“How do our Google Analytics metrics compare to other websites?” We hear this question frequently! Visitor and engagement statistics vary depending on market and content type. In the past we have used our experience and the annual numbers that Google provides to help clients gauge how they stack up from a benchmark perspective. Thanks to our friends (with the cute name) at KISSmetrics for setting up an infographic that shows Google Analytics averages.
View Infographic [Read more...]
We are just putting the finishing touches on our Reporting system to track and report Local Search Results. Currently, our reporting has only been tracking Organic and Paid search positioning. With the expansion of Local Search, it has been increasingly important to measure the success.
We will automatically add this report to your monthly update if your business is an actual brick and mortar location, and not [Read more...]
YouTube added a nice little feature to its user interface recently called YouTube Insight. YT account owners can now get some basic metrics on how many visitors each video is getting, plus demographics and popularity by region.
The new information can be accessed by logging into your Tube account, and clicking on the “Account” tab, then click on the “Insight” link, located on the right-hand side.
The most important tab from an SEO perspective is the “Discovery” tab that was added today. This shows how people are finding your video. Netrafic clients will see a high number of visits from the search engines, as video we work with is designed to be found for specific key terms related to your business segment.
Don’t have any video up on YouTube yet? — Here is the best place to start on your first YouTube Video
With tight budgets these days I get asked regularly, “what can I do to improve my business online in 2009 even if I can’t expand my budget?”
I have found, many entrepreneurs and small business people are in the dark when it comes to gauging how successful they are with their web marketing. It’s not their fault. They wear a lot of hats on a day to day basis.
But here is something you can do for FREE that will have good implications for years to come. Google offers free traffic analyzation software. The sooner you get Google Analytics installed correctly on your web site, the sooner you will have a better handle on where your web business is headed.
If you install this software before 1/1/09 you can have statistics for the entire 2009 year. Because, it really takes gathering this information for a year before you can begin to compare and discover success or failure in your online efforts. For over ten years we have been supplying our clients with regular Search Engine Ranking Reports. In fact, of course, they ride along in our monthly newsletter to you ! What we are now beginning to see is the need for more decision making information than just “where does the website rank”. That is one part of the equation. But now that you have established a presence on the web, it’s time to improve ! That’s where analyzing same-month, year over year data can really come into play. A successful search engine optimization campaign should show an increasing amount of traffic from the search engines. So if you had 100 visitors from Google in January 2009 and when we get to January 2010, we find that you receive 125 visitors from Google a year later, that could be construed as a 25% increase in search engine traffic, year over year.
We would be happy to help you install Google Analytics, or consult your web developer. It is important that the tracking code be placed on every page of your site. And when you add new pages, that you include the code to them as well.
In concert with all of this, we are unveiling a new two-tiered Maintenance Package to our clients. Right now, our clients go into SEO maintenance after we have delivered three Ranking Reports. You pay a nominal amount and we continue to send you reports and are available for consulting on any web marketing matter, as well, as long as you tell us you have changed or added a web page, unlimited SEO work on those new and changed pages. This activity keeps your site fully optimized to capture the maximum possible traffic. Without this, your web site would slowly erode over the course of time until it was no longer optimized causing a loss of search engine rankings. Now, we will continue to offer this super, low priced retainer service. But additionally, we will offer a higher level of Maintenance to those clients wishing more. This level will consist of quarterly Analytics Review as well as annual Usability Review, designed to wring the most out of your Web Presence as is possible.
If you are interested in learning more about a more aggressive Maintenance package going forward into the new year, just drop us a line. But, even if you don’t, take a few moments to put traffic tracking into play before the first of the year, so you can have a full year of data to compare this time next year!
Chris Tucker
VIDEO: Google Analytics – Everything You Need to Know
Don’t shoot the observer … Shoot at the observation!
The online travel sector has experienced a general downturn in visitors looking to “get out of dodge” in the fourth quarter of 2008. Its easy to explain, but hard to deal with. Money’s tight, transportation costs are up, the economy is staggering, and attentions have been focused on politics, just to mention a few factors. Estimates from various sources inside the travel industry put the decline in traffic from 10% to over 40% compared year over year, 2007 to 2008.
Looking at some of the online travel blue-chips metrics courtesy of Alexa you can see an overall trending decline since summer.
Here we Compare Expedia, Travelocity, and Orbitz traffic trends for the last 12+ months.
There is no quick and easy turn-around solution, but let me give you a formula for failure; Worry and Wait to see what happens. The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines the word, “Wait” as “to remain temporarily neglected or unrealized…” Now that’s no way to build your business!
Here is what are we doing over at Netrafic to help you fight this trend. Plus, some ideas to help you keep and grow your market-share during this stagnant period.
Build Organic (free) Traffic:
Netrafic Can Help With the Following:
Tune your organic SEO program to get the best positions you can.Optimize your inclusion in Local Search
Build additional relevant pages about your market to attract more natural search.
Launch a blog, news feed, or article area on your site to keep fresh content in front of the search engines.
Socialize your brand by creating content on top visited networks like YouTube, delivering visitors.
Ideas You Should Explore Within Your Organization:
Create alliances with similar businesses in your market to swap banner advertising. Pick up the phone to expedite this.Offer an incentive or discount; price conscious travelers are looking for saving.
Joint Venture with website owners that send out regular emails to your demographic. Ask for a plug, and return the favor by offering a link, a banner ad, or some other exchange.
Tap your email database to offer past customers incentives to return and revisit.
Re-market to your current visitors by offering an incentive to return this season, stay longer, or a “friends and family” style discount.
Increase Paid Advertising:
Analyze your Pay Per Click advertising for ad effectiveness and ROI.
Lower your PPC advertising cost by improving the quality of your landing pages. Google rewards websites that offer top quality content with a reduced cost per click, without losing position.
Improve the conversion potential of your landing pages by offering multiple methods of contacting you or finding out more about your service or offer. Keep it simple!
The good times will roll again, things will get better, and businesses that market aggressively will survive. If your travel market segment is winter travel, pray for snow. If you are a warm weather destination, pray for more snow!
Travel Stocks, Now That’s Another Story…
