Author: Daniel Page

The Uniform Resource Locator (URL), is one of the most common yet most frequently-misunderstood elements of a website. It’s also been an integral part of the Internet more or less since its earliest days, providing a human-readable means of connecting to unique pages on the web.

Each URL consists of four primary components.

If there’s one constant in the world of search engine optimization (SEO), it’s that people love throwing out predictions that it’s dead (or at least dying).

It’s happened, to some degree, with every algorithm update Google has released. It happened with the leap from keyword-driven search to organic, content-driven search. It happened when Facebook and other social networks started gaining popularity.

And now, with the push towards artificial intelligence and voice search, it’s happening again.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. When it comes to content marketing, we’d argue that it’s worth even more. A good header image is arguably imperative for the creation of compelling, engaging content, and high-quality photos are important for breaking up the monotony of large walls of text.

In an effort to compete with platforms like Amazon and eBay, crafting ecommerce site Etsy rolled out a new advertising policy. Known as Offsite Ads, it was billed as a risk-free way for merchants to gain more attention and traffic. There was just one caveat.

When the program rolls out in April

Merchants will be automatically enrolled in it, and anyone who makes more than $10,000 annually will have no option to withdraw from the program.

The right message delivered to the right person in the right place at the correct time can make all the difference in the world. That’s the idea behind proximity marketing, which is functionally the “next step” in location-based marketing. Also known as hyperlocal marketing, the tactic leverages a combination of mobile apps and Bluetooth to deliver contextual,  location-based messages to your brand’s most engaged customers.

Bluetooth beacons, the technology behind proximity marketing is not new. As noted by eCommerce retailer Shopify, beacons were first developed and released in 2013 by Apple.  They didn’t quite catch on.

Animated GIFS have been a part of Internet culture for years. They’re a quick, effective way to convey emotion on social media. They’re entertaining, they’re easy to digest, and they’re attention-grabbing.

Popup ads are awful.  They’re intrusive and frustrating, interrupting your browsing experience to shove spam in your face. They’re so reviled that their original creator, Ethan Zuckerman, posted a public apology in 2014. 

“At the end of the day, the business model that got us funded was advertising,” Zuckerman explained. “I wrote the code to launch the window and run an ad in it. I’m sorry. Our intentions were good.” 

In January, Google announced that version 80 of Chrome, which launched in early February, would start blocking website push notifications. For users who consistently block these notifications, blocking will be enabled by default. Blocking will also be enabled on websites with low opt-in rates.

We estimate that most websites have low opt-in rates.  The problem is that too many brands are terribly pushy with their notification prompts. They start pestering the user the moment they open the site.