In a classic case of ‘practising what they preach’, Google took the decision to manually drop the Chrome product in Google search results pages. The error occurred when an external agency was commissioned to promote a video about Chrome, who in turn paid for various bloggers to post the video.

Some instances of the video being posted also had some text below, which mentioned that the blog post was sponsored by Google Chrome, and in one instance of this, the text was found to have a link to the Chrome product within it. This practise of paying someone to link back to you is against Google’s guidelines.

Matt Cutts, of Google’s webspam team, explained that google.com/chrome would be demoted for at least 60 days. After this point, someone from the Chrome team would be able to submit a reconsideration request.

Whether this is a clever PR stunt, or a genuine reaction, this is a very smart move from the search giant. Not only are they getting promotion for their Chrome browser on some of the world’s top media outlets, they are also hammering the point across to website teams across the world: paying for links is bad!

Mobile is becoming ubiquitous. Unless you want to isolate the 25% or so of customers who use mobile as their main source of browsing the web, having a mobile friendly website at the very least is now imperative. According to e-consultancy, 70% of businesses are yet to launch a mobile version of their website, let alone a mobile app.

But when creating an application for a specific purpose, how do you know the best way to decide what’s best; a native application, or a web based application?

A native app is an application designed specifically for a particular mobile platform, for example iOS or Android. A native app is installed onto the memory of the device, typically through the ‘app store’ of the platform. For some providers, including Apple, the app has to go through an approval process to ensure the rules are followed before it is made available on the app store.

Using native is the only way for app developers to program an app to use features of the phone’s hardware like the accelerometer or camera, which means it’s necessary to use this method for anyone looking to utilise these as part of their app.

NATIVE APP		WEB APP
No Internet connection required		Internet Connection Required (almost always)
OS and hardware changes can force a redevelopment		Not affected by OS/hardware updates
High performance and full access to hardware		Slower performance and limited hardware access
Must go through an approval process		Can be launched immediately
Will only work on the device it has been built for		Will work on most smart phone devices with a modern broswer

The main reason that web apps are becoming more popular is that they can easily be made to adapt to a wide range of devices as all of the coding is done using the same coding mark-up you would use to build a website such as HTML, CSS and Javascript, and the same code will work across various platforms and device. This speeds up development time, reducing production costs and ensuring that no potential users are excluded.

Native apps on the other hand require you to build in the programming language native to that device; E.g. Objective C on iOS, Java on Android and so on. Although it is possible to convert HTML5 or Javascript web apps to run natively using the likes of Phone Gap, inherently these apps are not really native at all.

Using a web based app also allows circumvention of the sometimes tricky submission hoops that Apple and Android require you to jump through to get the app to market.

There are some down sides to web apps of course. As well as not being able to use the features of the phone’s hardware, it is more difficult to create an app that works well when no data connection is available.

There are some companies who decide to launch a combination of the two. For example, Google has applications that are web based to cater for platforms other than android, but it also has native only apps like Google Goggles which requires the camera of the device. Of course, developing both will require a larger development budget and is usually a route reserved for only the biggest of companies.

Ultimately the decision should be one taken based on the requirements of the app and the aims of the project. If the app is light with only a few basic features, then a web app will almost certainly suffice. However, some more complicated projects, particularly games, are likely to be much better suited to a native application.

As we know it’s always important to stay ahead of the game and try to have something which differentiates your business. Combine that with technology, and mobile presents what could be the perfect opportunity in this arena. Mobile is now incredibly popular with 1/3 of the UK mobile-using population having used a mobile device to access the internet.

Chances are, if you have a website, it’s going to be quite difficult to use on a mobile device. There will be a lot of zooming in and out and changing screen position in order to be able to use the site effectively, and get the information you need. Making a purchase on a site not designed for mobile is virtually impossible, as you may have found out for yourself.

Plenty of larger organisations are already exploiting mobile, releasing mobile friendly versions of their websites which appear automatically when a user browses to the URL using a mobile device. So, why should you invest money and time into it?

1. 1. Company/Brand Image – This applies particularly if your company is involved in cutting edge technology or is aiming at younger, generally more tech savvy consumers. Having a mobile website is likely to show your company as being with the times and attentive to the needs and wants of its customers.
2. 2. Press Coverage – If your mobile site is good enough, and is pioneering in your industry, you are likely to get coverage in the press and on blogs. This is perfect for the credibility of your company if you are a start-up, or simply a great way to promote the use of your website on mobile devices if you are an established company.
3. 3. Increase conversion rates – That extra boost from mobile visitors is a sure fire way of increasing your conversion and engagement rates. Whilst users are unlikely to make a purchase using your traditional website, give them your mobile website to browse and they are much more likely to go ahead and make a purchase.
4. 4. Simplicity – Making a mobile friendly website usually means taking the existing version and taking it down to its bare bones. This will almost certainly expose areas where you think to yourself, “Why is this so complex?” or “why are there so many steps here?” leading to sometimes dramatic user experience influence on your main website. Taking your sitemap down to its most basic level can ultimately influence how you go about looking at user experience in your company as a whole.

There will come a time when every company will have a mobile friendly website as standard, much like almost every company now has a website. However, if you want to gain a competitive advantage, then now is the time to go ahead and get one created.

A case study describing the incredibly successful online marketing campaign for SparksDirect, the electrical wholesaler, which included SEO, e-mail marketing and usability consultancy.

Overview

A RESULTS FOCUSED ONLINE MARKETING CAMPAIGN

Sparks Direct is a large electrical wholesaler based in Archway, London. Sparks approached Cyber-Duck in 2007. Cyber-Duck developed a new eCommerce website for Sparks which became the centre of all online marketing and SEO.

Challenge

INCREASE ONLINE SALES DURING THE RECESSION

Market conditions were very tough during the recession, since late 2008 until the middle of 2010. Our challenge was to continue to grow online sales during this time, whilst promoting new product categories.

Process

AN IMPACTFUL, STRATEGIC APPROACH WAS APPLIED

• Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) – Including page content optimisation, link baiting, article marketing and social bookmarking.
• Conversion Optimisation (A/B testing) – Testing multiple versions of a page simultaneously and implementing the winning version.
• Bespoke Analytics Reporting – Constant measurement allowing us to optimise our strategy by having in-depth data about user behaviour.
• Optimal Project Management – Working closely with Sparks’ in-house team ensuring a smooth campaign and advising on social media strategy.

Results

HIGH RANKINGS + OPTIMISED WEBSITE = BOOMING SALES

Cyber-Duck has built a long-term relationship with Sparks due to our outstanding impact. All of the below was achieved without Pay-Per-Click advertising:

• Almost 400% more online revenue in 2009 than in 2008
• Online revenue in 2010 has already increased by 40%
• 224% increase in monthly visitors in two years

Top Rankings on Google.co.uk (Nov 2010): 1st for Lighting Wholesaler(s), 3rd for Bedroom Lights, 2nd for Electrical Wholesaler

The purpose of the presentation was to explain how an online marketing campaign for a website with little to no user experience planning is like simply throwing money away.

It explains our understanding of user experience (UX) design and optimisation, and how if implemented right, it could transform your business!

Cyber-Duck has always prided itself on being a very sociable company and as such, we’ve joined the world of social networking!

Follow us now on Twitter by clicking here for all the latest news, developments and general office banter from the Cyber-Duck London web design studio.

Social networking via sites such as Twitter facilitates a two-way dialogue between Cyber-Duck and its audience in their chosen environment, allowing us to listen to and learn from their comments and feedback whilst offering them an insight into the way we work.

Cyber-Duck believes this open and transparent dynamic is crucial in building lasting and successful relationships with our clients and counterparts in the digital media industry.

Everyone knows Christmas and the festive season is a very expensive time of year, even in business, what with festive parties, secret santas and Christmas bonuses. However, Cyber-Duck could help bring one cost down:

This year, why not save on paper and postage costs and send your clients and customers a festive eCard?

Not only is an eCard far more eco-friendly, it can work out to be far cheaper than sending out a paper version.

Cyber-Duck has custom-made animated flash eCards for businesses in a wide variety of different industries.

Our skilled design team can work with you to come up with a winning concept that suits your business and your budget and will wow your clients this Christmas.

Make sure your customers feel like they’re getting a totally personal service; send them a flash eCard this Christmas to help grow your business in the New Year.

View our flash eCard showcase here.

In recent months there have been considerable changes within the Search engine and Online marketing arena. Google, Windows Live Search, and Yahoo (the top three search engines) have updated their search algorithms (the DNA that dictates what sites rank at the top) so quality content, navigation and design play a more important role than ever.

More interestingly, Google have both now started to implement video (from YouTube.com) into their main search results with potentially massive implications for future search engine marketing strategies.

YouTube videos appearing on Google results

Google’s acquisition of YouTube back in November last year (2006) was well publicised in the press at the time with claims it cost $1.65 billion in Google stock. In the USA Google are already displaying ‘YouTube’ videos in their main web search results and this could mean big news for SEO industry.

Social Video Websites are continually growing in popularity

It is evident that video clips (and Rich Media) on user-generated-content sites such as YouTube will increasingly be used as a tool for increasing search result rankings and thus traffic to a site. Obviously, this is quite significant news for Website owners /marketers’ and businesses and presents a major shift in search engine algorithms.

New potential for online video marketing

Whilst strong and clear textual content, user-centric design and ensuring that you have many quality and relevant links pointing to your site should be the first point of action regarding search engine optimisation and online marketing, this new phenomenon of Video Clips/ Rich Media certainly opens new possibilities. Some would argue that with concise viral video clips on YouTube (with well-selected keywords and well-written descriptions) you are advertising to a potentially huge audience as you are gaining additional web users (through both the YouTube platform, and Google search) along with the influx of TV viewers who are moving over to ‘YouTube’ for entertainment and educational purposes.

In SEO terms, creating video clips with business related content can be seen as a ‘new’ form of online marketing / and PR targeting millions of users worldwide. Video results on search engines are definitely a revolution and as such Cyber-Duck are adapting innovative online marketing practices. Over the next 6 months CyberDuck are producing short video clips with unique content with relevant topics for our premium clients on SEO retainer services.

For more information about Cyber-Duck’s innovative online marketing services please visit: London SEO Online Marketing Services