Facebook Graph Search comes to town

Many have been predicting a change in search, but is the new Facebook Graph Search a Google killer?




In years past Google have maintained their leadership in search attracting over 30 billion searches a day with no real competition, but is Facebook’s new release of Graph Search going to change all that? Think about how and why you search, many of us will be on Facebook or other social media sites, leave for a few minutes to do a Google search for a local restaurant, cafe or other information then head straight back to check on the latest Facebook update from our friends and family. Well imagine you no longer have to do that, you can do all your searches without the need to leave Facebook, sounds good right? This is the reality of the new launch of Facebook Graph search will allow you to do targeted search on friends or non friends and get “real” reviews on your favourite products and services or do research on upcoming purchases. See example below of “Mexican Restaurants my friends go to”



So is this the end for Google search? We don’t think so, but being where your customers are is about making sure you get the best return on your marketing dollar.

Facebook Graph Search is not yet available to everyone but we’ve had the opportunity to use it and it’s great, it’s user friendly and the results are fantastic. We have put our Graph Search Optimisation team together to make sure Publicity Monster customers are always ahead of the competition, so is your business social media ready? Now with over 11,000,000 Australians using Facebook it has become a fundamental part of any business to be setup and optimised on Facebook. Need help? This is what our friendly staff are here to do, why not get in contact with us to see how we can assist your business with Graph Search and other social media services. Click here to contact us or call 1300 448 305 to speak to our team.




Regards,
Publicity Monster Graph Search Optimisation (GSO) Team

Publicity Monster has been working over time on our new customer support system, this is a specialised area where customers will be seeing the latest statistics, manage account, online support and get instant answers to over 100 FAQ questions. Lots of changes in the tech world with some of the big search engines and social media hubs making dramatic changes to the way users use the services. New iPhone 5 to be announced in September Google+ Hangouts replaces Gmail chat Over 83 Million Facebook profiles and growing Google Buys Wildfire Bing adds Facebook integration   For regular updates check out Publicity Monster

This week Australia gets it’s first feel for the carbon tax and a taste of how bad the sting really is, in other news did you know that the Dalai Lama is a mac user and the Prime Minster of Australia, Julia Gillard is a Blackberry user, who would of thought right. Social meltdown as Instagram and Pinterest servers went down over the weekend and users were lost to where they could post their photos. Find out how you can pay $0 for your local, national and mobile calls. Apple blocks Samsung from selling it’s phones in the US Instagram, Pinterest and NetFlix shutdown Telstra found guilty of breaching privacy Businesses still confused about discontinuation of Google Places You still paying for telephone calls? Small businesses more likely to pass on carbon tax   For regular updates check out Publicity Monster

We know there’s a lot of great paid services that can help grow your business quickly like Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimisation and Social Media Marketing, but what can a small business do to help themselves grow online when things are a little tight? Here’s a list of 11 services that can give your business the push it needs to grow online:

1. Signup to FREE a Facebook business page and fill in all your business details including website, telephone and opening hours
2. Signup to a FREE Twitter page for your business
3. Signup to your LinkedIn Business Page
4. Signup to a FREE Pinterest for your business and start sharing photos that are connected with your business
5. Send out FREE Press Releases about your business, your growth, exciting news
6. Sign up for your FREE Google+Local (previously Google Places)
7. Clean up your data online, Google your business name and make sure that all directories have the correct telephone numbers, address and if you have a website that its added to the directories. Here’s a few directories worth check: Yellow Pages, True Local and HotFrog.
8. Set up your FREE Webmaster Central Account at Google.
9. Set up your FREE Bing Webmaster Tools account.
10. Set up your FREE Google Analytics account so you can track when, where and how visitors are coming to your website

The next installment of this blog we will show you how you can easily manage just about all your social media services from one area without the need of signing into each service. We hope the links and services get you started and as always if you get stuck or need help with setting up any of these services get in contact with one of our specialists on 1300 448 305 or contact us here.

Another big week for online with the big boys like Facebook, Google and Apple making some interesting moves. Publicity Monster has an exciting week as we tip over the 4500 customer mark. Facebook launches “friend Friends Nearby” mobile feature Amazon finally lands in Australia Apple Maps Vs Google Maps war continues A Job In Tech Makes You Happy Publicity Monster tips over the 4500 customer mark   For regular updates check out Publicity Monster

Publicity Monster is excited to share that we now have over 4500 optimisation success stories, with small businesses thriving on our cost effective optimisation services. We will be in contact with all our customers over the coming months to share more success stories of how our customers excel with our various services like Google+ Local Optimisation (previously Google Places), Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). We have recently welcomed hundreds of new customers including Radio Rentals, LJ Hooker, UltraTune and many more. Check out some of our other clients here So why are these customers moving across to Publicity Monster?

1. Our optimisation technology and experience is second to none
2. We are the largest Google+ Local Optimiser in Australia
3. We keep up to date with Google’s regular changes and help our customers bring their business inline with guidelines
4. Proof is in our results
5. Our prices start from under $8 a week (cheaper than doing it yourself)

Our positive reviews keep coming in, here’s one from a Counselor in Brisbane: “You have helped increase my customer numbers please continue to do what you are doing. i will sign up for the next 12 months. keep up the great work and thanks.” Read more Publicity Monster reviews here and here So don’t sit back any longer, speak to one of our specialists and find out how we can get your real results quickly. CONTACT US HERE  

Big changes for Google Places this week with the integration into Google’s social media platform Google+ to create the all new Google+ Local. We find it be a lot similar to how you can check into a business via Places on Facebook, leave comments, share with friends but you can now do this by logging into your Gmail account and using Google+. This is obviously a big push from Google to get more people to use their platform and get businesses more involved with Google+, we also understand by Google making this integration, Google Places will see a lot more features introduced in the near future. We really like the new layout, it’s simple and gives you all the information you need at a glance. We also like that there’s a lot more information about the users who’s leaving the feedback and this gives you a clearer indication of where else this person has visited and what else they’ve commented on. Google+ Local drops the old star rating system for the Zagat review system , better known in the US for decades for their restaurant reviews. The rating system is now based on a 0 to 3 point scale. (see image)

• 3 = Excellent
• 2 = Very Good
• 1 = Good
• 0 Poor to Fair

These scores are then averaged by Google and the business is given a total score:

• 26-30 Extraordinary to perfection
• 21-25 Very good to excellent
• 16-20 Good to very good
• 10-15 Fair to good
• 0-9 Poor to fair

Main Changes:

• No more stars, a score out of 3
• Businesses get a total score that is average by Google
• Clearer and more substantiated reviews from friends and visitors
• More features coming

  To find out more about Google Places, Google+ Local speak to one of our specialists click here

Mixed bag of tech news this week with huge changes across the big players with lay offs, Facebook getting into the smart phone market and Google Places making changes to its address guidelines: Facebook to make a new Smart Phone Blackberry Maker RIM to lay off 2000 staff Google in trouble for data breach in Australia Publicity Monster releases websites in 3 countries Google Places stops PO Boxes in new guidelines updates   For regular updates check out Publicity Monster

    Big week for online with Facebook going Public, Twitter being blocked and a whole new look for Bing coming, check out the latest news: 6 Ways to Get a Tech Job Without a Tech Degree Pakistan Blocks Twitter For Religious Reasons Does your “Klout” matter? Bing gets a new look Google one step Closer to China   For regular updates check out Publicity Monster    

Publicity Monster www.publicitymonster.com.au were proud to be asked to support Patti Newton during her time on Celebrity Apprentice Australia 2012. We got the call late one night to be a corporate sponsor and went down to a big grassy green park in Sydney where there were celebrities and dogs galore. A donation was made to Patti’s team and she was very lovely hugging and holding hands with our fearless leader Timmy Sabre. Really Publicity Monster’s pooch “Buddy” was the main star of the whole day being one of the littlest dogs there he was given a lot of attention! In the end all money raised on the day went to the “Hoff’s” (David Hasselhoff’s) Starlight Children’s Foundation Australia. We’ve included a photo gallery of the event. To view the full episode watch this video:

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