Google seems to have taken the view that if they can’t buy Groupon, it will beat them at their own game with a beefed up Google Offers product. Earlier this year, after Google’s $6bn offer to buy Groupon was rejected, they launched their own deals site using their own sales force to source the deals. However, in what seems like a clever move, Google has taken this a step further and now is offering deals from 15 other deal websites on its site; it is a deal aggregator of sorts. So, by signing up to Google Offers, you get exposure to deals from a number of sites that you hitherto would have had to sign up to individually. This has to be a pretty unwelcome development for Groupon as it is currently in the middle of its IPO roadshow. No doubt many investors will justifiably be asking can Groupon survive in the face of this latest move from Google. Maybe Groupon will rue the day it didn’t sell out to Google as it has instead to compete with it which has to be a daunting prospect.

SEO services

At DPFOC, we are always advising our clients of the benefit of a video introduction from a director of the company on the company website. This week Michael Harty of Home Care Plus had his video done and is now live on www.homecareplus.ie – I think it is really great and expect this to increase conversion rates by a number of percentage points.

For more on conversion optimisation, see our conversion optimisation guide.

Google has announced $9.03bn in revenue for Q2 2011, a 35% increase on the same quarter in 2010. Interesting average cost per cllick  has increased by 12% as more and more advertisers chase the same clicks on Adwords often driving the profitability out of some keywords regardless of conversion rates.

Obviously it is great to see the ultimate indicator for the health of online marketing posting such strong numbers. This represents a rebound after a deep recession with companies again looking to invest in advertising online to grow their businesses. As the rebound has been far more subdued than many expected and indeed hoped, the numbers would appear to haveplenty more room for growth. The record revenue number is also indicative of more and more companies getting to grips with search advertising, both paid and organic, as they realise the ROI that can be achieved on such investment.

A lot of companies in the online marketing space have been offering Social Media Optimisation (SMO) services for a long time now. The idea is to open a dialogue between the company and those interested in it. It is a general PR exercise to make sure that a strong relationship is built between a company and those with whom it deals. The logistics of this is based largely around getting as many followers on Twitter as possible and Fans on Facebook and then engaging with these people on a regular basis to build up a long term, strong relationship with them. It can be loosely viewed as an evolution of what is now an old fashioned e-mailing list but more dynamic in that a mailing list has a more one way dynamic but Facebook and Twitter facilitate a more immediate, dynamic conversation. Winning followers on Twitter and Fans on Facebook is an exercise that companies spend a lot of time on in the same way as they do/did on building e-mailing lists. However, the below article would be a cause for a little concern. I suppose though we shouldn’t be surprised as our Facebook / Twitter feeds become more and more crowded, those posts that we actually engage with become fewer and fewer. As Matt Cutts would say “if you don’t have great content, why should people care what you have to say!”

http://searchengineland.com/report-only-3-to-7-5-of-fans-view-posts-from-a-facebook-page-82732

I see that Google is now in the process of developing its own group purchasing site at google.com/offers. Apparently, after their failed $6bn bid for Groupon, they have come to the conclusion “if you can’t by ‘em, compete with them.” Groupon has 33 million subscribers so Google has a lot of catching up to do. However, if I were lucky enough to be a Groupon shareholder, I’d take my money off the table now as opposed to waiting to see if Groupon can maintain its primacy in the face of an inevitable and savage onslaught from the big G!

I see Groupon have accumulated losses of half a billion Dollars and at IPO, it will be valued in the billions. Apparently half of retailers who have used the site to sell will not do so again due to the deep discounts that they have had to offer and the fact that after they sell the product / service for next to nothing, there is no brand loyalty and so no long term benefit. But still the institutional investors are lining up to underwrite the IPO. I saw a good quote on the FT blog saying that there are no certainties in life “except death and taxes…………..and institutional investors who never learn!” So the piling of money into a business just over two years old with an untested business model and a largely dis-satisfied customer base proceeds apace! Welcome to the Tech Bubble 2.0!

I can’t imagine that anyone who uses the current Google Analytics ever complained that “this thing needs to be updated!” Anyone who uses it knows it is as slick and as informative an analytics platform as one could hope for. Short of telling you how many sugars the visitor had in his tea at the time of visit, we can know everything else about the traffic that comes to our websites. While the new version is nice and has a slightly different layout, I think it is a sideways move purely because it is not really possible to improve on perfection. To check it out yourself, just log into your Analytics account as normal and click on “New Version” at the top of the screen.

Limo Hire Essex

Delighted to see www.barsportfranchise.co.uk in top spot for “sports bar franchise” on Google.co.uk – we secured top spot for “bar franchise” a few weeks ago and now also have number 2 spot for “pub franchise.”

If you want to work for yourself in the dream job of owning your own pub, you should definitely check out this great opportunity.

DPFOC was recently engaged by Bar Sport to initially redesign their website and subsequently promote it. We were excited to be involved as we can see the massive potential for growth of this business and delighted to be a part of this. Bar Sport provides those who want to start a business a really great opportunity to become a pub owner while having the security of knowing that the Bar Sport concept is tested and proven to be recession proof. Perhaps the most compelling part of the offering is that the royalty charged (5% of turnover) is more than offset by the discount received on alcohol purchases due to Bar Sport’s bulk buying power. I have never come across a franchise offering a cost neutral royalty fee. Anyway, we’re doing our bit by getting the site to top spot for “bar franchise” and in top 3 for “sports bar franchise” and “pub franchise.” We are going to use Adwords to go after some more competitive terms like “open a pub” and “open a bar” as well as working on these from an SEO perspective over the coming months. Exciting times ahead for this unique pub franchise!