April 26,
2006
In This Issue:
1. Consumer-Generated Content
2. In the News - Yahoo updates, 50 Reasons Why...
3. More News Headlines
4. Wrapping It Up
_________________
Consumer-Generated Content
We continue to believe that content is king when
it comes to building a successful business web
site, but so many prospects and existing clients
are stuck for ideas on what kind of content they
can add to their web site. Products descriptions
only go so far, especially if there are 50 other
web sites selling the same product.
Earlier this year, I posted an article on OWTweb.com
called Writing
Great Content, which discusses some of the
options you have for getting more content into
your web site. One of those options, and something
I recommend (when appropriate) in meetings with
clients and prospects is allowing users to post
product reviews on your site.
You've probably seen user reviews on Amazon. I
rely heavily on the product reviews on Circuit
City's web site to help me choose the right electronics
item, even if I don't buy it from Circuit City.
And then earlier this month came this news
from Internet Retailer about Petco.com deciding
to use consumer reviews in its marketing:
"Petco used customer product reviews captured
on its site as part of an e-mail campaign targeting
customers by pet type. E-mails that included the
reviews got a 200% higher click-through rate than
those that didn't."
So there's more evidence touting the benefits
of allowing users to review products. Is it right
for you? That depends. I think it's very appropriate
for some businesses to offer consumer-generated
reviews on the web, but not for all. For some
pros and cons to consider, I'd recommend the OWT
article mentioned above.
Writing
Great Content
_________________
In The News
Yahoo updates
Late last week, Yahoo posted on its search blog
that a new update had been rolled out. They warned
that web site owners might see some changes in
ranking, not to mention which pages are included
in Yahoo's index. Here's the announcement if you
want to see it straight from the horse's mouth:
Yahoo
Weather Update
50 Reasons Why People Aren't Using
Your Web Site
Guy named Scott Heiferman offers up a list with
that title. Some wheat in it, some chaff. If you
can separate the two, there's some good thoughts
in there. Nos. 16, 24, and 29 are particularly
good, I thought.
50
Reasons Why People Aren't Using Your Web Site
_________________
More News Headlines
Here are a few news headlines worth your time
to read. These are just some of the headlines
we've posted to OWTweb.com in recent days.
Are
Google results more relevant?
April 26, 2006 - InternetNews.com
New third party evidence adds fuel to the fire
as to whether Google, MSN or Yahoo! actually provides
searchers what they want.
Niche
web networking sites chase MySpace ad dollars
April 20, 2006 - Reuters
More headlines: http://www.owtweb.com/news/
_________________
Wrapping it Up
That's all for this week. Welcome to our new readers
/ subscribers, and thanks to everyone for reading.
Thanks for reading,
Matt McGee
The OWT Newsletter is a weekly service
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