It’s no coincidence that YouTube has been so successful.  If the millennium decade will be known for anything, it will be the expansion of video into every crevice of life.  High Definition televisions and DVDs are selling better than ever and companies are using videos to sell their products.  It should be no surprise by now that customers like video content.

Why has video become so popular?  I have a theory.  Ever since E-Commerce took off, customers have slowly become more comfortable with ordering products over the internet due to convenience.  Physical inspection of products is no longer as important to customers as it once was.   E-Commerce has also broken down distance barriers, allowing customers to shop all around the globe.  As a result, customers now demand to see exactly what they are getting in the form of images, audio, and increasingly, video.  Since they can’t be there, they want the next best thing.

Video is the new wave of this demand because it is so flexible.  If done correctly, video can provide much more information about a product than images.  Many companies are using the advantages of video in creative ways.  One such company is Spice Islands, which uses video to provide education about each of its spices.  It’s an intriguing concept, and one of many ways in which businesses are using video to reach out to their consumers.  The options for using video to maximize promotion and use of your product are numerous, and it all depends on your industry and your customer base.

There are different ways to integrate video on your site.  The most common is YouTube embedding.  This is common in blogs and small sites.  You can upload your videos to YouTube and then embed them on your site.  The only drawback is that the videos are of lower quality than they would be on YouTube, but the customer can go directly to YouTube from the embed if they wish.

Flash video is another option.  With the right design, it can look sleek and add tremendous value to your site. The only drawback to Flash is that videos can be quite large, and this will increase the loading time of your site, which may alienate customers with lower internet speeds.  For a site that uses Flash Video, check out The Stanley Foundation’s Rising Powers.

However you decide to integrate video into your site, it has the potential to pay dividends if the right pieces fall into place.  The demand for video content is likely to be around for quite a while, and the story of Internet video is still being written.  I predict that it is going to be an important tool for years to come.

Content management is like a haircut----there’s nothing better than a nice haircut, but a bad one will have people talking.  Content management can be a nightmare, especially if your site has a lot of content.  A website with poorly organized content is not only hard to update regularly, but hard to navigate, too.  Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to use your Content Management System more effectively.  If you don’t have a Content Management System, you should consider one.  Andy writes about them here. 

We recently launched a new website for the City of Urbandale, and both of the suggestions below were implemented during the site’s production.

Suggestion #1: Draft a Site Map

This may require pen and paper.  Sometimes it helps to create a chart or a list that details exactly how you want your site to look.  Doing this allows you step back from the website and look at it from a logical standpoint.  Plus, you can get feedback from outside sources.  As your content increases or changes, it is a good idea to revise the site map occasionally so that your content never goes out of control.

Suggestion #2: Setup Permissions

If you have multiple people or departments editing your website, it might be a good idea to setup access permissions.  Most Content Management Systems offer this option.  Permissions help prevent members from getting in their own way.  It’s never a good situation when John updates the Home Page, Mary undoes John’s work, and then James has to fix it and explain the mistake to an angry customer.  Setting up permissions can put a stop to this by allowing certain members certain access to certain pages.

These suggestions are two simple steps that will help keep your content management in check.  Never underestimate your CMS!  It can be your greatest friend or your worst enemy.  Before ending this entry, the folks at DWebware would like to congratulate the City of Urbandale for their new website and for their teamwork in helping the project come to fruition.  They were a pleasure to work with, and we hope that their new site brings them good fortune for years to come.

We often use our blog to answer frequently asked questions that we receive from clients and the general public. Recently, the topic of bidding on search engine key phrases through pay-per-click programs has been a popular subject.

The most common Search Engine Marketing question is typically "how much will it cost per click for key phrases specific to my business and industry?"

Unfortunately, the answer to this question (like many search engine related questions) is extremely variable. Through pay-per-click programs such as Google Adwords, you are only charged when your paid listing is clicked. The amount that you pay per click is variable based on a variety of factors centered on the popularity of the key phrase. Google offers a Keyword Selection Tool which estimates that average cost-per-click for your specific keywords and phrases.

For many Search Engine Marketing programs (including Google Adwords), there is no minimum spending requirement. You set a daily budget which determines the maximum amount that you will be billed.

Search Engine Watch recently released a report detailing the average cost-per-click by industry. Their report is listed to the right.

There are a couple things to keep in mind when analyzing the Search Engine Watch chart.

First, the report comes from a relatively small sampling. Specific prices for key phrases relevant to your business, in your geographic region will vary.

Also, as businesses are realizing positive ROI through Search Engine Marketing, pay-per-click bidding continues to grow in popularity and expense. Of the nine categories listed, cost-per-click fees increased by more than 9% from February to March. And you thought gas prices were increasing fast!