Andy Pitre says, “I have some bad news: Your email marketing database degrades by about 22.5% every year. Your contacts’ email addresses change as they move from one company to another, opt-out of your email communication, or abandon that old AOL address they only use to fill out forms on websites. As a marketer, it’s your job to... [Read more]

Richard Fichera says, “Recently we’ve had a chance to look again at two very conflicting views from HP and Facebook on how to do web-scale and cloud computing, both announced at the recent OCP annual event in California. From HP come its new CloudLine systems, the public face of their joint venture with Foxcon. Early details released by HP... [Read more]

Gina Broom says, “It’s always important to keep a finger on Google’s ever-changing pulse, and this year there is quite the buzz around a recent announcement. There is an approaching update that could potentially cause a ripple of effect in search results. When traffic is at stake many tune in to hear the latest news, and it’s fair to say... [Read more]

There’s a recent marketing concept called bridge marketing. The idea is that you build a bridge leading the customer from their current problem situation to the product that can solve the problem they face. It’s a bit of educational activity, You are “priming the pump” so that the customer understands why they need a solution and what a solution... [Read more]

Amy Gesenhues says, “YouTube made its official announcement today that it now supports 360-degree video uploads. According to YouTube, they have already heard from a number of brands who are looking into ways to use this as a storytelling format. You could let viewers see the stage and the crowd of your concert, the sky and the ground as you... [Read more]

Denice Surjan says, “The biggest challenges in cross-channel marketing are linking data for a single customer view, using the right technology and breaking down organizational silos, according to data from our soon-to-be-released 2015 Digital Marketer Report. But these challenges are also the CMO’s keys to marketing success. By unlocking these... [Read more]

Benjamin Filip says, “When it comes to being a data-driven marketing team, there is not as much opposition between content and data as once thought. Two central themes that highlight this idea came out of the Opening Session of The Adobe Summit — The Digital Marketing Conference. They are: Use data correctly to support a story Ensure the story... [Read more]

Jamie Garside and David Chamberlain, like many other marketers, have been experimenting with advertising on Facebook. The have found that Facebook video ads generate a lot more response than plain ytext ads, whether you are asking for a sale or for an optin. To take advantage of this phenomenon, they created Video Popper, new software that lets you... [Read more]

Eric Siu says, “Even if you don’t know Rand Fishkin by name, you probably have heard about some of the organizations he’s co-founded (Moz, Inbound.org) or seen his Whiteboard Friday lectures. Or maybe you’ve heard of the acronym “TAGFEE,” one he and Moz cohorts created to explain their code of conduct: Transparent,... [Read more]

Courtney Eckerle says, ““The only reason any brand exists in the first place is because it helps people do something in their lives,” Kevin Knight, Head of Agency and Brand Strategy, Pinterest said. In his session at The Digital Marketing Conference — Adobe Summit, Kevin spoke about what makes Pinterest unique to marketers and brands in... [Read more]

Chow says, “You see plenty of massive corporations spending big bucks on marketing and advertising. They’re working incredibly hard to build up brand awareness and to encourage you to buy their products instead of the competition’s. Samsung, Microsoft and Apple are a few prime examples of this and the assumption that many people make is that if... [Read more]

Mark Thompson and Matt Callen have produced another new product, 'FunnelTrax'. This new product is addressing a need all smart marketers have. If you want to be successful in online marketing you need to know what is working and what isn’t... [Read more]

Kristen Dunleavy says, “In July of 2014 alone, Shane and Jocelyn Sams made over $140,000. Let that sink in for a minute. The couple isn’t printing money or selling baby unicorns. They’re simply online marketers who know a thing or two about connecting with an audience, something they teach on their website Flipped Lifestyle. But they weren’t... [Read more]

Jason Abbruzzese says, “Facebook has acquired TheFind, an ecommerce search app. TheFind announced the deal Friday on its website. “We are now starting our next chapter by combining forces with Facebook to do even more for consumers. Facebook’s resources and platform give us the opportunity to scale our expertise in product sourcing to... [Read more]

Graham Charlton says, “Important decisions over budgets are made based on SEO forecasts, but it seems that these aren’t always accurate. Indeed, just one in four SEOs say that their forecasting is accurate, according to a new study from Linkdex. SEO forecasting is used to give clients and decision makers an idea of the results they can expect,... [Read more]

Many of our readers balk when they discover that GoToWebinar charges $89-$299 per month, depending on how many people can attend. GoToWebinar is the leader in the webinar field, but their cost is beyond the means of a marketer just starting out... [Read more]

Peter O’Neill says, “Wow! It may have taken place eight days ago, but I am still exhausted — and also exhilarated. In all modesty, we held a great Sales Enablement Forum in Scottsdale, Arizona last week. Nearly 350 attendees enjoyed presentations from 34 different speakers, including many industry practitioners, as well the opportunity... [Read more]

Rand Fishkin says, “How much does the context of a link really matter? In today’s Whiteboard Friday, Rand looks at on- and off-topic links to uncover what packs the greatest SEO punch and shares what you should be looking for when building a high-quality link“. Are On-Topic Links Important? – Whiteboard Friday MOZ Blog  [Read more]

Shari Thurow says, “In my previous column, I wrote about the importance of information architecture (IA) during the web design process. In a nutshell, a website needs a good IA in order to provide a positive user experience (UX). Information architecture is organizing, labeling, prioritizing, and connecting site content so it is (a) easy to use,... [Read more]

We often make bonuses available to our readers who invest in worthwhile Internet Marketing tools and training. As it happens, we have several opportunities for bonuses open at the moment, summarized in this article... [Read more]

Philip Rooke says, “As Econsultancy lists its 16 essential success factors for ecommerce checkouts, we have been revamping ours at Spreadshirt. 2014 saw an upswing people using their mobile devices not only to browse, but also to buy. The trend extended to phones too, as consumers became increasingly confident in buying from their phones rather... [Read more]

Monica Montesa says, “There’s no doubt about it — 2015 is the year of video content. Sure, video makes it possible to watch things like dogs walking in boots or babies laughing at ripping paper. But it’s also a huge opportunity for brands that want another way to educate and connect with their customers. According to DigitalSherpa, videos have... [Read more]

Baer says, “There’s a reason we come back to the same grocery store each week. It’s the same reason that we return to the same barber, home improvement store, or favorite restaurant. These businesses have created a positive experience, which in turn creates loyalty toward their particular brand. In the retail world, brand experience and engagement... [Read more]

If you think of SEO as a boring, tedious and expensive process (you probably have the experience to prove it), then you may want to consider what 'Aladdin' can do for you. This new software (just released on Tuesday) can simplify, and even automate, a lot of your SEO work... [Read more]

Ryan Scott says, “Social media is one of those marketing channels that can be very powerful … or very boring. You’ll either have a lot of success interacting with your customers, or you’ll see little results. Few do social media really well, and those who do see great things come from it. But for everyone who does social media... [Read more]

Matt Swan says, “Customer journeys are becoming increasingly complex. Not only are they across multiple channels with multiple touch-points, they are also spanning multiple devices. Attribution and last click models For years, attribution has been a subject of great debate, but until now we have been missing a core piece of this. Without the ability... [Read more]

Amy Schatz says, “Two weeks after the Federal Communications Commission adopted controversial new net neutrality rules for Internet lines, the agency finally released the text to the public Thursday morning. The release promptly caused the FCC’s famously delicate website to crash, as advocates, lawyers and opponents rushed to download the... [Read more]