Sunday, December 14, 2014

Privacy and the Internet: Or How I learned to stop worrying and love Facebook

The Internet has changed how the world is run, how information is sent and received and how we interact with one another. It has brought incredible economic growth and opportunities to businesses around the world, allowing for unprecedented customer interaction and marketing. With this development, data on consumers has become the ultimate currency for online marketers. More than ever before, advertising is catered and customized towards consumers’ individual needs. However, as more and more data is collected via the Internet, consumers privacy concerns over this gathered data has created a digital stalemate. Consumers want advertising addressing their needs, but they do not want to give more data than necessary to do so. With the advent of social media, privacy concerns have sharpened and public outcry against online data collection practices have forced online marketers to address how this information is collected and distributed.  As pirated information continues to cost corporations and consumers millions of dollars worldwide, online privacy is one of the greatest issues facing web-users today.
            According to MIS quarterly, web-using individuals have six basic Internet privacy concerns, or IPC’s. First of these regards the collection of personal data, and the extent to which it is used by websites. The second concern addresses secondary usage, which is the alternate, unidentified purposes that a website may use collected personal data for. Third are errors made by the website in collecting and protecting the data that allow third parties to access and utilize said data. Along this line is improper access where information is obtained from the website and used by those without authorization. This can refer to data hackers and identity thieves, which affect thousands of people around the world every year. The fifth concern is the amount of control a consumer has over the information collected by the website, without knowing how the information is used or where it is going. Last is awareness, or rather, lack of awareness over a website’s privacy policy and how the information will be used (Hong, 2013).
            Any online business seeking to obtain consumer information must be aware of their concerns, and address them one by one. While self-regulation is generally the norm for developing a company’s privacy policies, there is a host on legislation regarding privacy that a company must adhere to (Hodges, 2013). In 1999 Congress passed the Financial Services Modernization Act, also known as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, in an attempt to address online data collection practices. Under the Act, all practices of online data collection must give consumers an option to opt-out of giving information.
 While this was among the first legislation to address the issue, it does not address many of the privacy concerns posed by Internet users. While consumers are given the option of opt-out of offering personal data, many feel the process should rather be focused on opting-in. The act takes a more “better to ask forgiveness than permission” approach, allowing websites to mine data unless explicitly requested not to by the users. Such information can sometimes be accessed, or stolen, by third parties without consumers knowing their personal information is even available.
            In December 2013, Target Corp. revealed they had been subject to a data breach. Hundreds of thousands of credit card numbers, employee files and other information was stolen, costing the company millions. Since then, other companies including Snapchat Inc, Coca-Cola and Yahoo have suffered massive information breaches (Banham, 2013). Not only do such attacks cost these companies massive amounts of money; they immediately call into question their data security and lose millions of customers as a result. Clearly, how data is retained and protected is every bit as important as how it is obtained and collected. Those who are willing to give companies personal information expect that information to be secured and available only for the company’s stated private use. If a company doesn’t protect its customers’ information, it will not survive long in today’s web based economy.
            Understanding Internet privacy is the responsibility of any who frequent the Internet, whether its marketers or the consumers they are addressing. It is the responsibility of those collecting data for marketing use to protect and responsibly use the data collected. It is the responsibility of the consumers to understand a website’s privacy policy before volunteering personal information. While a company must focus on addressing the consumer’s IPC’s, an informed consumer will understand what information is safe to give, and where. The Internet allows for greater business to consumer interaction than ever before. As interaction increases, privacy becomes more and more important to both businesses and consumers. More than ever before, these interactions require the responsibility and cooperation of both parties to succeed and overcome the issues of Internet privacy.

           


Weiyin Hong, James Thong (2013) Internet Privacy Concerns: An Integrated Conceptualization and Four Empirical Studies. MIS Quarterly.

Sarah Hodges, (2013) Information and Communications Technology Law.
University of Maine

Russ Banham, (2013) “Slew of High-Profile Data Breaches Puts Focus on Customer Communications”. Business Insurance, Vol. 48, Issue 4


Sunday, November 16, 2014

Search Engine Marketing: Keyword of Online Business

 Few people can argue the impact the Internet has had on the world. The World Wide Web affects nearly every facet of life in some way, and its influence is only growing with the progression of technology. Anyone with access to the Internet can instantly obtain information on nearly any subject, good or service. With the advent of this technology, a way had to be developed to sort through this information. This gave birth to the search engine; a tool so powerful that the companies with humble beginnings as a simple internet tool have grown to be among the largest, most powerful and innovative companies in the world. Search engines such as Google and Yahoo have changed how companies market themselves as they compete for the top result in any given web search relating to their product or service.
            Search Engine Marketing, or SEM, has become a crucial element in any company’s business plan. It pertains to data collection and mining through various means, such as studying customers' Search Engine Result Pages, pertinent advertising aimed toward consumer interests, and paid placement of advertising to appear in certain web searches (Panda, 2013)Search Engine Optimization is the process of associating your site with certain keywords to help increase the likelihood of it coming up in a consumer’s search. Pay Per Click, similarly, pertains to company’s bidding for their site to show up in advertisements in relation to certain searched keywords.
            One might wonder whether all of this effort is worth the trouble. How effective is SEM for company’s to devote time and money to simply have their company name appear in a search? According to current data, it may be more trouble for a company not to invest in sound SEM practices. Studies found that around 70% of consumers will search for a product review before purchasing. With the rise of smart phones, 79% of consumers search the Internet while physically shopping to compare products (Lecinski, 2012). Product comparison has never been easier for potential buyers. If one product appears highest on the list of a search result, it automatically appears to be the superior product to the consumer. If your product or business doesn’t appear on the first three pages, 86% of your target audience may not see it all (Panda, 2013). Search Engine Marketing should be a serious concern and priority to any business or company.
            Search Engine Marketers must pay attention to search data and study search engine algorithms. This is a collection of a search engine’s projections of pages that are most relevant to user searches, and what words are most likely to be used together. For example, a company selling baby diapers might seek words like “leak”, “absorbent” and “affordable” used together to easily be linked to your website, as you promote such qualities in your product. Search Engine Marketers essentially strive to reverse engineer results from search algorithms to increase their page’s chances of coming up in any given search. Their success is measured by the Click-Through-Ration (CTR), indicating the number of consumers clicking on the link for a site. The factors affecting CTR include a link’s position on the search results (or ad positioning), the brand and company-specific words used and even just the length of the search itself (Ghose and Yang, 2007).
            Of the various techniques used in SEM, many agree that the most effect is the Pay Per Click model. While SEO may increase the odds of a website being viewed, PPC is a more competitive, and potentially rewarding, option for businesses. Search engines like Google track the CTR of advertisements related to searches, and those with the higher CTR will be placed near the top of the results page. This gives greater incentive for companies to improve their Search Engine Marketing strategies, while also providing money for the search engine itself. In 2007, PPC marketing was the primary moneymaker for major search engines (Panda, 2013).
            A search engine is a powerful marketing tool for any business. I can honestly say that a day doesn’t go by without my performing at least one Google search. Building an online brand is key for any far-sighted business, and Search Engine Marketing is how your online brand will be seen. Gone are the days where a television or radio commercial spot during “prime time” is the height of advertising. What determines a company jumping from merely “good” to “great” depends on the spot they occupy in a search result. Understanding the difference between being the first result and the fiftieth can mean success or doom for your brand. This is why it is imperative that Search Engine Marketing occupy a key spot in any company’s marketing plan. 



References:

Tapan K. Panda (2013), Search Engine Marketing: Does the Knowledge Discovery Process Help Online Retailers?, IUP Journal of Knowledge Management.

Ghose A and Yang S (2007), An Empirical Analysis of Search Engine Advertising: Sponsored Search and Cross-selling in Electronic Markets, NET Institute, September.

Lecinski J (2012), Zero Moment of Truth, Free Press.