Last week Apple TV was re-vamped and unveiled by Steve Jobs, with the objective of being able to cross the barrier between your TV and PC. This was followed by Google CEO Eric Schmidt launching his product designed to meet the same objective and the Google TV would hit the US in fall this year.

Now this would be like winning lotto for the consumers since they could choose between Google and Apple. Now what do you choose, Google or Apple? The confusion is bound to occur between the consumers, but eventually these rising devices could alter the way we find and watch videos.

The revelation came less than a week after competitor Apple unveiled its newest Apple TV product, and heats up the clash for TV advertisement market. Some analysts have predicted this to reach a figure of $180 billion worldwide. Apple’s latest gadget, a packed in box that hooks into TVs would be priced at $99 only, which enables viewers to torrent shows and movies that they might have bought or rented via iTunes. This would also enable users to access YouTube, Flickr etc

Alternately, Google TV would enable its users to browse, search and watch any programs off the web and also allow users to get their DVR recordings. Adding to all these Sony, Logitech and Blu-ray TV’s and Players will be a feature Google TV would provide to all its users.

Confused, as to which of the technologies is superior? Both devices are different in their own way, and to tell which one’s superior compared to the other is nearly impossible.  The market approach for both these companies is different. While Apple, has an established reputation with iTunes and music store hence it would opt to associate with Television providers to bring about uniformity and standardization with affordability in mind.

Simultaneously, Google seems to be opting for appears to be opting for ambiguity allowing all its users a free access to the entire web for its users to pick and choose services according to their liking. This is more or less similar to the smart phones launched by both these companies, both of which have gained a lot of popularity.

Rumor has it that Google was negotiating with a third party to provide music labels for a music store with a digital locker. Apple in the past has shown keen interest on availing this song locker feature for its users as well.

The final piece to the puzzle of this clash between Google and Apple are the consumers and the entertainment industry. The popularity of either of them would generate a lot of revenue in the market since both these companies have a strong hold in the market with billions of users across the globe.

So let’s wait and watch how these two competitors fare in the consumer market after each of them launches their product.

Thank You

You will also see the message

We appreciate all the feedback from people who searched on our Caffeine sandbox.

Based on the success we’ve seen, we believe Caffeine is ready for a larger audience. Soon we will activate Caffeine more widely, beginning with one data center. This sandbox is no longer necessary and has been retired, but we appreciate the testing and positive input that webmasters and publishers have given.

Its not surprising. Google Caffeine will soon be launched for the masses.

The most difficult part in an search engine optimizers life is to stay connect stay updated with the latest trends and tricks to get better rankings for their website. Considering the fact, all the success lies at the hand of search engines, search engine optimizer also stay connected through seo communities.

Some of the best places for SEO Updates are:

1. DigitalPoint Forums
2. Webmaster World Forums

You can also check the “Google PageRank Update History” on the right sidebar of my blog.

If you are looking for SEO expert in India, you know where to go? Email me ryan@techethos.com

Hat’s off to Mr. Sudhir Trehan (MD of Crompton Greaves)

Something that one should read
EVA - Economic Value Add

Matt Cutt’s latest video is on “over on-page optimization” where Matt answers the seo question “Is over optimization bad for a website?”

GorForIt… All there to explore Matt Cutt’s latest video.

Advertising agencies are not very keen to take up natural (organic) search engine results seriously. Nor they seem to be inclined or demonstrate the interest to build SEO expertise under their gamut of marketing services. What could be the reason or the deterrents for advertising agencies?

Reasons for advertising agencies not offering SEO as a service to their customers whilst covering every other creative conceptualization for the websites could be inherently these:

Reason 1: SEO does not assure 15% Agency commissions.
The search engines deliver natural results on the left hand side for a related search engine query and do not in anyway promise to keep up a site in the search engine page results with any financial commitment. As a result the advertising agencies used to confirming slots and positions are trapped in a hapless situation. Coupled to this they are unable to pre-determine the cost for SEO services.

Reason 2: SEO is an organic process
An advertising agency cannot determine the time frame for SEO activities and also their inability to predict how much time it will take for results to show up on the Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs).

Reason 3: No Reliable Source for SEO Consultancy. Very less SEO expertise available
It is very hard to find experienced SEO professionals with proven results. This too is a daunting challenge for agencies, to find SEO professionals having a refined blending of knowledge pertaining to SEO technology, online marketing trends and ROI metrics.

Reason 4: Search Engine doesn’t offer SEO services?
Tier I (One) Search Engine’s like Google, Yahoo and MSN do not offer SEO services. Search Engines do not house even a single resource that can offer SEO services, nor are they keen to develop a SEO driven business model. On assurance of anonymity, one of the search engine company India Manager agreed that they do not have any SEO professionals.

Reason 5: SEO is not event based.
It is accepted norm that SEO offers remotely miniscule chances of driving a SEO campaigns on any given event within a short duration. Nevertheless there are great possibilities to make it happen. All you need do is “Ask the SEO Expert”

Reason 6: SEO is an amalgamation of research, technology - Part Art and part Science.
It is very rare to find amalgamation of technology and marketing research in the advertising agencies predominant in the pursuit of creative excellence. The result being, the inability to create waves with digital marketing space, especially with SEO.

This gave opportunities to other SEO companies to directly enter the SEO business and speak to the client. But the advertising agencies that have great rapport with the clients need to align themselves to create the SEO services portfolio and outsource it to the SEO companies or SEO expert or have a strategic partnership tie-up inclusive of knowledge transfer.

1. Website Analytics Hosted Service
2. Website Analytics Software Service
3. Real Time Website Analytics Service

The most preferred of the aforementioned is the hosted services, followed by software services. The only reason to be cited is “Time”. In hosted service, the website analytics company takes care of hosting the website traffic data and resources,  thus helping the client save time and make data available almost immediately for analysis.

Most of the analytic tools guarantee to authentically capture all the traffic data. But the underlying fact is an approximate deviation of 10% is preferentially considered as the difference in the actual and reported traffic data. A website analytics expert is likely to bank on the 90% data accuracy provided by analytics tool.

Comparison of analytics tools:

• Data not proprietary. If you have any questions, email me ryan.govindan@gmail.com

Real Time Traffic Capture & Traffic Timestamp analysis is of utmost importance for micro-managing, immediate campaign adjustments and tweaks. The data’s is utilized and analyzed by a marketer in the field of Search Engine Marketing to optimize the campaign by adjusting daily budget and cpc (cost per click).

Most of the Search Engine Marketing companies prefer to have their own Analytics tool to measure Real Time Traffic, Data and Timestamps to achieve their campaign ROI.

Enumerated resources I would recommend:

List of Online Traffic Analytic Tools
http://mashable.com/2009/01/12/track-online-traffic/

Web Data Resource & Vendor Comparison by Brian Clifton
http://www.advanced-web-metrics.com/docs/web-data-sources.pdf

For more information do visit SifyTalk official Website

I recommend these tips before buying the phone, as the 3G iPhone has been causing dissatisfaction with me.  Recently, I bought this piece from a local store.  I must say that the last some days have been harrowing for me.

Tip 1 – Make sure to buy the Phone from a good electronic goods dealer.  Preferably, if you buy this piece from a branded shop, it will help.  You would be spending quite a bit on this phone and hence, you got to be absolutely sure that your piece is genuine.

Tip 2 – Check for all the features and their working.  The iPhone is known for its exhaustive set of features.  It may not be possible for you to check all those features while shopping for the phone.  That said, you could do a quick dip-stick check on the phone to see if all is fine.

Tip 3 – Most customers using iPhone have reported issues with the working of the phone. Issues like menus responding without request, phones cranking off without notice etc have been reported on many occasions.  There is absolutely no way you could tell if your “to-be-had” iPhone would not have any of the issues.  What you could do is ask all these questions to the phone dealer.

Tip 4 – Check for originality and guarantee on the Phone.  Trust me, the iPhone has already created a lot of ripples in the market.  I am sure some unscrupulous suppliers have already come up with their duplicate versions.  I saw a duplicate version few weeks before in the market.  Fortunately, on closer inspection I found that the dealer was cheating me.

Tip 5 – Preferably, go shopping for an iPhone with a person who knows a thing or two about iPhones.  The 3G iPhone is a complex tool and would require a tech-savvy person to solve some queries.  For starters, it has GPS Mapping, Microsoft Exchange etc in its tools gallery.  Don’t worry if you do not make sense of these things.  Just make sure to take an iPhone expert with you.

The 3G iPhone is indeed a revolutionary device.  It has all the features of the original version and has add-ons too.  New gallery features like GPS Mapping, Microsoft Exchange will ensure that this piece will be your all-season phone.  Again, a phone looking good in the shop and the one actually in your hand are different sides of a story. You could ensure good functioning of your iPhone, if only you follow the mentioned 5 tips before buying the iPhone.

Remember, you would be paying some money to own one of the best mobile phones in the market.  You definitely do not want to own a ‘cheap gold watch’ only because you neglected some basic rules of shopping for the 3G iPhone.