Archive: February, 2009

With any scientific approach to behavior patterns there are bound to be branches of thought stemming from the original impulse to learn and identify. Conversion optimization is certainly no different, and over the course of its refinement, a number of different implementation methodologies have been established. Today, most SEO firms fall into two camps of how to approach conversion optimization. 

The Controlled Environment school of thought relies heavily on test results garnered from controlled environments that then determine the best tactics for increasing conversion rates. The second school of thought, the Pretesting school, involves more effort being placed on understanding the audience through research and interviews and then creating a targeted message that appeals to that particular audience. In the Controlled Environment school, it is not uncommon to deploy marketing mechanisms before fully understanding the audience. With the second school of thought, campaigns can be released on the public without a full testing regime ever being put into practice. 

If you look at the Web experience as a train, the analogy can quickly acquire detail. First you have the Web user, let’s call him User. User is sitting in the Rocky Mountaineer in the glass-topped car winding his way through the spectacular online world. User has a destination. He’s searching for something. He has a target – he’s purchased a ticket to take him to Golftown. The ride into town is stellar, there’s gaudy banners, a large crowd and a pipe and drum band waiting for him at the station, but something goes horribly wrong – User doesn’t get off the train. He keeps going from town to town in an endless loop.

To get User off the train, as soon as he establishes a sight line with the station at Golftown, his train needs to be diverted from the main track and brought into a new and improved station called Conversion Junction. Here, the engineers of the new economy have built the gleaming infrastructure necessary to convert User from a surfer to a buyer. And many SEO firms are now offering their architectural expertise to help build your own Conversion Junction.

There are a number of online voices that each bring something to the reputation management table. But, from these reputation prophets and management bulldogs we can distill some items that can serve as a checklist to see if your organization is in need of reputation management. While it is obvious that a reputation is unique to an organization, some indicators of good or bad reputation are 1) high or low employee turnover, 2) reduction or increase in market share, 3) waning or increasing shareholders confidence, 4) high or low product quality, 5) high or low customer retention, 6) good or bad media report 7) high or low third party rating, 8) flattering or unflattering competitor perception, and 9) host community perception.

This is not to say that these are the only reflectors of reputation, but they are enough to get you thinking about your own reputation. Certainly there are pros that can massage your reputation from a low standing and propel you into a better light, and if you see your organization as suffering, you should take the appropriate steps correct this slide. But what if you are already doing well, have a strong reputation, does this mean you need reputation management? Absolutely.

In our German-engineering example from the previous installment we saw how a reputation can bolster a sticker price, even when there have been lapses in what the reputation is based on. But what about when a reputation goes south, when it becomes a liability and actually has a negative effect on the bottom line? This is where the management part of the reputation management equation comes into play. SEO firms offer online reputation management services that at the end of the day determine trustworthiness in a client’s reputation. 

A distinction is necessary at this point – reputation is not the same thing as image or brand – these are all separate entities. Image can be created and is an indication of where an organization is in the now. Brand is an identity that evolves and is an indication of where an organization intends to play going forward. But image and brand are vital components in an organization’s reputation.