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For webmasters, e-marketers and e-merchants...

We started by wanting more traffic. Then it was more "quality" traffic. Now that many businesses have been working for months, and in some cases years, to improve the quantity and quality of their traffic, the focus should now be on the usability of the actual website. How can we improve the user's experience once they are at your site? In that vein, this month's feature article provides some tips on improving the first page that visitors arrive at.

As usual the Internet continues to evolve at a very fast pace. Isn't it amazing that About.com, an article-based website that started in 1997 just sold to the New York Times for $410 million? There is a lot of buying and selling of Internet companies - and more to come - as the big players continue to compete. See our hand-picked articles in our Stay on Top section below for more information on the current Internet landscape.

I hope that you enjoy this issue of our newsletter.

- Jason Campbell

Announcement:

Overture is being renamed Yahoo! Search Marketing Solutions

Yahoo announced that the Overture name will be replaced with Yahoo! Search Marketing Solutions. This is a mixed blessing from my point of view. On the one hand, it was good to have a distinct name for the paid results that Yahoo-owned Overture provided. Now the Overture name, which has been a handle for the paid results, is being removed. On the other hand, this will make the service formerly known as Overture more popular. I predict that more people will now sign on to the paid results because it is an easier sell to propose "Yahoo search marketing solutions" than "Overture listings" due to the greater brand recognition of the Yahoo name.

New Client - Auberge Le Refuge

We are proud to introduce Auberge Le Refuge as a new client of Red Carpet Web Promotion Inc. Le Refuge is a health inn with a Scandinavian spa, sauna, massage packages, banquet hall rentals, and downhill & cross country skiing packages. They are located close to Montreal in the town of Morin-Heights. Shawn spent last weekend there and had a wonderful time! Be sure to check out their site at www.aubergelerefuge.ca. The site is currently in Flash, although we are adding an HTML version shortly. What's more, ever since we have been working on their website promotion, their leads are now about 70% from the internet!

Search Engine Navigator

Are You in for a Safe Landing? - PPC Landing Pages You've paid for your ticket and your ads are up on Google AdWords and Yahoo's Overture, but have you set up a safe landing for your clients? Run a test landing. Do a search and find your Pay Per Click (PPC) ad in Yahoo or Google. Click on it. Where does it bring you? Your home page? I hope not. You should create a specific landing page for your PPC ads. A landing page is the page you create to convert your PPC traffic into sales. This page should get your potential customers (that you have already paid for!) to go exactly where you think they want to go. Here are some tips to create a good landing page: 1) Focus! Focus! Focus! The landing page should be about your product or service. No links to other sites, no advertisements, no "how do you do". When people arrive at your landing page, they should already be predisposed to buy (since you wrote such an excellent ad to get them here in the first place) and are trying to either: a) Get more information about your product or service b) Find the "Buy now" button Use the search term on the page, because searchers will key into the section of the page with their search term. If the search term is "buy skidoo" then have a button that says "Buy Skidoos Here". Don't distract them - give them what they want. 2) Customize your landing page Use a different landing page for each group of keyphrases. If you sell seadoos and skidoos, don't use the same landing page for each. Create a new landing page for each product (or each group of products) and send the clients directly to the page they are interested in. 3) Give them information If they are not yet sold on your product or service, then they are going to be looking for more detailed information when they arrive at your landing page. Give it to them. You have to convince them that you have the perfect product or service to solve their problem. If they run out of information before they make a commitment to buy, then you have lost them. Nobody will spend money until they are convinced that your product or service is the right choice for them. So prove it. 4) Tell the reader what you want them to do Use calls-to-action. If you want them to buy your product, than tell them often how to do it ("Click here to buy"). If you want them to call you, post the number up with instructions ("Call us now at 1-877-717-3667"). Repeat it throughout the text, then again in big and bold at the end. 5) Use graphics Use pictures to sell your product or service. Pictures of the product or pictures of satisfied customers sell. Use them - and use them often. 6) Run tests Set up two landing pages to see which one converts better. Set up two identical ads and send one to each landing page, then compare conversion rates for each page. Figure out why one converts better and try to improve the other one. Then, run more tests until you are completely satisfied with the results. Set up your landing pages so that your potential customers arrive for a safe landing. If all goes well, they will step out of the plane with their credit cards already in hand - and their money almost in your pocket. Shawn Campbell Shawn Campbell is the co-founder and Chief Search Engine Optimizer at Red Carpet Web Promotion, Inc. www.redcarpetweb.com

Statistics Market share of the search engines Percentage of search-specific searches done by U.S surfers in December 2004 December 2004 Top 5 Search Destinations 35% Google (Google.com, Google image search, Go.com) 32% Yahoo (Yahoo.com, AltaVista, AllTheWeb, Overture) 16% MSN (MSN Search) 9% AOL (AOL Search, Netscape Search) 4% Excite (Excite, iWon, MyWay.com, My Web Search) 2% Ask (Ask Jeeves, Teoma) 2% Other (Searches that occur at other search sites) Note that Google, AOL, and Excite all use Google's technology for their results, so they could be combined into one group called Google, with 48% of the market. Statistics are by comScore Media Metrix gSearch service

Stay on Top Each month we review articles from leading industry magazines and newsletters. The following articles are the most interesting out of all the articles that were reviewed in the last two months. Click on the links below to read the full articles. Avoiding Search Engine Woes with Multiple Domains and Websites http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3483201 SearchEngineWatch - February 15, 2005 - Operating multiple sites using numerous domains is a great strategy for businesses appealing to a wide range of customers. But if you're not careful with implementation, this approach may trigger search engine spam penalties. Nielsen//NetRatings: Rich folks hanker for Net http://www.online-publishers.org/?pg=newsletters&dt=f022205#rsrch2 Online Publishers Association - Covering February 7 - February 18, 2005 - The Internet experience just got a little bit richer -- and we don't mean rich media. According to Nielsen//NetRatings, the amount of Net users with incomes over $150,000 grew 20 percent in January 2005 over January 2004 to 10.3 million. Nielsen figures this group is not a fly-by-night gang, spending more time online (76 hours per month) than any other socio-economic demographic segment. NYT grabs About.com; who's next? http://www.online-publishers.org/?pg=newsletters&dt=f022205#news1 Online Publishers Association - Covering February 7 - February 18, 2005 - Old media meet new media...again. For the third time in the past few months, an old-line newspaper company has snatched up an Internet property, as The New York Times Co. bought About.com from Primedia for $410 million. Online Ads & Search: Looking Back, Looking Forward http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3459961 SearchEngineWatch - January 17, 2005 - Paid search led the resurgence of online advertising in 2004 with a 34% increase in growth, and this trend is expected to continue over the coming five years. Yahoo & MSN Closing the Google Gap http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3458351 SearchEngineWatch - January 13, 2005 - While Big G continues to maintain its leadership position in the eyes of web searchers, a new study finds that Yahoo, MSN Search and Ask Jeeves have all made significant improvements over the past year and are narrowing Google's mindshare advantage. Ask Jeeves now powers Lycos Search http://www.isedb.com/news/article/1131 ISEDB.com - March 2, 2005 - Ask Jeeves and Lycos today announced a deal in which Lycos will begin displaying search results generated by the Ask database. Ask Jeeves results, which replace listings generated by Norway's FAST Search and Transfer Company, began showing on Lycos early this morning. Both Ask and Lycos are struggling to compete in a sector dominated by Google, Yahoo and MSN. Surveying the Search Landscape http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3481906 SearchEngineWatch - February 9, 2005 - Danny Sullivan's keynote address at Search Engine Strategies has become a must-see event for conference attendees. At the Chicago conference he took the opportunity to look back over the year's search engine events and gaze into his crystal ball toward the future. Integrating Search with Other Marketing http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/34711_3463521 SearchEngineWatch - January 25, 2005 - Search marketing is still "stand-alone," existing largely outside of the traditional marketing mix, but this must change, to address the needs of consumers who are increasingly turning to search to make all types of buying decisions. Google Toolbar's AutoLink http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050225-104317 SearchEnginWatch - Feb. 25, 2005 - A discussion of Google's controversial new AutoLink feature on Google toolbar 3 beta. AutoLink inserts links for package tracking numbers, US vehicle identification numbers, US addresses and publication ISBN numbers. "Click on the ISBN link, and you'll be routed via Google over to a page about the book at Amazon. Click on the address, and you'll be routed to that address shown in Google Maps." The Web publisher's fear of having unwanted links added to their sites by Google is explored in this detailed article that includes the benefits, fears and a look to the future. Usability of Websites for Teenagers http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20050131.html Useit.com - January 31, 2005 - When using websites, teenagers have a lower success rate than adults and they're also easily bored. To work for teens, websites must be simple -- but not childish -- and supply plenty of interactive features.

Letters to the Editor Send your questions and comments for our next issue to news@redcarpetweb.com. Be as specific or general as you want -- other subscribers are probably wondering the same things you are. You should also let us know of any promotions, sales or new products on your web site.

Next Issue - New feature article - More on how Search Engines work - Stay on top: Articles from industry newsletters and magazines - And more... To subscribe to the Promotion Press, go to the subscribe page and fill in your email address. To unsubscribe from the Promotion Press, go to our unsubscribe page and fill in the address you subscribed with. This Newsletter is produced and published by Red Carpet Web Promotion, Inc. © 2000