Splice Blog

Enhance Your Website with HTML5

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 12:31:00 GMT

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is the language of the web, almost everything you see and do is written mostly in HTML and will be for the foreseeable future. Essentially it’s a list of “tags” that describe everything on-screen, from tables and paragraphs to images and lists. The challenge is the Internet and more specifically the way we use it changes so quickly. Many people in charge of maintaining the language just can’t keep up.

Currently HTML is officially at version 4.0.1; it’s fully documented and approved by organisations that maintain web standards, and it has been since 2000. Since then, the broadband revolution has completely changed that way we all use the Internet. Now high definition video streaming, web applications and social media are everywhere and HTML 4 just doesn’t cut it. That’s where HTML5 comes in.

HTML5 has audio and video support built in, new semantic tags (tags that are easier for humans to understand), new storage systems and geo-location along with a whole range of tools and new technologies. This allows developers to build websites that can perform far more complicated tasks and makes the experience far better for the end user.

Unfortunately, W3C, the consortium who are in control of maintaining web standards say they won’t have completed the approval process until 2022¹. Luckily the people who actually control the use of HTML5 are the browser companies, Microsoft, Google, Mozilla and Apple. All of whom have already started implementing lots of the new features already.

Therefore, most of the features can be used today to benefit existing and new websites. At Splice Marketing we keep up to date with the very cutting edge of new technology, apply the latest changes to the work we do, which ensures our customers receive the best products to suit their needs and ultimately make more money for their business.

Business South 2012 – Social Media Audit Winner Announced

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 14:18:00 GMT

Splice Marketing are pleased to announce that the winner of their “Win Free Advice” prize draw at Business South 2012 is John Graves FCA.

Splice Marketing are currently in the process of meeting with all those that expressed an interest in a free web clinic at Business South.

A date has already been arranged to meet with John for his free social media audit. Those taking part in the prize draw were able to select from either a free marketing audit or a free social media audit if they won and John selected the latter prize.

For more information about future free seminars or web clinics please contact Splice Marketing.

What is a Microsite?

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 17:27:00 GMT

Carefully Targeted Microsites are Critical to Their Effective Use

Have you ever heard the term 'microsite' and wondered if this is the same as a web site? "Microsite" is a term used by a lot of people out there and tends to give the wrong impression of the power a Microsite can actually have. It is common to think that a Microsite is a small website, normally 1 to 3 pages, that is just used to hold a small piece of information and commonly used for SEO purposes. However, Microsites can be much more effective than this.

When looking at an online marketing strategy, we always analyse the sectors a client is trying to reach and the markets that are out there. This often identifies small niches that can be targetted to reach a specific group of potential customers.

Once the niche market is identified, a dedicated website (microsite) can be constructed to target this niche specifically. These sites can often achieve quick search engine rankings due to their highly targetted nature, as well as having a good conversion rate for those customers in said niche!

However, just buying many domain names and copying a page from your main site is not likely to give you a successful microsite. To work well, a microsite should:

Be a complete web site in itself, with a target audience and enough content to generate sales or leads, which still remains focused on a single subject. This often means multiple pages, sub categories, additional info pages etc. The site has to appear as a rounded expert in the niche market.
Apply all SEO rules that you would apply to the main site. Not only does this include the obvious on-page stuff like suitable page titles, meta tags, keyword rich content etc but also inbound links!
Avoid duplicating content, and use properly written content unique for that site which is relevant to the topic. We all know how the search engines react to duplicate content!
Have its own marketing strategy to promote the microsite independently from the main company web site. This may include separate PPC and even social media campaigns.

Another good use of microsites can be for language targeting. The microsite allows the site to be on an appropriate domain (such as .fr for sites targeting France), and can even be hosted on servers in the target country to maximise the site speed.

Example Microsites

CrafterGuitar.co.uk is a microsite of Fret Music. This is dedicated to one popular brand of guitars and is ranked number 2 in Google for the term Crafter Guitars (in the UK, only behind Crafter Guitars own website!). However, Fret Music themselves do not appear on the 1^st page even though they have a much bigger website that also sells Crafter Guitars!

MyCSCSCard.co.uk is a new microsite we have recently launched dedicated to one area of training that Trade Assessments provide. This website gives specific and targeted information on this one topic and targets only those looking for information on the Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) cards. The microsite has information on the wide range of cards required by nearly every construction site in the UK for construction workers of all skills and trades.

While microsites can be very useful in gaining conversions, they will have cost implications for their design, build, ongoing maintenance and marketing. Any microsite should only be developed as part of your overall marketing strategy.

Responsive Web Design Explained

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 05:44:00 GMT

Responsive web design is a relatively new cutting edge technique for building websites. It has been developed owing to the recent increase in mobile browsing, through both mobile phones and tablets. In the past websites have been built to be fixed width, so no matter what device or screen size you are using to view the site it will always appear the same width. This is fine for an average desktop or laptop PC but mobile phones and tablets use much smaller screens, so the user is left needing to scroll from side to side in order to view the full page. To cope with this many companies started to produce a mobile version of their site optimised for smaller handheld devices such as mobile phones and tablets. This requires several versions of the site to be created and maintained, which is time-consuming and more expensive.

This is where responsive web design comes in. One version of the website is created in such a way that it will always fit onto a screen of regardless of which device the user is using, be it a PC, tablet or mobile phone.

So how does it work?

The website is designed as a fluid grid so the widths of elements are defined as a percentage of the total screen width. This allows the elements to change size to best fit the screen. When the screen size is reduced past a certain width the grid will change and the key elements become re-arranged to best fit the width.

The above shows the Anderssonwise website when it is viewed in a window that is 1366px x 768px. To the left you can see the same site being viewed at 450px x 510px. As you can see when the site is viewed at a lower resolution the menu has moved, the main image has been resized and the right sidebar has disappeared so the other elements can fit in the smaller resolution easier.

Pros

The obvious benefit of this is that your site can easily be viewed and will look great on nearly any device with a web browser installed.
You will only need to update the content of your site in one place, rather than trying to maintain 2 or even 3 versions of your site.

Cons

It could affect the creativeness of web design. Responsive web design is technically very proficient and great for positioning key content in the right places on any screen size, but this doesn’t always define a great site. Sometimes you need extra graphics to enhance the users experience and to portray a story or journey to the user.

Should I Have a Responsive Website?

Anyone can have a responsive website, the real question is will it BENEFIT you?

Responsive web design is the newest technology and will be the trend for the coming year. As a result the majority of responsive websites out there have a similar type of content, they are either blogs that are run by developers/designers or they are used to showcase a company’s work.

Responsive web design for an e-commerce site is possible but bear in mind that e-commerce sites typically have a lot more content on the page in terms of banners and products as well as all the imagery that comes along with them. Trying to re-organise all the relevant data in a fashion that is still clear and usable to the user is a major challenge. Flyout menus are now standard on many e-commerce sites these may cause problems to those viewing the sites.

These screenshots show the site from one of our largest clients - Autobulbs Direct. Above is the site when viewed at 1366px x 768px and to the left is is how it could look if it was designed to be responsive. The red rectangle represents what you would see on the screen if you were browsing on an average smartphone from a couple of years ago.

As you can see on the 'non-responsive' version above you have to scroll a little to see the rest of the menu, but the text is still readable and the menu itself is still very usable.

On the the responsive version to the left you still cannot see the full flyout menu and the rest of the main navigation (Automotive, Clearance, Deal of the Day) are now hidden under the other links and behind the flyout making them less accessible.
One solution would be to have the main links stacked on the left with the flyout on right, making the page longer.

For this particular site having a responsive design seems to make no difference to usability due to the amount of important content that has to be displayed to the user.

In short there is a real benefit to responsive web design if the content of your site is suitable, i.e blogs and portfolios but e-commerce sites are best served by sticking to a fixed layout. The newer smartphones (HTC HD Desire being one example) have technology built in, which re-size everything on the website, so it will look identical on both your phone and PC making responsive web design less necessary for these end users.

Splice Marketing - An Award Winning Company

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 13:01:00 GMT

Whilst the news is full of stories about companies closing and making redundancies, one business in Hampshire, Splice Marketing, a leading internet marketing company, which specialises in e-commerce and lead generation websites has bucked the trend in grand style.

Splice Marketing were announced as winners of the prestigious Europe and Middle East Business Excellence Awards, for the fastest growing company with under 10 employees, at a glamorous “academy awards style” event in Berkshire, where approximately 100 businesses were represented. They were also named as finalists in another category.

Splice Marketing is dedicated to helping our clients achieve their business goals. By focusing on our clients’ growth, through a system of continuous improvements we have grown as they have grown. It is a simple recipe for success but one that many do not truly implement.

Ray Vernon, Managing Director of Splice Marketing attributed their success to enabling Splice’s clients to succeed. He said that
“We have a great team at Splice Marketing which has become the foundation stone for our building process and success. All our staff make customer service a priority, as well as having great skills in their particular fields and exceptionally high professional standards. As a result of this combination we have been able to grow our company, through word of mouth referrals, even in the current economic climate. We are looking forward to an exciting 2012, with a projected 50% increase in staffing levels.”

Brad Sugars (ActionCOACH) Pete Stubbings, Ray Vernon, Chris Stubbings (Splice Marketing) and Kevin Stansfield (ActionCOACH), with the Award

To find out how Splice Marketing can your business grow, Contact Our Friendly Team today!

Maximise Your Exhibition ROI Using Social Media

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 13:04:00 GMT

There are many reasons why you may have chosen to exhibit at a Business to Business (B2B) exhibition, such as Business South. These include raising your profile, making sales, launching a new product or new service as well as giving you an opportunity to network.

In today’s business environment social media networking is a vital additional component in any marketing mix.

Tell People Where You Are and What the Exhibition is About

Once you have decided to take a stand at an exhibition you will want to encourage your clients, suppliers and potential clients to stop by your stand and meet you in person. Instead of trying to meet in their offices or at your premises by enticing them to visit you at an exhibition, they can spend time with you but also benefit from seminars or networking events that the exhibition organisers are running. Adding value to their time and helping them look more favourably upon your company.

Social media, or #SoMe as Twitter people may refer to it, is free but does take time. However, using different social media platforms to raise the profile of the exhibition as well as letting people know you will be exhibiting is essential if you want to get the best value for money out of any exhibition you are involved with.

Make Social Media Part of Your Marketing Mix

Any marketing mix should include multiple strands, including social media, which will help promote footfall to your stand and traffic to your website, if you use it well to promote any prize draw you may be offering, for example.

Social media is becoming a vital part of business. It cannot be overlooked by any company in any field. Social media has become an integral part of marketing for every company to build clients, build trust among consumers and to stay on top of negative and positive comments related to a particular brand. It is also invaluable in promoting awareness about events, which includes exhibitions and seminars.

Interesting Social Media Facts from 2011 reports:

69% of Fortune 500 companies now have a Twitter or Facebook account (up from 35% in 2009).
Social networking now accounts for nearly a quarter (23%) of all time spent online. 88% of British people use social networking sites.
Web-based email usage dropped 59% among 12-17 year olds (this has the potential impact to affect the way the next generation communicates with each other especially as much of the world’s population is under the age of 30).
78% of internet users conduct research online. There was more data in 2009 than in the previous 5,000 years.
In 2011 in Britain, Ofcom reported that over a quarter of adults and nearly half of all teens own a smartphone with 37% of adults and 60% of teens highly addicted to them. Smartphones are affecting social behaviour.

Social Media Keeps Your Profile at the forefront of Peoples’ Minds

It informs
It allows networking with more people
It enables you to sell products, services and events
It encourages people to use you for repeat business as your profile acts as a constant reminder

It is vitally important to make time for an online profile. When your online reputation and customer service matters to you, you need to be on top of what people are saying about your business which means you need to be online.

Social Media Works When Used Properly

Social Media when conducted properly will bring you additional business by creating new opportunities, attracting potential employees and starting conversations with prospective clients. The ideal use of Social Media when exhibiting is to raise awareness of what your company is about and then invite people to visit you at your stand to meet you in person. This takes the pressure off the client, or prospective client, but also enables you to move away from the digital world to make face to face contact. The two methods of communicating are very complimentary.

Start Using Social Media: Free Event at Business South

If you are unsure about how to use social media Business South have organised a free Social Media Class at their exhibition on Thursday 23rd February (2.00 to 2.45 p.m.) The session will look at Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Facebook and possibly other platforms such as Google+ if the audience are interested.

If you already use Twitter please follow #BizSouth for updates.

Websites Worldwide Could Disappear Offline - American SOPA Has Global Implications

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 13:06:00 GMT

Today the UK media are talking about the English version of WikiPedia being down in protest against the SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) legislation that may be passed in America.

SOPA is not just an American issue but has huge international ramifications that go much deeper. SOPA will potentially affect all businesses and organisations that have a website, use social media (including YouTube, Facebook and Twitter), blog sites such as Posterous and Tumblr or bookmarking sites such as StumbleUpon.

The Bill was introduced into the American House of Representatives at the end of 2011. If made law there, it would mean that any website, without warning and without giving the website’s owner any opportunity of appeal, could be taken offline to protect against piracy and copyright infringement.

Any website that was felt to have infringed copyright or enabled infringement of copyright could face an American court order against them. This could result in barring search engines from linking to sites. For example, you would be unable to Google such a barred site and the courts would also require the internet service provider to block access to these “guilty” sites, so effectively making them appear “down”.

Unauthorised streaming of copy would be a criminal activity, so in America you could face a prison sentence and fine. The only way to avoid this appears to be for the internet service provider to take voluntary action against websites that are found to be guilty of copyright infringement.

Ray Vernon, Managing Director of Splice Marketing, a website and e-commerce company based in Hampshire said,

“SOPA’s ambition to protect copyright infringement is something we applaud. However, the legislation needs to be thought through more thoroughly. Many people may inadvertently infringe copyright or post copyrighted material onto a site, especially on websites that allow people to post comments onto their website. The worrying thing about this legislation, apart from being internet censorship, is that it will cripple the internet. With nearly every DNS Server based in the US and with all DNS Servers talking to each other, it will only take one SOPA judgement against a website in America to cause problems for websites and social media on a worldwide basis”.

The debate about SOPA as a piece of legislation is due to continue in America during February 2012. It is currently generating a great deal of protest there. Its progress will be followed keenly in the UK by Splice Marketing and many other businesses and organisations.

**Update**

Ray Vernon has just been interviewed on this evening on Drive Time on Radio Solent about the SOPA laws and the blackout.

Listen to Ray on Radio Solent's Drive Time

Business2Business Exhibitions and Why They Are Still an Important Marketing Activity

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 13:06:00 GMT

Guest Post: Why is a Face to Face business exhibition still relevant in a technologically advanced society?

In the 21st century, almost all organisations have a strong online presence and a lot of networking and relationship building is done in the comfort of the office. Often businesses never meet their clients face to face. Cutting back on such activity may have a detrimental effect and spending money on attending an event in your area can have long term benefits. With organisations shifting back to relationship marketing and building long term relationships with clients, a business2business exhibition is the catalyst for building and maintaining such connections.

How to choose the right exhibition for you

In today’s economic climate, organisations must be sure to attend exhibitions that will achieve company objectives and create a platform for new business opportunities to justify spending their marketing budget.

To ensure money is well invested, an organisation should research the show to understand if the objectives match that of their own. Being smart and researching extensively you can make an informed decision if the show is right for you. Some key things to ask yourself are:/p>

Will this reach the right target audience?
How can I maximise the organisations presence at the exhibition?
What do I want to achieve from attending?

Target audience

For the event to be worthwhile, the target audience must be there for you to promote your business. Finding out information on the expected types of visitors before attending is key. It is not only the quantity of visitors but the quality, are the people attending the show going to be able to create some real business opportunities for you? Are the exhibitors targeting the audience you need to see at the event

Maximising Presence

One of the key objectives of attending a business2business exhibition is to maximise your presence in the local business community. If you are investing money to attend then why not really optimise the opportunity and take on promoting the event through your own organisation’s contacts, target audience and marketing activity? Working together with the organisers to maximise visitor numbers. This can be achieved through partnering and sponsoring events or even just getting in contact with the marketing department and working with them on any promotional strategies. Be proactive!

Achieving your Objectives

To really see some success from attending a business2business exhibition you need to set out some key objectives and prepare! Get out there and get talking and create a rapport with other business men and women. Make your exhibit stand out and really show off your attributes, innovative ideas and interactive features are really engaging and attractive to visitors.

After the event has finished, it does not stop there. Relationship building is a long term investment so make sure you get the contacts of people to really stay connected and follow up with conversations you have had on the day!

Business South 2012 is drawing in on 22nd and 23rd of February the Rose Bowl, Southampton. Register to visit at www.business2businessshows.com/business-south

This was a Guest Post by Melanie Shoesmith of Jobserve Events, organizers of the Business South event.

Google+ Becomes More Viable

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 13:06:00 GMT

Google made giant steps to become a major social media player in 2011 with the launch of Google+ and its business pages. However, one flaw was soon pounced upon by those that know the importance, relevance and influence of social media for business - only one person could own and manage the Google+ business page.

If you were a sole trader this was fine but for those that had more members of staff a problem was clear. If the person who set up the account was on holiday, sick or left the company the Google+ account was not accessible.

The creators of the Google+ business page could delete the account or just not use it correctly. Businesses with PR or marketing personnel were faced with a dilemma as to who would own the account and businesses that outsourced their marketing and PR, especially their social media faced the dilemma that if they should want to leave their agency they would lose access to their own business page of Google+.

People questioning this were told that this would be remedied in the first quarter of 2012, but just before the end of 2011 the ability to add “Named Managers” and transfer ownership was resolved by Google, giving many social media managers a great Christmas present, as they could set up clients’ accounts safe in the knowledge that ownership could be transferred to other key personnel of the business should the need arise.

So how do you add extra admins (Named Managers) or transfer
ownership?

It’s actually very simple.

Before you can transfer ownership to anyone you need to have them set up as managers.

To add a manager the existing owner simply visits settings, whilst using Google+ as the business page concerned. Settings are located at the top right hand corner. You will then be able to invite up to 50 managers to manage your page, by emailing them an invitation, using their email address. Once they have accepted their emailed invitation to become managers they can begin updating the business pages.

Once a manager has been set up ownership of the business page can be transferred to them. However, you must first set them up as a manager before this can take place.

So what are the main differences between managers and owners of Google+ Business Pages?

The major difference is that owners are able to delete accounts or transfer ownership but managers are unable to do this.

Managers and owners are both able to update pages and add or remove managers and just like LinkedIn all managers enjoy the same rights, as there is no ranking.

Neither owners nor managers are visible to the public.

This is a very welcome and practical addition to Google+ and may see this social media platform becoming much more populated with active users in 2012. It also relieves the onus of managing traffic from one person and helping businesses to spread the responsibilities for posting amongst different departments or team members if required.

Splice Marketing is very excited about this development as we can see lots of potential for this development to benefit our clients in 2012 and beyond.

Splice Office Move

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:17:00 GMT

The Splice Office is now closed for the festive period, re-opening on Tuesday 3rd January at our new office in Fair Oak.

We will have emergency support available over the holiday period - just contact us on our normal number above, and we will respond as soon as possible.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from everyone at Splice Marketing!

Changes in Google Search for SEO

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 13:07:00 GMT

If you are interested in Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), you will probably be aware of the effort involved in getting to the top of the search engines, especially Google. Google has recently decided to give a little more insight into the changes they are making in how pages are ranking in the Google Blog. This is great news for website owners who will have a bit more guidance as to what they should be doing to get their pages ranked above their competitors.

Google makes over 500 changes to the search ranking algorithm every year. This algorithm is the program that determines where every page that matches a particular search term is placed. Here are just a few they highlighted in a recent blog post:

Related query results refinements: Sometimes we fetch results for queries that are similar to the actual search you type. This change makes it less likely that these results will rank highly if the original query had a rare word that was dropped in the alternate query. For example, if you are searching for [rare red widgets], you might not be as interested in a page that only mentions “red widgets.”
More comprehensive indexing: This change makes more long-tail documents available in our index, so they are more likely to rank for relevant queries.
New “parked domain” classifier: This is a new algorithm for automatically detecting parked domains. Parked domains are placeholder sites that are seldom useful and often filled with ads. They typically don’t have valuable content for our users, so in most cases we prefer not to show them.
More autocomplete predictions: With autocomplete, we try to strike a balance between coming up with flexible predictions and remaining true to your intentions. This change makes our prediction algorithm a little more flexible for certain queries, without losing your original intention.
Fresher and more complete blog search results: We made a change to our blog search index to get coverage that is both fresher and more comprehensive.
Original content: We added new signals to help us make better predictions about which of two similar web pages is the original one.
Top result selection code rewrite: This code handles extra processing on the top set of results. For example, it ensures that we don’t show too many results from one site (“host crowding”). We rewrote the code to make it easier to understand, simpler to maintain and more flexible for future extensions.

The main points for most website owners from this reinforces what Google generally says about providing useful, unique content. Here's Splice Marketings notes on these updates...

1. Use the terms most of your customers are searching for, but remember to include some alternatives in the text if you can. Even if a page only generates a few visits a month from each search term, these can add up, and very specific search terms tend to convert better.

2. With increased numbers of pages and documents and increased 'long tail' results, it is worth adding more pages and documents. Remember that Google can index more than just web pages - even PDF files and downloadable documents can be indexed.

4. Keep your blog up to date by adding fresh information. If you are looking for inspiration, social media tools like Twitter or Yahoo Answers are great for showing the questions real people are asking or topics they are interested in.

5. Try to have unique content for each page. This includes both content from other pages on your site, and from other web sites. Google is getting very good at picking out duplicates, and while there is no penalty, only one page will generally get shown, which may not be the best match for all searches.

Real Time Google Analytics Now Available

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 13:08:00 GMT

If you are a fan of Google's ubiquitous Analytics system, you will probably be delighted to know that you can now get real time visitor information. It is only available in the New Analytics Beta version, and is being rolled out to Google UK over the next couple of weeks.

So what is it good for? Obviously, sites with higher traffic volumes will benefit the most, but here's a few things to consider:

Measure your social media response in real time. Have you got a big Twitter or Facebook following? Send out a message, and see the increase in traffic, and the actions they take after following the initial link.
Making changes to the site? Measure the effects on bounce rates and conversions immediately, instead of waiting, which could help to identify browser compatibility problems or other issues.
Use live visitor information to support real-time decision making for customer support staffing levels.
Measure the effects of smaller changes quickly - like changing a menu order - without using a full split test.

What will you use it for?

Real time data is not available to all users yet, and the location in the reporting is changing: for most people, it will appear by clicking on the 'Home' tab at the top and then select 'Real Time (beta)' in the left menu.

Google+ Creates Pages for Business

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 13:08:00 GMT

Google has just announced the availability of 'Pages', allowing businesses and other organisations to establish their profile on the Google+ social media system. Pages will allow you to share updates, images and videos with individuals and companies that have added the Page to one of their circles.

According to Google, "Google+ Pages provides businesses, products, brands, entertainment and organizations with an identity and presence on Google+". For more information, you can see Google+ Pages Help.

Setting up a Google Plus page is fairly straightforward, although Google does insist that you create a link back from your company or organisation to your new Page, like the one above.

The other interesting update is the inclusion of Google Direct Connect. This allows people to go directly to the Page from search by entering the + (plus sign) and then the Page name in Google search. Only "eligible Pages" will only be able to claim their Direct Connect search term, but at the moment the details of how to become eligible are unclear.

Should I bother with Google+?

Splice Marketing

Google wants every business site to have a badge like this

If you have (or would like) any kind of online brand presence, a Google + page is going to be pretty much a requirement. The main reason is to ensure that searches for your brand preceded with the + sign end up on your Page, and not a competitors. As Google search has over 90% or the search engine market share in the UK, it is critical for most companies that they do not lose these potential visitors.

However, it remains to be seen if Google+ Pages, or Google+ as a whole are able to make significant inroads into the social media landscape.

Need to know how to make the most of Social Media Marketing for your business, or need help managing your Social Media accounts? Contact us for a no obligation chat. Or see our Google+ Page!

Google Changes Keyword Data Availability

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 13:08:00 GMT

Google has announced a change with immediate effect to the way it passes search data information. If a visitor comes to your site using Google search, AND they are currently logged in to their Google account, you will no longer see the keyword data in your analytics reporting.

So What?

What this means is that for a significant portion of your traffic is that you will not be able to see what search terms they typed in. You can see what page they landed on, but not what they were looking for.

This has implications for how you look at visitors and new page creation. Previously, if you saw a large number of visitors bouncing (leaving the page without reading more), then you could look at the keywords they were using, and decide if you needed to add more information, provide a link to a different page, or write a whole new page.

For ecommerce sites, the keyword data may be a prompt to get a new product line, or improve the description to demonstrate how this matches the search.

What Can I Do About This?

Unfortunately, the answer is 'not much'. No matter which analytics package you use, Google will no longer pass the data. One possible alternative is that keyword data will still be available for paid clicks from Google Adwords, but not only does this become expensive, but traffic from paid clicks often acts differently from natural search traffic.

Why has Google Made This Change?

Google said that the change was for security. They said that "as search becomes an increasingly customized experience, particularly for signed in users, we believe that protecting these personalized search results is important" (Google Analytics Blog). Various bloggers have theorised that it is to promote a new premium version of Analytics, or to push people to using adwords, but so far this does not really appear to be true. They are hoping to retain their search market share by re-assuring searches that thier information will be safe.

How Do I Know If This Affects Me?

Go into your Analytics for the last few days, and check the 'keyword' data. if you can see a value of '(not provided)', then this is traffic that is coming from logged in Google users.

Trademark Terms in Google Adwords

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 13:08:00 GMT

The EU has ruled on the long running dispute between Interflora and Marks & Spencers regarding the use of Trademark terms in Google Adwords. The new ruling clarifies the position if you bid on competitors names or brands for your online advertising.

This has the potential to affect almost any company, whether they are using Adwords (or any other similar online advertising) , of if their competitors do. The basic complaint is that Marks & Spencers were bidding on the keyword 'interflora' so that every time someone did a search in Google, the advert for Marks & Spencers' flower delivery service appeared.

Under existing law, Marks & Spencer cannot use the word 'Interflora' in the advert, but it was not there - it was only being used to trigger the advert to display. However, Interflora objected, saying that this was unfairly trading on their valuable trademarked brand.

The recent judgement, which will have to be ratified into UK law to have full effect now clarifies the position. Both sides are claiming victory, as the judgement gives a balance between trademark owners and their competitors.

If a company chooses to bid on a competitors trademark term they must:

not use the trademark term in the advert text
ensure there can be no confusion as to where the advert will take you

Google's current best practice states the best method to do this is to ensure and adverts that display based on competitors trademarks or company names have your company name as the first line.

The full judgement can be found at Europa.eu, but the critical section is below.

1. Article 5(1)(a) of First Council Directive 89/104/EEC of 21 December 1988 to approximate the laws of the Member States relating to trade marks and Article 9(1)(a) of Council Regulation (EC) No 40/94 of 20 December 1993 on the Community trade mark must be interpreted as meaning that the proprietor of a trade mark is entitled to prevent a competitor from advertising – on the basis of a keyword which is identical with the trade mark and which has been selected in an internet referencing service by the competitor without the proprietor’s consent – goods or services identical with those for which that mark is registered, where that use is liable to have an adverse effect on one of the functions of the trade mark. Such use:

adversely affects the trade mark’s function of indicating origin where the advertising displayed on the basis of that keyword does not enable reasonably well-informed and reasonably observant internet users, or enables them only with difficulty, to ascertain whether the goods or services concerned by the advertisement originate from the proprietor of the trade mark or an undertaking economically linked to that proprietor or, on the contrary, originate from a third party;

does not adversely affect, in the context of an internet referencing service having the characteristics of the service at issue in the main proceedings, the trade mark’s advertising function; and

adversely affects the trade mark’s investment function if it substantially interferes with the proprietor’s use of its trade mark to acquire or preserve a reputation capable of attracting consumers and retaining their loyalty.

2. Article 5(2) of Directive 89/104 and Article 9(1)(c) of Regulation No 40/94 must be interpreted as meaning that the proprietor of a trade mark with a reputation is entitled to prevent a competitor from advertising on the basis of a keyword corresponding to that trade mark, which the competitor has, without the proprietor’s consent, selected in an internet referencing service, where the competitor thereby takes unfair advantage of the distinctive character or repute of the trade mark (free-riding) or where the advertising is detrimental to that distinctive character (dilution) or to that repute (tarnishment).

Advertising on the basis of such a keyword is detrimental to the distinctive character of a trade mark with a reputation (dilution) if, for example, it contributes to turning that trade mark into a generic term.

By contrast, the proprietor of a trade mark with a reputation is not entitled to prevent, inter alia, advertisements displayed by competitors on the basis of keywords corresponding to that trade mark, which put forward – without offering a mere imitation of the goods or services of the proprietor of that trade mark, without causing dilution or tarnishment and without, moreover, adversely affecting the functions of the trade mark with a reputation – an alternative to the goods or services of the proprietor of that mark.

Video of the Judgement on Trademarks used in Adwords

We recommend all advertisers ensure their current adverts comply with the new rules, although it is likely to be some time before the UK courts clarify exactly what could constitute creating difficulty in determining who was placing the advert.

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Video of the Judgement on Trademarks used in Adwords

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