SiteProNews |
- Google/Apple War: What does it all mean
- Common Sense Social Marketing – Social Media About to Die – Part 2
- Five Tips To Increase Your Backlinks
- Using WordPress Express To Create Blog Websites
- Top Ten Reasons Your Business Should Utilize Facebook
- One-Third of All US on Facebook, Yet Users are Worthless?
| Google/Apple War: What does it all mean Posted: 09 Aug 2010 09:30 AM PDT 
Let's make this really clear, Apple is looking to break into the advertising and eventually search market. Google, as the all encompassing leader of search clearly dominates the market. However, they recently also decided to get into mobile market with the Google Android system, which while itself doesn't make that much money for the company, the offshoots such as the product development, application development, google interfacing and even their own google nexus phone has been a significant success. In fact, according to most reputable reports, the open-source android phones are taking over as the dominant force in the market, pushing out Apple. Apple, ain't happy about their market share being taken. They saw themselves as dominating the mobile space for a long time to come. Don't forget also that Apple had actually wanted to buy ADMob, but the $750M price tag was way too high – they bought a competitor with just as much revenue and potential, it seems for a significantly lower price tag of $250M. While some people might say this is a stab at Google for getting into "their business", there is much more here than meets the eye. Apple has no reason to actually allow Google Adsense onto their applications – because they don't make a single dollar from those ads. Since Apple is making their own system, they need to ensure that the only way to run advertising on the system is through them. It's pretty damn simple – Google already has an extensive database of advertisers, and they would easily overshadow any attempt by Apple to compete with them even on their own platform. This wouldn't fare very well for Apple, if in a year a report came out that not only was Google Android overtaking Apple iPhone, but that the predominate type of advertising on the IPHONE was actually Google. What is strange about this mobile advertising war is the investment versus the actual possible revenue being made. Everyone is talking about mobile advertising on applications and application development as if it is the "end-all" of advertising and will take over advertising left and right. However, people ten years ago pushed application advertising and ad-supported applications as the method that would take over interactive advertising. Now it's almost impossible to find any program that actually does this and the predominate type of advertising is in the browser. I honestly think that this is a very possible future for mobile also. As mobile devices get bigger, as the web integrates with mobile more and more, there will be a growing seamless interaction between the two mediums. In fact, if you think about it, a great portion of the "internet" users are really "mobile" – laptops are a "mobile" device of sorts, and they have become smaller and smaller, while phone screens have become bigger and bigger. At some point in the near future they will meet in the middle and we will have laptop/netbooks that are nothing but combinations of mobile phones, laptops that do everything. Most people that I know who have android phones and iPhones spend quite a bit of their time, browsing the web using it as a "little computer" of sorts and see all the banner and other type of ads made specifically for the websites. So, does this war really matter? Perhaps for the short term, but within a few years, I can't see it will really matter except to corner a very small part of the marketshare. Mobile as separate entity, with its own features (mobile billing, mobile applications) will become part of the entire interactive, internet, web-process. No one actually believes that ADMob was worth $750M, but sees it as one chess piece in a greater strategy that both these companies have to dominate the web. This has little to do with “Mobile”. In perhaps the fastest growing industry ever, one person has made a name for himself as a leader and innovator. Pace Lattin, the publisher of the top newsletters in new media and online advertising, is one of the inventors of many of the technologies and methods that have become standards in the industry. He has been called many things, including a rabble-rouser, a guru, an innovator and a watchdog — but one thing stays the same: he is one of the most interesting leaders and commentators in the online advertising industry. Marketing Sherpa, a leading marketing research publication called him the most influential journalist in online media for a reason. IndustryPace.com Post from: SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources |
| Common Sense Social Marketing – Social Media About to Die – Part 2 Posted: 09 Aug 2010 07:49 AM PDT  Social media is is being abused. What once was a new and improved way to keep in touch with your closest loved ones has become just another sales pitch to convince you to sign up to another dreadful business opportunity, newsletter, product, or service. There is no opening or closing – simply raw advertisements that lack sincerity. The people advertising their products don’t care about you or general interests. They’re too set on the idea that you’re going to sign up and turn them into a success. What’s wrong with this picture? Could it be that the advertisements lack taste and real value, or could it be that the people who want your business care less about who you are and what you are interested in? What business entrepreneurs are forgetting is that they are on the other side of the fence of social media. They are on the advertising end, which means without a real connection to the “the people”, they are getting nowhere. At some point, a real connection needs to be established or otherwise, all efforts to make a sale or spread the word are pointless. The truth? No one cares about you unless you care about them, particularly when it comes to social media. Let’s say that you’ve got an account with Facebook. Each day when you see those tiny red notifications, you’re dead sure that they signify a message from your friends or family. Unfortunately, you open your in-box and all you see are loud advertisements. What do you do? You delete them, and you do so automatically without any interest whatsoever about what they say. Advertising gurus are no longer “gurus”, they are simply annoying spammers who have no clue what they are doing. Business owners are missing the point. If their emails are getting read, it’s only by other advertisers just so they can compare tactics and techniques. Another sad part of it all is that no one is coming up with new techniques. Everyone is following someone who they think is successful, but in reality, no one is making any money because of their lack of effort and knowledge. If you haven’t noticed (and you most likely have), all online entrepreneurs go about advertising their businesses in the same way. First, they request you as a friend or become a follower (Twitter). Some of them may greet you with a “thanks for the request” or some other similar phrase, while others jump straight to the point and start bombarding you with their “winning” sales pitch. Who are you more likely to communicate with? Nothing screams “delete” louder and faster than a sales pitch. Some of the “thanks for the request” people might actually make it, as long as they don’t jump the gun too quickly. Unfortunately, the majority of them end it right there and automatically go on a link-posting frenzy, and immediately begin flooding your in-box with details about their products with no mention of how they might benefit you individually. It’s almost as if they are “demanding” that you purchase from them without any clear reason as to why. On the other hand, some people are making sales. They are the one’s who take their time in getting to know people. They ask questions and take a true interest in their prospects. Developing customer relationships is the most important part of advertising on social media because in the real world, customer relationships are a must. It helps to wear the shoe on the other foot. Picture walking into a store with workers that aren’t friendly and don’t seem to have your interest anywhere in their top priorities. They are anxious for you to buy something and that is it. They don’t care what you buy or why, they just want your money. When you leave, they want you to come back over and over, even if you’re not interested in what they’ve got. It’s a horrible experience for both you and them. When you look at it from a different prospective, it helps to see why social media is dying. What people want is warmth and a display of interest in who they are, not lousy sales pitches. As soon as business professionals establish a connection, then they might have a chance, but until then, it’s best to just stick to more familiar means of advertisement and leave social media to what it was always meant for. Duncan Wierman is an Ex Software company CEO turned Real Estate Investor and Internet Marketer. Duncan teaches how real estate agents and investors can take their business to new levels using creating marketing methods to promote their business and get more leads. Get your free 14 day internet marketing e-course at : www.duncanwierman.com Post from: SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources |
| Five Tips To Increase Your Backlinks Posted: 09 Aug 2010 07:39 AM PDT 
Put Pen to Paper Whatever industry or niche you’re in, you should have an above average knowledge of that topic, so put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard!) and write some informative short articles (300 – 500 words) that would appeal to your target market. You can either syndicate these articles through article directories, or head to the publishers and try to get them published on high ranking sites. Doing both is always a good idea. Every time your article gets published, you score free links – so get going now! Social-ize… Explore the realm of social bookmarking and get your links featured on as many social networks are possible. The potential for a viral linking explosion is huge in any social network, so work on a good value offer to promote to these networks (something free and useful). Break Into the Forum Community By registering on, and actively participating in forums that are relevant to your niche, you can quickly build up the number of backlinks to your website using your signature file (provided that they allow this and that the links are “dofollow”). Whilst the “SEO weight” of these links is debatable, you still get the benefit of publicity and who knows, you could learn a thing or two whilst online! A word of warning though – don’t spam the forums with rubbish comments purely to score backlinks to your site – you’ll get kicked out pretty quickly. Follow Some Blogs Blog commenting is quite a popular link building technique in the SEO community. You simply follow some popular blogs in your niche or industry, and provide constructive comment where suitable, leaving your link in the comment. Make sure that the blogs are “dofollow” type, as the “nofollow” ones are useless. Differentiate or Die This classic business phrase has a slightly different meaning in terms of link building. When building links (whatever method you may use), always try to differentiate your anchor text used across the web – at least to a certain degree. Having identical links and anchor text all over the web is likely to raise a brow with the search engines. The best link building strategy is a long term, consistent one. Set a target for how many links you want to build monthly, and aim to achieve this amount every month. Be patient and have a little faith – your hard work will be rewarded. By Derek Jansen, author of the Free SEO Basics Course. Download your free course @ www.seobasicscourse.com. Post from: SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources |
| Using WordPress Express To Create Blog Websites Posted: 09 Aug 2010 07:33 AM PDT  There is one common obstacle people face when deciding to start working from home using an internet, lack of knowledge and money. In order to start an online business you must set up your own website and this might turn out as a costly investment. This is where a WordPress Express blog comes in! Considering the fact you are on a low budget and probably with no or some experience to use the blog as your website is a perfect starting point. In this article, I will explain some crucial reasons for using a blog as your website. A blog enables you to start earning money online quickly. The moment you set your blog up you can start to advertise whatever you choose to promote. You get paid a commission whenever visitors to your website click the affiliate link and purchase a product through your blog. Getting started with a blog ask for less time and financial resources than having your website built. I strongly advise to use WordPress Express to build your blog websites because it comes with hosting unlimited domains and educational program within all necessary tools, like article writer, keyword research tool, a niche research tool and more, in order to create successful marketing campaigns. And with the help of community starting a blog is much easier and everyone can do it. You do not need some special technical skills in order to use WordPress Express. You can do everything yourself. On the other hand, when creating a website some technical knowledge is required, or you can outsource someone to set it up for you. Another advantage of using a blog as a website is that you do not need to spend a lot of money in advertising. To blog is much easier to drive a targeted traffic in comparison to a website. Performing proper keyword research in order to utilize targeted keyword phrases and constantly adding quality content to your blog, you will get indexed quickly, and the traffic will arise. You can have fun while running a blog. If you like what you are writing about blogging becomes fun and easy. Whenever you choose to start in the niche that it is easy for you to focus on then the work demanded to operate, blogging often, will not become a bargain to you, and the success is inevitable. Using WordPress Express to create blog websites is a considerable option for those who are starting their online home based business, but have short financial resources and a lack of knowledge. When you are searching all over the net you discover that almost everywhere persuades you that THEY have everything YOU need. Ian Vremec operates in an environment where you can focus on what you really need. To find out more go to: www.worpressexpresssite.com. Post from: SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources |
| Top Ten Reasons Your Business Should Utilize Facebook Posted: 09 Aug 2010 07:22 AM PDT  1. There are over 400 million active Facebook users and over 50% of the users login everyday. This means there is a huge, global audience to market your company to. 2. Facebook is a great place to distribute information about your company including events, photographs, videos, articles, blog posts as well as your business hours and contact information. 3. Social networking sites like Facebook allow you to connect with your customers on a personal level. 4. You can use the discussions feature to create surveys, ask questions and gather valuable information from your customers. 5. Having a Facebook page will give you a stronger presence with the search engines, especially with Google's new social search function. 6. The Facebook Fan Box is a powerful tool that you can place on your blog, website, YouTube page or even your email newsletter that allows visitors to see your company's Facebook page and even become a fan without ever leaving your site. 7. Facebook Connect allows users from a multitude of sites to access and post information to Facebook without leaving the site they are visiting, such as eBay, Etsy and all the major social bookmarking sites. If someone sees a product they like or reads an interesting article, they can easily post it to their Facebook profiles. 8. 20 million people become fans of Facebook Pages each day and more than 1.5 million local businesses have Facebook Pages. Your competition most likely has a Facebook page and you do not want to fall behind this important way to build your business. 9. As Facebook Mobile grows in popularity, more and more people are spending time on Facebook since they do not have to be at a computer and can access the site from anywhere in the world at anytime. 10. Facebook is growing internationally so you can easily target those in other countries and add international customers to your demographic. Forrest Yingling is the Marketing Director for WebNet Hosting, Premier Partner Miva Host since 2004. WebNet Hosting provides fully PCI Compliant Miva Hosting with 100% up-time as well as e-commerce solutions and basic web hosting. Post from: SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources |
| One-Third of All US on Facebook, Yet Users are Worthless? Posted: 08 Aug 2010 10:00 PM PDT 
So, in that light, I want to examine the numbers: According to Comscore, in June, over 130 Million people within the US used Facebook. This is about one third of the population of the US that uses Facebook – some of them day after day, many times a day, making it one of the most popular media sources ever in the history of the world. However, despite this, Facebook may only make $1 Billion this next year, even with expected growth. This may seem like a lot money, but it’s actually not – and I know why. The Superbowl gets around 100 million viewers each year. While the number goes up and down, it’s a good round number for this post and makes it easier for me to do the math. According to my research (Google) there was last year 62 ad slots sold at between $2.5M and $2.8M. That’s at least $155M in revenue, perhaps even as much as $175M in revenue for whichever network broadcasts the Superbowl. That means each viewer is worth at least $1.50 for the Superbowl. In contrast, the number $1 Billion estimated in Facebook revenue is for their 500 Million (and growing) users throughout the world. While I can’t find any numbers that say how much revenue is generated in the US and how much is generated internationally, I’m going to make a conservative guess that at least 90% of the revenue is US based, meaning that next year $900 million dollars is expected to be made from Facebook. That means that each US user, over the period of the year is only worth about $7.00 for the entire year. That is a ridiculously low number if you think about it. Viewers watching a several hour football game are worth 21% of the value of a Facebook user who may use the site 365 times plus a year, spend hundreds of hours a year talking to their friends and family, and more importantly interact with people of similar interests, communicate their needs, buying habits and much more. If you translate the value into hours of use of a Facebook user compared to a Superbowl watcher, an hour of a Facebook user is insignificant – I can’t even do the math, but you are talking about hundredths of a cent per hour for each Facebook user compared to around 50 cents per hour per Superbowl watcher. The value comparison here is hard to believe, in light of all the media coverage about Facebook. This raises two possible sets of questions. The first set of questions asks what the real value of an internet user is. The second set of questions would ask why we can’t monetize those users. If we concentrate on the first set of questions, we would come to conclusion that internet users, especially those on Facebook have little value financially per user. That the only reason that Facebook has any value is because of press coverage of the substantial size of the user without comparing the users actually value. When you look over the value of broadcasting corporations in comparison to their revenue, the inflated difference is great. The second set of questions interests me a great deal more, because it might have two subsets. The first question to ask is, is it easy to acquire users for a social networking site (and then lose them like MySpace) and how relatively cheap is their value. We are estimating the value of Facebook at 12 billion, although the majority of those users have only been on the site for less than a year. They have no loyalty, they have no value beyond that time. Any significant change in Facebook, or the rise of another more interesting social networking site could immediately doom the value of Facebook. Their value when it comes to advertising is clear. I’ve pointed out, that so far, their value is insignificant per user. So, now the important question: why are these users so useless, and why can’t we monetize them? Why hasn’t interactive advertising advanced far enough that it can actively engage users and create both branding and direct response experiences for social users that equates to actual value? This is a very significant question for anyone who is looking at the development of advertising on the internet and the value of social networking to advertisers. We can believe that either we haven’t learned how to monetize these users and we will very soon, or we can believe that the value of a social networking user is useless. This is probably the most important question of our time when it comes to the economy and its relation to advertising on the internet. I believe the issue is simple: we need to be considerably more creative (as does Facebook) about advertising on the internet. After 10 years of substantial growth, we still depend too much on display advertising in the form of 728×90 banners. I remember in 2000 being introduced to some of the rich-media expendables that are still in place. Facebook, on the other hand, still depends completely on CPC text advertising for its revenue. Here is the good part: this means whoever finds a way to be creative can monetize these users significantly. I am of the opinion that the Facebook user’s current value is less than 1/100th of what it could be – that for every dollar made now, within the next few years someone can figure how to make $100. Whatever this might be, I’m not sure – but it does mean that monetization of users needs to be beyond the CPM, beyond the CPC, and start to use possible metrics and systems that we haven’t even thought of. In perhaps the fastest growing industry ever, one person has made a name for himself as a leader and innovator. Pace Lattin, the publisher of the top newsletters in new media and online advertising, is one of the inventors of many of the technologies and methods that have become standards in the industry. He has been called many things, including a rabble-rouser, a guru, an innovator and a watchdog — but one thing stays the same: he is one of the most interesting leaders and commentators in the online advertising industry. Marketing Sherpa, a leading marketing research publication called him the most influential journalist in online media for a reason. IndustryPace.com Post from: SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources |
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