Chrysler Shows How Not To Do PR
Chrysler didn’t want to appear ungrateful to the American taxpayers, so CEO Bob Nardelli took out full-page ads in the Wall Street Journal and USA Today to thank them for putting up their money instead of well-heeled Cerberus putting up its own. Reposting the expensive thank-you note on the company blog showed, however, America hates huge wastes of money more than it hates ingratitude.
7 Ways to Get More Conversions Out of Google Site Search
The future of search engine optimization is uncertain right now. Google is experimenting with personalization, and the need for quality, engaging, and usable content is becoming more important than ever. One part of a site’s usability is the ease with which a user can find desired content. A common way to make this easier, is site search, which Google itself happily provides.
Some Think Google Should Go After eBay
There is an interesting article at Seeking Alpha called "Why ‘GooBay’ Makes Sense." Obviously this is a "what if Google bought eBay?" piece, and feedback to the article thus far isn’t real keen on the idea, but there are some valid points throughout the article nevertheless.
eBay and PayPal Explain Item Holds
Monroe Labouisse, the director of PayPal’s business on eBay in the US and Canada sat down with eBay’s chief Blogger Richard Brewer-Hay and sketched out this post explaining the policies behind eBay Item Holds. An eBay Item Hold is when eBay asks PayPal to hold a payment in a seller’s PayPal account for up to 21 days. This occurs as a "buyer protection" when eBay believes the transaction is more likely than the average transaction to be fraudulent.
Google Introduces Personalized Search Options
Google tests a new feature allowing users to prioritize their preferred websites in search results enhancing personalized searches.
Would Twitter Charge You for Friends?
Making money wasn’t always the greatest concern for the founders of Twitter. It’s success in terms of business interest practically came by accident, mirroring the thoughts of this post from Shomemoney.
Using the Data that Site Search Uncovers
I recently posted about ways to get more conversions out of Google Site Search. This was based on tips that Google itself offered for capitalizing on its potential. These tips were: 1. Make your search box easy to find 2. Make sure search is always available 3. Customize the appearance of search to fit your site 4. Experiment 5. Be open to feedback 6. Learn what users are looking for
Microsoft Ready to Throw Big Bucks at Yahoo Search?
Well, Microsoft, you just cut 5000 jobs and missed your Wall Street estimates. What are you going to do now? If you guessed they’re going to Disney World, you’re wrong. No, according to Steve Ballmer, they’re looking to drop some big bucks on Yahoo search.
Socializing Advertising
In these uncertain economic times, advertisers need to make their ads count if they don’t want to throw away precious dollars on ineffective Internet advertising. Online advertising is still a great way to market your business, as it is highly targeted, and can provide both an unparalleled branding appeal and instant conversion (depending on the nature of the ad). But effective ads must be engaging. They must give a viewer a reason to care. That is a large part of the battle. Caring and Sharing
Mr. Cauz, Tear Down This Wall
Fans of general resource material likely had mixed emotions about Encyclopedia Britannica president Jorge Cauz’s announcement and subsequent fightin’ words this week. Adding public editing Britannica.com is an exciting step, but bloviated rips on Wikipedia was all ooh and no ahh. That’s because there’s no need after all (for us, Google, or Wikipedia) to feel defensive—any thunder Cauz could bring down is still a long way out. Remember Scrappy Doo? Don’t know why I bring him up. Just thought of him for some reason.