Creating web traffic growth

Change creates growth
this leads to

The opentracker law of website traffic:

Given a constant environment, website traffic will remain unchanged unless you take action.
"Unchanged" refers to: the number of new visitors, visitors entering by search term, referred traffic, etc, will not increase.

executive summary: in a nutshell

The point of this article to make you aware of the need to change things on your website in order to increase traffic and make your site more effective.
In 10 words or less: measure and evaluate, in order to make effective changes.
We see many sites "stuck" at the same level of traffic. Many sites generate the same number of new visitors consistently, year after year, the number changing only 1-2%.
In practical terms: you can rely on changes in your search engine ranking or free publicity, OR you can work to make change yourself.

general introduction: change creates growth

Summary:

• Change creates growth
• Action is required for change

"Actionable metrics" are data or information that you can apply.
By looking at thousands of web traffic datasets we have learned that change does not happen by itself, you need to make change happen.

Steps To Take In Order To Succeed:

In order to take action you need:

1. information or data
2. the ability to implement your ideas effectively
3. a way monitor this; indicator of success or failure
4. ability to identify and implement the most effective solution

Example: you have a website and want visitors to find your products. You can use a search bar, a drop-down, roll-over or click selection. Place alternatives on your site and use measurement to think with your clients, to understand how they like to navigate.
Find out and make it happen. The best option will mean increased user satisfaction and products viewed.
A lot depends on your site strategy. Google, for example, is designed to get visitors off their site; fast results drive high visitor click-throughs, and keep visitors coming back.
Your goal may be to keep visitors on your site. Therefore you should identify the solution that results in the most pages served (clicks) & time spent on your site. We think the goal is to give your visitors a good experience.

your website: understanding the internet environment

Pay attention to what is happening on the internet, and how it affects your success:
Your website does not exist in a vacuum. Your website exists in the internet environment, this means your (potential) success is dependent on this context and how you "fit in". In evolutionary terms, this is called adapting, survival of the fittest.
What can you learn from the wider internet and apply to your website in order to improve? Specifically, what observable trends will influence your content management strategies?

how to stimulate change: seeing your website in context

• The question is "what should you do in order to stimulate change?"
• The public are increasingly savvy
• The internet is more interactive in the Web 2.0 environment.
• Can you generate content related to any changes you observe?

In the next article in this series, we will provide examples of how to learn from and adjust content to fit-in with current Web 2.0 environment.

SEO Tops Digital Marketing Tactics for 2011

Here we are just past the halfway mark in 2010 and we’ve tapped into the stream of future marketing planning with our readers for 2011 with a poll. Our question? What 3 online marketing channels & tactics will you emphasize in 2011? The number one answer? Not social media, not email marketing.

The top digital marketing tactic for OMB readers in 2011 is Search Engine Optimization

Our poll this year provided 44 different answers to choose from ranging from display advertising to no holds barred spam. Over 200 readers took the poll and made their choices. While there are many signs of marketing budgets making a recovery, the vast majority of marketers are still focused on planning the most efficient and effective online marketing mix they can for the new year.
Hopefully the responses from our poll will be helpful in making those choices as budgets and strategies are planned for 2011.

The top responses in this year’s survey reflect a more holistic perspective that includes search, social media, advertising, content and email.  While social media marketing continues to get a lot of media attention and companies are investing more ($1.2 billion 2011, Forrester), search marketing (PPC and SEO) gets the lion’s share of digital marketing budgets ($20.7 billion 2011, Forrester).

A new entrant to the top 10 this year is content marketing which is a reflection of the increasing importance on providing more than just product/service features and benefits to customers in order to get them to buy. Content is the glue for the intersection of SEO and Social Media. Content is often the outcome of social interactions online and content can be shared and linked to, increasing it’s visibility within all kinds of search. I wouldn’t be surprised if Content Marketing jumped a few more spaces next year. According to the Junta42 Content Marketing Spending Report, 59% of marketers surveyed planned to increase content marketing spending in 2010.
Advertising through Pay per click and social media rated well, but not concomitant with budgets. That is more likely an indication of the topical focus of Online Marketing Blog which pays less attention to advertising than Search Marketing, Social Media, Content Marketing and Online PR.
Keep in mind, the results of this single question poll are a reflection of our readers and with 232 responses, isn’t a significant sample size for making broad generalizations. It is however, useful insight for our readers to see what others are focusing on. Online Marketing Blog is rated well as a marketing blog and has a significant readership in the marketing community.
You can see the full set of responses and all 44 digital marketing tactics here.
Are Search Engine Optimization, Social Networking and Blogging your top digital marketing tactics for 2011? If not, what areas will you emphasize next year?
resource:http://www.toprankblog.com/2010/07/seo-tops-digital-marketing-2011/

Google updates Image Search with inline panel and more image information

Google's update to Image Search brings an inline panel, which is supposed to make search faster and minimise clicking.

 

Hot deals by

 

Google has rolled out another round of update to its Image Search that is supposed to make the search faster and require less clicks. The update bring in a range of changes, the images now being presented via an inline panel.

“Based on feedback from both users and webmasters, we redesigned Google Images to provide a better search experience. In the next few days, you’ll see image results displayed in an inline panel so it’s faster, more beautiful, and more reliable,” says Google in a blog post. “You will be able to quickly flip through a set of images by using the keyboard. If you want to go back to browsing other search results, just scroll down and pick up right where you left off”.

When users search for images currently, they see large thumbnail images for whatever they are looking. For example, someone searches for the Taj Mahal, the search shows up images of the monument. Clicking on the image enlarges it, and the web page is shown in the background. With the update, Google Image Search shows a display of smaller images with one main image at the centre enlarged, with more image information.

Google also explains what the tweak to its Image Search would mean for webmasters:

- We now display detailed information about the image (the metadata) right underneath the image in the search results, instead of redirecting users to a separate landing page.

- We’re featuring some key information much more prominently next to the image: the title of the page hosting the image, the domain name it comes from, and the image size.

- The domain name is now clickable, and we also added a new button to visit the page the image is hosted on. This means that there are now four clickable targets to the source page instead of just two. In our tests, we’ve seen a net increase in the average click-through rate to the hosting website.

- The source page will no longer load up in an iframe in the background of the image detail view.

- This speeds up the experience for users, reduces the load on the source website’s servers, and improves the accuracy of webmaster metrics such as pageviews. As usual, image search query data is available in Top Search Queries in Webmaster Tools.

resource:http://www.thinkdigit.com/Internet/Google-updates-Image-Search-with-inline-panel_13189.html

Facebook Launches Graph Search to Rival Google

There was whispers recently that Facebook had some big news to share and now we know what it is…Graph Search which CEO Mark Zuckerburg announced last week.
Very soon Facebook users are going to be able to search with in a garden wall for things their friends like, places they have been as well as pictures they have posted.
What is a graph search and how does it work?

"The search bar is going to start by retuning the top search suggestions. This is going to include: people, pages, apps, places, groups and other suggested searches. Facebook users are going to be able to search for things like restaurants that are near them, hotels they would like to visit or photos that have been posted by friends or pages that they have liked. It will even allow users to search for what games their friends like to play.
There are a lot of things you need to consider when you are setting up your Facebook for successful search results. Likes on Facebook are actually going to be one of the most important components of this graph search. The more times something is liked, the larger group of individuals it is going to connect with. Make sure you fill out your profile, group and/or business page completely. It is also important that you make sure you only use real information. If there is something you DON’T want to reveal, it is better to leave area blank than to make up information. You should also avoid trying to create your own sub-categories or adding your own information. While it is only natural to want to embellish what you have to write, it is only going to hurt the search engine results.
What are the implications for SEO and online marketing?
Quite significant according to Marketing Pilgrim:
In the worlds of SEO and internet marketing, Graph Search will change the game entirely. Your fans are more important than ever. With Graph Search, people who like your Facebook Page and share your content will automatically become unofficial word-of-mouth brand advocates on your behalf. Facebook’s new pillar is further affirmation for a trend that we’ve been seeing for quite a bit of time – simply put, people prefer to turn to their friends for advice.
With the prospect that Facebook’s Graph Search could eventually become a fairly effective local search and recommendation engine, SEOs need to pay more attention to like signals, review signals and check-ins. Think about it, users will be typing in “pizzerias that my friends like” (meaning having a page that people “like” is a signal) or “pizzerias that my friends have been to” (meaning Facebook check-ins are a signal). The same goes for our clients – It’ll be our job to train our clients to focus on attracting the right fans to your page and giving your fans a reason to interact with your content on an ongoing basis. This includes providing incentives for checking-in upon arrival and engaging your audience with worthwhile content. This puts a whole new spin on the significance of developing a content strategy for Facebook – your business page just gained a whole new level of importance."

Currently, Facebook Graph Search is only available in beta, but make sure you sign-up to the wait list so you’re one of the first to get access when it is officially launched.
recourse: http://blog.ineedhits.com/search-news/facebook-launches-graph-search-to-rival-google-211512285.html

Google Overhaul’s Image Search; Webmasters Rejoice

As most people are aware, the current Google Image Search requires multiple steps to view images. Currently, when a user searches for an image, they are brought to a search result page with different images. To see a bigger version of the picture, users have to click on it and then they are brought to another page. To view another picture, they have to go back to the image result page and then click on another picture. It can become quite a hassle for those who want to look at multiple pictures.
The new change to Google Image Search will now bring up a larger image when an image is clicked on the image result page. Users will have the ability to look through multiple images in a way that does not require multiple clicking. Simply using their keyboard, users will be able to skip through the different images instead of needing to go back to the search result page and selecting a new image.
This new change will also add four clickable targets that will make it easier for users to visit the actual website that the image is being hosted on. This update to Google Image Search will also prevent phantom visits, which many publishers have noticed happening to the current system. More information on the results will also be displayed, including metadata, the page hosting the image, its size, and domain name. This is designed to increase click-through rates to the sites hosting the images.
During the testing of this new update, it was reported that Google noticed an increase in click-through traffic, which should make webmasters very happy.
You can find out more about this update to Google Image search here.

1st Google Panda Update Released for 2013

Even though Google initially denied that there was an update taking place, it was announced on January 22 that a new Panda refresh has been pushed out.
This is the first update from Google in 2013 and the 24th version of the Panda refresh update. Google says that this update has affected only 1.2% of English queries and many webmasters are reporting to not have even noticed a change in their website’s ranking at all.
Google’s main focus has been cutting down the amount of low quality web pages and Panda has been one of the ways that Google is doing just that. Since Panda’s release almost two years ago, Google has been able to target those websites the feature spam, keyword stuffed content, serial plagiarism, and much more. The websites that have been targeted receive lower ranks by Google. Websites that receive very low ranks will be removed completely from Google Search.
The updates to Panda refresh are designed to perform regular refreshes that allow Google to weed out websites that are content farms, spam, and overall poor websites to improve the overall user experience. This Panda refresh update is not creating as much buzz as the December 21, 2012 update though.
Ever since Google Panda was released in February of 2011, there has been at least one update a month, sometimes even two. Most of these 24 updates were announced by Google, but some were not. The last few updates to Panda refresh have only affected English queries.
resource:http://blog.ineedhits.com/search-news/1st-google-panda-update-released-for-2013-291312305.html

Blog Posts to Read for November 1, 2012

Below you will find our favorite blog posts that are related to SEO, search engine marketing and social media marketing from this past week. Please feel free to visit each, we hope you find them as helpful as we do!

31 Easy Ideas To Create Content Your Customers Want
The big secret in content marketing is that it is not that hard to begin creating a steady stream of relevant content. Here are 31 ideas to help you get started.
5 Things to Check Before Sending Your Press Release
Before you send out your press release, you need to check these 5 important things.
8 Questions to Ask When Guest Blogging
How do you know if guest blogging is worth your time? Here are 8 considerations.
Five Lessons Learned After Five Years of B2B Social Media
Today, brands are embracing social media and are becoming more effective at integrating these tools into their communications. Here are five lessons from someone who has been involved in B2B social media for the past 5 years.
Yelp Cracks Down on Fake Reviews
Yelp claims that employees will investigate and respond to all related solicitations by going undercover to catch the perpetrators.
Infographic: State of Social Media Marketing
Awareness has published “The State Of Social Marketing Report” and an associated infographic. The report dives into the numbers to detail items with important business value.
How Your Brand Can Leverage the Power of Other Brands on Social Media
Just like we interact with friends on social media, we (brands) should interact with other brands.
More Marketers Spend On Content, Fewer Know If it’s Working
Last year, 40% of the B2B marketers surveyed said content marketing was “effective” or “very effective.” This year, that figure dipped to 36%.
Google Analytics Tips for Small Businesses
Use Google Analytics to help measure how your website is doing. Here are some ways to make sense of all of the reporting options.
Using Social Media For Lead Generation
Simply opening up a Twitter account or creating a LinkedIn profile isn’t enough; you have to know how to turn your connections into qualified leads.
These were our favorite SEO, SEM and Social Media blog posts this week. Check back next week for more top posts!

Top 5 SEO Resources Online

Search engine optimization contains hundreds of factors and there are updates far to often. Researching SEO can be a challenge because you don’t always know if the information is old, new, correct or incorrect. The infographic below shows the most popular SEO resources on the web, as well as their current rankings and monthly traffic.

Posts related to Top 5 SEO Resources Online

Online business would be far less prosperous without the 'online' side of the markets and to obtain visibility within the internet, you need search engine ...Online Business Needs Professional SEO

WordPress SEOis a widely used tactic for website search engine optimization and functionality. This success has lead to an over whelming amount of users and ...WordPress - A Global Phenomenon

Check-Domains.com is one of the most complete, free, website analysis tools that I've used. It offers endless listings for ranks and other website statistics that make-up ...Check-Domains - Best Free Website Analyzer

SitemapDoc.com has an incredible tool set, that's free, that offers very helpful information when it comes to website placement in Google. They offer information that ...SitemapDoc.com - Free Website Keyword Analysis

Free SEO Tools for Website Analysis

Most of the SEO Professionals needs to send number of SEO proposals to new clients often. Also, they would like to have quick analysis on each website before sending the proposal. Following are top 3 free online tools which will help you while doing website analysis.

1. woorank
2. Site Trail
3. Hubspot's Marketing Grader

1. Woorank:

Woorank is one of the best free tool for basic SEO analysis. Woorank team is putting their maximum efforts to optimize this tool. SEO Professionals who would like to know about any site in a single click can approach this tool without any doubt. One good thing is it’s always free and clean interface with no ads. Following are the couple factors this tool analyzes about a website:

• SEO Suggestions
• Visitor’s information
• Social Share data
• SEO Tech Info
• SEO Tags Data
• Link Evaluation
• Keyword Analysis
• Website Authority & Back links
• Usability & Security
• Tracking & Technologies

 2. Site Trail:

Site Trail is another free SEO tool for website analysis. It’s little new compared to woorank. It’s also offering the same kind of features in woorank. However Site Trail team has few more additional features to their tool i.e. Hosting, Server, DNS Records & HTTP headers information. Following are the list of features it offers:

• Social Media Stats
• Basic SEO Data
• Visitors Analysis
• Traffic Rank Details
• Content & Linking Analysis
• Hosting & Server Info
• DNS & HTTP header Records

3. HubSpot’s MarketingGrader:

It will give little in-depth analysis of any website. This tool is able to recognize whether your site is a blog or not. It’s good to test one of your sites personally on this tool, so that you will have a better idea. If you are marketing professional then you will worth testing it. Listed below major features:

• Blogging analysis
• SEO Info
• Mobile Compatibility check
• Social Stats
• Analytics

 If you would like to add any free SEO tools to this post, please feel free share your views at below comment section. 

resource:http://www.seodailyupdates.com/2012/03/free-seo-tools-for-website-analysis.html

New Affiliate Programs Available

Program Highlights:

• Bounty: $125 through September 30, 2012. $110 Beginning October 1, 2012.
• Commission duration: 30 Days

DIRECTV is one of the world's leading providers of digital television entertainment services delivering a premium video experience through state-of-the-art technology, unmatched programming, and industry leading customer service to more than 32 million customers in the U.S. and Latin America. DIRECTV offers more than 285 channels with more than 170 HD channels in Dolby-Digital® 5.1 theater-quality sound, access to exclusive programming, and the most comprehensive collection of sports programming available anywhere, including NFL SUNDAY TICKET, NHL® CENTER ICE®, and NBA LEAGUE PASS. As an all-digital platform, we were the first to deliver an interactive on-screen program guide and Pay Per View ordering by remote control. DIRECTV scored higher in customer satisfaction than cable companies measured in the American Customer Satisfaction Index.

Website: http://www.directv.com

Join the DIRECTV Group affiliate program

Contact: directv-affiliates@google.com

Program Highlights:

• Commissions: 6%
• Commission duration: 30 Days
• Average Order Value: $125

Joss & Main is a members-only site that offers limited-time sale events on the world’s best brands for home and life. Our carefully curated 3 day events feature distinctive designs, trends and the talents of noted influencers from the interior design community. Our design and merchandising teams forge strong personal relationships with top brands, suppliers and designers to offer insider access to the highest quality housewares at prices up to 70% off retail. Big ticket items, such as furniture and rugs, do particularly well and our members covet those items.

Website: https://www.jossandmain.com

Join the Joss & Main affiliate program

Contact: affiliates@jossandmain.com

Program Highlights:

• Commissions: 10%
• Commission duration: 60 Days
• Average order value: $150 - $200
• Free shipping on all $200+ orders

Naturals Inc. is a unique online women's clothing boutique with a fulfillment center in Ashland, Oregon. We offer an exclusive selection of elegant yet comfortable apparel and accessories from top designers such as Eileen Fisher, Three Dots, Hobo International, Cambio Jeans, Not Your Daughter's Jeans, brendesign jewelry, Satya, and Chan Luu scarves.

Website: http://www.naturals-inc.com

Join the Naturals, Inc affiliate program

Contact: affiliates@naturals-inc.com

Program Highlights:

• Commissions: 10%
• Commission duration: 30 Days

Eilatan Shoes is a local Los Angeles and Orange County shoe haven. We have three physical stores in LA/OC at the Beverly Center , the Irvine Spectrum, and at the Courtyards in Newport Beach. We are a serious shoe store for SHOE LOVERS ONLY! In 2012, our company outgrew our old site and launched Tiltedsole.com. Tiltedsole.com is a brand new website created just for her. We carry the hottest shoe brands for womens including Jeffrey Campbell, UGG Australia, UNIF, Betsey Johnson, Dolce Vita and more.

Website: http://www.tiltedsole.com

Join the Tilted Sole affiliate program

Contact: customerservice@eilatan.com

Microsoft launches new logo after 25 years

Microsoft will use a new logo for the first time in over two and a half decades. The software titan has created a new logo which has been heavily inspired by the emblem of Windows operating system. This change in the logo also shows the company's focus on the tile-centric Metro interface, which it uses in the Windows Phone platform, XBOX 360 and the upcomingWindows 8 and Office suite.

On the Microsoft Blog on TechNet, Jeff Hansen, the general manager of brand strategy at the company, said that this step will ensure that a consistent user experience can be delivered across all platforms, from PCs and phones to tablets and television.

Rather than the previous emblem, which only had the name of the company, this new logo has 'Microsoft' written in Segoe font on the right and square with four tiles, reminiscent of the Metro UI, on the left.

The new Microsoft logo is already on the company website and in retail stores in Boston, Seattle and Bellevue. It will be seen heavily in advertisements as well as intra-organisation communications.
resource:http://www.techgig.com/tech-news/editors-pick/Microsoft-launches-new-logo-after-25-years-14511

Twitter announces new restrictions for developers

San Francisco: Twitter, on Thursday announced new rules for software developers restricting them from creating Twitter apps.

The new rules let users log in through officially sanctioned authentic Twitter programs while limiting the access to Twitter services by third-party clients.

Under its new rules, independent software developers who create new Twitter apps will only be allowed to have a maximum of 100,000 users. Existing apps with more than 100,000 users can double their user base before Twitter imposes a hard cap on user base.

Twitter believes it can provide more interactive content -- and better serve ads and measure their performance -- if the vast majority of its users use officially sanctioned programs to log into Twitter. But that approach has riled many software developers as well as users, many of whom favor independent clients like Hootsuite, Uber and Tweetbot over Twitter's own products.

The new guidelines, which were published on Twitter's blog on Thursday, attracted a torrent of criticism from "power-users" and software developers.
resource:http://zeenews.india.com/news/net-news/twitter-announces-new-restrictions-for-developers_794100.html

Google+ Launches Vanity URL Feature for Select Users

Google is ready to host Vanity URLs (custom URL feature) for Google Plus users, well almost. Saurabh Sharma, a Product Manager at Google made the announcement Monday afternoon, in an official Google blog post.

Initially, the vanity URLs will be offered arbitrarily to a select few – mostly celebrities, brands and companies. Currently, a standard Google+ URL for a user, looks something like this: http://plus.google.com/123456789060894565657/ (example).

The first few to get the custom URLs include, but not limited to, Brittany Spears, David Beckham, Hugo Boss, Toyota, and so on. So now the Dell custom URL could read like, google.com/+dell. Google’s own URL is google.com/+google.

Google will later cover verified ‘commoners’ too. Facebook and MySpace also provide users with custom URLs.

Earlier, Google converted cartoonist Matthew Inman’s “The Oatmeal” profile , in a lighter vein, into a custom URL, reading something like, http://plus.google.com/blergasdf1234thimbleturdorgasm99meatpoopypoopxv9donkeypie.

The major benefit of having a custom URL is that people can easily search for an individual, a company or a brand. It is in fact much easier to remember a vanity address than 10-12 numbers. Also, the word ‘plus’ is not required anymore to search for someone on Google. Just type, google.com/+name and you’ll find the person on top of the search result.

Saurabh Sharma, a Product Manager for Google+, posted the following to the Official Google+ Page:

“Today we’re introducing custom URLs to make it even easier for people to find your profile on Google+. A custom URL is a short, easy to remember web address that links directly to your profile or page on Google+. For instance, +TOYOTA can now use google.com/+toyota to unveil their latest models, +Britney Spears can share her upcoming appearances at google.com/+britneyspears, +Ubisoft can share game trailers and videos at google.com/+assassinscreed, and +Delta can help travelers find great deals at google.com/+delta.”

resource:http://www.thenextseo.co.in/news/google-launches-vanity-url-feature-select-users/1398.html

Google unveils broadband Internet service

Google Inc (GOOG.O) unveiled its Google Fiber broadband Internet service in Kansas City, Missouri, on Thursday, promising access speeds more than 100 times faster than some of the fastest available from traditional U.S. cable and telecommunications companies.

"The Internet is a huge positive force, and yet we are at a crossroad," said Google Chief Financial Officer Patrick Pichette, who has played a lead role in overseeing the Fiber project. He said Internet speeds had leveled out for broadband since around 2000, and Google would making it 100 times faster.

"We at Google we believe there is no need to wait," he said.

The download speeds would be around 1 gigabyte a second, according to Google executives who were presenting a demonstration.

Google invested in building out fiber in Kansas City in 2011 after inviting cities back in 2010 to help identify communities that would be interested taking part in the project.

resource:http://www.techgig.com/tech-news/editors-pick/Google-unveils-broadband-Internet-service-13974

Facebook shares plunge as revenue growth skids

enlarge this photo

AP

SAN FRANCISCO - Facebook yesterday reported a drastic slowdown in revenue growth and failed to offer financial forecasts to quell fears about its ability to boost advertising growth, sending its shares plummeting to a record low.

In its inaugural earnings report since becoming the first American company to debut with a value of more than US$100 billion (S$125.1 billion), Facebook reported revenue increased 32 per cent in the second quarter to US$1.18 billion, in line with average forecasts. But it offered no outlook for the current period as some investors had hoped.

Shares of Facebook, which has shed a third of its value since its haphazard May debut at US$38, hit below US$24 in after-hours trading.

Revenue in the three months ended June 30 was US$1.18 billion, compared to US$895 million in the year-ago quarter. The 32-per-cent rise in revenue was Facebook's slowest pace on record. But the revenue increase was dwarfed by a more than fourfold increase in spending on marketing and sales, which surged to US$392 million.

Facebook posted a net loss of US$157 million, or 8 US cents a share, in the second quarter after taking hefty stock compensation charges related to its IPO. That compared to net income of US$240 million, or 11 US cents, in the year-ago quarter.

Excluding the charges, Facebook said it earned 12 US cents a share, in line with Wall Street's forecast.

Operating margin, excluding certain costs, was 43 per cent in the second quarter, a decline from 53 per cent a year earlier, amid a fourfold surge in sales and marketing expenses. Payments-related sales were US$192 million, below the US$199.3 million average prediction of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

The company, created by Mr Mark Zuckerberg in a Harvard dorm room, raced through eight years of break-neck growth that was to have culminated with its May coming-out party.

Instead, its share price has headed south as investors questioned its valuation of more than 50 times earnings, and its longer-term ability to sustain growth with users migrating to mobile devices. As mobile devices like smartphones and tablets penetrate deeper into consumer markets, the company is struggling to drive advertising revenue off them.

Monthly active users grew to 955 million at the end of the second quarter, up from 901 million at the end of March. But mobile daily active users surged 67 per cent year-on-year to 543 million users, adding further pressure on Facebook's business, which only recently began to offer limited forms of mobile advertising.

"They beat, but the Street was looking for more and that's why I think shares turned lower after an initial bounce," said Mr Michael Matousek, a senior trader at US Global Investors.

"The big question with the stock is how it will monetise its billion or so users. A lot of people think they can't convert those users to money.
Resource:http://www.todayonline.com/Technology/Tech/EDC120727-0000071/Facebook-shares-plunge-as-revenue-growth-skids

Facebook, Apple and Microsoft Hogpile on Google

For months now, Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft have been laying the groundwork for a relationship of convenience whose primary goal is to check the Google juggernaut. The Facebook-Microsoft-Apple triple entente is reminiscent of many a four-player Risk board game enjoyed in my youth. In Risk, the goal is world domination, plain and simple. When one person's armies acquire too much territory and power, the other players oftentimes form a loose alliance of mutual benefit to weaken the dominant player. Put simply, everyone decides to hogpile on the winning player.

Extending our Risk analogy to the online world, it's clear that Google is the dominant Internet power. Yes, Apple has more cash, and Facebook has more social, but Google dominates in search, mobile, and most importantly, online ad revenue. Google's only real weakness is in social, which is why they are throwing everything but the kitchen sink at Google+. It could be reasonably argued that if the search giant can crack the code on social, there will be nothing stopping Google from veritable (online) world domination.

Facebook, Microsoft, and Apple, on the other hand, each lack elements that the other has.

Facebook needs a search engine, and mega-ad friendly platform that Madison Avenue media types can get excited about blowing wads of cash on.

Apple needs to become more than a device company. With a healthy balance sheet, Apple is poised to once again redefine how we interface with technology, perhaps this time via social (Apple) TV. Apple can lay groundwork for this vision by cozying-up to Facebook's highly-engaged and truly massive user base.

Microsoft sees an opportunity to beat Google in social search by more-deeply integrating Facebook's user base into its Bing search engine.

The common player in this would-be marriage of convenience is Facebook.

FACEBOOK AND BING

Earlier in June, Microsoft rolled out its revamped Bing.com search engine, complete with a social sidebar where users can see any relevant data from their social graph for any search they perform. The move is a response to Google's attempt at merging Google+ with its search results. On Google, pages your friends have shared on Google+ or have "+1'd" rank highly in search queries. With the new Bing structure, Microsoft has moved social data off to a sidebar, arguing that social results should "complement the standard search results without compromising them."¹ This may prove to be a big hit with users, as many have complained that Google+ data compromises the integrity of Google's search engine.

In addition to looking cool, Bing's social sidebar has included an "Ask Friends" feature, which gives users the ability to ask their Facebook friends a question. A closer integration with Facebook may help Bing eat away at Google's share of the US search market.¹ According to a recent study by Experian Hitwise reported in Mashable, in April Bing search queries controlled 30% of the US search market, up 11% year-on-year.

To compete with Google's new Knowledge Graph semantic search capability, Microsoft just signed a deal with Encyclopedia Britannica to integrate its extensive data set into Bing search results. I don't think this alone will be enough to compete with the Knowledge Graph, but it's a good start, and a signal that Microsoft understands what it needs to do to take on the dominant player in search.

Interestingly, a new study by Searchmetrics found that Facebook social shares are now the dominant ranking factor in Google's search engine. A closer relationship with Facebook would allow Bing to capitalize on this trend.

FACEBOOK AND APPLE

February, Apple CEO Tim Cook told a group of investors that Facebook was "the one company that is closest to being like Apple." He wasn't joking. Apple recently announced that Facebook integration will be baked into Apple's latest version of iOS.² This is good timing, with Facebook's launch of its app center on June 8th. Facebook will be very important for Apple's iOS, especially given that many apps use Facebook for sign-ups and authentication.

This may prove to only the beginning of a deeper relationship between Facebook and Apple. Josh Constantine speculates in a TechCrunch post that Facebook and Apple are working together to turn Facebook into a social television show via Apple TV. He points out that, because Facebook has the largest online archive of photos (over 250 million pics uploaded each day), users would likely take to uploading photos into hi-res slide shows on a Facebook TV network.³

This integration would also give Facebook a way to cater to larger advertisers hungry to create flashier ads, which may prove indispensable to its monetization strategy. With user demand for social TV experiences gaining currency, Facebook could position itself at the forefront of social TV.

For Apple, this would give app developers another compelling reason to utilize the iOS platform. A deeper collaboration with Facebook would also give Apple an opportunity to integrate Facebook's Open graph into iTunes, allowing millions of iTunes users to share what they are watching and listening to with their Facebook friends.

Moreover, a Facebook-Apple collaboration in social TV might go a long way to check Google's similar efforts on its YouTube platform.

MARKETING TAKEAWAY

Any move by Facebook, Microsoft and Apple to check Google's online supremacy can only help business owners and marketers, as new avenues for spreading the word about a company's products and services proliferate almost daily.

With the center of gravity for marketing and advertising continuing its shift to Internet, social and mobile technologies, businesses need to develop a clear digital marketing strategy that is relevant to their business and implement it, recognizing that many tweaks and changes will have to be made along the way. If change is the new constant, waiting on the sidelines until things stabilize is not an option. In order to compete, brands are going to have to flow with the fast-moving online current or risk getting swept up by it.

In the game of Risk as in life, one player often stands out as the primary architect of an alliance. The evidence suggests that Facebook has become the linchpin to this techie triple entente.

As Zuckerberg moves toward deeper ties with Microsoft and Apple, I wouldn't be surprised if he finds himself humming the timeless Beatles lyric "I get by with a little help from my friends."

¹ TechCrunch, "Merging Facebook With Search, Microsoft Rolls Out "New Bing" To All Of U.S.'
² Tech Crunch, " "After Years Of Flirting, Facebook And Apple Set To Achieve Relationship Status In iOS 6"
³ Tech Crunch, "The Future Fruits of Apple + Facebook"

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7114701

How to Run a Successful Web Business

Running a web business is one of the easiest ways to get started in business. Unlike traditional enterprises, web businesses can be started very cheaply and there are no premises to rent or many of the overheads associated with their real world counterparts.

A web business can be as simple as selling a few items on an online auction site or a multi-million dollar enterprise. It can take up just a couple of hours per week or become a full time job.

Whether it is a spare time hobby, or a full time career, running a web business still requires planning and commitment in order for it to succeed.

There are many different types of business which can be run online, some of which require investment and others which can be started on a shoestring budget. For many people, selling at online auction provides their first steps into online trading. Profits can be invested back into more stock, and very soon a healthy profit can be made.

The next step is often selling directly from a website. An alternative idea which does not require any investment in stock is to consider a drop shipping business. Drop shipping allows businesses to sell stock without having to purchase it first. The customer purchases from the business and the order is then passed to the drop shipper who sends it direct to the customer. The profit is the difference between the price from the drop shipper and the price which is paid by the customer.

Another way of running a web business without any stock is by affiliate marketing.

Affiliates advertise products and services and in return, they receive a commission when a sale is made. Just about anything can be sold via affiliate marketing, and there are a vast number of affiliate programs to choose from. Affiliate marketing traditionally requires the affiliate to have their own website although increasingly now it is being done through blogs and social networking.

Most web businesses will however, need their own website and this can be quite inexpensive.

A domain name can be purchased for $10 or so and for a start-up business website hosting should cost no more than around $15 a month, or slightly more if you will be using e-commerce.

Choosing a good domain name which really sums up what the business is about and what potential customers will be typing into the search engines when looking for the site is essential, and worth taking time over. Having a good, relevant domain name can make ranking in the search engines much easier.

When setting up any type of business, it is always a good idea to produce a business plan.
A business plan is a road map of any business and forces the entrepreneur to think about key areas of the business such as who the customers are likely to be, how the business will reach them and how the business will be funded.

Do some research into similar businesses, and find out what marketing and pricing strategies they are using. The old adage "fail to plan and plan to fail" is as true for web businesses as for any other type of business.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7121704

How to Earn $1000 a Week Selling Web Services in 5 Simple Steps

The biggest secret about earning a full time income online is NOT difficult to understand. It's not complex, it's not complicated and the truth is, you don't even need all that much experience to be able to do it today.

In my own view, the REAL enemy of achievement online is the idea that you have to learn a complex set of skills, or invest hours and hours and weeks, months or even years of your life "learning" how to build an online business.

The truth is, at least from my standpoint, the whole "secret" can be boiled down and disseminated with 2 simple words.

BUILD SOMETHING.

That is the mandate, and the mantra that I use in my own business whenever I find myself being seduced by promises of push button profits, overnight riches or outrageous (and expensive) opportunities I know in my gut are never going to amount to much.

In a recent article I described the super simple strategy I used to make my first 1 thousand dollars online, and in this one... I want to lay out the simple sequence of 5 simple steps you can use to have similar success, starting today.

1 - Create a Marketing Menu of products and services you'd like to offer to people in your local community (preferably professionals who already have a budget set aside for building their online business)

2 - Register a premium domain name that has real value in your local marketplace, and serves a specific profession as above (attorney, realtor, contractor, credit consultant, etc)

3 - Get the site hosted, (a simple shared server you can use for multiple clients is fine) and install Wordpress.

4 - Develop the Site with onsite content, a social media profile, a little bit off offsite content for incoming links (articles like this one are perfect), and overall, prepare the site to be presented to the professional public in the niche you've selected in step 2.

5 - Advertise the site using simple local newspaper classifieds, online classifieds, direct mail or MOST effective and expeditious, simply contact the local professionals in your niche of choice by email or through their online contact form, letting them know you have a site for sale in the hyper competitive local market, and you wanted to give them the opportunity to take advantage of it.

Each site you "sell" SHOULD have a minimum bottom line value to your business of at least $1000. (most likely... much MORE) The best part about this approach is, you can literally give the sites away... and still earn $1000 + for every one, simply by back-ending each transaction with the marketing menu you created in step 1.

For example?

You could GIVE a site away to a local attorney, if he agrees to a 12 month SEO contract at $200 a month. (very reasonable price-wise, and you just signed a $2400 client)

You can offer email marketing services at 4 or 5 hundred dollars a month, and give away sites with landing pages, or email capture forms in the blog sidebar as well. ( I know a girl who charges doctors $200 plus per HOUR for the very same thing)

Building something, and then offering massive value to prospective clients and customers is the absolute easiest way to get an avalanche of eyeballs in front of your offers... and building a viable, valuable and enduring business that will make you a guru and marketing hero in your local community to boot!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7115020

Website Marketing: Practical Layout Tips

In the creative realm, visual ideas and good design matter most. This goes hand in hand with website design as well, only this time, you're coupling those concepts with concrete information in the effort to boost sales, promote your product and your brand, and in general, make your website work for you. Here are some ways to make life easier for the reader to take in your message, whether it be on a magazine ad, an ad on your website, or your website as a whole.

Use easy to read typefaces. Most newspapers are set in serif type. Serifs the little feet that are found at the bottom of letters that line up to keep the eye moving horizontally along the line, rather than straying below to the next line. A study has also found that using sans-serif type on a regular space reduced comprehension from 67 to 12 percent! The eye also recognizes shapes more than letters and a word in all capitals has less shape than the word in caps and lower case. The eye also finds it tiring to read reversed out type in any great volume. 'Reversed out' refers to the setting of the text in a light color, and then putting it against a dark or high contrasting background. Reversing out has been known to halve response. So, learn to use sans-serif, capitals and reversing out in moderation.

Just as reversed out type is difficult to read, type set over tints or textures or colors is even more difficult to read, because it does not stand out that clearly. Equally, very small type is not a good idea. Lots of people can't read it very easily. This goes for being consistent with the typeface you use throughout, and don't change typefaces unnecessarily. Constant changes in typeface are ugly and imply an immaturity in the design process. Our eyes don't like constantly having to readjust.

Use narrow measure. You will notice that on newspapers and magazines that the words are set in narrow columns. That is because the eye likes to travel down the center of a column rather than having to go back and forth along one large column all the time. Similarly, long, unbroken blocks of text are hard to read. Simply put, big blocks of type are daunting. For this reason, you should break up your copy with lots of crossheads, sub headers, or images. These make your content more approachable and interesting to look at. It also enables the reader to learn the essence of your message from the subsidiary headings, which boosts their comprehension and encourage them to read further.

Justify your columns. Comprehension goes down if the edges of columns are ragged, that is to say, unjustified. Once again, this is simply because the eye has to work harder. Also, minimize your use of large headings. Art directors love them, but people do not generally read your website from across the room. Large headings are oftentimes, a waste of space, and more importantly, a waste of time.

Remember that first impressions last, and this is also very true for websites. Your layout and your choice of typeface contribute heavily to your website's impression on your visitors, so consider them very, very well.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7108276