But there are signs that Bing is beginning to win some market share from Google within specific user categories.

Social networkers – last year Bing established partnerships with the two leading social networks – Facebook and Twitter, whereas Google focused on launching its [...]]]> Google continues to dominates search traffic worldwide, although the level varies from country to country.

But there are signs that Bing is beginning to win some market share from Google within specific user categories.

Social networkers – last year Bing established partnerships with the two leading social networks – Facebook and Twitter, whereas Google focused on launching its new social network Google+.  As a result, Bing is now the default search engine within Facebook which boasts over 800M users worldwide bringing increased search traffic to Bing as well as raising visibility.

Gamers - in 2011, Microsoft improved the integration of Bing within the XBox and Kinect gaming consoles, giving access to another young demographic user community. And it is hoped they will then continue to use Bing for their other searching.

Mobile Users – currently this is dominated by Google through its Android smartphone technology and integration with Apple’s iOS. However 2012 should be the year when new products from the Microsoft/Nokia deal reach the market. Built upon Windows Phone 7 with Bing installed by default, these should start to win some mobile market share. At the same time,the significantly improved Bing app for Andriod and iOS launched in November 2011 should also win more users. Starting from a very low base, the only way is up for Bing in the mobile sector.

Google clearly recognises Bing as a worthy adversary as evidenced by the recent renewal of its agreement with Mozilla for Google to be the default search engine within the Firefox browser. That deal is valued at almost $1Billion spread over the next three years.

However too may neglect to think about what their target audience want to read or the questions they are trying to answer.

A recent [...]]]> As most of my clients know, I am a great proponent of business blogs. They give a company an opportunity to show its ‘personaility’ and can give a strong boost to search engine visibility.

However too may neglect to think about what their target audience want to read or the questions they are trying to answer.

A recent article on econsultancy.com came up with five powerful questions. By answering these, you can benefit your readers and your business.

1. Why should I buy from you?

So obvious, its often forgotten. Think about the questions clients often ask in a face-to-face meeting and start answering those.

Use examples and case studies to give credibility to the answers.

These posts can really help search visibility as people are likely to be searching for answers to those same questions online.

2. How Much Do You Know?

Demonstrate your breadth of industry knowledge and expertise by discussing projects, issues, new developments and techniques, etc

And look outside the business as well as inside.

3. What Do You Think?

Blogs are an opportunity to bare the soul by expressing considered opinion of industry-related topics.

Reviewing and commenting on recent relevant news articles can be a good starting point for this type of blog post.

4. What’s To Come?

Make some predictions. It demonstrates you have a broad understanding of your marketplace and the future is always a great topic of conversation.

And you can then review your predictions in 12 months time in another blog post.

5. What Else Do You Do?

While it is important for corporate blogs to stay ‘on topic’, it can be interesting for the readers if occasional posts diverge.

They could be about parts of the company operating in different market sectors, it could be a personal story e.g. the next charity challenge.

In summary, think about the questions that are already in the heads of your target readers. Answering those will help to make your blog more interesting and popular, it will be a valuable asset for the business.

How does display [...]]]> Display advertising is graphical advertising on the Internet that appears adjacent to content on web pages, Instant Messaging applications, email, etc. These ads can include text, logos, pictures, or rich media like video. Even if potential customers don’t click on your ad, they are still exposed to your message, logo, and business image.

How does display advertising benefit your online marketing initiatives?

• Immediate results. Online display advertising is generally used to enhance brand reach, but it is equally effective at generating a direct response.
• Targeted advertising. You can utilize a full spectrum of behavioural and contextual algorithms, demographics, site based targeting or geographical locations; enabling higher conversion rates.
• Monitor your marketing. You can track the performance of your ad campaign daily to measure metrics such as impressions, clicks and conversions to calculate ROI.
  • Cost Effective Advertising. You can reach a wide audience with a small advertising budget. Pay per click (PPC) advertising campaigns require you to pay only when someone clicks on the link in your ad, not for the number of impressions.

Keep your ads interesting and relevant – drive traffic!

The ‘first impression’ is crucial. A display ad should draw curiosity, attract the immediate attention of Internet users/website passersby, and encourage them to click on it. Using the right mix of visuals, colours and copy, your ad can stand out among millions of others.

Use some of these tips to improve the conversion ratio of your display ads:

• Keep it Simple – Multiple messages in a single ad are confusing. One or two main ideas along with a compelling offer will suffice.

• A Clear and Succinct Call to Action – Your call to action should be easy to see, strong, and must coincide with your campaign goal. Put your call to action on a button. For example, ‘Click Here’, ‘Buy Now’, ‘Get Started’ or ‘Search Now’.

• Improve Creative Quality – Use videos or interactive ad units to grab attention. Good design should highlight the content in a visually appealing manner.

• Include Keywords in Your Ad – One of the basic (but often overlooked) strategies is to include the keywords assigned to an ad in the title and description.  So when someone searches for these keywords, your ad is most likely to show up.

• Avoid Broken Link(s) – Check and re-check all links, to make sure your display ads take users where you want them to go. A 404 error page not only creates a poor online user experience, it also damages your brand image.

• Professional Designs Yield Better Results – Even if your goal is not branding, your advertising should look sleek, professional and engaging. Get a professional designer rather than doing it yourself.

Online advertising means thinking out-of-the-box – viral marketing can bring great results! Freely downloadable e-books, attractive wall papers, animated banners, free samples and iPhone apps will provide cost-free brand promotion. Customers will spread your message further via their blogs, social networking pages and smart phones.

Find the right place to display your ads

An online advertising strategy must ensure that you are accurately targeting prospects.

• Avoid Clutter. Don’t advertise on a webpage that already has too many ads. Your message will be lost with so many others competing for audience attention.
• Placement. Specify the placement of the ad on the website. While home pages may get a majority of the traffic, ad placement on subject-specific pages can help hone in on your target.
• Ad Exchange. Carefully review “free” online advertising offers. For example a “free” banner ad developer may want reciprocal links or ad placement on low quality websites.
• Accurate Links. Ensure that the ad takes the user to the most appropriate page on your website (i.e. the page with relevant information rather than simply the home page).
• Self-Serve Advertising. An increasing number of ad companies/networks are offering self-service ad choices. As well as Google AdWords, some options are Facebook, AdReady, AdBrite and Add It All.
• Contextual Advertising. Some companies/ad networks will place your ads in search results pages and other relevant websites (using a network of partner sites). They typically allow you to bid on a set of keywords, and your ad is displayed until the budget limit is reached.
• Product/Service Search Engines. Special product search engines can be used to find specific products or services. Products are usually ranked according to how much the advertiser pays. However, the user can also sort the search results by price. Some popular search engines for this are www.shopzilla.com, www.nextag.com, www.shopping.com and www.tripadvisor.com.

Even though social media has stolen the limelight in recent years, display advertising spending continues to grow. Contact Andy at WSI Cheshire, your local WSI Consultant to manage your display advertising campaign – get leads, get results, get a real ROI.

So why do people decide to stop shopping in one store and head off to the next internet store?

Recently Econsultancy surveyed 2000 UK consumers to assess why consumers make the [...]]]> Its a common problem for most online shops – they attract lots of visitors but few of them make it as far as exiting through the check-out.

So why do people decide to stop shopping in one store and head off to the next internet store?

Recently Econsultancy surveyed 2000 UK consumers to assess why consumers make the decision to abandon their shopping cart. The full survey results can be reviewed at TolunaQuick.com.

There were some interesting highlights:

1. Trust – visitors look for signs of trustworthiness. Easy for major brands, but for smaller niche sites then 48% look for trustmarks e.g. Verisign, McAfee, 46% look for clear address and contact details, and 41% trust sites recommended by family and friends.

2. Product Information – visitors want easy access to all the information they need to make a decision. Not just product information, but delivery timescales and charges, and returns policies. If it is hard to find, then people will abandon. High delivery charges are the most common reason (74%) why a shopping basket is discarded.

3. Payment processing – visitors are at the checkout with their card and still they abandon, why? Hidden charges e.g. 70% would abandon due to card supplements account and 58%  from security concerns. Interestingly, the enhanced security of ‘Verified by Visa’ and ‘Mastercard Secure’ also causes others to abanadon due to the challenges of remembering passwords.

Careful e-commerce site design can help to minimise the number of baskets left abandoned in an online shop and maximise sales.

For help and advice on improving e-commerce conversion rates, contact WSI Chester on 01928 787026.

Every business or enterprise today competes with other enterprises, and increasingly this competition is online. It could be for sales, leads, attention, donations or just to be found!

There [...]]]> “Knowledge is Power” – is a famous phrase which has been traced back at least to biblical times. And is continually being proved to be true in today’s ‘Digital Age’.

Every business or enterprise today competes with other enterprises, and increasingly this competition is online. It could be for sales, leads, attention, donations or just to be found!

There are three simple questions at the core of an effective online Competitor Analysis strategy. These should be answered for your main competitors as well as your own business, so that comparisons can be drawn. Relative positions are often more insightful than absolute numbers.

1. What do we need to know?

?For online competitors, this will vary but is likely to include :

• search activities they engage in
• quality of web site
• Google rankings
• scope and use of social media
• customer feedback

2. Why do we need to know it?

• To see when competitor strategy changes
• To identify strengths and weaknesses
• To improve our understanding of the market

3. What will we do with the information?

• Take action to address weaknesses
• Modify our strategy to improve our position
• Take actions to counter-act competitor advantages

There is a fourth question which is also worth reviewing -

4. What is the cost of not analysing competitors?

• Lose market share
• Lose initiative in the market
• Diminished online brand visibility

Businesses that market online without analysing and understanding their competition are doing it blindfold. But with online competitor analysis, they can develop a strategy from a position of strength.

If you would like to learn more about how WSI Chester can help you understand your competitors by producing a custom Competitor Analysis Report , why not call us today on 01928 787026.