Archive for January, 2008

Whoops! I hate when that happens.

We’re just all so busy around here getting our MP3 store ready.

I am always leveraging a company’s PPC brand (and yes, 1+1=3 when it comes to having organic and PPC presence for brand-related searches) there are roadblocks brought on by PPC networks. In the past few months we’ve been dealing with an interloper who has used broad-match on Google Adwords to get around their trademark blocking policy… Note, none of these links are to the interloper in question, I’m just linking to informative posts related to it)
According to Google’s documentation, Google Adwords will not allow competitors to actually use the trademarked keyword phrases in the text of its ads – but does not prohibit purchasing the keyword itself and presenting an ad. This seems to work most of the time, as illustrated by Shoemoney (where it kinda worked.)

For example, I do marketing for a national franchise, let’s call it “Cheeseworks” (fictional) - and I have a high quality score placement on PPC and organic rank. But competitors are able to bid AND DISPLAY “Cheesework Pizza” on Google Adwords (singular, no ’s’.)

Cheeseworks Pizza
Open a Franchise in Your Town
Excellent Opportunity - Low Cost
http://www.fabuliospizza.com

And then somebody else runs this one:

Cheesework Pizza
Are You Ready to Be Your
Own Boss? Learn More!
http://www.franchise-pizza-leads.com

(this company sells leads to franchises - again this is a fictional representation of a real case)

Yes, we filed trademark complaint about them using the singular version of this mark, but since they do character-by-character checks (apparently) - and rejected the complaint. If someone does broad-match triggering on “Cheeseworks Pizza” the ad with the singular version will show. This is wrong. Trademark/Brands are protected from confusingly similar derivatives. I don’t expect Google to become an arbiter of trademarks - they need a scalable system that does much of this - but this case (it is a real case, just as absurd) they should consider the spirit of trademark law considering “use in commerce” and how their match types work.

The interloper had private domain registration and doesn’t answer emails - we couldn’t prove it but there was evidence they were selling leads to others. We had to spend a lot of effort with attorneys to send a C&D and a real substantial threat. The ad is off now, but it required huge work. We’d not expect them to get involved in the McDowell’s vs. McDonald’s case that was in the Coming to America movie. But this was simply a singular versus plural issue that anyone could see was illegal.

Upon removal of the ad (via our legal work) our brand-specific click through rate jumped 4%. This, over the course of several months, adds up to over $6000 in traffic not to mention possible loss of business to a competitor. There is real talk about suing the other advertiser for the harm done. I know Google wants things to be handled “outside” but this is one case where it shouldn’t be.

At the very least Google needs to block by match type when infringement occurs. They should have disallowed broad match at least.

Note: I’m not an attorney - none of this is legal advice. If someone would like to chime in and clarify these issues I will be happy to hear it.

postscript:  I received an email from Google who has approved the singular version of the trademark block.  It took me three tries, and lots of damage done to my client, but at least it’s gone now.  I want to be grateful but still I’m just mad.  

Image from “Coming to America” a terrific Paramount Pictures film. Highly recommended.

Former Technorati CEO David Sifry has launched Web Hot or Not?, a Hot or Not site for websites.

It’s fun-cool, and has been done before, but it spooks me out in the world of multivariate testing and conversions optimization.

What’s hot:

Studies have shown that sites get only 50 milliseconds to give an impression to users. This site may help us learn what sites are attractive and appealing in a new way. The trouble is our assessment of any site is based on the context of that site, and how it was found. Personalized search results further refine these buckets of intent so the site is more likely to be found by certain people.

What’s not:

Anyone involved in web marketing knows that only through testing can we achieve the beauty of conversions and success for the site owner. To skim over websites and vote entirely on how they appear free from any other information (e.g. the search, PPC or organic, inbound link, intended audience, etc.) is to miss the point. It’s true, often “ugly” landing pages outconvert snazzy flash-based slot machines 3:1. Why encourage sites that look pretty but may not perform or worse, distract business owners from testable designs? I hate to see ego-designers who spend entire web budgets on snazz before knowing if the approach is right.

I live two blocks from the Henry Clay estate and walk there when I take breaks. On the path, there is a plaque which indicates that Henry Clay loved the house and paths because they allowed “considered contemplation” of heavy issues facing him. Henry Clay would return to Lexington to think, and then travel back to Washington to serve as Speaker of the House and a wide spectrum of other roles. It’s cool to walk the same paths he did.

Working in a city like New York or San Francisco (yes, I have) imposes restrictions, but opens many opportunities. The creative class (yes, Henry Clay fits the bill) often look to find the best of both worlds by living “near” the city and telecommuting part-time. This is the ideal arrangement if you ask me. But it appears that, despite legislation introductions to prevent it, New York continues to this through a nasty double-taxing system through its state tax code and it has people up-in-arms.

From the New York Times article:

“New York’s “convenience of the employer” rule taxes nonresidents as if they came to the office every day, even if they worked at home part of the week, unless they can prove their employer required them to telecommute. Yet they must also pay income tax in their home states for work they did there.

New York is the only state that aggressively enforces its tax code this way; most states use a “physical presence” test that lets workers pay taxes in proportion to the amount of time spent working in each state.”

Senators Christopher J. Dodd and Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut were sponsors of the Telecommuter Tax Fairness Act, which would ban any state from double-taxing nonresident telecommuters. Now, apparently, the bill is stuck in committee and a vote does not appear to be forthcoming.

Cali Williams Yost recently posted on FastCompany’s expert blogs area “Work/Life: NYC Versus Kentucky—One Resists Flexibility, the Other Embraces It. Who Wins?” which compared the approaches between New York and Kentucky - places most would find more different than night and day. It would seem that New York would use telework as an opportunity to reduce congestion and boost their economy. According to the Partnership for New York City, excess congestion shaves up to $4 billion a year off the region’s economy, preventing 52,000 jobs from being created. But with office real estate sitting empty, there is significant pressure to bring people to the city and fill those leases.

Contrast New York’s active resistance with that of the State of Kentucky. Not only is Kentucky embracing flexibility and innovation but sees it as a key lever for future growth and development. Business and community leaders from across the state, and within cities such as Lexington, are working with the Institute for Workplace Innovation at the University of Kentucky and its director, Dr. Jennifer Swanberg, as well as the University’s President, Lee T. Todd, Jr. to achieve their collective vision.

According to President Todd, “I envision Kentucky as a state of choice, a place where employers want to locate and employees want to work…Becoming a leader in workplace innovation is imperative for the growth and development of our economy.” (To read more about Kentucky’s initiative and what Kentucky employers are already doing download the Institute for Workplace Innovation’s “Making Workplaces Work—Employer Best Practices in Kentucky, 2007” publication.)

I am not a scholar of Henry Clay or his work, but I have a strong feeling he’d have a word or two to say about double taxing those wanting to work in quiet places. It’s silly to fight the changes that are happening in the workplace, or to discourage work/life balance among top talent. I hope that Senator Dodd and Lieberman’s bill makes progress. And I hope that more people spend time looking at Kentucky’s environment for clear thinking and good work.

NYC photo by Jorge Gobbi

I must admit, Donato’s franchise has great pizza. But when it comes to trusting their online ordering environment, they leave some things to be desired. Below find the email that came to my house after ordering online. We knew it was “real” because it came shortly after the order was placed. But Donato’s made two errors. Make sure you aren’t making them in your business.

• Donatos doesn’t use their own domain name for the feedback link, prompting Vista mail to flag the message with a phishing warning. In a world where trust is a critical part of branding, this is just foolish. My family is very advanced when it comes to the web, but many customers would just delete the message without reading it.
• Donatos sends our usernames and password in plain text in the message. You just don’t do this, especially with all of the other personal information in the same message. My family uses different passwords for our sensitive accounts such as online banking, but I am absolutely sure this isn’t the case for many customers. This means the Donato’s password may have been used for more lucrative purposes, such as paypal, etc. We all know that keylogger exploits can do worse damage, but at least they require an infection and many have basic protection.

One thing that gets me flamed inside is to see perfectly able-bodied people using disabled parking spots without the right. When I see it, it’s all I can do to not say something. This idea of a sticker struck me as a good one.

Probably wouldn’t do any good.

If you truly need a permit for your disability, check these instructions on how to get a disabled parker permit.

Postscript:  Omnistar saw my post and has been very helpful since then.  They told me that because of this they’ve changed the way they deal with these messages in the future and that they didn’t know I was a hosting customer.  They asked me to remove the post below, but I still think there’s value in having it here.  I am happy they’re making things better and wish them luck.

~~~

I set up Omnistar Tell-a-Friend for a client on a hosting service which won’t let us use scripts. The password was lost and when we tried to use the “password lost link” we got a page-not-found, error 404 page (still does.)

So, I send a message to support@omnistartell to tell them it’s broken. It’s a one click-reproducible issue, so I figure it’s an easy fix. I get a tracking number and move on with my day. For 99.9% of all software companies out there that would be enough.

But then I get the message back:

=== PLEASE REPLY ABOVE THIS LINE ===
—– has responded to your ticket which was numbered 1234

The time of the response was: 01-24-2008 17:36 PM
Their response was:
For us to fix this problem we need you to fill out our bug fix form here:
www.omnistaretools.com/bugfix

Please let me know when you have filled out our bug fix form.
–
Thank you for your business with Omnistar Interactive.

The link is to a full length form I need to fill out. Bullshit. Somebody forgot to tell these guys about what it means to be the provider, versus the paying customer. If your software has a bug, and I was nice enough to point it out, then THEY should file the damn bugfix form ON MY BEHALF. And, it certainly wouldn’t have hurt to say “And we’re sorry you had trouble.”

It’s kind of like the long forms you have to fill out when your bags are lost. The airlines should be grabbing you a cold drink and asking what kind of music you like while they fill out the damn forms.

Poorly done.

When you take pride in your work, it shows. Sometimes, it’s downright artistic. These guys take pride in the work. What’s more, almost nobody will ever see it. This is behind the scenes cabling that makes things like this website work. Anyone can pull wire, but only certain people can make it look like a masterpiece.

.

another two photos after the break

(more…)

Some Lexington news here, Exstream Software is being acquired by Hewlett-Packard for an undisclosed amount.

PALO ALTO, Calif. (AP) - Hewlett-Packard Co. said Tuesday it has agreed to buy American Capital Strategies Ltd.’s Exstream Software LLC for an undisclosed amount.

Based in Lexington, Ky., Exstream Software makes software that allows businesses to personalize documents aimed at their customers. Founded by Davis Marksbury and Dan Kloiber, the company’s brands include Dialogue and AFP Studio.

Upon completion of the acquisition, Exstream Software will be integrated into the Web Services and Software business unit within the Imaging and Printing Group (IPG) of HP. “Businesses – whether a bank, healthcare provider or utility company – need to communicate relevant, personalized information to their customers through a broad range of channels,” said David Murphy, senior vice president, Web Services and Software Business, IPG, HP. “We expect that the acquisition of Exstream will allow HP to address a broader set of customers and be a strong leader in the fast-growing document automation market.”

We are very happy to join with HP to accelerate our ability to help businesses around the world to efficiently develop and deploy personalized communications,” said Richard Troksa, chief executive officer and president, Exstream Software. “The combination of Exstream’s solutions and HP’s print software expertise will provide customers with a more comprehensive approach to delivering reliable and targeted business communications.”

The company’s programs help banks print account statements, government agencies print applications and utilities print bills.

Hewlett-Packard expects the deal to close in the second quarter of its fiscal year.

The company plans to integrate Exstream into HP’s (NYSE:HPQ) Web services and software business unit, which is part of the imaging and printing group.

Exstream has more than 300 employees, and its customers include banks, insurers, government departments, retailers, telecommunications companies and utilities.

Jason has good coverage over at WebProWorld as well.

Rand Fishkin of SEOMOZ gives a well-articulated list of advice for start-up CEOs. I think it applies to all types of CEOs, team leaders, and in some cases consultants.

Go read the list…. which includes:

You need:

• A Voracious Appetite for Knowledge
• Seeing the Good in Everyone
• Caring About More than Money

And some specific to running a new-media-oriented firm:

• A background in usability  (woo hoo!!!!)
• Ability to communicate in multiple mediums
• Cultivating a culture of analytics.  (*Scott waves fists in air -  woo hooo!!!)

It’s a not-to-be-missed post that offers a point of view on the issues many of my clients are facing.