Archive for November, 2010

Facebook Page In Google Places Results

November 20, 2010

I thought the following three pack of Google Places results was unusual but also quite instructive.

While there isn’t anything unusual about seeing Google Maps results appear in a list of local results within Google, I hadn’t ever seen anything other than Google Maps results there before.

I think presenting a Facebook page as part of the “Places” results is new.

Google Places Facebook Listing

Google Places Facebook Listing

In this particular example, the business owner has both a Facebook page and a Google Places page that appear in the results.

It looks like Google might have had to crawl the business owner’s Google Places page first to generate the Facebook link and result in the Google three pack.

Google Maps Facebook Link

Google Maps Facebook Link

Regardless of which came first – the Google Place account or the Facebook business page – the marketing possibilities for the yet as unlisted or unsearchable business are exciting.

If having a Facebook business page alone is enough to get listed in Google Places results, what is keeping all the small businesses without websites or directory listings from instead setting up a Facebook business listing and linking it to a Google Places account?

Google AdWords Product Ads

November 19, 2010

Google AdWords Product Ads allow advertisers to show the pictures, prices, and descriptions of the products they sell next to related searches on Google.com.

Product Ads have two available formats – Extensions, which allow advertisers to enhance keyword-targeted text ads with product information, and Listings, a standalone format that requires no keywords or ad text.

Learn more about Google AdWords Product Ads in this video or visit http://www.google.com/adwords/productads

 

The UK: King of eCommerce

November 18, 2010

Having spent time in the UK launching a US company’s UK and European software operations in the late 1990’s, its no surprise to me just how much the UK has embraced the internet.

The Boston Consulting Group reports the following regarding eCommerce in the UK:

  • In 2009, the Internet contributed £100 billion to the UK economy. That represents 7.2% of GDP.
  • The UK is the number one country in the world for e-commerce and is a net exporter of e-commerce goods and services, exporting £2.80 for every £1 imported.
  • The Internet economy is expected to grow by 10% per year.

To learn more about eCommerce in the UK, download The Boston Consulting Group’s full report @

http://www.connectedkingdon.co.uk

Tag – You’re It!

November 17, 2010

Every place and every thing on the planet will be tagged.

New Keyword Research Tool: Yahoo! Clues Beta

November 16, 2010

In this video Brian Theodore, Director of Search Products at Yahoo!, gives a quick tour on Yahoo! Clues, a new beta service that lets curiosity seekers see what people have on their minds by allowing its users to search the searchers.

Yahoo! Clues Beta users can see and compare aggregate data — such as gender, location and income level — with graphs, detailed maps and other metrics which tell who’s searching for what specific topics.

Find the Yahoo! Clues Keyword Research Tool Beta @ http://clues.yahoo.com/

 

Mark Burnett: The Art Of Successful Storytelling

November 15, 2010

In this video, Brian Solis asks Mark Burnett the producer of “Survivor” and “The Apprentice” to share his strategies for creating content that engages an audience.

Burnett tells quite a story.

As does Solis  –

“These moments become social objects where they become the catalyst or the sparks for conversation that spill on to the social web that bring people… to a common experience that can be shared.”

If you listen closely, you’ll find Burnett and Solis reveal both sides of the story – the art of successful storytelling.

AdWords Extensions: How To Create Product Extensions And Standalone Product Listings

November 14, 2010

In this video learn how to create Google AdWords text ads with product extensions as well as standalone product listings.

Also learn how to connect a Google  Merchant Center and an AdWords account as well as how to create a new campaign with product extensions and listings.

Monaco Medium Forum: The Networked Society

November 13, 2010

Hans Vestberg, President & CEO of Ericsson presents the KEYNOTE “Internet 2.0” Mobile changes everything, at the 2010 Monaco Media Forum.

Some interesting takeaways – it took 100 years to establish 1 billion land lines and 20 years to establish 5 billion cell lines.

Google Places Analytics?

November 12, 2010

For weeks I have had the same message in my Google Places Analytics account –

“There is no data for your request.”

Google Places Analytics

Google Places Analytics

Since I have visited both my Google Maps and Google Places listings several times over the last month, I can only surmise Google Places Analytics isn’t yet operational regardless of where it gets data from.

Google Places: Real Time Image Editing And Posting

November 11, 2010

To my surprise, Google Places account management appears to be making progress.

To wit – today I was looking at Google’s street view of my office in Google Maps and realized I had an outdated Google Adwords Qualified Individual image embedded in my business listing.

Google Street View Advanced Marketing Consultants

Google Street View Advanced Marketing Consultants

I then thought I would try my hand at changing the image in my Google Places account knowing full and well that my actually seeing the edit might take months or even years.

I went ahead with the process anyway.

I quickly uploaded the updated Google Certified Partner badge and saved my new settings.

To my surprise, my new uploaded image was propagated instantly to the Google Maps listing for my business.

Google Places Real Time Image Edits

Google Places Real Time Image Edits

Now this may have always been the case, but I don’t ever recall making a change to my Local Business Center listing – now my Google Places account – where I saw the account edit reflected instantly in Google Maps.

If this is any indication of Google’s new found commitment to the small business community, Google Places may indeed be going places.