Case Study: Winning With Online Video
An illustrative look at a small kitchenware retailer that used the sudden arrival of free video hosting in 2005 to solve online video's bandwidth problem.
The Archive
2005
Why RSS Feeds Still Matter for Your Bottom Line
The business case for RSS: it is the plumbing behind podcasting and newsletter automation, and a distribution channel no platform can throttle.
Email Marketing 101: Should Your Business Start in 2005
A 2005 decision framework for business owners weighing whether email marketing is worth the investment, and what a first program should look like.
Pay-Per-Click Mistakes in 2005: Click Fraud and Budget Leaks
The pay-per-click mistakes that drained budgets in 2005, from unchecked click fraud exposure to bidding wars on broad match, and the fixes for each.
A Practical Guide to Social Networking for Business
How Friendster, MySpace and the early professional networks worked in 2005, and the specific ways small businesses used them to build word of mouth online.
The State of Podcasting in 2005
A year-by-year look at what happened to podcasting in 2005, from the term's origin to Apple building it into iTunes.
What Web 2.0 Taught Marketing (and Still Applies Today)
Web 2.0 turned the web from a broadcast medium into a participatory one, and rewrote marketing in the process. Here's what changed and why it still matters.
Why SEO Matters Now That Analytics Reveal the Long Tail
With better analytics finally showing where revenue comes from, 2005 is the year the long tail of organic search stopped being invisible.
The Rise of Business Blogging: From Scoble to GM's FastLane
How company blogs moved from engineer side projects to a recognized marketing channel between 2001 and 2005, and the early voices who made the case.
The Rise of YouTube Marketing in Its Early Months
A small site called YouTube, started by three former PayPal employees this past February, is quietly becoming the video destination the web was waiting for.
Google Analytics Trends Shaping 2005
Google's move into web analytics is already reshaping the market months before its own tool has shipped, and every vendor is reacting.
Case Study: Winning With Contextual Advertising
An illustrative look at how a publisher used the 2005 arrival of Yahoo Publisher Network to test running two contextual ad networks side by side.
Why Web Analytics Matters for Your Bottom Line
The business case for web analytics in 2005: what it costs to fly blind, and how measurement turns marketing spend into a decision you can defend.
The State of Local Search in 2005
Four real developments that reshaped local search in 2005, from the launch of Google Maps to self-managed business listings.
Online Video Trends Shaping 2005
The year free video hosting arrived, Apple put video in your pocket and Adobe bought the company behind the format that would end up running it all.
RSS Feeds: What Every Business Needs to Know
A decision framework for whether your business needs an RSS feed in 2005, the year Microsoft added feed support to Internet Explorer and Apple added podcasting.
A Practical Guide to Building Permission-Based Email Lists
Email is the one marketing channel you own instead of renting from an algorithm, and it still returns some of the best ROI in marketing today.
Case Study: Pay-Per-Click Success via Quality Score in 2005
An illustrative look at how an advertiser restructured an account around Google's new Quality Score in 2005 and cut cost per click without lowering bids.
How Social Networking Changed Digital Marketing in 2005
The year News Corp bought MySpace for 580 million dollars, YouTube was founded and social platforms stopped being a side project for marketers.
Why Podcasting Matters for Your Bottom Line
The business case for podcasting in 2005: what it costs to produce, why the audience is unusually attentive and where the real payoff comes from.
Web 2.0 Marketing Gains Momentum: Flickr, Blogs, Tags
Since last October's conference, Web 2.0 has gone from an insider phrase to something marketers are watching. A look at the momentum building in early 2005.
Should Your Business Invest in SEO? A 2005 Framework
A decision framework for owners deciding whether search engine optimization is worth budgeting for in 2005, and how to size that investment honestly.
Building a Business Blogging Strategy From Scratch
A step-by-step setup guide for a company blog in 2005, covering platform choice, comment spam, the new nofollow attribute and how to measure results.
Building a Video Marketing Strategy Before YouTube Existed
Google Video just launched and dedicated video-sharing sites are starting to appear. Here's how to build a plan while platforms are still being sorted out.
Mastering Google Analytics: A Marketer's Playbook
A step-by-step playbook for putting the newly available Google Analytics to work, from goal setup through weekly reporting.