By Natalie Kleopfer, Account Coordinator

Looking to enhance your local and mobile advertising efforts? Learn how Google’s new updates can help.

On October 19th, Google unveiled several new mobile ad features and formats that will have a significant impact on pay-per-click (PPC) advertisers. Here’s a rundown of some of the key changes:

The distance between a user and an advertiser’s business is now factored into mobile search ad rankings. Local already accounts for 40% of mobile searches and the addition of proximity as a scoring factor will only cause that percentage to rise. Search Engine Land suggests that marketers start using  Location Extensions, a feature in AdWords that allows the addition of dynamic addresses to ads. While previous ads only allowed description lines and a URL, Location Extensions lets companies include their  names, addresses and phone numbers, too. This, combined with the new proximity factor, will help businesses drive more mobile traffic at a lower cost.

Another new Google feature is custom search advertisements for apps. Google will now place relevant ads in searchable mobile apps. If a user has an app that lets them search for a local movie theater, he or she will now see relevant movie theater and film advertising within the app.

Circulars, a new Google advertising format, is not restricted to mobile. Here’s how the new format works: When a user clicks on a search or display ad, he is directed to another ad featuring pictures and relevant products or offers. If the ad is viewed on a desktop computer, the user can email it to his mobile device. He can then take it to the business location to redeem the offers. This format is currently being tested with retailers Best Buy and Macy’s.

For more information about Google’s new offerings, visit the Google Mobile Ads Blog.

By Steven McKenzie, Intern

QR codes offer a way to bridge the gap between traditional advertising and new interactive platforms.

In this industry, it is often difficult to gauge which new technologies and techniques provide valuable ways to reach out to customers and which are just popular for their innovative shock value. The surge in QR code popularity has marketers wondering which of these two directions the trend will go. Do we really need another way to deliver content or re-direct information to our target audience? Industry-leaders seem to think so. Brands like Ford, Audi, Pepsi, Starbucks, Best Buy, Macy’s and McDonald’s have all created programs with embedded QR codes over the last few years—and have had great success.

These programs have also aided in a growing QR code awareness among smart phone users. According to information collected by JumpScan and published by Mashable.com, the use of QR codes increased 1,200% between July and December of 2010. Additionally, survey results from MGH, an advertising agency in Baltimore, revealed that 65% of smart phone users have seen QR codes, and of those, nearly half have used them.

QR codes have great potential as devices to finely tune targeting for programs and content. They allow marketers to bridge the gap between printed or traditional marketing materials and interactive programs. They also provide a great way to extend discounts, deals and offers directly to customers. And of course, the technology associated with QR codes makes them an ideal tool for measuring the success of a campaign through trackable conversion data.

By Annie Hay, Marketing Associate

A location-tracking feature in Apple’s popular iPhone 4 and iPad 3G has users concerned for their privacy and advertisers wondering about future geo-targeting uses.

A recent discovery by computer security researchers Alasdair Allan and Pete Warsden has many Apple iPhone 4 and iPad 3G users nervous. In an interview with NPR, Warsden claimed that while uploading information from his iPhone, he noticed that a file called “Location D” popped up on his computer.  The file contained latitude, longitude and text map data that traced virtually everywhere the phone had been.  It seems that Apple has inserted a secret location-tracking feature that does not rely on GPS tracking, but instead finds its location relative to cellular phone towers and WiFi signals.  The data is kept in an unencrypted file on the phone. A software program already created by Allan and Warsden allows anyone to make a detailed map tracing the user’s every movement.

Apple has not commented on the findings, but has directed concerned users to their terms of use, which clearly state:

“We may collect information such as occupation, language, zip code, area code, unique device identifier, location, and the time zone where an Apple product is used so that we can better understand customer behaviour and improve our products, services, and advertising.”

While it does not seem as though Apple is using the information it collects, the data is transferred to the user’s computer as the phone syncs. This has privacy experts concerned that the data might be used in lawsuits, federal investigations, or by computer viruses and hackers. Advertisers are also interested in how this information might be used in the future for geo-targeted mobile campaigns.

Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at security firm Sophos, explained to BBC News: “I think there are some legitimate privacy concerns and people will probably look for a way of obscuring that data . . .But it is an object lesson about reading the terms and conditions.”

As we continue to live our lives in an interconnected digital age, the discovery is a good reminder of how little we understand about our privacy.

By Kinnick Wheaton, Account Coordinator

As Google innovates, consumers post reviews and social media booms, marketing strategies must heed to the importance of the local search result.

It has been said that 2011 will be the year of local and mobile search. Already, local search innovations are popping up everywhere. This seems a natural progression now that mobile devices are capable of efficiently browsing the internet and new apps are created daily to facilitate local interactions. The strength of “local” in the SEM industry is indicated by Google’s local-favored search result innovations, the increasing importance of online reviews, and what local businesses are doing—or should to be doing—to keep up a vibrant online local presence. The trend of “going local” must not be ignored when managing a marketing program for any kind of business.

The most evident local innovation is the way Google organizes results for certain queries. Google posts local results before organic results and paid ads for queries it believes to be locally related. For example, when searching for weather or pizza, the initial results are that of local pizza joints or real-time weather forecasts. These results are enhanced by Google toolbar’s My Location feature, which allows users to define and alter their current location by entering a zip code or city/state location.

Similarly, Google Instant, another recent innovation, has also been a larger player in the growth of local search. With Google Instant, results change depending on whether the search is taking place on a mobile device or PC because Google assumes that users using a mobile device are more locally focused.

Posted by: Amanda Rick, Account Coordinator

Members of the 90octane team attended the University of Colorado’s October Smart Lunch, where guest speaker Dave Morin, a CU grad and early member of the Facebook team, spoke about the evolution of social media and the ways it will continue to change in the future.

Morin began his presentation by taking attendees through a brief history of communication, pointing specifically to how the Internet and social media have allowed for accelerated growth in this area. This set the stage for the remainder of the presentation by putting emphasis on the idea that change will continue, and quickly, so we must open our minds to the possibility of new ideas.