Vol. 3 , No. 42     October 26, 2004

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Stephan Spencer
Best and Worst Practices in Search Engine Optimization: A Checklist (Part 2)

Partially indexed, poorly ranked, penalized and possibly banned: such is the unpleasant fate of a Web site that's not duly optimized for the search engines.

Even if you mastered all 15 best practices outlined in the first part of this series, your site may not be safe. Any of the following worst practices could doom your site to suboptimal traffic levels. Here are 28 critical "must nots."

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Please note: This article is available to paid subscribers only.

Ernest Nicastro
The 'Marshall' Plan (or, Customer Aftercare)

It costs your business a whole lot more to secure a new customer than it does to hold onto an existing one.

As marketers, salespeople and business owners, very few of us have a weekly face-to-face opportunity to make our customers feel valued and appreciated. But if we are smart, we will maintain some sort of program to nurture our customers after the initial sale.

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Suzan St Maur
How to Write for a Multilingual Marketplace (Part 2)

We've all heard the jokes about embarrassing translations in the marcom arena. But if you were were responsible for a hefty international marketing or ad budget, such gaffes would wipe the smile right off your face.

There are some important lessons to learn about writing branding and ad copy in multiple languages.

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A Note to Readers

Communication and Credibility

Greetings, discerning readers. And welcome to this week's issue of MarketingProfs.

Don't miss the second part of our series on optimizing your site for search by the knowledgeable Stephan Spencer.

Last week, Stephan kicked off his incredibly comprehensive series by delivering the best practices in search engine optimization. This week; he extends the discussion by offering absolutely terrible practices in SEO: or, the very things you can do to be blacklisted, banned, or (worse!) completely ignored by the major search engines. Is there a worse fate for a business looking for exposure?

Elsewhere, there's a central theme running through this week's newsletter. With articles about blogs, messaging, writing and customer retention, those of you whose job it is to communicate with customers won’t leave our table hungry.

Speaking of communication, there was an interesting study released last month by our friends at the USC Annenberg School Center for the Digital Future. The study, which is part of an ongoing project exploring the influence of the Internet on Americans, came up with 10 significant trends in the Internet's 10 years of public use.

Predictably, use of the Internet for research, news and information is at its highest point ever. But ironically, the initially high level of credibility of Internet information is at its lowest measured point.

There's a good message in there for any business that publishes a Web site (and that's most of us). Be sure that any bit of information you publish on your site is professional, up-to-date and fundamentally trustworthy. Otherwise, you could be unintentionally eroding the trust you work so hard to build with customers.

Read the full report here: https:////www.digitalcenter.org.

Thanks for stopping by. As always, your feedback is both welcome and encouraged.

Until next week,

Ann Handley
ann@marketingprofs.com
MarketingProfs.com

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B.L. Ochman
Blogs: A Good (If Scary) Buy for Advertisers

Advertisers, including Paramount Pictures, The Wall Street Journal, and the Gap, are successfully reaching niche audiences for a fraction of the cost of traditional advertising. As a result, a handful of bloggers are earning six-figure incomes from their blogs.

Why aren't more advertisers and bloggers getting together? Three reasons: fear, ignorance and the knowledge that a lot of pioneers get shot.

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Meryl K. Evans and Hank Stroll
SWOT Team: Selling the Intangible

This week: What's the best way to market "invisible" products like services? Join the conversation!

Also this week, read your advice on the most effective enticements to convince customers to complete surveys.

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Bob Gallagher
When an IPO Looms

Here's how a corporate communications professional could go about the business of learning more about Investor Relations, pitching Investor Relations to company executives, and practicing necessary processes before going public.

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Contact

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Content: Ann Handley
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