• When Ad Tests Don't Work
    Will Lin tells us he's typically reluctant to declare ad copy winners even after testing, because the winner needs to beat the incumbent by a margin bigger than the incumbent beats itself. He explains that premise in a post that takes us through the nuances of testing ad copy. The biggest asset a marketer has when testing is the ability to dig deep into the differences between the ad copy and the results. Read the article here.
  • Microsoft Calls Out Google For Sending User Info To App Devlopers
    Microsoft's anti-Google Scroogled campaign took a new turn this week with the focus on Google's Android app store and passing information to app developers. The app makers worldwide have access to information about consumers who buy and download the apps, such as name, email address and neighborhood. The video ad accuses Google of handing over details about app buyers to makers without clear warning, placing personal information in the hands of unknown third parties. Read the article here.
  • How To Filter Wanted Data In Google Analytics
    Would you like to pre-filter Google Analytics data? Carrie Albright provides tips on Universal Analytics, from new data collection methods to ways to prioritize variations of the same search engine, to search term exclusions. Having the ability to customize dimensions, metrics and other data allows marketers to specialize and customize each account. Read this article here.
  • How To Prepare For The Next Google Penguin Version
    Simon Penson serves up some tips on preparing for the next version of Google Penguin. Aside from Google having enough information to detect bad links, the company now has enough data to determine the velocity at which companies acquire links. He tells us that in recent months there has been a noticeable change in how Google treats new links. "While this is very much theory, my view is that Google have become very good now at spotting link velocity 'spikes' and anything out of the ordinary is immediately devalued," he writes. Other tips include link trust, social signals, and anchor …
  • Google's Latest Antitrust Battle Goes Mobile
    Mobile becomes Google's latest battle with FairSearch, which represents Microsoft, Oracle, Nokia and several other companies. The group said Google is using its Android operating system to "monopolize the mobile marketplace and control consumer data," reports CNN. The group accuses Google of requiring Android smartphone makers who want to offer apps such as Google Maps or YouTube to pre-load Google mobile services and to give them a prominent default place on their devices.
  • Retailers Fall Flat On Data Use Linking Search, Reviews, Email Campaigns
    Somehow retailers cannot seem to connect data from search and review sites with email campaigns. Some 47% of retailers surveyed fail to collect product-level site browsing data associated with a specific email subscriber, although most consumers do their homework before buying by first visiting retailer, manufacturer and product review sites to compare products and prices, according to survey data from Bronto. The survey also found that 22% of retailers do not exchange data between their email service provider and e-commerce platform, limiting the potential for driving more revenue with in-purchase and post-purchase email campaigns. Read the article here.
  • Google Takes To The Stars
    Google will sponsor a planetary search satellite for NASA slated to launch in 2017, reports the Herald Sun. It's part of the transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission to send a set of specialist cameras into space to scan the skies. It's one of two projects from NASA. The goal of TESS becomes identifying terrestrial planets around nearby stars. George Ricker of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge will lead the mission.
  • Teach Site Visitors How To Search
    Susan Hanley provides tips based on a Nielsen Norman Alertbox post explaining how most people are bad at finding and researching things on the Web. She tells us that most people reach for search, but they don't know how to use it. The Nielsen study provides an example of a search for a "protective yet girlish phone case" using search queries similar to "'pink impact resistant iphone 5 cover.'" Hanley provides tips on how Web site owners can teach consumers how to navigate teir sites. Read the article here.
  • Will Google Integrate Offline Signals Into Online Rankings?
    David Mihm speculates. He serves up some tips on how existing factors -- and possibly offline signals -- influence local business ranking, and shows how algorithms within Google have changed throughout the years. He believes Google+ has begun to play a role in ranking, but marketers will see offline signals generated by the social network become more important. For now, its tags and links, reviews, and citation information are all equal in importance.
  • 5 Tips To Support Mobile's Search Influence
    Do your target keywords trigger the local returns you seek -- and how competitive are the words in your niche? Mobile continues to make local search engine optimization and paid-search ads more important. Zain Shah gives us 5 easy steps to improve local SEO, and believes following the road map can lead to higher local rankings and traffic in a shorter amount of time. Read the article here
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