Thursday, November 18, 2004

Brent Simmons explains why weblog editing is complex. [Scripting News] 9:54:02 AM    comment []

Study: Role of Search in B2B Buying Decisions. Marketing Sherpa has published a new, extensive study of the role of search in B2B research and buying. Among the conclusions: Search-oriented research generally occurs in the first phases of the research/buying process. Research precedes purchase by one or two months; longer with larger budgets. Organic listings draw 70-80 percent of clickthroughs. Over 60 percent of clickthroughs occur on the first three listings, both organic and sponsored. Over 60 percent os searchers make a click decision within a few seconds of scanning a SERP. Data are mixed on the question of whether top-of-page or side-of-page ads are preferable, but the final advantage is on the top. The entire published study (PDF file) is here. [The Search Engine Marketing Weblog] 9:45:15 AM    comment []

87% of Americans Participate in Online Communities. A New survey by ACNeilsen: 87 percent of all Americans say they are a part of an online community, and while shared personal interests, hobbies and health-related communities rank very high, 49 percent of Americans also say they participate in public issue sites. That's more than who say they belong to professional groups (37%) and school volunteer groups (30%). Online community members are also about four times as likely as offline community members to say they interact with each other on a daily basis. [from Smart Mobs] [Scott Young's Radio Weblog] 9:44:41 AM    comment []

Instant Messaging Gets Personal at Work. A META Group survey finds that more than half of people in the workplace use instant messaging for personal matters. The tool "can have a viral effect when not regulated," an analyst says. [eWEEK.com Messaging and Collaboration] 9:44:10 AM    comment []