10,000,000 + and counting

The founder of Ancestry.com, Paul Allen, estimates that Google+ may already have reached 10m users, despite only having been launched a fortnight ago.

The data analysis was based on surname popularity. Allen says that if he takes a sample of 100-200 surnames, he can accurately estimate total usage numbers. The surname popularity data is taken from the US Census Bureau, so this would give him US figures, but he believes that he can then calculate worldwide usage via a ratio of US to non-US users.

Google itself has released no user numbers as yet, although it is said that demand has so far been high with some users reported to have tens of thousands of people following them

Overall, Google+ has gone down well, but as with any new product, there is criticism. Google’s senior vice-president of social, Vic Gondotra, said:

“Lots of criticism for Google+. We are listening and working to address. Stay tuned for changes this week.”

10m users in a fortnight would represent a hugely impressive start, but with Twitter boasting 300m users and Facebook 750m, there is plenty of room for improvement as it seeks to gain ground on its rivals

The facts speak for themselves

More and more the consumer looks to the Internet to provide information on the products and services they want and need. However, as a recent study has shown, while 66% of consumers search the Internet for local small business information, only 44% of small businesses have a web site. The end result is that the small local business without a website is virtually invisible to these local consumers.

“According to the Nielsen Online Custom Survey from WebVisible, Inc.,” stated Dale Stefancic, co-owner of Entrepreneurs On Call, “92% of consumers have first researched a product on the Internet, and then have purchased that product locally at least once. The end result is that the business that has a website is much more likely to end up with that consumer in their local store. The Internet no longer serves the global marketplace exclusively but now impacts directly the sales of the smalllocal business. Without a website to direct and inform the local customer, a small local business will soon no longer stand any chance of real local success.”

This creates a real quandary for the small local business, as the design of even the most basic of websites can run into thousands of dollars. In today’s economy, a website is not economically feasible for some. Small businesses have a tendency to spend money on more traditional forms of advertising such as newspaper, Yellow Page ads and television. However, the same study shows that 50% of consumers turn to the Internet first, followed by only 24% for Yellow Pages, 4% for local newspapers and 1% for television.

Source : prudent.com

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Google Panda Hurricane

On Wednesday, February 23, 2011, a category 5 hurricane named "Panda" swept through the Gulf of Google devastating businesses large and small alike. The hurricane was reportedly named after one of Google's engineers.

So what was the reason for this catastrophic and "game-changing" update? Well, according to Google:

"This update is designed to reduce rankings for low-quality sites - sites which are low-value, copy content from other websites or sites that are just not very useful. At the same time, it will provide better rankings for high-quality sites - sites with original content and information such as research, in-depth reports, thoughtful analysis and so on. It is important for high-quality sites to be rewarded, and that's exactly what this change does." (Source: Google Blog)

So make sure you use original content on your website regarding your services and products and dont copy and paste from other sites as you may be penialised.

Remember CONTENT IS KING.