Twitter has already been rolling out "Promoted Tweets", but this week the micro-blogging service began testing a second type of advertising: "Promoted Trends".
Brands can now pay to appear at the end of the "Trending" list - the most talked-about terms on Twitter at any moment.
Disney bought the first "Promoted Trend" slots this week, so "Toy Story 3" will appear beneath ...
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Please retweet: Twitter finally has ads
18 June 2010
BP struggles with its online mess
14 June 2010
Not only is BP trying to cope with the biggest ecological disaster in US history - the oil giant is also quickly becoming a textbook example of how not to manage your online reputation.
The oil giant incurred some criticism after buying particular Google AdWords, so that when users did a Google search for phrases such as "oil spill" and "Gulf ...
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Google launches 'app store' for Analytics
7 May 2010
Google has unveiled its new "Google Analytics App Gallery". It describes it as a showcase for "applications that extend Google Analytics in new and exciting ways.
"They are solutions that help analysts, marketers, IT teams, and executives get more out of Google Analytics."
Like other app stores, developers can submit their work to the App Gallery, and its initial offering ...
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Google tweaks 'similar results' feature
28 April 2010
Google is about to fine tune its "Similar" search feature that helps users find new websites that are similar to ones that they already know.
The existing "Similar" link in search results pages has been reasonably visible up to now, but knowing Google, it will have hard statistics on how much the "Similar" links are being followed and how small changes ...
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Changes to Google Webmaster Tools
6 November 2009
Two new features have been recently added to Google Webmaster Tools – “Fetch as Googlebot” and “Malware details”, both of which are still in testing.
Fetch as Googlebot allows you to see what a Googlebot sees when crawling your site and Malware details crawls your site looking for any malware or malicious code.
Fetch as Googlebot
With this new feature you can submit ...
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Online marketing role for professional services
17 September 2009
Online marketing and communications are very important in the business development cycle of legal, accounting and other professional services firms, according to AMAS Managing Director Aileen O’Toole.
Addressing the Irish chapter of the Professional Marketing Forum, she also said that the Internet is having a significant impact on corporate and individual reputations.
The Professional Marketing Forum is a 5,000-strong network of marketing ...
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When tiny URLs are bad for business
12 August 2009
Newspapers and other businesses often use URL shortening services such as TinyURL and bit.ly. On the surface it seems a no-brainer: the print versions of these web addresses are much shorter.
They won't wrap onto the next line of text (or add stray hyphens to the address through automatic hyphenation).
Printing a URL like this:
http://tinyurl.com/55mp6b
takes up far less space than printing one ...
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Bing takes off, but lacks local touch to date
25 June 2009
Microsoft’s has relaunched its search engine (formerly Microsoft Live) as Bing (www.bing.com) and put a marketing budget estimated at $80 - $100 million behind it.
And it doesn’t stop there – Microsoft head Steve Ballmer says he will put 5% to 10% of Microsoft’s operating income over the next five years into search. That could be $5 to $11 billion, depending ...
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In-house or outsource?
16 June 2009
It’s not a simple decision. Ultimately, deciding who looks after search engine optimisation (SEO) and PPC campaigns comes down to the individual, their knowledge and their willingness to continuously refresh their skills.
Some of the best people involved in search marketing are self-taught. They’ve invested in going to conferences, they read the books and blogs and chip into the discussion ...
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Beware of the search engine optimists
5 June 2009
Beware of cold calls (and spam) promising first place positions for your website on Google.
Irish businesses are being targeted by high-pressure sales people promising things that can be impossible, difficult or expensive to deliver like:
Guaranteed online sales
Top organic (or natural) position on search engines
Displacing competitors from prime positions
It is easy to get sucked into buying such a service, particularly when ...
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