Facebook released its financial results for the third quarter. Some of the most interesting observations are:

• Facebook Q3 bested Wall Street expectations with $1.26 billion revenue in Q3.
• Facebook has reached a gargantuan number of 1.01 billion monthly active users as of end of September 2012. This is an increase of 26% year-over-year.
• Facebook’s revenue from advertising was $1.09 billion. This represents 86% of total revenue and a 36% increase from Q3 in 2011.
• The biggest thing that stood out in Facebook’s Q3 results is the shift of the world’s largest social network to mobile. A total of 604 million mobile monthly active users were reached at the end of September, which is almost 60% of the monthly active users and marks a fantastic 61% increase year-over-year. Moreover, 14% of Facebook’s generated advertising revenue now comes from mobile.

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Last week Google announced and launched a new reporting feature – Auction Insights for Google AdWords. This new feature shows advertisers who competes with them in keyword auctions. The competitive URL is shown along with five different statistics: impression share, average position of advertiser and competitor, overlap rate of when both ads are shown, position above rate and top of page percent.
Initial launch of this report is for single keywords only, and data is provided only from May 1, 2012 to present.

This new feature it is a great addition for businesses, as it cuts the time spent on the Ad Preview Tool trying to determine how ads stack up against the competition. Using this new tool, you can now see a range of new competitive metrics on any given keyword within your campaigns. (continue reading…)

If you know Google Analytics, you probably look at your “Average Time on Site,” “Average Position,” etc. It is important to understand why average metrics can be misleading and to look beyond the headlines and delve into the specifics. 

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Today, we find plenty of instances where clients want us to build websites that are highly dynamic in look, but not in functionality, such as animations that make the simple web pages more attractive.

The first thought that comes to mind when considering the addition of embedded videos, games, interactive graphics, etc., into a website, is the use of Adobe Flash or just “Flash” as it is more popularly known. Flash has been around since 1996, and with their popularity, various facilities and friendly plug-ins, Flash improvements have helped developers worldwide build fantastic websites. However, there are some drawbacks to these  Flash improvements that have caused developers to seek new alternatives. Thankfully, a new alternative has come – HTML5. With its open source platform, easy access with mobile phones and other features, HTML5 has gained tremendous popularity in a short period of time. Interestingly, people have started comparing these two technologies, and we are seeing a great deal of discussion about Flash versus HTML5. (continue reading…)

The jQuery Mobile Framework allows developers to build mobile websites in the same way that they would build websites for desktop browsers. jQuery Mobile is a touch-optimized web framework for smartphones and tablets. It acts as a unified user interface system across all popular mobile device platforms, built on the rock-solid jQuery and jQuery UI foundation. Its lightweight code is built with progressive enhancement and has a flexible, easily themeable design. To ensure cross-browser/-device compatibility, jQuery Mobile is built on clean, semantic HTML.

This blog post just touches the tip of the iceberg by listing some key features, supported platforms and the basic mobile page structure and by sharing some useful links. The use and role of the jQuery Mobile framework in developing mobile websites is huge. Read further to learn more about this awesome framework. (continue reading…)

Google has been consistent in its efforts to be a contender in the social media race. Their major efforts include the development of Orkut (you must be thinking what’s that – read on!), Google wave (was a hype once), the release of Google Buzz (remember that???), and now Google+ (Google Plus). With the outrageous popularity of Facebook and Twitter, Google clearly does not want to be left behind in this domain and has therefore upped its efforts and investments to be a key player in social media.

In 2003, Google offered to purchase the social network Friendster, but they declined the offer. Google then internally commissioned Orkut Büyükkökten to work on a competing independent project. The result was Orkut. The product launched on January 24, 2004, which was 9 days before the launch of Facebook, which now boasts nearly 750 million users (as per Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement on July 6, 2011) . Orkut.com initially had its largest user base in the United States, but that soon changed with the site being noticed in Brazil (later in 2004) and then in India (in 2006-2007). The site became highly popular in these countries but unfortunately failed to create a buzz anywhere else.

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Technologically, we have only come of age in recent years. The past twenty years have seen transitions from postal mail to emails to text messaging (SMS); from CRTVs to Plasmas to LCD to LED to 3D TV’s; from 8-bit video games to Playstation 3’s, Nintendo Wii’s, X-Box 360’s, Kinects; from telephones to mobile phones and now smart phones. The list of the technological advancements in the past couple of decades is endless. It’s simple evolution in terms of technology. The businesses and markets have changed dramatically over this period of time. While good copy writers, newspaper advertisements, and marketing posters were needed for marketing a new or revamped business in the early 90’s,  there is so much more that you can do with technology in the current times to give your business the boost it needs. The World Wide Web (WWW) alone provides a plethora of techniques to reach out to the world – a world in which the potential clientele is infinite. While there are dozens of things that you can start with, there are five basic things that are a necessity to bring your business to life on the web.

A Sleek, Stylish, Sexy – yet Efficient – Website

Where’s a prospective client most likely to look for a product or service they need? The internet! In an age where Google and Bing have become verbs, a website is a necessity for any business. With the availability of the latest website building tools, a new website is expected to have utilized some, if not most, of the features available with the latest website building tools. With the advent of HTML 5, dynamic web has reached new heights, and a good looking, scalable dynamic website is a definite plus (or requirement) for your new business. A smart website is not only sexy, but should also be easy to browse and user friendly. Keep in mind that browsing a website should be geared towards the user since the user experience of the website can have a direct impact on the business. A person who is unhappy or unimpressed by a client website may be less inclined to approach it for his business needs.

Here are examples of some really cool websites that use the latest in web technology, mainly HTML 5: (continue reading…)

It’s well known that the best and most reliable form of effective marketing is “Word of Mouth.” A person is more inclined to buy/use a certain product that has been referred by somebody they know. It’s also known that marketers have zero control over word of mouth marketing, but thanks to the advent of social media, this is not true anymore. Brands can have an online presence on various social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc. where real people can Like, Follow or Subscribe to their brands and show their friends, followers and connections what they use and prefer, giving an indirect word of mouth.

This is just one of the benefits of having your brand present on social networking sites. Another big advantage of being in the social realm is the interaction with your clients. We’re getting lazier (or smarter!), and we would prefer to have things in the fastest, most convenient way possible. With the advances in technologies and everyone having BlackBerries, Androids, Windows and iPhones, people are getting used to doing everything with the touch of a finger using the same tool. The point is that you and I would rather have everything in one place than having it at a hundred different places. For the same reason, it’s easier for a customer to give feedback to a company using a tool that he uses (already) to connect with his family and friends, rather than filling out a feedback form on the company’s website. It’s also a great way to inform people about the latest news and reviews about the brand’s products, share offers and deals, or engage in a general conversation about the brand or the industry.

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As if Domus Dish hasn’t blogged about mobile-ready websites enough – an article appearing in today’s New York Times talks about consumers’ demand for the ability to shop on their cellphones. Retailers haven’t caught on to the need for mobile-friendly websites and as a result, e-commerce sales have not grown as much as anticipated.  As one analyst says, in regards to attempting to shop on a cellphone, “Who wants to spend their time pinching screens and mistyping links?”  We sure don’t.

Worth a read: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/18/technology/18mobile.html?_r=1&nl=technology&emc=techupdateema1

Mobile phones are the fastest growing segment of the online market. Half a billion people accessed the mobile internet worldwide in 2009¹. Usage is expected to double in the next five years as mobile takes over the PC as the most popular way to get on the web¹. Many mobile web users are “mobile-only,” i.e. they do not use a computer to access the web – ever. In countries like Egypt and India, those numbers are as high as 70% and 59%, respectively. Even in the U.S. 25% of people access the internet solely on their cellphones. Almost one in five global mobile subscribers has access to fast mobile Internet (3G or better) services and according to emarketer.com, U.S. mobile ad revenues are expected to hit $1 billion in 2011, which is a 35% annual growth – that’s quite a number when compared to the expected 10% growth in the traditional online advertising market*. Now for the hundredth time we’ve asked this question on Domus Dish – ARE YOU READY TO MAKE YOUR WEBSITE MOBILE-FRIENDLY YET?

Sheesh.  If you were unaware, (although if you’re on the DD blog I don’t know how you could be) I’m sure these stats must have raised an eyebrow. And I’m also sure you must be thinking of going mobile. Now that you’re (FINALLY) ready to take the plunge, here are some Do’s and Dont’s to keep in mind: (continue reading…)