I used to support a FMC...

I used to support a FMCG website that heavily relied on PPC marketing schemes and when we shifted to SEO and direct marketing , the results are enormous, translating to above 40% conversions as compared to barely 2% of which when we were still relying on the former.

Google Places Unveils N...

If you have ever dealt with Google Places in any way you know how it can a maddening experience. As soon as there seems to be a semblance of calm and normality there is a sudden suspension of a listing, or a merge of two listings happens or Google just decides to replace your data with “new” data it dredged up from a data warehouse. Many local marketers and SEO professionals are likely to be cringing right now as they recall a moment from the past of when that all to present. Sorry about that . Well, Google is at least trying to help businesses with at least 10 locations (considered the low end limit) by introducing a new bulk upload tool. It’s best for you to watch the tutorials that Google has prepared and posted on their Small Business blog First, this tutorial are for those who are new users: Now, here is a tutorial for those who already have verified listings If you didn’t watch those videos here is a list of what the tool can do: -Edit one or more of your listings’ data at once -Search through your listings, filtering by specific information or for listings with errors -Upload new listings using a data file or by adding them individually within the interface -Tell us how we can improve this new interface by clicking the “Give Feedback” link Well, all we can say is good luck with managing your Google Places listings. It’s a game that has turned more than one SEO into a quivering mass of protoplasm. Good times. Good times.

Fila selects 89 Degrees...

Athletic apparel and footwear company Fila has appointed marketing solutions firm 89 Degrees to develop an email marketing strategy, said Lauren Mallon, global marketing manager for Fila. 89 Degrees will work with Demandware, the e-commerce solutions provider Fila hired in July 2010, and SEO/SEM provider Adept Marketing

Cup of Joe: You Might B...

A few weeks ago I heard some SEO friends talking about how an SEO they know of had screwed over a bunch of his clients. After talking with them a bit more it also sounded like this same SEO didn’t know very much about SEO at all. It got me thinking about a strange phenomenon I have witnessed in the field of marketing. If you are bad at marketing, there’s a high probability that you are also a scumbag. Think about all of the jerks you have met in marketing, now ask yourself, were they good marketers? Probably not. This odd reality seems to only be true in marketing though. For example you can be a really horrible plumber and also a really nice guy at the same time. You can be an amazing dentist, but a huge jerk as well. Now of course there are always the exceptions to the rule. But by and large I haven’t found many for this one. Even when I worked off the internet, I would meet lots of traditional marketing and sales people, some could market anything they wanted, and others couldn’t sell anything. Can you guess which was better company at the local pub? But of course here at Marketing Pilgrim we don’t talk about bad marketing. What’s the point in that? So now let’s ask ourselves, “why are good marketers not scumbags?” Why do good marketers have more friends? Why do good marketers always treat those around them well? When I worked in real estate the broker-in-charge always use to tell his agents that when they are talking to a potential client, let them do most of the talking, and listen carefully. This week I worked a lead that came in through one of my web sites. I emailed them back and tried to gather as much information as possible. I then sent them a quote and waited. A day later they responded with some questions about the quote. I decided to take this to the next level and call them on the phone. We talked for about 30 minutes. I started out by asking them a few questions, they answered and I kept listening. They went on to talk more about what they were trying to do online, and what they needed. I asked them a few more questions and they talked some more. Through out the call they did most of the talking and I listened very carefully and only responded with relevant information. By the time I got off the phone I had closed a deal with them that was 4 times larger than the original quote. That is good marketing. Good marketing means sympathizing with your audience. Good marketing means understanding people. Good marketing means making people feel good about the decisions they make or are going to make with your help. Good marketing means not being a scumbag, because, good marketing is being a human being first and a business second. [ photo credit ] Join the Marketing Pilgrim Facebook Community

Yahoo Launches Online M...

You may not know this but Yahoo still operates a product called Yahoo Small Business , which provides SMBs and sites with web hosting, domain name registration, web site design templates, e-commerce solutions and more. In fact, Yahoo says that it has helped millions of businesses get online and grow their presence on the web. Today, the company is debuting a new marketing dashboard to give users additional insight into online reputation, web metrics and more. As the company explains, the new tool allows small businesses to analyze website metrics and maintain accurate and comprehensive business listings across the Web. For example, the dashboard enables social media monitoring and provides recommendations on new listing opportunities, including on Yelp, Yahoo and others. The dashboard also includes online reputation management, pulling information and reviews from up to 8,000 sources such as Facebook and Twitter. Users can access website performance metrics from various sources including Google Analytics. And the dashboard provides email marketing, SEO, and SEM campaign tracking. The marketing dashboard also has a number of paid features, including a suped up version of its reputation management functionality, email campaign tracking, and more. It should be interesting to see if Yahoo Small Business will survive new CEO Scott Thompson’s plans to cut 50 Yahoo properties .