Google continues to provide amazing ways in which search marketing professionals can improve their campaign efforts. The latest is this week’s announcement that webmasters using Google Analytics to track site data can link verified sites in Webmaster Tools when using the same Google account. What does this mean to you? Perhaps the most valuable aspect of connecting the two services is that users are able to access the Google Analytics Referring Pages report from within Google Webmaster Tools. This means that you will be able to “understand the overall trends in traffic volume from referrals, as well as the sites…more»

Are you interested in processing payments through your mobile device? Who isn’t! I can think of about a dozen instances where that might come in handy right now.  Sage Payment Solutions just released its Sage Mobile Payments product today and for the SMB’s among us it is most definitely worth having a look. The offering, which is bundled with a Sage merchant account (of course), gives SMB’s the ability to accept credit and debit cards on over 400 types of mobile phones and computing devices like tablets. Pretty interesting, particuarly for sales people on the move. The mobile payment solution…more»

Search analytics software provider SearchMetrics debuted Link Manager last week and it might just be the most powerful solution on the market for enterprises – of course, we’ll leave that for you to decide.  The Link Manager tool is a module in the SearchMetrics Suite which handles pretty much every aspect of the link management process. Features include the ability to manage up to 500,000 links, import new links found with Search Metrics’ backlink analysis function, link strength evaluation with ranking information, the ability to organize links into seven different types, set attributes (eg. link placmeent, content link, etc.), includes…more»

Starbucks, one of the most iconic corporations in the U.S., has rolled out a mobile payments program that will enable customers to make purchases with their smartphones. Never mind that the same near-field communications (NFC) technology has already been in use in other parts of the world for several years, this will have a significant impact on the emerging mobile payments industry in the U.S. The program will be available at every Starbucks location across the nation, and customers can download the free Starbucks Card Mobile App for use on select BlackBerry, iPhone and iPod devices. Users then will be…more»

On Tuesday, ShopVisible launched a new e-commerce platform for Facebook that allows retailers to sell products to consumers without requiring them to leave the world’s most popular social network. Whereas Facebook has been a valuable platform for merchants to build brand loyalty and product awareness that drives customers to their retail websites, ShopVisible Social Commerce is the first solution to offer enterprise-class e-commerce tools and functionality within the site itself. Key features and attributes of the new release include the following: •    A full suite of e-commerce, analytics and social marketing tools built specifically for Facebook •    Integration with any…more»

The December 2010 Alexa-Netcraft SSL Index was released recently and it seems the battle for dominance in the SSL (secure socket layers) market is heating up and getting pretty nasty. According to the report (compiled monthly by CatapultWorks) which provides an indication of SSL certification usage across the most trafficked websites by cross-referencing the Netcraft SSL Survey with the Alexa Top Sites list), GeoTrust maintained its leadership position and trumped low-cost competitors such as Go Daddy for the seventh straight month, securing 35,540 unique domains among the Internet’s 1 million most visited websites. Go Daddy registered 27,578 unique domains for…more»

Google’s annual analysis of search, Zeitgeist, has been released for 2010. Along with some unsurprising results – such as leading events of the Haiti earthquake, Chile and … Justin Bieber – there are some interesting observations to be made; most notably that Apple is in the driver’s seat. The fastest rising search term of all in 2010 was “Chatroulette”, the pseudo social network where one can video chat with strangers around the world. The search term dipped a bit after April and a wave of issues surrounding security and obscenity but is again on the rise. It’s interesting to note…more»

As 2010 draws to a close, it’s time to turn our attention to another year. Another decade, actually, that will bring new challenges and new opportunities. Here are five important trends you can expect to see in 2011 and a few ideas to get you started on the right foot. Happy New Year. Security. Consumers are worried about online security, and for good reason. Increasingly, security is an issue not just on our own websites but wherever our brands can be found on the Web. As we increase visibility across properties – mobile, Facebook and Twitter, online forums, location-based apps…more»

A recent blog post that caught the attention of readers included a summary of the annual report from online employment platform Elance. Another Web employment marketplace, oDesk, has released its own year-end report with similarly positive views of both the year in review and the year ahead. The report from oDesk says that employers spent $115 million on online work in 2010 and that job opportunities doubled from 2009 to approximately 602,000. Mobile was the best bet for job-seekers, and positions involving Android expertise shot up 680 percent from 2009 while iPhone-related jobs increased by 152 percent. Social media was…more»

Advertising designers walk a fine line. They must design ads that are attractive but direct and engaging. Often, success depends on the venue for which the ad will be designed and displayed. That being said, there are some places where display advertising has a significant edge over any other form of advertising – well worth the time and effort to design stunning ads. Display advertising has a distinct advantage over search. It doesn’t require searching. Display ads can be seen without a single keystroke and on just about any digital surface. That fact alone has helped reenergize the entire industry.…more»