Apple recently announced that over 1 million iPads have been sold in the first 4 weeks of U.S. availability. With media fervor subsiding and novelty wearing off, we were interested in better understanding how iPad users are browsing the web. Listed below are three observations related to iPad traffic stats gleaned from some of our retail clients. It’s important to note that individual marketers show variations in the amount of visits from iPad browsers, so your mileage may vary.
iPad is rapidly gaining share in terms of site visits. With just a few weeks of availability, the iPad has shown rapid growth and in some cases, has overtaken more established mobile devices in terms of visits. While iPad visits make up a small proportion of total site visits (typically less than 0.5%), this fast growth shows promise. Whether this rapid growth rate can be sustained in the longer term remains to be seen.
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Welcome to the new world of internet intimacy and the acceleration of image-based search.
I watched the unveiling of the Apple iPad with some genuine excitement the other day. At the end of the presentation, I can honestly say that I was underwhelmed. The iPad is just a big iPhone…so what?!?
And then I thought…wait a minute…the thing is a big iPhone…that changes everything! (Well, not really, but it does have some interesting implications.) What has really resonated with me is the concept of intimacy. With Steve Jobs demonstrating the iPad from a cushy looking chair, engaging the internet with his finger, it dawned on me what has just happened. The internet became a much less cerebral place. No longer is your interactivity with content tempered by mouse navigation, the internet reacts to your finger. It is instinctual, organic and perhaps even a little impulsive.
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What Apple’s latest announcement means to marketers.
Tomorrow is a huge day in our lives as marketers. I’m taking a not-so-wild shot at this not because I love Apple products (I don’t) but because their ability to transform entire industries by re-thinking how people want to live their lives is stunning. Apple’s new tablet product will be launched and, with it, the typical hype and expectations are at a fever pitch. And, they should be. Although the Kindle from Amazon was a game-changer for the content industry, it hasn’t really changed the lives of marketers as Apple’s launch will.
The new Apple product will be far more than a device. It will integrate multiple forms of content into a single destination and do what all of us have wished for since we started buying cellphones and computers for personal use. Voice, music, video, print, data, calendars and phone are all going to be experienced through this technology.
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As the New Year turns, it’s normal to look ahead. So here is my list of what’s coming up in the world of natural search for 2010. In lieu of predictions, however, I’d like to offer up something a bit more actionable: a rundown of key areas that will require online marketers’ focus and attention to maximize natural search success in the coming year.
1. Mobile Matters – I have actually been beating the mobile drum since I worked on mobile search in 1997, but this year, mobile really matters. (Google and Apple have spent almost $1 billion in the last quarter to buy mobile ad networks…that should tell you something!) The growth of mobile is torrid and with the rise of the smartphone and ubiquitous 3G, mobile search is working. In 2010, you will see an appreciable amount of traffic from mobile browsers. Are you thinking of how you can present yourself to the mobile user? If you aren’t now, you should be.
2. Images Matter – Visual search is hot. There have been dozens and dozens of early stage visual search engines that have been no better than demo-ware. But Google Image search has exploded, and we see that our clients are driving traffic through images searches. (If you are looking for a red dress, doesn’t it make sense to look for the red dress in pictures?) And with the advent of Google Goggles, image search will continue to explode. Are you optimizing your images to be relevant and available for image search?
3. Not Being a Dog Matters – Do you remember this incredible cartoon which touted the invisibility of who you are online? Well, the world has changed dramatically since then, and your reputation as a marketer is now well known on the internet. In 2009, I suggested that reputation was about to become an important part of the online world, and 2010 that will become even more valuable. How you behave as a marketer, how you share information with customers, and how you engage with customers will have an impact on your search visibility in 2010.
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Google Analytics adds more powerful reporting capabilities, expands mobile measurement and adds intelligence engine to drive smarter data insights.
Several new features for Google Analytics were announced last month designed to make the free web analytics platform more powerful and easy to use. Below is a highlight of several new features.
Goal tracking improvements. In addition to increasing the number of configurable goals to 20 per profile, new site engagement goal types have been introduced. Engagement goals can be set based on the visit duration or the number of pages viewed during a visit. For example, a goal can be set to occur if time on site surpasses 10 minutes or after 12 pages have been viewed in a visit. These new goal types allow site owners to measure the proportion of visits that meet a time on site or pageview threshold and are especially valuable for content websites. AdWords advertisers can use these Google Analytics goals for campaign optimization in cases where ecommerce conversion is not applicable or the target behavior.
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Local search ads take mobile leap on iPhone.
Google Sponsored Listings have started to appear within the Maps application installed on every iPhone and iPod touch device. These paid listings appear alongside organic results when users perform relevant searches, helping local customers find appropriate businesses from their mobile phone. PM Digital is working on getting more details on the specifics of this new program and how it relates to Google’s Local Business Ads program.
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