Users with a Google account will have their information integrated among all Google products including Gmail, YouTube, and Picasa. Google has already been collecting this information, but the new policy will allow the company to combine data across all its websites to get a deeper understanding of its user. For example, if you reside in Florida and watch a clip of a Miami Heat game on YouTube, you may see NBA ads appear on your Gmail account. Google will be able to tailor search results based on information given on Gmail, Google +, and YouTube to better understand what users mean when they search common terms like “apple” or “pink.”

“In short, we’ll treat you as a single user across all our products, which will mean a simpler, more intuitive Google experience,” says the official Google blog. The concept is similar to Facebook’s network of games, messages, and apps all under one user log-in.

However, there has been backlash for the privacy policy updates coming from 8 members of the House of Representatives and SafeGov, a company that conducts cloud computing for government. The congressmen wrote a letter to Google CEO Larry Page, raising the issue that there is no opt out option for the new privacy policy. SafeGov is concerned with how the privacy policy updates will affect the security of government workers. Google has since responded on their Public Policy blog, explaining to users they still have choice and control of their use of services. Will the backlash settle once the privacy policy updates go into effect March 1? Let us know your thoughts.

Google Privacy Policy Updates: Friend or Foe? is a post from: Blue Interactive Agency

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While the panel discussion provided ample information regarding in-house SEO teams, it also focused on hiring, working with third parties and the interaction between marketing and IT departments. Josh Gampel, Senior VP of Onward Search, suggested that the hiring manager write the job description for search marketing positions, as s/he will have the specialized knowledge necessary to really “speak” to potential candidates.

Tony Adam, Co-Founder and CEO of Eventify, discussed how he built in-house SEO teams and his methods for SEO team building. “I loved his suggestions not only because of their innovative and clever nature,” said Roth, “but also because they obviously have implications beyond SEO.” Adam’s takeaway point was that SEO team building is about people, not SEO.

Blue Interactive’s Peter Leshaw touched on SEO team building as well, but impressed Roth with his knowledge and insight into dashboards and bringing in third-party consultants to work with your in-house SEO team. Peter Leshaw explained the importance of dashboards, and how they are a great way to track the success of client campaigns over time, as well as hold staff accountable for their individual responsibilities in the overall plan. On bringing in third-party vendors, Roth asked, “What’s the single most important thing to keep in mind if you’re bringing in an SEO expert to give an extra boost to your team? Peter says that it’s to make sure they have the same SEO approach, strategically, as the in-house lead.”

Hiring, managing and training an in-house SEO team can be a daunting responsibility. Thanks to industry veterans like those on this expert panel, newcomers have a much better chance to effectively create and manage a successful team. If you’re looking for search engine optimization, search engine marketing or other interactive marketing services, contact Blue Interactive Agency today at 954-779-2801.

Building & Managing In-House SEO Teams is a post from: Blue Interactive Agency

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Local is comprising a larger part of universal search, a marriage that will have far-reaching implications for paid search spending. According to Forrester Research, local will become the biggest part of the overall interactive advertising market.

As search engines become more intuitive, the separation between local and universal search is beginning to disappear. This is great news for companies, as a simple listing with Google Places and/or Bing can bolster both local and universal search rankings without too much time or money. BtoB Magazine’s Karen J. Bannan recently penned an article on the subject, consulting industry experts to come up with the top seven local and universal visibility-boosting tactics.

1. Function over medium. Successful, forward-thinking marketing teams will quickly adapt to the shifting landscape. No longer will local, paid and universal search be viewed as separate initiatives with set uses and applications; all three will be melded to create an overall search engine marketing campaign that is guaranteed to yield higher rankings.
2. Back to basics. If your business isn’t listed on Google Places, now is the time to add your company. Make sure all pertinent information is included, like address, phone number and hours of operation. Since YouTube has been more deeply integrated with Google, you’ll also want to upload a video tagged with local and traditional search terms.
3. Geotarget. Consider your regional audience and adjust your strategy accordingly. Tailor your keywords and messages to the specific geographic region in which they’re located.
4. Collaborate with channel partners & distributors. “Partners doing your work locally should have a highly localized search strategy that also takes into account universal search,” said Bannan. They may have videos that show different locations and might be purchasing local search terms. Reach out to discuss how you can work with them to improve their existing search strategy.
5. Go beyond metatags. Internet technology is rapidly advancing. In the article, Bannan referenced W3C’s Web Schemas Task that “creates a list of schemas ([HTML] tags) that can be used to mark up pages in a way so that they are better optimized.” Seek out the latest available technology and use it to improve your search rankings.
6. Social media & link building. “Inbound links are still important in boosting search rankings,” says Bannan. Link building, whether it be through social media or guest blogging, should remain a vital component of your strategy.
7. Create a mobile platform. Local searches are even more prevalent on mobile devices. Gain a competitive advantage by optimizing your content for smartphones. Nix the Flash and make sure your images are sized correctly.

If you’re ready to develop and grow your brand’s online presence, contact Blue Interactive Agency today. Blue offers a complete range of interactive marketing services in Fort Lauderdale, including search engine optimization, search engine marketing, social media marketing, SEO copywriting and much more. Call 954-779-2801 today for more information.

Leveraging Local Search to Boost Market Visibility is a post from: Blue Interactive Agency

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Aside from the promotional aspects of the tribute, “The Johnny Cash Project” is a truly remarkable piece of work, drawn together from talented Cash fans from Long Beach to London. Each individual frame of the fascinating video was drawn by a single fan, and the project continues to grow as more people across the globe add on more and more layers. The video can be paused at any time to learn about each frame and the artist and fan behind it.

On The Johnny Cash Project website, frames are also sorted into categories, including:

• Highest Rated Frames
• Director Curated Frames
• Most Brushstrokes Per Frame
• Most Recent Frames
• Random Frames
• Pointillism Frames
• Realistic Frames
• Sketchy Frames
• Abstract Frames

The “Living Portrait of the Man in Black” invites you to share your vision of Johnny Cash, “as he lives on in your mind’s eye,” to become a part of the global collective art project. A CBS news blog called the project “A truly amazing fan-made tribute to one of the late and great all-time legends of music!”

The Johnny Cash Project is the latest clever project from Google, and is proving to be a ringing endorsement for Chrome. Google has released a slew of innovative products in recent years, including a variety of highly effective web analytics, including Google Apps, Google Feedburner, Google Webmaster Tools and more. If you would like to utilize these Google products in your business but are unfamiliar with them, contact Blue Interactive Agency for expert services and advice on getting started with these web tracking tools and more.

Google Chrome & The Johnny Cash Project is a post from: Blue Interactive Agency

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As of today, each of the new cities has at least one available offer, including deals and discounts from local restaurants, retail establishments and tourist attractions. If you live in one of the aforementioned areas, you can subscribe to Google Offers at google.com/offers, where you can receive deals of the day in your email inbox from as many places as you’d like. If you have an Android phone, you may also “buy Google Offers from all eight regions that are currently part of this trial in the Google Shopper app for Android in the “Today’s Offer” tab, and don’t have to subscribe to buy,” says Google’s blog.

Although Google Offers has received its fair share of criticism for lack of originality, the newest daily deals service actually features a much more integrated product than Groupon and many other related services. Google Offers merges Google search, advertising and Google Places with its mobile platform, Android. “This isn’t only done through the optional Android app, Shopper, but also through the upcoming mobile technology, NFC (near field communication), and Google’s mobile payments service,” said Sarah Perez of TechCrunch. On NFC-equipped phones, a simple tap on a Google Places window decal allows you to read reviews, visit the company’s website, search and check for available offers. “At checkout, you can even pay using Google’s NFC-based mobile payments service, Google Wallet.”

If Google Offers isn’t yet available in your city, click here to sign up to receive a notification when it launches in your area. Google’s integration with Android is a smart move that could easily gain them a key competitive advantage over existing group coupon services. If you are looking for mobile marketing solutions in Fort Lauderdale, contact Blue Interactive Agency today. Blue offers mobile application development, custom software development and more. Launch your best mobile campaign today by calling (954) 779-2801.

Google Offers Expands to Five More Cities is a post from: Blue Interactive Agency

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“Location-based services (LBS) like Foursquare, Gowalla and Loopt are adding another dimension to the mobile marketing toolkit for local businesses,” said Gib Olander in a recent article in Visibility Magazine. Users use their mobile phones to provide real-time information about their visits to local businesses, including photos, reviews and other valuable information for marketers. Considering that over 90 percent of Americans subscribe to a mobile service (this translates to about 285 million mobile users), local search is now being driven chiefly by cell phones. This realization has encouraged developers to create over 6,000 location-based iPhone applications, and that number continues to grow.

According to the article, store location data is the most important. These new marketing targeting opportunities are an invaluable resource for business owners. Olander provides some expert advice on how businesses should get started: “First, they should ensure their name, address, phone number (NAP) detail is accurate across search engines, social networks and LBS sites so consumers can quickly call or locate them.” And if you’ve ever used Foursquare, you’ve seen the “Specials Nearby” notices when you are near a business that offers discounts and other offers to users who check in to their establishment. This is a great way to capture the attention of your target market. Last but certainly not least, you should stay on top of what reviewers are saying about your business. This is of particular importance because, “geolocation users are 38 percent more likely than the average U.S. online adult to ask friends and family for their opinions before making a purchase decision, according to a July 2010 Forrester Research geolocation report.”

Between the news of Apple following your every move via your iPhone, Google seemingly being able to track your life history with one search query and countless LBS, many people are attempting to live “off the grid.” But with LBS exploding, their efforts are turning more into personal security pipedreams. However, business owners should embrace these new services as a welcome new opportunity to attract more customers. By providing vital, basic information and monitoring what users are saying about your company, you can take advantage of a great, free way to connect with your target audience.

Now is the ideal time to grow your business’ online presence. Blue Interactive Agency provides a full range of interactive marketing services, including search engine marketing, social media marketing, SEO copywriting and more. For more information, call us today at 954-779-2801.

Growing Marketing Opportunities with Mobile Geolocation is a post from: Blue Interactive Agency

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To avoid being targeted by Panda, make sure your website strays away from certain patterns like duplicate content and unnatural language. Some other tell-tale signs of a low quality website that Google Panda may “slap” with low search engine rankings include using the same boilerplate content on every page, or including too many ads on a website. Also, lots of content with little traffic and little moderation may raise red flags for Google. No one single factor is enough to deem a site as low quality by Google Panda, but any combination of these factors may be sufficient.

There are things you can do to improve your website’s search engine rankings. The Panda update meant Google would begin integrating social media as a factor in its algorithm. So highlighting your company’s Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare and YouTube accounts is a great method to improve your website quality.

Another method to improve your search rankings is to track the backlinks to your site as best as you can, and to filter out the links from low quality websites. You don’t want Google to associate your site with low quality websites, so it’s better to cut the ties and avoid the negative association. Instead, try to grow backlinks from websites with high quality content that is focused in your industry. Make your website SEO-friendly with a continuous supply of fresh, quality content. This is easily done with a company blog on your website. Use it to give viewers the information they want, and to increase your search engine rankings.

What is the Google Panda Update? is a post from: Blue Interactive Agency

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