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    <title>GottaQuirk</title>
    <link>http://www.gottaquirk.com/rss.q</link>
    <description>A blog on the convergence of marketing and technology from the minds at Quirk</description>
 
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	    <title>EU’s new cookie law affects everyone</title>
	    <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gottaquirk/~3/P9mYKVkw3Jo/</link>
	    <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gottaquirk.com/2012/05/31/eus-new-cookie-law-affects-everyone/</guid>
	    <category>General</category>		
	    <dc:creator>Siyamkela Luckyboy Makoma</dc:creator>
	    <dc:date>2012-05-31T08:35:24+00:00</dc:date>
	    <pubDate>Thu, 31 May 2012 08:35:24 +0000</pubDate>
	    <description><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.gottaquirk.com/images/thumbs/siyamkela-makoma.jpg" alt="Siyamkela Luckyboy Makoma" align="right" width="125" height="122" /></p>In an effort to protect users online, the EU has updated its e-Privacy Directive with some new clauses about cookies.]]></description>
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	    <![CDATA[<p style="text-align: justify; ">In an effort to protect users online, the EU has updated its <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directive_on_Privacy_and_Electronic_Communications" target="_blank">e-Privacy  Directive</a> with some new clauses about cookies (the data-tracking kind, not  the tasty snack). The new &lsquo;EU cookie law&rsquo;, as it&rsquo;s been dubbed, came into  effect on the 26th May 2012 and <strong>requires  websites to get explicit consent from visitors before the website can receive  or store any information</strong> on the visitor&rsquo;s desktop and / or mobile devices. Under  the current system, visitors have to opt out manually if they wish to remain  untracked, and websites are not obliged to help them do this or even tell them  that it is a possibility.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">So, how does this affect marketers, specifically in non-EU  countries? More than you may think.</p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">What are cookies?</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Cookies are small text files that a web browser stores in a  user&rsquo;s device. Cookies <strong>store useful  information about the user&rsquo;s activities, allowing for a smoother user  experience and giving feedback to the website owner for future improvements </strong>&ndash;  for example, cookies allow a user to remain logged in to an email account,  remember shopping lists on eCommerce sites and keep track of the user&rsquo;s  preferred language. Most cookies are generally not a security risk &ndash; the data  collected is anonymous and cannot be traced back to a user or their device, and  a cookie is a simple text file, not an executable script (the stuff that  viruses and programs are made of). You can&rsquo;t &ldquo;run&rdquo; a cookie.</p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Why are cookies  useful?</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Marketers depend on analytics data, and <strong>web analytics tools use cookies to gather information about visitors</strong>.  These tools use first-party cookies, which means that the website receives  non-personally-identifiable information from the visitor and can&rsquo;t share it  with other sites. The other type &ndash; third-party cookies &ndash; can track users over  multiple websites. Marketers set up marketing objectives based on the insights  they get from the analytics data, and come up with great ideas from the  informed decisions they make based on it.</p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">How does the new law  affect marketers?</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The new cookie law is a challenge because <strong>it requires users to opt in to cookies</strong>.  In effect, no cookie may be lodged without the visitor&rsquo;s <em>specific permission</em>. <br />
Think about it &ndash; this will affect anyone running websites,  email campaigns, apps, mobile sites, social networks and any other digital  channel that tracks users with cookies. Anyone involved in these activities  will need to explain in detail how their cookies work and what data is  gathered, and users will actively need to consent to it. <br />
While it is usually in the user&rsquo;s interest to accept first-party  cookies, <a href="http://mashable.com/2012/05/21/online-personal-information-protect/" target="_blank">recent  debates</a>, <a href="http://www.wwlp.com/dpp/mass_appeal/personal/consumers-privacy-online" target="_blank">scares  about online privacy</a> and a lack of understanding about how cookies work may  make them hesitant to give that permission up front, or at all.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The <a href="http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_organisations/privacy_and_electronic_communications/the_guide/cookies.aspx" target="_blank">Information  Commissioner&rsquo;s Office (ICO)</a> has posted the following preparatory steps for  marketers:</p>
<ul>
    <li style="text-align: justify; ">Audit the types of cookies and technologies that  you are using.</li>
    <li style="text-align: justify; ">Assess the threat that the cookies pose for  online users.</li>
    <li style="text-align: justify; ">Decide on the best strategy to get consent &ndash;  this means <strong>clear consent from the user  to be tracked on declared devices</strong>.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This gives you somewhere to start, but compliance is  essential. Failure to comply could lead to enforcement action or a whopping  fine of up to &pound;500&nbsp;000 &ndash; so this is serious stuff.</p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Hang on, I&rsquo;m not in  the EU&hellip;</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">&hellip;but your customers might be! While European businesses will  be most vulnerable to the new law, those operating in other countries will also  be affected due to the borderless nature of the web. <strong>If you plan on targeting European clients, then you need to comply with  the law</strong> &ndash; simple as that. And judging by historical precedent, South Africa  and other countries will probably follow in the EU&rsquo;s legal footsteps eventually.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">If this sounds complicated and  onerous, it is. Even in Europe, many businesses do not know how they will ask  for consent. At present, there is nothing to help them except <a href="http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_organisations/privacy_and_electronic_communications/the_guide/~/media/documents/library/Privacy_and_electronic/Practical_application/guidance_on_the_new_cookies_regulations.ashx" target="_blank">a  few guidelines</a>. In the worst case scenario, billions of euros could be lost  by online businesses if they can no longer use cookies to accurately measure  their online efforts. In principle, it is a good law for the consumers (protecting  them from unscrupulous usage of third-party cookie information), but there are  many honest businesses, especially in eCommerce, that depend on cookie  tracking.</p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Tips for best  practice</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">If you want to comply with the new law and keep your  consumers happy at the same time, here are some tips:</p>
<ul>
    <li style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Be  transparent</strong> &ndash; explain clearly to users how and why you&rsquo;re tracking their  data, and assure them that they&rsquo;re not in any danger.</li>
    <li style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Get a  head start</strong> on your customer permissions by asking users to voluntarily opt  in (even though an opt-out system is still acceptable).</li>
    <li style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Become a  purveyor of excellent content</strong> &ndash; consumers will be happy to consent if you  are offering something valuable or enjoyable.</li>
</ul>
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	    <title>Major Google updates 2011/2012</title>
	    <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gottaquirk/~3/vCJ0ngx9wwE/</link>
	    <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gottaquirk.com/2012/05/30/major-google-updates-20112012/</guid>
	    <category>General</category>		
	    <dc:creator>Megan Hughes</dc:creator>
	    <dc:date>2012-05-30T10:38:25+00:00</dc:date>
	    <pubDate>Wed, 30 May 2012 10:38:25 +0000</pubDate>
	    <description><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.gottaquirk.com/images/thumbs/megan_hughes.jpg" alt="Megan Hughes" align="right" width="125" height="122" /></p>To help you along, here is a list of some of the major Google updates (algorithm updates and others) over the last year.]]></description>
	    <content:encoded>
	    <![CDATA[<p style="text-align: justify; ">Google has, since its inception, worked to improve its search  engine algorithm in an effort to provide users with the most relevant and  meaningful content possible. While the average Googler welcomes these changes,  webmasters need to stay on their toes, ensuring that their content ranks well  and meets Google&rsquo;s requirements.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">To help you along, here is a list of some of the major  updates (algorithm updates and others) over the last year.</p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Panda/Farmer algorithm update &mdash; February 23, 2011</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This update was designed to <strong>crack down on low quality sites</strong> (content farms, sites with thin  content and sites with abnormal ad-to-content ratios) while providing higher  rankings for quality sites that provide original content and information.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">It was initially rolled out in the US, affecting 12% of its  search results. It was then rolled out to all English-language Google users in  April 2011. In August 2011, the Panda update was rolled internationally for  both English-language queries and non-English queries except for Chinese,  Japanese, and Korean.&nbsp;Google&nbsp;reported that this impacted 6-9% of  queries in affected countries.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Google continues to update Panda regularly, improving on the  actual algorithm periodically.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Read more from Google: <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/finding-more-high-quality-sites-in.html" target="_blank">http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/finding-more-high-quality-sites-in.html</a></p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">The +1 Button &mdash; March 30, 2011</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">While not an algorithm update, this button is Google&rsquo;s  answer to the Facebook Like. It allows users to influence search results for those  in their Google+ circles. The more an advert or search result is +1&rsquo;d by a  user&rsquo;s Google+ friends, the more likely they are to see the advert or search  results. This affects both paid and organic search results.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Clicks on the +1 button next to the ads do not count as a  paid ad click but advertisers will be able to see which adverts are getting the  most +1s.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Read more from Google <a target="_blank" href="http://www.google.com/+1/button/">Recommendations when you want them</a>&nbsp;</p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Schema.org &mdash; June 2, 2011</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In an effort to move towards even richer search results, the  three search heavyweights (Google, Yahoo and Microsoft) joined forces to create  a consolidated approached to structured data.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Essentially there are a whole lot of new html tags that can  be used to markup content in a way that will be recognised by Google, Yahoo and  Bing search engines. This information is then used by the search engines to  enhance the search results displayed for users, ensuring relevancy.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This helps in a number of ways, for  example:</p>
<ul>
    <li style="text-align: justify; ">To provide Google Places will more accurate and  detailed business listings.</li>
    <li style="text-align: justify; ">Improved recipe searches with data such as number  of ingredients and cooking time</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Visit <a target="_blank" href="http://schema.org/docs/gs.html">schema.org</a></p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Expanded Sitelinks &mdash; August 16, 2011</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Google introduced expanded sitelinks to make it simpler to  find the subpage of a website a user is searching for. While sitelinks, which  allow links to subpages of a website to be nested in organic search results,  have been in place for some time, the expanded sitelinks update showed an  overall improvement to the algorithms used for generating and ranking these  links. The sitelinks were also rearranged into columns and displayed as a  full-size link with a URL and one line of snippet text.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The expanded sitelinks only appear in the first result in  organic search and generally only in broad brand-related searches (such as  &ldquo;Woolworths&rdquo;). The expanded sitelinks are meant to help users navigate to the  exact page of the website that they are interested in (such as &ldquo;Store Finder&rdquo;  or &ldquo;Contact Us&rdquo;).</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Initially, the update allowed for 12 links but was quickly  limited down to 6.</p>
<ul>
    <li style="text-align: justify; "><a target="_blank" href="http://insidesearch.blogspot.com/2011/08/evolution-of-sitelinks-expanded-and.html">The  evolution of sitelinks: expanded and improved</a>&nbsp;(Google)</li>
    <li style="text-align: justify; "><a target="_blank" href="http://searchengineland.com/official-google-sitelinks-expands-to-12-pack-89555">Official:  Google Sitelinks Expands To 12 Pack</a>&nbsp;(SEL)</li>
</ul>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Pagination Elements &mdash; September 15, 2011</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Pagination refers to the division of information on a  website into different pages. For some time, certain sites had been flagged by  search engine spiders as having duplicated material or involving themselves in  bad practices because of problems created by pagination. To solve this issue,  Google introduce the rel=&quot;next&quot; and rel=&quot;prev&quot; link  attributes in their Pagination Elements update in September 2011. These HTML  link elements can be used to indicate the relationships between subpages in a  paginated series within a website, and helps Google send users to the most relevant  page or URL (usually the first in the series). Sites implementing pagination  may well have seen an improvement in their rankings, but sites that haven&rsquo;t  applied the link parameter wouldn&rsquo;t have.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Visit <a target="_blank" href="http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2011/09/pagination-with-relnext-and-relprev.html">the  Google Blog</a> to find out how to implement changes.</p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Query Encryption &mdash; October 18, 2011</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Google announced that, for privacy reasons, they would be  encrypting search queries. What this meant is that the keyword referral data (information  about which keyword led to a user clicking on an organic search result) for  users logged into Google would display as &ldquo;(not provided)&rdquo; in web analytics.  This didn&rsquo;t affect paid search analytics, however.<br />
Read more from Google: <a target="_blank" href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/making-search-more-secure.html">Making  search more secure</a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Here is our response:</p>
<ul>
    <li style="text-align: justify; "><a target="_blank" href="http://www.gottaquirk.com/2011/10/20/google-encrypted-search/">http://www.gottaquirk.com/2011/10/20/google-encrypted-search/</a></li>
    <li style="text-align: justify; "><a target="_blank" href="http://www.gottaquirk.com/2012/05/21/the-reality-of-googles-masked-keyword-data/">http://www.gottaquirk.com/2012/05/21/the-reality-of-googles-masked-keyword-data/</a></li>
</ul>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Freshness algorithm update &mdash; November 3, 2011</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Focusing on time-sensitive results and recent content,  Google released an algorithm update that was designed to reward freshness. The  update was to impact 35% of queries (3 times more than the impact of Panda 1.0).</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The update ranks newer, high-quality sites higher when  search queries are time dependent or time relevant. This can include sports  results, news and other current events.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Webmasters should note that Google determines the  &ldquo;freshness&rdquo; of a page at the time when the page was first crawled. This means  that a page that was published and then later updated or changed would not be  perceived as &ldquo;fresh.&rdquo;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Read more from Google: <a target="_blank" href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/giving-you-fresher-more-recent-search.html">Giving  you fresher, more recent search results</a></p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Search + Your World &mdash; January 10, 2012</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Starting the year off somewhat controversially, Google  announced in early 2012 that it would begin pushing Google+ social data and  user profiles into search results. While it is not technically an algorithm  change affecting traditional organic Google searches, the change affects users  logged into their Google+ accounts along a new social vertical. It means that  search results pages for these users are highly slanted towards sites linking  to Google+ account holders, tying &ldquo;author&rdquo; links of different pages back to  Google+ accounts.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Suggested pages and links are also heavily slanted towards  Google+ pages.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Read more from Google: <a target="_blank" href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/search-plus-your-world.html">Search,  plus Your World</a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">And our take on the matter: <a target="_blank" href="http://www.gottaquirk.com/2012/01/24/google-search-plus-what-it-means-for-brands/">http://www.gottaquirk.com/2012/01/24/google-search-plus-what-it-means-for-brands/</a></p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Ads Above The Fold &mdash; January 19, 2012</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Without an official title, the January 2012 page layout  algorithm update got the nickname &ldquo;Top Heavy&rdquo; in the SEO community. The update  was specifically aimed at reducing the rankings of websites that Google deemed  as having &ldquo;too many&rdquo; above the fold adverts. While the update affects less than  1% of all searches, sites that were affected were those where the ratio of  adverts to content above the fold was particularly high.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Use the <a target="_blank" href="http://browsersize.googlelabs.com/">Google  Browser Size</a> tool to figure out how much of a page&rsquo;s content is visible at  first glance to visitors using various screen resolutions.<br />
Websites making use of pop-ups, pop-under or overlay  advertising tactics were not affected by this update.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Read more from Google: <a target="_blank" href="http://insidesearch.blogspot.com/2012/01/page-layout-algorithm-improvement.html">Page  layout algorithm improvement</a>&nbsp;</p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Venice &mdash; February 27, 2012</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">As part of their on-going mission to make search easier and  results more relevant to users, Google released the Venice update in February  2012. &nbsp;It affects organic search results,  ranking local sites higher regardless of whether the user enters a search with  a location or city modifier (such as &ldquo;Cape Town&rdquo; or &ldquo;Johannesburg&rdquo;).</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Read more from Kevin Gibbons of SEOptimise: <a target="_blank" href="http://www.seoptimise.com/blog/2012/02/big-google-uk-algorithm-change-for-local.html">Google  Venice Update = Big Algorithm Boost for Local</a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong> </strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong> </strong></p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Penguin &mdash; April 24, 2012</strong></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong> </strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Webspam Update (also known as &ldquo;Penguin&rdquo;) was aimed at  reducing the rankings of sites using &ldquo;blackhat&rdquo; SEO techniques such as keyword  stuffing and link schemes. To ensure that the revised algorithm isn&rsquo;t gamed,  Google is not releasing the exact details of the changes made. However, they  advise webmasters to focus on creating &ldquo;high quality sites that create a good  user experience and employ white hat SEO methods instead of engaging in  aggressive webspam tactics.&rdquo;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Read more from Google: <a target="_blank" href="http://insidesearch.blogspot.com/2012/04/another-step-to-reward-high-quality.html">Another  step to reward high-quality sites</a>&nbsp;</p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Knowledge Graph &ndash; 16  May, 2012</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">While this is not an algorithm update, Google is working to  understand content and the relationships between things in the way that people  do. The Knowledge Graph allows you to search for entities. An entity is  something that exists online, although it might not have a material presence,  such as distance or a nutritional rating. When searching, Google will return,  not only the traditional search results, but other information relevant to your  search query,&nbsp;drawing from more  than simple keyword data. According to Google, the&nbsp;Knowledge Graph&nbsp;contains over 500  million objects, and over 3.5 billion facts about and relationships between  these objects.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Read more from Google: <a target="_blank" href="http://insidesearch.blogspot.com/2012/05/introducing-knowledge-graph-things-not.html">Introducing  the Knowledge Graph: things not strings</a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">And a Quirk SEO conversation on the topic: <a target="_blank" href="http://www.gottaquirk.com/2012/05/25/googles-knowledge-graph-entries-in-search/">http://www.gottaquirk.com/2012/05/25/googles-knowledge-graph-entries-in-search/</a><strong> </strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">We&rsquo;ll do our best to update and add to this list, so go on and bookmark it for future reference.</p>
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	  <item>
	    <title>Unstoppable:"Running" Advert for the Canadian Paralympic Committee</title>
	    <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gottaquirk/~3/y6Wbus9uHWI/</link>
	    <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gottaquirk.com/2012/05/27/unstoppablerunning-advert-for-the-canadian-paralympic-committee/</guid>
	    <category>General</category>		
	    <category>Viral Marketing</category>		
	    <dc:creator>Megan Hughes</dc:creator>
	    <dc:date>2012-05-27T13:42:10+00:00</dc:date>
	    <pubDate>Sun, 27 May 2012 13:42:10 +0000</pubDate>
	    <description><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.gottaquirk.com/images/thumbs/megan_hughes.jpg" alt="Megan Hughes" align="right" width="125" height="122" /></p>: Showing just how unstoppable Paralympic sports men and women are, the Canadian Paralympic committee put together an advert showing all the obstacles those athletes have to overcome.]]></description>
	    <content:encoded>
	    <![CDATA[<p><iframe width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VUYUvY6quE0"></iframe></p>
<p>Showing just how unstoppable Paralympic sportsmen and  sportswomen are, this truly inspiring advert for the Canadian Paralympic  Committee shows the massive obstacles that face many of these athletes. Filmed  in a single-shot, the clip follows a single runner as he pushes past ambulances  and accident scenes, wheel chairs and physical rehabilitation equipment, and  ultimately makes it to the finish line.</p>
	    <p>
  <a href="http://www.gottaquirk.com/2012/05/27/unstoppablerunning-advert-for-the-canadian-paralympic-committee/#comment-form">Comment on "Unstoppable:"Running" Advert for the Canadian Paralympic Committee"</a>
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	  <item>
	    <title>Vinyl Record Trick Shot Video</title>
	    <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gottaquirk/~3/KUFaDRO7lao/</link>
	    <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gottaquirk.com/2012/05/26/vinyl-record-trick-shot-video/</guid>
	    <category>General</category>		
	    <category>Viral Marketing</category>		
	    <dc:creator>Megan Hughes</dc:creator>
	    <dc:date>2012-05-26T15:12:54+00:00</dc:date>
	    <pubDate>Sat, 26 May 2012 15:12:54 +0000</pubDate>
	    <description><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.gottaquirk.com/images/thumbs/megan_hughes.jpg" alt="Megan Hughes" align="right" width="125" height="122" /></p>A group of friends filmed their vinyl record trick shots]]></description>
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	    <![CDATA[<p><iframe width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/JIoQyOHqgAw"></iframe></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You may not automatically associate old-school vinyl records with trick shots, but a group of friends from the United States show us how it&rsquo;s done. This video is a collection of clips of the guys performing a variety of their tricks and generally having a good time.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">After only 2 days, the video had received 8 451 views.</p>
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	    <title>Google's Knowledge Graph: Entries in Search</title>
	    <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gottaquirk/~3/UAwWYwmMYG0/</link>
	    <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gottaquirk.com/2012/05/25/googles-knowledge-graph-entries-in-search/</guid>
	    <category>General</category>		
	    <dc:creator>Keryn Brews</dc:creator>
	    <dc:date>2012-05-25T10:43:39+00:00</dc:date>
	    <pubDate>Fri, 25 May 2012 10:43:39 +0000</pubDate>
	    <description><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.gottaquirk.com/images/thumbs/keryn-brew.jpg" alt="Keryn Brews" align="right" width="125" height="122" /></p>Google recently introduced it's Knowledge Graph into its search result. Kerryn asks our Engage team what this means for SEO]]></description>
	    <content:encoded>
	    <![CDATA[<p style="text-align: justify; ">Google is working  to understand content and the relationships between things in the way that  people do. The search engine giant recently announced the introduction of the <a href="http://insidesearch.blogspot.com/2012/05/introducing-knowledge-graph-things-not.html">Knowledge Graph</a>, a search feature that allows you to search  for entities. An entity is something that exists online, although it  might not have a material presence, such as distance or a nutritional rating.  They are pulled from an array of sources.  Effectively this means you can search for your favourite sports teams, mountain  ranges, paintings and more, and Google will return, not only the traditional  search results, but other information relevant to your search query, <strong>drawing from more than simple keyword data</strong>.  According to Google, the <strong>Knowledge Graph</strong> contains over 500 million objects, and  over 3.5 billion facts about and relationships between these objects.\</p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">But what does this mean for search?</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">According to Juan  Karstel, Engage Strategist at Quirk Cape Town, this could lead to <strong>increased emphasis on online brand  strategies that are sustainable</strong> in the long run and not simply after quick  wins and short term results. It also means <strong>less  focus on manipulative link building techniques</strong>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Tim Withers, Head  of SEO at Quirk Cape Town also weighed in on the development.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">&ldquo;The concept of  entities in&nbsp;search&nbsp;is&nbsp;an intriguing one; a&nbsp;search&nbsp;for  the &lsquo;Eiffel Tower&rsquo;, for example, has yielded&nbsp;entity-type results for quite  a while now, but this&nbsp;new implementation provides <strong>much more detailed info</strong> than before.</p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">As always aim to build quality links</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">&ldquo;I think it'll be a  long time before Google is in a position to marginalise its link graph, and  that building quality links in the traditional sense will be a significant part  of any SEO strategy for the foreseeable future. &ldquo;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Yet another ball to  juggle</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Tim suspects that, just as Google must have plans to extend  the reach of social media to its traditional ranking metrics, it&rsquo;ll look to do something  similar with entities and the Knowledge Graph.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">&ldquo;There are more visual cues these days as to Google and  Bing&rsquo;s intentions, but that&rsquo;s a double-edged sword.  Previously, SEOs had to monitor keywords and sites on the SERPs to keep tabs on  algorithm changes. Now it&rsquo;s just as important to monitor Google&rsquo;s presentation  of results across the different verticals,&rdquo; says Tim.</p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">SEO could become even more of a PR and  content game than it already is</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Tim also suggested  that Google was exploring options and that he wouldn't be surprised to see  their algorithm give substantial weighting to the following sooner or  later:&nbsp;</p>
<ul>
    <li style="text-align: justify; ">Citations  or articles by reputable authors and publications (linked and unlinked)</li>
    <li style="text-align: justify; ">Mentions  in relation to prominent entities or people (for example, a  celebrity&nbsp;&nbsp;mentioned in connection to your brand or site)</li>
    <li style="text-align: justify; ">Search&nbsp;activity  and trends</li>
    <li style="text-align: justify; ">Social  Media discussion (not just shares, Likes or tweets, but actual volume of  discussion)</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">&ldquo;Of course, there's  an additional layer to this story, and that's one to do with ethics and the  damage Google's doing to site owners by pushing greater volumes of  &quot;knowledge&quot; out into the SERPs,&rdquo; said Tim.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">By pushing more  data onto the search engine results pages, there is less and less need for  users to visit websites, meaning less likelihood of conversions. Brands will  need to further incentivise consumers to visit their online spaces. But that is  a discussion for another day.</p>
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	    <title>Quirk Weekend Music Mix</title>
	    <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gottaquirk/~3/1ndofOgJd9A/</link>
	    <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gottaquirk.com/2012/05/25/quirk-weekend-music-mix/</guid>
	    <category>General</category>		
	    <dc:creator>Jason Warner</dc:creator>
	    <dc:date>2012-05-25T09:08:50+00:00</dc:date>
	    <pubDate>Fri, 25 May 2012 09:08:50 +0000</pubDate>
	    <description><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.gottaquirk.com/images/thumbs/jason-warner.jpg" alt="Jason Warner" align="right" width="125" height="122" /></p>It’s Friday, you know what that means: another extra-awesome Quirk Weekend Music Mix!]]></description>
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	    <![CDATA[<p style="text-align: center; "><img src="http://soda.quirk.co.za/img.q?siteId=2&amp;id=4021" alt="" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">&lsquo;Sup!</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Yes, yes. You&rsquo;ve finally made it. The Quirk  Weekend Music Mix: QuirkStars share links to awesome music, we share some of  those with you.&nbsp; No fuss, all frills.</p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Yeasayer  &ndash; Henrietta</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><em>Shared by <a href="http://www.quirk.biz/team/ben-brouckaert" target="_blank">Ben  Brouckaert</a></em></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Listen to the latest track from Brooklyn  psychedelic art pop rockers (yes, that&rsquo;s a thing now) Yeasayer, hot off their  upcoming third studio album, Fragrant World. It&rsquo;s a surprisingly easy listen,  with a funky bass guitar intro. Nice.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><iframe width="100%" height="166" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="http://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F46599172&amp;show_artwork=true"></iframe></p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Bob  Dylan - Tangled Up In Blue</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><em>Shared by <a href="http://www.quirk.biz/team/gareth-le-grange" target="_blank">Gareth le  Grange</a></em></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Yesterday was Bob Dylan&rsquo;s birthday. We&rsquo;re  celebrating with one of the best songs of all time (and that&rsquo;s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolling_Stone%27s_500_Greatest_Songs_of_All_Time" target="_blank">official</a>), a live version of Tangled up in Blue. Enjoy.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/YwSZvHqf9qM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Temple  of the Dog - Hunger Strike</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><em>Shared by <a href="http://www.quirk.biz/team/gareth-le-grange" target="_blank">Gareth le  Grange</a></em></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Love Chris Cornell? Love grunge? Love  Seattle? Okay, that could easily have been one question, but go ahead and crack  open a tall glass of nostalgia with Temple of the Dog&rsquo;s badass Hunger Strike.&nbsp; Oh, and Eddie Vedder provides enough riffage  to melt Adamantium.</p>
<p><iframe width="450" height="337" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/NN4LFxGGTQ4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">How  to Play Black Sabbath's 'Iron Man' On the Google Doodle Moog</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><em>Shared by <a href="http://www.quirk.biz/team/jason-warner" target="_blank">Jason Warner</a></em></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Remember Wednesday&rsquo;s Google Doodle Moog? Of  course you do. Learn how to play the iconic melody from Black Sabbath&rsquo;s &uuml;ber-epic  Iron Man courtesy of the champs over at Metal Hammer.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><iframe width="450" height="253" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/sKLcsbhjeBI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Modeselektor  and Thom Yorke &ndash; This</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><em>Shared by <a href="http://www.quirk.biz/team/matt-wilkinson">Matt  Wilkinson</a></em></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">We don&rsquo;t want to give too much away, so go  ahead and watch this amazing video for&nbsp;Modeselektor's collaboration  with&nbsp;Thom Yorke, off former&rsquo;s upcoming album&nbsp;Monkeytown. Musically,  it&rsquo;s exactly what you&rsquo;d expect &ndash; and that&rsquo;s a good thing. Visually, it&rsquo;s pretty  dark, chockfull of creepy childlike dolls and wooden puppets.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/41740558?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0&amp;color=fd1652" width="400" height="225" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">That&rsquo;s it from us. We hope you enjoyed this  week&rsquo;s Quirk Weekend Music Mix. <strong>Because  we&rsquo;re all about sharing, we&rsquo;d like to know what <em>you</em> are listening to. So go ahead, make our day. </strong></p>
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	    <title>Site of Note: IFTTT (If This Then That)</title>
	    <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gottaquirk/~3/O7g2MVisvhw/</link>
	    <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gottaquirk.com/2012/05/24/site-of-note-ifttt-if-this-then-that/</guid>
	    <category>General</category>		
	    <dc:creator>Mick Santapaga</dc:creator>
	    <dc:date>2012-05-24T10:34:32+00:00</dc:date>
	    <pubDate>Thu, 24 May 2012 10:34:32 +0000</pubDate>
	    <description><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.gottaquirk.com/images/thumbs/mick_santapaga.jpg" alt="Mick Santapaga" align="right" width="125" height="122" /></p>Mick Santapaga discusses the possibilities of automating your online existence with our Site of Note, IFTTT. Read on for more.]]></description>
	    <content:encoded>
	    <![CDATA[<p style="text-align: justify; ">We&rsquo;re all suffering from information overload right? I know I am. Google+ this, Facebook that, GoogleReader this, then  Dropbox that. &ldquo;Oops, I forget to check out that pic I was tagged in, now where  was it again? Er, what was I doing again?&rdquo;</p>
<p style="text-align: center; "><img src="http://soda.quirk.co.za/img.q?siteId=2&amp;id=4022" width="500px" alt="" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">There are <strong>many clever web services out there that  help us organise our lives</strong>, store photos, take photos and give meaning to  information. Evernote, Dropbox, Instagram, Posterous, Blogger&hellip; the list goes  on.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">However, there are  just too many little things all over the place vying for the attention of my  poor brain. They&rsquo;re all important right? They&rsquo;re useful, they&rsquo;re supposed to  help me structure my life, store my information, my photos, the numerous links  I share with friends and colleagues, as well as give me a sense of control. So  why doesn&rsquo;t it feel that way?</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>How can I engage in all my favourite things online</strong> and keep on top of things without my brain imploding?</p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Where&rsquo;s The Future I Was Promised? Where&rsquo;s My Jetp	ack?</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">So, no <a href="http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/11/there-is-a-real-life-jet-pack-school-where-you-can-learn-to-fly/" target="_blank">jetpack</a> <em>yet</em>. But <strong>wouldn&rsquo;t it be  grand if we could make the web work for us</strong>? Or more specifically make the  myriad of web apps and services we&rsquo;re subscribed to work so much better? It&rsquo;s  pretty much what the <em><a href="http://www.IFTTT.com" target="_blank">free</a></em><a href="http://www.IFTTT.com"> web service, <strong>IFTTT</strong></a> sets out to do; automate tasks you would normally carry out yourself  on the web.</p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">So How Does It Work?</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Before I jump into  the &ldquo;how&rdquo; of it all, here are a few examples to get your brain abuzz with the  possibilities. Say you want to save your Instagram images to your Dropbox or  get the weather report sent to your phone every morning. With this site, you can  do that. Want to greet a new Twitter follower? Ditto. You can even automate your job search.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Pull The Trigger</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Channels, in this  case your various web services; define triggers and actions, the basic building  blocks of IFTTT. Here&rsquo;s an example for you: If <strong>I post a new status message  on Facebook</strong> then <strong>Tweet it</strong>, the first part is the trigger and the  latter the action.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">IFTTT also has  pre-made tasks, called &lsquo;recipes&rsquo;, available so you can jump right in and use  them straightaway. Once you&rsquo;re comfortable with the concept you can start to <strong>create your own tasks to meet specific  requirements</strong>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Now you&rsquo;re getting  the picture, right? Super charged web services integration for the win. It&rsquo;s  like all your favourite web apps &amp; services on steroids. No more needlessly  destroyed brain cells trying to maintain all the mundane admin of them all.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">To sum it up, <strong>IFTTT allows you to add more functionality  and automation to your web apps</strong> by making them communicate with each other,  without you having to launch an app or open a single browser window.</p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Is IFTTT For You?</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">You bet. Granted,  it may seem a bit tough to grasp at first. But ask yourself this, would you  rather do mundane repetitive tasks or take some time to set it up just right so  you never have to worry about it again. <strong>Take  out the drudgery out of repetitive tasks</strong>, unless of course you derive some  perverse pleasure from it.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">And that&rsquo;s it, now  that you got the low down on IFTTT put the Internet to work for you. You can  (automatically) thank me later.</p>
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	    <title>Measuring Pinterest ROI</title>
	    <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gottaquirk/~3/Y_DmA8wvUx4/</link>
	    <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gottaquirk.com/2012/05/23/measuring-pinterest-roi/</guid>
	    <category>General</category>		
	    <dc:creator>Lauryn Chidoni</dc:creator>
	    <dc:date>2012-05-23T10:11:21+00:00</dc:date>
	    <pubDate>Wed, 23 May 2012 10:11:21 +0000</pubDate>
	    <description><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.gottaquirk.com/images/thumbs/lauryn_chidoni.jpg" alt="Lauryn Chidoni" align="right" width="125" height="122" /></p>Pinterest is taking the world by storm. Marketers are scurrying to find ways of using it smartly. But getting in on the action helps little if it isn’t measurable.]]></description>
	    <content:encoded>
	    <![CDATA[<p style="text-align: justify; ">There  is no doubt about the <strong>explosive growth  of the latest social media platform, <a href="http://pinterest.com/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a></strong>.  Interestingly, of all the social networks, <a href="http://www.business2community.com/branding/why-brand-managers-need-to-take-an-interest-in-pinterest-0150424">Pinterest ranks top when it comes to trust</a>.  It has also been reported that the platform is driving <a href="http://blog.shareaholic.com/2012/03/pinterest-referral-traffic-2/" target="_blank">more referral traffic than Twitter</a>,  which is especially <strong>surprising  considering that it is still invite only</strong>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Like  many other social networks, <strong>it can be  difficult to quantify the effect that investment in a social space has</strong> on  your bottom line. Social influences are often higher up in the purchase cycle,  and influence a consumer at the awareness stage, rather than being the source  attributed for the conversion.&nbsp; However,  we have a few suggestions on ways to <strong>start  measuring how much traffic Pinterest drives to your site</strong> and what content  users are sharing and repinning.</p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">How Much Traffic Does Pinterest Drive?</h2>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; "><br />
Referral Traffic</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">To  view your own Pinterest traffic trends in Google Analytics, look under <em>Traffic Sources &gt; Sources &gt; Referrals. </em></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Pinterest  may be one of the top 10 traffic drivers, but if it is not reflected in this  list, a search for the term &ldquo;pinterest&rdquo; is required using the simple search  filter at the top of the report you are viewing. This search will show you <strong>visits from both pinterest.com and  m.pinterest.com </strong>(if you have traffic from these sites).</p>
<p style="text-align: center; "><img src="http://soda.quirk.co.za/img.q?siteId=2&amp;id=4016" width="450px" alt="" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">It  is important to note that <strong>you can view  traffic from each individual pin</strong> as they all have their own unique URL. To  view this information, click on the pinterest.com item in the Referral traffic  report.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: center; "><img src="http://soda.quirk.co.za/img.q?siteId=2&amp;id=4017" width="450px" alt="" /><br />
<em>(Image: <a href="http://www.blueacorn.com/" target="_blank">www.blueacorn.com</a>)</em></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">If  you have an eCommerce site, use the same method explained above, but click on  the <em>eCommerce</em> tab (default view is  the <em>Site Usage</em> tab) to see if this  platform contributed to any conversions on your site.</p>
<p style="text-align: center; "><img src="http://soda.quirk.co.za/img.q?siteId=2&amp;id=4018" width="450px" alt="" /></p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Dashboards</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">You  may want to keep a regular check on how your Pinterest efforts are paying off,  so setting up a <strong>dashboard with scheduled  email reports</strong> (this is one of the latest updates to the current version of  Google Analytics) would be useful. Information included could be visits from  Pinterest, percentage of visits from a mobile device, the content users are  viewing and actions they took on the site. This will help to inform your  Pinterest strategy and <strong>identify your  followers&rsquo; interests for possible new boards</strong>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">For  a step-by-step guide in setting up a dashboard, see <a href="http://www.christopherspenn.com/2011/10/how-to-set-up-a-google-analytics-dashboard/#.T7N4cujroX4" target="_blank">this article</a>.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Multi-Channel Funnels</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">I  mentioned above that your <strong>efforts in a  social space often influence a user at the awareness and consideration set</strong>.  Most of the reports you view in Google Analytics will use a last click  attribution (the conversion will be credited to the last source a user visited  your site from).&nbsp; So Pinterest may be the  last source before a conversion or a user may have discovered a product she  wants to purchase when visiting your site from a Pinterest board, but returns  later via organic traffic to make the conversion. All is not lost &ndash; thanks to <a href="http://www.gottaquirk.com/2011/08/26/google-analytics-multi-channel-funnels/" target="_blank">multi-channel  funnels</a>,  you can identify where in the conversion process Pinterest sits.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">A  multi-channel funnel is a very valuable report and &ldquo;<strong>shows you how your </strong>marketing channels <a href="http://www.gottaquirk.com/2012/02/07/how-to-make-your-online-marketing-channels-work-for-you/" target="_blank">work together  to bring in visitors&nbsp;and generate conversions.</a>&rdquo;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">You  will find these reports under <em>Conversions  &gt; Multi-Channel Funnels,</em> but remember that if you don&rsquo;t have eCommerce  enabled or goals set up, this report won&rsquo;t show any data. In the Assisted  Conversions report, select the primary dimension as <em>Source/Medium</em> and use the simple search function to filter for &ldquo;pinterest&rdquo;.  The information shown in the report will be <strong>the number of conversions Pinterest assisted in</strong>, as well as those  conversions it was the last source for.</p>
<p style="text-align: center; "><img src="http://soda.quirk.co.za/img.q?siteId=2&amp;id=4019" alt="" width="450px" /><br />
<em>(Image:<a href="http://social-media-management-services.com/google-analytics-for-pinterest" target="_blank">  http://social-media-management-services.com/google-analytics-for-pinterest</a>) </em></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">To  unpack these Assisted Conversions, use the Top Conversion path report. As  above, select <em>Source/Medium</em> as the  primary dimension and filter for &ldquo;pinterest&rdquo;. This will show you how Pinterest  works with the other channels and at what stage in the funnel it assists.</p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Who is Sharing Your Content on Pinterest?</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">So  now you have an idea of how to measure the traffic to your site from Pinterest.  It is also important to understand which of your content users are sharing. To  view all the pins from your site, you can use this easy formula:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">http://pinterest.com/source/<strong><em>yourdomain.com</em></strong>/<strong> </strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">e.g. <a href="http://pinterest.com/source/quirk.biz/" target="_blank">http://pinterest.com/source/quirk.biz/</a></p>
<p style="text-align: center; "><img src="http://soda.quirk.co.za/img.q?siteId=2&amp;id=4020" alt="" width="450px" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This  search will show you the original pins of your content, as well as the pinners,  with the number of repins listed below. It <strong>will  not show you information on any subdomains</strong>, as these are tracked separately  and require a separate search.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">There&rsquo;s  no time like today to start measuring your Pinterest traffic and thinking of  ways to optimise how you use this exciting new platform.</p>
	    <p>
  <a href="http://www.gottaquirk.com/2012/05/23/measuring-pinterest-roi/#comment-form">Comment on "Measuring Pinterest ROI"</a>
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	  <item>
	    <title>Quirk's  Inspiration Reads for the Week</title>
	    <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gottaquirk/~3/pi2dHrOFNJE/</link>
	    <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gottaquirk.com/2012/05/22/quirks-inspiration-reads-for-the-week/</guid>
	    <category>General</category>		
	    <dc:creator>Anna Malczyk</dc:creator>
	    <dc:date>2012-05-22T13:16:09+00:00</dc:date>
	    <pubDate>Tue, 22 May 2012 13:16:09 +0000</pubDate>
	    <description><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.gottaquirk.com/images/thumbs/anna-malczyk.jpg" alt="Anna Malczyk" align="right" width="125" height="122" /></p>Quirk's TCEO teams submit their weekly reads and inspiration sources. Check them out here]]></description>
	    <content:encoded>
	    <![CDATA[<h2>Think</h2>
<p><strong>Research</strong><br />
By 2013, there will be over a billion HTML5-capable browsers  in use &ndash; time to consider a switch? <br />
Shared by <a href="http://www.quirk.biz/team/kurt-muller" target="_blank">Kurt Muller</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.readwriteweb.com/mobile/2012/05/infographic-taking-html5-to-the-next-level-for-mobile.php?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed:+readwriteweb+(ReadWriteWeb)">ReadWriteWeb</a></p>
<p><strong>Great campaign</strong><br />
The Hellman&rsquo;s mayonnaise campaign in Brazil detecs what you  have in your shopping basket and suggests recipes based on that &ndash; cool! <br />
Shared  by <a href="http://www.quirk.biz/team/daniel-neville" target="_blank">Daniel Neville</a>.</p>
<p><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/41529229?byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p>
<p><strong>Food for thought</strong><br />
Here&rsquo;s a great list of resources on mobile geolocation.  <br />
Shared by <a href="http://www.quirk.biz/team/teresa-pechau" target="_blank">Teresa Pechau</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.dzinepress.com/2012/05/useful-mobile-geolocation-online-resources/">Dzinepress.com</a></p>
<p><strong>Brain power</strong><br />
Meet the datasexual &ndash; the urbanite who&rsquo;s obsessed with their  personal digital data. <br />
Shared by <a href="http://www.quirk.biz/team/carmia-lureman" target="_blank">Carmia Lureman</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://bigthink.com/endless-innovation/meet-the-urban-datasexual" target="_blank">BigThink</a></p>
<h2>Create</h2>
<p><strong>Great campaign</strong><br />
Nike turns users&rsquo; &lsquo;sweat&rsquo; into currency &ndash; the more you run,  the more credits you get towards Nike&rsquo;s online auction. <br />
Shared by <a href="http://www.quirk.biz/team/matt-wilkinson" target="_blank">Matt  Wilkinson</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.psfk.com/2012/05/nike-online-auction.html">PSFK</a></p>
<p><strong>Cool  idea</strong><br />
To raise awareness for the Free Zimbabwe campaign, Facebook  Friend requests were sent &nbsp;from Robert  Mugabe. <br />
Shared by <a href="http://www.quirk.biz/team/teresa-pechau" target="_blank">Teresa Pechau</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://10and5.com/2012/05/16/free-zimbabwe-friend-request-campaign/" target="_blank">10and5</a></p>
<p><strong>Fun stuff</strong><br />
What would happen if the characters in <em>Game of Thrones</em> had Instagram? <br />
Shared by <a href="http://www.quirk.biz/team/daniel-neville" target="_blank">Daniel Neville</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://gramofthrones.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Gram of Thrones - Tumblr</a></p>
<h2>Engage</h2>
<p><strong>Research</strong><br />
It turns out people don&rsquo;t like advertising, and are leading  to its decline. <br />
Shared by <a href="http://www.quirk.biz/team/catherine-scott" target="_blank">Catherine Scott</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://pandodaily.com/2012/05/14/advertising-is-hated-and-failing/">Pandodaily</a></p>
<p><strong>Great campaign</strong><br />
O2 achieved an incredible 117% engagement on their Priority  Moments campaign. <br />
Shared by <a href="http://www.quirk.biz/team/maryam-samee" target="_blank">Maryam Samee</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.mediaweek.co.uk/news/bulletin/mostreadstoriesandfeatures/article/1130444/?DCMP=EMC-Mostreadstoriesandfeatures">Mediaweek</a></p>
<p><strong>Inspiration</strong><br />
Take a look at some of these awesome mobile designs. <br />
Shared  by <a href="http://www.quirk.biz/team/kurt-muller" target="_blank">Kurt Muller</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.meer.li/">http://www.meer.li/</a></p>
<p><strong>Lessons learnt</strong><br />
Take some valuable lessons out of this list of social media  catastrophes (PDF doc). <br />
Shared by <a href="http://www.quirk.biz/team/matt-swarts" target="_blank">Matt Swarts</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.22squared.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/social-media-catastrophes.pdf" target="_blank">22Squared.com</a></p>
<h2>Optimise</h2>
<p><strong>Research</strong> <br />
Facebook has revamped its Success Stories tab with a new  look and updated case studies. <br />
Shared by <a href="http://www.quirk.biz/team/samantha-jackson" target="_blank">Samantha Jackson</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/FacebookStudio/app_397409610271055">Facebook Studio</a></p>
<p><strong>Performance</strong><br />
Google&rsquo;s adverts perform much better than Facebook&rsquo;s &ndash; and  here are some stats to back it up. <br />
Shared by <a href="http://www.quirk.biz/team/stefan-schoof" target="_blank">Stefan Schoof</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/data-google-totally-blows-away-facebook-on-ad-performance-2012-5">Business Insider</a></p>
<p>In fact, some companies &ndash; notable automotive giant GM &ndash; have  decided to pull their Facebook adverts altogether. <br />
Shared by <a href="http://www.quirk.biz/team/jason-warner" target="_blank">Jason Warner</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/16/business/media/gm-to-quit-facebook-ad-campaign-worth-10-million-a-year.html?_r=2">NY Times</a><strong> </strong></p>
<p><strong>Mobile tech</strong><br />
FNB has pioneered a new way of cashless payment &ndash; based on  mobile phone GPS.<br />
Shared by <a href="http://www.quirk.biz/team/samantha-jackson">Samantha Jackson</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.itweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=54219:fnb-innovates-with-geopayments" target="_blank">ITweb.co.za</a></p>
	    <p>
  <a href="http://www.gottaquirk.com/2012/05/22/quirks-inspiration-reads-for-the-week/#comment-form">Comment on "Quirk's  Inspiration Reads for the Week"</a>
</p>
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	  <item>
	    <title>The Reality of Google's Masked Keyword Data</title>
	    <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gottaquirk/~3/8DpkZYI-qnc/</link>
	    <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gottaquirk.com/2012/05/21/the-reality-of-googles-masked-keyword-data/</guid>
	    <category>General</category>		
	    <dc:creator>Juan Karstel</dc:creator>
	    <dc:date>2012-05-21T11:52:23+00:00</dc:date>
	    <pubDate>Mon, 21 May 2012 11:52:23 +0000</pubDate>
	    <description><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.gottaquirk.com/images/thumbs/juan-karstel.jpg" alt="Juan Karstel" align="right" width="125" height="122" /></p>Google no longer lets websites record referral data from users who are logged into their Google accounts. Read more about the implications for Analytics reporting.]]></description>
	    <content:encoded>
	    <![CDATA[<p style="text-align: justify; ">In  October 2011, Google  <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/making-search-more-secure.html" target="_blank">extended the use of an encrypted SSL</a> (Secure  Sockets Layer) protocol to its primary product, Google search. This meant that <strong>websites could no longer record referral  data from search engine users who were logged into their Google accounts</strong> while  using the search function.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The  ultimate manifestation of the encryption was Google removing useful Google  Analytics keyword data and replacing it with <strong>a far less useful &ldquo;(not provided)&rdquo; category</strong>. The (not provided)  label is given to the collection of organic keywords used to find a website.  Think of it like this: if Google had to hide all your organic keyword data in a  dark room only they had access to, <strong>(not  provided) would be what they put on the door</strong>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">According  to Google, this was a decision based purely on the grounds of privacy  protection. However, the online marketing fraternity argued that if Google  really wanted to protect the privacy of its users, <strong>it would also encrypt search data of AdWords</strong>, which is of course  Google&rsquo;s number one source of revenue. To shed some light on this issue, check  out this article on <a href="http://searchengineland.com/google-to-begin-encrypting-searches-outbound-clicks-by-default-97435" target="_blank">why  Google might have made the change</a>.</p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">No Need to Panic</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Some  experts felt that this was Google&rsquo;s way of finally clarifying how it felt about  the SEO industry, with many speculating that this was the <strong>end of the industry altogether</strong>. But Matt Cutts, the head of  Google&rsquo;s webspam team, did his best to allay these fears by claiming that (not  provided) will only have a <strong>single digit  percentage impact on data</strong>. We needn&rsquo;t worry.</p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">This Has Not Been the Case</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">While  (not provided) data started trickling in slowly, due to the fact that the  update was a multiphase update - starting with Google.com and cascading down to  local versions, it has started to pick up steam. The SSL update appears to have  hit Google.co.za in mid-March and early indications point to the conclusion  that <strong>Cutts was either misinformed or  purposely gave misleading information</strong>.</p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">How Much Keyword Data is Google Locking Away?</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Well,  taking the data from the website below as an example, we find that (not  provided) has indeed risen sharply since the March update.</p>
<p style="text-align: center; "><img src="http://soda.quirk.co.za/img.q?siteId=2&amp;id=4015" width="450px" alt="" /></p>
<div align="center">
<table border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
    <tbody>
        <tr>
            <td width="92" valign="top">
            <p style="text-align: justify; ">Month</p>
            </td>
            <td width="120" valign="top">
            <p style="text-align: justify; ">(not    provided)</p>
            </td>
            <td width="74" valign="top">
            <p style="text-align: justify; ">Traffic</p>
            </td>
            <td width="89" valign="top">
            <p style="text-align: justify; ">Percentage</p>
            </td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <td width="92" valign="top">
            <p style="text-align: justify; ">October</p>
            </td>
            <td width="120" valign="top">
            <p style="text-align: justify; ">131</p>
            </td>
            <td width="74" valign="top">
            <p style="text-align: justify; ">132423</p>
            </td>
            <td width="89" valign="top">
            <p style="text-align: justify; ">0.1%</p>
            </td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <td width="92" valign="top">
            <p style="text-align: justify; ">November</p>
            </td>
            <td width="120" valign="top">
            <p style="text-align: justify; ">1    656</p>
            </td>
            <td width="74" valign="top">
            <p style="text-align: justify; ">154801</p>
            </td>
            <td width="89" valign="top">
            <p style="text-align: justify; ">1.1%</p>
            </td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <td width="92" valign="top">
            <p style="text-align: justify; ">December</p>
            </td>
            <td width="120" valign="top">
            <p style="text-align: justify; ">2    245</p>
            </td>
            <td width="74" valign="top">
            <p style="text-align: justify; ">196951</p>
            </td>
            <td width="89" valign="top">
            <p style="text-align: justify; ">1.1%</p>
            </td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <td width="92" valign="top">
            <p style="text-align: justify; ">January</p>
            </td>
            <td width="120" valign="top">
            <p style="text-align: justify; ">2    732</p>
            </td>
            <td width="74" valign="top">
            <p style="text-align: justify; ">237064</p>
            </td>
            <td width="89" valign="top">
            <p style="text-align: justify; ">1.2%</p>
            </td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <td width="92" valign="top">
            <p style="text-align: justify; ">February</p>
            </td>
            <td width="120" valign="top">
            <p style="text-align: justify; ">3    276</p>
            </td>
            <td width="74" valign="top">
            <p style="text-align: justify; ">237556</p>
            </td>
            <td width="89" valign="top">
            <p style="text-align: justify; ">1.4%</p>
            </td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <td width="92" valign="top">
            <p style="text-align: justify; ">March</p>
            </td>
            <td width="120" valign="top">
            <p style="text-align: justify; ">20    740</p>
            </td>
            <td width="74" valign="top">
            <p style="text-align: justify; ">246615</p>
            </td>
            <td width="89" valign="top">
            <p style="text-align: justify; ">8.4%</p>
            </td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <td width="92" valign="top">
            <p style="text-align: justify; ">April</p>
            </td>
            <td width="120" valign="top">
            <p style="text-align: justify; ">2    6943</p>
            </td>
            <td width="74" valign="top">
            <p style="text-align: justify; ">220716</p>
            </td>
            <td width="89" valign="top">
            <p style="text-align: justify; ">12.2%</p>
            </td>
        </tr>
    </tbody>
</table>
</div>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Looking  at the above graph there are two key takeouts:</p>
<ul>
    <li style="text-align: justify; ">Google&rsquo;s  predictions are off and <strong>(not provided)  affects more data than communicated with 12.2% of data being affected in April  alone</strong>.</li>
    <li style="text-align: justify; ">(not  provided) is a growing trend with (not provided) data in May <strong>already creeping towards the 15% mark</strong>.</li>
</ul>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">So What Does This All Mean?</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">First  and foremost, it means <strong>adapting the  metrics on which you report</strong>. Start by setting up (not provided) tracking in  Google Analytics. A simple way to do this would be to set up and include a &rdquo;keyword  containing (not provided)&rdquo; advanced segment in Google Analytics. This way you  can have the information at the touch of a button.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">We&rsquo;d  then recommend <strong>including (not provided)  in reports</strong>. Clients should be shown that (not provided) is now a <strong>third contender in the ongoing branded vs.  unbranded data battle</strong>. If you are reporting on &ldquo;number of referring keywords&rdquo;  data in particular, then numbers will be dropping as a result of the update.  Including (not provided) data <strong>will help  explain the discrepancy</strong>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In  the long term, we will all need a way around this. Check out <a href="http://www.gottaquirk.com/2011/10/20/google-encrypted-search/" target="_blank">an earlier post by Tim  Withers</a>,  which sheds some light on how you can go about getting indicative keyword data.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Remember  that when it comes to indicative data, you will need to <strong>extrapolate what you have</strong> in order to really dive into what it  means. Unfortunately you&rsquo;ll have to do this without brand/non-brand  segmentation or conversion tracking in Google Analytics. Check out <a href="http://www.lunametrics.com/blog/2012/04/25/extrapolating-segmenting-not-provided-keyword-tool/" target="_blank">this tool</a>, which will help  in automating the process of extrapolating and assigning (not provided) to  either a branded/non-branded segment. SEO tools FTW!</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">If  Google has taught this industry nothing else, it&rsquo;s that <strong>we need to be flexible to its changes</strong>. At Quirk we believe that a  client is ultimately paying for a report and unfortunately that is where  Google&rsquo;s changes are most often reflected.&nbsp;  With this in mind, aim to build robust reporting templates, where <strong>metrics can be seamlessly added or removed</strong>,  based on significant industry changes.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Ultimately,  while Google is fairly good at making us aware of changes, which are often  graciously implemented in phases, the reality is that metrics that are  available one day might not be there the next. It is vital that you put  yourself in a position where you can shift the focus of your reports based on a  combination of <strong>what the client wants to  see and what you have to work with</strong>.</p>
	    <p>
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