Digital marketing insights.

Not long ago, I wrote an article that suggested, in some very rare cases, that businesses might be better off throwing away an existing web site and moving their focus to a brand-new domain.

Could your online marketing company be dying to get rid of you and find a little space to breathe?

Lately, Google's Hummingbird update has been a hot topic on the web for marketers and SEOs alike. But, we wonder whether this should actually be news at all – Google changes its algorithm all the time.

One of the greatest things about online marketing is that there is always something new to learn. Of course, learning never comes without effort. That means anything you can do to shorten the curve, is great for your business.

Since our launch in 2011, we've been able to overtake an impressive list of established digital agencies and SEOs on Google's rankings, and helped the vast majority of our clients to dramatically increase the numbers of leads they're generating through their own sites as well.

It's probably not a coincidence that Google likes to choose cute, cuddly animals and delicate birds to name its search algorithm updates after.

Inbound lead generation campaigns look a lot like fishing trips: build a great website (find a stream), attract traffic (cast your lure), get visitors to sign up for offers (set your hook), and then cultivate the relationship (reel time). It's a format that has worked for thousands of companies, including our own online marketing clients.

If you are familiar with our blog, or our approach to online marketing, then you already know why we attach so much importance to marketing personas.

Having your website cultivate new sales opportunities, automatically, is what we think online business is all about.

If there is one error that is more common than any other in online marketing, it would probably be prioritizing the pieces over the puzzle.

For all the time, money, and discussion that are given to online marketing in companies of all sizes, it can seem a bit baffling that businesses still make basic, critical mistakes when it comes to putting a plan together. These miscues are easier to understand, however, when you consider that they are often the result of more simple (and surprisingly common) mistakes in thinking.

Traditionally, the process of generating leads through search engine optimization looks something like this: figure out what keywords your potential customers are likely to search for, make pages that are easy for Google to find, and then make some kind of offer on the page that convinces them to take the next step.

As you might know, Kayak was recently nominated as a finalist for two small business awards by the Calgary Chamber of Commerce. Ultimately, we weren't chosen for either, but the experience did give me a bit of time to reflect on just how far our little company has come, what the success we have had really means, and what lessons I could share with the world about it.

If there is anything every potential online marketing client in the world probably has in common, it's that they would prefer to see their investments pay off sooner rather than later. That's just the world we live in these days, and their impatience is understandable – business moves quickly, especially online. If you aren't getting ahead, you're falling behind, and there really isn't any time to waste.

Recently, we found ourselves on a conference call with a prospective new client that took on a slightly strange (but sadly not entirely unusual) direction – the client wanted to spend quite a bit of money on a website redesign, and we did our very best to talk them out of it.