Cuil.com wanted to be a Google killer. Unfortunately they shot themselves in the foot yesterday when their site crashed after nerds from all around world rushed to review the new search engine that claimed to index more pages than Google.More unfortunate for cuil.com was the fact that the results were just not that good. I did a quick search for pages I knew ranked will because I did some SEO work on them and found nothing. Numerous bloggers have also commented on the quality, as well.Additionally perplexing to me was the way that webmasters could submit a website crawling on their search engines. Apparently webmasters are supposed to send an email saying, “Please crawl my site, http://www.marketingbreakdown.com.” That doesn’t seem to efficient to me.On the positive side of things – the site still has some big potential. Key stake holders include former Google engineers, Anna Patterson, Russell Power and Louis Monier. The site also promises to respect privacy by not to retaining users’ search histories or surfing patterns.
Monthly Archives: July 2008
New Marketing Ideas: Don’t Buy the Media, Be the Media
July 25, 2008 – 1:29 am
[digg=http://digg.com/business_finance/Don_t_Buy_the_Media_Be_the_Media/blog]Gone are the days when all advertising exposure must be purchased. Many progressive marketers have found great success spreading their message across new mediums.And I am not necessarily talking about creating a viral video. Success can be had by reaching 1,000 targeted customers, as opposed to 1,000,000 random web surfers.Here are a few examples of how reaching a targeted audience has evolved:OLD IDEA: Buy a magazine ad.NEW IDEA: Write your own magazine that your existing and potential customers will find interesting.OLD IDEA: Take out a series of radio ads.NEW IDEA: Start a podcast on subjects related to your business and make it interesting enough that people will find value in paying attention.OLD IDEA: Take out a series of television ads.NEW IDEA: Start your own television channel on YouTube and connect with other users who will help you promote your channel.OLD IDEA: Purchase banner ads online.NEW IDEA: Create a Facebook application that brings value to your potential customer base.Later, I’ll discuss the factors that I believe determine whether an online media campaign will be successful or not.
Measuring Marketing Effectiveness in Old Media
July 21, 2008 – 11:29 pm
In the eyes of many top level executives, the marketing department is often viewed as a cost center. Although some would say that it is impossible, most marketing professionals keep close tabs on their return on investment and the effectiveness of their marketing tactics.For this reason, it is with much reluctance that many marketers will put new money into old advertising platforms like magazines, radio, television, newspapers and directories. The ability to measure effectiveness is just not there, when you compare it to the internet.Many marketers will try using vanity phone lines and website splash pages with advertisments in old mediums. However, I am not a huge fan of taking tracking results to this extreme.Think about it for a minute – If you take out five different ads, have five different phone numbers, and have five different splash pages. This method slaps consistency of messaging in the face. But what are you going to do? Old mediums are necessary to build a brand.Any suggestions? Please share them.
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