Online advertisers will soon be able to target existing customers via Google's wide range of services. Customer Match, which was announced last week, is designed to let businesses use a list of email addresses to target people across search, remarketing channels, and more. The system requires that users are logged into their Google account, and that they have given their email … [Read more...]
Can Yelp Survive?
Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if Yelp fell off the face of the Internet. After all, the site is riddled with fake reviews, and the company's practice of hiding a portion of useful, honest reviews is a big turnoff to users who just want to know if a business is worth visiting. According to Business Insider, shares are down 56% for the calendar year, and a staggering 65% over … [Read more...]
YouTube’s TrueView Lets You List Products Within Video Ads
So long, ugly and confusing YouTube annotations. YouTube is now linking video ads in the same backend dashboard as Google Shopping, making it easy for businesses to have related products automatically linked in their videos. TrueView for shopping lets you showcase product details and images, both of which can linked directly to buy pages. TrueView, in its standard form, lets … [Read more...]
Google to Launch Buy Buttons on Mobile Search
I've long said that if you want to grab the attention of your target audience well, you need to sell on Amazon and offer Amazon Checkout as a payment option on self-managed webstores. Many etailers have avoided taking that plunge because they see Amazon as a direct competitor. The fact is, though, Amazon gets the bulk of the traffic - not becoming an Amazon seller can stifle … [Read more...]
YouTube: To Monetize or Not
I'm seeing a horrible trend on YouTube these days. Too many business accounts are opting to "monetize" their videos. The quest to make a few bucks could actually be bad for business. YouTube's platform allows qualified accounts to make money off their original content by allowing advertisers to pay for placement of their own video advertisement before the requested video is … [Read more...]
Question of the Week: Do You Go Out of Your Way to Avoid Ads?
Online ads—most commonly consisting of graphics and text—are a key component of many informational or "free to use" web sites. Advertisers usually pay for ads on a per-click basis. Some ad campaigns, however, interrupt our visit by using overlays (graphics and/or videos that cover up the site's content and require us to wait for the ad to lay through or click a skip button) or … [Read more...]
Question of the Week: Do You Research Quotes about Products?
Many companies rely on quotes from industry experts and publications to help push specific products and/or services. How many of us, however, research those statements to ensure quotes are accurately describing what we're contemplating buying? Last summer I wrote about mis-attributing quotes - a common practice by companies desperate to increase sales. Have you fallen victim … [Read more...]
10 Promo Items That Go Right in the Trash
Part of the fun of attending conferences, conventions and trade shows is the swag*. You know, all the supposedly cool stuff crammed into a bag or handed out at booths. The bulk of it though, goes right in the trash. So, if you're trying to come up with some neat giveaways, keep in mind that many people fly, and don't want to pay luggage fees just to take your branded stuff … [Read more...]
Misattributing Quotes: Common Practice By Bad Companies
Part of my THE WAY I SEE IT series, where I quick-hit a few topics per week. This week Practical eCommerce contributor Armando Roggio brought to light a common practice by shady companies, calling out BigCommerce in the process. In his article, An Eye on BigCommerce, Roggio shone the light on the issue of misattributing publications and news agencies when it comes to … [Read more...]
Rock Solid Marketing? Try Again
Last month I talked about a local Italian restaurant’s cheap marketing tactic of throwing baggies filled with stones and advertising at the end of driveways. It seems another place has caught onto this method and I’ve got another letter to write. My original post, Are Your New Customers Really Just a Stone's Throw Away? (at Practical eCommerce) explains my frustration with … [Read more...]
Twitter Announces Ad Platform, Fear Immediately Follows
Ever notice how fear is the first reaction to many tech announcements that tell us things will change? Twitter's announcement of developing an ad platform has quite a few developers and users expecting the worst, using past actions by big companies as testament. Maybe the "bad" thoughts are with merit. Then again, maybe naysayers are too quick to react. … [Read more...]