Have you got your Google+ (Google Plus) profile set up yet? The digital marketing industry is ablaze with talk about Google’s answer to Facebook/Twitter and generally on the whole the conversation has been good. I myself have been impressed with Google’s offering so far. It’s still early days and there are a few things they could improve but they’ve release an overall good product.

One thing you’re going to have to get to grips with is Circles, the topic that’s got a few people in muddle. For those who aren’t aware Circles are Google’s way of helping you to organise the people you connect with on Google+ into groups. You cannot add someone into your Google+ network without assigning them to a Circle but the good news is that you can assign them to more than one! My personal opinion is that Google has got this right from the start something that Facebook and Twitter have added in too late.

The main issue comes from the increasing level of information being thrown at us through all these channels of information. We need a way to manage this flow effectively. Facebook reinvented their Groups functionality which I am yet to use and Twitter added Lists. Whilst these might be effective ways of managing a huge hoard or people it was added after I had set up and added a bunch of fans/friends/followers. This meant having to go back and re-organise! Not good!

Google+ is encouraging new users to organise their circles of friends/acquaintances as we set them up. Now I’ve heard a number of people grumble and suggest they don’t have time to do this. Someone even suggested they dumped everyone in one group for organising later! But there’s good reason for making sure you organise your followers from day one as how you set up your Google+ Circles will define how easy the system is to use in the future.

Why Organise your Google Plus Circle?

Better control over privacy: a subject which is always at the forefront of people’s minds when using social networks. They want to control who they share personal information with; fair enough! By organising you friends into tight knit groups you can easily choose who gets to see what. I am very much up for this as it means I can be a little more frivolous with what I share and feel more confident only the people I want to see it actually do!

Control your stream: You’re not going to want to hear what all the people you follow have to say all of the time. If I am in business mode I check out the latest goings on in the digital world and when I am thinking about my loved ones I can check out my family’s latest updates. This can be done easily through the use of Circles! This is nothing new as you can do this through Facebook and Twitter; I just haven’t got the time to retrofit the lot! And Google make it so easy to flit between each Circle with a handy drop down on the left hand side!

Easier to hangout: Google+ has a feature it calls “hangouts” which allows you to have set up quick video conferencing sessions with your Circles. If this is something you feel you might use then it’s worth getting this right from the start. Frankly until they build in a filter that makes me look less hideous on a webcam I am steering well clear!

Ignore the above? Some people might find all of this too much fuss but there’s no reason why you can lump everyone in one circle and just use it like Facebook or Twitter (shame on you!).

Organising your Google+ Circles

Getting your Circles right from the start is going to save you a big headache in the future. And if you change your mind at a later time there’s no reason why you can shift things about. I believe Google’s interface makes this a darn sight easier than any other system I’ve used! Here’s some suggested categories to get your started:

Close relations: These are the people you would trust your life with, close family and friends that you don’t mind them finding anything out and you can trust them with your more intimate details. This gives you more confidence in sharing family images and those posts that you might not want to share with a wider audience!

Social friends: Those people who you speak to on a regular basis but perhaps mainly over social networks or places you both like to hang out. You might not want to share more intimate details than with your close relations but you still want to share more social information such as what you are up to at the weekend.

Acquaintances: The heading says it all really. The people you’d have a friendly chat with when bumping into them in the street but that you might not actually want to have any deep or meaning relationship with. These are the kinds of people you might want to keep the private information away from; something that’s always been a chore on Facebook or Twitter.

Interests: Group together people that have a similar interest or work in a similar industry. This is a great way to easily keep up to date with the latest developments.

Geographical: Keeping a circle with people within your local area might prove useful. One the great things about social networks is the real-time responses you get to questions like “Can anyone recommend a good restaurant?” or “Has anyone got a tent I can borrow for the weekend?”. People in your local area are a great resource pool when you need help or advice.

Ex-work colleagues: This circle could serve two purposes. If you’re still in the same industry but working for a competitor this might help you keep abreast of their developments and also wider industry developments. It also means you can keep an eye on all the juicy gossip from your ex-colleagues!

Ex-boyfriend/ex-girlfriends: Find out who their dating now an cry if they’re better looking than you…?!?

Please share with us your suggestions, be interested to see how people are grouping their followers.

Marks and Spencers recently had their wrists slapped by the European courts after a ruling by the Advocate General found in favour of Interflora who is suing M&S over use of its trademark terms on Google Adwords advertising platform.

There have been a number of cases in the past between brands but these tended to focus Google’s role in allowing trademark infringement. Recently Louis Vuitton took Google to court because they felt Google was themselves infringing on trademarks by allowing this activity. The landmark case ruled in favour of Google stating their role in this was “neutral”.

Google has been left out of this court case which has helped reaffirm it’s own terms of advertising which clearly state that trademark issues should be resolved between advertisers. This has sparked mass debate over whether Google should be doing more to stop this activity. Furthermore it highlights that advertisers should be steering clear of bidding on their competitors keyword. Not only that but actively ensuring that it does not happen.

We already know that Google will allow advertisers to bid on competitor’s trademark terms but NOT allow to use them on their ad copy. Also that courts are ruling in favour of the plaintiff in cases where there has been some form of infringement.

This is a decision for the business owner and not for one of the agency. I have been asked many times in my career what the best course of action is. Naturally I’ve not wanted to touch the subject but pushed for an answer I’ve always advised against the practice of bidding on competitors keywords. It’s clear from this that business owners and advertisers should go one step further by implementing a set of negative keywords around their key competitors to prevent this occurring and to show due diligence.

Overall, the practice is unethical and you’ll find on the most part your results from such campaigns to perform poorly on click through rates and conversions.

Read the press release.

Google “Instant Search” – How will it affect my business?

Google recently launched its latest update to its main product, search. Touted by Google as a revolution it has seen luke warm responses from some industry analysis.

Google Instant Search throws you straight into the search results the moment you start typing and updates the search results as you type. Rather than go into detail, watch this short video which shows you how it works.

[flowplayer src='http://www.thedigitalconsultant.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/Google-Instant-Desktop.m4v' width=600 height=338]

After watching it, I thought…OK, it’s quick and cool but right now  it a new product that’s not going to knock the search engine industry sideways. The idea of Instant Search is to help you search faster and make it easier to find what you want; to predict what you are searching for and put it in front of you. Google uses personalisation (your previous searches) and data on the most popular searches to do this. As the technology gets more sophisticated the accuracy will improve.

You must be signed into your Google Account for this to work and users using iGoogle currently will not have access to this feature. You also have to be operating the latest browser version to get it work which leaves question, how many people will actually be using Google Instant?

The industry has gone wild is speculation, some even reporting that Search Engine Optimisation is dead! Let’s not get carried away, I mean you only have to look at the example of the Google Wave launch to see the possibility of a hype/nose dive of interest from a product release by Google.

How will it affect my business?

SEO real-estate has been reduced. The Google Suggest box now appears under the search box listing other potential search phrases. This may push the focus onto the paid listings, particularly for comparison or price driven searches. This is also going to mean that being number one for a search phrase in both paid and natural search is ever more important.

Action: Keep a focus on the search volumes for your shorter, more generic search terms. This could have a positive impact on your quality score as this may increase your Click Through Rate (CTR) but may also increase your daily spend. Test out increased positions on your top volume search phrases in paid and push hard in your natural search.

Reduce the reliance on long-tail keywords. There has already been a slow shift away from long-tail search phrases with the introduction of Google Suggest. Users are become lazier when it comes to searching and Google Instant is only going to make it easier for people to search by using the predetermined phrases presented to them. You’ll notice that you can easily flick through the suggested search terms using your up and down arrow keys making it much easier for users to try out a wide range of searches in seconds.

Action: Make sure you are listed highly for all variations of the relevant suggestions. Start typing your top keywords in and flicking through the relevant search phrases to make sure you are listed. If not, then add these keywords in as, at a minimum, exact search phrases.  It’s very likely that you will be listed for these as they will be your generic terms that you should be bidding against but it’s always worth checking.

Google Instant Impact

So Google Instant hasn’t changed the face of search yet. It’s not a revolution, but it is evolution. Lucky for you, you’re reading this article and are aware on Google Instant! That means you can start to monitor its impact and make changes accordingly. It’s an exciting change and one that will most definitely change the way we search, just not quite yet.

We’ve already started looking at our client’s reports, looking at the user experience whilst searching for generic phrases and making changes accordingly. Make sure you speak to your online marketing agency to do the same!

Please share with us your thoughts and experiences with Google Instant. Do you like it? Does it irritate and distract you? Have you seen any impact on your search engine marketing campaigns?

It’s not uncommon in literature for the writer’s identity to be masked. It can serve many benefits; studies suggest that people are less judgemental of an article if they do not know the identity of the author. Some may distrust the source or validity of the article; it’s a subjective thing.

Blogging has brought about a new era of publishing. Anyone with with a laptop and internet access can get online and publish their thoughts, views and opinions to the world. Some will proudly stamp their name all over; some will hide behind the screen.

A recent court case over the identity of a controversial blogger in the UK has threatened that anonymity and could have implications in the future.

Give a man a pen and he’ll write for a day, give a man a blog and he’ll write for a lifetime.

Masking your identify in writing can be beneficial in writing. It’s rather exciting to know that “ladydeli70″ who works for your local branch of Asda is blogging about the true goings on of your local deli counter! Well, perhaps it is to me. If her identity was known then she wouldn’t be dishing up meaty treats much longer.

Anonymity in blogging is not always a good thing though. We encourage brands to create identities in their business, who blog externally. This creates a close connection with an otherwise “faceless” brand. We also encourage the brand to be open and honest with their customers, especially in light of any breaking news. That leaves less chance of red-faced corporate bosses when the 18 year old sandwich maker starts rubbing snot on your sub! “Yes, we sacked the idiots” is the response we want, and got, from Dominos.

The judge in the “Night Jack” case felt that the identity of the blogger was necessary to help people assess the validity of the story. But in this instance, the blogger would have not been able to continue for fear of being disciplined or fired. Resulting in a very short spell as a blogger providing the exposé on the police force.

With any story you hear, you judge its validity based on the source of the information. If you have a reason to distrust the source, you distrust the story. It’s a blessing and curse that anyone can blog. It gives voice to anyone who wants to let people know their views on something. But at the same time the good content is often drowned out by complete dross. This makes it difficult to find good content for continually having to judge the reliability of everything you read.

The future of anonymous blogging

WARNING, here be sensationalism: So it seems that the courts have decided that our identities are no long sacred in the online world of blogging! If the courts decide that the interest of the public in knowing the identity of the writer outweighs the impact of unmasking them, then you’re no longer safe behind your computer.

Run for the hills, big brother is coming

Perhaps the cynic’s view is that it’s just the establishment using their power to unmask these people. Others might argue that your days as an anonymous artist are numbered. Do we know who Banksy is yet?

Although this is just one case, it raises the issue of protecting your identity online. It’s a wonderful thing that the truth can be exposed, providing it is the truth and not slander. But if is the norm for cases like these, then we may lose one of the biggest advantages of blogging, freedom of speech.

This post was written by Jeremy Jacobs, owner of The Digital Consultant

• Read the full BBC article on the “Night Jack” case

The UK government, as I am sure all governments are, is concerned about the digital divide. The divide of people who are technically competent and the technically inferior.

The Digital Britain report was published last Tuesday, a road map set out by the government for the digital future of Britain. We won’t discuss the ins-and-outs of whether digital is a good/bad thing. We sit firmly in the good camp.

The government has promised to give all UK homes a minimum of 2Mbps broadband. The leading digital inclusion charity, Citizens Online, say this is not good enough. We’re inclined to agree! 2Mbps is too slow!

Debate aside, even if the government do achieve their goal, will people use it? Let’s have a look at how these digital “luddites” could be divided:

The uninformed

For those outside of the digital industry a lot of what we, inside, talk about is a whole different language. Make something relevant to them and people will take an interest. People need to have a motivation to do something rather than be told they must do it.

That might be “I need a job and need to know how to email” or “I want an easy way to connect with friends across the global and find out what they are up to”. There are plenty of digital solutions that work great, until people are informed about these then we cannot place an expectation for them to know.

It’s fair to say, digital is all over the press, Facebook and Twitter two of the biggest. So it’s quite difficult not hear mentions of it. But is there a need to know how to use twitter? Perhaps not. But the need of basic computer skills and writing an email, for example, are skills needed in today’s age, ss much as reading and writing.

Solution: Make it accessible, make it friendly, make it easy. There are too many arrogant people in the digital industry that hold the common person over a barrel with their “knowledge”. Luckily there are just as many who want to help.

The fearful

People who fear technology are likely to do so because they don’t understand it and become frustrated when people are telling them that “they have to be on Facebook”. They may not see the benefit or show an unwillingness to understand the benefit stating that their “life has been perfectly fine until now”. Digital technology does not have to take over your whole life, it can be about improving and enriching your experiences.

Solution: Inform, much like you would the uninformed. If people can understand the benefits outside of what the cynical media channels tell them then this is a great step. From then on it’s about showing them how.

The ambivalent

What, there’s a thing called the Internet? There’s probably, hopefully, not a lot of these people around. But it is likely that this group are late adopters of technology. Not a threat to development but probably will be the last to arrive.

Solution: Buy them a laptop for their next birthday

The resistant

This group are going to be the ones who will cause the most trouble. Think the Luddites of the early 19th century! Riots on the streets (OK, perhaps a little dramatic). These people will probably under up living underground “Demolition Man” style.

Solution: Help show the benefits that digital technology can bring to lives and realise it doesn’t have to be all consuming. There is an off switch, well for now there is .

This post was written by Jeremy Jacobs, owner of The Digital Consultant

• The Citizens Online article on the Digital Britain report.

What is this I keep on hearing people saying that Google Wave will change the web?

I asked myself this, as I looked for more information. Finally I sat myself down and watched the 1hr 20 min video of the development team eagerly showing off their new tool to a bunch of external developers. Cool, was my reaction. So, what exactly is it? Perhaps it’s:

“A web browser based communication tool that pulls in data from any source allowing for a central depository of all online activity.”

After trawling through the video, I could see that the component parts are not revolutionary, nor is the principle of Google Wave. The technology has developed to enable a talented team to start pulling these ideas together.

Component parts

So why are the component parts are not revolutionary? If we look at the main features of Google Wave, you can see clear elements of:

• Email (Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail)
• Instant Messaging (Live Messenger, Yahoo! IM, GTalk)
• Photo sharing (Flickr)
• Blogging (WordPress, Blogger)
• Document production (Word, Google Docs, Open Office)
• Searching (Google, Yahoo, Bing)
• Social media (Twitter, Facebook)

Nothing spectacular there,  but it does mean that you’ll be able to access all of this from one place. The ability to organise, edit and share all of this information in once place is handy and time saving. There are many advantages to having everything in one place.

Main features

What makes Google Wave so interesting are some of the features:

• Real-time – as you edit, type or review, these will be seen live by anyone else who is part of that wave.
• Portability – publish your wave content elsewhere, such as on your blog or website. Any changes made from Google Wave will be instant on your blog or website.
• Open sourced – much like the Google Maps with the ability to manipulate data, Google Wave has opened its doors to developers. This is intended to increase interaction and scalability.
• History playback – ability to see the development of a Wave in a chronological order by different users. Great for document collaboration.
• Advanced language capabilities – enhanced spell checking which looks at the context of a sentence (no more “your and you’re” errors). Also translation into 40 languages as you type!

This has got the online community going with the endless possibilities. But let us consider the immediate/short-term impact.

What does this mean to the average user?

If like me you use the majority of the previously mentioned online functions, then this type of tool will get you excited in areas I should not talk about here!

If you do not, then chances are you will think less of it.

The success of Google Wave rides on reducing the barriers of entry and making it as easy for all to use, like Google Maps which was intuitive and easy on the eye. But Google Wave relies on more than that, because it requires a network of people to communicate with. All of which is currently disseminated across the website.

The question is, how easily can we pull our data together and what’s the incentive to do so? The incentive for me is pretty obvious, but what about the average user?

Chances are people outside of the Google bubble will continue with their Hotmails, Yahoos, Facebooks, all sat miles apart, blissfully unaware of the Goliath that is growing right beneath their finger tips.

To conclude

In the online world we’ve been given all these great tools - email, instant messaging, Facebook, Twitter, blogging etc. - but we need somewhere to store them, a toolbox, a storage facility. Google Wave is that storage facility. Depending on how much you use these tools will determine how big your Waves are, or whether you bother to Wave at all!

It’s not going to change the online world overnight. But it will, in the beginning, make our online presence easier and more time efficient, at least it will mine!

This post was written by Jeremy Jacobs, owner of The Digital Consultant

• Sign up for Google Wave updates.
• Watch the full 1hr 20 min video here: