I am looking for a way to track the number of times my web site is displayed on Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft Live. I look at this as ‘Free’ brand impressions that quantify the results of my SEO efforts. If someone has a better method I am open to it.

Please comment …

Some thoughts ..
In the CPC console I can view the number of impressions I received in aggregate, for this example we will say that number is 50,000.

Let’s assume the industry average for banner advertisements on vertically oriented properties is $20 / CPM.

Using these two values we can easily deduce the value-add of these impressions is $1,000.

This simple math works well when impressions are tracked as they are in AdWords. The piece of data that is not readily exposed by Google is How many times does my web site appear within the organic result set?

How we might use mobile devices to reach our customers is the question on many marketer’s minds. In this post I will explore the future of mobile marketing.

The Phone @ Home
The mobility of the device and the extensibility of the emerging platforms enables capabilities not yet realized. The device, made aware through GPS and environmental triggers, can morph and become more effective depending on its environment.

Let’s consider the phone at home. A mobile phone’s capabilities are extended to match that of the Logitech Harmony remote – not a simple feat. The phone would double as a remote as it controls your entertainment system, your lighting and also, remarkably, continues to act as a phone.

The Phone in the Store
Now consider its extension into a retail store. The phone recognizes that you are in a CompUSA, modifies its interface to display current promotions in the store. The consumer can easily thumb through the advertisement, check whether it is in stock and even get ‘directions’ to the item. But let’s extend the thought one degree further.

The phone, and by this time the term begins only to loosely apply, enables the shopper to price compare the product with those that are similar and other specials advertised locally.

As marketers we can only imagine the possibilities, but the discussion always seems to go back to ‘how can we enable promotion without violating privacy and personal preference?’

Timely, Relevant and Accessible
I don’t think the answer is as far removed as some would have us believe. We all have our preferences and certainly would like to set when we will allow interruption and when we will not. The nuance we must consider as marketers is that we must be relevant, timely, and accessible, but avoid interruption. This means that we must maintain our contextual relevance to the current activity, provide a simple method for the device owner to opt-out and above all treat our customers as we would want to be treated.

Ultimately the phone then becomes an asset to the consumer; it enables the consumer to make smart choices on price and more importantly on the features they value.

Mobile Software
The iPhone is the best-to-date implementation of a platform that lends itself well to the scenario described above. The almost button free phone allows software to do the heavy lifting required. The software is the only way to achieve full operability.

I don’t remember where I read it or heard it, but someone said recently that the reason the Asian Manufacturing Machine has not been able to gain strength in the software and OS space is because they lack the design expertise. For this reason I also see an incredible opportunity to develop the mobile platforms here in the U.S.

The marketing machine that is America can garner a strong foot-hold early on and embed it or enable it through the platform. The end result is a mega-market B2C opportunity that has yet to be flushed out. But one thing is certain, it is coming and it will be measurable or marketers will not embrace it; and it can not be interruptive or the consumer will dismiss it.

My ‘day job’ involves managing multiple search engine marketing campaigns across different search engines. Anyone who has worked in an in-house SEM role would likely agree that keeping track of interface changes, competitors and A/B testing of ad units is no walk in the park.

To complicate matters even more when one is managing a campaigns that use broad terms its likely that the terms wind up not only competing with one’s competitors in the category, but also with one’s self.

In the category ‘automotive’ it’s likely that the key phrase “Sports Utility Vehicle” would be chosen. But let’s say you have several product managers responsible for the promotion of their lines. The tendency is to immediate use the keyword ‘Sports Utility Vehicle’ for all lines regardless of the fact that it competes with others in the business.

Figure 1

Each of the automotive lines in Figure 1 (above) are prime targets for ‘Sports Utility Vehicle’ among countless others. If no additional analysis were given then the product manager for the Escape would compete head-to-head with the vehicles in the same category – not an effective use of the promotional budget.

A Different Approach

If a search marketer does the heavy lifting required to manage their campaigns using a complex network of spreadsheets he / she can overcome this challenge. But let’s face it, tools are better at this type of work. The space remains relatively young, but I recently happened across a start-up in NYC that currently offers a Beta product which solves this and many more of the common challenges facing search marketers today – Clickable.com. Clickable ties directly into the Google, Yahoo! and Live Search SEM interfaces. Accessing the data directly it provides a real-time heat map which shows where a marketers attentions needs to be applied first.

The interface is very robust and allows one to drill down into the data using a rich flex(?) interface. They are currently working to allow for the data to be exported in the common file formats, but that feature continues to be on the to-do list.

Earlier in this posting I wrote about the keyword dilemma. Well they haven’t yet solved for that, but the feedback I provided in my discussion was received with great enthusiasm – I look forward to the inclusion of this feature as the product rolls into its Gold Version.

Check out Clickable here >

I hear a lot of chatter on netcasts these days focusing on the legal battles that have ensued following the acquisition of YouTube by Google.

“Doesn’t look like such a good deal now does it?” Tom Merritt of CNet’s Buzz Out Loud podcast stated in a recent segment.

When one looks beyond the in-your-face idea of offering advertisement within these videos one can easily see there is great value in the YouTube world.

Google built an empire delivering advertisements across the Internet, and now it plans to distribute content from media companies just as aggressively.

While Sony BMG and NBC Universal attempt something similar, Google with its vast resources can actively experiment because the company already has a vast reach on the Internet.

The real point is leverage. Google is using YouTube as an enormous amplifier of market power. While big media is still searching for leverage at the core, Google is mastering edge leverage.

Of course, then this leverage can go on to redefine the business models of players along the value chain – in Google’s favor of course.

Most of you have been around a while are used to Microsoft’s tactics of buy, buy, buy. In essence Google has the same philosophy as it

I recently read a great article on SEM and I thought I would share the link with all of you. Gary Angel tackles the topic of Measurement and Optimization of Search Engine Marketing in a two part series. He explores the common mistakes related to competing keywords and the analysis beyond the analytics. I highly recommend you give this a read if you are working in the PPC space.

“… there’s been a vast amount of time and money spent on building Search Marketing programs.

Some of that money has been well spent and, of course, some hasn’t. But as Search becomes ever more competitive, most companies are realizing that optimizing a Search program is a real challenge …”

Go >

We’re hot off the close of the aQuantive acquisition, and Microsoft is already shuffling pieces across the board. The software giant announced today the formation of a new business division called the Advertiser and Publisher Solutions Group. According to Kevin Johnson, Microsoft’s president of Platforms & Services Divisions, the new group is part of the plan to become “one of the top two online advertising platforms in the industry.”

Microsoft spent $6 Billion, the largest purchase in the company’s history, to acquire the advertising company in an effort to take their share of the share that they have been unable to own due to rival search giant, Google.

Read the Press Release >
WebProNews Video Recap >

I’ve been hitting a lot of keys recently in an effort to think through a personal brand. The very personal brand – George Seybold. You might call me an egoist, but bear with me as I explore the thought.

Continued >