Does Online Advertising Really Work?

Does online advertising really work? Yes it does.

A lot of people still doubt whether online advertising really works and whether it is of any benefit to their business. Some still opt for old school methods placing adverts in the yellow pages or by relying on word of mouth. Although beneficial to some degree, it's not as effective or cost effective as advertising online. Besides with the growth of the internet and the worlds heavy dependence on it, it makes sense to be where everyone is searching for their solutions.

Unfortunately for the people who have yet to venture down this path, with this current economy where word of mouth and the yellow pages just aren’t enough, they are being forced (positively) to consider alternatives.

Why doesn't it work?

Of course there are people who have tried online advertising and concluded it doesn’t work. This is probably due to a lack of knowledge and expertise when it comes to online advertising. To get the best from your advertising it takes a trained professional to manage your account, although the idea sounds costly, it would save you a lot of money in the long run.

Where to advertise?

Of course advertising will not work if you are advertising in the wrong place. There are a vast amount of platforms to advertise through but the for runner is Google. It makes sense when millions of people take to google daily looking for products, solutions and businesses. Google operates on two networks, the search network (where people are looking for your product or service by googling keyword terms) and the display network (ads and banners that appear on websites, related to your business). There are clearly obvious differences. Firstly, the search network is full of people actively searching for what your business offers, whether that be a solution to a problem or a particular product. the display network is considered interruption marketing because you are displaying ads to people on other websites who may not be interested in your products or service at all. The hope is you grab their attention and they decide you have something to potentially offer.

Be specific

Advertising will also not work if you are general. On the search network (keyword based) if you are not specific enough with your keywords, likely-hood is you will pay a lot of money for traffic (clicks) which may be of no value to you at all. For example, advertising that you sell cheese by using the keyword cheese is far too general. However advertising that you sell Stilton cheese is more specific. The more specific you can be the more reliable your traffic will be and you increase your chances of qualifying leads more often. On the display network aim for high volume traffic websites again will only be detrimental. Advertising that you sell cheese on a garden furniture website is probably not going to benefit your business, rather choose food related websites or recipe blogs.

With that said, if your product is considered an impulse buy, you can do very well from advertising in irrelevant places but there is no guarantee.

The solution and answer is pretty simple. Online advertising does work, if, you advertise in the right place and in the right manner. According to Sound Solutions Internet online advertising can help increase your revenue 10 fold. Investing into the right market place can be very benefical for your business.

Mike Lewis - I'm a retail business owner who uses Google Ad words. I have had a lot of success and would highly recommend it.

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Infographic : Giving the Trusted Windows PC its Own Spring Cleaning

In this infographic you will learn how to speed up, revive and clean up your Windows PC. You won't have to take your computer to a fancy computer wizard and shell out big bucks or give up your first born son. All you have to is sit down for an afternoon or evening and follow the steps in this infographic and look around your house for a couple of household objects to clean out some dust and you should be good.

1. First we need to actually clean out the dust and grime.
2. Then you just need to get everything up to date in your computer.
3. Now it's time to get rid of unwanted applications and big files that you don't use anymore. 
4. Go ahead and start reclaiming some space on your hard drive with the tools that Windows supplies: Disk Cleanup and Disk Defragmenter
5. Organize your files.
6. Now that everything is tidy, back it up.

Okay, that about covers it, but I'd like to leave you with one last suggestion. You can also buy a registry cleaner that will help you with this. It will schedule scans for you and do almost all of these functions for you, except the dishes and dusting of course!

Guest Author: Erin Walsh is the main blogger at PC Health Boost. She writes many articles on how to speed up and clean up pc errors. http://www.pchealthboost.com/clean_up_pc.php

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ASO - App Store Optimization: How to Get Found On the App Store

Now that you have spent all of this time and money creating your app, you want to make sure it is downloaded and installed by as many people as possible. The most sure fire (and secure) way of doing this is by adding it to one of the big app stores online. There are four of them, and the one you list your app on is dependent upon which operating system you have built your app for.

The big online stores are run by Apple, Google, Microsoft and BlackBerry. However, getting listed on one of their stores is no small task. Not only do you have to prove that your app is secure and stable, you also have to have created an interesting or original app (an original idea), otherwise there is a large chance that the app will be rejected.

Surely once I am on an app store the battle is won
Actually, this is where the battle begins. You can create your own website for your app, but few people will download your app because a lot of people have trouble trusting third party sites. People know that if they buy from Apple, Google, Microsoft or BlackBerry, then the apps have been tested and are far less likely to be insecure of holding a virus/malware. So you need to get yourself on a large app store, at which point you need to start competing with the other apps on there.

The app store with the least amount of apps is BlackBerry, who have a store that holds 100,000 apps. This is no small number, and that is a lot of competition. The company with the most apps is Apple who have over 700,000 apps listed on their app store. So how do you compete with so many other apps? Here are some tips that apply to all four major app sellers.

Consider your key phrases carefully
These are similar to the tagged words that you use with a blog. Your key phrases should revolve around the things that users are going to type into Google and the app store search engines. Do not forget that Google posts results from app stores, so you cannot ignore the influence of Google.

You need to pick and include key phrases to go with you app. Each store allows you to add a certain number of key phrases, so look at what other people have used who have similar apps to yours. Think up some key phrases, type them in, and see if any of your competitors appear on the search results. If they do not, then you may need to re-think your key phrases.

Post a very useful and comprehensive description
Some of the app stores will optimize your app on the search results with what you write on your app description. Some of them will actually lower your search ranking if you only add a small description of your app. Try to make the description comprehensive, very descriptive, but easy to read. Do not be overly promotional as most app stores reject overly promotional app descriptions.

Short, sharp and concise paragraphs
This will make your app description more readable, so that when your app is found, more people will be willing to consider buying your app. Your first paragraph on your description is very important in some of the app stores.

A very appealing mini description
The mini description is the description that appears besides your app when it is searched for within the app store itself. On the search results you will see your mini description appear next to the icon for your app. Sometimes this description appears on the Google search results too, so it is very important that you get it right.

There are two ways that this can be done, and the first is to enter your mini description in the space provided. However, some of the app stores will take the first paragraph of your app description as your mini description. So you need to make sure your first paragraph is short, sharp, saleable, concise and very appealing.

A good and attractive app icon
This is something you should do because some people judge an app by its icon. If yours looks cheap or silly then you are going to lose sales, especially when your icon appears besides the more professional looking ones on the app store.

John Kravz is a representative of Vpn-guru.com. Read more about torguard vpn.

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Apple Bans UDID Accessing Apps, Boosting Privacy

Apple has finally achieved its aim of outlawing all Universal Device Identifiers (UDID) in developer applications. As of May 1st, Apple automatically blocked applications which use UDID. Furthermore, any existing apps must use Apple’s Retina displays and the 4” iPhone 5 display.

It’s a sign Apple hasn’t had as much success as it wanted with convincing app developers to transition to the newest Apple devices and encouraging them to respect their new stance on privacy.

Apple has warned developers repeatedly about the use of the UDID for tracking. The UDID is a unique code which marks every piece of hardware. Developers often use it for advertising, upgrades, and tracking their customers. It’s also prominent with advertising networks. Apple will now ban developers and apps which use them.

The company has come up with an alternative. It developed the iOS 6 Advertising Identifier. This is a unique number not tied to a specific piece of hardware. The only way to change it is to reset the device. Many advertisers have expressed anger over the alternative, saying it’s a poor option.

In a further blow to advertisers, Apple has implemented a setting to limit ad tracking with the Settings app on the iPhone.

It’s certainly easier for consumers who don’t want to share information about what they’re doing. In making this change, Apple has conformed to the promise it made to the Senate subcommittee. During this 2012 hearing, it promised to be more transparent about issues surrounding privacy and tracking.

Many speculate the move came after a UDID database was released by the AntiSec hacking group. The database had one million UDIDs stored at the time. They claimed they had gained it from a laptop left by an FBI agent, but it still convinced Apple to act quickly.

Regardless of the views of developers, Apple has confirmed every app and developer using the UDID after 1st May will be banned.

How Does it Influence App Makers?
This tracking method has worked well for developers for some time. It doesn’t mean developers have no way of tracking their customers. As long as you’ve adequately prepared yourself for the change, there’s no reason why you should suffer because of this change.

Start by implementing alternative tracking technologies in each of your apps. Since there’s no universal method of tracking, you have to use a mix of technologies. Begin by switching to the IDFA.

IDFA still has its disadvantages. Its main drawback is it only tracks in-app traffic. It can’t track mobile web traffic. UDID could track both of these things. Developers are working around the ban by installing tracking which acts in much the same way as fingerprints. It matches clicks to your map installs and in-app conversions.

Clearly, this isn’t perfect, but it gives you a good idea as to your true traffic levels.

Verify whether you have been integrated with SDK. It should track users accurately without using UDIDs. If you can’t track without UDIDs, switch providers immediately. Choose a different provider who uses a range of tracking solutions. Use Google to get in touch with providers who have successfully made the transition from UDIDs.

Using an updated SDK gives you complete control over your use of UDIDs. Some providers integrated non-UDID versions prior to the ban. It had an option where you could keep UDIDs running until the ban came into force. If you haven’t updated to the latest version, update immediately to remove the use of UDIDs. Check the settings to make sure it’s switched off.

Neither of these tracking options is ideal. As of this writing, developers are still searching for alternative ways of getting the same high quality tracking returns as UDIDs offered.

John Kravz is a representative of Vpn-guru.com. Read more about hidemyass vpn.

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The Power of an App to Boost Your E-Commerce Business

More and more websites are building apps for their business and the trend is catching on with eCommerce businesses too. There is a great deal of benefit from having your own app for your eCommerce business. It is a good way of maintaining brand recognition, it keeps your customers loyal, and it removes competition that you would normally have to compete with online.

Your app is a constant reminder that your business exists
Once an app is installed onto a mobile device, it may act as an ambassador for your eCommerce site. It is a way of reminding your customer that your business exists, which is handy for when they want to buy one of your products. The sheer convenience of the app means that the consumer would not feel compelled to look online for a better deal. The idea of a better deal may not even cross the users’ mind; he or she may simply click your app and buy without a second thought.

Brand recognition is literally installed into a mobile device
Your app should be branded, and if it is then you have inadvertently installed a brand advert onto your user’s mobile device. They are going to be exposed to the app when they search through their apps looking for other programs. Subconsciously, this is going to have a drip-drip marketing effect, where the user does not know that he or she is keeping your brand fresh in his or her mind.

The fact that your app is installed on someone’s mobile device means that they may also form an emotional attachment to it. Most people do not recognize that they have formed emotional attachments to their apps until they are asked to delete some, at which point they experience a feeling of sadness, loss, and even withdrawal in the case of people addicted to their phones (there are more of them than you think).

It is easier than searching online amongst your competitors
If your customer were to go online and look for your products, then he or she would have to search for the product, at which point he or she would be exposed to your competitors. With an app this is not a problem, because the customer simply clicks on your app, finds your products and buys them. There is no risk of your customer being exposed to a cheaper product from your competitor.

A customer can be loyal to your business without even trying
It is nice to be loyal to just one company, but it is even nicer if they make it easy for you. For example, if you personally shop for your groceries online, then you probably use one superstore more often than you use others. Wouldn’t it be nice if you simply had to tap an app when you want to buy groceries? Where all you have to do is pick your items and submit the order? By creating an app, you can give your loyal customers this same luxury (convenience).

You are able to present your products in a more dynamic manner
An app has more potential than a web browser, especially a web browser on a mobile device. With an app you can show people animations involving your products, or product demonstration videos. You can even show them three dimensional images that they may manipulate with their finger.

You could add noises to the app, and even create a live stream so that you can update prices and submit offers that update on the app. You can even create a private area where the app user gets a special discount because he or she downloaded your app.

John Kravz is a representative of Vpn-guru.com. Read more about hidemyass vpn.

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Google's Own Laptop: Chromebook 550

It seems like Google wants to try it hands on almost everything. From mobile phone market to cloud storage, this search engine giant has become the most dominating and influencing force in the market ever since it released the android operating system for mobile phones.

A few years back Google announced that it was working on a desktop computer based operating system and they called it chrome, please do not confuse it with the chrome internet browser as these are two different things. For years Google worked to build a web of services to support its operating system. Little did we knew back then that Google will come out with a laptop of its own, yes that’s exactly what we are going to review today i.e. the chrome book.

Google stated that the future of computing is cloud based. According to Google you won’t need expensive and powerful hardware as most of the processing load will be handled by the powerful cloud servers. Chromebook is a step in the same direction. It is a laptop computer that is inexpensive and is meant for people who do most of their work online. Today we are going to review the Google chromebook 550.

Features:
Google joined hands with Samsung to produce Samsung chromebook 550, while Samsung took care of the hardware manufacturing and assembling, Google supervises design and development.

It features a 1.3 GHz Intel processor that has two cores. A dual core processor means faster processing speeds and chrome book doesn’t disappoints on this, the startup time, right from the moment you press the power button to the moment the operating system has completely loaded is just 8 seconds. Now that has to be one of the fastest loading times.

The performance of chrome is attributed not to just its dual core processor but also to its super duper fast hard disk. Chromebook 550 comes installed with a 160GB SSD hard disk. If you folks don’t know what SSD is then let us tell you that it is the fastest drive out there in the market, SSD is an acronym for solid state drive and it has no moving parts what so ever so the chances of it crashing on you are minimal. Another component that contributes in its performance is the RAM, it has a 4GB DDR3 RAM. Let us assure you that DDR3 is the latest technology for RAMs at the moment.

Coming to its display, well we have no complains in this department. Chromebook 550 comes with a 12.1 inch full high definition screen. We watched some high definition content on it and we swear that it produces all those perfect blacks and whites. Every color comes alive on this display.

Pros:

• Really lightweight and thin. It is one of the most comfortable notebooks to use.
• Longer battery life, every component installed in the chromebook is power savvy.
• Inexpensive, you can buy a chrome book at half the price of a laptop.
• Free 100gb cloud storage space from Google.

Cons:

• Low processing power.
• Chrome operating system, since most of the world is well versed on windows; some people might find it difficult to use it.
• Not a full blown power house, even the operating system is minimal.

Verdict:

If you are a professional who does most of his work online then chromebook is the best option for  you but if you are someone looking for a powerful computer to play games on it then this product is not suitable for you.

Adam Raddick is a computer engineer and has been working on chromebook development with Google since the last 3 years. He also writes electronic product reviews that explain how the computing environment will evolve in the near future.

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How To Add Delicious Save Button To Blogger/WordPress

Delicious is a social bookmarking website that helps you to store, share and discover links. It was created by Joshua Schachter and later it was sold to AVOS Systems. Delicious provides browser extension, boomarklet and save buttons to make it easy to bookmark your links. It also enables you to save the links you post on your Twitter, Facebook and Google+. When you save links manually you can tag your link and give it a description and a title. It has a Following system like twitter.

I have been using their service for almost one month, all I can say is It’s a good service for you to store your important links other than that sharing your link doesn’t help you at all. Whenever I go to their Discover page I see links with Chinese title(GRRR!)

So in order to add a Delicious Link Save button to your blog, they have provided a HTML code in their tools page. Then you can just copy and paste the code in your template wherever you want it display. Oh wait you have to replace your-company in the code( your company name(if you have) or else you can just give your blog name.

<a href="#" onclick="window.open('https://delicious.com/save?v=5&provider={your-company}&noui&jump=close&url='+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+'&title='+encodeURIComponent(document.title), 'delicious','toolbar=no,width=550,height=550'); return false;"> <img src="https://delicious.com/img/logo.png" height="16" width="16" alt="Delicious"> Save this on Delicious </a>

..and save your template. Please don’t hesitate to ask me if you have any questions.

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Breathe Life Into Your Rear Projection TV

A rear projection television (RPTV) refers to one in which the images are projected from within the unit, specifically behind the display screen, as opposed to front-projection systems, which entail a projector in front of and separate from the screen.

In the 1980s, rear projection televisions were the biggest screens you could find in homes. Flat liquid crystal display (LCD) and plasma panels have since surpassed RPTVs in the thinness stakes, but they are stillthe more cost-effective and energy-efficient alternative. Moreover, rear projection TVsare known for the smoothness of their images. Meanwhile, flatLCD and plasma panels tend to show a latticework of pixilation, especially if the broadcast signal and the set’s native resolution is a mismatch.

Types of RPTVs
RPTV is an umbrella term that encompasses four kinds of technology: LCD and Digital Light Processing (DLP), the same machinery behind today’s high-definition TVs; Cathode Ray Tube (CRT); and Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCoS).

CRT has been around the longest, and it stands to reason that RPTVs employing this technology are characteristically colossal. An RPTV has a troika of CRTs—red, green and blue—that guns a ray of electrons in various intensities, reproducing colours in the visible spectrum.

A better image can be had with LCD RPTVs,or the kind in which a white lamp backlights a panel of liquid crystals sandwiched by electric currents. DLP RPTVs also rely on a white lamp, except that it uses a Digital Micromirror Device (DMD chip), encased in minute mirrors, rather than a translucent LCD chip.

A newer variety of RPTVs use both liquid crystals and DMD chips: LCoS sets. The results are a superlative contrast ratio; minimalrainbow effect; and 1080p clarity. Unfortunately, manufacturers have discontinued this line of RPTVs.

Replacing lamps
At some point, the lamp in a rear projection TV would have to burn out. This ‘life expectancy’ varies from one kind of TV to another.Some lamp manufacturers claim long lives of up to 8,000 hours; others are more modest at 1,000 hours. The average lamp is replaced every one to two years, but generally, there really is no telling when a lamp would exhaust itself, despite the best guidelinesof manufacturers.

To be sure, watch out for dimming; decline in picture quality; and areas of darkness on the screen. These do not mean you should immediately switch lamps, but you wouldn’t want to wait until the compromised brightness strains your eyesight either.

Lamp replacement prices differ among manufacturers. Be assured, however, that rear projection TV lamps are more affordable than the light sources of flat panel LCDs.

You can do the replacement or reinstallation yourself, but the services of a professional are recommended in most cases. He or she will determine the right type of bulb or lamp assembly for your rear projection TV.

Also, it makes good sense to invest in extra bulbs to reduce downtime from a burnt out lamp. This is especially true if the set has passed into obsolescence.

Conclusion
Ownership of an RPTV requires a basic knowledge of how the set operates and its components: It requires forethought and sensibility to lamp life. This way, you can anticipate what kind of lamp goes into your RPTV should it call for a replacement.

If you plan to buy an RPTV, compare manufacturers’ offerings fiendishly. Also, remind yourself that this kind of TV is receding into history, as manufacturers are favouring flat screens and LED-based models. However, don’t let constant watchfulness suck the fun out of owning an RPTV. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the smoothness and clarity of moving pictures as only an RPTV can give.

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SEO Trends in 2014

Web content is still in demand however with more focus on social media, will SEO still be needed? The answer is yes. However, there will be changes on what works and what brings more audience. SEO will not die out, but will evolve based on marketing trends. Here are some trends predicted to be on rise this year for SEO.

Mobile SEO

More people are online via mobile phones and tablets. With that, website developers are focusing more in developing better mobile navigation as well. How does this affect SEO and content? You’ll notice that search a particular keyword or phrase gives different results from a mobile phone than a desktop browser. Search engines have evolved and adapted to this demand by considering couple new variables available through mobile users. For example, most mobile phones can gather user’s geographical location. Search results will focus on content that are location or geography-based. When searching for “Yoga course” while you’re in Bali, instead of showing the top website with most keywords and backlinks, it will show among its top results, websites for yoga centers that are in Bali itself. There will be more demand for content and SEO that mentions geographical context.

Social Media’s influence

Social networks and sites have becomes last year’s main tool for marketing. This year, it will grow more and social media’s influence on SEO will be more noticeable as search engines will update their algorithms based on this demand. More people are opening Facebook pages rather than a brand’s homepage. Why? It contains more updated content and gives better representation of a business’ reputation and overall image. Notice when you search a keyword or phrase online, at the first set of results, it will most likely include facebook pages that mentions the keyword you search. Unlike before, Facebook pages will only show up if you include the word ‘facebook’ in the search box. Same goes with other social media sites like Pinterest and Google+.

Google’s Hummingbird

Google has evolved with by creating its latest algorithm ‘Hummingbird’. Comparisons on SEO results now result on what answers the search query, rather than relying on backlinks and content with too much keywords. With this, SEO has evolved from keywords to information. For example, when searching for a medical keyword or phrase, results page will now display websites that provide more information, with longer content, rather than those simple articles than spin words into a prolonged introduction or overview. Search the word “cancer”, and notice that the first page shows cancer society sites, medical websites and latest news about cancer, rather than “about cancer articles from content archives. There will be higher demand for quality content that actually gives core knowledge rather than spinned articles that only repeats keywords again and again.

Content Spinning will eventually die out

Recycled information and spinners will not work as effectively as before. Website owners who hire spinners to cut costs will only drive there page ranking down. Readers will demand quality fresh content, and search engines will do that as well.

Link Spamming

With the greater focus on quality content, tools that bombard backlinks will no longer be an effective SEO technique. Low quality and high quantity backlinks will only kill a website. What will work this year will be articles with less but high quality backlinks that lead to relevant information-rich websites.

Experts and Authors

With the observed changes in Google’s search algorithm, and the demand for content that answers search queries, there will be an increasing demand for authors who are experts in their own niche. Brands will hire more writers who have more experience and can give precise answers on their articles. There will be a new wave of authors and those who are experts in their own skill will be the SEO writers this year.

Daniel Mathews is a representative of Hotelscan.com. Hotelscan.com helps to find the best hotels in Kuala Lumpur.

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