Brand Active is composed of three main components: Active View, Active GRP, and a survey pilot. Google hopes that Active View will become the new standard for online impressions across the industry and has submitted its model to the Media Rating Council. Active View is designed to provide information on the percentage of ads seen and the duration for which those ads were seen. It will count a “viewed” impression as any that is seen “at least 50% viewable on the screen for at least one second.”

Active GRP has been conceived as the online version of the television Gross Ration Point (GRP). Active GRP is designed to be a metric that translates between television and online thereby extending brand marketing’s reach more effectively. Active GRP will calculate reach and frequency in real time.

For more information on the Brand Active initiative, please view the video below.

The results are in and consumers are in love! In the days leading up to Valentine’s Day, consumers relied on their mobile devices and tablets for help with finding that perfect, romantic gift or dinner location for their Valentine.

According to the information released from Google, in the days leading up to the Valentine’s Day holiday, there was a steep rise in searches for restaurants including:

• 359% increase on mobile devices
• 135% increase on tablets (iPad, Kindle Fire, etc)
• 142% increase on desktops

“For last-minute reservation makers,” Google says, “mobile was the device of choice. A whopping 62% of total US searches for popular national chain restaurants on Valentine’s Day occurred on high end mobile devices or tablets. If you weren’t advertising on mobile, you missed an opportunity to reach nearly two-thirds of consumers looking to find a restaurant.”

Those searching for last minute gifts also relied on mobile search results. A prime example of the power of mobile search is the increase of 227% in flower related search terms in the U.S. from February 7th to February 14th. These searches resulted in more people clicking on the ‘Get Directions’ or phone number links. According to Google, “Consumers were 560% more likely to click to make a call week over week. And mobile clicks to get directions increased 514% over the same period as people were scrambling to find a nearby florist.”

It’s clear that when holidays approach, most consumers are last minute shoppers. When push comes to shove, consumers will turn to their mobile device or tablet to help them find a gift or make that needed reservation. If you don’t have a robust mobile advertising campaign, you are missing out on reaching the ready-to-buy consumer.

If you are ready to expand your marketing campaign to include mobile or are looking to refine your current mobile marketing campaign, now is the time to call Qiigo. QiigoMobile can help you reach this lucrative and active market.

For more information on QiigoMobile, call (404) 496-6841.

Following what was a record setting ratings day for Super Bowl viewership, with 111.3 million people tuning in to the big game, statistics are rolling in on how mobile ad searches corresponded to TV ads during the game.

Global ad network, inMobi, reports 39% of survey respondents “used their mobile device in response to a TV commercial during the game.” This active engagement with commercials means they were discussing commercials, getting more information or re-watching TV ads after their first run during the game.

What is perhaps more impactful for advertisers is the data coming out of Google’s headquarters this week. Google is reporting that during the game “41% of Google searches in the US related to Super Bowl TV ads came from mobile devices.” Google is also reporting dramatic increases in Super Bowl related searches in the US including:

• 200% increase on desktops
• 970% increase on tablets
• 2700% increase on smartphones

The impact is clear…advertisers need to be aware of the presences of smartphones and integrate mobile marketing into their campaigns.

Take your marketing campaign to the next level with Qiigo Mobile. Our team of dedicated professionals will help you to integrate mobile marketing into your existing campaign for maximum results. Call Qiigo today at 404.496.6841.

Expected to grow rapidly in 2012, US mobile ad spending growth is already exceeding the fast pace predicted by leading industry analysts. Driven in large part by Google’s mobile search advertising business, US mobile ad spending is now expected to reach a whopping $2.61 billion in 2012, an increase of 80% over 2011. This represents are revised forecast set out by eMarketer just months ago which projected US mobile advertising spending would increase 47% over 2011 to $1.8 billion in 2012. The growing roster of mobile ad networks including Google AdMob, Apple’s iAd, and Millennial Media, in addition to the influx of new market data has allowed eMarketer to revise their projections upward for 2012.

According to Noah Elkin, eMarketer principal analyst, the most significant adjustment in the mobile ad spending forecasts was a result of Google’s stellar performance in the mobile advertising arena. Their success has moved the industry forward far faster than was previously expected.

“Google has translated its dominance of overall online and desktop search advertising into dominance of mobile search and mobile advertising at a rapid pace,” said Elkin. “Given the pace of this market’s expansion, eMarketer’s estimates for mobile search may still be on the conservative side.”

Google’s dominance in the mobile ad industry includes:

• 51.7% estimated share of overall US mobile ad revenues in 2011 or approximately $750 million
• 95% estimated share of all US mobile search ad revenues
• 24.8% share of total US mobile display revenues in 2011 or $127.5 million dollars

The other major players in the mobile ad spending industry are Apple’s iAd and Millennial Media. This is a look at their share of market.

• Apple iAd’s share of US mobile ad revenues: 6.4% or $92.4 million in revenue
• Millennial Media’s share of US mobile ad revenues: 6.3% or $90.9 million in revenue
• Apple iAd’s share of US mobile display revenues: 18% or $92.4 million in revenue
• Millennial Media’s share US mobile display revenues: 17.7% or $90.9 million in revenue

It is estimated that mobile display ad spending will grow at an impressive 93.5% rate to $861.7 million in 2012. Mobile video spending is also expected to see a significant increase up to $151.5 million, a 122% increase over 2011. While mobile messaging is expected to decline in favor of mobile display, video, and search, it will still be a popular and vital medium for marketers who communicate with customers for media couponing, loyalty, and customer care campaigns.

If your company hasn’t yet ventured into the mobile advertising arena, now is the time to start. Call Qiigo today to find out how we can get you started on an exciting new mobile advertising campaign. Call 404-496-6841.

Building a strong and thriving Google+ community is a great way to engage your customers, build brand awareness, and develop a loyal following among your shoppers, vendors, and clients. If you are just getting started or even if you already have a Google+ page, you can use these simple tips to ensure that you are growing your Google+ audience.

• Build A Compelling Page. Ensure your Google+ page is compelling. Chose a profile photo that clearly speaks to your store, business or location. Make it easily recognizable and dynamic. Add scrapbook pages that share information about your business, thoroughly complete the ‘About’ section, and don’t forget to add links to other locations across the web where you can be found.
• Messaging Matters. Think about the tone of the messages you plan to disseminate via your Google+ pages and keep your tone consistent across time. Your messages should be personal and authentic, you want people to engage with you and feel a connection to your business. Consider linking your personal Google+ page to the ‘About’ section of your company page. This will help people to get a feel for who is contributing and will help to establish that elusive connection with your business.



• Segment with Circles. Google+ Circles can help you to segment your messaging allowing you to tailor specific messages to customers, vendors, staff, VIPs, and more.
• Frequency Matters. Don’t set up your account and then bail on it. Create a schedule and stick to it. Frequency of posting matters and your customers expect to hear from you with new and interesting information on a regular basis. Some recommend a daily posting schedule. Most posting is completed between 10am and 1pm.
• Don’t Forget the Photos and Video. Photos and video are a great way to liven up your posting schedule. Having a sale? Post a coupon exclusive to your Google+ members. You can even edit your photos in Google+ so it’s easy to keep your posts vibrant and dynamic.
• Keep Them Engaged. Use the +mention feature. Ask questions. Seek feedback. Respond to comments. Be an active member of your own community and your Google+ community will stay engaged with you.



• Host a Hangout. Hangouts allow you to have face-to-face conversations with your fans and followers around the world. Host a hangout and enjoy the benefits of interacting with your Google+ community.
• Get Your Badge. Your Google+ Badge that is. Installing a Google+ Badge on your website allows people to +1 and add you to their circles directly from your site. It also connects +1’s from your homepage with +1’s on your Google+ page and ads, increasing the number of recommendations for your site.
• Spread the Word. Share your page with people you know by posting a link to your Google+ page on your email signature, blog, website, and other social destinations.
• Take A Little Credit. Tag your online materials with an author tag so people will know what content was created by you.

Use these tips and you will be well on your way to creating a dynamic Google+ page. For more information on Google+ pages and other social media endeavors, contact Qiigo today.

You’ve probably seen loads of those little square maze-like boxes called QR codes floating around recently. QR codes are all the rage in marketing right now. And with mobile scanning up 4,500% in the first quarter of 2011 over the previous year, it seems that QR codes are here to stay as a way to reach consumers and grow your business.

QR codes are a 2D barcode. Unlike a UPC code, which is one dimensional, a QR code can hold 133 times more data including letters and numbers. This makes QR codes able to store content including hyperlinks, maps, phone numbers, emails and more. QR codes are read by a smartphone’s mobile app reader. As of the third quarter in 2011, over 20 million QR codes were scanned worldwide; 12,000,000 were scanned in the US alone.

So how do you make use of this new marketing technology to communicate with your customers and grown your business? First, it’s important to have a clear objective when using QR codes. It’s simply not enough to drop a QR code on to your latest ad and have it link to your website. You will blow through some serious goodwill with your customers if that’s all you do. When using QR codes you should:

• Have an Objective. Do you intend to drive traffic to your store, promote a sale, retain customers or generate leads for your business? As with any campaign, you must have a purpose before designing your message.
• Provide Value to Your Customer. What’s in it for them? Will your customer receive a discount, get access to mobile-friendly content, save time or receive a special offer? Give them a reason to participate in your campaign.
• Show Them How to Participate. QR codes might be new to your consumer too. Provide how to assistance, links to reader apps, a call to action, etc.
• TEST TEST TEST! This is essential. Test your QR code before going live. Test it on multiple phones from multiple carriers. Some older phones with less than 3MP resolution can’t read codes smaller than 1” by 1”. Don’t create a code that people can’t read. Nothing will kill your campaign faster.

Once you have a clear objective for your campaign that will provide real value to your customer you may be stuck on where to put that cool new QR code. Here are some ideas on ways you can use QR codes to target your customers, increase conversions, and grow your business.

• On Product Description Displays. This use of QR codes is ideal for retail, food, and automotive stores. Use your QR code to provide additional information about the product on display, provide customer reviews, price comparisons, information on in store demos, links to catalog shopping, or even a Buy Now option.
• On Receipts. Ideal for restaurants and any business in the recreation or hospitality industry, this use of QR codes allows for instant feedback from the consumer. Offer a discount on the next purchase or a chance to win when the survey is complete and you are likely to see a dramatic increase your conversion rate.
• Provide On Demand Video. Does your business produce product guides, packaging or other items that require the use of phone support or troubleshooting instructions? If so, create a video and link it to a QR code for easy access.



• Grow Your Facebook Base. From your main Facebook page to your product specific pages, QR codes provide a quick and easy way for your customers to get on board and “Like” you. Post QR codes on your store door, on signs around the store, in dressing rooms, on placemats, in waiting rooms, anywhere you can think that consumers stop to scan. Offer them incentives for joining your Facebook page and watch your fan base grow.
• To Gather Reviews. Reviews impact your local SEO and with a quick scan of a QR code, your customers can leave a positive review on your Google Places page. Place codes on doors, placemats, on specially designed cards left with the bill, anywhere that will trigger your customers to remark on the positive experience they had with your business.



• Build Loyalty. A Foursquare loyalty program is a great way to encourage your customers to return to your business frequently. Remind them to check in at the front entrance, with posters placed strategically throughout your location, and at your checkout counter.
• Drive Traffic. Need to literally get people to your location. Why not consider a QR code that directs people with a map and directions. These types of codes are ideal for invites, billboards, and posters promoting events.
• Generate Leads. Do you mail to your clients? Are you headed to a tradeshow? Why not consider a QR code that encourages people to scan and sign up. This type of code is ideal for an enter-to-win contest, joining a group, registering for an event or RSVP’ing for an invite.

With so many ways to use QR codes to target your customers and grow your business, now is the time to embrace this new technology. If your company isn’t already using mobile marketing and QR codes, consider how adding them to your marketing plan can impact your bottom line. Interested in finding out how you can benefit from the use of QR codes? Contact Qiigo today at (404) 496-6841.

Currently, all the credit for closing the sale goes to the last ad, search or referral your customer clicks on before the conversion. Wouldn’t it be great to know what other marketing channels are playing an integral role in getting your customers to that final click? Now you can!

Multi Channel Funnels from Google Analytics is designed to help you track the role website referrals, searches, and ads play in a conversion. These new sets of reports will also tell you how much time has passed between a visitor’s initial interest and his or her purchase. With Multi Channel Funnels you will be able to:

• Gain insight into which channels customers interact with during the 30 days prior to conversion
• See which channels initiate, assist, and complete conversions.
• View interactions with virtually all digital channels, including paid and organic searches, affiliates, social networks, and display ads.

For more information about how Multi Channel Funnels can benefit your marketing campaign, call Qiigo today.

You need a regular Google+ account prior to starting your business account, sign up here if you don’t have one. Then visit the Create A Page tool to create your business page. There are five options for businesses to categorize themselves within Google+. They include:

• Local Business or Place
• Product or Brand
• Company, Institution or Organization
• Arts, Entertainment or sports
• Other

If you choose the local business category, you will enjoy some special features including the ability to enter a phone number. The Local Google + pages are designed to allow customers to easily connect with a business’s physical location and include a map, the location’s address, phone number, and hours of operation. The one drawback is that your current Google Places page operates separately from your Google+ Page. The reason being that the Places page is designed to provide information about your business, while the +Page is designed to allow you to engage and build relationships with your customers.

When creating your Google+ Page it is important to not delegate this task randomly. The person who creates this page will become the page administrator and no one else will be able to admin the page. The admin rights are also not transferable at this time. Google has indicated the option for multiple administrators will be available in the future, but no timeline has been given for this feature.

Once you have established your page, you can use it much the same way you use your Facebook page. You can post items to your page as yourself or as your business. You can share photos, videos, links and conduct hangouts.  Your page can also follow people, but not until they follow you first.

Your business can also have multiple pages. This is a nice feature for businesses that have a need for dedicated pages. For example, you may want to have an overall page for your business (Ford) and a separate page for a product line (Ford Focus). You can even have pages for events (2012 Auto Shows). Just be sure you have a good solid reason for each page.

To follow a business page, the page must be added to a Google+ circle. The +1 button merely states that the visitor to your page “likes” your business. To follow and get your updates they must add you to a Google+ Circle. Kind of confusing, we know. But your business page gets the benefit of a total +1 count showing on your profile page. This option is not available to personal pages.

Other things you should know about Google + Pages:

• Vanity URLs are not available yet. For example, Macy’s didn’t get plus.google.com/macys their Google + page is https://plus.google.com/116142452604357423186/posts. Google has given no estimated update for when this might change.
• Want to change your name? Unlike Facebook, you can change the name of your Google+ Page whenever you like. The only caveat being that if you have verified status, you will have to re-verify with your new name. So it still makes sense to choose your name wisely.
• Google is launching a new icon you will be able to use to encourage people to follow your page.
• Use Direct Connect search to get directly to a Google + page. Just use the [+] in front of the page you are interested in and it will take you to the page automatically.

If you have questions about how Google+ Pages can benefit your business, please contact Qiigo today!

Announced in a Google blog post titled, A fall spring-clean, Alan Eustace, a Senior Vice President at Google, posted, “Over the next few months we’ll be shutting down a number of products and merging others into existing products as features…This will make things much simpler for our users, improving the overall Google experience. It will also mean we can devote more resources to high impact products—the ones that improve the lives of billions of people.”

Eustace went on to explain that users of these products would be communicated with directly and would be given “sufficient time to make the transition and enabling them to take their data with them.”  Employees are being transitioned to other projects within Google.

The Google team does not believe this will keep them from being creative and driving new concepts. Eustace said, “We’ve never been afraid to try big, bold things, and that won’t change. We’ll continue to take risks on interesting new technologies with a lot of potential.”

From the Google post, here is an overview of the products being eliminated:

• Aardvark: Aardvark was a start-up we acquired in 2010. An experiment in a new kind of social search, it helped people answer each other’s questions. While Aardvark will be closing, we’ll continue to work on tools that enable people to connect and discover richer knowledge about the world.
• Desktop: In the last few years, there’s been a huge shift from local to cloud-based storage and computing, as well as the integration of search and gadget functionality into most modern operating systems. People now have instant access to their data, whether online or offline. As this was the goal of Google Desktop, the product will be discontinued on September 14, including all the associated APIs, services, plugins, gadgets and support.
• Fast Flip: Fast Flip was started to help pioneer news content browsing and reading experiences for the web and mobile devices. For the past two years, in collaboration with publishers, the Fast Flip experiment has fueled a new approach to faster, richer content display on the web. This approach will live on in our other display and delivery tools.
• Google Maps API for Flash: The Google Maps API for Flash was launched to provide ActionScript developers a way to integrate Google Maps into their applications. Although we’re deprecating the API, we’ll keep supporting existing Google Maps API Premier customers using the Google Maps API for Flash and we’ll focus our attention on the JavaScript Maps API v3 going forward.
• Google Pack: Due to the rapidly decreasing demand for downloadable software in favor of web apps, we will discontinue Google Pack today. People will still be able to access Google’s and our partners’ software quickly and easily through direct links on the Google Pack website.
• Google Web Security: Google Web Security came to Google as part of the Postini acquisition in 2007, and since then we’ve integrated much of the web security functionality directly into existing Google products, such as safe browsing in Chrome. Although we will discontinue new sales of Google Web Security, we’ll continue to support our existing customers.
• Image Labeler: We began Google Image Labeler as a fun game to help people explore and label the images on the web. Although it will be discontinued, a wide variety of online games from Google are still available.
• Notebook: Google Notebook enabled people to combine clipped URLs from the web and free-form notes into documents they could share and publish. We’ll be shutting down Google Notebook in the coming months, but we’ll automatically export all notebook data to Google Docs.
• Sidewiki: Over the past few years, we’ve seen extraordinary innovation in terms of making the web collaborative. So we’ve decided to discontinue Sidewiki and focus instead on our broader social initiatives. Sidewiki authors will be given more details about this closure in the weeks ahead, and they’ll have a number of months to download their content.
• Subscribed Links: Subscribed Links enabled developers to create specialized search results that were added to the normal Google search results on relevant queries for subscribed users. Although we’ll be discontinuing Subscribed Links, developers will be able to access and download their data until September 15, at which point subscribed links will no longer appear in people’s search results.

On August 16, Google announced it would acquire Motorola Mobility for $40.00 per share, a 63% premium over the closing price of Motorola Mobility shares on Friday, August 12, 2011.  The $40.00 per share price represents a total acquisition price tag of $12.5 billion, the largest acquisition in Google’s history.

According to a press release issued by Google, “The acquisition of Motorola Mobility, a dedicated Android partner, will enable Google to supercharge the Android ecosystem and will enhance competition in mobile computing.” Google intends to run Motorola Mobility as a separate business unit.

Larry Page, CEO of Google, said, “Motorola Mobility’s total commitment to Android has created a natural fit for our two companies. Together, we will create amazing user experiences that supercharge the entire Android ecosystem for the benefit of consumers, partners and developers.”

Motorola Under Pressure

Motorola announced plans to divide into two companies in March 2008. The two companies would focus on different business models with Motorola Inc. becoming Motorola Solutions Inc. Motorola Solutions makes radio equipment for emergency workers and scanning devices for retailers. Motorola Mobility took on the mobile phone market and television box tops.

Since the split took effect in January of this year, Motorola Mobility has been under pressure from billionaire investor Carl Icahn to maximize the value of its patent portfolio. Motorola Mobility claims to own more than 17,000 patents worldwide related to wireless technology. After Nortel’s $4.5 billion patent sale, the largest ever patent auction, it became even more important for Motorola Mobility to maximize the value of its patent holdings.

Icahn said in a statement after the acquisition announcement, “This is a great outcome for all shareholders of Motorola Mobility, especially in light of today’s markets. We applaud management and the board for acting so responsibly.”

Smartphones Arms Race

The Android operating system and Apple’s iPhone have turned the Smartphone market upside down over the past several years. Once dominant players like Research in Motion and Palm have seen their share of market significantly decrease as these new players have taken over the market.

While Google has not had a share of the hardware business, the acquisition of Motorola Mobility allows it to compete as it now owns the Droid handset. This puts Google squarely in competition with Apple’s iPhone as well as in competition with the manufacturers who support the Android operating system on their handsets.

Impact on Android

The most widely used mobile operating system in the US, Google currently offers the Android operating system free of charge to other manufacturers including Samsung, Sony Ericsson, HTC and LG Electronics. Google has said that Android will remain available to all manufacturers for free, that they have been in contact with those manufacturers and that they support the transaction.

According to Page, the acquisition of Motorola Mobility will “drive a greater user experience and accelerate innovation” with the Android experience. It is his belief that that Motorola’s strong patent portfolio will help Google protect Android from “anticompetitive threats from Microsoft, Apple and other companies.”

The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2011 or early in 2012.