From Brian Teasley at ClickZ:

If you're a marketer who's not using predictive models to increase your response rates, you need to read this series (here's Part One). In this second part of a three-part series on predictive modeling, we'll discuss how models are used, and touch upon some of the algorithms marketers and modelers use to develop models.

From Zachary Rodgers at ClickZ:

New digital marketing book "Call to Action" has shot up the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Amazon.com bestseller lists without advertising, national distribution or promotional support. How? Authors Bryan and Jeffrey Eisenberg say the dominant driver of its success has been word of mouth, most of it generated online.

From Jason Burby at ClickZ:

So you've identified the most important behaviors on your site. One of them is some sort of conversion funnel. Now what? The conversion funnel could be five steps to purchasing a pair of shoes or booking a trip. It may be a lead conversion funnel that drives people to request more information or sign up for a Webinar.

From Enid Burns at ClickZ:

Users who block cookies are causing problems overlooked in the recent alarm over cookie deletion. A report published by WebTrends details which industries are most affected by users who refuse to accept their Web site cookies.

Over the 16-month period beginning January 2004, and ending in April 2005, overall cookie rejection rate rose from 2.84 percent to 12.4 percent. This sharp increase is credited to software that blocks cookies, as well as the release of Windows XP Service Pack 2 and evolving firewall settings. A recent report published by independent analyst firm, JupiterResearch, supports the growth of cookie deletion; citing 28 percent of users as claiming they selectively reject third-party cookies.

NetRatings Sues Coremetrics, Omniture Over Patents. A patent war is afoot in the Web research and analytics space.

"The suits, filed in U.S. District Court in Delaware, allege both of the firms infringe on four patents relating to the collection, analysis and reporting of data concerning people's computer usage..." [ClickZ News]

From Brian Teasley at ClickZ:

Why will marketers spend literally hours discussing whether the a headline should be 12- or 16-point type but completely neglect to use analytics to investigate their consumer data and increase response rates?