The integration with DoubleClick will enhance the Google Content network in terms of control and measurability by using DoubleClick ad-serving cookie technology. In lay man’s terms this will provide advertisers with the ability to:

• Cap the frequency users view content ads
• Provide statistics into the number of people who viewed a campaign and average view stats
• Provide conversion stats of the numbers of visitors driven by campaigns
• Improve ad quality

Google are confident that these enhancements will see an improvement in the results of the content network for both users and advertisers. You can read more on this on the Official Google Blog.

The tool allows you to type in a search term, pick the geographic location you are interested in and if desired the category. You can then see the search patterns for the keyword as far back as 2004, rising trends and growth relative to the category as a whole! I took a look at the key phrase ‘slim fit shirt’ in the shopping category and was able to ascertain that this key phrase in particular has seen a huge increase in traffic- even in comparison to the shopping category:

New Google Insights Tool

This tool is certainly going to be a staple in my arsenal of SEO and PPC tools to help identify niche keywords and phrases! Take a look at Google Insights for Search yourself – it’s well worth it.

Whilst it was good to see the appearance of MSN and Yahoo’s Webmaster tools, I felt neither really hit the same spot as Google’s Webmaster tools. However Live search have just expanded their features list to include:

• Crawl issue reports
• Backlinks information
• Download functionality

Not quite as all-ecompassing as Google’s Webmaster tools just yet, but a definite improvement in allowing webmasters to gain that little bit more insight into your site.

To try out Live Search Webmaster Tools go to http://webmaster.live.com.

Unbelievably this is one of the most frequently overlooked tasks by major UK businesses whose main concern is updating their web presence. However if you want to ensure that ‘link equity’ previously going to your old URLs is passed on to your new URLs, and in fact to ensure that your customers who click on old links are re-directed to the new pages- then you MUST ensure that 301 (not 302) re-directs are in place. To read more about the technicalities of this, Search Engine Lands’ recent article ‘Redirects: Good, Bad & Conditional‘ is a great place to get started.

I have been shouting about this for some time, and whilst I understand that when in the process of re-developing a website, SEO and online marketing maybe one of the last ‘items’ on your check list- be warned: failing to check this off WILL result in a dip in organic traffic and can cost you dearly!

One interesting take on this details evidence that the cost of fuel is helping to drive ecommerce sales, as more and more people shop online to save the cost of travel. A survey conducted in the US in April by a company called iCongo indicated that one third of people were incentivised to shop online as a result of the high fuel costs.

I personally believe that there are many factors which contribute to the ecommerce marketing continuing to grow, even in these times, including convenience, increased online security, greater breadth of choice etc.

So for any electronics companies operating on a Clicks and Bricks basis, the ideal solution to drive sales is to follow Argos’s lead with a ’Click and Collect’ facility!