Internet Marketing Course -
Recommended Reading
For additional info and/or to purchase a copy, click on book’s title.
Internet Marketing:
Don’t Make Me Think!
A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability
by Steve Krug
“Usability” is one of those Web site design subject areas that make Web site owners and online marketers cringe! No longer – with Steve Krug’s help, non-designers are finally armed with a common sense approach to Web site usability.
The BEST thing about Steve Krug’s book on Web site usability is his common sense approach to everything from how Web surfers REALLY view a Web page to how to perform usability testing on a really tight budget. And all this down-to-earth advice from a person who has performed hundreds of usability design reviews for some of the largest companies on the Web!
A great read written by someone who’s “been there, done that”. – Dave Ingalls
(click on book title/book cover to see Amazon.com info on this book)
About the Author (from book cover):
Steve Krug is a little known but highly respected usability consultant who has worked quietly for years for companies like Apple, AOL, Netscape, BarnesandNoble.com, Excite@Home, and Circle.com. His book, written with liberal doses of wit and “advanced common sense”, is the product of more than 10 years of experience as a user advocate.
Book Description (from book cover):
It’s a fact: People won’t use your Web site if they can’t find their way around it. Companies everywhere are staking their fortunes and their futures on their Web sites. People with little or no experience are responsible for these big-budget projects, and usability is suddenly a hot-button, bottom-line issue. “Don’t Make Me Think!” is for the people in the trenches – the designers, the programmers, the webmasters, the project managers, the marketing people, and the folks who sign the checks. Krug’s clearly explained, easily absorbed principles will help you arrive at both the right questions to ask the experts you hire, and practical answers so you can make difficult technical, aesthetic, and structural decisions.
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Web Analytics Demystified
A Marketer’s Guide to Understanding How Your Web Site Affects Your Business
by Eric Petersen
Excellent, detailed overview of this important Internet Marketing subject. Buy it today! – Dave Ingalls
(click on book title/book cover to see Amazon.com info on this book)
About the Author (from book cover):
Eric T. Peterson has worked in the analytics space since 1998 at industry-leading companies like WebTrends (now NetIQ), WebCriteria (now Coremetrics) and WebSideStory.
Book Description (from book cover):
Covering the basics of web analytics, including data sources, terminology, and the most widely-available tools that marketers, merchandisers, and site managers use, Web Analytics Demystified breaks down analytics and web data along the customer lifecycle – reach, acquisition, conversion, and retention – providing a valuable summary of key performance indicators for each. According to Bryan Eisenberg, author of The New York Times bestseller Call to Action, “Eric Peterson has done a great job at making web analytics accessible to everyone from executives and marketing professionals who are responsible for the success of their websites, to web designers and IT professionals responsible for implementing solutions and optimizing their results.”
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by Shari Thurow
If you’re involved in Web site design or in optimizing existing Web sites to improve their visibility in the major crawler-based search engines, read this book first! – Dave Ingalls
(click on book title/book cover to see Amazon.com info on this book)
About the Author (from companion Web site):
Shari Thurow is a sought-after speaker and trainer on the topics of search engine–friendly web site design, web copywriting, and link development. A popular speaker at Search Engine Strategies, web site design, and online marketing conferences worldwide, Shari’s sessions are very popular and four-star rated.
Shari is the also webmaster and marketing director for Grantastic Designs, Inc. She has successfully designed and promoted web sites since 1995, and she is outsourced to many firms throughout the United States. She has a 100 percent success rate for getting client sites ranked at the top of search engine and directory queries.
Book Description (from book cover):
Search Engine Visibility is not about merely obtaining top positions in search results. Rather, Search Engine Visibility is about designing, writing, and creating a web site primarily for your site’s visitors, and helping them find what they are searching for via the major search engines, directories, and industry-related sites.
This book teaches developers, designers, programmers, and online marketers what pitfalls to avoid from the beginning so they can provide their clients with more effective site designs.
“Shari Thurow has been consistently one of the best rated speakers at our “Search Engine Strategies” conferences for her ample advice on how to build web sites that ‘naturally’ attract traffic from search engines. Now she puts that advice into print, creating a great companion book for anyone involved with constructing web sites. The book teaches you how to create web pages that please search engines and human visitors alike.” –Danny Sullivan, Editor, SearchEngineWatch
“The SEO industry can be a huge pitfall for the uninitiated. Fraud, gimmicks, and misunderstanding run rampant. Which is why we are so fortunate to have Shari Thurow in the field. Shari is a straightforward, knowledgeable, perceptive, and experienced practitioner of search engine optimization, marketing, and placement. She knows what it takes to get top positions in the major search engines and – even more importantly – knows what not to do to avoid being blacklisted. Shari is a trusted and active voice in the SEO field, and she always stays abreast of the latest changes.” – Adam Audette, Owner, Adventive, home of I-Search discussion list; Moderator, bCentral Daily Digest
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Search Engine Advertising
Buying Your Way to the Top to Increase Sales
by Catherine Seda
An excellent introduction to Search Engine Advertising – Dave
Ingalls (Substitute “Yahoo Sponsored Search” whenever you see a reference to “Overture” – Yahoo purchased Overture – Search Engine Marketing/Advertising is an ever-changing landscape!)
(click on book title/book cover to see Amazon.com info on this book)
About the Author (from the book cover):
Catherine Seda has helped companies leverage Internet marketing since 1995. She’s a popular conference speaker on the topics of search engine marketing, affiliate management, and low-cost web site promotion. Catherine shares practical tips in her monthly column for Entrepreneur magazine, Search Engine Sales e-zine, and various industry publications. Her agency, Seda Communications, offers search engine marketing workshops, on-site training, and campaign management for corporate clients.
Book Description (from book cover):
Are you a new search engine advertiser looking for the steps to launch a successful campaign? Or are you a seasoned veteran who needs cost-saving tips to improve your profitability? Search Engine Advertising isn’t just about buying a top position in search results. Author Catherine Seda reveals how to achieve immediate web site visibility, and shows you the tools and techniques you can use to increase sales at the lowest cost-per-customer.
Key features of this book include:
- Developing an effective keyword list, ad copy, and landing pages
- How to use paid placement and paid inclusion programs
- Reaching new customers through specialized search engines
- Tracking your return on investment to boost profit margins
- How to create an affiliate strategy that maximizes revenue
- Protecting your profits from click fraud and trademark infringement
“A remarkable book that eases you into the important new world of search engine advertising. Read it before your competitors do!” – Danny Sullivan, Editor, SearchEngineWatch.com
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Search Engine Optimization for Dummies
by Peter Kent
This is a REALLY good book, and it ain’t for dummies! – Dave Ingalls
(click on book title/book cover to see Amazon.com info on this book)
About the Author (from book cover):
Peter Kent is an e-commerce consultant who specializes in search engine optimization. He has written nearly fifty books and founded an e-business service provider.
Book Description (from book cover):
- A Web site’s position in search results will affect the number of times it is visited; this book shows Web site designers, owners, and Search Engine Optimizers (SEOs) how to build sites that rank high in the search engines (Google, Yahoo, MSN, Inktomi, Alta Vista, Overture) and generate high traffic
- This is the first book to cover the entire spectrum of search engine optimization, including important though often-ignored search systems, such as specialty directories and Yellow Pages
- Covers creating search engine-friendly sites and pages; registering sites with standard search engines, directories, shopping directories, and retailers; using registration software and services; understanding tools used to monitor site traffic; advertising on search engines; and developing links to boost ranks
- Introduces the reader to the nature of search engines, explains the different types, and shows which ones are the most important
- Includes a jump-start chapter with simple tricks for quickly boosting a site’s ranking
- Companion Web site includes articles and links to important news and registration sites
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Affiliate Selling: Building Revenue on the Web
by Greg Helmstetter and Pamela Metivier
From the authors’ Web site: “Affiliate selling is changing all of the rules about who can do what on the Web, who holds the cards, who owns the customer, and who makes the money. The premise is simple: anybody with a Web site can earn commissions by directing visitors to other sites that actually sell something.
Affiliate Selling was written for anyone who: 1) is thinking about adding commissions as a revenue stream to an existing site; 2) wants to create a new site that generates affiliate commissions; or 3) is a merchant who wants to create their own affiliate program.
If you missed the first wave of the Web, hang on tight. The second wave is about to hit. Anybody who wants to can play, and we wrote the book to tell you how to do it.”
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Business-to-Business Internet Marketing
by Barry Silverstein
From Amazon.com: “This “crash course” in business-to-business marketing is an excellent introduction for the newcomer and a worthwhile refresher for the veteran. Barry Silverstein is convinced that the Internet will soon replace direct mail as the primary vehicle for business-to-business direct marketing. Silverstein doesn’t promote spam, but discusses how the Internet has changed marketing and how principles of sound direct marketing can be applied to the Internet in fresh ways.”
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General Business:
The Tipping Point
How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
by Malcolm Gladwell
Was Paul Revere a Connector, a Maven or a Salesman, and why did that ultimately determine his success at rousing American patriots to confront the British? This and many more interesting ideas are explored in Gladwell’s seminal work on how “instant success” is achieved – Dave
Ingalls
(click on book title/book cover to see Amazon.com info on this book)
About the Author (from the book cover):
Malcolm Gladwell was a reporter for The Washington Post from 1987 to 1996, working first as a science writer and then as New York City bureau chief. Since 1996, he has been a staff writer for The New Yorker.
Book Description (from the book cover):
The Tipping Point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips and spreads like wildfire. Just as a single sick person can start an epidemic of the flu, so too can a small but precisely targeted push cause a fashion trend, the popularity of a new product, or a drop in the crime rate. This widely acclaimed best-seller, in which Malcolm Gladwell explores and brilliantly illuminates the tipping point phenomenon, is already changing the way people throughout the world think about selling products and disseminating ideas.
“A fascinating book that makes you see the world in a different way” – Fortune Magazine
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by David D’Alessandro
From Amazon.com: “In this short, concise work, D’Alessandro, CEO of the John Hancock insurance group, entertainingly hammers home the importance of creating and maintaining a brand. In his view, a brand is whatever image a customer conjures up upon hearing a company’s name, so everything from the firm’s labor practices to its product and advertising must be taken into account. To make his points, D’Alessandro draws heavily on his former career in advertising and public relations. On having Orville Redenbacher as a client: “We literally thought he was insane.” But in the end, he says, “Orville taught me…the power of a good brand to trump all rhyme or reason in the marketplace.” From a consumer’s point of view, brands save time, project a certain image to the rest of the world and make one feel part of the group that uses the brand. He discusses the steps to building a brand, consistently emphasizing that, if it is to resonate, the brand must have one simple image. D’Alessandro doesn’t break much new ground here, but he succeeds at reminding everyone from the CEO to the people on the assembly line that their company’s brand is its most crucial asset. Practical, psychologically astute and clearly written, this book has much to offer business folk of all stripes.”
by Spencer Johnson, M.D.
From Amazon.com: “Change can be a blessing or a curse, depending on your perspective. The message of Who Moved My Cheese? is that all can come to see it as a blessing, if they understand the nature of cheese and the role it plays in their lives. Who Moved My Cheese? is a parable that takes place in a maze. Four beings live in that maze: Sniff and Scurry are mice – non-analytical and nonjudgmental, they just want cheese and are willing to do whatever it takes to get it. Hem and Haw are “little people,” mouse-size humans who have an entirely different relationship with cheese. It’s not just sustenance to them; it’s their self-image. Their lives and belief systems are built around the cheese they’ve found. Most of us reading the story will see the cheese as something related to our livelihoods – our jobs, our career paths, the industries we work in – although it can stand for anything, from health to relationships. The point of the story is that we have to be alert to changes in the cheese, and be prepared to go running off in search of new sources of cheese when the cheese we have runs out. – Lou Schuler ”
Internet/e-Business:
Beep! Beep! Competing in the Age of the Road Runner
by Chip Bell and Oren Harari
Book Description: “A must-read for any leader…loaded with practical and humorous insight…right on target.” -Rob Robins, executive vice president, Visa USA If you’re like most red-blooded business managers, you grew up watching a scruffy coyote futilely chasing a colorful bird. Now you’re competing against companies started by twenty-two-year-olds who sleep under their desks. Be honest: In today’s business world, who is chasing whom? In business today you are either a Wile E. Coyote or a Road Runner. If you’re using old solutions to new problems and are pathologically in love with “Acme Products,” you are a Wile E. Coyote.”
by Evan I. Schwartz
An Internet/Web Classic! From Amazon.com: “Over the last few years, the big bang of the World Wide Web has shaken the realm of commerce. Today on the Internet, you can get everything from phone numbers and dancing babies to golf clubs and custom-built computers. Some of these Web sites are businesses that found their genesis in the advent of the Web itself, while others are longstanding companies trying to adapt to the reality of this new digital marketplace. Who will survive and who will be rendered extinct? That’s what Evan I. Schwartz tries to answer by dipping into the Internet’s “primordial soup” to discover the characteristics of the winners that will eventually emerge.”
by Don Tapscott
A Internet/Web Classic! – From an Amazon.com review: “Finally – a book on the Internet and Information Technology written for “normal” people! In his “The Digital Economy”, author and industry expert Don Tapscott avoids addressing his readers in geek-speak or treating them as techno-idiots. He provides an informative and useful tour of how the new digital world is impacting our lives today, even as it re-defines our tomorrow. The style is narrative and often amusing, and one hardly notices just how much dynamite information and solid research is being presented. Burned out on the hype of the “Web” or not; this is the one book which is a must read for confused students, concerned workers, and nervous business people who have been trying to figure out the Information Super-Highway. Don Tapscott has opened a “ramp” – and now there’s no excuse not to “drive” on.”
