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.

In addition to the AdWords trademark policy, another AdWords development is the addition of ACE – AdWords Campaign Experiments. ACE allows advertisers to run two simultaneous versions of one campaign, meaning they can experiment and find the most effective text in half the time it would have taken with the conventional before-and-after analysis. ACE will greatly increase the effectiveness of the campaigns, regardless of whether the advertiser takes advantage of the new AdWords trademark policy or not.

In the ever-changing search marketing industry, it’s good to know that Google is constantly working on innovations to make the process more efficient – of course the new Adwords trademark policy will mean a boost to Google’s profits as advertisers attempt to out-bid each other, but many will feel that the increased marketing opportunities offered by the use of trademarked keywords are worth the cost.

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.

•The site features a “My News” section, a news feed based on the activities of followed friends and publishers.

Rose tells the public that Digg v4 developers have put a lot of thought into how users online consume news, and the overhaul is aimed at allowing individual users more control over the information they receive and share.

Digg v4 has received a mix of praise and criticism; some users have reported finding bugs, others dislike the new appearance and navigational changes. And of course, increased traffic resulted in a slow-running site.

While the Digg v4 launch is not without its problems, it seems like developers have made a wise move by allowing users to personalise the site more. Society today places a massive amount of emphasis on the needs of the individual, and consumers are a) more self-focused than ever, and b) anxious to filter out the endless stream of irrelevant information online and find information relevant to their own lives. While there may be a good deal of initial resistance to the Digg v4 navigation and layout, it is likely that users will soon adapt and start appreciating the new capabilities.

What do you think of Digg v4?

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.

When it comes to measuring the effectiveness of different strategies, it is important that you are able to segregate the different tactics you have implemented and be able to measure the effectiveness of EACH INDIVIDUAL TACTIC. The most common mistake in these situations is when online marketers hear of a few good ideas which they decide to try out. They get home; take hours to implement all the recommended changes to their website and wait to see what happens at the end of the month. Come the end of the month, they see a vast improvement in rankings, traffic and conversion and think, “WOW, I need to do this with all my websites! “ They then proceed to spend hour upon hour making ALL these changes to ALL their sites in the hope that similar results will be achieved.

Now, there is one MAJOR problem with this scenario…

Yes, great results have been achieved, but it took ages to implement all the recommended changes to all the different sites, and because all changes were made at the same time, one is unable to measure the effectiveness of each individual change made to a site. You will probably find that you spend 5 hours making changes to your site to achieve the above-mentioned results, however it could very well be just that one title tag that you altered that resulted in ALL the improvement. Hence, you could have spent a mere 10 minutes making the change and achieved the same results.

This is where effective performance management comes in!

The basics of measuring any new strategies

The best way to measure the effectiveness of a particular change to a website is to make ONE CHANGE AT A TIME. By doing this, you can accurately measure the effectiveness of each change and identify which changes result in which improvements. Thus, by effectively measuring the performance of each tactic, you can more easily identify opportunities on other websites where you can implement a similar tactic and know what to expect.

Often as SEO professionals working for an SEO agency, we have more than one website which we optimize for ourselves or for clients. This is the perfect scenario in which to easily measure the effectiveness of numerous tactics by simply using one tactic per site and effectively measuring the results on each site. Yes, strategies change for different sites in different industries etc., but by measuring the effectiveness of one strategy at a time, we are able to obtain some genuine results with measurable performance. We are also able to save time by eliminating tactics that we identified as a waste of time thanks to effective performance measurement.

All of this culminates in the fact that when we bump into different clients and other SEO professionals at future events, we are able to suggest innovative strategies and tactics to them; backed-up by factual information which helps to motivate why you think these tactics could benefit them. All of this thanks to logically measuring the effectiveness of individual strategies.

According to those in the know, one of the most imperative aspects of social media etiquette is to keep it clean. From what we have seen over the past few years, word of mouth is stronger than ever and in order to keep your own reputation squeaky clean, it is important that you do unto others, as they say. If you get attacked by another brand or another brand is doing something that you do not approve of, make your voice heard but do not lower yourself to their level and get your hands just as dirty.

Also, make sure you deal with any complaints or negative references to your brand in the same way that you would do so “in real life”. Meaning that if that particular person came into your office or shop and complained, how would you deal with it? I doubt that you would verbally abuse them back, even if you were the Grinch personified. If you get a verbally abusive tweet or wall post, do your best to reply to the rant as your brand but also use a personal voice, showing that you are not replying in a spam type of way, but as a person that is willing to help and who wants to know why that customer is so mad or disappointed.

And finally, give back in moderation with what you take. Conversation is not a mere monologue where you speak and speak but do not listen, and the public do in fact want to hear what your brand or service has to say whilst having their own say at the same time. If they can see the spark of conversation, they will begin to interact. If you can, share your own information as well as the information of others you respect, as it is just polite.

It seems that when it comes to social media, the buzzword “interaction” continues to remain. But in addition to that, another word that pops up in social media conversation (another buzzword, by the way) is “consideration”. Just as you would not go snooping through your customers bag or knock on their door at 3am in the morning, make sure you exercise a degree of consideration and give credit where credit is needed as it can be easy to forget that you are dealing with people and not just usernames and profile pictures.

You will realise that these pointers are simple as well as obvious, but many of us tend to forget where “we” end and “our brand” begins. And finally, do not forget your please and thank you’s, otherwise your mother will be highly disappointed

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”.

The Twitter Tales initiative faces strong competition; social networking rival Facebook recently launched a Facebook Stories application to celebrate their 500 million user milestone. Currently the look of the Twitter Tales website is very basic and relies entirely on the quality of its written content, without the benefit of the slick branding and video media employed by Search Stories and Facebook Stories. However, even a quick scan of the very first Twitter Tales (in the categories Life, Community and Humour) should be enough to convince you that Twitter is touching and changing lives in just as meaningful a way as its rivals. Share your social networking story on Twitter Tales by sending it to tales@twitter.com !

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.

Recently, a billboard in New York raised eyebrows with its bigger and better combination of social media and the QR code. The red and white billboard was for Calvin Klein Jeans – a brand that is widely known for its racy billboards normally featuring half naked women and men posing draped over each other. The billboard merely had a QR code image on it with the words “get it uncensored”. Those in the QR code know could snap a picture of the billboard and this would link them to a Youtube clip. Many were disappointed in the clip itself but nevertheless, the concept was a great one for customer interaction.

Other instances of companies or brands using QR code are artists such as Fabrice De Nola who integrated QR codes into his artwork and the Pet Shop Boys who used a QR code to reveal their album artwork. Other artists have also integrated QR coding into their installations such as the Design Exchange in Toronto, which produced a series of QR coded wallpaper.

In the information technology age, less is more and those who are clicking away on their camera receiving various QR codes feel that this mode of communication is a great interactive tool for brands who do not want to say too much initially but let their customer base be lead to their site via their mobile device. Those who decide to use QR codes for their brand must however make sure that their websites and the link that they offer are mobile friendly as if they are not, this will only make customers frustrated.

Here is an example of how toy manufacturer Lego used QR codes to entice customers to their site.

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.

DON’T: Note every single tiny change that you make to your site. Annotating tiny changes to your site that will have no effect on site performance or conversion is not necessary and will only end up crowding your Google analytics data.



2. DO: Track any major online PR articles or press releases that are written by you or about you and are bound to result in major inbound links and traffic. If you know that a major website has published an article about your company, note this in Google analytics so that you can be reminded of this when it comes time to complete your monthly report.

DON’T: Track each and every inbound link or online PR piece that is written by you or about you. If you’re a reputable company, you should have numerous press releases and links coming in to your site every month and annotating each one in Google Analytics would kind of defeat the purpose.



3. DO: Track the implementation dates of any major campaigns, be it an organic campaign, an AdWords campaign or any major offline advertising campaigns that your company may be implementing. Annotating these in Google Analytics is extremely important, especially in monitoring the seemingly “immeasurable” effect of offline advertising campaigns.

Summary of the “DON’Ts”: As a general rule, don’t fill your Google Analytics annotations tool with unnecessary information that is not going to make any major or immediate difference to your sites performance, traffic or conversion. The whole point of using Google Analytics annotations is so that when monthly report time arrives, you will be able to quickly and easily be reminded of the notable events and implementations that took place during the previous month, and compare these dates to the Google Analytics data for the weeks following these implementations.



All in all, annotations in Google Analytics can be extremely useful if used correctly. If, like me, you work for a search marketing company, then it is impossible to keep a mental track of all major work carried out on clients’ websites over the course of a month. Using Google Analytics annotations will ensure that when time comes to do monthly reports, you will be reminded of all significant events that took place for ALL of your clients. Good Luck!

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?

Social media monitoring is imperative as simply implementing social media and not knowing what or why it is or is not working will not let one know what social media direction you are going in and everyone needs direction, right? There are numerous social media monitoring and measurement tools and these will help you see if your social media efforts are impacting the social media scope, which, with so many other integrating social media into their marketing plans, is more important than you think.

Yes, it is great to see how many people “like” your page or how many followers your brand is obtaining on social media networks but how can we see these like and followers turn into purchases and sale of our products and services and will we ever be able to measure social media in this way or will we have to settle with measuring social media only in terms of interest, effect and impact?

Don’t get me wrong, I will be the first one to agree with the fact that companies need a social media presence in order to keep up with the times and I feel that social media has a significant and strong impact but how can we measure this impact in terms of traffic and sales?

It seems that some of us seem to be asking the wrong question. We should be asking ourselves – what do we expect from social media at the end of the day? A perfect little summary is that social will lead to search and search will therefore lead to sales. What do you expect from your social media presence on the web? Are you getting what you expect to receive?

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.

By comparison, the social networking tool Google Buzz is performing well. Despite the criticism and privacy concerns that accompanied the integration of Google Buzz into Gmail and Google Maps in February this year, Google tells press that the platform has tens of millions of users and has grown to be an accepted extension of Gmail.

Google has no plans to halt the progress of Google Buzz, which despite its flaws seems to be holding steady. This begs the question, are we as Internet users and social networking junkies becoming desensitised to a lack of privacy online?

While Google Wave has officially crashed, it will be interesting to see what initiative Google uses next in the quest for social networking dominance. Rumours about the development of a social networking platform called Google Me continue to circulate, and it will be interesting to see what Google developers have learned from the mistakes made with Google Wave and Google Buzz.

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.

Internet dating success stories are everywhere these days; TechNewsDaily reports that an astonishing 1 in 8 American couples married last year met through social media like an Internet dating site. Of course, social media is not only a popular way to meet romantic partners; it has become a tool to nurture those relationships as well. The Internet dating service is the new singles’ bar, and as an extension of this, the affectionate status update has become the new love letter; emoticons and virtual online gifts are the modern-day “sweet nothings” and tokens of affection. Forget carving your initials on a tree; just write on your partner’s Facebook wall!

The Internet is a free, widely accessible public sphere that couples are using to express their feelings for the world to see. And this isn’t limited to Internet dating services; online proposals are fast becoming the tech-savvy alternative to the traditional down-on-one-knee approach. Most notably was the recent incident in which the groom-to-be proposed via a video message to his girlfriend, delivered by Isaiah Mustafa of the newly-famous Old Spice commercials.

While the opportunities offered by Internet dating sites and social media are revolutionising the way we connect and communicate, Internet dating etiquette can be tricky, and severing online connections is harder than ever. The flip-side of making a relationship public online is an equally public break-up. While social media and Internet dating online give us increased freedom of choice, they also mean decreased privacy and the risk of baring a broken heart to the world. Despite the futuristic glamour of the social media romance, there’s still a lot to be said for good old-fashioned discretion. What are your thoughts? Have you or your friends tried Internet dating, or do you prefer a traditional approach to relationships?