The Web Uncovered

Besides the tried-and-true recommendation or reference letter that runs about a page and is mailed (or, sometimes, emailed), there is now a new breed of recommendation “letter”: brief personal and professional endorsements on business and social networking sites such as LinkedIn. 

As the different technologies online become decreasing tied to the youth or the Millenials, new demographics can both be focused on in marketing research, and targetted in content generation.  Social Media Marketing guru Scott Monty shares with his blog readers about the bourgening market of moms.  He says:

There’s no question that so-called “mommy bloggers” are an interesting demographic. Recent statistics show that there are more than 36 million of them online, and they definitely wield influence in purchasing power. Which is why many companies think this community can be a key in their word of mouth efforts. 

However, he points out the fact that these broad segments also have high diversity within themselves.  Nonetheless, marketing research about the internet use of a specific demographic can also reveal how to market to them, or what advertisements will speak to them based on their values, and unmet needs.

The Takeaway:   Now that the late adaptors are joining the chorus of social networking, how you can you address their new unmet needs in the online world?  If you figure it out, you could be creating the next big thing to an underexploited niche market.

According to Hitwise, the past month’s paid search traffic is down 26% from the same time-frame last year.  Hitwise said, “This is no doubt a result of cutbacks in marketing spent due to the recession.”  This analysis, however, seems shallow at best.

The online marketing blog The Marketing Pilgrim suggests a less worrisome reason.  Perhaps companies are no longer paying for their own names for paid search traffic, when their organic traffic is high enough, and of course free.  They ask, “is it likely due to a reduction in budget spent, or  is Orbitz et al are figuring out that they really don’t need to spend so much on paid advertising–considering they’re #1 in the organic results?”

The Takeaway:  Perhaps it is time for you to look at the keywords you are paying for in search traffic.  If your keywords render your website in the top results of a search engine, perhaps your money would be better spent on keywords that you are less likely to get organic traffic from.

Creating fake websites is a means towards several ends.  While some implementations are funny or catchy, some can be unethical and even illegal.   A Fake website is a website whole sole purpose is something other than what would seem to be the obvious.  One such example is the ever famous petsORfood.com, a website that pretends to sell unwanted pets for food, including species on the endangered species list.  It’s totally believable with its extensive online content, complete with order forms and checkout.

Why create fake websites?  There are two main reasons why you might consider this.  Firstly, by creating content that has virality potential, you could set up PPC ads and then just sit on the ad revenue.  While it may not turn into a cash cow, it could give you a nice side income.  Another reason why some people create fake websites is to create a reputable link to their site.  Not only could it bolster traffic, but it has positive SEO effects as well.   Find a list of such websites here.

The Takeaway:  

While creating a funny or unbelievable fake website may advantageous, make sure you are complying with FTC regulations regarding misrepresenting yourself.  Furthermore, avoid lawsuits from refraining from lying about medical matters.  Finally, consider the use of these fake websites as jokes, if yours isn’t in good humor or obviously a hoax once scrutinized, you may need to reconsider your own ethical limits.

As if the current economic conditions weren’t bad enough.  Bidding for that dream job may be a real alternative, and for some their only choice. 

For years the internet has been shaping the way we do business.  A global marketplace for goods is available for just about everything.  Auction sites have been the rave for years, with eBay raking in Billions in transactions.

Did you know that you can also bid on a job? That’s right, only the bidding goes the other way.  At sites like http://www.jobaphiles.com/ you are presented with assorted industries to choose from.  Boston college grads started a Web site that allows job seekers to bid on positions based on who will work for the lowest salary. 

“We’ll start the bidding at $50 dollars per hour.  Do I hear 45?  How about $40?”  And with the rap of gavel, “SOLD for $35 dollars per hour!””.

Sound ridiculous?  Sound far fetched?  Not in today’s economy.  With millions of Americans looking for work, this could become a reality and the only type of place to post or find quality jobs.

We see companies letting people go saying they are eliminating their position, yet immediately recreating the position and rehiring someone else for less money.  Why not auction the job off to save money?  Heck, why not auction off the CEO or CIO positions?  That’s where a company would get the best bang for its buck.

Corporate America is more cost conscious now than ever before. They are motivated. Thanks to recent occurrences, we are seeing government bailouts in the trillions of dollars.  Adopting an auction approach to filling positions could become a real alternative for saving money as they restructure. Search engines like Monster and Career Builder may find themselves taking a back seat for some or most of the best job postings. 

The job auction sites are out there.  Is it time to rethink your job search strategy?  Is this a good or bad idea?  Would you participate or boycott?  I doubt the latter.  We all have a nasty habit called hunger and a propensity to live with roofs over our heads.

What do you think?  Can you stand the competition?  If so take your paddle and sit in isle 100 thousand.  The bidding will start momentarily.

So for those of you who have a content-based website that you are marketing, you know that search technologies are important.  Not only are these technologies important to understand, but media consumers are increasingly looking at keyword searches and trends to determine legitimacy.  Showcasing your own searches, or searches for keywords related to your product or service, has been impossible.

Until Now.  Google has released Google Trends Gadget, which is available for free.  Still not sure how cool this is?  Imagine you are selling an over-the-counter flu remedy from your website.  When people visit your website, they can see how the search results have increased for the word “flu” at the beginning of the flu season.  Also, it allows for comparables.  The customizable aspect of the tool makes it easy to implement and use.  

The Takeaway:   In the new epoch of microblogging, the term “now” means less “this year” and more “the next fifteen minutes.”  Harness developing technologies to exploit this trend, especially those involved in search technology.