The  California-based search giant made the announcement at its I/O developers conference in San Francisco.

The latest version will provide users with personalised maps, highlighting the information, areas, and routes likely to matter to them most.

In a post published on its Lat Long blog, Google has stated that Maps will become better and better with increased use.

Bernhard Seefeld, Google Maps product management director, and Yatin Chawathe, Google Maps engineering director, wrote in the post: “When you set your Home and Work locations, start favorite places, write reviews and share with friends, Google Maps will build even more useful maps with recommendations for places you might enjoy.”

The service will prioritise the locations users have searched for regularly in the past in any Google search, highlight businesses a user’s Google+ friends have reviewed positively, and pick out similar landmarks related to the one being searched.

Interestingly for digital marketing professionals, the redesigned Maps will include the names of businesses over the top of their locations – in addition to the standard pins – with a couple of words from their PPC ads – if they’re running a pay per click marketing campaign with Google.

Although there was previously an icon system in place, it wasn’t always clear to users what each business represented.

Additionally a blue shopping tag icon will appear next to the businesses’ name if it happens to be, for example, running a special offer.

A spokeswoman for Google has revealed that advertisers won’t pay for the clicks on these ads, as the product is still in the testing phase.

She said: “We’ll keep users posted in the AdWords blog and help-centre once this changes.”

This addition may encourage advertisers to divert their attentions towards utilising the service more in the future.

News brought to you by ClickThrough – experts in SEO, PPC Management, Multilingual Search Marketing and Website Conversion Enhancement services.

The post New Google Maps To Focus On Personalisation And Feature PPC Ads appeared first on ClickThrough Marketing.

Using the Display Campaign Optimizer

The Display Campaign Optimizer is a flexible PPC tool that allows webmasters to optimise their targeting and bidding for display advertising.

Advertisers may utilise the optimizer for their campaigns once they’ve achieved a conversion rate of 15 conversions per month.

Once the Display Campaign Optimizer has been activated, it will automatically try to find the best placements and prices for a campaign.

However, it doesn’t do all the work. Marketers still need to consider the creatives that they want to use for the campaign, the budget and a target cost-per-acquisition (CPA).

For general display advertising campaigns, the optimizer does a good job when it’s left to run on autopilot. However, there are some advanced features that some marketers might want to take advantage of when targeting specific audiences.

It’s important to be aware that it can disable campaigns that have a lower click-through rate (CTR), even though the conversion rate for those clicks might be exceptionally high. If you have some narrowly targeted, high-conversion campaigns, it might be worth considering opting out of the optimizer for those creatives.

Advanced Optimisation for Google Display Network

One of the most interesting features of the network is the ad scheduling tool.

Ad scheduling is also known as “day parting”. This feature can be used to set ads to display at a specific time of day, or to adjust bids up and down depending on the time of day.

For example, if a product is aimed at business users in a particular country, a marketer may find that their ads convert better during office hours. So, they would probably want to schedule their ads to appear during these hours.

Another useful feature is Conversion Tracking.

With this PPC tool, it’s possible to find out not only the number of conversions that ads are yielding, but also which sites on which those ads leading to those conversions are being displayed.

The demographic bidding feature is also incredibly handy.

This feature can be found under the Display Network tab, then either Gender or Age. The demographics feature allows marketers to target campaigns at specific genders and age groups, as well as view a range of different metrics based on those age groups, such as CTR, impressions, conversions and cost-per-conversion (CPC).

It’s worth looking at this information, as it can make for extremely interesting reading

Again, these features are more the advanced additions that offer marketers more control over their ads.

The Campaign Optimizer will handle a lot of the work an advertiser might normally expect to do. It’s certainly a great time-saver, especially for those just starting a campaign, and wanting to experiment with a few different prices, niches and creatives.

The post The PPC Benefits of the Display Campaign Optimizer appeared first on ClickThrough Marketing.

Last year Google, which offers a variety of advertising products, such as display advertising, paid £7.3 million in corporation tax on over £3 billion it earnt from UK sales.

The company’s vice president of operations in northern Europe, Matt Brittin, met with the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) today, and stood by evidence he provided last year (2012), insisting that all its UK sales were made through its Irish offices.

Chair of the committee, Margaret Hodge, however, said that MPs had seen documentation describing the steps involved in Google’s selling process involving staff based in the UK.

She told Brittin: “It was quite clear from all that documentation that the entire trading process and sales process took place in the UK.”

Brittin responded by stating that the evidence related to a period before he joined Google, back in 2007.

He later stated: “It’s true that the people dealing with customers in the UK – the one per cent of customers, who see Google staff – are incentivised to encourage people to spend with Google and that’s appropriate.”

However, he added that any eventual transactions took place in Ireland, stating: “But any customer that spends with us has to buy from Ireland because that’s where the intellectual property sits.”

Hodge said: “We all accept the billing is in Ireland. If sales activity is taking place in the UK, you are misleading both Parliament and the taxpayers in suggesting that is not happening.”

She later warned Mr Brittin that it was a “very serious offence” to mislead a parliamentary select committee.

MPs are set to hear from the head of the HMRC later on today, who will give evidence from their own Google tax investigation.

News brought to you by ClickThrough – experts in Search Engine Marketing & Internet Marketing.

The post Google Challenged By MPs Over Tax Arrangements appeared first on ClickThrough Marketing.

The Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe told the search engine firm in the future it must ensure terms generated by the word completion feature are not offensive or defamatory.

A German business man first brought the issue to light in a case started in 2010: The complainant pointed out the fact that when searching his full name on Google.de, the autocomplete function offered suggestions such as “Scientology” and the German word for fraud alongside his name in the search.

The plaintiff argued making such connections violated his personal rights and also his business reputation, connecting him with Scientology and fraud despite the lack of any real link. He demanded the two terms were no longer used as part of Google’s auto-complete function.

Despite his complaints however, in 2012 the Higher Regional Court in Cologne actually ruled in favour of Google – something the Federal Court of Justice has now overturned.

While Google does not have to alter its algorithms in any way, it has had to remove the search terms and in the future will have to remove any offensive or defamatory results brought to its attention.

The statement added: “The operator is, as a basic principle, only responsible when it gets notice of the unlawful violation of personal rights.”

While Google is able to target sites using illicit SEO methods to rank higher or to copy material from elsewhere with its algorithms such as Penguin and Panda, the autocomplete function is a somewhat different entity.

Discussing the verdict and the auto-complete function in more detail, a Google spokesman said: “We are disappointed with the decision from the German Supreme Court.

“We believe that Google should not be held liable for terms that appear in autocomplete as these are predicted by computer algorithms based on searches from previous users, not by Google itself. We are waiting for the written grounds to review the decision in detail.”

News brought to you by ClickThrough – specialists in Search Engine Optimisation and Internet Marketing.

The post German Court Orders Google To Clean Up Its Autocomplete Results appeared first on ClickThrough Marketing.

The study by GlobalWebIndex also highlighted a huge boom in Facebook usage: Despite the issue of ‘Facebook fatigue’, a sense of boredom when using the site, firms including GlobalWebIndex have previously suggested has impacted user numbers.

Social networking as a whole has seen a big boost, especially in developing countries, leading to a 44% increase in overall market penetration by Twitter. The micro-blogging platform has proved to be particularly popular in Indonesia, with a 44.2% increase in users since Q2 of 2012, and also in Saudi Arabia (41.66%) and Singapore (34.74%).

Interestingly, Twitter’s fastest growing demographic was in the 55-64 age range, seeing a massive 79% increase in registered active users.

Facebook had a similarly impressive boost in overall numbers, seeing a growth of just over one-third (35%) of users. Much like Twitter, Facebook’s biggest demographic increase was in the 45-54 age range, with an increase of 46% reported.

Google+ also saw a significant growth in users, helping it retain its second overall position in the social media charts with figures suggesting the platform now has more than 359 million active users a month. The 45-54 age demographic was Google+’s fastest growing age group, seeing an impressive 56% rise.

In overall penetration of active users, Facebook still stands head and shoulders above the competition, boasting a user base of 51% of all Internet users.

Below Facebook however, the competition is a lot tighter with two Google owned social networking sites, Google+ and YouTube battling out for second and third.

Google+ claimed second with 26% of Internet users, while YouTube claimed third with a 25% share of the Internet population. However, with an overall haul of 51% akin to Facebook’s share of the market, it does suggest Google is a definite rival to Facebook in the world of social media.

Further down the pecking order stood LinkedIn with an eight per cent share of the Internet population and Pinterest with a four per cent share.

Aside from the increase in popularity among older demographics, the GlobalWebIndex study attributed the increased usage of social media on the increased use of mobile for Internet use. According to the research, the number of people accessing the Internet via a mobile device has surged 60.3% to 818.4 million in the areas studied.

The study also emphasised the importance of iOS and Android users on the social market, pointing out smartphone users with those operating systems were far more likely to use Facebook, Google+ and Twitter when compared to the average Internet user.

The study concluded, professionals who specialise in social media marketing will have to continue to adapt to mobile in order to push business forward in the future.

News brought to you by ClickThrough – experts in SEO, PPC marketing, and conversion rate optimisation services.

The post New Research Shows Surge In Twitter And Other Social Media Usage appeared first on ClickThrough Marketing.

Speaking on his personal Twitter account, he responded to a users question on whether the update had already hit, saying : “Nope, no new Penguin update this week.”

In a follow up tweet he added: “…we do expect to roll out Penguin 2.0 (next generation of Penguin) sometime in the next few weeks though.”

Cutts had previously hinted at a major Penguin overhaul back in March at the SMX West panel, suggesting this latest update would be hugely significant, even going as far as to say it would probably be one of the more talked about Google algorithm updates of the year.

Although he did not specify the changes likely to be made in its latest iteration, it will no doubt stick to the targeting black hat tactics used by some SEO firms in order to boost a sites ranking.

Penguin was introduced in April 2012 to level the search engine optimisation playing field, penalising sites using illicit tactics such as keyword stuffing and paying for spammy inbound links.

According to Search Engine Land, the last major Penguin update, Penguin 3, occurred back in October 2012. A previous update was launched in May 2012 following its initial launch the previous month.

Internet Marketing News from ClickThrough – an integrated digital marketing agency offering web design services, web development, SEO, PPC, content, online PR and conversion optimisation.

The post Matt Cutts: Google Penguin algorithm update due in 'next few weeks' appeared first on ClickThrough Marketing.

The Wall Street Journal claims sources close to the matter informed it the search engine giant was quietly trying to get out of its partnership with Microsoft, but its attempts so far had failed.

The renewed one year deal, which extended the current one which expired on March 31, took effect on April 1. It marks the first agreement between the two firms since Marissa Mayer took over as Yahoo!’s chief executive back in July last year, although the first deal was actually struck between the pair in 2009, before being renewed again in 2011.

For Yahoo! a break off from Microsoft seems sensible for the firm, as under the deal its Revenue Per Search has actually been worse than when it used its own systems:  Since making the arrangements, Yahoo! has agreed to use Microsoft’s technology instead.

The pair initially made the deal to try to generate more income in the face of Google’s mammoth share of the search market.

With a vast bulk of people using Google as their main search engine, figures constantly show it averages around the 66-67% mark in the US alone, the Internet giant has been able to draw in a number of firms willing to use it for PPC marketing and SEO purposes over its rivals.

By joining together, the pair hoped to present a more appealing, unified alternative to Google’s platforms rather than taking it on individually.

Under the initial deal between the pair, Yahoo! looked to receive more money from ads through a guaranteed Revenue Per Search agreement with Microsoft, however Microsoft has so far fell short on this promise.

If by April 1, 2014, Microsoft is still unable to deliver on its promises, Yahoo! will be able to walk out on the deal according to Searchengineland’s Danny Sullivan.

Despite the somewhat shaky relationship however, Yahoo!’s search revenue rose six per cent to $408m in the first quarter of 2013.

News brought to you by ClickThrough – a best practice digital marketing agency.

The post Yahoo! looking for way out of search revenue deal with Microsoft? appeared first on ClickThrough Marketing.

On the surface, the benefits of good on-page content are simple. It helps sell your brand, and your products. It paints a picture of your company and your values – setting you up as trustworthy, powerful, caring, local, international, knowledgeable, easy to get along with, or all of the above.

But underneath, there’s more going on. Website content is a crucial part of an integrated digital marketing strategy – a scaffold which provides solid support for SEO and PPC campaigns. I’ve put together this quick guide to help you get to grips with the inner workings of web content.

Boost rankings and ensure customers see the best of your brand.

• On-page content is hugely important for SEO.
• Unique, relevant, keyworded content boosts rankings and encourages users to convert.
• Accurate content shows Google and customers your brand is professional and trustworthy.

Well-written website content is an SEO essential…

Content is the side of SEO your customers see. The words on your site help search engines decide how to rank your site, and are users’ first glimpse into your brand, and your products or services. It’s a key part of any SEO strategy, and one of the most useful tools for turning visitors into customers.

After Google’s Panda and Penguin updates, quality content is more important than ever. If Google’s web spiders detect duplicated or keyword-stuffed content, they’ll issue hefty penalties, which can mean huge drops in rankings. The same goes for misspellings, bad grammar and repetition.

On the other hand, unique, accurate and relevant content with a wide variety of keywords is a big boon for your SEO.

…and can boost PPC ROI

Web content can make PPC campaigns work better, too. Populating PPC landing pages with informative, relevant content means your quality score could increase – which means your click costs could decrease.

And by optimising product descriptions for Google Shopping, you can make product listing ads much more clickable.

The 2013 approach to website content

A solid set of keywords is crucial to good content. On a solid foundation of keywords, you can build great website content that helps SEO and PPC too.

But it’s no good stuffing copy with keywords to the point where it reads unnaturally. Here’s a good web copy rule of thumb: if you lose the message, you lose everything.

If you’re a content writer, your primary goal should be to inform, persuade and reassure. Every sentence you write for website content should be doing one of these things. Everything else is waffle.

This might not appear conducive to the old way of doing things – when great leaps of imagination were required to fit long tail keywords into copy, without losing its core message.

But as search engines have cottoned on to bad copy, it’s actually made it easier to write content that reads naturally.

It’s much better nowadays to have a wide spread of keywords, with synonyms and alternate phrasings sprinkled here and there to support your core keyword(s).

The post A Quick Guide to Website Content appeared first on ClickThrough Marketing.

ClickThrough provided SEO and PPC management services for the UK charity, with paid search funds provided by Google Grants, a version of Google’s AdWords advertising platform designed for charities.

The strategies drove online visibility and traffic, encouraging people to start their own fundraising initiatives and donate cash to help Comic Relief change lives across the UK and Africa.

Thanks to ClickThrough’s best-practice SEO techniques, the charity occupied top organic search positions in Google for the keywords ‘fundraising ideas’, ‘fundraising kits’ and ‘fundraising kit’ – in time for Red Nose Day on Friday, March 15.

Compared to the last time ClickThrough handled Comic Relief’s PPC campaign in 2011, clicks were up by 238%, conversions by 158%, and donations by 250%.

ClickThrough’s efforts didn’t stop there, either. The digital marketing agency also raised money for the charity with office fundraising activities.

Staff baked sweet goodies to sell at ClickThrough HQ, and took part in a celebrity-themed Red Nose Day sweepstake to raise cash for Comic Relief.

As well as helping with digital marketing for Red Nose Day 2011, the agency managed SEO and PPC for Sport Relief 2012.

Krystle Lampshire, senior digital marketing executive at Comic Relief said: “For the third year running, we’re delighted with ClickThrough’s results.

“We rely on generous people to raise funds through wild, wacky or challenging endeavours – whether this means sitting in a bath full of beans, or completing a gruelling marathon.

“With this in mind, ClickThrough focussed its efforts on fundraising-related keywords, helping raise awareness of our work and encouraging people to download our fundraising kits.

“After the success of Red Nose Day, ClickThrough helped raise even more funds, focussing our PPC campaign on driving last-minute donations.

“The campaigns were expertly managed from start to finish.”

Phil Robinson, commercial director at ClickThrough, said: “We’ve put a lot of time into Comic Relief’s SEO and PPC campaigns, but looking at the results, it’s easily been worth the effort.

“Since we started working with Comic Relief, our staff have really pulled out the stops to show their support – not only by creating winning digital marketing strategies, but also by coming up with some creative fundraising ideas of their own.

“We hope we can continue driving Comic Relief’s digital strategies for many years to come – we’ve already got ideas for next year’s Sport Relief campaign.

For more information about ClickThrough Marketing and its digital marketing services, visit http://www.clickthrough-marketing.com

ENDS

Notes to editors:

For more information, please contact: Ali Harris, head of content at ClickThrough Marketing. Call +44 (0)1543 410 014 or email aharris@clickthrough-marketing.com

The post ClickThrough Marketing Celebrates Comic Relief SEO and PPC Success appeared first on ClickThrough Marketing.

Subscriptions for the initial 53 channels start at around $0.99 (£0.64) a month, however each one is set to offer a 14 day free trial and many will also offer subsidies on annual subscriptions.

The current batch of paid channels in the trial is quite diverse, featuring everything from a channel for Harley Davidson motorcycle enthusiasts – Fix My Hog Premium – to National Geographic Kids.

Discussing the launch on its blog, YouTube said: “This is just the beginning.

“We’ll be rolling paid channels out more broadly in the coming weeks as a self-service feature for qualifying partners.

“And as new channels appear, we’ll be making sure you can discover them.”

Google chairman, Eric Schmidt, had only last week described YouTube as the dominant platform amongst younger generations for viewing videos, adding he was optimistic it would successfully extend to other demographics as well.

Google purchased YouTube in 2006 for a reported $1.65bn. The site announced back in March it now had over one billion users each month.

For those using it as part of a digital marketing campaigns, the site offers many advantages as it can draw in a wide audience of people when used effectively for content marketing purposes or through placed advertisements.

Internet Marketing News from ClickThrough – an integrated digital marketing agency offering web design services, web development, SEO, PPC, content, online PR and conversion optimisation.

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