We’ve come a long way baby!
Not sure why I am admitting this but last week I was listening to a telecast of the Rick Dee’s weekly top 40, a show that was originally broadcast in January of 1999. During the show, Rick proudly announced that he could be found on the “World Wide Web” at Rick.com. After I stopped laughing it dawned on me that we, in the Internet Industry, have come a long way since those early days.
Here is a list of positive changes I have seen:
Then:
Banner Ads
Now:
Search Engine Marketing (we love you Google)
Then:
Usenet Groups
Now:
Social Media Marketing (we love you Facebook and Twitter)
Then:
Dialup
Now:
The World’s Fastest Internet Connection
Then:
Spending Without Accountability
Now:
Spending With Accountability
Then:
Hitbox Analytics for a Fee
Now:
FREE Google Analytics
Then:
Brochure Websites
Now:
Interactive Websites for Many Types of Visitors
Then:
“Users”
Now:
“Prospects”, “Customers”, “Visitors”
I could go on and on…
Still some things haven’t changed. Online success has always been about driving qualified traffic to your site, improving the conversion rate via site and communication improvements, and retaining your customers via loyalty programs and email marketing. Additionally, it has always been about positioning your website to meet the unique and diverse needs of your target audience. It is amazing to me that with all of our advances, our conversion rates overall (as an Industry) are dropping. Maybe by remembering yesteryear (with or without Rick Dees on in the background) we can all get back to the fundamentals of Online Marketing that have been with us since day one.
Tags: Bing.com
