World of Search search engine marketing blog can now be found here
World of Search evolved and has now become This Digital Life and looks at the world of digital marketing and all the latest digital marketing news.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Friday, August 31, 2007
Be Careful Who You Call a Friend!!!
There have been a couple of instances recently which have made me consider whether we are giving away too much personal information on Facebook and other social networking sites.
The first was when I got an alert on my Facebook homepage with a little broken heart symbol next to it letting me know that somebody I knew had changed their status from “in a relationship” to “single”. Now the person in question was not somebody I am particularly close to, I know this person, but do not necessarily consider them a friend, and certainly not a close friend. It got me thinking, if I changed an element of my status as personal as whether I was in a relationship or not, or possibly something even something more so like whether I like men or women! (not that I am thinking about it!) then would I want it broadcast to my whole friend list? No is the answer.
There are certain things I want to keep to myself and a select group of close friends and family, and within my friend list I have old friends I have not spoken to for years, casual acquaintances, and friends of friends I have met once or twice. I don’t particularly want to reduce my friend list significantly to avoid this as there may come a point when I want to contact these people but I certainly don’t want to be broadcasting my private life to them. So what’s the answer to this conundrum? At the minute I don’t know, I’m hoping the people at Facebook might find a way to sort that out for me!
The second instance was on the long drive home from work when I was listening to the radio. There was a discussion about how it was possible to access other peoples Facebook accounts and a caller pointed out the amount of information that was contained within your profile and more specifically if you collected that information you could pretty much steal someone’s identity. I was a little dubious at first but then when I looked into it they were not far wrong. If you are a “friend” of somebody or they have a public profile you can pick up their full name, their date of birth, their town of birth, their partners name, and in some instances mobile number as well. Not a bad start if you want to try and pass yourself off as somebody else! Coupled with this is the fact that most peoples passwords to accounts are based on information such as this so if you try enough combinations you may be able to guess their current passwords as well!
I guess the moral of the story is, keep your profile private and be careful who you call a friend!
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Google and MSN in bed together!?!
One for the conspiracy theorists amongst you!
Who appears top when you perform a search for the word “search” on google? Well surely its on of Google’s pages right? Wrong! MSN’s live search is the top ranked page for this phrase.
And what about when you perform the same search on the live platform? You guessed it, Google appears in position 1 with yahoo relying on a paid listing to gain some exposure.
Coincidence? Or a hint of an underlying alliance? Ill leave that up to you to decide!
Who appears top when you perform a search for the word “search” on google? Well surely its on of Google’s pages right? Wrong! MSN’s live search is the top ranked page for this phrase.
And what about when you perform the same search on the live platform? You guessed it, Google appears in position 1 with yahoo relying on a paid listing to gain some exposure.
Coincidence? Or a hint of an underlying alliance? Ill leave that up to you to decide!
Friday, August 24, 2007
NOSO - the anti-social social network
NOSO is an online group which which has been set up to provide "temporary disengagement from social networking environments. The NOSO experience offers a unique opportunity to create NO Connections by scheduling NO Events with other NO Friends."
On the platform you set up an account but you are listed simply as a number and without a picture. The NOSO team then arrange events called NOSOs, which take place in designated cafés, parks, libraries, bookstores, and other public spaces. Participants – whose identities remain unknown to one another – agree to arrive at an assigned time and remain alone, quiet and un-connected, while at the same time knowing that another “Friend” is present in the space.
By the very nature of the programme are these people however not participating in the phenomenon they seek to detach themselves from? Bunch of damn hypocrits!
check it out at: http://www.nosoproject.com/
Thursday, August 23, 2007
In your face!-book
Computer geeks of the world rejoice today as it is announced that online gaming is more popular in the US than social networking sites.
As they don their headsets and log on to play another marathon session on Call of Duty or Medal of Honor, they shared a smug smile that they were for once in the majority group!
The research conducted by Parks Associates reports that 34% of US adults internet users play online games every week while 29% view videos online through YouTube and related sites and 19% visit social networking sites.
Good news then for the in-game advertising market which could be the next big phenomenon if the market continues to grow at such a rate (for the same quarter in 2006 the online gaming figures was 15%).
Static in game advertising has been around for a number of years now but the advent of online gaming allows for dynamic ad placements on different platforms and it is this form of in game advertising holds a provides the most appealing options for an advertiser.
According to the IAB in-game advertising “joins the dots between above and below the line marketing.” Utilising the ability to serve track and update ads which the internet allows whilst taking its execution and method from TV and outdoor.
It has moved on from the simple signage formats of the first in-game ads to the utilisation of 3d images, video, and more subtle product placement techniques. On top of the targeting options the different games and online profiles allow this gives it the potential for a highly effective medium.
I predict in-game advertising is going to take off in the next 12 months and the advertisers which come up with the most effective way to utilise its strength will reap the benefits.
As they don their headsets and log on to play another marathon session on Call of Duty or Medal of Honor, they shared a smug smile that they were for once in the majority group!
The research conducted by Parks Associates reports that 34% of US adults internet users play online games every week while 29% view videos online through YouTube and related sites and 19% visit social networking sites.
Good news then for the in-game advertising market which could be the next big phenomenon if the market continues to grow at such a rate (for the same quarter in 2006 the online gaming figures was 15%).
Static in game advertising has been around for a number of years now but the advent of online gaming allows for dynamic ad placements on different platforms and it is this form of in game advertising holds a provides the most appealing options for an advertiser.
According to the IAB in-game advertising “joins the dots between above and below the line marketing.” Utilising the ability to serve track and update ads which the internet allows whilst taking its execution and method from TV and outdoor.
It has moved on from the simple signage formats of the first in-game ads to the utilisation of 3d images, video, and more subtle product placement techniques. On top of the targeting options the different games and online profiles allow this gives it the potential for a highly effective medium.
I predict in-game advertising is going to take off in the next 12 months and the advertisers which come up with the most effective way to utilise its strength will reap the benefits.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Google Change Their Top Placement Algorithm
Google announced two weeks ago that they would be changing the algorithm for determining whether the top PPC listings appeared above the natural results or to the left of them.
Previously in the top ad placement formula, your Quality Score and your actual CPC, which is determined in part by the bids of advertisers below you, where considered to determine where you should appear. Even if you have a high quality ad, if advertisers below you are not bidding very much, your actual CPC may not be high enough to qualify your ad to appear in a top position.
Your actual CPC will continue to be determined by the auction, but subject to a minimum price for top spots. You have to achieve a threshold set by Google to get promoted to the box - previously this was calculated by your (QS * Actual CPC). As the actual CPC is partly determined by the bid of the advertiser below, in some cases you were held back from promotion by a low bid from the ad below. The calculation for promotion is now (QS * Max CPC), if this exceeds the threshold then you jump to the box, and your actual CPCs would be unaffected.
This model appears to be now in use, with a lot of changes taking place in the PPC market, most notably money supermarket dropping form first position on the term “car insurance” for the first time in months.
Is this actually google trying to help us out? Yeah right. It is just another way for them to bump up the CPCs paid by the top advertisers and increase their revenues. Think about it, top position is now determined by the people who have the highest ceiling CPCs! By applying the new formula advertisers trying to achieve this position will end up paying their maximium and we are back into the old basic auction model.
Google are basically saying, “Tell us how much you want top spot!” and then ultimately making you pay it.
If you have PPC ads knocking around top position for high volume terms, Id keep an eye on my CPC if I were you!
Previously in the top ad placement formula, your Quality Score and your actual CPC, which is determined in part by the bids of advertisers below you, where considered to determine where you should appear. Even if you have a high quality ad, if advertisers below you are not bidding very much, your actual CPC may not be high enough to qualify your ad to appear in a top position.
Your actual CPC will continue to be determined by the auction, but subject to a minimum price for top spots. You have to achieve a threshold set by Google to get promoted to the box - previously this was calculated by your (QS * Actual CPC). As the actual CPC is partly determined by the bid of the advertiser below, in some cases you were held back from promotion by a low bid from the ad below. The calculation for promotion is now (QS * Max CPC), if this exceeds the threshold then you jump to the box, and your actual CPCs would be unaffected.
This model appears to be now in use, with a lot of changes taking place in the PPC market, most notably money supermarket dropping form first position on the term “car insurance” for the first time in months.
Is this actually google trying to help us out? Yeah right. It is just another way for them to bump up the CPCs paid by the top advertisers and increase their revenues. Think about it, top position is now determined by the people who have the highest ceiling CPCs! By applying the new formula advertisers trying to achieve this position will end up paying their maximium and we are back into the old basic auction model.
Google are basically saying, “Tell us how much you want top spot!” and then ultimately making you pay it.
If you have PPC ads knocking around top position for high volume terms, Id keep an eye on my CPC if I were you!
First the Earth Now the Universe!
As reported on the BBC new website:
Google Earth given celestial view
By Jonathan Fildes Science and technology reporter, BBC News
The constellations of Andromeda, Hydra and Vulpecula are now just a mouse click away for amateur star-gazers, following the launch of Google Sky. The tool is an add-on to Google Earth, a program that allows users to search a 3D rendition of our planet's surface. Sky will allow astronomers a chance to glide through images of more than one million stars and 200 million galaxies. Optional layers allow users to explore images from the Hubble Space Telescope as well as animations of lunar cycles.
"The basic idea is to take Google Earth and turn it on its head," Ed Parsons, Geospatial technologist at Google told the BBC News website. "So rather than using it to view imagery of the Earth, use it to view imagery of space."
Dr John Mason of the British Astronomical Association, Britain's largest body for amateur astronomers said: "Light pollution and air pollution is now so bad in many areas that all you can see when you look up is a few dozen stars. "If this helps people to realise just what they are missing, it is a jolly good thing."
To use the new system, users will need to have Google Earth installed on their computer.
Digital astronomers can then zoom into an area from which they want to view the night sky.
"Click a button and the world flips round and you see the sky from that particular location," explained Mr Parsons. "[The view] would be the constellations that you would see oriented in the sky on that particular day at that particular time."
Users can overlay the night sky with other information such as galaxies, constellations and detailed images from the Hubble Space Telescope.
Imagery for the system came from six research institutions including the Digital Sky Survey Consortium, the Palomar Observatory in California and the United Kingdom Astronomy Technology Centre.
Much of the imagery can be found through searches on the internet but Google hope the add-on will be simpler and more fun.
Mr Parsons said: "The sky you will be seeing will be a completely clear and you will be able to see objects which are very faint indeed - that you can only see with very large telescopes."
Virtual tour
Sky is not the first time Google has ventured into space.
In March 2006, the company launched Google Mars which allows users to explore the surface of the Red Planet.
Another service, Google Moon, lets users view the sites of the Apollo moon landings.
Both services use data from the US Space Agency Nasa, with which Google signed an agreement in December 2006.
The Space Agreement Act was intended to put "the most useful of Nasa's information on the internet".
At the time, Nasa administrator Michael Griffin said the agreement would soon allow "every American to experience a virtual flight over the surface of the moon or through the canyons of Mars".
The two organisations also said they would collaborate in a variety of areas including adding data collected by Nasa to Google Earth.
However, Mr Parsons said the latest tool was not a product of the partnership.
Mass market
Google Sky is not the only tool that allows astronomers to explore the night sky from their computer.
For example, Stellarium is a free open source tool that gives people a chance to access more than 210 million stars, in addition to planets and moons.
The software is the brainchild of Fabien Chereau, a Research Engineer at the Paris Astronomical Observatory, and is used in many planetariums.
Like the suite of Google applications, it allows people to explore places of interest on Earth, as well as mission sites on the Moon and Mars.
Commercial alternatives also exist, such as Imaginova's Starry Night, that offers a range of software packages aimed at beginners to "the serious astronomer".
Apple Mac users can download a Starry Night widget that will allow them to see the night sky from any location on Earth.
"The other astronomy packages are designed for maybe the more professional amateur market," said Mr Parsons. "We are aiming this more at the mass market. If people get hooked and interested they may migrate to these other packages."
Google Earth given celestial view
By Jonathan Fildes Science and technology reporter, BBC News
The constellations of Andromeda, Hydra and Vulpecula are now just a mouse click away for amateur star-gazers, following the launch of Google Sky. The tool is an add-on to Google Earth, a program that allows users to search a 3D rendition of our planet's surface. Sky will allow astronomers a chance to glide through images of more than one million stars and 200 million galaxies. Optional layers allow users to explore images from the Hubble Space Telescope as well as animations of lunar cycles.
"The basic idea is to take Google Earth and turn it on its head," Ed Parsons, Geospatial technologist at Google told the BBC News website. "So rather than using it to view imagery of the Earth, use it to view imagery of space."
Dr John Mason of the British Astronomical Association, Britain's largest body for amateur astronomers said: "Light pollution and air pollution is now so bad in many areas that all you can see when you look up is a few dozen stars. "If this helps people to realise just what they are missing, it is a jolly good thing."
To use the new system, users will need to have Google Earth installed on their computer.
Digital astronomers can then zoom into an area from which they want to view the night sky.
"Click a button and the world flips round and you see the sky from that particular location," explained Mr Parsons. "[The view] would be the constellations that you would see oriented in the sky on that particular day at that particular time."
Users can overlay the night sky with other information such as galaxies, constellations and detailed images from the Hubble Space Telescope.
Imagery for the system came from six research institutions including the Digital Sky Survey Consortium, the Palomar Observatory in California and the United Kingdom Astronomy Technology Centre.
Much of the imagery can be found through searches on the internet but Google hope the add-on will be simpler and more fun.
Mr Parsons said: "The sky you will be seeing will be a completely clear and you will be able to see objects which are very faint indeed - that you can only see with very large telescopes."
Virtual tour
Sky is not the first time Google has ventured into space.
In March 2006, the company launched Google Mars which allows users to explore the surface of the Red Planet.
Another service, Google Moon, lets users view the sites of the Apollo moon landings.
Both services use data from the US Space Agency Nasa, with which Google signed an agreement in December 2006.
The Space Agreement Act was intended to put "the most useful of Nasa's information on the internet".
At the time, Nasa administrator Michael Griffin said the agreement would soon allow "every American to experience a virtual flight over the surface of the moon or through the canyons of Mars".
The two organisations also said they would collaborate in a variety of areas including adding data collected by Nasa to Google Earth.
However, Mr Parsons said the latest tool was not a product of the partnership.
Mass market
Google Sky is not the only tool that allows astronomers to explore the night sky from their computer.
For example, Stellarium is a free open source tool that gives people a chance to access more than 210 million stars, in addition to planets and moons.
The software is the brainchild of Fabien Chereau, a Research Engineer at the Paris Astronomical Observatory, and is used in many planetariums.
Like the suite of Google applications, it allows people to explore places of interest on Earth, as well as mission sites on the Moon and Mars.
Commercial alternatives also exist, such as Imaginova's Starry Night, that offers a range of software packages aimed at beginners to "the serious astronomer".
Apple Mac users can download a Starry Night widget that will allow them to see the night sky from any location on Earth.
"The other astronomy packages are designed for maybe the more professional amateur market," said Mr Parsons. "We are aiming this more at the mass market. If people get hooked and interested they may migrate to these other packages."
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Google Phonebook - Get your name in lights!
I stumbled across this result on Google today. On a search for boxer Ricky Hatton up popped a result I had never seen before, a phonebook listing for somebody in the US named Ricky Coil along with his phone number and address. I had heard they were planning a phonebook tool but this is the first time I have witnessed it for myself.
On clicking through the link you are taken to the Google Phonebook page which includes the option to view the persons address on Google Maps. On further investigation though the tool doesn’t appear to work yet, further searches for common names return no results and also a direct search for the initial result under the persons exact name also brought no results back. Looks like another case of Google doing some selective testing on a new product prior to full launch.
Obviously it will take Google a while to build a full directory, unless they do so through purchasing one, so it may be a while till this becomes common place. Not sure Id want my details plastered all over Google but I suppose if it is a purely opt in service then there should be no complaints.
On clicking through the link you are taken to the Google Phonebook page which includes the option to view the persons address on Google Maps. On further investigation though the tool doesn’t appear to work yet, further searches for common names return no results and also a direct search for the initial result under the persons exact name also brought no results back. Looks like another case of Google doing some selective testing on a new product prior to full launch.
Obviously it will take Google a while to build a full directory, unless they do so through purchasing one, so it may be a while till this becomes common place. Not sure Id want my details plastered all over Google but I suppose if it is a purely opt in service then there should be no complaints.
What does personalisation mean for advertisers?
The personalisation of search results is well documented and evidence of its arrival is clear to see particularly in the Google results. I have blogged in the past about the differing search results based on search history, the listings of site visits and also the use of IP information as a targeting tool.
But what does this all mean to advertisers? What impact is this going to have on your search marketing activity?
Position Variances
If the search engines are going to begin giving prominence to previously visited sites then you can expect variance in positions with then search engine results. For a user who has visited your site before you could be ranked top where as to a new user you could be lower down the results. This effectively is the same model as is used in the PPC listings with the metric click through rate (CTR) however this would occur at the individual level rather than the keyword.
If this begins to occur it will create confusion with advertisers as you will there will be no accurate measure of what position you are actually ranking in. This will make the performance metric of position redundant.
We are seeing this already in the PPC market with one user seeing an ad in a completely different position to another based on their search history. This makes managing a campaign much more complicated and needs to be fully considered when devising strategies.
Advance Targeting
On the positive note, this could, if used intelligently, allow advertisers to target their natural search campaigns to their key demographic. Although the basics of SEO will be needed to achieve a decent position in the first place once this is in place effective use of creative and website copy could lead to a increased performance for a particular segment and so increased positions. This will be dependant on the extent personalisation takes effect and will need a very clever implementation but should be possible.
I’m sure there will be more effects which come about as a result of the continued personalisation of results with in the search engines but for now these are the key two. What this space, it’s going to get increasingly complicated!
But what does this all mean to advertisers? What impact is this going to have on your search marketing activity?
Position Variances
If the search engines are going to begin giving prominence to previously visited sites then you can expect variance in positions with then search engine results. For a user who has visited your site before you could be ranked top where as to a new user you could be lower down the results. This effectively is the same model as is used in the PPC listings with the metric click through rate (CTR) however this would occur at the individual level rather than the keyword.
If this begins to occur it will create confusion with advertisers as you will there will be no accurate measure of what position you are actually ranking in. This will make the performance metric of position redundant.
We are seeing this already in the PPC market with one user seeing an ad in a completely different position to another based on their search history. This makes managing a campaign much more complicated and needs to be fully considered when devising strategies.
Advance Targeting
On the positive note, this could, if used intelligently, allow advertisers to target their natural search campaigns to their key demographic. Although the basics of SEO will be needed to achieve a decent position in the first place once this is in place effective use of creative and website copy could lead to a increased performance for a particular segment and so increased positions. This will be dependant on the extent personalisation takes effect and will need a very clever implementation but should be possible.
I’m sure there will be more effects which come about as a result of the continued personalisation of results with in the search engines but for now these are the key two. What this space, it’s going to get increasingly complicated!
More evidence of personalisation
On a Google search yesterday I spotted something I had never seen before which is further evidence of the increasing personalisation of search results. On a search result for the AdWords help centre Google told me how many times I had visited the page and when I last visited (see screenshot). At the time I was signed in to my Google homepage and so it would be linked to my session I am sure but it is a further indication we are on our way to a fully personalised SERP. It will be interesting to see if they begin to use this as a CTR metric as with the PPC model and use it to rank the results in the same way.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Universal search beginning to take effect
Google's Universal Search project has been well documented and for a while now it has been integrating its other properties (i.e. maps, product search etc) into the standard SERP. But whilst searching this week I noticed that once a search is completed which produces maps results Google are now limiting the natural search results to 7 listings for page 1. This has huge implications for search engine optimisers as it makes it even more difficult to get front page exposure. It is also safe to assume that as other types of results are integrated into Universal Search that this number could easily reduce further.
We have seen this with Ask as well with their new platform. Due to their inclusion of images video and definitions into their SERP they are now only showing 8 paid search listings. Google could easily follow suit as this can be used (as it has been by Ask) to free up real estate on the right hand side of the page. they will need to be careful how they go about doing this however as the paid listings are their main revenue driver and any reduction or change in their format could reduce earnings significantly.
It will be interesting to see how universal search pans out and if it has the desired effect. Personally if I want to search for an image I am more than happy to visit the image search page directly and likewise with video, but maybe for the less educated user a one stop search shop this would be more appealing.
We have seen this with Ask as well with their new platform. Due to their inclusion of images video and definitions into their SERP they are now only showing 8 paid search listings. Google could easily follow suit as this can be used (as it has been by Ask) to free up real estate on the right hand side of the page. they will need to be careful how they go about doing this however as the paid listings are their main revenue driver and any reduction or change in their format could reduce earnings significantly.
It will be interesting to see how universal search pans out and if it has the desired effect. Personally if I want to search for an image I am more than happy to visit the image search page directly and likewise with video, but maybe for the less educated user a one stop search shop this would be more appealing.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Something new in Google results?
Something I have just spotted in the Google results which I have never seen before. On a search for nike the result for the official nike website was showing a plus symbol accompanied by the phrase Stock quote for Nike and one clicking it the result expanded down to show the Google finance result for the Nike sports company.
I have never seen this in the search results before and to me it shows a new level of interaction in the SERP. The ability to expand and minimise sections of the page to show and remove certain information. Although there has long been the option to see similar page results this has always been through a new search page and involved having to navigate away from the original results. With the ability to expand down results there would be the option to see the top 10 pages for a website or other similar information without losing your original search. I think we could see further usages of this button in the future.
I have never seen this in the search results before and to me it shows a new level of interaction in the SERP. The ability to expand and minimise sections of the page to show and remove certain information. Although there has long been the option to see similar page results this has always been through a new search page and involved having to navigate away from the original results. With the ability to expand down results there would be the option to see the top 10 pages for a website or other similar information without losing your original search. I think we could see further usages of this button in the future.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Breaking news - Tradedoubler buys The Search Works!
TradeDoubler Acquires The Search Works - The Uk’s Largest Search Engine Marketing Company - And Sister Company The Technology Works
• TradeDoubler has acquired all shares in The IMW Group, which includes The Search Works and those companies trading as The Technology Works• The newly combined entity will confirm TradeDoubler as one of the largest online marketing companies in Europe• The acquisition expands TradeDoubler’s performance-based product portfolio into the search market and provides opportunities for further geographic expansion
TradeDoubler AB (publ) today announced its acquisition on July 25th of all the issued shares in Interactive Marketing Works Ltd and its subsidiaries (‘The IMW Group’). The purchase price amounts to £56 million.
The IMW Group consists of two trading entities, ‘The Search Works’, a well established search engine marketing agency and ‘The Technology Works’, a technology provider for search engine marketing, whose products include ‘BidBuddy®’ - a search management technology.
The IMW Group is a profitable and well managed company which has built up a significant client base, including such brand names as Asda, Comet, EasyJet, First Choice, Interflora and The Carphone Warehouse. The Group has a strong reputation within the industry for professionalism and driving return on investment for its clients. The Group was founded in 1999 and currently employs 108 staff. Turnover for the rolling twelve months preceding June 2007 amounted to £69 million and gross profit for the same period was £7.8 million. The acquisition complements and expands TradeDoubler’s existing performance-based product portfolio which includes affiliate marketing, online advertising campaigns, pay-per-call and an online tracking and ad-serving technology. The newly combined offering has great synergies for both TradeDoubler’s and The IMW Group’s client bases. Search engine marketing and affiliate marketing are the largest direct response online marketing channels, with significant growth forecasted in both areas. The Search Works is active in the UK, while The Technology Works has additional presence in Europe and in Asia. TradeDoubler has an extensive presence throughout Europe which spans 18 countries.
“Product expansion and further internationalisation are key components in TradeDoubler’s growth strategy. The acquisition addresses both these areas by rolling out The Search Works and The Technology Works throughout Europe and by utilising The Technology Works’ Asian foothold to assess the roll out of TradeDoubler’s product offerings into Asian markets.” says William Cooper, CEO, TradeDoubler.
Nick Hynes, CEO, The IMW Group adds, “There is a natural affinity between TradeDoubler’s products and services and the search management technology that we offer. We also believe there is a strong cultural fit between our two organisations. Together we will be able to offer unprecedented online marketing services and tools to a range of clients across Europe and beyond.”
TradeDoubler also released its second quarter financial results today and reported strengthened gross profit margins and solid revenue and gross profit performance. Revenues for the period from April to June 2007 increased by 27.9%, compared to the same period in 2006, to reach SEK 512.6 million (approx €56m) and gross profit was up 25.4% to SEK 143 million (approx €15.5)
About TradeDoublerTradeDoubler is a Pan-European digital marketing company offering a range of performance-based marketing solutions. TradeDoubler's products and services provide companies with the tools and expertise to drive results online whether they are looking to generate sales or drive brand awareness. Headquartered in Sweden, the company boasts a unique European reach with local offices in 16 countries across Europe and a presence in a further two countries. With a breadth of expertise across multiple industry sectors and a network of more than 118,000 website publishers TradeDoubler helps deliver online results for over 1,200 advertisers across Europe including a mix of local and international companies such as Apple Store, Dell, Telia Sonera, eBay and Kelkoo.
• TradeDoubler has acquired all shares in The IMW Group, which includes The Search Works and those companies trading as The Technology Works• The newly combined entity will confirm TradeDoubler as one of the largest online marketing companies in Europe• The acquisition expands TradeDoubler’s performance-based product portfolio into the search market and provides opportunities for further geographic expansion
TradeDoubler AB (publ) today announced its acquisition on July 25th of all the issued shares in Interactive Marketing Works Ltd and its subsidiaries (‘The IMW Group’). The purchase price amounts to £56 million.
The IMW Group consists of two trading entities, ‘The Search Works’, a well established search engine marketing agency and ‘The Technology Works’, a technology provider for search engine marketing, whose products include ‘BidBuddy®’ - a search management technology.
The IMW Group is a profitable and well managed company which has built up a significant client base, including such brand names as Asda, Comet, EasyJet, First Choice, Interflora and The Carphone Warehouse. The Group has a strong reputation within the industry for professionalism and driving return on investment for its clients. The Group was founded in 1999 and currently employs 108 staff. Turnover for the rolling twelve months preceding June 2007 amounted to £69 million and gross profit for the same period was £7.8 million. The acquisition complements and expands TradeDoubler’s existing performance-based product portfolio which includes affiliate marketing, online advertising campaigns, pay-per-call and an online tracking and ad-serving technology. The newly combined offering has great synergies for both TradeDoubler’s and The IMW Group’s client bases. Search engine marketing and affiliate marketing are the largest direct response online marketing channels, with significant growth forecasted in both areas. The Search Works is active in the UK, while The Technology Works has additional presence in Europe and in Asia. TradeDoubler has an extensive presence throughout Europe which spans 18 countries.
“Product expansion and further internationalisation are key components in TradeDoubler’s growth strategy. The acquisition addresses both these areas by rolling out The Search Works and The Technology Works throughout Europe and by utilising The Technology Works’ Asian foothold to assess the roll out of TradeDoubler’s product offerings into Asian markets.” says William Cooper, CEO, TradeDoubler.
Nick Hynes, CEO, The IMW Group adds, “There is a natural affinity between TradeDoubler’s products and services and the search management technology that we offer. We also believe there is a strong cultural fit between our two organisations. Together we will be able to offer unprecedented online marketing services and tools to a range of clients across Europe and beyond.”
TradeDoubler also released its second quarter financial results today and reported strengthened gross profit margins and solid revenue and gross profit performance. Revenues for the period from April to June 2007 increased by 27.9%, compared to the same period in 2006, to reach SEK 512.6 million (approx €56m) and gross profit was up 25.4% to SEK 143 million (approx €15.5)
About TradeDoublerTradeDoubler is a Pan-European digital marketing company offering a range of performance-based marketing solutions. TradeDoubler's products and services provide companies with the tools and expertise to drive results online whether they are looking to generate sales or drive brand awareness. Headquartered in Sweden, the company boasts a unique European reach with local offices in 16 countries across Europe and a presence in a further two countries. With a breadth of expertise across multiple industry sectors and a network of more than 118,000 website publishers TradeDoubler helps deliver online results for over 1,200 advertisers across Europe including a mix of local and international companies such as Apple Store, Dell, Telia Sonera, eBay and Kelkoo.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Adapt and Prosper
As the evolution of the search engine results page (SERP) pick up speed advertisers need to begin asking the question, what does it all mean to me?
The advent of Google’s universal search and the inevitable following suit of the other search engines will signify a new dawn in search engine marketing. I have listed below a few things which I think will be impacted and that must be considered when optimising for the future of search:
PPC: Logic suggests that with the introduction of more information onto the SERP that the number of paid links will be reduced. But then they are the main income source of the page, so will they? I think the likely hood is that the number will be reduced to 6-8 listings per page (as with the new ask.com pages), enough to free up some inventory but not significantly reduce earnings. In fact, this sort of reduction could drive up the price of first page exposure as everyone clambers for prime position so there may be no reduction in revenues at all. This could mean advertisers see a drop off in traffic as the page the are appearing on begins to drop, and a rise in costs as they fight to achieve exposure.
Dependant on the positioning of the paid listings in the page there could also be changes in click through rate. If you are adding in additional elements into the does this mean the clicks are diluted between them? I would suggest this is down how the information is arranged and the prominence each is given.
SEO: Again there could be a drop in the number of natural listings which appear in the SERP as additional inventory is introduced. This makes the importance of front page exposure even more valuable and harder to come by!
There may also be a reduction in the text which is displayed for each result in order to fit in more listings. If this is the case it would become extremely important to ensure that title tags are not only targeted to the keyword but are enticing to the user.
Additional Products: With the addition of “other” results into the SERP it will become increasingly important to take a holistic approach and incorporate all of them into an effective search campaign. Image search, maps, product feeds, book listings, will all become important sources of traffic as their prominence and exposure increases.
There is a big win to be had for the advertiser which embraces the changing face of search and optimises for all elements of the page. Rather than a threat to each individual element this should be seen as an opportunity for front page exposure on numerous fronts. The companies/advertisers which adapt with the SERP will prosper, those that don’t will be left wondering where all the traffic went!
The advent of Google’s universal search and the inevitable following suit of the other search engines will signify a new dawn in search engine marketing. I have listed below a few things which I think will be impacted and that must be considered when optimising for the future of search:
PPC: Logic suggests that with the introduction of more information onto the SERP that the number of paid links will be reduced. But then they are the main income source of the page, so will they? I think the likely hood is that the number will be reduced to 6-8 listings per page (as with the new ask.com pages), enough to free up some inventory but not significantly reduce earnings. In fact, this sort of reduction could drive up the price of first page exposure as everyone clambers for prime position so there may be no reduction in revenues at all. This could mean advertisers see a drop off in traffic as the page the are appearing on begins to drop, and a rise in costs as they fight to achieve exposure.
Dependant on the positioning of the paid listings in the page there could also be changes in click through rate. If you are adding in additional elements into the does this mean the clicks are diluted between them? I would suggest this is down how the information is arranged and the prominence each is given.
SEO: Again there could be a drop in the number of natural listings which appear in the SERP as additional inventory is introduced. This makes the importance of front page exposure even more valuable and harder to come by!
There may also be a reduction in the text which is displayed for each result in order to fit in more listings. If this is the case it would become extremely important to ensure that title tags are not only targeted to the keyword but are enticing to the user.
Additional Products: With the addition of “other” results into the SERP it will become increasingly important to take a holistic approach and incorporate all of them into an effective search campaign. Image search, maps, product feeds, book listings, will all become important sources of traffic as their prominence and exposure increases.
There is a big win to be had for the advertiser which embraces the changing face of search and optimises for all elements of the page. Rather than a threat to each individual element this should be seen as an opportunity for front page exposure on numerous fronts. The companies/advertisers which adapt with the SERP will prosper, those that don’t will be left wondering where all the traffic went!
Thursday, July 5, 2007
The answers in the toilet!
So what is the driving force behind the adoption of mobile internet usage? Accessible website? Faster mobile download? More functional handsets? Nope…its toilet breaks and office rules!
According to a study by cellular news a large number of Britains are using their mobiles in the office toilets to access the internet in a bid to bypass company rules on internet usage. The study goes on to say that more than 25% of the UK’s workforce is deprived of web access in some way and are turning to mobile handsets to get past the legislation.
Maybe this could be the catalyst for the mobile internet revolution!!!
According to a study by cellular news a large number of Britains are using their mobiles in the office toilets to access the internet in a bid to bypass company rules on internet usage. The study goes on to say that more than 25% of the UK’s workforce is deprived of web access in some way and are turning to mobile handsets to get past the legislation.
Maybe this could be the catalyst for the mobile internet revolution!!!
Monday, July 2, 2007
SEO is dead!
It has become more and more apparent recently that google has become over reliant on inbound links for determining its natural search engine listings. Analysing the websites which appear in the top positions for some of the most competitive keywords around (notably car insurance) will see that the one thing they have in common is an abundance of inbound links.
Through working with a companies trying to break into this elite it has pretty much become a case of, if you cant beat them join them. After trying every which way to do it through effective on page work it has become obvious this isnt enough. Without spending a small fortune on inbound links it just isnt going to be achieved.
Surely this cannot be the best way for a search engine to provide the most relevant results for a user query? Obviously within this the sites will be ordered by the traditional on page factors, but by placing so much emphasis on the links google is creating tiers within the search results:
Tier 1: those with a substantial link building programme (and large budgets)
Tier 2: those with less budget but well optimised sites
Tier 3: the remainder
Without a change in strategy or finances a company will find it extremely difficult, if not impossible to break into the top tier.
Through working with a companies trying to break into this elite it has pretty much become a case of, if you cant beat them join them. After trying every which way to do it through effective on page work it has become obvious this isnt enough. Without spending a small fortune on inbound links it just isnt going to be achieved.
Surely this cannot be the best way for a search engine to provide the most relevant results for a user query? Obviously within this the sites will be ordered by the traditional on page factors, but by placing so much emphasis on the links google is creating tiers within the search results:
Tier 1: those with a substantial link building programme (and large budgets)
Tier 2: those with less budget but well optimised sites
Tier 3: the remainder
Without a change in strategy or finances a company will find it extremely difficult, if not impossible to break into the top tier.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
The Rise of Social Media
I anyone needed convincing of the rise in popularity of social media and the impact it has has on the web then the recent Hitwise news letter should provide it. Bebo has just overtaken ebay in the search term share rankings and the top 10 search terms contain 5 terms relating to social media sites, with two of them being youtube. This just goes to show the prominence this sector now has in the market and the opportunity it holds for those who can adopt it to suit their objectives, whether that be through advertising or participation.
The top ten search terms (as tracked by hitwise) for the 4 weeks ending 9/6/2007 are:
The top ten search terms (as tracked by hitwise) for the 4 weeks ending 9/6/2007 are:
- bebo 1.14% share
- ebay 1.11% share
- youtube 0.52% share
- myspace 0.37% share
- argos 0.24% share
- facebook 0.23% share
- amazon 0.22% share
- bbc 0.17% share
- you tube 0.16% share
- bbc weather 0.15% share
Monday, June 25, 2007
This guys got the moves!!!
This guy has the moves!! and 51,317,418 viewings! just goes to show the power of youtube and helps explain the £25,000 a day they are going to be charging advertisers for front page exposure when it launches in the UK.
This may sound a lot on the face of it but I dont actually think its a bad deal. with youtube set to overtake the bbc website in the rankings for site visits the cost per thousand on front page exposure isnt going to be too shabby.
The challenge is going to be finding a video which people want to view, add to favourites and ultimately get to the top of the most viewed rankings. If this can be done then the £25,000 cost will stretch much further than one day as the viewings will continue as long as the video remains top of the standings. On top of this, if the video can be used to promote some sort of response from the user, through a youtube microsite or other means then you could be on to a winner.
This may sound a lot on the face of it but I dont actually think its a bad deal. with youtube set to overtake the bbc website in the rankings for site visits the cost per thousand on front page exposure isnt going to be too shabby.
The challenge is going to be finding a video which people want to view, add to favourites and ultimately get to the top of the most viewed rankings. If this can be done then the £25,000 cost will stretch much further than one day as the viewings will continue as long as the video remains top of the standings. On top of this, if the video can be used to promote some sort of response from the user, through a youtube microsite or other means then you could be on to a winner.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Google entering the affiliate marketplace?
With the launch of their new product, pay per action, is google encroaching on the affiliate marketplace?
It was an obvious step to make in the evolution of search, it started as a cost per impression based marketing (and in some markets still is), then move to a cost per click metric and now cost per conversion, taking the product further and further down the buying cycle. This obviously removes the majority of the risk for the advertiser and a lot of businesses will welcome the move. I mean, why not? its what the industry would call a "no brainer" if you are only paying for the sales you receive and you know your acquisition costs it is business without the risk.
Google's motives are a little less clear. Obviously they will steal some market from affiliate channels by launching this, they will also potentially attract more advertisers who dont want the limited risk of PPC. Due to one of the caveats involved (you must use google analytics to track) it will also increase the user base for its analytics tool so a double benefit to them.
On the limitations side you must be paying for an action of which you recieve >500 of in the last 30 days. This limits smaller businesses and also means it may not be applicable to larger transactions or those further down the buying cycle. A car insurance campaign for example might not be receiveing 300 sales in 30 days but it will most likely be getting 300 quotes. They therefore may be willing to pay a set fee for each quote based on an average conversion to sale and their acquisition targets.
It will be interesting to see if this product takes off and how effective it is. Is it the next big thing or just another one of those products google wants to be the first to launch but will never take off?
It was an obvious step to make in the evolution of search, it started as a cost per impression based marketing (and in some markets still is), then move to a cost per click metric and now cost per conversion, taking the product further and further down the buying cycle. This obviously removes the majority of the risk for the advertiser and a lot of businesses will welcome the move. I mean, why not? its what the industry would call a "no brainer" if you are only paying for the sales you receive and you know your acquisition costs it is business without the risk.
Google's motives are a little less clear. Obviously they will steal some market from affiliate channels by launching this, they will also potentially attract more advertisers who dont want the limited risk of PPC. Due to one of the caveats involved (you must use google analytics to track) it will also increase the user base for its analytics tool so a double benefit to them.
On the limitations side you must be paying for an action of which you recieve >500 of in the last 30 days. This limits smaller businesses and also means it may not be applicable to larger transactions or those further down the buying cycle. A car insurance campaign for example might not be receiveing 300 sales in 30 days but it will most likely be getting 300 quotes. They therefore may be willing to pay a set fee for each quote based on an average conversion to sale and their acquisition targets.
It will be interesting to see if this product takes off and how effective it is. Is it the next big thing or just another one of those products google wants to be the first to launch but will never take off?
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Parties and PayPal
It appears ebay and google are having a bit of a lovers tiff at the moment with Ebay pulling all paid search advertising in the US on account of Google planning a party to promote Google Checkout that clashed with an Ebay live event!
Ok, so it does go a little deeper than that. Ebay are refusing to allow Google Checkout to become used as a payment method on its auction site. According to Ebay their concerns relate to "fraud, security and related concerns" but undoubtedly the underlying fact is that they want to keep Paypal as the monopoly holder for Ebay transactions. Google originally planned the party as a form of protest but have since cancelled after discussions with Ebay officials.
Ebay claim their removal of paid search listings is a mere "experiment" and a process fo assessing the most effective allocation of marketing budget and it wil be interesting what the results of this "experiement" are. With Google accounting for approx. 10% of Ebays traffic and Ebay spending a reported $26 million monthly on Adwords it will be interesting to see who needs who the most!
Ok, so it does go a little deeper than that. Ebay are refusing to allow Google Checkout to become used as a payment method on its auction site. According to Ebay their concerns relate to "fraud, security and related concerns" but undoubtedly the underlying fact is that they want to keep Paypal as the monopoly holder for Ebay transactions. Google originally planned the party as a form of protest but have since cancelled after discussions with Ebay officials.
Ebay claim their removal of paid search listings is a mere "experiment" and a process fo assessing the most effective allocation of marketing budget and it wil be interesting what the results of this "experiement" are. With Google accounting for approx. 10% of Ebays traffic and Ebay spending a reported $26 million monthly on Adwords it will be interesting to see who needs who the most!
Monday, June 18, 2007
Vertical communities are 'the future of social networking'
Vertical search engines have been discussed for a while now. They have obvious benefits in terms of targetting but limitatsion in terms of search volume. Miva have recently tried to tap into this market with their precision network which has shown rather underwhelming results, conversion rates 5-10% higher than the standard network but costs as much as 100% higher! effectively prcigin themselves out.
Googles ste targetting function is another route into the vertical communities and this holds more benefits as it will be no more expensive, and possibly cheaper. than their standard network. It is effectively the google content market bu with the ability to select the sites and verticals you wish to appear on, meaning you can choose those most targetted to your industry.
Vertical search marketing allows for more accurate targetting and potential higher conversion rates but it remains to be seen whether this will be the case for the time being, the jusy is still out!
Vertical communities are 'the future of social networking'
by Hayley Pinkerfield Revolution UK 18-Jun-07, 11:45
LONDON
The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and 10Duke have launched the first tennis-dedicated online network, claiming that vertical communities will displace the likes of YouTube and MySpace.
The ATP is using 10Duke’s technology platform to take its existing offline community online. Users can upload footage to 30Love.net via online and mobile to show off their tennis skills. Tennis fans can access behind the scenes clips from the pro tennis tour, view exclusive player video clips and share photos, videos and personal profiles.
Etienne de Villiers, ATP executive chairman and president, said: "30Love.net will be the online home for everyone with a love for tennis and is the latest stage of our ongoing drive to ensure the sport remains relevant. Huge opportunities exist for our sport online and 10Duke's social networking platform allows us to bring together the tennis community in a way that we have never been done before."Michael Leavey, CEO of 10Duke, added: "This will be one of the first world-wide communities of its kind, based on a particular interest rather than general sites such as YouTube or MySpace. Vertical communities will be the future of social networking.”Chris Seth, MD of online teen network, Piczo, questioned the niche network business model: "It remains to be seen whether consumers have the time and inclination to visit multiple niche social networks online. The difficulty with a niche strategy is around being first to market. Piczo and others have gained critical mass to create a community and have a viable business proposition for brands."
The 30Love.net site will launch at the start of Wimbledon with support from leading ATP Players, and will be promoted at ATP’s 63 tournaments this year.
Googles ste targetting function is another route into the vertical communities and this holds more benefits as it will be no more expensive, and possibly cheaper. than their standard network. It is effectively the google content market bu with the ability to select the sites and verticals you wish to appear on, meaning you can choose those most targetted to your industry.
Vertical search marketing allows for more accurate targetting and potential higher conversion rates but it remains to be seen whether this will be the case for the time being, the jusy is still out!
Vertical communities are 'the future of social networking'
by Hayley Pinkerfield Revolution UK 18-Jun-07, 11:45
LONDON
The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and 10Duke have launched the first tennis-dedicated online network, claiming that vertical communities will displace the likes of YouTube and MySpace.
The ATP is using 10Duke’s technology platform to take its existing offline community online. Users can upload footage to 30Love.net via online and mobile to show off their tennis skills. Tennis fans can access behind the scenes clips from the pro tennis tour, view exclusive player video clips and share photos, videos and personal profiles.
Etienne de Villiers, ATP executive chairman and president, said: "30Love.net will be the online home for everyone with a love for tennis and is the latest stage of our ongoing drive to ensure the sport remains relevant. Huge opportunities exist for our sport online and 10Duke's social networking platform allows us to bring together the tennis community in a way that we have never been done before."Michael Leavey, CEO of 10Duke, added: "This will be one of the first world-wide communities of its kind, based on a particular interest rather than general sites such as YouTube or MySpace. Vertical communities will be the future of social networking.”Chris Seth, MD of online teen network, Piczo, questioned the niche network business model: "It remains to be seen whether consumers have the time and inclination to visit multiple niche social networks online. The difficulty with a niche strategy is around being first to market. Piczo and others have gained critical mass to create a community and have a viable business proposition for brands."
The 30Love.net site will launch at the start of Wimbledon with support from leading ATP Players, and will be promoted at ATP’s 63 tournaments this year.
MySpace founder hints at Ebay partnership
I have written previously about finding the best way to monetise social networking sites without annoying the users and intruding on the social elements.
Myspace founder Chris DeWolfe today hinted (below) at a possible partnerhsip with Ebay as a way to allow its users to trade between themselves. This ties in with the reason social networking is such a growing phenomenon, user interaction. As I have mentioned in the past the key to monetising social networking is to not encroach on the basic model. through genrating a marketplace between users, through ebay or otherwise, and taking a percentage for transactions myspace will be able to earn a large chunk of cash without devalueing their offering. Expect to see other schemes like this appearing soon!
MySpace founder hints at future eBay partnershipby
Charlie McCathie Brand Republic 18-Jun-07, 14:10 LONDON -
Chris DeWolfe, founder of MySpace, has revealed that the site will soon offer user-generated e-commerce transactions through partnerships with online retailers, possibly including the internet auction site eBay. The move comes after several other commercial developments, such as the addition of a classifieds section and the option to buy and sell music via the site. MySpace uses banner advertising and click-throughs to brand profiles to generate revenue, amassing £12.6m each year, and the introduction of e-commerce is likely to generate even more profit. The social networking site is trying fend off the competition from Facebook, which had its traffic grow by 89% last year, compared with 34% growth at MySpace.DeWolfe said: "We will at some point offer user generated e-commerce transactions. So if you're on your site and you have a line of T-shirts you have designed and you want to sell them to your friends, we want to be able to provide you with the tools you need to do that."So we could partner certainly with someone like eBay to do that. We haven't decided yet but it would be probably a good bet that someone like eBay could be a good partner."DeWolfe also said that another burgeoning market being considered is online video advertising. He suggested that MySpace is currently muting the idea of introducing this element to the site, as it would "definitely be a huge revenue stream".
Myspace founder Chris DeWolfe today hinted (below) at a possible partnerhsip with Ebay as a way to allow its users to trade between themselves. This ties in with the reason social networking is such a growing phenomenon, user interaction. As I have mentioned in the past the key to monetising social networking is to not encroach on the basic model. through genrating a marketplace between users, through ebay or otherwise, and taking a percentage for transactions myspace will be able to earn a large chunk of cash without devalueing their offering. Expect to see other schemes like this appearing soon!
MySpace founder hints at future eBay partnershipby
Charlie McCathie Brand Republic 18-Jun-07, 14:10 LONDON -
Chris DeWolfe, founder of MySpace, has revealed that the site will soon offer user-generated e-commerce transactions through partnerships with online retailers, possibly including the internet auction site eBay. The move comes after several other commercial developments, such as the addition of a classifieds section and the option to buy and sell music via the site. MySpace uses banner advertising and click-throughs to brand profiles to generate revenue, amassing £12.6m each year, and the introduction of e-commerce is likely to generate even more profit. The social networking site is trying fend off the competition from Facebook, which had its traffic grow by 89% last year, compared with 34% growth at MySpace.DeWolfe said: "We will at some point offer user generated e-commerce transactions. So if you're on your site and you have a line of T-shirts you have designed and you want to sell them to your friends, we want to be able to provide you with the tools you need to do that."So we could partner certainly with someone like eBay to do that. We haven't decided yet but it would be probably a good bet that someone like eBay could be a good partner."DeWolfe also said that another burgeoning market being considered is online video advertising. He suggested that MySpace is currently muting the idea of introducing this element to the site, as it would "definitely be a huge revenue stream".
Using Social Media Marketing to Promote You Specialist Information Website
An interesting article on how to use the rise of social media to enhance your profile and website traffic. expect many more articles like this in the future as people proclaim themsleves "experts" in this field.
the majority of what is listed below should be contained within an effective SEO campaign, reputations management, rss, article digging etc. there is no doubt the adoption of social media is going to grow in importance in the coming year and the lines between this and SEO are going to become even more blurred than they already are. coupled with the advent of universal search (and whatever name the other search engines come up with) maybe the name search engine optimisation needs to go, as it will no longer become just about search engines.
Using Social Media Marketing to
Promote Your Specialist Information Website
By Miles Galliford (c) 2007
Before I get started, it is worth defining social media. It has become a widely used and abused term that means different things to different people.
My definition of social media is:
'online technologies and practices that people use to share their opinions, insights and experiences with each other. Information can be shared as text, images, audio or video via blogs, message boards, wikis, RSS, podcasts and social networking sites'.
At the heart of social media is the ability of individuals to interact with other people so that they feel involved and part of a community. A big part of this phenomenon is the activity of finding, sharing and recommending products, services, events and experiences to like-minded people. This is where social media crosses over with marketing.
Social media can be a great way to have your website promoted by word-of-mouth.
If you can get people to talk about and recommend your services to their peers, it is more powerful than any marketing you can buy. So how can you get started?
How Can You Make Social Media Work for You?
The good news is it is easy to start the process of using social media to promote your website.
1) Create a MySpace Page
MySpace (www.myspace.com) is the largest and best-known social network. Individuals create profiles about themselves and then invite similarly minded people to become their online friends. When someone becomes a friend, you can communicate with them and subtly direct them towards your own website.
Setting up your own page is simple and frëe. Go to www.myspace.com and follow the instructions. Put up a brief description about yourself and a link to a more detailed biography page on your own website. Remember, the goal of this page is to drive people to your own site so make sure you get plenty of links included without overtly promoting your website.
Spend an hour every week developing your site and building your líst of friends. Invite relevant people to comment about your website.
2) Add Bookmarking Links to Your Article Pages
A big part of the social web is the ability for people to build lísts of their favourite sites or articles. People with similar interests can then share their lísts and benefit from other people's recommendations. If your website has frëe content, you should make these articles easy to bookmark or add to favourites lísts. There are a lot of internet sites that now host and share bookmarks. You can add links to these sites to your article pages.
There are two ways of doing this. You can go to each of the leading bookmarking sites and download their code and links onto your site. The ones that you should include are:
Digg - www.digg.com
Technorati – www.technorati.com
Del.icio.us – del.icio.us
Reddit – www.reddit.com
However, if you go this route it can be time consuming and you will omit many of the potential bookmarking sites. The alternative is to put a link to AddThis.com on the foot of each page. This gives your users access to over 30 bookmarking sites.
3) Add an RSS Feed
RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Syndication, depending on who you ask. RSS allows people to be notified every time new articles are added to your website so they can keep up to date with your content.
Ask your developer to create some RSS code for your website and then put a link on all of your pages to the RSS code page. The link should be a small orange rectangle with the letters RSS in white.
Publish your RSS feeds at Feedburner to encourage distribution and interest.
4) Email to a Friend
Enabling people to easily email an article to a friend is not typically bundled under the heading of social media marketing, but in my view it is another way to encourage people to share and recommend your content. Add an 'Email a Friend' link to all of your content pages.
5) Add a Forum
Having a Forum on your website is a great way of building a community around your subject area. Monitoring the forum will both give you a chance to understand what people are discussing and promote your expertise by adding your own comments.
The downside of a forum is it does need to be carefully managed. You need to allow people to make negative comments so they don't feel they are being censored, but you have to stamp out aggressive behaviour, personal insults, sp@m and meaningless rubbish. This can be time-consuming work, so don't bother with a forum unless you have the time to do it properly.
Non-technical people can pay to use vBulletin. More technical people can use a frëe opensource solution such as PHPBB.
You can register your forum with BoardTracker to make it easier for people to find.
6) Create How-To or Product Review Videos
It has nevër been easier to create short videos that can demonstrate your expertise. How-to videos are very popular. For example, if your website is about Making Monëy on eBay, you could create a short video on "How to Take Perfect Photos for Your eBay Listings". Make sure you have your website URL on the opening and closing sequence of your video to promote your website.
Post your videos on YouTube and Google Videos. Give it a catchy title and teaser to get people interested. Also link to the videos from your own website.
7) Share Your Photos
If you have photos related to your subject area, post them on photo sharing websites such as Flikr and PhotoBucket. For example, if your website is about steam trains, take a camera to your next steam train show and post the pictures on these sites. People searching for steam train images are likely to try these sites. They can then follow the link on the photo to your website. P.S. Remember to include links back to your own site from the images.
8) Create a Blog
Blogs are very simple content sites where short articles are listed one after the other on the home page. They are usually used to write about current events or comment on news.
Some successful content websites are blogs. Some are much more like magazines with feature articles. If your site is more feature-based, consider starting a separate blog that can be more informal and brief. Update the blog every day even if it is with just one- or two-sentence comments. Blogs that are infrequently updated quickly löse their audience.
Use the blog to drive traffíc to your main website.
You can get basic blogging software for frëe. Try Wordpress or Blogger. For a managed service, try Typepad.
In many ways, today's social media technologies are still fairly primitive, but I can say with confidence that the phenomenon that they have created - of customers taking control of the buying process – is here to stay. Customers will continue to get stronger, so publishers, manufacturers and anyone else with customers better start listening to what they are saying.
One last point before I finish. It's really a word of warning. Once you adopt the social media marketing techniques, you are inviting people to comment about your service. You must be ready for negative as well as positive feedback. Good companies listen to the feedback and make positive changes. Poor companies ignore it or worse still, call their lawyers to fight it. If you jump into the social media world, be ready to participate, listen, learn and take action.
the majority of what is listed below should be contained within an effective SEO campaign, reputations management, rss, article digging etc. there is no doubt the adoption of social media is going to grow in importance in the coming year and the lines between this and SEO are going to become even more blurred than they already are. coupled with the advent of universal search (and whatever name the other search engines come up with) maybe the name search engine optimisation needs to go, as it will no longer become just about search engines.
Using Social Media Marketing to
Promote Your Specialist Information Website
By Miles Galliford (c) 2007
Before I get started, it is worth defining social media. It has become a widely used and abused term that means different things to different people.
My definition of social media is:
'online technologies and practices that people use to share their opinions, insights and experiences with each other. Information can be shared as text, images, audio or video via blogs, message boards, wikis, RSS, podcasts and social networking sites'.
At the heart of social media is the ability of individuals to interact with other people so that they feel involved and part of a community. A big part of this phenomenon is the activity of finding, sharing and recommending products, services, events and experiences to like-minded people. This is where social media crosses over with marketing.
Social media can be a great way to have your website promoted by word-of-mouth.
If you can get people to talk about and recommend your services to their peers, it is more powerful than any marketing you can buy. So how can you get started?
How Can You Make Social Media Work for You?
The good news is it is easy to start the process of using social media to promote your website.
1) Create a MySpace Page
MySpace (www.myspace.com) is the largest and best-known social network. Individuals create profiles about themselves and then invite similarly minded people to become their online friends. When someone becomes a friend, you can communicate with them and subtly direct them towards your own website.
Setting up your own page is simple and frëe. Go to www.myspace.com and follow the instructions. Put up a brief description about yourself and a link to a more detailed biography page on your own website. Remember, the goal of this page is to drive people to your own site so make sure you get plenty of links included without overtly promoting your website.
Spend an hour every week developing your site and building your líst of friends. Invite relevant people to comment about your website.
2) Add Bookmarking Links to Your Article Pages
A big part of the social web is the ability for people to build lísts of their favourite sites or articles. People with similar interests can then share their lísts and benefit from other people's recommendations. If your website has frëe content, you should make these articles easy to bookmark or add to favourites lísts. There are a lot of internet sites that now host and share bookmarks. You can add links to these sites to your article pages.
There are two ways of doing this. You can go to each of the leading bookmarking sites and download their code and links onto your site. The ones that you should include are:
Digg - www.digg.com
Technorati – www.technorati.com
Del.icio.us – del.icio.us
Reddit – www.reddit.com
However, if you go this route it can be time consuming and you will omit many of the potential bookmarking sites. The alternative is to put a link to AddThis.com on the foot of each page. This gives your users access to over 30 bookmarking sites.
3) Add an RSS Feed
RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Syndication, depending on who you ask. RSS allows people to be notified every time new articles are added to your website so they can keep up to date with your content.
Ask your developer to create some RSS code for your website and then put a link on all of your pages to the RSS code page. The link should be a small orange rectangle with the letters RSS in white.
Publish your RSS feeds at Feedburner to encourage distribution and interest.
4) Email to a Friend
Enabling people to easily email an article to a friend is not typically bundled under the heading of social media marketing, but in my view it is another way to encourage people to share and recommend your content. Add an 'Email a Friend' link to all of your content pages.
5) Add a Forum
Having a Forum on your website is a great way of building a community around your subject area. Monitoring the forum will both give you a chance to understand what people are discussing and promote your expertise by adding your own comments.
The downside of a forum is it does need to be carefully managed. You need to allow people to make negative comments so they don't feel they are being censored, but you have to stamp out aggressive behaviour, personal insults, sp@m and meaningless rubbish. This can be time-consuming work, so don't bother with a forum unless you have the time to do it properly.
Non-technical people can pay to use vBulletin. More technical people can use a frëe opensource solution such as PHPBB.
You can register your forum with BoardTracker to make it easier for people to find.
6) Create How-To or Product Review Videos
It has nevër been easier to create short videos that can demonstrate your expertise. How-to videos are very popular. For example, if your website is about Making Monëy on eBay, you could create a short video on "How to Take Perfect Photos for Your eBay Listings". Make sure you have your website URL on the opening and closing sequence of your video to promote your website.
Post your videos on YouTube and Google Videos. Give it a catchy title and teaser to get people interested. Also link to the videos from your own website.
7) Share Your Photos
If you have photos related to your subject area, post them on photo sharing websites such as Flikr and PhotoBucket. For example, if your website is about steam trains, take a camera to your next steam train show and post the pictures on these sites. People searching for steam train images are likely to try these sites. They can then follow the link on the photo to your website. P.S. Remember to include links back to your own site from the images.
8) Create a Blog
Blogs are very simple content sites where short articles are listed one after the other on the home page. They are usually used to write about current events or comment on news.
Some successful content websites are blogs. Some are much more like magazines with feature articles. If your site is more feature-based, consider starting a separate blog that can be more informal and brief. Update the blog every day even if it is with just one- or two-sentence comments. Blogs that are infrequently updated quickly löse their audience.
Use the blog to drive traffíc to your main website.
You can get basic blogging software for frëe. Try Wordpress or Blogger. For a managed service, try Typepad.
In many ways, today's social media technologies are still fairly primitive, but I can say with confidence that the phenomenon that they have created - of customers taking control of the buying process – is here to stay. Customers will continue to get stronger, so publishers, manufacturers and anyone else with customers better start listening to what they are saying.
One last point before I finish. It's really a word of warning. Once you adopt the social media marketing techniques, you are inviting people to comment about your service. You must be ready for negative as well as positive feedback. Good companies listen to the feedback and make positive changes. Poor companies ignore it or worse still, call their lawyers to fight it. If you jump into the social media world, be ready to participate, listen, learn and take action.
Its going to get messy!
The undoubted arrival of personalised search restults and the convergence of different medias as described below with google universal search are goin to make things a little complicated moving forward!
optimising your webstie for the search engines is one thing, but judging and allowing for the impact of all different forms of media is another. maps, images, videos, retail listings, definitions, reviews, they are all going to become part of a SERP in the future and in order to fully make the most of "search" you will need a presence in as many as possible.
On top of this you have the advent of personalisation which is going to mean one individual could see completely different search results from the next! How do you optimise for this? In theory if you have a well optimised and targetted site you should be ok, because you generate the interest in the first place and so "stick" in the results for that person. If this is the case then it will mean a well optimised site holds more benefits for a much longer period of time.
A shaks up is one the cards!
Optimizing Content for Universal Search
By Claudia Bruemmer (c) 2007
By now, you've all heard about Google's new Universal Search concept, which combines all the information within its vertical databases into one index to serve a single set of Web search results. As you can imagine, this will require some adjustments to standard search engine optimization techniques. If you have been following the Bruce Clay methodology, then you should already be on the right track to optimizing every aspect of your Web site that is under your control. With the arrival of universal search, it's not just a good idea; it's a necessity.
Google Vice President of Search Products and User Experience Marissa Mayer said the company's goal for universal search is to create "a seamless, integrated experience to get users the best answers." Mayer stated on the official Google blog that the universal search vision would be "one of the biggest architectural, ranking, and interface challenges" the search engine would face.
Mayer first suggested this concept to Google back in 2001. Since then, the company has been building the infrastructure, algorithms and presentation mechanisms needed to blend the different content from Images, Video, News, Maps, Blogs et al into its Web results. This is Google's first step toward removing the partition that separates its numerous search silos, integrating these vast repositories of information into a universal set of search results. The object is to make queries more relevant for users, but what are the ramifications for SEO?
Google Relevancy Challenge
Based on industry research, Google has a relevancy problem because the database is too vast. Back in 2005, Jupiter Research touched on this, stating it identified an opportuníty for vertical search engines. The study inferred that general search engines were good at classifying vast amounts of information, but not very good at serving results that helped users make decisions.
A year later, Outsell came out with "Vertical Search Delivers What Big Search Engines Miss," a study that also mentioned the opportuníty for vertical search due to dissatisfaction with general search engines. This report published the oft-quoted fact stating that the average Internet search failure rate is 31.9 percent. The study identified two market trends contributing to the growth of vertical search – failed general searches and rising keyword prices in paid search.
Another noteworthy study was conducted by Convera. Over 1,000 online business users were asked about their search practices, successes, and failures. Only 21 percent of the respondents thought that search queries on general search engines were understood, a mere 10 percent found critical information on the first try in general search engines. This study concluded, "To date, professionals have not been adequately served by consumer search engines."
The results of these studies show that Google and other general search engines are challenged to produce relevant results, suggesting vertical and niche search engines could eliminate such problems because the niche databases contain topic-specific information, serving targeted, more relevant answers to user queries.
Google's Solution to Relevancy
Since Google's move toward universal search, one can only assume it has considered the above problems and decided that pulling all its databases together, comparing and ranking them accurately at warp speed, could be the solution to relevancy. Doing this requires new technical infrastructure, including new algorithms, software and hardware, which Google has been working on since 2001 and is now in the process of implementing. Universal search has implications for search marketers because it is a departure from the uniformity that characterized search marketing in the past, requiring adjustments in SEO methodology. Since the modifications will be implemented in steps, immediate changes in the SERPS won't be obvious, and there is time to develop new optimization strategies.
Search Personalization
In addition to universal search, Google is also focusing on personalization in the SERPs. This means users will be seeing different SERPS based on their previous queries, if signed into their Google accounts. Users may or may not notice many changes in the SERPs due to universal search and personalization, depending on their level of sophistication and/or powers of observation. However, marketers will be scrambling. Marketers will need to get their clients listed into as many niche databases as possible to íncrease the breadth of coverage for universal search. Social media optimization techniques can be used to enhance both universal and personalized search results.
Universal Search Optimization Strategies
The focus on personalization and universal search requires more emphasis on social media SEO strategies because of user interest in creating content and the vast amounts of new multimedia content created daily on the Web. Marketers are beginning to drive traffíc via social networking sites, and these efforts are known to enhance search engine optimization campaigns. Strategies include creating multimedia content such as blogs, videos and podcasts, and then getting them listed on social search sites like Del.icio.us, Digg, Reddit and StumbleUpon, as well as niche search engines like Technorati, Podzinger and Blinx.
When creating multimedia content, you must ensure that it is tagged and cataloged correctly. Multimedia content is optimized through established fundamental SEO techniques, such as creating keyword-rich, user-friendly content, unique Meta tags, good site navigation and structure, and implementing a successful linking strategy. Below are a few suggestions for creating and submitting multimedia content for several of Google's vertical databases to gain extended reach through universal search.
Google Image Search: It has always been a good idea to use images on your site for illustrating your products and services. Now, this becomes a way for your customers to find your site via Google Image Search. Optimize your images with descriptive, keyword-rich file names and ALT tags. Use accurate descriptions of your image files for the benefit of the vision impaired and others who might need to view the site with text only.
Google Video (beta): As with optimizing images, use descriptive, keyword-rich file names for your video files. Also create a keyword-rich title tag, description tag, and video site map. Create a Web page to launch your video, optimizing content for SEO and using anchor text wherever possible. Besides submitting to Google Video, also include Blinkx and other social networking and search sites like YouTube and Podzinger (audio and video search engine).
Google News: Here's where you can submit your press releases for display as "news" and subsequent indexing. Issue press releases containing current information about new products and events your site is involved with and Google News will likely pick it up.
Google Maps: This is also known as Google Local, a vertical that has been included in Google search results for a while. Give your site a local presence through the Google Maps Local Business Center where local businesses can get a frëe basic listing to extend their reach in the SERPs.
Google Blog Search (beta): You all have a corporate blog, right? This is how modern companies communicate with their customers and stakeholders. Tag it (digg, del.icio.us, stumbleupon, etc.), submit to Google Blog search, and extend your reach for Web searches on Google.
In closing, there are many ways social and multimedia content can enhance your SEO efforts. Experiment and learn how to use social media to extend your SEO rankings. As you become aware of the many niche databases for submitting multimedia content, this can go a long way toward gaining visibility through Google's personalized and universal search.
optimising your webstie for the search engines is one thing, but judging and allowing for the impact of all different forms of media is another. maps, images, videos, retail listings, definitions, reviews, they are all going to become part of a SERP in the future and in order to fully make the most of "search" you will need a presence in as many as possible.
On top of this you have the advent of personalisation which is going to mean one individual could see completely different search results from the next! How do you optimise for this? In theory if you have a well optimised and targetted site you should be ok, because you generate the interest in the first place and so "stick" in the results for that person. If this is the case then it will mean a well optimised site holds more benefits for a much longer period of time.
A shaks up is one the cards!
Optimizing Content for Universal Search
By Claudia Bruemmer (c) 2007
By now, you've all heard about Google's new Universal Search concept, which combines all the information within its vertical databases into one index to serve a single set of Web search results. As you can imagine, this will require some adjustments to standard search engine optimization techniques. If you have been following the Bruce Clay methodology, then you should already be on the right track to optimizing every aspect of your Web site that is under your control. With the arrival of universal search, it's not just a good idea; it's a necessity.
Google Vice President of Search Products and User Experience Marissa Mayer said the company's goal for universal search is to create "a seamless, integrated experience to get users the best answers." Mayer stated on the official Google blog that the universal search vision would be "one of the biggest architectural, ranking, and interface challenges" the search engine would face.
Mayer first suggested this concept to Google back in 2001. Since then, the company has been building the infrastructure, algorithms and presentation mechanisms needed to blend the different content from Images, Video, News, Maps, Blogs et al into its Web results. This is Google's first step toward removing the partition that separates its numerous search silos, integrating these vast repositories of information into a universal set of search results. The object is to make queries more relevant for users, but what are the ramifications for SEO?
Google Relevancy Challenge
Based on industry research, Google has a relevancy problem because the database is too vast. Back in 2005, Jupiter Research touched on this, stating it identified an opportuníty for vertical search engines. The study inferred that general search engines were good at classifying vast amounts of information, but not very good at serving results that helped users make decisions.
A year later, Outsell came out with "Vertical Search Delivers What Big Search Engines Miss," a study that also mentioned the opportuníty for vertical search due to dissatisfaction with general search engines. This report published the oft-quoted fact stating that the average Internet search failure rate is 31.9 percent. The study identified two market trends contributing to the growth of vertical search – failed general searches and rising keyword prices in paid search.
Another noteworthy study was conducted by Convera. Over 1,000 online business users were asked about their search practices, successes, and failures. Only 21 percent of the respondents thought that search queries on general search engines were understood, a mere 10 percent found critical information on the first try in general search engines. This study concluded, "To date, professionals have not been adequately served by consumer search engines."
The results of these studies show that Google and other general search engines are challenged to produce relevant results, suggesting vertical and niche search engines could eliminate such problems because the niche databases contain topic-specific information, serving targeted, more relevant answers to user queries.
Google's Solution to Relevancy
Since Google's move toward universal search, one can only assume it has considered the above problems and decided that pulling all its databases together, comparing and ranking them accurately at warp speed, could be the solution to relevancy. Doing this requires new technical infrastructure, including new algorithms, software and hardware, which Google has been working on since 2001 and is now in the process of implementing. Universal search has implications for search marketers because it is a departure from the uniformity that characterized search marketing in the past, requiring adjustments in SEO methodology. Since the modifications will be implemented in steps, immediate changes in the SERPS won't be obvious, and there is time to develop new optimization strategies.
Search Personalization
In addition to universal search, Google is also focusing on personalization in the SERPs. This means users will be seeing different SERPS based on their previous queries, if signed into their Google accounts. Users may or may not notice many changes in the SERPs due to universal search and personalization, depending on their level of sophistication and/or powers of observation. However, marketers will be scrambling. Marketers will need to get their clients listed into as many niche databases as possible to íncrease the breadth of coverage for universal search. Social media optimization techniques can be used to enhance both universal and personalized search results.
Universal Search Optimization Strategies
The focus on personalization and universal search requires more emphasis on social media SEO strategies because of user interest in creating content and the vast amounts of new multimedia content created daily on the Web. Marketers are beginning to drive traffíc via social networking sites, and these efforts are known to enhance search engine optimization campaigns. Strategies include creating multimedia content such as blogs, videos and podcasts, and then getting them listed on social search sites like Del.icio.us, Digg, Reddit and StumbleUpon, as well as niche search engines like Technorati, Podzinger and Blinx.
When creating multimedia content, you must ensure that it is tagged and cataloged correctly. Multimedia content is optimized through established fundamental SEO techniques, such as creating keyword-rich, user-friendly content, unique Meta tags, good site navigation and structure, and implementing a successful linking strategy. Below are a few suggestions for creating and submitting multimedia content for several of Google's vertical databases to gain extended reach through universal search.
Google Image Search: It has always been a good idea to use images on your site for illustrating your products and services. Now, this becomes a way for your customers to find your site via Google Image Search. Optimize your images with descriptive, keyword-rich file names and ALT tags. Use accurate descriptions of your image files for the benefit of the vision impaired and others who might need to view the site with text only.
Google Video (beta): As with optimizing images, use descriptive, keyword-rich file names for your video files. Also create a keyword-rich title tag, description tag, and video site map. Create a Web page to launch your video, optimizing content for SEO and using anchor text wherever possible. Besides submitting to Google Video, also include Blinkx and other social networking and search sites like YouTube and Podzinger (audio and video search engine).
Google News: Here's where you can submit your press releases for display as "news" and subsequent indexing. Issue press releases containing current information about new products and events your site is involved with and Google News will likely pick it up.
Google Maps: This is also known as Google Local, a vertical that has been included in Google search results for a while. Give your site a local presence through the Google Maps Local Business Center where local businesses can get a frëe basic listing to extend their reach in the SERPs.
Google Blog Search (beta): You all have a corporate blog, right? This is how modern companies communicate with their customers and stakeholders. Tag it (digg, del.icio.us, stumbleupon, etc.), submit to Google Blog search, and extend your reach for Web searches on Google.
In closing, there are many ways social and multimedia content can enhance your SEO efforts. Experiment and learn how to use social media to extend your SEO rankings. As you become aware of the many niche databases for submitting multimedia content, this can go a long way toward gaining visibility through Google's personalized and universal search.
Social Network Ad Scramble
So how do you monetise the social media trend? a questions which people will be asking themselves in light of the growing phenomenon and the convergence to web 2.0 technology. In my eyes the real question is "how do you monetise social media without putting users off?!" If people start to see social networking sites becoming more and more commercial they will very quickly jump ship. people use these sites to interact, not to be sold to and if pages begin to become plastered with ads this will make users move on to the next site which has become flavour of the week.
there is undoubted potential held in the targetting options availale through social networking sites and I believe this is the tool which will bring success if used correctly. Noone minds seeing ads if they are relating to something they are looking for at that point in time. Think about it, the ability to show and ad for gifts when you konw it is someones partners brithday in the coming weeks, or an ad for a dating site around valentines day only shown to single people who arent in a relationship. This is where the real strength lies in my eyes and if it can be harnest then the money will follow.
Social Network Ad Scramble
APRIL 19, 2007
With fierce competition, sites explore new ad models
Social networking buzz belies an impending sector shakeout, according to In-Stat's "Social Networking: Finding Friends Online" report.
"In order for a social networking site to be successful, it must attain a critical mass, and competition is fierce to attract new members," says Jill Meyers of In-Stat. "So far, sites have focused their attention on a younger demographic, which is finite, fickle and limited in expendable income." Ms. Meyers says Baby Boomers are frequently overlooked when it comes to social networks.
MySpace's demographics include plenty of wage earners at this point, and Boomers have social networks like Eons.com, but the In-Stat report raises an important question: How can social networks best monetize their memberships? eMarketer estimates that 2007 ad spending on MySpace will outstrip spending on all other social networks combined, so competition will be fierce.
One possibility is selling user data, according to In-Stat.
"Each social networking site collects a plethora of personal and demographic data on each member," said Ms. Meyers, "and while selling these data to target marketing groups may be unappealing to site members, it may be the best route to profitability for site operators."
Some social networks are still having trouble just getting their sites to grow. comScore Media Metrix data reveals a range of visitor growth of anywhere from 1177% (Sconex.com) to -40% (LiveJournal.com).
Even Microsoft is offering advice on how to increase social networking ad revenue. The Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions Group commissioned a Metrix Lab study of how social networkers use the sites. The study concluded that creating brand profiles (spaces) that can be forwarded to friends is effective, with a quarter of social networkers posting views on specific ads and a third forwarding spaces, ads or links.
eMarketer senior analyst Debra Aho Williamson says that the time for branded profiles is probably coming to a close.
"The notion of creating a MySpace ad profile page and collecting friends was popular in 2006 but will likely give way this year, as users tire of collecting 'friends,'" says Ms. Williamson.
Third-party companies are also developing sophisticated modeling software to parse the things people write on their profiles and match ads accordingly.
However, there is a risk that innovative ad models like these will get shelved in order to give advertisers something they're already comfortable with. MySpace sells "roadblocks" on its home page and even uses old-media speak to explain why advertisers like being there: "Marketers are really interested in the one-day cume they can get from the home page of MySpace," Fox Interactive Media told eMarketer last year.
While such things will generate revenue, they fall short of the promise of the "one-to-one-to-many" nature of social networking.
For an in-depth look at social network ad spending, eMarketer Total Access subscribers can read the Social Network Marketing: Ad Spending Update report. If you would like information on subscribing, click here.
Google Couldn't Wait To Spend $3.1 Billion For DoubleClick
The current purchases in the market place make it an exciting time to be involved in online marketing. as the articel below states, the boundaries between display and search are blurring but in my opinion they are still pretty clear. the purchase of double click gives google access to millions of potential publishers, further expanding its reach within the market. It also gives them the facility to integrate the double click solution into their system, allowing advertisers to manage a fully integrated online campaign without the need for juggling different media providers.
As Google moves closer to the future of Universal Search could they be planning to integrate doubleclick display results int heir main search page? it would go against the tradition of SERPs but if they were targetted and relevant would they be welcome?
Google Couldn't Wait To Spend $3.1 Billion For DoubleClick
by Laurie Petersen, Monday, Apr 16, 2007 6:00 AM ET
GOOGLE'S AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE THE leading online ad network DoubleClick for the astonishing price of $3.1 billion in cash was both a bold move to keep the capabilities away from competing bidder Microsoft and a recognition that Mountain View needed to get into the display advertising market sooner than later.
"Search and display on the Internet are converging. The evidence is everywhere," said Jordan Rohan, Internet analyst and managing director at RBC Capital Markets. "The lines between search and display are faint today and will be gone tomorrow."
In the conference call announcing the deal from Argentina, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said the purchase accelerates the search giant's entry into the display ad businesses by years, and the price reflects the future value if the synergies anticipated by integrating search and ad display platforms are achieved.
In addition to its technical prowess, DoubleClick brings deep publisher relationships that it would be difficult for Google to replicate quickly.
"With one acquisition they are buying their way into the one part of the marketplace where they have no presence," said Charlene Li, vice president and principal analyst with Forrester Research, covering Google, consumer portals and search.
"This deal is about creating a network of publishers and advertisers that would number in the millions," Rohan added.
Increased online ad spending is one expected end result if big brand advertisers and their agencies are able to tap a more efficient way to place, manage and evaluate all online ad and search spending with a unified buying platform and metric.
"Hopefully, it means a more integrated decision-rich process for online advertising," said Rohan.
Non-search Internet display advertising increased 17.3% in 2006 to $9.76 billion, as measured by TNS Media Intelligence. That spending now comes disproportionately from mid-size and smaller advertisers. DoubleClick commands anywhere from half to an estimated two-thirds of the ad-serving market.
"If you talk to agencies, one of the biggest challenges we have is to reach the audiences we need to reach because consumers are all over on the Internet," said Bryan Wiener, CEO of agency 360i. "If anyone can provide tools to make a single buy and optimize it, that's good for marketers. Still, the marketplace is going to want competitors to Google."
Look for more acquisition activity as thwarted suitor Microsoft seeks an alternative. Yahoo, which is scheduled to release first-quarter earnings tomorrow, can also expect more pressure to integrate its search and display ad capabilities.
Weekend speculation was rampant that the so-called "DoubleGoo" deal now puts Yahoo in play, although the price, Rohan said, would approach $50 billion, including its stake in Yahoo Japan. Another talked-up target is Seattle-based aQuantive, which owns both No. 2 ad network Atlas, and Accipiter. Still, some 60% of its revenues come from agency Avenue ARazorfish.
"Google is all about performance and measurability," Schmidt said, also emphasizing the shared yield management vision of Google's auction-based media buying model and the announced auction system DoubleClick plans to launch mid-year.
Users, Schmidt said, will benefit by seeing more targeted and relevant ads; online publishers will get access to more advertisers to monetize inventory; and agencies and advertisers will get a new way to manage search and display ads in one place, with a common set of metrics.
Google co-founder Sergey Brin said the company will adhere carefully to its consumer privacy principles when asked if consumer search behavior will be used to display behaviorally targeted ads.
Both companies were equally reticent to describe future products that may result from the acquisition.
"DoubleClick is a very healthy company," said Rohan. "So Google only has to not mess up in order for the deal to be a mild success. For it to be an industry transforming transaction" has to do with those future products.
The deal is expected to close by the end of the year and must go through antitrust review by U.S. regulators under the Hart-Scott Rodino process. But company officials are optimistic it will pass muster.
"We believe this is a combination that will generate significant efficiencies for the market," said DoubleClick CEO David Rosenblatt.
True winners are San Francisco-based private equity firm Hellman & Friedman along with JMI Equity and management. DoubleClick was taken private in 2005 for $1.1 billion.
Google was one of the final four companies in due diligence during that process.
As Google moves closer to the future of Universal Search could they be planning to integrate doubleclick display results int heir main search page? it would go against the tradition of SERPs but if they were targetted and relevant would they be welcome?
Google Couldn't Wait To Spend $3.1 Billion For DoubleClick
by Laurie Petersen, Monday, Apr 16, 2007 6:00 AM ET
GOOGLE'S AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE THE leading online ad network DoubleClick for the astonishing price of $3.1 billion in cash was both a bold move to keep the capabilities away from competing bidder Microsoft and a recognition that Mountain View needed to get into the display advertising market sooner than later.
"Search and display on the Internet are converging. The evidence is everywhere," said Jordan Rohan, Internet analyst and managing director at RBC Capital Markets. "The lines between search and display are faint today and will be gone tomorrow."
In the conference call announcing the deal from Argentina, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said the purchase accelerates the search giant's entry into the display ad businesses by years, and the price reflects the future value if the synergies anticipated by integrating search and ad display platforms are achieved.
In addition to its technical prowess, DoubleClick brings deep publisher relationships that it would be difficult for Google to replicate quickly.
"With one acquisition they are buying their way into the one part of the marketplace where they have no presence," said Charlene Li, vice president and principal analyst with Forrester Research, covering Google, consumer portals and search.
"This deal is about creating a network of publishers and advertisers that would number in the millions," Rohan added.
Increased online ad spending is one expected end result if big brand advertisers and their agencies are able to tap a more efficient way to place, manage and evaluate all online ad and search spending with a unified buying platform and metric.
"Hopefully, it means a more integrated decision-rich process for online advertising," said Rohan.
Non-search Internet display advertising increased 17.3% in 2006 to $9.76 billion, as measured by TNS Media Intelligence. That spending now comes disproportionately from mid-size and smaller advertisers. DoubleClick commands anywhere from half to an estimated two-thirds of the ad-serving market.
"If you talk to agencies, one of the biggest challenges we have is to reach the audiences we need to reach because consumers are all over on the Internet," said Bryan Wiener, CEO of agency 360i. "If anyone can provide tools to make a single buy and optimize it, that's good for marketers. Still, the marketplace is going to want competitors to Google."
Look for more acquisition activity as thwarted suitor Microsoft seeks an alternative. Yahoo, which is scheduled to release first-quarter earnings tomorrow, can also expect more pressure to integrate its search and display ad capabilities.
Weekend speculation was rampant that the so-called "DoubleGoo" deal now puts Yahoo in play, although the price, Rohan said, would approach $50 billion, including its stake in Yahoo Japan. Another talked-up target is Seattle-based aQuantive, which owns both No. 2 ad network Atlas, and Accipiter. Still, some 60% of its revenues come from agency Avenue ARazorfish.
"Google is all about performance and measurability," Schmidt said, also emphasizing the shared yield management vision of Google's auction-based media buying model and the announced auction system DoubleClick plans to launch mid-year.
Users, Schmidt said, will benefit by seeing more targeted and relevant ads; online publishers will get access to more advertisers to monetize inventory; and agencies and advertisers will get a new way to manage search and display ads in one place, with a common set of metrics.
Google co-founder Sergey Brin said the company will adhere carefully to its consumer privacy principles when asked if consumer search behavior will be used to display behaviorally targeted ads.
Both companies were equally reticent to describe future products that may result from the acquisition.
"DoubleClick is a very healthy company," said Rohan. "So Google only has to not mess up in order for the deal to be a mild success. For it to be an industry transforming transaction" has to do with those future products.
The deal is expected to close by the end of the year and must go through antitrust review by U.S. regulators under the Hart-Scott Rodino process. But company officials are optimistic it will pass muster.
"We believe this is a combination that will generate significant efficiencies for the market," said DoubleClick CEO David Rosenblatt.
True winners are San Francisco-based private equity firm Hellman & Friedman along with JMI Equity and management. DoubleClick was taken private in 2005 for $1.1 billion.
Google was one of the final four companies in due diligence during that process.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Top Factors Affecting Positive Search Engine Rankings
a useful little list of top factors for consideration in SEO.
Top Factors Affecting Positive Search Engine Rankings
The jury of search engine experts over at SEOMoz has weighed in, and here are the top factors affecting search engine placement, according to them, with my comments.
1. Keyword Use in Title TagI have said for many years that if I had a gun to my head, and could do only one thing to a web page to optimize it, my choice would be the title tag. Put your keyphrases in your title tag, and remember to optimize each page individually (i.e. don't overstuff your title tag, and have different title tags for each page that reflect the content of that particular page - otherwise, you may suffer from a duplicative content exclusion and find yourself in the supplemental results).
2. Keyword Use in Body TextDuh. If your keyword or keyphrase isn't mentioned at least once in the body text of the web page, then it does not seem your page is very relevant to that keyphrase, now does it? But don't get all caught up in the keyphrase density myth - there is no magic number of times it should appear. Make sense to readers, and it will make sense to the search engines.
3. Relationship of Body Text Content to Keywords (Topic Analysis)Google is smarter than you give them credit for, and just stuffing a keyphrase into a completely unrelated page won't do you much, if any good. Your page should be on a topic which is semantically related to the keyphrase which you are targeting in your title tag.
4. Keyword Use in H1 TagOh, for years the naysayers have been telling me that H1 tag keyphrase use meant nothing and that I was an idiot for thinking otherwise. Well the verdict is in and this is the fourth most important factor according to the SEOMoz article. At this point, therefore, we have learned to put your keyphrase in your title tag, include it in your body text, which body text is topically or semantically related to the keyphrase, and head up the body text with an H1 containing the keyphrase.
5. Keyword Use in Domain NameThis is one that I disagree with. I have seen absolutely no evidence of this at all. Do a simple search on the internet for most any search term, and chances are the top results do not have the search query in the domain name. I believe this may have minor importance, but don't go and change your domain because of it. Seriously, you have much more to lose (such as age of domain, inbound linkage, site reputation, etc.) I regularly see clients at the top of Google with domain names containing nothing near the relevant search terms.
6. Keyword Use in Page URLThis is what I have called "descriptive file naming" for a number of years. I believe it is of some importance, again, however, is more of a factor when setting up a new domain than would be for an existing domain with high pagerank and inbound linkage. Changing your internal url's for the sole purpose of meeting this criterion again is very risky, for the same reasons mentioned above.
7. Keyword Use in H2, H3, H... TagsWell if it works for H1, why not for H2 et al.?
8. Keyword Use in ALT Attributes and Image TitlesSEOMoz incorrectly calls them an ALT tag, but it is not a tag, the ALT is an attribute of the IMG tag. Semantics aside, I believe this to be highly important, I would have ranked this above the URL and domain name items. Experience has shown me that image optimization (image file name, alt attribute, and title) is a wonderful way to make a page more relevant to a desired search query.
9. Keyword Use in Bold/Strong TagsI always use this method, as well as keyword use within the EM (italics) tag. I believe this to be a moderately important factor as it helps emphasize to Google what your page is about, and what you consider important. Definitely on my short list of things to do for "on page" search engine optimization.
10. Keyword Use in Meta Description TagAgain, one of my "big 4" for on page optimization. The "big 4" being: title tag, meta description, h1, and image ALT attributes. (I don't include body text in my big 4 as I believe that is self evident). Definitely important, and again, each page should have custom title and meta description tags.
Top Factors Affecting Positive Search Engine Rankings
The jury of search engine experts over at SEOMoz has weighed in, and here are the top factors affecting search engine placement, according to them, with my comments.
1. Keyword Use in Title TagI have said for many years that if I had a gun to my head, and could do only one thing to a web page to optimize it, my choice would be the title tag. Put your keyphrases in your title tag, and remember to optimize each page individually (i.e. don't overstuff your title tag, and have different title tags for each page that reflect the content of that particular page - otherwise, you may suffer from a duplicative content exclusion and find yourself in the supplemental results).
2. Keyword Use in Body TextDuh. If your keyword or keyphrase isn't mentioned at least once in the body text of the web page, then it does not seem your page is very relevant to that keyphrase, now does it? But don't get all caught up in the keyphrase density myth - there is no magic number of times it should appear. Make sense to readers, and it will make sense to the search engines.
3. Relationship of Body Text Content to Keywords (Topic Analysis)Google is smarter than you give them credit for, and just stuffing a keyphrase into a completely unrelated page won't do you much, if any good. Your page should be on a topic which is semantically related to the keyphrase which you are targeting in your title tag.
4. Keyword Use in H1 TagOh, for years the naysayers have been telling me that H1 tag keyphrase use meant nothing and that I was an idiot for thinking otherwise. Well the verdict is in and this is the fourth most important factor according to the SEOMoz article. At this point, therefore, we have learned to put your keyphrase in your title tag, include it in your body text, which body text is topically or semantically related to the keyphrase, and head up the body text with an H1 containing the keyphrase.
5. Keyword Use in Domain NameThis is one that I disagree with. I have seen absolutely no evidence of this at all. Do a simple search on the internet for most any search term, and chances are the top results do not have the search query in the domain name. I believe this may have minor importance, but don't go and change your domain because of it. Seriously, you have much more to lose (such as age of domain, inbound linkage, site reputation, etc.) I regularly see clients at the top of Google with domain names containing nothing near the relevant search terms.
6. Keyword Use in Page URLThis is what I have called "descriptive file naming" for a number of years. I believe it is of some importance, again, however, is more of a factor when setting up a new domain than would be for an existing domain with high pagerank and inbound linkage. Changing your internal url's for the sole purpose of meeting this criterion again is very risky, for the same reasons mentioned above.
7. Keyword Use in H2, H3, H... TagsWell if it works for H1, why not for H2 et al.?
8. Keyword Use in ALT Attributes and Image TitlesSEOMoz incorrectly calls them an ALT tag, but it is not a tag, the ALT is an attribute of the IMG tag. Semantics aside, I believe this to be highly important, I would have ranked this above the URL and domain name items. Experience has shown me that image optimization (image file name, alt attribute, and title) is a wonderful way to make a page more relevant to a desired search query.
9. Keyword Use in Bold/Strong TagsI always use this method, as well as keyword use within the EM (italics) tag. I believe this to be a moderately important factor as it helps emphasize to Google what your page is about, and what you consider important. Definitely on my short list of things to do for "on page" search engine optimization.
10. Keyword Use in Meta Description TagAgain, one of my "big 4" for on page optimization. The "big 4" being: title tag, meta description, h1, and image ALT attributes. (I don't include body text in my big 4 as I believe that is self evident). Definitely important, and again, each page should have custom title and meta description tags.
AOL Launches Private-Label AOL-Only Search Product
the fragmentation continues. hopefully the UK will follow suit and AOL will eventually decide to break away completely. the more the smaller providers continue to do this the less of a monopoly Google has and the better it is for people trying to survive in the market.
AOL Launches Private-Label AOL-Only Search Product
by Laurie Petersen, Monday, Apr 9, 2007
AOL TODAY LAUNCHES AOL SEARCH Marketplace, a private-label version of Google AdWords search allowing advertisers to place search ads only within the AOL network.
This marks the first time Google has allowed one of its partners to offer such a service. It is an expansion of a five-year strategic relationship between Google and AOL struck in December 2005 in which Google powered the contextual search ads found on the AOL service.
AOL Search Marketplace is designed to enhance the efforts of display advertisers on the AOL service, allowing it to offer deeper services and strengthen relationships with these advertisers, said Dariusz Pacsuski, vice president of search products for AOL Platforms. It has been tested with about 30 advertisers over the past five months."
"We have found that there is a significant impact when search and display campaigns are coordinated," said Mike Kelly, president of AOL Media Networks.
The service also gives AOL a better shot at getting some of the search advertising dollars that have gone to Google. AOL restructured to put a focus on a free ad-supported service last year, and has made online ad sales a top priority. AOL ad sales rose to nearly $2 billion in fourth-quarter 2006, up 49% over the previous year for the period.
"This brings what you can classify as a really strong second-tier player to the table," said Stephen Chiles, COO of search marketing agency Reprise Media. "Anytime you can get diversity beyond the big three, that's certainly a positive."
"You can certainly hope that there will potentially be less spam since it's a syndicated Google," added Chiles, a former AOL executive.
Still, the service can only be viewed as a supplemental play because of the AOL volume, he said. According to comScore Media Metrix, AOL has 111 million monthly unique visitors, and search drew 311 million queries in February. Its latest public filing pegged the number of paying AOL domestic subscribers at 13.18 million.
AOL also announced two other search enhancements launching today. AOL Local Search is now in beta incorporating technology from MapQuest. It combines information from AOL's CityGuide with geotargeted advertising to make it easy to find a location and get reviews of local businesses, restaurants and more.
A new AOL Shopping and Commerce Search is resulting from a partnership with PriceGrabber.com to provide a comparison shopping search experience.
AOL Launches Private-Label AOL-Only Search Product
by Laurie Petersen, Monday, Apr 9, 2007
AOL TODAY LAUNCHES AOL SEARCH Marketplace, a private-label version of Google AdWords search allowing advertisers to place search ads only within the AOL network.
This marks the first time Google has allowed one of its partners to offer such a service. It is an expansion of a five-year strategic relationship between Google and AOL struck in December 2005 in which Google powered the contextual search ads found on the AOL service.
AOL Search Marketplace is designed to enhance the efforts of display advertisers on the AOL service, allowing it to offer deeper services and strengthen relationships with these advertisers, said Dariusz Pacsuski, vice president of search products for AOL Platforms. It has been tested with about 30 advertisers over the past five months."
"We have found that there is a significant impact when search and display campaigns are coordinated," said Mike Kelly, president of AOL Media Networks.
The service also gives AOL a better shot at getting some of the search advertising dollars that have gone to Google. AOL restructured to put a focus on a free ad-supported service last year, and has made online ad sales a top priority. AOL ad sales rose to nearly $2 billion in fourth-quarter 2006, up 49% over the previous year for the period.
"This brings what you can classify as a really strong second-tier player to the table," said Stephen Chiles, COO of search marketing agency Reprise Media. "Anytime you can get diversity beyond the big three, that's certainly a positive."
"You can certainly hope that there will potentially be less spam since it's a syndicated Google," added Chiles, a former AOL executive.
Still, the service can only be viewed as a supplemental play because of the AOL volume, he said. According to comScore Media Metrix, AOL has 111 million monthly unique visitors, and search drew 311 million queries in February. Its latest public filing pegged the number of paying AOL domestic subscribers at 13.18 million.
AOL also announced two other search enhancements launching today. AOL Local Search is now in beta incorporating technology from MapQuest. It combines information from AOL's CityGuide with geotargeted advertising to make it easy to find a location and get reviews of local businesses, restaurants and more.
A new AOL Shopping and Commerce Search is resulting from a partnership with PriceGrabber.com to provide a comparison shopping search experience.
Video Search
A useful little list of video search providers.
Search Innovation Spotlight: Video Search
by Bob Heyman, Friday, April 6, 2007
THIS MONTH'S spotlight falls on video search.
While Google and Yahoo offer this service, smaller companies are also making a stir.
Blinkx is a category leader in dedicated video search. The Blinkx technology combines voice recognition with image and contextual analysis. The company has a partnership with Microsoft to power the video search on MSN and Live.com. Blinkx claims the deal made it the "single biggest video search engine on the Web." Blinkx already powers video search on AOL, Lycos, Times Online and other major sites. It also indexes video clips from around the Web and allow users to search them on Blinkx.com and partner sites.
Here are several other competitors:
Flurl is a Belgium-based video search firm in which Brad Greenspan, the founder of MySpace, has acquired a majority stake. Flurl claims to be the "leading independent video search engine." In addition to video, Flurl also indexes images, audio and flash content.
SearchVideo is a video search engine and directory created by AOL that lets you search for videos by categories and relevance. Users can also search within specific video channels like MySpace and YouTube. SearchVideo classifies videos according to 10 general categories. It has a feature that allows users to filter videos by cost, length, quality and format.
PureVideo is a video search engine that enables users to search within the most popular video directories and video sharing sites. It also provides a celebrity video directory. Every search result has its own RSS feed, and you can track its status through any feed readers.
Singingfish is a video and audio search engine that enables searches within hundreds of online video channels and video-sharing sites. It allows users to search videos by format and length, and also save search results and email them to friends. There's also a safe search filter available to block adult content.
ClipRoller allows you to search across the most popular video sites -- and as you continue to log in and search for videos, ClipRoller learns your preferences to deliver content that you would like. It also allows you to easily syndicate a video to any other Web site. There is also a ClipRoller ticker to search for your favorite videos from the desktop.
Users of Pixsy can search across dozens of video sites and can save searches and single videos to watch again. Pixsy displays a description of the content of each video, when available, and enables emailing search results.
Search Innovation Spotlight: Video Search
by Bob Heyman, Friday, April 6, 2007
THIS MONTH'S spotlight falls on video search.
While Google and Yahoo offer this service, smaller companies are also making a stir.
Blinkx is a category leader in dedicated video search. The Blinkx technology combines voice recognition with image and contextual analysis. The company has a partnership with Microsoft to power the video search on MSN and Live.com. Blinkx claims the deal made it the "single biggest video search engine on the Web." Blinkx already powers video search on AOL, Lycos, Times Online and other major sites. It also indexes video clips from around the Web and allow users to search them on Blinkx.com and partner sites.
Here are several other competitors:
Flurl is a Belgium-based video search firm in which Brad Greenspan, the founder of MySpace, has acquired a majority stake. Flurl claims to be the "leading independent video search engine." In addition to video, Flurl also indexes images, audio and flash content.
SearchVideo is a video search engine and directory created by AOL that lets you search for videos by categories and relevance. Users can also search within specific video channels like MySpace and YouTube. SearchVideo classifies videos according to 10 general categories. It has a feature that allows users to filter videos by cost, length, quality and format.
PureVideo is a video search engine that enables users to search within the most popular video directories and video sharing sites. It also provides a celebrity video directory. Every search result has its own RSS feed, and you can track its status through any feed readers.
Singingfish is a video and audio search engine that enables searches within hundreds of online video channels and video-sharing sites. It allows users to search videos by format and length, and also save search results and email them to friends. There's also a safe search filter available to block adult content.
ClipRoller allows you to search across the most popular video sites -- and as you continue to log in and search for videos, ClipRoller learns your preferences to deliver content that you would like. It also allows you to easily syndicate a video to any other Web site. There is also a ClipRoller ticker to search for your favorite videos from the desktop.
Users of Pixsy can search across dozens of video sites and can save searches and single videos to watch again. Pixsy displays a description of the content of each video, when available, and enables emailing search results.
Let the Games Begin Advertising!
this subject interests me greatly. with the knowledge the big computer games suppliers are gethering about users through the online gamng networks ads have the potential to be highly targetted to the user. they also have a much higher visibility than other forms of advertising and a higher engagement time. with the right platform this is a massive industry and one which will take off even more in the next 12 months.
Let the Games Begin Advertising! APRIL 6, 2007
Video games are getting down to business.
The practice of using video games as an advertising vehicle is as old as the games industry itself. Early Sega racing games for the Atari 2600 console featured Marlboro display ads on the raceway, and high-profile early-'90s titles such as Zool and the FIFA International series contained ads for Chupa Chups and Adidas, respectively.
But the games are changing.
"In-game advertising will evolve in scope and sophistication, offering new platforms for marketers, new business opportunities for technology providers and vital revenue for game developers, who have struggled with the escalating production costs of increasingly complex games," says eMarketer Senior Analyst Paul Verna. "eMarketer estimates that over the next five years video game advertising will grow at a compound annual growth rate of nearly 23%, reaching nearly $2 billion by 2011."
Looking at the US market alone, eMarketer predicts that in-game advertising will reach $969 million in the same time period.
Of this total, a significant percentage will come from "advergames," video games created as marketing tools, usually with brand awareness as the central objective. In 2006, US advergaming spending is estimated at $164 million, and this figure is expected to rise to $344 million by 2011.
The factors driving the growth of video game advertising include:
Growth of the video game industry overall
Increasing realization among advertisers that games are a viable way to reach their targets
Broadening of the gaming demographic to include older gamers and women
More games that favor online advertising, such as casual games, online games, massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) and third-generation console games with an online connectivity
Proven success of the advergaming model
"As the in-game advertising industry evolves," says Mr. Verna, "game developers, console manufacturers, advertisers and technology providers are experimenting with new approaches that leverage the shifting demographics of the gaming population."
Let the Games Begin Advertising! APRIL 6, 2007
Video games are getting down to business.
The practice of using video games as an advertising vehicle is as old as the games industry itself. Early Sega racing games for the Atari 2600 console featured Marlboro display ads on the raceway, and high-profile early-'90s titles such as Zool and the FIFA International series contained ads for Chupa Chups and Adidas, respectively.
But the games are changing.
"In-game advertising will evolve in scope and sophistication, offering new platforms for marketers, new business opportunities for technology providers and vital revenue for game developers, who have struggled with the escalating production costs of increasingly complex games," says eMarketer Senior Analyst Paul Verna. "eMarketer estimates that over the next five years video game advertising will grow at a compound annual growth rate of nearly 23%, reaching nearly $2 billion by 2011."
Looking at the US market alone, eMarketer predicts that in-game advertising will reach $969 million in the same time period.
Of this total, a significant percentage will come from "advergames," video games created as marketing tools, usually with brand awareness as the central objective. In 2006, US advergaming spending is estimated at $164 million, and this figure is expected to rise to $344 million by 2011.
The factors driving the growth of video game advertising include:
Growth of the video game industry overall
Increasing realization among advertisers that games are a viable way to reach their targets
Broadening of the gaming demographic to include older gamers and women
More games that favor online advertising, such as casual games, online games, massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) and third-generation console games with an online connectivity
Proven success of the advergaming model
"As the in-game advertising industry evolves," says Mr. Verna, "game developers, console manufacturers, advertisers and technology providers are experimenting with new approaches that leverage the shifting demographics of the gaming population."
Google's Gargantuan Footprint
Google's Gargantuan Footprint
by Gord Hotchkiss, Thursday, April 5, 2007
A RECENT blog post by Anil Batra, formerly from Revenue Science, speculates that Google will soon be getting into behavioral targeting. Another post by A-list blogger Robert Scoble indicates that Google may be dialing down the presentation of sponsored ads for certain queries. Combine this with a few conversations I've had recently with Googlers, and it seems the company is already setting its sights beyond the search results page when it comes to revenue generation. One starts to get a sense of the footprint that Google is planning to put down on the future online landscape.
Getting Personal, One User at a Time
To me, the glue that holds all this together is Google's move towards personalization. If the company can get that piece of the puzzle right, everything else falls into place behind it. And personalization moves Google beyond search into a lot of other applicable areas: the Google homepage, G-mail, Google News, desktop gadgets, to name just a few.
One of the issues I have with Google's move towards personalization is that it stops short of really providing additional value to the average user. If personalization works well, it significantly enhances our search experience by providing relevancy unique to us. The signals that Google is watching to power the personalization algorithm are very much the same ones it would need to watch to introduce behavioral targeting of advertising messages. It's all about the sites that people visit, the search results that they click on and the path they take online. If Google can use all these signals to help enhance the search results, it’s not that big a leap to be able to target messaging through its AdSense network on the sites you visit.
Google Everywhere You Turn
The key to all this for Google is ubiquity online. It need to be everywhere and it’s rapidly approaching that goal. While the pick-up on things like Gmail may not have been the runaway success that everyone was expecting, Google is beginning to offer enough online touch points to provide continuous interaction opportunities for any given individual prospect. Consider the touch points Google already controls. First, three out of every five searches that are launched online, anywhere, happen on Google, according to Hitwise. That’s 60% of hundreds of millions of searches daily, and that alone gives Google a virtual vice grip on the traffic channels of the Internet.
Next is Google's AdSense network. Although it has not publicly disclosed how many sites are in this network, it’s estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands.
And then there's Google's toolbar. In a recent survey we found that about 42% of the participants we interviewed had the Google toolbar installed. In its full implementation, it tracks every single site you visit and streams this information back to Google servers somewhere.
Add to this the various other Google properties and tools you may interact with. This could include Gmail or a Google personal homepage, Google gadgets installed on your desktop, Google Checkout, Google Blog Reader, to name just a few. And that list keeps growing.
Finally, there's Google analytics. One of the smartest moves that Google has done is introduce Google Analytics as a backend tool, free to Webmasters. The question is, why would Google offer a fairly robust analytics package free? The answer is that it gives the company a tremendous amount of data on the backend to supplement what it's already collecting on the front end through click stream tracking. This closes the loop, giving Google two views of a massive dataset and allowing extrapolation from those two views.
BT High on Advertisers’ Wish List
When you add all these touch points together, you have the capability of driving the largest consumer-centric behavioral network in existence. And there's an appetite for this ability to pinpoint precisely. In the last SEMPO market survey, advertisers indicated that behavioral targeting was their preferred option, with 78% of them willing to pay a premium for it. If you could offer advertisers the ability to present progressive messaging, tied to consumers’ movement through the buying cycle, with the ability to intercept them not just at the search results page but at various information sites where they would be gathering more information, you would have an extremely effective net in which to capture prospects.
The challenge for Google is to present behaviorally targeted advertising in a way that doesn't impact the user experience. And this is likely the only sticking point standing between the search engine and the more aggressive rollout of behavioral targeting for advertisers. My suspicion is that work is currently underway on the technologies that would allow Google to always present the right message at the right time to the right person. There is a distinct danger in trying to push that too soon. It's one of those things you have to get at least 70% right out of the gate. But if Google can do this, it's a distinct win both for advertisers and consumers. We don't mind advertising when it's relevant to our needs. We only hate the stuff that gets in our way and keeps us from doing what it is we want to do.
Why Google Can Afford to Dial Back Search Ads
And this brings us to why Google can afford to experiment with dialing back the presentation of sponsored ads on the search results page. A few conversations with different Googlers seem to indicate that its future focus is definitely on the advertising network, rather than the search results page. If it can get the right message/right place/right time/right person equation nailed down, it can monetize traffic much more efficiently and further improve the user experience.
The key for Google, at least on the search results page, is keeping that top-of-page real estate highly relevant. The fact is, over 50% of all the clicks on the page are going to happen on the first three or four listings, whether they’re sponsored or organic. Another fact is that we don't mind a mix of highly relevant sponsored and organic links at the top of the page, but we do mind having nothing but sponsored ads in the top four Golden Triangle locations. Our tolerance for this advertising drops like a rock with the lessening of relevance in the ads presented. If personalization and behavioral targeting would allow Google to further tweak the relevance of these ads and get it right more often, the monetization naturally jumps dramatically.
In our last eye tracking study we found that Google was the most efficient at monetizing traffic to the search results page in the long term. Although Microsoft and Yahoo were more aggressive in presenting ads in the top real estate, Google managed to maintain its click-through rates on both first time and subsequent visits to the same page of results.
Given the possible paths that Google could pursue (and the huge revenue-producing opportunities that lie down those paths) perhaps its mission statement should change from organizing the world’s information to always presenting prospects with the right marketing message at the right time. This certainly aligns better with its recent moves into every marketing channel imaginable.
by Gord Hotchkiss, Thursday, April 5, 2007
A RECENT blog post by Anil Batra, formerly from Revenue Science, speculates that Google will soon be getting into behavioral targeting. Another post by A-list blogger Robert Scoble indicates that Google may be dialing down the presentation of sponsored ads for certain queries. Combine this with a few conversations I've had recently with Googlers, and it seems the company is already setting its sights beyond the search results page when it comes to revenue generation. One starts to get a sense of the footprint that Google is planning to put down on the future online landscape.
Getting Personal, One User at a Time
To me, the glue that holds all this together is Google's move towards personalization. If the company can get that piece of the puzzle right, everything else falls into place behind it. And personalization moves Google beyond search into a lot of other applicable areas: the Google homepage, G-mail, Google News, desktop gadgets, to name just a few.
One of the issues I have with Google's move towards personalization is that it stops short of really providing additional value to the average user. If personalization works well, it significantly enhances our search experience by providing relevancy unique to us. The signals that Google is watching to power the personalization algorithm are very much the same ones it would need to watch to introduce behavioral targeting of advertising messages. It's all about the sites that people visit, the search results that they click on and the path they take online. If Google can use all these signals to help enhance the search results, it’s not that big a leap to be able to target messaging through its AdSense network on the sites you visit.
Google Everywhere You Turn
The key to all this for Google is ubiquity online. It need to be everywhere and it’s rapidly approaching that goal. While the pick-up on things like Gmail may not have been the runaway success that everyone was expecting, Google is beginning to offer enough online touch points to provide continuous interaction opportunities for any given individual prospect. Consider the touch points Google already controls. First, three out of every five searches that are launched online, anywhere, happen on Google, according to Hitwise. That’s 60% of hundreds of millions of searches daily, and that alone gives Google a virtual vice grip on the traffic channels of the Internet.
Next is Google's AdSense network. Although it has not publicly disclosed how many sites are in this network, it’s estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands.
And then there's Google's toolbar. In a recent survey we found that about 42% of the participants we interviewed had the Google toolbar installed. In its full implementation, it tracks every single site you visit and streams this information back to Google servers somewhere.
Add to this the various other Google properties and tools you may interact with. This could include Gmail or a Google personal homepage, Google gadgets installed on your desktop, Google Checkout, Google Blog Reader, to name just a few. And that list keeps growing.
Finally, there's Google analytics. One of the smartest moves that Google has done is introduce Google Analytics as a backend tool, free to Webmasters. The question is, why would Google offer a fairly robust analytics package free? The answer is that it gives the company a tremendous amount of data on the backend to supplement what it's already collecting on the front end through click stream tracking. This closes the loop, giving Google two views of a massive dataset and allowing extrapolation from those two views.
BT High on Advertisers’ Wish List
When you add all these touch points together, you have the capability of driving the largest consumer-centric behavioral network in existence. And there's an appetite for this ability to pinpoint precisely. In the last SEMPO market survey, advertisers indicated that behavioral targeting was their preferred option, with 78% of them willing to pay a premium for it. If you could offer advertisers the ability to present progressive messaging, tied to consumers’ movement through the buying cycle, with the ability to intercept them not just at the search results page but at various information sites where they would be gathering more information, you would have an extremely effective net in which to capture prospects.
The challenge for Google is to present behaviorally targeted advertising in a way that doesn't impact the user experience. And this is likely the only sticking point standing between the search engine and the more aggressive rollout of behavioral targeting for advertisers. My suspicion is that work is currently underway on the technologies that would allow Google to always present the right message at the right time to the right person. There is a distinct danger in trying to push that too soon. It's one of those things you have to get at least 70% right out of the gate. But if Google can do this, it's a distinct win both for advertisers and consumers. We don't mind advertising when it's relevant to our needs. We only hate the stuff that gets in our way and keeps us from doing what it is we want to do.
Why Google Can Afford to Dial Back Search Ads
And this brings us to why Google can afford to experiment with dialing back the presentation of sponsored ads on the search results page. A few conversations with different Googlers seem to indicate that its future focus is definitely on the advertising network, rather than the search results page. If it can get the right message/right place/right time/right person equation nailed down, it can monetize traffic much more efficiently and further improve the user experience.
The key for Google, at least on the search results page, is keeping that top-of-page real estate highly relevant. The fact is, over 50% of all the clicks on the page are going to happen on the first three or four listings, whether they’re sponsored or organic. Another fact is that we don't mind a mix of highly relevant sponsored and organic links at the top of the page, but we do mind having nothing but sponsored ads in the top four Golden Triangle locations. Our tolerance for this advertising drops like a rock with the lessening of relevance in the ads presented. If personalization and behavioral targeting would allow Google to further tweak the relevance of these ads and get it right more often, the monetization naturally jumps dramatically.
In our last eye tracking study we found that Google was the most efficient at monetizing traffic to the search results page in the long term. Although Microsoft and Yahoo were more aggressive in presenting ads in the top real estate, Google managed to maintain its click-through rates on both first time and subsequent visits to the same page of results.
Given the possible paths that Google could pursue (and the huge revenue-producing opportunities that lie down those paths) perhaps its mission statement should change from organizing the world’s information to always presenting prospects with the right marketing message at the right time. This certainly aligns better with its recent moves into every marketing channel imaginable.
The Impact of Personalisation on SEO
Excellent articel highlighted the impact of personalisation of search on the SEO market place. Come interesting observations I had not before considered.
The Impact ofPersonalization on SEO
By Claudia Bruemmer
Personalization of search has been a growing topic of interest for a while, but has stayed under the radar for most people until now. With Google's widespread integration of personalization into standard search results, search marketers' attention has finally been firmly riveted on the issue. Up until recently, Google provided two personalization options:
You could customize your Google Personalized Homepage for quick access to information of your choice (email messages, news headlines, etc.).
You could get automatic personalization from your search history.
Major Changes at SiteProNews: The SiteProNews website no longer reflects the content of the SiteProNews newsletter. The website has a completely new look, provides keyword and category search and offers more article content as well as dynamically changing webmaster blog and news feeds. New features and sections will be added in the coming weeks. Be sure to visit and bookmark the new SiteProNews website.
Recently, Google started combining the above two options for users who sign up for services through their Google accounts. When you sign in, you get access to tailored results utilizing information from your search history and your Google home page. If you don't wish to see results based on your past searches, you simply sign out of your Google Account or turn the option to track your history off in your Account settings.
To quote Danny Sullivan, "...anyone who signs-up for any Google service using a Google Account (such as Gmail, AdSense, Google Analytics among others) will automatically be enrolled into three additional Google products: Search History -- Personalized Search -- Personalized Homepage." In the past, Google Accounts required you to manually enable Search History. However, with the recent change, personalized search has been enabled for all accounts, new and old alike. All accounts also automatically get home pages generated based on account information.
Widespread Personalization
We don't know for sure how rapidly search personalization will take hold. However, a 2006 Choice Stream Personalization Survey shows that consumer interest in the issue is strong, with 79 percent of respondents indicating a willingness to receive personalized content and more than half of the 18-24 year olds asked expressing an interest. The study also saw an íncrease in the number of people who would be willing to trade privacy for increasingly tailored results.
These findings can likely be generalized to search users because the information required for search personalization is less intrusive than the content participants were questioned about in the survey.
Benefits and Drawbacks for Users and Site Owners
Personalization benefits users because it can help make their searches more relevant based on past search behavior. It also can help Web site owners who have excellent content and well-written Titles, since the Web sites with the "stickiest" content will be weighted more favorably. However, in both cases there is also the possibility of closing out potentially useful resources because they do not fit a user's previous history.
In addition to good content, Web pages need good Title and Description Meta tags. Because these are displayed on the search results page, they represent the way human users will judge the site and decide whether or not to clíck through.
You can also gain by getting yourself on the Google personalized homepage of many search users. One way to do this is to offër users a feed, a Google gadget, or Add To Google buttons on your pages so users can subscribe to your content. Another tip is to put Google Bookmark buttons on your pages, such as those provided by AddThis. The more a visitor relies on your site, the better ranking it will receive when that user performs searches related to your keywords. The winners in personalized search are those who make a connection to their users because the results reward loyalty.
Implications for SEO
Increased personalization in search results has obvious implications for anyone performing search engine optimization since search results will now differ from user to user based on search history and user profile. Naturally, all queries will show a change in ranking positions between personalized and non-personalized results. Practitioners have analyzed this effect and found that results for personalized vs. non-personalized search can vary as much as 90 percent. Clearly, on page elements, particularly in the content and Meta data, will become extremely important again.
Rank Checking
The area most affected in the search optimization process is rank checking. An article by Mike Moran in Revenue January/February 2007 states, "Widespread personalization will doom traditional rank checking". Moran also asserts, "It's the biggest change in search marketing since paid search."
Extensive personalization will affect the traditional rank checking process because site rankings will differ based on users' idiosyncratic search habits. SEO analysts will be looking at average rankings rather than absolute rankings. This will force a change in search engine optimization techniques. Currently, SEO requires decision-making based partly on researching targeted keyword phrases used by leading competitors. With personalization, it becomes difficult to identify the leading competitors because all search results will differ.
Therefore, new methodologies for making search engine optimization decisions will have to be devised. Traditional SEO and on page optimization will still be very important and SEOs will need to continue to improve pages, making them superior to other pages for specific targeted keyword phrases. This will require more thorough analyses of competitor on-page and off-page factors.
The process of SEO competitor analysis will require data collection, quantitative and qualitative analyses, as well as multivariate analysis. Multivariate analyses can help determine the relative importance and influence of multiple factors compared to each other, yielding the competitive landscape for your targeted key terms. The strengths and weaknesses of this landscape will help practitioners make the SEO decisions needed for targeting the right terms for optimization.
In-depth competitor intelligence will give SEO practitioners more accurate readings of how their client's Web pages compare to their competitors' pages, and the result will be more accurate information than we currently get with rank checking.
The Challenge of Competitor Intelligence
In-depth competitor intelligence can reveal what's working and what's not for a site's strongest competitors. It can reveal which sites are competitively strong (or weak) compared to the client's site, regardless of what the respective ranking numbers would show with rank checking.
New age competitor intelligence will tell you what optimization factors are most important for specific competitive landscapes. Technicians will learn the true competitive nature of a keyword phrase rather that just the number of results returned for a specific query. They will know exactly what SEO factors to work in order to strengthen their client's position rather than guesstimate based on general guidelines.
In-depth competitor intelligence will tell practitioners how to prioritize the SEO factors to be optimized, revealing semantic relationships between the client's content, the competitors' content, and the semantic nuances of a keyword phrase related to search personalization of user results. Optimization in the era of personalization requires robust competitive intelligence, and this will pay big dividends to those who master analyzing the competitive landscape.
It is undoubtedly true that search will change dramatically once personalization is widely adopted. However, SEO is an art that is extremely flexible and will adapt with widespread use of search history to affect rankings. SEO practitioners have always been creative, and we will develop new techniques to achieve search visibility for our clients as personalized search becomes more prevalent.
The Impact ofPersonalization on SEO
By Claudia Bruemmer
Personalization of search has been a growing topic of interest for a while, but has stayed under the radar for most people until now. With Google's widespread integration of personalization into standard search results, search marketers' attention has finally been firmly riveted on the issue. Up until recently, Google provided two personalization options:
You could customize your Google Personalized Homepage for quick access to information of your choice (email messages, news headlines, etc.).
You could get automatic personalization from your search history.
Major Changes at SiteProNews: The SiteProNews website no longer reflects the content of the SiteProNews newsletter. The website has a completely new look, provides keyword and category search and offers more article content as well as dynamically changing webmaster blog and news feeds. New features and sections will be added in the coming weeks. Be sure to visit and bookmark the new SiteProNews website.
Recently, Google started combining the above two options for users who sign up for services through their Google accounts. When you sign in, you get access to tailored results utilizing information from your search history and your Google home page. If you don't wish to see results based on your past searches, you simply sign out of your Google Account or turn the option to track your history off in your Account settings.
To quote Danny Sullivan, "...anyone who signs-up for any Google service using a Google Account (such as Gmail, AdSense, Google Analytics among others) will automatically be enrolled into three additional Google products: Search History -- Personalized Search -- Personalized Homepage." In the past, Google Accounts required you to manually enable Search History. However, with the recent change, personalized search has been enabled for all accounts, new and old alike. All accounts also automatically get home pages generated based on account information.
Widespread Personalization
We don't know for sure how rapidly search personalization will take hold. However, a 2006 Choice Stream Personalization Survey shows that consumer interest in the issue is strong, with 79 percent of respondents indicating a willingness to receive personalized content and more than half of the 18-24 year olds asked expressing an interest. The study also saw an íncrease in the number of people who would be willing to trade privacy for increasingly tailored results.
These findings can likely be generalized to search users because the information required for search personalization is less intrusive than the content participants were questioned about in the survey.
Benefits and Drawbacks for Users and Site Owners
Personalization benefits users because it can help make their searches more relevant based on past search behavior. It also can help Web site owners who have excellent content and well-written Titles, since the Web sites with the "stickiest" content will be weighted more favorably. However, in both cases there is also the possibility of closing out potentially useful resources because they do not fit a user's previous history.
In addition to good content, Web pages need good Title and Description Meta tags. Because these are displayed on the search results page, they represent the way human users will judge the site and decide whether or not to clíck through.
You can also gain by getting yourself on the Google personalized homepage of many search users. One way to do this is to offër users a feed, a Google gadget, or Add To Google buttons on your pages so users can subscribe to your content. Another tip is to put Google Bookmark buttons on your pages, such as those provided by AddThis. The more a visitor relies on your site, the better ranking it will receive when that user performs searches related to your keywords. The winners in personalized search are those who make a connection to their users because the results reward loyalty.
Implications for SEO
Increased personalization in search results has obvious implications for anyone performing search engine optimization since search results will now differ from user to user based on search history and user profile. Naturally, all queries will show a change in ranking positions between personalized and non-personalized results. Practitioners have analyzed this effect and found that results for personalized vs. non-personalized search can vary as much as 90 percent. Clearly, on page elements, particularly in the content and Meta data, will become extremely important again.
Rank Checking
The area most affected in the search optimization process is rank checking. An article by Mike Moran in Revenue January/February 2007 states, "Widespread personalization will doom traditional rank checking". Moran also asserts, "It's the biggest change in search marketing since paid search."
Extensive personalization will affect the traditional rank checking process because site rankings will differ based on users' idiosyncratic search habits. SEO analysts will be looking at average rankings rather than absolute rankings. This will force a change in search engine optimization techniques. Currently, SEO requires decision-making based partly on researching targeted keyword phrases used by leading competitors. With personalization, it becomes difficult to identify the leading competitors because all search results will differ.
Therefore, new methodologies for making search engine optimization decisions will have to be devised. Traditional SEO and on page optimization will still be very important and SEOs will need to continue to improve pages, making them superior to other pages for specific targeted keyword phrases. This will require more thorough analyses of competitor on-page and off-page factors.
The process of SEO competitor analysis will require data collection, quantitative and qualitative analyses, as well as multivariate analysis. Multivariate analyses can help determine the relative importance and influence of multiple factors compared to each other, yielding the competitive landscape for your targeted key terms. The strengths and weaknesses of this landscape will help practitioners make the SEO decisions needed for targeting the right terms for optimization.
In-depth competitor intelligence will give SEO practitioners more accurate readings of how their client's Web pages compare to their competitors' pages, and the result will be more accurate information than we currently get with rank checking.
The Challenge of Competitor Intelligence
In-depth competitor intelligence can reveal what's working and what's not for a site's strongest competitors. It can reveal which sites are competitively strong (or weak) compared to the client's site, regardless of what the respective ranking numbers would show with rank checking.
New age competitor intelligence will tell you what optimization factors are most important for specific competitive landscapes. Technicians will learn the true competitive nature of a keyword phrase rather that just the number of results returned for a specific query. They will know exactly what SEO factors to work in order to strengthen their client's position rather than guesstimate based on general guidelines.
In-depth competitor intelligence will tell practitioners how to prioritize the SEO factors to be optimized, revealing semantic relationships between the client's content, the competitors' content, and the semantic nuances of a keyword phrase related to search personalization of user results. Optimization in the era of personalization requires robust competitive intelligence, and this will pay big dividends to those who master analyzing the competitive landscape.
It is undoubtedly true that search will change dramatically once personalization is widely adopted. However, SEO is an art that is extremely flexible and will adapt with widespread use of search history to affect rankings. SEO practitioners have always been creative, and we will develop new techniques to achieve search visibility for our clients as personalized search becomes more prevalent.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
