October 2007

By Ryan McBee

With the political season nearly in full-swing, it’s time for us all to kick back and bask in the glory of our political leaders as they rise to the top of the proverbial crème and make outrageous promises that will flare out faster than a roman candle in the patriotic humidity of early July. At this point, the ‘08 campaign trail seems best exemplified by Mr. Stephen Colbert, host of Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report, who recently announced his official entry into the 2008 Presidential election. The initial announcement came on The Daily Show, and was thought to be a hoax. But, in Colbert’s words, “This is not a dream that you are going to wake up from.”

Recently, Mr. Colbert appeared with Tim Russert on NBC’s Meet the Press to discuss his new role as Presidential hopeful. In the interview, he explained to Mr. Russert his reasoning behind throwing his hat into the Presidential ring:

“I’m doing it, Tim, because I think that our country is facing unprecedented challenges in the future,” Mr. Colbert said. “I think the junctures that we face are both critical and unforeseen, and the real challenge is how we will respond to these junctures, be they critical, or God help us, unforeseen.”
(nytimes.com, “’Daily Show’ Personality Gets His Own Platform”, 10.22.07)

All belly-laughter aside, Colbert is just the latest example of the power of the “Comedy Central vote”; i.e., the authority pundits like Stephen Colbert and The Daily Show’s John Stewart have come to wield over the political opinions/beliefs of the 18 – 28(ish) demographic - who, quite frankly, seem to have given up all together on “traditional media.” Instead, many have turned to more entertaining cable-resources the likes of The Colbert Report to have their opinions formed in a very “witty” and “smart” format. The real genius of this equation is that Stewart and Colbert can go onto traditional news shows and criticize until their tongues go dry and begin to crack and bleed, because they are simply “comedians” who host “comedy shows.” Colbert may have just lost this claim. This cute little duo has proven time and again that satire can be the greatest weapon of all. I’d be willing to put money on Stewart getting 10% of the vote if he decided to make a legitimate run at the White House.

Couple all of this with the growing influence of the Internet as a legitimate news source, and the numbers for most network news shows have consequently fallen off a very well-defined cliff. And the divide that has subsequently formed between potential viewers and network execs seems to be ever-widening with each network broadcast. How desperate have the networks become in their attempts to recapture viewers? Well, Russert gave Mr. Colbert 15 minutes of face-time on a show known for serious political discussion by the ‘legitimate’ talking-heads.

So, where’s Ralph Nader when you need him? If anything, maybe Colbert can make this upcoming election a bit more entertaining - even allow us all to take it a little less seriously than we probably should. He may even go so far as to redefine the role of the third-party candidate. Much like Ross Perot did to Bob Dole in 1992, Colbert may throw the already complicated equation of the ’08 election into further disarray.

On that note, I would like to announce that I will officially be accepting write-in votes in my name. I am not announcing an official campaign, simply the option to impulsively scribble my name into the “other” category if none of the pre-populated choices seem worthy of your vote. Should I win, I will be sure to pay all of my major contributors back mightily with ridiculous tax-breaks and no-bid contracts for numerous government projects in corners of the globe where we can rest assured that no one will take notice! (Even those hard working journalists at the networks.) All checks written to support my campaign can be made out to me personally, and there is no need to specify on the check what the funds are for, I’ll take care of it. Just trust me, America. I have your interest at the center of my heart.

Putting your best face forward can sometimes be difficult. You don’t know what people will think or say about you, and you don’t know if they’ll even like you. And possibly worst of all, something that is really exciting to you may be really boring to them.

The trick to this is to know your audience. Let’s say, for example, that I’m really into soup. I can’t get enough of the colors, the combinations and the names. (Minestrone just rolls right off the tongue, don’t ya think?) But I’m writing a press release to someone that could care less about soup, and all that they want to talk about is art. Now that you know your audience, how can you make soup exciting to them?

Andy Warhol’s famous tomato soup painting is one way. The painting, known as Campbell’s Soup Cans, was his first one-man gallery exhibition. It’s a significant piece for artists who have a special interest in pop art.

Now, it can be argued that Warhol could’ve become just as famous if he’d painted a giant bowl. But it could also be argued that for some reason, he chose to paint a can of soup – not a bowl. Other artists hadn’t thought of that yet.

When you’re trying to get people excited about a product or a service, learn about your audience with a little research, and then work on your message. What message might be more interesting for the Average Joe?

“In the 1960s, soup was hot, and not only in temperature. In 1962, artist Andy Warhol turned soup into a trend with his Campbell’s Soup Cans exhibit. And now, almost 50 years later, the folks at SoupShaloop are bringing soup back into style with they’re newest work of art, “Tomato Soupin’ It Up.”

OR

“Today, SoupShaloop announced its newest product, “Tomato Soupin’ It Up”, will hit supermarkets on March 1, 2008. The soup is a combination of the classic tomato soup, mixed with SoupShaloop’s trademarked onion spice.”

The first lead grabs the attention of a wide audience, art lovers and soup lovers alike. The second one may draw in supermarkets, other soup brands, or soup scholarly journals (if there were such a thing.)

So, whatever you’re promoting, remember your audience. If you know your audience is very limited and you’re okay with that, a simpler message is probably sufficient. But if you’re looking toward a much broader audience, you may have to get pretty creative. Think soup-and-art creative.

PlattFormers tend to cluster in familiar little cliques. Rarely do you see a programmer commiserating with someone in Media, for instance. Come to think of it, rarely do you see a programmer commiserate with anyone but another programmer. Why is that?

Less I digress …

Back when PlattForm opened its doors, there were mandatory Happy Hours each and every Friday after work. Apparently, it was during that honeymoon phase that everyone knew everyone. And then PlattForm doubled, then tripled, in size … and Happy Hour got lost in the shuffle.

Now PlattForm has introduced “Random Fridays!” It’s a chance for PFormers to get together with their fellow brethren on … you guessed it … various random Friday evenings. It’s been a smashing success. We’ve had karaoke nights at the single skeeviest bar in Kansas City. (You know, the one where you feel the need to spray yourself down with Bactine afterwards.) We’ve had Martini flings, we’ve had margarita nights with trivia and we’ve had Wii parties with pizza and pop.

Random Fridays makes the people come together … it makes the bourgeoisie and the rebel … uh, and the programmer.

It’s a chance for the young and old (well, 30’s) come together. It’s a chance to see who’s in desperate need of a 12-step program and who’s a Polly Puritan. It’s a chance to see and be seen. And since I haven’t bought a drink for myself since the Reagan administration, it’s a chance for my co-workers to imbibe me.

Posters touting the virtues of Random Fridays are sprinkled around the building. There’s a lot of chit-chat and banter beforehand about who’s going and who’s not. And, best of all, even though Random Fridays have been approved by PForm management, I have yet to see a manager there. (You try doing a keg stand with your boss hovering over you.)

Because we all work hard around here, Random Fridays are a great opportunity to feel good about a job well done. And it’s also an opportunity to finally learn the full name of that co-worker you’ve been greeting “HEY DUDE!” for the last six months. But more than any of that, it gives everyone the opportunity to get some really random dirt on random people that will usually, randomly last until the next Random Friday.

by Webster Jorgensen

For the fourth part of this series on Universal Search we will look at image search. In the past, Google would return some images at the top of the search results for queries like “explosion.” Later this year Google may start being more aggressive in how the push image results into the rest of the search results as well. Now that we know Google is returning these results, we need to know how to optimize for them and use them to acquire traffic.

Which keywords will return image results?

Google knows this by what people search for in their images search section of their site. If they see a certain keyword is searched for in the image search section of Google, they will start pushing these pictures out to the main results. Google also uses user data to determine when images should be returned in the main search results. If Google returns some images to the main search results and users click on the images, Google knows that those results are providing value and will return more of them.

Research for images and SEO

The most important part of optimizing for image search involves research. You have to think logically about what kind of keywords will return images and what people are looking for. Optimizing text pages is a lot different than optimizing images. In the education vertical for instance, a common keyword that would be used for a text page about medical assisting may be “medical assistant programs” or “medical assistant schools.” These keywords show intent to find a school and are also searched for frequently. However, these are keywords that are not likely to return image results. People are rarely looking for images of medical assistant programs. People often know what a “program” looks like and other kinds of content (text, video or news) will often provide a better result. Another possibility would be “medical assistant pictures.” This is more likely to return an image result, but the problem is very few people search for that term. The ones that do are probably graphic artists and web designers looking for stock images.

If I was going to optimize some images for medical assistant pages I would probably start with the keyword “how to become a medical assistant.” This is a keyword that is searched for fairly often and has great image search potential. Becoming a medical assistant requires a process. This process could be illustrated much like a flow chart. Lines, arrows and boxes letting the user know all the steps that need to be taken to achieve their goal.

Optimizing the image

Now that we have done our research and have a solid plan we can start optimizing the images. When creating the image you want to be sure and use the keyword in the images file name. Make sure and separate words by dashes. After creating the image I would name it:

how-to-become-a-medical-assistant.jpg

When coding the image into HTML, make sure and use the keyword again in the alt tag. This would look like this:

Not only will this help the image rank, but will also improve usability since the screen readers used by blind people use these alt tags to determine the subject matter of an image.

The next step is to create some text content on the page around the image. This copy should contain the keyword being optimized. This step simply involves performing the normal steps for optimizing a text page. When Google downloads that page they will use the text surrounding the image to help determine its subject matter.

Linking and images

The final step in optimizing for images involves linking to them. This step is a little tricky, but is a potent ranking factor image search. Normally, links will always go to a specific web page, but when optimizing for image search we want to have some links linking straight at the image itself. Here is an example on the PlattForm blog:

This link is going to the home page of the PlattForm site:

PlattForm Advertising

This link is pointing straight at the logo on the home page:

PlattForm Advertising

See the difference? Also notice that I used the text (anchor text) “PlattForm Advertising” in the link. This will help the logo rank for the term “PlattForm Advertising.” Using your keyword (in our example “how to become a medical assistant”) in the anchor text will help the image rank for that keyword.

One efficient way to create this kinds of links is to create an image site map. This would be a catalog of all of the images you want to perform well in search results. Simply create a list of links that link to the images, and of course, use the keyword in the anchor text.

Conclusion

Performing all of these steps will put you well on your way to acquiring traffic when Google returns image results in their main search results page. Using keywords in the file name, the alt tag, the surrounding copy, and proper linking is needed to optimize for a given keyword. However, the most important part is picking the right keyword. It is important that an image ranks for the right keywords. Keywords that are searched for frequently, embody the proper intent, and will provide value when served to the user. This is where good research and a little ingenuity can make all the difference.

It’s only October 2007, and the political season is already looming large for the media department. With 2008 predicted to be the largest political year in history in terms of advertising spending, us Media types are working hard to ensure we’re prepared.

Here’s how it breaks down for us. Political advertising runs in highly-viewed areas, such as prime and the fringe areas. Regular local advertisers are no longer able to run in those areas, due to being bumped by the candidates, referendums: “Say No to Proposition 107”; “Say Yes to Proposition 107”; “What is Proposition 107?”; “Are You Sure It’s Not Proposition 108? (I’m Just Saying, This Whole Voting Process Can Have Its Occasional Hiccups)”, and so on.

So where do the regular local advertisers have to go when they can’t run in their standard dayparts? Right smack in the middle of daytime, which is the lead generation bread ‘n butter for Direct-Response advertisers in the career college sector. While the candidates are duking it out for who will be the better local sheriff, we in Media are preparing to duke it out with advertisers encroaching upon our prime advertising space.

How are we preparing, you may ask? Planning ahead. This year, we’re already working on negotiating our annual agreements with stations to lock in rates as early as possible in anticipation of the upcoming political season. It’s a win-win for both our clients and our vendors to have our schedules laid in well in advance for the coming year. Clients can rest assured we’re already ahead of the curve and we should see fewer preempts due to political advertising than other advertisers who are less prepared for the rough and tumble year that 2008 is projected to be. Vendors are also set up for a good 2008, as they already know in October 2008 what our clients’ general advertising plans are for the coming year. With annual buys already locked in place, the sales people we work with on a continual basis can breathe a sigh of relief in the assurance they’ve got at least one of their clients prepared for 2008.

And that kind of assurance for both the client and vendor lets us in Media know we’re not leaving anyone hanging like a chad.