Search Engine Optimization (SEO): How to speak SEO Geek
http://www.sempo.org/glossary.php

How Google Works:
When you understand the inner workings, it starts to make more sense
http://www.googleguide.com/google_works.html

Cost-Per-Click (CPC) ads on Google and Overture are nothing new, but perhaps thinking about them in terms of cost per acquisition rather than per click is new to you. To review, CPC works like this:

• You find a keyword that will bring you traffic.
• You bid on that keyword.
• People click your PPC ad and come to your site.
• They buy stuff.
• You’re happy.
• And it only cost you 10¢ for the click! What a bargain.
  

Or is it?

Let’s say that you get 100 clicks on your ad.
And of those 100 clicks, 1 person buys your product. (that’s a 1% conversion rate)
Let’s say your average sale is $35.00

You paid this much for your ad: 100 x 10¢= $10
Which means your Cost-Per-Acquistion (CPA) was $10

Can you afford to pay $10 for every $35 you make?

CPA is an important consideration when creating PPC campaigns.
It’s affected by:

• The number of clicks you receive
• The number of people who buy from those clicks
• The amount you pay per click
  

You can dramatically alter your CPA by paying attention to:

• The relevancy of the ad you place with the keyword
• The destination you link the ad to (does it make sense to the user and does it help them or confuse them?)
• The price you’re paying per click
• Conversion rate from visitor to buyer
• Abandonment rates – figure out why they are leaving without buying

Everyday I am asked to look at some struggling project or web site to see if I have ideas for making it better. And after hundreds, if not thousands, of these requests I’ve found that one thing unifies them all: no creative brief.

If you know me at all, you know that I harp on this issue all of the time. Creative Briefs are the best way to make sure that the outcome of your project is what you intended it to be. It gives the team a clear picture of what you’re trying to build, who you’re talking to and what they need to accomplish. You would never, never, never build a house without a blueprint – and you should never, never, never build a site without a creative brief.

But what happens when you’re not confident enough to write that initial brief? Or you don’t know what words to use? Or you’re working with a team on the other side of the world and you want to make sure they understand what you mean when you say rustic-elegance?

First, you should know that you’re not alone. Sometimes I am in those shoes myself. Despite the savantness you often tease me about, or as my friend Keith calls it “the encyclopedia brown gene”, I don’t always have the answer. Sometimes I get stuck, frustrated, and utterly unmotivated to face the big blank sheet of paper titled “creative brief”.

So here’s what I do… I get out my scissors and glue sticks and a sheet of tag board and a big stack of magazines, books, catalogs, newspapers, junk mail, anything that grabs my fancy. Then I start cutting out, or photocopying, things that match the vibe I am going for.

Maybe things someone who would buy my product might also buy.
Places they might live.
Things they might read.
Or ads, products or designs that match the mood or style I am after.
Even things I definintely DON’T want can be added to the mix.

I create an inspiration board that helps me to clarify my own ideas about the direction. This process starts to spark ideas, and provides visuals that can help me better communicate my ideas & goals.

You can also do this online – copying images and urls into a Word document.

Bottom line – it gets the creative energy flowing. Keeps me from staring at a blank sheet of paper and helps me to process my gut ideas. It’s just one of the techniques available to you when you’re stuck. And it works!

Let’s take rustic cabin for example. What do you think of when I say that?

This kind of rustic?

or this kind of rustic?

This is a great resource for those of you with a library of articles already created, or perhaps a deals page that your trusty web team keeps updated for you.

With a few clicks you can re-use that web page and send it as an email message.
The caveats: you have to setup your Outlook Express using the instructions I posted on 09/09/03 and you have to be on a PC.

So here’s what you do…
Open Internet Explorer and navigate to the page you want to send.
File… Send… Page by Email

This will create a new Outlook Express message with the chosen web page as the content of the message.

BE ABSOLUTELY SURE YOU’VE PROPERLY SET UP OUTLOOK EXPRESS OR YOUR RECIPIENT LIST WILL RECEIVE AN ENORMOUSLY LARGE EMAIL MESSAGE WITH TONS OF ATTACHMENTS AND THEY WILL BE VERY VERY UPSET WITH YOU.

When you send email messages from Outlook Express, the default setting is to include images as attachments. So if your HTML file calls 1 image or 30 images, each will attach itself to the email. This happens without your doing anything – so even if your HTML is perfect, Outlook Express will override it.

This clunky html message with a bunch of images attached clearly indicates to the recipient’s spam filter that this message is most likely spam.

How to remedy?

TOOLS… OPTIONS
Click the SEND tab
Under mail sending format make sure HTML is checked.
CLICK THE HTML SETTINGS BUTTON
Make sure “Send pictures with messages” is NOT checked.

CLICK OK
You return to Options dialog box
CLICK OK
You return to your application.