NIRSA National Marketing Institute Hilton Head, South Carolina November 20, 2008 Communicating Effectively Online: Promises & Perils of Technology © Robert E. Johnson, Ph.D. 2008

8 top tips about the Internet… People are impatient People are impatient People are impatient People are impatient People are impatient People are impatient People are impatient People are impatient

People are impatient

People are impatient

People are impatient

People are impatient

People are impatient

People are impatient

People are impatient

People are impatient

7 topics to review today… Website Design Search Optimization Writing Right for the Web Web Analytics Video Blogs, Message Boards, Social Networking Staying Up-To-Date

Website Design

Search Optimization

Writing Right for the Web

Web Analytics

Video

Blogs, Message Boards, Social Networking

Staying Up-To-Date

1. Website Design The Most Important Elements

Toward a simpler web design… Wikipedia is a “Top 10” website in popularity Basic web design Designed to quickly find content

Wikipedia is a “Top 10” website in popularity

Basic web design

Designed to quickly find content

10 very visible program choices… http://admission.emerson.edu/graduate/

An almost perfect page design… http://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/iMBA.shtml Easy to scan content Links from center of the content section Restrained use of image that doesn’t fight primary content Video element Action steps in right hand column

Easy to scan content

Links from center of the content section

Restrained use of image that doesn’t fight primary content

Video element

Action steps in right hand column

Simple online forms… http://www.mbaregis.com/ The shorter the form, the more people will complete it Resist demographic surveys Phone number if part of marketing plan Phone number will qualify interest intensity

The shorter the form, the more people will complete it

Resist demographic surveys

Phone number if part of marketing plan

Phone number will qualify interest intensity

Special landing pages for campaigns… Never drop someone on your front page Repeat and reinforce the message that brought people to the landing page Keep the inquiry form simple

Never drop someone on your front page

Repeat and reinforce the message that brought people to the landing page

Keep the inquiry form simple

2. Search Optimization Make Your Web Pages Easier to Find… “ Organic Search” more important than paid search… Simple steps have high impact

1 giant among 4 players… Google has 60% or more of the search market

Imagine how organic search works… Millions of ants leave the nest each day in search of HTML content… They travel over HTML links, one link after another… At your website, an ant crawls over your links, tasting your content… each page is visited At end of day, the ants return to the nest with the tastiest content found… creating a database Key question : is your website tastier than your competitors?

Millions of ants leave the nest each day in search of HTML content…

They travel over HTML links, one link after another…

At your website, an ant crawls over your links, tasting your content… each page is visited

At end of day, the ants return to the nest with the tastiest content found… creating a database

Key question : is your website tastier than your competitors?

4 elements most important to the ant… Danny Sullivan on “eternal” SEO success points: Good title tags on your pages Good body copy Great content No barriers on your website to block the search No broken links No links that don’t go to an expected content Content important to your audience is important to the ant

Danny Sullivan on “eternal” SEO success points:

Good title tags on your pages

Good body copy

Great content

No barriers on your website to block the search

No broken links

No links that don’t go to an expected content

Content important to your audience is important to the ant

Important “organic” search elements… HTML page title HTML text visible on the page Inbound links… quality and quantity Anchor text links within your website Age of domain name, but .edu less impacted Various other factors… hundreds or thousands Update frequency, popularity, keywords in meta tags, image ALT tags, URLs

HTML page title

HTML text visible on the page

Inbound links… quality and quantity

Anchor text links within your website

Age of domain name, but .edu less impacted

Various other factors… hundreds or thousands

Update frequency, popularity, keywords in meta tags, image ALT tags, URLs

Identify web pages important to SEO… For the conversion activity you want, where should people start at your website? Never assume it’s the home page Most often it is not Think of “entry” pages or “landing” pages Content will vary with the conversion goal Always an obvious connection to the starting point Your most important pages define where to start creating strong search marketing pages

For the conversion activity you want, where should people start at your website?

Never assume it’s the home page

Most often it is not

Think of “entry” pages or “landing” pages

Content will vary with the conversion goal

Always an obvious connection to the starting point

Your most important pages define where to start creating strong search marketing pages

Check the results of a Google search… The search for NIRSA results in 9 entry points to the website Track use of these pages and optimize the most popular first

The search for NIRSA results in 9 entry points to the website

Track use of these pages and optimize the most popular first

Free tool to check on keywords… http://www.freewordtrackertool.com/

Recreational sports vs. Intramural sports 119 daily searches vs. 9

Two results for “recreational sports”… Michigan State University… University of Michigan

The top writing points… “Recreative Services” = no search results Use at least one key word in every page title Repeat that key word in the primary heading on your web page Put subheads in bold Use keywords early in the first sentence on the page Use keywords again about 3 times for every 100 words

Use at least one key word in every page title

Repeat that key word in the primary heading on your web page

Put subheads in bold

Use keywords early in the first sentence on the page

Use keywords again about 3 times for every 100 words

Don’t “stuff” keywords… The page title and description, primary headline, one subhead, twice in the text… More and the page might not seem well written

3. Writing Right for the Web Content people can scan in 2 or 3 seconds… “ Carewords” to engage people when they scan

Easy to scan for MBA content…

Web readers scan for “care” words… Use headlines that capture attention and engage the visitor… Write from the viewpoint of your audience… What are the “Carewords” that get attention?

Carewords for Executive MBA prospects UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School Words people cared about… Advance your career Balancing work, home, and school Career advancement Cost Best school possible Prestigious, well-recognized degree Words that didn’t rank high… Accessible faculty Experience of faculty Corporate sponsorship Shaping leaders Class diversity (industry or experience) Format of program

Words people cared about…

Advance your career

Balancing work, home, and school

Career advancement

Cost

Best school possible

Prestigious, well-recognized degree

Words that didn’t rank high…

Accessible faculty

Experience of faculty

Corporate sponsorship

Shaping leaders

Class diversity (industry or experience)

Format of program

Make them obvious for visitors… http://www.kenan-flagler.unc.edu/programs/emba/index.cfm

Direct marketing style helps people scan… Short sentences… 5 to 10 words Short paragraphs… 50 words or less One sentence paragraph is OK Sub-heads… Active words, not labels Flow from the primary page heading Bullet points

Short sentences… 5 to 10 words

Short paragraphs… 50 words or less

One sentence paragraph is OK

Sub-heads…

Active words, not labels

Flow from the primary page heading

Bullet points

Direct marketing style helps people connect… Newspaper copy words… “ walk”… not “ambulate” “ confuse”… not “discombobulate” “ beat around the bush”… not “prevaricate” Emotional language Real stories about real people Best told by the people themselves Visible prompts to take an action

Newspaper copy words…

“ walk”… not “ambulate”

“ confuse”… not “discombobulate”

“ beat around the bush”… not “prevaricate”

Emotional language

Real stories about real people

Best told by the people themselves

Visible prompts to take an action

Repeat the call to action… http://www.mbaregis.com/

Write about the real experience… “ Rolls-Royce has an obsession with quality appreciated by discerning customers” Rolls-Royce campaign before David Ogilvy “ At 60 miles an hour the loudest noise in this new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock” Rolls-Royce campaign after David Ogilvy

“ Rolls-Royce has an obsession with quality appreciated by discerning customers”

Rolls-Royce campaign before David Ogilvy

“ At 60 miles an hour the loudest noise in this new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock”

Rolls-Royce campaign after David Ogilvy

4. Web Analytics Important Marketing Information from How External People Use Your Website

What does a marketer need to know? Google Analytics has 80+ programmed reports about website data… More data than you need to know

Do you need to know 47 screen resolutions?

Let’s make a list from this page… Where did visitors come from? How many were new? Average time on page? Bounce rate? Where did they go? Track navigation possibilities Learn what’s popular and what’s not

Where did visitors come from?

How many were new?

Average time on page?

Bounce rate?

Where did they go?

Track navigation possibilities

Learn what’s popular and what’s not

Check point to start…set goals Your web goals might include… Watching a video Reading a blog Registering for a sport Paying for a membership Subscribing to a newsletter

Your web goals might include…

Watching a video

Reading a blog

Registering for a sport

Paying for a membership

Subscribing to a newsletter

KPI: Percent of new vs. returning visitors Are your marketing efforts bringing new visitors to your website? Where did the new visitors live? Cities? Regions (states)? Countries?

Are your marketing efforts bringing new visitors to your website?

Where did the new visitors live?

Cities?

Regions (states)?

Countries?

KPI: Average time on your site… Average time on site is 1.38 minutes Is this good or bad? Depends on why they visited These visit were to see Link of the Week page Bounce rate: 72.9% Looked at one page and left

Average time on site is 1.38 minutes

Is this good or bad?

Depends on why they visited

These visit were to see Link of the Week page

Bounce rate: 72.9%

Looked at one page and left

KPI: Popularity of individual web pages… What pages are visited most often? How long to people stay on them? Do they exit from these pages or move to other pages? Identify pages you’d like people to visit that are being ignored

What pages are visited most often?

How long to people stay on them?

Do they exit from these pages or move to other pages?

Identify pages you’d like people to visit that are being ignored

Getting started with Google Analytics… http://analytics.blogspot.com/

5. Video Capturing the Power of YouTube

Videos to tell your story… http://www.recsports.berkeley.edu/videos.aspx?uid=1380400369

Especially on YouTube… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvQoXEC4i2M&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOu92xQ67NI

And further into the social network arena… http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1030494727651

6. Blogs, Message Boards, Social Networking Don’t Forget Old Online Friends

Blogs to introduce people & sports… http://vcurecsports.blogspot.com/

Sports message boards… http://www.csusbrecsports.com/mb/index.php

If your goal is this… http://recsports.software.umn.edu/alumni/

When will you have this? http://boston.sportsvite.com/

7. Staying Up-To-Date

ClickZ http://www.clickz.com/

MarketingProfs http://www.marketingprofs.com/

Thank You! Bob Johnson, Ph.D. President and Senior Consultant Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC 226 Chauncey Court Marshall, MI 49068 248.766.6425 [email_address] Customer Carewords Research for Online Marketing Success: http://www.bobjohnsonconsulting.com/customercarewords.html