Business and Marketing

Google intros several new features in AdWords.

Noting that there were more than 50 billion downloads of mobile apps in 2013, 60% of which were never installed, Google AdWords VP of Product Management Jerry Dischler today announced several additions to help marketers increase app engagement:

Keyword suggestions. A new AdWords tool will point marketers to the most accessed keywords in Google Play, the company's app store, to drive more downloads.

App install ads. Ads run in YouTube videos invite viewers to install content-relevant apps.

Deep-linking. This feature aims at increasing app engagement. “Say someone is playing a game on their phone and see an ad for the Hulu show Deadbeat,” Dischler said. “They can click the ad and deep-linking can take them to the most relevant point in that episode and start playing it.”

Metrics. Upgraded measurement of installations and conversion.

Other new metrics will include a system to measure in-store transactions that were initiated online. Dischler mentioned a pilot program that RKG did with Express that, when resulting offline sales measurements were included, showed that return on ad spend increased 102%. “Based on information like this,” he said, “marketers can bid based on the full value of their buys.”

Other new tools—some of which are still in development and will be rolled out in coming months—include an automated bidding program to bring enterprise-level capabilities to all advertisers, enhanced reporting via a new interface that allows marketers to easily click-and-drag new attributes and metrics into their spreadsheets, and a “Drafts and Experiments” tool that allows A/B testing of tweaks in campaigns.

Business Breaking News: Developing Your Mobile Web Presence: Where to Start

Business owners know that a mobile-ready site is critical for success on the Web, but navigating the maze of design and development options can be daunting. But it doesn't have to be so intimidating. A few basic guidelines can help you make the most of your company's mobile presence.

Ryan Matzner, director at New York-based Web development agency Fueled said the first step is to figure out what your business needs. "A lot of clients come to us not knowing what they actually need — a mobile app, a responsive site or something else," Matzner said. "Sometimes, they are not clear on what responsive means, for example, so that's a great piece of education."

In basic terms, a responsive website changes its appearance based on the screen size of the device on which it is loaded. Users who interact with a website on a full-size desktop or laptop screen will see a "traditional" site that contains full navigation, copy and images. Customers who visit the site on a tablet or mobile device will see a version of the site that has rearranged, added or eliminated elements of the page to best serve the device's capabilities and the user's needs. A mobile user visiting a restaurant's website, for example, may be greeted with a Call for Reservations button and the restaurant's hours, rather than a large animated image that might be on the full-size site.

Commodity Online News: Chana market rises on short covering open interest drops 1.02%