Commentary
Good Search Has Spoiled Me
by Nicholas Ward on 01/06/2010 at 1:29 pm in Commentary, Mobile Search, Within Range
The other day, the navigation software on my BlackBerry disappeared without reason. It was nowhere to be found. I could uninstall it, but I couldn’t open it from anywhere. After some research I figured out what happened, and the official fix from Sprint was to search the software store for “nav” and to download and reinstall the software. A direct link would have been nice, but I digress.
Full Story1st & 10
by Herndon Hasty on 09/09/2009 at 6:30 pm in Commentary, Within Range
Picture this: You’re calling a huddle. It’s the 4th quarter, you’re on the opponent’s 40 yard line with 20 seconds left to play on a first down. You’ve got one time out left, and the other team’s out. The running game’s been less than stellar, but their defensive line is worn out, and your rookie slot receiver’s been hot for the last two passes, having just come off a catch-and-run for 30 yards to get you where you are right now. Communications with the booth are down, so it’s your call what the play is.
Full StoryThe Maytag Man
by Danielle Smith on 08/28/2009 at 5:58 pm in Commentary, Within Range
For those of you either still not buying into the whole Twitter machine (or for anyone just looking for a good Friday read) – A shameless plug for my best-friend-even-though-she-doesn’t-know-it-yet: dooce vs. Maytag
Full StoryLittle Data Shop of Horrors…or Wonders?
by Danielle Smith on 08/12/2009 at 6:17 pm in Commentary, Performance Marketing, Website Analytics
Recently (like about 2 hours ago), I sat down with a colleague to attempt and uncover some site anomalies through one of the major analytics providers. I realize that this first sentence is in no way, shape or form salacious or compelling… but bear with me. I personally have been forced to spend quite a bit more time within this particular analytics tool and to be honest, most of the time I narrowly focus on the bare essentials I need to complete the task. I realize, however, that there is a hidden treasure trove of data for me to uncover.
Full StoryJust a Little Optimization Would Be Nice…
by Parks Blackwell on 07/24/2009 at 2:29 pm in Checkout Optimization, Commentary, Conversion, User Experience
I travel fairly often for my job. I’m not exactly living out of a suitcase, but I’ve been on enough trips to know a good airport when I land in one. Like most people, I prefer abundant restaurants, multiple newsstands with the right pretzels and a plethora of gum to choose from. Certain terminals within airports are better than others. DFW for example built a lovely new terminal, (D for those of you interested) which has 2 story restaurants, a glass ceiling and multiple places to sit and read or make a phone call. So, I ask – for the rest of the mediocre terminals out there… Let’s step it up a notch shall we?
Full StoryWhat’s the Deal with All These Retreads?
by Jeremy Hull on 07/15/2009 at 1:44 pm in Commentary, Observations, PPC, Within Range
Is paid search out of ideas? Don’t get me wrong, I love paid search. It’s my specialty. It’s logical, predictable, and organized, which appeals to my OCD nature. Social media and mobile may be the next “big things,” but from my vantage point, they’re still very nebulous and unorganized. Give me a basic paid search campaign any day, and I’ll sculpt it into something that will make you some money. That being said, I can’t help but feel paid search as a whole is getting a little stale. The past several years have seen lots of new ideas and innovations—improved targeting, more control, the capability for real-time changes—the list is actually kind of long. However, recently it seems like every time I hear about a new paid search feature from any of the major engines I get a strange feeling of déjà vu.
Full StoryHello New Shoes, Bye Bye Blues
by Vic Drabicky on 06/09/2009 at 5:57 pm in Commentary, Market Research & Data, Observations, Performance Marketing
I like music, I have never hidden that fact. Whether it is Wilco (who I will be lucky enough to see play this weekend) or any of the 10+ musicians that currently work at Range, I love listening to each and every one of them. But one thing I have always tried to stay away from is relating my work life to my music life. It just seems cheesy. Well, ladies and gentlemen (aka the 2 people that read this blog), I have decided to be cheesy this morning and try to work a music reference into my article on retail sales numbers. The victim of my cheesy attempt here is a Scottish singer named Paolo Nutini (he has two great albums – buy them both). That said, here goes nothing…
Full StoryFeeling a Little Bad, For Dear Old Dad
by Parks Blackwell on 06/05/2009 at 1:05 pm in Commentary, Market Research & Data, Opinion Editorial, Within Range
Fathers Day is a tough holiday. What do you buy for the guy who has pretty much everything he wants or worse, responds with “I don’t need anything”? Asking me to be a creative gift-buyer is borrowing trouble. If you collected my Father’s Day gifts and put them in a box, you might think you were at the Goodwill. I wait around until the last minute and then go buy whatever I can find at the checkout counter at my local Walgreens.
Full StoryA Catheter Connecting You to Hollywood
by Danielle Smith on 05/28/2009 at 1:18 pm in Commentary, Observations, Within Range
One thing I’ve been thinking about lately is just how pervasive celebrity culture is online. You really can’t open a browser without catching some headline of some famous person’s antics. It’s even tiring for me to keep thinking about it but dang if something new and titillating doesn’t break every day. My favorites of late are Kate Gosselin’s crazy hair and Madonna’s successful campaign against looking natural. I am not a fan of aging anyway, but thanks to the internet, well, let’s just say I’m really serious about moisturizing both day and night. Imagine some sort of new fangled headgear that allows you to shed the 20 years you fought so hard to put on starting at age 10.
Full StoryDead Men Tell No Tales, But Google Trends Sure Does
by George Popstefanov on 05/13/2009 at 4:54 pm in Commentary, Observations, Social Media, Within Range
Just when you thought the internet had had enough of pirates, the recent activity of those Somali scalawags has filled the sails of pirate-related searches. If we look into Yahoo! Buzz and Google Trends, it the term “Somali Pirates” is being searched 1200% more than in the past. Not surprisingly, Facebook has gone on the account with pirate talk, recently deciding to update their language platform with version 2 of English (Pirate).
Full Story