• SAP has also begun promoting the "Web 2.0" features of its portal, but remains substantially behind its competitors in this regard.
• The ranks of commercial portal vendors have shrunk, with Broadvision, ATG, PeopleSoft, and CA having exited the portal marketplace. Longtime vendor Vignette is increasingly bundling its portal offering with its other content management tools in a broader package.

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In this case, the difference in user interaction is so clear and marked we could tell extremely quickly which one worked better: the difference is in the thickness of the plus box next to the stock quote. Now, coming to the conclusion that one is "better" is tricky, and there's many a possible slip on the way there. Does more interaction with the plus box mean that it is better? How about if users then miss good results because they are distracted by the more prominent plus box? If we've done our job right, almost without your noticing, things will work just that little bit better for you.

Labels: Google

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“The USA share of the browsing market has grown as an increasing number of phones come with bigger screens and service contracts that include unlimited Internet access,” said Adam Kerr, VP of Bango North America at Bango. “We fully expect the US will overtake the UK in this ranking as early as this month.”

“We predicted 2008 would be a pivotal year for the mobile web in the US, and our data is backing that up. Clearly the rate of growth and acceleration is getting faster in the US and around the world,” continued Kerr.

Labels: bango, Mobile Analytics, Mobile Marketing

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Are you considering blogging as a hobby or part time/full time professional career and aren't sure whether or not to add Blogger to your shortlist of blogging platforms? Well, I suggest you take a look at a recently published booked by Lee Jordan titled, "Blogger: Beyond the Basics." Jordan touches on every aspect of Blogger including customized templates, integrating RSS/Social bookmarking, working with your blog's HTML code, linking and adding widgets. In addition to the step by step by examples mentioned in all the chapters, the book comes with a CD so you can easily try out the examples on your own blog.

Blogger: Beyond the Basics, actually starts out by discussing how you can leverage blogs and how to predefine the goals for your blog - which really helps ads some focus before you dive in head first. Coming from a search marketing background, I really appreciated how Jordan took this book to the next level and clearly explained how to apply search engine optimization strategies to improve the performance of your blog and how to use Google Analytics to measure all aspects of your blog. Get your copy of the book here.

I got an opportunity to catch up with the author, Lee Jordan, to get her thoughts on why she wrote the book, who the book is targeted towards, and the benefits of using Blogger.

[Manoj]: What was the inspiration behind writing "Blogger - Beyond the Basics"

[Lee Jordan]: I fell into writing this book. Dave, the acquisitions editor at Packt asked what I thought about an advanced book about Blogger. After looking around I realized it had been about a year (a long time in blogging years) since a book covering advanced topics for Blogger had come out. There had been so many changes too. Blogger had moved to a "new" XML based template structure and was rapidly adding new social media features. I subscribe to the Blogger help list on Google Groups and saw many frustrated people having problems with the same topics over and over. It was a great opportunity to give back to the blogging community and learn more myself.

[Manoj]: Who is the book targeted towards?

[Lee Jordan]: The book is targeted towards people who already know the basics of blogging with Blogger and are now ready to do more advanced work on their blog. Popular advanced topics include transforming a basic template into the three column one, adding custom colors and graphics to the template, adding customized modules, and search engine optimization.

[Manoj]: Is Blogger a legitimate platform for people to use for business?

[Lee Jordan]: You do not have to be a programmer or a web designer to use Blogger successfully. Features include multiple users, customizable templates, podcast and videocast support, and an easy to use administration area.Blogger has a custom domain feature which allows well known corporations such as GirlScouts.org to host the backend of their blog on Blogger and customize it to match the rest of their site. The integration of Blogger with Feedburner, Google Analytics, and YouTube means a business can quickly set up a social media blog. The developers of Blogger are constantly working on improvements and new features. Add in the vibrant help community on Google Groups and you have an active support system for businesses and entrepreneurs who blog.

[Manoj]: How does Blogger compare against other platforms such as WordPress/Typepad

[Lee Jordan]: All three make it easy to post. The real differences come with features, administration, and templates. Blogger is best for those who want someone else to deal with keeping the blog software updated and are looking for an inexpensive way to start blogging. Wordpress and Typepad are better for people who have a technical resource or the time to keep up with software patches.

Blogger does not come with a wide range of templates for businesses that can be customized, but makes it very easy to manage modules and other features. The Wordpress interface has an extensive number of templates, but managing the blog requires multiple administration dashboards, some hidden where the beginner would have difficulty finding them. It also does not give hosted users the option to use a rich text editor for text modules. Typepad has great commenting features, but I haven't seen many new things happening with it feature wise.

[Manoj]: The biggest advantages Blogger has is ease of administration and flexibility. Another advantage is Blogger blogs are free. You can easily add modules and do not have to pay additional fees to edit the CSS or perform other customizations. Wordpress users who want to customize or add modules are better off downloading a copy of the Wordpress platform and hosting it themselves to avoid paying for the right to edit the CSS files or install modules. This will require paying for a domain name and a hosting provider, but it may cost less in the long run.

[Manoj]: If you could pick out 3 or 4 main objectives or lessons readers should get from this book, what should they be?

[Lee Jordan]:

1. Create a "mission statement" - Plan the focus of your blog to guide you when making decisions about how it looks, content, and interactivity.
2. Generate useful content focused on visitors - Don't be afraid to "go deep" on a particular feature or process. Blogs are a great medium for creating a library of information over time.
3. Set a schedule for posting and updates and keep to it. Consistency over time is crucial in establishing a fan base and maintaining a track record of content with search engines
4. Optimize your blog for search engines using "White hat" techniques and visit the search engine guides of Google and other major search engines regularly for changes

[Manoj]: How has blogger grown and developed as a platform in the last 2-3 years.

[Lee Jordan]: Originally Blogger lacked many of the features such as linkbacks that users of WordPress and Typepad took for granted. It was a basic blogging platform for beginners. It has matured into a rich and robust platform with many options and tools for bloggers of every level, from beginner to expert. The greatest changes have happened over the last year, with more features added than can be listed here.

Labels: Blogger, Blogging, SEO

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1. Consumer behavior has shifted: 74% of consumers now search for local businesses and services online
2. The local business owner knows he needs to be online, but does not know where to begin
3. This consumer pull through and pent up demand from local advertisers is the biggest driver of our growth. But there are many players in our market and we are not aware of any growing as fast as Yodle. Hiring world class experts like Mike Deluca from Hot Jobs and Paolo and Rick gives Yodle the excellence in execution to capture this opportunity.

Labels: Yodle

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(Guest Post)

Day 3 of SES San Jose is always an interesting day. It’s the day of Google Dance hangovers and beach trips. However, the highlight of my day was “Ads in a Quality Score World"


Moderator: Dana Todd, CMO, Newsforce

Speakers:

• Brad Geddes, Founder, bgTheory.com
• Ron Jones, Search Engine Watch Expert & President/CEO, Symetri Internet Marketing
• Kendall Allen, Former Managing Director, Incognito Digital, Digital Marketing and Convergence Media Consultant
• Misty Locke, President & Co-founder, Range Online Media

Dana Todd moderated the session and made a point that each panelist was instructed to give at least one hot tip. That was refreshing to hear, because often panelists are too theoretical without giving practical advice.

Although technical difficulties delayed us about 10 minutes, Ron Jones started us off with some basic notes and a history of the Quality Score.

Ron Jones

• What is a Quality Score?
• Not Bid to Position
• Quality Score is a dynamic value assigned to each keyword
• Quality Score Influences ad position and determines CPC
• Google Introduced Quality Score in 2005, revised in 2007
• Factors that determine Quality Score
• Historical CTR
• Relevance with Ad
• CTR History – with all keywords
• Landing Page
• Solutions:
• Split AdGroups to 20 -30 keywords. If it’s more then that it’s not granular enough
• Test thoroughly
• Delete low / poor ratings
• Too many people are focused on bid management and not on quality score
• Hot Tip: Testing is essential

• Why is Quality Score Important?
• Ad Rank = Keyword Quality Score X Max CPC
• Save money by adjusting score
• Quality Score Factors Chart
• Account Organization is Key
• Dynamic Keyword Insertion should not be a crutch
• Hot Tip – Run a keyword bid that shows min bids

• “How to Manage the Madness”
• Quality Score goes back to the fundamental of paid search
  
• 5 basic Steps
• Keyword Building - Flush out all the “right” keywords
• Organization & Structure - Yahoo has a 10,000 AdGroup limit per Campaign – If you haven’t reached that, then you are not granular enough.
• Match Types - Every keyword should have every match type & Break Match types into unique AdGroups
• Creative - Keyword Insertion should NOT be needed
• Landing Pages
  

Labels: john ellis, San Jose, Search Engine Strategies, SES

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