Getting Granular: The DigitalGrit Blog

MarketingSherpa Publishes Ice.com Blog Case Study

I've always thought that Ice.com's blogs were the blog marketing pioneers. While most of us were sitting in webinars, wracking our brains trying to figure out how to "monetize" blogs, Ice.com was out their doing it with Just Ask Leslie and Sparkle Like the Stars -- effectively affiliate blogs that were written and managed by their own marketing team.

The blogs are smart in that they include fun, useful content, they use keyword effectively (no stuffing) and they updated frequently. "Sparkle" is particularly fun in its use of photos of celebs dekced out in stunning Hollywod bling -- juxtaposed with photos of Ice.com's similar rocks.

MarketingSherpa reveals how successful the blogs have been in a comprehensive Case Study.  The results are pretty much what I was expecting: The blogs perform as well as a good affiliate -- but not as well as Search.

The article also includes some use-now tips on blog marketing -- including one or two I'll be talking to our Web Dev team about tomorrow.

Read the Case Study while it's free!! (presumably through 8/19/06)

(BTW, still feel really weird using the word "bling." Is it because I'm over 30, because I live in the 'burbs, or both?)

MarketingSherpa Publishes Ice.com Blog Case Study

I've always thought that Ice.com's blogs were the blog marketing pioneers. While most of us were sitting in webinars, wracking our brains trying to figure out how to "monetize" blogs, Ice.com was out their doing it with Just Ask Leslie and Sparkle Like the Stars -- effectively affiliate blogs that were written and managed by their own marketing team.

The blogs are smart in that they include fun, useful content, they use keyword effectively (no stuffing) and they updated frequently. "Sparkle" is particularly fun in its use of photos of celebs dekced out in stunning Hollywod bling -- juxtaposed with photos of Ice.com's similar rocks.

MarketingSherpa reveals how successful the blogs have been in a comprehensive Case Study.  The results are pretty much what I was expecting: The blogs perform as well as a good affiliate -- but not as well as Search.

The article also includes some use-now tips on blog marketing -- including one or two I'll be talking to our Web Dev team about tomorrow.

Read the Case Study while it's free!! (presumably through 8/19/06)

(BTW, still feel really weird using the word "bling." Is it because I'm over 30, because I live in the 'burbs, or both?)

Affiliate and Search Engine Marketing: Should You Let Affiliates Bid On Keywords?

Guest post from DigitalGrit's own Scott Delea...

We have been helping clients implement and manage SEM and Affiliate Marketing for a while. Recently, a client asked us for a quick summary of our thoughts on having affiliates bid on keywords. It is an important topic so I figured we would share our perspective with our blog readers. Feel free to give us your thoughts.

The pros of letting affiliates bid:

• They occupy search engine real estate which could otherwise be occupied by your competitors
  • Having affiliates listed instead of your competitors will usually increase the number of net clicks you receive from any given search because you will obtain clicks from your listing and those of the affiliates. All are selling your product.
  • Affiliates would be using different types of copy and landing pages. It may provide us an opportunity to learn something from them. Better to learn from them then from your competitors. 
  • If you can't afford to bid on additional keywords, the affiliates may be willing to, so you are getting more visibility without having to spend the cash on the media. You only pay the affiliate on the conversion.

The cons of letting affiliates bid on any/all keywords without any restrictions:

• You are allowing affiliates to take advantage of all the equity you have built into your brand keywords. The brand keywords will convert the best. The branding keywords are the first place affiliates will go, if you let them.
• If the affiliates are allowed to out-bid you, they will be driving up bid costs for you and for them.
• You lose control of your messaging and brand when you let affiliates bid on any keywords they want and you don't restrict the copy or landing pages they use.

DigitalGrit recommends a "Hybrid Approach".

Let affiliates participate in bidding, but with clearly detailed guidelines and restrictions.

• We recommend you create a standards guide for your affiliates to follow. The guide would include:
  • A list of keywords they may not bid on, under any circumstance.
  • Keywords they may bid on under certain circumstances such as time of year, time of day/week, position, engine, etc.
  • Copy guidelines
  • Landing page guidelines
  • Problem resolution procedures if they have any questions or concerns.
  • Also include SEO guidelines and standards.
• Incorporate the appropriate "legalese" in your affiliate agreement.
• Companies should put a process in place to monitor compliance and handle inquiries.

The good news...DigitalGrit can help with every phase of this process from the strategy to the execution.

Affiliate and Search Engine Marketing: Should You Let Affiliates Bid On Keywords?

Guest post from DigitalGrit's own Scott Delea...

We have been helping clients implement and manage SEM and Affiliate Marketing for a while. Recently, a client asked us for a quick summary of our thoughts on having affiliates bid on keywords. It is an important topic so I figured we would share our perspective with our blog readers. Feel free to give us your thoughts.

The pros of letting affiliates bid:

• They occupy search engine real estate which could otherwise be occupied by your competitors
  • Having affiliates listed instead of your competitors will usually increase the number of net clicks you receive from any given search because you will obtain clicks from your listing and those of the affiliates. All are selling your product.
  • Affiliates would be using different types of copy and landing pages. It may provide us an opportunity to learn something from them. Better to learn from them then from your competitors. 
  • If you can't afford to bid on additional keywords, the affiliates may be willing to, so you are getting more visibility without having to spend the cash on the media. You only pay the affiliate on the conversion.

The cons of letting affiliates bid on any/all keywords without any restrictions:

• You are allowing affiliates to take advantage of all the equity you have built into your brand keywords. The brand keywords will convert the best. The branding keywords are the first place affiliates will go, if you let them.
• If the affiliates are allowed to out-bid you, they will be driving up bid costs for you and for them.
• You lose control of your messaging and brand when you let affiliates bid on any keywords they want and you don't restrict the copy or landing pages they use.

DigitalGrit recommends a "Hybrid Approach".

Let affiliates participate in bidding, but with clearly detailed guidelines and restrictions.

• We recommend you create a standards guide for your affiliates to follow. The guide would include:
  • A list of keywords they may not bid on, under any circumstance.
  • Keywords they may bid on under certain circumstances such as time of year, time of day/week, position, engine, etc.
  • Copy guidelines
  • Landing page guidelines
  • Problem resolution procedures if they have any questions or concerns.
  • Also include SEO guidelines and standards.
• Incorporate the appropriate "legalese" in your affiliate agreement.
• Companies should put a process in place to monitor compliance and handle inquiries.

The good news...DigitalGrit can help with every phase of this process from the strategy to the execution.

Google's Affiliate Rule Change; A Good Rule?

Google recently announced an adword rule change that affects affiliate marketers. Is this a good rule change? As an affiliate manager and marketer myself, I see the good in this rule. Here is why.

Keep this fact in mind. The Google ruling affects affiliates that drive visitors direct from AdWords to the Merchant's site. If the affiliate has their own website, this property will remain within the visitors search results and are unaffected by this Google rule change. The rule is based on the Visible URL.

Relevancy for the visitor:

Yes, choice is good, it's the American way. However when one merchant is represented by dozens of affiliate links, this does not give visitors a choice of competing brands. This change enhances relevancy on search, with only the strongest affiliate (or the merchant site itself) being represented, based on their Ad Rank*.

"I think this is fantastic for the end user. It should lead to higher-quality sites being advertised," said David Lewis, president of 77blue, a private-label shopping site provider. "Advertisers are either going to have to build quality sites, or disappear altogether." source: clickz.com

Good news for Merchants:

For the Merchant, this policy may protect their investment in their own search marketing strategy. Why should a merchant compete with it's own affiliates? However, if an affiliate out-optimizes the merchants keyword, they can supersede the Merchant listing. However, most affiliates are not financially equipped or skilled enough to out-gun a merchant's listing.

"Finally, it takes the heat off some parent companies who don't like affiliates competing with them on keywords. Instead of needing to police those affiliates directly, they now have the option of bidding a bit higher, or getting off their duffs and optimizing their ads, or both. Most affiliates won't be able to compete."  source: Traffick.com

In other words, affiliates will not significantly cannibalize potential sales from their existing search channel marketing by the merchant.

How does this benefit the affiliates?

For affiliates that create their own web sites or include banners on their eCommunity sites, or use email marketing, this policy will have no affect (even if they use search to attract attention to their sites).

Most "quality" affiliates add value by creating their own website or attracting traffic to their eCommunity. Clearly, this is the intent of affiliate marketing in the eyes of the merchant.

"For those affiliates who actually build their own websites, this policy change does not affect them at all. It's mostly aimed at the types of advertisers who are playing the "Google Cash" game of sending searchers directly from an AdWords listing right to a parent site, with an affiliate code on the URL." source: traffick.com

"Lewis said the move will benefit affiliates who add value to a merchant's marketing program by providing useful information, linking directly to specific, relevant areas of a merchant's site, and investing time in optimizing the message they are conveying."    source: clickz.com

Conclusion:

In other words, this rule change may help to enhance affiliate marketing, presenting quality web sites and well optimized search programs at the expense of those that play the "Google Cash Game".

Additional Articles: Forrester Blog and Revenews.

* Google Ad Ranking is based on Click Through Rate (CTR) times Max CPC. The more your ad clicks through (effectiveness) and the higher you are "willing" to pay for that click - determines your ad rank.

Google's Affiliate Rule Change; A Good Rule?

Google recently announced an adword rule change that affects affiliate marketers. Is this a good rule change? As an affiliate manager and marketer myself, I see the good in this rule. Here is why.

Keep this fact in mind. The Google ruling affects affiliates that drive visitors direct from AdWords to the Merchant's site. If the affiliate has their own website, this property will remain within the visitors search results and are unaffected by this Google rule change. The rule is based on the Visible URL.

Relevancy for the visitor:

Yes, choice is good, it's the American way. However when one merchant is represented by dozens of affiliate links, this does not give visitors a choice of competing brands. This change enhances relevancy on search, with only the strongest affiliate (or the merchant site itself) being represented, based on their Ad Rank*.

"I think this is fantastic for the end user. It should lead to higher-quality sites being advertised," said David Lewis, president of 77blue, a private-label shopping site provider. "Advertisers are either going to have to build quality sites, or disappear altogether." source: clickz.com

Good news for Merchants:

For the Merchant, this policy may protect their investment in their own search marketing strategy. Why should a merchant compete with it's own affiliates? However, if an affiliate out-optimizes the merchants keyword, they can supersede the Merchant listing. However, most affiliates are not financially equipped or skilled enough to out-gun a merchant's listing.

"Finally, it takes the heat off some parent companies who don't like affiliates competing with them on keywords. Instead of needing to police those affiliates directly, they now have the option of bidding a bit higher, or getting off their duffs and optimizing their ads, or both. Most affiliates won't be able to compete."  source: Traffick.com

In other words, affiliates will not significantly cannibalize potential sales from their existing search channel marketing by the merchant.

How does this benefit the affiliates?

For affiliates that create their own web sites or include banners on their eCommunity sites, or use email marketing, this policy will have no affect (even if they use search to attract attention to their sites).

Most "quality" affiliates add value by creating their own website or attracting traffic to their eCommunity. Clearly, this is the intent of affiliate marketing in the eyes of the merchant.

"For those affiliates who actually build their own websites, this policy change does not affect them at all. It's mostly aimed at the types of advertisers who are playing the "Google Cash" game of sending searchers directly from an AdWords listing right to a parent site, with an affiliate code on the URL." source: traffick.com

"Lewis said the move will benefit affiliates who add value to a merchant's marketing program by providing useful information, linking directly to specific, relevant areas of a merchant's site, and investing time in optimizing the message they are conveying."    source: clickz.com

Conclusion:

In other words, this rule change may help to enhance affiliate marketing, presenting quality web sites and well optimized search programs at the expense of those that play the "Google Cash Game".

Additional Articles: Forrester Blog and Revenews.

* Google Ad Ranking is based on Click Through Rate (CTR) times Max CPC. The more your ad clicks through (effectiveness) and the higher you are "willing" to pay for that click - determines your ad rank.

Affiliate Marketing, an SEO Strategy?

Google rewards websites that represent expertise in a given subject, a go-to Internet property on a particular topic. Relevancy is vital to SEO success. Does the content and theme of your site relate to a specific keyword or phrase? And, do other web owners recognize your site as being a subject matter expert (SME)?

SEO success is made up of many factors, content being preeminent. However, to be truly recognized as relevant is best realized from your peers.

And just how do your peers recognize your web site as a SME? By linking to your site from theirs; known in the SEO industry as "linking" strategy. Next to content, linking strategy is one of the most effective means of naturally promoting your website. To be effective implement a linking strategy in a manner as follows:

• The site that links to yours should be relevant to the site's topic or keyword/phrase.
• The anchor text of the link to your site should contain the keyword or phrase that you are trying to be listed and search engine ranked.
• The link should be mono-directional, not reciprocal, from their site to yours.

Affiliate Marketing can support linking strategy. Affiliates, by their very nature, are mono-directional links to your web property, often with text/alt tags that describe your service. Great, except I can hear you point out two drawbacks to this strategy:

1) Affiliate links often go through an intermediary, such as Commission Junction.

2) Affiliate websites may be highly generic or not tightly relevant in relations to your own.

So how do you implement an Affiliate SEO strategy?

• Use a direct link from the affiliate to the merchant site, where the affiliate network supports a pixel based tracking strategy. The visitor clicks direct to the merchant, which then fires up the pixel tracking, which is placed on the merchant landing page, to the affiliate network.
• Approve affiliates that are "on-message" or relevant. If you want to have a large cast of affiliates, provide the direct link to the highly relevant sites, and the regular intermediary tracking code for all others.

In this way, relevant affiliates help support your SEO linking strategy, while driving business to your website. A winning Internet strategy for your business.

Affiliate Marketing, an SEO Strategy?

Google rewards websites that represent expertise in a given subject, a go-to Internet property on a particular topic. Relevancy is vital to SEO success. Does the content and theme of your site relate to a specific keyword or phrase? And, do other web owners recognize your site as being a subject matter expert (SME)?

SEO success is made up of many factors, content being preeminent. However, to be truly recognized as relevant is best realized from your peers.

And just how do your peers recognize your web site as a SME? By linking to your site from theirs; known in the SEO industry as "linking" strategy. Next to content, linking strategy is one of the most effective means of naturally promoting your website. To be effective implement a linking strategy in a manner as follows:

• The site that links to yours should be relevant to the site's topic or keyword/phrase.
• The anchor text of the link to your site should contain the keyword or phrase that you are trying to be listed and search engine ranked.
• The link should be mono-directional, not reciprocal, from their site to yours.

Affiliate Marketing can support linking strategy. Affiliates, by their very nature, are mono-directional links to your web property, often with text/alt tags that describe your service. Great, except I can hear you point out two drawbacks to this strategy:

1) Affiliate links often go through an intermediary, such as Commission Junction.

2) Affiliate websites may be highly generic or not tightly relevant in relations to your own.

So how do you implement an Affiliate SEO strategy?

• Use a direct link from the affiliate to the merchant site, where the affiliate network supports a pixel based tracking strategy. The visitor clicks direct to the merchant, which then fires up the pixel tracking, which is placed on the merchant landing page, to the affiliate network.
• Approve affiliates that are "on-message" or relevant. If you want to have a large cast of affiliates, provide the direct link to the highly relevant sites, and the regular intermediary tracking code for all others.

In this way, relevant affiliates help support your SEO linking strategy, while driving business to your website. A winning Internet strategy for your business.

eBay Storefront, a hot eCommerce Channel

Is eBay hot or what? Sure, you sold some old stuff hanging around in the attic or bought some cool-looking trinket. But did you ever consider eBay as an eBusiness channel? If not, you should.

More mainstream corporations are selling their products online, often using the eBay Storefront. The storefront is as it sounds - a special area branded for your business; a destination for selling your wares online.

With fixed pricing (not auction), you can control your inventory sales -- and even use the channel to push clearance or out-of-date stock in a cost-effective manner.

And vendors such as Macromedia (makers of the HTML programmers Dreamweaver software), are helping to enhance your store's look and appeal.

Who is using eBay Store front? Here are a few highly visible examples:

• HP MarketPlace
• SonyStyle  (created & managed by DigitalGrit!)
• Sears Liquidation Center

Is eBay right for you? Find out more at the eBay Store helpCenter.

eBay Storefront, a hot eCommerce Channel

Is eBay hot or what? Sure, you sold some old stuff hanging around in the attic or bought some cool-looking trinket. But did you ever consider eBay as an eBusiness channel? If not, you should.

More mainstream corporations are selling their products online, often using the eBay Storefront. The storefront is as it sounds - a special area branded for your business; a destination for selling your wares online.

With fixed pricing (not auction), you can control your inventory sales -- and even use the channel to push clearance or out-of-date stock in a cost-effective manner.

And vendors such as Macromedia (makers of the HTML programmers Dreamweaver software), are helping to enhance your store's look and appeal.

Who is using eBay Store front? Here are a few highly visible examples:

• HP MarketPlace
• SonyStyle  (created & managed by DigitalGrit!)
• Sears Liquidation Center

Is eBay right for you? Find out more at the eBay Store helpCenter.