Back to the basics

Thought it may be helpful as a reminder to seasoned 

marketers as well as for those who are new to Internet 

Marketing to get back to the basics.

Widgets

In computing, a web widget is a software widget for the web. It's a small 
application that can be installed and executed within a web page by an end user. Widgets often take the form of on-screen device (clocks, event countdowns, auction-tickers, stock market tickers, flight arrival information, daily weather etc.).

A widget is a stand-alone application that can be embedded into third party sites by any user on a page where they have rights of authorship (e.g. a webpage, blog, or profile on a social media site). Widgets allow users to turn personal content into dynamic web apps that can be shared on websites where the code can be installed. For example, a "Weather Report Widget" could report today's weather by accessing data from the Weather Channel, it could even be sponsored by the Weather Channel. Should you want to put that widget on your own Facebook profile, you could do this by copying and pasting the embed code into your profile on Facebook. Also, don’t forget to take advantage of the IBOtoolbox Widgets available for our useage.

Embeddable chunks of code have existed since the early development of the World Wide Web. Web developers have long sought and used third party code chunks in their pages. Early web widgets provided functions such as link counters and advertising banners.

Major widget types Widgets come in many shapes and sizes, but two of the major types today are Web widgets and Desktop widgets. Web widgets are intended for use on (embedding in) webpages and have major implications in areas such as site performance, SEO and even backlink campaigns. Desktop widgets are embedded on local computers, and do not impact SEO or webpage performance.

As an example, Widgetbox generate Web widgets that can be used on almost any website. Apple Desktop widgets can only be added to the desktop of your local (Apple) computer. 

Usage in social media  End users primarily use widgets to enhance their personal web experiences, or the web experiences of visitors to their personal sites.

The use of widgets has proven increasingly popular, where users of social media are able to add stand-alone applications to blogs, profiles and community pages. Widgets add utility in the same way that an iPhone application does. The developers of these widgets are often offering them as a form of sponsored content, which can pay for the cost of the development when the widget's utility maps to the user's needs in a way where both parties gain. (e.g. a sports news brand might gain awareness and increased audience share in exchange for the utility of current game scores being instantly and dynamically available - the blog which posted the Sports score widget might gain in having a stickier site).

Element of control

One important factor with Widgets is that the host does not control the content. The content or the functionality it provides cannot be modified by the host. The content is pre-published by the publisher/author/service provider and the host can either accept that content or not use the widget. The host does however control the placement of the Widget. Because the host can always take the Widget down, it assures a large degree of mutual advantage and satisfaction with performance and content.

One major consideration in the use of web widgets is how they'll impact the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) of your site. Client-side widgets include pretty much anything rendered in JavaScript or Flash, and are by far the most common types of widgets you'll see today. The content of these widgets is not visible to search engines, and will therefore not be seen as part of the content of your site. Server-side widget content is visible to search engines, but these are slightly harder to embed. In both cases, search bots can see the embed code for the widget itself, so some of the SEO concern can be alleviated this way—but SEO should be part of your consideration in the use of any widget on your site.