05/12/2007

The digital age of marketing

The shift to online marketing is happening with or without you. There have been major changes in marketing strategy this past couple years, putting a greater focus on online or digital marketing. Like everything these days, it changes every three months, requiring you to keep up with the latest tips, tricks and techniques to keep your company up to date and looking to the future. 

How you utilise the Internet in the marketing and operations of your company is crucial to future growth and development. While an online presence can give you an edge, a lack of one can stunt your exposure. Regardless of what you’ve been told in the past, no matter what industry you’re in, online marketing matters.

If you feel like you’re starting late in the race, don’t panic. Here are a few tips to get your company on the right track:
 
Tip 1: Do some research. Look into how online marketing is being used and how it can benefit your company. There are a multitude of books and articles available on the topic that can explain how digital marketing works. They will also explain how this style of marketing can help your company compete; not only on a local market level, but globally too.

Tip 2: Call a local web development company. These firms offer a wide range of products and services that could benefit your company more than you can imagine. They should welcome your questions, so don’t hesitate to ask them. Look for a firm that primarily focuses on web development and online marketing, with a proven track record. Usually the smaller firms or designers that do this on the side are not going to have the same resources as a more established firm.

Tip 3: Plan on investing in your online presence. Even if you don’t make the major effort to marketing online right away, start planning for the day that you will. This way, when you are ready to go online, you’ll already have a game plan and your dollars will be spent much more efficiently. As a rule, online marketing is extremely efficient and cost effective, so you will most likely save money in the long run.
 
For the future success of your company, take a look into online marketing and web development. You won’t be disappointed by the results.

Source: The Nova Scotia Business Journal

05/12/2007 

Google is hoping users of its search engine will report "bad sites" to help the company fight criminals exploiting its infrastructure in order to distribute malicious software.

According to the Google security blog, the search giant already knows about hundreds of thousands of "bad" Web sites but is hoping that its users will add to the list by completing an online form to report malicious sites that are not already flagged.

The fight is important to Google because sites containing malicious software endanger the search giant's reputation by exploiting and infecting its users. This was described recently in a blog by security company Sunbelt.

Last year, Google started flagging sites listed in its search results that contain malicious software. When a bad site is selected, instead of being sent to the site, the user is shown a message saying, "Warning--the site you are about to visit may harm your computer!" Users then have the option to continue or return to the search page.

Google "independently checks the Web for badware and badware-linking code...using its own test procedures," according to StopBadware.org, which is working together with Google in its fight against malicious Web sites.

This is nothing new for security company McAfee, which already trawls the Web for sites hosting malicious software and has members of the public reporting bad sites to McAfee SiteAdvisor.

Google's flagging of bad sites is not nearly as comprehensive as SiteAdvisor, according to a McAfee representative.
Extra: Girls rule in science competition SiteAdvisor sits in the browser and ranks all sites as red, yellow, or green. These are ranked via information on whether the site hosts malicious software; whether it is a spamming site, where entering your e-mail address could result in thousands of spam e-mails; whether the site is linked to sites hosting malicious software; or whether it is a scamming site, where some form of money scam is conducted.

In addition, if a user enters the URL of a rated Web site at SiteAdvisor, detailed information on the tests run and reasons for ranking the site are displayed. This helps a user decide whether he or she can still make use of the site while avoiding its bad elements.

According to McAfee, SiteAdvisor downloads are "running into the tens of millions."