Just come across this image and thought we’d share it with you

You can also see the system in action by visiting Tickton or Willerby’s website

Tickton and Routh Parish Council

Willerby Parish Council – New updated version to be launched shortly

Or you can request a free no obligation demonstration of the system by completing the form below

It is those funny bar codes that are starting to appear on adverts and also in supermarkets across the UK, like the one below.

QR Codes have been around for a few years now, my niece loves them grabbing my phone whenever she see’s one.

Are they just the latest gimmick or a good idea? I guess with all technology it depends on how you use it, here are a couple of good examples.

GlaxoSmithKline Pirinase
Pirinase have used a QR code to direct shoppers to a free mobile app that provides daily pollen count information. Very relevant to the product and the QR code is extremely relevant to the mobile device people will have in their pocket when shopping.

The World Park Campaign – Central Park
With the use of QR codes Central Park managed to enhance a visitors experience of the park providing relevant information whilst people were walking around the park. As you can see from the video clip this included information about the age and origin of some of the parks features and clips of famous movies that had used the park as a backdrop for some iconic scenes.

The timing couldn’t be better for Peter as a family friend was looking to retire from their sandwich shop and his son was about start University so the extra money would come in handy.

The shop was a huge success with people travelling for miles to sample his special gourmet sandwiches and home cooked foods. With some of his profits Peter decided to invest in some new posters for the shop advertising weekly offers. Although the large posters were not cheap the takings continued to rise, so much they he decided to take out an advert in the local paper and even booked a radio campaign. The shop was doing so well that by the time his son had returned from his first year at University he was looking at opening another shop in the city centre.

Whilst his son was home for the summer he planned to help his dad out in the shop. And told his dad about how he should be saving as we were about to hit a double dip recession, the good times will not last forever and he should maximise the profitability while he can.

They spent the next week going through the books and making savings wherever possible. They were reusing the posters each week, cutting the advertising, buying cheaper products and cutting back on the size of portions. His customers soon noticed these changes, specials seemed the same each week, his gourmet sandwiches tasted rather plain and the fillings were tiny.

Within a couple of months his takings had halved and as his son went back to university he gave him a big hug and thanked him for his advice on the double dip recession.

Google suggest that AdWords Express is “Google AdWords Express is a quick and easy way to advertise your local business on Google. Just provide a few details, and your ad will be ready in minutes”

Google AdWords has always been built on relevancy, the relevancy of your advert to the keywords and landing page, the advert and Google AdWords Express webpage suggest a single advert is the answer to all your target keywords.

In this example it is a bakery supplying home made cakes and bread etc however, from using Google AdWords over the years one of the first lessons we learn is again relevancy and creating individual AdGroups and Adverts for tightly grouped keywords. We are then told that this approach to developing Google AdWords campaigns is rewarded by a higher Quality Score and therefore lower cost per clicks on Google AdWords. I’m not sure how this simplified approach ties in with this thinking?

Google AdWords is a very simple idea however, like all the best marketing tools it needs to be targeted and I feel the AdWords Quality Score was a great method of rewarding this. If these generic adverts bypass this algorithm it will be unfair to the core AdWords advertisers, if the AdWords Express system incorporates the Quality Score it will require a higher cost per click bid for advertisers to compete?

The Google +1 button has taken this idea forward allowing people who are logged into a Google account to provide a personal vote of approval for individual webpages found in the search results page or if set up correctly from an individual webpage.

How do I +1?
When you are logged into your Google Account a grayed out Google +1 logo will appear to the right of each result on the Google Search Pages, by simply clicking this button you publicly provide a vote of approval for this page/site.

What happens next?
Google will associate your fellow Google contacts, for example Google will look for contact that you communicate with that also have Google Accounts.

When on of these people search for a keyword relating to a web page you liked they will see your personal vote of approval, if they also Google +1 this link then as you can see the recommendation will snowball.

We also think that the position of these links on the search engine are also affected by the Google +1 effect with websites appearing higher on Googles Search Engine Results Page for related contacts. We also wonder when Google have enough data from this activity and are confident with the value of the data will these positions be incorporated within public results?

I have placed a copy of Panda’s 23 questions here, if you are concerned about your SEO techniques I would suggest a quick look through these questions and review your strategy

Would you trust the information presented in this article?

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Does this article have spelling, stylistic, or factual errors?

Are the topics driven by genuine interests of readers of the site, or does the site generate content by attempting to guess what might rank well in search engines?

Does the article provide original content or information, original reporting, original research, or original analysis?

Does the page provide substantial value when compared to other pages in search results?

How much quality control is done on content?

Does the article describe both sides of a story?

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Is the content mass-produced by or outsourced to a large number of creators, or spread across a large network of sites, so that individual pages or sites don’t get as much attention or care?

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For a health related query, would you trust information from this site?

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Facebook (or a site using a similar model) will overtake Google within the next 3-5years however, this will be based on additional value for advertisers and not on a dirty tricks smear campaign.

Google, SEO and AdWords are not the magic cure to solving your online marketing problems, as the yellow pages was not the only offline tool you used a decade ago, understanding how people use the internet, where they visit and how you can target them at the right time with the right message. If you would like to know more about the services we offer at getextra or would like some advice on how you can create a effective online marketing strategy please contact us 01482 426242 or email paul@getextra.co.uk