>> Question 5 (WR) - There have been some complaints in various search engine forums about inability to clearly track traffic from LookSmart pay per click campaigns or even clearly track keywords which will trigger an appearance of their listing. Given click-tracking is vital to ROI measurement and standard with PPC models like Overture and Google AdWords, do you plan to introduce a more transparent click tracking and reporting system in future?

(DS) Today, LookSmart enables and encourages our larger advertising customers, who work directly with dedicated account managers, to add URL tracking to their LookSmart listings. This spring, LookSmart will be expanding this functionality to Small Business Listing customers who use our web-based platform. At that time, both large and small advertisers will be actively encouraged to include their own tracking on submitted URLs, whether site is submitted using our on-line forms or via our account management staff.

Question 6 (WR) - According to this Ezula press release from 2001, LookSmart have partnered with Ezula. According to Scumware.com, there have been suggestions that LookSmart's partnership with Ezula/TopText plugin produces false PPC clicks due to way TopText siphons off traffic from other sites. With no way to track clicks and no accountability measures in place, people are understandably suspicious that their clicks are not "genuine" and instead come from TopText and affiliate links. Can you comment on this?

(DS) LookSmart no longer has a relationship with eZula.

Question 7 (WR) - Given LookSmart results now rely largely on Inktomi and MSN, what does a listing in LookSmart offer customers these days? Why should people advertise on LookSmart when they can get high rankings in MSN using Overture PPC?

(DS) Actually, LookSmart serves >45 million search results per day on MSN, About.com, AltaVista, Netscape, Inktomi, InfoSpace (Excite, WebCrawler, MetaCrawler), Mamma.com, Cox Communications and Road Runner. According to Media Metrix Digital Media Audience Ratings, LookSmart search listings reach more than 77% or 4 out of 5 U.S. Internet users each month through this network.

Specific to MSN, LookSmart's paid inclusion listings are an important complement to Overture's pay-for-placement listings for a number of reasons:

Appear in core search results: LookSmart listings provide main body of search results on MSN. According to an extensive network traffic study completed in 2002, 74% of search users click in this section of page, while ~25% click in Sponsored Listings section. Therefore, without LookSmart, advertisers are missing a large percentage of possible lead volume.

Improved ROI: By using Overture's pay-for-placement for product introductions, seasonal and featured products and high margin products, and using lower cost paid inclusion for everything else, advertisers can get more total leads while lowering their costs, thus improving return on their search investment. LookSmart's paid inclusion listings, at a flat $0.15 CPC, are an ideal way to get into categories on MSN that are hotly contested on Overture and have high bid prices.

Access full range of searches: 40% of all searches are for terms with 3 or more words. Unless an advertiser is willing to manage thousands of keywords, it's tough to capture all 3,4,5 and more word searches that happen every day on MSN using pay-for-placement alone. However LookSmart's paid inclusion listings deliver this granular search traffic to advertisers automatically.

Show up for more searches: On MSN, Overture listings only appear for most popular searches. For example, do a search for "French cooking" or "men's jeans." You'll see that all results displayed come from LookSmart or LookSmart and MSN. Using LookSmart paid inclusion listings alongside Overture pay-for-placement listings gives you access to a much higher volume of searches.

Web Rank would like to thank Dakota Sullivan for taking time to respond to our questions.

Article by Kalena Jordan, CEO of Web Rank. Kalena was one of the first search engine optimization experts in Australasia and is well known and respected in her field. For more of her articles on search engine ranking and online marketing, please visit High Search Engine Ranking.

2. You need a headline that grabs and copy that flows. To come up with a strong headline, focus on purpose of piece, on main message you are trying to convey. Is it to thank receiver? Is it to announce a change at your company? Is it to invite them to participate in some event?

Develop copy that stems from headline and stays on course. Be concise and to point, unless you truly have a great deal to say and can keep it interesting for reader. Remember: it is all about them, not you.

3. Design needs to appeal. Be sure to keep taste in mind! Spend time on font, color, and few, but well-selected elements (for example, taking time to have a good photograph taken, which makes a huge difference). Do not overdo it, though, as with text, unless it contributes to message. Visuals should never overpower copy, and vice-versa.

4. Beware clutter. Too many messages, too much uninteresting text, too many flashy graphics and that card will be tossed. Keep it simple and do not forget that you are competing against many, many other mail pieces.

Follow these steps and watch your audience widen their eyes to what you have to say—you will know when response to your materials increases. And remember: it is always a game of honing in on what works and making it as effective as possible, which may take a few tries. Good luck!

Josh Barinstein is President of Red Frog, Inc., the Southern California ad agency that provides worry-free experiences and powerful results in the areas of Marketing, Print design, and Web/CD-ROM development.