E-consultancy - Ashley Friedlein's Blog

What in-store retailing can teach us about how to sell better online

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 11:23:00 UT

I recently attended an event in Amsterdam which gathered together senior etailers from across Europe (kindly sponsored by Fredhopper � I owe them at least that plug�).

For me the most fascinating talk was by the VP Merchandising & Buying at a major European multi-channel retailer. It reminded me just how much we still have to learn about how online selling works, and how much we can apply from offline.

Just how much of the customer journey will Google own?

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 21:19:00 UT

Google's stated mission is to "organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful".

The genius of this statement is that it sounds quite innocuous, indeed philanthropic, despite its obvious grand ambition, but actually allows pretty much anything within its scope.

It is interesting to see just how much of the online customer journey (from search, to research, to purchase) Google is taking hold of. Will we all end up as "wholesalers" to Google's customers?

Can offline marketing and advertising help you save money in digital marketing?

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 20:07:00 UT

We know that offline marketing and advertising drives demand that can be captured, and monetised, online. The correlation between TV advertising and paid search performance, for example, has been much discussed; and direct mail, or catalogues, drive online sales.

But do you know of any examples where the cost of offline marketing or advertising has been more than offset by the savings in the online marketing?

FatttPipe - ultra-fast new broadband that doesn't exist...

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 16:29:00 UT

Have you heard of FatttPipe the ultra-reliable, ultra-fast new broadband?

Not FatPipe (that's already a networks company) and not FattPipe (because someone already owns Fattpipe.com) but with three 't's in the spelling - FatttPipe because it's at least 3X faster.

You haven't heard of FatttPipe? That's probably because it doesn't exist. But I need to repeat FatttPipe to get my keyword density up.

You see this is really a post about search marketing and brands...

eTail UK � a few notes of interest from the conference

Fri, 17 Aug 2007 09:45:00 UT

I was one of the speakers and attendees at the inaugural eTail UK conference this year in the UK. I scribbled down lots of notes intending to do a series of blog posts based on what I heard and learned.

That was over 2 months ago now� But I thought I�d at least capture a few snippets of interest that I still remember.

Data and Relationship Visualisation Tools - what's out there?

Mon, 6 Aug 2007 11:09:00 UT

Quite rightly there is increasing amounts of talk about 'social media' online. The jury is still out on the real value of some areas of social media and networks, but one area where the value is currently most apparent is using network analysis to help optimise your natural search engine rankings (SEO), largely by identifying suitable sites to get inbound links from.

But what with the internet being so big, and growing so fast, it has been hard to make any practical sense of all the network data available. Recently I came across a tool which showed me the potential power of visualising these relationships...

Google Checkout � a paid search optimisation tactic?

Fri, 25 May 2007 13:18:00 UT

Have you seen the new Google Checkout icons which are displayed with paid search ads where the merchant is using Google Checkout? The evidence we�ve heard so far is that those icons lead to a higher click through rate.

What will that do for your paid search rankings?

Multivariate Testing and A/B Split Testing - who provides it?

Tue, 15 May 2007 17:20:00 UT

We're seeing growing interest from site owners in doing A/B split testing and multivariate / multivariable testing - for landing pages, for product pages, for buying processes, for e-mails and so on.

But who are the service providers out there specialising in offering such solutions?

�Traditional� Ad Networks vs. the Digital Agencies � the big debate

Wed, 2 May 2007 09:53:00 UT

For years now the debate has rumbled on � should brands be choosing the �traditional� ad networks to handle all their media planning and buying, with digital integrated in that, or do they need to go the digital specialists for their digital needs?

Again the debate has raged in the trade press recently. What are my thoughts�?

Brands attempting �User Generated Content� � the good, the bad, and the ugly

Tue, 30 Jan 2007 15:21:00 UT

With the rise of �Web 2.0� and �UGC� (User Generated Content) many brands are attempting to harness the power of UGC. But how well are they doing it? Which ones are getting right and which embarrassingly wrong?

Here are a few of my own thoughts on the winners and losers, but do suggest your own�

Blog and User Generated Content monitoring services

Tue, 30 Jan 2007 10:24:00 UT

With the rise of user-generated content ('UGC') and blogging, there is a growing need to be able to monitor, engage with,�and respond to what is being said about you, your brand, product or service online.

But what tools, products or services are out there to help you track, analyse and report on all this activity?

Why PR is so powerful for online marketing...

Tue, 16 Jan 2007 18:56:00 UT

For a long time we at E-consultancy have been banging the drum of how powerful 'traditional' PR and Online PR are as forms of online marketing. Particularly in terms of driving search activity and natural search rankings.

So I was interested to read which terms were the most searched for on Google in 2006...

Kicking your Google addiction � how NOT to rely on Google paid search marketing

Wed, 29 Nov 2006 21:36:00 UT

At a recent conference of big retailers in the US, Google paid search marketing was described as �crack cocaine�. Highly addictive, but dangerous and destructive in the long term, and something you should wean yourself off.

So what about the UK? Are site owners also wanting to kick their Google habit? And if so, how can they?

Being on BBC's Watchdog - how much traffic does prime time TV drive to your site?

Wed, 8 Nov 2006 09:52:00 UT

Yesterday evening I appeared on BBC's prime time TV show Watchdog to talk about an eBay story. During the show they displayed our site's URL on screen.

So I was intrigued to see this morning how much traffic that might have created to our site...

The Search Debate: media agencies vs. search specialists?

Tue, 31 Oct 2006 11:01:00 UT

A recent New Media Age cover story titled �Search agencies feel the heat as media agencies muscle in�, which outlines recent big account wins by media agencies (like Carat Digital, Diffiniti etc.) at the expense of specialist search agencies, has excited much debate.

So which is right? Why would you go with a media agency, or a search specialist? Is paid search just a media buy, or something more?

Web 2.0 � what are the metrics for successful �engagement�?

Tue, 24 Oct 2006 12:14:00 UT

There has been a lot of talk recently about �engagement marketing�, particularly in relation to Web 2.0 and social media.

But what are the success metrics of engagement marketing online? How does one measure engagement?

Ways that highly-designed websites can still be accessible and search friendly

Fri, 22 Sep 2006 09:40:00 UT

There continues to be a tension between web design that is �highly-designed� and web design that is accessible and search engine friendly. The former sites tend to be Flash only or rely heavily on DHTML.

So it is possible for a site to be beautiful but accessible?

Dr Martens launches new website freedm2.com � beautiful but flawed?

Thu, 21 Sep 2006 09:58:00 UT

Dr Martens has launched a new website at freedm2.com through Saatchi Interactive. The site aims to increase engagement with customers using a range of multimedia interactions and �social� elements, such as creating and sharing videos and music.

But it is all in Flash, you can�t buy shoes, and the registration doesn�t seem to work�

Bebo's ad model: letting users decide what ads they see

Tue, 19 Sep 2006 12:42:00 UT

Bebo are overhauling their advertising model in order to let its users choose what types of ads they see. The idea has caused quite a stir in the press and publishing community.

Is this idea misguided? Or is this the future of advertising?�

Email Marketing Metrics - the 3-2-1 rule of thumb

Mon, 21 Aug 2006 16:40:00 UT

We are often asked what are benchmark results for email marketing in terms of open rates, click rates and subsequent buy / register�rates.

To keep it easy I've developed the 3-2-1 rule of thumb.