Social networking is more effective than websites in generating targeted traffic according to an article in CMS Wire. The article actually outlines a 130-page report by the Gilbane Group called “Collaboration and Social Media 2008- Taking Stock of Today’s Experiences and Tomorrow’s Opportunities.”

What caught my eye is that social networking came in at 59-percent effective and websites as 58-percent effective. This is in stark contrast to the reports of many webmasters who are reporting huge traffic from social media outlets, but not quality traffic.

The report actually looks at the growing trends between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 technologies and how large companies are adjusting to the use of innovation and new communication tools. Social networking is said to replace Web conferencing in the near future as a way for large online businesses to communicate with customers and vendors.

The most popular form of communication remains with email with an effectiveness as 72-percent. The prognosticators of the report say podcasts will replace email one day, but it’s doubtful that this will be the very near future.

Filed under: Social Media | No Comments »

There’s an article over at WebProNews by Jason Lee Miller that caught my attention today. He chronicles his Google search for the new Polaroid T730 Compact 7mp digital camera that has just been introduced to the marketplace.

When doing the search, the Polaroid website did not pop up on the front page of results for either organic or paid search. Neither did most other large retailers. I wrote a blog post on a different blog a couple of years ago wondering the same thing about the keyword “electronics” and which retailers would compete for this highly searched for term.

At that time, Sony and Samsung had the top two positions in Google. Now, they are both on the second page for organic results and not in the paid search results as of this writing. This does make me wonder why not all of the large retailers have embraced SEO and paid search marketing.

But, then again, those who have are most likely hoping their conservative counterparts continue to lag behind this marketing curve as they are smiling all the way to the bank. So it goes.

Filed under: SEO | 1 Comment »

At the recent Google I/O Conference in Northern California, the search giant said that speed matters. Not in so many words, mind you. But, what Vice President of Search Products Marissa Mayer did say was that users were asked whether they would like 10 or 30 results per page and they chose 30.

But, when the speed of serving those 30 results slowed down the search, the searches dropped by 20 percent. So, in essence the visitors wanted those 30 results on a page but at the same speed as for 10 results per page.

Mayer pointed out the same results for Google Maps. When the search giant cut the size of the maps by 30-percent, the searches increased by 30-percent. The faster load times meant people were willing to stick around and search more (plus click on more ads).

But, Google does not only require speed from within, it requires speed from without as well. In recent months Google has hinted that the bounce rate of websites may be a ranking factor in the SERP’s. This means, the faster a web page loads and the longer visitors stay on the site before leaving, it is assumed that this page is of interest and merits a higher place in the search engine results pages.

So, the bottom line is that Google requires speed from itself and speed from the websites it links to as well. With speed, visitors stay interested and get what they are looking for quickly. Perhaps at one time even Keanu and Sandra were hired as the “need for speed” consultants to help improve on this concept.

Filed under: Google | No Comments »

As if Wal-Mart weren’t the low cost leader among brick and mortar shops, the nation’s largest retailer wants consumers using their Internet services as well. Since Wal-Mart is not the number one destination online as it is for many offline, the Walton family has decided to cut into the market share of Craig’s List and eBay a bit.

Wal-Mart has teamed up with Oodle to offer Wal-Mart Classifieds, Beta to consumers who would like to try out their free services. Like Craig’s List or eBay’s Kijiji free local classified services, Wal-Mart Classifieds sees this service as a way to appeal to a new market segment and perhaps siphon off some cost-conscious shoppers into their own online store.

The current beta of Wal-Mart Classifieds has around 30 million items listed from local sellers. In a fitting bit of irony (or turn about is fair play) Oodle was founded by former eBay executives in the San Francisco and San Mateo areas of Northern California.

Oodle is a large aggregator of online classified ads pulling from resources such as eBay, Myspace, other websites and local newspapers. The Oodle classifieds feature car, home, pets, jobs, personals and other common categories.

Wal-Mart Classifieds has a much more visually pleasing interface with plenty of photo previews, than say Craig’s List. In the location that I searched the results were pulled primarily from the Penny Saver.

Wal-Mart Classifieds presents another opportunity for those who want to go “garage sale-ing” online. But, it’s also an opportunity for the small business person to market products and services or even test market products and services before spending too much money on more traditional marketing methods.

Look for Wal-Mart Classifieds to not only be a low-cost first stop for local shoppers online, but a valuable marketplace for small businesses and startups wanting to launch their local businesses as well.

Filed under: News | 2 Comments »

Well, the Microsoft Vista operating system hasn’t made much of a splash as predicted, more of a thud. But, the Seattle software developer is on to talking about its next gig, Windows 7. While Bill Gates and company is staying mostly mum about the new Windows 7 operating system they did share a few tidbits recently at the Wall Street Journal D. All Things Digital conference that was hosted in Carlsbad, California.

One of the most significant features that Microsoft has first unveiled is integration of Windows 7 with touch-screen technology. There is a short video over at Tech Crunch about the new multi-touch technology.

At first glance, there is certain coolness factor about the touch-screen technology especially when it comes to dealing with images and maps. But, one also has to wonder for bloggers, journalists or other business people who rely heavily on typing 80 words a minute or so, how touch-screen would help instead of hinder this process.

Using a mouse and keyword for many users is a nimble experience that requires dexterity that one wonders if touch-screen can provide? From the video, I would say not. But, there is still time for Microsoft to revise its Windows 7 operating system since 2009 is the current rollout date. Look for more information on the improvements to Windows 7 and announcements in the months to come.

Filed under: Microsoft | No Comments »

According to a News article from the Land Down Under, Google Backup is coming soon to a computer near you. Now, with some remote online backup services such as Mozy or Carbonite, you’ll pay $4 or $5 per month to copy your data to some offsite servers and hard drives in case your PC is stolen or burned in a fire.

But, as with other services the online search giant offers, Google Backup will presumably be free. Now what will this mean, if this rumor happens to be true?

First, there will a rush of individuals and companies wanting a free remote backup service who are currently not using one or who are using one but want to discontinue paying for the service. Remember when Gmail rolled out and blew away Yahoo, Hotmail and other online email services in regard to storage?

The Google Backup service could push other paid services right out of business. Or, there may be enough people with Google trust issues who will continue using the other services regardless of the price.

Now, what will Google do with all of your data that it is storing for you? First, hopefully encrypt it so that even if there were to be a breach, no one would know what to do with your valuable information. Second, will Google take a peak at your data before encrypting it so they can study individuals and businesses at a micro-scale? This is anyone’s guess right now.

But, if Google Backup is in fact a new service coming soon, expect the privacy advocates to throw up a red flag and expect those not so concerned with privacy to flock to this new offering. Get ready to pack up and make way for Google Backup.

Filed under: Google | No Comments »

Only a several years ago, people Googled and went to message boards to hang out. And, then the next big thing on the Internet was blogging. So, in the past couple of years social networking has been hot, very hot. But, has social networking hit its peak?

Myspace, Facebook, Digg, Linkedin and the list goes on and on. Millions of people are now interacting online through these mediums. But, according to a recent article in WebProNews there is a dark cloud.

Traffic to Myspace and Facebook dropped a month ago. A company called eMarketer has revised its forecast on how many advertising dollars will be spent on social networking sites in the near future and the number is down $390 million over past projections.

Part of the problem according to eMarketer is that companies and marketing types don’t know how to advertise on social networking sites yet. It’s still pretty hit and miss. Just ask a few bloggers and webmasters who go to social media sites for link-building and they’ll tell you that the quality of traffic isn’t as good as some other methods.

With gasoline prices at all time highs and talk of peak oil in the news, it’s also possible that social networking sites have hit there peak as well. Twitter this, Bebo that, there is only so much time in the day to first be social and second split among the glut of social sites that have sprung up.

But, one thing hasn’t happened that would indicate a peak. And that one thing is mergers among the big players in the market. Imaging a Myspace that Twittered or a Facebook that could Digg.

Who knows? In a year or two we may just see this happen.

Filed under: Social Media | No Comments »

Back in late February, we got a sneak peek at Google Health and of course, one of the top concerns with this new program is privacy issues.

Knowing this would be a hot button issue, Google addressed the privacy issue in the first bullet point, “Google Health will protect the privacy of your health information by giving you complete control over your data. We won’t sell or share your data without your explicit permission. Our privacy policy and practices have been developed in thoughtful collaboration with experts from the Google Health Advisory Council.”

The idea behind Google Health is to have a secure online storage facility for private medical records. A family can store its records of illnesses, prescriptions, vaccinations, procedures, and blood tests in one easily accessible place. Health records can also be imported from a few participating health providers as well.

One of the benefits of this kind of storage is that a patient can decide ahead of time to let a doctor or hospital (or anyone else) see this information in times of emergency. Some have called the storage of medical records online, though, the “wild, wild West” when it comes to privacy concerns. This unchartered territory is tempered with third party privacy audits starting in June that will help quiet some of these fears.

It remains to be seen whether or not Google Health will add to Google wealth by advertising medical supplies, pharmaceuticals or other revenue sources in the future.

Filed under: Google | No Comments »

Google not just about search anymore. It’s about social connections and finding community on the Web. The more Google can connect people to what they are looking for and whom they are looking for the Internet will grow in a positive direction.

This is why Google Friend Connect has just been introduced on a limited basis. As part of the OpenSocial program, Google Friend Connect will help Webmasters provide communities on their websites for their visitors.

Visitors can bring their friends along from Facebook, Orkut, Linkedin and a few other social sites or they can meet new friends. Right now, bringing friends along with you on the Web is a fractured endeavor at best. The Internet is full of a few large coffeehouses where friends connect rather than a road trip or night on the town where friends can travel to several meeting places back to back.

Google Friend Connect will start off simple with user reviews and ratings, but will grow and expand with input from the OpenSocial community. Right now Google is taking applications for the waiting list. You can expect to see this app grow in momentum in the weeks and months ahead.

Filed under: Google | No Comments »

The Google -60 penalty has been talked about in the SEO message boards and forums for some time. Google has not officially stepped forward to weigh in on this specific penalty. It has been up to SEO’s and Webmasters to come up with the name Google -60 Penalty by observation.

The observation has been that web pages that had previously been number one in the rankings were all of a sudden thrust into the number 61 spot in and thus the name. Now, because of the introduction of Google Sitelinks, this penalty is more obvious.

There have been a few occasions where authority sites occupying the number one position with Sitelinks have all of a sudden dropped to the top of the seventh page of Google results. The theory is that Google has penalized these websites for using spammy techniques on-page or for buying links from other sites.

The use of spammy techniques such as hidden text is a no brainer. Don’t do it. But, if indeed a website is buying links from other websites this is more troubling. This is troubling because how do we know these links are bought and not bartered for, or part of the business owners other properties or worse yet, part of sabotage from a competitor?

If this penalty does exist from the buying of text links, then the potential exists for competitors to manipulate each others page rank by buying links that point to the opposing website. This open door to negative SEO means the SERP’s may be damaged delivering more irrelevant results due to manipulation.

A few months back Google was asking users to tattletale on websites that buy links. Let’s hope the Google -60 penalty is not the result your nearest competitor but rather something that each web business can fix if it chooses to do so.

Filed under: Google | No Comments »