We will be posting photos from the June 16th Richmond AMA Luncheon here.
Author Archive
AMA Luncheon
Thursday, June 16th, 2011Google Supports “Author” Tag
Wednesday, June 8th, 2011
Google recently announced they will support the authorship markup, enabling content sites to help identify their authors on the site and across the web. Content would be linked up to the writers name and can be used to find all the stories the author has written on any site. It uses the rel attribute, so all you need to do is add the rel=”author” to your author’s hyperlink on the article page. For example:
Written by <a rel=”author” href=”../authors/amandabradbury”>Amanda Bradbury</a>.
As Google explained, this tells search engines: “The linked person is an author of this linking page.” The rel=”author” link must point to an author page on the same site as the content page. For example, the page http://example.com/content/webmaster_tips could have a link to the author page at http://example.com/authors/mattcutts. Google uses a variety of algorithms to determine whether two URLs are part of the same site. For example, http://example.com/content, http://www.example.com/content, and http://news.example.com can all be considered as part of the same site, even though the hostnames are not identical.
Google Makes Search More Image Friendly
Monday, June 6th, 2011
According to an article on Mashable, Google has added a couple of features to its main search engine that make it easier to search for images, as well as browse through image related results. One of the ways Google has made it easier is that now images that show up in main search results will increase in size when you move your mouse over the picture which could possibly make it easier to choose the picture you want.
Also, if you indicate that you’re searching for images in the main search on Google then Google will recognize it and offer you a grid of images on top of the search results. The new image friendly features are currently available on Google.com.
An Alliance of the Top 3 Search Engines for Structured Data
Friday, June 3rd, 2011
Google, Bing and Yahoo have announced an alliance of the website schema.org. The alliance provides a common foundation of support for a set of microdata types. Microdata is a type of structured mark up that can be used to provide meaning to content on web pages. Schmema.org provides a collection of schemas, like html tags. Webmasters can use these schemas to markup their pages in ways recognized by search providers. Search engines rely on this markup to improve the display of search results, which will help make it easier for people to find the right web pages.
Search engines can benefit from direct access to structured data. On-page markup enables search engines to understand the information on web pages and provide richer search results in order to make it easier for users to find relevant information on the internet. Google, Bing and Yahoo have all come together to provide a shared collection of schemas for webmasters to use.
Google Announces 3 Google Labs Graduations
Wednesday, June 1st, 2011Google has officially announced that they have graduated three Google Labs projects to become standard Gmail features. The three that have now become Gmail features include:
Superstars, which gives users the ability to use different types of stars in addition to the basic Gmail star icon. Users can now access and customize their stars in the Settings panel.
Nested labels allow users to organize groups of labels. Users can create new sub-labels from a new dropdown menu or move existing labels below others in the “edit” options. Nested labels can also now be designated in closed or expanded states.
Advanced IMAP Controls which is used for various Google Apps accounts. These controls, which are accessible in the IMAP section of the Gmail settings, let users specify what labels are set to sync, folder size limits and other behavior that is especially useful for those of us who frequently access Gmail in a desktop or mobile client, rather than from the website.
What do you think of these three new Gmail features? Are there any other Google Labs projects you’d like to see graduate to become a full feature?
Netsearch Direct Sponsoring AMA Luncheon in June!
Friday, May 27th, 2011
Netsearch Direct is proud to sponsor the upcoming June AMA luncheon featuring Google’s Head of CPG, Catherine Roe. As Head of CPG, Catherine leads Google’s digital advertising initiatives for top food and beverage companies and their agency partners. AMA’s luncheon will be held on Thursday June 16th at the University of Richmond’s Jepson Center. The topic that Catherine will be speaking about is the new moment of truth and how technology is increasingly influencing purchase decisions and how savvy marketers are capitalizing on this.
According to Google, search queries are a strong indicator of trends and consumer buying intentions. Driven by technology, today’s consumer begins the path to purchase long before entering the store. The inclusion of a digital marketing strategy is now imperative to keep up with today’s consumer.
Do you research your purchases either on your computer or your phone before purchasing? Are you buying more online these days or using digital resources to help you make purchasing decisions?
Don’t forget to get your tickets early before they’re all sold out. Get your tickets to the June AMA Luncheon in Richmond now!
New Mobile Search Engine “Do@”
Wednesday, May 25th, 2011
There’s a new mobile search engine on the scene. Do@ (pronounced “do at”) is a new mobile “search engine” that takes a very different approach to delivering content on the go. The search engine does not index pages; instead they show live sites or apps that have been optimized for mobile presentation.
Rather than index thousands or millions of results, do@ presents a relatively small number of sites for each category. Sites are ranked initially by default but later those rankings change if you’re signed in to Facebook and/or you “favorite” particular sites. You can create a kind of personal ranking of sites by using the “heart” button associated with each page.
Do@ is a very effective way to get to certain types of content efficiently without the need to click back and forth between pages and results or enter long query strings. Interestingly, users can also get to Google Places listings very effectively through do@.
Google Launches New Search Blog “Inside Search”
Monday, May 23rd, 2011
Google recently launched a new blog called Inside Search to regularly update Google users and help answer questions. Google will be posting regular updates on their algorithms and features, as well as stories from people who work with Google and help improve Google every day. Google already has a ton of channels to communicate and help Google users; however, they felt like something was still missing so that’s why they decided to start a search blog.
Google has found that people want to know search news as it is happening rather than just an updated “week in search” post, so this blog can more effectively report on search news and other search happenings as they are occurring. Google state that “Inside Search is a place where you can find regular updates on the intricacies of search and our team. We have more engineers working on search than any other product, and each one of us has stories to tell.” Check out Google’s new blog “Inside Search” and let us know what you think.
Mobile Search Is Growing
Friday, May 20th, 2011
Mobile search is a growing area of digital marketing. Mobile search is taking off and becoming increasingly popular because more and more people around the world are purchasing and have access to smart phones. This market is set to continue to grow. Just think about these statistics provided by Search Engine Journal:
- There will be over 200 million mobile subscribers in both Brazil and Russia by 2014
- 853 million mobile subscribers in India in the same year
- Over a billion mobile subscribers in China!
Research has also shown that mobile searchers spend less time on each site, with only 33% making it past the first page, which means you have to make your landing pages stand out to entice the user. If you’re in the business of ecommerce now is the time to start building up your mobile search efforts in order to get into this emerging market and grow your business rapidly.
Google Owns 90% of Search Market in Latin America
Wednesday, May 18th, 2011ComScore recently reported that Google has more than 90% of the search volume of all searches in Latin America. Google has about 65% to 70% of the search market share within the U.S. and is also dominant in many other countries as well. ComScore measured six markets in Latin America to find their results.
Coming in at the number two spot for Latin America is Facebook and then Microsoft sites take the number three position. All six countries surveyed within Latin America show an increase in search activity. It was estimated earlier in the year that there are only five countries in the world where Google is not the top search engine.