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Any company that invests time and resources into creating a web presence without make a parallel effort on developing social networks is seriously undermining its search engine ranking.
That’s because Google and Bing now serve search results on a per-person basis depending on the searcher’s social connections. So, if someone ‘likes’ a company Facebook page or follows its Twitter profile, that company’s site will feature higher in searches conducted by that person.
This development is a game changer in online marketing .  Social networks are no longer focused purely on word of …

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Finally, Facebook has launched its new messaging service. It sounds a lot like Google Wave, but a lot more inclusive. Early access is by special invitation only and it’s going be rolled out over the next couple months to the rest of the world.

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Search users have responded positively to Google Instant as evidenced by increased engagement with search.  This is the key finding of a study released today by Marin Software, a provider of a paid search management platform.
On average, impressions and clicks rose for large advertisers following the launch of Google Instant, with costs-per-click falling slightly, resulting in increased volume and improved campaign ROI for advertisers.
Launched in September, Google Instant is a new enhancement to Google Search. With Instant, Google now predicts search queries and begins showing results …

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Image via CrunchBase

Research shows that both the use of images and multiple mentions in query results encourage clicks.  In a survey from Perfomics, 48% of respondents are more likely to click on a search result if it includes an image; 53% are more likely to click if a company name or brand appears multiple times on the search engine results page.
More importantly, 88% of respondents are more likely to click on a result that contains the exact search words or phrases; 26% are more likely to click on a result …

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They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.  But that can’t be true because I certainly picked up a few new tricks from Hill & Knowlton‘s David Jones at this morning’s Ottawa Social Media Breakfast.
His presentation on social media and online reputation management gave a good overview of the strategic imperative and lots of detail on social media tactics.  For me the ‘new trick’ I picked up on had to do with buying Google ads and other online media buys during times of crisis.
Check out David’s presentation below …

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Image via CrunchBase

You might have noticed a change on Google today…results show almost as quickly as you type in your search terms. It’s called Google Instant and the aim is to make search even faster.
According to Google, “Our key technical insight was that people type slowly, but read quickly, typically taking 300 milliseconds between keystrokes, but only 30 milliseconds (a tenth of the time!) to glance at another part of the page. This means that you can scan a results page while you type.”
Now you can adjust your search ‘on …

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For those of you drowning in email and deafened by the echoes of white noise of the social web, help is at hand.  It seems that some of the major platforms are finally getting to grips with the challenges of relevance.
First up are those smart people at Google who are launching the Priority Inbox, which uses your own behaviours to help judge which email messages are the most important to you.  If it makes a mistake you can correct it by clicking a button to mark a message more or …

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I remember arriving at High Holborn tube station in London one morning  way back in the late 90s and being bewildered to find it teeming with dozens of ‘Jeeves’ clones, fully-liveried butlers carrying trays. They were offering commuters business cards boasting the url:  askjeeves.co.uk, the newest solution to finding things online. Ah!  The heady days of the dotcom boom, I remember them fondly!
But time has moved on. Jeeves has long since vacated the search engine service. And ask.com is still trying to compete …

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Image by dhammza via Flickr

The leaders of the UK’s three main political parties have all agreed to participate in television debates in the lead up to the May election. Most pundits agree these TV events will dominate the campaign and will likely mean candidates spend less time on the hustings.
Not to worry, the Internet will pick up the slack in helping candidates communicate directly with voters across Britain. It will be a interesting blend of super-controlled mainstream media and …

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I’ve been trying out Foursquare recently.  It’s a social network that taps into location-based services.  It’s early days for Foursquare, but I think the idea has legs.  It works much like the other social nets; you find friends and connect with them online to share information and socialise.  But what’s cool is that you ‘checkin’ when you visit a shop, restaurant or other location and add your views on the experience.  And there’s a game component too.  Foursquare, or a network like it (Google Buzz?), will open up a myriad …