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How might Google be broken up into various companies? The story below explores the idea, in the guise of a chapter from a fictional book about how a Google break-up might have come about and the results from it. It explores the idea of a Search Engine Reform Act that breaks-up the company, as well as a Search Commerce Commission that oversees the search space. The Birth Of The Baby Googles Previous chapters have covered how the growth of Google and fears of how it was reshaping the communication landscape led to the application of existing anti-trust laws along with new ones to force a Google breakup in 2010. This chapter looks at the immediate aftermath: the “Baby Googles” or “Googlets” thatwere formed in the name of greater competition and consumer choice. Google (Search Products) The Google brand name remained with the company’s first product, search. Virtually all search-related products were kept part of Google, including enterprise search. Google … [Read more...] about What Would A Google Antitrust Breakup Look Like?

Every day, more and more consumers are flocking to online shopping outlets and connecting with brands through social media. We’ve reached the point where more than 50% of consumer shopping happens on the web. Global Web Index released data last year that indicated over half of Instagram users are following brands online. With the continued growth of digital engagement, marketers are increasingly focused on online marketing to attract new customers in addition to fulfilling their current customers’ needs. According to Content Marketing Institute, nearly 95% of marketers engage customers on Facebook and, overall, 90% of B2C marketers prioritize social media for engagement. Of the top 14 content marketing tactics, approximately 73% of business owners incorporate in-person events into their marketing strategies. It’s surprising that we don’t see more marketers trying to integrate offline marketing with their online efforts, considering the reach and engagement that … [Read more...] about Combine Online & Offline Marketing for Exciting Customer Experiences

With Halloween just a few short days away, it seems that everyone has spooky thoughts on the brain—and that’s ok, just as long as everything scary is in your head, and not on your website. There is plenty of room for surprises and unpredictability when you’re planning for Halloween, but NOT when you’re planning your SEO strategy. Unfortunately, the scary truth is that SEO can be uncertain, and too many people have fallen prey to SEO bad practices that have ultimately lead to the demise of their rankings. Read below to find out more about some of the worst SEO horror stories, and then learn from the mistakes of others so that you don’t end up with any SEO skeletons in your digital closet. BMW Used Black Hat Tactics This story is pretty surprising to me seeing as how BMW is a well-known, established, multi-billion dollar company. It turns out, it doesn’t matter how much credit your name holds. If you mess with the proverbial SEO gods (aka Google and … [Read more...] about SEO Horror Stories to Scare You This Halloween

A solid reputation management action plan that anticipates and corrects common problems is a present almost any manager would like to see underneath the Christmas tree. And if you start right now, you could pull together a comprehensive plan to get you through the holidays without a gaffe. Avoiding issues this time of the year is vital, as the Pew Research Center found November-December 2013 sales made up close to 19 percent of all sales that took place during the fall of 2013. That means sales during the holiday season could make or break your business. All of those sales are attached to customers, and every one of those customers has the potential to say nice things or horrible things about the work you’re doing and the products you sell. Clearly, when it comes to consumer exposure and the potential for consumer ire, there’s no more dangerous time than the holiday time. And that means you should start planning now, so you can put those plans to work before the consumers … [Read more...] about Holiday Reputation Management Action Plan

Raise your hand if you work on your WordPress website every day. Keep it raised if you have an embarrassingly large amount of plugins, unpublished blog content from early 2015, too many broken links to count, spam-filled comments, and multiple ugly URLs. Don’t worry; I’m guilty, too. Between my work hustle and 9-to-5 gig, ignoring my WordPress site somehow became the norm. But it doesn’t have to be. Like doing taxes or crafting the perfect business plan, there are some things every small business owner should know how to do. And those must-have skills definitely extend to your website. You don’t need to stress, though — I have you covered. In order to streamline your WordPress site (without ditching the stuff you actually need), I’ve rounded up my favorite SEO tips that pull double or even triple duty — meaning you can do more with less. From choosing an SEO friendly theme that’ll juice up multiple devices to a one-and-done plugins, this … [Read more...] about Don’t Launch a WordPress Site Before You Go Through This Checklist