It was an eventful week in the interactive marketing world! We read so many interesting stories this week, there was no way we could limit to just ten. So, lucky readers, you get fifteen articles this week, for the price of, well, none. Enjoy!
1. Digital world rallies for Haiti
As massive aftershocks continue to rattle Haiti and supplies become harder and harder to come by, the digital world has pulled together to gather and donate resources, and create further awareness of this tragic event. Social media has played an integral part in this outreach, keeping the lines of communication open and getting the word out about donation programs. Media Post wrote a nice article explaining the role of social media in this outreach as well as other online resources. It’s amazing to see the humanitarian power of social media. Let’s keep it up!
2. Google collecting local reviews from non-traditional sources
In an effort to bulk up reviews on Place Pages, Google is now pulling content from non-traditional (whatever that means!) sources, such as blogs, articles and more. Should small businesses be worried about their online reputations? Not if they are honest businesses offering good products/services and following up on complaints in a timely and compassionate manner. Learn more about these non-traditional review sources.
3. Can you find a job by advertising on Facebook?
Being a job seeker in this economy is bad enough. Now you have to compete with people advertising their skills?! Grant Turck, a recent Pepperdine grad, placed ads on Facebook citing his desire to work in the PR industry and inviting people to click through to his resume. Has it worked for Grant? Check out his post on Bad Pitch Blog to find out.
4. Purple prose and link building
Any individual with an English degree is unequivocally anti-purple prose. The opinion that this flowery, overly-detailed writing style is arrogant and pretentious, not to mention annoying ,was hammered into our heads with giant Norton Anthologies, class in and class out. According to this Search Engine Journal post, purple prose has no place in link building either. So if you desire to create a successful link building program, one that unites your brand message and online marketing in a tight embrace like rains that quench an ancient apple orchard, and creates ranking that outlasts the final glimmer of our nurturing sun, I suggest that you learn to avoid this hackneyed writing style.
5. Advanced tips for local PPC
Many of the same tactics you use to refine a national paid search campaign can be applied to you local PPC one. This article discusses a few of these advanced tactics—dayparting and demotargeting—and addresses the geo-targeting versus geo-modifiers issue. Read the full article.
6. Is the First-ever Twitter Conference for real?
Yes, possibly , we think so. According to Ashton Kutcher (never thought he’d be reliable source in this industry!), Twitter will hold their first developers conference in San Francisco on April 14. Twitter has yet to confirm this date, but if you can’t trust Ashton, who can you trust in this crazy world? Check out Read Write Web for more info.
7. Google maps display rate
You’ve heard it from our mouths a million times, local search is huge. But just how huge? Google has stated that 1 in 13 results pages shows a map, accounting for approximately 868 million maps in December 2009 alone. But this number does not take into account non-geo-modified searches, for which Google now displays maps and local results. So what’s the real number? No one knows, apparently; but we can all assume it’s huge! Check out Understanding Google Maps & Local Search for more info.
8. Mobile web ads beat mobile app
Continental Airlines’ recent campaign has shown that advertising on the mobile web is more effective than in mobile applications. Mobile web banners had a 135% higher CTR than application ads. Additionally, the web ads sold 80% more airline tickets. Continental speculates that users do not click on ads within apps, because they don’t want to leave the app environment. Read more at Media Post.
9. 2010: Year of global SEM
Everyone understands the global potential of SEM, but no one seems to be taking advantage of it. Yet. According to his article on Search Engine Land, Bill Hunt believes that 2010 will be the year for global SEM. Why does he think this? Because both Europe and Asia conduct nearly 10% more searches monthly than the United States and businesses large and small are demanding international search marketing. Read the full article.
10. Will Bing become default browser on iPhone?
As we all know, Google and Apple aren’t really friends anymore. Nexus One is the rift that drove them apart. Now, Apple is in talks with Microsoft to make Bing the default browser on the iPhone. A reporter from BusinessWeek feels that the deal, if it goes through, will only be short lived—Apple is bright enough to realize the importance of Google and mobile advertising in the future. Read the full BusinessWeek article.
11. How Google handles synonyms
Ever wonder why you see bolded terms in SERPs that don’t match your query? For example, if you search for “photos” and get results back for “pictures.” That’s because Google’s algorithm recognizes synonyms. And they’re in the process of making updates to how synonyms are handled, including bolding more variants of words, even when they’re spelled nothing alike, if the system is confident that they’re synonyms. Read more on Search Engine Land.
12. All’s rosy for GA and web analysts
But not for GA competitors! Econsultancy released its annual Web Analytics Buyers Guide, which details the U.K. online measurement marketplace. In this guide, they report that the consolidation of analytics providers and rise of free Google Analytics is putting a hurt on providers that typically went after the SMB market. Find out just how bad they’re getting. Read the full article.
13. Google digs through your old emails to make ads more relevant
Google often shows ads next to an email message related to the content of that specific message. Nothing new there—they’ve been doing it for a while. Now, however, Google will look to other recent emails in your inbox to deliver related content. Just because you’re reading an email from mom about the upcoming family reunion in Nebraska, doesn’t mean you need travel info for Nebraska—you grew up there, you don’t need a hotel! But, based on your recent order confirmation from Zappos, you may enjoy offers from apparel companies, so you can look your best when you head back to your home town. Don’t worry, Google assures that no humans ever sort through your email. It’s all automated, like spellchecker. Learn more.
14. Google mobile ad targeting
Google rolled out new mobile ad targeting through AdWords this week. This service lets you reach specific devices or carriers if you’re already running ads on mobile devices. Learn more at Search Engine Journal.
15. Google suggest using American English spelling
I couldn’t resist sneaking in an orthographic blurb! If you’re a word nerd like me, you noticed right away when you’re reading an article written by someone in the United Kingdom. British and American English has spelling differences, albeit subtle ones. For example, British English often uses “s” where American English uses “z,” as in “optimisation” versus “optimization.” One U.K. blogger noticed that Google.co.uk is suggesting American English spelling for U.K. searchers. And he was none too happy about it. Read his rant and suggestions for righting this problem on hobo.