WHAT’S HAPPENING IN MOBILE?
Apple’s iPhone 5 sales topped 5 million in the first weekend and more than 100 million iOS devices have updated to iOS 6 since its release.
Two-thirds of smartphone users say a mobile-friendly site makes them more likely to buy a company’s product or service, and 74% say they’re more likely to return to the site later. The latest research from Google essentially says no mobile site = lost customers.
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN SEARCH?
The introduction of Bing Ads has some ups and downs. Read the analysis here.
Google AdWords Custom Targeting is officially dead.
Google AdWords introduced a new budget option called Shared Budgets. This new feature enables us to spread the overall campaign budgets more efficiently.
In the August release of search rankings by comscore Google Sites led the U.S. explicit core search market in August with 66.4 percent market share, followed by Microsoft Sites with 15.9 percent and Yahoo! Sites with 12.8 percent. 28.7 for the Yahoo! Bing Network combined. Ask Network accounted for 3.2 percent, followed by AOL, Inc. with 1.7 percent.
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN LOCAL?
One of the most notable updates to the new operating system is the introduction of Apple’s map app, replacing Google Maps. Although some have praised Apple’s platform for features such as their 3D flyover, others have given it harsh criticism as they encounter multiple issues while using the app. Google is likely feeling the impact of this move as “40% of mobile searches are for local places or things”.
Google is displaying orange dots on the maps to signify businesses that have participated in the Google Business Photos service and have interior business photos.
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN ANALYTICS?
Ever noticed your traffic being estimated in Google Analytics? It could be happening to you! Check out our recent post for a full overview.
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN DISPLAY?
Samsung’s “The Next Big Thing” campaign promoting the Galaxy SIII is a great example of competitive advertising done right. Samsung’s campaign highlights the difference the consumer cares about, focusing on the larger screen size and easy sharing options. Watch the ad and read more about what makes this is a good comparative campaign here.
Facebook’s exchange is officially out of beta and the company has launched a new ad retargeting tool, FBX. The launch came after impressive results were reported during the beta test with several DSPs. Data from the tests indicated that FBX ads were generally less expensive and generated higher click through rates compared to retargeting ads served on other networks. A great article by HubSpot recaps FBX and provides an overview of the beta results.
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN VIDEO?
According to comScore’s latest report, August was a record breaking month for online video, with 188 million US consumers watching approximately 38 billion videos. Reports also showed that video ads reached about 54% of the US population during the month.
By 2016 the number of flat-panel connected TV’s sold is expected to nearly double, increasing from 40% in 2012 to 80% by 2016 (Based on a study by Strategy Analytics).
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN SEO?
Building up AuthorRank: For those clients that have a blog, and more specifically have individuals as authors, we recommend that they implement rel=author for their authors. There is big talk in the industry that the authority of an author (AuthorRank) will play a larger role in organic ranking. Authority would be built up around individual authors based on volume and quality of content, backlinks, social shares and engagements. Here is a resource for implementing rel=author.
Google Webmaster Tools has come out with new reports on schema and structured data that allows us to see which pages are active with which types of mark-up. Already we’ve been able to use this data to red flag certain areas where schema has been coded improperly.
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN SOCIAL?
LinkedIn Company Pages
LinkedIn announced the redesign of company pages, adding a larger cover image, reconfiguring the display of streams and enhancing the products, services and careers sections. The new company pages are rolling out slowly—Citi, Dell and HP are a few of the early testers.
Facebook Now Charging for Offers
Facebook Offers, a free product since its launch in February, will now cost at least $5 for brands (it is still free for users). The Offers product itself is still no cost, but brands will be required to purchase at least $5 in advertising.
Foursquare Promoted Updates
Foursquare is opening up their Promoted Updates beta to a second round of brands, and Location3 is excited to offer this limited opportunity to our clients! To run Promoted Updates, you must have at least 100 physical locations. Chat with your Location3 rep if you are interested in participating in this limited opportunity.
SOME TIPS FROM DESIGN:
Ensure that your Call to Action(s) have a healthy contrast with the rest of your landing page content.
Engage the consumer/target audience with a clearly stated value proposition and relevant message.