Google+ | Internet Marketing Blog

Google passed on opportunity to buy Twitter: report

Google+ may or may not be a viable contender in the social networking space, but Google sure is committed to it.

How committed? According to venture capitalist Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures, which owns a stake in Twitter, Google's passed up the opportunity to buy the popular microblogging social network several years ago.

by Patricio Robles 22 May 2012 09:21am 0 comments

Microsoft launches a new social network, but why?

When it comes to large tech companies and how they've fared with social networking, one could argue that Microsoft is the most successful.

Google has struggled to build viable homegrown social networks, Yahoo has largely done little of note, AOL purchased Bebo for $850m only to drive it into the ground, etc.

Microsoft's claim to success in the social space? A $240m investment in Facebook in 2007 which valued the social network at $15bn.

by Patricio Robles 21 May 2012 17:00pm 4 comments

Google+ brand pages seeing adoption, engagement growth: report

The future of Google's greatest social networking effort to date, Google+, may be debatable, but the search giant hasn't found it very difficult to lure brands to Google+.

And for good reason: Google+ has been Google's most respectable social effort to date and brands have learned that getting on board services before they get big is often a far better strategy than waiting until it's too late.

by Patricio Robles 09 May 2012 22:21pm 5 comments

13% of Google UK searches now include author images

The use of the rel=author markup to create enhanced listings in Google's SERPs is growing, with 13% of searches now showing author images in the top 100 results.

These stats come from a Searchmetrics study, which looked at Google UK search results relating to 1m popular keywords.

The enhanced listings make search results more visible, and are likely to be used as in indicator of trust by Google in future.

by Graham Charlton 30 April 2012 12:03pm 2 comments

Ask the experts: How will rel=author affect SEO?

Google launched its authorship program last year and, using the "rel=author" markup, authors are given a more prominent listing in the SERPS.

Implementing this is relatively easy to do (some useful instructions here) and it has the potential to improve CTR through enhanced search results.

But how significant is this now, and how will Google use this in future?

I asked several search experts for their views....

by Graham Charlton 26 April 2012 13:52pm 20 comments

Why forward thinking is the best way to plan your SEO

An interesting recent blog from Joost de Valk set out an ‘ethical’ stance for SEOs, arguing that ‘outing’ bad practice is healthy and an important way of preserving the reputation of the industry.

The basic thread is that SEO should be built on foundations of quality and integrity, not just an obsessive drive for short-term results.

It’s clear that the SEO industry is still drawn on the whole black hat vs. white hat issue. What is ethical to one person can be unethical to the next.

Despite this internal dilemma, with still more than 80% global market share, it is what Google thinks that dictates a lot of SEO strategy.

This blog is a reasoned view based on my own opinion and learning from various reports, blogs and Twitter conversations...

by James Gurd 23 April 2012 11:09am 3 comments

Topshop is the most popular retailer on Facebook and Twitter: stats

Topshop continues to grow its following on social media sites, thanks to lots of features, in-store promotions and relatively high levels of engagement with fans and followers.

Stats from eDigital Research look at the number of followers for the top 20 retailers on Facebook and Twitter and, for the first time, Google+.

Here are a few highlights from the study, which can be downloaded here (survey required)...

by Graham Charlton 19 April 2012 12:51pm 7 comments

Google's Q1 2012: the good, the bad, the ugly

Yesterday, Google issued its quarterly results for the first three months of 2012.

On the financial side, it was all good, with Google delivering impressive performance for a company that by the tech industry's standards, is gray-haired. But there was also some bad and ugly relating to the company's share structure and how it's publicly characterizing its performance outside of search.

by Patricio Robles 13 April 2012 18:34pm 1 comment

How video marketing powers SEO

While there is plenty of disagreement among marketers as to the best method to improve your search rankings, there is one specific strategy that is sure to benefit your business. What’s the secret sauce? Believe it or not, leveraging your online videos is often key to increasing search rankings.  

We all know that the search engines use social signals as a factor in their overall ranking algorithm, and as the role of social signals becomes increasingly important, so will the role of online video in your overall search and social strategy.

by Jennifer Dunphy 12 April 2012 13:32pm 20 comments

Google+ gets a major design overhaul

When Google+ was unveiled in June of last year, it was clear that the company had created its best social networking product to date.

Obviously inspired to some extent by Facebook, if Google+ had been launched by a start-up instead of the world's largest search engine, some pundits might have labelled it a potential threat.

And for good reason: there was a lot to like about Google+.

It was clean, sort of like Facebook back in the day, and lest it be accused of copying Facebook entirely, Google added some interesting features to the mix - such as Circles and Hangouts.

by Patricio Robles 12 April 2012 09:38am 10 comments