Category: Internet marketing Page 2 of 14

Promoted Pins by Pinterest

On May 30, 2014

In Internet marketing, Social Networking

May 30, 2014

After their introduction last year, Pinterest has now finally decided to go in for a paid test for promoted pins that help people to have an improved overall search experience. These small add units will serve as an aid to monetize the ever growing social network of Pinterest. Initially, the rollout of promoted pins will be limited to the search and category fields. Later on, as time goes by, the pins could be used for other spheres of pinterest as well.

The promoted pins will be initially tested on a small set of brands so as to gain a better understanding of their viability and effectiveness. Some of the brands that would be a part of the test include: ABC Family, Banana Republic, Expedia.com, Kraft, Nestle, Old Navy, and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Through these brands, Pinterest aims to gauge whether promoted pins are tasteful and relevant. Based on user feedback, subsequent improvements will also be made.

As per AdAge, Pinterest is looking at an estimate of about $1 to $2 million for every campaign pertaining to rollout of promoted pins. As is evident from the list of brands mentioned above, the first rollout of promoted pins is not for small or medium-sized businesses.

As the Pinterest network continues to grow by leaps and bounds, tens and thousands of people have put up more than 30 billion pins. Brands form a significant chunk of these users, and hence promoted pins will help them to gain better visibility among the audiences. This will also help the audiences by providing them a better insight into areas they are concerned about; you could for example, easily look for places to eat out, or gifting ideas for a friend or a loved one on special occasions.

Up till now, Pinterest was primarily focused upon enhancing its user base, and revenue generation was not on the cards. But with the rollout of promoted pins now, Pinterest is all set to take on advertizing giants like Facebook and Twitter. Since user feedback is an important tool to understand the effectiveness of promoted pins, Pinterest has put up links for users alongside every promoted pin that they see on the social network. Users can put in their comments and suggestions here, which would be monitored on a regular basis so that improvements can be made accordingly.

The rollout of promoted pins by Pinterest is surely going to change the advertizing landscape in the online space. The first phase of the rollout with these brands will show what the further course of action should be.

How To Build A Brand With Online Marketing

By centexitguy

On May 12, 2014

In Internet marketing

May 12, 2014

Building up an effective brand name is critical for success is today’s business world. A brand that communicates effectively with the consumers is the one that stays in the business for a longer run. Mention any big name like Nike, Adidas, or Starbucks, and consumers immediately connect with these brands; a strong mental image about the products and services associated with the brand come up in their mind. Thus, with brand value so critical to business success, it is important to know how you can effectively leverage online marketing tools to build up your brand. Read on to know more.

Many businesses fall into the trap of having different brand citations across various websites on the internet. This can put question marks over the reliability over the brand. Having consistent name, address, and telephone citations about the brand all across the Internet is the first tool to build up an effective brand name.

Brand image can be enhanced through the usage of certain tools. For example, a business can be given a personal identity through use of extensive descriptions. These could include accolades, accreditations, and so on. They help to build a brand that connects with people. Other than descriptions, images and photos of the workplace as well as the employees working there can be an effective tool to showcase to people the brains behind building the brand.

When it comes to building a brand, a good reputation is highly critical, and it can only be achieved through building trust among the consumers. Consumer feedback and reviews should never be overlooked. Responding to them in a positive manner goes a long way in enhancing the overall image of the brand.

As with the name, address, and telephone citations, the business presence across social networking platforms should also be uniform. The same logos, graphics, photographs, and business descriptions should be used across all platforms.

Blogging and content marketing strategy should focus on user-specific content that answer all queries and concerns that visitors may have. Often, businesses go with the notion that blogging is all about link building and social engagement. But it can be a great way to build up the brand image if the right content is used.

Online videos can be another great asset in building a brand. They can be used to comprehensively depict the range of products and services offered by a business. Make sure that the videos are content focused rather than trying to sell the product. The right content will answer maximum questions of your potential customers, which eventually will translate into sales.

How To Avoid Buying A Bad Domain Name Used By Spammers

By centexitguy

On April 30, 2014

In Internet marketing, IT Support, SEO Marketing, Tech Buzz

April 30, 2014

Buying a new domain can be a challenging task for anyone who is looking to have credible presence in the virtual world through a website. As there is no way of determining whether the domain was previously in the bad books of search engine giant Google, many people are wary when it comes to buying domains. Many of the domain names are such that they have already been destroyed by spammers.

In this context, Google’s head of web spam, Matt Cutts has offered some tips that will make the task of buying a new domain simpler. Read on to know more.

The first step Cutts recommends is doing a site-colon search with the domain name that you are looking to buy. It would look something like this- site: domain_name. In case no results show up for that domain, it is an indicator that you should avoid buying it. Even if that domain has content, it is still advisable to avoid buying it.

An added step to the site-colon search would be applying the same on Bing. If results show up there and not on Google, it is a very obvious sign that the domain name in question is a bad one. So it is in your best interest to avoid a domain name that shows up in Bing but not on Google.

A simple search with the domain name, sans dot com or any other extension can also be pretty helpful. This will help the prospective buyer of that domain name to have a fair idea about the site’s reputation.

Another resource that could be pretty useful to those who are looking to buy domain names is Archive.org, wherein previous versions for a particular domain can be seen. Going through these versions will show whether the domain contained spammy or auto-generated content before. This again will help in making a decision whether to buy the domain or not.

Next recommendation offered by Matt is for those looking to buy a domain name from a current website owner. In such a situation, going through the site’s traffic analytics can provide useful insights into unusual trends, if any. In case something different or out of context is observed, you can forego that domain name and look for another one.

Buying domain names that are clean can be tricky. ‘Buyer’s beware’ is the watchword here. Trying some of the methods recommended by Matt Cutts as mentioned above, could simplify your task; you will be aware of what you are up against.

We at Centex Technologies provide Web Development, SEO and Internet Marketing Services to our clients. For more information, call us at (855) 375-9654

Generating Sales Through Twitter

By centexitguy

On April 13, 2014

In Internet marketing

April 13, 2014

Social media has helped brands and businesses in creating value for customers and generating significant sales as well. Social media marketing, if leveraged well, can lead to great returns for any business. Many of the existing and upcoming business ventures have incorporated the social networking platform, Twitter, into their marketing plans. Read on to know more on how you can generate sales effectively through Twitter.

First and foremost thing to be borne in mind is sharing the right kind of information with customers. Many businesses today are lured into the prospect of offering discounts and coupons on Twitter so as to bring in more customers. But this does not work for every category of products and services. Information has to be shared as transparently as possible. Also, do not go overboard with selling your product or service; the catch is to just try and engage your prospective customer through tweets and re-tweets.

Recently Twitter has started “Twitter Ads”, an advertizement platform that can be effectively used to promote product or services through paid promotions. A business can use options of “Promoted Accounts”, “Promoted Tweets” and “Promoted Trends” to market and reach out to potential customers.

A business can also create special purpose filters on Twitter, which are aligned to its specific needs. This enables you to get the maximum leads for people who are looking for the kinds of products that you offer. For instance, people could be looking for help to solve problems on a particular product or service, that your company is adept at handling. In such a scenario, having a prospecting stream filter in place will save you a lot of time in hunting for leads.

Coming to the messages part of Twitter, it has been observed that after a certain time period, the customer complaints and questions start repeating themselves. A smart business will know the content and introductions that work best in particular situations. So instead of drafting a new message every time or customizing it, you can reuse the content that is relevant to that particular business situation.

Sending out messages is only one side of the story; there are innumerable messages coming from the people as well. For a business, it is important to know what messages should be responded to and which are the ones that need to be overlooked. If people hashtag your products or services or are talking about your company, you should definitely respond to those messages. For people who are not a part of your business location, the messages can be ignored.

The job does not end by sending a message. For a business to acquire and sustain prospective customers through Twitter, it is important to understand that conversations should be regularly monitored, and replies must be given where required. At the end of the day, your customer wants to know that you are there. For this, accounts can be actively managed by the social media team of the company.

These are some of the pointers which if followed could help a business in generating leads and sales through Twitter. For more information on how to market your your business online, call Centex Technologies at (855) 375-9654

Facebook Acquires Oculus VR

By centexitguy

On March 30, 2014

In Internet marketing, SEO Marketing

March 31, 2014

Fresh from getting a hold on the popular messenger application Whatsapp last month, Facebook has added yet another weapon to its armory by acquiring the virtual reality gaming startup. The deal has clearly indicated that the social networking giant is not at all hesitant to make full use of its strong market position and offer its users a world that will change the way they communicate and play in the virtual world.

The deal stands at an overall price of $2 billion; that includes 23.1 million shares of Facebook in addition to a cash amount of $400 million. Among the other facts associated with the deal, Mark Zuckerberg stated that Oculus VR will continue to be headquartered in Irving.

Oculus VR is best known for its development of Oculus Rift. It is a virtual reality head-mounted display that is extensively used in video games. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has made it clear to the world that this acquisition and the last month deal on Whatsapp, both are meant to give the company an edge when it comes to social platforms in future. Mobile platforms are the norm today; Oculus will give Facebook that edge when it comes to platforms of the future.

The prime source of raising funds for the development of Oculus Rift came through a Kickstarter campaign back in the year 2012. After raising $2 million in 2012, this count went up to a staggering $91 million last year. With this deal, Oculus Rift is all set to become one of the most successful Kickstarter projects of all times.

This is what the Facebook CEO had to say about the acquisition: “Oculus has the chance to create the most social platform ever, and change the way we work, play and communicate.” He further added, “Oculus has the potential to be the most social platform ever. Imagine not just sharing moments with your friend’s online but entire experiences.”

Zuckerberg also clearly mentioned that Oculus was way ahead of the lot when it came to the ‘best and brightest’ minds in technology. By acquiring the company, the social networking giant was also adding to its human resource prowess; by having people with an impeccable knowhow of computing and technology on board, Facebook is going to reap significant benefits.

Investors and web developers from across the world echoed similar sentiments as those shared by Mark Zuckerberg when it came to virtual reality being the ‘future of computing’.

With the deal finally being official, Facebook is all set to become a totally immersive experience for its users who can share events, visits, and lots more with friends, making them truly connected to one another in the process.