• Google: 67.95 percent
• Bing: 13.80 percent
• Yahoo: 13.63 percent
• Ask: 2.64 percent
• AOL: 1.38 percent

The five most visited sites from search engines in this period were:

Facebook (8.65 percent)

YouTube (4.71 percent)

Gmail (3.02 percent)

Google (1.35 percent)

Wikipedia (1.20 percent)

With YouTube coming in second behind Facebook , this confirms the overwhelming popularity of video or web commercials these days. Recent predictions show that video will account for 50% of all consumer Internet traffic by the end of 2012. Nearly 60 percent of viewers will watch video before reading text on the same webpage and are more likely to make a purchase. This year, 83% of small businesses plan to use social media channels for their business. With the web rapidly moving from text to video, small businesses need to adapt to the shift in technology or quickly become irrelevant or less impactful to their consumers who expect to see video everywhere online.

Having your Business stand out with a video thumbnail on Google results means you will become the most visible result on the page to your target customers.

At its most basic, a QR Code is a barcode on steroids. They’re used for encoding information in two-dimensional space — like in the pages of magazines, in advertisements and even on TV and Web sites. They were originally used to track auto parts, but have become popular (especially in Japan) for much broader, often commercial purposes.

How is it different than a barcode?
Whereas a barcode encodes data in only the horizontal plane (as scanners read the width and distance between the vertical lines), QR codes encode data both horizontally and vertically in a grid of tiny squares. This allows for much more data to be encoded in a smaller space. Barcodes, then, though ubiquitous, are good for little more than identifying products and objects. Specially programmed scanners can read barcodes, and match them to product names, prices and inventory, but that’s about it. QR codes, on the other hand, can actually embed that information in the code itself, and, when read with the proper software, can trigger actions like launching a website or downloading a file. Additionally, QR codes can be read from any angle, while barcodes must be aligned properly.

So what exactly can I do with QR codes?
QR codes are tailor-made for quickly and easily linking to content on smartphones. Simple uses include magazine advertisements that link to websites. Putting the codes to more complex use, start-up Pingtag uses them as a sort of digital business card for sharing LinkedIn accounts and contact info. Android uses QR codes to link directly to apps in the Android Marketplace, and the municipality of Bordeaux, Francehas posted them all over the city in order to track parking meters, provide links to information from the World Heritage Foundation and guide visitors to nearby shops or parking locations via Google Maps. In turn, Google has been using QR codes to promote local businesses (and itself) with the Google Places business directory, which includes reviews, contact info, and, if the business so wishes, coupons.

How can I use them?
There are a number of apps in the iPhone App Store that can read QR Codes, including the free QRReader. Most Android phones and BlackBerries are able to read the codes right out of the box, as can newer Nokia handsets. Windows Mobile users can download QuickMarks. All you need to do is launch the appropriate app, and point your phone’s camera at the QR code you want to scan.
QR codes are only bound to become more common in the coming months and years. We’re increasingly reliant on our mobile devices, and typing out URLs or other data on their tiny keyboards is still not very efficient. These squares of elaborately arranged boxes are a shortcut around that problem, can easily be integrated with various services, and incorporate geo-location data. Advertisers may not have figured it out just yet, but QR codes are their best friends.

Give it a try !

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SEO company Los Angeles

SmartproSEO can help you get your business on the first page of google.

Our Video SEO or Google Places Seo Services Help get you on the 1st pageof google. Our affordable SEO Services help engage your clients and increase website traffic with Guaranteed Seo results.
Contact us today !
SEO Company Dallas

To put this in perspective, Super Bowl XLIII achieved the largest television audience in U.S. history with a total audience of 151.6 million viewers, according to official national ratings data released by Nielsen Media Research.

In other words, more Americans are watching online video each and every month than watch the Super Bowl once a year. Get it? Got it? Good.

YouTube accounted for close to 40 percent of the 26 billiion videos viewed during September, to remain the market leader by a wide margin.

According to comScore,
– 84.8 percent of the total U.S. Internet audience viewed online video in September.
– The average online video viewer watched 9.8 hours of video that month.
– The duration of the average online video was 3.8 minutes.
– 125.5 million viewers watched nearly 10.3 billion videos on YouTube.com — which is 82.4 videos per viewer.
– 45.6 million viewers watched 424 million videos on MySpace.com — which is 9.3 videos per viewer.

Now, let’s compare these numbers to ones that search marketers should know by heart.

According to comScore qSearch, Americans conducted 13.8 billion core searches in September 2009. They watched nearly 26 billion videos online that month. This means Americans are watching almost twice as many videos as they conducting searches at the five major search engines.

So, is your video marketing budget twice as large as your search marketing budget? Hmmm. Maybe that’s why the news was buried on a Friday afternoon.

Let’s drill down a little deeper.

There were almost 9 billion core searches conducted on Google in September. There were 10.3 billion videos viewed on YouTube that month. That’s right, Americans are watching more videos on YouTube than then are conducting searches on Google.

But wait! There’s more!

According to comScore qSearch, there were 21.3 billion expanded search queries conducted in September. This counts searches for mapping, local directory, and user-generated video sites as well as searches at the major search engines.

Who were the leaders in expanded search?

Google was #1 with 9.4 billion expanded search queries.
YouTube was #2 with 3.5 billion.
Yahoo! as #3 with 2.7 billion.
Bing was #4 with 1.2 billion.

So, even if you put blinders on and say you are only interested in “search” and not interested in “marketing,” then YouTube belongs on your A-list. It is the #2 search engine.

Methodology of Affluents

• Conducted online February 22-28, 2011
• National sample of online adults 18+
• Weighted / balanced to U.S. Census data
• 2,088 respondents interviewed in total
• 1,063 with HHI <$100K
• 1,025 with HHI $100K+

Content of the Survey

• Frequency of seeing digital ads (by type)
• Actions taken based on digital ad exposure
• Perceived relevance and trustworthiness of message from digital advertising
• Focus vs. multi-tasking during media activities
• Attitudes toward advertising, privacy, etc.

Rich Results

The IAB commissioned research, done by Ipsos Mendelsohn, which has been surveying the affluent market since 1977, found that 98 percent of affluent consumers use the Internet, as compared with 79 percent of the general population. They spend 26.2 hours online weekly, 17.6 hours watching TV and 7.5 hours listening to the radio. The general population, on the other hand, spends about twice as much time weekly with TV and radio—34 hours and 16 hours, respectively—and just 21.7 hours on the Internet.

21% of US Households are affluent and have 70% of the consumer wealth while spending 3.2x more than other Americans (that would be a 79% that are not affluent). They are 2x more likely to buy, again not surprising, they’ve got the disposable income to do it currently while many others, don’t.

Basically, affluents are more hip to what’s new and exciting. Not surprising really, since they can afford all of that. The only real exclusions to those rules are probably people like myself who are techno-geeks and write on the topic. I know about all sorts of awesomely cool gear that I am nowhere near affluent enough to have, but would love.

A big 59 percent of affluent consumers reported taking action based on a digital ad during the preceding six months.That’s pretty close to non-affluent consumers actually

A Glimpse into Affluence

The Affluent topped all the charts including Internet usage (98% over 79% General Populace), avg hrs/week online (26.2 vs 21.7), wireless phone owners (92% vs. 81%), smartphone (33% vs. 17%) and were far below average on TV hrs/week (17.6 vs 34) and radio (7.5 vs. 16).

In regards to digital ad viewing, Affluent consumers were 3% higher than sub $100K/year households and the total population. So apparently, the online video ad industry is hitting them more?

They also report seeing more video ads per week (2.8 vs. 2.6) than non-affluent and total population averages.

Video Ads Are The Most Effective Type With Affluents

Those video ads affected them 41% of the time which was only matched by search ads and sponsored listing. Web/banner ads and email ads came in at 37%, social media at 28% and mobile ads were the bottom at 17%.

Another interesting thing that came out of the research is that they prefer ad-supported free content over premium, subscription-based content. 57% of Affluents topped the 53% of the general populace and 51% of non-affluents who answered yes to:

I would prefer to see ad-supported online content that is free, rather than paying for content that is ad-free.

Those are some tasty little tidbits of information right there. Affluents are more interested in ad-supported free content over subscription models. Everyone seems to be trying to tighten their belts and get more out of the ad-supported format, even those who have more to spend it seems.

Perhaps that tells you something?

There’s all sorts of other useful insights in the Affluent Consumers in the Digital World report as well.

The Possibilities of mSearch

 Is Your Web Company Taking Your Site Hostage?
 

Ok, so it might not be quite *that* extreme.. but then again, maybe it is. Recently, I have had a few clients where this was happening to thier website. I was working with them to make the necessary changes for optimization and thier web company held thier site hostage for over three  months! 

It really is a shame that people who have the knowledge for web design are trying to take advantage of those who do not. Sending out emails that are filled with mumbo-jumbo language used to try to confuse and belittle their customers. Charging outrages hourly amounts to do the littlest of things.

Friends, let me tell you – This is not the way to do business. It is not way to develop a rapport and relationship with your customers! Regardless of your area of expertise.

If you want to ensure that you don’t fall into the same trap that my clients did, make sure of these three key things:

1. Make sure that YOU are the owner of your domain.

• I cannot stress this enough. There is absolutely, positively NO reason that your web person should have your domain in their name. Ever. Period. (Have I stressed it enough yet??)

• The only thing they need you need to do on the domain name account is point the servers to the hosting company.

This can be done by your web person having a one time access to your account by you allowing them access through your login info. Just make sure you change the password after they are done.

-OR-  ( I believe this to be the best choice) They can walk you through it over the phone. It literally can be done by anyone. And it only takes about 1 minute to do.

2.  Make sure that you have complete and constant access to the hosting account.

• This is where everything is that is placed on your website. Even if you have no idea how to do anything, and never want to do anything on your site, you still need this information. You need to always have access to YOUR site!

3. Do not EVER sign anything that states that your property is theirs!

• Unless of course they are doing graphics or pictures that you have not paid for the rights. But I HIGHLY recommend getting rights to ALL of the content on your site. If you cannot afford to pay for it, don’t get it until you can pay for it.

If you and your web person are all good on the above three things, congratulations! You found a great person!

But, some of my clients had up to a five year relationships with thier web company before there was trouble. So, I highly recommend being proactive instead of reactive for this situation. Better to be safe than to be sorry. I can not stress this enough…If you request access to your account and they question you at all for any reason, you should be worried!

Thank You for taking the time to stop by and read my thoughts!
Please feel free to contact us if you need help with your Corporate Hostage situation!

Check out Google Wallet for more info.

Six months after debuting a handset with mobile payment capabilities, Google this week launched it’s Google Wallet service with Sprint as its carrier parter. The operator’s Nexus S handset, with integrated near-field communications (NFC) chip can be used for wireless purchases at MasterCard PayPass terminals, initially in New York City and San Francisco. Consumers with the Nexus S and a Google Wallet account can pay for goods or services simply by entering a PIN on their phone and tapping or waving it near the wireless terminal at check-out.