RumorControl.org | Here Are The Facts…

Shame on you WordTracker!

http://www.wordtracker.com is one of those websites that promises to help you uncover the hidden gems in your keyword lists and build more effective ppc campaigns and SEO optimized pages that will double and triple your traffic and conversions. I know a lot of people who recommend WordTracker (and other services just like them) who really feel they get value and “insider information” that they would not have access to otherwise…

This is simply not true.

While it’s always a good idea do do a considerable amount of keyword research before you embark on Search Engine Optimization and Pay Per Click Marketing – do you really need to pay for a service that google offers for free?

Keyword Tool – Google Adwords

Wordtracker claims that when you search for the term “nike” using their keyword suggestion tool you get almost 1,000 results compared to 7 results from the google keyword suggestion tool.

Read one of their sales pages right here http://www.wordtracker.com/find-the-best-keywords

Today google returned 800 keyword suggestions related to “nike” – NOT 7

I guess being off by more than 100 fold is no big deal…

Now I am sure that the fine folks at word tracker just don’t KNOW that they are making false claims on their website but that would make me think if they don’t keep the information on their website up to date – how good is there service really?

And it’s time to change that drupal fav icon too!

Quick Response codes are on posteers, signs, business cards and a multitude of othr places. They have been called “links in the real world” to connect visitors to your online presence. They typically link to a social network, website, blog or a pdf download. And for real world advertising that’s kinda cool – but what is the point of having a qr code in an email or on a website (unless it is of course a link to a mobile app, that makes perfect sense)

If you have a qr code linking to your facebook page – a person on a mobile device is going to have to log in to facebook (or twitter or google+) on the mini browser to do what you want them to do (like, follow, etc) and I don’t know about you but I use the facebook app (and the twitter, g+, etc) on my droid I rarely login via the web browser…

So the bottom line is QR codes make sense in the real world – you don’t have to recall a web address, you just point and shoot with your smart phone and you’re good to go.

So what can you do in your emails or on your websites that makes sense?

First and foremost think about this – “What can you do with a smart phone?” Before you go and say “anything!” remember this – IT’S A PHONE!

Make a PHONE CALL
Scan this to call me and Get CONNECTED!

(if I don’t answer leave me a message saying hello!)

Send a text message.

This one doesn’t have an actual recipient in it, you would use your cel phone number to get the text message or use it for SMS campaign signups.

Send an email from your phone.

This one has the address, subject and body pre populated for you.

Send a map for your event, store, garage sale, etc…

Make it easy for your audience to find you in the real world!

Paypal Payments!

Send me a dollar!

qrstuff.com has these and all the typical uses available for free using their QR Code generator – and you can choose the colors that fit best with your site.

IMPORTANT NOTE – Keep the contrast high (use dark colors) for heavily embedded QR codes – a phone number uses less of the pattern than the full email does (light colors generally don’t work as well as darker ones)

What other creative uses for QR codes in digital media can you think of?