SEO — search-engine optimization — is a four-letter word to some, representing the dark arts of manipulating Google and other search engines through blog spamming, keyword stuffing and other odd-sounding activities. But SEO deserves respect, and recent moves by Facebook and The New York Times underscore why it can’t be ignored.

Unlike paid search, in which marketers buy links through Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and others, SEO involves tapping into the “free” listings every search engine has. SEO is like PR for search-engine listings. You want a good review about you in a newspaper? A press release, a call to a reporter or other PR tactics can help. Want a good review in the search world in the form of top rankings and traffic? SEO can help.

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Starbucks will be giving away millions of songs next month as it launches its new cooperative venture with Apple. From October 2nd to November 7th more than 10,000 locations nationwide will offer customers a “Song of the Day”. Packaged in redeemable iTunes gift cards these complimentary cards will be handed out by Starbucks partners in stores everywhere.

You may recall that Starbucks and Apple reached launched the partnership in music delivery along with the new iPod line up earlier this month. Starbucks said it will give away 1.5 million downloads per day for a total of more than 50 million free songs. Customers will be able to buy music wirelessly at all Starbucks coffee shops without paying Wi-Fi connection fees.

When shoppers sleep outside of stores just to be one of the first to buy an iPhone, it’s obvious that Apple Inc. is a company that enjoys fanatical brand loyalty. However, this brand success is not a result of dumb luck or forces beyond Apple’s control; it’s part of a well-thought-out plan to deliver strong products and create an Apple culture. Find out more about these and other strategies that Apple employs to achieve its tremendous customer loyalty.

1. A store just for Apple: Apple has historically been troubled by big-box sales staffers that are “tragically ill-informed” about its products, a problem that made it difficult for Apple to set its very different products apart from the rest of the computing crowd. By creating a store strictly devoted to Apple products, the company has not only eliminated this problem but has made an excellent customer-loyalty move. Apple stores are a friendly place where Mac and PC users alike are encouraged to play with and explore the technology that the company offers. This is a space where Macheads can not only get service but also hang out with others who enjoy Apple products just as much as they do. By creating this space, Apple encourages current and new customers to get excited about what it has to offer.
2. Complete solutions: Apple’s products complement and complete each other. Buy an iPod, and you can download music via iTunes. For the average user, most Mac programs are produced by Apple. This sort of control over the entire user process, from hardware to software, strengthens customer loyalty. Apple users generally don’t have to stray to find products and solutions they want.
3. Are you a Mac?: Let’s face it, Apple is a hip brand. It pushes a strong identification with everything young, up-to-the-minute and smart. Consider Apple’s I’m a Mac campaign. The Mac guy is smooth and confident, while PC appears uptight and old. Once you’ve become smooth, would you want to go back to uptight?
4. Varied products: Many consumers may not be ready to buy an Apple computer, but they’re willing to give gadgets like the iPod or iPhone a try. By selling products with lower entry costs, it creates an opportunity for new users to be introduced to Apple. If these users enjoy their gadgets, they’re more likely to consider buying an Apple computer in the future.
5. Proprietary formats: Apple products are often not compatible for use with other systems, at least where customer transitions are concerned. If a user has a digital music collection comprised entirely of .aac files, it’s not likely he’ll want to start from scratch with a new MP3 player that won’t accept them. Instead, this customer will probably look at replacing his old Mac with a new Apple model when the time comes.
6. Media fodder: Media outlets, especially bloggers, love to write about Apple. Why? Because Apple makes it so easy. With leaked rumors about new developments, its very own expo and mysterious shutdowns of its online store, Apple gift wraps news stories that are just begging for speculation and hype. By perpetuating this cycle of media frenzy, Apple reminds its customers that they’re excited about buying new Apple products now and in the future.
7. Education sales: By selling its products to schools and universities, Apple turns classrooms into showrooms. If students go through school using Apple products, they become comfortable with the interface and familiar with the superior performance the brand offers. By creating this early exposure, Apple captures customers before they even know that they are customers.
8. Products that deliver: Apple carefully considers what consumers are looking for, so its products are a result of both extensive research and strong design. This meticulous planning is a large contributor to Apple’s high customer-satisfaction rates. It’s plain and simple: robust and easy-to-use products not only make your customers happy, but also make them want to buy more products from you in the future.
9. Outsourcing unpleasantness: With Apple products, the average consumer’s interaction with the company is likely to be low. Unless something goes wrong, you don’t have any reason to speak with an Apple customer service representative. Of course, the iPhone presented an opportunity that could have made Apple much more involved, similar to administering iTunes for the iPod. With a phone, interaction becomes multifaceted. You have to consider billing errors, quality of wireless service, contracts and a number of other factors that often lead to customer frustration. With the iPhone, Apple was wise to stick with building a good product and letting AT&T handle the service.
10. Consistency: All of Apple’s products have the same basic architecture. Because of this consistency, customers who already own Apple products have a good idea of what they’ll be getting before they make a purchase. They know that it will be easy to adapt to new hardware, and this makes them more open to making a repeat purchase.
11. New innovations: Although the architecture of Apple products is consistent, its portfolio is not. The company offers consumers a number of different ways to enjoy its products. By giving customers an opportunity to employ Apple in their living rooms, pockets and offices, Apple makes it easy to stay loyal to a brand they already like.
12. Attractiveness: From packaging to aesthetic design to user-interface experience, Apple makes its products accessible and attractive. Bright colors, a smiling icon and slick-looking hardware remind customers every time they use Apple products that what Apple offers is appealing.

Google has indicted its intention to expand on the type of ads it uses for its search results page.

The ads could include image or video ads in a variety of ways, offering more options to advertisers. Google insists that whatever image and video ads are shown, they will match the type of content you?re searching. So you?re more likely to see an image ad if you?re conducting an image search. The same goes for video. Remaining relevant with these types of targeted ads is a self-proclaimed objective for Google.

Another way in which more rich ads have already been in use is the placement of a Google Checkout icon beside an ad, indicating it as an accepted form of payment. Additionally, Google has displayed a map with an option for directions alongside some text ads. In other recent Google news, the company?s book search options have increased, layering in personal and social options for queries.

When the PC computer hit the scene, few people saw it as an advertising tool. But Surface, Microsoft’s PC-killer, is built for brands. See what it can do.

It’s not often that you get a chance to glimpse the future. But at a recent Warner Bros. press junket, Microsoft showed Hollywood the Surface, a table-top computing platform that makes “The Matrix” look, well… real.

For all the talk of interactivity, virtual worlds and Web 2.0, little has changed in terms of how we interface with the information age since the PC and mouse came on the scene in the 1980s.

But the touch-screen-operated Surface may soon spark the next wave in the digital revolution, killing the PC and the mouse, and replacing them with a computer that is an organic extension of our physical world.

So what is it?
It’s hard to make a coffee table look sexy, and harder still if you’re Microsoft, which regularly plays the ubiquitous girl-next-door to Apple’s iconic sex symbol. But in Surface, Microsoft finally combined robust computing power with eye-popping aesthetics that can inspire its own legions of brand evangelists. What sets Surface apart is a sleek chassis that delivers a new order of functionality, bridging the divide between the physical and the virtual.

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