Allison Howen says, “Google is testing out a new program called Contributor, which essentially enables users to pay a $1 – $3 fee to avoid viewing ads on certain websites.On the Contributor website Google notes that today’s Internet is mostly funded by advertising. That said, the Contributor program enables users to directly support the people who create the sites that they visit each day.To participate, users simply choose a monthly contribution (from $1 – $3). Then, when users visit participating websites like The Onion, WikiHow and Imgur, they will see a thank you message... [...]

Michelle Wicmandy says, “Email can be a valuable communication tool. But, receiving more than 200 messages daily can easily consume the entire day. Even worse, when poorly managed, email can stop productivity.In fact, a report by McKinsey & Company found that the average interaction worker spends an estimated 28 percent of the workweek managing e-mail and nearly 20 percent looking for internal information or tracking down colleagues who can help with specific tasks”.Quick Tips for Managing Your Email InboxWebsite Magazine [...]

Derek S. says, “There are millions of websites on the ‘Net making it imperative that designers find some way to make their sites stand out from the competition.One such way they can separate their websites is through animation.Digital publishing software FlipHTML5 has announced the latest iteration of their software titled v2.2.1.FlipHTML5 helps designers create visually appealing and interactive catalogs for their websites. With the new iteration, designers will be able to leverage powerful animation tools through the Animation Editor to help make their catalogs more enticing to... [...]

Allison Howen says, “The holidays are right around the corner, which means the social newsfeeds are becoming flooded with more and more brand promotions every day.This influx of promotions will likely stick around until after the New Year, as brands try to market their products to the people who took holiday vacations (and stayed unplugged), as well as push any remnant inventory out the door. The challenge, however, is cutting through the social noise and enticing consumers to convert”.Get Your Promotions More Social LoveWebsite Magazine [...]

Derek S. says, “As consumers continue to turn to their mobile devices for search engine queries, it’s important that designers create a site that’s mobile friendly.To help consumers easily figure out which sites are optimized for mobile, Google has announced it is officially adding a “mobile-friendly” label to its mobile search results.The search engine states that mobile sites are eligible for the “mobile friendly” label if it meets certain criteria detected by Googlebot including avoiding software that’s not common on mobile devices (like Adobe Flash) as well as using... [...]

Chirag Leuva says, “Never underestimate the importance of an attractive and personalized website. The attention span of Web users has been waning day by day. One needs to take advantage of various elements for keeping their interest in every possible way. The first step to preserving the interest is the appealing design and some useful and informative content.Here are some important steps for making the website more engaging to visitors and for boosting your online presence.STICK WITH A MODERN WEBSITE DESIGNA professional looking website goes a long way in attracting visitors. Make it... [...]

Derek S. says, “Companies count on their signature products and services to draw crowds into their brick-and-mortar stores as well as Web traffic to their websites.However, when their trademarks and signature products are being used in other vendors ads it can draw attention away from their stores and ads and to the other vendors.BrandVerity, a service that detects online brand and trademark abuse, has announced the release of a new study titled “The State of Branded Keywords in Paid Search Q3 2014.” During the course of the study BrandVerity evaluated how core branded keywords... [...]

Derek S. says, “As the holidy season quickly approaches, its important that companies understand what consumers of all ages are looking for in a website.AnswerDash, a provider of contextual FAQ technology for websites and Web applications, has announced the results of its first-ever website survey.Among the many findings from the survey include the most frustrating websites for consumer (Comcast.com, IRS.gov and CenturyLink.com) as well as the highest rated usability websites (Amazon.com, Facebook.com and Apple.com). The survey also found that 75 percent of 18 to 24 year olds and 57 percent... [...]

Allison Howen says, “Ninety-one percent of consumers intend to make a purchase through a mobile or tablet app this holiday season according to new data from Artisan Mobile.The data comes from a survey of 500 consumers, which also found 94 percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they are purchasing and browsing products on apps more than ever before. The study also revealed that 54 percent of consumers plan to do one-half or more of their holiday shopping (purchases and/or browsing) via a mobile or tablet app. Other noteworthy stats show that 75 percent of consumers browse... [...]

Allison Howen says, “Kenshoo and DataPop are teaming up to help retailers drive sales by bridging the data between search engine marketing and social media initiatives.The partnership brings together Pinterest and Google Product Listing Ads (PLAs) data, and will capture consumer intent signals and identify the products retailers should promote across both channels. For example, retailers will be able to identify the products that perform well on PLAs and create Rich Pins on Pinterest to better promote them via Kenshoo’s integration with DataPop’s OmniAds application. Moreover, the partnership... [...]