Yep, Analytics is 5 years old!
Its 5 years ago that Google acquired Urchin & so Analytics was ‘born’
Read more on the Analytics blog
iPhone into The Internet Marketer
April 21st, 2010 by PeteMy nomination for the niftiest WordPress (as used for this blog) plugin of the year is wpTouch.
The guys a BraveNewCode have produced this add-in which automatically detects if you are visiting this blog with a Smartphone or iPhone then automatically redirects you to a iPhone compatible re-formatted version of the blog.
Here’s what the blog looks like on my iPhone
Nice work guys!
Speeding up page load speed | Analytics Async scripts
April 20th, 2010 by PeteDuring the prehistoric internet days, when dial-up was the only way to connect, page load speed was a critical issue. Now with high speed broadband connections and fast wireless access there’s less focus, even complacency about page load speed (by web devs).
Never the less, page load speed is important
As an Internet marketer I’m fanatical about having Google’s Analytics scripts in the site, but these too can impoact page load speed.
This article by Justin Cutroni of Analytics Talk provides some interesting insights into page load speed impact due to Analytics as well as some solutions including the new(ish) Analytics Async scripts.
Nice work Justin!
Google WebMasters Tools | Updated Top enquiries with more info
April 15th, 2010 by PeteGoogle WebMasters Tools recently updated its Top search queries
If you’re not a WebMasters Tools user, this capability enables you to see the terms and number of searches that your site ranked for in Google for up to the last 6 months.
Very useful data if you are trying to win some business online.
The new capabilities exposes more data about the terms (ie keywords), the rank and even the pages that did rank. All essential diagnostic data for this type of analysis.
What is even better about this enhancement is the data is presented in Analytics style charts with great drill down capability building into the UI
Nice work Google WebMasters Tools, and all the more reason you should be using this amazing tool to diagnose your business website’s organic search performance
April fool? No an AdWords scam!
April 3rd, 2010 by PeteHappy Easter to all,
Don’t fall victim to this April Fool scam claiming your AdWords account has stopped.
The email even offers help to get them running again and even improving their performance – how generous!
The email link takes the visitor to http://adwords.google-sn.com domain (remaining URL details removed to protect readers)
http://whois.domaintools.com shows the domain was registered the same day the email was sent, and presumably the details are false otherwise I’m sure Ms Eva O’Brien will be hearing from Google shortly:
Domain Name………. google-sn.com
Creation Date…….. 2010-04-01
Registration Date…. 2010-04-01
Expiry Date………. 2011-04-01
Organisation Name…. Eva O’Brien
Organisation Address. 13343 Mount Castle Dr.
Organisation Address.
Organisation Address. Farmers Branch
Organisation Address. 75234
Organisation Address. TX
Organisation Address. UNITED STATES
Service Area updates to Google Maps
March 30th, 2010 by PeteGoogle Maps’ Local Business Centre is an absolutely key aspect of promoting your business online.
The Google Maps LBC displays appropriately located businesses in response to searches with a geographic context, but only if they had an LBC registration! Read more here
One aspect of specifying your business in Google Maps was that businesses (particularly small businesses) may not necessarily want to advertise their base location as it may not be relevant to where or how they provide their services.
Google Maps has responded with an update that enables the ‘business location’ to now not be displayed while also adding a ‘service area’ as either:
- A radial distance from one location or
- A services are areas served
If you’re not using Google Maps as part of your online advertising then you are definitely missing out!
Cheers
Pete
Even advertisements can contain malware!
March 22nd, 2010 by PeteFurther to our article on Website hacking Sept 09, even advertisements are being hacked now!
As reported by SmartCompany, DealsDirect got blacklisted by Google after being hit by malware embedded in their online advertising.
Does anyone know where the ads came from?
I’d hope that someone hasn’t been loading malware payloads into AdWords ads…
Cheers
Pete
SiteLinks | The Extended SERP
February 24th, 2010 by PeteOccasionally you might see a Google search result ( a SERP) with handy links, even a search input box. They make it easier for searchers to find relevant content in your site,and so are very likely to attract more visitors to your site.
How can you get this extended SERP showing on your site ?
Sadly, as mere mortals we don’t have the option to ask for these extended SERPs (Google calls them Sitelinks)
Google decides if it will display Sitelinks with the SERP, but it seem to be based on the site home page having a Google PageRank of 5 or more and the search keyword very relevant to the site
For example the Medibank Private site has a PageRank is 7 and a search of medibank private is as you could imagine very relevant hence a Google search result displays:
It is possible to use Google WebMasters Tools to remove selected Sitelinks
So if your site has a PageRank of 5+ then highly relevant searches may bring up a SERP with Sitelinks
It persists. Is this a domain scam or not?
February 23rd, 2010 by PeteRecently I received another official looking letter notifying me that the succinctideas.net.au domain is available and if I pay for it before a deadline I get a free iPod shuffle.
Sound familiar? You may have read this here in Sept 09
Do I need this domain?
It is really superfluous to my needs. I already have a domain and if someone (a competitor?) decided they would try to steal some potential clients by creating an online facsimilie of my site. If they did I could take the matter up with AuDA
The price
At just $245 many businesses I’m sure would think this is a reasonable offer, however $60 is about the going ‘street price’ for .au domains so its not really a bargain at all…
Note sure if your domain renewal is legit ?
The ACCC has information on domain name scams and as always Google is a great information source