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Thursday, May 15, 2008

4Q is a Free Survey Tool Not to be Missed

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 10:57 AM

Last night I uploaded a new article to Search Engine Guide on 4Q which is an excellent free survey tool you can easily add to your website in order to improve the website and your marketing intelligence.

The scivy on 4Q can be found in my exclusive Search Engine Guide article: Free Survey Tool Fuels Marketing Insight.

by Ross Dunn, StepForth Web Marketing Inc.

Labels: Analytics, Free Tools, Ross Dunn, Usability

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This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 10:57 AM.

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Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Microsoft’s New Beta, Out of this World.

Written by Scott Van Achte and published at 11:16 AM

Microsoft offered a sneak peak back in February, and as of Tuesday the public beta of WorldWide Telescope has been made available, according to a Press Release issued by Microsoft.

The online virtual telescope has been created in response to Google’s launch of Google Sky a few years ago, and takes things to the next level with a huge database of high resolution images from various stars, galaxies, and other non-earthly entities. Ray Gould spoke about WorldWide Telescope back in February and noted that some of "the best images from the worlds greatest telescopes from earth and in space are woven them seamlessly to produce a holistic view of the Universe."

"The WorldWide Telescope is a powerful tool for science and education that makes it possible for everyone to explore the universe," said Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft. "By combining terabytes of incredible imagery and data with easy-to-use software for viewing and moving through all that information, the WorldWide Telescope opens the door to new ways to see and experience the wonders of space. Our hope is that it will inspire young people to explore astronomy and science, and help researchers in their quest to better understand the universe."

WorldWide Telescope, Much like Google’s Earth & Sky products, is offered free and is currently available for download. While the user interface is quite different, the overall experience is very similar. WorldWide Telescope has a more modern and sleek interface than Google Sky, but in the end both have about the same to offer.

I prefer the Microsoft interface with easy graphic thumbnails to take you directly to the celestial body. Personally I find that this new beta release offers a higher level visual experience, which is why I would likely turn to it in the future.

Labels: Google, Microsoft, Scott Van Achte

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This SEO News was posted by Scott Van Achte @ 11:16 AM.

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Google Goes Social, Launches Friend Connect

Written by Scott Van Achte and published at 11:01 AM

The social web is rapidly growing and Google is trying to tap into this massive industry with the launch of Friend Connect. Released in a limited preview, Friend Connect allows web site owners to incorporate a number of gadgets to their site in an effort to improve the overall user experience.

Friend Connect helps webmasters make their websites more appealing, engage users, and help increase the average time on site. Incorporating a number of available social features is made easy, and does not require any programming skills whatsoever.

Webmasters select from a list of Google and Member gadgets, choose their colors and other options, and then simply cut and paste the code directly to their site.

When your site visitors opt in to use Friend Connect within your site, when they enter a review, post photos, or interact with your gadgets, notices are posted within their friends various social media accounts which can attract them to visit your site.

Currently Friend Connect is available only in a preview release, with select sites being accepted. If you are interested in participating, fill out the application form and cross your fingers that Google will accept you.

Labels: Google, Scott Van Achte, Social Marketing

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This SEO News was posted by Scott Van Achte @ 11:01 AM.

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Tuesday, May 13, 2008

UK Mobile Phone Usage for Social Networking

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 2:31 PM

I am just on the way out the door but I caught this (opens in PDF) excellent news release by Nielsen/NetRatings stating that "one in four members of UK social networks use their phones to network." Now considering that Europeans tend to be dramatically ahead of North Americans in cellular adoption this statistics release seemed worth of attention.

Here is a chart that really drove home the popularity of social networking via mobiles (click the image for a larger version):

Whats the point? Nothing all that fancy, this is just more great evidence of the power of social marketing; and it seems the more evidence to convince skeptics the better.

Labels: Online Statistics, Ross Dunn, Social Marketing

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This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 2:31 PM.

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Open Pricing Can Improve Sales on Your Website

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 12:25 PM

Marketing Sherpa is my favorite site for catching up on the latest case studies on user behavior online; followed by another excellent publication called Alertbox. Marketing Sherpa's latest article does us all a service by illustrating how important it can be to have more transparent pricing for prospects visiting your website.

First ask yourself the question that Marketing Sherpa asked its respondents:

"Can you recall a technology/business purchase where a vendor got the sale (or the inside track) because they were more open than other vendors?"

The response (see the larger image):

A chart showing results from a Marketing Sherpa case study on open pricing models

From personal experience I can say that I am most certainly a part of the demographic negatively affected by sites that give no indication of pricing. Of course, as is carefully noted in the Marketing Sherpa article there are cases where accurate pricing is impossible or unlikely; where accurate service/product pricing requires customization based on interviews with the buyers. StepForth's SEO services are a good example of an exception since our services are heavily customized; however, even we decided to give some indication of the starting costs for any service we offer. I expect that is the least any business should do online. I know that seeing a starting cost ("Starting at $xxx") appeases my curiosity in most cases when I am shopping; at least I know if I should even look into the service further.

In the Marketing Sherpa article they provide a real life anecdote of a company shopping for print quotations. As it turned out the buyer ran into way too many inadequate sites but what won them over was a site that had a JavaScript service calculator that allowed them to estimate the cost which turned out to be only 5% different than the final 'real' quote provided by the business. Nice work, in fact I was curious enough to look into JavaScript and DHTML calculators myself to see how StepForth might incorporate one in the future.

What do you think? How do you feel about websites that require you contact them any indication of pricing?

by Ross Dunn, CEO, StepForth Web Marketing Inc.

Labels: E-Commerce, Online Statistics, Ross Dunn, Usability

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This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 12:25 PM.