Google Android Phone - Here's Why Google Is Doing It

With the imminent release of the new Google branded and operated Nexus One phone, there has been a lot of speculation on why Google would bother with the hassle of running it's own phone instead of just using other operators and phone makers. Here's my take - Google understands that phones are no longer about telephone calls - they're about communication and entertainment. That's Google's arena - they understand that phones are replacing personal computers as the way that the world will connect to the internet, and Google wants to be right there at the forefront. Already the concept of NetBooks is outdated - why buy a specific device for using the internet when your phone can do it just as well?

There are rumors that they will be releasing an Operating System for PCs too - Google sees internet options being packaged with new PCs - when you buy your new PC you get 'suggestions' from the manufacturer about how to set your internet browser up - such as installing the Yahoo! toolbar. If these manufacturers are suggesting companies other than Google it could cause a loss in market share for Google. So, if Google runs the OS they can suggest Google products, plus set up PCs that will work perfectly with Google's suite of products, which include FREE document editing software, spreadsheet software, etc.

I'd say that Google is seeing a trend and making sure that they are ready to ride it.

Selling SEO Presentation

I recently gave a presentation to the Pittsburgh SEO Group (in partnership with the local chapter of SEMPO), at Impaqt in Pittsburgh.

You can find a PDF of the presentation here, entitled 'Best Practices for Selling SEO'. Don't forget to click on the comments button on the top left of most slides so that you can get further clarification of the point of each slide.

The presentation was fun to do and the group was a lively and diverse group of smart web professionals and entrepreneurs. The group is hosted through Meetup at http://www.meetup.com/pittsburghwebdesign/.

Thanks to my good friend John LeDonne and everyone at Impaqt for arranging and hosting. Hope you join the group and look forward to meeting you.

How to Buy Billboards Efficiently

I can help you to understand how you should measure and assess billboards, and plan a good billboard campaign.

Billboards are valued by the number and demographics of traffic that pass by them each day, known as a DEC (daily estimated commute.) The total number of people is important, but so is the quality of the people that are in that number. If you are selling high end jewelery then 100 high income people have more value to your campaign than 1,000 blue collar workers. If you are a grocery store and selling something that everyone wants then you can take a look at straightforward numbers and just go for as many people as you can. This is where the quality part comes in.

The billboard companies have all of this information - they have the traffic count and they have the demographics of that audience. If you need a certain type of audience then pick the neighborhoods that you'll find that audience traveling through. If you want mass, then highway locations will be likely to be your best bet.

To be effective with billboard advertising you need to aim for a certain level of frequency. What frequency you need will depend on what the purchase cycle for your product or service is - for example, a cell phone is a quick purchase and a billboard with a strong offer could get you results within a few days, but a real estate company billboard needs to be up for months before you'll really be getting that information through to people who need your services.

The great thing about billboards is that if you're on someone's route to work they'll see your board every single day for it's lifespan. The bad thing about them is that if you're on a route that's used occasionally they will only see your board once or twice, which is not usually enough to motivate people.

There are different types of billboards too and different costs associated with producing them:

Really big ones, called bulletins - these take vinyl ads, which are more expensive to produce, but they are very durable, can stay up for a long time, and can be moved from location to location. The drawback of any expensive production is if you change any part of the offer then your investment in the vinyl is wasted.

The slightly smaller ones, called posters or 30-sheets. These take paper and are much cheaper to produce. However, the paper is not as durable and has a lifespan of about 3 months at the most. It also can't be reused or moved to another location.

Digital billboards - these are really cheap to produce because you don't print anything, and often come with a back-end system that allows you to change creative any time you feel like it, but these boards are usually the most expensive to buy. They also rotate your ad with multiple other advertisers, which means that there is a chance that a passer-by won't see your ad and it also means that you could have an undesirable neighbor.

You also have much smaller boards, which are even cheaper to produce but the smaller size means less noticability and may also impact a viewer's opinion of your business (that you're cheap, basically!)

Don't forget bus shelters too - they don't just reach bus travelers as bus stops are usually on widely traveled routes and everyone driving past them gets to see them. These can also get really creative.

My advice to anyone planning on doing this is to talk to as many providers as you can - get all of the options, from the big companies to the independents - they're full of information and knowledge and if you talk to a few you'll be able to 'triangulate' the information and find the common things that seem to be more truth and less selling.

You could also talk to an advertising agency - we have this knowledge already, we have tried and tested a lot of different campaigns so that you don't have to learn the hard way, we can produce the creative in a way that will look right (nothing as disappointing as seeing your ugly billboard proudly displayed!), and we can save you time and money by doing it the right and most efficient way.