I have known Frederic De Schryver for about 4 years, through my activities with Search Engine Workshops .

Recently, Frederic came out with a unique product that monitors the Google Top 10 ranking for a keyword phase vs. your AdWords campaign position and shuts down the AdWords ad if your listing is in the top 10 results (it sounds like this is configurable – maybe it's the to 4 positions, or the top 6, you decide).   The software will also turn the keyword campaign back on if your listing drops below the threshold.

Here's a short explanation and a online video of Frederic De Schryver explaining his new system:

"…We believe we have developed something innovative and exclusive. We receive regularly requests from customers to stop the bidding on keywords when their site appears in the top X in organic results. This to save AdWords expenses."

1. There's mixed opinions about weather AdWords is better left on or shutdown when you have a natural search result – it's been shown that Organic + Paid is more than equal to the sum of both (1 + 1  = 4).   However, till now, there was no way to turn off the Paid Placement when you had organic results on the top – now you can.
2. With Google and Yahoo! making more and more money by being in between the transactions (while often not providing that much additional value) any way you can lower the price of running your campaigns is worth looking into.

Glad that I heard back from an old friend, Frederic De Schryver of OptiSeo.be, who certainly sounds busy (wish there was an English version of his site so I can read all the details of this software, services and case studies).

I wish Frederic good fortune with the launch of the new AdWords software.  For more information about OptiSeo.be and the new AdWords software contact Frederic De Schryver at fdeschry@optiseo.be

I just did it – took the Survey on Web Analytics that Eric Peterson set up -  I got a couple of emails about it but did not have the time to do it yesterday – but when I read June Li's post about it - I realized I needed to do it now – http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=353583551869

"…Eric T. Peterson, on behalf of Web Analytics Demystified, is seeking participants for a web analytics industry survey designed to identify some of the challenges faced when analyzing web sites.

If you are a web analytics user, practitioner, vendor, and consultant, read on. Directly from Eric, here's more about the survey, and two special offers:

This important study is the first of its kind to inquire about specific attitudes towards web analytics usage across a wide-range of participants. This research will be used to create FREELY AVAILABLE industry benchmarks covering many previously unexamined aspects of the web analytics industry and your participation is VERY IMPORTANT.

The survey can be found at the following URL:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=353583551869

We need this data and the questions that Eric Peterson asked were very relevant to what I've run across in Web Analytics work – so I'm looking forward to seeing the results of the Survey.

June Li wrote about my coverage of Virtual Worlds 2007 yesterday - I was so busy that I had not time to post about it till now.  I interviewed June Li last year shortly before EMetrics Summit as part of my coverage of conference speakers.

June covers a Second Life in Toronto recently – "Locally last week here in Toronto, AIMS held a well attended event, "The Marketer's Road Map to Second Life", for newbies to those more engaged in-world".

And then she quotes my coverage of Virtual Worlds 2007 -

"…Second, onto the Virtual Worlds conference and Marshall Sponder. It's great to see the conference through the eyes of someone always seeking to effectively measure value. Check out Marshall's posts about:"

June Li also asked me to try to get the rest of the info about Rivers Run Red Metrics – and I did write Ben James at Rivers Run Red and ask for more information – but I'm not sure RRR is ready to show anything more just now.

"…..His interview with Ben James of Rivers Run Red. An interview in progress, with the intriguing comments about how Rivers Run Red uses learning from "Synovate to break down all 3D Virtual World interactions based on one of 8 reasons you might have had to come in the first place…" I hope Marshall does have an opportunity to finish the interview."

I think Metrics is becoming more and more of an issue  – people are just beginning to realize they need it to get the huge influx of business that is going to bring in the next 20 million residents of Second Life and other virtual worlds – but as yet, no one really has that much they can share – meaning metrics is at a beginning stage in the Virtual Worlds Community – which is actually a good place to be now – now would be the time to jump in.  Wait 6 months to a year more and the the first Wave will have already passed over you. 

It's a gut feeling and I have been right with most of my insights. Now is the time to jump in to 3D Virtual Worlds.

Anyway, the point of this post is to formally state that June Li will vote for me and is supporting me in the upcoming election starting next week to the Board of Directors of Web Analytics Association. 

Yes – you have my vote.  And you can say so. 

Thanks June!

Mike Moran is also voting for me as are several people at IBM who I work with on the Web Metrics team while Bryan Eisenberg and Gary Angel sponsored my candidacy. 

There's also many others who are joining, or trying to, so they can vote for me including Robin Nobles and John Alexander from Search Engine Workshops.