Google | Internet Marketing Blog

Whoopsy daisy log-ins: a further look at good and bad micro-copywriting

I wrote a piece about micro-copywriting earlier this year, and in my ignorance thought this was a new concept, and that I may even have coined the term.

Shows you what I know. It’s a term that’s been used for a number of years, and great examples have been collected already, e.g. this Flickr Microcopy Group (thanks to Doug Kessler for pointing to this).

As the last post was popular I thought I’d bring together some more examples. So here’s a look at some micro-copy from the log-in error messages of four big players in the tech world.

These were easy to collect as I didn’t have to remember my passwords. In the end I found that although this could be an area where it’s not worth trifling with a user’s frustration, there’s still a lot to be improved upon.

And although looking at some of these fine-grained areas could be seen as the pedantry of a dilettante, I like to think of these little things as a microcosm of brand identity.

by Ben Davis 04 February 2013 10:52am 2 comments

This week's top six infographics

Once again we round up six of the best infographics we've seen this week.

The topics include tech trends, Apple's cash reserves, big data, and the best ways to optimise your YouTube channel.

by David Moth 01 February 2013 09:41am 1 comment

Google anti-trust ruling: the implications

Widely heralded as a victory for Google, the recent outcome of the American Federal Trade Commission’s exhaustive 19-month investigation into allegations of anti-competitive practices nevertheless contains at least one point that should have some (minor but beneficial) impact on the PPC marketplace in the near future.

by Pete Whitmarsh 24 January 2013 13:53pm 1 comment

Google posts strong Q4 earnings, buoyed by holiday ad spend

The 2012 holiday shopping season was one for the online retail records and that led to a very merry Christmas for Google, which reported its fourth quarter earnings yesterday.

All eyes were on the search giant, which failed to deliver in the third quarter, much to the disappointment of Wall Street.

But there was no disappointment this time as the company delivered $14.4bn in revenue, a 36% year-over-year increase, and earnings of $2.9bn, up from $2.7bn in the same quarter a year ago.

by Patricio Robles 23 January 2013 16:00pm 1 comment

Google's search market share drops below 90% for second month in a row

UK internet users made 2.7bn visits to search engines in December 2012, an increase of 400m visits compared to December 2011.

This represents a 17% increase year-on-year, and confirms that it was a particularly strong Christmas period for search.

Interestingly, the data from Experian Hitwise also shows that Google’s market share dropped below 90% for the second month in a row to 88%; its lowest point for five years.

by David Moth 22 January 2013 12:58pm 4 comments

Marketers and businesses should fear Graph Search

Last week, Facebook made what could prove to be one of its most important announcements ever.

After years of discussion, speculation and debate, the world's largest social network is finally executing on a search strategy, and while it doesn't look like a threat to Google, at least initially, Facebook's Graph Search is no less interesting.

by Patricio Robles 21 January 2013 14:01pm 1 comment

Will Tizen give Android a run for its money?

Ask folks about mobile operating systems and most will probably tell you that it's a two-horse race: Apple's iOS versus Google's Android.

The mobile OS landscape isn't this way because other companies haven't tried.

Microsoft has done some interesting things with Windows Phone, and Palm's webOS looked pretty darn promising when it launched.

by Patricio Robles 18 January 2013 16:48pm 3 comments

This week's top six infographics

Once again here are six of the best infographics we've seen this week.

The topics include how Google spends its billions, the cost of poor web performance, Deloitte's predictions for 2013, online tracking and details of the most followed sports clubs and athletes on social media.

by David Moth 18 January 2013 11:22am 0 comments

Brick-and-mortar retailers making big gains in the SERPs: report

Brick-and-mortar retailers may face challenges in competing online, but pure-play online retailers that think they've won the ecommerce game shouldn't count out their old-school competitors.

In fact, in some product categories, brick-and-mortar retailers are starting to beat out pure-play retailers.

by Patricio Robles 17 January 2013 18:21pm 1 comment

Why Facebook's 'Graph Search' Is a gamechanger

Facebook, of all platforms, has revolutionized search as we know it. Yesterday, Facebook announced 'Graph Search', a new feature that helps us find people, places and things—and explore Facebook in a whole new way.

'Graph Search' pushes Facebook well beyond the social networking realm. It's a place to socialize and manage connections.

Eliminate the newsfeed, the goofy photos, snarky comments, and over-use of the 'Like Button', and it's all about connections.

Now, smart search will allow us to traverse connections, allow us to sort connections, and allow us to connect with a greater amount of people in different types of ways.

by Brian Reilly 16 January 2013 19:14pm 6 comments