant role on the internet and through the integration of its various web properties and transforming its software into hybrid desktop and SaaS it is sure to gain a major chunk of the search market and a number of other online markets such as social media with Windows Live and productivity with office live etc

 Here’s to Microsoft really shaking things up on the internet in 2009!!

This page is still being written and will ultimately continue to evolve as eMarketing technologies and methodologies do – digidude

What is holistic eMarketing?

Holistic eMarketing is the nirvana of any and all eMarketing professionals, it is a campaign that isn’t just a broadcast campaign but instead a journey. A journey that the brand begins and that picks up followers, commentators, and contributors along the way with a number of them becoming fans of not just the brand but also the journey!

It employs a well planned eMarketing strategy that encompasses all aspects of eMarketing from creative to media placement, analytics and even outlines campaign optimisation methods for the lifespan of the campaign.

It’s when all aspects of eMarketing come together in synergy to create the ultimate sales tool. One that says what you want to as you want it to, that can be 100% tracked and supply actionable feedback to optimise and increase top of mind awareness and achieve the goal of an ever improving marketing ROI.

One keystone element to effective eMarketing is that of the ‘conversation’ which you will see quite a bit if you scan the web on the topic. This concept of the conversation is that eMarketing, unlike the one way broadcast of traditional marketing, is more than just telling people about your oraganisation, products, services etc… eMarketing is about initiating a conversation in which all participate and foster a long standing relationship through understanding of each other’s needs and wants. It creates loyalty and trust and in the best circumstances makes your market promote you!

Analytics is the base of eMarketing

Without analytics you are wasting your time!

If you don’t have web analytics tracking your website or eMarketng initiatives you must have been hiding under a rock for a couple of years because one of the best (if not the best) web analytics tools, Google Analytics, has been free for years. Google Analytics allows for just about every digital marketing initiative to be tracked… especially when it comes to conversions (leads, sales or actionables) from your website or landing pages.  Drop me a line if you have issues getting your free analytics account setup.

Web analytics allow for anyone with a website to track visitors to the website and gather a whole lot of interesting information ranging from where users come from in the world (geographically), what content they like, how they find the site, what keywords they use in search to find it and much more…  Advanced configuration allows for tracking results that you can define such as clicks from within emails or on banners that lead users to your website and user segmented results allowing for in depth analysis of a specific group of users of your website.

One of the simplest examples of using the data from web analytics to optimise your website is that of assessing what screen resolution the bulk of the users of your website are using in order to ascertain if it’s time to redesign the layout of your site to take up more space. This example is on the design/usability front but there is so much actionable data from web analytics that is crucial to a successful eMarketing journey. 

Your website as employee of the month

I tend to think of a website as the employee of the month if not the millennia. Why? You ask… well put simply it tends to only say exactly what you have told it to say to its users. A website that is well planned, professionally designed, contains comprehensive information and strong calls to action can outperform even your best sales rep because it’s tapped directly into a network of billions of internet users.

Today more advanced websites don’t only say what you want but through the incorporation of user feedback (in the form of blog comments or feedback web apps etc.) allow for your users to speak their mind which although this sounds like marketing suicide can have the complete opposite effect through effective management of the conversation. (see Online Reputation Mangement [coming soon])

Your website is the hub of your eMarketing journey and as such needs to have the right ingredients to draw users in, engage with them and lead them to take the action you want. Via the implementation of website analytics you can gather valuable information about how users interact with your website and use this info optimise it. This means that your website should be developed in such a way that it can be modified without requiring a complete re-build.

Because the majority of internet users find the websites they are looking for via search engines it is imperative that your website be optimised for search engines. Effective Search Engine optimisation (SEO) from the start can lead to masses of free traffic for your site.

Search

Search is a fundamental building block of any eMarketing campaign and can be harnessed in two key ways:

1. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)There are a number of elements within a website that search engines look for which aid it in understanding the websites relevance to specific search terms. These elements, although crucial to the success of a website, are often not even present on websites as very few web designers fully understand the importance of these and the resulting listing within search results pages (SERPs).Even basic search engine optimisation can have dramatic effects on a websites positioning/ranking within search results. 
2.  Search Engine Marketing (SEM)Paid advertising on search engines which normally takes the form of Pay Per Click (PPC) text adverts within search results.When you search on Google you will often see three prominent links at the top of the search results page and then a row of results down the right of the page on a box called “sponsored Links”, these are paid for adverts.

   PPC search campaigns can be up and running with top placement within search results in minutes whereas traditional search engine optimisation relies on search engine indexation which could take weeks.

   The Google AdWords search marketing solution allows for penetration of the majority of the search market in most countries and has a number of campaign targeting and optimisation features that allow marketers to target their ads to search users in their specific target market.

There are a number of other considerations around search that will be discussed in more detail throughout this site but one basic thing to understand is that most major search engines although very advanced technologies have some very simple points of initiation. For instance major search engines don’t just find a new website on the internet automatically – you have to submit it to them and whilst you are at it there are sure to be a stack of local and industry specific directories and search engines that  you could and should list your site on. (Let me know if you need a hand with search and directory submissions)

Email

I really love email marketing because it creates a direct dialogue with users who generally want to hear what you have to say, and when I talk about email marketing I am not just talking about newsletters and mailing lists I am talking about every email you send.

Modern mail server technologies allow for the branding of every outbound email from your organisation with specific messages and even a succession of messages where the mail server sees that the recipient has seen “offer 1” and it’s now time to send “offer 2”.  The potential of this is phenomenal as all marketers know it’s easier to garner more business from existing clients than from new prospects.

Email is direct and can be made personal with minimal effort and put in the simplest terms GETS RESULTS!

MORE OF eMARKETING TO COME….. (Including online advertising, social media, WebPR, Online Reputation Management etc.)

I have created this blog site as my speakerbox to the connected world on a range of topics but predominantly on the internet and harnessing it for effective marketing.

Please do come back soon as I am going to be adding content regularly and am confident that it will be relevant, informative and very worth while.

Thanks for popping by!

digidude