Gmail Ditches a Feature
Posted by Karen May on August, 4th 2009Gmail became widely popular for its growing feature set, browser-based application, and ease of use. It stands out from other webmail services because of its search-oriented interface and “conversation view” that resembles internet forums. It has a web design built to make users feel as if they are always on one page rather than navigating to other pages.
Gmail has incurred massive users, but some of these users have other email accounts. This is exactly why Google offers Gmail users the ability to access other emails without logging out from their Gmail account. However, emails sent through this feature notifies recipients that the mails have been sent “on behalf of”, showing the Gmail address.
Some users find the feature quite annoying due to privacy issues. Google finally looked into the problem and decided to get rid of the “on behalf of” Gmail address link.
Google made a smart move considering [...]
Microsoft Launches Internet TV Service
Posted by Karen May on August, 4th 2009Microsoft plans to give online video a try by launching MSN Video. The firm has already struck a deal with the corporate arm of BBC to stream some of its TV shows. Another deal was signed with All3Media which has top rating shows in Channel 4.
The service will be ad-funded, both pre-roll and regular advert breaks based on the length of the video. Broadband users across the UK can get the service for free. Initially, the MSN Video Player will stream using the Flash protocol. On its official release, the player will use Microsoft’s Silverlight technology.
With the planned format, iPhone and iTouch users won’t be able to use the player. A YouTube-like app seems highly unlikely, considering the rivalry between Apple and Microsoft.
Microsoft’s jump into the TV streaming bandwagon came following reports of Hulu invading the UK. Hulu has done an amazing job in the US, being the most popular [...]
Business Benefit, Web Design and Conversion
Posted by Dave Wiltshire on August, 3rd 2009We saw some stats provided by Alexa whilst researching a site we reskinned in early June called Godine. I haven’t seen such impressive results before for a web design and bear in mind these are Alexa results so a proportion of the sites traffic… but they look good.
Godine | Alexa Graphs
A lot of work has been done on the site with the business owners promoting the business locally and nationally alongside the work of our SEO team so it would be wrong to say it is all us! However it is reassuring to see business benefit for our clients and makes us feel tremendously proud. We are looking at website interfaces more than ever in terms of communication and conversion as we create higher traffic levels to [...]
Yahoo Improves Local Search Performance
Posted by Karen May on August, 2nd 2009Yahoo has made changes in its local search engine, where Yahoo Shortcuts are displayed in search results.
Yahoo Shortcuts are special features designed to help users quickly find answers. It provides vertical search content and deep links into sites with relevant content. Basic info such as telephone numbers and business hours of operation are shown in the results. At times, images, web reviews, and overviews are displayed.
It seems Yahoo and Microsoft are teaming up to move Google from the top spot. Yahoo Search has taken the backseat for so long that most SEO experts and even advertisers have very little regard to its search results. Google has been taking the lead, and Yahoo seems to have been able to do very little about it for quite some time.
Changes such as this make Yahoo Search more appealing and the search competition more interesting. When we talk about web search, Google [...]
Google to Redesign YouTube, Again
Posted by Karen May on August, 2nd 2009Rumours have been flying around about Google’s plan to redesign video sharing website YouTube.
YouTube’s current web design is relatively poor in comparison with that of Hulu. The problem with the site is its apparent lack of revenue. Though YouTube remains the most popular online video site across the globe, it still fails to turn traffic into huge cash. It needs premium content to gross more revenue per viewer.
The planned redesign involves transforming YouTube into a video search engine. The change has not been made official yet, but whatever it is, it looks more like YouTube is geared towards having search as a center of its viewer’s experience.
A few months back, YouTube made a Hulu-like approach to steal the limelight from its closest competitor to date. The tweak was well received, but it still falls short in being a consistent profit-generator.
With another redesign on the horizon, YouTube is [...]
Google Builds New Checkout Store Gadget
Posted by Karen May on August, 1st 2009Google has made another addition to its growing list of services. The company has built an amazing Google Checkout gadget that can be used for ecommerce websites. The tool can be inserted anywhere, including blogs and websites. It comes in three different sizes – large, small, and tiny.
Google Checkout is an online payment processing tool designed to streamline web purchasing processes. With the gadget now in place, Google Checkout can be easily made available on websites selling products and even services. Once users sign up for the service, they can have a full list of products in a spreadsheet and be able to administer their stocks in Google Docs.
Beyond worrying about web design and SEO techniques, online store owners need to ensure their businesses are profitable. Google’s new gadget makes life easier for business owners to keep tabs on profit and cashflow.
The gadget has been [...]