Have you ever noticed, when searching on Google, that some retailers have ratings next to their ads? When viewing an ad, it may be indicated that you are looking at a 4-star or 5-star retailer. So, how do these ratings come about? Google's Trusted Store program has been running for some years. The basic idea behind the scheme was fairly simple: any retailer could apply for certification via the scheme, as long as they met certain criteria....
We're pleased to confirm our continuing support of Circus Starr, with the not-for-profit organisation reaching its 30th anniversary year. Established in 1987, the touring circus provides free seats for disadvantaged, vulnerable or disabled children. The Big Top Tour this year will be returning to Southampton in the Spring. Each year, more than £1.3 million worth of free tickets are distributed to children, their families and to community groups. Additional fund-raising has enabled local charities to benefit from some £900,000 worth...
Understanding latest trends can have a huge impact upon the direction of your business. The ability to identify changes in consumer behaviour at an early stage, for example, may allow you to alter approach before competitors do so. In today’s connected world, it might be argued that data of all sorts has never been more widely available. Yet, those providing reliable sources of data remain very much in demand. In this research piece, we set out to...
Increasing online visibility can have a dramatic impact upon your business, but how should you prioritise the budget that you have available? There are a number of channels that you can seek to use, but may small business owners wonder whether they should focus on paid search or search engine optimisation. We thought that we'd begin the week by taking a closer look at the pros and cons of these two approaches. What's the difference? Paid search refers...
Google have today announced the release of their guide to using Gmail ads. The Best Practice Guide covers a number of elements and we thought that we'd take a look at the key recommendations (so that you don't have to!) - here are our main takeaways: Audience targeting There's some sound advice here that is largely concentrated on: using domain, purchasing intent and keyword targeting; making use of email lists in order to re-engage customers; using similar audiences. This...
For regular readers of our blog posts, there will be an appreciation that much of our focus tends to be on text and display ads. There's a fairly simple reason for that: 90% of UK advertisers tend to make use of approaches that cover at least one of these. But video ads are big business too and are increasing in popularity. What's stopped growth from occurring at an earlier stage? We think that a number of factors...
Pay Per Click (PPC) campaigns have many advantages. In particular, they can provide you with an immediate source of website visitors, customers and sales. But these extra sales come at a price. If you're not careful, you can soon find that you're spending more on PPC than you're deriving as a result. The main PPC systems have become increasingly complicated in recent years. We've been working in this area for almost a decade and we've seen many changes...
More is bought and sold online in the UK than in any other nation in Europe. What’s the secret to the UK’s e-commerce success story? Over the coming weeks, we’re going to be taking a closer look at the history of online sales in the UK. We’ll examine the key businesses at the forefront of the digital sales charge and we’ll also look at what the future may hold. In preparing this series, we’ve relied upon a...
Earlier this year, Google announced that mobile search queries had overtaken those being carried out on desktop devices. The announcement came as little surprise, with the search engine giant having spent some time flagging up the rapid rise in mobile search. It was only a matter of time before this point was reached, but how prepared is your business? Have you invested in ensuring that you are delivering the best possible experience for mobile visitors? The rise of...