Already during the summer of 2011, when the Google+  network  was just released there were many companies that quickly wanted to start a business page on Google+ similar to the pages that Facebook offers. But so far there has been no commercial solution available whereby companies have tried to create accounts intended for private customers. Google has systematically deleted these “fake” business accounts while their development team worked to develop a functional business application that is be able to connect with Google Adwords. Now it seems that Google will be releasing their version of the business pages this autumn.

• We are pleased to announce that Google Accounts + will be available to businesses later this fall, said Alan Moss, Google’s director of online sales.

The main competitor Facebook still has a huge head start with it’s 800 million users worldwide. How many users now using Google+ is something only Google knows. At the launch of Google+ for businesses it  becomes global at once, therefore Swedish companies can use the service right from the start.
How the pairing between the business pages and Google Adwords is suppose to function is still unclear but the function can be a great way to offer something that Facebook can’t with their business pages, allowing Google to gain market share.

Emma Stjernlöf, Nordic Communications at Google, leaves the question open of when the general pages end up at the market.

• Google+ has long been in the experimental stage and we have asked our users for feedback on the levels of new service. When we have pointed out this process the Google+ profiles will be ready and we can focus on launching as soon as possible.

Learn more about Google+ Business in today’s media here

Yahoo! and Bing have collaborated for a long time on their search indexes in other countries, but not until after this summer the Swedish versions will come together. To explain it briefly, the change means that Yahoo! switched to Microsoft Bing’s search index on Yahoo.se. While changes are made ​​in Sweden the transition is also made in six other countries: Austria, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Russia and the Netherlands.The advertisers are not affected by  this change since Bing and Yahoo! have been collaborating for some time.

Why do Yahoo! and Bing create this alliance?
The search alliance between Yahoo! and Microsoft Bing is a major venture between two companies in an attempt to create a competitive choice for advertisers and consumers to make relevant searches and be seen outside of the still largest search engine Google. The combined search algorithm is designed to enhance the experience for the user when searching and also help advertisers get better results from their ads and visibility.

When Yahoo! also joins  Bing’s system for advertising this could have positive effects for the advertisers in the Nordic countries.

Read more here

Website links
The links shown below some of Google’s search results are called sitelinks and they help users find the right page when they search for a website or product. Sitelinks have been here for a long time but when they were first launched they were very limited. Only a single line with four links. Google Sitelinks have recently expanded functionality so  in addition Google users can see the main page and twelve  listed sub-pages in addition to make it easier to locate a specific site.

These website links are available to facilitate a search and they help to suggest which parts of the site you may want to visit and so streamline the search process as they will help you to quickly navigate to the most relevant sections of the site. The change also makes it easier for those using  Smartphones, as it usually is easier to click through from a search result than to find their way through the companies website when the user has a small screen.

If Google will present an underside of your site that you do not want to present to searchers  you can remove the bottom from the search results through Google Webmaster Tools.

Ad Location Links
Ad Space Links (Ad Sitelinks) is a function of search-based ads through which you can add additional links to other content than you see on your main-page of  your website. Ad Sitelinks make your AdWords ads more useful for users because they can find your advertisements thanks to targeted and relevant links showing them correctly. These links appear only when the ad is considered a perfect match for the user´s search frase and is often triggered by a query that contains a trademark. Google updates that function so it displays AdWords ads with up to six advertising links divided into two lines.

With this development it is obviously even more rewarding to help companies with sponsored links when the visibility of the campaign links increases!

As a result of the efforts Google and Facebook have to create the best social community by following each others updates at a rapid pace. Later in the sequence is Facebook’s recently launched updates, tagging, locations, and privacy.

The update includes that you more easily and in more detail can share your information with other users, but also customize which ones to see your events you post on Facebook. The launch of these new features is surely no coincidence, on the one hand, the features allow you to become even more visible and personal online, but on the other hand, you decide what you choose to show and with who.
Here’s a quick guide on what the news means!

Tag the one you are with
Add tags to publishings, including photos, updates and comments. Tags can refer to other Facebook friends or places you visited, when you add a tag it creates a link to a particular page for everyone who is interested. This tagging, which Facebook calls  ”location tagging” means that when a status is updated or new post is made ​​you can tag these with either a city or a specific location. But you don’t have to be at that location at the moment you tag it. When you tag a site, it will appear in the post with a direct link to the Places page. This page is a specific page only for that place or location. This way the Facebook Place pages gets more impressions and higher click-through.

Tell us where you are
Now you can easily tell in which city or area you are whenever you share your particular location such as a park or a cafe on Facebook. Previously you needed a smart phone so you could tell where you were, but now it is possible to state this position even through the computer.

Choose with who you share
Privacy settings have been moved and is now right next to all the material you can share so that it’s always clear to who you show your  information. You can choose who can see what – you can, for example share your location with friends, but only your telephone number with your family. You can decide who can sees your status updates, photos and profile information by using the target voters. You can do this while you share but also afterwards when you are organising your page.

More information about the new features found on your Facebook page – here

Ever since social media took it’s first step into the limelight, “the wise men” in this area have blogged, discussed, and compared advantages and disadvantages of this new modern channel.
Just a phrase-search on Google gives 9.7 million hits, which must be seen as a high hit number given that the term barely existed a decade ago.There is no doubt that social media have become part of our lifestyle and it has enabled us to effectively communicate in a new and different way. It has also enabled a very rapid flow of information, which means that companies must be prepared to respond quickly to what is being said in social media. But social media has not only changed the way we communicate, it has also changed the approach to how we use other media. For example, the TV media has been an integral part of our lives since the 1940’s and has provided us with news, information and entertainment. This media has a long history of providing people with things to talk about and is without doubt the media has given us the most gossip.This picture is slowly being erased when TV membership increasingly went hand in hand with the use of social media. According to a study by Ericsson ConsumerLab 40% of consumers who watch TV also use social media at the same time. And this number keeps growing fast. We watch TV in the new context, sure we are still sitting in front of the TV (or computer), but instead to discuss the content with the neighbor over the fence, you share your experiences and impressions directly online with others through social media. The fact that we tend to mix multiple media simultaneously makes it extremely important for companies to be uniform in their message, and offer their customers a well thought out overall experience using many types of media. It has long been the view that social media work as a complement to traditional media, but that should be revalued. Instead both media types are being a part of a cycle where all parts are equally important.

Are you a successful company that succeeded in attracting many fans to your Facebook page? This is obviously great, but have you thought about how involvement they are in the content you put up?
For a long time, companies have “hunted” likingmarks in order to show the public that many people stood behind the brand. Who has not, for example, come across an event which you can participate in by liking a page. And sure –  it has worked, at least if the goal has been to just gather followers. The risk is that these like-supporters only is a number which unfortunately does not show much at all.

The right way to take advantage of social media is not to have the most followers or supporters. It requires followers who actually contribute by liking your posts or products and share a positive opinion about you.
We are heading into a new era of social media where dedication, inspiration and external messengers are increasingly important. It is the number of active fans and customers who spread positive information about your company that matters. The more people talk about your company, the more your message gets out.

This is something that Facebook has taken on in their recent updates. Besides that like button is visible, it also gives you a parameter that mark how many people are talking about your company – “X talk about it here.”
This indicator is much more important  to keep up. Not the number of likes.

Who is an active fan? An active fan is someone who for the past seven days: *

• Liked your Facebook Page
• Liked, commented or shared a post on your Facebook Page
• Answered a Facebook question from your Facebook Page
• Reply to even comment belonging to your Facebook page
• Tagged your Facebook page in any way
• Check in to your Facebook page

* http://ads.ak.facebook.com/ads/creative/insights/page-insights-guide.pdf

The number can also serve as a hint for all site-administrators or moderators who want to know what your fans think is interesting. You will notice quickly which post or content creates activity and engagement on your page.
But how can you determine if you succeeded? According to Hans Kullin of Media Culpa  the best known consumer brands has a commitment among their followers around 0.5-2% of the total number of followers.
It can be a good benchmark to look at when you analyze your own page!

Are you one of the many people who have found the fantastic world of blogs? A place where you can pick and choose from stories from the glamor queen to clever corporate blogs? You are certainly not alone.

According to the swedish “Media Barometer 2010″ from Nordicom, nearly a fifth (18 percent) of Internet users in Sweden between ages 9-79 years visited a blog at least once an average day 2010. Most people who spend time reading blogs are not surprisingly younger people between ages 15-24 years. In this group as much as 35 percent of Internet users visited a blog a normal day. In the group 25-44 years 18 percent are reading a blog a normal day, wich is the same amount as the total average. The older people does not seem to have found the world of blogs quite yet, so far it is among 65-79 year olds only 1 percent who read a blog.

Among the entire population, 9-79 years, the use of social media is as high as the use of traditional media online.* The fact that blogs have become equal to traditional media on the Internet is a strong evidence of how important it is for companies to look at how they are working with social media, in which blogs should be a major component.

“Doodles” has over the years done searches on Google more fun and more interesting for users worldwide. Doodles are all designed artwork that appears on, around and through the Google logo. The image is always some way linked to which date or holiday it is, and many appreciate the ingenuity of these Doodles.

In July, Google gave the general public the mission to paint the Google logo and create a so-called Doodle on the theme “I Love …”. At the time of writing this blog the Google jury goes through all received contributions. The participants compete to show their Doodle on Google all over Scandinavia for a whole day. When the winner will have their Doodle launched is not announced, but we at Maze Media will keep our eyes open!

Here you can look at the Doodles that have occurred during the years!

Google’s new social network, Google +, has quickly received 25 million unique visitors, this data according to research firm ComScore. Approximately one million new visitors per day are drawn to the social network that challenges Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and other social networks on Internet. Google + is also growing faster than any network previously done, it took 30 months for Twitter and Facebook nearly three years to reach up to 25 million visitors. Google themselves have not yet disclosed any official figures on how things are going for their new venture Google +.

The Gmail penetration seems to be the key factor in the rapid growth of Google +. The popularity of Google + is high among the people who also use the mail client, Gmail. This fact is not surprising, since Gmail users already have their social network in place – something which makes it easy to also start up their social networking on Google +.

Maze Media Group wishes you all a wonderful summer with hope of many sunny, fun and lazy days!

The staff members at Media Maze will also take the chance to make the most of the summer and therefore have holiday breaks during the weeks 28.29 and 30. See you with fully charged batteries in August!

Sunny greetings
Camilla Folkeson