data | Internet Marketing Blog

Advertising and the perils of too much testing

Numbers don't lie, or so we're told, and it's no surprise that as advertisers gain more and more tools, they are increasingly looking to see if their assumptions are backed up by the numbers.

This is particularly true when it comes to the $130bn/year television ad market, where advertisers frequently do significant amounts of market testing before rolling a campaign out at scale.

by Patricio Robles 15 October 2012 14:57pm 1 comment

LocalResponse brings historical intent targeting to Twitter

With consumers posting countless pieces of content each and every day on popular social platforms like Facebook and Twitter, it's no surprise that much of the attention of the social media ecosystem has been focused on 'real-time.'

But for brands trying to reach consumers on these platforms, is there room for a back-to-the-future approach?

by Patricio Robles 12 October 2012 16:00pm 0 comments

Amazon courts Madison Avenue

Amazon is the master of online retailing, and is proving that it's capable of making it easy for consumers to find and buy whatever they're looking for across digital channels.

But don't let Amazon's ecommerce dominance fool you: the company's ambitions extend well beyond simply selling product. Increasingly, the company is looking to take advantage of its position to extend its reach into new markets, including, now, advertising.

by Patricio Robles 10 October 2012 14:33pm 1 comment

Busting the myths about web personalisation: what you really need to know

Web personalisation is a fast-growing area that has long-been used by some of the biggest brands and businesses in the world. Sceptics bemoan that we are increasingly stuck in giant filter bubbles.

But supporters, industry experts and a growing number of businesses see how it can revolutionise their online relationships and put the customer experience at the heart of what they do.

by Juliet Stott 05 October 2012 10:30am 8 comments

Amazon to provide loans to merchants: report

Selling products online can be a lucrative business, but it's typically not an easy one, particularly for small merchants. While the internet helps address some challenges, like finding customers, margins can be tight and merchants often struggle with cash flow.

Enter Amazon, the 800-pound gorilla of ecommerce. Already a significant source of sales for some merchants through its Amazon Marketplace, the Seattle-based company is now positioning itself to be an even larger fixture in the lives of many businesses with the launch of a service called Amazon Lending.

by Patricio Robles 02 October 2012 15:21pm 1 comment

Facebook launches mobile ad network trials

How Facebook will make the type of money it needs to make to satisfy Wall Street is yet to be determined, but one thing is certain: if Facebook is going to make the type of money it needs to make to satisfy Wall Street, mobile will have to be a big part of it.

Facebook's mobile usage has skyrocketed in the past year, and the common wisdom is that Facebook will have to find a way to monetize its users on mobile. But capitalizing on the mobile opportunity may not fully require Facebook to monetize them directly.

by Patricio Robles 19 September 2012 15:56pm 1 comment

Research: Social media discounts attract Australian consumers to brands

The noise around social media in Australia appears to be increasingly amplified by marketers and clearly continues to be a hot topic.

There are also snippets of data emerging that explore this large and complex digital arena, but one of the questions that seems to be asked is why consumers choose to engage or associate themselves with brands in the social space.

So, in association with Toluna, Econsultancy surveyed more than a thousand Australian consumers, in an effort to explore what attracts users to a specific brand or company on social media platforms.

by Jake Hird 12 September 2012 05:30am 1 comment

How can you make the best use of site search data?

I've recently looked at site search box design, and best practices for results pages. Today, we look at how to use site search data.

The terms that customers type into your site search box represent a wealth of valuable data that can be used to learn about your users’ behaviour.

This data can be used to improve the site search functionality, to optimise results pages for common searches, improve merchandising and more.

I've been asking several e-commerce experts about how site search data can be used most effectively...

by Graham Charlton 11 September 2012 11:16am 7 comments

Five legitimate use cases for NoSQL databases

NoSQL may be one of the most overhyped technology trends in the past couple of years, and a growing number of companies that left their relational databases behind for a NoSQL fling are rethinking their decisions.

Yet organizations continue to adopt NoSQL solutions and investors are still eager to pour money into vendors behind the most popular of them.

Are they crazy, or has some of the NoSQL skepticism been overdone?

The truth of the matter is that, hype aside, there is a role for NoSQL solutions to play in a world consumed by data, and increasingly companies are making smart decisions about when to use relational databases and when to turn to their NoSQL cousins.

by Patricio Robles 06 September 2012 14:57pm 0 comments

10 reasons why outbound telemarketing programs fail

Before the advent of the internet and mobile phones, if you wanted to "reach out and touch someone" it often meant picking up the telephone.

Today, despite the fact that we have more ways to communicate than ever, many companies continue to pick up the phone in hopes that the person they're reaching out and touching will eventually become a customer. In fact, although it may be one of the least sexy marketing channels, telemarketing is for some companies still one of the most effective direct marketing techniques employed.

by Patricio Robles 28 August 2012 14:32pm 8 comments