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		<title>Interflora v Marks &amp; Spencer: The facts, the judgement and the implications for PPC</title>
		<link>http://www.iprospect.co.uk/blog/featured/interflora-v-marks-spencer-the-facts-the-judgement-and-the-implications-for-ppc.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.iprospect.co.uk/blog/featured/interflora-v-marks-spencer-the-facts-the-judgement-and-the-implications-for-ppc.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 24 May 2013 13:17:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.iprospect.co.uk/?p=3732</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[By Christina Malcolm, Paid Search Strategist
A 5 year battle of PPC flower power was decided in the High Court this week, where the law on trademark infringement and paid search advertising intertwined.
&#160;
The Facts
The case, Marks &#038; Spencer v Interflora concerned M&#038;S bidding on the competitor trademarked term ‘interflora’ on Google Adwords. Estimated to have increased M&#038;S flower sales by £1,000,000 and cost Interflora an extra US$750,000 in Adwords advertising spend; Interflora claimed M&#038;S were guilty of trademark infringement and should [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em><strong>By Christina Malcolm, Paid Search Strategist</strong></em></p>
<p>A 5 year battle of PPC flower power was decided in the High Court this week, where the law on trademark infringement and paid search advertising intertwined.<br />
&nbsp;</p>
<h2>The Facts</h2>
<p>The case, Marks &#038; Spencer v Interflora concerned M&#038;S bidding on the competitor trademarked term ‘interflora’ on Google Adwords. Estimated to have increased M&#038;S flower sales by £1,000,000 and cost Interflora an extra US$750,000 in Adwords advertising spend; Interflora claimed M&#038;S were guilty of trademark infringement and should pay damages for unlawful keyword advertising.<br />
&nbsp;</p>
<h2>The Judgement</h2>
<p>The European Court of Justice advised a separate legal test in this digital demise. Would a ‘well-informed and reasonable observant internet user’ on Google, understand the M&#038;S ad would lead them to a separate flower delivery entity.  The UK judge found users believed the M&#038;S flower delivery service was part of the Interflora network, and therefore infringed the Interflora trade mark.<br />
&nbsp;</p>
<h2>The Implications for PPC</h2>
<p>This case may however, still reserve the option to bid on competitor brands within the realms of Google’s advertising empire.</p>
<p>Google, although lenient now, held a more draconian policy when this case was first brought forward, with no competitive brand bidding permitted. Gradually, as re-sellers started to advertise, aggressive and more expensive PPC competitor campaigns have become a crucial part of bidding strategies and indeed, Google’s Adwords income. </p>
<p>In this case, Justice Arnold confirmed a reasonable user was not able to easily tell whether they were buying flowers from Interflora, or in fact a competitor brand, M&#038;S.</p>
<p>However, the court found a difference between this, and what a reasonable person knew to be a competitor and still click on it. The latter is fine. </p>
<p>Furthermore, if bidding on a competitor’s keyword would clearly tell users of an alternative service or brand, this was not breaching the law. Such is the nature of a commercial competition. </p>
<p>While many brands have ‘gentlemen agreements’ thereby promising not to bid on each other’s brand names, there also lies possible problems when the PPC keyword type of ‘Broad match’ is brought into consideration. Here, for example, if M&#038;S bid on the broad match term ‘flower delivery service’ and a user searched for ‘Interflora flower delivery service’, the M&#038;S ad may still show despite them not bidding on the word ‘Interflora’. This, although mentioned in the judgement, remains an overlooked issue.</p>
<p>Interesting still, is the future of aggregator sites, affiliate ads, and comparison companies which claim to actually be the competitors. They will not be legally justified in driving consumers to their site unless it is clear they are a separate entity.</p>
<p>To avoid liability, PPC specialists should ensure competitor Adwords campaigns display ad copy and a URL that makes clear the distinction between brands. Would a reasonable person see the competitor ad and think it was the ad of the searched for brand/sub-entity of that brand? In most situations, especially in bigger well-known brands, a reasonable person would differentiate between competitors.</p>
<p>This case acknowledges the need for legal guidelines in digital advertising. It upholds principles against online trickery and misleading advertising while recognising commercial competition as an important part of any industry. </p>
<p>There will be a further trial to determine the amount of compensation owed to Interflora by M&#038;S. Perhaps a sorry bouquet is in order.</p>
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		<title>Stop thinking in silos: deliver customer experiences to increase engagement</title>
		<link>http://www.iprospect.co.uk/blog/featured/stop-thinking-in-silos-deliver-customer-experiences-to-increase-engagement.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.iprospect.co.uk/blog/featured/stop-thinking-in-silos-deliver-customer-experiences-to-increase-engagement.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 24 May 2013 10:35:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.iprospect.co.uk/?p=3717</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[By Lydia Oakes
Provide a frictionless customer experience between channels and devices for increased engagement and retention.  
As the proliferation of digital channels, platforms and devices grow so the number of opportunities for customer engagement multiplies. Understanding the typical customer journey and their decision making process is vital in order to optimise the openings that will exist. For the customer the key element is a unified, seamless immersion into a brand that delivers consistency of message and an experience. 
So [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em><strong>By Lydia Oakes</strong></em></p>
<p>Provide a frictionless customer experience between channels and devices for increased engagement and retention.  </p>
<p>As the proliferation of digital channels, platforms and devices grow so the number of opportunities for customer engagement multiplies. Understanding the typical customer journey and their decision making process is vital in order to optimise the openings that will exist. For the customer the key element is a unified, seamless immersion into a brand that delivers consistency of message and an <em>experience</em>. </p>
<p>So how do we identify where those opportunities exist and how do we measure the impact and most importantly of all how do we ensure that the <em>experience</em> for the customer is seamlessly optimised?</p>
<p>When we think about customers and how they interact with digital channels it’s easy to be focussed on each channel individually. So whether it is Mobile, SEO, Display, Social we ask how is that channel performing, where are the opportunities? </p>
<p>But to do so in isolation would be to miss out on where additional insight can be gained and that is from viewing the user journey as a whole <em>experience</em> and how that journey ultimately influenced their engagement such as taking an action, making a purchase, sharing some content, leaving a review etc.</p>
<p>Or thinking about it from the customer’s point of view how do they <em>feel</em> about the experience and what led them to make the decisions on journey as they moved through the various channels? </p>
<p>The traditional perception of customer purchase behaviour had them neatly siloed following a regimented path through a purchase funnel. </p>
<p>And while this may still be useful in some instances (brand performance) the picture over the last couple of years has become increasingly fragmented and is likely to continue to evolve into even greater levels of complexity. </p>
<p>Typical current user behaviour results in them accessing multiple channels across various devices and platforms which renders the ‘funnel’ journey obsolete in the majority of cases. And while data can capture a lot of the interactions on and between channels as well as across platforms a single unified picture of the <em>whole</em> journey can be difficult to visualise and interpret if the funnel model is followed.  </p>
<p>Viewing the consumer decision journey as a much more circular and ‘random’ process helps to understand where the potential for focussed engagement will help deliver a competitive advantage as part of an ongoing journey. </p>
<p>Of course knowing which channels, platforms, devices and messages ‘assist’ the journey and where the ‘last actions’ are will help to ensure that the consumer experience through say, content and device delivery, is most effective and can be improved through continuous measurement and refinement and campaign management should be approached that way. </p>
<p>Typically though, as consumers move between different channels and across platforms they do not see a <em>brand</em> or <em>business</em> as a series of <em>individual channels</em> but rather as <em>one experience</em> and as such the emphasis should be on driving a seamless journey for the customer no matter how or where the point of entry or the route they choose to follow.  </p>
<p>This may require an additional resource on top of the channel planners that is able to envisage and action <strong>implementation</strong> on what the ideal (multiple) customer journeys should look like. Whether this is a specialist role such as the ‘chief digital officer‘ implemented across all of Starbucks digital and real world channels or this is an existing resource that can take a wider more complete view will depend on each organisations structure.</p>
<p>Whatever course is taken <em>Customer Journey Management</em> should be at the heart of all digital and real world campaigns. To be without it is to not understand that which you should hold most closely to you – your customer.</p>
<p><strong>Actions</strong></p>
<p>•	Track individual channel performance<br />
•	Understand user journeys and decision paths<br />
•	Identify key ‘moments of truth’ and ‘twitch points’<br />
•	Model your own channels, platforms and devices against the ideal customer journeys<br />
•	Gain insight from customers across all aspects of their experience and journey<br />
•	Assign resource to take bridge the gap between the customer journey and channel function</p>
<p>If you require further information on any aspects of customer journeys and how to implement channel integration please contact me here: <a href="mailto:lydia.oakes@iprospect.com">lydia.oakes@iprospect.com</a></p>
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		<title>So, Tumblr sells to Yahoo! what happens next?</title>
		<link>http://www.iprospect.co.uk/blog/featured/so-tumblr-sells-to-yahoo-what-happens-next.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.iprospect.co.uk/blog/featured/so-tumblr-sells-to-yahoo-what-happens-next.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 24 May 2013 10:21:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.iprospect.co.uk/?p=3704</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[By Phillip Dyte, Paid Social Media Manager
With this acquisition, Marissa Meyer’s new-look Yahoo! has paid a high price for cool. It’s not the first time they’ve tried this: Zuckerberg turned down a similar $1bn offer back in 2006, when Facebook was just getting started. 
At this point in time, it’s probably a smart move for both companies. With display revenues declining, Meyer has been forcefully shaping Yahoo! into a leaner, fitter entity, rolling out new ad formats and investing in [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em><strong>By Phillip Dyte, Paid Social Media Manager</strong></em></p>
<p>With this acquisition, Marissa Meyer’s new-look Yahoo! has paid a high price for cool. It’s not the first time they’ve tried this: Zuckerberg turned down a similar $1bn offer back in 2006, when Facebook was just getting started. </p>
<p>At this point in time, it’s probably a smart move for both companies. With display revenues declining, Meyer has been forcefully shaping Yahoo! into a leaner, fitter entity, rolling out new ad formats and investing in content strategy – but the company is still struggling to remain relevant to the youthful heart of the internet. Tumblr, meanwhile, has been slow to get started on the difficult business of making money. In short, Yahoo! is desperate for Tumblr’s core audience, and the explosive growth of Tumblr meant the image-sharing site found themselves increasingly in need of either revenue or an exit. </p>
<p>In terms of the raw numbers, the impact of Tumblr’s acquisition should provide an immediate shot in the arm. As it stands, Yahoo! estimates that audiences should grow 50% to a billion monthly visitors, and Tumblr is still adding 120,000 new users a day. The purchase should also bolster Yahoo!’s mobile game, with the Tumblr app a mainstay of the iTunes chart.</p>
<p>Commercially speaking, bespoke ad formats for the network are a distinct possibility, and there is much to be learnt here from Facebook and Twitter with regards to targeting and feed placements. In social especially, the very best ads are the ones that don’t look like ads. No doubt smart minds are already at work figuring out how best to gently turn the cogs of the media machine. </p>
<p>In the long run, however, things are far from certain. After all, more users is all very well, but useless if they are costing you more than they bring in. Yahoo!’s track record is also cause for concern. Despite a candid promise “not to screw up”, it has previously squandered strong opportunities in both GeoCities and Flickr. Furthermore, the hip, ad-averse users of Tumblr are likely to feel more than a little disenchanted at the prospect of being monetized. </p>
<p>The service seems too big to fall victim to a mass exodus, but then, so was GeoCities – which instead suffered a slow, sad, protracted death.</p>
<p>Advertisers, meanwhile, are likely to be watching with interest. Tumblr is a highly promising asset. It is now critical that Yahoo! handles the integration of the business with a deft touch.</p>
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		<title>YouTube Introduce “One Channel”, the new multi-platform channel design</title>
		<link>http://www.iprospect.co.uk/blog/featured/youtube-introduce-%e2%80%9cone-channel%e2%80%9d-the-new-multi-platform-channel-design-2.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.iprospect.co.uk/blog/featured/youtube-introduce-%e2%80%9cone-channel%e2%80%9d-the-new-multi-platform-channel-design-2.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 24 May 2013 10:07:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.iprospect.co.uk/?p=3690</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[By Jonathan Franklin, Video Planner

If you use YouTube regularly, you will notice that it has been undergoing changes in the last couple of years. Look closely and it becomes clear that those changes are themed around a certain Google-based social network, and now YouTube truly is taking a big leap with their latest channel updates.  Ladies and Gentleman, welcome to YouTube’s “One Channel”. 
You can see an example of the new channel layout here &#8211; http://www.youtube.com/user/channelintel 
The introduction of [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em><strong>By Jonathan Franklin, Video Planner</strong></em></p>
<p><a href="http://www.iprospect.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/image001.png"><img src="http://www.iprospect.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/image001.png" alt="" title="image001" width="595" height="309" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-3691" /></a></p>
<p>If you use YouTube regularly, you will notice that it has been undergoing changes in the last couple of years. Look closely and it becomes clear that those changes are themed around a certain Google-based social network, and now YouTube truly is taking a big leap with their latest channel updates.  Ladies and Gentleman, welcome to YouTube’s “One Channel”. </p>
<p>You can see an example of the new channel layout here &#8211; <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/channelintel">http://www.youtube.com/user/channelintel </a><br />
The introduction of “One Channel” is a greater overhaul than previous redesigns. Gone are custom backgrounds and brand banner images, as are featured playlists too. In comes a new “cleaner” channel design that now ‘snaps’ to size effectively whether you are viewing a channel on a computer, a tablet or a mobile phone. </p>
<p>So why has YouTube done this? Official statements (as taken from the channel guides) are to enhance a users viewing experience by creating a slicker and cleaner space to watch videos. Now, whilst some may wail at the loss of custom backgrounds (they are far too messy with rendering across different platforms,) it is clear to see the benefits of this new channel design. </p>
<p>Banners aren’t completely removed though they are now “channel art” and seem to be available to all rather than those with a branded channel. However, be cautious with your design; channel art design is the same across all platforms, and the amount shown will vary depending on the size of the screen it is viewed on. (There are helpful guides to aid in this).  As mentioned before, image maps are gone, but YouTube has replaced this with an overlay feature where you can place your desired outbound links which leaves more space for exciting CTA’s across your banner. </p>
<p>It’s not just design elements that have changed. Two major new features include “trailer videos” and “shelves”. </p>
<p>The trailer video is a nice feature that only plays when people who aren’t subscribed to your channel visit. This is an opportunity to showcase your channel and the exciting content you offer. Hopefully brands will take advantage of this as it’s a great chance to talk to their consumers and get them involved in the brand (especially for those heavily investing in YouTube) </p>
<p>Shelves is exactly what it suggests; a way to display your content in different categories and playlists for all to see and explore. This is managed through the use of tags and playlists and is designed to create a smoother experience. The main advantage of this for brands is that it will allow specific campaigns to be put together for viewing by consumers. </p>
<p>The “One Channel” design is still in its early stages with and at the opt in phase. However, by Mid April it is going to be mandatory and so brands should be considering how they will be taking advantage of One Channel when investing within YouTube.</p>
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		<title>The Art and Science of Blogging</title>
		<link>http://www.iprospect.co.uk/blog/featured/the-art-and-science-of-blogging.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.iprospect.co.uk/blog/featured/the-art-and-science-of-blogging.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 15 May 2013 09:12:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.iprospect.co.uk/?p=3678</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Laura Tinker is Head of Talented Talkers , iProspect’s blogger engagement service.
Through the decades there has always been a trend to keep up with, whether it be Rick Rolling, planking or GoogleBuzz and a lot of them come in with a bang and die off quietly.  Trying to keep up digitally can be an upward struggle; how are you to know what will be the next Facebook success and worth investing your time in?
A few years ago, people didn’t [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>Laura Tinker is Head of Talented Talkers , iProspect’s blogger engagement service.</em></p>
<p>Through the decades there has always been a trend to keep up with, whether it be Rick Rolling, planking or GoogleBuzz and a lot of them come in with a bang and die off quietly.  Trying to keep up digitally can be an upward struggle; how are you to know what will be the next Facebook success and worth investing your time in?<br />
A few years ago, people didn’t take blogging seriously. It was seen by the masses as a platform for people with inflated egos who needed somewhere to talk about themselves, and PRs wrote it off as a flash in the pan.</p>
<p>Fast forward to 2013 and bloggers are now being treated as professionals. They are the newspapers of a decade ago; authorities in their fields and strong forces brands need to have on side.<br />
Be that as it may, it’s a daunting task to start if you have never written in the public domain before, and if you want to achieve success then there are some points to consider:</p>
<p><strong>Buy Your Own Domain</strong><br />
Brands will be looking to you to enhance their search engine presence, and being self hosted is a great way to catch their attention. It’s a fallacy that the only bloggers taken seriously are self-hosted, but it will take a lot more to convince a brand of your worth if you aren’t. If you don’t feel confident with the technical side of blogging then use a platform but map your domain over it.</p>
<p><strong>Be Yourself</strong><br />
Don’t be afraid to say what you think and don’t follow the crowd. Standing out from the masses is a trait companies value, so find your niche and talk about what you love. Bear in mind, however, that there is nowhere to hide on the Internet. Think about wording your opinion with intelligence rather than ranting and alienating people.</p>
<p><strong>Proof Read Your Work</strong><br />
It’s an age old adage that slow and steady wins the race, and it’s completely true with proofreading your content. Think of your blog as an online portfolio, so take the time to check it through. The best writers leave their posts 24 hours before posting to give a final proofread – you never know, rewording and paraphrasing might create something far more powerful.</p>
<p><strong>Encourage People To Engage</strong><br />
Bloggers love feedback, and if you want your blog to be a place where people comment and interact then you need to put the time and effort into doing the same for others. As you build your network people will respond and engage&#8230;</p>
<p>… and with that, the blogging network as a whole will keep on growing.</p>
<p>Blogging isn’t one of those boom and bust trends. Famous brands and agencies have fallen foul of the influence of the blogger and in a climate where content is king, the bloggers are holding power. Blogging is going to be around for a while – whether as a medium to express your passions or a business venture, so pick a topic that excites you and start talking.</p>
<p>If you are looking for examples of blogs that are getting it right, here are Laura’s current favourites:<br />
<em>http://asiancajuns.com/ (lifestyle blog) &#8211; </em>I love the friendly feel to this blog, plus the fact that the content is unique and engaging, and personal to them.</p>
<p><em> http://abeautifulmess.com/ (lifestyle blog) -</em> from fashion to fabric design, this blog is engaging, amusing and the writers are always happy to respond to comments and tweets – something that I think is really important for a successful blog.</p>
<p><em> http://www.sailorjennie.com/ (UK fashion and beauty blog) -</em> people love this blog because Jennie is personable and informative while keeping light hearted and positive. The comments on her blog show how much people enjoy reading her writing, and she keeps the tone friendly at all times.</p>
<p><em> http://gojulesgo.com/ (US humour and observation blog) </em>I’ve been reading this blog since day one because it makes me laugh. In a world where blogs are ten a penny and people are guilty of not being loyal to reading blogs, this one bucks the trend. I get an email as soon as she posts, and you can guarantee ill read within 254 hours.</p>
<p><em> http://thebyronicman.com/ &#8211; (US male humour and observation blog) &#8211; </em>it’s great to read a good blog from a man’s perspective, and The Byronic Man managed to observe life in a witty and insightful way, which means I always go back for more.</p>
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		<title>Google&#8217;s Looking Glass for the Future</title>
		<link>http://www.iprospect.co.uk/blog/featured/google%e2%80%99s-looking-glass-for-the-future.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.iprospect.co.uk/blog/featured/google%e2%80%99s-looking-glass-for-the-future.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:30:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Technology and Optimisation]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.iprospect.co.uk/?p=3585</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#160;
Google’s Glass is the epitome of communicative innovation. For all of the talk around smart-watches and wearable gadgets that is being fuelled by great strides into graphene and carbon nanotube technology; Google Glass is at the epicentre of the hype.
The idea of wearing glasses that create an augmented reality may seem a touch far-fetched at the moment. If we were to apply Kurzweil’s ‘Law of Accelerating Returns’ (that describes the increasing speed in the invention of new technologies to pass [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>&nbsp;<br />
Google’s Glass is the epitome of communicative innovation. For all of the talk around smart-watches and wearable gadgets that is being fuelled by great strides into graphene and carbon nanotube technology; <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1uyQZNg2vE">Google Glass</a> is at the epicentre of the hype.</p>
<p>The idea of wearing glasses that create an augmented reality may seem a touch far-fetched at the moment. If we were to apply Kurzweil’s ‘Law of Accelerating Returns’ (that describes the increasing speed in the invention of new technologies to pass existing technological barriers) and combine it with the overwhelming popularity of smart-phones then it’s a safe bet that this technology will find a role in our lives. Although, perhaps not on mass in the immediate future.</p>
<p>What it is does do though is to make us evaluate how we are adapting to innovation within our industry, as Google Glass exemplifies the change from desktop to mobile devices.</p>
<p>Mobile has already enforced the importance of local search and has impacted on the overall device viewing split. This will only become even more prevalent as owners become more comfortable purchasing on their phones and brands streamline their mobile offerings.</p>
<p>As we are talking about Google Glass let’s focus on the purpose behind local search. This can be simplified into two broad desires, informative or purchase driven.</p>
<p>Fortunately, Google gives a preference to brands on search so any enquiry so this shouldn’t differ from the current search situation providing you have SEO on your site. The important part is to optimise for geographic generic searches, for example “places to eat in Manchester” and to register any physical presence in Google Places or on local listings.</p>
<p>The most exciting element of Google Glass is if it does become a main stream everyone will be logged into Google, so there will be a reduction in term not provided!</p>
<p>I’m joking&#8230;the most exciting part of Google Glass and by proxy mobile devices is platform stacking. This is when people are using multiple devices at once, in its most basic form watching TV and using their smart-phone or tablet at the same time. This collaboration opens so many exciting possibilities for dynamic real time campaigns, which search has a crucial part to play in as viewers request information about what they are seeing.</p>
<p>While Google Glass is still some way off impacting search strategies, we should be honing our mobile campaigns not only in preparation but to capitalise on the continuing growth in online mobile usage and sales.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		<title>Top 5 events to track in Google Analytics</title>
		<link>http://www.iprospect.co.uk/blog/featured/top-5-events-to-track-in-google-analytics.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.iprospect.co.uk/blog/featured/top-5-events-to-track-in-google-analytics.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 27 Apr 2013 14:42:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Conversion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Data]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Technology and Optimisation]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.iprospect.co.uk/?p=3567</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Event tracking is one of the most useful and most underused features of Google Analytics. This is a brief summary of 5 things you should be using Event Tracking in Google Analytics for.
&#160;
1. Scroll reach tracking
While many people will tell you that your important web content should be above the fold, a longer scrolling page can provide a much richer and more engaging user experience. Rather than forcing all your important content above the fold, you should use Google Analytics [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Event tracking is one of the most useful and most underused features of Google Analytics. This is a brief summary of 5 things you should be using Event Tracking in Google Analytics for.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>1. Scroll reach tracking</h2>
<p>While many people will tell you that your important web content should be above the fold, a longer scrolling page can provide a much richer and more engaging user experience. Rather than forcing all your important content above the fold, you should use Google Analytics to measure how far down your pages your visitors are scrolling, this will show you if they are actively engaging with your page or if they are missing important content because it&#8217;s further down than they are willing to scroll.</p>
<p>You can download this <a title="Dave Taylor - Scroll  reach tracking" href="http://dave-taylor.co.uk/blog/scroll-reach-tracking-in-google-analytics/">Scroll reach tracking plugin</a> to automate this tacking for you.</p>
<h2>2. Form validation</h2>
<p>Almost every web form has a validation engine that checks whether the user has entered correct information before submitting the form. This could provide an invaluable source of insight if you build Google Analytics event tracking into your validation engine to tell you which form fields are causing validation errors and what errors they are causing. This would immediately show you if a specific form field is causing validation problems and what you could do to reduce the errors, for example, providing clearer instructions for the user or allowing them to enter different data formats.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>3. Form field drop off</h2>
<p>One of the key areas of a site that always limits conversion rate is form processes. Long, multi-stage forms always have an impact on whether or not a user will complete a conversion through your site. One of the best things to do to understand exactly how your visitors are interacting with your forms is to track drop off through each form field. This will highlight if there are specific sections of your form that are causing users to drop off and are preventing them from completing the form.</p>
<p>You can download this <a href="http://dave-taylor.co.uk/blog/form-field-plugin-for-google-analytics/">Form field tracking plugin</a> to automate form tracking for you.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>4. Downloads</h2>
<p>Most sites have some downloadable content, which are often considered KPIs (brochure downloads, booking forms etc). These are easily tracked with Event tracking in Google Analytics and can be grouped together by file type so you can view all PDFs for example and then see exactly which PDFs have been downloaded.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>5. External links</h2>
<p>Google Analytics can&#8217;t track visitors once they leave your site, but you can use event tracking to understand where they are going to if they leave via a link on your site. Event tracking can be set up to automatically track every time a user clicks on an external link and tell you what link they have clicked on. So if you find a large number of visitors are exiting via specific links but you want them to stay on your site, you can edit or change those links.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		<title>Do we still need to worry about being &#8220;above the fold&#8221;?</title>
		<link>http://www.iprospect.co.uk/blog/featured/do-we-still-need-to-worry-about-being-above-the-fold.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.iprospect.co.uk/blog/featured/do-we-still-need-to-worry-about-being-above-the-fold.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 03 Apr 2013 15:27:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dave Taylor</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Conversion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Data]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Performance Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Technology and Optimisation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[analytics]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.iprospect.co.uk/?p=3509</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#160;
Is website performance affected by screen size?
A long standing principle of web layout has been placing the important content above the fold so it is easy for users to find and interact with. But, as consumers are becoming increasingly tech savvy and are getting used to scrolling down web pages, do we still need to worry about placing content above the fold? A more engaging experience can now be delivered through infinite or parallax scroll systems that rely on the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Is website performance affected by screen size?</h2>
<p>A long standing principle of web layout has been placing the important content above the fold so it is easy for users to find and interact with. But, as consumers are becoming increasingly tech savvy and are getting used to scrolling down web pages, do we still need to worry about placing content above the fold? A more engaging experience can now be delivered through infinite or parallax scroll systems that rely on the user scrolling through content sections rather than clicking through multiple pages. We&#8217;ve been looking at the data from a few of our largest clients to see if vertical screen resolution, and hence the amount of the page visible above the fold, makes any difference to the user experience.<br />
Firstly we looked at bounce rate, and as we can see from the chart below, bounce rate does clearly drop off as vertical screen resolution increases, decreasing from 40% at 468 pixels to ~22% at 900 pixels. While there is a sharp drop in bounce rate up to 700 pixels, beyond this the difference is much less noticeable until we reach 1000 pixels, at which point the bounce rate starts to increase again, returning to over 40% at 1450 pixels. This may be due to the adverse effects of websites being designed for the &#8220;average user&#8221; with a screen resolution between 700 and 1000 pixels, so all engaging content is placed above the fold for them, and users with a larger screen have a much more distracted experience being exposed to a much wider variety of content on the screen that the designers may not have expected to be showing.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
<a href="http://www.iprospect.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Bounce-rate-by-screen-resolution.png"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-3510" title="Bounce-rate-by-screen-resolution" src="http://www.iprospect.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Bounce-rate-by-screen-resolution-605x397.png" alt="" width="605" height="397" /></a></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Next, we looked at conversion rates. We took data from three different verticals with a combined total of over 15 million visits per month to ensure the data wasn&#8217;t affected by industry. While the lines of average look very different for each chart, they all follow similar trends. Firstly, all three increase rapidly and peak at the 700-750 pixel area. In chart 2 and chart 3 we can see that this peak is the highest converting group of users. Secondly, all three decrease in conversion rate from the 1000 pixel mark, similar to bounce rate this is as the screen size becomes larger than that of the &#8220;average user&#8221;. The first and third chart show a significant dip in conversion rate at around 800 pixels, this is most likely due to smartphone and tablet users who are suffering a poorer user experience due to an unoptimised site.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.iprospect.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/conversion-rate-by-screen-resolution-1.png"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-3513" title="conversion-rate-by-screen-resolution-1" src="http://www.iprospect.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/conversion-rate-by-screen-resolution-1-605x397.png" alt="" width="605" height="397" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.iprospect.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/conversion-rate-by-screen-resolution-2.png"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-3514" title="conversion-rate-by-screen-resolution-2" src="http://www.iprospect.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/conversion-rate-by-screen-resolution-2-605x397.png" alt="" width="605" height="397" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.iprospect.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/conversion-rate-by-screen-resolution-3.png"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-3515" title="conversion-rate-by-screen-resolution-3" src="http://www.iprospect.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/conversion-rate-by-screen-resolution-3-605x397.png" alt="" width="605" height="397" /></a></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Clearly there is a strong correlation between screen size and site performance in both bounce rate and conversion rates and there are trends present across all of the clients we studied. However, the data also shows that we should be looking at this on a case by case basis, it is easy to identify screen resolutions that are under-performing on your site, and once the reason for this reduction in performance is found, there is a huge opportunity for optimisation to deliver the best performance possible. Testing different page layouts through A/B testing would help rapidly identify the causes for performance issues and this could even be completely tailored to serve different content or a different page layout to users based on their screen resolution, essentially making the page into a responsive design.</p>
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		<title>Dentsu Completes Aegis Acquisition and Establishes Dentsu Aegis Network Ltd.</title>
		<link>http://www.iprospect.co.uk/blog/featured/dentsu-completes-aegis-acquisition-and-establishes-dentsu-aegis-network-ltd.html</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 27 Mar 2013 16:07:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.iprospect.co.uk/?p=3494</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
&#8220;The first truly global communications network for the digital age&#8221;
&#160;
Dentsu Inc. (Tokyo: 4324; ISIN: JP3551520004; President &#38; CEO: Tadashi Ishii; Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Capital: 58,967.1 million yen) announced today the completion of the acquisition of Aegis Group plc, a process that was initiated on July 12, 2012 and approved at Aegis’s shareholder meetings on August 16, 2012. All the network companies that comprised the former Aegis Group (Carat, iProspect, Isobar, Posterscope, Vizeum and Aztec) will continue their operations within [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><br/><br />
<h1><strong><em>&#8220;The first truly global communications network for the digital age&#8221;</em></strong></h1>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Dentsu Inc. (Tokyo: 4324; ISIN: JP3551520004; President &amp; CEO: Tadashi Ishii; Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Capital: 58,967.1 million yen) announced today the completion of the acquisition of Aegis Group plc, a process that was initiated on July 12, 2012 and approved at Aegis’s shareholder meetings on August 16, 2012. All the network companies that comprised the former Aegis Group (Carat, iProspect, Isobar, Posterscope, Vizeum and Aztec) will continue their operations within the Dentsu Group under the Aegis Media banner. The expanded Dentsu Group now has a presence in 110* countries, and employs more than 36,000 professionals across the globe. It will also be number one in the Asia Pacific region, the fastest growing agency group in North America, a truly scaled operator in Europe and, as of now, the only global network built in and for the digital age.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>“We are delighted that this transformative deal has been completed,” said Dentsu President &amp; CEO Tadashi Ishii. “The addition of Aegis represents a massive step toward realizing our vision of a client-centric, collaborative global network of the best-in-class brand, digital and media agencies. We look forward to the value this will add to our clients’ businesses, wherever they may be, and look forward to growing with them as their partner of choice.”</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Dentsu also today announced the creation of the Dentsu Aegis Network Ltd., a new global operating unit headquartered in London, to oversee the operations of the Dentsu Network, which manages all of Dentsu’s global business operations outside of Japan, and Aegis Media’s operations worldwide. The Dentsu Network and Aegis Media will continue to operate as separate entities but they will be governed by the Dentsu Aegis Network Management Team and Board of Directors.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Tim Andree, Dentsu Inc. Senior Vice President and Dentsu Network CEO, has been appointed Executive Chairman of the Dentsu Aegis Network, and Jerry Buhlmann, who remains as CEO of Aegis Media, has been appointed CEO of the Dentsu Aegis Network. The Board of the Dentsu Aegis Network is made up of key executives from Dentsu and Aegis: Tadashi Ishii, Shoichi Nakamoto, Tim Andree, Kuni Matsushima and Nicholas Rey from Dentsu, and Jerry Buhlmann, Nigel Morris, Nick Waters, Nick Priday and Valerie Scoular from Aegis.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>“I am very happy to welcome Jerry Buhlmann, the executive team, and all the employees of Aegis Media worldwide to Dentsu,” said Tim Andree, Executive Chairman of the Dentsu Aegis Network. “This is called the ‘closing’ of the deal but it really is the beginning. Our complementary geographic and product portfolios, as well as the strong positive chemistry that is rooted in our shared values, can only result in more and better ways to collaborate and serve our respective clients and their businesses around the world.”</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Aegis Media and Dentsu Aegis Network CEO Jerry Buhlmann added: “In joining forces with Dentsu, Japan’s leading advertising group, we have created the world’s first truly global communications network with the ability to deliver integrated and specialist services that add real value to our clients’ businesses, in a transforming market. We are looking forward to working with our new colleagues at Dentsu.”</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>The Dentsu Group has formulated an action plan that will lead to an enhanced revenue structure and competitive advantage through the synergies derived from integrated product offerings and collaborative business development. Going forward, the Group will continue to invest in its business and make acquisitions that will drive further growth.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>With regard to Dentsu’s consolidated financial results, the impact of the transaction will be reflected in the consolidated balance sheet starting from the end of the fiscal year ending March 2013 and in the consolidated statement of income starting from the first quarter of the fiscal year ending March 2014. In order to enhance international comparability, Dentsu is considering the voluntary adoption of international financial reporting standards (IFRS) for the fiscal year ending March 2015.</p>
<p># # # # #</p>
<h4>* The expanded Dentsu Group now has a presence in 110 countries, including affiliates</h4>
<p><strong><em><br />
</em></strong></p>
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		<title>How Google is fighting Black Hat SEO</title>
		<link>http://www.iprospect.co.uk/blog/featured/how-google-is-fighting-black-hat-seo.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.iprospect.co.uk/blog/featured/how-google-is-fighting-black-hat-seo.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 26 Mar 2013 14:59:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEO]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Search Engine Optimisation is split into two kinds &#8211; “White Hat” and “Black Hat”.  White Hat SEO is optimisation that search engines encourage as they would consider it adds to the integrity of search results.  It is considered that White Hat SEO adds to the user experience by creating relevant content rather than content intended purely to ‘game’ search engines.
Black Hat techniques aim to manipulate the search indexing process in a manner deemed unethical (although not illegal).  [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><br/><a href="http://www.iprospect.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/eugenie.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-3483 alignleft" title="Eugenie-Verbraite" src="http://www.iprospect.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/eugenie.jpg" alt="" width="267" height="267" /></a>Search Engine Optimisation is split into two kinds &#8211; “White Hat” and “Black Hat”.  White Hat SEO is optimisation that search engines encourage as they would consider it adds to the integrity of search results.  It is considered that White Hat SEO adds to the user experience by creating relevant content rather than content intended purely to ‘game’ search engines.</p>
<p>Black Hat techniques aim to manipulate the search indexing process in a manner deemed unethical (although not illegal).  An example of a Black Hat technique is ‘cloaking’ whereby a different website appears to the search engine than to users.  The page appearing to the search engine is heavy on SEO techniques, whereas the user sees a “clean” page.</p>
<p>Google can find out about black hat SEO techniques through three ways: firstly through its own investigation practices (manual and by algorithm), by competitors reporting them, or the media reporting on them.  An example of the latter was the New York Times article on JC Penney’s activities in the run up to Christmas 2010.  They had set up a huge link farm – a collection of websites set up purely to link to the JC Penney site to improve its natural search rankings.  It was wildly successful and sent the company to the top of the natural search rankings for products across their range.  When Google were alerted to this, they dramatically reduced JC Penney’s search rankings.  This highlights the nature of Black Hat techniques – they can have a big initial impact on search results, but this impact is short lived and can result in a worse position than before in terms of rankings.</p>
<p>Search engines are constantly on the lookout for Black Hat techniques.  Google have instituted several programmes to combat Black Hat techniques, the most prominent of which being Panda and Penguin.  Panda changed Google’s search algorithms to promote sites with genuine content such as social networking and news sites, over sites featuring large amounts of advertising.  “Scraper” sites, which pull in content from other sites, legitimately or not, were demoted.  Around 12% of rankings were affected.  Google have published 23 questions to guide website owners how to produce content that will be highly ranked – examples are “Was the article edited well, or does it appear sloppy or hastily produced?” and “Does this article have an excessive amount of ads that distract from or interfere with the main content?”</p>
<p>Spamdexing involves deliberately deceiving search indexes.  There are two types of Spamdexing – Content Spam and Link Spam.  Content Spam involves changing the content of the website in question – by for example including hidden text designed to be picked up by search engines, or Article Spinning – rewriting other content available elsewhere on the internet.  Link Spam involves arranging for other pages to link to the website.   This could involve hidden links or buying expired domain names, for example.</p>
<p>When Google find examples of Black Hat optimisation, it imposes penalties on the offender.  The  site will drop immediately in the rankings, in many cases out of the top 100, or in extreme cases it can be completely de indexed.  Google’s penalties have become more severe over the years.  There have been some sites who have complained that Google are not helpful enough in telling them what made the site fail Google’s standards – but if they did, I assume that Black Hat would be easier to accomplish.  What the web marketing community agree on, however, is that Google’s crackdown has had a noticeably positive effect on the quality of search results, Google’s key asset as it maintains its dominance of the search market.</p>
<p><a href="http://searchengineland.com/google-forecloses-on-content-farms-with-farmer-algorithm-update-66071">http://searchengineland.com/google-forecloses-on-content-farms-with-farmer-algorithm-update-66071</a><br />
<a href="http://www.bitdoze.com/seo/black-hat-seo-rank-high-right-away-and-then-reality-bites/">http://www.bitdoze.com/seo/black-hat-seo-rank-high-right-away-and-then-reality-bites/</a><br />
<a href="http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/more-guidance-on-building-high-quality.html">http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/more-guidance-on-building-high-quality.html</a><br />
<a href="http://www.aqueous-seo.co.uk/sem/linkbuilding/google-wrong-link-building-penalties/991720">http://www.aqueous-seo.co.uk/sem/linkbuilding/google-wrong-link-building-penalties/991720</a></p>
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