A Step-by-Step Guide to Website Measurement

Below is an adapted version of my presentation at the 2011 HOW Interactive Design Conference in San Francisco. It covers my basic philosophy of web measurement, a simple approach to using Google Analytics, as well as two types of user testing that you can do easily and quickly on your own. It gets a bit mathy in the middle, so find a comfortable and quiet place to dig into this one.

via A Step-by-Step Guide to Website Measurement.

Optimal Link Placement for Clicks

But about a month ago, I decided to actually look at the data about it and test my assumption. Over the course of the next few weeks I gathered 200,000, random, bit.ly-link-containing Tweets. I used the bit.ly API to calculate a click through rate clicks on a link divided by number of followers of tweeter. And then I analyzed the relationship of the link’s position inside the Tweet and it’s CTR. I figured the best way to visualize this would be through a heat map.

via New Twitter Data: Optimal Link Placement for Clicks | Dan Zarrella.

Protecting Your Online Reputation: 4 Things You Need to Know

You don’t have to be running for president to care about your online reputation. Almost everything you do online is easy to track, especially when you’re using social media sites. This infographic shows you how to manage your “e-reputation,” perhaps saving you some embarrassment, or even your career.Gathered by digital marketing firm KBSD, it’s a treasure trove of tips, techniques and information about what companies and individuals are looking for inside your personal profiles and social information, and what you can do to show off your best side to those who might want to find out unflattering things about you. It’s not too late to protect yourself and polish up your online image.

via Protecting Your Online Reputation: 4 Things You Need to Know.

YouTube Brand Channel Guide

Have you ever wondered what possibilities YouTube can offer for your brand? Well let’s take a look specifically at YouTube’s very own brand channels.

Brand channels allow marketers to create a bespoke interface, customising the look and feel of their presence on the site. By creating a destination page on YouTube, brand channels provide the opportunity to create truly persistent relationships with your consumers.

I shall ignore the standard customisation options anyone can apply to their YouTube channel and just focus on the things only brand channels can use.

via YouTube Brand Channel Guide – London Digital Creative Agency – Acknowledgement.

Revealed: Why Techmeme links to them instead of you!

Over time, nearly every major tech news publisher has asked us a variant of “Why do you always post them and not us?” or “Why did you pick them over us for that story when we posted first?” So it’s probably time to address this issue in a general way. If you don’t write tech news for a living, be thankful that you can skip the following post. For the rest of you, my apologies, now please get comfortable and read on.

via Revealed: Why Techmeme links to them instead of you! – Techmeme News.

How Hotels and Travel Companies Are Nailing Social Media

Apart from restaurants, there are few businesses whose fates are linked as closely to online reviews as hotels. That’s why Accorhotels’ move in late 2010 is considered so bold.

Last September, the hotel chain began featuring reviews from TripAdvisor on some of its sites. Since Accorhotels has no control of the TripAdvisor content, it’s a bit like posting every review of your restaurant — not just the favorable ones — in your window. “There’s no question TripAdvisor plays hugely in this space,” says Melissa Parrish, an interactive marketing analyst at Forrester Research who covers the travel industry. “They make or break certain kinds of hotels.”

via How Hotels and Travel Companies Are Nailing Social Media.

Why Digital Talent Doesn’t Want To Work At Your Company

Why doesn’t digital talent want to work at your company? It’s not because you’re a consumer packaged goods company, rather than Google. It’s not because you’re in Ohio instead of Silicon Valley. It’s not because your salaries are too low, or because you don’t offer free food and laundry services.

It’s because you’re not providing them the right opportunity. The talent you want would be happy to work in an un-air-conditioned garage in New Mexico if it meant the chance to change the world.

This, the opportunity to do great things, to make a real difference, is what drives most digital talent–whether they’re developers, designers, producers, marketers or business folks.

via Why Digital Talent Doesn’t Want To Work At Your Company | Fast Company.