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5 Companies You Might Not Realize Google Now Owns

Posted on May 16, 2014 by Hosting

The post 5 Companies You Might Not Realize Google Now Owns appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing . Everyone knows that Google is a big deal.  Each year, news of Google’s new acquisitions makes headlines across the world and across the web, stunning analysts and everyday consumers alike. From little start-ups to longtime titans of industry, so many companies have been picked up that users often forget (or don’t realize) that their favorite app or software is now part of the Google machine. For some, this just means better service, better quality, and better integration on mobile platforms; for others, watching a beloved site or service get stripped for parts and silently assimilated into the inner workings of Google’s infrastructure can be disappointing to say the least. For better or worse, Google is making waves not just online, but in nearly every facet of our lives.  Here are five companies you didn’t know Google owns and what that means for you:   Waze Social networking, mapping, and up-to-date traffic, all rolled into one app?  Sounds too good to be true, but that’s precisely what Waze is all about. Waze helps drivers help themselves by providing an outlet for folks to warn other drivers of potential delays and hazards by means of tweet-like posts.  This information then coalesces into a living map that shows drivers in the area just how long it will take to get from Point A to Point B, which roads to avoid, and even the location of speed traps. It isn’t hard to see why Google would want to snatch these guys up.  With close to a billion downloads of Google Maps from Google Play alone, adding the social networking power of Waze to the application gives users the unparalleled quality of Google’s navigation interface, In addition, the benefit of sourcing information about travel times and level of traffic from drivers on location is hard to beat.  And with the recent launch of Google Now, Waze data is seamlessly integrated into Google Maps’ auto-updates for an even more intuitive traffic alert system.   Nest Home automation is still a relatively new concept for many consumers.  The idea of sending a text message to your alarm system because you forgot to arm it on the way out the door—much less having your fridge text you when Timmy sneaks some cake in the middle of the night—still sounds like something from The Jetsons . But Nest, founded by Tony Faddell and Matt Rogers, the same guys who brought us the iPod, is all about making your home smart, from thermostats to alarm systems.  Nest was picked up in January 2014 by Google in its quest to branch outside the worldwide web and into your living room. Acquiring Nest helps Google build their stockpile of resources for total home integration with Android devices that are already making everything from turning on the outdoor lights for a party to setting the timer on the sprinklers easier than updating your Facebook status.  Expect big things from this merger: with Nest’s innovation and Google’s infrastructure, we are stepping into a brave new world.   Zagat Google almost acquired rival company Yelp back in 2011, but picked up Zagat instead after the deal fell through. Prior to merging with Google, Zagat.com was a subscription-based service, offering its vast cache of knowledge only to those who paid a premium.  Zagat membership is now free—as long as you sign up with Google+, that is. But whether you subscribe to Zagat or not, Google has tightly and seamlessly integrated Zagat reviews and information into its standard Google search, so even casual users benefit.  The novelty and prestige may have taken a backseat, but picking a restaurant for that special occasion has just become much easier.   Flutter A short-lived but popular gesture recognition program, Flutter was acquired by Google in October 2013.  Due to its native integration with applications like YouTube, Chrome, Netflix and Pandora, Flutter was a prime candidate to springboard Google’s gesture recognition ventures moving forward. Users of the original Flutter app need not worry that it’s merely been stripped for parts—the download can still be found here . As with a few other apps, merging with Google bodes well for both Flutter veterans and newcomers alike. As Google engineers hone and develop gesture recognition for more and more programs, it will become a smoother, more universal experience across the board.   Boston Dynamics This is actually just one of about a half dozen or more robotics companies bought up by Google in early December 2013, along with Redwood Robotics, Meka Robotics, Holomni and others.  Boston Dynamics is best known for the DARPA-funded BigDog, essentially an automated four-legged pack mule designed to carry gear for soldiers over terrain too rough for vehicles. What does Google intend for these companies?  It isn’t too clear yet, but whether they are planning on putting these firms to use in vamping up their manufacturing capital in preparation for the Google Car, or if they have bigger plans in mind (humanoid robots?), picking up so many robotics companies suggests that Google is gearing up for some big, exciting things.   Whether it results in overall better quality or if an app or service is simply assimilated into the infrastructure, Google’s acquisitions are taking tech in bold new directions.  As its influence pervades every aspect of our lives, more and more companies are sure to follow.  And whether we embrace it or not, this snowball-effect is pushing the boundaries of what we thought possible, and that’s a very exciting thing. web hosting Continue reading →

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Twitter Cards, What Are They?

Posted on May 9, 2014 by Hosting

The post Twitter Cards, What Are They? appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing . Twitter’s advertising platform is still young, but it’s setting itself up to be really strong.  It still has plenty of areas for improvement, but if I had to describe Twitter Cards in one word, it would be FANTASTIC! In my personal experiments, Cost Per Engagement is down from $0.50-$1 to $0.05-$0.20.  For those of you who don’t know what an engagement is, it’s every-single-action on your ad. This means a click on a link, picture, your profile, retweet, favorite, or reply. With all those ways for people to engage, you unfortunately do sometimes pay for things you don’t want; in the advertising world, that’s lost money! With Twitter cards, you can create a clear Call to Action (CTA) with less characters and less channels to engage. I’ll explain each of these cards below:   LeadGen Twitter Card This is geared towards email marketers. If you build your list or are just thinking about building your list, then these are an easy way to do so. You can set it up where you can download email data or have it sent to your CRM such as Mailchimp or Salesforce. There’s a small list of CRMs that Twitter says are compatible with Twitter Cards , but if your CRM can receive POST data, then you “should” be fine. Don’t quote me on that, though. These LeadGen cards can be used in many ways. You can capture their email and send them to a page to download an ebook or a special landing page on your site. If you have an autoresponder setup with your CRM, you can automatically send them a coupon code or digital product via email as soon as they click your call to action and agree to give you their email address. Either way, you now have their email address to be able to market to them later. But DON’T SPAM!   NOTE: You will need to have a privacy policy on your site that you can link to. Almost every email marketer should know this and have one on their site. If not, you can review HostGator’s Privacy Policy as an example.     Website Twitter Cards These are quickly becoming my favorite. You know those links you have in your tweet for either your website / landing page or picture? GONE! You can now insert a picture and that becomes the link. Granted, it’s probably a lot smaller of a picture than you want, and the dimensions are a pain to work with, but if I can decrease character space and increase effectiveness, then I’m all for it. I’ve seen campaign engagement go up from 1%-3% to 10-20% and I couldn’t believe it! I certainly recommend trying these out in your strategy if you haven’t already. Personally, I think they need to add some more CTAs other than “Read More” because people won’t just use this for website views. They’ll want more strong signals to buy or download. Hopefully this feature will come soon enough.     While I’ve been impressed with the results I’ve seen thus far, it’s always worth noting that early adopters usually see better numbers than those that begin to use it after the first wave of users. And as with all marketing efforts, a large part of it is simply finding your niche . Have you started to use the Twitter Cards? If so, tell us about your results in the comments below. web hosting Continue reading →

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How to Effectively Integrate Your Marketing Efforts

Posted on May 6, 2014 by Hosting

The post How to Effectively Integrate Your Marketing Efforts appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing . As the Internet becomes a more commonly used tool for consumers to locate companies and products they are interested in, it is becoming more and more important for companies to effectively integrate their marketing efforts into the online arena. Many companies are still operating as if their online marketing efforts are entirely separate from the rest of their advertising campaigns. In fact, in the 21 essential for your company to integrate all of your marketing campaigns in order to ensure one cohesive message. Potential consumers are easily turned off by a lack of continuity across varying advertising platforms. Being promised one thing and receiving another proves frustrating for everyone involved. As a marketer, you should take steps to make sure that your efforts are helping your company realize its maximum potential. Organizing an effective and cohesive marketing strategy that includes both online and offline marketing doesn’t have to be incredibly difficult. Here are a few easy tips designed to help you effectively integrate your marketing efforts:   Define Your Focus A vast majority of marketing efforts today fail to focus on the big picture. A company that fails to inspire their employees to concentrate their marketing efforts will most likely encounter a lack of success when it comes to attracting potential customers. Today, the most effective integrated marketing campaigns usually come down to how well companies can brand themselves. Every company should take time to research how they want to shape their own brand, what is important to their customers when making a purchase, and what makes their company unique from their competitors.   Identify Marketing Channels Many people think about integrated marketing as a wide range of marketing messages that reach consumers on every channel possible. In reality, trying to reach every channel can actually result in fragmentation of your desired marketing message. The advertising arena today is incredibly saturated with messages from millions of companies around the world. Fragmented messages can actually limit the effectiveness of your communications in the channels that are most important to your company. Limiting your company’s message by trying to disperse it across every possible medium will simply result in your message becoming subject to the ‘needle­in­a­haystack’ syndrome. Identifying the marketing channels that will have the most impact on the customers you are targeting is essential to any successful integrated marketing effort.   Sync Your Efforts Once you have successfully identified the channels you believe will be most effective to capture customers, you need to take time to organize and coordinate all forms of your marketing communications. As mentioned above, companies who do not present a coordinated, cohesive message across all of their marketing platforms can easily discourage their customers. Every channel should have a message that focuses on the same positive aspects of your business.   Think Global, Act Local Companies in the 21st Century have a much greater potential to reach customers on a global level than ever before. The Internet provides companies with a simple platform that allows them to reach international consumers quickly and efficiently. Many businesses fall into the trap of excessively tailoring their messages to the local consumers that are interested in their products. Too much local focus can actually compromise a company’s ability to maintain consistent messages across various channels.   While tailoring niche messages will certainly allow companies to capture larger segments of the local market, companies must be careful to maintain consistent and reliable messages. Keeping your key marketing elements in mind throughout your integrated marketing efforts will allow you to remain consistent, and maximize your potential. web hosting Continue reading →

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Find Your Niche

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Hosting

The post Find Your Niche appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing . Niche is a great word. It’s a shallow recess within a wall, used as a display tool for a really nifty object, it’s a cranny (another great word), and it’s a nook. It can be the ecological role of an organism in a community (especially the role of said object in relation to food consumption), and it’s a habitat that supplies the factors that are necessary for the existence of an organism or a species. The original definitions of the word had absolutely nothing to do with the business world, but, like the Internet, just because something originates as one thing it doesn’t mean that it cannot turn into something completely different through alternative usages. Niche, in more recent history, has come to also be used to describe either a job or activity that is suitable for someone or to describe the situation by which a business’s products or services are able to succeed by being sold to a particular group or type of people. As fascinating as the evolution of a word can be, we’re not here for an etymology lesson. (Though if you have some free time while surfing, I do recommend looking into the origins of your favorite words – it can be quite illuminating!) Speaking of surfing, this lovely little side lesson in definitions does have a purpose.   In The Interest Of Finding Your Market The thing is, no matter how cool you may think your product is, the fact of the matter is that you may have trouble finding someone else who thinks that it’s a cool concept as well. You know that your idea is a good one, but you’re not seeing your business go anywhere. Does this mean that you have failed? No! What this means is that you just haven’t found your niche yet. It’s possible that you just need more advertising than you’re currently using, that you haven’t found the right way to convey what it is your product does in a manner that appeals to the public at large, or that you’re looking in the wrong target market.   No Matter How Absurd The Idea May Be (dot dot dot) If nothing else, the Internet has shown us that products that one might think are absolutely ridiculous can sell, and can become huge successes, while others that are quite useful may not do so well because of a poor choice in marketing; still others are fantastic ideas, but haven’t really taken off due to a lack of exposure. Let’s take a look at a few examples (please note that we’re not affiliated with any of these companies or products, they’re just being used for example purposes!) A Ridiculous Idea That’s Doing Well: Poopsenders.com – The url says it all. This site was created solely for the purpose of sending people poo through the mail. For this month the specials are “cow dung, elephant crap, gorilla poop” and a special three types of poop for one combo pack. Not only is this just plain silly, but you have to think about the logistics of the operation. Someone sat down and thought about how great it would be to send poo to people, determined the types they wanted to send, and created a whole… ahem… production process, getting them straight from the animals, so to speak, to the door of the person its being shipped to. In spite of the ethical and moral issues associated with this type of business, the mind boggling process of actually creating such a business, and the sheer ridiculousness of the idea, the company is doing fantastically well. Turns out, humans love shipping poo to people; the site’s been around since 2008 and shows no signs of slowing down.   Or How Reasonable The Idea May Be A Useful Product That Failed Due to Poor Marketing: Bic Cristal for Her – Yes, Bic goofed big time. As one Forbes writer states, Bic made “lady-pens.”  The reviews on Amazon tell it all. The product has become a huge joke. The sad thing is, it didn’t need to be. The pens are just like every other Bic pen in existence – their only difference? The fact that they’re in pretty colors. The ink isn’t – it’s still basic black, it’s just the outer clear tube that Bic changed. For those of us who still use pens (yes, I know we seem to be a dying breed), there’s nothing wrong with a pretty pen. I happen to grab them by the ton, different roller ball thicknesses, different kinds of ink, different casings. I like the variety when taking the time to write by hand. If Bic had just called them “Bic Cristal” the company would have been fine, had a new product, and people like me would have happily added to their pen collection, but alas, that “For Her” served to imply a whole host of sexist connotations (really, check out the reviews – they’re hilarious), and caused Bic to appear as though they had real mud in their eye. A Great Product With Limited Exposure: Loot Crate – They send a grab box of goodies to your house each month. These boxes are filled with all things Geeky. March’s box was Titanfall themed (for you Xbox lovers out there), and we have no clue yet as to what April may bring. It’s a product filled with goodies for those who like mail and goodies, it’s a surprise, and it’s geeky happiness in a box, working to target a variety of different markets. They’re not big yet, but if they advertise more they will be! Anyone with any business model can become successful online; that’s one of the beauties of the Internet. Chances are that if you like the concept as a good idea for a product or service, someone else will too and you shouldn’t give up just because you’re not an overnight success. Instead, take a careful look at how you are marketing your product (Don’t be like Bic!), whom the product is being marketed for, whether or not there is enough exposure for your product or service, and whether or not you can punch it up a notch by simply changing the wording. Three years ago I never would have bought clothes online for a tortoise; in six weeks the household tortoise will have a stegosaurus costume. It just goes to show you that the Internet is a wonderful and mysterious place where anyone may find their niche!   Image Source: Make Income on the Side. (2013). What is your niche?. [image online] Available at: http://makeincomeontheside.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Niche-Blogging.jpg [Accessed: 26 Mar 2014]. web hosting Continue reading →

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Infographic: Invasion Of Wearable Tech

Posted on April 28, 2014 by Hosting

The post Infographic: Invasion Of Wearable Tech appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing . As technology is becoming physically smaller and relatively inexpensive, it is beginning to cross over in to fashionable (and not-so-fashionable) pieces of wearable tech.  The following infographic presents some of the cutting edge devices that fall into this new category of fashion: Invasion Of Wearable Tech via HostGator web hosting Continue reading →

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