Meta Tags: What's it all mean?

Today I'd like to talk about search engine optimization, specifically, the importance (or insignificance) of keywords.

When someone uses a search engine, they type in one or more words describing what they are looking for: 'German Christmas market' or 'best online clothing store', for example. These words or phrases are known as keywords. Whatever search engine they are using then comes back with a list of web pages, with content that relates to the keyword used. So, if you are building a business website, you want your website to appear as early as possible in the list of results. That is what search engine optimization with keywords is all about.

Let's compare how two popular merchandizers use keywords. 

This is an excerpt of code from Jeep's website:

<meta content="jeep, jeep vehicles, 4wd, 4x4, jeeps, off road, suvs, crossover suv, jeep.com, jeep models" name="keywords">

And here is the same piece of code from the Spam website:

<meta name="keywords" content="">

The big difference? Jeep uses keywords in their source code and Spam does not. Why could this be? 

People have abused the system by putting dozens of irrelevant keywords in there which made it useless for the search engines. For example, if a watch company wants to get more page views, they could put "Barack Obama" into the keywords, to direct more traffic to their site. So, if as a business you do decide to use the keyword meta tag, make sure you do it right - be sure that they are absolutely relevant to the post.

What do you think? Is it better to use keywords or not, considering you're a huge brand like Jeep or Spam?

Target Knew Too Much: A Tale of Creepy Customer Acquisition

We’ve all had the bizarre Facebook ‘recommended ads’ pop up on our news feeds. The obviously Muslim friend gets an add for Christian singles. It’s definitely something to laugh about, until the recommendations get eerily predictive. This didn’t happen with Facebook, but instead with Target. In short, a man found out his daughter was pregnant AFTER Target knew and sent maternity ads to his daughter. Creepy, right?

Let me back up. Every time you go shopping, you share details about your consumption patterns with retailers. And if those retailers are smart, they study those details to figure out what you like, what you’ll buy, and which coupons are most likely to use. 

Target has figured out how to data-mine its way into the uterus. They figure out whether you have a baby on the way long before you need to start buying diapers. 

A Minneapolis father was outraged when his daughter received an ad in the mail that contained promotions for maternity clothing. While the manager of the store apologized several times, it was the father who ended up apologizing after a serious talk with his daughter. It turned out that she was indeed pregnant, but how could Target know this? Newly pregnant women buy certain kinds of vitamins. But it doesn't stop there; Target can determine which trimester a woman is in. For example, mothers in their first trimester tend to buy more fragrance free lotion. 

New parents are serious spenders, and Target is very aware of this. This snippet of their website shows just how enthusiastic they are about helping you buy for your baby:

Now, the girl was definitely already a Target customer but though the aggressive predictive ads, you can bet the young woman became a consumer of maternity and infant goods there too. 

This issue is definitely transferable to the world of online shopping. Cookies remember the kinds of things you shop for and if you have an account on target.com, even better. Companies can track what you’re buying and predict what else you might be interested in. Like the ad sent to the young lady’s house, an email could have just as easily been sent. 

At the time of the controversy (February 2012), here are the results of a mini poll conducted by www.kdnuggets.com:

What do you think? Did Target go too far with their predictive ads? Is it an invasion of privacy?

Leave an answer on the poll and a comment with your thoughts. 

Sources:

1) Roberts, M. L. & Zahay, D. (2013). Internet Marketing: Integrating Online and Offline Strategies. 3rd Ed.  Mason, Ohio:  South-Western, Cengage Learning. 

2) "New Poll: Was Target wrong in using analytics to find pregnant women?" 11-17-13. <http://www.kdnuggets.com/2012/02/new-poll-target-analytics-wrong-to-find-pregnant-women.html>

3)"How Target figured out a teen girl was pregnant before her father did." 11-17-13. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/16/how-target-figured-out-a-teen-girl-was-pregnant-before-her-father-did/>

target.com: The Comeback

As I’m sure many of my female counterparts would agree, it is nearly impossible to leave a physical Target store with only the items you intended to buy. The dazzling displays make it very difficult to stick to your shopping list. An embarrassingly huge fan of Target myself, I wanted to look into the adapted branding of Target.com.  

As an established store, Target has an established brand and this allowed the store to (eventually) have success online. Elements of a strong brand including awareness and recognition, something Target has plenty of. From the logo to the mascot dog, I’d be willing to be there is hardly a person in the USA who wouldn’t associate branded ads with company. Of course, just being aware of the brand is not enough to deem it successful. Customer behavior has be involved with purchases. Whether they are high priced or convenience items, having an associated brand always creates an advantage. 

All these pieces now translate to the online Target store. However, this wasn’t always the case. In the fall of 2011, after ending their relationship with Amazon, Target faced a poorly built website and very frustrated customers. Buyers were faces with broken links and long wait times to checkout. Though the products were the same as in the stores, the website certainly did not supply the best possible customer experience, an important part of brand marketing. 

Two years later, target.com customers are met with a very different website, in that it functions properly. Starting at their homepage, it has bright personality and voice, making a clear message: Get ready for Christmas!

According to eMarketer.com, 47% of US internet users are expected to shop online this holiday season. Target is smart to combine their attention-grabbing brand with targeted holiday marketing, on and offline. These are key elements of strong, successful brands. While Target.com may not be hugely creative in their website, they are keeping up with the latest design trends with the 'flat' layout of the bolded text, as was made popular by the most recent iPhone update. 

The site is fairly standard, no videos, games, or coloring PDFs to print out for a stay-at-home mother's children. While this could be seen as a point of lacking, I hypothesize that it was deliberate. Given the popularity of the Target brand offline, Bullseye the dog doesn't need his own Facebook page like the Travelocity Roaming Gnome has his own homepage. 

In conclusion, it seems that Target executives just wanted the site to work properly, with no added frills. The site is straightforward and perpetuates the popular brand image. 

Sources:

Roberts, M. L., & Zahay, D. (2012). Internet marketing: Integrating online and offline strategies. (3rd ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.

eMarketer. (2013, November 1). Customer Confidence Up, Holiday Shopping On. Retrieved from http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Consumer-Confidence-Up-Holiday-Shopping-On/1010353