Question

Topic: E-Marketing

Google New Tool Bar Feature And Search Marketing?

Posted by Carl Crawford on 2/26/2005 at 10:11 AM ET 250 Points
As you probably know ( if you visit this forum sometimes) that I am BIG google fan!

..... but I was reading this article about the new feature that google was thinking about adding to there tool bar ( version 3 currently in beta ),

https://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050225-104317


The new Auto link feature adds Links to your page if you have certain info on your page. E.g. if you have a book title with ISBN number they put in a link to the book title on Amazon with info. I think this feature would be really cool.

But what if they add a link for other info, e.g. you have a site about audio books and you have links that you put in specificly as an affiliate and they place an ad on your page to the same site with out the affiliate code? You don't get an money and traffic is taken away from your site.

Personally I like the feature with the books but ii don't like the fact that there are going to be more links than were supposed to be. What if I am on a site about Marketing, I don't want to have lots of links to Amazon if I don't have any money to buy the book, it just annoys me.

Google is not going to provide a opt out link,so you cant block it.

I also don't like the fact that there tool bar updates automatically with out the users knowledge.

At the moment I don't mind the fact about the tool bar because it wont affect me since I use FireFox, but google is rumoured to be making a firefox based browser ( they registered [inactive link removed] a few weeks ago and have hired 2 of the main developers for Firefox) so I might have it forced as a "Feature" on me like microsoft's ActiveX or Spy ware.

What do you think?

Should they have the Opt-in for the feature or force it on to users?


Would you be happy if they found away to make the link have an affiliate number if you had one on your page?

This is not a home work question, ( I don't start back until Monday)

Her are some more interesting articles about google and it strategies:

https://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7BCB1AB36C-D097-4451-93C4-...
[inactive link removed]

[Moderator: Inactive link removed from post. 2/14/2011]
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Chris Blackman on 2/27/2005 at 7:46 AM Accepted
    I don't think any web service or browser manufacturer should be forcing anything on to users.

    OK, if you need to load some ActiveX object, they should tell you what it does, why you need it, what you won't be able to do without it. Then give you the choice.

    Personally I dislike it very much when a browser or some other application starts hijacking my browser tool-bar and adding all sorts of stuff without asking me. In fact, it turns me off so much I will almost certainly avoid the product, web-service, application and manufacturer, if I can.

    Some manufacturers are so ubiquitous and their products so necessary, it's impossible to avoid them and their policy requirements. Perhaps the G people are now becoming as rich and arrogant as the M people?

    Let's hope there are enough people on the beta trial (I'm not) to tell them their policies, if these are in fact their policies, are unpopular and unlikely to work.

    Just try telling that to the people in Redmond.

    Cheers

    ChrisB


  • Posted by Pepper Blue on 2/28/2005 at 12:49 AM Accepted
    I don't mind it and I can see how it can be very helpful but what I don't like is that you can't really opt-out of it, this bothers me.

    Google will get a lot of heat from this one and hopefully it will never move out of beta.

    Yes, if the FireFox Google Toolbar adopted this it would be a real dissappointment also, I think they really need to stay away from plugins like this, otherwise they will just end up where everybody else has.
  • Posted by sammykarij on 2/28/2005 at 2:24 AM Accepted
    That will create usability issues. Of course if it hurts the user experience there will be mass exodus to somewhere else.

    I would want to have a control of my browser and however good features you may force me to get I would hate it if you dont give me some options on taking them or not.

    So let them build it, promote it and give us an option.

  • Posted by Carl Crawford on 2/28/2005 at 5:21 AM Author
    I agree with you all, I don't like the fact that they aren't going to have an opt out function.

    Anyway I found this great google tool bar for firefox NOT made by google. It has MORE features then the Ie google tool bar.

    https://googlebar.mozdev.org/installation.html

    It is much better than the built in one, you can search with any of the advanced feature of google like images, directory schools local page etc etc

    Carl Crawford
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