Blue Snapper Internet Marketing

Easier verification for Google Webmaster Tools

bluesnapper — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:56:08 +0000

Verifying multiple ‘owners’ of a website in Google Webmaster Tools has just got a lot easier. Up until now, you had two methods to verify you had the right to see data available in Google Webmaster Tools for a specific website:upload an HTML file to the root of the website or place a verification meta tag within [...]

Turning off Google Buzz

bluesnapper — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 12:38:22 +0000

There I was minding my own business, just checking out my email and then wham! I lose 1hr of my working day trying to sort out what Google Buzz is all about. It’s my own fault: if there’s something new to be added or downloaded I just can’t resist it. And there it was. The “Add [...]

Avoiding a Brick Wall in Google Analytics

bluesnapper — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 10:48:15 +0000

Advanced segments versus profile & filters One of the first things I do when configuring Google Analytics for a client is to make sure they are able to analyse segments rather than some homogeneous blob of traffic which provides little insight into the performance of their website. To do this, I’ll create multiple filter & profile combinations [...]

Google First Click Free. Why the Fuss?

bluesnapper — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:09:05 +0000

With all the recent column inches in the media surrounding Google’s First-Click-Free (FCF) programme, you’d be forgiven for thinking that this was some new service that Google is offering to keep publishers happy. A way to stop Google’s search users from accessing premium content for free via the back-door. Not quite. So what is FCF, why do publishers need it and what’s the announcement about? First-Click-Free [...]

Google Chrome OS – ‘Just like a TV’

bluesnapper — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:05:43 +0000

Yesterday’s live-webcast ‘launch’ of Google Chrome OS, their new operating system, wasn’t a real launch, rather a release of the code and design documentation to the open source community (so don’t expect to pop into your local PC dealer to pick up a copy). Nevertheless, it looks impressive and Joe Public should be able to get [...]

Google Caffeine gives SEOs the Jitters

bluesnapper — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:54:50 +0000

So caffeine is bad for you. Google Caffeine that is. Certainly if judged by the lost productivity in the SEO and Webmaster communities that I reckon has happened since the announcement of its impending roll-out. Back in August 09, Google formally unveiled its new search infrastructure code-named ‘Caffeine’ and, since then, jungle drums have been pounding; [...]

‘Jar Jar Binks’ PPC agencies sow Fear, Uncertainty & Doubt

bluesnapper — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:20:59 +0000

Sometimes I come across SEO/PPC agencies that have turned completely to the dark side, while others have business practices that make them more like Jar Jar Binks, you know, just irritating and hard to understand. Recently, a number of these Pay-Per-Click agencies have approached some of my clients using FUD (Fear, Uncertainty & Doubt) as their [...]

Sneaky update adds pivot tables to Google Analytics

bluesnapper — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:27:09 +0000

Google’s roll-out of product enhancements is both exciting and frustrating in equal measure. Exciting because they offer something new to play with (aka in-depth testing) and frustrating because their product teams obviously come from the stealth-school of marketing. A case in point: back in May ’09, they blogged about the upcoming addition of pivot tables in [...]

Who ‘Owns’ Your Google AdWords Account?

bluesnapper — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 10:48:38 +0000

So who owns your Google AdWords account if you have an agency or consultant that manages it on your behalf? You or them? I’d never given this much thought until I pitched to someone looking to switch over the management of their AdWords account from their current agency. The agency had been managing the account for [...]

Rolling-Up Data in a Google Analytics Umbrella

bluesnapper — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:09:35 +0000

Are you drowning in Google Analytics data? Sometimes you just want cut through the detail and get the big picture. Are visits up or down? How are sign-ups for the new whitepaper doing? Which countries are top of the conversion league table? If you want to pull this data from Google Analytics for just one website it’s [...]