The power of viral marketing
The speed by which a Weapons of Mass Destruction satirical error page spread across the Internet and the subsequent traffic jump proves the power of viral marketing, according to Nielsen/NetRatings.Type in "Weapons of Mass Destruction" in Google and click "I'm Feeling Lucky" and your browser will open up http://www.coxar.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk!
Perhaps what's most interesting is that the page linked to Amazon's UK Web site -- and more than 30 percent of people who viewed the Blueyonder page clicked through to Amazon.
"This is a fascinating net phenomenon," said European Market Analyst Tom Ewing in a statement. "It really shows the power of viral marketing -- most of the hits came from Google after an e-mail was circulated telling users to type the phrase into the search engine and hit the 'I'm Feeling Lucky' button, which takes you to the top result automatically.
"The Amazon aspect is what's really interesting," Ewing said, "because it implies that if you want to promote a site or product you can get massive click through rates by coming up with satirical or joke pages like these."
How did the site top Google's search charts in the first place? "Google's engine works by identifying sites people are linking to," said Ewing. "And what happened here was that webloggers worldwide started linking to the site as an entertaining parodym which pushed its Google ranking higher and allowed it to become a phenomenon. If you want to get a high Google ranking, being noticed by weblogs is one way to do it."
Sep 03, 2003 | E-MAIL | SAVE | PRINT
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2 comments about 'The power of viral marketing'Few companies have really unlocked the power of viral marketing, despite all the hype.
Posted by Michael Heraghty -- Web Marketing Consultant at November 7, 2003 1:53 PM
CANDACE2FINANCE.COM
Posted by rob at November 26, 2007 11:46 PM
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