Webfly blog

Google’s new Trademarked Words bid policy

You might not know this but up until now – or 5th May to be precise – you couldn’t add a competitor’s trademarked word, usually their brand name, into your list of keywords in your Google Adwords. If you don’t believe me try doing a search on Coca-Cola….see….There are no Adwords on the right are there? (Unless you’re trying this after 5th May in which case somebody will  be bidding!) This is because Coca-Cola is a trademarked word. In fact, it’s probably even a slight problem for us to write the word here…but if this post disappears then you’ll know why!

Now then. From 5 May Google is changing (where have I heard that before?!). You will be able to use your competitors brand name in your Adwords. BUT, before you get too excited, they’ll be able to use yours too AND it’s not quite that simple. Before you rush to bid on millions of new keywords the advice is clear: Check with your IT people or agency. It’s a complex set of new rules and the word on the streets is that there could even be legal challenges to it popping up all over the place, so beware, take advice first. Call me and I can help you make the most of the new rules….    

WebFlyBlog launches monthly Podcast!

 

After much deliberation we have finally launched our very own SEO news Podcast which we optimistically descibe as;

"the antidote to search engine marketing, a techno-blog without the techno-babble and the place to find real business information you can use and the place to catch up on the real interent news"

Admittedly fairly grand aspirations, however if the feedback to date is anything to go by it's the perfect way for busy people to get their SEO fix!

The first Podcast installment includes:

• Who's been blacklisted by Google.
• How Wal-Mart have entered the world of SEO.
• What's so exciting about video's.
• And why there are new rules for viral marketing.

Whilst we intend to create monthly news reviews, we will also produce ad hoc Podcast's focussing on key industry developments, such as Universal Search - What is it? Why it's important and how to capitalise on the changes it brings?

The current Podcast is available via our newly created social networking pages, which include links to iTunes, YouTube, Flickr and Bebo pages as well as providing a useful online transcript service for those clients who are unable to download audio and video content at work.

And finally, whilst the Podcast allows us to provide a great service to clients, it also means we can take advantage of the marketing opportunities of Universal Search and simultaneously increase both our website traffic and overall online visibility! Great news and a true win-win!

The Alexa Myth

No this is not a Greek legend full of women with wings dive-bombing heroes in small boats or blokes waking up one day to discover they’ve married their mother by accident, this is about a website that measures traffic volumes to other websites. The myth part is the same though.    

While Greek Myths are stories handed down over generations and then written down by some enterprising chap to make some cash, the Alexa Myth is a story handed down since 1996 and written down by some enterprising etc etc etc….

Much the same as the Greek Myth, the Alexa Myth did not set out to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes – no one really believes that a bloke made a pair of wings in his garden shed, strapped them on, flew up two million feet and discovered a design fault, do they? Hence, no one really believes that your Alexa ranking, calculated by counting the sites visited only by those people who have an Alexa Tool Bar (a wot?!), is a sound way to evaluate how your website is performing, do they?

The trouble is that yes, they do believe it. It’s like believing that there really is a woman with snakes for hair, a three headed dog or a man with a trident who lives at the bottom of the sea. It’s not likely is it? Not something you’d put a bet on. But myths are powerful things when perpetrated by people who should know better. So, our advice is if an ‘expert’ tells you you’re ace because you’ve got a great Alexa ranking just tell them you know your Greek Myths and Alexa is one of them!