Coast Digital Blog

The national newspaper websites are awash today with reports on Google’s refusal to remove a racially offensive image of Michelle Obama.

The image in question depicts the first lady with simian features and is currently appearing as the top result in Google image searches for “Michelle Obama”.

In reaction to numerous complaints, Google took out the following advert, which has appeared often at the top of the results page today:

Were this notice and a brief statement sufficient, or should Google take further action and block the distasteful image?

The official line

A statement issued by Google has clarified that the image will remain, although it does include an apology to anyone that the image offended:

“...we do not remove a page from our search results simply because its content is unpopular or because we receive complaints concerning it... We apologize if you've had an upsetting experience using Google. We hope you understand our position regarding offensive results."

Big decisions

It’s a difficult question, of course. No-one wants over-regulated search results and if Google removed this image, surely it would have to follow suit in other cases? This could easily spiral out of control and lead to unsatisfactory and uncomprehensive search results for us all in the future. It could also significantly impact upon search engine optimisation techniques if taken too far.

It would be incredibly difficult for Google to decide where it should draw the line. How many people would need to find an image offensive or distasteful for it to be ruled “unsuitable” for certain search results?

Current restrictions

Google does remove certain images from its search results if it is required to do so by law. However, since the site featuring the Michelle Obama image is permissible and the White House has declined to comment on the matter so far, it seems that it will certainly remain in the SERPs.

So what do you think - has Google done the right thing in standing its ground on the issue, or should it take more control and further regulate its search results? 

*Update*

The Guardian is reporting that the owner of the blog in question has removed the image. However, it still remains in the image search results, and presumably will do so until the blog is next crawled by Google.

*Update 2 - 1st December 2009*

Google seems to have been listening after all. It now gives you the opportunity to report images, even when displayed on normal web search - not just image search - pages.

I’ve been monitoring the buzz from Econsultancy's Online Marketing Masterclasses and I haven’t been surprised to hear some very familiar messages. I spotted one that I thought was worthy of further discussion on Econsultancy’s Twitter feed yesterday afternoon:

@Econsultancy: #OMM Key lessons learnt by Dell - Customers ARE talking about your brand. Either you can be aware and reach out, or you can ignore them...

Where to start? At the beginning, of course

We know that people who don’t work in our industry can find online marketing and social media rather intimidating. They become especially daunting when companies realise - like Dell did - that people are already talking about them and they can’t control it.

From experience with customers across a variety of sectors, we know that every organisation requires a tailored approach to address individual challenges. This is certainly not a ‘one size fits all’ industry. With this in mind, I have compiled some top tips which I hope will provide a good starting point for anyone planning an online strategy:

1. Conduct a situation analysis

If you haven’t engaged with customers online before, it is sensible to review your current online presence and evaluate the awareness of your brand. This kind of analysis can provide you with an insight into any issues that you might not be aware of (negative perceptions, inaccurate information in the marketplace, brand champions and so on) and give you a clear idea of what your immediate focus should be.

2. Identify your audience

Each organisation needs to have a clear indication of who it is that it wants to communicate with online.  Remember that diverse groups communicate in different ways across distinct platforms. A third sector organisation will have a very different target audience to an online music retailer, for example, and this should be reflected in their online strategies.

Selecting the appropriate channels to communicate with your desired target market will ensure that your online efforts are far from fruitless.

3. Plan and schedule projects realistically

Sometimes it’s good to dive headfirst into new projects and see where they take you; but when it comes to online marketing, it’s often far wiser to test the waters first – or work with a digital marketing agency that knows them implicitly.

Making yourself work to a structured and manageable plan can mean the difference between a successful and durable campaign - and blowing your annual budget in month one.  

4. Agree key performance indicators that reflect your wider business goals

For some organisations it’s all about visitor numbers, while for others cost per click is key. Appearing on page one for search terms that don’t make you any money isn’t a viable long term strategy, nor is ploughing budget into expensive PPC ads that don’t convert to sales.

That said, don’t be afraid to try new things and experiment with budgets and keywords. The results will always be measurable so you can see which tests really worked.

5. Track the results of your campaign using analytics

Coast Digital is all about ‘marketing you can measure’. We can confidently say this because online marketing offers complete measurability. We are able to continuously monitor, analyse and report on the very latest results from your analytics which enables us to optimise your campaign to be as profitable as possible.

Do you have this in my size?

If this tailored approach sounds like something that your business needs, get in touch. We’d love to help you launch an online marketing campaign that meets your individual requirements.

We've all become quite familiar with Bing since its arrival in BETA mode at the end of May. However, Microsoft has now rolled out a UK version - meaning its results will come under the microscope of the online marketing world.

Heavy investment from Bing to get the UK's SERPs right means the following features are now available (they're the same as in the US):

• Real time Twitter updates
• Visual Search
• Hover Mode
• A tie in with Wolfram Alpha - the computational search engine

One thing you can be sure of is that Microsoft will support the new product launch with heavy profile marketing. Plans for marketing campaigns on radio and across digital platforms mean we'll hear a lot more of the Bing product.

It was interesting to read what Ashley Highfield (Managing Director of Microsoft's Consumer and Online Divisions in the UK) had to say about Bing's aggressive positioning:

"My objective is to get Bing up to a 10 per cent share of the search market. I'm not expecting to take Google's pre-eminent position overnight, though obviously, that's a long-term ambition.
 
"This is not going to be an overnight fight – this is trench warfare. People will use both Bing and other search engines, and hopefully switch totally to Bing, because it's an easier, simpler way of searching the web. Bing is a better place to hang out."

Realistically, though, things can't get much worse for Bing. With an estimated market share of just 3% I guess the only way is up.

The news nicely coincided with a recent Bing experience of mine. Having bought a new laptop with the latest version of Windows, I found the browsers were set to Bing. I had no choice but start using the engine to get other browsers and settings in place.

To be honest the experience wasn't that horrific, and I can see how the engine appeals to regular users. But, having used Bing to do genuine searches, here are the reasons I won’t be switching over anytime soon:

• I work in Online Marketing – everyone follows the big “G”
• I do not value the Bing tools – whereas others such as Google Maps are market leading
• The algo still doesn’t give me confidence – based on a recent test case where a ‘no index/ no follow’ website can still appear in position 3.

I am all for healthy competition. So, if Highfield’s statements ring true over the next year, it will make it an interesting arena. If Bing can make it a better place to hang out then they will be a step closer to Google.

Keeping your children from viewing unsuitable material on the web isn’t easy. Google’s solution is called SafeSearch, and it’s designed to filter out adult content.

SafeSearch is used in homes and classrooms across the world but, until now, it has suffered from one major flaw – a child could easily turn it off.

That’s just changed. This week Google introduced a new feature: the ability to lock SafeSearch.

It’s quite simple to operate. All you have to do is locate the ‘Search settings’ link on the top right corner of Google’s home page, and then change the SafeSearch filter to ‘strict’. You then click on the relevant link to lock the filter.

At this point Google will prompt you to log in to your Google Account. Once you have done this, the following screen will let you know that Safe Search is being locked across all Google domains.

After a short wait, you will be notified that SafeSearch has been successfully locked. And there’s no mistaking whether the function is on or not – when SafeSearch is locked, you’ll see that the home page features some giant, coloured balls.

The new function is extremely useful for parents and teachers, who can now see at a glance whether their children are using the SafeSearch filter. If the balls aren’t there, it’s easy enough to click on ‘verify’ and bring them back.

Classrooms, in particular, can be hectic places. This bold, visual feature will be very popular with teachers who can quickly see what content their students have access to.

As with most of Google’s new features this one also comes with a nice little video tutorial. If you work with children, it’s certainly worth a quick look.