Saturday, June 28, 2014

Sundar Pichai talks Google’s platform expansion, open approach, and relationship with Samsung

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On Wednesday at the Google I/O 2014 keynote, Sundar Pichai and Google introduced new platforms centered around Android. The newest arms of Android include Android Wear, Android TV, and Android Auto. With them, Google is ensuring Android has a presence in various areas of a person’s life. Interviewed by Wire, Pichai explains why Google has an approach in which Android and Chrome are appearing in many different areas while working together. He also spoke about why Google has a horizontal approach in being open and welcoming users of other platforms (like iOS) with their products (like Chromecast). Pichai even noted that the company has healthy relationship with Samsung and often gets to see their roadmap of what is to come.


On why Android Wear, Android TV, and Android Auto exist:


There’s been a big evolution since the days of personal computing. People had a concept of one computing device per family or maybe per person. We’ve clearly evolved to computing devices becoming more personal. People increasingly have a lot of those in their lives. So to us, the thing was, how do you build a computing platform and an experience which spans all those screens? How do you get it all working for users in a cohesive way? We need to bring Android and Chrome to every screen that matters for users, which is why we focused on phone, wearables, car, television, laptops, and even your workplace. Also, we wanted to do things in a way in which they were really contextually aware. A major theme was this notion of your phone being at the center of this connected experience –voice enabled, with Google Now cards accessible.


Although Android Wear will presumably stick with Android devices exclusively, Pichai explained why Google includes outside users:


It’s a good question. We do take a more open approach in these things. For example, you can plug a Chromecast into your television and still continue to use your iPhone or an iPad. We do take a horizontal approach–we want many things to work together. But, sure, there are other players who build end-to-end systems where they think through every piece of it. We do envision a world where having an iOS or an Android device it doesn’t preclude you from buying a certain car.


The entire interview is worth reading, so hit the source link below to get started.


Source: Wired



Come comment on this article: Sundar Pichai talks Google’s platform expansion, open approach, and relationship with Samsung



Sundar Pichai talks Google’s platform expansion, open approach, and relationship with Samsung

David Wain Is Still Making The 'Wet Hot American Summer' Prequel

The director and actor talks about not giving up, his latest movie "They Came Together," and Paul Rudd's hair.
David Wain Is Still Making The 'Wet Hot American Summer' Prequel

Why Fashion Collaborations Aren’t Working For Wearable Technology

Making technology truly wearable is not just a matter of dressing up a device. It will require vigorous innovation that wholly integrates form with function.
Why Fashion Collaborations Aren’t Working For Wearable Technology

TalkAndroid Daily Dose for June 27, 2014

TalkAndroid_Daily_Dose


With hectic schedules, it can be hard to keep track of everything in your news feed. That’s why we created the TalkAndroid Daily Dose. This is where we recap the day’s hottest stories so you can get yourself up to speed in quick fashion. Happy reading!!


Android Wear


Google Maps updated to include Android Wear support


Apps


Google Maps updated to include Android Wear support


Deals


Amazon hosting two day promotion full of free apps


Google


Matias Duarte talks Material Design


Sundar Pichai talks Google’s platform expansion, open approach, and relationship with Samsung


Google forges partnership with MediaTek for Android One device development


Google+


Google+ Photos introduces new World Cup face paint after-effects


Hardware


Google forges partnership with MediaTek for Android One device development


Phones


Front of the Samsung Galaxy F in gold leaks


Smartwatches


Asus Android Wear device to be thinnest in the category


Updates


System dump brings Android L wallpapers and APKs to the masses, get the new material themed Google Keyboard as well


Android L Preview now has root


Wallpapers


System dump brings Android L wallpapers and APKs to the masses, get the new material themed Google Keyboard as well


Miscellaneous


Samsung announces trial program at select locations



Come comment on this article: TalkAndroid Daily Dose for June 27, 2014



TalkAndroid Daily Dose for June 27, 2014

How To Dehumanize A Terrorist: Give Him An MBA

That ISIS is well funded and organized is obviously significant, but what makes the concept of its business savvy so fascinating, so unlikely, and so sticky? It's an odd narrative within which the media is contextualizing a massive, difficult geopolitical event — and one that, to the nearby and the sober, isn't shocking at all.
How To Dehumanize A Terrorist: Give Him An MBA

CrowdTwist hauls in $9M for SaaS data intelligence

CrowdTwist hauls in $9M for SaaS data intelligence

Above: CrowdTwist chief Irving Fain leading his troops

Image Credit: CrowdTwist

CrowdTwist, a Manhattan-based SaaS intelligence data platform, has taken in $9 million in venture cash, the company announced today.


CrowdTwist focuses on collecting data intelligence, which it then buttresses with analytics so its clients can better understand their customers’ buying behavior. The company was launched in 2009 and has raised $20 million in total venture funding to date.


Providing data intelligence for enterprise brands is a huge business. Companies want details on their customers and their spending behavior in order to better launch targeted ad campaigns. Good back-end data analytic firms are numerous. The space is crowded.


No matter. At least to CrowdTwist chief executive and founder Irving Fain, who told VentureBeat his SaaS solution has multi-channel functionality that some of his competitors lack.


Another cornerstone for CrowdTwist is helping clients with their increasingly important loyalty rewards programs. Loyalty is a huge deal not just for big enterprises but for smaller service-industry companies too.


“In the last 12 months there’s been lots of buzz about customer retention. In other words, ‘how do I keep my clients?’” Fain said.


Current customers include Pepsi, Purina, VIZIO, and Zumiez.


StarVest Partners led the new round. Fairhaven Capital and SoftBank Capital also participated.


 


 


 


 


 


CrowdTwist hauls in $9M for SaaS data intelligence

Cisco VP: We Need to Market More Like B2C Companies


Joseph Puthussery, Cisco's VP demand generation, believes his company's marketing should look more like Netflix's.

During last week's SiriusDecisions conference, Mr. Puthussery lauded the streaming giant's ability to personalize its website for millions of customers for a product selling for $8.99 a month. He said there was little reason for Cisco's website not to offer similar personalization, considering its software is much more expensive.

Here, Mr. Puthussery discusses how b-to-b marketers can incorporate elements of b-to-c strategy into their work:


Continue reading at AdAge.com


Cisco VP: We Need to Market More Like B2C Companies

Amazon gives 30 Android apps away for free

Amazon gives 30 Android apps away for free

How can you leverage mobile to increase profitability for your company? Find out at MobileBeat, VentureBeat's 7th annual event on the future of mobile, on July 8-9 in San Francisco. Register now and save $200!


The Amazon app store is hosting an app giveaway for Android users.


Even if you don’t have a Kindle Fire, you can still take advantage of this giveaway.


This generosity isn’t surprising from Amazon, considering the company already gives away a free app from its app store every day. But now it’s giving away a total of 30 apps, worth $100 combined. This deal is available for Android users in the U.S., U.K., Australia, and India.


The Amazon Fire phone may not be shipping for another month or so, but the company is eager to generate lots of buzz for the new phone, and what better way to do so than with lots of free apps?


The Amazon app store has been growing in popularity on Android devices, and Amazon wants to keep it that way. Head of the Amazon app store in India, Parag Gupta, told indianexpress, “Our Free App of the Day programme is hugely successful and makes users come back to us. We just want them to continue using our store and that is where bundling of apps is also coming popular.”


It’s only a two-day giveaway, so users will need to download Amazon’s app store quickly.


You can check out the free apps here. Some game highlights include Sonic the Hedgehog 2, which usually costs $3, and Dungeon Village, usually $4.40. Plex (normally $4.99), an app that helps you organize data across various devices, AccuWeather (normally $2.99), and Travel Interpreter, normally $9.99, are other notable apps in the bundle.


Here’s the full list:


Card Wars — Adventure Time


Plex


Sonic The Hedgehog 2


Notepad+


The Room Two


Dr. Panda’s Bus Driver


AccuWeather Platinum


Wedding Dash Deluxe


Root Explorer


Ravenswood: Shadowlands


Sudoku 10’000 Plus


Pho.to Lab PRO


Informant 3


Business Calendar


Jump Desktop


CrossMe Premium


Enigmatic: The Ghosts of Maple Creek


EZ Money Manager


MobiLearn Talking Phrasebook


Splashtop Remote Desktop


CLARC


Dungeon Village


aCalendar+


Travel Interpreter


MyBackup Pro


Pinball Deluxe Premiere


Loco Motors


2Do: Todo List


PUZZINGO Puzzles


League of Heroes Premium


Real Shanghai Mahjong




Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth's Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth's most customer-centric company, where cu... read more »



Amazon gives 30 Android apps away for free

B-to-B Needs More Humor: Cisco Marketing Manager


Business may not seem funny to most, but it ought to be, according to Tim Washer, a former actor and comedy writer who's now Cisco Systems' senior marketing manager for social media.

Creating brand value is as important as feeding the sales funnel, Mr. Washer said at the annual Business Marketing Association meeting in Chicago, and humor is a key ingredient.

Cisco, with Mr. Washer's help, has already embarked on some comedic videos, one of which came last year with the marketing of its ASR 9000 router.


Continue reading at AdAge.com


B-to-B Needs More Humor: Cisco Marketing Manager

Kleiner Perkins is now ready to take money for its new early-stage and digital funds

Kleiner Perkins is now ready to take money for its new early-stage and digital funds

Above: KPCB partner John Doerr

Image Credit: Doc Searls/Flickr

Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers is making its 16th early-stage fund and its second Digital Growth fund official.


The firm is raising $1.2 billion to invest in startups, with $450 million for an early-stage fund and $750 million for the digital growth fund, according to documents filed today with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.


Neither fund has raised any money yet. The firm declined to respond to VentureBeat’s request for comment.


Several other high-profile venture firms have been raising new funds lately. Last week, Khosla Ventures submitted a filing for its next $1 billion fund. Andreessen Horowitz, Index Ventures, and True Ventures have closed funds of their own in recent months.


Some of Kleiner’s recent investments include Crossbar, ClearStory DataCloudPhysics, mCube, Puppet Labs, and ZenPayroll.


Google has brought Kleiner some good news in recent months. First, in January, Google said it was buying Nest. And last week, Google, through Nest, announced plans to buy Dropcam. Together, the purchases of the two Kleiner portfolio companies came out to more than $3.75 billion.


Such exits could give a positive spin to Kleiner after questions about roles within the firm and the value of Kleiner’s series of cleantech startup investments.


The filing for Kleiner’s newest early-stage fund lists Michael Abbott, John Doerr, Randy Komisar, Ted Schlein, and Beth Seidenberg as the partners leading fund No. 16. The new fund was first discovered back in October, thanks to leaked memos to the limited partners explaining the firm’s decision to move to raising a smaller, more focused fund, and naming those five partners.


The digital fund lists John Doerr, Mary Meeker, and Ted Schlein as the fund’s partners.


Reporter Jordan Novet contributed reporting.




Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) is a world-leading venture capital firm located on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park in Silicon Valley. The Wall Street Journal has called it one of the "largest and most established" venture capital ... read more »



Kleiner Perkins Digital... read more »



Kleiner Perkins is now ready to take money for its new early-stage and digital funds

Mobile Marketing: The Week in Review

Mobile Marketing The Week in Review3 Mobile Marketing: The Week in ReviewIn case you missed it, here are some of the top stories in mobile marketing and advertising we’ve been following this week.


Most marketers have long known what a new report from Nielsen is now telling them; that mobile represents a huge opportunity for brand marketers.


TechNavio, an independent tech-focused research firm, revealed in its newest report that the popularity of mobile devices and media is spurring major growth in the Location-Based Search and Advertising Market in the U.S.


Looks like real time marketing is going big time. It was just announced that UM, an IPG Mediabrands agency, and AOL Platforms are together developing a real-time marketing platform the firms hope will be campaign-ready by third quarter 2014.


Twitter is going to have to defend itself, now that the company has been hit with a potential class-action lawsuit by a Taunton, MA resident.


Marketing is a funny thing. Customers like it when their local store staff know what they like and remember them by name, but when it comes to mobile marketing, the tracking and info can seem rather creepy. And if not creepy, then at least as if someone in the matrix has reduced everything about a person to a marketing pitch.


Want to get the latest MMW news and insight delivered straight to you inbox every morning? Click here to sign up for our free newsletter.


37b97aafe3aee5bffdcf85f98539a0fa Mobile Marketing: The Week in Review Mobile Marketing: The Week in Review


Mobile Marketing: The Week in Review

What Your Grocery Store Might Look Like in 2025: Different at Night


Picture this: A grocery store with shifting walls that transforms into a restaurant at night and a farmers market on Saturday mornings.

Sound far-fetched? It could happen by as soon as 2025, according to a new exhibit that seeks to predict food retail trends for the next 10 years. The predictions come from the Food Marketing Institute, which represents food retailers operating nearly 40,000 U.S. stores. The organization debuted the exhibit on Wednesday in Chicago as part of a sprawling trade show that it is hosting this week.

The exhibit was overseen by Tesser, a San Francisco-based brand strategy and design firm. In the video above Tesser CEO Tre Musco talks about the project, whose sponsors include Hershey Co., Coca-Cola Refreshments and American Express.


Continue reading at AdAge.com


What Your Grocery Store Might Look Like in 2025: Different at Night

Gold iPhone With Vladimir Putin's Face Is Only $4,300

Putiniphone
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Supporters of Russian President Vladimir Putin can now prove their devotion to the mother country with a patriotic gold-plated iPhone 5S.


Italian luxury brand Caviar/Perla Penna built the so-called "Supremo Putin" phone, which is encrusted in 18-karat-gold. It features a hand-engraved portrait of Putin's face alongside the first lines of Russia's national anthem and the Russian coat of arms. It retails for $4,300 and is part of a line of extravagant phones marketed toward “people of the highest circle," as the company puts it.



"President Vladimir Putin has become a symbol of a new generation, strong-willed and a decisive leader," the company's description of the phone reads, according to Google Translate. "Caviar jewelers chose him as among the most important figures of our time." Read more...

More about Iphone, Apple, Vladimir Putin, Tech, and Gadgets


Gold iPhone With Vladimir Putin's Face Is Only $4,300

5 Facts You Didn't Know About Disney

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Disney, the company with near-exclusive ownership of our childhoods. It continues its legacy of wonder and magic for audiences of all ages. There has never been another company equally revered ... and polarizing


We've all watched the films and TV shows, listened to the songs, and gone to the theme parks, but what secrets remain? The 5facts team dug up some interesting tidbits about this incredible company, and the man who started it all. Click the video above for our latest episode.



For more trivia and jokes every week, subscribe to 5 Facts on YouTube.


1. T-Rex Alterations


trex


More about Disney, Entertainment, Video, Videos, and 5facts
5 Facts You Didn't Know About Disney

The Invisible No-Hitter: Cable Dispute Leaves Dodgers Fans in the Dark

Kershaw-no-hitter
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Clayton Kershaw, the ace of the Dodgers pitching staff, threw possibly the best no-hitter of all time earlier this month.


However, since Dodgers games are carried by a regional sports network that's available in only 30% of Los Angeles homes, only 55,000 people on average watched Kershaw's accomplishment on June 18 against the Colorado Rockies, according to local ratings provided by Nielsen. Last season, the Dodgers averaged a much higher 226,000 viewers per game on their previous TV home, Fox Prime Ticket.



The small number of viewers highlights the Dodgers' challenges to engage fans during the on-going impasse between the team's new network, SportsNet LA, and pay-TV systems in the Los Angeles regionTime Warner Cable, which agreed to pay the Dodgers $8.35 billion over 25 years to handle distribution and advertising sales for the network, is the only system that currently offers SportsNet LA and, due to the high price of the deal, the company hasn't been able to convince DirecTV, or any other carriers, to sign on. (The price Time Warner would charge rival providers to carry SportsNetLA would make it the most expensive single-team sports network in the U.S.) Read more...

More about Tv Ratings, Entertainment, Sports, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Clayton Kershaw


The Invisible No-Hitter: Cable Dispute Leaves Dodgers Fans in the Dark

How To Make a Blog Post Go Viral

Mike Odden

Painting by Mike Odden


How can I make a blog post go viral?


People have been trying to answer questions like this for years: How can I make a song a hit? How can I play in the NFL? How can I become world famous?


The reality is, for the vast majority of people, this is simply never going to happen.


For the 5% of bloggers that are able to create blog posts “that go viral”, the answer is to work your ass off until you get lucky. Then try even harder to figure out what’s working and refine what you write to connect with those key elements that resonate with your audience.


Sure, you might learn a few superficial tricks from Buzzfeed and Upworthy, but how important is a flash in the pan post vs. ongoing engagement with the people you’re actually trying to connect with?


On this topic, I just have to tell it like it is: Most people asking how their blog post go viral are too lazy or impatient to do all that hard work. They’re focused on the superficial social proof that comes from high social share counts and not on creating value.


I think it was Thomas Edison who said, “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration”.


When I look at our most popular posts based on page views vs. the posts that refer traffic to our company site that generate leads, it’s not the same at all. These three posts alone have over 16,000 social shares, but they’re not “lead gen” posts.


But… they do work together with content that is meant to convert. And that is the point of this post:  Create content that’s meaningful and package it for exposure. Don’t just make content for exposure.


Here is generally how I organize the kinds of content we publish here to capture attention and to engage.


Attract


Content intended to generate awareness. Those are the large lists posts, thought leadership posts, influencer posts, event posts, recognition posts, crowdsourced / co-created posts, and visually spicy posts are the content getting a ton of shares and creating awareness – attracting new and passively interested visitors.


Engage


These are posts that focus on answering specific questions that buyers often have, whether they are early or middle stage in the sales cycle. Examples, how to’s and lists of tactics work pretty well to create the kind of value that create confidence and inspire an interest in seeking out more information.


Convert


This type of post isn’t published very often on our blog. That’s the job of our agency website. But when we do, these are posts that explain specifically how we work to deliver certain kinds of services, case studies and particularly clever ways of solving difficult marketing problems.


Any of these types of content could “go viral” but the focus is more on relevancy to the target audience, the inclusion of our messaging and approach, packaging and promotion for exposure. “Going viral” gets you page views, but often not a lot else – unless you’re delivering value through meaningful information that is relevant to the community.


What are your objectives for blogging? Is it to get as much attention with each post as possible? Is it all based on relevancy to brand and audience? Or do you use a layered or combination approach?


 



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© Online Marketing Blog from TopRank®, 2014. |
How To Make a Blog Post Go Viral | http://www.toprankblog.com




How To Make a Blog Post Go Viral

18 More Amazing Takeaways from #MNSummit

#mnsummit


Personally, public speaking scares the crap out of me. People staring at me for almost an hour, trying to not stutter or talk too fast, and striving to meet the expectations of a session description would turn me red and shaky for hours.


Apparently, none of the MN Search Summit speakers are subject to those nerves (or if they are, they hid it with the skill of a magician).


Since early this morning our team has been bustling around the University of St. Thomas listening to speakers from brands like Moz, Distilled, LinkedIn, Dell, and several others. Each session was full of advice, tips, tools, and laughs—no shaking or red faces.


Our team ended the day feeling empowered to take our digital marketing to the next level; eager to get back to client work on Monday.


Below are some of the key takeaways from the afternoon speakers that we just couldn’t wait to share:


Rand Fishkin’s “Why Content Marketing Fails”


  • If you forget about the community behind your content, good luck getting shares, traffic, and viral status! People share what’s close to their hearts, ignites passion, and/or lands within their personal interests. Your content, done properly, can reveal the community behind it. And that is what will buoy it to the top. –Brooke Furry

  • The vast majority of content marketing efforts fail. Content marketing is not about a conversion on the first visit. Or the second. Or the third. It’s about building a relationship with your customers. Content marketing fails when unrealistic expectations regarding a conversion have been set. – Alexis Hall

  • “Good enough” content often performs well when a community is behind it. If you know your community and target them in your content, you will receive more likes, shares, etc. –Kate Heithoff

  • Setting the bar for good content should be settled at “good enough.” Focusing content on an audience will slowly build a community. That community will then determine on their own which of the “good enough” posts, which could be 1 in 1,000, are worth going viral. – Andy Thomson

  • Before you create content, ask the question “Who Will Share and Amplify This and Why?” Even great content marketing efforts fail if there is no community that is interested in and invested in sharing the content. –Alexis Hall

Adria Saracino’s “How to Match Your Marketing Efforts with Customer Emotions”


  • People are not robots. Don’t discount the role of emotions in content consumption and purchases. Consider where your prospects sit on the “consumption matrix” – do they love or hate the process? Is it a low or high investment? Is there potential for analysis paralysis somewhere along the way? Be a sensitive marketer. Appeal to emotions, happy or sad, because content that summons emotion performs better. –Brooke Furry

  • People share because they want to feel involved, or they want to educate others, nourish the bonds they share with others, support a cause, or define oneself. How does your content help them do that? – Eliza Steely

  • Some of the questions you have to ask throughout your efforts aren’t customer focused—they’re you or brand focused: what do you stand for? What problem are you trying to solve? What defines success? Why do you go to work each day? –Eliza Steely

  • We feel before we think, so make content that triggers emotions – Kate Heithoff

Connie Bensen’s “Creating a Culture for Social Marketing”


  • A social business integrates social into the workday. To do this, a company must provide the team with the resources, training and certification to do so. Connie Bensen describes the Dell Playbook for employee social participation to include not just brand guidelines, but also organic keywords, content optimization guidelines and value proposition messaging. This resource gives employees an oppotunity to integrate social into their workday in a way that is very beneficial to the business. – Alexis Hall

  • Companies should integrate social media into the workday and create brand advocates for yourself – Michael Bak

  • We need real-time marketing! With intelligent technology, solid strategy, and bold marketers, maybe we can improve the rate of successful content. – Andy Thomson

  • In order to embed social into the fabric of your company, encourage collaboration among your team. Connie Bensen describes creating a core weekly team to drive change at Dell. She also recommends using early adopters to share best practices. – Alexis Hall

Jason Miller’s “Welcome to the Funnel”


  • “Take your content and treat it like leftover turkey. Slice and dice it and use it in as many ways possible.” Repurpose it! – Ryan Rutz

  • If you’re not promoting your “Good content,” you’re missing the boat!!! The visual is the new headline!!!!! –Michael Bak

  • You need to pay to promote your own “good content.” If you do not set aside money to do so in your marketing plan, your content will not do as well. Setting aside a budget to promote your content on social media channels can help it gain more visibility and reach a larger audience. – Kate Heithoff

  • Think of your content as “Leftover turkey” . . . it can stretch for days into almost anything! –Michael Bak

  • Encompassing the content lifecycle, Jason illustrated the process of creating a focused piece of content which, once it shows merit, can be sliced and diced like a turkey. Those pieces of turkey should be utilized over and over until no one wants the turkey anymore. –Andy Thomson

Today was an incredible inaugural MN Search Summit. The speakers were dynamic and insightful, the food was nice and summery (brats and burgers are wonderful even if the sun isn’t out) and the crowd was the expected Minnesota-nice.


A HUGE thank you to all of the volunteers, sponsors, and MN Search Board Members that put on the event. It was amazing, and you should be proud!


We definitely can’t wait to come back next year!



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© Online Marketing Blog from TopRank®, 2014. |
18 More Amazing Takeaways from #MNSummit | http://www.toprankblog.com




18 More Amazing Takeaways from #MNSummit

How to Conduct a Content Audit on Your Site

audit

"Content audit" sounds a bit intimidating like something that involves ghastly amounts of time, endless spreadsheets, and dozens of unpaid interns. The word “audit” is so tied up with other unpleasant life experiences that I totally understand if it doesn't inspire you. But hang on for a second because a “content audit” might be what your site needs to get to the next level.

So, what is a content audit? A content audit is a careful look at your website’s existing content in order to make sure that it’s doing what you want it to do — driving the right kind of traffic, containing the right kind of keywords, and improving conversions.

The reason this is important is because the content of your website is the most important factor in your website’s existence. To be blunt, your content is your website.

That’s why a content audit matters. It’s about improving the very soul of your website - its content.

With crappy content, you have a crappy website. Now and then, it deserves a little audit action so you can find out what’s right about it, what’s wrong with it, and what might need to change.

But before we get into how you can audit your content, here is what you need before you can start: Read More



How to Conduct a Content Audit on Your Site

Best of 2013: Responsive design, content marketing, conversion paths & more

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2013. Google called it "a year of transformation." Mashable declared it "the year of responsive web design." And then there was Google Enhanced Campaigns, which was mandated across all AdWords campaigns back in July. If you weren't ready for mobile, well, it didn't matter, because it happened.

With smartphone sales expected to reach 1.81 billion...and double by 2015...compelling, intelligent, and integrated digital campaigns, and thus experiences, will be mandatory.

Not optional.

We've been preaching brilliant post-click marketing since 2007. But this year, highly relevant, smart, user-centered creative really took a front seat that will carry through 2014 and beyond.

So, to wrap up the year with a nice bow, we wanted to share our "Best of 2013" — a collection of blog posts designed to inspire better digital experiences and help you provide more value (and conversions) in the new year.

Cheers!

Jessica 

9 Best Practices for Designing Responsive Landing Pages

Nine of our favorite best practices for designing stellar responsive landing pages. You can use these with or without a platform to ensure you are building landing pages that not only respond, but convert! Learn how to put the right content in the right place on the page for every user.

How to use conversion paths for a better digital experience

Humans click your ads and land on your pages. Seems obvious, but in our haste to put up an experience with the perfect layout, content & offer, we often forget to think about the human behind the click. Learn how to use user segmentation (aka conversion paths) for a better digital experience.

9 Ways to Drive More Leads From Your Content Marketing

Sure, you've used landing pages to 'gate' high value content such as white papers or ebooks, but there more creative ways to up-sell and cross-sell content to convert your audience's attention into business results. Discover nine ideas for innovative ways to drive more leads from your content marketing.

Three awesome [infographics]

Content marketing, landing pages and testing...these are three of our favorite things! Download these infographics.

Happy Holidays from ion!

Read our 2013 holiday blog post series — ionians cover best practices for testing, responsive design, user segmentation, marketing apps & more! Read the series.




Best of 2013: Responsive design, content marketing, conversion paths & more