Month: June 2012

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Mobile Website Redirection Tactics

I recently have been testing out mobile website design. Although there are some great free tools out there that automatically make a mobile website for you, I simply did not want THAT much content on my mobile site. I wanted a streamlined small interface with just my key services and phone links. PLUS I wanted the website files to reside on MY server, not over at Bing Local or over at Dudamobile.com.

I found a template at Dreamweaver to help me used JQuery to create a mobile website. You can check out the video and grab the files here. I was able to pretty easily customize the site and CSS, but really ran into a problem getting the site to show for mobile users.

Typically a “sniffing” script will be used to deliver content for mobile phones, but the scripts I found simply did not work. My Android smartphone still saw my desktop website. I found that the CSS declaration that identifies screen width and then redirects the used did not work for me, nor did several other php scripts. I ended up using a .htaccess redirect.

This is the code I used in the .htaccess file:

# mobile site redirection
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http://(.*).mccordweb.com/.*$ [NC]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^/mobile/.*$
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} “android|blackberry|iphone|ipod|iemobile|opera mobile|palmos|webos|googlebot-mobile” [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /mobile/ [L,R=302]

This worked for me. You can check out my mobile site at http://www.mccordweb.com/mobile/ but you’ll only see if on your smartphone, don’t got there with your browser. Mine is still a work in progress, but something that I am testing.

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AdWords Third Party Compliance – We Passed

My business was just reviewed this past month by Google under their new Google AdWords third party compliance program. You can read all the details about this new Google AdWords policy in this article by Google. As a Google AdWords Certified Partner, being in compliance is important. If you are found to not be compliant, Google can remove your certification and even disable your ability to manage accounts.

My firm passed the review which is now to be done yearly or in some cases more frequently if Google receives complaints about a Partner. I have to say the review was thorough! As we operate transparently and were already adhering to Google policies the audit was not a problem for us, but for others, may require a change in business model, updates to their website, or new information communicated to every customer.

In summary this is what Google requires your Google AdWords Certified Partner to do:

  1. “At the minimum provide advertisers with monthly data on AdWords costs, clicks and impressions at the account level.”
  2. “All third parties primarily serving small to medium-sized clients are required to provide the Google Disclosure Notice.”
  3. “Third parties may not engage in unclear, deceptive or harassing sales practices.”
  4. “Third parties may not misrepresent their relationship to Google.”
  5. “You may not make improper guarantees about Google to your clients.”
  6. “You may not violate Google’s branding guidelines.”
  7. “You may not improperly use AdWords accounts, or AdWords marketing or sales material.”

You’ll want to check out the full article as I know of several situations when client’s have told me what other AdWords service suppliers have said to them are in direct violation with the policies.

As for me, I feel that a compliance review is a good thing. It keeps Google AdWords Certified Partners on a level playing field. No more having to compete for a client against a competing service that is saying they have a special preferential relationship with Google and that they get special deals that I can’t possibly get and give to the prospect.

Thanks Google for helping to make the Google AdWords Certified Partner status I work hard to get and keep mean something!

You can verify our Partner status with Google AdWords.

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Google AdWords Trademark Violations Explained

In this video, Nancy McCord President of McCord Web Services, shares her insights on trademark use on Google AdWords. In this video you will learn:

  • Trademark policy overview on Google AdWords
  • What a trademark violation flag looks like in the AdWords control panel.
  • What you can do to lock up your own trademark from use in Google AdWords.
  • How to resolve a trademark issue in Google AdWords.
  • Tips to prevent trademark problems in AdWords.
  • Why you need to be concerned about trademark violations and flags.

For information about our Google AdWords advertising services please visit our programs page.

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Twitter Has a New Logo

Twitter released this past week its new preferred logo. You’ll see it to the right. There are several variations – bird on blue, bird on black, bird on clear, but the bird is the same; poised to fly up to the right with beak open. Oh notice the bird has no hair? Make sure you get the right icon as I have seen some out on the Web where the Twitter bird has a shock of hair. The logo on this page is Twitter’s own iconic image.

Seems kind of late in the game for Twitter, after several years, to strive to wipe out the use of the blue lowercase t which has become synonymous with Twitter, but it’s never too late to try to take back your brand. Especially if maybe you want to start thinking about a future IPO and are trying to sell ads on your platform.

I will be working to update my own website with the new icons in the weeks coming up, but have to say I do like a more cube shaped icon as it will look better in a line with Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn. I may try to put my own Twitter Bird in a square and then polish it and add a drop shadow. The essence is the bird not necessarily that the bird sits in a square or on a white ground. When I finish my icon, I’ll post it on my blog and website for you to check out.