In my last blog post, I mention the publication of Enquiro’s latest free whitepaper about B2B Purchasing behaviors.  Today, Gord puts some lights on the study he just published from his company Enquiro. As such, he wrote this article as part of his weekly Search Insider column called Shedding some lights on B2B Purchasing. As I was reading through it, I saw an incredible stat. Despite the fact that the first places business buyers turn to are the major portals, and of course the favorite search engine remains Google with an overwhelming majority of 77%, 74.2% of the clicks happened on organic listings. Study after study, it shows a growing trend that favors Organic listings. Yet, the vast majority of any Search Marketing budget is still going towards Paid Search Advertising. Don’t get me wrong, I remain a strong advocate for paid search advertising but as everyone is getting in the field, the main opportunity is moving away from paid search and goes straight back to its roots: the natural listings. And that applies to B2B Purchase cycle too.

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Enquiro Survey Reveals How Business to Business (B2B) Purchasers Buy. The objective of the survey, conducted with over 1000 B2B buyers, was to discover how people research B2B buying decisions online and how this varies by role within a company and by purchase phase. How do people navigate from awareness, through research and negotiation phases to the actual purchasing decision? What is the balance between online and offline influences? Do purchasers use search engines, and if so, which search engines and why? Do they use specific B2B search engines? When do they refer to a vendor’s site or an industry information site and what do they look for specifically?

This 52 page research document, now available as a free download, gives us valuable information on how to market to B2B companies and the individuals who work for them.

Here’s an excerpt from the Executive Summary:

In this study, we were looking for the answer to one question, with several different parts: How important is online research in business to business (B2B) purchase decisions? We certainly believed it to be important, but even we were surprised by just how important respondents to our survey indicated it was to them. We found a heavy reliance on online research in all aspects of the purchase cycle. We also found that as prospects become aware of potential offerings through offline channels, they naturally turn to online sources to find out more about them. For example, a prospect may become aware of a potential offering at a trade show and the first thing they do is go online to find out more about that offering. One of the more interesting findings of the study was just how important those online influencers could be, in many cases matching the influence of traditional offline factors. A vendor website, together with the perennial offline winner, wordof-mouth from a colleague or peer, were both indicated as the most important influencers in a purchase decision. Close behind were search engines, distributor websites, word-of-mouth from friends or paid consultants and online and offline trade journals.

Another significant finding was where this research tends to happen online. General search engines are often the first place people turn to begin their online research session and among the general search engines, Google holds a dominant position, being the first choice of 77.7% of respondents. As researchers begin to research their purchase, they rely heavily on information from the vendor’s own website. Also, as they enter the later research phase and start compiling information to begin the actual negotiation, many purchasers rely on B2B vertical engines to help gather detailed information they require. Other sources of heavily relied upon information included industry websites, distributor websites and offline channels such as trade journals and other industry publications.

Graph showing results of where the users started their research, by phase:

Download the Enquiro Whitepaper here

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As part of my involvement with SEMPO Canada Working Group, I am pleased to announce a new member on the team. Deborah Kilpatrick from DSide Marketing based in Montreal (QC) is joining the Canadian Search Marketing group of experts and we believe her experience in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) along with her leadership skills will help us grow the Search Marketing industry in Canada. Here is some more info on Deborah as you may also find in the SEMPO Canada Founding Members.

Deborah Kilpatrick has over 5 years experience as a search marketer. After working for Montreal-based search engine, Mamma.com, Deborah opened her own consulting practice. dSide Marketing is a full service Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing firm helping clients around the world develop and execute successful online marketing strategies and optimization programs. 

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I came across a blog post about the current image of advertising in North America that stroke me. Listen to this: according to a recent study recently published in Adweek, the Advertising industry suffers an image problem. The study reveals that only 10% of the consumers surveyed consider advertising ethical. This percentage is only 1% more of perceived ethic than used car salesman. 

The global advertising industry on Monday committed to improving its image and regulating itself as it battles growing anti-brand and anti-corporate sentiments. The World Federation of Advertisers said it wants to give consumers more of a stake in advertising by boosting the complaints process and generating more feedback.

In another study, they asked consumers about which industries should be regulated more. Here are the top 5 responses, in order:

* Water pollution,
* Toxic waste,
* Air pollution,
* Advertising
* Nuclear facilities.

That gives a very strong indication about where consumers are at with regards to their response level to advertising.

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There are quite a few interesting news in the world of Web Analytics these days. First their was the announcement last week of the new Google Analytics Interface, which is, in my opinion a significant improvement over the last interface. In a nutshell, the new Google Analytics interface is more graphical, faster, easier to use and allows you to have a greater level of customization and collaboration. I especially like how easy it is to compare data sets between different time periods as well as sharing web analytics reports through the new email feature. You can find all the information you need on the new Google Analytics Interface on the Google Analytics Blog. Contact me if you want me to hook you up with it or create a Google Analytics account yourself. Google Analytics is still available for free so there is no reason not to use it.

Here is a snapshot of the Google Analytics Dashboard:

Also, this week, WebSideStory and Visual Sciences have consolidated under the Visual Sciences brand with a unified mission: to deliver real-time analytics that enable business optimization through fast answers to hard questions. You can learn more about their new technologies on their website.

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It is with great pleasure and excitement that I announce a new project for eMarketing 101. In the next few months, Hop Studios and eMarketing 101 will collaborate to execute a complete redesign of MovieMaker.com supported with a complete Search Engine Marketing plan.

Travis Smith from HopStudios.com is definitely a master at redesigning website with the use of expression engine, a premium content management software from small and medium size businesses. It is therefore with a lot of enthusiasm that I forsee the synergies between our respective skills set. As soon as the project kicks in near May 28, I will post some preliminary challenges in SEO, results and relevant information. Stay tuned. 

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Last week I met with Jenny Brown, a brilliant professional marketing copywriter based in Vancouver (BC), to discuss her business, her clients and how we could collaborate. Despite the fact that I did most of the talking (Jenny asks a lot of questions and really likes to know who she is talking to) we both agreed that copywriting, especially web copywriting, is not being taken seriously by most businesses.

Jenny Brown, Copywriter

In the wake of the new Web boom and the increasing importance of having great site content, I urge you to give her a call and improve your site’s copy. According to Jenny, there is a world of difference between writing and concise & persuasive copywriting that leads to results. If you want to know more about how she can help your business generate more results, either from the web or traditional channels, please feel free to get in touch with her: jennybrown.ca. You will learn a great deal on how better writing can contribute to your bottom line.

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O.k. here comes the juice. I have been working for the last few months on a new project that I can not disclose here but I will share the results I have been getting. Let’s just say that this kept me excited for quite some time as I see the traffic going up dramatically from one campaign after another that I have been optimizing. This is a case study that I am hoping to present to the next CaseCamp Vancouver, the tech marketing non-conference that happens twice a year. 

In Search Marketing, especially paid search, you need to have a really deep understanding of your keywords, your ad copy, your bidding rules and it must be well supported with strong web analytics in order to provide a good, great or outstanding ROI (Return on Investment). If you are not sure about what I mean by targeting the tail of search queries, may I suggest you read my article: Targeting the tail: how to get the most out of every marketing dollar. This will give you an overview on how important this topic is. This morning, I also came across a great article on this, called: Marketing to the long tail, which also focuses on the same topic which is worth the read. As the average click cost is constantly increasing as more competitors are getting into it, most business owners have no choice but to be smarter on how they invest their budget online, and this is one aspect they can use to get more value for their dollar. 

So, I took over a project 4 months ago on a major online advertiser who spends about $1.2 Millions per year. They are in the travel business and they have winter, summer and specific campaigns. We are using all 3 main search engines, Google, Yahoo and MSN.

By simply adding the ALL the keywords included in the long tail of search queries for each ad group (and a few other tricks in my arsenal), here is an overview of what happened:

That’s right. The Client gets on average 4 times more value for every dollar they invest online. Whereas the average page view per visitor used to be $0.25 before I jump on board, it is now more like $0.06. Please note that the user engagement actually increased while the average cost per click dropped dramatically. As a result, the combination of the search term contained within the tail with a corresponding ad copy defines more of the quality of the user that the keyword itself. 

What most people underestimate is the time it takes to actually provide this kind of added value. In this case, it took me 4 months solid, but with 1 Million more page views per month, it is well worth the effort. If you are not sure if your paid program is actually providing what you expect, feel free to get in touch with me, I will make your paid search campaign, not good, not even better, I will make it stellar. And the beauty is that I only charge a small fraction of the cost to manage it. 

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Mon ami Craig Riggs de Turner-Riggs Workspace est à la recherche d’un assistant de recherche francophone pour un projet dans le domaine littéraire Canadien. Les heures de travail sont variables et sont échelonnées durant tout le mois de Mai, à raison de quelques heures par semaine. Le tout comporte entre 40 et 80 heures de travail.

Craig Riggs at BarCamp

Vous pouvez lire ci dessous d’autres informations la dessus: (en anglais cette fois)

“What we need to do here is to add a research assistant to our project team for an ongoing study of the Canadian book retail sector. The study will look at the book business both in Quebec and, to a lesser extent, France, and a number of the sources we need to consult are available only in French. Unfortunately, we’re a pretty unilingual crew so we need someone that can help us to make our way through some of the French-language sources. It’s not a huge job--1-2 weeks and we can provide a fair amount of support in terms of sources, orientation to the project, active direction, etc. All that to say, we’re looking for someone who knows how to search for and evaluate information--a lot of this will be web-based--and someone who can work quickly and reliably with our little crew. This is probably a gig for a younger professional with sharp research skills.”

Si vous connaissez quelqu’un qui serait intéressé par ce contrat, s’il vous plait, donnez moi vos coordonnées ou communiquez sans tarder avec Craig Riggs à craigriggs{at}shaw{dot}ca. Merci!

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My friend James from Boxcar Marketing must have said it a thousand time: You should start a blog. For a year I also heard him say: We fear change. It is hard to admit it, but this can apply to me every now and then considering it took me this long to start a blog. Monique, James’ lovely girlfriend and partner in Work Industries, was kind enough to teach me the first few lessons about blogging 101 a few weeks ago which I post it here.

Since I find this helpful, I think it might help you too. Here are the first few tips about blogging for newbies:

1. be smart (it’s easy to make stupid mistakes and or post without
considering the implications. This is a public record of you.)

2. respect existing confidentiality agreements (don’t blab about your
current or former employers unless you really, really can do it
anonymously)

3. don’t break news, don’t disclose confidential info (Don’t leak
stories from your employers or clients, it could cost you your job.)

4. be cautious with third party info

5. respect prior employers and employees (don’t air dirty laundry,
especially on a blog)

6. identify yourself (don’t post anonymously in comments, etc. on
your blog or others)

7. be cautious in how you offer support or advice

8. Speak for yourself (don’t respond on behalf of your employer, your
client, your friends, etc. unless you are authorized to do so)

9. Think about reactions before you hit “post”, how would this look
on the front of the Globe and Mail

10. When in doubt ask

Hope that’s helpful. Other advice is spell check. Modify posts by adding a new post and linking to the old, or by adding an UPDATE to the original post rather than rewriting it. Thanks Monique!
If you like this, make sure you subscribe to her Underwire Newsletter: Full Support for Non-Techie.

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I can not believe it. Yet, it is true. Take a look for yourself. Search Engine Watch Forums just added “Intrusive” ads although most of their readers are saying they are immune against intrusive ads and ignore them out quite easily. In that same vein, I came across another article today that says that intrusive advertising = effective advertising (sorry I misplaced the link) but I could not disagree more. The author tends to believe that we have to live with intrusive advertising because otherwise, it would be disruptive to the economy, especially for new products, you might need. In my opinion, I think people hate bad, intrusive advertising which is clearly explained in this article, which states that more than half of US household use some kind of ad-blocking technology, such as a spam filter or a pop-up blocker. Now, if that is not enough to indicate a trend, I am wondering what would do.

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This is a test to learn how to use the software Movie Maker from Microsoft using different video hosting provider.

This one is with Mydeo.com (Microsoft-affiliated video provider - free account for only 1 month)

And here is another test with Brightcove, low resolution:

And another one with Brightcove, high resolution:

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