Internet Marketing Blog

Viralheat Lets You Know It’s Coming

(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Viralheat is a new start-up company based in San Jose that tracks social media networks to help businesses track their campaign progress.  Their new service called Social Trends lets users gain instantaneous access to data and embed web analytics into editorial content.  Several large brands ranging from Oracle, MTV, and Disney are using the service to monitor feedback on brands, support programs, and other services.  The venture represents a more specialized version of Google Analytics, and could prove invaluable over time once social media marketing emerges as a lucrative force in the industry.  On the surface, an overlap of reporting capabilities is a concern

At the moment, corporations are still having difficulty tracking absolute revenue metrics from social media networks.  This tool is a solid first step in not only solving this quandry, but also to better engage with customers on products and services.  Corporations can also enforce quality control over their social media strategies rather than simply relying on an agency to do the heavy lifting.  They can work with a shop that has the specific tools to drive ROI with more cost certainty and aplomb to maximize efficiency.  We will see if Viralheat has an analytics goldmine on their hands.

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Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in Interactive Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Website Analytics, blog | No Comments »
Tags: abdul fattah ismail, Blueliner, Blueliner Marketing, internet marketing agency ny, new york social media agency, social media analytics, viralheat social trends, viralheat.com

Agile Methodology In A Web Design Era

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Common folk who know little about their software besides the name think of the world agile as the physical characteristic they had during Pop Warner days.  It could also describe your abilities when you were a star shortstop in the Babe Ruth or American Legion leagues.  Maybe you were the cheerleader that jumped above the rafters with pom-poms dotting the air.  The prior definitions of agile do not apply in this piece.

We are discussing the agile methodology, which is growing as the choice for web development.  IT professionals have been going back and forth between the waterfall and agile developments.  The waterfall development is a classic linear, sequential approach to software design.  It is a methodical, fastidious approach for product building.  A glitch in the system can crumble a waterfall approach, and new code must be developed again.  A project’s capital structure crumbles if bugs consistently surface.  

Agile methodology fits the namesake like a glove.  The adaptability comes with a low overhead costs and is efficient for smaller teams.  These teams range from the project to the deployment, and break a project into separate puzzles that are affixed into a final portrait over time. A client, therefore, must be willing to take more initiative in the final product.  The rate of software development has increased, especially with mobile technology, and platforms must be ready for the synchronicity between desktop and mobile.  It’s coming by the nanosecond, and project development needs to be agile in a shift age.

In short, waterfall development is good if you have a client with clear, strict guidelines and the resources to cover any potholes in the langorous process.  Once these elements are in doubt, then the agile methodology deserves a review.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in Interactive Marketing, Website Analytics, Website Design, blog, web development | No Comments »
Tags: abdul fattah ismail, agile development strategy, agile methodology, bllueliner marketing, Blueliner, new york web design agency, new york web development agency, waterfall development strategy, waterfall methodology

Little Words Mean A Lot

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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The developers at Smashing Magazine are versed in all programs and the transient dynamics of code.  Nobody can keep up, and that’s just factual.  We all know, however, that two sides exist to every coin, even the Canadian ones.  As Niels Matthijs notes, developers can slip up and make errors.  He feels that naming conventions and constructing better HTML templates will translate into better websites.  I’ll highlight a sample of subtopics for the uninitiated.

The Bare Necessities Of Semantics

Nowadays with Google Caffeine, content must be recognizable to all kinds of crawlers and search engines for full SEO optimization.  The engine just debuted, so its effectiveness must be intensely tracked in order to make a proper assessment. If Google Caffeine hits, then surfing the internet will be a much greater experience and e-commerce stands to benefit.

Think Components, Not Pages

Websites should have common components that fit together than a jangled collection of pages. In order to achieve this feat, developers need to focus on a single component at a time.  When one needs to write the HTML code for a product, check each wireframe for product variations.  Then one can write a code that handle the existing variants.  This model will be solid and can be used anywhere.

For more information on semantics, click the photo.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in Website Analytics, Website Design, blog, web development | No Comments »
Tags: abdul fattah ismail, Blueliner, Blueliner Marketing, coding semantics, html coding, niels matthijs, smashing magazine, web development, web programming

Turning Prospects into Buyers with Content Marketing

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What do most marketers need when they want to attract, acquire and engage customers and potential accounts for their business? Consistently sharing information about their products or services can keep existing customers and the potential ones informed, thus creating a unique brand awareness which can result in increased sales and customer loyalty. In order to do this, you need to create and share informative and valuable content about products and services via different media.

This form of marketing is often referred to as Content Marketing, which is defined as “words and data to create unambiguous content that support meaningful, interactive experiences”, is now evolving as a new discipline. In addition to all your traditional marketing techniques, this form of marketing uses content to achieve higher sales through profitable actions from the customer and prospect sides.

What it takes, is an effective content strategy. Content development, delivery and administration are the three major points that need to be kept in mind when you define content strategy for any marketing plan. Rachel Lovinger explains more about content marketing in her article, Content Strategy – The Philosophy of Data. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Mohamed Mohideen
Posted in 7 Pillars of Internet Marketing, Blog Marketing, Content Marketing, Email Marketing, Interactive Marketing, Interactive PR, Marketing, Marketing Agencies, Mobile Marketing, Photography, Podcast Production, Public Relations, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Marketing, Video Sharing, Website Analytics, Website Design, World, online advertising, search engine marketing, web development | 1 Comment »
Tags: Advertising, Blueliner Marketing, Content Marketing, digital marketing, Interactive PR, Mobile Marketing, Mohamed Mohideen, social media

New Apps Gallery for Analytics

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“Whats next from Google?” This is one of those thoughts that is constant in the minds of people.  This time Google opened a full App Gallery for Analytics to enhance its users’ understanding of their website’s visitor status. The App categories are business intelligence, campaign management, content, data collection, e-commerce, email marketing, mobile marketing, phone tracking, reporting tools, SEO, site auditing, and widgets & gadgets.

We have seen a few interesting applications until now, such as Analytics Visualizations, which combines valuable data with easily grasped visuals, and the Analyticator for WordPress, which integrates Google Analytics with any site built on WordPress.

A new set of Google Analytics reports for AdWords is coming soon. This video will give you a sneak peak of those features.

Posted by Sandeep Bhandwalkar
Posted in Website Analytics, online advertising | No Comments »
Tags: AdWords, analytics apps, App Gallery, Blueliner Marketing, Sandeep Bhandwalkar, SEO, seo agency, wordpress

Web Analytics with Nick and Avinash

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Nicholas Milhailovski and Avinash Kaushik of Google Analytics run a video series discussing web analytics. They field questions from viewers and give thorough responses. Here are just a few topics in this epsiode:

● Test your tracking implementation without waiting for the data to appear in reports.
● How GZip compression works for the tracking code.
● Retrieving the value for visitor level customer variables.
● Adding annotations via the API.
● Why do searches from Google Image Search appear as referrals in Google Analytics?
● Why do I see self-referrers to my site (my site referring to itself)?
● How to detect new search engines in Google Analytics?
● Fixing site overlay to not distinguish two links pointing to the same page.
● How to exclude internal users now that _setVar is deprecated.
● Why does (not set) appear as page titles in reports?
● What is the best way to begin with web analytics? How do you focus?
● Why do longer date ranges return different results?
● How can you use the Motion Chart bar graph?
● Best practises for setting up conversion goals for e-commerce sites.

The video is rather long and dense at twenty-two minutes, so take a seat. Enjoy.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in Website Analytics | No Comments »
Tags: abdul fattah ismail, avinash kaushik, Blueliner, Blueliner Marketing, google analytics, nicholas milhailovski, web analytics, web analytics agency

Web Hovering: Float Up or Away?

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According to Mediaweek, Internet Broadcasting is rolling out a new web ad unit called a “hover ad.”  The strategy has been rolled out to local Web affiliates.  Hover ads float gingerly on the bottom of the web page.  The browser can minimize the ad once it gets too distracting. They can also expand or close it at any point in time.  I personally don’t know how effective this strategy can be, especially if it takes away from the main website’s design.  Proponents give the usual reason, that it’s another method of branding and visibility available to digital executives. ”[The IB hover ad] gives [advertisers] added visibility and branding—and provides a great new way to promote offers and special sales. We’ve been selling the IB hover ad in beta for three weeks and advertisers have already seen a return on their investment, which gives us an advantage over other Web sites in our market,” said Catherine Badalamente, director of digital media for Post-Newsweek Stations.  It’s hard to argue with a solid return, but then we would have to see the investment firsthand.

Here’s a test ad. Feel free to leave thoughts.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in Business News, Website Analytics, Website Design | No Comments »
Tags: abdul fattah ismail, Blueliner, Blueliner Marketing, hover ads, internet broadcasting, mediaweek, Website Design

The Night Digital Spent In Jail

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The IPad is coming soon, as we all know, on Easter weekend. Apple enthusiasts will line up around the Cube on Fifth Avenue, expecting the next revolution in digital technology. In all honesty, Steve Jobs has delivered time and again. We here in America love that in any shape or form. Apple’s innovative products have brought a unique combination of art and science to the world.  Media pundits question whether the Ipad will save a floundering print industry. They should be discussing how it floundered in the first place.

I question whether we, as consumers, are getting ‘souled’ out by all our digital fetishes.  Now, let me preface by saying that I love digital innovation.  My co-workers here at Blueliner pride ourselves on bringing creative energy through search engine campaigns and web analytics amongst other services. Brilliant minds work in technology and have imagination for eons.

Today, however, we seem to be losing some of that magic.  We have almost too many applications and technical gadgets at our disposal.  Instead of looking through the dictionary and our Brittannica collection, we use Google and Wikipedia.  Blackberry enlarges their App World by the nanosecond to catch up with IPhone’s App Store. When was the last time you bought a board game with your own money? Clue in the fifth grade? We send a message through Facebook rather than actually dialing a number to have a conversation about everything and nothing in between.

You can get Bernard Shaw and Richard Wright on Kindle rather than a street table in the East Village.  The Jason Bourne series had amazing photography stuffed with martial arts and action scenes.  Yet, nothing was rawer emotionally than Steve McQueen in Bullitt hopping up and down the streets of San Francisco in his Mustang.  The famous scene had a handful of cuts, while the chase scene in Bourne Identity had seven angles for each take.  I will not begin to discuss how the FCC Telecommunications Act of 1996 destroyed the serendipity of radio for local markets. I don’t want to be on the road again with Clear Channel.

I worry about the loss of human warmth and sensation that connects our six to seven senses in creative expression.  We are having dreams processed for us instantly through the technology at our disposal, rather than bringing dreams from our life experiences and still images, piecing them together through rudimentary tools.  They carry imperfections, which make the creator reliant on innate skill.  For example,  watching The Wizard of Oz on VHS.  The darker lighting affects the color scheme, giving the film a nuanced scope and underlying solemnity in Victor Fleming’s stewardship than the restored, colorfully upbeat DVD edition.  I have other

(c) Switched.com, In Jail

examples, but time is not on my side.  I need to watch yesterday’s episode of 30 Rock on Hulu right now.

As we all know, growth in technology and life is inevitable.  We are an unstoppable tidal wave of innovation. Our goal, as creative scions, is to manage it with human perspective.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in Business News, Marketing, Mobile Applications, Mobile Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Website Analytics | No Comments »
Tags: abdul fattah ismail, apple, Blueliner, Blueliner Marketing, bourne identity, FCC Telecommunications Act of 1996, hulu, Ipad, Search Engine Optimization, wizard of oz

Google to Offer Opt-Out of Google Analytics Tracking

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Google quietly announced yesterday that it will soon allow users to opt-out of being tracked by Google Analytics. The post does not explain whether the web activities of these people will still be included in the aggregate numbers, or if they will actually not be tracked or counted at all. This distinction will make a big difference as to how valuable Google Analytics continues to be for website owners.

Of course, not everyone will opt-out of of being tracked. It will really depend on the individual site’s audience and how concerned they are about Google and the site viewing their online behavior. This is, however, something that all site owners need to be aware of and pay attention to. If you are solely using Google Analytics to track your website, this could have a significant affect on your reports.

In a recent post, Ken Fisher railed against ad blocking, insinuating that 40% of ARS Technica visitors had enabled ad blocking. If this same 40% opt-out of Google Analytics (if that’s what ARS Technica uses) the site could lose extremely valuable data about their users. Further, if Google Analytics truly collects no data about these users, site owners will not know if their site’s traffic actually dropped 40% or if this is only due to people opting-out.

At this point, it is far too early to panic and abandon Google Analytics. We will continue to stay on top of any related news and provide recommendations right here on the Blueliner Blog.

Posted by Chris Walbert
Posted in Website Analytics | No Comments »
Tags: Blueliner, Blueliner Marketing, Blueliner NY, Chris Walbert, google, google analytics, online analytics, opt-out of Google Analytics, site analytics, web analytics, web analytics agency

Liveblogging the AdVision Panel – Going Viral, Going Global: Harnessing Social Media

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As part of the AdVision awards, Global Advertising Strategies organized today’s panel, Going Viral, Going Global: Harnessing Social Media. Blueliner CEO Arman Rousta is joined on the panel by moderator Craig Kanalley from Huffington Post, Ed Spiegel of RentMineOnline.com, Scott Cherkin of Travel Ad Network, Daniel Luxemburg from SnapDragon Consultants, and Toby Daniels of the Paley Center for Media.

As the panelists introduce themselves and their backgrounds, we see a wide range of digital professionals, all talking about how businesses can not only be involved in social media, but make money as well.

Social Media landscape: Where should you be?

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in Business News, Interactive Marketing, Interactive PR, Marketing, Marketing Agencies, Mobile Applications, Mobile Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Marketing, Website Analytics, World, online advertising, search engine marketing | 1 Comment »
Tags: abdul fattah ismail, arman rousta, Blueliner, Blueliner Marketing, Global Advertising Strategies, Going Global, Going Viral, Huffington Post, Paley Center for Media, RentMineOnline.com, SnapDragon Consultants, social media, Travel Ad Network