By ruth | Published: January 31, 2012
If you hear something that sounds to good to be true, the chances are that it…well, is. This never holds up better than when considering SEO companies (or “link building” companies masquerading as SEO outsourcers) who promise you the world on a Google-shaped platter. It seems to be a natural habit of many people who outsource SEO to recoil when told by their agency that they need to do some work, but get overexcited when the agency sits back and tells them not to worry. So if you are outsourcing your SEO and other online marketing, when should you listen to your agency and when should you start questioning their decisions?
By ruth | Published: January 17, 2012
QR codes are a bit of a craze at the moment, cropping up everywhere from billboards and flyers to magazines and coupons. We’ve had a few people making enquiries about getting QR codes implemented for their sites or just generally for their businesses, but in most cases we’ve talked them out of it for their [...]
By ruth | Published: December 20, 2011
Even if you’re ranking top in Google with veritable hoards of traffic swamping your site, that doesn’t mean an awful lot unless they start making purchases or otherwise getting in touch about your services. Conversion, in the end, is everything.
By ruth | Published: December 8, 2011
Tablet computers are on the rise. Whether you’ve opted for a gadgety iPad or a no-nonsense Asus tablet, it looks like tablet computing is here to stay. The recent proliferation of tablets is now starting to have a significant impact on the way people search, browse and shop online.
Posted in Banner Advertising, Internet Marketing, PPC, Technology | Also tagged adwords, Banner Advertising, Google, iPad, mobile devices, paid advertising, PPC, PPC advertising, Tablet Computing, website visitors
By ruth | Published: November 30, 2011
Adwords ROI is an enormous topic in and of itself, but centring on the Google Maps service simplifies things somewhat. Business listings on Google Places are still absolutely free, so for a cost of zero the potential to bring in even one or two new local customers is worth the effort of registering. For the time being at least, don’t fret over defensive ads unless you’ve got literally piles of competitors who are all in the same geographical area as you. Remember Maps searches are based on both need and location, not just keyword, and plan your online marketing strategy accordingly.
By ruth | Published: November 23, 2011
After many years of loyal service, today Yahoo closed down Yahoo Site Explorer in favour of a complete move over to Bing. While Yahoo claim that the new Bing Webmaster Tools features have been upgraded to provide comparable service, it seems sadly unlikely that the same level of backlink data will be available.
By ruth | Published: November 17, 2011
Most online marketers and site developers don’t bother with search engine optimising their videos if they have any, considering it a “nice to have” rather than a critical component of site content. Less than one fifth of marketers will bother putting keywords in, and someone who enters in proper metadata, captions and annotations is a rare animal indeed.
By ruth | Published: November 1, 2011
Think of casual browsers as window shoppers. When you walk down a high street, there is a good chance that you won’t walk into every shop you pass and spend ten minutes browsing its shelves and racks to see what is on offer. Instead, you look at the windows to see what the shop sells, how it is presented and priced and if they have any special or unique offers currently available. Only if you see something of interest will you actually enter the shop…
By ruth | Published: October 11, 2011
A new form of EU consumer rights legislation came into force last month which has particular relevance for online retailers. eXtraSearch are able to provide consultative advice on how to manage your site without losing profits or search visibility while your business conforms to new legislation.
By Rachel | Published: October 20, 2010
Quality scores are a mechanism used by Google to reward good adverts and place poor adverts at a disadvantage. This is a method of automatically policing the AdWords system and keeping the ads more relevant an better for users. But what factors determine quality score?
Posted in PPC | Also tagged adwords, ctr, PPC, quality score
