According to a recent survey, 50% of online shoppers conduct research online for at least half of their purchases, and 64% usually read online reviews prior to making product purchase decisions.

The specifics here are fascinating. I might understand only 50% of shoppers researching their purchases online, but 50% of online shoppers? In other words they’re already online, yet choose not to look into what they’re about to buy?

Maybe we should spin this round, and consider that (the other) 50% of online shoppers don’t research their purchases online; so there’s never been a better time to sell low-quality, over-priced junk.

The other takeaway points are obvious. Why gush enthusiasm for your product or service when your users can do a better job for you? The testimonials from our clients work very well, and we know that they are followed up by companies interested in our services.

Be seen, be praised, be sold.

While recently being stranded in the USA, I had to suffer the indignity of advertising when visiting the BBC news website. Behavioural targeting will truly only impress me when I can wave my British passport in front of my laptop to stop the ads being displayed:

As you can see, I had to endure a sometimes shocking amount of my screen being dominated by ads that didn’t seem to be overly relevant.

However when I went looking for updates on the volcano situation, I saw a placed ad that perhaps wasn’t quite as cleverly positioned as intended – look at the bottom of the screenshot:

Using the content network provides a business with incredible reach. Yet while placement technology has become reasonably advanced, a little common sense can still go a long way.

Cruise control in a car maintains speed. Only the truly stupid or suicidal will allow it to drive for them.

For those of you who have been following my exploits, after being stranded in Shanghai by volcanic ash, I’m now home.

The incredible fact is that within 14 days I flew the whole way round the world. From London to Shanghai, Shanghai to Chicago, Chicago to Newark and finally Newark to London.

To describe the experience as taxing on the body and mind is an understatement.

But I’m back now.

Complete with an iPad!

Attending the Chinese Software Global Summit last week was a real eye opener in more ways than I can count.

I’m still stranded in the USA, running our company from a laptop. So for now you’ll have to make do with pictures from the conference.

There have to be some perks to being a temporary refugee in the US , so I obviously couldn’t resist visiting the local Best Buy store with company credit card in hand.

I found myself intrigued by the iPad display, and it didn’t take long for the first (of many) irritatingly friendly Best Buy’ assistants’ to ask me how I was doing. Aside from my perplexity about their interest in my health, I had a number of questions about the iPad, in particular wanting to know whether it would be able to browse pictures on a NAS device in a Windows network.

“Sure, definitely” he confidently replied. When I asked him how, he reached for the display model and started scrolling through settings, brightness, passwords and so on. “Hmmm. Not too sure where that is.” he eventually admitted.

When I asked whether a USB memory stick could be connected, he confidently pointed to the headphone socket.

The next ‘assistant’ explained that there was no way to browse the contents of a NAS device or attach a USB device.

The third friendly ‘assistant’ was more interested where I bought my watch from and whether it was cool.

Here’s the point. The people employed by Best Buy can’t hope to know everything about the thousands of products they have in store. They can’t be expected to be knowledgeable about CF cards, iPads, mice,  PCs and NAS devices.

But the problem is that they know almost nothing about almost everything. The result? I can’t trust anything they say; zero credibility means zero trust.

The independent software developer, by contrast, knows their product better than anyone else in the world.

If they sell network monitoring software, they’ll know networks and the needs of their customers like no-one else.

If they sell PC optimisation software, they’ll understand the intricacies of Registry Fragmentation, DLL conflicts and memory leaks.

We live in an age of hype, where many companies are prepared to stretch the truth beyond the point of distortion. We’re so used to trying to filter hype from facts that as buyers we’re more sceptical than ever before.

Yet if visitors to your website recognise your expertise, see that you understand their needs and truly are experts in your field, then you’re making the right impression. And you’re one step closer to their credit cards.

Unlike Best Buy.

Last week I attended and spoke at the Chinese Software Global Summit in Shanghai.

Thanks to the oddity of a volcanic erruption in Iceland, my flight back to the UK was cancelled on Saturday, leaving me stranded in Shanghai for at least a few weeks.

I’m now working from Chicago in the US, as it has to be easier to fly back from here than China. And with a flight booked for Sunday, my fingers are tightly crossed that I get home soon.

China was an incredible experience, and I’ll be writing more of that in the coming weeks. But my situation meant (and still means) that I am more appreciative of technology than ever before.

Thanks to modern software, hardware and infastructure I have been able to see and speak with family and friends, access my email, documents and systems and work more or less as normal.

Yet I can’t help but be struck that in this age of incredible technological advancement, most of a continent has been more or less paralysed by a smoking volcano. Technology can only get us so far.

PS: My apologies if this post is less than smooth. I’ve been averaging 4.5 hours of sleep a night for the last week. Apparently I don’t handle jet lag well!

The BBC are reporting that Apple has been showing off some of the 100 new features to be included in the iPhone operating system later this year:

“The update includes a mobile advertising platform called iAd that will be used to place adverts in applications made by third parties.”

Interesting. Adware was so unpopular that a whole mini industry developed to fight it, and in fact is still thriving today.

So why re-introduce the square wheel?

“Apple founder Steve Jobs also showcased a long-awaited multi-tasking feature, which will allow users run more than one program at a time.”

And this is innovation?

Prediction: the iWorshippers will love it anyway.

Apple reveals new iPhone features

I had a phone call yesterday from a free business magazine that I receive in the mail each month. They wanted to know if I was happy with my subscription (?) and whether I wanted any additional copies for our office.

When I told her that we’re only a small company, she offered to send me five more copies each month at no additional cost. I explained that we don’t need five more copies, so she suggested sending ten each month, so that I can also leave copies out in our waiting room.

With my patience wearing out fast, I explained that we’re an online marketing company and have no waiting room. I was about to thank her for her time, but just had time to hear “…so let’s leave it at five additional copies then…” before doing what I should have done two minutes earlier and hanging up on her.

The only reason that I can think of for a magazine to do this is to increase their distribution figures, making the numbers look more appealing for advertisers.

It strikes me as not only a morally questionable strategy, but also a short-sighted one. Even assuming they double their circulation in this way, I suspect their advertisers would see no significant difference.

The magazine in question also has a truly horrible website. It’s almost impossible to navigate, difficult to read, uses an eye-watering colour scheme and has a staggering 11 animated ads on the front page alone.

The content of the magazine itself is actually quite good. So they already have an advantage over many of their rivals.

This magazine needs to invest in their website. The old media is dying, and unless they catch up with the ‘internet thing‘, I very much doubt they’ll be around in a couple of years. No matter how much they increase their readership.

PS: If I receive five additional copies next month I will name the publication with relish!

One week from today I’ll be on my way to China for the Chinese Software Global Summit in Shanghai.

I like to think of myself as well educated, and yet have realised how little I know about so much of the world.

I’m going to a country with a population of over 1.3 billion, and despite the fact that we have worked with a number of Chinese software companies over the years, I know almost nothing about the country.

On Friday the 16th of April I’ll be presenting to an expected 300 people on “Google AdWords – making it work; lower costs, better results.”

I’ll be doing so in a country where Google isn’t the search engine of choice.

Think about it. A country of 1.3 billion, and the vast majority of their online users don’t even use Google.

Go to Baidu (the popular local choice), and you get an idea of how one sided our view of the world may be.

No UK/USA flag, and the only English on the page is a copyright notice and a link to About Baidu.

Adding /eng to the URL throws up a customised 404 page in Chinese.

Despite having indexed over 740 million web page, Baidu isn’t for us.

My trip to China should be fascinating. And I’m looking forward to learning more about a country with such an incredible history; past and recent.

And I’m hoping my eyes will be opened to how our norms aren’t necessarily standard at all.

I just received an email on working the content network from Google.

I had to read the first tip twice to be sure I got it right the first time:

“Top tips for getting better results:

1.    Separate your search and content campaigns. Setting up a separate campaign just for the Content Network will give you more control over daily budgets, ad groups, keywords and bids.”

Hmmm.

There are two reasons most new (and not so new) advertisers mix search and content together.

The first is that when you setup a new campaign, Google enable all networks by default:

The second is that when you try to disable the content network from a new campaign, Google encourage you to reconsider, by pointing out that you’re achieving precisely what you’re trying to:

If Google really have their advertiser’s interests at heart, they should disable defaults that waste money.

It’s that simple.