February 26, 2008
SUMMARY: Most marketers would be thrilled with an SEO strategy that delivers a 240% improvement in Web traffic. But converting more of those visitors into leads is even better.
One marketer built on the success of an SEO campaign with tactics to maintain traffic and increase conversions. Includes a new content strategy with a link-building campaign and homepage design tests that lifted leads 58%.
CHALLENGE
Poland-based Argos Translations redesigned its website in 2006 with a search engine optimization strategy and saw a 240% boost in Web traffic. But Marketing Manager Michael Malik wasn’t satisfied.
“The increased traffic is great. It’s something you can show off to management. But more traffic doesn’t do anything for your business unless it converts,” says Malik.
Argos caters to businesses in need of document translation, foreign language voice-over talent and other services. Malik used keyword-rich content and enhanced page headers and description tags to boost Web traffic. But for 2007, he needed to develop other tactics that would keep Web traffic flowing while converting more visitors into leads for the sales team.
CAMPAIGN
To keep boosting Web traffic and convert more leads, Malik and his team turned to a new combination, including:
o New content
o Page design tests
o Additional SEO tactics, such as link-building
Here are the four strategies they used:
-> Strategy #1. Develop new language versions of the website
The company’s customer base is primarily US- and UK-based firms that do business in Europe, so their website was originally written in English. Malik wanted to branch out to Eastern European companies that needed translation services, so they created two new language versions of the website: Polish and German.
- To optimize the new versions, Malik and his in-house team of translators conducted Polish Web searches to identify key words and phrases for their services. The list was sent to a colleague fluent in German for translation into that language.
- They double-checked those terms with online services that help identify keywords. The process identified approximately 30 terms per language.
-> Strategy #2. Create new white paper to qualify leads
Next, Malik and his team developed a white paper that would resonate with their UK-based customers: how banks, airlines, telecommunications providers and other companies could capitalize on a recent wave of Polish immigrants moving to Britain.
In particular, the white paper focused on the best way to take advantage of this economic opportunity: Reach recent immigrants by marketing to them in their native language.
Visitors could read only a portion of the article online; they had to provide a name, email address and phone number to download a PDF of the entire article.
Malik identified key words and phrases from the text that would position the white paper on search engines, such as:
o Poles in the UK
o Polish immigrants
o Immigration in Britain
o British economy
Then, they used those terms in the page header and description.
-> Strategy #3. Boost incoming links from relevant sites
Search engines analyze the number and relevance of incoming links to help assign a website’s natural search results. To maintain the rankings achieved through the previous year’s SEO efforts, Malik increased the number of links back to the Argos homepage.
Here’s how they did it:
Step #1. Conduct searches on the company’s top 20 keywords and find the top-10 sites in the search results.
Step #2. Analyze all websites linking back to those 10 sites and identify the ones with the highest Google page rank.
Step #3. Send emails to the most relevant and highly-ranked third-party sites asking to trade links.
The email message was a straightforward explanation of the company’s intentions, saying Malik’s team had found the site on the Web and noticed it provided a link to one of their competitors. It then explained why linking to Argos would also be relevant and offered to trade links between the two pages.
-> Strategy #4. Test design and placement options for links to Web forms
Besides the white paper, Malik’s team used two other primary features to collect contact information from site visitors:
o Request form for free translation quote
o Online promotions, such as 20% discount for new customers, that require registration
They conducted several A/B tests to determine whether changes to the design and placement of those links on the homepage would boost conversion rates.
Tests included:
o Placing links in the top left, top right, center left or center right of the page
o Using an image of a cake, a flower or a piggy bank for the online promotions link
o Using a photograph of a man’s face or a woman’s face for the quote- request link
RESULTS
Malik didn’t expect another year of triple-digit traffic growth. But he didn’t want traffic to stagnate either — and the 2007 efforts paid off:
o Web visits increased 24%
o Page views increased 34%
o Bounce rate decreased 12%
o Time on site increased 46%
They also converted more of that traffic — their primary goal. Web leads increased 58%. “As happy as I was in 2006, in 2007 I was ecstatic for having leads go up,” he says.
The Polish and German versions of the page were big contributors to the traffic growth. Web traffic increased 30% month-over-month after launching those new versions and that increase has been sustained into 2008.
The white paper also provided a big boost, becoming the fifth most visited page on the company’s site.
Tests on placement and design options for its promotions and quote- request links showed that the center left of the homepage was the best location. The image of the piggy bank for promotions and a picture of a woman’s face delivered the best conversions.
The results of the link exchange program have proved difficult to analyze. Malik knows the campaign generated new inbound links for the Argos homepage, but he can’t be sure exactly how many because each time he checks Google to see new links he finds different results. He suspects the ever-changing nature of Google’s site-indexing program causes those fluctuations.
Malik has seen evidence, however, that new links are improving the site’s search engine rankings. Two months after launching the link-exchange campaign, the site’s rank for the term “localization services” improved from a top-30 placement to a top-10 placement.
The 2007 results demonstrate the value of building on SEO results. And Malik and his team have already identified a strategy for this year: they’re focusing on additional homepage design tests and techniques to further improve conversion rates.
Useful links related to this article
Creative samples from Argos Translation’s SEO Campaign:
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/cs/argos/study.html
Wordtracker - helped identify Polish key phrases:
http://www.wordtracker.com
Argos Translations:
http://www.argostranslations.com
From Marketing Sherpa
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.html?id=30349
Posted by copiasolaris under Case Studies | Comments (0)
February 20, 2008
SUMMARY: Your email marketing works but it could be better. Maybe it’s the content or your deliverability … or something else. Admit it — you’re not sure what works and what doesn’t. It’s time for an email audit.
An email audit might sound intimidating (let’s face it, the word “audit” alone can be scary), but this can be a valuable tool to evaluate your email campaign(s). Here, we have everything you need to conduct an email audit.
Before you take the first step, here are some questions to ask yourself:
(Don’t worry – we provide the answers!)
1. Why do an audit?
Ignoring problems won’t make them go away. It’s better to know. Trust us.
2. Do you need a comprehensive audit?
This toolkit is designed to help you audit your entire email campaign/process. If you simply want to evaluate a single email newsletter/message, you may need to do only a mini-audit.
3. What will it cost?
Maybe nothing, if you use in-house staff.
4. When should we do an audit?
The sooner the better.
5. Who will do it?
You may be able to do it in-house. If not, we provide a list of vendors.
6. How will we do it?
This one’s easy – by using MarketingSherpa’s toolkit as your guide.
7. How hard is it finish?
The name sounds worse than it is. And if you don’t want to do a full audit, we’ve put together a how-to for a mini audit.
This Sherpa Kit includes the following parts:
-> Tutorial – An overview, step-by-step process, creative content, tracking/managing stats and technical basics
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/tk/AuditTutorial.pdf
-> Glossary – Know what the terms mean
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=30325
-> Checklist – Steps to conduct your own audit
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/tk/AuditChecklist.pdf
-> Timeline – When you should expect to have what parts completed
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/tk/AuditTimeline.pdf
-> Cost calculator – We’ll help you calculate your costs
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=30326
-> List of Vendors – A look at service providers who can help if you don’t want to do the audit yourself
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=30328
-> Resources & Case Studies – Past Sherpa articles to give you inspiration and other resources
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=30327
From Marketing Sherpa
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.html?id=30324
Posted by copiasolaris under Tools | Comments (0)
February 16, 2008
SUMMARY: Pitching bloggers isn’t easy — especially if they’re considered among the best in their business. Their in-boxes can bulge with emails.
To have any chance of grabbing their attention, you should know many dos and don’ts of pitching them. And the pitch should start well before you write.
Before You Pitch
- Do think like a blogger. Yes, they blog because they enjoy the subject matter and want to share opinions and expertise. But there is another issue to consider: a little something called money. So, while newspapers think, will this story sell copies, bloggers reflect on whether the advertisers will be impressed with the traffic.
That thought translates to the more immediate reflection: will the post inspire readers to comment? Also, bloggers question whether their visitors would want to share what they read about with their friends and colleagues by linking to the blog or by pasting a portion of the post on their own sites with the intention of inciting discussion.
- Do check out the sidebars for content categories. Know in advance what is relevant to each blogger. In short, be familiar with what they like to write about.
- Do send your pitch in advance of your news happening or your product release. If time constraints are an issue, make sure the blogger understands and honors embargoes.
Craft Your Pitch
OK, so now you’re ready to make your pitch.
Do follow these steps:
- Write a precise subject line.
- Briefly introduce yourself at the start and mention the blogger’s name in the greeting.
- Explain why you have chosen the blogger as recipient of your pitch. If a blogger suspects you are merely crossing a name off a long list of contacts, you will probably be ignored.
- Reveal why you think your pitch would interest a typical reader. Be straightforward and secure in the importance and value of your news, but not overconfident. Keep in mind that objective descriptions work better than personal notes. Facts are preferable to flowing prose.
After Your Pitch
You’ve made your pitch to a blogger. Now what?
- Do consider time zones while awaiting a reply.
- Do give the blogger a chance to digest what you have pitched. Remember bloggers’ overflowing in-boxes.
- Do more than simply ask if your pitch was received. If you get a reply from a blogger or if you follow up with a phone call, do provide some interesting information that your pitch didn’t include.
- Do carry on a conversation, but remind yourself that bloggers are the ones with the final say. Besides being the creators, the bloggers are most likely authorities on the subject matter. Treat them with respect. Relinquish control unless asked to provide more input.
- Do be honest when answering questions. It’s important to suppress the urge to exaggerate the benefits of your product and the positive aspect of your news.
-Do consider the nature of the site where your piece will appear and realize that the truth will eventually be revealed (think of all the fairy tales you read as a child). So, fess up any potential conflicts up-front.
- Do link to the blog you are pitching if you have a blog of your own.
- Do send swag. Bloggers like complimentary products that they often review, sometimes without having been asked. Exercise caution, however. Bloggers want to maintain their own credibility by remaining objective. So their reviews might not be positive when they offer an honest opinion. Before sending anything of value, in fact, contact the blogger to see if they are interested.
What Not to Do
Here are tips so you don’t get on a blogger’s bad side:
- Don’t make the huge mistake of being pushy with a blogger. Bloggers are usually their own bosses; they are in charge. Dictating when you want your information to be blogged or by what date your product needs to be reviewed is a no-no.
- Don’t pitch old news; keep it fresh. Move onto something else if your info has already been featured on popular blogs dealing with Web 2.0, social networking and content-sharing sites (e.g., del.icio.us, Facebook).
Remember — bloggers like to be a step ahead of journalists. Otherwise, you will be wasting their time since most popular marketing bloggers receive their news via RSS feeds. If they see a stale pitch, they’ll know you are not offering exclusive content. Bloggers all look for original material, not info that makes them look like they’re jumping on a bandwagon.
- Don’t include the entire press release in your email or attachments. Bloggers usually prefer a bare-bones pitch. Write no more than 50 words or so, but offer a URL that a blogger could include to direct readers who would like more information. That’s particularly useful in instances where bloggers don’t have the time or desire to cover your topic. Never attach a Word document, PDF or PowerPoint presentation.
- Don’t flatter. If you don’t read the blog on a regular basis and are not a huge fan, don’t claim that you are. Buttering up a blogger to try to get coverage can backfire.
- Don’t be exceedingly familiar. Even though personal information about a blogger may be readily available, try not to think of them as your acquaintances. They may be completely ignorant of who you are and turned off by the informal nature of your email.
- Don’t leave advertorial comments. Be relevant and professional; otherwise, you’re going to make a bad name for yourself. Why? First, your comments are probably moderated anyway. Second, you are looking to establish a solid relationship with the blogger.
- Don’t put words into a blogger’s mouth. Present your information without telling them they will just love the subject of your pitch. Asking for their opinion on how useful it might be for their readers is the way to go.
- Don’t try to control the write-up. If a blogger bites at your tidbit, act as an assistant rather than as a director.
- Don’t retaliate. You have done everything correctly, but your news still haven’t been featured. Refrain from sending an angry email reply unless you want to risk being ridiculed in a post. Bloggers are not obligated to write anything; they are the masters of their own domains. Don’t take their lack of interest personally.
- Don’t violate someone’s trust. If a blogger mentions your product or service, don’t assume it’s acceptable to use them in a future testimonial without their permission. You still need to ask. If you don’t, you will lose a potential advocate.
From Marketing Sherpa
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.html?ident=30342
Posted by copiasolaris under How To's | Comments (0)