These video extensions are currently in beta in the USA, and although Google haven’t made any concrete statement about when they’ll see general release / UK functionality, it can’t be too far off (depending, of course, on them going down well in the USA). This new feature follows on recent extensions of the amount of information displayed in paid search listings, as Google brings together more and more features. AdWords listings are becoming increasingly diverse and increasingly information-rich, as are organic SERPs.

Now, down to brass tacks: how much will it cost? Apparently, Google will be charging the maximum CPC of the ads’ keywords per 10 seconds of video. So that’s not an insignificant amount, especially on campaigns that are getting a lot of impressions.

Apparently, the videos will play in expandable plusboxes underneath the classic text ads we all know and love. So, like Google’s current “hover-over” page shots for organic results, it’s a chance for Google users to get more content before clicking through. We’ll be interested to see what effect a little added rich media has to CTRs. What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

Take it away blog.facebook.com:

“To help us show your question to the most relevant people and ensure the best answers, you can tag it with a specific topic. For instance, if you have a question about what type of camera you should buy, you could tag it with “Photography.” If you want to find the best bike routes in the area, you might tag it with “Cycling.”… The questions you ask will be shown to people who have expressed interest in the particular topics you tag.”

It’s a user-generated development; Facebook have spotted a pattern in usage – “Millions of people ask their friends questions on Facebook every day” says Blake Ross on the official Facebook blog – and have developed a feature reflecting that pattern.

Here are some Facebook Questions questions:

Has Yahoo! Answers come to mind yet? It’s a good example of the shortfalls of expecting answers from the internet. Wikipedia works because it’s moderated; will Facebook Answers be compromised by its open nature? Only time will tell. There’s been some discussion of Facebook Questions as a replacement for Google as the go-to for quick answers. Can the massed expertise of Facebook users rival Google’s algorithim? Answers in the comments please…

What are the potential repercussions of Louis Vuitton’s campaign to have exclusive rights to “Louis Vuitton” as keywords? Google said this back in March:

“We believe that user interest is best served by maximizing the choice of keywords, ensuring relevant and informative advertising for a wide variety of different contexts,”

They’re clearly of the opinion that limiting certain keywords to the use of those who’ve trademarked them could compromise AdWords as a whole:

“Some companies want to limit choice for users by extending trademark law to encompass the use of keywords in online advertising. Ultimately they want to be able to exercise greater control over the information available to users by preventing other companies from advertising”

And they’re confident that their AdWords anti-counterfeit-goods policies are enough to deal with the problem of knock-off goods being advertised as genuine on Google. At the moment, trademark owners can report individual sites for infringing trademarks, and it seems that as far as Google are concerned, that’s enough. This is bolstered by a mid-July update to AdWords policy, extending the prohibition of implying affiliation through deceptive business names.

Since the French Supreme Court’s decision, however, it seems that the argument is going to continue for a while yet.

Louis Vuitton claims the judgement will “ensure greater legal certainty to the benefit of both businesses and consumers operating online”.

As the Guardian blog is quick to point out, there are big differences between searching on Twitter and searching via Google or other search providers. Twitter indexes very differently from Google’s Caffeine or the indexing algorithms used by other search providers.

So, Twitter and Google will deliver very different results. The helpful example given in the Guardian blog explains further:

“If I want to find out what people are saying about the World Cup right now, I might search Twitter… But if I want to find fixture lists, stadia capacity and previous tournament winners, I’m going to Google.”

So, Google, for example, will offer a much more sophisticated field of search results, whereas Twitter allows up-to-the-minute monitoring of conversations occurring across the social web (turning up Tweets containing links to posts on Posterous, Facebook pages, photographs on Tumblr, etc.)

Twitter’s Biz Stone, quoted in the Guardian article, is aware of this difference:

“Searching the web – …is about I, me, I’m asking the search engine to give me something – and when you are on Twitter, you are open to information that’s coming to you.”

That’s an important point of the argument; what search services deliver defines how people use them. People are increasingly search savvy. With Google integrating real-time results on to SERPs, would it be worthwhile for Twitter to try and offer a more sophisticated search? Answers in the comments please…

Benchmarking allows users to compare key metrics such as visits, page-views, pages per visits, and bounce rate with an average value that’s been generated from data provided by other Google Analytics users. The Benchmarking feature will display your data on a line-graph; the graph will also feature a line indicating the average result for that metric for other websites within your industry.

Because you can select which category your website falls into from a hefty list of options, the Benchmarking average you see should be reasonably contextually valid. Google further focuses the Benchmark by splitting websites into three categories (small, medium, and large) depending on the amount of visitors they receives; you should be presented with an average that reflects the size of your web presence.

Why Use It?

Remember that because the Benchmarking line represents an average, it’ll be affected by erroneous results within the analytics data that it’s drawn from. So a few sites with unusually high or low bounce rates, for example, could skew the average seen by other Benchmarking users.

While Benchmarking isn’t an authoritative source for competitor analysis, it is a useful tool for rating your site’s metrics against something other than previous performance. Use it to identify opportunities for improvement, spark strategy, and inspire site development.

Accessing Google Analytics Benchmarking:

All analytics data used in Benchmarking is anonymous, and you have to agree to share your data in order to access the Benchmarking service.

To activate Benchmarking, you need to agree to share your analytics data “.Anonymously with Google and others” in your Data Sharing Settings. You can access this either via your over-arching account settings, or, if you’re setting up a new account, at the Accept User Agreement page; the option you need to agree to is below the Google Analytics Terms Of Service. Then you can overlay the Benchmarking line on your data visualisations by clicking on the ‘Benchmarking’ tab in the visitors section of Google Analytics. Benchmarking can be used no matter which version of the tracking code is installed to your Google Analytics account.

The dashboard is the first screen you see once you’ve logged in to Google Analytics. It’s an overview page, and it displays a number of reports. You can choose which reports you want to be displayed; this means that it’s possible to set up an Analytics Dashboard that presents you with key analytical business information as soon as you log on.

A well set out, well thought-through dashboard will give you a general idea of your website’s performance through bounce rates etc, important business metrics like conversion rates, and any anomalies. Then, if something catches your eye, you can drill down to get more detailed information.

You can incorporate any of your analytics reports into your dashboard by clicking on the ‘Add to Dashboard’ tab within your Google Analytics. Let’s say, for example, that you’ve been concentrating on SEO (always a good idea!) and want to track bounce rates for visitors generated by a certain keyphrase. Find the relevant report in analytics, add it to your dashboard, and it’ll be one of the first things you see next time you log on.

Some Tips:

• Don’t swamp yourself with too much information. You can have a maximum of twelve dashboard elements; use them wisely.
• Clear Identification of your business’s key metrics should dictate which reports you prioritise. Picking reports that represent your website’s goal completion rates is a good place to start.
• Remember that each of your websites or businesses may require different dashboards to show key data.
• Different analytics users need personalised dashboards so each person sees the information that’s relevant to their role.

You can add and remove new reports with ease. And, when it’s necessary, you should. Over time your business will develop, and your use of analytics will become more sophisticated. Remember that the dashboard is customisable for a reason: don’t miss an opportunity to keep tabs on relevant information, and don’t be afraid of streamlining your dashboard.

It’s a reaction to the ever-increasing amount of content on the web. The official Google blog explains it like this:

Our old index had several layers, some of which were refreshed at a faster rate than others; the main layer would update every couple of weeks. To refresh a layer of the old index, we would analyze the entire web, which meant there was a significant delay between when we found a page and made it available to you.

With Caffeine, we analyze the web in small portions and update our search index on a continuous basis, globally. As we find new pages, or new information on existing pages, we can add these straight to the index.

What does this mean for potential developments in the SERPs that Caffeine will allow Google to develop? We’ve seen the inclusion of video and real time search. Is this going to lead to more complex SERPs, moving further away from Google’s original design simplicity?

By altering their SERP generation process to reflect the rate at which content is being published, Google have made it more important than ever – and easier than ever – to drive traffic to your site via updating your content.

At Moo we’re well aware of the results that can be achieved through well optimised, well written content. Caffeine isn’t going to massively revolutionise SEO; it’s a reflection of the importance that Google – and its users – place on “fresh” content. Quality and quantity aren’t mutually exclusive, and all SEO strategies need to be user-focussed; Caffeine consolidates the importance of good SEO content.

“In a survey conducted just before Google Street View launched across the entire UK, a fifth of those surveyed said they had used the service for househunting [source: YouGov Plc February 2010].”

That’s from Google’s Lat Long Blog. Which is also quick to point out the ways in which property search syncs with other Google Maps services:

“Search can be refined by choosing features like sale or rent, bedrooms, bathrooms, and price. The map will update to show the properties matching those criteria – and also dynamically update as you scroll and zoom around the map…layers and features like Photos, Videos, Satellite, and Earth view can be turned on as well.”

Not that we’d expect anything less.

It’ll be interesting to see how Google develops property search from here. They’ve been testing location tagging in the USA, which allows business owners to Tag their premises with extra information and custom messages on Google Maps. For a fee, of course. How long will it be before Google launches paid upgrades to property search listings?

Implications? Well, the difference between visits to social and search sites isn’t exactly huge; social sites are currently 0.55% more popular than search engines when you compare percentage of total UK internet visits. Of course, every leading edge can be leveraged, and 0.55% of total UK internet visits is still a potentially significant amount of traffic. Search engines are still receiving 11.33% of total UK internet visits, a more than healthy amount.

While Facebook is becoming increasingly ubiquitous, there’s still no Google-equivalent amongst the social networks. Facebook’s share of social network visits is 55%. Whilst that’s impressive, it’s nowhere near the market domination that Google has achieved. Facebook is making some big steps interconnecting with other social networks, and diversifying its functions into areas like ecommerce. This latter development could have massive implications, but it’s still early days; we’ll be looking into it in more detail in a forthcoming blog.

Social network users are there to interact with each other and with organisations and brands. Hence the opportunities for brand exposure and customer relations that make social networks an important arena for businesses.

As surfing habits change, it’s important to redeploy your strategy where potential customers spend their time, whether that’s users looking for engagement on a social network, or within search engine results. More than ever, ensuring that there’s cohesion between your social strategy and your search strategy is important. There’s a need for a coherent brand message and targeting across both.

People who’ve already viewed your website are more likely to be amenable to further advertising; Google is helping Google users see relevant ads, and is helping adwords users advertise more effectively. Google have this to say about it:

“Remarketing is a tool that can drive ROI for all types of advertisers, regardless of the focus of your campaigns (brand-orientated, performance-driven, etc.) or your ad formats.”

We can definitely see how content network remarketing could offer a greater degree of focus – and creativity – within ad creation. Users who visit pages on your websites will be added to a Google generated adwords list related to that page; ads will go only to the people on these lists. So you can focus on ads related to the content they’ve viewed – perhaps with small-scale special offers aimed only at people on that list.

All of this occurs within the traditional Google ad-auction set up, with CPM and CPC values optimisable through other targeting techniques – geographical, for example. So, Google is presenting adwords user with the opportunity to target people who’re further on in the buying cycle than other search users, and to further finesse the selection of users who see their ads. It’s the latest step in Google’s journey towards increasingly user-defined marketing platform functions; other functions are currently in beta, and we’ll be discussing them further as they appear.