In April, IAB UK (Internet Advertising Bureau) revealed that mobile advertising spend last year had increased by 148 per cent. The Bureau cited mobile revenue as a key contributing factor to the total spend of £5 billion on UK digital advertising – the highest figure the industry has seen.

This is significant for the UK and the international market. The UK is a world leader in digital advertising, mobile and online, and the trend has spread to other markets in the past five years.

Mobile users are reported to spend more than 10 per cent of their media time on their mobile devices. This means that mobile usage is rapidly catching the established media, including TV. Despite this, marketing budgets for mobile ad spend accounts for only 1.6 per cent of their overall budgets.

One reason for this is the preoccupation with generating headline-friendly campaigns with social media giants, such as Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. While it is easy to see the attraction of this philosophy, it seems many aren’t thinking about how many targeted consumers they are actually reaching with this strategy.

Additionally, marketers are still ignoring mobile optimisation, using adverts which are formatted for PC and then squeezed uncomfortably onto mobile screens. As such, it comes as no surprise that advertising executives might consider their worth with suspicion.

The post Mobile ad spend lags behind usage appeared first on PushON Ltd.

The new Universal Analytics tool will give marketers the ability to monitor usage within sessions and across devices. As a result, it is expected that they will be able to gain more insight into how consumers use different devices to access online content.

In Google’s previous analytics apps, users have been able to view different devices accessing content. However, one single user using a PC, a smartphone and then a tablet would register as three different visitors; which isn’t ideal for marketers. Using User ID, Universal Analytics now understands that the three visits are from one person.

The updates also mean that future investments will be directed more accurately. For instance, a consumer might visit a website on their tablet, but then completes a purchase on their desktop. With the new parameter, analysts can determine that only one person visited the site.

With cross device measurement, marketers can see how a user switches between devices. Previously, analytics tools would have shown little value in tablet usage as part of an interaction which resulted in a significant purchase being made later on another device. The new system demonstrates clearly the significance of continuing to invest in cross platform optimisation.

As digital marketing is becoming more prominent, the need for data analysis is also growing; it is clear Google’s changes will have a profound effect for marketers.

The post Google introduces changes to its analytics tools appeared first on PushON Ltd.

Hernandez explained at the recent Mobile Engage event that a big part of the increase lies in the number of users in the UK. He also claimed that five million UK Facebook users access their news feed solely via their mobile devices.

As marketers are challenged to improve brand awareness in an increasingly competitive environment, it is clear that mobile is going to be key to success. Hernandez said:

“I spend a lot of time speaking to brands and agencies about how they have become mobile-first, if you wait for three years then you’re going to miss the train.”

It seems that the march to mobile is unstoppable and with Facebook’s powerful platform, any company failing to ensure they are represented properly on mobile will be left behind. Improving brand awareness with mobile must now be a key priority for businesses which have yet to embrace it.

In Hernandez’s address, he also claimed that 23% of all smartphone use is on Facebook. This gives a sharp insight into the perceived importance of the social network for mobile users.

When considering Facebook’s revenue streams, 30% of advertisement spend is mobile based. Despite this, UK spending on ads is still considerably behind usage by consumers. This leaves a lot of potential for UK marketers seeking to enhance their brand.

The post Facebook sees increase in mobile usage appeared first on PushON Ltd.

Facebook Home hits 1 million Users 

Facebook Home has hit 1 million downloads one month after being made available for Android. Despite this number it appears that demand is on the wane, with 500,000 downloads achieved with the first 10 days of release. However it took twice as long for another 500,000 downloads.

Home has also attracted negative attention in the form of reviews on the Google Play page with over 16,000 two star reviews.

It is perhaps too early to write off Facebook home but with a user base of 1 billion and only 1 million users signed up,the signs do not look good. Have a read of our Facebook home review here.

Matt Cutts – Taking down network of links  

Matt Cutts the head of Google’s webspam team said this past week Google had taken action against several thousand link sellers that were part of a link network.

In fact, we took action on several thousand linksellers in a paid-link-that-passes-PageRank network earlier today.

— Matt Cutts (@mattcutts) May 15, 2013

Twitter CEO resignation

Dick Costolo has resigned as Twitter director of the UK arm of Twitter. This is due to Twitter UK being struck off companies’ house after failing to return any accounting data.

Tweetdeck, a Twitter subsidiary, was also struck off on May 7^th and due to these irregularities Costolo felt it necessary to leave his post.

In reality being struck off from Companies House will not impact on Twitter’s overall business but the restructuring of the company in the UK points to a possible relisting with Companies House in the near future.

European Search Awards 2013

PushON had fantastic news last week after being shorlisted for the European Search Awards for Best Use of Search in Retail for Defib Shop – putting search at the heart of the campaign along with ChillFactore hit the slopes. Our third nomination was for Thomson Al Fresco – making holidays personal, in the Best Use of Search Travel & Leisure category.

Google I/O 2013

Google Wallet - 

On Wednesday we saw Google I/O 2013 getting underway with Google unveiling a host of updates and features to their current services. A new Gmail feature allows users to send up to $10,000 via an email message using Google Wallet.

Will this be able to compete with Paypal?

Google+ Redesign -

Google also introduced a new design layout for Google+, with a similar layout to Pinterest, having stories spread across your timeline featuring photos from that story.

At Google I/O 2013, the company announced 41 new features for Google+, the most important being related to design, messaging, and photo sharing.

Google+ has taken a step towards the focus of the photo and video content similar to Pinterest, improving visibility of stories, and creating an addition to Hang Outs by introducing the stand alone app that can be used for chat.

Automated hashtags have also been introduced, which work similar to those for Twitter, by suggesting a topic for you to include in the hashtags. Google have suggested that it will provide better chances of finding the desired content by adding trending tags.

Another feature is the addition of photo hosting and sharing. The images that are uploaded onto Google+ using the Auto Backup option, now use higher resolutions (up to 2048 pixels) and allow for editing – Autofix, Add Text and Rotate. Autofix allows users to edit with a single click the image saturation, brightness, or contrast. Auto Highlight and Auto Awesome will provide automatic options for Best Shot or creating animations form consecutive photos.

Before:

After:

Google Glass potentially illegal in UK

John Lanchester who writes for London Review of Books, suggested that the technology breaches basic data protection provisions, adding that the recording facility is a breach of ECHR privacy laws.

“In the UK anyway, many or most of the recording functions of Google Glass seem likely to be illegal,” Lanchester said.

“The 1998 Data Protection Act defines data as ‘information which is being processed by equipment operating automatically in response to instructions; or is recorded with the intention that it should be processed.’ I don’t speak fluent lawyer, but it seems clear that definition encompasses the recording function of Glass.”

Google announce Voice Search 

The way we search as we know it could be extinct in a few years if Google’s bold new idea becomes widespread. Google has announced it is bringing voice search to the desktop, via apps such as Chrome we could go about our business without having to type a key.

Although it has been announced details are sketchy about when and how it will all work, watch this space!

That is the end of the RoundUP this week, we will roundoff with a site that we have recently discovered and had alot of fun with. It is called Geoguessr and works using Google’s Streetview, check it out and let us know what you think.

Until next week, farewell

The post Digital RoundUP 20/05/2013 appeared first on PushON Ltd.

The changes will allow marketing teams to target keywords and tweet users based on intent. This will be on top of geo-tagging and simpler interest based filters.

Analysing recent tweets, a snack company would have the potential to target those who had tweeted “I’m hungry”. This can then be supplemented with Twitter’s other tools designed for targeting users and suddenly marketers are reaching a much more specific user group.

Several major brands have already used the keyword targeting tool on a trial basis and results have been promising. Some brands saw engagement rates of nearly 11% on promoted tweets. This figure is significantly bigger than Twitter’s best existing engagement rate, which was around 2%.

Speaking about the development, Twitter’s Kevin Weil said:

“We think this will be a big step for us and we are super excited to launch keyword targeting in timelines. More relevant, actionable promoted tweets are better for users and ultimately brands.”

Twitter hasn’t confirmed how far into the history of users’ timelines it would look with its keyword targeting. Instead it claimed that this would be considered continually and the company would be working with user and advertiser feedback.

Twitter will continue to allow users the option to dismiss any promoted tweet that they don’t consider relevant.

Experts believe this introduction of keyword targeting will appeal to more recognised brands as marketing campaigns become more successful.

Twitter is predicted to bring in over $580m in global advertising revenue this year, with twice that amount expected in 2014.

The post Twitter launches keyword targeting appeared first on PushON Ltd.

The major social networks dominate with 61 per cent posting to Facebook, 24 per cent sharing on YouTube and 25 per cent choosing Twitter.

The research was carried out for Electrify and immediate future, a social media consultancy, which is seeking to identify the relevant links between live brand experiences and social media. The firm has even devised a tagline for the link-up: ‘Live Brand Social.’

Of those surveyed, nearly half felt the combination of a live brand experience and social media made an event more successful.

According to Katy Howell of immediate future, the survey highlights the value of social media to brands:

“It isn’t just a case of snapping, linking and chatting about a live branded experience. The survey shows…people want to interact with the brand too.”

She went on to explain that half of Facebook’s users will enter competitions related to brands and 50 per cent will follow a brand’s Facebook page. Additionally, 25 per cent are likely to interact with a company over a brand experience.

Live Brand Social also has an impact on income for businesses. More than 50 per cent of attendees are likely buy something because of the interaction. Furthermore, 54 per cent will seek to find more brand information online, and nearly half will go to a store.

The post UK consumers share experiences with social media appeared first on PushON Ltd.

This week, Blackberry’s challenge to Android and iOS continued as the firm announced the introduction of Flurry Analytics for its latest operating system. It also announced that its popular messaging service, BBM, will be made available to Android and iOS users by summer 2013.

Developers of apps can use Flurry Analytics to access user data. It provides developers with information about users that includes demographics, engagement and buying patterns. Flurry Analytics has been available for rival mobile operating systems and this addition to Blackberry gives it parity for developers and marketers and could see an increase in apps for the platform, something it has often received criticism for.

Flurry Analytics will allow developers of apps for Blackberry 10 to gain a deeper understanding of customer behaviour and will prove invaluable in terms of monitoring spend and income streams.

According to Martyn Mallick:

“We’re excited to work with Flurry to provide developers with Flurry Analytics, which will help enable them to bring high quality apps on the BlackBerry 10 platform.”

Whether the addition will see Blackberry challenging iOS and Android is yet to be seen. Certainly, it seems likely that Blackberry users will see a range of new apps and apps are often seen as key to sales in the smartphone market.

The post Blackberry introduces Flurry Analytics appeared first on PushON Ltd.

“This one is a little more comprehensive than Penguin 1.0 and we expect it to go a little bit deeper and have a little bit more of an impact than the original version of Penguin.”

For better or worse, Penguin happened. Some link spam networks were rendered inert overnight, and Google have evidently continued to improve their link spam detection, as more and more website have found themselves caught in the crossfire.

But it is still all too common to find examples of shambolic websites that rank highly for competitive keywords based purely on a backlink profile consisting largely of optimised anchor text links from questionable sources. These nefarious practices have allowed these websites to cheat death and gorge themselves on the benefits of taking the place of websites that have lost visibility due to link building often performed years ago by people they no longer have any relationship with.

Damnit Google, you’ve made zombie websites!

SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM…

But it’s OK! Matt Cutts and his trusty crossbow/algorithm update have been taking this sort of website down for quite a while now. And they seem to be getting better at it.

Fearsome

Cutts clearly recognises that they have to kill the head zombie to defeat the horde (or is that vampires? Vampires are a type of zombie, right? Shut up), saying “We’re also looking at some ways to go upstream to deny the value to link spammers. We’ve got some nice ideas on trying to make sure that that becomes less effective and so we expect that that will roll out over the next few months as well.”

So when he says they’re planning on clamping down on link spammers “advertorials, native advertising and those sorts of things that violate our quality guidelines”, I wonder if he finally means it? The webspam team at Google have been tackling the issue for years and it still seems that every time they deal with one source, the epidemic moves elsewhere. But there’s no denying the effect that the first Penguin updates have stemmed the tide significantly, so it’s not so hard to believe that they are getting closer and closer to their goal of eliminating webspam as a viable long term strategy, if not entirely.

Better yet, Cutts tells us that “We hope in the next few months to roll out a next generation of hacked sites detection that is even more comprehensive and also try to communicate better to webmasters”. What’s more useful in a zombie epidemic than early detection and a robust communication system? Besides a pump action shotgun, obviously.

“Try to make sure you make a great site that users love, that they’ll want to tell their friends about, bookmark, come back to, visit over and over again” says Cutts. “As long as you’re working hard to show great content to your users, we’re working hard to try to show your high quality content to users as well”.

So the message, as ever, is simple – Google want to include lively, healthy websites in their results pages, not a useless, unintelligent mess that serves only to gobble up as much traffic as it can. If you can only succeed by spamming, then Cutts warns of an “eventful Summer” ahead.

The post The Ranking Dead: Could Google Penguin 2.0 End The Zombie Website Epidemic? appeared first on PushON Ltd.

Of those businesses surveyed, 26 per cent are spending only 10 per cent of their marketing budget on traditional, non-digital, marketing activities, with 22 per cent claiming they spend nothing at all on traditional marketing.

Small businesses appear to have embraced digital marketing the most, with 54 per cent claiming they prefer online and mobile marketing as ways to develop their business.

Traditional strategies are suffering at the hands of digital marketing. Printed advertising has been hit the hardest, with only 28 per cent of SMEs planning to use this again in 2013. In contrast, direct mailing is still popular, with 20 per cent of SMEs seeking to employ this in the coming year.

Whilst confidence in traditional marketing is on the wane, mobile marketing is attracting more spend. Optimised websites, mcommerce and payments and QR codes are all proving of interest to SMEs. It is expected that mobile marketing will see an increase in investment from SMEs this year.

According to Ryan Higginson of Pitney Bowes:

“Many SMEs success, and even survival, can depend on targeted, effective and easy to implement marketing that covers a multitude of channels. Offline will always play a very important role in any strategy but online has really come to the fore.”

It is clear that the future of marketing for SMEs is digital. Whilst some elements of traditional marketing will continue to exist, the main driving force is likely to be mobile.

The post UK based SMEs leave traditional marketing behind in favour of digital appeared first on PushON Ltd.

In the UK, around 66% of smartphone users are using mcommerce apps. In comparison, approximately 57% of German smartphone owners, and 55% of American smartphone owners, use mcommerce apps.

UK smartphone owners are also spending 50% more time with mcommerce apps than all of the markets Arbitron surveyed. This is in addition to the overall number of sessions undertaken by UK smartphone users.

In the UK, smartphone owners are averaging around 135 minutes a month using the apps, equating to nearly 55 sessions. Across the Atlantic, American smartphone users are spending, on average, just over 90 minutes per month whilst German and French users also log significantly less mcommerce use than UK users.

The most used mcommerce app in the UK is eBay, with nearly 44% of those surveyed using it for more than 144 minutes per month. The next most popular is Amazon mobile. However, Amazon is used considerably less than eBay, with barely more than 29 minutes per month usage.

Andreas Piani, European Arbiton Mobile’s general manager, said:

“If they haven’t already, merchants should be taking advantage of… the mobile medium and ensure that they have a diversified strategy to engage consumers… mcommerce isn’t just an appendix to ecommerce, and apps aren’t just a downloadable declination of mobile-optimized sites.”

He went on to explain that businesses should ensure they have mobile-optimised sites to ensure mcommerce opportunities are maximised.

The post UK leads the way in mcommerce appeared first on PushON Ltd.