The Gary Air Show, Reach, Frequency, Timing and the USA Air Force
Keyword Research and Marketing Concepts – Conversion Optimization
Selecting the type and purpose of keywords is as important in keyword research as the number of searches. When I do keyword research, I like to use the Google Keyword Tool. I know there are a lot of premium tools out there, but my opinion is that Google knows something about how people search. I like to keep basic marketing concepts in mind as I write, because SEO is actually marketing. Not only are we trying to get to page 1 in the SERP (Search Engine Results Page) but we are also trying to influence the decision of which link to click. To do this, we need to think about the goal of the post. If I write a post offering an unbiased review of an SUV, I should not select sales related keywords. Similarly, if I’m selling an SUV I shouldn’t use keywords related to “early phases in the funnel.”
More likely, I hear a knock or notice the faded upholstery in my car and I Google to research the resale value. The destination there, may even give me a persistent cookie that they then sell to a firm that sells tagged traffic so that retargeting can start early. The next step likely will be searching for reviews that fit my situation, “Car reviews” “family” “midsize” “suv” and I click the first review. I scan the page for something familiar and I find #12, the Honda Pilot my wife has one of those, and it fits what I need. At this point I might search “local dealers” “Honda Pilot” “Valparaiso” at this point, I am looking to buy a car. No longer am I gathering info related to a choice, but I am looking to take action.
When I run this search, the top paid ad is for Bosak Honda in Michigan City, IN. I’ll probably click that ad, but maybe not. Why not? It’s a paid ad and it’s great placement, but if they had an unpaid ad down below that would probably seal the deal. I’m not really that picky, so I’ll probably go there. Are your customers that picky?
The Valparaiso University Softball Team Reading Buddies
The Valparaiso University softball team has been co-chairing a major charity activity in Northwest Indiana alongside the United Way of Porter County since 2003. This program called “I need a hug” set out to distribute stuffed animals to schools to use in lieu of hugging (hands off policies in schools). The students embraced the program and within a few years it was a living functioning entity and began to find truly creative ways to raise funds, such as the Pepsi Refresh Project.
The “I Need a Hug” project also gave birth to the “Reading Buddies” project (also with the United Way of Porter County and the Valparaiso University Softball Team). This project combined the well received stuffed animals from “I Need a Hug” with some research out of U.C. Davis that found exceptional reading improvement in kids that “read to dogs.” The kids have someone to read to and that someone is not critical of how they read. This program allowed them to read more freely and confidently.
The “Reading Buddies” goal with Pepsi Refresh is to raise $25K through community interaction and voting. This will continue until June 30th. Currently, the project is ranked 98th so your vote is needed and appreciated. Livemercial is proud to provide support to this worthy cause.
The Town of Dyer Centennial Celebration
Here at Livemercial, due to the recent revival of the Livemercial blog, we are getting out in the community more. We are trying to get involved with local organizations, events and causes that are in line with our belief in Northwest Indiana as a great place to do business. In short, we are looking for worthwhile things to do in Northwest Indiana.
Google Pac-Man Takes Offices by Storm
The race for the Google Pac-man winner.
Call it old news, but office workers all over the US are still raving about Google Pac-Man. If you didn’t hear, Google swapped out their logo on May 21st to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Pac-Man. The catch is that this logo was a fully playable version of the game. There was a button next to the normal Google search button that is labeled “Insert Coin†and begins a game. Google Pac-Man places just as the classic did, only the level is in the shape of the Google logo. There are rumors of over 200 levels, but I personally would not know as I’m lucky to make it to level 5.
Apparently office professionals played a lot of the classic when it was remade. A study by RescueTime via CNET revealed that Americans wasted over 4.8 million work hours on Friday alone, or the equivalent of over $120 million in workforce costs. Some companies were going as far as banning the Google homepage entirely to uphold their no-gaming policies.
Lucky for us, we work at a fun online marketing company. This being said, LM employees are still engaged in an ongoing Google Pac Man championship. A quick break from daily tasks and campaign brainstorming could mean taking another shot at the leader board, which is currently held by one of LM’s media planners at 77,320 points and is followed at a far second with 51,020 points.
Even after Google has swapped their Pac-Man logo out, the game is still playable at http://www.google.com/pacman/. You’ve already seen the numbers. I don’t think I need to warn you that this game is highly addictive, but I will anyways. Be careful if you decide to play on company time, and make sure you take a break every now and then to get some actual work finished!
– Media Viceroy
INsight Design Conference: One-on-one Interview with Founder Joseph Gonzalez
My interview with INsight founder Joseph Gonzalez
On Friday, May 21, I attended the INsight Design Conference. After hearing about this event for the past two years, I had a lot of questions about this one-day, regional design event. As it’s website explains, INsight aims to educate, inspire and transform area designers, but I wanted to know more about its founding and its impact on the design community.
I went straight to the source and asked founder Joseph Gonzalez for an interview. My request was granted and as the event died down (except for the lively music from DJ Geoffrey Phillip) I sat down with Joseph to find out more about INsight.
WG: What target group are you trying to reach with the INsight Design Conference?
JG: The INsight Design Conference originally started as reaching students and 1-year experience designers and then seasoned designers started attending.
WG: Is it solely for graphic designers or are you trying to expand to other types of artists?
JG: The conference is open to graphical designers, graphic artists, photographers and fine artists, but it focuses more toward digital [art/design].
WG: What was your initial vision in founding the INsight Conference? How has that vision changed to fit the goals of your attendees?
JG: People contacted me to review portfolios [from all different colleges] and they were horrible. Something had to be done. INsight gives students the opportunity to get professional reviews. That’s why the surveys are so important–to make sure the conference is in line with what they need.
WG: What key points should a designer take away from this conference?
JG: There is a community in Northwest Indiana, this event showcases it and [designers] can be involved.
WG: What is your advice for the following types of designers:
WG: The novice designer?
JG: Always continue to grow and push yourself. Latch on to another professional or mentor.
WG: The seasoned designer who needs to freshen up his/her work?
JG: This is the perfect event to see other designers and their work and to continue to grow and find other ways to push [yourself].
WG: The corporate designer who wants to go freelance?
JG: Take on small work for 6 months, see it’s right for you and [if it is] take the risk.
WG: How can NWI designers set themselves apart from Chicago/big city designers?
JG: Northwest Indiana has a reputation of not being able to produce quality work. Northwest Indiana designers need to educate clients on the results. We need to do that as a community to show that we know what we’re talking about.
WG: What improvements would you like to make for the next conference?
JG: The overall promotion needs to start a month earlier. The conference has a great reputation of people showing up last minute.
If you want to learn more about the INsight Design Conference, click to check out their website, Facebook or Twitter.
Grammatically yours,
LM Word Girl
8 Office Tips from The Other Search Guy
Here are some tips to help you get along in the office:
1. As a courtesy to your co-workers, always remember to wipe down the copy machine after making copies of your backside.
2. Remember to bring silverware to all of your office parties. Cutting and eating the cake with your hands may go over well at your one-year-old’s birthday party, but it’s generally frowned upon at the office. Trust me.
3. If you must steal food from the office refrigerator, take a little bit from everyone. That way you still get a full meal, but it’s much less obvious that you have been raiding people’s lunches.
4. If you happen to spill water all over the floor when switching out jugs for the water cooler, open the refrigerator’s freezer door and close all of the doors to the break room. People are less likely to get angry about the new office skating rink than they are about finding water all over the place.
5. Pay close attention to the words “men†and “women†that are posted on the bathroom doors. Again, trust me.
6. Always leave at least 2 ounces of coffee in the bottom of the office coffee pot. That way you don’t have to make a new pot, and you can’t get blamed for taking the last cup.
7. Make sure you check with HR before trying to institute a “shirts and skins†rule for the various departments in your office.
8. If you insist on taking your showers at work, be courteous and put a sign on the break room door before climbing into the sink.
– The Other Search Guy
Chicago After Work & Video Killed the Wordsmith
Chicago After Work Networking Event @ The Griffin Lounge
Karl and I attended the Chicago After Work networking and socializing event on Thursday, May 20 at the Griffin Lounge. Geared toward young business professionals, Chicago After Work hosts a networking event every 2-3 weeks at some of Chicago’s premier bars, hotels and nightclubs. Each event ranges in size from 250-350 people and features an open bar along with appetizers.
Keeping true to the tagline on their giant banner, Chicago After Work is “networking with a different point of view.â€
Upon entering, every event attendee receives a name tag color-coated by industry intended to help with searching for other industry-specific networkers. I spotted a few people doubling up on name tags (blue for entrepreneur with yellow for healthcare and whatnot). Their color system was quite vast and I found it hard to match up colors with industries without running back to the giant sign at the entrance. It reminded me of the terror alert system, which means that us marketing people (red is our color) are at severe risk of attack. Perhaps I should have put every color on.
Making our way through the crowded entrance, Karl and I made a beeline for food. Along the way, we found a few business card drop boxes including one for You Swoop, which is a Chicago-based deal-a-day service that offers one amazing deal (called a “swoopâ€) of the day from a Chicago business. We didn’t win the drawing, but I picked up a squishy ball for my co-workers to throw around the office.
With food in sight, I enjoyed satay in the Crystal Room and then went on a mission to socialize. I got approached by a few marketing people in the Atrium where we discussed marketing tactics and product development amid red velvet couches, medieval chained lighting and elegant fabrics.
Beyond the appetizers and drinks, this event also offered chair massages from Red Door Spa as well as mixology and sushi making classes from I Wish Lessons. I decided to try my hand at making sushi. While my roll looked flawless, cutting it into six pieces was a problem. My knife was not very sharp, so my sushi turned out a bit squished. Nevertheless, I met a few interesting people as I rolled up some rice and cucumbers.
Overall, the Chicago After Work event was a great networking opportunity for creating and expanding business connections as well as opportunities. I only have two suggestions: 1) create a card with all of color codes for attendees to take with them and 2) devise a game in order to encourage more socializing.
Oh and on a side note, I tried to get video of this event with the new Flip Video SlideHD. For that particular night, video killed the wordsmith. Not to worry, she’ll conquer it soon enough.
Grammatically yours,
LM Word Girl
LM Peeps Sound Off: Revamping the LM Blog
Hello and welcome to the recently revamped Livemercial Blog. Wait! What’s Livemercial?, you ask. For all those who are unfamiliar, Livemercial (LM) creates innovative advertising solutions for direct-to-consumer online marketing and sales.
Why revamp the LM blog? Well, it’s time to give our blog a clean slate and focus more on the interests of our readers.
Yes, Livemercial has recently restructured and even though our team is smaller, our desire to move forward is stronger than ever. The current Livemercial staff is made up of a close-knit group of versatile individuals who brainstorm together, create together and occasionally throw things at each other.
This blog will serve as a platform for the LM staff to sound off and reveal the real corporate culture behind Livemercial (don’t believe what you read in the media).
Exclusive Livemercial Blog content right here! Don’t miss the latest and most entertaining news about everything LM: wacky whiteboard art, office requisition forms, water-cooler banter, industry raves and rants, tech talk, office etiquette, comical pranks, the customary coverage from local and national networking/community events and MORE!
So…tune in to LM culture now by bookmarking our blog, sharing your comments, emailing your friends and adding our RSS feed. Give us your feedback and let us know what’s on your mind.
Grammatically yours,
LM Word Girl