We’ve recently seen in the media that Joaquin Almunia, the European Commission’s competition chief, has outlined his disapproval of Google’s tactics within the European search market, saying that the company is giving ‘undue prominence’ to its own services within search results.  In particular he has highlighted concerns around Google’s maps, news and shopping comparison offerings, believing that they are driving traffic away from rival websites. Read more »

For many years the worlds of public relations (PR) and search engine optimisation (SEO) have existed separately, providing companies with their benefits in a very disparate manner.  However, the time has arrived for the two strands to work together in order to offer the best possible online result, particularly in light of the changes brought in by Google Penguin.

This is where SEO PR comes in.  It focuses on the ‘credible’, places for brands to be seen online, and the ‘genuine’, organic activity such positive online conversations about the company. Read more »

As the abundance of smartphones and tablets that integrate geo-location technology, such as GPS, give rise to the SoLoMo (Social Local Mobile) phenomenon, the opportunity it presents can live up to predicted demand for this kind of service.

SoLoMo represents a natural step up from the proliferation and popularity of retrieving generic gift cards or vouchers via a mobile handset.  The fact that there is already a captive audience for sourcing discounts and benefits whilst on the move readily plays into the hands of those wishing to target consumers. These include voucher aggregators and directories, as well as the brand owners who permit local, targeted offers to be made on their behalf via these types of secondary platform. Read more »

With Google researching the possibility of reducing its page one search results from ten to seven and favour due to be given to paid results on Google shopping, it is time companies revisited their overall spend to ensure they are getting the most from their budget.

A search system that displays seven results per page would mean that PPC and digital marketing would take on additional importance alongside search engine optimisation (SEO) as opportunity would be reduced.

Combine this with the announcement that only paid listings are to be shown within the Google shopping results in the US from this autumn, with Europe and Asia following next year, the need to spend wisely has never been greater.  Read more »

Facebook’s recent announcement that it is to bring online gaming into its offering represents a merging of worlds that will trouble the sensibilities of some.

From now on, the world of Facebook will forever be disturbed by notifications of friends’ successes on the slots and bingo. It is the beginning of a revolution that could easily push large numbers away.

So why has Facebook chosen to take this gamble with its users? Read more »

In the last week, the latest Google algorithm ‘Penguin’ has come into force, looking to eradicate websites that break search best practice rules.  However, Google has been forced to admit teething problems with the update after it received complaints from legitimate companies that had been removed from search rankings as a result of the changes. Read more »

It is often forgotten that many international consumer markets don’t have the same level of e-retail sophistication as there is here in the UK. This has implications for the way in which international online consumers are targeted.

Some marketing directors incorrectly assume that strong point of purchase sales in a specific country will automatically convert to the same level of online success. Unfortunately, it’s not as straightforward as this – given the comparatively high level of online purchasing behaviour in the UK, it’s sometimes easy to assume that this applies to other overseas markets. Many countries with thriving high-street demand have simply not transferred into digital retail at the same rate. Read more »