Are you a follower or a leader? Does it even matter these days? My own answer may vary depending on if I’ve had my morning caffeine fix or not. Social networks, blogs, and embeddable video sites are all groundbreaking ideas, but is there room for one more?

As a search marketing professional, it's my responsibility to pay close attention to online trends. I do this by listening to my fellow coworkers, monitoring industry blogs, and watching how search engines alter their ever-evolving algorithms – something that both plagues and keeps search engine marketers in business.

Changes come in waves, with imitation following innovation. It’s the one seemingly constant element in online trendspotting. First comes a breakthrough website that shakes up the industry. Months later, another company grabs their loose coattails, hoping to hitch a ride on the latest zeitgeist.

Who can blame them? With mainstream web sites looking to garner hundreds of millions of dollars for 1.6% share in a company, it pays to follow the leader.

MySpace vs.Multiply. Digg vs.Propeller. Dare I say Archie, Jughead and Veronica vs. Google? We're all looking for inspiration and reinvention.

A fortune, big or small, is up for grabs, and the next big idea may sign your ticket to a cheeseburger in paradise. Personally, I'm a major proponent of examining competitors. If you're pressed for innovation, use them as an example, and improve upon the core concept. Is there a flaw in their design? Can the idea be expanded? Remember, a great idea is more than just a copycat; you have to add value.

What spurred this post is the recent decision by the entrepreneurial resource site Inc.com to launch IncBizNet, a potential competitor to the popular business social network LinkedIn.com. While still in beta, IncBizNet is poised to follow the same successful beaten path as LinkedIn. It has labeled itself a "networking community for private companies," and I can’t help but think that I’ve heard this before. Of course, I wish them well, if only for the additional option it may provide me in a specific search vertical.

And that’s just it. The silver lining of these “me too” communication channels is increased segmentation for marketers. So bring on the imitators. There’s certainly room in my marketing plan for newcomers.

Article by Dan Coe

Since independently entering the paid search advertising arena last year, Microsoft has used tools like geographic and demographic targeting to differentiate itself. In its continuous efforts to improve advertisers’ ROI and provide a one-stop shop for online campaigns, Microsoft has released Gatineau – a web analytics tool that provides advertisers with insight into where their customers are coming from, what pages they visit, how they leave, and more.

Much like the release of Google Analytics following Google’s acquisition of Urchin in 2005, Gatineau follows Microsoft’s May 2007 acquisition of DeepMetrics. In fact, the tool has already been compared to Google Analytics. The main differentiator is Gatineau’s ability to tie data directly to a user’s Live ID – used by Microsoft to store information on income, sex, age and location.

Key features of the system include click and visitor tracking, marketing campaign reporting, conversion tracking, demographic and geographic segmentation, paid and natural search analysis, and visitor information. Types of browsers, languages, operating systems and resolutions are all included in Gatineau’s aforementioned visitor data.

Still in its beta phase, Gatineau is available to a limited number of participants for a nominal fee of $5, with AdCenter customers soon receiving free access. Like Google, Microsoft plans to offer its analytics tool at no charge in the near future. Although Gatineau comes to us two years after the release of Google Analytics, the tool shows promise not only in its distinct reporting capabilities and interface but also as an expansion of AdCenter’s functionality. The expansion of these capabilities will, in turn, produce both a higher ROI for marketers and increased revenue for Microsoft.

Request a beta invite for Gatineau here: http://advertising.microsoft.com/gatineau.

Article by Nita Taide

We’ve all heard the phrase “The Digg Effect”. Ron Sansone published piece for the Philly Ad Club now explains it.

Preparation is one of the most important – and overlooked – aspects of a search engine optimization. Here is a quick list of 20 Things You Need to Know Before Optimizing Your Site.

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