Australia leads the way in the next innovation being presented to the online world via Google…
‘Google has turned its popular application into an advertising medium, with Australia the test bed in the search giant’s bid to open new revenue streams.
Australian web surfers have become the first in the world to see advertiser logos on the Google Maps website, highlighting the locations of five companies – NAB, Bankwest, JB Hi-Fi, LJ Hooker and Chemist Warehouse. Fitness First and BP are also understood to be preparing to launch advertising on the service.
The new advertising channel has been developed by Google engineers in Australia and is being piloted in both Australia and New Zealand. If successful, it will be rolled out globally.
The logos will pinpoint the location of advertiser’s stores and outlets, ranging from bank ATMs to petrol stations and coffee shops. Viewers can click through to get information on the store or a corporate website.
Continue Reading…
Gary Vaynerchuk provides these clear steps of how to cash in on your passion and how to effectively build your personal brand.
- Identify your passion
- Make sure you can think of at least fifty awesome blog topics to ensure stickiness
- Answer the following questions – Am I sure my passion is what I think it is? Can I talk about it better than anyone else?
- Name your personal brand. You don’t have to refer to it anywhere in your content, but you should have a clear idea of what it is. eg: The connoisseur of cookware, the guru of gardening etc.
- Buy your user name – .com and .tv if possible at GoDaddy.com
- Choose your medium: video, audio, written word
- Start a WordPress or Tumblr account
- Hire a designer
- Include a Facebook Connect link, call to action buttons, share functions, and a button that invites people to do business with you in a prominent place on your blog.
- Create a Facebook fan page
- Sign up for Ping.fm or TubeMogul and select all of the platforms to which you want to distribute your content. Choosing Twitter and Facebook is imperative; the others you can select according to your needs and preference
- Post your content
- Start creating community by leaving comments on other people’s blogs and forums and replying to comments on your own comment
- Use Twitter Search (or Search.Twitter) to find as may people as possible talking about your topic, and communicate with them
- Use Blogsearch.Google.com to find more blogs that are relevant to your subject
- Join as many active Facebook fan pages and groups relating to your blog topic as possible
- Repeat steps 12 through 16 over and over and over and over and over
- Do it again
- Do it again
- When you feel your personal brand has gained sufficient attention and stickiness, start reaching out to advertisers and begin monetizing
- Enjoy the ride
Continue Reading…
I have just this past week renewed contact with a few friends from my high school days. One of them being Gabrielle Jones. How did we reconnect? Through Facebook of course. And I was fascinated to find that she has taken her passion for art ( I remember her studying art as a subject at school) to the next level and is promoting her work online.
I loved Gabrielle’s explanation of how she is using her blog, her website and social media to promote her fantastic work. And if you’re ever in the areas that she is conducting exhibitions please check her artwork out.
So here is what Gabrielle has to say…
‘Do you see web tools such as a blog or website as integral to developing your artistic career?
A website is a must for any artist in this day and age. I use it to refer acquaintances (i.e. people I just met, interested in art or what I do etc. I give them my Business card, with website address, which is also essential); other artists (which helps them know you are serious – if they like your work you can show together, they might refer you to someone that matters etc); Students (a good artist is known by the fact that a younger generation is influenced by their work) and as a repository/personal record of my shows etc – i.e. how my work has changed, my growth. Galleries are sometimes referred to the website, however many prefer a printed portfolio or photos first.
Continue Reading…
Eric Holter outlines a number of great benefits available through online advertising to business owners using Google Adwords. So let’s see what he has to write about this…
- No minimum buy
- Easy and fast creation
- Almost immediate implementation
- Pay only for clicks
- Bid for placement
- Set maximum cost per day
- Stop or pause campaign at any time
No minimum buy – Before options like AdWords and Overture existed, buying a highly targeted ad or a keyword buy could cost thousands of dollars. AdWords allows you spend whatever amount you want–no minimum. You can run or test a campaign for $10 a day or less.
Easy and fast creation – Once you set up an account at Google, you can begin to create ads whenever you want. Simply log in, name your campaign, and enter the headline, short body copy, and destination link. Finally, you can pick your keywords and phrases. Google’s keyword selection tools help you to identify alternate words and phrases and provide you with some data on how frequently certain phases are searched.
Almost immediate implementation – To give you a sense of how fast and easy this can be done, I just paused in writing this newsletter and set up a key phrase ad using the phrase “agency alliance.” It took me less than 10 minutes to set up and began appearing within 20 minutes of having set it up.
Continue Reading…
‘Bing, which used to be MSN Search is gaining market share. While the numbers may vary in different reports, overall it’s clear that Bing.com has been growing in usage during its first month. ComScore Inc. reported Bing increased to 8.4% of Web searches in the US which is an increase from 8% in May. StatCounter reported June 5th that Bing had displaced Yahoo as the #2 search engine in the USA, based on their stats during the first of June, with Bing at 16.28%, Yahoo at 10.22%.and Google with a massive lead at 71.47%.
More recent reports show that early small lead may have dropped off slowly, but was back on the rise again towards the tail end of July. Their search growth will grow at a faster rate once the Yahoo partnership receives regulatory approval. It is reported that Bing users are 55% more likely to click on a sponsored listing (adwords type ads) compared to when a searcher sees a sponsored listing at Google!’ reports Brad from www.getfoundingoogle.com.au
So what is this Thing called Bing?
Continue Reading…
Australia leads the way in the next innovation being presented to the online world via Google…