The dgm online marketing blog

Don’t get duped on Performance Marketing

(cellis) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 06:25:20 GMT

2 May 2008

Performance Marketing is becoming a "Must Have" in marketers online advertising arsenal, but what the hell is it? Written by dgm’s Managing Director, Craig Ellis published in Adnews 5th May 2008.

The more performance marketing becomes a "must have", the more hybrid models are being presented to advertisers that confuse the market.
There are three key pricing models in the market that are portrayed as "performance":

BA joins dgm affiliate network

(dgmmarketing) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 06:32:22 GMT

24 October 2008

Below is an excerpt from Digital Media, written by Anita Davis

"British Airways has signed a deal to join digital marketing group dgm’s affiliate marketing network across the region. British Airways will target customers via the network in Singapore, Hong Kong and China, and dgm’s office in Sydney will manage British Airways in Australia and New Zealand."

An Optimisation Strategy For Flash Websites

(gmessenger) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 08:50:27 GMT

2 March 2009

This is a guide on how to develop a search engine friendly web site whilst using flash as the main construction method.

Flash websites provide some unique challenges for website optimisation since traditionally, Flash has not been compatible for search engine indexing.

As of recent times Google have advised they are able to index flash files (and other engines will follow), but they must be rendered on the page a certain way and the construction methods of the flash developer will have further impact on what can actually be read by the engine.

On top of this the flash files, even if they can be read, do not include all the tagging methods used in HTML pages, many of these methods are important factors within the Google algorithm, hence even if a flash file can be indexed, it is unlikely to rank for much more then basic brand searches.

Instead dgm recommend you use an advanced SEO method for your flash website, outlined on the following pages.

Aussie Table Tennis star joins dgm in serious fun

(dgmmarketing) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 10:10:26 GMT

9 March 2009

dgm launches "the dgm challenge" at ad:tech

Olympian Kyle Davis is guest star to play table tennis

dgm to perform online marketing health checks and special offers

SYDNEY, 9 March 2009: Tomorrow marks the beginning of a bold challenge to the Australian marketing industry to join online marketing company dgm in a two-day Table Tennis competition, being held at this year’s ad:tech Sydney conference.

dgm Pong-O-Drome comes alive at ad:tech

(dgmmarketing) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 18:18:15 GMT

10 March 2009

The dew-sweepers were out early at the dgm Pong-O-Drome inside the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre, eagerly awaiting the arrival of celebrity guest and Australian Olympian Kyle Davis. While some struggled to keep the ball in the court before his arrival, their job seemed to get a little more difficult once the big man got down to business, at times not even seeing the ball before it flew by and out onto the convention floor. Kyle left nothing to chance; kitted out in full Beijing Olympic gear and carrying his full sports bag, he was equipped with preferred ping pong balls and even alternate paddles.

dgm Ping Pong Master-Class

(dgmmarketing) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 17:56:07 GMT

11 March 2009

The Ping Pong master-class continued at ad:tech Sydney today, Australian Olympian Kyle Davis in early to continue the onslaught he started yesterday. Once again kitted out in full Olympic apparel, Kyle didn’t take it easy; at times playing some very cheeky shots that were simply unreturnable.

Early contenders through the dgm Pong-O-Drome included Narbeh from Fairfax Digital, Johnny from Universal McCann and Tim, our friendly ad:tech sales executive, but none of them outperformed ad:tech marketing manager Sarah, who smiled all the way through her 11-3 loss – which was one better than Tim she tells us!

What do the banks know about affiliate marketing that the insurance companies don’t?

(cgarner) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 17:12:15 GMT

20 March 2009

Comparison web sites - one of the most popular formats among the affiliate marketing networks - are giving consumers what they want: a single location where they can scan the price points of many companies with the same offer all at once.

While many brand managers would now be objecting that price alone is not enough for a consumer to make a purchase decision, we should all remember that if a person is looking up "car insurance" on a search engine, chances are very high that they are in the market for car insurance.

De duplication across multiple channels and the effect to affiliates

(cgarner) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 18:28:05 GMT

28 April 2009

Many advertisers operate across many online channels. Typically these include Search, Display, e-mail and Affiliate. Most advertisers use a different Agency or Network to perform these marketing tasks and more often than not each utlise an entirely separate tracking technology to record the sale. Typically each of these tracking technologies requires a separate piece of code called a tracking tag (normally a 1x1 pixel or a JavaScript call) to be implemented on to the action page. The action page is normally the confirmation page of an e-commerce website or application form.

Herein lies the problem.

These tracking technologies do not talk to each other (and why would they as they are designed by separate companies). Typically each of these tags are called every time the confirmation page is accessed.

The Consumer path to conversion is rarely linear if ever linear and often means that the Consumer touches multiple marketing channels prior to conversion.

How to learn SEO and continue to develop as an optimiser

(gmessenger) — Tue, 05 May 2009 12:23:59 GMT

5 May 2009

For over 10 years I’ve been performing search engine optimisation for organisations ranging from small family run businesses to some of Australia’s largest publishers.

I think I know a lot about SEO, websites, how the web works and have some well respected SEO friends who would confirm this. But I’m happy to admit that I need to keep learning if I’m to continue to be good at what I do.

SEO changes and we need to keep learning about those changes. The web is certainly not standing still. It’s an amazing living thing that continues to grow, augment and develop.

So how does an SEO consultant train?

The amazing thing about SEO is that there is an abundance of free information available on the internet to help you learn about SEO and subsequently stay abreast of the latest changes.

dgm indoor soccer team flies the flag

(dgmmarketing) — Tue, 05 May 2009 16:07:30 GMT

5 May 2009

dgmAustralia participated in the 2009 Yahoo! Search Marketing Indoor Soccer Tournament last week at the State Sports Centre, Olympic Park. Playing with tremendous passion and commitment, the team put on a great performance and was unlucky not to win the title, losing the final in a close contest.

The combined impact of Display and Search advertising

(tedmonds) — Tue, 19 May 2009 16:54:42 GMT

19 May 2009

The idea of running a multi channel campaign to drive a better combined return shouldn’t be a new concept to marketers. However it is not uncommon for a client to employ one agency to manage one channel whilst another agency manages another and never the twain shall meet.

Although different channels are in play it is difficult to provide a holistic view because the focus is on the parts and not the sum. However when you get the chance to test the affect that different channels have on one another, the results are revealing. This article will focus specifically on the affect that online display advertising has on search marketing and relates to a recent case study produced by dgm.

dgm lends a hand to support OzHarvest’s SHARE LUNCH - FIGHT HUNGER day!

(dgmmarketing) — Wed, 20 May 2009 12:01:11 GMT

20 May 2009

On Wednesday 20th May, all Sydneysiders are encouraged to donate what they would normally spend on lunch to Share Lunch - Fight Hunger, a one-day initiative aimed at helping the hungry, homeless and needy.

Team dgm have chosen to support OzHarvest, a Sydney based not-for-profit organisation that rescues unwanted food from restaurants, retailers, food outlets, etc, to feed communities less fortunate.

dgm reports from the world’s best search conference next week

(dgmmarketing) — Mon, 25 May 2009 14:43:12 GMT

25 May 2009

Our resident search engine optimisation expert, Gavin Messenger, is flying out to Seattle, USA in a few days to attend what is regarded as the best conference in the world dedicated to search marketing.

Gavin’s expertise and insight in search is what keeps our clients at the top, and helps our whole team to improve their search practices, but even he can learn something new!

The conference, SMX Advanced, is in its 3rd year, and the program looks even better than last year. We have included an overview of the topics and speakers below, but suffice to say that it is packed with leading edge topics and expert speakers. Gavin is expecting intense discussions and debates!

Marketers Missing Out On Valuable Customers By Failing to Align Offline Media with Online Marketing

(dgmmarketing) — Fri, 29 May 2009 10:32:50 GMT

29 May 2009

Marketers may be missing out on valuable customers by failing to understand the principles of aligning their offline media with their online marketing, says dgm Managing Director Craig Ellis.

While most marketers believe that online marketing provides more - and better - measurement than many offline mediums, they are yet to grasp how these measures, such as variations in traffic and search terms, can also be applied to their traditional media campaigns.

"Online marketing provides access to reams and reams of data, but if you are not asking that data the right questions, then it might as well not exist," said dgm MD Craig Ellis. "And we have realised that, on the whole, the terminology around online marketing measurement remains largely unintelligible to Australia’s senior marketing community.

"That is the fault of the online marketing industry, which has retained an air of mystery and complexity around the discipline as a shield against inquiry into overblown claims and unjustified results. As a result many marketing organisations have partitioned their online marketing into a separate function - which only serves to further accentuate the failure of online marketing."

Day 1 at SMX Advanced 2009 in Seattle - Gavin’s Daily Wrap Up

(gmessenger) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:11:01 GMT

2nd June 2009 (US PST Time)

SMX Advanced has lived up to the hype and I can gladly say it is the best industry conference I have ever attended. The first day of the conference has been a big success for the organisers and attendees alike.

The host city of Seattle is a beautiful place with an almost small town feel to it with the backdrop of amazing snow capped mountains. The weather has also come right with warm sunny days.

The conference is down on the Seattle harbour waterfront and the organisers have so far run a smooth event, well catered and the facilities are world class.

I have been attending the SEO track sessions and for the first time in many years of conferences the information has been so good that I have achieved a personal first and felt compelled to write six A4 pages of notes.

The stand out session of the day was most certainly the "duplicate content & the canonical tag" session. I will post a full report on this session next week as the tag has been in action for just over three months and a lot of new information has come through in this time that it warrants a full post. Google’s Matt Cutts was following this session on Twitter and felt compelled to leave his session and crash this one, taking over the microphone for the last 15 minutes.

Day 2 at SMX Advanced 2009 in Seattle - Gavin’s Daily Wrap Up

(gmessenger) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 09:36:15 GMT

3rd June 2009 (US PST Time)

The second & final day of SMX Advanced 2009 proved interesting, but maybe a little low key after the amazing sessions of day 1 and the Bing launch party held by Microsoft last night.

The Bing party was well done, with interesting cocktails and a number of entertainers keeping guests amused.

Microsoft reasserted its muscle by lighting up a major Seattle landmark. I think most industry insiders are hoping they will also light up the search engine market and bring some real competition back.

The Microsoft theme continued this morning with Dr Qi Lu providing the opening key note as he was interviewed by Danny Sullivan.

The Importance of the Canonical REL Tag for Websites

(gmessenger) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:00:31 GMT

10 June 2009

One of the sessions that stood out from the SMX Advanced 2009 conference in Seattle last week was "Duplicate Content Solutions & the Canonical Tag". This was an informative session with some excellent examples of its benefits revealed by optimisers. More importantly a number of factual confirmations were made by the search engines in its use & benefits.

The fact that Google’s Matt Cutts was following this session on Twitter and felt compelled to leave his social media session and crash the last 20 minutes of this session to take over the microphone, provides some real insight into exactly how important Google consider the use of this tag.

So what is the dgm challenge?

(dgmmarketing) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 18:10:48 GMT

12 June 2009

We have declared 2009 as the year of "the dgm challenge", for ourselves, for our clients and the online marketing industry. This year and beyond, we are concentrating on improving our knowledge and our practices, because knowledge and effort are the key to overcoming mediocre marketing practices. It is only through consistent tracking, analysis and sharing that we will contribute to the general knowledge bank of online marketing.

dgm @ ADMA Forum - 8th & 9th July09

(dgmmarketing) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:20:39 GMT

dgmAustralia are exhibiting at this year’s ADMA Forum - Wednesday 8th & Thursday 9th July, Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour.

This is Australia’s premier marketing conference and exhibition with 2,000+ exhibition visitors and this is the first time dgm are participating so drop by our stand #226 and meet the team.

We would like to invite you down to hear an informative talk by dgm’s Chris Garner, at the Free Conference Schedule from 1.10pm - 1.40pm over the 2 days.

Chris Garner speaker sessions @ ADMA Forum

(dgmmarketing) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 19:24:34 GMT

If you want to learn from the latest Australian marketing campaigns that use the online platform effectively - including real data from leading brands - then come and hear Chris Garner at the ADMA Forum free seminar program, tomorrow 8 July and Thursday 9 July, 1.10pm - 1.40pm on both days.

Chris has honed his online marketing skills on some of the world’s biggest brands, and he truly knows excellence in online marketing when he sees it.

His presentation makes the new marketing model sound so simple and logical, you will want to rush back to the office and start your new integrated marketing approach immediately.

If you cannot attend the ADMA event, but want to hear the presentation, please contact us to make arrangements especially for your organisation.

2009 IAB Awards - Search Marketing Winning Submission - Woolworths Everyday Money

(dgmmarketing) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:12:39 GMT

10 July 2009

dgm Australia was announced the winner of the Search Marketing Category in the 2009 IAB Awards announced on Thursday 10 July.

The winning entry was for search engine optimisation on the Woolworths Everyday Money credit card website launched in November 2008.

We would like to share with you our winning entry submission which is in the form of a case study on the following PDF Document.

dgm Win IAB Award for Search Marketing for the second year running

(dgmmarketing) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:13:53 GMT

10 July 2009

Last night, the 9th July 2009 saw the Australian Online Industry congregate on the venue de jour The Ivy for the latest installment of the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s (IAB) Awards.

For the second year running, and the only winner of this award, dgm took home the trophy for Best Search Marketing, this year for SEO backing up last year win for Pay per Click. In addition to taking home the gong, having 2 of the 3 shortlisted entries for this category reinforced dgm strength in the Australian search marketing industry.

Joining the dgm MD Craig Ellis on the night was winning client Juan Pablo Bernal from Woolworths along with dgm’s SEO specialist Gavin Messenger who was lead on the project.

Flash Website Optimisation Strategies

(gmessenger) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 10:04:54 GMT

20 July 2009

There have been some recent improvements in website optimisation for sites that use Flash. Your SEO team at dgm have published this Guide to help you understand how these improvements can be applied to your next Flash website.

Flash websites present some unique challenges for website optimisation. Traditionally, Flash has not been compatible with search engine indexing, meaning that the majority of content contained in a Flash site was invisible to search engines such as Google.

Recently however, Google has advised the SEO community that they are now able to index SWF files (Flash files), and the other search engines are soon to follow.

There are a few tricks that will make SWF files index-compatible. We will outline the two main methods here: HTML Indexing and SWF Indexing. The way SWF files are rendered on a page, as well as the construction methods of the Flash developer, will impact on the success of SEO for Flash websites, in particular how well they rank against keyword content. After all, this is the ultimate objective of SEO.

Online, off line, above the line, through the line - whose line? Is there a line?

(cgarner) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 11:49:31 GMT

29 July 2009

Due to the increasing fragmentation of consumers and the numerous opportunities available to marketers, individual channels can no longer be considered in isolation. What drives the consumer and where are they driven? Do you know?

TV can impact search, online display can support brand recall increasing propensity to transact and online analytics can efficiently optimise the whole marketing mix.

Using dgm Australia’s experience and case studies, I will enlighten and demonstrate a truer return on investment.

Affiliate Network Guidelines for Advertising Financial Products & Services

(dsofia) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:07:58 GMT

11 August 2009

At dgm Australia we deliver thousands of new customers to our financial clients every month through our network of affiliate partner sites.

Over the years we have worked closely with our clients and affiliate partners to ensure the advertising of financial products and services through the dgm affiliate network complies with relevant Australian legislation and guidelines.

Are flash websites finally a viable development option for SEO?

(gmessenger) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 09:42:06 GMT

For years now flash websites have been the bane of my life as an SEO professional. I don’t know how many times I have had to explain to a website owner or designer that the amazing, innovative flash website they built is completely useless for natural search engine results.

Back in 2002 Google tried to tell us they actually could index flash, but it turned out to mean nothing more thanthey could see the SWF file but not read the content and rank it in a way they did for HTML pages.

Again last year, Google made noise in the market that the issues were now solved, flash could be indexed, flash was good at last. But this turned out to be a half truth and not all the problems were solved as flash sites rarely if ever appeared for competitive terms without underlaying them with an HTML version. But looking back, it seems that Google were onto something last year when they decided to start making noise again. They have been working hard to solve some of the problems and I think I can finally confidently say flash can be optimised for organic search engine results.

dgm hunts search talent after numerous wins

(dgmmarketing) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 09:13:19 GMT

1 September 2009

Online marketing agency dgm is seeking anyone with a passion for online marketing and a talent for search engine marketing in particular to join the team thanks to several new client wins and increased projects from existing clients.

"If you are the sort of person who likes numbers, likes to think and strategise, and you are always seeking improvement and better outcomes then you would fit right in to our expanding search team," said Craig Ellis, Managing Director of dgmAustralia.

"We have already grown our search team by several fantastic people this year and we are continuing to expand, here in Australia as well as in New Zealand and India. We have a very clear idea of the high-achieving, fun and passionate people that are the perfect fit for dgm."

Search Focus Increased in Digital Council

(dgmmarketing) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:04:32 GMT

ADMA has refreshed its Digital Council with the appointment of Search specialist Gary Nissim from online marketing agency dgm as the head of the Search Engine Optimisation / Search Engine Marketing Working Group (Search Working Group).

Nissim joins other industry leaders to put the spotlight on issues around search engine marketing, in particular how companies can implement successful search engine optimisation into their websites.

The other members of the Search Working Group are: Sylvia Kim, Search Strategy Marketing Manager at News Limited’s CareerOne; Mark Vozzo, Online Analytics Lead at Microsoft; Lucas Ng, Director of Search & Analytics at Fairfax Digital, and; Max Sim, Senior SEO advisor at REA Group.

Nissim said, "The efforts of the Search Working Group will be focused on producing a paper outlining best practice for enterprise SEO, which is vital to get right yet so few Australian organisations get close."

"We have a team of highly experienced search professionals on the working group, and we expect to release the results of our endeavours in late November this year."

Marketing MasterChef: Are you mixing the right ingredients?

(dgmmarketing) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 14:40:38 GMT

How well do your marketing ingredients work together? Do you understand the impact they have on each other?

I’d consider myself a relatively decent cook. I can pull together a number of dishes and cover entrées, mains and dessert. I quickly realised the key to successful cooking is how your ingredients work, or in some instances, don’t work together. The pleasure of getting it right far outweighs the taste of getting it only slightly wrong.

Let me explain - Can you name the two special ingredients in Worcestershire sauce?

As a hint, here are the main ingredients: Malt vinegar, spirit vinegar, sugar, salt, onions, garlic, cloves, shallots, spice, molasses, flavouring... Any ideas?

In cooking, unless you understand the contribution of all your ingredients you won’t get the flavour you’re looking for; in marketing, unless you understand the impact of all elements of your activity, you won’t truly understand the overall benefit.

We tend to see ad hoc mixing and matching, wrong combinations of ingredients thrown together without much thought of their relationship. We want fine dining but we end up with a dog’s breakfast. Then we wonder why it doesn’t taste so good.

As marketers, we should not be asking who gets the money - Broadcaster A or Network B - but how and why. How do I invest my budget to ensure maximum return and impact from each channel by understanding how each affects the other. Then and only then will we start to realise the overall marketing ROI.

If we look at the marketing channels in a different light, that is by their key attributes, we can see them as Drive, Reinforce and Capture.

dgmAustralia makes shortlist for Digital Media Awards Asia

(dgmmarketing) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:37:26 GMT

For the second year running, dgm have successfully made the shortlist for the Asia Digital Media awards.

Under the Search category, dgm are finalists for SEO work on the Woolworths Everyday Money Credit Card campaign plus a joint submission with OMD for St.George Bank PPC search campaign.

Under the Financial category, dgm are finalists for their Affiliate marketing activity also for St.George.

Craig Ellis, Managing Director dgmAU & NZ commented,
"We are extremely proud of being shortlisted for these Awards again … Have you seen who else made the cut? We’re boutique in size compared to some of these global agency powerhouses. It’s testament to the quality of work we are producing for our clients that we’re being recognised as leaders across the region in what we do".

Leading the Australian charge along with dgm are ClemengerBBDO Melb, Euro RSCG, Universal McCann, Zenith and Tribal.

Winners will be announced at the awards evening in Beijing China on 16th November.