Social Media Marketing

Social Media are more popular than ever today. There are bigger budgets in online advertising than TV or Radio. People communicate, socialise and network increasingly online. Marketing in forums, social networking and social bookmarking websites can be more difficult than it seems.

We will introduce your company to the networks and advise on how to add value and reap the benefits of a well-positioned product or service.

Normal marketing and advertising rules do not apply as communities are sensitive to their unique code of conduct that is respected at all times. Adding value and building trust are key to our approach.

We offer complete solutions on networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, StumbleUpon, Twitter, Flicker, Delicious, Bebo, Digg, MySpace, FriendFeed and others.

Social Media has a structured approach on strategy, analysis, monitoring and timely execution. We’re working on many successful online marketing campaigns for years. For social media marketing campaigns we have a structured and flexible approach. We fully understand the need not to force the issues but rather to engage with people in social media through a conversational and intelligent approach.

Google Checkout Gets a New Promotions Feature

Google has launched a new feature for Google Checkout, which allows merchants based in the US to create and run their own Checkout promotions at any time.

Users simply need to sign in to their Checkout merchant account, go to the "Tools" tab, and click the "Promotions" link to create a promotion. Google says the process takes less than a minute. Users can specify the date and time they'd like the promotion to run, and choose from different dollar-off discounts to offer their buyers.


When you run a Google Checkout promotion, the standard Checkout button on your site will automatically update to display the discount amount and cart minimum. AdWords advertisers will also have their standard Checkout badge that appears on their ads change to show the same information.


"These promotional badges have been introduced to enable shoppers who search on Google.com to easily identify and take advantage of promotional offers," says Google Checkout Specialist Gina Del Vecchio.


"Checkout promotions are a great way to attract new buyers, and we're excited to make this functionality more widely available," she adds.


Google recently made changes to its content restrictions for Google Checkout. The service now allows the sale of real estate rentals, timeshares, and day sight-seeing tours. Google has just announced a couple of other things that people in real estate might find particularly useful. For one, they have expanded upon their real estate features on Google Maps. Secondly, they are now offering a new type of ad to allow for comparisons between offers.

Google Gives AdWords Advertisers New Comparison Option

Google announced that it is testing a new AdWords feature called AdWords Comparison Ads. These are ads that let users compare multiple offers from the same advertiser that are relevant to the user.

Google says the feature is part of its continuing effort to make ads more relevant and useful to users and help advertisers reach the people who are most interested in their products and services.


"AdWords uses a host of targeting and relevancy signals to determine the best ads for each query. However, sometimes a user's query doesn't provide enough information for us to confidently predict what they want," explains Dan Friedman of Google's Inside AdWords Crew. "Take, for example, users who search for "mortgage." Do they want a new home loan or a refinance? Do they want a fixed rate or an adjustable rate loan? Comparison Ads improves the ad experience on Google.com by letting users specify exactly what they are looking for and helping them quickly compare relevant offers side by side."




If a user clicks a promotion, they are taken to a page with more detailed, sponsored results. There they can choose from the offers listed on the page or refine their search further. If a user finds an offer they like, they can call the advertiser or request a quote.




"If a user requests a quote, Google automatically anonymizes the user's phone number and sends you a unique code that you can use to contact the user," says Friedman. "You only pay if a user calls the phone number on your offer or fills out a form to request a quote."


Google cites speed, transparency, and privacy as the key points of focus with Comparison ads. They show targeted offers in less than a second, they only show real products (meaning no teaser rates, baits or switch offers), and they won't send advertisers any user information.

Kaspersky tool detects malware in Twitter links

Kaspersky unveiled a new tool on Thursday called "Krab Krawler" that analyzes the millions of tweets posted on Twitter every day and blocks any malware associated with them.

The tool looks at every public post as it appears on Twitter, extracts any URLs in them and analyzes the Web page they lead to, expanding any URLS that have been shortened, Costin Raiu, a senior malware analyst at Kaspersky, said in an interview.

The company is scanning nearly 500,000 new unique URLs that appear in Twitter posts daily, he said. Of those, anywhere between 100 and 1,000 are malware attacks. Twitter has also been targeted by the Koobface virus which posts malicious links from infected users' accounts.

About 26 percent of the total posts contain URLs, and many of those lead to spam sites that are marketing products or services and aren't considered malware, according to Raiu. Tens of thousands of different accounts are posting spam links, most likely from accounts created by bots, he said. The most frequent URLs posted lead to online dating sites, he added.

Twitter has its own filtering system, but some malicious links still manage to get through, Raiu said.

While Kaspersky's regular antivirus software may detect and block 95 percent of the malware Twitter users are threatened with, malware code changes frequently to evade filters and it could take between two and 12 hours for new stuff to be classified as malicious and detected, he said.

While antivirus companies have traditionally focused on protecting e-mail-borne viruses, they are increasingly turning their attention to social-media sites as attackers do.

Trend Micro has technology that monitors Twitter posts for malicious URLs, as well as looks for attack patterns in the posts, such as use of popular terms to indirectly lead people to malicious links, said Morton Swimmer, a senior threat researcher at Trend Micro.

Meanwhile, Finjan offers a free browser plug-in dubbed SecureTwitter that warns users when they encounter a malicious URL in Twitter, as well as Gmail, Blogger, MSN, MySpace, Google search, Yahoo, and other sites.

Social-media sites are popular for attackers not only because people are flocking to them, but also because users seem to trust messages that appear to come from friends on those sites more than they trust e-mails, Raiu said.

"People are worried about unsolicited e-mail, so they are careful not to run the programs they get by e-mail, but they aren't prepared to deal with these kinds of new attacks," he said.

The most common piece of malware associated with Twitter links is Trojan-Clicker.HTMLIFrame, a malicious JavaScript that can get downloaded to a computer when it visits a compromised Web site.

Source

Google Page rank updated October 30 - 2009

After all google has updated page rank after 4 months. Last page rank was updated at 6/24/2009.

Diolt.com has ranked 4 from 3 in short span. Congratulation. :)

In the last days Barry Schwartz at Search Engine Round table points to a thread featuring an explanation from Google Webmaster Trends Analyst Susan Moskwa, said that Google has quietly gotten rid of PageRank in Webmaster Tools.

Well Toolbar page rank has its importance and shows the website strength.

Google Ditches PageRank in Webmaster Tools

Google has quietly gotten rid of PageRank in Webmaster Tools. Barry Schwartz at Search Engine Roundtable points to a thread featuring an explanation from Google Webmaster Trends Analyst Susan Moskwa.

"We've been telling people for a long time that they shouldn't focus on PageRank so much; many site owners seem to think it's the most important metric for them to track, which is simply not true," says Moskwa. "We removed it because we felt it was silly to tell people not to think about it, but then to show them the data, implying that they should look at it."

Search marketers are wondering why Google tells people not to focus on PageRank and removes it from Webmaster Tools, but still keeps it in the Google Toolbar. "Back in 2007, Google wanted feedback on removing PageRank from the Toolbar," says Schwartz. "I felt it was a good idea but the idea died out. Google cannot remove PageRank from the Toolbar, it is too much of their branding. No matter how much Matt Cutts and the Google search quality and webmaster trends team want it removed, I cannot see Google's executives allowing it."

Andy Beal of Marketing Pilgrim says the role of PageRank has been reduced to nothing more than a "comfort blanket for SEO Noobs." He adds, "I say this, with a high degree of confidence that most experienced SEOs pour over the data in Google Webmaster Tools, whereas those new to the industry likely let the toolbar be their only guiding light."

He also notes, however, that PageRank data can still be useful. For example, it can be a good indicator of a site's behavior in Google's index. "Any green means 'go.' No green, means there's something to investigate," says Beal.

Despite this usefulness though, Moskwa pretty much closes the case on Google's position on it. In fact, she even points to a FAQ page about crawling, indexing, and ranking, which says that webmasters shouldn't even bother thinking about it. It also says that PageRank is just one of over 200 signals that can affect how your site is crawled, indexed, and ranked.

Get 25% off on bulk submission

We want as many businesses as possible to benefit from our web directory. When the economy isn't the strongest, it's even more important to drive potential clients to your website. One of the most effective ways to do so is through Search Engine Optimization and building back links.

Much like the old paper directories, diolt's web directory contains links to almost every topic, and current categories range from arts and entertainment to home improvement and housewares. The web directory works through 2COl, allowing clients to feel secure during all money transfers. Throughout the steps, Diolt also provides fast answers to technical questions and general inquiries.

When users submit URLs to Diolt, they are also able to include supporting information about their link. With this added information, businesses are given the opportunity to provide a message to potential clients, allowing them to better understand the services offered.

All of this functionality and convenience is included as part of Diolt 'Just you.' This new, value-added promotion is a strong reflection of the overall business philosophy of the leading web directory firm.

We have always had a strong focus on customer service -- always doing what we can to help clients who have a question or technical concern. We have also streamlined the process to add links and guarantee that new links will be reviewed within 24 hours. Now, through our value-packed promotion.

To take advantage of the 'Just you', bulk submission users should send an email at info at diolt.com. Users looking to submit on a per-listing basis can use the submission form on the website: http://www.Diolt.com

Google search inWeek 10/2/09

At Google, we're completely committed to the needs of our users. This is one reason we make constant changes to the user experience — so you have a better search experience. Some of the changes are larger features like our Search Options; some are small visual refinements, like our larger search box. Starting today, we'll post a story each Friday that showcases some of the user experience updates we've made to our search in the past week, complete with example searches, and how and where to see the improvements. This way, loyal search aficionados can see and experiment with all of updates in one easy-to-access place.

Hot Trends highlighted on results page
Have you ever wondered how many people query [tsunami] or [samoa] right after they read about it in the news, or are you the only one looking? For years, Google Trends has let you search an aggregation of what other people are searching for. Now we're taking that concept to the results page and showcasing fast-rising terms with a graph at the bottom of the page. To see it, try one of these searches and scroll to the bottom:

Example search: [olympic bid]
The queries here are rather fleeting by nature — one minute they're hot; the next, cold. (Apologies if [olympic bid] no longer shows this off.) The easiest way to be sure to see this feature is try one of the searches from our Hot Trends page. You'll see the hot trend featured at the bottom of the search results page, highlighted with a graph.

New tools in Search Options
We've just added a host of new tools in our Search Options panel. To view the Search Options, do a search, find "Web" in the top blue bar, and click on the "+ Search Options" link to the right of it. A navigation bar on the left side of the screen will appear. We launched Search Options back in May, but this week we're adding a set of new and exciting features. Among them:

Better way to shop and research products
Have you ever found that your search sometimes feels too commercial when you're just starting to think of buying? Or maybe you've experienced the opposite, where you can't find an online store to buy something despite your best attempts. We've just introduced a way for you to control the number of stores you see in your results.

Example search: [flip camera]

Click on the link in Search Options that says "Fewer shopping sites" and you'll see mostly reviews and technical specifications. When you're ready to buy, click on the link in Search Options that says "More shopping sites." You'll see mostly stores listed, and the results even note the prices and specific products right on that page.

Learning from history
If you use personalized search and web history, it's now easier for you to see which of the search results you have visited already and which you haven't.

Example search: [youtube]

With the Search Options panel open and while you're signed in to Google (look for your user name in the upper righthand corner), click on the "Visited Pages" tool. Your results will then show only pages you've visited that contain the term 'YouTube.' Now, click on the tool "Not yet visited" where you will see only pages you haven't yet seen that contain 'YouTube.'

Keeping up with time
The Search Options panel has always helped users search over time, but now there are two new features that help you do this even more flexibly: "Past hour" and "Specific date range."

Example search: [obama]

Click on the "Past hour" link and you'll see all the recent news and web pages published in the past hour on [obama].

Example search: [michael jordan]

Now click on "Specific date range" and try the period surrounding Jordan's last championship (5/1/98 through 7/31/98), and you'll see all the press from the Chicago Bulls' win and various articles covering him that summer.

Personalized Suggest now on Mobile
Finally, here's a fun tidbit that bridges web search on the desktop to web search on mobile. New this week, Google Suggest (the suggested queries that appear below the search box as you type) on your mobile phone is personalized, based on searches from your desktop. This feature only applies when you are signed in to your Google account, and only for searches done while you are signed in. We think this small feature is significant because it enables you to easily migrate your search tasks from the desktop to your phone. It's also one of the first instances in which your desktop search usage can improve your mobile search experience, and vice versa.

Getting your website optimized for the search engines

Getting your website on the top of the page ranking is the primary concern of almost all webmasters. And therefore, for this reason they seek the help of some SEO company or the other to get the Search Engine Optimization job done for them. However, Search Engine Optimization is a wide concept and includes several features and functions and a lot of things to be done side by side so that the whole Search Engine Optimization job can be done perfectly and the website may rise in its page ranking. Therefore for all these purpose there is the need to seek the help of some SEO service providing company so that you may not have to worry too much and spend your valuable time in getting yourwebsite optimized as per the demands of the leading search engines.

It is true that you can do the Search Engine Optimization for your website all by yourself, but it is always better to get the help of the SEO experts. And in this way not only you can save your valuable time but also there is the chance of better Search Engine Optimization for your website as the SEO companies possess better knowledge and experience of how to do the whole thing in the correct order.

As stated earlier there are several things in relation to the Search Engine Optimization that are to be done to get the best results. But the first and foremost thing for optimizing your website is the keyword research. As we all know that the keywords are those specific words that are commonly used by the Internet users to search for specific services or products. To look for any information over the Internet you need to enter these keywords into some search engine and then the search engine would return the result in its result page where there would be several links to those pages containing information in relation to your keyword search. Therefore the keywords are the medium through which the web traffic is directed towards your site. Thus it is easily presumable how important the choice of keyword is for any website.

Now the importance of the choice of keywords is understood you must remember a few guidelines for getting better results from your keywords. As for example it is always better to choose less competitive keywords because if you choose some popular keyword the competition on that field would increase to a great extent and it would be tougher for you to yield more traffic from that keyword. On the other hand a less competitive keyword definitely would yield better results than the popular ones. Another thing to be remembered in relation to your keywords is that you should not stuff your website with several keywords as it may lead your website to be charged of manipulating the search engines and using unfair means.

Other than the keywords the most important thing for Search Engine Optimization is the link building. This in itself is also a wide concept. It is perhaps the most important thing that can get your website on the top of the page ranking.

Pay Per Click (PPC) management and advertising

We provide a fully comprehensive Pay Per Click search marketing service, including:

PPC Management and Campaign Planning

Choosing the right keywords for your PPC campaign is vital to get the most out of Pay Per Click advertising and generate high-quality, motivated traffic to your site. We are highly experienced in setting up PPC campaigns, from keyphrase research to budget projection.

As part of your pay per click (ppc) management, we constantly monitor your account to ensure that positions don't slip.

We also ensure that we get the best ROI for your business by advising of the right phrases to target. It's about attracting buyers not browsers!

Example:

Targeting the phrase "golf" - someone using this phrase could be searching for the latest model Volkswagen Golf, a second hand Volkswagen Golf, a shop selling golf clubs, a golf course in Edinburgh… the list is endless.

The secret of successful Pay Per Click campaign management and good ROI is to use as targeted phrases as possible. PPC Creatives

Pay Per Click advertisements have to be written to very strict guidelines. We are experts at working within these guidelines to produce tight, focussed copy that's proven to produce results.

Bid Management

Effective bid management is the key to maximising your revenue from a Pay Per Click marketing campaign while keeping expenditure down. As part of the Pay Per Click (PPC) management, we use a combination of manual and automated bid management techniques to ensure that you're getting the best possible placement for the lowest possible cost.

Tracking

PPC tracking provides you with details of those people signing up as a result of your PPC advertising. This allows us to assess the effectiveness of your campaign and provides us with the detail to adjust your campaign appropriately.

Analysis

Pay Per Click campaigns offer unprecedented levels of customer intelligence which we can use to assess what the strengths and weaknesses of your campaign are and adjust your campaign appropriately.

Pay Per Click Reporting

As part of the Pay Per Click (PPC) management, you are provided with detailed, comprehensive monthly reports so you can see exactly how each keyphrase in your campaign is performing. Reports include summaries of top performing phrases, conversion rates as well as advice on the best way forward. In addition, deeper analysis is provided for each phrase: no. of impressions, no. of clicks, average click through rate, average cost per click