April 2000 vol2 What's the Buzz? IMPROVING INTERNET SEARCHES FOR MARKETERS, CONSUMERS The process for finding what you want on the Web has plenty of room for improvement, from both the user and marketer point of view. URLs are often a long string of characters and symbols that have scant intuitive relationship to the website they locate. And search engines rarely serve up a user's sought-after website with just a single query. Marketers, meanwhile, spend countless dollars and man-hours securing URLs that reflect their branding, and trying to get their websites listed in appropriate search results. At least two companies are working to improve the situation for both users and marketers. RealNames Corp. aims to supplement Web searches with a tool that takes users to companies' websites when they type in a logical, related, plain-English word. For example, a user would only need to enter the words "Ford Explorer" to go to Ford's web page about the vehicle, rather than finding the URL "http://www.fordvehicles.com/explorer/index.html." Small business websites pay annual subscription fees of $100 for each RealNames Internet keyword, while prices for leading brands are negotiated on a per-visitor basis. Some Internet heavyweights have signed on to support RealNames' keywords. AltaVista, DogPile, LookSmart, the GO Network, Inktomi and Microsoft's MSN offer RealNames keyword access. More than 60% of U.S. Internet users have access to RealNames keywords, according to the company's SEC registration statement, filed earlier this month. RealNames is also integrated into Microsoft's Internet Explorer 5.0, which accounts for 30% of web browsers. Though RealNames does not mention America Online or its Netscape browser, its SEC filing says it intends to "aggressively pursue additional, distribution relationships with Internet browser providers." SIMPLIFYING SEARCHES Clickey is a search engine launched this week that aims to make getting listed in search results easier and fairer. Clickey offers immediate, free listings, but only for registered domain names. For users, the domain-name only rule means that search results won't include multiple listings that are actually just different pages from the same website. For website owners, the rule means greater exposure, according to John DeUlloa, Clickey's vice president of business development. "Let's face it, most people don't click on the 'Next 10' button more than just a couple of times on any search result before they either give up or start searching for other terms," says DeUlloa. Clickey helps "level the playing field for website owners," says DeUlloa. "Small business websites with their own domain names can be found just as easily as large, multibillion-dollar corporations." Clickey's evenhandedness is also ensured by randomly sequencing the presentation of domains that match users' queries, according to DeUlloa. Specifically, if 1,000 domain names come up as a match, both the 200 that are presented to the user, and the order they are presented in, are randomly determined. Other Clickey rules are intended to prevent common search engine abuses that frustrate users and marketers. Domain name owners are allowed seven keywords, but they all must be distinctly related to the website. "Clickey Cops" will be checking search results to ensure compliance, and users and other website owners can report violators, DeUlloa says. Websites using unrelated keywords will be barred from Clickey. Clickey also lets domain name owners change their keywords at any time, DeUlloa says, allowing them to take advantage of seasonal marketing opportunities. SPECIFIC SCENARIOS This issue of WebPromote Weekly includes descriptions of one Internet marketer's experiences with opt-in email programs that worked and programs that failed. Also, B.L. Ochman argues that the new online malls promising pots of gold may leave many marketers disappointed. Desktop Retailing May Disillusion Online Gold Seekers This morning I passed a neighborhood store that has been trying to develop a foothold for the past two years. It was dark and empty, with a sign in the window that said, "Shop Us On the Web at www.ourstore.com." But sadly, like many businesses placing their online bets on the new megaretail and mall sites, they're likely to fail. These new online malls are the e-commerce equivalent of the Wizard of Oz: They imply that all your needs will be taken care of and that you will earn pots of money. But thousands of new desktop retailers that join these malls will learn what brick and mortar store owners keep learning the hard way: it's not enough to open your doors and wait to be overrun with customers. DISTINGUISH YOURSELF Yet sites like Amazon and Bigstep are selling instant-store dreams. Amazon's site almost yells, "Selling is easy!" You'll "have access to Amazon's 12 million customers," Amazon says. Sure you will, but there is no guarantee that any of them will actually visit your widget store unless your business proposition is a solid one. First you'll need to find a way to distinguish yourself from the millions of other widget sellers on the Web. Here are some other details webfront store sellers leave out: It matters what you sell--and it matters a lot. You need a unique selling proposition online, just as in the bricks and mortar world. Without a valid business and marketing plan and the means to execute them, you will be just another online widget seller. You will need to find ways to add value to your widgets. That added value can be information, such as expert advice about how, when and why to use widgets. You can create a community on your site, putting visitors in touch with other widget owners and collectors, so they have reason to return. You'll need to capture email addresses and permission to use them so you can send your customers information about sales and new products. You'll need to communicate with your customers on a regular basis so they don't forget that you exist. LEARN FROM THE BEST Being one of several thousand stores in an online mall is like opening a store on the third floor of a building in the least traveled road on the outskirts of town. Online or off, the best and most successful retailers know that a combination of quality goods, innovative displays, top-notch service, ambience and a sense of theatre are what appeal to customers. It takes some skill to get the people walking by to come into a store and even more to get them to buy. The world's best traditional retailers make an effort to make shopping fun and to fill the experience with surprise. Amazon itself is a great example. Visitors are greeted by name on their return, special offers are given on each visit, what customers' purchases are used to suggest additional purchases. Another good example is garden.com. If you order tulips, garden.com instantly recommends gardening tools, books, complementary plants or fertilizers. This is the best technique for increasing the average value of each sale. Yes, it requires some sophisticated programming, but consider sales you'll lose without it. This is a feature that a webfront company is not likely to include in its $99 fee for a store template. JUST ADD WATER? Some webfront store sellers even promise to supply your products if you have none of your own! Iconomy.com bragged to the Wall Street Journal, "We have relationships with 150 wholesale distributors. We have access to 3.5 million products. We can get a store together in a matter of two to four weeks." For a share of sales revenue, Iconomy provides its webfront merchants such services as store design, merchandise procurement, order processing and customer service. With many of the malls, I'll bet that few of the merchants end up going with the low-cost storefront option. Much of the mall owners' profits are undoubtedly in the extras. Extras or not, mall owners have nothing to lose because would-be retail millionaires pay upfront and monthly fees for their webfront stores. So don't just follow the yellow brick road to Oz. Because here's the bottom line: Amazon, Iconomy and the other malls have found the goose that will lay the golden online egg. It's a great plan--for them. By B.L. Ochman B.L.Ochman, ochman@nac.net, is an award-winning marketer who has helped local, regional and multinational corporations increase awareness and product sales, both online and off http://www.thebestwebideas.com. Phone: (212) 385-2200. Opt-In Email: Successes and Failures The banner is dead for ROI-based interactive marketers. We all know it. But many folks--such as ad-revenue based publishers and media buying agencies--don’t want to admit it, because they'd have to come up with a new business model. However, as click-throughs decrease and return on investment performance slides, those of us whose daily bread depends on banners yielding results can't deny its death as an effective response advertising tool. But with the banner ad's demise, we can focus on other forms of interactive advertising, such as permission email. While opt-in email won’t solve all your advertising issues, it can be a successful part of your entire marketing plan. My experience using opt-in email can help you use it effectively. WHAT IS IT? The significant characteristic of opt-in email marketing is electronic communication subscribers agree to receive. The recipient of the advertising has given permission to the advertiser to send him emails that include specific types of offers. These emails may take several forms, including newsletters on subjects that the subscriber is interested in, discussion lists on topics of interest, and direct offers relating to predefined products or services. REASONS TO USE OPT-IN EMAIL Opt-in email is best used as a tool to help advertisers get specific responses from the audience they are targeting. Obviously, online advertisers are looking to drive traffic to their sites, but more importantly, they are looking for qualified traffic that will then perform an action--download a product, register for future communication, or make a purchase. Opt-in email can also be a successful way of advertising specific event-driven marketing promotions. BEFORE USING OPT-IN SERVICES Before using opt-in email, do the following: Know the audience you are trying to reach. Determine who can benefit most from your product or service. Ensure that your message is benefit driven. Because you know your product or service best, be involved in the creation of your copy and creative. Clearly identify your expected return on investment. And, if you haven’t accurately assessed that ROI, you may need to make changes in your business model. However painful this may be, it’s better to find this out now then later. MY EXPERIENCES As a media buyer with specific performance measures, I've used opt-in email to drive qualified traffic for two products: eTour.com, a free Web surfing service, and Alexa, a free Web navigation service. For both, the opt-in programs had to be cost effective. Branding, while a nice side benefit, was not a main goal. The programs that were successful for me included CBSMarketwatch, Joke-of-the-Day.com, LockerGnome, Newslinx and WebPromote Weekly. Recently I've been using opt-in email via the Humor Network's Joke-of-the-Day newsletter. This newsletter was a good fit because its broad base of users would be interested in the eTour service as a way to see other humor and fun-related sites without having to sift through search engine results. Before the campaign began we determined the demographics and psychographics of Joke-of-the-Day list members and set our conversion rate goals. The actual text advertisement was written in a lighthearted, joking style intended to appeal to the subscription base. We achieved nearly 25% conversion at an affordable rate. Earlier in my career, when I was at Alexa, one of my challenges was trying to balance the need for new users with the difficulty of finding customers who understood how to download software. The Lockergnome newsletter turned out to be a strong fit for two main reasons. First, the audience was tech-savvy, and secondly, the editor was enthusiastic about the service and gave it his own stamp of approval. This program yielded more than 20,000 downloads at a 35% conversion rate. ONE THAT DIDN’T WORK Not all marketing programs are going to be successful. But if you learn why a project failed, you can avoid the same mistake in the future. While I was at Alexa, a publisher said I could reach 1 million tech-savvy members through a newsletter. Instead, the yield was low and very costly. Why didn’t this program work? Well, we should have done an initial test to determine the appropriateness of the audience. It turned out the audience was more interested in business-to-business applications, not consumer applications. Secondly, there were four other advertisers in the newsletter, watering down each advertiser’s message. THINGS TO REMEMBER Opt-in email marketing has several pluses that banners just can’t supply: The audience is highly targeted and has specifically chosen to see targeted emails or newsletter emails. Emails can include more detailed descriptions of complex products (although don't forget that less is more). People read their email! It is as easy as that. Banners are often ignored because the user hasn’t chosen to view them. In fact, banners get in the way of what most people are actually trying to do on the Web. Reading one’s email, on the other hand, is something that most people look forward to every day. And finally, opt-in email can be quite effective, but it should only be one component of your online and offline branding and PR campaign. By Darian Patchin Darian Patchin is director of business development for eTour.com. Fast Fact:  Web Users Moving to Higher Resolution Monitors Internet users are moving steadily toward higher screen resolutions, according to tatMarket. That means Web designers who have been designing for lowest-common-denominator 640x480 pixel or 800 x 600 pixel resolutions should soon be able to design for users who are increasingly able to accommodate more information on screens set to 1024x768 pixels, StatMarket says. Web surfers with monitors set to 640x480 pixels fell from 17.83% in January 1999 to only 12.59% of all monitors by October 1999, representing a usage drop of 29.3%. During that same period, users of monitors set at 1024x768 pixel resolution jumped from 20.48% to 25.94%, reflecting a usage increase of 26.6%.