January 24, 2012 in Web Marketing Research by admin
Google Instant – Good for Insights, Good for Laughs
What do people commonly search? Trying to get inside the minds of our potential customers is not a new concept; but how we do so has certainly been changing rapidly in recent years. There are many tools for getting ideas about what people care about when they search online (one of the top places people now go to review products & services, make purchases, & find local solutions to their problems). Google Insights offers a free view of 
the popularity of certain search terms over time. Find out if A is more popular than B. Check out trends, seasonality, & geographic popularity down to the city level! Search engine marketers & webmasters are constantly trying to figure out what users might search for in order to optimize websites for increased rankings. Many feared that long-tail keyword optimization would be hurt by Google Instant. However, most SEO experts have overcome that fear by now. Google Instant is meant to make searching easier & faster, with estimates over 2 seconds per search. Google Instant is now being re-examined as a tool & a trend. Here’s how…
What’s So Funny? Google Instant is a Popular Screen Shot
There’s something else going on out there in regards to Google Instant. People have noticed the interesting & sometimes funny, even alarming, results that come up in the search suggestions. On a social level, individuals have been taking snap shots of these results & sharing their interesting finds with others. Try it yourself – you’ll probably get a good shock or laugh out of the results. Here are some interesting ideas to get you started. Apparently, there’s a lot of people interested in whether or not mini giraffes are real & if fairies truly exist. See for yourself…
Mini Giraffes . . . Everybody Wants One!
Fairies – Fact or Fiction?
How Can Google Instant Provide Marketing Insights?
So, how is Google Instant yet another marketing tool? Well, go to Google Search & begin to type something in (if you haven’t already been provoked based on the aforementioned examples). . . Notice how Google offers you other popular keyword terms or phrases that others have typed in. Here are some examples of results that might be insightful to …
Companies that Sell Business Solutions
Companies that Sell Items That Are Blue…or Blu…
Companies that Sell the Best…
Indeed, this Instant dose of what I’m probably searching for saves me time. 2 seconds a search X 30 searches daily = 60 seconds a day. Thanks for my minutes back, Google! If you find yourself with an interesting application for this, feel free to share your discoveries! Happy Searching!
January 24, 2012 in Business Sales Growth by admin
Add a pinch of seasonality to your plate of sales
As the holiday season approaches, seasonal sales & promotions come to mind. One of the best tools out there to test such seasonality is the free Google Insights. Let’s look at some examples.
You may think you know your seasonal trends, but that’s just your current sales. If you’re looking for new sales outlets, seasonal purchasing behavior might be a great place to start adding the right ingredients to your marketing platter. Consider complementary products, as well, that you can piggy back on sales.
A complementary product is basically one that “complements” the product you sell. Many companies will sell both. For instance, if you sell bread, sell butter. If you sell a toy, sell batteries. So, if bread sales peak in November, the butter maker (who historically saw peaks in the summer) may want to look at marketing new butter types to complement that bread. Get it?
So, now that you have some ideas & are ready to test some seasonality, let’s get started.
Google Insights
Does ‘carpet cleaning’ have seasonal sales trends? According to Google Insights, the popularity of searches for ‘carpet cleaning’ undoubtedly peak in June-July of each year. Would you have guessed that one?
Sources of Seasonal Sales
Finally, keep in mind that there are many “seasons” in a business. It doesn’t have to be the traditional climate change you may be thinking about. You might have interesting sales trends that are very unique to your individual business. Here is a list of items that might cause sales fluctuations for you:
- Seasonal Trends: spring, summer, fall, winter…
- Weekly Patterns: Mondays, Sundays, ?…
- Weather Patterns: sunshine, rain, temperatures…
- Economic Trends: consumer index, price of other products…
- Industry Trends: employment…
- Your own business trends: work ethic, vacations, employee morale…
January 24, 2012 in Mobile Apps by admin
Google’s Mistake : Something to Learn From?
Google’s recent app error has been evaluated by various analysts, media, and blog writers all over the place. Many of these, that I have seen, have ridiculed the company for, first of all, making the mistake, and secondly, how it was handled.
Google’s Mistake… Sorry Everyone
“Sorry we messed up,” was the response that Google reps gave on Twitter, shortly after they “pulled the app to fix the problem.” Is this really a bad way to handle it?
Actually, I find that Google handled the situation with humility. Besides, being in a technical, fast-paced, industry means there’s destined to be mistakes here and there. It is implausible to expect a company, regardless of the size and resources, to never mess up. Part of the technical world involves the exact element of trial & error. However, can there really be a strategy behind handling company mistakes? Absolutely!
Responding to Your Customers – Company Mishaps
Okay, so we can agree or disagree on whether or not the company can make mistakes like this. However, let’s talk about the method of handling such mistakes. Every company will eventually have to deal with it. How would you handle the “oops” moment? Google has handled this in a very human way. Rather than spending 10 days crafting a very corporate, non-offensive, perfect (bland) response, the company issued a very timely and every-day-guy comment. It was as if there was a Google tech sitting behind his computer on on his smart phone just writing a typical message. Basically, it was personable; and that, is a respectable approach. No excuses. No fluff.
What’s your company’s approach?
January 24, 2012 in Web Standards by admin
SEO Equals Good Code, Introducing HTML5 & New Coding Best Practices
Classic Search Engine Optimization typically starts with something like this, “Add your keywords in weighted places, like headings, page titles, and so on.” With the introduction of HTML5 comes many new elements, such as “mark,” “definition,” “section,” to name a few. These new elements may be paving the path for the future of SEO best practices. Here’s how:
HTML5 – It’s Not the HTML You Used to Know!
HTML5 is bringing many new features & elements, which are changing best practices in the layout of a website. Webmasters are now encouraged to use these new features for better cleaner code. Search Engines read through your website’s content, which you can now more effectively classify. Just like adding a tag for headings to let the Search Engine know it’s a heading, if some content is a definition, there’s a tag for that now too. You can literally code your entire website into sections, definitions, addresses, quotes, pieces of code, in addition to all of the standard HTML tags. Say goodbye to blocks of text just hanging around in your code, or even in a random Div. Say Hello to communicating more effectively with search engines.
Simplicity is another important feature. Code for Doc Type & StyleSheets now requires less. For instance, here’s all you need for your basic site layout:
(!DOCTYPE html>
(html>
(head>
(title>Title of the document
(/head>The content of the document……
(/html>
HTML5 Brings Other Exciting New Features
For web designers & masters, HTML5 also introduces some exciting possibilities in terms of using videos (some solution to the Flash dilemma), other audio & media, form controls, and tons of other HTML5 New Elements!
Will HTML5 Mean Changes to Search Engine Equations?
As of Google’s 2011 SEO Starter Guide, there’s not a lot of emphasis yet on these new items. However, it makes sense that this is important to begin implementing & brushing up on. Google always favors items that improve communication, & HTML5 does just that!
Not So Fast…HTML5 Is Still a Baby
Currently, there are still a few browsers that have not adopted all of the new HTML5 features (Internet Explorer is not surprisingly one of those. Although, if Browser Use Stats keep trending as they have been, this may soon not be an issue!).
Are you your own webmaster? If you want to learn HTML5 now, W3schools provides great guides & details on these features:
HTML5 Tags
<!–>
<!DOCTYPE>
<a>
<abbr>
<acronym>
<address>
<applet>
<area>
<article>
<aside>
<audio>
<b>
<base>
<basefont>
<bdi>
<bdo>
<big>
<blockquote>
<body>
<br>
<button>
<canvas>
<caption>
<center>
<cite>
<code>
<col>
<colgroup>
<command>
<datalist>
<dd>
<del>
<details>
<dfn>
<dir>
<div>
<dl>
<dt>
<em>
<embed>
<fieldset>
<figcaption>
<figure>
<font>
<footer>
<form>
<frame>
<frameset>
<h1> – <h6>
<head>
<header>
<hgroup>
<hr>
<html>
<i>
<iframe>
<img>
<input>
<ins>
<keygen>
<kbd>
<label>
<legend>
<li>
<link>
<map>
<mark>
<menu>
<meta>
<meter>
<nav>
<noframes>
<noscript>
<object>
<ol>
<optgroup>
<option>
<output>
<p>
<param>
<pre>
<progress>
<q>
<rp>
<rt>
<ruby>
<s>
<samp>
<script>
<section>
<select>
<small>
<source>
<span>
<strike>
<strong>
<style>
<sub>
<summary>
<sup>
<table>
<tbody>
<td>
<textarea>
<tfoot>
<th>
<thead>
<time>
<title>
<tr>
<track>
<tt>
<u>
<ul>
<var>
<video>
<wbr>
<xmp>
List from W3Schools
January 24, 2012 in Mobile Apps by admin
25 Free Mobile Apps Every Small Business Owner Needs to Know About
After installing, using, & testing several of the many Apps for business onto my Apple iPhone & iPad, I’ve compiled a list of free apps that all small business owners & entrepreneurs should know about (Keep in mind, many applications mentioned are also available for other mobile devices too, like Droid, Blackberry, etc.). These tools will really help with day-to-day operations, learning, file or project management, customer relations, website maintenance, networking, scheduling, billing, & more! Feel free to share other ideas if you’ve tried any of these or other Apps out there. “There’s an App for that,” is becoming a more valid statement every second! Here’s the “There’s a FREE App for that,” - small business edition. Enjoy!
File Access & Document Management Apps
- RDP
There’s no need to send that file to yourself from your PC! Simply, access it via your iPhone or iPad later. Gain access to, view, & interact with files or programs on your Windows (XP or Vista) Operating PC. This is one of the best windows mobile apps out there – & it’s free! - Box.net
Access, view, share, and collaborate on documents from your iPad. - DropBox
Sync and share your files online and across computers. - PlainText
Simplified file editor, syncs with Dropbox. - Genius Scan
Need a scanner on-the-go? This is your App! Scan pages via your camera, take advantage of smart page detection & correction, and instantly create PDF files from multiple image scans.
Also, if you use Google Apps & Docs, get Google Free Mobile Apps to manage those files & applications.
More Free “File Access” Apps >>
Project Management Apps
- ActionList Lite
Keep on top of upcoming tasks, integrated with your inbox & contacts, & with an integrated toolbar.
More Free “Project Management” Apps >>
Free Business Resources Apps
- SBA
As a top resource for starting or expanding your business operation, the SBA offers a free App for startup information, cost calculating, & resource locations. - Shoeboxed
Scan & save receipts for easy & instant business expense tracking. - Dragon Dictation
Speak & be amazed – watch as your spoken words becomes a text, an email, or a social networking update on Facebook or Twitter! Look ma – no hands! - Dictionaries & Translators
Simple, but useful. Get dictionaries & thesauruses for better writing on-the-go (available from Dicitonary.com & Thesaraus.com). Choose form a wide range of language translators & dictionaries. - iTalk Recorder
Record audio anytime & anywhere right from your iPhone & iPad. Meeting minutes? Done!
More Free “Business Tool” Apps >>
Scheduling, Calendars, & Appointment Apps
- Calendar
This App already comes installed on your iPhone or iPad, but you may not be realizing its capabilities. Sync your calendars from sources like Gmail & access your agenda, travel calendar, or business meeting schedule from anywhere! - Wall Calendar
Manage your schedule instantly, right on your home screen!
Finance, Taxes, & Currency Apps
- Quickbooks Connect
This app connects with your Quickbooks account, for easy on-the-go management. It’s free, but of course you need a Quickbooks Account already. You can also manage tax & accounting related accounts via popular services, such as Intuit Quickbooks, as well as tax providers like Turbotax.. - Bills Free
Keep track of monthly expenses, planned purchased, & overdue bills. Added features include file export (Excel/CSV, HTML) capabilities, privacy options. - Currency
Convert currency while making those transactions at home or abroad. This app offers a large number of currency conversions (over 100) & uses current exchange rate figures.
Website or Blog Management Apps
- WordPress
Make changes, add posts, & edit your WordPress website or blog from anywhere! This will help you to stay on top of the necessary frequent updates to the site, especially if you are using the blog for social sharing with customers or SEO boosts!
More “Website” Related Apps >>
Networking Apps
Mange your favorite social networking accounts, such as:
- Twitter – tweet on-the-go
- Facebook – manage your fan-base on-the-go
- LinkedIn – build your professional network, browse for employees, network on-the-go
- Flickr – photo management
- Feedler – simple RSS feed reader, for our favorite subscriptions
- Constant Contact Quickview, MailChimp – If you have a Constant Contact or MailChimp Email Marketing campaign, these apps will allow you to manage some features in your account, such as contacts, scheduled blasts, & social media integration. If you use another service, just try browsing for its’ App instead, as most of the popular vendors appear to have free light version apps.
- Bump – Introducing the newest & most trendy way to share your “business card” digitally. Trade contact information simply by “bumping” phone near one another.
- CardMunch – an App by LinkedIn, allows you to scan in business cards via your camera.
Random Testimonial
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