Search Engine Marketing Blog | Tug

Google China news: Google might be about to pull out of the Chinese search market

Carlos — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:51:19 +0000

The controversy over censorship and hacking isn’t going away, and the company is now worrying about Google.cn employees’ safety.

The Financial Times reported today that talks between Google and the Chinese government might have reached the point of no return:

Google has drawn up detailed plans for the closure of its Chinese search engine and is now “99.9 per cent” certain to go ahead as talks over censorship with the Chinese authorities have reached an apparent impasse, according to a person familiar with the company’s thinking.

In a hardening of positions on both sides, the Chinese government also on Friday threw down a direct public challenge to the US search company, with a warning that it was not prepared to compromise on internet censorship to stop Google leaving.

The signs that Google was on the brink of closing Google.cn, its local search service in China, came two months after it promised to stop bowing to censorship there. But while a decision could be made very soon, the company is likely to take some time to follow through with the plan as it seeks an orderly closure and takes steps to protect local employees from retaliation by the authorities, the person familiar with its position said.

Google will probably still have some use in China as people find ways around Chinese government filters to get access to Google.com.

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The BBC’s ‘Visual Graphic’ of the Top 100 Sites

Ollie — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:38:30 +0000

As part of their ‘Superpower’ season, the BBC have created an ‘Interactive Graphic’ showing the internet’s top 100 websites in terms of monthly traffic, as measured by Nielson.

The data has been segemented by industry, and covers the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Brazil, US and Australia.

To view this extremely useful and interesting graphic click here

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Pink Floyd Win Digital Battle!

David — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:28:15 +0000

Thanks to a High Court ruling that gave Pink Floyd a small victory over record label EMI in a battle over millions in royalties, individual tracks of the legendary rock band’s music could potentially leave the digital world at some point.

The High Court’s ruling was based on a clause in Pink Floyd’s contract with EMI that was designed to enable the band to “preserve the artistic integrity” of its music. According to judge Andrew Morritt, the implication of this was that EMI needed Pink Floyd’s explicit permission to “exploit recording by online distribution or by any other means other than the original album“.

As the BBC explains, Pink Floyd didn’t release many singles. Instead, the band’s songs were meant to ‘go together‘, meaning that fans needed to buy an entire album to experience the product the way Pink Floyd intended. In the digital age, of course, consumers more often than not opt to purchase songs à la carte, and up until now, to Pink Floyd’s dismay, they’ve been able to do that with Pink Floyd music….read more at Brand Republic

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Basic tips for working out mobile web traffic estimates

Juan — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:17:43 +0000

One of the main issues when conducting keyword research for mobile websites is the lack of information on mobile web-only traffic. However, we can now use a couple of Google properties to gather interesting data to help us set up a mobile campaign.

Mobile traffic in Google Analytics

If you have access to Google Analytics on your traditional website, you will be able to see how mobile web users are finding your website; simply go to the Visitors area and click on Mobile, you then can select between traffic sent by Mobile Devices or Mobile Carriers. Use the filters to break down data by keywords, medium, etc.
Although the percentage of mobile web traffic is normally very small compared to overall traffic, this may help you understand that mobile web users tend to type fewer keywords, and are more likely to make typos.

Google started reporting on Mobile traffic in Q4 2009

Mobile web traffic estimates in Google Adwords

Also in 2009, Google updated the Adwords interface adding new features and the possibility to obtain estimates for mobile web traffic from the keyword tool.
Just access the Google Adwords Keyword tool (from the Opportunities tab > Tools) then tick off the Show stats for mobile option and you will be able to see global and monthly searches and even add further PPC data (CPC, etc)

With mobile web traffic estimates in place and some information about current top keyword drivers, you will be able to put together a decent list of key-phrases to target within your mobile campaign.

Read more about our search marketing agency and all the search engine marketing services Tug provides!

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Motorola replace Google with Bing for Chinese Android-based phones

David — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:53:38 +0000

TechCrunch have reported that Motorola are to replace Google with Bing on the new Android mobile phone in China, following Google’s recent developments in China. TechCrunch says:

“If I were a spit takin’ man, I’d do a spit take right now. Motorola, stalwart of freedom, will work with Chinese carriers to add Bing to Chinese Android-based phones, ousting Google Search and Maps from the scene. Now this isn’t meanness on Motorola’s part although Reuters notes that this move could have something to do with that whole Great Chinese Google Hacking Incident a few weeks ago….”

Personally, I couldn’t imagine a Google Android phone with Bing, but who am I to complain!

Related Links: TechCrunch Article

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Bing launches new UK TV ad…

Faye — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:52:02 +0000

This week saw Bing launch its first UK TV ad campaign under the tagline ‘Bing and decide’. The campaign aims to show how Bing simplifies the ‘information overload’ that accompanies the results of many searches.

Personally I’m not really a fan of the ad. I know Bing are trying to encourage people to remember that there are alternative search engines and search solutions, but really Microsoft, why would I need a search engine to find a tube when I’m in a station already? Something a bit more relevant next time?

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10 years since The Dotcom Bubble

Faye — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:42:15 +0000

Wow, 10 years today since the bursting of the dotcom bubble! Great post here from Robin Goad from Hitwise about how the Internet landscape has changed over the last decade:

“Below is a list of the top 20 websites in the UK last week, with Google and Facebook topping the list. Back in the heyday of the dotcom bubble, Facebook wasn’t even a glint in Mark Zuckerberg’s eye, and Google was still in its infancy.

However, a number of the sites that were big back then remain so today: Windows Live Mail (Hotmail) and Yahoo! Mail still rank in the top 20, and both Microsoft and Yahoo! have other popular UK sites as well. eBay and Amazon remain the most visited retail websites in the UK, although they now face much stiffer competition from both online and multichannel retailers now.

But what about some of the names most closely associated with dotcom boom and bust?

Lastminute.com – one of the great survivors of the bubble; still a top 20 UK travel site.

Boo.com – given the success of fashion retailers like ASOS, which makes such good use of multimedia on its site, maybe the doomed clothing retailer was simply ahead of its time and would have survived in a broadband world?

Broadcast.com – the likes of Last.fm, Spotify, BBC iPlayer, Hulu and YouTube have proved that streaming media can be a success, but they all would have struggled over a dial up connection…..”

I wonder which of these sites will still be widely used in ten years time?

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Google Open App Marketplace

David — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:33:22 +0000

Google has announced the release of a new online marketplace for apps. The new marketplace consists of mainly business apps that work with existing Google apps, such as Google Docs and Gmail. Both paid and free apps are available for users to download and add to their Google accounts. See below for a quote from the Official Google Blog:

“In recent years, many talented software providers have embraced the cloud and delivered a diverse set of features capable of powering almost any business. But too often, customers who adopt applications from multiple vendors end up with a fractured experience, where each particular application exists in its own silo. Users are often forced to create and remember multiple passwords, cut and paste data between applications, and jump between multiple interfaces just to complete a simple task.

Today, we’re making it easier for these users and software providers to do business in the cloud with a new online store for integrated business applications. The Google Apps Marketplace allows Google Apps customers to easily discover, deploy and manage cloud applications that integrate with Google Apps. More than 50 companies are now selling applications across a range of businesses….”

Related Links: Official Google Blog, Google App Marketplace

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Google to Release Business Chrome OS in 2011

David — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:27:55 +0000

Network World report that Google is to release two seperate versions of Chrome OS – a consumer version which is to be released later this year, and a business version to be released in 2011. See below for a quote:

“Google’s Chrome OS Netbook will feature a host of built-in security technologies designed to protect users from malware and other threats, a Google engineer said at the RSA Conference Thursday.

Will Drewry, a Google software security engineer, said the fact that the company’s Chrome OS is an open source project allows for constant feedback from developers regarding security design. This, he said, should reassure those acquiring a Google Netbook about the product’s security.

Google plans to release a consumer version later this year and a business version featuring more management muscle in 2011, Drewry said……”

Related Links: Network World Article

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Dads and their dancing skills

Faye — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:37:54 +0000

Has anyone ever wanted their Dad to dance in public. Has anyone ever wanted their Dad to dance in public, and then video it?? Well apparently The Jamaica Tourist Board is doing just that – encouraging kids to not only laugh at their Dad’s most cringe inducing dancing, but to capture the moves as part of a new digital marketing campaign.

The campaign is called ‘Totally Dad Dancing’, which gives families the chance to win a holiday in Jamaica. The work targets children directly following research that shows that teenagers play a huge part in influencing where their family goes on holiday.

The videos of ‘Dad dancing’ are uploaded to a dedicated website, Totallydaddancing.com and entrants are being encouraged to share there via social networking sites. The most toe curling will be selected for the top prize. The poor Dad then has to re-inact it as part of a “dance rehabilitation” course, whilst on holiday.

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