Posts tagged need
PPC and SEO: Higher Conversion Rates Fuel the Need for Better Integration
Jun 18th
Both paid and organic search listings are fighting for the same customer and keyword term. This ability to maximize share of voice is critical, especially when you start to understand the multiplication power of having multiple listings.
View full post on Search Engine Watch – Latest
PPC and SEO: Higher Conversion Rates Fuel the Need for Better Integration – Search Engine Watch
Jun 18th
|
PPC and SEO: Higher Conversion Rates Fuel the Need for Better Integration
Search Engine Watch PPC and SEO: Higher Conversion Rates Fuel the Need for Better Integration. by Jason Tabeling, June 18, 2013 Comments. Many paid search marketers often go about their business of optimizing their accounts without really caring about what else might be … |
View full post on SEO – Google News
Things You Need to Know About Bing Ads Quality Score by @PingFromBing
Jun 17th
As a Bing Ads product manager specializing in campaign optimization, I often get asked the differences between Quality Score on Bing Ads and AdWords. In order to answer that, we first have to understand why Quality Score was developed and its components. Simply, the goal of Bing Ads Quality Score is to help advertisers optimize the quality [...]
Author information
The post Things You Need to Know About Bing Ads Quality Score by @PingFromBing appeared first on Search Engine Journal.
View full post on Search Engine Journal
Google Reader Is Almost Gone, But Do You Really NEED An RSS Reader Replacement? by @marceladevivo
Jun 13th
It’s been 3 months since Google announced that Reader was being put out to pasture, and now July 1st is looming just around the corner. Have you found your replacement yet? Shortly after the announcement, I wrote an article for Search Engine Journal discussing promising Reader replacements. Now, on the other end of slow Reader [...]
Author information
The post Google Reader Is Almost Gone, But Do You Really NEED An RSS Reader Replacement? by @marceladevivo appeared first on Search Engine Journal.
View full post on Search Engine Journal
SEO guru: Christian organizations, churches need better search engine visibility – Examiner.com
Jun 12th
Examiner.com |
SEO guru: Christian organizations, churches need better search engine visibility
Examiner.com Though a large percentage of churches have websites, people usually can't find their websites easily in search engines such as Google, said Dan Vassiliou, the chief executive officer and owner of Endurance SEO. “If you have ever researched local … |
View full post on SEO – Google News
Google’s Cutts Talks Structured Data Beta, Mobile Site Speed Need, Penalty Notices To Get Example Links & More
Jun 12th
Last night at SMX Advanced, Google’s head of search spam, Matt Cutts was on stage to answer questions about Google search and webmaster topics with Danny Sullivan. We covered the session in live blog format and we pulled out several key points. Of all my years watching Matt Cutts talk, I…
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
View full post on Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing
iOS 7 Development: Everything You Need To Know To Get Started
Jun 12th
OK, so you have downloaded the iOS 7 beta and are ready to get to work. Now what?
There are some new things you are going to want to check out in iOS that directly inform how you develop your next app for the release of the next iPhone later this year. Mostly, Apple has hundreds of new SDKs to check out that govern many different functions of the device. These are going to take some time to learn as they cover the new multi-tasking features, games and various design features.
Before you get started with iOS 7 though, you’ll want to load the latest version of Xcode, the integrated developer environment for iOS development. With iOS 7 comes Xcode 5, which is currently in developer preview. You will not be able to use Xcode 5 unless your Mac is upgraded to the most recent version of Mas OS X – Mountain Lion 10.8.3.
When learning how to develop for iOS 7, those are the two primary features that you are going to need to study – the new development frameworks and the new features in Xcode 5.
New Frameworks In iOS 7
There are six new frameworks specific to iOS 7:
Sprite Kit – Perhaps the most interesting new framework in iOS 7, the Sprite Kit allows for hardware accelerated animation systems for 2D or “2.5D” games. Provides graphics rendering and animation, sound playback support and physics simulation.
“SpriteKit will be capable of powering 2D games ranging from Cut the Rope to Jetpack Joyride and more. We think that this framework could become a major contender in a space currently dominated by Cocos2D and Unity,” said Kenneth Ballenegger an architect at Chartboost.
Game Controller – Allows developers to add hardware controllers to iOS, either by directly connecting the device or through Bluetooth. Controllers must be optional and there must be a way for players to use the game without a controller.
Multipeer Connectivity – The peer-to-peer connectivity is essentially the new sharing features in iOS 7. Discovers nearby devices and directs communication without an Internet connection.
JavaScriptCore – Allows for wrapping of standard JavaScript objects into Objective-C (the code used for iOS apps). Should allow for porting of apps between different mobile operating system platforms.
Media Accessibility – Allows for closed-caption support in your apps.
Safari Services – Support for adding URLs to Safari reading list.
Enhanced Frameworks
In addition to the brand new frameworks, significant additions have been made to the existing frameworks, such as the User Interface Kit (UIKit), Games, Maps, Multitasking and more. Here are the highlights:
User Interface – For developers and designers, the biggest feature of iOS 7 that is going to take some getting used to are all the new UIKit Framework functions and references. Apple has added “dynamic” UI actions, such as proximity and gravity controls as well as a whole new kit for text. The dynamic elements will take some time to study but the text kit should allow for easier development of words into apps with less actual code required in the app.
Multitasking – The new multitasking features in iOS 7 apply mostly to the background data push and flow of information to the app. The apps can be woken up or launched periodically to fetch data.
Maps – Developers will now be able to integrate Apple Maps into their apps, take advantage of 3D map features and control the user’s perspective. Other new features include a way to call on Apple for directions that overlay on top of the map.
Games – In addition to the Game Controller and Sprite Kit, improvements have been made to Game Center (including a complete design overhaul, like the rest of iOS 7). New features let players interact with each other via chat, simultaneous turns and trading. Leaderboards have been expanded to 100 from 25. Developers can also add new features to help prevent cheating in the game.
Those are the basics for getting started developing with the new features in iOS 7. Experienced app developers will likely be able to learn most of these new features relatively quickly, while newer developers might have a tough time wading through all the enhancements and the massive library that constitutes iOS developer libraries.
Advancing Xcode 5
None of the frameworks matter one bit if you don’t know what you are doing in Xcode. Xcode 5 has been designed for iOS 7 and Mac OS x 10.9 Mavericks. Among other changes, Xcode is now a little cleaner than previous versions and features a refined navigator.
UI Improvements – The toolbar is smaller, which gives developers more space to work with. Xcode 5 is not a complete departure from Xcode 4.5 but you will have to figure out where all the usual stuff is.
Testing – Developers hate the testing phase. It is where all their pretty code goes to die. Xcode 5 has a new test navigator to overview all the tests in a project and easily add new test targets.
Debugger – New gauges have been added to the debugger UI in Xcode 5 to show CPU activity, real-time memory, energy use and more.
Version Editor – Xcode 5 has a new management of workflow. It removes the repositories organizer and moves those functions to the project window under the source control menu.
There are more new features and tweaks to Xcode. Some developers love to develop in Xcode while others cannot stand it. If you have picked up a Developer Preview for Xcode 5, tell us how in compares to older versions in the comments.
View full post on ReadWrite
Apple’s New iOS 7: What You Need To Know Now
Jun 10th
Apple just changed the operating system for the iPhone and iPad in a big way. On Monday at its World Wide Developers Conference, Apple unveiled iOS 7, a redesigned version of the software that runs its mobile devices. It is almost everything that we expected from Apple… and a little bit more.
Apple has several primary new features in iOS 7 to go along with a new design from its top developer, Jony Ive. The new iOS is sleeker and has gone “flat,” eschewing shadows and real-life objects (like notebooks and bookshelves) to give the operating system a more modern look, which is a big departure from how Apple has presented iOS in the past.
Outside the simplified design, here are the biggest new features to in iOS 7:
Multi-tasking: Apple has brought multi-tasking to every single app, not just a select few. The new multi-tasking features will allow apps to interact with the operating system and sometimes other apps. A new multi-tasking application programming interface (API) will allow all apps to run in the background and allow users to switch between apps. iOS 7 will know what apps that consumers use most and keep those running in the background.
Control Center: The new settings menu for iOS that will control features such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, mute, screen brightness and so forth. If you are familiar with Google’s Android operating system, the iOS 7 Control Center will seem quite familiar, but instead of accessing the settings by dragging from the top of the smartphone screen, users in iOS 7drag from the bottom.
Notification Center: The drop-down notification center is now available from the lock screen on your iOS device and will provide you with details of your day, such as calendar appointments or weather updates.
AirDrop: This is a new content sharing feature that works wirelessly. AirDrop allows you to share content with your contacts that are close to you. Select who you want to share with, select what you want to share and AirDrop will send that content to the person. By doing it through Wi-Fi or cellular data, Apple has essentially said that Near Field Communications (NFC, a technology that allows sharing with a “tap”) is not coming to the new iPhone later this year.
Camera features: Apple has long been known to push the camera functionality of its iPhones. We will likely see more of what Apple has up its sleeve with its camera when the new iPhone is announced later this year. But iOS 7 gives us a sneak peek. Apple thinks it is four cameras in one as it has several different settings like a “square mode.” The other three modes of the camera are video, normal photos and panorama. Users will be able to flip between the different modes with a swipe.
Photo gallery: More than any other new feature in iOS 7, the photo gallery benefits from Apple’s personal cloud product, iCloud. The Photos app features the iCloud Photo Stream that aggregates all of your pictures through the years into one long timeline. The iCloud Photo Stream will allow users to easily share photos with other iCloud users.
Safari: Apple could not update its mobile operating system without giving its browser a big update. Mobile Safari should be faster, have simplified search and a new browser tab interface that is based on rotating tiles. It will also save your passwords with the iCloud Keychain and has enhanced parental controls.
Siri: Apple’s virtual assistant got a little bit better. Siri now hooks straight to Twitter, Wikipedia and Microsoft’s Bing search engine. Users will also be able to control device features straight from Siri, such as turning on Wi-Fi or adjusting screen brightness. Siri will also have male and female voices as well as being available in several new languages. Siri will also have new features for automobiles.
iTunes Radio: The worst-kept secret before the WWDC keynote was the fact that Apple was coming out with a streaming radio music player. The rumors were not quite right in calling it iRadio though, as the new music app’s streaming capabilities are called iTunes Radio. It is similar to Pandora or Spotify’s radio app and has distinct similarities to Google’s Play All Access music service. iTunes Radio is meant for music discovery and will be free to users. If you are an iTunes subscriber, it will be served without advertisements.
Auto Updates For Apps: No longer will your iOS device has a long backlog of apps that you have not gotten around to updating. Apple will now update those apps automatically for you.
Apple also has a slew of secondary features in iOS 7 such as an “Activation Lock” for the “Find My iPhone” feature that integrates your iCloud Apple ID password to thwart people from stealing your phone and accessing your information. Night Mode responds to ambient light and adjusts the brightness of the screen to help you see.
Apple has nearly 1,500 new software developer kit (SDK) features for developers to access within iOS 7. That is a fairly considerable update. Developers will have access to iOS 7 beta today and users will see it this fall when Apple releases the next iPhone.
View full post on ReadWrite
Hotels Looking to Heighten SEO and SMO Need to Engage with SoLoMo – Hospitality Net (press release)
Jun 6th
|
Hotels Looking to Heighten SEO and SMO Need to Engage with SoLoMo
Hospitality Net (press release) Parsippany, N.J. — June 5, 2013 — Just when you thought you knew every possible acronym for hotel technology, a slew of new social media terms emerged, many of which are as important to learn as they are critical to implement for business success. |
View full post on SEO – Google News
Everything You Need To Know To Get Started With Google Glass Development [Infographic]
May 30th
Good entrepreneurial minds work ahead of the trend lines. They see something that could be big on the horizon and gets their house in order to build for it in the chance that it really becomes the next big thing.
Google Glass could be that next big thing. If you are a smart mobile developer, you should at least be learning the rudiments of how to build apps for it now, before the rest of the world catches up to you.
In 2008, the world of mobile apps was nascent. The Apple App Store was brand new and the Android Market (now Google Play) was still in development. Companies, developers and entrepreneurs that recognized the power of these mobile platforms early have done particularly well in the intervening years. Companies like RunKeeper were some of the first to the App Store and have built robust apps and business models out of that early advantage.
You want to bet that Google Glass will not be among the next set of platforms that redefines the industry? You can. Apple’s CEO Tim Cook has his doubts. So do I. But, you don’t want to be walking down the street in five to ten years, seeing everybody with their Google Glasses and saying, “if only I had jumped on that when it was still new.”
Glassware (as Google Glass apps are known) is actually fairly easy to learn how to build. It is not all that different from building an Android app, just with a few different set of application programming interfaces (API) and a result that is similar to an Android Packet File (APK), just like if you were building for a smartphone. If you really want, you can actually port your existing Android app APK to run on Glass (but it would work better if you built straight for Glass and didn’t port).
The Basics: Mirror API, Java, Python & Glassware
There are a couple basic things to know about developing Glassware. First, Glass apps can be built in either the Java or Python programming languages. Google has set up App Engine Software Development Kits (SDKs) for each language. You can develop Glassware in the Maven or Eclipse integrated developer environments (IDEs).
The next thing to do is set up the Mirror API that is the primary connection to Glassware. From here you build Timeline Cards, which is the user interface for your Glass app. The Card user interface can be tested within the Google Glass Playground testing environment. Once you have a working Card, you can deploy to Glass and be the talk of the party.
We have broken down just about everything you need to know to build for Glass here. Remember that you can also root Glass (but do so at your own risk as it will void your warranty).
If you are looking for a quick guide to how to get started with Glass development, check out the graphic below, produced by Boston-based mobile cloud services company Kinvey.
Are you going to build for Glass? Let us know in the comments.
Top image: ReadWrite managing editor Fred Paul tries on Glass at Google I/O 2013 by Dan Rowinski
View full post on ReadWrite
