All Articles Tagged "search"
Tech Talk: The New Google Look May Be Good For Businesses
If you are like 300 million other people, you use Google daily. So you have probably by now noticed the search engine’s new design.
The tweaking done by Google might hurt your business, reports Inc. Many businesses count on search engines to help drive traffic to the websites. But with the new design, the search toolbar is now at the top of the screen. It used to be on the left side.
“With the new design, there’s a bit more breathing room, and more focus on the answers you’re looking for, whether from web results or from a feature like the Knowledge Graph, “ according to Google. Though the Knowledge Graph element was launched in May, it now has more visibility. “Search for a movie star, for instance, and you’ll see an info box on the right with the actor’s birth date, picture, relationships, biographical information, filmography and related people,” explains Time magazine. Google’s iPhone app allows you to ask a question by voice, and a computerized voice reads back information from Knowledge Graph.
With the new layout, paid search ads are also more prominent. “Those ads now appear more prominently and closer to the left side of the page where the average user tends to look first,” reports Inc., with more attention drawn to the paid ads. Larry Kim, founder and CTO of WordStream, a PPC technology and search engine marketing software company, tells Inc. there is a reason why Google made the changes now. “I believe the decision to make Product Listing Ads even more prominent right before the holiday shopping season is no coincidence,” he says, “particularly after a disappointing Q3 2012 earnings report.”
Google says the new design is more adaptable for other digital devices such as smartphones, tablets and desktop web browsers.
Google has been making many changes lately and not all of them well received. A new privacy policy, came under heat. Google answered the concerns by “saying users can still prevent the company from linking all the data it collects about them by turning off their search history, by skipping some of Google’s offerings or by using different Google accounts at different times.”
Had you noticed the new Google layout? Does it bother you?
Will and Jada Partnering with Simon Cowell for Reality Show
Will and Jada Pinkett’s marriage may reportedly be on the verge of ending, but that hasn’t stopped the couple from expanding their media empire. Their company, Overbrook Entertainment, is partnering with Simon Cowell’s SYCO Entertainment to produce a new international reality show to find the world’s greatest DJ.
The show, which has been in development for over a year, will capture the rise of the DJ phenomena and both entertainment companies, along with Sony Pictures Television, are expected to announce their broadcast partners in the U.S. and the UK soon.
“This show will comb the world to find a new breed of talent,” Jada says. “I am happy to be creating it alongside Simon Cowell, the Sony team, and my partner Miguel Melendez, on behalf of the Overbrook family.”
Simon says as soon as he met Jada and Miguel he knew they were the ideal business partners:
“DJ’s are the new rock stars, it feels like the right time to make this show.”
I’m not super excited about the show concept, but signing off on new business ventures could be a good sign for Will and Jada’s marriage…maybe.
What do you think about the search for the world’s greatest DJ?
Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.
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Google vs. Bing: How Can Our Search Behavior Add Up To More Dollars For Our Demo?
Search. No doubt, you do it every day; probably several times a day depending on how events unfold at work and at home. It’s hard to remember a time when it didn’t exist.
In an increasingly fast-paced world where information not only moves more quickly than ever before as well as moves at an exponential rate within each second, categorization and information filtering has never been more important. New terms are being utilized in our society such as “relationship capital” and “information capital” as major elements that come in to play along with traditional capital.
Depending on who I know and what I know that they don’t, my personal “stock” can go up or down. So in a society where information is becoming more coveted; how important are African-Americans on the digital food chain, given the continued rising strength of both our increased population and economic buying power, given to the organizers and gate-keepers of information and search such as Google and Microsoft’s Bing.
And more importantly, how will the perception affect your pocket as, perhaps, a young African-American with an economic dream?
I only ask because recently Google made a big announcement regarding its new Hispanic strategy focus. What makes this business development particularly interesting is because the Google’s approach to the U.S. Hispanic market is centered more on the cultural identity of Latinos than on the difference in language.
This is the strategy designed by Mark Lopez, the head of Google’s U.S. Hispanic unit who is reportedly trying to significantly increase the amount of advertising directed toward U.S. digital media in Spanish. “Of the Hispanic media’s $4 billion in income from advertising,” Lopez was quoted as saying, “barely 3 percent is going to digital media. In the coming years, there will be accelerated growth.” The move is significant because Google’s interest opens the doors to an accelerated growth in the Hispanic digital market.”
But unless I’ve missed something, I have not yet seen this same fervor and anticipation directed by Google toward our market. The U.S. Census Bureau has provided undeniable figures in the consistent growth of the Black population as well, and other statistical organizations has shown that our numbers are growing more in on-line usage as well as out-index in Web access from mobile devices. While we are undeniably (and hopefully for the most part) Americans, African-Americans have always had an additional cultural context from which it is best to access us as well.
So what gives?
Are we simply taken for granted by the mighty search engine even though Target Market News consistently shows absolutely staggering purchase power? I’d love to see Google’s interest also equal an “accelerated growth” in the Black digital market. The revenue would certainly be welcome for existing and future young digital pioneers of color such as yourselves, wouldn’t it?
But Google is a savvy company. I’m not counting them out on this. And maybe it will also nudge Bing as well, which I actually haven’t seen do any more to lure the African-American consumer beyond a mild attempt at collaboration with Jay-Z’s book publisher for the release of Decoded last year.
Quickest Ways for Minorities to Find Jobs
When employers fail in their hiring of women and people of color, especially in a tough economy, there’s no need to sit at home depressed, sad, or beating yourself up. In fact, being out of work can be extremely liberating and can inspire new ways for you to make money instantly–as opposed to depleting your savings in hopes of institutional racism ending and someone just giving you a job. If you follow any or all of the following tips, chances are that you’ll significantly increase your chances of paying yourself, despite the fact that nobody thinks there’s money to pay these days! Read the rest of this entry »
How To Choose The Best SEO Firm for Your Business
(Inc) — Once upon a time, in the early days of Internet, before sites like AltaVista and Dogpile gave way to the almighty Google, getting a top page rank on a search engine was as easy as repeating a keyword over and over again on a webpage. Well, the Internet’s search engines are a whole lot smarter now. So are their scammers. Google’s PageRank system is their way of determining which websites are the most applicable and useful for every search term.



