Andrew Beckman was quoted in a Web Marketing Therapy post regarding the Microsoft-Yahoo! merger. Blogger Emilia Doerr cited some insight Andrew provided in an expertSEM blog post in July 2009. Read the full article, “What the Yahoo / Microsoft Search Partnership Means for Your Business.”
In a prominent SEM blog today, December 29th, 2009, several banners were running for another internet marketing agency (you know who you are!) that read:
Hmm, Santa has left the building. No really, this is a great post from the AdCenter blog on how to do seasonal ad copy well in these few but crucial post-Christmas and New Year’s days. It may be a practice to run seasonal copy earlier than ever, as in Christmas in October, but let’s not leave Santa live so long that he bumps into Cupid in February.
At the risk of being entirely unoriginal, my PPC tip of the week is this: know when to turn on – and off – your seasonal copy. So make sure to double-check your copy now and make a New Year’s resolution to continuously be on top of your seasonal messaging.
Consumer Watchdog and the Center for Digital Democracy recently wrote a letter to Jon Leibowitz strongly encouraging the FTC to block Google’s acquisition of AdMob. The letter states that “the proposed deal would substantially lessen competition in the increasingly important mobile advertising market” and that it’s “harmful to consumers, advertisers and application developers, among others.” The letter goes on to cite privacy issues due to the amount of data collected by both parties, potential issues with the release of Google’s smartphone, whereby Google could use info from AdMob to market Android better, and potentially leading to a lack of competition in the mobile space.
Learn more about the plea made to the FTC.
After revamping several dozen PPC landing pages for one of our clients, Crystal and I have turned our attention to re-creating the pages in the mobile space. While she dives into the actual work, I thought I would take a moment to review some best practices for mobile sites and landing pages.
I came across this great document a while ago, published by The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Published in July of 2008, the document guidelines everything you could possibly imagine from use of large graphics, to style sheet size, to the default input mode. If you do decide to create a mobile website “from scratch” so-to speak, I would recommend sharing the entire document (ok, at least the free standing summary) with your web developer. (Or hey, did we mention we do web design and development?)
Some highlights:
• Provide minimal (and consistent) navigation
• Use clear and simple language
• Limit scrolling to one direction
• Ensure that information conveyed with color is also available without color
• Do not use frames – avoid tables unless the device is known to support them
• Don’t rely on cookies being available
Just like “traditional” web design, you should bear in mind the limitations of the devices where your site will be served. The W3C suggests catering to the Default Delivery Context, defined as “the minimum delivery context specification necessary for a reasonable experience of the Web” and is outlined as follows:
• Usable screen width = 120 pixels, minimum
• Markup Language Support = XHTML Basic 1.1
• Character Encoding = UTF-8
• Image Format Support = JPEG, GIF 89a
• Maximum Total Page Weight = 20 kilobytes
• Colors = 256 Colors, minimum
• Style Sheet Support = CSS Level 1
• HTTP = HTTP 1.0 or 1.1
• Script = No support for client side scripting
However, the W3C wants to stress “many devices exceed the capabilities defined by the DDC. Content providers are encouraged not to diminish the user experience on those devices by developing only to the DDC specification, and are encouraged to adapt their content, where appropriate, to exploit the capabilities of the actual device.”
Bottom line, mobile web design is still tricky. A variety of platforms, sizes and browser access make it hard to pin point a common denominator. Therefore, my final recommendation is to design both a WAP-friendly site and a smart phone site…and test, test, test!
In honor of the upcoming holiday, I decided my tip for the week would be not one of search expertise or social media know-how, but instead the best way to spice up a pumpkin pie, ever! I’ve been doing this to store bought pies for years and it makes a world of difference. Now forgive me, it has been ages since I’ve actually seen the recipe and I don’t know the technical amounts, but it’s really easy to eyeball.
Chop up approximately one cup of pecans, add in maybe 1/3 cup of brown sugar and a couple tablespoons of softened butter. Mix it into a dry crumble and spread evenly onto the pie. Broil just before serving for just a couple minutes. I’ve been known to burn this on occasion when I don’t keep a close eye on it, so I recommend not going too far from the oven. Add whipped cream (come on, it’s Christmas, get the real stuff!) and serve! Honestly, plain pumpkin pies are so boring to me after eating them with this topping, I highly recommend giving it a go.
So no need to Google pumpkin pie recipes this year, Location3 has you covered.
Location3 Media participated in the Life on Avenue Z virtual food drive again this year. We collected 152 pounds of food, exceeding our donation of 124 pounds from 2008. As with last year, all items will be donated to the Food Bank of the Rockies.
Beth Z, owner of Life on Avenue Z, has again done an amazing job of uniting the social media community for a great cause. Her goal last year was two tons, which she far exceeded with the help of people around the country. If you’ve ever doubted the power of social media and questioned the motives of people using it, just take one look at all the support for this food drive on her blog and on Twitter. We’re so pleased to have the opportunity to participate in this virtual food drive and to help those in need.
A handful of Location3 Media staff members provide insight on the biggest trends in the interactive marketing industry throughout 2009, and offer predictions for what is to come in 2010. Regardless of the strategy each individual talks about–social media, PPC, mobile marketing, local search, web design, web analytics–the reoccurring theme is “integration.”
1. Ten Ways Social Media will Change in 2010
Integration and mobile seem to be the biggest trends predicted for 2010. Or should I say, further integration and more advanced mobile. This article takes on social media and touches on these predicted trends and more, including battles over businesses owning content about their brands, the importance of ROI in social media and women taking control of the industry (heck, yeah!). Read all ten changes on ReadWriteWeb.
2. Local Search Predictions for 2010
Again, integration, mobile and social are the main forecasts for 2010, this time focusing on local search. The four predictions laid out in this article are: 1. Mobile will drive local search growth; 2. Local search providers will vie for social; 3. Local print advertising will decline but won’t disappear; and 4. A hybrid marketing approach will win. Read the full prophecy on Search Engine Land.
3. 2010 SEO predictions
We couldn’t leave out SEO predictions. This article provides eight predictions for SEO in 2010. Rather than focusing solely on those three ubiquitous trends, it also mentions personalized search (it’s here to stay), MicroHoo! (it’ll send 20% of traffic, while Google sends 80%), Site Explore (it’ll be no more) and SEO spend (it’ll increase dramatically). Read the full story on SEOmozBlog.
4. Psych Behind SEO
This article can essentially be summed up with one work: pathos. Pathos, a mode of persuasion used in rhetoric, is an attempt to appeal to the audience’s emotions. Link development, along with all forms of marketing/advertising, can greatly benefit from these rhetorical devices. Whether that emotion is joy caused by a humorous YouTube video, admiration aroused by a politician’s frank statements on a podcast or interest based on expert advice from a well-known industry blog, it creates a feeling in the audience, which then creates the desire to take action. Get a better understanding of this concept at Search Engine Journal.
5. NZ Woman May Get Seven Years for Map Fraud
Think it’s harmless fun to change contact information on Google Maps for random businesses? Think again. A florist in New Zealand could get seven years in the hoosegow for using Google’s community edit feature to change contact info for one of her local competitors. Learn more about this woman who “edited with ill intent” on Understanding Google Maps and Local Search.
6. Holiday Presents for Online Marketers
Still can’t decided what to get that online marketer in your life? How about a book with actual pages you can flip and fold over. Just kidding! Who wants those old things?! Check out this amusing gift guide for the SEM junkie. Featured gifts include SEO-friendly URLs and a social media strategy. And don’t delay another day, Christmas is almost here!
7. URL Shorteners on Google and Facebook
Google announced a new shortening service, Goo.gl, on Monday. Goo.gl is not a stand-alone service for the time being; it only works with the Google Toolbar and Feedburner, you cannot use it to shorten links directly. Facebook also announced on Monday that they’re testing out a URL shortening service as well. The shortener, fb.me, is being used automatically for all links in their mobile apps.
8. A Shorter Thesaurus
We’ve all been here before: You’re typing out a tweet and no matter how many times you edit it, you can’t seem to get it under 140 characters. You just have too many important things to say! Don’t scrap the tweet and start over. Instead, use this handy new Thsrs to find synonyms that are shorter than your original words. It’s super simple to use, check out how it works below.
9. Yahoo! Now Showing Local Results for Non-geomodified Queries
Taking a (delayed) cue from Google and Bing, Yahoo! is now showing local search result for non-geomodified phrases. That means that if you simply type in a business name or category without including a city name, neighborhood or zip code, Yahoo! will show a map with local results. I tried a few searches (“sushi,” “spice shop,” “florist,” “wine bar”) and only got local results for the keyword “pizza.” An article on Search Engine Land states that Yahoo! made an improvement over Google and Bing because they show neighborhood filtering; however, I was only shown cities around Denver, not neighborhoods in Denver, which isn’t terribly helpful. There’s no way I’m driving to Castle Rock (about 30 miles from downtown Denver) for a quick slice. But it’s a step in the right direction.
10. Three Tips for Link Building
Taken from a presentation at SES Chicago last week, this article offers three tips on the fundamental of link building: 1. It’s important to have diversity and balance with your links to avoid getting flagged; 2. Use alert services, not just Google Alerts, to learn when your competitors make changes to their sites and to stay current in the industry; 3. Make it simple for people to give you links by creating a “link to us” page. Read the full article on Search Engine Watch.
11. Bing Beats Google in Search Volume Growth
‘Tis the season for giving. So I’m presenting you all with one extra article! I know what you’re thinking: “This is the hap, hap, happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap-danced with Danny @&*!&^$ Kaye.” And I bet Microsoft is thinking the same thing after hearing these stats. According to comScore, domestic core search market share for Bing (not Crosby) increased 0.4% in November, while Google only increase 0.1% that month, and actually decreased 1.5% in Q4. It’s a Festivus miracle! Read the full article and air your grievances here.
Erik Whaley, director of Local Search Traffic and frequent expertSEM author, chats about local search marketing. Erik discusses the importance of claiming your business’s listing, the threat of map listing fraud and how local search applies to mobile phones and GPS devices. He also offers predictions for local search in 2010 and beyond.