Comparison Ads get a Makeover
Google has rolled out a new look to their comparison tool.
They have been displaying ‘comparison ads’ for some time but, since Monday, they have had a makeover.
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Friday saw half of the Forward 3D SEO team travel down to Brighton for the latest Brighton SEO conference. Kelvin put on a great day with some fantastics insights and discussion as well as some dubious competitions involving Nerf guns and Street Fighter!
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Dinosaurs walking around Piccadilly Circus, UFO’s spotted hovering over Buckingham Palace and Bing providing a better service than Google means only one thing. Yes, that’s right – it’s April Fools’ Day!
Anyway, moving swiftly on and we come to Google’s April Fools’ Day hoaxes. For the search engine giants, their practical jokes began a day earlier than usual. The pranks ranged from 8-Bit Google Maps and Chrome Multitask Mode to Google Racing, Click-to-Teleport search ads, and many, many more.
So, without further wait, here’s a quick review of the top five April Fools’ Day pranks from Google for 2012! Continue reading
Unless you’ve been living in a cave you’ll know Google launched it’s (latest) fledgling social network Google + late last year. It received mixed reactions and to begin with was mostly populated with SEOs and people from the tech industry. That has changed now and plus is getting more main stream traction. Cue Google Search, plus Your World:
I’m going to go ahead and assume that you are aware of last weeks SOPA protests that resulted in several of the internet’s largest properties self-censoring in protest. While the internet lit up with debate and discourse about the potential moral, financial and ethical dimensions of the SOPA bill, us SEO types had a very different reaction to the protest.
It’s an opportunity to run studies and gather some sweet sweet data.
It has been recently reported that Google is now testing search and display varieties of a cost-per-lead ad setup that would allow advertisers to contact interested users by phone and e-mail. Interestingly, searchers will have the chance to enter their e-mail address straight in to search results which would then be passed on as a lead to the advertising firm. Once the advertising company has the user’s details they can then make contact and advertise them a particular product. Continue reading
Hot news has come in regarding an exciting new Google site called What do you love? (www.wdyl.com). It is apparently a new Google site trying to create an integrated user interface to search across Google’s channels.
The idea is to direct users to a solitary page of applicable results across many of Google’s applications for any inquiry entered into the wdyl search box. The search button is even designed as a heart so there’s no excuses for you not to love it!
Overall the best queries are for wide-ranging terms rather than specific ones. For searches on “Sunshine” you’ll discover pictures of the sun, patents about sunshine, sunshine on Google Trends, videos on sunshine, books about sunshine, and the list continues. Continue reading
When it comes to SEO, many clients have different reasons why they rank for certain keywords. On many occasions, clients will base their keyword choices on the search volumes they generate. However, clients don’t really care about search volume unless they sell CPM based advertising. What is important is that the keywords they target generate a high conversion rate.
Sadly, many agencies are notorious for letting clients hear what they want to hear and unfortunately allow them to dictate a path doomed for failure. In comparison, affiliates have a much clearer understanding of keyword optimisation. Affiliates will usually target conversion-centric keywords, because if pages don’t convert into sales, then they don’t get paid. It really is that simple.
Furthermore, if you are merchant and you “own the cart,” it’s generally advised that you use your own custom built solution. It’s also recommended that you track the original keyword that a customer used to land on your website and then write it into a cookie. As soon as they complete a transaction, simply write it to the database and then run a daily, weekly or monthly report on those numbers.
Which leads to the question, are you chasing keywords for visibility, or are you chasing them for conversions?
In the world of SEO, high quality content can really help you gain some fantastic links. Below are 5 top SEO copywriting tips to help improve your link baiting strategies. Also with the latest Google Panda update, you’ll have to pay close attention to the content that you are submitting as it can affect your site’s rankings. So, sit back, take note and watch your links grow!
1. Write for Power Skimmers
In today’s fast moving world, many people don’t have the time to read every single page of content, and instead choose to scan online material. Therefore, images, layout and colour need to stand out and catch the reader’s attention. Remember, it’s about finding the balance between high quality content, eye catching colours and images that pull the reader in to your article and click on your link!
Photo: PA
Facebook is one of the world’s largest growing companies and it comes as no surprise that a huge part of the business is advertising.
One angle Facebook is keen to deliver upon is the launch of real time ads.
Whereas hundred’s of major brands are now active on the site, Facebook’s advertising platform still seems far more popular with advertisers hawking ‘interesting’ products and services, or attracting users to their Facebook apps.
Could that change?
In the long term Facebook will definitely change in order to create a sustainable long-term company. Facebook’s one aim may be to use its collected data to enable it to help advertisers unite with consumers in a much more targeted approach than ever before.
This could transform into the real possibility of Facebook delivering real-time ads focused on the online conversations its users are having when they’re having them, an idea confirmed by AdAge’s Irina Slutsky:
“Users who update their status with ‘Mmm, I could go for some pizza tonight,’ could get an ad or a coupon from Domino’s, Papa John’s or Pizza Hut”.
As it stands, Facebook has everything it needs to launch such an advertising campaign. With a huge audience, whose desires and intentions are potentially commercial in nature, it creates an opportunity for Facebook to launch relevant advertising at the very moment needs, desires and intentions surface.
However, it is far too early to predict whether s real-time ads will become successful. In any case, data mining isn’t perfect, and what may appear like the perfect time to target a consumer with an ad might not necessarily be the case.
For example: a status update about a family member losing his or her house being is probably not the time to pitch an ad for a mortgage, yet conceivably a status update mentioning ‘house’ could trigger such an ad.
However, Facebook has a lot to consider before launching real time ads. Interestingly, If Facebook users begin to notice that their status updates and conversations create more advertising, many might have second thoughts about what they actually share. An outcome that goes against the very reason why Facebook was created.
