Now while Mozilla’s “Home” application for the iPhone allows you to connect your web browser from your PC to your phone, allowing you to take work, your Firefox browsing history and your bookmarks with you.  Chrome2Phone actually works similarly allowing you to sync content from your PC, like videos and clips, to your mobile Android device.  Now here’s the kicker, “Voice Actions” is what makes the Android’s Chrome2Phone far superior to the iPhone’s Mozilla application.

Android’s “Voice Search” app is a voice-to-mobile interface  that gives you the ability to search, e-mail, text, set an alarm, take notes, look up music and locations online and even place calls and map out the locations just found… SO COOL!  Anyways, Apple did acquire Siri, so this is obviously Google’s quickest response.  While figuring out that this might be why Google created these awesome apps, I happened to find the things that Google director of product management, Hugo Barra, had to say about the future of mobile technology very very interesting AND super exciting!

These improvements by Google for Androids Voice Search “Voice Actions” lets you do so much more then just search by making your whole mobile experience hands free and so so easy.  With Dave Burke, Google’s engineering manager, and Google stating all the details on how the application pushes the data to your mobile device and which versions these applications are currently available for you, you can easily get all of your questions answered before you upgrade.  This is a huge advancement of just two years back when Google originally introduced voice search, which ended up being very limited comparatively.

Being able to simply speak that you want a map of all the local vintage shops, then the app finding them online and displaying them back to you in no time!  Or finding the next track you want to listen to just a minute later, makes this version far superior.  It’s just a matter of time before an updated version comes out for the iPhone and I can’t wait.  I love watching technology outdo itself, in my opinion, it is way better than reality TV any day!!!

Check out the full list and the video below to see all of what Google’s voice command application has to offer through their “Cloud”:

Like Google says, Don’t type when you can talk!

Over the years I have heard complaints about people spending so much money on marketing and not getting any sales.  The traffic is there, the product is great and they even put the time and effort into blogging and article marketing.  Sometimes they even go the extra mile and actually pay an online marketing company to drive more traffic, yet still the same results.  So these site owners continue to rack their brains as to what could possibly be the cause of such results?  Or should I say, lack of results?

Poor site navigation is usually the key!

I was reading this article in the “Search Engine Journal” about how imperative it is to have proper site navigation on your website.  It not only explains the obvious reasons of why it is so important to have navigation on your website that works properly but also why it is so important on the back end ranking with the search engines.  I really like how it breaks down how you wish your pages are given authority to the search engines.  With a simple chart to show an example of the break down you don’t even need to know everything about navigation to understand all of the aspects of this article.

Not only does Alan Bleiweiss break down these important factors of integral site navigation but he goes into immense detail of the huge role the user experience plays in this aspect.  In his section “Navigation As a Means of controlling UX”, UX standing for user experience, he covers some really important tips on how your navigation can find users information as well as being able to dictate where people go on your site. It also mentions what not to do on your landing pages for organic visitors and these are just a few things he covers that can start making a difference in converting your traffic into sales today.

So now you understand the dire need for navigation for your online business to successfully convert traffic.  Unless of course, you would rather just pay a reputable online marketing company to do all of this navigational design work for you.   : )

deep linking – linking to a web page other than a site’s home page.

description tag – an HTML tag used by Web page authors to provide a description for search engine listings.

impression – a single instance of an online advertisement being displayed.*

interactive agency – an agency offering a mix of Web design/development, Internet advertising/marketing, or E-Business/E-Commerce consulting.

keyword research – the search for keywords related to your Web site, and the analysis of which ones yield the highest return on investment (ROI).

search engine optimization – the process of choosing targeted keyword phrases related to a site, and ensuring that the site places well when those keyword phrases are part of a Web search.

By taking the time to learn these terms you will not only become more knowledgeable of Internet marketing but just by reading them you will start to understand more and more of what actually goes into your marketing.  I feel this list is pretty thorough list and can help even the beginning marketer to understand the terms of the online marketing world better.  Not only will you be able to learn more about the terms but once you start to understand them you will learn more about how marketing is actually done!

Maybe your next purchase should not be an iPad or new Mac, but a flip camera. Maybe you need to expand your horizons as a purveyor of original content, by being, well . . . . . original.

It is time to become a vlogger, while not losing your blogger essence. There may be a few times when you may have to become a vlogger. After you see this video, you will understand what I mean.

CPA’s and accountants have traditionally been lax in their online marketing efforts. McIntosh Marketing is taking efforts to educate the financial field, and their related industries, on how to attract more high-end clients through an effective educational format via their blog and an established social media program.

LinkedIn is a powerful format for B2B relations for CPA’s, accountants and EA’s in that they should take advantage of the vast resource to share their vision, passion and services through this vital social media channel.

Pattie McDonald and her husband, a retired postmaster, rent their beautiful home for vacations nestled in the Ozark Mountains in Missouri. http://www.lakeozarksvacationrental.com/. Per Pattie, the vast majority of her new business comes from those who find her vacation rental in various online vacation directories, many of which come from those who live in neighboring Illinois. Directories are just one of many internet marketing tools that can be utilized as an inexpensive marketing tool for a home based business.

In discussing what Pattie needed, I could see that a lot of terminology was being thrown out at her, but no one really took the time to educate her on how to use additional internet marketing tools that are simple, and most often free. For instance, I told Pattie that she could geo-target her online marketing and advertising by doing something very similar with Craigslist.org. By posting her ad and link on the “vacation rentals” line in the HOUSING section of the Craigslist home page. http://www.craigslist.org.

I found out that Pattie had a new web site, but did not have a blog imbedded within it. Not only is a blog a great way to continue to build original content, so key for SEO purposes, but it is a great avenue to share news and your passion for something as beautiful as a vacation home in the Ozarks. Her blog now becomes a funnel for information about fishing, local activities, special prices, amenities and much more. To build your ranking on Google, Bing, Yahoo and other search engines, it is important to continue to build a continuing stream of relevant and consistent original content. And without question, blogging is one’s best bet to grow organically in search engines.

Pattie’s success will come about by simply doing the following:

• Continue to submit to vacation type directories.
• Geo-target her marketing by submitting ads with free online classifieds, such as Craigslist, Kijiji.com and Backpage.com.
• Get a blog installed within the web site. We recommend this is done on a WordPress format.
• Blog often; at least once a week. Ensure that your blogs contain original content.
• Ensure that your blogs on registered with top blog directories. http://blog.sponsoredreviews.com/?p=47
• Install your web site with more popular social media, such as Facebook and Twitter. Make sure your blog submits to these automatically.

Any home based business can use simple internet marketing tools, such as blogs, free online classifieds and social media to generate a huge amount of traffic and thus long-term profitability.

Very few professions are under marketed. Most industries and professions spend billions to convince you that you need to buy or join. As Seth Godin refers to it we now live in a world with, “Interruption Marketing.”  We try to get by in life, do well, solve our problems and hopefully gain some piece of mind. While on our way we get interrupted with radio ads, billboards, spam, pop ups, text messages and now advertisements on our mobile devices. It is endless and mind numbing.

But CPA’s are different. It is one field that is suffering from “Marketing Deficiency Syndrome.” (Please, do not take this as a serious diagnosis. I do not need some wacky psychiatrist now using my blog to invent some new disease.)

But it is true, the need for CPA’s and their services outweight their actual delivery. It is one of the few fields that is still stuck in old-fashioned think that is hampering its own expansion and profits. Do you realize how many businesses suffer from bad bookkeeping? Almost all. Do you know how many business people and entrepreneurs have tax problems, IRS suits and other messes that are not being confronted or resolved? It is in the tens of thousands.

I had lunch with a highly knowledgable CPA last week. A real smart business man who went on to tell me success after success of assisting the near hopeless with tax situations that would have stumped most others. As he was talking, I asked him if he had been blogging any of these successes. Not only was he not blogging, he was not sending these successes out even on email or through snail mail in a newsletter. He did not even know what a blog was.

A CPA’s best opportunity to demonstrate his acumen, other than face-to-face in person or on video, is through a blog.

This CPA was passionate and had no voice. He did not realize that for every one person he saved from IRAS purgatory, there were thousands in his area that were suffering from the same malady and malaise. His blog is the perfect venue to share his passion with the world, as well as educate the apathetic and worried. Done right, his blog could eventually reach tens of thousands and even get him into places he never dreamed of.

In that conversation he told me an old adage that has died along with the Dodo: “Hang out your shingle, let your reputation speak for itself and they will come.” Sorry, but a CPA firm is not the Field of Dreams. Those days are gone for the CPA who wants to rise above being a single practitioner and has a desire to rise above 70% of his industry counterparts. And he can do this through a well-written blog that is consistent and offers informative content.

• Record everything and transcribe it all into text. Interviews, training sessions with your staff, questions asked of you from your clients, surveys, conversations, product DVD’s, personal opinions, etc.
• Convert support emails into FAQ pages on your web site
• Turn PDF’s into HTML pages (although PDF files can rank on their own)
• Initiate and publish videos about everything your company does, stands for and problems that it solves.
• Successes and testimonials that you have achieved.
• Turn solved problems and unique experiences into blog postings and online articles.

We often here on what can be offered as unique?  Each story that you hear from a customer is unique, just like the individual themselves. What you may not realize is that the conversation that you are having in “real life” are the very conversations that people are having within the online world.

The nest time you ask yourself in frustration, “What unique content can I add to the online conversation?”, you simply need to step back and listen. Listen to what people are saying, how they are saying it and what language they are using to describe their problems, their hopes and their goals. As well, read articles in local papers and industry blogs. from these conversations all you have to do is feature your solutions, your own spin to the conversational mix and your views on how conditions could be changed or rectified.

Everyday, so many interesting stories are happening all around us. Everyday, we make observations on how we view things. This all can be rapidly turned into original content for your web site, your blog, press releases and online articles.

No other single medium is more challenging and yet rewarding. To blog successfully one must be humble and to understand the rules, written and unwritten, as well as be persistent. There is no other easy way to become successful than to simply commit to the process and be consistent in one’s writing efforts.

WordPress is a free blog service that provides a ton of plugins, not to mention that it is fairly easy to learn and use. There are many videos available, as well as help here at McIntosh Marketing if you want to get your blog and web site designed to a top-notch level. WordPress is also very SEO friendly and has been growing more and more in popularity.

It was just a matter of time before someone called Greyson Chance, a veritable overnight success on YouTube, due to his amazing cover of “Paparazzi” by international phenom, Lady Gaga. That really isn’t the story of this blog. While the young performer was featured on Ellen’s show, and even getting to speak via phone to Lady Gaga herself, the real success on the spin is how Ellen featured herself in the video while Greyson Chance did a shortened version on Ellen’s show.

Knowing that this video would as well go viral far above anything Ellen could ever dream of, Ellen and her producers made sure that Ellen stood next to Greyson Chance during his electrifying performance. Five hundred thousand hit later, and now Ellen is empowering her brand and relevance to the social media crowd.

Lesson: News is happening all around you in your industry, town and other circles of influence. With some creativity and some good taste, you could find yourself easily riding the wave of the success of another.