Tag: google

Categories
William Stuff

How To Kill Ask.com In FireFox 4

The most annoying thing in the world has been happening lately, and when it’s happening to me I typically figure other people are having problems with it as well. So I decided to post the fix here. That is, when I type some keywords in the address bar with Firefox (using ver. 4), lately it will always take me to an Ask.com search results page. And I hate Ask.com!

I think this happened as a result of downloading something, because I noticed a toolbar and my homepage changed. Changing the homepage back was easy (click on the orange Firefox, then Options, Options, and under the General tab beside homepage click restore to default). But I could not figure out how to get rid of the pesky Ask.com search whenever keywords were typed into the address bar.

Yes! I know there’s a search bar right beside it, and all I have to do is hit Tab one more time!

But sometimes these things happen.

Anyhow, I did a GOOGLE search for the solution, and after digging through the support forums I wanted to make the answer easy for you. So here it is:

I have had exactly this problem, I think after installing some free FLI to MP4 transcoder software. It seems that it enables Firefox’s ‘keyword’ functionality (if it isn’t already enabled) and then hijacks the default setting (which does a Google search.)

To fix, put ‘about:config’ in the address bar to enter Firefox’s configuration page (I don’t think you can get at this from any of the menus.) Look out for The ‘keyword.URL’ setting, and change it back to one of the recommendations shown on this page http://kb.mozillazine.org/Keyword.URL

The first one worked for me. I now get a Google result instead of an Ask one if the webpage fails to load. If you don’t want this functionality at all, then look for the ‘keyword.enabled’ setting and set it to ‘false.’

By the way, the keyword setting I used was “http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&q=” which set it back to Google. Also, you’ll need to do this to get rid of some more Ask.com settings (good gravy!):

There are more than just the keyword.URL configuration keys that should be modified. in the about:config console, type “ask” to filter out the keys that have been modified by the ask.com toolbar. Also, easiest is just to right-click on the key and choose reset.

And that’s that!

Categories
Internet Marketing

Google Changes Adwords Ad Strategy

Google is looking to deepen their taken on ads from just link ads, to leads. I personally think this is amazing and is really going to change a lot! Right now they are picking out certain industries, having just had a roundtable with car dealers at the NADA convention this week. Here’s more about it from Brian Pasch of PCG Consulting who was there at NADA.

Link to original post (http://www.internetsalesmanager.org/profiles/blog/show?id=3271765:BlogPost:6387&xgs=1&xg_source=msg_share_post)

Google Changes Automotive Adwords Strategy

Google met with top automotive dealers and manufacturers at the 2011 NADA Convention in San Francisco this week to introduce their new lead generation model for search, which one insider called “Dealer Preference”. This is a new strategy for their popular Google Adwords software.

The new paid automotive advertising model by Google would create special automotive ads which are designed to generate calls or leads, which will be sold to the highest bidder. This is a game changer in my mind but people at the meeting said that dealer response was very mild.

Take a look at this screen capture for the search phrase “mortgage loans” and look at the new Adwords section that says “Comparison Ad” that is highlighted in red.

Google Automotive Lead Gen

This model is new to the automotive industry but not new to other verticals like Mortgages. You can see from the screen shot above highlighted in red, Google has created a special new pink bar for ads that it creates for lead capture and places them ABOVE normal Adwords ads. Notice that ad has radio buttons and a call to action to “Compare Rates”.

On a related note, you will also see one business using Google Boost and how much more attractive PPC ads will be getting if a car dealer has high review counts!

When you click on that link, this is what you will see:

Google Automotive Comparison Ads

The position of this page is sold to the highest bidder, I assume. Details on the Dealer Preference advertising is forthcoming in a second post.  My first guess that this will be used for New Car advertising and that some OEM’s might prefer this enhanced lead generation model.  The jury is still out and I need to get more information on this product offering.

This is a game changer for the automotive advertising industry. If Google starts to become a middle-man in automotive price advertising and comparisons, a whole new strategy will need to be considered. It still will have to be seen if this increases clicks on paid ads.

Automotive Advertising Changes Again

This new features does a few things:

  1. It pushes other paid ads lower on the right sidebar.
  2. It pushes organic search results down so positions 1-3 become even more valuable
  3. Dealers that have been ignoring Adwords will need to get in the game and test things.

The idea that Google has in mind is that if a consumer types in “Used Honda Miami” it will display its OWN lead collection ad and show cars or sales based on participating dealers.

What is your reaction?

Categories
William Stuff

Google Changes Email Again: Priority Inbox in GMail

I love Google for one main reason: they innovate. And it’s usually the little things they will improve that make them so awesome.

In the time since I’ve been a GMail user, the look of it hasn’t really changed much. But a  lot of innovation has indeed gone on. The addition of chat, easy add to your calendar, tasks, miraculous separation of spam from real e-mail, labels, buzz, and now priority inbox. What does it do? It simply sorts your unread email by putting the most important ones first.

For example, right now I have 38 unread emails; however, only 3 of them are really important enough for me to take any time away from something else to read. As I mentioned, it sounds really small and trivial. BUT IT’S HUGE as far as the usability of GMail goes!

Google remembers what’s important by observing the emails you most often read and reply or forward to. It considers those more important than others. And you of course have the option to teach it which are truly important and which aren’t, so after a little time, you are really and truly only getting the emails which deserve your attention the most at the top of your inbox. No more sifting through your email to find the important ones!

That’s huge.

If you have GMail already, you should get a pop-up asking you to try it out. Of course, it’s in Google-style Beta. So try it!

Categories
Internet Marketing William Stuff Xango

Cash Sucking Marketing Plan for MLM & Network Marketers

The marketing third of the puzzle is the one people spend the most time on. That’s why I’m posting a video on it first, but it’s not necessarily the most important to study. Marketing yourself is easy once you nail down the basic principles and practices. You’ll be able to do it over and over again, teach your team to do it as well, and you’ll get really good at it.

http://meetwilliambryant.com Watch as I explain the expose stage (Marketing) of getting people to buy from you, credit card in hand, with no selling! This is for the network marketing and mlm industry but is really generic enough to be used in any business where you need leads to make money. I use this in my xango business with great success! And have for years now. Join me!

 


William Bryant
Skype: wpbryant

http://meetwilliambryant.com