On May 21st, 2010, Google celebrated Pacman’s 30th birthday. Traditionally, Google has changed their logo to reflect significant or cultural occasions, but this time, Google took it a step further: an interactive logo. The Google Doodle, created by Ryan Germick and Marcin Wichary, not only is a full, 265 level playable version of Pacman, but also a very powerful marketing tool. One would simply have to go to Google and click “insert coin” to play the full game. As a bonus, the developers also had an option to make the game two-player: if you click “insert coin” twice, Ms. Pacman would join the game, to share the nostalgia. Anyone who wished to play had 48 hours to do so; however, the game became so popular that Google left it permanently on its site easily found through the appropriate search query.

Banking on current nostalgia trends throughout various marketing fields, evident most in the movie industry. Almost every other movie is recreating something from out childhood to phenomenal market success. A very popular marketing strategy now is manipulating the draw to childhood loves and this nostalgic game not only created plenty of web traffic, but it increased the amount of time users spent on Google’s website that day. During this celebration of Pacman, time spent on the site went from 11 seconds to 47 seconds on average – a monumental increase. The actual time spent playing Google Pacman is probably much higher as companies report as much as 4.82 million productivity hours lost due to this doodle, and many users didn’t even know that the doodle was playable so the number could have been much higher. This cost companies a total of $123,483,800. This creative marketing strategy fits right into the psychology of buying. The nostalgia of playing an old childhood favorite keeps people coming back and staying longer; imagine the implications on your own site. What types of interactive marketing can your company use on their site to increase the time users spend on the site? The web world knows that the more time a potential client spends on your site, the more likely they are to invest in your products or services. Only time will tell the marketwide implications of the doodle, but Google has served notice that creativity pays – it’s time to take notice.

We’ve already talked about the importance of using keywords for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). But to further benefit your SEO campaign, you need to know where best to position your keywords.

Best Keyword Positions:

-      Use keywords in web page titles. Web page titles are located at the top of your browser window, in the same bar with the buttons which allow you to minimize the window.

-      Web page headers are the next important place for keywords. Headers are the titles within your actual web page.

-      Website content is the next step down after titles and headers. Always place a few keywords in the first few sentences.

-      Use keywords as directional tools, as in buttons or links that navigate to the rest of your site. So, instead of “click here for more,” use site-specific keywords.

-      It’s also good to use keywords in your domain name if applicable, but not if it will make your website more difficult to find for a potential consumer.

General Tips for Keywords:

-      Organize your website content with bold and italics. This has  been shown to have a possible positive effect on a website’s SEO listings.

-      Use keywords at the beginning of titles. This is known as “front-loading.” So instead of “Darling’s Body Shop: Benefits of a Regular Oil Change,” use “Benefits of a Regular Oil Change from Darling’s Body Shop.”

When using keywords for the benefit of SEO, remember that “keyword stuffing” – the act of filling your website with nonsensical listings of keywords – will dramatically hurt your website’s search ranking. An excess of keywords with little relative content is an immediate red flag to search algorithms, stating that your site is not a high quality source.

Google’s Keyword Stuffing Policy:

“Keyword stuffing” refers to the practice of loading a web page with keywords in an attempt to manipulate a site’s ranking in Google’s search results. Filling pages with keywords results in a negative user experience, and can harm your site’s ranking. Focus on creating useful, information-rich content that uses keywords appropriately and in context.

Dreamscape has a lot of experience initiating effective keyword campaigns for a variety of businesses. If all this seems daunting, let us help.

Technology has taken the marketing world from print media and focus groups to social media and Google analytics. And just like McDonald’s changed the pace with which we feed, so the Internet has changed the speed with which we consume information.

But beyond speed, we also receive so much more information than ever before. According to a 2007 New York Times article, the average city-dwelling consumer is exposed to up to 5,000 ads a day. That’s a lot of competition for a consumer’s attention.

The Necessity of a Website

Every business should have a website. It need not be flashy, unless your industry demands it, but you need to be available online. A modern customer turns to Google before they ever search other sources.

Another benefit of having a website is you can link it to Google Analytics. This is a free way to learn more about your demographics and the effectiveness of your website itself.

E-Mail Newsletters

If you have a website, having a regular online newsletter is an easy and highly effective additional marketing tool. You can have a sign-up  form available on your website. Use this sign-up area to also discover the demographics of potential customers – offering a catered mailing in return for answers to “gender,” “location,” and “age.”

This is also a great way to offer promotions and unique information  not available on your website. Make it worth the customer’s while.

Social Media: To Use or Not to Use?

Using social media is not a necessity. It really depends on your business whether or not what, if any, forms of social media would be appropriate as a marketing tool.

A business-to-business corporation would have less of a need for an online presence, whereas a business-to-consumer corporation would do well to create an online persona.

The best part of social media is you can quickly develop a relationship with your potential customer.

As technology and social media continue to expand, your marketing needs will continue to evolve. But it’s important to remember, that no matter how strong an online presence your business has, nothing can replace an actual conversation with a customer. Don’t get trapped behind the computer screen.

What makes Google one of the most successful companies in the world?

What makes their business model head and shoulders above those of similar companies.?

Why can they continue to grow and succeed while other companies are reducing forces and cutting losses?

What let’s Google continue to develop new technologies and fund countless projects while your company is cutting benefits and taking away overtime?

With companies like Google, MSN and Yahoo, PPC is the name of the game. The Price Per Click model has taken over the search engine industry and made Google 23 billion alone in 2009. A true ROI model, companies are only charged if their sponsored links are clicked, the innovation comes from the way the results are created. This where Google AdWords come into play. With Google AdWords, you can create and run ads for your business, quickly and easily. Run your ads on Google and their advertising network — no matter what your budget, you’ll only pay when people click the ads. If a customer sees your ad engages it, it’s recorded in your account as a click. Monitor your clicks to see how many people choose to enter your website from your ad. With cost-per-click (CPC) pricing, you pay only when someone clicks on your ad, making the model very efficient and cost effective for businesses of all sizes.

It’s no wonder Google can afford an on-site masseuse…

Last week a new competitor entered into the scene to take on Google for the title as world’s greatest search engine running (actually created by former Google employees). Cuil (pronounced “cool”) brings your standard query to the next level, by not only running a search for a particular text but analyzes the surrounding content to formulate a more relevant result. The search engine stretches out across more web pages (apparently three times as many as Google and ten times as many as Microsoft). You’ll also find that your results won’t necessarily be the most popular sites visited so as to bring forth sites that may not be as frequently visited but happen to be more relevant to your search. Lastly, the program offers a new sense of privacy by not keeping record of the history of your searches.

Let us know what you think about Cuil and if you think it has a chance at taking on Google!