Gasta.com Shopping Channel: 2010

Saturday, 13 November 2010

http://www.gasta.com/Shopping/

Gasta search network UK now offering great shopping mart for all your online shopping needs in UK and Ireland http://www.gasta.com/Shopping/

Thursday, 29 April 2010

Gasta Tech Update: Vanessa Newkirk

The ways that consumers initiate their digital experiences and engage with brands are evolving. For the last 10 years, search engines reigned supreme as the way users navigated their online travels. But social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are encroaching on the search engines' dominance as an entryway to the internet and brands.SEM and social media: Bridging engagement and performance

Like SEO, SEM is an effective means for extending and complementing social media efforts. Coordinating SEM and social media strategies ensures that marketers are able to capitalize when the buzz generated from various social media platforms drives users to engage with search engines.

Consumer interaction and engagement are at the core of social media, and this is where brand insights and trends can emerge. While search engines are incorporating real-time information from social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, it is important for brand marketers and agencies to examine the consumer-generated content in terms of insights and trends that they can potentially layer into their search (as well as display) media strategies.

Just as the use of SEO and SEM can help validate a brand, the integration of SEM and social media results can help increase relevancy and validate brand and consumer values by recognizing their interactions in the social sphere and continuing the "relationship" on brand properties. The social space is all about creating brand fans by forging relationships with consumers and providing them with opportunities to engage in more robust ways than more traditional two-dimensional digital media tactics (like paid search and display) can achieve.

The search engine space is about providing relevant results to what the consumer is looking for. Creating bridges between the two strategies based on content data, trends, and insights helps foster post-social-engagement, deepen brand relationships, and facilitate the conversion process.

Putting all the pieces together
Creating a holistic digital media campaign is the ultimate goal, because it allows brands to close the loop between social engagement, which spurs brand affinity and customer retention, and search engine marketing, which is the most common way users start down a conversion path.

Noticing how the various channels affect one another is the critical first path to success. While SEO and social media are structured around long-term strategies, SEM is typically more focused on the short-term conversion-based path.

The ways that consumers initiate their digital experiences and engage with brands are evolving. For the last 10 years, search engines reigned supreme as the way users navigated their online travels. But social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are encroaching on the search engines' dominance as an entryway to the internet and brands.

As technology advances and consumers continue to evolve digitally, their online behavior changes -- it's up to marketers to follow suit if they want to reach and engage with their desired consumer base. Marketers must look at ways to integrate and optimize their digital marketing and media mix to reach and engage with consumers while supporting their business goals. This article will explore ways in which the social and search channels can work together to optimize both conversion performance and consumer engagement with your brand.

Social media and SEO: Finding common ground
Social media and search engine optimization (SEO) have competing goals. One aims to pull users to a designated website, while the other enables and encourages conversations and interactions on third-party properties. To unite these two goals, marketers need to find the common ground between the two, which is the content created and shared between marketers and consumers.

Using social media marketing and search engine optimization together enables marketers to capitalize on instances in which social interactions become search queries. In this era of real-time search results, the ability to capture this intersection point is of growing importance. Consider the use of Twitter. Users who follow more than a handful of people (and brands) will likely have difficulty recalling a message or sponsored tweet. In search of information, consumers typically turn to search engines. If you don't have a search engine marketing plan in place to capture the users exposed to your social media efforts, you're missing valuable opportunities.

The beauty of social media is that it inherently creates sound bites and memorable slogans; for example, if you're running a promotion via a social platform, you want to anticipate the keywords consumers are going to use in their queries and build the appropriate website content needed to stay relevant for those search terms.

SEO and SEM: Enhancing synergies
The connections between SEO and paid search are solid. Beyond their proximity in search engine results pages, the two work together to build relevancy for consumer queries. For example, if a consumer is searching for "Brand X Widget Y" and they see both paid and unpaid results, they are reassured that those links relate to their query and will lead them to the most relevant page.

When the two strategies work together, they also provide marketers the opportunity to direct users in a highly targeted manner. Depending on the product or service query, it might make more sense to lead consumers through a higher funnel process page (such as a homepage). In other instances, it might make more sense to send users to a page that enables a deeper product or service experience. Using both paid and organic search strategies together enables marketers to cover all the bases by supporting various approaches in information seeking and/or purchase decisions differently while serving as way to build their SEO reputation in the process.

In strategically viewing and planning these three channels together for both the long- and short-term, marketers and agencies will be able to see gaps and anticipate opportunities to influence results. While integrated strategies are planned in advance of a campaign or initiative, certain levers of paid search and social media can be adjusted "in market" to respond to evolving consumer behavior and preferences. Search and social platforms can be utilized not only to map and respond to trends, but also to reevaluate SEO strategies to ensure performance traction is gained and present at the search engine level.

What lies ahead for digital media campaigns?
Industry experts are touting 2010 as the year of mobile. With the continued adoption of 3G devices and advances in technology, we see tremendous opportunity for brands to build connection points with consumers on this platform. Social media is proving to be the most readily adopted digital media channel in the mobile space by consumers. It is no surprise that the marketing platforms and extensions for brands are following.

Mobile forum applications like Foursquare show that users are embracing the opportunity to update their profiles or announce their locations to their social followers, so brands should seek to position and integrate the right message at the right time and place (or in the right context).

While other forms of mobile marketing, such as search, are not as widely adopted, people still seek information on the go. So, while SEO and SEM may be overshadowed by the lure of apps and other slicker forms of mobile advertising, the search components of mobile should be considered part of the overall strategy, just as mobile is an extension of the digital platform.

Vanessa Newkirk is VP of media services for Geary Interactive.

Gasta Tech Update: Vanessa Newkirk

Sunday, 25 April 2010

Gasta Tech Update : Investments

Traders should remain cautious.

In an incredible show of resiliency, the markets shrugged off another threat of a deeper correction and headed once again to new highs. The bears have to be extremely frustrated by now as each bout of selling has been quickly absorbed by buyers. The bears have been unable to string together more than two days of selling for several weeks now as the markets relentlessly stair step higher. While the markets continue to climb, some market leaders, such as Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (Nasdaq:GMCR) and Amazon.com(Nasdaq:AMZN), are starting to falter. As mentioned last week, the markets are showing some negative divergences and it’s clear that this rally has been losing momentum. This is normal for a rally that has gone uncorrected for several weeks. The markets will pull back at some point, and traders should remain cautious.

The S&P 500, as represented by the S&P 500 SPDRS (NYSE:SPY), was able to get to marginal new highs on Friday, as it cleared the highs set earlier this month. Despite the strength shown in SPY by erasing last week’s distribution day, SPY appears to be in more of a consolidation than a breakout move higher. Volatility is starting to increase a bit and volume is starting to increase without significant price advance. This is typically showing distribution, so traders should remain on alert over the next few sessions. One possible level to watch is the closing relation of SPY to its 20-day moving average. SPY has respected this average recently and a close beneath it would imply weakness.

Source: StockCharts.com

The Diamonds Trust, Series 1 (NYSE:DIA) ETF, which tracks the Dow Jones Industrial Average, is showing a very similar pattern to SPY. It has managed to clear its prior highs, although not by much. DIA is sitting at new highs while its MACD indicator remains at its lowest level in several weeks. This is an example of a negative divergence, and simply points out that a trend move may be losing momentum. While this is not a reversal signal, it does warn a trader that the move is getting long in the tooth.

Source: StockCharts.com

The chart for the Powershares QQQ ETF (Nasdaq:QQQQ) is also showing a similar divergence, although it has managed to clear its prior high by a wider margin than SPY and DIA. The $50 level was the area to watch, and QQQQ was able to successfully hold this level on a weekly closing basis. Some tech leaders such as Google (Nasdaq:GOOG) and Amazon.com are beginning to lag, so traders should closely watch Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL) as the highest profile tech leader still acting strongly. If AAPL begins to falter, it would surely have an impact on QQQQ and the rest of the sector.

Source: StockCharts.com

The Russell 2000, as represented by the iShares Russell 2000 Index (NYSE:IWM) ETF, has continued to maintain its leadership role as IWM cleared its prior highs before other market index ETFs and closed well above them as well. IWM is once again much extended from its 20-day moving average and as such, traders should be cautious about entering new trades in this space right now. However, despite being overbought, IWM continues to show the strongest structure of the market index ETFs and even the negative divergence in its technical indicators is not as pronounced as the others.

Source: StockCharts.com

Bottom Line
As mentioned last week, the fallout following the Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) fraud charge was only a single distribution day until proven otherwise. The markets responded quite strongly by quickly negating the weakness and trading to new highs this week. The current rally is reminding me of the tail end of the financial crisis, when traders couldn’t believe how the market was dropping every day - only this time, the market's going up! Ultimately, the markets will need to correct, and this will likely happen when the majority of traders decide that buying the dip is foolproof. While traders should always be cautious and stick to their plans, this becomes even more important when the markets begin to trade at extremes. This is when fear of missing a move becomes most likely as traders see stocks rallying day in and day out. While it’s definitely possible that the markets can continue to rally unabated, the current environment is vulnerable to violent shakeouts, and traders should account for this in their trading plans. By sticking to high-quality setups, traders can continue to take advantage of the great market environment, while avoiding a disaster on a reversal.

By Joey Fundora

Joey Fundora is an independent trader located in South Florida. Joey focuses on using technical analysis techniques to uncover supply and demand imbalances in equities. To see more of his work, visit his site on

Thursday, 11 February 2010

Investopedia on Gasta.com

Gasta.com Get The Financial Edge!
Whether it's a buyer's market or a seller's market, all homebuyers have one thing in common: they don't want to get ripped off. But how do you know if you're getting a fair deal on the home you're prepared to place an offer on? Read on to find out how to evaluate the price of any home so you can make a sound investment decision.

1. Research Recently Sold, Comparable Properties
A comparable property is one that is similar in size, condition, neighborhood and amenities. One 1,200-square-foot, recently remodeled, one-story home with an attached garage should be listed at roughly the same price as a similar 1,200-square-foot home in the same neighborhood. That said, you can also gain valuable information by looking at how the property you're interested in compares in price to different properties. Is it considerably less expensive than larger or nicer properties? Is it more expensive than smaller or less attractive properties? Your real estate agent is the best source of accurate, up-to-date information on comparable properties (also known as "comps"). You can also look at comps that are currently in escrow, meaning that the property has a buyer but the sale is not yet complete.

2. Check Out Comparable Properties That Are Currently on the Market
In this case, you can actually visit other homes and get a true sense of how their size, condition and amenities compare to the property you're considering buying. Then you can compare prices and see what seems fair. Reasonable sellers know that they must price their properties similarly to market comparables if they want to be competitive.

3. Look at Comparables That Were on the Market Recently but Didn't Sell
If the house you're considering buying is priced similarly to homes that were taken off the market because they didn't sell, the property you're considering may be overpriced. Also, if there are a lot of similar properties on the market, prices should be lower, especially if those properties are vacant. Check out the unsold inventory index for information about current supply and demand in the housing market. This index attempts to measure how long it will take for all the homes currently on the market to be sold given the rate at which homes are currently selling. (For further reading, see Selling Your Home In A Down Market.)

4. Consider Market Conditions and Appreciation Rates in the Area
Have prices been going up recently or going down? In a seller's market, properties will probably be somewhat overpriced, and in a buyer's market, properties are apt to be underpriced. It all depends on where the market currently sits on the real estate boom-and-bust curve. Even in a seller's market, properties may not be overpriced if the market is on the upswing and not near its peak. Conversely, properties can be overpriced even in a buyer's market if prices have only recently begun to decline. Of course, it can be difficult to see the peaks and valleys until they're history. Also consider the impact of mortgage interest rates and the job market on the economy. (Knowing your mortgage choices is important. For more information, read Shopping For A Mortgage .)

5. Are You Buying a For-Sale-by-Owner Property?
A for-sale-by-owner (FSBO) property should be discounted to reflect the fact that there is no 6% (on average) seller's agent commission, something that many sellers don't take into consideration when setting their prices. Another potential problem with FSBOs is that the seller may not have had an agent's guidance in setting a reasonable price in the first place, or may have been so unhappy with an agent's suggestion as to decide to go it alone. In any of these situations, the property may be overpriced.

6. What Is the Expected Appreciation for the Area?
The future prospects for your chosen neighborhood can have an impact on price. If positive development is planned, such as a major mall being built, the extension of light rail to the neighborhood, or a large new company moving to the area, the prospects of future home appreciation look good. Even small developments like plans to add more roads or build a new school can be a good sign. On the other hand, if grocery stores and gas stations are closing down, the home price should be lower to reflect that, and you should probably reconsider moving to the area. The development of new housing can go either way - it can mean that the area is hot and is likely to be in high demand in the future, increasing your home's value, or it can result in a surplus of housing, which will lower the value of all the homes in the area.

7. What Is Your Real Estate Agent's Opinion?
Without even analyzing the data, your real estate agent is likely to have a good gut sense (thanks to experience) of whether the property is priced appropriately or not and what a fair offering price might be.
8. Does the Price Feel Fair to You?
If you're not happy with the property, the price will never seem fair, even if you get a bargain. Even if you pay a little over market value for a home you love, in the end, you won't really care.

9. Test the Waters
Even in a seller's market, you can always offer below list price just to see how the seller reacts. Some sellers list properties for the lowest price they're willing to take because they don't want to negotiate, while others list their homes for higher than they expect to earn because they expect to negotiate downward or they want to see if someone will make an offer at the higher price. If the seller accepts your price or counteroffer, you'll get an indication that the property probably wasn't worth what it was listed for and you have a good chance at getting a fair deal. On the other hand, some sellers may underprice their properties in the hope of generating lots of interest and sparking a bidding war. Unlike on eBay, however, the seller doesn't have to simply sell to the highest bidder: sellers can reject any and all offers that don't meet their expectations. If you have your heart set on the property, be warned that some sellers may be offended by lowball offers and refuse to work with you if you chose to employ such a tactic. Also, when you offer less than the list price, you may increase your risk of being outbid by another buyer. (For strategies that will help you to come out on top in any negotiation, read Getting What You Want.)

10. Get an Appraised Value and a Home Inspection
Once you're under contract, the lender will have an appraisal of the property done (usually at your expense) to protect its financial interests. The lender wants to make sure that if you stop making your mortgage payments, it'll be able to get a reasonable amount of its money back when it forecloses on your home. If the appraisal comes in at considerably less than your offering price, you may not be getting a fair deal. In fact, the lender may not even let you purchase the home unless the seller is willing to bring the price down. A home inspection, which is completed after you're under contract, will also give you a way to gauge your offering price. If the home needs many expensive repairs, you'll want to ask the seller to make the repairs for you or discount the purchase price so you can make them yourself.

Conclusion
When you're shopping for a home, it's important to understand how homes are priced so you can make a sound investment and reach a fair agreement with the seller. Using these tips, you'll be able to make a confident and well-informed offer on any home in any market.

Friday, 5 February 2010

Gasta Investing advice from Berkshire Hathaway

5 Investing Statements That Make You Sound Stupid
Some people love to talk stocks, and some people love to laugh at those people when they try to sound smart and important but don't know what they're talking about. If you want to be a part of group No. 1 and avoid being the brunt of the jokes from group No. 2, you've come to the right place. This article will help you sound knowledgeable and wise while talking about the market. Here are five things you shouldn't say, why you shouldn't say them and what an experienced investor would have said instead.

Statement No. 1: "My investment in Company X is a sure thing."
Misconception: If a company is hot, you'll definitely see great returns by investing in it.

Explanation: No investment is a sure thing. Any company can have serious problems that are hidden from investors. Many big-name companies - Enron, WorldCom, Adelphia and Global Crossing, to name a few - have fallen. Even the most financially sound company with the best management could be struck by an uncontrollable disaster or a major change in the marketplace, such as a new competitor or a change in technology. Further, if you buy a stock when it's hot, it might be overvalued, which makes it harder to get a good return. To protect yourself from disaster, diversify your investments. This is particularly important if you choose to invest in individual stocks instead of or in addition to already-diversified mutual funds. To further improve your returns and reduce your risk when investing in individual stocks, learn how to identify companies that may not be glamorous, but that offer long-term value.(To learn about other "sure things" that went bad, read The Biggest Stock Scams of All Time.)

What an experienced investor would say: "I'm willing to bet that my investment in Company X will do great, but to be on the safe side I've only put 5% of my savings in it."

Statement No. 2: "I would never buy stocks now because the market is doing terribly."
Misconception: It's not a good idea to invest in something that is currently declining in price.

Explanation: If the stocks you're purchasing still have stable fundamentals, then their currently low prices are likely only a reflection of short-term investor fear. In this case, look at the stocks you're interested in as if they're on sale. Take advantage of their temporarily lower prices and buy up. But do your due diligence first to find out why a stock's price has been driven down. Make sure it's just market doldrums and not a more serious problem. Remember that the stock market is cyclical, and just because most people are panic selling doesn't mean you should, too. (To learn more read, What Are Fundamentals? and Buy When There's Blood In The Streets.)

What an experienced investor would say: "I'm getting great deals on stocks right now since the market is tanking. I'm going to love myself for this in a few years when things have turned around and stock prices have rebounded."

Statement No. 3: "I just hired a great new broker, and I'm sure to beat the market."
Misconception: Actively-managed investments do better than passively managed investments.

Explanation: Actively-managed portfolios tend to underperform the market for several reasons. Here are three important ones:

1. Whenever you make a trade, you must pay a commission. Even most online discount brokerage companies charge a fee of at least $5 per trade, and that's with you doing the work yourself. If you've hired an actual broker to do the work for you, your fees will be significantly higher and may also include advisory fees. These fees add up over time, eating into your returns.
2. There is the risk that your broker might mismanage your portfolio. Brokers can pad their own pockets by engaging in excessive trading to increase commissions or choosing investments that aren't appropriate for your goals just to receive a company incentive or bonus. While this behavior is not ethical, it still happens.
3. The odds are slim that you can find a broker who can actually beat the market consistently if you don't have a few hundred thousand dollars to manage.

Instead of hiring a broker who, because of the way the business is structured, may make decisions that aren't in your best interests, hire a fee-only financial planner. These planners don't make any money off of your investment decisions; they only receive an hourly fee for their expert advice. (To learn more, Understanding Dishonest Broker Tactics and Words From The Wise On Active Management.)

What an experienced investor would say: "Now that I've hired a fee-only financial planner, my net worth will increase since I'll have an unbiased professional helping me make sound investment decisions."

Statement No. 4: "My investments are well-diversified because I own a mutual fund that tracks the S&P 500."
Misconception: Investing in a lot of stocks makes you well-diversified.

Explanation: This isn't a bad start - owning shares of 500 stocks is better than owning just a few stocks. However, to have a truly diversified portfolio, you'll want to branch out into other asset classes, like bonds, treasuries, money market funds, international stock mutual funds or exchange traded funds (ETF). Since the S&P 500 stocks are all large-cap stocks, you can diversify even further and potentially boost your overall returns by investing in a small-cap index fund or ETF. Owning a mutual fund that holds several stocks helps diversify the stock portion of a portfolio, but owning securities in several asset classes helps diversify the complete portfolio. (To get started, read Diversification Beyond Equities and Diversification: It's All About (Asset) Class.)

What an experienced investor would say: "I've diversified the stock component of my portfolio by buying an index fund that tracks the S&P 500, but that's just one component of my portfolio."

Statement No. 5: "I made $1,000 in the stock market today."
Misconception: You make money when your investments go up in value and you lose money when they go down.

Explanation: If your gain is only on paper, you haven't gained any money. Nothing is set in stone until you actually sell. That's yet another reason why you don't need to worry too much about cyclical declines in the stock market - if you hang onto your investments, there's a very good chance that they'll go up in value. And if you're a long-term investor, you'll have plenty of good opportunities over the years to sell at a profit. Better yet, if current tax law remains unchanged, you'll be taxed at a lower rate on the gains from your long-term investments, allowing you to keep more of your profit. Portfolio values fluctuate constantly but gains and losses are not realized until you act upon the fluctuations.

What an experienced investor would say: "The value of my portfolio went up $1,000 today - I guess it was a good day in the market, but it doesn't really affect me since I'm not selling anytime soon."

Conclusion
Conclusion
These misconceptions are so widespread that even your smartest friends and acquaintances are likely to reference at least one of them from time to time. They may even tell you you're wrong if you try to correct them. Of course, in the end, the most important thing when it comes to your investments isn't looking or sounding smart, but actually being smart. Avoid making the mistakes described in these five verbal blunders and you'll be on the right path to higher returns.

Tuesday, 26 January 2010

Group: Search Engine Land

Gasta shopping announcement Group: Search Engine Land
Subject: Search Engine Land Announcement: SMX West Rate Increase Jan 30
The Early Bird Rate for Search Marketing Expo – SMX West expires Saturday, January 30th. Register now and save up to $350 on your All Access ticket. Why should you attend SMX West? Read on...

- More than 150 of the world’s most knowledgeable speakers will present at SMX West. They’re selected based on ability AND willingness to share the tactics and strategies that made them successful. See who’s speaking in addition to featured keynote Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO. http://searchmarketingexpo.com/west/2010/speakers

- With 50+ sessions and multiple tracks, you’ll find exceptional content you need to become a more effective, innovative and inspired internet marketer. Check out the agenda: http://searchmarketingexpo.com/west/2010/agenda-at-a-glance

- The ideal assortment of networking opportunities to renew industry connections and make new ones. Come meet your next client, vendor, partner, employee (or employer) at SMX West. There’s no better place to grow your professional network.

Join us March 2-4 in Santa Clara, CA. Register today and pay only $1245 for a three-day All Access pass. Remember, early bird rates end January 30. Don’t miss out! Register at http://searchmarketingexpo.com/west/2010/register

PS: Interested in sending the whole team? You save an additional 20-35% when registering at least three people. Check out our attractive group registration rates.

Gasta.com Shopping Channel

Saturday, 13 November 2010

Adzones for Gasta search network

http://www.gasta.com/Shopping/

Thursday, 29 April 2010

Gasta Tech Update: Vanessa Newkirk

Gasta Tech Update: Vanessa Newkirk

Sunday, 25 April 2010

Gasta Tech Update : Investments

Thursday, 11 February 2010

Investopedia on Gasta.com

Friday, 5 February 2010

Gasta Investing advice from Berkshire Hathaway

Tuesday, 26 January 2010

Group: Search Engine Land

Gasta Shopping

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