analysis, algorithms and permutations
The first time I read the word transactional visitor or transactional buyer was not long ago. It is an extremely relevant combination of words for any entrepreneur, be it an agent, tailor, landscape designer, or a custom-theater designer. Why is this relevant? It is relevant to who is ‘just looking’ and who is going there that may be ‘likely to buy’ or ‘buying.’
Why is this a notion to me, as a marketer? Ok… here is the answer. The #1 most cited objection to spending money on advertising $$$ is: “I haven’t gotten any results” Ok… point taken, I wouldn’t spend my money on something that did nothing for me either, however it brings me back to a story I read about a place that I used to work. I used to work directly under the Coca-Cola sign in Times Square NYC. They (Coca-Cola) just signed an 80 year multi-billion dollar deal for that advertising space. Why? Is it because sales are down? Is it because they secretly spied on the people walking down the busy streets of Midtown Manhattan, and watched them go grab a Coke right after they saw the sign? While this may be true, I doubt that kind of analysis took place. I think you get the point.
Back to internet vs. print analysis… neither is a CURE ALL. One, however is time-tested. One has withstood the test of most of time as we know it. Think of the written word and all of it’s various forms. While I sit here and write on my laptop connected to the internet, there aren’t any substitutes for a tangible visual that is easily accessible. The people who argue this use this logic: “well, when I type my name in Google along with the words ‘High-quality shoe laces’ I am the first name to appear” – to me, that is faulty logic, and here is why. Another illustration comes from a much respected colleague of mine that Eric Kennedy, the Editor-in-Chief of Atlantis Magazine A Sea Dweller’s Guide to Living stumbled upon. The story goes a bit like this:
Eric had an asthma medication that I have been using all my life on his desk. It was an inhaler. It is a very common medicine and I believe it probably has saved many lives. (Whether you believe in holistic or homeopathic medicine is not the issue here). The inhaler I carry in my pocket daily. I saw it and commented. He said something to the effect that he had to use it because of his allergies, etc. which is not uncommon. I told him that I never go anywhere without it (mainly because I am neurotic). He told me after he used it he could breathe… BUT… he had outrageous nightmares! I said No Way! He said…WAY! yeah Alex… look… and proceeded to type these ghoulish words into the Google: Albuteral nightmares effects… and guess what came up? You guessed it. (if you don’t believe me, try it
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Ok, I am not a Google expert, and I do not profess to be an analyst of any of the algorithms that google uses. In fact, I really don’t know a whole heck of a lot. I do know that it works, and I get the results that I put in when I type… most of the time.
In sum: The internet is enormous. It is, in fact, so large that the medium is not even fully understood by the very people to profess its ‘efficacy.’ Here’s a theory: If you put all your eggs in the ‘internet basket’ for your advertising dollars, you will be left behind. The reasoning: Do you know how many people went bust during the dot-com boom? It seems, historically speaking, any time there is a trend in which everyone seems to follow, there are innumerable people that are left in the dust by the trailblazers, eating their dust.
I like Robert Frost’s ‘The Road Not Taken.’ I know we are in the age of information superhighways. I love the web. All things being equal, I still like the ’super-highway’ less traveled. A nice, well thought out publication is my choice, and also think that I am not alone because that has, thus far, ‘made all the difference.’
Tags: ePRO, Google Key Words, ROI, SEO
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