Can Pay Per Click Conversions be Based on CTR Rates?

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1. Can Pay Per Click Conversions be Based on CTR Rates? - 2007-07-05 10:18:53-04
   

   Say you have a campaign and consistently see click-through-rates of 10% over a long period of time. Can you use that data to accurately predict whether the same thing will occur in the future? This question is being asked and discussed at WebmasterWorld.

   I would say that it is tough to make any determinations because the market is volatile. There is a lot of change that can occur and you can't definitively say with full confidence that the future will hold the same results. This is apparently a notion echoed by a member on the forums:

   i'd say that because the market is not a stable laboratory atmosphere where many things are held constant, predicting things using classical science and statistics is a problem. too much can change that you can't control, so why calculate any precise future confidence levels in predicting an outcome.

   Some others see similar fluctuations such as seasonal change and occasional drastic "bumps." The advertiser is advised to carefully monitor these anomalies rather than consider it a gamble.

   Any huge plan (like some kind of investment) would need a careful examination.

   Forum discussion continues at WebmasterWorld.

   

   
   
   
2. Have You Used Your Search Knowledge to Play the Stock Market? - 2007-07-05 10:32:30-04
   

   An interesting thread has arisen on the Search Engine Watch Forums out of a relatively interesting question. Many of us who are "search savvy" can get a feel of what might be the next big thing. Do we invest in stocks because of our industry know-how?

   It appears that a few people have done so.

   Ian McAnerin has an interesting story to share about his experience with Yahoo. Some highlights are below:

   [O]ne day I came across this cool site run by a student at Stanford named jyang. The directory was great, though it had a silly name (Yahoo). I sent him an email saying I liked his site and noticed he didn't have a lot of Canadian links. I also wanted to grab a bunch of his. We were both students so we basically agreed to swap links....

   Anyway, a couple years later, I was walking by a newsstand and noticed that an issue of Barrons featured Yahoo as going IPO. SInce I was working with a small public company at the time (mostly for stock options), I was interested and read the article.

   Funny thing was, Barrons thought that the stock was interesting, was concerned about monetization, and didn't really recommend buying. The reviewer said something to the effect that if you bought it, it would likely be a "nice ride".

   I had more faith in Jerry's project and bought as much stock as I could on IPO day.

   Do you ever have a hunch or are swayed based on industry talk? Do you have a story like Ian's to share?

   Discussion continues at Search Engine Watch Forums.

   

   
   
   
3. Addressing Reputation Management Issues with Search - 2007-07-05 11:00:50-04
   

   We cover reputation management every so often. There are reputation management sessions at Search Engine Strategies. With search, a positive company image is quite important. Bad publicity ranked on the top of the SERPs can hurt your image.

   Barry wrote about multiple ways to deal with reputation management last year and the year before. A few suggestions included starting a blog, creating a personal website, sending out press releases, linking to positive articles about the company, writing articles, and participating in forums under the company name.

   A WebmasterWorld discusses this a little further. Administrator tedster offers some great tips about how you can work with your audience to improve your image.

   Maybe some do that -- but I prefer it to be done legitimately with real sites entering into real dialog with the market.

   Years ago there was a lot of attention to the book Cluetrain Manifesto. In my view, reputation management is taking on the purposes expressed there as intensively as possible. Good reputation management also involves addressing whatever seems problematic to the marketplace, and doing it for real.

   Moderator martinibuster adds that social media can help too:

   [Reputation Management] consultants were purchasing domain variants of your name or company name, then pointing links to those pages which then lead back to your main site. Be sure to purchase the same variants with blog pages, including squidoo, myspace, flickr and any other service that you can add your name to the URL. And don't forget the power of subdomains.

   It is suggested that you even participate in reputation management before your reputation sours so that you have the rankings before you run into a threat.

   IMO reputation management should be a process built into your online marketing efforts from the start. If you take the longer view and make consistent efforts to do a good job servicing customers, fixing mistakes and investing in your brand you will be ahead of the game when it comes time to defend from a potential threat.

   This is an incredibly informative thread for anyone looking for advice and tips on how to proceed in the realm of reputation management.

   Discussion continues at WebmasterWorld.