Monthly:June 2013
UPDATE (11/14/13): All page and profile badges have been updated to the new visual style.
UPDATE (11/7/13): All +1 and Share buttons have been updated to the new visual style.
Today we’re launching a bunch of new plugins that help visitors to connect with you on Google+, directly from your website. These include:
A new Follow button
The Google+ Follow button is a standalone plugin that — as you might expect — lets visitors follow you from your site. It’s nice and compact, so it integrates easily with your existing social buttons.
The Follow button is simple to add to your website. In fact, if you’ve already installed the +1 button, no new JavaScript is required. Just configure the plugin, add the markup to your page, and you’re all set.
You can already see the new Follow button on the following websites: Celebuzz, Cooking Light, Fitness Magazine, and Huffington Post.
A new badge for Communities
Community managers have been asking for a way to attract members across the web, so today we’re introducing badges for Google+ Communities. These badges are highly configurable, making it easy to match your site design.
When visitors click the ‘Preview’ button they’ll see your community page in a new browser tab. From there they can view recent posts (subject to your community’s privacy settings), as well as join. Returning to your site is as simple as closing the new tab.
Updated badges for Pages and Profiles
Like the new Communities badge, the updated Page and Profile badges are highly customizable, including portrait and landscape modes, light and dark themes, and turning on/off items like the cover photo and tagline.
Existing badges will stick around for up to 90 days, giving you time to configure the new version for your website. After 90 days, we’ll automatically upgrade any Google+ badges to the new design.
Finally, today’s plugin updates include a new visual style that’s more consistent with the recent improvements to Google+. This includes the +1 and Share buttons, which will be updated automatically over the next few weeks.
We’d love to hear your feedback on today’s new features, so follow the conversation on Google+ and let us know what you think!
Posted by Raj Iyengar, Product Manager, Google+Read More…
People today are constantly connected. They’re finding directions to stores, shopping, and even comparing prices instantly from their smartphones. In fact, 8 out of 10 smartphone shoppers use their devices to help make shopping decisions while inside physical retail stores. As a result, retailers now must account for new and complex paths to purchase.
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Research: To better understand consumer behavior, we’ve commissioned studies like mobile search moments, in-store mobile shopper research, and a Wireless Shopper study to illustrate how mobile drives store conversions and in-store shopping.
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Google Trends: With Google Trends, retailers can study how shopping searches are trending over time across different markets and categories, and can also see the fastest growing retail queries.
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Creating a multi-screen website: To help retailers create great shopping experiences across devices, we published best practices on making your site work across multiple devices, especially on smartphones.
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Search as you type: Retailers can integrate search as you type directly into their sites, tapping into the power of Google instant search results and making it easier for shoppers to find what they’re looking for from their smartphones.
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Google Wallet Instant Buy: Retailers can improve their m-commerce experience by implementing Instant Buy into their sites, allowing mobile shoppers to check out in as few as two clicks.
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Google+ Sign-In: Retailers that implement Google+ Sign-In enable their site visitors to easily sign in once with their Google account and switch seamlessly between PC and mobile without having to sign in again. This increases online conversions by removing friction from cross-device logins. Retailers can even present a ‘buy now’ button to consumers within G+ posts.
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Retail-focused ad formats: Retailers can promote their product inventory with shopping ad formats like product listing ads.
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Remarketing: Retailers can also use remarketing to re-engage consumers who have previously expressed interest in a category or brand.
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Enhanced campaigns: With enhanced campaigns, retailers can effectively engage today’s constantly connected consumers. Location extensions make it easier for mobile searchers to find a retailer’s store, and proximity-based bidding allows retailers to bid strategically for higher-value searches happening closer to their stores.
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Full Value of Mobile: Nearly 3 of 10 mobile searches directly result in a conversion, but they can often be hard to track. Retailers need to create new mobile-specific attribution models to more accurately track how mobile is driving customers to physical and digital stores, so they can invest appropriately. The Full Value of Mobile site and calculator helps estimate the value mobile brings through a retailer’s mobile site and apps, cross-device usage, calls and in-store visits.