Search engines results should be dated

I don’t know about you but when I use any of the myriad of search engines, I like results that are not from 1997 to 2005. We’ve all learned, and the consensus is, that knowledge doubles every three years. There is value in archives but for the most part we all want current information whether we are searching for answers, inspiration or products. Hopefully someone is working on capturing authoring dates on content and making it visible in abbreviated results. Content relevance is good but not so if it is old.

A few days ago I ran searches for “trends in on-line advertising” and the results were targeted BUT they were over three years old. That’s not a trend.

When I feign to spend time clicking on results, I look at the copyright at the bottom of a site to see if they have updated the year–if not, I am suspicious especially when there are no dates on the site. I can’t count the many posts in the blogosphere that do not date their material, many under the guise of being current.

My point: there is a lot of dated, superceded, “dead” information on the web that may lead folks down the road no longer travelled. I’ll guess it is at least 30%–maybe much more. As one pundit said, “search engines are in their infancy”.

What I love about Amazon.com search tools is that you can change the search according to date of publication, not just subject relevance. That’s why New Releases is a whole other kettle of fish in the book and video biz–everyone wants to be au courant.

When doing searches the internet is looking old.

I’m just sayin’…

WordPress commits big faux-pas

Last night the guys at WP decided to retire their feed stats! Yes can you believe it? The vitriol that has flown into their comments (which are now closed) is exponential. Feed stats matter–people who subscribe to your feeds are higher in importance than views! Scratching my head on this one.

If that isn’t enough to grate me, the feed stats button was buttressed to another called “Blog Surfer” that took me to a line-up of posts by Robert Scoble. Arrrrrgh! While I may have visited his blog a couple of times in the past I’ll decide want I want on my dashboard not WP. I am not the least bit interested in Mrs. Scoble’s trip to the spa and the like. WP thinks this may force views to other WP bloggers–but it is really a form of advertising. I thought WP was dead set against this! The dashboard entry point and forums provide enough here.

Please WP, you are excellent thinkers and doers but this one is a thumbs down of stellar proportion.

First results: what our marketing customers want

We conducted an on-line survey of our customers and viewers, marketing execs and agencies, in reference to web marketing and the results were somewhat in line with other larger scale surveys with a few surprises. The question was, “how do you feel about the following subjects scoring 1 as not important and up to 5 as most important”. In order of importance here are the topics ranked from highest to lowest:

Ranked 1st: web analytics

Ranked 2nd:

• Social media marketing

• Search engine marketing

• Advertising on the web

Ranked 3rd: Improving web site content

Ranked 4th:  eMail marketing

Ranked 5th: Rich media in on-line advertising

Ranked 6th: mobile marketing

The disparity between analytics and mobile marketing surprised us but this is still directional data. We are continuing the surveys and will adjust the results as we advance. Bear in mind these are Canadian executives and their vision and needs likely differ from their US counterparts.

As results come, they confirm that our growing line-up of keynote speakers at Plexus 2007: the Web Marketing Conference & Demo is bang-on.

Corporate blogs: powerful marketing tool

Many corporations are reluctant to enter the world of social media fearing a loss of control over their relationships with customers. Funny thing is the consumer has always been in control.

The key precedent to entering the world of blogging is transparency. Currently, consumer trust is at an all time low and transparency is the antidote. Someone recently posted that a corporation that does not offer a blog from its CEO or executive team is suspect. There is truth in this statement. The web is about interactivity; marketers have always wanted a relationship with their customers and the web is the simplest, most accessible tool.

Remember blogs can and must be moderated. Where my blogs have received thousands of spam messages over the last six months, these spammers are now posting “nice blog” and other short saccharine statements with minimum links to get through our filters. But moderation saves the day. Expletives, hateful comments (under the guise of freedom of expression)–all can be deleted. I compare much of stealth hateful comments to “road rage”. The blogosphere has too many hateful participants and frankly the more we moderate, the more it will be taken over by social decorum. There is no more honesty in freedom to hate than there is in freedom to be kind. Even Tim O’Reilly is trying to start a new higher standard for blogging; I blogged about this earlier. I applaud this worthy cause and his courage.

Blogs put a face, a voice and a heart behind a corporation and its brands. It adds vital meaning to the brand. And builds community around it. And furthermore, it also provides a zero cost, authentic tool to learn how your customers feel. In a panoply of marketing tools, this is probably the most effective.

The truly fearful can turn off comments as a starting point—it’s not interactive but it does provide a sincere voice. I’t s a good start.

Blogging is an indispensible tool for marketers. Some say, “I don’t have time to blog”; truly, they are postponing the inevitable. Blogging should be on every marketer’s daily To Do list.