E-consultancy - Business to Business - News and Blog

SEO losing out to paid search budgets

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 11:06:00 UT

British firms will spend a quarter more on search advertising this year than last, a new report released by E-consultancy predicts.

The online marketing maestros have published their Search Engine Marketing Buyer's Guide, which forecasts search marketing spending will increase by 24% this year.

Q&A: Sift Media's Ben Heald on B2B online publishing

Tue, 9 Sep 2008 11:51:00 UT

This week, we speak to Ben Heald, chief executive of Sift Media, about the challenges of B2B online publishing, including the economy, how to monetise international traffic and tackle participation inequality in social media.

We ask him about trends from audiences and advertisers, how the sector is moving forward in terms of best practices, and why his journalists are now paid on a performance basis.

Google turns 10

Mon, 8 Sep 2008 07:30:00 UT

This weekend, Google celebrated its 10th birthday.

In September 1998, armed with $100,000 in seed money, Stanford graduate students Sergey Brin and Larry Page began a journey that a decade later has seen the development of a $150bn company that employs more than 20,000 people.

How to look like a million bucks

Wed, 3 Sep 2008 07:45:00 UT

In the world of business, image counts for a lot. It may not be everything, but sometimes it's pretty darn close.

Sure, you always have to deliver, but sometimes getting a new client or closing a big deal is as dependent upon how you look to the client as it is upon how qualified you are.

Accepting credit cards online - merchant account basics

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 07:45:00 UT

If your business needs to accept credit card payments online, chances are you may have started out with a service like PayPal because of the low costs and the ease of integration.

But when you "outgrow" such a service, it's time to step up to a merchant account.

Do you know how your brand is perceived?

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 08:00:00 UT

There are a number of key services that are hot in the industry at the moment (and no, we aren�t talking Twitter or social media services here), but online reputation management must be one of the hottest.

While it is enjoying somewhat of a boom in popularity, it is something that has been talked about within the industry for quite a while. However, it is one of those unfortunate services that sits as a hybrid.

Marketers don�t care about customers

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 07:33:00 UT

With economic slowdown in the news everyday, you could be forgiven for thinking that knowing your customer � the foundation of good marketing � is keeping marketers awake at night.

That doesn�t seem to be the case.�

Adding white papers and case studies to your website

Wed, 2 Jul 2008 07:30:00 UT

If you run a business that provides information to prospective customers through a website, you may want to consider offering downloadable white papers or case studies.

Q&A: Incisive Media's Tim Weller on B2B publishing online

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:32:00 UT

Tim Weller is the group chief executive of Incisive Media and talks to us about his successful approach to B2B publishing.

Web editors: 5 reasons to love standfirsts

Fri, 6 Jun 2008 08:30:00 UT

Better search results, higher clickthrough rates, more targeted traffic, improved usability� why every web writer should embrace standfirsts.

Seurat�s lesson for marketers

Tue, 20 May 2008 08:30:00 UT

It seems that many marketers still struggle to build a rich picture of their customers.�

They could do worse than study the works of Georges Seurat, the famous French impressionist painter of the 19th century, whose techniques have interesting lessons for today�s 21st century marketers.�

Spam is in the eye of the beholder

Wed, 5 Mar 2008 08:30:00 UT

For me, spam is unwelcome email -�if I don't want it, it's spam.

Sending speeds: are they important?

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 14:04:00 UT

The send speeds of ESPs�are increasingly being looked at as a key selling point.�Being able to pump out over a million emails per month is regarded as a benefit by many clients.

Most major UK-based ESPs are able to provide these speeds, often through a partnership with companies such as Strongmail or Port25 Solutions.

But is this important?

Can Xmas email marketing ever not be tacky?

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 15:10:00 UT

A simple Santa hat, some holly or a bit of tinsel hanging off the corporate logo is often the most companies do to make their email marketing festive.�

They are missing a trick.

LinkedIn opens up its platform

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 15:24:00 UT

Professional social network LinkedIn has launched�a developer platform as well as a redesign of its website.

As previously outlined by CEO Dan Nye, the new "Intelligent Application" platform will not be as open�as�that of rival�Facebook, and will be limited to��business productivity applications�.

Email Marketing: Making Bacn not Spam

Tue, 4 Dec 2007 13:18:00 UT

Dela Quist looks at�why 40% of subscribers to an email database may not open a single message they are sent for�six months or more.

He�says this is not necessarily a bad thing as they are �unemotionally subscribed� � they still want to receive messages from you but are not in a position to take up your offer today.

Broadcasters confirm joint video plans

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 12:21:00 UT

The BBC, Channel 4 and ITV have confirmed that their long rumoured joint video on demand (VOD) service�will�go live�next year.

The venture, dubbed 'Project Kangaroo',�will operate independently of the three broadcasters and�offer video�content from a range of providers.

Xing to incorporate ads

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 09:30:00 UT

B2B social�network Xing is planning to introduce advertising�for the first time before the end of the year, giving the company an extra revenue stream to add to subscriptions.

According to Xing, the targeted ads will only be introduced�in certain sections�and will "not compromise the usability of the website".�But it says the volume of ads will increase over the next year.

AOL snaps up another ad firm

Thu, 8 Nov 2007 08:00:00 UT

AOL has confirmed another acquisition to bolster its online ad line-up - this� time buying Israeli start-up Quigo in a deal reported to be worth around $340m (�162m).

Quigo, which supplies search marketing tools and contextual placements on sites such as Time�s digital properties, will be integrated into AOL�s newly-formed Platform A ad network.

Timesonline allows users to blog by phone

Wed, 7 Nov 2007 16:28:00 UT

The Times is to make it easier for readers to�contribute to its website�by allowing them to blog by phone using voice to text services provided by SpinVox.

The service is initially aimed at travel bloggers as part of the site's YourWorld promotion with BMW. TimesOnline users will be able to give accounts of their travels from anywhere in the world, and read those posted by other readers.