It’s all about choices and alternatives. It was with this in mind that search and advertising giant Google recently announced that it’s going to support Adobe by bundling the popular Adobe Flash player with downloads of the Google Chrome browser. New releases of the browser will thus feature the latest version of the Flash player. A company spokesperson indicated that Flash will be the first plug-in that is not actually from Google’s stable to be integrated into Chrome. “This will make Flash on the browser a seamless experience,” says the spokesperson, “so (users) will see performance benefits and use of fewer resources. A lot of the controls and shortcuts will work better and Flash will truly feel like a part of the browser.” While not a lot of Internet users surf with the Chrome browser – research indicates it’s only 5 percent – the announcement represents a major step towards strengthening the company’s two operating systems, the Android (available for – Read the full article
The Apple iPad has been revealed recently – in a highly publicized keynote address delivered by Steve Jobs – and while critics are quick to point out the upcoming tablet’s flaws, we’ll focus here on one of the reasons why the Apple iPad can be a potential game-changer. Apple claims that the iPad is the best way to experience e-mail, and the tablet sure has enough features to back that up. Equipped to provide a reading experience unlike any we’ve had before for a large-screen device, the iPad is poised to benefit everyone who uses e-mail: businesses, entrepreneurs, e-mail marketers, and individual users. Of course, as far as Internet marketing is concerned, there’ll never be a better time to design and launch e-mail campaigns. Cleanliness The Apple iPad seems to have been designed for users who want a relaxed and engaged reading experience. Unlike most web and desktop e-mail clients out there on the market, the iPad – with its – Read the full article
These days more and more people are accessing the Web through their mobile phones. They’re checking their E-mails, surfing, reading the news, and even shopping – literally “on the go”. Wouldn’t you like to make your website “pops” for mobile? Don’t think it’s an impossible task. Today tools that format your website or blog for mobile phones and smartphones are aplenty. Most of them don’t even require web design or HTML expertise! Let’s take a look at some of them. Really Sweet Tools Mippin: This is a fast and free service that can “mobilize” your website or blog, so long as it has an Atom or RSS feed. It also offers built-in content variety through a list of sites delivered in simple format for the mobile audience. While there aren’t lots of features on Mippin, you’ll still have full control of your logo and branding efforts, as well as access to your traffic and reporting stats. And, to make sure – Read the full article
Google recently announced its acquisition of AdMob, a leading mobile network that covers the Apple iPhone and other mobile platforms, including Android. The deal was worth $750 million in stock and serves to validate the continued growth of mobile marketing and advertising. Google said that the acquisition of AdMob gives the company more expertise in a market that is expected to grow rapidly over the next several years. Apart from that, however, it solidifies the entry of a major player in mobile marketing, the power, reach, and value of which more and more industry experts are beginning to recognize. After all, despite today’s difficult economic climate, mobile platforms continue to grow. With the move, Google demonstrates how committed and serious the company really is about the mobile advertising and marketing industry. What are other implications of this acquisition? One is the potential money that lies in mobile applications. iPhone, which has an app for almost anything, can encourage developers to – Read the full article
Ecommerce is evolving. It’s certainly growing. By the year 2012, ecommerce sales in the US alone are projected to reach $335 billion. As the online customer base continues to grow, so will the number of online stores. Needless to say, it’s an increasingly fierce competition. In order to keep up and ahead of the pace, it is critical that businesses serious about growth in the ecommerce industry should find the best ecommerce solution for their companies. Enter Magento. Called the “platform for growth”, Magento is an open-source enterprise-level content management system whose flexibility, scalability, and robust feature set have been acclaimed by experts in the ecommerce industry. It’s the fastest-growing ecommerce solution in the market today, and with 750,000 downloads, the platform is bound to only grow bigger. Magento’s usable interface, analytics and reporting capabilities, SEO-friendliness, and catalog management tools have been praised by businesses, retailers, wholesalers, marketers, developers, and design firms. But what makes the ecommerce platform truly special – Read the full article
Thanks to social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, charity is moving beyond direct mail, newsletters, and door-to-door campaigns. It has gone “non-traditional” – and so have forms of giving. What d’ya know: social media has churned out something we may aptly refer to as ‘social good’. This came to record-setting light in the recent #BeatCancer campaign. You might have heard of it. Actually, you may have participated in it. Here’s how the fundraising effort went. For every Tweet, Facebook status update, or blog post containing the #BeatCancer hashtag, eBay/PayPal and MillerCoors pledged to donate one cent to cancer research. The campaign went viral, mobilizing raised social media users everywhere. On October 16 to 17, #BeatCancer raised significant money for several cancer charities – to the tune of over $70,000, actually – and set the Guinness World record for the most social mentions in a 24-hour duration: 209,771. Not all have set records, but more and more fundraising initiatives are – Read the full article
Google Analytics, the free web analytics solution that generates detailed statistics and reports about visitors to a website, recently announced a set of powerful new features that build on last year’s enterprise-class launch. Google says that the features – which will gradually be incorporated into Google Analytics accounts over the coming weeks – focus on three key areas: Intelligence: Google has made significant changes that enable users to understand their data better. It has launched the first phase of an algorithm-driven engine – Analytics Intelligence – that provides users with automatic alerts whenever significant changes happen in their data patterns (metric or dimension). Moreover, users can customize these alerts, so that they can tell Google Analytics what to watch for. The automatically combed data saves users time and brings to light traffic insights that users may find most crucial. Powerful options: One previous limitation of Google Analytics involved collecting visitor information for websites browsed through mobile phones. This was due – Read the full article
Before the Internet, businesses used to include their listings in local business directories. Remember the Yellow Pages or the Blue Book? You might think they’re old-fashioned now, but actually this process of finding local businesses simply evolved into online local business listings. Search engines are showing local business results that specify industry specialties with a geographic focus, which are getting more and more precise every single day. And you know what? Local search is poised to become even bigger, thanks to the continued growth of online maps, mobile browsing, local search engines, city guides, online review sites, and geo-location services (like Facebook Check-Ins, Foursquare, Google Places, etc.). Local Search and Local SEO All these make local search or local business SEO a must for your business. Whether you like it or not, you have to get listed. Lakeshore Branding is ready to help. Our team optimizes your local search information and listings, so that when customers conduct a local search, – Read the full article
