'intent' Category

• SEO: Click Through Rate and Bounce Rate

  I’m going to take issue with Rand Fishkin of SEOmoz. I think his most recent White Board Friday video is just plain wrong. Normally, I have a lot of respect for what SEOmoz does, but I think the advice and implications are not just wrong, but dangerously wrong. How Does Google Rank Results I don’t [...]

  March 26th, 2010

• PC World – Online Subscriptions

  There’s a classic FAIL in user handling on many eCommerce sites: forcing users to register details before you’ve explained the reason and value. People know that they need to hand over addresses for shipping, but requiring them to offer these details before you’ve verified that the items are in stock and available, or that you [...]

  February 3rd, 2010

• Google Is Better On Caffeine?

  Google continually fiddles with the way in which search results are ranked and presented. Usually we find out after the fact. This time, Google is telling us beforehand, and inviting comments, on the Google Webmaster Blog. What’s the significance? Early warning of rank changes – helpful to know, and there’s a feedback form at the [...]

  August 11th, 2009

• Privacy and AdWords Extended Search Query Reports

  Good news – Google is allowing more insight to be gathered from AdWords Search Query Reports, by exposing more search queries to scrutiny. This reduces the need to use third party click redirectors or web analytics tools to extract search queries. However, there’s strangely spurious logic – or I’ve failed to grasp a fundamental point [...]

  May 23rd, 2009

• Who Benefits From Interest Based Adverts

  The existing AdWords Content Network is often a huge challenge for advertisers. This new interest based system should be a superb win for all involved. Internet users should see fewer annoying and pointless adverts Advertisers should get higher CTR and better conversion rates Publishers should better return on their real estate Google will improve per [...]

  March 11th, 2009

• Usability, SEO & Eye Tracking

  Interesting article about how Google use eye tracking to understand user behaviour. This also explains a lot about why ranking is so important. Heatmap tools like CrazyEgg (NOT like the tool in Google Analytics) also give some insight – not as rich as eye tracking, but a lot cheaper. We’ve used CrazyEgg and other similar [...]

  February 7th, 2009

• Christmas Is Coming. Really.

  Having been approached a few weeks before Christmas by some online stores keen to boost their sales in peak season, last year, may I point out that planning your Christmas paid search activity should be in progress, now? For maximum impact, you’ll want purpose-designed landing pages to optimise conversion. That usually means running some experiments. [...]

  August 26th, 2008

• AdWords – Relevance – WTF?

  I’ve been following a thread by a frustrated would-be advertiser in the AdWords Help Forum, with some interest. He’s obviously spotted that Google have potentially created a niche, by suppressing so many adverts when they think that the paid search results are less appropriate. The search is “No Country For Old Men DVD” or similar. [...]

  March 24th, 2008

• Is AdWords Search History Permutation Fraudulent?

  Update 2009/02 I can no longer detect Search History Permutation using the diagnostic tests that I previously used – I believe that this is no longer operating, or it has become more subtle in its effects. Original article My first article on Search History usage was experiential; you can do the searches yourself and see [...]

  March 17th, 2008

• SEO vs PPC

  Andrew Goodman has an interesting start on a discussion of the relative merits of PPC and SEO. I think he’s found an worthwhile thread, but I believe that there’s a different type of analysis to be usefully applied. It is that clicks have different meanings; here is one model for looking at what clicks mean. [...]

  March 16th, 2008