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Some Googlers conducted a very interesting set of “man on the street” interviews about the differences between a web browser and a search engine. If you believe this “randomly” sampled data is accurate, we can assume that most web users don’t understand (or care about) the difference between the two.

Interviewer: Scott Suiter, Edited by Tristan Kneschke, Camera: Ji Lee. More details here.

The last frame is interesting:

“Less than 8% of people who were interviewed on this day knew what a browser was.”

What does this mean for your business? Web users are increasingly dependent on search and search engines to find their way around the web. If your website does not appear in the top few organic (non-paid) or paid search results, you are missing out on a LOT of incremental web traffic.

According to a recent Forrester Research survey of internet marketers, 2009 is going to be a big year for social media and mobile marketing. The chart below explains it all (via Marketing Pilgrim):

Forrester Marketing Survey Results

My only concern with these results is that it skews heavily towards more savvy internet marketers and does not reflect the larger business landscape. I base that on the fact that I don’t see any evidence that 80% of all marketers are currently using SEO and Pay Per Click advertising.

Based on that assumption, can we hypothesize that the growth in social and mobile marketing won’t be as strong as Forrester predicts?

[UPDATE] See the bottom of this post for Google’s Response

Just a friendly reminder to be EXTRA CAREFUL with any emails that claim to be from the Google Adwords team claiming that your credit card has been declined or your account is about to expire. These “phishing” attempts are becoming extremely sophisticated and you can’t rely on poor grammar, misspellings, or shady return addresses as the “red flags”.

According to this Adwords Help section, “Please remember that Google’s AdWords team will never send an unsolicited message asking for your password or other sensitive information by email or through a link.”

The reason I bring this up now is that Google has been alerting Adwords users to be on the lookout for especially clever emails. For example, a client of mine received the following. Could you tell whether or not this is legitimate?

From: Google-AdWords [mailto:adwords@google.com]
Sent: Mon 11/10/2008 11:41 AM
To: XXXXXXX@XXXXXXXX.com
Subject: Google AdWords Alert

Hello,

Our attempt to charge your credit card on Mon, 10 Nov 2008 22:41:48 +0600
for your outstanding Google AdWords account balance was declined.
Your account is still open. However, your ads have been suspended. Once
we are able to charge your card and receive payment for your account
balance, we will re-activate your ads.

Please update your billing information, even if you plan to use the
same credit card. This will trigger our billing system to try charging
your card again. You do not need to contact us to reactivate your
account.

To update your primary payment information, please follow these steps:

1. Log in to your AdWords account at: https://adwords.google.com
2. Click the ‘My Account’ tab.
3. Click ‘Billing Preferences’ link.
4. Click Edit next to the appropriate ‘Payment Details’ section.
5. Enter your new or updated payment information.
6. Click ‘Save Changes’ when you have finished.

In the future, you may wish to use a backup credit card in order to
help ensure continuous delivery of your ads. You can add a backup
credit card by visiting your Billing Preferences page.
——————————————————————
This message was sent from a notification-only email address that does
not accept incoming email. Please do not reply to this message. If you
have any questions, please visit the Google AdWords Help Centre at
https://adwords.google.com/support/?hl=en_GB to find answers to
frequently asked questions and a ‘contact us’ link near the bottom of
the page.
—————————————————————-

Thank you for advertising with Google AdWords.
We look forward to providing you with the most effective advertising available.

Sincerely,

The Google AdWords Team

My client did the right thing and forwarded this to me. Looks pretty real, right? If you knew what to look for, it would be easy to spot the fake. When I hovered over the link that appears to point to http://adwords.google.com, I could see that it actually pointed to this address:

http://adwords.google.com.session-00532277764291583975.56959803760655195967.com69.ru/

Again, the first part of the URL looks legitimate until you get to the very end. The actual site behind this is com69.ru, presumably a Russian phishing site. I didn’t bother to visit that page to avoid scripts that could damage my computer, but needless to say it would not be easy to untangle that mess.

The lesson is, don’t click on links in emails that ask you for personal information, even if they come from “trusted” sources. You should always navigate directly to those sites by typing the URL into your address bar then logging into your account. Most sites will present you with any legitimate account-related information once you are properly logged in.

What are some of the more clever phishing attempts you’ve seen?

[UPDATE] Google’s Trust and Safety Team responded to a phishing report that I filed with this email. Their response was concise, timely, and most of all, useful. Nice job. Here is the full text:

From: Google Trust & Safety Team <phishing@google.com>
To: XXXXXX@yoursearchadvisor.com
Date: Wed, Nov 12, 2008 at 6:50 AM
Subject: Re: [#XXXXXXXXXX] AdWords Phishing URL Report Form

Hello,

Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention. The email and website you have discovered is not owned by Google and is characterized as phishing. Our security specialists are now working on disabling the site and email address.

Please note Google will never send unsolicited mass messages asking you to re-enter your password or re-confirm your personal information. If you need to change your account information, such as your billing details or your password, always sign in to your AdWords account directly.

Keeping our users safe from phishing is something we take very seriously. To help us keep yourself and others safe, we ask that you continue to report any suspicious Google messages or websites to us at phishing@google.com

We appreciate your assistance in keeping Google users safe from identity theft.

Sincerely,
Google Trust & Safety Team

On a slightly tangential note, a guest post I wrote on SEOmoz’s YOUmoz blog (member submissions) is now live. One of the aspects of successful SEO teams is good cooperation between the SEO lead and the developers that actually implement the recommendations.This post suggests ways to build and improve that relationship.

The post is here: Programmers Deserve Love Too

It’s no secret that most Search Engine Marketers really enjoy the challenges and rewards of Search Engine Marketing. It’s the thrill of the chase and the hunter instinct that motivates us to pursue customers or prospects online, learning from past efforts, and refining our strategies to increase our effectiveness over time.

We are internet fishermen.

The author fishing on Captiva Island, FL.

We sit just off the banks of the sea of information that is the internet. We cast a line out with a lure meant to attract our desired target. We hope to reel in “the big one” that we just KNOW is lurking out there somewhere.

Just like successful fishermen, we learn to think like our prey. We study them, figure out where they congregate, learn their habits, likes and dislikes. We understand what motivates them to take action. We know they are fickle creatures that will scatter at the first whiff of an artificial hook.

Just like successful fishermen, we obsessively check and re-check our tackle. Are we sending the right message at the right time in the right place? Is our target hungry for what we are serving or are they likely to pass in the hopes that something tastier comes along? Is our offer presented in an irresistible way? Are we simply splashing around or do we have a legitimate chance of hooking a lunker?

Just like successful fishermen, we have to BELIEVE that the next cast is going to land the fish of a lifetime, the stuff memories (and a few “fish tales”) are made of. If the lure comes back empty, we take note of the conditions that created an unsuccessful attempt and use that information to increase our chances of success on the next cast.

This metaphor could go on forever, but I think you get the point. Whether you are doing Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Pay Per Click (PPC), or both, Search Engine Marketing is about trial and error. It’s about being able to scan the seemingly endless ocean of opportunity and knowing where, when, and how you are going to present your message. It’s about learning how to adapt successful strategies and tactics from one industry or target market to another because just like lakes, no two are alike. Fish respond differently based on their geography, history, culture, species and other environmental factors.

Anybody can throw a line in the water and get lucky by waiting long enough. Good internet marketers know that enduring success is not random, but rather the byproduct of preparation and opportunity.

But hey, a bad day of fishing is still better than a good day at work. Are you sure you are fishing where the fish are, or are you merely bobbing around?