Monthly:October 2013

Alpharooms rebuilds its site using responsive web design and sees overall conversions jump 100%

October 30, 2013

Google

Discount travel website Alpharooms doubled its overall conversion rate, increased mobile conversion rate fourfold, reduced mobile bounce rate 35% and cut the time required for customers to price their itineraries by half. How? By rebuilding the site using responsive web design (RWD).

The impetus was the dramatic increase in mobile internet usage. Smartphones had come to comprise about 8% and tablets about 11% of Alpharooms’ traffic. These numbers were predicted to grow, but the brand’s conversion rates on these devices were poor. It was in response to these challenges that Alpharooms decided to launch its new multi-screen strategy.

It took 11 months to go from initial planning to migrating all traffic to the new RWD site, with several user journeys launched on a staggered basis during that timeframe. The RWD site responds to a user’s screen orientation and size, then adjusts images, content visibility and layouts accordingly.

The exercise resulted in improved usability on all devices. With a site that consumers can successfully use on any screen, Alpharooms today has greater confidence in marketing to mobile users, and AdWords enhanced campaigns is one tool that makes it straightforward to apply device-specific tactics. For example, the team can ratchet up the percentage bid adjustments to the mobile channel easily, as well as tailor messaging directly to consumers on smartphones.

In terms of future mobile strategy, the plan is to increase the bid adjustment and compete on all mobile channels. The marketing budget allocated to mobile is set to increase from just 1% to between 10 and 15%, in line with the brand’s steadily expanding mobile audience.

To learn more about Alpharooms’ RWD build, read the full case study here.

Article by Matt Brocklehurst, Product Marketing Manager, Google

Moving the mobile conversation to the Inside AdWords blog

October 11, 2013

Ads / Google

Posted by: Google Mobile Ads Team

There’s a lot to say about mobile! In today’s multi-screen world, mobile is a part of everything we do. And mobile ads are an important part of that conversation… now, more than ever. In this spirit, we will be moving the content of the mobile ads blog to the Inside AdWords one to consolidate our communications with businesses and advertisers.

We’ll continue to provide updates there about mobile-related product developments, findings from our latest research, and successes of advertisers and developers. Going forward, mobile and multi-screen content, can be found at the following links, all of which will be updated frequently.

Inside AdWords Blog – Google’s official blog for news, tips and information on AdWords. This is where the majority of the posts you saw on the mobile ads blog will now live.

Think With Google – The home of all of our content for businesses and digital media experts. The Think website is updated frequently with new articles, research studies, planning tools and more.

Google Ads + Page – The Google Ads Google+ page is a central place for you to learn how Google can help make the web work for you and drive your customers from intent to action.

See you soon on one of these resources.

Google+ iOS SDK 1.4.0: in-app share box and ID token support

October 3, 2013

Developers / Google

Today we are announcing version 1.4.0 of the Google+ iOS SDK. The new version includes two of the most highly requested features from the developer community:

In-app share box. Now your users can share with their Google+ circles, directly from your iOS app! In addition, the native in-app share box supports image and video attachments. If you’ve already implemented browser-based sharing, you can switch to the native in-app share box with a single line change:

Just update this:

     [[GPPShare sharedInstance] shareDialog]

to this:

     [[GPPShare sharedInstance] nativeShareDialog]

The native iOS in-app share box
2. ID token support. ID tokens allow you to securely verify the identity of users of your iOS clients to your application servers.

Companies like Huffington Post are already taking advantage of these new features. To download or to learn more about the Google+ iOS SDK, visit our Google+ Developers site.

Posted by Ranjith Jayaram, Product Manager, Google+ iOS PlatformRead More…

Hulu Plus now works with Chromecast

October 2, 2013

Google / Hardware

Hulu has added Chromecast support to their Hulu Plus app—just in time for the fall television season. Now you can easily enjoy your favorite shows, such as “Modern Family,” “New Girl” and “Parks and Recreation,” on your big-screen TV by casting from Hulu Plus on your mobile phone or tablet. It’s the same intuitive, remote-free experience you’ve come to enjoy with the other Chromecast-supported apps, and is as simple as pressing the Cast button which will now appear in the app.

Chromecast, which we launched in July, is designed to be small, affordable ($35) and the simplest way to watch online video on your TV. It’s been exciting to receive such positive feedback from many of you (thank you!)—and to see Chromecast currently listed as the #1 best seller on Amazon in Electronics.

To start casting your favorite Hulu Plus content from your Android phone, tablet or iPad (support for iPhone coming very soon), just check that you have the latest version of the Hulu Plus app for Android or iOS that’s rolling out today. And if you don’t already own a Chromecast device, they’re in stock and available on Google Play, Amazon, BestBuy.com or at your local Best Buy store.

Think Insights: A new hub for Marketers & Ad Agencies

October 1, 2013

Google

We’re excited to announce the new Think Insights site in the UK. Think Insights is Google’s one-stop shop for marketing insights and inspiration for advertisers and agencies. On google.co.uk/think, you can read about the latest research in digital marketing, be inspired by creative brand campaigns, and find useful products and tools – all to help you make the most of the web.

We’ll feature content that spans industries and interests. Here’s an initial snapshot of some of the content available now:

Get the lowdown on how Three created brand love & fame with #DancePonyDance

Learn how to Make Your Website Work Across Devices with tips, case studies and an infographic
See the ads that moved the audience the most in the YouTube Ads Leaderboards

If you always wanted to know about how consumers search your brand or what role social media in the customer journey plays head over to the Product & Tools section.

We built google.co.uk/think to help you do it all—stay up-to-date on the latest in digital marketing, arm yourself with data to support your business cases and create inspiring campaigns.

Article by Calvin Lau, Product Marketing Manager, EMEA

links and hastags: #thinkinsights #googlebusiness #google www.google.co.uk/think

Monthly:October 2013

Get the lowdown on how Three created brand love & fame with #DancePonyDance