WHAT’S HAPPENING IN SEARCH?
There are many misconceptions with regards to what the data in Google Trends actually tells us. Why, for example, does traffic to the site show a trend going up while Google Trends for the same search queries are going down? The answer lies in the fact that Google Trends it isn’t really a trend of overall search volume over time.
The trend compares the volume of the particular query to the total search volume seen on Google. So it is really a trend of query share rather than total impressions. The below articles from Google help confirm and clarify this further.
For the holiday season-to-date $38.7 billion has been spent online, marking a 16 percent increase over the corresponding days last year (get details from comScore).
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN LOCAL?
After another viral mistake made by Apple Maps, Google introduces its own native iOS app for maps back on the iPhone. In the first two days of its release, the Google Maps app receives approximately ten million downloads.
As we continue to wait for the final transition to the Google+ Local Social pages, the question that continues to loom over businesses is, to merge or not to merge? Multiple sources are urging businesses not to merge yet and to carry on waiting for Google to complete the change due to the ongoing issues users are experiencing trying to merge, verify, and manage their page. Google employee Jade has posted a helpful thread in the Google forums to help troubleshoot issues, along with links to the original announcement regarding verification being available and a post to guide you on whether or not to upgrade.
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN ANALYTICS?
Brush up on your Google Analytics knowledge for 2013 with a couple of our recent blog posts:
- Why is my Average Time on Page so Low in Google Analytics?
- Why Am I Seeing Old Campaigns in Google Analytics?
Even if you do not have those exact questions about your analytics data, these blog entries are full of valuable information on how time on site and campaign tracking works!
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN DISPLAY?
What do you need to do to be OBA compliant? This is a big shift for display advertising. As a digital agency we make sure we work with publisher networks that are OBA compliant for our clients, however there are elements that our clients should do on their site to ensure they are also compliant. Click here for more details from DAA, and feel free to reach out to your account rep for any guidance.
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN VIDEO?
Ring in the new year with a few chuckles over these funny videos from Google on what the online shopping experience should NOT be like…
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN SOCIAL?
New MySpace
New MySpace launched at the beginning of December with a completely redesigned interface and functionality. The new social network is very much focused on music and art, and even if that isn’t your brand’s forte, we recommend that you create a profile to claim your username. Go to https://new.myspace.com/ to sign up. It can take anywhere from one to 14 days to receive your invitation. Once you create your profile, be sure to connect with Location3.
December was a busy month over at Instagram. The photo sharing social network made two large announcements that created quite an uproar among users and industry folk. First, Instagram announced that it was pulling support for sharing photos on Twitter.com and Twitter applications, causing photos to be cropped or improperly displayed. Soon Instagram photos will be removed from the Twitter interface altogether and be replaced by links to Instagram.
The second announcement was a change to Instagram’s privacy policy taking effect on January 19, 2013, which many took to mean that Instagram could sell users’ photos without compensation or notification. Enough users threatened to quit Instagram that the company reverted back to their original policy and issued a blog further explaining their updated Terms of Use.
Facebook Places & Nearby Local Search
In mid-December, Facebook announced the addition of Facebook Nearby, a new feature on mobile devices that shows businesses and other venues ranked by various criteria (star ratings, check-in volume, Like volume and recommendations). This change turns Facebook into a local search and discovery tool, and makes it even more important for franchises and multi-unit businesses to claim and ensure accuracy on Facebook Place pages. Learn more.
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN SEO?
In the wake of Google’s Penguin algorithm update, backlink audits have become increasingly important, especially after the launch of Google’s disavow tool in October, which provides us the ability to block harmful links. While performing a backlink audit, we look for the following opportunities:
- Potentially harmful links for removal
- Backlinks needing anchor text or landing page updates
- Sites providing potential opportunities for guest posts or other social engagements
Read additional details on our approach to auditing a client’s backlink portfolio.