Category Archives: Search

Closure of MyBlogLog Indicative of The Stifling Effects of The Yahoo Brand According To SEO Experts QueryClick.com

It comes as no surprise that the MyBlogLog service will be closing this year, following the leaked statement in December 2010 concerning the closure of a stream of services including Delicious, Yahoo Buzz and Yahoo Picks. The leaked screenshot surfaced when it was posted to Twitter by former Yahoo employee and founder of MyBlogLog, Eric Marcoullier.

MyBlogLog was acquired by Yahoo little over 3 years ago for a sum of $10 million. Its purpose was the creation of widgets which site owners could insert in order to track fellow MyBlogLog members who read their blogs. Similar to the idea behind the display of “like” widgets by external websites.

The service is to be officially shut down on the 24th May this year, with any unused subscription portions due to be refunded back to premium service users.

UK SEO company QueryClick.com commented on the familiarity of the ill-fated acquisition:

“The demise of MyBlogLog is the latest in a series of failed acquisitions by the company. Such an anti-climactic relationship has become a miserable familiarity where Yahoo is involved, with many citing the persistent failure to follow up on initial hopes and promises as the major flaw of both sides.”

Several examples can be cited, such as the largely forgotten acquisition of ‘Upcoming’ (a site providing a local and national listing of events) in 2005 and the deal between Yahoo and Flickr dating back to the same year. The latter promised much, but has since withered into the background for anyone except photo enthusiasts, with Facebook consuming up more and more of the photo sharing market. Upcoming on the other hand, was one of the Yahoo services earmarked for mergers or consolidation in the leaked screenshot of December 2010.

The cuts being made are in accordance with the overall plan to reduce costs within Yahoo, who had also made the decision to layoff hundreds of staff at the end of last year.

The demise of so many of Yahoo’s acquisitions can be categorised under one main defect, largely the neglect of the acquired company following the initial phase of thrill and ambition for the future. A spokesperson for SEO experts QueryClick.com pin-pointed the common factor between the doomed Yahoo acquisitions:

“For so many of those start-ups taken on by Yahoo, a primary sense of optimism was soon stifled by an excess of bureaucracy and an inability to agree and get to work on new products or innovations.”

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Bing’s Integration of Facebook ‘Likes’ Is The Next Phase In Social Search, Claims SEO Experts QueryClick

True to form, the world of social media shows little sign of slowing down in terms of infiltrating every aspect of our lives; search engines being no exception.

While Google laid bare plans to include relevant content from social media sources such as YouTube, Flickr and Twitter, Microsoft’s own search engine – Bing – has been preparing its move into the realm of social search with a much touted tie with Facebook.

Now Facebook “liked results” will become integrated with everyday Bing searches which Bing’s development team described as “part of a longer journey” into an improved cohesion between search and the social sphere.

Commenting on Bing’s inclusion of Facebook ‘liked results’, a spokesperson for Edinburgh-based SEO experts QueryClick said:

“QueryClick are not surprised to see Bing announce a tie with Facebook in a bid to keep shoulder to shoulder with Google following the launch of the latter’s real time, social media search results some 18 months ago.

“The ability to ‘like’ search results and see those that your friends have ‘liked’ is another step closer to a much more personalised search experience that pulls in the activities and opinions of an individual’s social circle.

“It’s also highly likely that personalised search will lead to a much greater emphasis on personalised advertising which has already been seen on Facebook.”

The introduction of the ‘Bing Bar’ – a simple tool bar function – will also serve to blur the line between search engine and social media platform even further.

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Google’s Decision To Include Social Media Updates In SERPs Is The Latest Move Towards A Greater Emphasis On The Social Sphere, Says Search Engine Optimisation Experts QueryClick

In true Google style, barely a month goes by without the search giant making a tweak here or a change there to its algorithm.

While some changes are kept under lock and key to prevent spammers and unethical SEO practices degrading the quality of search results, other tweaks are allowed to create something of a stir.

Google’s most recent announcement regarding its inclusion of social media results in SERPs was one such change that – quite appropriately – caused sites like Twitter to get all in a flutter.

Working by aggregating content from social networking sites such as YouTube, Twitter and MySpace, the move is yet another step towards a bold blend of search and social; all under one roof.

Commenting on Google’s decision to make its search results richer in social media-related content, a spokesperson for SEO experts QueryClick said:

“QueryClick’s SEO predictions for 2011 contained a big focus on the move to mobile search as well as a greater emphasis on social media so it’s not surprising that Google have taken the step to introduce more social media-specific content in their SERPs.

“In terms of the benefits of this change for search engine optimisation, there’s now improved opportunities for sites which are under performing or in highly competitive verticals, jumping onto the first page – albeit temporarily – if their social media output relates to search terms.”

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SEO Brand Management LLC of Arizona Builds Community Larger Than Vatican City in 45 Days

SEO Brand Management LLC of Arizona, SEOBM, daily site traffic surpassed the 800 person population of the Vatican City in less than 45 days. Imagine in less than 2 months having 1095 people visiting your website every day and reading an average of 3.5 pages or more each visit. Granted, a little shy of the Vatican City and its 17,000 tourist visits each day, but without a pope this says much for pure organic online SEO and SEM Brand and Reputation Management. The major traffic generators have been from their stable of Video Marketing and Social Media SEO and SEM product portfolio.

SEOBM founder and President, Tommi Pajak, launched their first series of SEOB websites in late December 2010. Tommi states “SEOBM was created for the sole purpose of providing premium services for Proactive Online Brand and Reputation Management SEOwith emphasis on Keyword Rankings.

After years of servicing premier SEO companies as a collaborative supply chain partner, which served as a great education, I was compelled to lead SEOBM in a niched path as well as offering client to vertical exclusivity. We practice what we preach with the integrity to secure and extend our online reach. Kind of ironic our first milestone was the Vatican City. Quite fitting, I’m certain we’ll gain more off the popular Vatican City keywords, but I’m not inclined to build out a Vatican City Virtual Tour for their Reputation Management, our content should compel the readership to capture a qualified visit and a neutral online ref. If you look at one of the industry Key Performance Indicators, KPI’s, such as Alexa, achieving an Alexa rank under 750,000 in 45 days with our SEO friendly services and products, no PPC, just pure Organic SEO and SEM, that is what we preach. We’re not the new kids on the block by any means, we’re well seasoned and staffed with some of the best intellectual assets in the industry.

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Wikipedia Is The Site To Beat According To SEO Experts QueryClick.com

“Wikipedia (WIK-i-PEE-dee-ə) is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 17 million articles (over 3.5 million in English) have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world, and almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site. Wikipedia was launched in 2001 by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger and has become the largest and most popular general reference work on the Internet, ranking eighth among all websites on Alexa and having 365 million readers.”

Based on the wisdom of crowds, nothing summarises a concept better than Wikipedia. The reference site has came a long way in its ten years in existence. From a heavily criticised agglomeration of unreliable information, and the bane of the teaching profession, to the most widely used point of reference on the internet.

Its credibility derives largely from the very aspect of its being which was the cause of such negativity in the early days; the indiscriminate access to the article editing process. By not only affording everyone the chance to modify, update and add to existing articles, but to encourage this strategy, the site attracted many sceptics.

However, following some extensive Wiki-vandalism, in which users would deliberately and cynically alter information, it seems that the joke has worn off. Prevailing attitudes have demonstrated the overwhelming success of the open approach to knowledge sharing, in which it has been proven that those who actively edit and submit articles are the people who care enough about a particular subject to do so.

According to SEO company QueryClick.com, such an approach has unquestionably paid off, a fact powerfully demonstrated by the strength of Wikipedia’s performance with search engines. A spokesperson from QueryClick said:

“From personal experience, we are all aware of the unrivalled visibility of the online encyclopedia in search engine results pages. It is often we find that all that stands between our clients and the top spot is a Wikipedia entry on that particular subject.”

Speaking of a venture which has paid off, the relative success of Wikipedia seems all the more impressive given its non-commercial status. It is entirely free to use, and is funded by the Wikipedia Foundation which in turn relies on public contributions and grants.

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SEO Experts QueryClick Welcome The Rise In Professional Usage of Social Media

The consistent growth of social media interaction throughout society has been a central topic of technological discourse over the past few years. The more recent uptake of the platform as a base from which to broaden business, as well as social connectivity, has become the latest development in the evolution of the social media phenomenon.

A study published by Trendstream on Tuesday demonstrates the progressive adoption of social media by businesses as a key tool in their inventory, equipping them more effectively and further enabling them to better communicate their message. The research, as part of the wider Global Web Index project, purports to illustrate the evolutionary shift in social networking over the past 18 months.

It is now believed that approximately 60% of Fortune 500 companies have created a Twitter account; almost double of the figure for the previous year. At the consumer end, research by ExactTarget stated that 40% of a survey had expressed their approval of a company or brand via Facebook in order to receive promotions and discounts.

A QueryClick.com spokesperson commented on the positive findings of the report:

“From the research carried out it is clear that the growing trend for B2C interaction via sites such as Facebook and Twitter has been bolstered at both ends by the behavioural modifications which have taken place.”

According to the findings of Trendstream, the advertising and marketing industry are leading the way in their involvement in real-time social media activity. Behind them – and by some distance – comes IT, retail, healthcare and the financial services, all of whom have embraced the business potential offered by social media activity.

Whilst the participation of the study respondents in real-time social networking and microblogging increased by some 20% over the time-scale, contribution and engagement with blogging and other static online dialogues decreased significantly. Blog writing has fallen by 4%, while forum contribution has undergone an 11% decrease.

The move away from the creation platforms (blogs and forums) to real-time networks mirrors the move into the world of immediate updates and constant communication by professional individuals and firms. One insightful statistic provided by the Trendstream report sheds further light on the connection between these factors: that the increase in links to company news stories was bettered only by the rise in the upload and browsing of personal photos.

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Bing Making Friends With Facebook Is A Wise Choice For Microsoft’s Search Engine Claims Edinburgh SEO Company Queryclick.com

Microsoft’s bid at the search engine market has been slowly chipping away at Google’s stupendous lead, but Bing still has a long way to go before it could have any dreams of clinching the top spot.

However, a massive upgrade to the decision engine could see Bing with a new selection of offerings that will draw young, savvy searchers its way. One of the biggest changes are the way the engine will return some searches with less of a traditional results page and more an interactive app that allows searchers to quickly modify the results. The other is the inclusion of a social search feature.

By teaming up with Facebook, Bing will look through recommendations made by your friends in the aim of returning more relevant and personalised results to your searches.

A spokesperson for SEO company Queryclick.com said this was a good choice for the company, and one that could pay off for it in the future. “When you look back at the way the social market has grown in the last few years, it’s clear to see that more and more people are turning to the internet as a way to interact with friends as well as a way to find information.

“By combining search results with a social aspect, Bing could prove attractive to web users who spend the majority of their time on Facebook – and there are plenty of those out there.”

The new feature is the result of a deal between the decision engine and the leading social networking site. Providing users have recently logged into their Facebook account, Bing will automatically recognise their account and search through all of the content associated friends have chosen to click a ‘Like’ button for.

The brand power of Facebook could be a huge asset to the decision engine and the partnership could also see Bing able to offer something new to the search market. While Google has also attempted to tap into the social networking market, its success has been nowhere near that of Facebook, and by partnering with the biggest social networking site of the time Bing may have the power to shake the foundations of Google’s prime position.

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Microsoft Could Upset The Status Quo With Plans To Join Online TV Battle With Apple And Google, Says Seo Experts Queryclick.com

It’s been reported that Microsoft is on the brink of revealing a web connected television service that will directly rival those of its main competitors, Google and Apple.

The new device is expected to be showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and will mark yet another effort by the software giant to beat rivals by releasing its own version of already hyped products, claimed a spokesperson for SEO company Queryclick.com.

However, this isn’t the first time Microsoft has made a foray into online TV. Back in 2002 it launched a media centre platform which, while innovative, didn’t have the audience reach needed to make it a success at the time. It’s a different story these days, and Microsoft could be in a position to release a very strong TV offering.

Brier Dudley of the Seattle Times explained that the device uses a version of software used in Microsoft’s embedded device software overlaid with the interface used by Windows Media Centre. It will offer media streaming and remote-control capabilities.

SEO company Queryclick.com said Microsoft could gain a lot of traction in the market by pipping Google to the post with its release of the new software. “Despite a slow start, Apple has since had a lot of success with its TV offering and it was no surprise to us that Google would be running with the innovation.

“Now there are rumours that Microsoft is also about to join the battle and, what with Google TV already suffering delays and setbacks, it could have an opportunity to put a dent in the market for the search giant. While early adopters may have already chosen their web-TV device, there will be a significant number of people who will surely wait to see what Microsoft will bring to the table.”

At the end of last year there were reports that Google asked a number of its TV-manufacturing partners to delay the release of their Google TV units as a direct result of complaints from early critics.

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Google Plans Education Software For App Shop

SEO experts Queryclick.com thinks Google is on the right track with plans to sell education software through its app store.

Always a company keen to look ahead for potential expansion, it’s been revealed that Google is planning to sell education software through its app store.

The industry for online learning products in the USA has been predicted to reach a value of as much as $5 billion in coming years, and recent reports that Google has been talking to educational software companies suggest the search king is eyeing a slice of the educational-pie.

Google App Marketplace already has games and instruction tools for teachers but the online powerhouse is said to be in the process of luring new developers onboard, to help it broaden its offerings. This would allow outside developers to market their products to educational establishments and would be a new venture for the search engine, which already works with schools by providing teachers and students with free software.

Google is wise to continue looking for ways to remain relevant, said a spokesperson for SEO company Queryclick.com. “Google didn’t get where it is today by sitting back and letting new innovations roll over it. Time and time again we’ve seen the search giant snap up start ups or established players in markets that are set to heat up.

“What’s more, apps are where it’s at right now, largely thanks to Apple and the original iTunes model, so it seems sensible for Google to find ways to offer unique content and applications to users.”

If Google’s foray into educational apps is successful, it could provide the company with a substantial new revenue stream, but could also prove invaluable when it comes to netting new customers for the company. By giving Google products prominence at an education level, the Mountain View giants could build brand recognition at an early age and ensure it remains relevant for the next generation of internet users.

Speaking of the initiative, Google’s business development manager for education, Obadiah Greenberg, said: “If we can provide access to education apps to our 10 million users in thousands of schools, then that would be a win all around.”

Queryclick agreed with the view that Google could be making a tactical brand movement as well as a revenue driven one, explaining: “For Google, brand is incredibly important and, despite hanging on to the title as the biggest search engine, it can’t afford to sit back. Recent news that Facebook has overtaken the search giant as the most popular site for American users is sure to have the company searching for new opportunities, and the educational business could be the perfect opening.

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Search Engine Optimisation Experts QueryClick Welcome The Intellectualism of Google Search

Google has long dominated the search culture in society, providing solutions to all manner of queries. Whether you need directions, a plumber or a birthday present, for many the first stop is Google. It has entered into the social lexicon as a synonymous term for search itself; to “Google” something is to find the answer to your question.

The search engine giant has taken a step further into our lives recently with the development of their ‘Culturomics’ tool. This searchable database of over 5m digitised texts allows Google to compare and analyse the significance of certain words, phrases and concepts within the context of culture, dependant upon their relative proliferation throughout the literature.

The tool represents a new dimension in search, providing insightful information on society in addition to simply presenting users with suggested solutions to arbitrary questions. Of course, Google has always utilised various algorithms in their quest to organize SERPs into an order based on relevance, however, the latest undertaking offers the means to engage with that order in a more analytical and in-depth manner.

A QueryClick spokesperson commented on the new approach to cultural research:

“The computational analysis of cultural trends is not a new phenomenon, but the Culturomics tool represents the most comprehensive and widely available instance of such an approach to sociological study. Using the tool, research into linguistic development as well as cultural shifts can be studied with ease.”

For instance, a quick comparison of the proliferation of Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra over time shows that the latter was theoretically the most popular/famous/written about of the two until the late 1980s. After this point Elvis took over and has remained more culturally significant since.

In addition to the culture comparison tool, Google has also developed the Reading Level function, available within the Advanced Search options. The process allows users to set their reading level to either basic, intermediate or advanced depending on the complexity of results they seek. This filter then separates the wheat from the chaff so to speak, and purports to offer a more relevant group of results based on the user’s reading level.

The results can sometimes cause concern with regards to their implications however. For example, a search for ‘biology’ on the advanced level returns the wikipedia page for the term, whilst the basic results allocate top spot to a video of the Girls Aloud song entitled ‘Biology’. From this it seems that if you don’t like complex biology, you must either be a girl, prefer pop music, or both.

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Chinese Search Engine Beats Google for Building Web Presence in China

Baidu CEO Robin Li’s appearance last week at the Web 2.0 summit has sent a clear message to western online entrepreneurs: his site, not Google, is the go-to search engine for implementing the all-important SEO (search engine optimization) that draws Chinese customers and builds a web presence in China.

“Baidu answers more search queries in China than any other search engine in any other market, including Google in the US,” said Li. His claim is backed by hard evidence. Last April, investment group Susquehanna International gave Baidu stock shares a bullish $1000 price target, as a result of its incredible 165% growth for the quarter. As far as online marketing, Baidu has managed to capture 62% of China’s market, compared to Google’s 20% share.

“We have a lot of room for growth,” Li said. He was referring not only to the fact that just 1/3 of Chinese people (420 million) have Internet access, a number growing exponentially, but also to his plans to take Baidu worldwide.

“I am definitely refocusing my China SEO strategy,” says Kerry Xie, a Chinese born, Los Angeles based graphic designer and English to Chinese translation specialist. “Foreigners should understand what it means for Robin Li to make such optimistic statements at the Web 2.0 Summit. He’s not just pulling ahead in the race with Google. He’s won the race, at least in China. I’m shifting my China online ad budget entirely to a Baidu PPC (pay per click) campaign.”

China SEO and Chinese web marketing expert Jacob Cooke concurs, but for different reasons. “Baidu has played by the Chinese government’s rules, and has benefited tremendously as a result of that and Google’s stand on censorship. Filtering content and sites perceived as harmful to Chinese web-surfers actually gains Baidu more users than it loses by acknowledging its censorship. I’m recommending Baidu as the first priority for my clients’ China SEO objectives.”

Justin Richardson, an education marketer from Australia who helps Chinese students study abroad, has been focusing on Baidu to the exclusion of Google for some time. “It’s not just the censorship issue that puts Baidu ahead of Google in China,” says Richardson.

“Baidu was created in Chinese for Chinese people, so of course it’s more appealing to them, both in form and function. Chinese searchers interact with the search engine differently than do their western counterparts. They can’t scan information as quickly, due to the nature of Chinese characters. Also, they input their search phrases very carefully. Baidu takes these differences into account, making for a better overall search experience. Many of my customers have said so, which is why I use Baidu almost exclusively for my China SEO efforts.”

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Microsoft Try to Beat Google At Its Own Game With Launch of Bing Android App Claim SEOs Queryclick.com

Digital experts Queryclick.com says Microsoft are brave to step into Google’s Android territory, but it’s a risk that could pay off.

With the recent release of its Bing app for Mobile Android, Microsoft proved it isn’t afraid of getting its hands dirty when it comes to the battle for smartphone supremacy.

The launch of Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 may have shaken up the playing field, but the software company has clearly been diversifying its efforts in an attempt to capture as many potential customers as possible – even if it is using competing hardware.

While the software company first launched the Bing app a few months ago, it was originally only available to Verizon Wireless customers. Perhaps this partial roll-out was a way for Microsoft to test the water, but if it was it seems the experiment has been deemed a success, as the app is now to be rolled out across Android.

A spokesperson for SEO company Queryclick.com revealed the belief that steps like this could give Bing the foothold it so desperately needs to gain more search market share. “Microsoft is still a software powerhouse, there’s no doubt of that, but the last year or two have been difficult for them in many ways.

“By failing to make the initial impact hoped in both the search and mobile markets, faith has been shaken somewhat. However, some of the features offered by Bing are great and are likely to continue to appeal to people who are happy to be re-educated when it comes to the search experience.

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Yahoo Says It’s Focused on The Future, SEO Company Queryclick.com Says It Should Keep Searching

With the search sphere becoming ever more social, Yahoo’s CEO Carol Bartz promises the struggling company still has its eye on the future – despite falling profits and rumoured downsizing. SEO experts Queryclick.com claim Yahoo is wise to keep an eye on the future, but shouldn’t ignore search.

Last week, the CEO denied rumours that the company – whose stocks were lower at the close of business last Tuesday than they were at the beginning of the year – is considering merging with AOL. Instead she claimed that Yahoo is focused on the future, and that many of the issues the company faces are image based, and only a problem for technological and financial centres.

She said the average user, outside of Silicon Valley and New York, knew what the company stood for, and that part of her role was to educate people that the company is not a Google, it is a Yahoo.

A spokesperson for SEO company Queryclick.com commended Bartz for her stance, and suggested this was the right way for her to approach the criticism. They said: “Yahoo has been in what looks like a difficult position for a long time, but much of this is related to how well the company performs in comparison to Google.

“If you take the Mountain View giant out of the equation, you see a company that still has a lot of things going for it; brand loyalty, a search partnership with Bing and a lot of valuable user data.”

It could be these three areas that will see the company drag up its market value and re-establish its place among the big boys of the online world.

In the wake of the news that Facebook will launch its own alternative to email, Bartz also hit out at those questioning Yahoo’s ability to stay relevant in the face of the continuing online revolution. Speaking at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco, Bartz claimed that rather than simply follow in Facebook’s targeted-ad-footsteps – as while Yahoo has a lot of user data, it is not aggregated in the same way – Yahoo would be concentrating on making sure publishers were able to offer users the right kind of content.

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Facebook Mobile Developments Benefit Both Business and Consumer According to SEO Experts QueryClick.com

Facebook Yesterday launched a series of developments to its mobile operations in a bid to capitalise on the growth in mobile internet access. The increased market presence of internet via mobile is especially important for the expansion of Facebook in the developing world, where the nouvelle connected are typically leapfrogging desktop access and moving straight into the world wide mobile web.

The primary improvement has been made in relation to the recent development of Facebook Places, a tool which allows Facebook members to share their whereabouts with other Facebook Friends. The revelation of Facebook Deals has heralded a new era in the interaction of mobile users with participating retail or hospitality venues.

Speaking on the increased proliferation and significance of mobile internet access, SEO company QueryClick.com said:

“While desktop search has actually fallen approximately 15% YOY, mobile search traffic has risen some 247% over the course of the past 12 months. In this respect, businesses cannot afford to ignore mobile web access, especially ‘mobile’ mobile web access, in which users on the move are now able to locate the best deals near their ever-changing locations.”

By ‘checking-in’ to one of many stores, restaurants, and other businesses, users are rewarded with relevant vouchers, discounts, and deals based on their location. The vouchers received by users are then presented to the nearby venue in return for a discounted service or product. For consumers this strategy obviously offers a valuable reward for their online participation, whilst businesses are able to promote their services on a new level, as well as keeping track of their success throughout this marketing scheme.

SEO Experts QueryClick.com are well aware of the benefits of data tracking for the development of any business, and praised the capacity of the Deals tool to track their claim rates, and thus determine the relative success of their ‘Deal’.

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SEO Experts QueryClick Welcome Skype Subsidised Wi-Fi Hotspots For Internet Week

Internet Week began in New York City in 2008, and incorporated over 250 events last year. 2010 sees the première of the five-day festival in Europe, with the schedule of events to take place throughout London. It is presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, and is open to any willing company eager to participate in this celebration of the digital industry in Europe.

Running from the 8th – 12th November, the festival, boasting over 80 events, will be enhanced by the announcement that Skype will be subsidising free Wi-Fi access throughout the UK for the duration of the event via the Skype Access service.

Commenting on the relationship between Skype and the Internet Week Europe, Co-Chairman David-Michel Davis said:

“What better way to celebrate that impact than partnering with Skype to make the Internet more accessible than ever.”

It certainly does show a commitment on Skype’s part to further the accessibility of the internet in public places, albeit for the 5 days of the festival only. SEO Experts QueryClick view the provision of free access as a hugely positive addition to the Internet Week event, insisting that:

“It makes sense that internet access in public spaces should be offered for free in accordance with the principles of the event, and the celebratory nature of the festival.”

The availability of free internet access to all in the UK increases the reach of the week of talks, conferences, challenges, and debates to all those outwith the London perimeters. The inclusion of big name brands such as Google, BBC, Yahoo!, and Lonely Planet ensures that the event will be a highly popular one, luring in the crowds with the crop of digital celebrity.

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SEO Experts QueryClick.com Discuss Google Place Search and The Heightened Importance of ‘Local’ Results

The launch of Google Place Search at the end of October has significantly altered the face of Google SERPs. With the focus now placed emphatically on local results, the ramifications of this change will affect a range of companies as well as the operations of the average SEO.

The most notable change to the result lay-out is the abolition of the “7-pack” section which previously appeared at the top of the page. The familiar grouping of 7 local search results adjacent to the map display has been replaced by a more comprehensive listing of local search results, with the geographical visualisations now located in the right hand column – an alteration which has caused concern due to the subsequent obscuration of the Adwords section.

According to Andrew Shortland, founder of ‘Local SEO Guide’, the tool lends itself to small businesses. His belief is that the new format “intensifies the competition for local rankings”. Shortland also points out that sites with a physical address within the searched for city will gain an advantage over those which lack the corresponding location.

In a similar vein, customer reviews will also benefit a business site, affording reviewed businesses a greater prominence within the SERPs.

The driving theory behind the latest development is the statistic offered by Google that over 20% of searches are location related. This may now be increased as search habits are modified to make better use of the Place Search function.

SEO company QueryClick.com believe that different sectors will be affected to varying extents by the introduction of this tool.

“The tool will affect some industries more than others, with one obvious example being the hospitality industry, for whom geo-modified search queries will play a more significant role. In such cases, search engine optimisation will revolve more closely around the location of a hotel or restaurant. Place Search definitely heightens the importance of local results, but does not represent a complete usurpation of organic search.”

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SEO Experts QueryClick Welcome News That Britain Leads the Way In Online Shopping

In a report carried out by the US consultancy group Boston Consulting, it has been revealed that the UK is a global leader in the field of e-commerce, with the highest online spend per capita in the world. The internet has contributed approximately £100bn – 7.2% of GDP– to the British economy in 2009, and represents the second largest online advertising spend after the USA.

According to search engine optimisation experts QueryClick, the dominance of the UK in the e-commerce sector has been borne out of a growing tendency of the British public to utilise online shopping services due to a marked desire to receive value for money.

“Many people in the UK feel they are able to get a better deal online, and often this is the case. The atmosphere of economy in Britain drives many to seek out better value for money via online shopping. The rise in dominance of the world of e-commerce has resulted in a greater level of competition which, for us, equates to a greater opportunity to offer our services in a region in which we are market leaders.”

The internet as an independent sector would be classed as the fifth largest industry in Britain, just behind the financial services, which accounted for 9% of GDP in 2009. The BCG study, aptly entitled The Connected Kingdom, discovered that internet companies in the UK employ over 250,000 staff, with many of these positions made available by various SMEs.

Co-author of the report and partner at BCG, Paul Zwillenberg, provided an insight into the report’s findings:

“Everyone thinks the global Silicon-Valley-based companies are driving growth, but this report makes clear that in the UK it is coming from the ‘mom and pop’ businesses. They now have global footprints, they are selling to the ‘long tail’ and they are making their businesses more efficient.”

The driving force behind the lead status of the UK for e-commerce stems from the notable amounts of money spent by Brits online. Research by eMarketer tells us that some 28.5 million Britons make online purchases, whilst around 40% partake in online shopping at least once a month, spending on average £71 monthly.

All this has come despite the relatively slow broadband speeds experienced within the UK, as well as the recent recession, in which, as SEO company QueryClick points out, online advertising spend continued to grow YOY despite the overall contraction in advertising expenditure.

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Bigmouthmedia Identifying Current Key Affiliate Marketing Issues

Bigmouthmedia is to conduct a new affiliates survey designed to identify the key issues in affiliate marketing in the current climate.

The digital marketing agency has commissioned the research in a bid to establish firm information about the latest developments and emerging challenges that matter to the sector. Affiliates responding to the survey will be asked for their opinions on a series of issues ranging from networks and tracking technologies to the use of creatives and advertising exchanges.

“Are affiliates most successful when they concentrate on just one niche? Is commission attribution modelling a major threat to the industry? There are many questions hanging over the affiliates industry and we want to know which issues matter most to them,” said Fiona Robertson, head of Affiliates and Performance at bigmouthmedia.

“Our Affiliate partners are extremely important to us. We believe it’s important to know what makes their businesses work, to understand what they think of the digital industry as a whole, and that identifying affiliate opinions on the key issues currently facing the industry is an essential step towards creating greater clarity in the sector.”

The questions include: are affiliates better digital marketers than many of the merchants they work with? Are there too many affiliate networks in the UK? Do networks in the UK have a problem with low quality or fraudulent traffic and does Google want to become the world’s largest affiliate?

The new bigmouthmedia affiliate marketing survey, which closes on October 6th 2010, is open to any affiliate that wishes to participate and receive a free copy of the final research in return, and one lucky winner will also get an additional a prize. Responses from networks, agencies and merchants are not being sought.

Via EPR Network
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SEO experts QueryClick Welcome the Decision to Create Real-Time Analytics Functionality for Social Media Giant Twitter

Following Twitter’s announcement that it will be launching a free analytics service as of the end of 2010, users will soon be able track and monitor their online activities and the success of their tweets.

With social media platforms becoming increasingly prominent in website promotion and customer engagement, the ability to track the success of Twitter-based activities has long been on the wish lists of everyday users and businesses alike.

UK SEO experts, QueryClick believe the arrival of a Twitter analytics dashboard is a further sign that SEO is increasingly affected by social media.

Discussing the matter, a QueryClick spokesperson said:

“Social media is one of the fastest growing sectors in web but for the past couple of year’s there’s been little evidence to support the likes of Twitter and Facebook holding much sway over SEO in terms of boosting back links and driving traffic in the long term rather than temporarily.

“Recent findings suggest that this could be about to change however so it’s increasingly important for businesses to get ready for the social media surge and track the successes and failures of their output in a similar fashion to Google Analytics.”

The decision to roll out a Twitter analytics package is also speculated to be among a number of measures that are already taking shape on the site.

A complete redesign of the site, for example, now features a split screen for multimedia content on one side and recognisable Twitter chatter on the other.

Clearly part of CEO Evan William’s desire to create “A better Twitter”, the redesign and new analytics dashboard is set to make microblogging a force to be reckoned with on top of the 90 million tweets that are currently posted daily.

SEO web designers QueryClick have been quick to warn businesses to make the most of Twitter’s analytics dashboard while it remains free:

“Should Twitter’s analytics dashboard take off, the chances are there will be a specific model rolled out for businesses and marketeers which will contain more advanced features and will most likely not be free.

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Alibaba Group’s Re-evaluation of Yahoo Ties May Prove Harmful To Yahoo’s Presence in China, warns SEO Experts QueryClick.com

Alibaba.com has been something of a success story, beginning its internet life as a small start-up and growing into an online force to be reckoned with. Furthermore, it has recently expanded it overseas presence with AliExpress, an online marketplace akin to eBay.

In fact, it seems that a closer relationship with eBay may replace that held between Alibaba and Yahoo. During the two-day Alifest event this month, John Donohoe, chief executive of eBay, made an unlikely appearance, with Alibaba chairman and chief executive Jack Ma announcing that:

“We are competitors in some ways but we have the same dream, the same mission and the same goal to help entrepreneurs…I believe one day we will work very closely together.”

The hinted co-operation between the companies coincides with the deterioration in Alibaba’s ties with Yahoo, whose proposed venture into mainland China, along with the denouncement of Yahoo’s lack of core technologies by Alibaba.com CEO David Wei have formed the basis for the alleged re-assessment of the current partnership between the companies.

Search Engine Optimisation experts QueryClick.com commented on the benefits of increased co-operation between AliExpress and Ebay:

“A close partnership between AliExpress and eBay could be hugely beneficial for both sides, with one providing the other with valuable contacts and insights into their respective markets. The Chinese market is notoriously difficult to master for foreign investors, whilst eBay could provide expert advice for Alibaba’s expanded online presence in the West.”

Following news that Yahoo Hong Kong Managing Director, Tsoi Po-tak, revealed the company’s hope to lure advertising from the Chinese mainland, China’s Alibaba Group – which is 40% owned by Yahoo Inc. – may rethink it’s relationship with the US giant.

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