Sneak peak at new ThomasNet home page

I was digging thru my website traffic reports and noticed some referrals from beta.thomasnet.com. Of course I took a look and am sharing the link for the Thomas-watchers out there.



Overall, a nice visual improvement over the current www.thomasnet.com. I especially like the eye-saving and space-saving method of hiding sub-categories in the 'Browse Categories' block. Search pages all seem cleaner, too.

The cleanliness of the home page, while much nicer, still doesn't give the feeling that they are the powerhouse in B2B directory sites, however. Not sure how to do that, but GlobalSpec's blue header-bar and bright logo seem more authoritative.

A solution to displaying pricing on my website

Over a year ago I did a series of posts discussing the value and issues in adding product pricing to your website. Part of the reason I went thru this exercise was to figure out a solution for my particular situation, where posting pricing is not feasible.

And with the database tools of my new site launched earlier this year, I had an opportunity to try something. I realized that pricing on a website serves two purposes:

1. As a real number for budgeting and purchasing.
2. As a measure of value, to compare to other models.

In my posts, I had suggested pricing barometers as a way of addressing #2 when #1 was impossible to address, as in my case. So now I had to follow my own advice, but how...

I realized that comparison to other brands was just one problem, but comparison between my models was a problem I could solve. With two product categories of almost 20 models, and one with over 75, helping the visitor distinguish between my models was already a priority. I had already implemented side-by-side comparison for my largest product categories shortly after launching the site to make things much easier for the user.

And on the comparison page is where it makes the most sense to show a price barometer, so you can compare value along with specifications. So, here’s what I created: a ‘Price Rank’ category to the product specification table. This rank is a simple numeric ranking of base price for that product category. It looks like this:

“Price Rank” (Comparing to other models in this product category. Lower Number = Lower Price): #11 out of 18 ranked

This information is displayed on the product-detail page and on the comparison page. I was really happy when I got this implemented because it seemed very clear. My fear was that the ranking would need a detailed explanation or would be easy to mis-interpret.

And this helps my primary goal for shoppers on my site: to get them to say ‘cool, this looks like the model I need for my application’, and then submit a quote request.

(Pats self on back ... and Mike Boyink for his help in implementing.)

Google Trends: ThomasNet vs. GlobalSpec

UPDATED: See clarification about 'Also visited' below.

Just announced that Google Labs' Website Trends tool can put graphs side-by-side. Hard numbers are not shown, which is probably smart on their part. And 'tiny' sites like companies in my industry don't have enough traffic.

So why not compare ThomasNet and GlobalSpec? This data I limited to USA users, since worldwide, the trends were nearly the same (and USA is my market). I also tried adding iqsdirectory.com, but not enough traffic to rank.

Thomas shows more traffic than GlobalSpec from USA visitors:

In the same screen they also show other sites their users visited. (Blue bar =TN, Red bar =GS)

TN's visitors must include a lot of their salespeople, as the #1 'also visited' site is their extranet. #3 Webtraxs.com is their website analytics tool.

UPDATE: Per a comment left at the site, this isn't exactly true summation on my part:
"A better way to think about it is the reverse: Nearly all users of TRRep.com visit ThomasNet.com, which makes perfect sense. This creates, statistically, a very tight association between the two. The point is that it has nothing to do with frequency, but with statistical probability."


Meanwhile GlobalSpec's visitors hit have a high probability of visiting ip09.com the most, which I am guessing must host their newsletter content somehow. Interesting to see trade-pub Machine Design as #2 'also visited' site.

Like any trend-graph, things are open for interpretation. What do you think this all means? Ultimately, I am looking at leads delivered, but this gives an overall idea of visibility.

The State of B2Blogosphere (2): Getting some signal

I guess I titled this series wrong. I really want to talk about the B2Blogosphere. I've complained about the 'noise' drowning out the 'signal'. We need more 'signal', but what counts?

Getting some 'Signal'--here's the kind of things that I like in a blog post:

1. Lists - Gotcha reading this post didn't it?
   
2. Waffling - Its okay to post questions without answers. Lets discuss the tough issues and figure out the possible solutions together.
   
3. Train wrecks - The Internet gives us a chance to rubber-neck. It gives us a chance to learn from others' mistakes and feel smarter for not making them.
   
4. Level 6 - In the seven levels of change, Level 6 = Different. This is what Seth pushes us to toward.
5. Hacks - Make me work smarter. Save me hassles. Yay.
   
6. Stories - Facts are boring...tell me a story about the facts instead.
   
7. New Stuff - Okay, I'm tired of posts about iPhones, but most posts about new things help me feel aware of the world around me.
   
8. Stuff from Left Field - Surprise works, too. Boing Boing's theme of 'wonderful things' is a great example.
   
9. Attitude - What's your voice? Speak up if you want me to hear you.
10. Links - Send me somewhere new. Back up your argument. Lead me down a path to learn more.
    

Okay, not a link to go with every point, but you get the idea. Probably sad that I could come up with multiple examples of 'train-wreck' blogs quickly and not 'Level 6' blogs.

11. And comments, and posts that make me want to comment...

So post yours here, please. Reactions to my list? What blogs are drawn to, that give good 'signal'?

Microsoft AdCenter offers some help, free

I got this email last week (edited down):

Dear David, At Microsoft adCenter, our goal is to help you attract more customers and maximize your search ROI while saving time. That's why we're offering you free one-on-one assistance from an adCenter representative. ... An adCenter representative will be calling soon to discuss how to improve your search campaigns.

Oh geez, I thought. #3 is going to call, maybe, and if they do, it will probably be a telemarketer trying to set up an appointment or cross-sell or some hassle.

The call
I ended up talking to Cory this morning and he was prepared, approachable, and gave useful 'ideas' to tinker with my campaign without talking down to me, or forcing me to log in and follow him click-by-click.

At the end Cory gave me his number, and it was written down by yours-truly in appreciation of his professionalism and potential value.

Smart!
If others like me ignore our MS AdCenter account, you gotta think that this is a smart strategy to get us to look again, improve our campaigns, and see results that (hopefully) we will take notice of. Win-win results!

B2B Magazines drive traffic to websites?

Got a link to this webpage from a magazine publisher: Magazine Vertical Search:

"Business-to-Business magazines drive more readers to their own website than any other medium. ... The reader goes direct from the print page to an advertiser’s website to continue to search a product or service or new technology."

The webpage is actually an attempt at a pitch for a vertical-search software, although it reads more like a manifesto about the value of B2B trade pubs, with half-a-dozen links to articles proving his case.

My opinion? Anyone can drive more traffic to their site via magazines and advertising than search can. It just takes a lot of money. One of the articles linked to references automobile website traffic being driven by advertising, which is not relevant to the B2B print ad discussion, although is a good example of what money can do to site traffic.

Yes, if trade advertising were measurable (which I have no idea how this guy's software does this), it could make the case. The problem is that for many of us niche industrial marketers, the low-hanging fruit of search is so bountiful, and measurable, that trade advertising is no longer worth it.

New AdWords Beta: Automatic Matching

Dear AdWords Advertiser,

On May 20, 2008, a checkbox will appear on your campaigns' 'Edit Campaign Settings' pages giving you access to an optional beta feature called 'automatic matching.' The feature will be enabled by default, although it won't begin to affect your account until June 3, 2008.
...

Automatic matching shows your ads on relevant search queries not already captured by your keywords. It works by analyzing the content of the landing pages, ads, and keywords in your ad group. It then shows your ads on search queries relevant to this information.

The system will continually monitor your performance on these queries and adjust its matches accordingly. Automatic matching aims to show your ads only on queries that yield a high clickthrough rate (CTR) and a cost-per-click (CPC) comparable to or lower than your ad group's current average CPC. This way, your ads receive additional targeted traffic at a similar cost to your current traffic.

Sounds like a great way to stop worrying whether your keyword set is getting all the traffic you could get. Also sounds like a way for Google to expand click-thrus, and therefore, revenue. A win-win, as long as it doesn't bust the budget.

Google FAQ about automatic matching

Best time to launch a website? Its in the stars!

I thought I was the only one who wasn't sure when to launch my new website till I saw this post at The J-Walk Blog:

This guy posted a perfectly good question in the forum for the Organization for Professional Astrology. Seven months later, nobody has replied!

I'm reworking my own astrology website now while Mercury is retrograde. I want to relaunch it at a good time and looking ahead I obviously want to wait until Mercury goes direct (Nov 2).

However, if I wait until it's out of its shadow (after Nov 18) Mars will be retrograde!

I've settled for the New Moon of November 9th between 6 p.m. (the New Moon) and 10:20 p.m. (Moon goes void of course).

Launching around 7:30ish puts Jupiter on the Desc, Uranus in the 10th, and Gemini on the Asc (new moon in the 6th). The New Moon also makes a grand water trine with Mars and Uranus.

Otherwise, I could wait until Saturday when the moon is no longer VOC after 8 p.m. Gemini Asc, Uranus on MC, Pluton on Desc and Moon sextile Venus.

Does anyone have any advice on this election?

The State of B2Blog (1.5): Filtering the noise

As a follow up to my post about Noise in the B2Blogosphere, I just found this relevant post from Rex Hammock in my Bloglines: Let’s hear it for the noise:

"Using the idea of 'noise' as a metaphorical framework for understanding how much of a filter you want before learning something that in your world may be considered 'news,' is a great way to start understanding that the Internet and all this stuff we call Web 2.0 is as much about information and data and conversational flow as it is about technology."

Rex is reacting to a post by Robert Scoble (who isn't in my Bloglines) about why he is a noise junkie.

Filtering
Robert feeds on the noise (via Twitter it seems) and filters it to his blog. People like Rex read Scobleizer and filter his noise till he sees something worth posting about, and then I get to read and learn about it. Rex says that where you choose to get your information is determined by how much filtering you want, or need.

Notice how I have quoted and reacted to what Rex wrote and posted. He took what Scoble did and added his own take about consumption of content. Scoble is only a tiny seed, but this is how blogging is supposed to work.

Clarification necessary?
Maybe I should clarify that the B2Blogoshere has 'noise' and it also has 'static'. Static has no real source or message and just clogs up the airwaves. Noise can have value, if you can tune into it the way Scoble does. Its why I post in reaction to the world around me...it has an organic message that I hope adds to the noise of the B2Blogosphere in a valuable way.

On the consumption end, I view marketing as a long-term process, and the intensity of raw noise that Scoble reads and posts doesn't support my day-to-day needs. But I'm thankful when other bloggers are acting as filters for me.

Okay, now I can talk about 'signal' in the B2Blogoshere next.

Closing 2.0--how do you get a signature?

I get a emails from various companies looking for publicity on my blog. Many are off target, but this one from Sertifi intrigued me:

"Closing 2.0 is all about providing your customers with the easiest and most convenient way to sign, store and retrieve mutual agreements. With our solution you can send agreement out for signatures where signers can choose to hand sign or electronically sign. Many of our customers such as Careerbuilder have seen as much as a 40% reduction in their contract cycle as well as drastic improvements in sales efficiencies."

While our company closes deals with POs, I certainly see the value of such a service for those who close with a contract, like trade advertising. "Let me fax you an insertion order" always seemed lame and unprofessional approach (especially now, in front of the 'facebook generation').

This looks worthwhile at about $25/month per user. And bonus is that you can 'manage the process' online, instead of the additional paper trail in the office.

Sertifi - Electronic Signatures, Contract Management

The State of B2Blog (1): Noise in the B2Blogosphere

Let's start with a quote from THE top marketing blogger:

Seth about blogs, "Lately, the noise seems to be increasing and the signal is fading in comparison. Too much spam, too many posts, too little insight leaking through. "

Seth Godin has a way of being topical, personal, all mixed with great punditry. That's why he's tops. A long time ago I gave up posting in response to his posts, because this blog would just be one big suck-up.

But in this case, what he says sheds light on what I wanted to say. There is too much noise, making the B2B/marketing blogosphere dead-boring these days.

Jumped the shark:

IMHO, the blogosphere started to go flat when Kathy Sierra stopped blogging. The number of true guru/pundits went down by one, and that's when blogging 'jumped the shark'. We stopped being a community in discussion, and transitioned into a roomful of soapboxes.

Around that time there was a unrelated rise in corporate bloggers, mostly those who are marketing consultants, but especially SEO and those focused in web-lead generation. Individually, they aren't bad, but collectively they raised the noise level.

Even worse, those starting worthwhile blogs aren't being heard. I've posted articles linking to a few such bloggers, but without seeing their Bloglines subscriber number go up AT ALL. Hey, you like my blog, aren't you interested in these guys? Has the joy of discovery of new blogs gone away? Or are you just scanning thru too many feeds to quickly to care?

Certainly the problem is too much noise. Not enough patience to see if another blog is going to pan out as worthwhile. Not enough patience to comment on a post if there are 10, 20, or 100 other posts by others to read.

What do you think? Why aren't you subscribing, commenting, or linking to other blogs as much as you used to?

Next: 'Signal in the B2Blogosphere' and the inevitable signal-to-noise ratio metaphor.

Rant: The 'one-page' website goes YouTube

Remember when all those 'get rich on the internet' websites were out there? The ones that were one page long and went forever? Usually selling PDF books about how to do the make your own long-winded webpage and make millions?

Well I just saw one of these done as video. Someone linked to it as a technique marketers might try.

The whole rags to riches, learn from my mistakes, blah blah blah. Now in video form. Oh, did I mention all the teasers and foreshadowing to keep you hooked to watch the rest of the video. Like a horrible infomercial, I guess.

The point is this: YouTube has created a genuine authenticity to web video. This video seems to take advantage of this credibility for its own ends.

Get drunk or free branding-you decide

One of our sales reps is doing a local show this week. The event had a nice party for the attendees and exhibitors last night. We got about 50 drink tickets from the show to give out, but most attendees weren't interested in hanging around. Typical of a local show.

So what do you do with a couple dozen extra drink tickets? Besides get really-really drunk?

Our guy promised a dozen tickets to the band at the end of each set, if they said the music was sponsored by our company, "you know, the XXX test company."

And they did. Three times! In front of a target audience. Sweet! (Beats having a hung-over rep manning the booth this morning, too.)

B2Blog site was down, now back celebrating 6 years

Wow, my web host moved all their sites to new servers over the weekend. What a royal mess. Between their problems and me having to guess how to fix things, my sites been down for almost three days.

In a nutshell, I have nine sites with my hosting account, two of which were completely unavailable. When I noticed they were down, they told me to change my DNS settings to point to the new servers. And so it started.

Final solution: I set my account at GoDaddy to use their 'default' DNS server, then use their 'total DNS' tool to point to the IP address of the new server, actually bypassing any need to set specific DNS names.

Between this and my van's radiator leaking, I've been pretty distracted.

New blogging series:
All this occurring when B2Blog is turning six. I had some great ideas about a new series of posts, which has made the problems all the more frustrating. But no more!

The new series will be titled "The state of B2Blog", which I will use to address the issues and future of B2Blog and the B2Blogoshpere.

Stay tuned!

AdWords rulebreakers and a surprise

I know I had heard about this earlier, but today read-up on this news, as reported by Kelly Abner of Marketo: Google Updates Adwords Display URL Policy: "Starting April 1, Google is enforcing a new Display URL Policy. Not everyone knows about it, and those that do are wondering what it means." Here's the official word from Google, too.

Well basically, that little 'display URL' box when creating your AdWords ad must match the domain of the actual link URL. This has been done primarily to control affiliate marketers, but folks using outsourced landing pages are being affected, too. You can use a intermediate 'tracking URL' that doesn't match, as long as the final 'destination URL' is the same domain.

I was a little surprised by the tracking URL allowance, as that depends on using a redirect, which I thought policy doesn't allow. Obviously, it is an exception that is allowed as defined by Google.

Rulebreakers:
So I thought I'd go check on one of my major keywords because I knew there was one major advertiser already breaking the rules. His ad is still at or near the top, flaunting the rules, including:

1. Shill account: The URL displayed, and the whole account, I think, uses a shill domain. I suspect he got caught violating the rules at AdWords and had to create this separate account and domain to get back into the game.
2. Redirecting: The ads show the shill domain, but link to his regular domain. Whether he is directly violating this new policy or using a redirect, either way it is wrong.
3. All-caps: The domain URL is in all-caps. I know this is a no-no because I used some industry acronyms in an ad years ago and had my ads suspended due to all-caps.

Surprise:
While looking at the SERPs, I noticed most of the listed results were tagged as "competition". Turns out that because I uploaded my bookmarks to my Google Account, they were showing what folder/tag those sites were in.

For a moment I thought Google knew a little too much about me! Maybe they still do. Now if they'd only get after my rule-breaking competitor.

The finer points of typing

The finer points of desktop publishing, really. Since I need to use dimensional measurements in describing my products, this is actually quite useful.

(Online, of course, its a whole other ball-game.)

"Welcome, friends, to the brave new world of the typography nazi. Below are ten mistakes that everyone makes, an explanation of why each is wrong, and details on how to fix them."

Ten typographic mistakes everyone makes
via Boing Boing <>

Marcom shift--Web first

Just in case you haven't made the switch (or realized you have already done so), web content comes first for collateral development, as Rick Short makes it clear in a post titled Write for the Web:

"So, we are officially charged with directing ALL our B2B Marcom thoughts regarding literature, brochures, exhibits, etc. to the digital format first. We’ll let the hard-copy stuff come later. This is a flip of the old way of business. Frankly, it is a bit overdue.

Web first, hard-copy second."

I've got a staff of one (me) who already gets it, but Rick's got a large marcom organization. Imagine the impact such an obvious strategic clarification must have on his team.

I think doing the web content gives you an additional advantage by letting you flesh out your message and adjust according to market reaction. So when you do go to print, the content is robust enough to withstand the longevity of printing umpteen thousand copies or a high-dollar promotional campaign.

That's the beauty of the web...your message can be adjusted and shaped. If you aren't taking advantage of the valuable feedback of the market in cyberspace, your will look outdated online and in print.

And without digital being first in your strategy, you'll risk resorting to cut/paste from your literature TO your website, contributing to that outdated, unreadable content you see on so many B2B websites (even if the content looks fresh in the literature).

Got a new product or campaign? What are you going to do first?

Right--web first!

More whining about pricing on your website - Be Evil

Three things B2B websites need: Video, reviews, and pricing. I've made a point of discussing these in the last year or so.

And I often come up with whiny excuses about why B2B won't do them.

When it comes to pricing, whiny excuse number one is: Channel conflict.

Oh, I know, I'll just institute a minimum advertised price policy with my dealers. Just slip it into their contract renewal and wham...marketing nirvana for the almighty principal.

Of course, only if you don't mind coughing up $750,000 and tangling with lawsuits ... Settlement ends five-year investigation into Herman Miller's pricing policies:

"Under the company's suggested retail price policy, retailers could advertise the Aeron for no less than $949. If they broke that rule, they could be denied shipments for up to a year or be cut off completely.

The consent decree signed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in New York bars Herman Miller from coercing or communicating with dealers violating the policy.

Herman Miller still can punish errant shop owners, Schurman said. It just cannot talk with the problem retailer."

Hmm. So you can have such a policy, but it can't be in a contract. And you can't warn the dealer, you can only fire them. Weird, but apparently that's the way to do it

Or to reference the latest Wired Magazine: Be Evil!

Is it worth it?

I was going to post a link to survey results at Circuits Assembly Magazine's March issue about trade shows. What makes a show worth going to, was the essence of it.

The assembly and electronics industry are continuing to struggle with show-wars and weak attendance, which is why I think Editor Mike Buetow ran the survey.

1,400 email invites garnered 78 valid replies. Which says something for response rates of emails from trade pubs.

Reviewing the results and Mike's analysis, those who replied strongly felt the biggest draw to a trade show is the technical program, which I found interesting.

So here I am blogging about it ... but no direct link to the article.

Only articles from the current (April) issue are open ... archives require registering. And not just for the website, but you are being asked to receive the magazine ... that I already get.

The worst part? 35 fields of information to fill out.

No wonder there is a dummy log-in available at BugMeNot.com. So here is the link if you are interested, but you will need to use the log-in from BugMeNot to see it.

It's the Reviews, Stupid

About a month ago I asked Why not allow user reviews on your B2B website? Julie Powers, who inspired the initial post, followed up with a link to a MarketingSherpa report on the success label printer Dymo had with reviews. Good info, but hey, they make high-volume, low dollar products.

Then I ran into this pithy analysis by Andy Sernovitz, Who is reading your reviews?:

"68% of online shoppers read reviews before buying.

Stop and think about this: Your entire marketing effort expenditure drives customers to the reviews. Not to your landing page. Not to your shopping cart.

Who is in charge of reading online reviews at your company?

Nothing impacts your online sales more than customer reviews. Do you even know what they say?"

Pithy part repeated: "Your entire marketing effort expenditure drives customers to the reviews."

So if this is true for those with reviews online, what's the implication for those without: you need them! Yes, us even us B2B guys with a dozen excuses about why its not possible.

(Links provided by Andy: MediaPost, New York Times)

Hints for making a little money on the side

Starting a new site to earn money requires time in the beginning. The easiest to start is a home affiliate business site, I think. It will require research to be carried out to see which companies offer good products and nice referral fees. But before you can start, domain registration and website hosting research has to be done. The best web hosting packages can be easily located online. I'd also consider running through companies that are offering reseller hosting so you can have more than one domain, if needed.

If you don't have it already, get a wireless internet service so the site can be uploaded and maintained conveniently wherever you are. Actually creating the site itself will take some work, but there are some neat free tools that make it easier, like WordPress. By learning to constantly manage SEO and search engine submission, the site can do well in search engine ranking and develop enough traffic that proposals will fly in for banner advertising on the site.