Oneupweb Swami Advertising Comment

You OneUpWeb people are SEO pros!

The podcast with the Global Screw & Fastener Company sure helped illustrate exactly why corps should use SEO and SEM services from businesses like your firm. It was fun and educational too.

How you use that character to slip in that Oneupweb “was around before Google.” Fantastic! You really demonstrate how to market with your podcast. While your content and marketing were great, I want to talk to you about my first attempt to contact your firm. Your swami ads over on MarketingVOX provided my first impression of your company.

Is the inability to click your corporate name or logo at the bottom of your page at http://www.oneupweb.com/landing/marketingvox/swami/index.htm?source=marketingvox_swami_336x280
intentional? Other similar elements on your corporate homepage ARE clickable.

While it's generally a good idea to limit options on a squeeze/landing page, (because it increases conversion rates) was that omission really your intent?

What if I need more than a swami to convince my boss about the importance of SEO and SEM? He called me into his office to look at it after frustration had set in. "Why won't our tubes work like they should?" Furious alternate finger clicking noises resonated from his mouse. He was getting mad and with his arthritic hands, well you can at understand. "Why can't I click this button thing or their company name. Why won't it click?" I told my boss I'd look into it. He left me to "work on it" after closing his Flight Simulator window.

Anyways ...

Perhaps someone overlooked it? In the infinite amount of excellent work that you do on behalf of clients something small like this could have been overlooked. It's possible right? Kind of like how the shoemaker's children go with no shoes. Or how it's the maids house that's the messiest. In your zeal to help others you sometimes suffer from self neglect.

I really wanted to help by providing feedback so I remove the tracking code /landing/marketingvox/swami/index.htm? source=marketingvox_swami_336x280 part of the url and go to your site.

Now I want to provide you with feedback. I look for a way to do so. Oh look a contact page! So I click on your contact link and am greeted by this ...

“Contact us. We'll both learn something.”

Wow. You actually want my comments. Unlike so many other companies you value my opinion. You guys rock! Listening to people is always good in my books.

But wait! I have to fill out a load of fields to make a comment? Come on I just want to send one of your webwranglers a quick heads up about the ad before some other boss pulls his hair and gets all red in the face.

“Bold fields are required.”

There are 10 fields with bold descriptors beside them. 11 fields including the opt in for more info. Query: If it's bold is it really an opt in or are you forcing me to sign up? You did say “Bold fields are required” right?

Do I want or even have to give this much of my personal and corporate info before I send a comment or ask a technical question?

Boy this is harder than I thought it would be. I am just trying to help and now not totally positive that I should.

Bah never mind.

A company older than Google must know online UI and website development better than lil ol me. After your presentation on how design, IT, marketing and SEO work together, surely your corp practices what it evangelizes. My boss must be wrong about your logo and name not being linked to your site.

Instead I will post this on my new blog so that people can comment.

It took me filling in less than 8 fields to create this blog. No additional personal information either. I am not even worried that this might create a crisis for you. After all you can always follow your own advice in your free white paper Principles of Crisis Management in a Viral Age

P.S.
I didn't call your toll free phone number plastered all over your site because I didn't want you to incur phone charges, burden your busy employees.

Besides reading that dreadfully long URL over the phone would have sucked.
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Note: While presented largely in jest, the above issues really did result from an actual attempt to contact Oneupweb today about one of their advertisements and their contact page. If they look into it, the web would that much better. There are some other glitches but most web designers aren't perfect.

For the record you really should look at the next One For the Money podcast. The topic of that show "The Paid Assassin" strikes a chord with many.

For example...

Right now Marc Bissonnette is suffering from paid online reputation assassination of both his businesses CanadaISP.com , Internalysis.com and person. They have even taken things offline calling the local police department, news media, clients etc. It's a real mess and something that every business should be wary of and learn how to deal with. Anyone can be a victim.

If that next podcast is anything like the first one it will be of great value to business.