VOLUME 3 ISSUE 4
Did You Know?
You hear much talk about getting traffic to your site, but far less about how to turn those visitors into customers. Did you know that optimizing your site for your conversion objectives can increase conversion 20-30%?! Sitewire reviews your site against over 130 best practices affecting your conversion (over 400 if you sell online!) and provides a blueprint to optimize for conversion.
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Featured Client - Tamarack Resort
Nestled in Idaho's Payette River Mountains about ninety miles north of Boise is Tamarack Resort, the first all-season resort to open within the United States in the past two decades. Over the past few years, Tamarack Resort has received national attention as a luxury boutique resort with a wide variety of lodging options all within walking distance of four-season amenities including world-class skiing, hiking, mountain biking and beautiful Lake Cascade, suitable for swimming, sailing, fishing, kayaking, and boating. From 2004 to 2007, the resort has sold out an astounding six real estate releases totaling 531 properties. In addition to the booming real estate sales, the Tamarack Resort golf course, Osprey Meadows (a Robert Trent Jones Jr. signature golf course), was named America's Best New Public Golf Course, $75 and Over for 2006 by Golf Digest Magazine.
Growth at this pace doesn't come without hard work. For the past two years Sitewire has worked alongside the team at Tamarack to reinvent the Tamarack Resort Web presence by focusing on the customer. Working closely with the Tamarack Resort team, Sitewire utilized the latest User Interface Engineering best practices combined with cutting edge Web design to deliver a visually appealing, user friendly Web site that is simultaneously optimized for the complex search engine algorithms of Google, Yahoo!, MSN and other top search engines. The Web site currently incorporates accurate weather reporting from Weather.com, as well as the "Tamcam" showing real time images from the top of the mountain. Check out Tamarack Resort or contact your Sitewire Account Team for more information.
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Googleplexed?
Google: The David or Goliath of the Media World?
- Michael Barber, Account Services
If you have been paying attention to any recent media news, you know Google is making ripples, or should I say tidal waves, in the media industry as we know it. Here are some recent Google happenings that might surprise you:
- February 2007: Google launches Google Apps, a suite of low cost business applications that include word processing, spreadsheet, email, calendar sharing, instant messaging and voice over IP programs - I wonder who it's trying to compete against???
- April 2007: Google acquires DoubleClick (its largest acquisition to date), a global leader in digital marketing technology and services, for $3.1 billion in cash bringing together the world's most utilized search engine and ad serving platform (by number of searches and number of impressions served, respectively). Check out Sitewire President Bret Giles' thoughts on this acquisition here.
- April 2007: Google acquires Marratech's video conferencing software known as AB; setting up a potential competitive show down with WebEx , another popular Web-based video conferencing platform.
- May 2007: Google acquires Green Border Technologies, creator of a safe-haven or so-called "playground" for Internet applications to run within, thus protecting operating systems from malicious Web-based software.
- May 2007: Google announces the launch of Universal Search, taking the first steps toward a fully-integrated search model.
Let's not also forget:
- Google's $144 billion market value tops that of Time Warner, Viacom, CBS, ad agency giant Publicis Groupe and the New York Times Co. combined.
- Google reported Q1 earnings at $3.66 billion; a 63% increase compared to 2006 Q1 earnings.
- As of March 31st, Google's cash and cash equivalents totaled $11.9 billion (probably a little less after paying for DoubleClick ).
To compliment this ever-growing tide of internet acquisitions and business ventures, Google has begun invading traditional marketing platforms by selling ads in newspapers, radio and television. While Google insists it is trying to partner and not compete with these platforms, it continues to provide eye-popping moments to everyone from Madison Ave ad moguls to Wall Street tycoons and emerging technology entrepreneurs.
Such was the case several weeks ago when Google announced its $3.1 billion cash acquisition of DoubleClick. No, I did not make a typo, that is $3.1 billion in cash. According to Nielsen/Net Ratings' February 2007 online statistics, Google performed 3.6 billion searches (#1 search engine by searches) and 200 billion impressions were served on DoubleClick's ad server (#1 ad server in terms of impressions). The deal brings together the behemoths of the search engine and ad serving realm.
So why did Google spend such a staggering amount of cash on a company recently valued at just over $1 billion? Google has struggled in recent years to compete in the online display ad market realm whereas DoubleClick has flourished. The deal gives Google instant access to premium online display ad inventory. Additionally, it had been rumored that Google was developing an ad server to compete against DoubleClick's that would be free to users so DoubleClick understood now was the time to sell. The implications of this acquisition are numerous. With Google's foray into more traditional marketing mediums and its search dominance, the ability to bring DoubleClick under its umbrella makes Google the one stop shop to plan, buy/sell, and track all forms of integrated media campaigns. Let's not forget that Google and DoubleClick are two of the industries biggest cookie droppers. Tracking user behavior utilizing those cookies across DoubleClick's publisher sites and Google's AdSense platform will provide the search giant with unprecedented access to online user behavior. Advertisers and agencies could finally understand the impact that search behavior has on banner activity and vice versa. More importantly, advertisers can begin to understand the impact search has on brand awareness.
Whether or not Google is judged as the David or Goliath of the media world will ultimately be determined by the end users of its products. Madison Ave and Wall Street warriors will continually be astounded by its unstoppable appetite for more acquisitions; however, nobody is going to care as long as Google continues to provide relevant results and content for internet users. At the end of the day, it's about providing the best, most relevant experience for people. If Google can continue its rapid growth while keeping this in mind, they will continue to be successful.
P.S. On Friday, June 1, Google announced that it acquired the leading provider of media distribution services for blogs and RSS feeds, Feedburner. The deal is rumored to be in the neighborhood of $100 million. Go ahead and check off blogs and RSS feeds from Google's To Do list. Note: There isn't much more to check off, is there?
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Featured Employee - Joyce Clark
As a native Californian, Joyce Clark studied Accounting at Cal Poly Pomona and has honed her expertise in the accounting field for over 14 years. After joining Sitewire, Joyce astoundingly integrated her extensive accounting knowledge with Sitewire's unique and innovative culture, adding "marketing expert" to her accolades in under a year. As controller, she tracks and analyzes the company's finances, conducts budgeting and forecasting and oversees all client billing. While at Sitewire, Joyce has been an advocate of personal and career growth through education, training and goal setting. From her infectious laugh to her love for Excel, Joyce is an integral part of the Sitewire team.
Outside of work, Joyce enjoys spending time with her husband and five children. Joyce is also a talented singer and is part of her church's praise ministry choir.
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Category: Advertising & Marketing
Sub-category: Web design/Internet Marketing
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