Google Intimidating Webmasters With +1 Button?

So did anyone else get a message via their Google AdSense account about Google recommending that you ‘Add the +1 button to your pages’?

The message goes on to say ‘Adding the +1 button to your pages allows users to recommend your content to friends and contacts on Google search. As a result, you could get more and better qualified traffic. ‘

The message that was rather in my face, and to be honest, I just wanted it out of the way given that I’m fully aware of Google push for the integration of the +1 feature into sites (obviously to tap into the ‘crowd sourcing’ / ‘social metrics’ that rivals use, such as facebook’s ‘likes’ or Digg ‘diggs’ as indicators of quality).

Anyway, I clicked ‘No thanks’ link, but the message didn’t disappear like they normally do, it prompted me to offer feedback as to why I didn’t want to integrate the feature, like I was some sort of rebel and that they couldn’t understand why I wouldn’t be following the recommendations of Google!

Even after selecting the option ‘too complicated’ (which isn’t as appropriate as a ‘too lazy’ option would have been) I still have this rather in your face message in red saying ‘You decided not to do this’ along with a ‘no entry’ style icon just sitting there at the top of my account. Talk about intimidating.

Even when I logged out and logged back in the message is still there – like a reminder that you have defied the Google gods and that a day of reckoning is coming.

I’m an out of sight, out of mind kind of guy, and just having that message just sitting there is a little unnerving given that I can appreciate how badly Google wants people to integrate this button into their websites so that they can put greater weight on user based data (not to mention compete with their new rivals of Facebook and Twitter).

So from my impression it’s almost as if Google is trying to bully people into integrating the feature to create that ground swell they’d need to get this feature to critical mass.

No doubt their thinking is without getting a critical mass of webmaster integrating this feature this new +1 feature is likely to fail much like Google Wave and Buzz have recently.

Of course none of this distracts from the fact that if Google strongly recommends adding the +1 button to my site via my AdSense account they have definitely got my attention, because if there is one thing webmasters fear it’s undermining their AdSense account (I know where my bread is buttered).

As such I have gone from somewhat interested in installing the +1 button on my sites, but being unlikely to do anything about in the next couple of months, to now kind of paranoid about the potential downside of not installing them on my sites.

So my love/hate affair with Google continues. What is your take on the recent move by Google?

Side Thoughts on Google’s +1 Button

Even if Google does bully enough websites to integrating the button to create a critical mass to the point that they are recognised that doesn’t necessarily mean that people will click the button.

I suspect that with social media sharing buttons that unless there is an known audience (eg someone’s facebook friends) average joes will probably be unlikely to ‘share’ just for the sake of the Google monster and it will just turn into another feature that SEOs will exploit.

Most people like to be recognised for finding valuable information, and without any potential recognition amongst their social network people might overlook sharing via the +1 button.

The other problem is when it comes to the internet is that users don’t like to manage multiple accounts (they want one email account, one social account, one video hosting account, use one search engine, etc) that’s why monopolies are prevalent on the internet. So I’m just not sure how much room there is for another ‘like’ button or what additional value the +1 button will bring to people’s browsing/sharing experience.

That said, I just don’t know if squeezing another button between the RSS feed icon and stumble upon (of which 97% of users don’t understand anyway) should be an indicator of my site’s quality.

Even if the +1 buttons proves to be a success, surely salvation lies in a -1 button to help solve Google’s spam problem.

What are your thoughts on Google +1 button and how they are going about encouraging webmasters to install them?

Google Chromebook – Price and Specs Tough To Beat

The so it looks like pretty big news is coming out of the Googleplex today – Chromebook!

It’s basically a laptop or notebook (produced by Samsung and Acer) that operates on the new Chrome OS and it looks like it will be a key rival to both Microsoft and Apple.

Financial analysts and the stock market don’t seem to be too impressed by the new product, but I think this move by Google is a great strategic move and has huge potential.

At first glance it looks like an amazing product that may well be the first of an increasing number of computer devices that looks to operate in the cloud. Chromebook also appears to have off-line capabilities as well which I think is key.

Google traditionally hasn’t done particularly well with selling hardware, but I have a feeling this product is going to capture a lot of market share if competitors can’t come out with an alternatives soon!

So Why Do I the Google Chrome Book so Much – Price

Probably the most important feature of this announcement is price. The laptops start at $349! In addition to this they are offering them for $28/month to businesses and $20/month to schools on three-year contracts!

Any start up business that didn’t want to throw thousands at buying and setting up laptops for employees would be crazy not to jump on these sorts of deals. I see schools and universities all around the world being able to cost effectively lease laptops for students!

Google Chromebook Better Caters To the Developing World Market

I also see this as a way for the developing world to begin to start entering the online world more as well. Traditionally buying $1000+ laptop and then spending hundreds more on software has prohibited many individuals in the developing world from gaining access to the Internet, but at $28 a month, that’s a price they can afford.

Look out oDesk and Elance – a lot of cheap labour could be on its way!

I think this product is the first that has real potential to start unlocking the huge number of people in the developing world economies, markets that in the future will no doubt be many times the size of Western economies. If Google unlocks these markets first it will pay huge dividends down the line.

Finally Access To Multiple Telecommunication Networks While Overseas

Another massive feature that travellers have been begging for for years, is being able to quickly and easily gain wifi access to the Internet via a local Internet provider without having to mess about with buying sim cards or contracts or visiting stores or paying huge data roaming costs.

Google have struck deals with telecommunication companies around the world (North America and Europe) to allow Chromebook users to instantly access the web without being whacked with massive roaming charges or download limits. It looks like you just pay a local hourly fee. That said I would like to see this expanded further, I’d like to think that this is already on their agenda.

Working In The Cloud

Another beautiful thing about Chromebook is that there is no software to install and everything is saved to the cloud. A year or two ago I would have thought that this wouldn’t take off, but I’m storing more and more stuff on the cloud these days that I’m rapidly starting to think mainstream society’s movement to the cloud may happen even sooner than we think (5 – 10years).

Let’s face it every day or and more people are using services like Facebook, Gmail, Youtube, etc – all these hubs are places to store and share information and are making storing files on your computer redundant.

Where This Leave Gaming?

Only real downside I see someone like myself is the gaming aspect. But with that said there have been popular games like Runescape that have manage to be entirely posted in the cloud and they have made loads of innovations over the years to improve the gaming experience. So I’m sure other games will find ways to make gaming from the cloud in an enjoyable experience.

How Does Chromebook Affect Tablet PCs and Google Competition

Chromebook makes the $800 – $1000 tablet PCs look expensive and really calls into question the longevity of notebook producers that run Windows.

Does the Chromebook have the potential to not only do well in the notebook market but also eat significantly into the tablet pc market?

I think it deftly gives a lot of low-tech consumers something to think about and I honestly think most will be inclined to stick to the laptop and mobile phone combo rather than venture into the tablet PC market.
What are your thoughts?

Implications Internet Marketing

So far this post has largely just been a product review, but I do think this has significant implications for Internet marketing strategies (otherwise I wouldn’t have posted it).

For a while I have been seriously contemplating the effects of more users moving onto mobile devices like smart phones and tablet PCs. I was beginning to think that traditional desktop computers and laptops were going to be made redundant and that websites and Internet marketing would have two adopted this change of platform.

However moves like this definitely breathe new life into the laptop market and traditional web surfing. That’s not to say that I don’t think tablet PCs and smart phones and have a big future (and one that Internet marketers should be preparing for) I just think creations such as the Chromebook will delay this transition (given that tablet PCs are still quite expensive and definitely cost prohibitive in the developing world). Most consumers will now ask themselves the question of whether having the latest bit of touchscreen technology is worth the cost when you can get a Chromebook for half the price or on a very cheap contract that includes a limited amount of free Internet.

The Future Of Google’s Advertising Network

Of course the big vested interest Google has with expanding the use of it is Operating Systems (be it Android or Chrome) will be its ability to subsidise this software via ad sales through their Google AdWords network. So it will be very interesting to see how this factor plays out.

No matter what way you slice it this announcement would have to be a major concern for companies like Microsoft with their Windows and Apple and their iPhone and iPad.

It would be hard to bet against Apple with the market penetration they have achieved over recent years, but Google’s android operating system has also been very successful of late. However my gut feeling is that the winner will be the company that can get first mover advantage in providing a simple, easy, practical but above all economical PC/web experience. If had placed my bet today it would be on Google, but this race has a long way to run.

Now if only Google could be stylish and cool like Apple!

So what do you think of the new Chromebook? And what affects you think it will have on both internet marketing and the rivalry between Google, Apple and Microsoft?

Has Google Australia Reduced Their Domain Exact Match Bonus?

So yesterday, April 13th, I noticed a number of Australian sites that I manage had falls in the traffic coming from Google.

However upon closer inspection it appears that the falls were largely due to a substantial drop in traffic coming via Google for the exact match phrase of the domain of the sites.

I logged into Google Webmaster Central and looked at the Search Queries section and the exact match phrase of the six sites I checked had all fallen between 0.3 and 5.0 positions for their exact match domain phrase. This might not seem like a lot but going going from being ranked 1 – 3 for a high volume phrase to ranking between 4 – 9 makes a significant difference in CTR.

Of course this isn’t the end of the world if it is a permanent change within Google and not some temporary Google dance. Those sites still seem to be ranking reasonably well for non exact match terms.

I should point out that whilst I can’t be certain at this point that this drop in Google rankings is a case of the exact march domain bonus being devalued, and it would be unusual for this sort of change to be rolled out on Google Australia first. With that said it has been previously mentioned that something like this might be on the way.

Nonetheless I’d love to hear what others’ statistics are showing. I’ll be watching the developments over the next couple of days and will report back any further insights.

Business Success – Motivation – Work Hard, Work Smart, Stay Focussed – Keep Moving Forward

This post was inspired by a comment on the InvestEd forum that I chat on of a young 21-year-old aspiring investor and entrepreneur which I replied to but thought was also worth posting here.

Another negative is that I have so many good ideas in my head, books, websites, applications I want to develop, and I probably have the cash flow to get started, it’s this overwhelming negative energy from people around me saying “It’s risky, you can’t do it, most businesses fail” .. Paralyzes me, I start a project extremely motivated then get to a point where it’s like “Who am I kidding, you can’t do this” and just like that I pull the pin

I also suffer from the “too many ideas but don’t know what to work on” problem. That said I suffer from it a lot less these days given that I have learnt the hard way that 9 times out of 10 you are better off focusing on developing one core competency and getting really good at that rather than trying to be the jack of all trades and never seeing a project through to the finish.

These days what I like to do is like to jot down all my business ideas in notepads or save them as draft blog posts just so that I can get them out of my head and get back to focusing on my core projects. That way if I’m ever short of ideas in the future (unlikely) I have loads of them to refer to. I have filled up couple notepads and have hundreds of blog posts!

That said one of the best things that I ever did to help solve my problem of having too many ideas and not enough time was I hired a full-time employee. It was a big step for me but one that paid dividends given that it meant that I could execute some of these ideas without having to allocate my time to completing them.

Seeing ideas through to their completion is another critical lesson that I learned along the way, because unfortunately great ideas are worthless; people have them every day. Actions and results are all that count and having a full-time employee helps turn those ideas into actions, and if the idea is good, you’ll hopefully get results.

This might not be practical now but it’s something to consider for the future.

Another tough lesson that I needed to learned was that there are a hell of a lot of people out there that don’t have the same confidence that you have and as a result are always going to be fearful of the negative outcomes. That’s just the reality of human nature, but don’t let them set your standards for you or tell you what you are or are not capable of, especially from those that don’t have the experience themselves.

If you are going to succeed in life it will help if you start looking at those negative assessments as only greater reasons to pursue something. Entrepreneurs need to be out to prove something. To prove it can be done. To prove the problem can be solved. To prove to others that you could when they said you couldn’t. Use the naysayers as your motivation.

I had to drop out of University to take my business seriously, most people thought I was crazy at the time, but every single one of those people are jealous now that they have graduated and are working their 40 to 50 hour a week jobs, doing something they thought they’d love, but actually hate, and they have nothing but admiration for what I’ve done and regret the opportunities that they might have missed because they decided to take the safest option.

That said, if I had a dollar for every time someone came to me with a “great idea”, wanted me to get involved with them on it, and I said “mate you don’t need me, you can make that work by yourself go on have a crack” only to find that after a few weeks they got disenchanted and gave up -I’d be a very, very rich man.

The point is – persistence pays. I ran my websites as a hobby even though they probably only earned me the equivalent of $1/hr for my time invested for two years! Two years! This is whilst doing full-time uni working 20+ hours a week. It took two years of mediocre results before things really started to take off.

That’s why I said entrepreneurs really have to be out to prove something. They have to be doing it because they’re passionate about it, because chances are those results are not going to come in the first two weeks, most would be lucky if they come in the first two months! But if you work hard and work smart and you’re offering something that has genuine value, rest assured they will come – you just need to keep working hard and smart.

Rocky Balboa – Keep Moving Forward

Domainers Beat You To It – Welcome To Capitalism

Domainers facilitate capitalism

You hear about it all the time. People getting all bent out of shape over people that have registered domains before them but aren’t doing a whole lot with them (yet) and feeling they somehow should have the right to the domain for a “fairer” price.

So listening to the Domain Name Investing Insights Podcast I heard of story of someone getting upset because someone was sitting on the domain name he wanted and was asking for $5000 for it.

Here is what my thoughts were.

The bloke should stop pissing and moaning and either buy the domain because it yield a return (brandablility, exact match ranking bonus in Google, etc) that justifies the cost of the domain and still makes a profit or he should accept that his business model isn’t a high margin, end user business model that most of these domainers are pricing to sell to and just go hand reg his own and let someone who has a genuinely good business/idea and is willing out outlay $5000 for the domain buy and develop it.

Or better yet he should offer the domain holder a price which he thinks it’s actually worth (given that most domainers are delusional about what their domains are worth) so if his offer is the best offer that has come by the next time renewal comes up or when the domainer is ready to meet the market he’ll sell it to him and will forced to say thanks to the domainer for keeping the domain off his competitors for all these years so that late comers had a chance to pick up something brandable.

There is little to no money in domainers holding domains and more and more domainers are being lured into sales by developers who have the means to make profits that justify a quality domain name.

At the end of the day it’s just a natural process of natural selection within business where there assets will flow to those will the highest margins and greatest ability to leverage. Ie, domainer to developer to retailer business to highest margin retail business. We call it capitalism. Unfortunately capitalism isn’t efficient yet due to imperfect information so often goods pass through a couple hands before reaching the end user.

Also people need to keep in mind that domaining isn’t a simple or cheap game. There isn’t a domainer alive that hasn’t blown money on bad buys. You only have to go to the expiry auctions at DROP or NetFleet (for Australians) to see the thousands and thousands of domains that lapse each week to see that lots of people are registering junk when they speculate. Or go look at the NetFleet catalogue listings to see tens of thousands of domains that are for sale for years that can’t even get a $50 offer.

Let us also not forget that domaining profits aren’t a guaranteed – there are inherit risks. Who knows where the web will be in 5 – 10 years. Hell Google didn’t exist 10 years ago. Who’s to say that domains will serve a functional purpose in 10 years.

Anyone with a pure buy and hold strategy is taking a serious risk – they are betting against innovation.

I say make hay while sun shines – domainers with marbles will sell for a reasonable price if they have no scope for development. So offer what the domain is worth to you. If you are the highest bidder they will sell to you in time. If they are willing to take the risk and hold out for higher prices then they deserve the rewards because they are taking risks.

And let us not forget domains aren’t everything – they are just names. The best businesses win in the long run. I’d prefer to be marketing a business with a mediocre domain name, but twice the margin in the product they sold, because that would give me a bigger marketing budget to improve my rankings in Google and ability to compete on price. And I have no doubt in the long run, all else being equal, the more profitable and better marketed business would steal market share from the business with the good domain name to the point where capitalism would eventually see the business bought out or dissolved and its assets up for auction.

Caveat – if he’s cybersquatting sue him. Simple. If he beat you to it. Welcome the competitive world of capitalism. Get used to it.