I just went out to Lunch and...

I popped out at lunch to grab a bite to eat and bumped into these creatures! Imagine my surprise when 3 giant birds came along, I'm talking 8 foot high here... if you don't believe me check out the pictures I managed to snap on my phone...

I can bet this lady was unawares!













If any body knows what it is about please let me know! There was 3 different shapes and colours, Bizarre! Cheers, Tracy.

Google Hires Goats

In an effort to be Greener Google has contracted 200 Goats to keep the land surrounding their Mountain View based HQ trimmed and fertile.

It has been reported that it is apparently the same cost as getting a crew of lawn mowers and the fuel they would use to do the same job, what a way to bring down spending, I say ‘goat on them’ to Google!

Quick one...
Patient: Doctor Doctor I feel like a Goat!
Doctor: How long have you been feeling like that for?
Patient: Since I was a kid.


Go to Search Engine Journal for the full story. Visit Mancala if you are looking for ways to save money with a more effective Internet Marketing Strategy.

Using YouTube for Marketing - The Interactive Easter Egg Hunt

We're all looking forward to a well-deserved long Easter Weekend and just to help you get in the mood, how about a virtual Easter Egg Hunt? It's a clever use of YouTube (and has a lot less calories than the real thing!).

It really illustrates how you can make use of the new online media channels to do something fun and a little bit different with your internet marketing strategy - and give people a reason to share a link on their Facebook or Twitter accounts. Imagine if you linked the virtual eggs to an ecommerce store you could buy them from..? Enjoy!

So now what? When error messages just confuse you more.

We quite often get phone calls from our clients when they are using one of the many eccomerce store or SEO management products we recommend and we are more than happy to help. Over the years we have had more unusual requests for error messages that make little sense to our clients - or us!

It's little wonder that you can find users hiding under desks or hitting the dreaded panic button amusingly put in the secret Santa stocking in December when the following error messages are displayed - read the Econsultancy article here.

Mixing Traditional & Internet Marketing Methods

We're always banging on about using the internet to make your marketing spend go further in the current financial climate, but to get the highest return on your investment it is much better to mix this in with more traditional methods like letters & mailings.

When I was suggesting this to an ecommerce client the other day there was a look of absolute fear on their face! The data entry!! So, I pointed out that you can download all of your customer data as a .csv file and import it into a spreadsheet such as Microsoft Excel and then mail merge with your marketing letter..."Mail merge?" was the reply.

So, for all of you out there who are also wondering how on earth you can collect the data from your online store and use it to not only send emails and autoresponders, here is a great little video from YouTube showing you the basics of mail merge.

Great random tip for SEO

If, like most people, you registered your domain name way back when you set up from your bedroom / garage / little space under the stairs and since have posh offices that you can swing a cat in (well, at least a large mouse anyway) have you thought about updating your WHOIS record to reflect your new contact details?

Not only is this a method people use to find out your contact details, but also it is potentially a way Google uses to check your contact details on your site match up with your business details - a trust issue.

There is more and more talk about trust being part of Google's grand SEO plan, so have a quick check today.

WolframAlpha.com - The Next Google?

Reports in the press today are talking about the new search engine that is hoping to become as big as Google - WolphramAlpha.com. What's more, its British.

Professor Stephen Wolfram, founder of software company Wolfram Research, is launching the new 'computational knowledge engine' in May and is hoping it will not only accurately answer your question, it can understand what you are looking for. Think of the computer in Star Trek or Red Dwarf and you will start getting the idea.

Now as wonderful as this all sounds, as soon as I hear 'it will be just like Star Trek' I begin to worry. However, all will be revealed in May when the new site goes live and I'm sure we will be all on there trying to find the answer to life, love, the universe & everything. And then it can tell us what the right question to ask is.