2011 in the Rearview Mirror

This past year Technotribe continued its 14-year mission of delivering effective online marketing and digital development projects for our clients. We are blessed with a range of clientele, some who have been with us since the beginning, and others who have recently entrusted Technotribe to create business tools and techniques for them. Following is a partial list of accomplishments for 2011.

Information Architecture

• Landauer: Content Inventory & Strategy
• OfficeMax: Rewards eCommerce
• OfficeMax: Higher Education

Online Marketing & Strategy

• Christ Church of Oak Brook: Internet Needs Analysis
• Landauer: Search Engine Optimization
• Online Learning Partners: Medical Education Start-up
• WhoZaGood: Online Integrity Start-up

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Making Smart Online Forms

Nearly every sales or marketing web site has online form somewhere on the site. It could be a Shopping Cart, a Contact form, a Bid form, an Information Request form, or some other type that allows the user to communicate directly with the web site owner. Too often these forms are poorly designed and written, and quickly developed without appropriate thought given to ensuring the form is beneficial to the person who will use it.
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The Internet is the single most important tool for consumers seeking information about university degree and certificate programs. According to the Prospective Survey of Online Consumer Confidence, nearly 82 percent of respondents said they begin their education research efforts through online channels such as websites, e-mail, and online advertisements. These online channels are the key drivers of higher education leads.

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Using PDFs as Online Forms

Online forms present a number of business challenges, especially when you need to keep an offline (paper) version of the form available for use by employees, vendors or customers. The software company Adobe Systems revolutionized the business world in the 1980s with the introduction of the Portable Document Format, or PDF file. This file format allows you to create a document and then save it in a digital format that another computer can read without needing the original application. This revolutionary technology was expanded to allow it to read and write data, making it ideal for online form applications.

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Whenever business is conducted, you can be sure that somewhere in the process, there will be forms. After all, businesses rely on forms to keep their products and services moving efficiently and effectively. Application forms. Order forms. Employment forms. Tax forms. Registration forms. Medical forms. Inventory forms. All waiting to be downloaded, filled, submitted, checked, revised, approved, and archived. Read more…

2010 was a year of expansion for Technotribe:

• We expanded our client base
• We expanded our resource base
• We expanded our skills and knowledge base
• We expanded our waistlines (well some of us did…)

and we were awarded an increasing number of projects. We are thankful for our clients who put their trust in us and in the solutions we turn into business tools and techniques for them. Following is a partial list of accomplishments for 2010.

January

• Launched APP Online Product Editor with Exclaim
• Awarded Kendall College Web Site “Engagement Tools” Update
• Launched Kendall College Web Site Portal
• Launched Redesigned LSAV Website

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Google Analytics is a powerful tool for monitoring and reporting on your web site activity. It’s easy to install. There are lots of reports on Visitors, Traffic and Content activity. And even cooler reports on geotargeting, conversion funnels and on-the-fly visitor segmentation. Don’t forget the integration with AdWords too! In fact there is so much you can do in Google Analytics – you can forget the purpose for installing it: measuring the success of your web marketing plans.

I recently gave a presentation on using Google Analytics to a group of hospital marketers. The health care industry is increasing its online marketing efforts, and these marketers were looking for ways to report on their online tactics and the results they were achieving. But they were overwhelmed with the possibilities available when using Google Analytics. Read more…

In July of 2009 Technotribe, working in conjunction with Catalyst Communications, launched the new DuraMark website. DuraMark is a newer business that has never had a web presence prior to the launch of this site.

As a part of the initial site launch, Technotribe included a full Organic SEO program focused on industry related keywords and location based keywords. Over the next 90 days, the success of this SEO project became clear. Measuring key metrics via Google Analytics, the DuraMark site organic search results quickly exceeded all standard benchmarks for success. Every desired category was up month-to-month, bounce rates were significantly reduced and targeted, new visitor traffic was greatly increased.  A summary of the results is provided below: Read more…

We recently partnered with Catalyst Communications, to design and develop a business-to-business website for a new client in Cary, Illinois. DuraMark, Inc. does custom industrial and promotional laser etching of almost any type of material; from aerospace parts to medical and surgical supplies, and everything in between.

DuraMark wanted a web presence that was search engine optimized, well designed and cost effective to develop and maintain. Technotribe and Catalyst delivered with a site that exceeded their expectations. Read more…

“Can you make my site appear in search engines?”

At Technotribe, we are asked this question frequently. Search Engine Optimization is an essential piece of any online marketing campaign. I’ve written about our approach in SEO: Synergize your keyword investment. I’d like to share some results from a recent SEO campaign we performed as part of a new web site launch.

Some of the statistical highlights include…

• All 18 targeted keywords we optimized for are now appearing in Search Engines. The baseline report only showed 6 appearing originally (all low).
• Dramatic upswing in results for Google…
  • 9 #1 placements
  • 12 top 10 placements
  • 17 top 20 placements Read more…