This past week, Google unveiled its latest product; Google Chrome. Google Chrome is a web browser that was designed to “add value for users, and at the same time, help drive innovation on the web,” according to an official Google announcement.

There’s no doubt that Google dominates the internet with a 60% share of all web searches. So it is only natural for Google to make its way into the web browser arena. Google chrome is going up against some pretty tough competition, Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox (the main competitors). Currently, Internet explorer is the leading browser capturing approximately 73% of all browsing activity. In second place is Mozilla Firefox powering the browsers of about 18% of internet users. Will Google Chrome, make a dent on the browser market share? It is a little too soon to tell, but the early feedback on chrome seems to be positive.

Here are some cool features that stand out:

Speed Dial:
One of my favorite features is the home page display. When you open Chrome, your 9 most requested web pages are displayed as small thumbnail screen shots; making it simple to navigate to your favorite pages.

Auto Completion:
In Chrome’s search and address bar, there is a feature called omnibox.  Omnibox offers search suggestions, you’re most visited web pages, and pages you don’t visit but are highly viewed by other web surfers.

Load time:
The browser loads super quickly. Double click and boom, there it is!

Tabs:
Yes, all browsers now have tab features. Google switched it up a bit and put the tabs on top of the address bar. So it appears like each page has its own address bar, as opposed to one for all tabs.

Incognito:
Incognito is Google’s new “privacy mode.” Incognito allows you to surf on a “secret” window that does not log any of your browsing activity on your computer. Google cited an example use of this for keeping a surprise gift secret.

Keeping Your Computer Healthy:
Google Chrome is constantly downloading lists of harmful sites to protect you against malware and phishing attempts. If you try and visit one of these sites, Chrome will flash a warning and advise against visiting the page.

This is just a short list of features. Visit the official Google Chrome page to learn more. Keep in mind, Google Chrome is still in beta. There are many more features to come and many things to be improved upon. Stay tuned and in the meantime happy surfing!

With the approaching holiday season many online retailers are already gearing up for record breaking sales.  Typically in the past, the day after Thanksgiving or ‘Black Friday’ was when retailers received a large portion of holiday sales; by offering bargains, sales and deals to consumers.  Online retailers seeing the potential for record sales began offering super deals online to consumers the Monday after Thanksgiving; this has become known as ‘Cyber Monday.’ According to BusinessWeek.com, more than 72% of online retailers planned a promotion around Cyber Monday.

However, ecommerce retailers have also seen such a huge jump in holiday sales the second week in December.  This Monday is referred to as ‘Green Monday.’  Green Monday (coined by Ebay), marks the beginning of the busiest shopping week of online shopping; partly due shoppers who want to ensure delivery before the holiday.  According to MarketCharts.com, last year, December 10, 2007 Green Monday sales totaled over $881 million; a 33% increase from the prior year.  The number of sales for the 2008 holiday season is expected to grow even more.

Since the holiday season will be here before we know it; preparation now for online retailers is crucial for a successful holiday season.  It’s a good idea for online retailers to have an action plan ahead of time to identify what they are going to offer to drive sales.  MarketingTrends.org states that over 40% of holiday shoppers start their shopping in October. 

To catch early shoppers, consider free shipping or a percentage off the order; if customers purchases before a certain date. You should then tailor your online advertising efforts to reflect these special bargains.  Another idea is to create new and fresh ad copy to captivate shoppers.  Lastly, be sure to test your site to ensure complete functionality; a short test could save your holiday shopping sales. 

With so many opportunities to make this a stellar holiday season, it’s easy to see more green in your pocket!

It seems like a no brainer to me, yet without fail, I often get asked this question. I typically get into a debate (albeit a friendly one) as to why an online branding campaign is nothing short of essential. The truth of the matter is that many online marketers are rather hesitant to bid on their own names, however, it is imperative to do so in order to protect your brand. The common response is: “But I am already number 1.” Even if you are ranking number 1 organically, you should still bid on your name! Here are a few facts to convince you why it is extraordinarily beneficial to do so:

• It is perfectly legitimate (and happens quite frequently) for competitors to bid on your name. The engines permit this activity, which means that a competitor can lure away your searcher without doing anything illegal; provided they do not use your actual name in the ad copy. Keep in mind: this is a customer who was initially looking for YOU! If that is not reason enough, keep reading…
• It reinforces your brand and adds credibility.
• It is relatively inexpensive. Most engines (Google, Yahoo, MSN) make it so you are likely to get the best deal on your own company and product names, which results in a lower CPC.
• It is good to cover your bases. In other words, if your organic results drop as algorithms change, you will maintain your online brand presence with your paid listing. Even a well optimized website cannot achieve top positions for every variation of the company name or brand all of the time.

Do not give a competitor the opportunity to snatch away your visitor. Be sure to bid on your name! Oh and while you’re at it, you might want to create a competitor campaign. Remember, it is perfectly acceptable to give your competition a run for their money!