Search Engine Marketing: Google TV – Official Site unveiled

Google TV has been anticipated since sparks started flying about its undeclared launched early last month.

The official site has now been launched, consisting of an overview of the platform and pictures illustrating the potentials of Google's latest invention.

This latest Google innovative feature gives television viewers the ability to surf the web inclusive of search and record programs. It also enables the viewers to watch TV and surf the web simultaneously due to an app gallery available on the TV screen. An inclusive feature also allows the use of a Smartphone as a remote control.

The new Google TV website conveys a lot of information regarding their product, from a list of their partners content to the available channels inclusive on the platform.

The content partners and providers consist of The New York Times and USA Today, Netflix, VEVO, Napster, blip.tv, and many more including Twitter and YouTube.

The channels featured include TNT, CNN, Cartoon Network and Adult Swim; NBC Universal including CNBC Real-Time; HBO with HBO GO; NBA has built NBA Game Time and many more.

Twitter pointed out that their application integrated on Google TV will be somehow similar to their current; easy navigable and holding most Twitter's features and functions.

Pipon Search believes this latest innovation creates a new medium platform allowing marketers to reach a larger audience for PPC campaign, however it holds a great deal of potential which has not been or cannot yet be established. Google has conveyed a related perception on the site; “The coolest thing about Google TV is that we don’t even know what the coolest thing about it will be.”

More details information can be found on Google TV sites.

Social Media Marketing: The Bid Is On, To Be The Top Account

Twitter has added a new feature to its Advertising application, called ‘Promoted Account’. This enables businesses to buy a placement within the "Suggestion for you" section located in the right hand panel on a user’s (Twitterer) home page.

Early last month during the AdTech convention, I attended one of the Twitter seminars that referred to their last advertising feature called 'Promoted Tweet'. It was launched early this year in April to allow businesses to broadcast their Tweet to a wider targeted audience. 

The amount of people paying keen attention to the subject of the seminar indicated that twitter’s advertising program held an interest to internet marketers and proved its possibilities to create new opportunities in social media marketing.

Relatively similar to some search engines advertising programs (Google AdWords), it works by placing the promoted tweets at the top of a search results in relevance to the users' search query. There is an additional feature available to all clients giving a choice to pay extra to highlight their promoted tweet as ‘Promoted’.

On the other hand, Twitter’s Promoted Account feature uses an algorithm to establish which ‘Promoted Account’ should appear to which users. For Instance, if a user follows a lot of Xbox-related accounts but not the official Xbox account then this one will appear within the ‘Suggestion for you’ section. 

Twitter further explains on one of their entry blogs, that only one ‘Promoted Account’ will appear per set of suggestions to avoid users being bombarded with other ‘Promoted Accounts’ they are not interested in.

Currently, there is a limited number of businesses featured which is Twitter’s method of testing out their new advertising features and in addition it has not yet been reported if the advertising features can be used by all users including personal accounts.

Twitter has also mentioned that they are testing two potential ad features called ‘Promoted Tweets’ and ‘Promoted Trends’ with a selected number of partners.

Pipon’s perception of Twitter's latest features is that it could prove to be another option for doing paid marketing but on a MicroMedia platform, which is different and more direct when compared to Facebook. It is an ideal method of trying to target a larger audience to engage with.

Social Media Marketing and Social Media Monitoring are services Pipon provide to their clients and they believe it is essential in the overall establishment of a successful internet marketing campaign.

Social Media Marketing: Is Google Planning A Grand Entrance?

Following the number of blog posting the rumour of the latest acquisition by Google of the new start up company, 'Plannr', I couldn't help but feel that something was in the making.

Plannr is a mobile social application, which allows user to share information of their plans. Its features allow users & their friends to instantly update each other with confirmation or changes to their plans. The company was founded by Jason Prado & Ben Eidelson, both former Microsoft employees and recognised social networking expert.

I previously posted a blog on Google's introduction to the social media industry with their latest social network component; 'Google Me'. Where Eric Schmidt, Google's CEO, felt it necessary to declare that; "Everybody has convinced themselves that there’s some sort of a huge project about to be announced next week. I can assure you that’s not the case", at the Zeitgeist 2010 conference.

This potential acquisition in addition to their previous acquired companies (slide, Angstro) somehow contradicts his statement, by raising the assumption that there is an underline course of action to undertake the social media industry, because with the 'Plannr' acquisition Google do not only gain a new product but also the benefit of two recognised experts in social media as part of their team

As mention in my last post, Google's previous attempt to take on the social media industry (Orkut & Wave) was somehow underprivileged. Wave was terminated due to lack of interest and Orkut only managed to succeed in certain parts of the world.
A poor marketing strategy could be established as the reason behind the failure, however it could also explained Google's new strategy to undertake its competitors.
In keeping a close lead on all information about their products but yet deploying news of their latest acquisition and presumably rumours too creates curiosity and raises anticipation, a good strategy to get mass attention within a very competitive industry.

PPC Marketing: There Is A New Keyword Tool In Town

The latest update in Google's advertising application, 'AdWords', is the launched of a new keyword tool, which is a combination of their previous tools; 'Keyword Tool' and 'Search-based Keyword Tool'.
After proven successful, the two former versions can no longer be accessed by the user as Google has now taken the updated keyword tool out of its beta phase and launched it fully on AdWords and branded it 'The Keyword Tool'.

One of the latest benefits from this new update is that users can access the tool without signing in to their account, although Google recommends user to signing in. Additionally, the improvements also consist of the methods used by Google to calculate their Global Monthly Searches and Local Monthly Searches.
The changes was influenced by advertiser feedback; formerly they collected the traffic data from search partners' but now all statistics in the mentions columns will only be based on one search traffic, Google.com

The other Keyword Tool's benefits include:

* Flexible search options: Search by any combination of keywords, website/URL, and category (where available) and receive a single set of results.
* Easy Keyword Refinement: Filter results by word or keyword match type.
* Negative keywords: Easily add keyword ideas as negatives right from your keyword list. Just click on a keyword and use the drop-down menu to select and save your negative keyword.
* Advanced options: View statistics for mobile search and use data filters based on local searches, search and ad share, and more.