Pay Per Click advertising in the UK is about to change dramatically following an updated Google AdWords trademark policy. The change allows advertisers to use the trademarked name of the products they are selling – without owning the copyright or obtaining the owner’s permission. The new AdWords trademark policy initiated in the US last year allows users to bid on trademarked keywords, provided the advertised site actually does stock and sell the corresponding goods.

The AdWords policy update rolled out in the US in June 2009 and will become effective in the UK, Ireland and Canada on September 14. Most European countries will also be able to use trademarked text as of September. This is huge news for the PPC advertising industry, as the new AdWords trademark policy will increase the relevance of UK advertisers’ campaigns and allow them to compete with the larger companies who own the trademark rights. While advertisers will be pleased by the news, trademark owners will most likely not share their excitement about the AdWords trademark policy updates, as the bidding for their trademark name pushes up the cost per click.

No Comments »

Social news platform Digg launched their new look this week; the updated edition has been eagerly anticipated by many a search marketing company and social media marketing firm. Digg v4 includes “drastic changes” according to founder Kevin Rose. The front end and back end of Digg v4 have both been revamped to be faster and more personalised, says Rose. The latest version of Digg is also intended to make the sharing of information easier than ever before.

Below are some of Digg v4 features:

•Users can now sign into Digg v4 via their Twitter or Facebook accounts

•The submission process has been simplified

•The site offers ability to directly import RSS feeds

•Users can follow friends on Digg v4

•Users can follow preferred publishers and news sources, meaning the news they find on Digg v4 will be more relevant to their interests.

No Comments »

When it comes to measuring effectiveness of a particular online marketing strategy, campaign or experimental implementation that you’re trying out on your website, it’s imperative that you are able to implement effective performance management in order to track exactly which tactics are doing what as far as your site’s performance goes.

We’ve all been to conferences, seminars and online marketing networking events where we meet new people and exchange ideas, theories and strategies that have worked on our websites and others. It is always useful to take note of these strategies and give them a go yourself to try and measure the effectiveness of each strategy on your own websites.

No Comments »

If you ever had a mother that was slightly obsessed with manners (which my mother definitely was) there is no doubt that you have been taught a certain degree of etiquette. From saying please and thank you to not putting your elbows on the table, etiquette is expected and respected in a vast majority of social circles. Just as we exercise etiquette amongst our friends and family, so should we exercise a degree of etiquette with our social media strategy as a part of our brand. Do you bring politeness and etiquette into your social media brand strategy or do you prefer to turn your nose up at the need for manners?

No Comments »

Twitter Tales is the latest “stories” site to be launched by a social networking platform with the aim of sharing its users’ personal experiences. All users are encouraged to share their stories on Twitter Tales, whether they use the network to connect with others, inspire their communities or simply to find solace in 140-character self-expression.

This year, the Google marketing department surprised us by airing a TV commercial during the Super Bowl championship. However, this was by no means a sign that Google would be breaking from their traditional advertising methods. The Parisian Love video had been available on Youtube for some time, and heralded the launch of a series of gorgeous Google “Search Stories”. Twitter Tales aims to promote user interaction in the same way, by demonstrating the creative uses of the platform and how the technology integrates with users’ everyday lives. The Twitter Blog describes Twitter Tales as “a growing set of articles that highlights creative individuals and businesses from all corners of the world that help make Twitter awesome”.

No Comments »

If any of you have seen an image online or in a magazine or newspaper that looks like something that is a mix between those optical illusion posters that you used to have stuck to your wall when you were little and an alternative version of Pacman then this rather strange image you are witnessing is no secret code but rather a QR code. The QR (Quick Response) code is making its mark (literally) as a way for brands to entice the public to access their information and ultimately visit their site.

Basically, you take a picture with your smart phone (your iPhone or Blackberry) and your phone will read a code, therefore giving you access to a weblink and content. QR codes are not new and have actually been around since 1994 but only recently have been used for more social media based interaction and are made by using a QR code generator and downloading the QR code image. According to Wikipedia, they are used to store information received from magazines, signs and business cards and were originally designed for car manufacturing tracking, but it seems that QR codes have turned over a new digital leaf.

No Comments »

Google analytics implemented their annotations feature at the beginning of this year, and so far most of the feedback on the tool is extremely positive as it is a genuinely useful but simple tool. The problem is, however, that many people using Google Analytics simply don’t use annotations correctly. I tried have tried a few different ways of using annotations and come to the following ideas of DO’s and DON’Ts when using annotations…

A Screenshot of annotations being used in Analytics

1. DO: Noting any technical or structural changes to your site is important. If you’ve switched servers, hosting companies, added new H1 tags, changed URL structures or anything that could affect your sites performance, by tracking these changes in Google web analytics you will get a good idea whether these changes have had a positive or negative effect on your site’s indexing and traffic.

No Comments »

For some of us, the end of the month means an overall check and analysis of our sites with our trusty analytics tools in hand in order to see what our website is doing right as well as where we are falling short in certain aspects. By understanding and using these tools we can see where traffic is up as well as what we need to work on in order to attract people to our website and hopefully purchase our product or service. Social media is now an integrated and significant component of brand awareness but many are frustrated with the fact that you cannot monitor your social media traffic as such as much as monitor your social media interest and impact.

There have been numerous articles that I have stumbled upon recently that have been dedicated to the art of social media monitoring and measurement, but what exactly do these tools and applications achieve? They are undoubtedly needed and provide us with analysis of a more brand awareness type insight, but do they transfer into analysis of traffic and effect?

1 Comment »

Google Inc first announced the launch of Google Wave in May last year, and the Google marketing department went to great lengths to promote the real-time online communication platform. The aim of Google Wave was to facilitate online collaborations by combining e-mail communication, instant messaging and social networking. While the application made a substantial splash in the market at first with high user interest and great demand for Google Wave invitations, Google found the user adoption rate disappointing. Yesterday, the search engine giant announced the suspension of development for the Google Wave service.

While Google Wave might be washed up, the company plans to maintain the Wave website until the end of 2010 and look at applying Google Wave technology to future applications. Google CEO Eric Schmidt described Google Wave as “a very clever product”, but went on to say that many users had struggled to find a use for the service on a regular basis. Google executives were upbeat about the announcement, saying they are happy to learn from their failed attempt to corner the social networking market, and hope to adapt the technology to create newer, better applications.

No Comments »

Any search marketing agency will emphasise the crucial role social media networking can play in helping their clients establish an online presence and gain recognition. Nowadays it is commonplace to meet industry contacts, business partners and even friends through social media. And of course, Internet dating has drastically altered the way we make romantic connections as well.

Whereas in the past, you might have found your soulmate when your eyes met across a crowded room, these days it’s far more likely that a pretty profile picture will catch your eye in a crowded chat-room or forum. Naturally, Internet dating websites allow you more control over the way you present yourself than a face-to-face social situation, and a growing number of singles looking for love are choosing the safety and anonymity of Internet dating sites over an evening crammed into a noisy, smoky bar or club.

No Comments »