Instant just got mobile. It was only last September that Google introduced Google Instant, a search enhancement that allowed users to view search engine results as they typed. Promising better, faster results, Google Instant also saved a lot of typing and time – about 2 to 5 seconds per search, according to the company. As covered by our very own Brandon Zeman, as well as of guest writer Phyllis Roe, the new feature introduces new implications on SEO and gives rising importance to efficiency in search. Two months later? Google has taken Instant search to mobile platforms. In an announcement made Thursday on the Google Mobile blog, Google is rolling out the beta release of the search service for mobile phones, particularly the iPhone and Android-powered devices. According to the company, Google Instant on mobile is tied to a new implementation of AJAX and HTML5, which thus allows dynamic page updates and eliminates the need to load a new webpage – Read the full article
Ordering a pizza is a weekend tradition in many families. Pizza goes along with college football, study sessions, and – and the Internet? Yes, the Internet! These days more of the population are starting to find the advantages of ordering online – and by advantages, we also mean advantages for the pizzerias, restaurants, and other similar delivery businesses. That’s because ordering online offers a new way to market to the individual pizza enthusiast, or the bachelor ordering in for the weekend, or the bored, hungry online surfer or football score watcher. What makes ordering online such a potent marketing tool is the fact that, when ordering, say, a pepperoni thick with fries on the side, the system will normally have to ask for contact information to verify the order. This information typically includes an E-mail address. Once the address is obtained, the pizza company can start to send out specials about two to three times a week straight to the – Read the full article
These days, Twitter is synonymous not only with communication and sharing but also with doing so while on the move. If you need an application to make your Twitter experience more mobile then you won’t have to look too far to find one. Here are 9 Twitter applications to make your life a little – and your business – easier and a lot more fun. Twitpic has become one of the most popular and downloaded apps for mobile phones. Just like the online version, the Twitpic app allows you to easily send images from your phone to Twitter. If that isn’t enough, Twitpic has a bunch of Twitter clients, too (for example, TweetDeck, which has TwitPic integration functionality). Just take a picture (or use your gallery images) and you can upload it to Twitter in an instant. Definitely worth the small cost to download. While of the subject of TweetDeck, what better application is there than this to maintain your Twitter stream? This app – Read the full article
Twitter and Facebook: yes, sure, everyone’s heard of these social media giants. But there’s another name that’s slowly but steadily catching the attention of media companies, businesses, and celebrities – and one which you, as an Internet marketer, business owner, or startup, might want to check out for yourself. It’s called Tumblr. Tumblr has actually been around for awhile – it was launched nearly four years ago – but it’s only now that the potential of this easy blogging service is being recognized and realized by the world of social media users. In a nutshell, Tumblr is a platform for blogging, much like WordPress, Blogger, Movable Type, and Posterous, but what makes it different from these other platforms is its ability to “socialize” its service. Tumblr isn’t just for strictly “writerly” bloggers or Dear Diary writers; it’s for anyone who wants to share anything, from text passages, quotes, photos, links, music videos, etc. at the click of a button. In – Read the full article
Magento is, perhaps, today’s most evolved e-Commerce platform. If you’ve been reading this blog, then you’ll know by now how much we here at Lakeshore Branding love the solution. Magento e-Commerce’s flexibility, rich feature set, SEO-friendly capabilities, and comprehensive merchandising and marketing features make it an ideal platform of online stores and sellers (regardless of size) as well as for shoppers (regardless of demographic or budget). Looking to design, develop, implement, or fully customize your own Magento-powered store? Don’t worry yourself sick trying to figure it out by yourself. (Newbie-ness doesn’t have to be so awful.) There’s a bunch of Magento e-Commerce books – by Varien, the official developer, and by independent programmers and designers – that should help you every step of the way, no matter your level of skill and expertise in Magento. Yes, books: these are still as good an educational tool as any. We’ve compiled a list of the best of them. Take a look: Magento – Read the full article
With the nation uncertain whether or not the Great Recession is over, and waiting to see what happens next, we all need to sit back and think to ourselves what we need to do to pull ourselves out of the situation that we’re in. Most people in the business and economics world claim that a large part of this recession is a lack of demand. The idea is this: if people aren’t spending money on buying things, then no one sees the need to make and sell products. As a result, people are being laid off and not being rehired elsewhere; it seems there’d be no need for their labor, since no one is buying anything anyway. How does someone create demand, though? It doesn’t seem plausible that someone can create within people a desire to buy, but what we can do as a nation is create something new for which there might be a desire. What people want right – Read the full article
If you have a brand, you should have a logo. Simple as that. And if you have a logo, put it in places where other people can see it: in your website, on your branding collaterals, on your business card. If you don’t have a logo, ask someone to design one for you. Don’t use Microsoft Word clip art or MS Paint. Hire a freelance graphic designer. Or a creative design agency. Or that talented nephew of yours who’s studying art in the university. Or an online service provider? You read that right: an online service provider, and from an already trusted brand like HP, too. Logoworks is a design provider for small businesses. It was established in 2001, acquired by HP in 2007, and has since been known for delivering custom branding material and original, downloadable logos in all major file formats for businesses spanning a range of industries. The idea behind Logoworks is a simple one, really. If – Read the full article
The VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) market is so competitive these days. There are so many different companies trying to vie for the same market, it is unreal. While many consider only three companies – RIM, Google, and Apple – to be in real competition, Facebook might just make an appearance. The key to making any of these services be in high demand is to create the right buzz through Internet marketing programs. The right program should the right people to the technology. Here’s the reason why people feel that a Facebook-created physical mobile phone is such a bad idea: they believe that the popular online social media website has no business being in the ring with the rest of the heavy hitters. The best bet being thrown out for Facebook is to create a VoIP like Google Voice and stick to creating a “softphone” instead. The softphone can easily be marketed through Facebook itself as a natural progression for – Read the full article
