Amazon, eBay Add Pinterest Buttons

Retail is inherently visual, so it comes as no surprise that two of the biggest online sellers - Amazon and eBay - have added Pinterest buttons to product pages.

While many mentions of Amazon from early Pinterest adopters refer to the rainforest, users have mentioned the site in their picture captions, even before the e-commerce giant included the Pinterest share button on pages.

Statements like one from Pinterest user Mary Kobayashi: "I bought this dress on a whim, as I had never bought clothes from Amazon before.... Either way, I'm so glad I did it," are easily found.

Now, Pinterest users can share product images and page links directly from Amazon and eBay. Already, people are posting items they have or wish they had directly from Amazon, from Puma Men's Club 917 Golf Shoes to crochet patterns for Kindle.

Several measurements by outside firms show Pinterest's user base is dominated by women, and the site has become a digital catalog of women's apparel and accessories. People have turned the site, which includes a drop down search menu of gifts priced from $1-$20 up to $500+, into a place for aspirational product wish-lists.

Expect more online retailers to jump on the bandwagon, adding the Pinterest button to product pages to take advantage of the popular sharing site as a new digital marketing platform – especially now that Pinterest is the third most popular social network.

 Pinterest MarketingPinterest Marketing Tips & Tricks to Drive Targeted Traffic7 Creative Ways Your Brand Can Use PinterestOnline Pinboards – Is This the New Way to Facebook?This story originally appeared on ClickZ:Kate Kaye wrote E-commerce Giants Amazon and eBay Add Pinterest Buttons

Google’s (Not Provided) Impacting More Than Just SEO Sites

Think that (not provided) is only impacting SEO-related websites? Think again.

The Poynter Institute, a non-profit journalism school that’s well known in media circles, wrote Wednesday about the growing impact that (not provided) is having on publisher websites. Author Steve Myers shared what he found after checking Poynter.org’s analytics:

Keywords were hidden in 29 percent of searches in April. That’s up from 22.5 percent in November, shortly after the change was made. Now “(not provided)” makes up the largest category of search terms, dwarfing the second place term: Poynter. Overall, 6 percent of inbound traffic now comes from a black box.

In the six-plus months since Google began encrypting searches and outbound clicks by default for logged-in users on Google.com, (not provided) keyword referrals have grown well beyond the single-digit searches that Google originally said would be affected.

The conventional wisdom has been that it’s a problem that mostly affects SEO- and search industry-related websites — sites that get a lot of traffic from Google via users that are logged in due to using Google Analytics, Gmail, Google AdWords and any number of other Google products that require a login. At the start of the year, though, I shared a few examples of non-tech/non-search sites that were already seeing (not provided) as one of their Top 10 referring keywords only two-and-a-half-months after Google made the change.

With Firefox moving to secure search by default and Google announcing in March that secure search would expand beyond the U.S., it’s nearly certain that (not provided) will become more common and affect more websites well beyond the search and tech industries.

Will Pending Layoffs Put Final Nail In Yahoo Search?

Whatever is left of Yahoo Search — and, frankly, that’s unclear at this point — might be gone completely within the next couple of weeks.

At AllThingsD today, Kara Swisher is reporting that Yahoo is planning substantial layoffs as early as next week, with a company restructuring to be revealed the week after that. Swisher, who’s been correct on things like this in the past, mentions “a half-dozen sources” in reporting on Yahoo’s impending plans.

Of note for Search Engine Land readers is the discussion of what might happen to Yahoo Search. AllThingsD says that Yahoo has been in talks with both Google and Microsoft.

“[Yahoo CEO Scott] Thompson and others are still trying to figure out how to dispense with its ad technology org and, potentially, its search business. He has been in discussions with both Microsoft and Google about this, although there are other possibilities, too.”

One of those “other possibilities” appears to be Yahoo holding on to at least some of its search business, which AllThingsD says could be rolled into a “global media” division with Yahoo’s communications business.

Yahoo got out of the core search business when it outsourced its search results to Bing in August 2010. That 10-year agreement calls for Bing to power Yahoo’s search results and Microsoft’s adCenter to handle self-service search ads (while Yahoo continued to service “premium” advertisers).

Former Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz promised that Yahoo would “continue to innovate” on the user interface/experience side. While there have been a few changes here and there, Yahoo’s share of the U.S. search market has been sliding consistently.

So, while my headline asks if the final nail could soon hit the Yahoo search coffin, I’m sure Danny Sullivan would argue that it already happened three years ago.

Online Marketing News: Facebook Gobbles Instagram, Sharing is Caring, New LinkedIn Stats, Location is Where it’s at: Literally

Instagram The Timeline

This infographic detailing the evolution of Instagram by Visually�is powerful for a couple reasons, including the fact that the entire timeline is visualized through the use of Instagram photos. �From launching in 2010, to their first million users, and finally to the recent purchase of Instagram by Facebook this is a must read for any fans of the popular social app.

�LinkedIn Introduces Targeted Updates and Follower Statistics� �With over 150 million professional users worldwide, LinkedIn is a powerful marketing asset. ��Recent upgrades revealed this week that marketers can now effectively target prospective clients with advertising campaigns and deliver unique content to those users Via SocialTimes.

�Agency Comes Up With �I Care� Button For Social Media� �Have you ever seen something on Facebook such as a posting about a natural disaster or other tragedy, and chose to �like� the post? �Even if you�re simply showing your support something about clicking �like� may not feel right. �Company DDB Worldwide has created a new social response known as the �I Care� button, which allows users to show support and may open up the door for organizations to seek donations. �Via Marketing Daily.

�5 Presentation Apps to Try� Applications for your mobile device or laptop can come in handy for business professionals on the go. �There are a growing number of software programs available if you’re in a bind or are simply looking for a new way to share your content. �This article includes 5 handy apps that any travelling marketer should give a try. �Via Inc.

TopRank Online Marketing Team News

Mike Yanke
comScore: Only Search Engine To See Drop In Queries In March Was Yahoo!
According to a recent report by comScore, search continues to be strong � with a 5% increase in queries experienced in March by Google, Bing � and even AOL and Ask! �Not joining the pack, however, is Yahoo! as the barely major search engine saw its queries decrease 5% over the same timeframe. �Disheartening news after last week�s announcement of planned restructuring and layoffs. �Via Search Engine Land.

Jolina Pettice
Google AdWords Adds ZIP Code Targeting, Location Insertion; Updates Location Targeting
According to Google, more than 20% of all searches are related to location. In order to improve the effectivness of geo-targeting, Google is now allowing users to tag ZIP codes, among other changes, within AdWords Location Targeting. �This change will surely have an impact as 88% of smartphone users who search for local information take action within one day, according to Google. �Via Search Engine Watch.

Shawna Kenyon
5 Ways to Market Your Brand with Location-Based Networks
With the rise in popularity of mobile location-based apps like Foursquare, location based marketing is something businesses should take advantage of. About 30% of smartphone owners access their social networks via their mobile browser, for businesses looking to include location based services this article provides some tips for getting started. �Via Mashable.

Sam Giehll
Rethinking Maslow’s Hierarchy: Implications for a Socially-Connected World
This article applies Maslow�s Hierarchy of Needs to the world of branding and marketing, especially when it comes to modern social networks. �Via Psychology Today.

Brian Larson
Pinterest Now 3rd Most Popular Social Network [Study]
Pinterest made headlines in February for referring more traffic than any other website. �Now, Pinterest is back in the news, but this time is about its onsite growth. �Via Search Engine Watch.

Roxanne Hagberg
Leaked: Google Analytics Is Making Its Way To Google+
Without the help of Twitter & Facebook, Google appears to be marching forward to provide more social data. �Following the recent addition of social reports in Google Analytics, confidential slides from a Google deck suggest Google Analytics can be integrated with Google+. ��Analytics such as visits, page views, average time on site and bounce rate may be available soon. �Via Marketing Land.

Sara Duane-Gladden
Twitter Ads Earn More Money Per Impression Than Facebook Ads [REPORT]
Facebook gets a lot of attention for being a heavyweight when it comes to marketing and advertising, but some new information indicates Twitter may be more of a contender than expected when it comes to ads. �Check out this study to see how the numbers stack up when it comes to �per impression� earning. �Via Media Bistro.

Time to Weigh In
What are your thoughts on Facebook’s purchase of Instagram? �Do you think that you will use the image sharing application more or less? What affect will Google’s new geo-targeting changes have on your company?

Is AdWords Express Hurting Your Small Business?

I love AdWords. I recommend it for many businesses.�It’s a powerful tool, and can be very profitable. In the right situation, if an expert is running AdWords, it’s a source of profitable business. But it’s really complicated and there are a lot of ways to get it wrong. AdWords can cost your business a lot of money very quickly.

What Is AdWords Express?

If you’re not familiar with AdWords Express, it’s an easy way for small businesses using Google Places to run AdWords. You don’t have to choose keywords- but you can’t modify them.

A client for one of my other services ran into trouble with AdWords Express. I wasn’t aware he was doing this, and he wasted a lot of money. Here’s the story…

AdWords Express Misspent 79% of His Money

Sam Alexander (name changed to protect the innocent) runs a limo service in Orlando. He started running AdWords express. He soon ran out of money. I volunteered to take a look at his account.�Over the last three months, he spent just over $9,000 on AdWords. About $5,500 of that went to the Places (AdWords Express) campaign. Seductively, the cost per click in that campaign was lower. You know why? Because many of the keywords were showing to the wrong people.

People Who Want “Free” Don’t Hire Car Services

First off, the keywords AdWords Express uses are all broad match, and you can’t use negative keywords here. That’s a big no no, unless you live solely to raise Google’s stock price. You get lots of irrelevant clicks.

147 of the 686 keywords included the word “taxi”.�Sam runs a luxury service that’s up to twice as expensive as taxis.�What’s worse, the keywords also included “airport shuttle” – there are often free hotel shuttles. People who want free are not going to buy a premium service.

Have you ever hired a car service to or from the airport? If not, and if you’re a taxi person, you are not my client’s customer. I told this story to another guy who’s in bail bonds. He’s not in limos, but he could see that people looking for taxis are not this guy’s customer. He is smarter than AdWords Express.

This is a very specific market, and everybody is not the customer. One of the best things about AdWords is your ability to target the right prospect. But AdWords Express doesn’t allow that.

How much of that $5,500 AdWords Express spend was relevant to Sam’s business? Only the $1,184 for car and limo keywords. That means that AdWords Express spent 79% of the money on the wrong keywords.

Google took $4,300 of Sam’s money over three months providing irrelevant clicks.

Now, just multiple that by the number of small businesses using AdWords Express. Are all situations this bad? Maybe not- but that’s a big inefficiency that could be making Google a lot of money and hurting small businesses. Even if your AdWords Express account is profitable, it’s likely that it’s inefficient and you could be doing even better with more keyword control.

Why Is AdWords Express So Dumb?

Here is what AdWords claims on the sales page for�AdWords Express:

Let us manage your ads

Your ad will automatically reach the right people whether they’re searching on laptops or mobile phones. No maintenance required, everything is done for you.

But AdWords Express’s automated way of choosing keywords is not smart enough to deliver on that promise. It seems to have an IQ of about 60.�Is it dumb on purpose? Are the categories too general? Or is accomplishing this automation task �beyond Google’s ability?

If you think this is an isolated incident, you’re wrong. Check out this post and the comments below it.

What’s Going on, Google?

Small business owners don’t have time to try to understand AdWords. This service is well-intentioned, but not effective. AdWords Express �isn’t good enough, and needs to be fixed. I propose it be modified to allow some basic subcategory control. I saw about five subcategories of keywords in this account. Sam should have been able to turn off “taxi” and “shuttle”, for example. Do that, and it could be the awesome tool you meant it to be.