Yahoo Reportedly Shutting Down MyBlogLog Very Soon
By Chris Crum
Yahoo will reportedly shut down MyBlogLog in January. Marshall Kirkpatrick at ReadWriteWeb claims to have heard from "sources close to the project" that this is the case.
"Yahoo! has let the service atrophy for years and will now put it to rest," writes Kirkpatrick. "To think that this service offered publishers and developers access to personal, demographic, taste and activity data of a website's readers - and yet that offering has in the end gone no where - that's downright crazy."
MyBlogLog was originally developed by Cloudspace out of Florida, but was acquired by Yahoo in January 2007. The company paid over 10 million dollars for it. According to Wikipedia, there were over 45,000 blogs subscribed to it at the time, and it currently has 275,000 registered users.
It's no secret that Yahoo is cutting costs wherever it can. For example, earlier this year, they shut down the once popular Geocities.
Showing posts with label Digital Marketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Digital Marketing. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Gasta Tech News:Online display advertising picks up again
David Kaplan
twitter @davidaKaplan
The tentative comeback in online display ad spending appears to be by-passing newspapers. Signs of the recovery started well enough this summer, as the NYT notes that big marketers like Mercedes began showering hundreds of thousands of dollars on dynamic, 3D display ads in newspapers.
But it was short-lived, as ad networks began getting the bulk of Mercedes’ online budget, thanks to the promise of lower costs and the promise of greater targeting. The NYT’s Stephanie Clifford finds marketers use of online newspaper ads and display networks akin to wearing expensive shoes: for a big debut, marketers will splurge on premium newspaper ads; but it when it comes to everyday business, ad networks make more sense.
The latest earnings reports bear that out. Google (NSDQ: GOOG) and Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO), two of the biggest online ad bellwethers, saw display revenues tick up slightly. But when it came to online ad revenues at the NYTCo (NYSE: NYT), its web ads fell 18.5 percent. Gannett’s operating digital revenues were also about 20 percent lower. Meanwhile, McClatchy (NYSE: MNI) posted just a 3 percent gain for web ads.
Last spring, there was a lot of hope that the Online Publishers Association’s new display ad formats might help draw more dollars from marketers. But ad nets quickly adopted the larger formats for those who wanted them, while other advertisers have complained about the complexity attached to these buys.
So far, the only things major publishers can do to pry advertisers’ dollars is put a greater emphasis on selling the non-premium ads—which Denise Warren, SVP for advertising/chief advertising officer for the NYT Media Group, insists the company is doing to positive effect—and stress the brand building capabilities that come with being attached to a popular web destination.
twitter @davidaKaplan
The tentative comeback in online display ad spending appears to be by-passing newspapers. Signs of the recovery started well enough this summer, as the NYT notes that big marketers like Mercedes began showering hundreds of thousands of dollars on dynamic, 3D display ads in newspapers.
But it was short-lived, as ad networks began getting the bulk of Mercedes’ online budget, thanks to the promise of lower costs and the promise of greater targeting. The NYT’s Stephanie Clifford finds marketers use of online newspaper ads and display networks akin to wearing expensive shoes: for a big debut, marketers will splurge on premium newspaper ads; but it when it comes to everyday business, ad networks make more sense.
The latest earnings reports bear that out. Google (NSDQ: GOOG) and Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO), two of the biggest online ad bellwethers, saw display revenues tick up slightly. But when it came to online ad revenues at the NYTCo (NYSE: NYT), its web ads fell 18.5 percent. Gannett’s operating digital revenues were also about 20 percent lower. Meanwhile, McClatchy (NYSE: MNI) posted just a 3 percent gain for web ads.
Last spring, there was a lot of hope that the Online Publishers Association’s new display ad formats might help draw more dollars from marketers. But ad nets quickly adopted the larger formats for those who wanted them, while other advertisers have complained about the complexity attached to these buys.
So far, the only things major publishers can do to pry advertisers’ dollars is put a greater emphasis on selling the non-premium ads—which Denise Warren, SVP for advertising/chief advertising officer for the NYT Media Group, insists the company is doing to positive effect—and stress the brand building capabilities that come with being attached to a popular web destination.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Push for 'instant-on' web search
A company that provides "instant-on" computing will bring "instant search" to the PC for the first time.
Splashtop, made by DeviceVM, already lets consumers access email, chat with friends, share photos or surf the web seconds after turning on their PC.
The deal involves three search leaders including Yahoo in the US and Japan, Baidu in China and Yandex in Russia.
DeviceVM's Dave Bottoms said the deals make sense because web searching is fundamental to computer users.
"Search is the tip of the iceberg in being able to offer a lot of different web services, but when you think about where people spend their time online, it's in search," Mr Bottoms, senior director of product management, told BBC News.
"I think this is the next new start experience frontier we are witnessing at the device level."
A web analytics firm, Comscore, found that in June alone Americans conducted more than 14 billion core searches, up from 10.8 billion in 2008.
"A lot of people use search as a basic navigation tool," said DeviceVM's marketing director Sergey Krupenin.
"Instead of typing in Facebook.com in the address bar, users are typing it into the search box."
'Accessible'
Depending on what part of the world users are in, as soon as they switch on their computer, they will be greeted by a front page that offers a free Yahoo branded search box or one that says Yandex or Baidu.
"Web search has emerged as the dominant and universal navigation tool...and providing instant search will further expand our search leadership in China, the largest and fastest growing internet search market in the world," said Haoyu Shen, vice president of operations for Baidu.
"The search distribution landscape is changing, and instant search is one of the ways Yahoo provides our users with a convenient and highly accessible Yahoo search experience," said Tim Mayer, vice president of North America search and social experiences for Yahoo.
In America analysts are not so sure this "instant-search" feature will make a big difference in driving more users to Yahoo, which has 20% of the US market versus Google's 65% share.
"I don't think these deals have a dramatic impact on market share," said Greg Sterling of search news site SearchEngineLand.
"People's habits are fairly well established now when they go online. However some people will undoubtedly use Yahoo for their search because they are lazy and it's right in front of them," said Mr Sterling.
"That might mean Yahoo will get an incremental bump, but it won't be significant."
'Instant internet revolution'
Splashtop comes pre-installed on computers. At the moment it is on over 10 million PCs across 200 models made by Asus, HP, Lenovo, Sony, Acer and LG.
Mr Bottoms said the company estimated that by the end of this year, Splashtop -and the "instant internet revolution" that it heralds - will be on 40 million devices.
By the end of 2010, he believes, that number will be up to 100 million computers.
DeviceVM said the growing popularity of netbooks is key to this success and that this new instant search feature plays nicely into how people use these low-cost mini laptops.
"Users generally use netbooks on the go for chunks of a half an hour or so compared to notebooks or laptops where they will spend around three hours at home or in an office.
"With the emergence of netbooks, we are definitely seeing a lot of consumer demand for always being connected, always on and being able, at the press of a button, to get searching on the web quickly," explained Mr Bottoms.
A report by DisplaySearch said that demand for netbooks has been hot and looks to get hotter.
They are projected to grab a 20% share of the worldwide market for this year with consumers expected to buy almost 33 million netbooks - a doubling of last year's 16 million.
"The culture of 'on-the-go' means that speed is important to these users," said SearchEngineLand's Mr Sterling.
"I think that will be a benefit to the netbook experience and this is where that quick search box will have its appeal."
Windows 7
Splashtop and other "instant-on" offerings from other companies bypasses Microsoft Windows, the dominant operating system on PCs.
But software giant Microsoft has said Windows 7 promises to be a leaner, lighter propositsion that can compete in this space.
The company has just released Windows 7 into the hands of computer makers in a process known as "release to manufacturers". This is the last big step before the product reaches users in late October.
Microsoft claims that Windows 7 test results showed PCs have gone from a "cold boot" - from switched completely off - to a ready desktop at speeds comparable to the instant-on environments.
But DeviceVM's Mr Krupenin said that still does not solve the basic problem of speed.
"It is not about how fast an operating system is but how much is loaded onto it. Six months after people have bought their computer, it works at least two times slower because of all the applications that have been added on.
"Splashtop is an optimised environment around the browser and you are not installing anything there," he explained.
The company said it expects to see their 'instant-search' page on devices from September onwards.
By Maggie Shiels
Technology reporter, Silicon Valley
Splashtop, made by DeviceVM, already lets consumers access email, chat with friends, share photos or surf the web seconds after turning on their PC.
The deal involves three search leaders including Yahoo in the US and Japan, Baidu in China and Yandex in Russia.
DeviceVM's Dave Bottoms said the deals make sense because web searching is fundamental to computer users.
"Search is the tip of the iceberg in being able to offer a lot of different web services, but when you think about where people spend their time online, it's in search," Mr Bottoms, senior director of product management, told BBC News.
"I think this is the next new start experience frontier we are witnessing at the device level."
A web analytics firm, Comscore, found that in June alone Americans conducted more than 14 billion core searches, up from 10.8 billion in 2008.
"A lot of people use search as a basic navigation tool," said DeviceVM's marketing director Sergey Krupenin.
"Instead of typing in Facebook.com in the address bar, users are typing it into the search box."
'Accessible'
Depending on what part of the world users are in, as soon as they switch on their computer, they will be greeted by a front page that offers a free Yahoo branded search box or one that says Yandex or Baidu.
"Web search has emerged as the dominant and universal navigation tool...and providing instant search will further expand our search leadership in China, the largest and fastest growing internet search market in the world," said Haoyu Shen, vice president of operations for Baidu.
"The search distribution landscape is changing, and instant search is one of the ways Yahoo provides our users with a convenient and highly accessible Yahoo search experience," said Tim Mayer, vice president of North America search and social experiences for Yahoo.
In America analysts are not so sure this "instant-search" feature will make a big difference in driving more users to Yahoo, which has 20% of the US market versus Google's 65% share.
"I don't think these deals have a dramatic impact on market share," said Greg Sterling of search news site SearchEngineLand.
"People's habits are fairly well established now when they go online. However some people will undoubtedly use Yahoo for their search because they are lazy and it's right in front of them," said Mr Sterling.
"That might mean Yahoo will get an incremental bump, but it won't be significant."
'Instant internet revolution'
Splashtop comes pre-installed on computers. At the moment it is on over 10 million PCs across 200 models made by Asus, HP, Lenovo, Sony, Acer and LG.
Mr Bottoms said the company estimated that by the end of this year, Splashtop -and the "instant internet revolution" that it heralds - will be on 40 million devices.
By the end of 2010, he believes, that number will be up to 100 million computers.
DeviceVM said the growing popularity of netbooks is key to this success and that this new instant search feature plays nicely into how people use these low-cost mini laptops.
"Users generally use netbooks on the go for chunks of a half an hour or so compared to notebooks or laptops where they will spend around three hours at home or in an office.
"With the emergence of netbooks, we are definitely seeing a lot of consumer demand for always being connected, always on and being able, at the press of a button, to get searching on the web quickly," explained Mr Bottoms.
A report by DisplaySearch said that demand for netbooks has been hot and looks to get hotter.
They are projected to grab a 20% share of the worldwide market for this year with consumers expected to buy almost 33 million netbooks - a doubling of last year's 16 million.
"The culture of 'on-the-go' means that speed is important to these users," said SearchEngineLand's Mr Sterling.
"I think that will be a benefit to the netbook experience and this is where that quick search box will have its appeal."
Windows 7
Splashtop and other "instant-on" offerings from other companies bypasses Microsoft Windows, the dominant operating system on PCs.
But software giant Microsoft has said Windows 7 promises to be a leaner, lighter propositsion that can compete in this space.
The company has just released Windows 7 into the hands of computer makers in a process known as "release to manufacturers". This is the last big step before the product reaches users in late October.
Microsoft claims that Windows 7 test results showed PCs have gone from a "cold boot" - from switched completely off - to a ready desktop at speeds comparable to the instant-on environments.
But DeviceVM's Mr Krupenin said that still does not solve the basic problem of speed.
"It is not about how fast an operating system is but how much is loaded onto it. Six months after people have bought their computer, it works at least two times slower because of all the applications that have been added on.
"Splashtop is an optimised environment around the browser and you are not installing anything there," he explained.
The company said it expects to see their 'instant-search' page on devices from September onwards.
By Maggie Shiels
Technology reporter, Silicon Valley
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Gasta News: EU warns Internet companies to 'protect information'
The European Union has told internet companies to make better efforts to protect information they are given by consumers, or face tougher regulation.
Consumer Affairs Commissioner Meglena Kuneva told leading e-commerce and internet search firms that standards of privacy are "not satisfactory".
"Basic consumer rights in terms of transparency, control and risk are being violated," she said.
Internet firms say they have recently taken action to protect users' data.
Consumer rights
The technology used by internet companies to profile customers is becoming so sophisticated that more confidential personal information is being recorded than consumer watchdogs believe is necessary.
In a speech on Tuesday, Ms Kuneva warned internet giants such as Microsoft and Google that "the current situation with regard to privacy, profiling and targeting is not satisfactory".
The EU is concerned that consumers are being pressured into handing over personal data to subscribe to internet services, and that confidential information is then abused to create a profile to target the customer for sales.
Last month, the social networking site Facebook was forced to abandon a plan to change its policy towards privacy after a backlash by users.
The EU cites this as evidence that the regulators need to intervene to protect consumers.
Brussels recognises that keeping data that tracks customers' preferences is useful for marketing, but insists that consumer rights must be protected.
Ms Kuneva warned online businesses that if the EU fails to "see an adequate response", the regulator will not "shy away" from its duty to protect consumers.
"We must establish the principles of transparency, clear language, opt-in or opt-out options that are meaningful and easy to use," she said.
Consumer Affairs Commissioner Meglena Kuneva told leading e-commerce and internet search firms that standards of privacy are "not satisfactory".
"Basic consumer rights in terms of transparency, control and risk are being violated," she said.
Internet firms say they have recently taken action to protect users' data.
Consumer rights
The technology used by internet companies to profile customers is becoming so sophisticated that more confidential personal information is being recorded than consumer watchdogs believe is necessary.
In a speech on Tuesday, Ms Kuneva warned internet giants such as Microsoft and Google that "the current situation with regard to privacy, profiling and targeting is not satisfactory".
The EU is concerned that consumers are being pressured into handing over personal data to subscribe to internet services, and that confidential information is then abused to create a profile to target the customer for sales.
Last month, the social networking site Facebook was forced to abandon a plan to change its policy towards privacy after a backlash by users.
The EU cites this as evidence that the regulators need to intervene to protect consumers.
Brussels recognises that keeping data that tracks customers' preferences is useful for marketing, but insists that consumer rights must be protected.
Ms Kuneva warned online businesses that if the EU fails to "see an adequate response", the regulator will not "shy away" from its duty to protect consumers.
"We must establish the principles of transparency, clear language, opt-in or opt-out options that are meaningful and easy to use," she said.
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Gasta Tech News:10 ways to boost the value of your corporate blog
10 ways to boost the value of your corporate blog
Trend 1: A focus on what's important
The healthy thing about a bad economy is it forces us to get focused on the activity and investments that actually drive our businesses. The days of tweets or Facebook occupying our brains are long gone. In online marketing, we have to focus on high-return activities. Vince Lombardi said that football was about two things: blocking and tackling. Likewise, online marketing is about two things: email and search. Since more than 90 percent of the internet population engages in a search every day, businesses should focus on this instead of how to measure ROI on blogging.
Trend 2: Blogging for search
Organic search is driven primarily by the formula (D + C) x V = OST. That means data plus content multiplied by volume equals organic search traffic. In the case of online marketing, the data are your targeted keywords. Content is based on target to those keywords. The magic enumerator is volume. The more web content you create specifically around your targeted keywords, the more organic search traffic you will drive.
This is where businesses really start to appreciate the power of corporate blogging. We must forget about RSS feeds or comments as the measure of success and realize that blogging is a target marketing strategy based on delivering a message to a keyword, just like email delivers a relevant message to an email address.
When you consider the three main traffic sources to corporate blogs (direct navigation, referrals, and search), search is the only measure you should focus on because it's the only one you can control and, more importantly, scale. You can't increase the number of referrals or direct navigation; it either happens or it doesn't. But on the other hand, when discussing search, if you want more organic traffic, you simply have to add more blogs targeted specifically to your keywords and write more content.
Trend 3: Rethink everything you hear about social networking
As marketers, we are often attracted to things that are new and shiny. In a market like the one we are experiencing, coupled with the decline in just about every other marketing medium (newspapers and other print, TV, radio, banner ads, mobile, online video), it's fun to imagine that if you "only join the community" all your marketing problems will be solved. (That last sentence sounded a little angry didn't it?).
During my presentation on this topic, I often reference a graphic from Jack Herer's book, "The Emperor Wears No Clothes." I'm not saying you shouldn't participate -- you should absolutely be listening to what is going on regarding your company and industry. But relative to the things that actually scale and really drive revenue, this is a sideshow compared to the big event.
I heard a talk the other day in which a marketing person from a big brand-name outdoor retailer was discussing a major initiative for the company's marketing department this year. Building a social network. Great. "How many members would you consider a success?" "Oh anywhere from 10,000 to 50,000 would be huge." Doing the math, to make $50 million from this endeavor would require achieving 100 percent of the membership goal and having each of those members influence at least $1,000 each in increased sales. I wonder how many businesses do this math.
Trend 4: Content and volume
We talked about this a little bit earlier, but it's worth addressing as a separate trend. The simple math shows that the more content you create, the more organic traffic you will attract.
Trend 5: Keyword awareness
Blogging for search acquisition is a data-driven strategy. What's great is that the data are easily available with very solid metrics and value. The data are your keywords. People are telling you exactly what they are attempting to find. Every industry has hundreds, if not millions, of people getting online and entering keywords specifically asking for your product or service. These keywords are easy to find, simple to track by volume, and easy to value. What's great about the pay-per-click world is there is a fair marketplace, just like the stock market, where people bid and compete for keywords every day. There is no ambiguity about any of this; it's a database marketer's dream.
Keywords imply buyer intent. Whether I'm looking for a bankruptcy lawyer or a toaster, when you see me searching with those terms, you can be pretty certain that I'm a worthwhile prospect (compared to if I happened to be watching 30 Rock or something). Search is a target marketing strategy. The marketer's job is to deliver a message to the hundreds or thousands of keywords ready to serve that message when someone makes the search.
Trend 6: Dumb it down
The polite way to say this is "write for the web." To date, blogging has been about thought leadership and CEOs' grand visions. This has been a hindrance to SEO. When you over-think your content, you create a lot less of it. It becomes a lot of work.
Seth Godin gave me this advice when I first started blogging: "Be pithy." Words of wisdom. People don't read the web, they scan. They are looking for themes, credibility, or an idea. Think about your content in terms of search. When people have a problem, they enter their keywords into that little box looking for help. Are you the one to help them? First you have to show up. We already talked about how that requires targeting and volume. Are they looking for journalism? Most likely they are looking for a quick source for an answer. By writing simply, enthusiastically, or talking about specific problems and solutions, you stand a much better chance of not only winning the search, but also winning the conversion.
One of my co-workers wrote in her blog that we should blog like a 5-year-old. If we did we would:
1. Be honest
2. Be humorous
3. Be humble
4. Keep it basic
5. Talk at a level that everyone can understand
6. Never run out of things to say
This is great advice for every corporate blogger.
Trend 7: Widespread employee blogging
A big part of the problem with corporate blogging has been that it's been too corporate. People don't necessarily care or, more importantly, trust what the CEO, PR team, or brand says. The good news is that your employees are in a position to tell the kind of stories that foster both trust and engagement. Last year, Richard Edelman said, "Employee bloggers are five times more credible than a CEO blogger."
People don't care nearly as much about your opinions as they care about their problem. Employees are in a much better position to discuss things the customer cares about. Things like applications, use cases, customers, and the problems they solve every day. Employees are human, engaged, passionate, and want to participate and feel valued. If you give someone a business card and let them talk on the phone, you should let them blog.
Additionally, the huge benefit of widespread employee participation is the content volume. By sharing the load among everyone, you naturally generate an increased volume of content that is timely, relevant, and will drive more traffic.
If the social media phenomenon is telling us anything, it's that people like people. You hire smart people, they enjoy their jobs and customer interaction -- so let them write.
Trend 8: Get local
Blogging for search is a great strategy for anyone, but it's rocket fuel for local search. The simple reason is that there is less competition. Most local searches are won by directories like online yellow pages because nobody is competing for them at that level.
The reality from a search standpoint is that an estimated 20-50 percent of all search has "local intent." Local search grew 76 percent last year, according to comScore. This gives a huge advantage to those local and national companies that focus on a local strategy. Do people really want to search, find a directory, and then have to search again? Of course not, they just want to find you. Blog about your location and blog about your products and inventory. And don't forget your keywords.
Trend 9: Coupons and other offers
Think about your traffic now. What do you want the people to do? Read your wisdom? Maybe, but that is hard to monetize. Think about transactional calls to action (CTAs). These keyword-targeted blogs have the same responsibility as any other web property. They have to convert that traffic into action. Whatever you expect from your site, you should challenge the blogs to perform the same or better in conversion.
Trend 10: Measurement and metrics
Are my blogs doing me any good? The only way to find out is to measure them. Blogs, like any other web marketing initiative, have a huge advantage in that they are all measurable. The key is what to measure.
A great measure at the top of the funnel is the relationship of blog post volume to overall traffic volume. As you see the correlation between the traffic increase as you increase your content, it absolutely supports engaging more bloggers.
You should also measure your keyword traffic against the value of that traffic if you were paying for it. We discussed earlier that there is no ambiguity when it comes to the value of search traffic. Google and others quite clearly indicate a marketplace for keywords that is designed to squeeze out the real value of every keyword you can imagine. When you are looking at your organic traffic, you need to measure what that traffic would cost if you had to buy it.
By measuring the value of keywords, your organization can focus on converting that traffic into actionable business. Tell your boss you drove $20,000 worth of organic traffic last month, and I promise the first question out of his or her mouth will be, "How much business did that translate into?"
And, at the end, that's the most important measure, right? You increase the top of the funnel so you can increase what comes out the other end.
This year's corporate blogging trends will be all about what's coming out the other end -- the ROI of blogging.
Chris Baggott is co-founder and CEO of Compendium Blogware.
Trend 1: A focus on what's important
The healthy thing about a bad economy is it forces us to get focused on the activity and investments that actually drive our businesses. The days of tweets or Facebook occupying our brains are long gone. In online marketing, we have to focus on high-return activities. Vince Lombardi said that football was about two things: blocking and tackling. Likewise, online marketing is about two things: email and search. Since more than 90 percent of the internet population engages in a search every day, businesses should focus on this instead of how to measure ROI on blogging.
Trend 2: Blogging for search
Organic search is driven primarily by the formula (D + C) x V = OST. That means data plus content multiplied by volume equals organic search traffic. In the case of online marketing, the data are your targeted keywords. Content is based on target to those keywords. The magic enumerator is volume. The more web content you create specifically around your targeted keywords, the more organic search traffic you will drive.
This is where businesses really start to appreciate the power of corporate blogging. We must forget about RSS feeds or comments as the measure of success and realize that blogging is a target marketing strategy based on delivering a message to a keyword, just like email delivers a relevant message to an email address.
When you consider the three main traffic sources to corporate blogs (direct navigation, referrals, and search), search is the only measure you should focus on because it's the only one you can control and, more importantly, scale. You can't increase the number of referrals or direct navigation; it either happens or it doesn't. But on the other hand, when discussing search, if you want more organic traffic, you simply have to add more blogs targeted specifically to your keywords and write more content.
Trend 3: Rethink everything you hear about social networking
As marketers, we are often attracted to things that are new and shiny. In a market like the one we are experiencing, coupled with the decline in just about every other marketing medium (newspapers and other print, TV, radio, banner ads, mobile, online video), it's fun to imagine that if you "only join the community" all your marketing problems will be solved. (That last sentence sounded a little angry didn't it?).
During my presentation on this topic, I often reference a graphic from Jack Herer's book, "The Emperor Wears No Clothes." I'm not saying you shouldn't participate -- you should absolutely be listening to what is going on regarding your company and industry. But relative to the things that actually scale and really drive revenue, this is a sideshow compared to the big event.
I heard a talk the other day in which a marketing person from a big brand-name outdoor retailer was discussing a major initiative for the company's marketing department this year. Building a social network. Great. "How many members would you consider a success?" "Oh anywhere from 10,000 to 50,000 would be huge." Doing the math, to make $50 million from this endeavor would require achieving 100 percent of the membership goal and having each of those members influence at least $1,000 each in increased sales. I wonder how many businesses do this math.
Trend 4: Content and volume
We talked about this a little bit earlier, but it's worth addressing as a separate trend. The simple math shows that the more content you create, the more organic traffic you will attract.
Trend 5: Keyword awareness
Blogging for search acquisition is a data-driven strategy. What's great is that the data are easily available with very solid metrics and value. The data are your keywords. People are telling you exactly what they are attempting to find. Every industry has hundreds, if not millions, of people getting online and entering keywords specifically asking for your product or service. These keywords are easy to find, simple to track by volume, and easy to value. What's great about the pay-per-click world is there is a fair marketplace, just like the stock market, where people bid and compete for keywords every day. There is no ambiguity about any of this; it's a database marketer's dream.
Keywords imply buyer intent. Whether I'm looking for a bankruptcy lawyer or a toaster, when you see me searching with those terms, you can be pretty certain that I'm a worthwhile prospect (compared to if I happened to be watching 30 Rock or something). Search is a target marketing strategy. The marketer's job is to deliver a message to the hundreds or thousands of keywords ready to serve that message when someone makes the search.
Trend 6: Dumb it down
The polite way to say this is "write for the web." To date, blogging has been about thought leadership and CEOs' grand visions. This has been a hindrance to SEO. When you over-think your content, you create a lot less of it. It becomes a lot of work.
Seth Godin gave me this advice when I first started blogging: "Be pithy." Words of wisdom. People don't read the web, they scan. They are looking for themes, credibility, or an idea. Think about your content in terms of search. When people have a problem, they enter their keywords into that little box looking for help. Are you the one to help them? First you have to show up. We already talked about how that requires targeting and volume. Are they looking for journalism? Most likely they are looking for a quick source for an answer. By writing simply, enthusiastically, or talking about specific problems and solutions, you stand a much better chance of not only winning the search, but also winning the conversion.
One of my co-workers wrote in her blog that we should blog like a 5-year-old. If we did we would:
1. Be honest
2. Be humorous
3. Be humble
4. Keep it basic
5. Talk at a level that everyone can understand
6. Never run out of things to say
This is great advice for every corporate blogger.
Trend 7: Widespread employee blogging
A big part of the problem with corporate blogging has been that it's been too corporate. People don't necessarily care or, more importantly, trust what the CEO, PR team, or brand says. The good news is that your employees are in a position to tell the kind of stories that foster both trust and engagement. Last year, Richard Edelman said, "Employee bloggers are five times more credible than a CEO blogger."
People don't care nearly as much about your opinions as they care about their problem. Employees are in a much better position to discuss things the customer cares about. Things like applications, use cases, customers, and the problems they solve every day. Employees are human, engaged, passionate, and want to participate and feel valued. If you give someone a business card and let them talk on the phone, you should let them blog.
Additionally, the huge benefit of widespread employee participation is the content volume. By sharing the load among everyone, you naturally generate an increased volume of content that is timely, relevant, and will drive more traffic.
If the social media phenomenon is telling us anything, it's that people like people. You hire smart people, they enjoy their jobs and customer interaction -- so let them write.
Trend 8: Get local
Blogging for search is a great strategy for anyone, but it's rocket fuel for local search. The simple reason is that there is less competition. Most local searches are won by directories like online yellow pages because nobody is competing for them at that level.
The reality from a search standpoint is that an estimated 20-50 percent of all search has "local intent." Local search grew 76 percent last year, according to comScore. This gives a huge advantage to those local and national companies that focus on a local strategy. Do people really want to search, find a directory, and then have to search again? Of course not, they just want to find you. Blog about your location and blog about your products and inventory. And don't forget your keywords.
Trend 9: Coupons and other offers
Think about your traffic now. What do you want the people to do? Read your wisdom? Maybe, but that is hard to monetize. Think about transactional calls to action (CTAs). These keyword-targeted blogs have the same responsibility as any other web property. They have to convert that traffic into action. Whatever you expect from your site, you should challenge the blogs to perform the same or better in conversion.
Trend 10: Measurement and metrics
Are my blogs doing me any good? The only way to find out is to measure them. Blogs, like any other web marketing initiative, have a huge advantage in that they are all measurable. The key is what to measure.
A great measure at the top of the funnel is the relationship of blog post volume to overall traffic volume. As you see the correlation between the traffic increase as you increase your content, it absolutely supports engaging more bloggers.
You should also measure your keyword traffic against the value of that traffic if you were paying for it. We discussed earlier that there is no ambiguity when it comes to the value of search traffic. Google and others quite clearly indicate a marketplace for keywords that is designed to squeeze out the real value of every keyword you can imagine. When you are looking at your organic traffic, you need to measure what that traffic would cost if you had to buy it.
By measuring the value of keywords, your organization can focus on converting that traffic into actionable business. Tell your boss you drove $20,000 worth of organic traffic last month, and I promise the first question out of his or her mouth will be, "How much business did that translate into?"
And, at the end, that's the most important measure, right? You increase the top of the funnel so you can increase what comes out the other end.
This year's corporate blogging trends will be all about what's coming out the other end -- the ROI of blogging.
Chris Baggott is co-founder and CEO of Compendium Blogware.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Gasta Research: Quality Vs Quantity in lead genertion
The Quality Volume Divide
by Editor
It is a problem old as time in the performance marketing sector, one that shows itself much more clearly and painfully in the world of online lead generation. The challenge to produce high quality with high volume. Ask almost any advertiser who has at least a modicum of experience in online advertising, and growing volume while maintaining quality will rank high among their challenges and frustrations. The unfortunate truth is that after a certain point, quality starts to degrade. What exactly is quality, though? The reason that we use lead generation as an example is that quality is easy to explain. Let's use an auto insurance offer running on a CPA network as an example. The offer looks to get users to enter their information to see if they could lower their auto insurance payments. When a user enters their information, the network receives credit and they then credit the appropriate publisher. The person buying the lead receives no money from the user filling out the form only from the percentage of users who then go on to purchase a policy. The higher that conversion rate, the higher the quality. If more people convert from lead to policy, the lead buyer can afford to pay more. If fewer people do, then they will have to lower the payout in order to continue covering the cost of buying the leads.
In the optimal scenario, conversion rates start out profitably and even increase over time as both sides optimize. At a point, though, especially in the optimal scenario where the advertiser sees good returns with good volume, they will want more. Two things start to happen here. The first is often counterintuitive for the advertiser, and we called it the price fallacy in lead generation, namely that more volume comes at a higher price. What the price fallacy fails to capture is what, more often than not, happens to quality. Once under the gun to get more volume, when suppliers attempt to do so, they end up succeeding but at the expense of the initial quality.
As the illustration above shows, the optimal phase sees volume growing with quality remaining above the break even. When the two parties switch into the forced growth phase, volume continues to increase (often it increases at a slope higher than the initial growth), but quality starts to slip. More quickly than expected it goes from the advertiser having a positive yield to a negative one.
Quite a few explanations exist for the quality-volume divide. One of the more straight forward revolves around intent. Only so many people have a given interest in a product. B2B marketers deal with this issue all the time. For some high dollar, super complex sales, e.g., a multi-million dollar database configuration, there just aren't that many people who could be buyers. With auto insurance, the number is fortunately much higher, but it's not infinite. Different traffic channels have different levels of intent - search is not surprisingly higher than co-registration. For many verticals, there are only so many keywords available. To get in front of more users it means trying other avenues - email, display, contextual ads, etc. Each one of those will have its equivalent of head users and tail users - sites / placements where users who click will have an interest as opposed to someone who places an ad on Facebook saying, "Find out how much it is to insure a Ferrari." Each incremental step in obtaining more traffic tends to come at the expense of the intent of the person who views / clicks / converts on the ad. Here is what it looks like plotted.
Saturation also plays a role. At some point, an advertiser will simply have reached the vast majority of potential users for the product. The problem is that they want to grow. They don't want to settle for the same amount, and it pushes them to continue trying even at the detriment of their quality. It's not that higher volume and good quality can't go together. It's all about the incremental lead in the growth phase. In the forced growth phase, instead of the next lead converting at or near the previous lead, it keeps slipping. Good leads still exist, but they get lost among the lower quality ones. It's a problem which, if solved, will mean incredible gains but it currently falls outside the skill set of both the lead buyer and lead seller. Each can get better - they can implement various levels of verification (quality, scoring, call centers) but to get really good, means each getting away from what they do best. Buyers and sellers get closer, but they will never close the divide fully. It's too complex, too distracting, and not urgent enough for them. All of which means one of two things will happen. The divide will come and bite everyone in the behind and/or someone else will come along, solve it, and do very well. A note of warning though, there is another reason why no one has done so to date. It's anything but easy.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Gasta News:Microsoft’s Ballmer Seeks More Web-Search Agreements
Microsoft Corp. will aim to strike more agreements for its Web-search software to be included on computers and mobile phones, even though the deals may not always make money, Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer said.
“It might still be a good marketing investment for us to make,” Ballmer said today in an interview in New York. The deals may not make “economic sense” at the outset, he said.
Microsoft, Google Inc. and Yahoo! Inc. form partnerships to make their search engines the default setting on computers and mobile phones to attract new users. Google can pay more for the deals without losing money, Ballmer said.
Google, the most-popular search engine, gets an estimated 9.5 cents to 10 cents on average in ad sales from each search, while Microsoft and Yahoo get 4 cents to 5 cents, Ballmer said. That means Google can give its partners 8 cents from each search, while Microsoft may have to lose money, he said.
“Google can bid them to a point where we are not economical,” said Ballmer, 52. Microsoft will probably do a “bit of investment” in those agreements as existing partnerships that companies have with Google and Yahoo expire, he said.
Microsoft handled about 8 percent of search queries in the U.S. in February, compared with Google’s 63 percent and Yahoo’s 21 percent, according to researcher ComScore Inc. Outside the U.S., Microsoft’s market share is even smaller.
Dell, Verizon
Kim Rubey, a spokeswoman for Sunnyvale, California-based Yahoo, declined to comment on how much revenue the company makes per search. Google, based in Mountain View, California, didn’t have an immediate comment.
Microsoft struck partnerships to put its search software on Dell Inc. computers and Verizon Wireless mobile phones this year, beating out Google for the deals. Last year, Microsoft reached agreements with Hewlett-Packard Co., Sun Microsystems Inc. and Facebook Inc. Hewlett-Packard, the world’s biggest personal-computer maker, had a deal with Yahoo.
The agreements mean that new computers come preloaded with a toolbar that lets them use Microsoft’s Live Search. The search engine also appears on the home screen of some Verizon handsets and is included when customers download Sun’s Java software.
Ballmer reiterated that he’s interested in a search partnership with Yahoo because it “makes all the sense in the world.”
Ballmer said earlier today at a conference that he has spoken with Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz and that they will talk when it’s appropriate.
“What’s she been there now -- all of a month and a half, two months?,” Ballmer said in the interview. The Web-search industry has been harder for him and other executives to learn than most businesses, Ballmer said.
Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington, rose 18 cents to $17.14 today in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares have lost 12 percent this year.
“It might still be a good marketing investment for us to make,” Ballmer said today in an interview in New York. The deals may not make “economic sense” at the outset, he said.
Microsoft, Google Inc. and Yahoo! Inc. form partnerships to make their search engines the default setting on computers and mobile phones to attract new users. Google can pay more for the deals without losing money, Ballmer said.
Google, the most-popular search engine, gets an estimated 9.5 cents to 10 cents on average in ad sales from each search, while Microsoft and Yahoo get 4 cents to 5 cents, Ballmer said. That means Google can give its partners 8 cents from each search, while Microsoft may have to lose money, he said.
“Google can bid them to a point where we are not economical,” said Ballmer, 52. Microsoft will probably do a “bit of investment” in those agreements as existing partnerships that companies have with Google and Yahoo expire, he said.
Microsoft handled about 8 percent of search queries in the U.S. in February, compared with Google’s 63 percent and Yahoo’s 21 percent, according to researcher ComScore Inc. Outside the U.S., Microsoft’s market share is even smaller.
Dell, Verizon
Kim Rubey, a spokeswoman for Sunnyvale, California-based Yahoo, declined to comment on how much revenue the company makes per search. Google, based in Mountain View, California, didn’t have an immediate comment.
Microsoft struck partnerships to put its search software on Dell Inc. computers and Verizon Wireless mobile phones this year, beating out Google for the deals. Last year, Microsoft reached agreements with Hewlett-Packard Co., Sun Microsystems Inc. and Facebook Inc. Hewlett-Packard, the world’s biggest personal-computer maker, had a deal with Yahoo.
The agreements mean that new computers come preloaded with a toolbar that lets them use Microsoft’s Live Search. The search engine also appears on the home screen of some Verizon handsets and is included when customers download Sun’s Java software.
Ballmer reiterated that he’s interested in a search partnership with Yahoo because it “makes all the sense in the world.”
Ballmer said earlier today at a conference that he has spoken with Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz and that they will talk when it’s appropriate.
“What’s she been there now -- all of a month and a half, two months?,” Ballmer said in the interview. The Web-search industry has been harder for him and other executives to learn than most businesses, Ballmer said.
Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington, rose 18 cents to $17.14 today in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares have lost 12 percent this year.
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Gasta Opinion: Why the forecasters are wrong about digital in 2009
While the pundits may be singing a similar tune when it comes to digital advertising's immediate future, here are a few points they may not have considered.
It's the first full work week of the New Year, and already I'm tired of the constant vacillation in moods concerning the health of internet marketing.
Depending on whom you believe, digital marketing will either follow newspapers into oblivion in 2009, or it will be hit hard but not quite as hard as other media. Hardly any of the pundits give it a positive outlook. And that's a shame, with self-fulfilling prophecies and all…
There are quite a few assertions, though, that are fairly consistently questionable from pundit to pundit when it comes to predicting digital's future. Among them:
1. Failing to grow at the same rate as last year is some sort of failure -- If digital advertising grew at 10-15 percent last year, and it will hit only 7-9 percent growth this year, that's not a failure. Accelerated year-over-year growth for any market sector, whether it be manufacturing, biotech engineering, or financial services, is unsustainable in the long term. Things have to slow down at some point. If digital advertising slows down but still grows in an economy where the word "Depression" is still commonly used in headlines for op-ed pieces, I think we're doing rather well, thankyouverymuch!
My other issue with this is that more marketers are doing things with digital that are not classified as advertising and probably don't get tracked by the prognosticators. Suppose your recommended solution to an e-commerce client is not to buy a bunch of ad banners, but instead to pay to have their digital shelf presence enhanced. Is that advertising? No. Does it address the business problem your client is trying to solve? Most definitely. Will such a deal get picked up by the powers-that-be who track internet spending? Probably not.
2. Video and social media need an ad model -- It's true that in order to make money the way that Yahoo, MSN, and Platform-A do, Facebook will need to improve its ad model. And yes, something will have to come along that can replace pre-roll and overlay ads in video. But hinging digital's growth potential on these ad model conundrums is a mistake, I think.
If video advertising won't scale appropriately (and I do believe it will to a certain degree in 2009), marketers might turn to other non-advertising ways to leverage video. Viral strategies, video syndication, and content sponsorship are all ways of making video work in ways that enhance the bottom line without registering on someone's radar as an ad spend.
As long as social networks can continue to capture everyone's attention the way they have in the last few years, I doubt the lack of an ad model will put them under. Not as long as I'm spending what I do on things like Facebook gifts and Facebook ads. I think there's a lot of potential in something like Facebook ads -- not the big banner deals they do, but the smaller, targeted buys that would appeal to small business marketers. I've used Facebook ads both to recruit people for positions at Underscore and to try to sell my home. In both cases, sub-$100 investments have yielded huge gains. If Google still has plenty of potential to roll up many thousands of small, self-serve ad deals in order to make money, why not Facebook?
3. Performance-based advertising will be where the growth is -- I've seen this prediction made by many of the pundits, followed by some Google-flattering comment about how search will drive modest growth in 2009. In the short term, this might be the case, but I think we've already seen what happens in digital when too many advertisers shift their focus to DR and performance-based digital media. Things quickly get crowded. Clearance issues abound. Lead and sale volumes drop sharply unless concessions are made with respect to price and environment. This is how we weathered the last downturn, and display never really went away and experienced a rebirth when the economy turned around and marketers learned to trust digital again.
I question these three assertions, and I'm skeptical that the equation is as simple as many of the pundits make it out to be. I'm also optimistic for another reason: Analysts and pundits who don't work in digital on a day-to-day basis often have trouble understanding the dynamic of how marketing budget decisions are made. I see a lot of potential out there for marketers and brand managers to come to the conclusion that their diminished budgets can't afford last year's levels of broadcast, and for those marketers to consider digital-heavy or digital-only options for marketing campaigns.
However, it turns out in 2009, I don't think we should resign ourselves to slowed growth or declines this year. People who work in digital tend to be people who thrive in chaos. There's certainly a good deal of chaotic behavior out there in the floundering economy, and I wouldn't be surprised if we figure out how to capitalize on it this year.
Tom Hespos is president of Underscore Marketing and blogs at Hespos.com.
It's the first full work week of the New Year, and already I'm tired of the constant vacillation in moods concerning the health of internet marketing.
Depending on whom you believe, digital marketing will either follow newspapers into oblivion in 2009, or it will be hit hard but not quite as hard as other media. Hardly any of the pundits give it a positive outlook. And that's a shame, with self-fulfilling prophecies and all…
There are quite a few assertions, though, that are fairly consistently questionable from pundit to pundit when it comes to predicting digital's future. Among them:
1. Failing to grow at the same rate as last year is some sort of failure -- If digital advertising grew at 10-15 percent last year, and it will hit only 7-9 percent growth this year, that's not a failure. Accelerated year-over-year growth for any market sector, whether it be manufacturing, biotech engineering, or financial services, is unsustainable in the long term. Things have to slow down at some point. If digital advertising slows down but still grows in an economy where the word "Depression" is still commonly used in headlines for op-ed pieces, I think we're doing rather well, thankyouverymuch!
My other issue with this is that more marketers are doing things with digital that are not classified as advertising and probably don't get tracked by the prognosticators. Suppose your recommended solution to an e-commerce client is not to buy a bunch of ad banners, but instead to pay to have their digital shelf presence enhanced. Is that advertising? No. Does it address the business problem your client is trying to solve? Most definitely. Will such a deal get picked up by the powers-that-be who track internet spending? Probably not.
2. Video and social media need an ad model -- It's true that in order to make money the way that Yahoo, MSN, and Platform-A do, Facebook will need to improve its ad model. And yes, something will have to come along that can replace pre-roll and overlay ads in video. But hinging digital's growth potential on these ad model conundrums is a mistake, I think.
If video advertising won't scale appropriately (and I do believe it will to a certain degree in 2009), marketers might turn to other non-advertising ways to leverage video. Viral strategies, video syndication, and content sponsorship are all ways of making video work in ways that enhance the bottom line without registering on someone's radar as an ad spend.
As long as social networks can continue to capture everyone's attention the way they have in the last few years, I doubt the lack of an ad model will put them under. Not as long as I'm spending what I do on things like Facebook gifts and Facebook ads. I think there's a lot of potential in something like Facebook ads -- not the big banner deals they do, but the smaller, targeted buys that would appeal to small business marketers. I've used Facebook ads both to recruit people for positions at Underscore and to try to sell my home. In both cases, sub-$100 investments have yielded huge gains. If Google still has plenty of potential to roll up many thousands of small, self-serve ad deals in order to make money, why not Facebook?
3. Performance-based advertising will be where the growth is -- I've seen this prediction made by many of the pundits, followed by some Google-flattering comment about how search will drive modest growth in 2009. In the short term, this might be the case, but I think we've already seen what happens in digital when too many advertisers shift their focus to DR and performance-based digital media. Things quickly get crowded. Clearance issues abound. Lead and sale volumes drop sharply unless concessions are made with respect to price and environment. This is how we weathered the last downturn, and display never really went away and experienced a rebirth when the economy turned around and marketers learned to trust digital again.
I question these three assertions, and I'm skeptical that the equation is as simple as many of the pundits make it out to be. I'm also optimistic for another reason: Analysts and pundits who don't work in digital on a day-to-day basis often have trouble understanding the dynamic of how marketing budget decisions are made. I see a lot of potential out there for marketers and brand managers to come to the conclusion that their diminished budgets can't afford last year's levels of broadcast, and for those marketers to consider digital-heavy or digital-only options for marketing campaigns.
However, it turns out in 2009, I don't think we should resign ourselves to slowed growth or declines this year. People who work in digital tend to be people who thrive in chaos. There's certainly a good deal of chaotic behavior out there in the floundering economy, and I wouldn't be surprised if we figure out how to capitalize on it this year.
Tom Hespos is president of Underscore Marketing and blogs at Hespos.com.
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Gasta Vertical ad network
Can Advertisers use Ad Networks for Brand Advertising?
That depends on the network. Over the past decade we have seen some very creative advertisers do amazing online brand building programs. Yet, most of these clever programs that come to mind were executed on an individual site or portal. Are ad networks only going to attract the direct response campaigns and the low CPMs associated with direct response? The answer is: “No”
The more complete answer is still “that depends” on such things as the quality of the network’s members and the networks ability to execute hi impact ad opportunities. Most ad networks are often associated with remnant advertising on lesser quality sites. This is often why the network does not disclose a complete list of its sites. Call me old fashioned, but if I am responsible for building a brand I want to know where my hard earned ad dollars are being invested, and I probably don’t want my ad impressions only showing up at 2:00 AM (unless of course I am selling sleeping aids).
More and more ad networks are willing to show a complete site list, offering things like geo targeting and even day parting. Yet, that is still not enough to satisfy many brand advertisers who care about things like editorial quality and high impact ad campaigns. That is why vertical ad networks associated with real media companies are becoming more popular.
Media companies like IDG, Forbes, Martha Stewart have been creating some of the highest quality content in their respective verticals and have been executing big online brand campaigns for year. Now these established media companies, and many more like them, are expanding the brand solutions they offer by building online ad networks. This creates a great opportunity for brand advertisers looking to expand their market share.
When you stop and think about it, a media company like IDG already is an ad network with over 450 “owned and operated” technology websites around the world. It makes sense for IDG to expand to include selected independent technology sites. For example, IDG already knows how to recognize, recruit and nurture the best editorial experts in technology media. IDG also has executed countess online branding campaigns across its network of sites. IDG’s TechNetwork is a natural extension. Plus, IDG’s vetting of each partner site insures advertisers will get the quality editorial environment and multiple site execution which are critical to an ad network branding campaign.
The best part for big brand advertisers is when these high impact ad campaigns arrive on these independent sites the impact can be well above average. That is because independent sites often miss out on the online brand campaigns until they partner with an establish media company. Many experts predict that more and more established media companies will be building high quality networks of sites which is good news to brand advertisers looking to find uncluttered ad environments and independent sites looking for access to brand advertisers in their markets.
By Kevin Normandeau on Jul 21, 2008 in The Aggregation of Fragmentation
That depends on the network. Over the past decade we have seen some very creative advertisers do amazing online brand building programs. Yet, most of these clever programs that come to mind were executed on an individual site or portal. Are ad networks only going to attract the direct response campaigns and the low CPMs associated with direct response? The answer is: “No”
The more complete answer is still “that depends” on such things as the quality of the network’s members and the networks ability to execute hi impact ad opportunities. Most ad networks are often associated with remnant advertising on lesser quality sites. This is often why the network does not disclose a complete list of its sites. Call me old fashioned, but if I am responsible for building a brand I want to know where my hard earned ad dollars are being invested, and I probably don’t want my ad impressions only showing up at 2:00 AM (unless of course I am selling sleeping aids).
More and more ad networks are willing to show a complete site list, offering things like geo targeting and even day parting. Yet, that is still not enough to satisfy many brand advertisers who care about things like editorial quality and high impact ad campaigns. That is why vertical ad networks associated with real media companies are becoming more popular.
Media companies like IDG, Forbes, Martha Stewart have been creating some of the highest quality content in their respective verticals and have been executing big online brand campaigns for year. Now these established media companies, and many more like them, are expanding the brand solutions they offer by building online ad networks. This creates a great opportunity for brand advertisers looking to expand their market share.
When you stop and think about it, a media company like IDG already is an ad network with over 450 “owned and operated” technology websites around the world. It makes sense for IDG to expand to include selected independent technology sites. For example, IDG already knows how to recognize, recruit and nurture the best editorial experts in technology media. IDG also has executed countess online branding campaigns across its network of sites. IDG’s TechNetwork is a natural extension. Plus, IDG’s vetting of each partner site insures advertisers will get the quality editorial environment and multiple site execution which are critical to an ad network branding campaign.
The best part for big brand advertisers is when these high impact ad campaigns arrive on these independent sites the impact can be well above average. That is because independent sites often miss out on the online brand campaigns until they partner with an establish media company. Many experts predict that more and more established media companies will be building high quality networks of sites which is good news to brand advertisers looking to find uncluttered ad environments and independent sites looking for access to brand advertisers in their markets.
By Kevin Normandeau on Jul 21, 2008 in The Aggregation of Fragmentation
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Gasta Vertical Ad Network
As advertisers look for more ways to yield greater efficiency, going narrower but still with some scale means looking seriously at vertical ad networks.
Vertical ad networks are all the rage. If they aren't the toast of the town these days, they certainly are the talk of it.
However, vertical ad networks are nothing new. They are online advertising networks that have a particular focus. They aggregate a collection of sites together that have an affinity with one another and bring those "passion places" together in a way that provides advertisers meaningful scale without the uncertainty of a vast collection of unknown and dissimilar sites.
The appeal of a vertical ad network is first and foremost its focus. Second is the modicum of control it offers. As advertisers look for more ways to yield greater efficiencies and better accountability, going narrower but still with some scale means looking more seriously at vertical ad networks.
Travel Advertising Network is one such vertical, and company representatives gave the folks at the iMedia Agency Summit in La Quinta, Calif., a good look at what they are doing and why vertical ad networks are so important.
Travel Ad Network actually has the largest travel information audience in the world, with 19 million users worldwide (14 million in the U.S.). Notice that I did not say "travel" audience. This is an audience looking for information about traveling, be it destinations or transportation or boarding. This is not where they transact, according to Cree Lawson, founder/CEO, and Brian Silver, president. Their users are "in the aisles."
Why a vertical ad network?
The reason Travel Ad Network went this route was for three reasons: They listened to their clients who were demanding some level of transparency; they could get a better quality of advertiser; and they offered exclusive representation.
The guys from Travel Ad Network proceeded to deliver some valuable information in the form of a kind of Trivial Pursuit game. These questions and their answers make a terrific primer on vertical ad networks (particularly of the travel variety).
1. Are consumers different at vertical ad networks than horizontal ad networks? No. The reason advertisers should use vertical ad networks is not necessarily because the audiences there are so different than horizontal ad networks, but because those audiences are more engaged. As Lawson and Silver pointed out during their Spotlight presentation, people found in either horizontal or vertical ad networks are equally diverse. But those found within the confines of a vertical network have a higher degree of engagement and specialization. They are in their passion places.
2. Which ad supported property is in comScore's Buying Power Index top 10 list? Yes, Yahoo is there. But at the very top is Travel Ad Network, with a BPI of 280. That means that the average person found within Travel Ad Network has 2.8 times more buying power than the average person online.
3. What percentage of brands that advertise in verticals are endemic versus non-endemic? It turns out a lot more non-endemic advertising is going on. Just to give you a sense of what is meant by this: Less than 25 percent of advertising in a travel magazine is from travel product advertisers.
4. How many visits to travel sites does the average consumer make before booking a trip? Twenty-two. Before you click that "buy" button to book your airfare or hotel, chances are you've been to sites 22 times. That doesn't mean you've been to 22 sites, but you have made 22 different trips online before making your decision. It turns out that 15 percent of people don't know where they are going when they start planning, and 39 percent don't know when they will be traveling. This provides ample opportunity to talk to people in the questing frame of mind, to inform their seeking.
5. How much has the share of total page views changed for travel agencies in the last two years? It's down 15 percent. With all the information out there, people are starting to go around booking engines to find out what they want to know, and then pop onto that booking engine at the last minute to get the transaction done. If you are looking for an audience that is a travel audience, or has affinity with it, there are many chances to message that audience before they get to buy.
6. How much of every dollar spent online is spent on travel/travel products? Forty-four percent. That's right, $.44 of every dollar is spent on travel. This does not mean that travel makes up the bulk of the transactions. As someone in the audience pointed out, the dollars per transaction for travel are much higher than they are for, say, books. But all that means is that the online travel buyer is someone comfortable with spending a good deal of money online. The point here is that verticals are good for those "spending" audiences.
Vertical ad networks, like any ad network, may consist of a lot of sites an advertiser has never heard of. But if the audience they are looking for has, and that audience is at those sites, it makes sense to be there when the audience is there. You may not recognize the cover of the book, but if the book is being read, isn't that all that matters?
Jim Meskauskas
Vertical ad networks are all the rage. If they aren't the toast of the town these days, they certainly are the talk of it.
However, vertical ad networks are nothing new. They are online advertising networks that have a particular focus. They aggregate a collection of sites together that have an affinity with one another and bring those "passion places" together in a way that provides advertisers meaningful scale without the uncertainty of a vast collection of unknown and dissimilar sites.
The appeal of a vertical ad network is first and foremost its focus. Second is the modicum of control it offers. As advertisers look for more ways to yield greater efficiencies and better accountability, going narrower but still with some scale means looking more seriously at vertical ad networks.
Travel Advertising Network is one such vertical, and company representatives gave the folks at the iMedia Agency Summit in La Quinta, Calif., a good look at what they are doing and why vertical ad networks are so important.
Travel Ad Network actually has the largest travel information audience in the world, with 19 million users worldwide (14 million in the U.S.). Notice that I did not say "travel" audience. This is an audience looking for information about traveling, be it destinations or transportation or boarding. This is not where they transact, according to Cree Lawson, founder/CEO, and Brian Silver, president. Their users are "in the aisles."
Why a vertical ad network?
The reason Travel Ad Network went this route was for three reasons: They listened to their clients who were demanding some level of transparency; they could get a better quality of advertiser; and they offered exclusive representation.
The guys from Travel Ad Network proceeded to deliver some valuable information in the form of a kind of Trivial Pursuit game. These questions and their answers make a terrific primer on vertical ad networks (particularly of the travel variety).
1. Are consumers different at vertical ad networks than horizontal ad networks? No. The reason advertisers should use vertical ad networks is not necessarily because the audiences there are so different than horizontal ad networks, but because those audiences are more engaged. As Lawson and Silver pointed out during their Spotlight presentation, people found in either horizontal or vertical ad networks are equally diverse. But those found within the confines of a vertical network have a higher degree of engagement and specialization. They are in their passion places.
2. Which ad supported property is in comScore's Buying Power Index top 10 list? Yes, Yahoo is there. But at the very top is Travel Ad Network, with a BPI of 280. That means that the average person found within Travel Ad Network has 2.8 times more buying power than the average person online.
3. What percentage of brands that advertise in verticals are endemic versus non-endemic? It turns out a lot more non-endemic advertising is going on. Just to give you a sense of what is meant by this: Less than 25 percent of advertising in a travel magazine is from travel product advertisers.
4. How many visits to travel sites does the average consumer make before booking a trip? Twenty-two. Before you click that "buy" button to book your airfare or hotel, chances are you've been to sites 22 times. That doesn't mean you've been to 22 sites, but you have made 22 different trips online before making your decision. It turns out that 15 percent of people don't know where they are going when they start planning, and 39 percent don't know when they will be traveling. This provides ample opportunity to talk to people in the questing frame of mind, to inform their seeking.
5. How much has the share of total page views changed for travel agencies in the last two years? It's down 15 percent. With all the information out there, people are starting to go around booking engines to find out what they want to know, and then pop onto that booking engine at the last minute to get the transaction done. If you are looking for an audience that is a travel audience, or has affinity with it, there are many chances to message that audience before they get to buy.
6. How much of every dollar spent online is spent on travel/travel products? Forty-four percent. That's right, $.44 of every dollar is spent on travel. This does not mean that travel makes up the bulk of the transactions. As someone in the audience pointed out, the dollars per transaction for travel are much higher than they are for, say, books. But all that means is that the online travel buyer is someone comfortable with spending a good deal of money online. The point here is that verticals are good for those "spending" audiences.
Vertical ad networks, like any ad network, may consist of a lot of sites an advertiser has never heard of. But if the audience they are looking for has, and that audience is at those sites, it makes sense to be there when the audience is there. You may not recognize the cover of the book, but if the book is being read, isn't that all that matters?
Jim Meskauskas
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Gasta News: Microsoft still soft on Yahoo Deal
Key issues to watch in Microsoft's next bid for Yahoo's search business
Posted:
It's starting to seem inevitable: Microsoft appears poised to make another run at Yahoo's search business. The point was driven home by the selection of Qi Lu as Microsoft's new online chief last week, giving the company a former Yahoo insider to oversee the integration, if it comes to that.
Discussing Lu's hiring during an interview with the Wall Street Journal last week, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer all but scheduled the Yahoo negotiations.
"I think a search deal makes great sense for Microsoft, and Yahoo, and I think I've been very open about that," Ballmer told the paper. "That's as true with Qi joining us as it was before Qi joined us. Obviously the logistics of any such integration … can only be simpler by having somebody who will know both sides."
There have been so many twists and turns since Microsoft's original Yahoo acquisition bid that it's impossible to know what will come next. But assuming Microsoft gives a search deal another try, these will be some of the key issues to watch:
PARTNERSHIP OR SEARCH ACQUISITION? Microsoft hasn't been clear on this point. At the company's shareholders meeting last month, Ballmer used the phrase "search collaboration." Some media reports focus on Microsoft acquiring Yahoo's search assets.
Matt Rosoff, an analyst at Kirkland-based Directions on Microsoft, said this morning that the most logical scenario would be a partnership letting Yahoo keep its portal while redirecting search queries to Microsoft's engine and advertising system.
TIMING: The biggest complication here may be Yahoo's ongoing CEO search. Will the Sunnyvale, Calif., company engage in serious talks with Microsoft without a new chief on board? And once the new CEO is in place, how will he or she approach the possibility of a Microsoft deal? In any event, Ballmer made it clear during the WSJ interview that he wants to do something soon.
SEARCH BRAND: On the surface, at least, this seems the easiest issue to resolve. Microsoft is looking for a better search brand, and it appears ready to go off in a new direction with Kumo.com or some other new name. But were the companies to combine search operations, wouldn't the Yahoo search brand be the one to lead the way, based on market position?
PEOPLE AND LOCATIONS: Much of this will depend on the outcome of the "partnership or acquisition" question above. But depending on the agreement the companies reach, it seems reasonable to expect more of Microsoft's search operations to be based in Silicon Valley, building on the existing presence of both companies there.
ANTITRUST: With a combined total of roughly 30 percent of the U.S. search market, a Yahoo-Microsoft search deal wouldn't face nearly the regulatory hurdles that the Google-Yahoo deal did.
But things could get more complicated if the companies bring their Web portals, Web mail or instant-messaging systems into the mix, even tangentially. Particularly on an international level, the market strength of those properties could attract the attention of regulators.
The additional complication is the transition of power in the United States. Depending on how it's structured, a Microsoft-Yahoo search deal could be the first big test of U.S. antitrust policies under Obama and Eric Holder, his nominee for attorney general.
P.S.: Microsoft is holding an internal employee meeting with Lu and Ballmer this afternoon in Redmond. My request to cover it was turned down, but hopefully some details will emerge. Contact me at toddbishop@bizjournals.com.
Posted:
It's starting to seem inevitable: Microsoft appears poised to make another run at Yahoo's search business. The point was driven home by the selection of Qi Lu as Microsoft's new online chief last week, giving the company a former Yahoo insider to oversee the integration, if it comes to that.
Discussing Lu's hiring during an interview with the Wall Street Journal last week, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer all but scheduled the Yahoo negotiations.
"I think a search deal makes great sense for Microsoft, and Yahoo, and I think I've been very open about that," Ballmer told the paper. "That's as true with Qi joining us as it was before Qi joined us. Obviously the logistics of any such integration … can only be simpler by having somebody who will know both sides."
There have been so many twists and turns since Microsoft's original Yahoo acquisition bid that it's impossible to know what will come next. But assuming Microsoft gives a search deal another try, these will be some of the key issues to watch:
PARTNERSHIP OR SEARCH ACQUISITION? Microsoft hasn't been clear on this point. At the company's shareholders meeting last month, Ballmer used the phrase "search collaboration." Some media reports focus on Microsoft acquiring Yahoo's search assets.
Matt Rosoff, an analyst at Kirkland-based Directions on Microsoft, said this morning that the most logical scenario would be a partnership letting Yahoo keep its portal while redirecting search queries to Microsoft's engine and advertising system.
TIMING: The biggest complication here may be Yahoo's ongoing CEO search. Will the Sunnyvale, Calif., company engage in serious talks with Microsoft without a new chief on board? And once the new CEO is in place, how will he or she approach the possibility of a Microsoft deal? In any event, Ballmer made it clear during the WSJ interview that he wants to do something soon.
SEARCH BRAND: On the surface, at least, this seems the easiest issue to resolve. Microsoft is looking for a better search brand, and it appears ready to go off in a new direction with Kumo.com or some other new name. But were the companies to combine search operations, wouldn't the Yahoo search brand be the one to lead the way, based on market position?
PEOPLE AND LOCATIONS: Much of this will depend on the outcome of the "partnership or acquisition" question above. But depending on the agreement the companies reach, it seems reasonable to expect more of Microsoft's search operations to be based in Silicon Valley, building on the existing presence of both companies there.
ANTITRUST: With a combined total of roughly 30 percent of the U.S. search market, a Yahoo-Microsoft search deal wouldn't face nearly the regulatory hurdles that the Google-Yahoo deal did.
But things could get more complicated if the companies bring their Web portals, Web mail or instant-messaging systems into the mix, even tangentially. Particularly on an international level, the market strength of those properties could attract the attention of regulators.
The additional complication is the transition of power in the United States. Depending on how it's structured, a Microsoft-Yahoo search deal could be the first big test of U.S. antitrust policies under Obama and Eric Holder, his nominee for attorney general.
P.S.: Microsoft is holding an internal employee meeting with Lu and Ballmer this afternoon in Redmond. My request to cover it was turned down, but hopefully some details will emerge. Contact me at toddbishop@bizjournals.com.
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Gasta News:Get Drunk on Google ads this Christmas
NMA Reports
Google lifts prohibition
Google is to allow spirit brands to run search campaigns for the first time as the search engine company looks to drive slowing AdWords click rates.
The search giant will lift restrictions in the New Year, letting spirit brands run branded search campaigns tied in with overall marketing activity. However, advertisers will not be allowed to promote or incentivise actual sales.
Google is understood to want to encourage spirit brands to run search campaigns as part of a wider media buy across its portfolio of channels, including AdSense and YouTube.
Google is set to make a formal announcement in the next few days, and while the actual date of UK restrictions being lifted has not been finalised it is expected to be in the first two weeks of January.
The move is the latest by the company to boost click rates on AdWords, which former Google chief financial officer George Reyes acknowledged had slowed when revealing its Q2 results back in July.
It follows October's lifting of gambling and gaming restrictions on AdWords. Back in May, Google allowed brands to bid on rival trademark terms. The company hoped both these moves would drive up click rates.
Brands and agencies have said they will increase search spend as a result of the latest decision.
Tom Jefferies, digital marketing manager at Bacardi Global Brands, said, "To be allowed to run AdWords advertising on Google.com is a big opportunity for us, so we will be looking to put money behind it."
Charlie McGee, MD of Carat Digital, which buys media for Diageo brands including Gordon's Gin, said: "[Using search] we can amplify all of the on and offline work that's done to promote these brands."
A Google spokesman said: "We're constantly evaluating our ad policies to ensure they are up-to-date and as consistent as possible with local business practises."
Google lifts prohibition
Google is to allow spirit brands to run search campaigns for the first time as the search engine company looks to drive slowing AdWords click rates.
The search giant will lift restrictions in the New Year, letting spirit brands run branded search campaigns tied in with overall marketing activity. However, advertisers will not be allowed to promote or incentivise actual sales.
Google is understood to want to encourage spirit brands to run search campaigns as part of a wider media buy across its portfolio of channels, including AdSense and YouTube.
Google is set to make a formal announcement in the next few days, and while the actual date of UK restrictions being lifted has not been finalised it is expected to be in the first two weeks of January.
The move is the latest by the company to boost click rates on AdWords, which former Google chief financial officer George Reyes acknowledged had slowed when revealing its Q2 results back in July.
It follows October's lifting of gambling and gaming restrictions on AdWords. Back in May, Google allowed brands to bid on rival trademark terms. The company hoped both these moves would drive up click rates.
Brands and agencies have said they will increase search spend as a result of the latest decision.
Tom Jefferies, digital marketing manager at Bacardi Global Brands, said, "To be allowed to run AdWords advertising on Google.com is a big opportunity for us, so we will be looking to put money behind it."
Charlie McGee, MD of Carat Digital, which buys media for Diageo brands including Gordon's Gin, said: "[Using search] we can amplify all of the on and offline work that's done to promote these brands."
A Google spokesman said: "We're constantly evaluating our ad policies to ensure they are up-to-date and as consistent as possible with local business practises."
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Gasta News: Report from NMA Editor Justin Pearse
The Phorm saga rolled on this week, with the announcement of the departure of four members of the behavioural targeting company's board. It could be argued that the appointment of ex-Ofcom executive board member Kip Meek as one of the replacements was more significant than the departures for a company fighting regulatory and PR battles on all fronts, Meek's experience in the regulatory arena at Ofcom, on a European as much as domestic level, will be invaluable. Behavioural targeting itself got a welcome boost in support with BBC Worldwide's plan to launch it across its international website BBC.com. As large publishers board the behavioural targeting bandwagon, it should help to build a level of confidence to help address the reactionary hysteria it so often generates.
Targeted advertising has always been one of the promises of mobile, of course, although the operators' reluctance to release deep customer data has stymied this somewhat. Content providers, although happy with the traffic operator portals generate, are desperate for more control. So it was a heartening sign to see Sky start selling advertising around its content on the T-Mobile and Vodafone portals
Bauer is the only other content owner to do this. The resulting control should help encourage publishers to commit further to mobile advertising but few will have the market muscle to force such deals through to operators. Especially as mobile advertising is failing to meet the lofty heights its hype promised. One of the reasons behind O2 launching global media sales division O2 Media Group. The move is designed to let O2 sell integrated ad opportunities across its entire real estate, from mobile and online to in-store and DM. Rival Vodafone is also planning a similar offering. As all operators look to bolster their online operations, such holistic views of themselves could be powerful in convincing media agencies and advertisers to view them as media companies rather than telecoms suppliers.
Towards the end of the month came news of the government's tacit admission of its lack of understand of the new media industry. The IAB began a programme to educate civil servants in government departments from the DCMS to Berr. The move generated mixed emotions. On the one hand, anything to increase government understanding of the fast moving digital industry is to be applauded. On the other, it could be seen as worrying this education was needed following a year of increased regulatory attention to the internet by government, from Andy Burnham’s speech on the readiness of the internet for governance, to the Byron Report and the Council for Child Safety.
The evolution of online video and internet TV is clearly one area where regulatory confusion will see increasing government attention over the coming year. The sector is moving so fast that multi-platform commissions are becoming commonplace. However, the complexity of getting such projects to market was highlighted this month with Virgin Media's delay of launching Prom Queen due to the lack of a sponsor. Sony Pictures Television is the latest to be searching for distribution partners for its multi-platform series Gemini. The three minutes series was broadcast in the US by Amazon Unbox, NBC Online, NBC Mobile, Xbox Live and Zune. Just the type of fascinating broadcast model we'll be seeing more of in the UK in the coming year.
Targeted advertising has always been one of the promises of mobile, of course, although the operators' reluctance to release deep customer data has stymied this somewhat. Content providers, although happy with the traffic operator portals generate, are desperate for more control. So it was a heartening sign to see Sky start selling advertising around its content on the T-Mobile and Vodafone portals
Bauer is the only other content owner to do this. The resulting control should help encourage publishers to commit further to mobile advertising but few will have the market muscle to force such deals through to operators. Especially as mobile advertising is failing to meet the lofty heights its hype promised. One of the reasons behind O2 launching global media sales division O2 Media Group. The move is designed to let O2 sell integrated ad opportunities across its entire real estate, from mobile and online to in-store and DM. Rival Vodafone is also planning a similar offering. As all operators look to bolster their online operations, such holistic views of themselves could be powerful in convincing media agencies and advertisers to view them as media companies rather than telecoms suppliers.
Towards the end of the month came news of the government's tacit admission of its lack of understand of the new media industry. The IAB began a programme to educate civil servants in government departments from the DCMS to Berr. The move generated mixed emotions. On the one hand, anything to increase government understanding of the fast moving digital industry is to be applauded. On the other, it could be seen as worrying this education was needed following a year of increased regulatory attention to the internet by government, from Andy Burnham’s speech on the readiness of the internet for governance, to the Byron Report and the Council for Child Safety.
The evolution of online video and internet TV is clearly one area where regulatory confusion will see increasing government attention over the coming year. The sector is moving so fast that multi-platform commissions are becoming commonplace. However, the complexity of getting such projects to market was highlighted this month with Virgin Media's delay of launching Prom Queen due to the lack of a sponsor. Sony Pictures Television is the latest to be searching for distribution partners for its multi-platform series Gemini. The three minutes series was broadcast in the US by Amazon Unbox, NBC Online, NBC Mobile, Xbox Live and Zune. Just the type of fascinating broadcast model we'll be seeing more of in the UK in the coming year.
Monday, December 01, 2008
Gasta.com: Support New Irish Band BabyJenx Growing
Gasta.com are supporting two new bands from Ireland that are tipped for the top, venues and musicheads have been going mad on Myspace and Facebook to download the latest singles from Babyjenx, and The Beat Poets, to get information about these fantastic new and emerging talents, you can find links to both bands on Gasta.tv
About Baby Jenx
BABY JENX
"So beautiful, so intoxicating, so heavenly . . . Gary Reddy's voice reaches soaring glorious falsettos with an ease that would make Thom Yorke envious" – Musician.ie
THE BAND: Gary Reddy – guitar/vocals; Ewen Ferguson Denny - keyboards; Mick Reddy – bass; Graham Carey – drums
THE PAST: Named after a character in Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles, Baby Jenx have been together since the summer of 2005. Influenced by the big stadium sounds of U2, Radiohead and Muse, but with their own musical aesthetic firmly to the fore, they played their debut gig in legendary Dublin venue Mother Redcaps later that same year.
“Thrilling and epic, two words to describe the performance on the night… with melodic grooves and superb vocals on board, this is one act you need to get out and see” - Musicreveiw.com
Over the following months, Baby Jenx honed their live skills with a multitude of gigs. Their sparkling shows at the Irish IMRO showcase, Boston's NEMO Music Festival and Castlepalooza earned them rave reviews.
"... singer Gary Reddy is a natural performer and exceptional singer" – IMRO magazine
They recorded their first demo with producer Declan Lonergan in Bluebird Studios in Co. Kildare. This demo received extensive radio airplay, and was immediately chosen as Hot Press magazine's 'Demo of the Fortnight' by none other than Jackie Hayden (the former CBS boss, known for giving U2 their first record deal).
"The real gem is 'So Long', which opens around a slow staccato piano before it builds with sensitivity and pathos to a real ear-opener" – Jackie Hayden - Hot Press
THE FUTURE: Baby Jenx are currently in studio recording their debut album proper. Entitled “Trial By Fire” it will be released early 2009.
"… the band of this year to hit the music scene, with melodic, streaming vocals and uplifting sounds … you must catch a live gig from these guys, you are missing something special" – Hotpress.com
About Baby Jenx
BABY JENX
"So beautiful, so intoxicating, so heavenly . . . Gary Reddy's voice reaches soaring glorious falsettos with an ease that would make Thom Yorke envious" – Musician.ie
THE BAND: Gary Reddy – guitar/vocals; Ewen Ferguson Denny - keyboards; Mick Reddy – bass; Graham Carey – drums
THE PAST: Named after a character in Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles, Baby Jenx have been together since the summer of 2005. Influenced by the big stadium sounds of U2, Radiohead and Muse, but with their own musical aesthetic firmly to the fore, they played their debut gig in legendary Dublin venue Mother Redcaps later that same year.
“Thrilling and epic, two words to describe the performance on the night… with melodic grooves and superb vocals on board, this is one act you need to get out and see” - Musicreveiw.com
Over the following months, Baby Jenx honed their live skills with a multitude of gigs. Their sparkling shows at the Irish IMRO showcase, Boston's NEMO Music Festival and Castlepalooza earned them rave reviews.
"... singer Gary Reddy is a natural performer and exceptional singer" – IMRO magazine
They recorded their first demo with producer Declan Lonergan in Bluebird Studios in Co. Kildare. This demo received extensive radio airplay, and was immediately chosen as Hot Press magazine's 'Demo of the Fortnight' by none other than Jackie Hayden (the former CBS boss, known for giving U2 their first record deal).
"The real gem is 'So Long', which opens around a slow staccato piano before it builds with sensitivity and pathos to a real ear-opener" – Jackie Hayden - Hot Press
THE FUTURE: Baby Jenx are currently in studio recording their debut album proper. Entitled “Trial By Fire” it will be released early 2009.
"… the band of this year to hit the music scene, with melodic, streaming vocals and uplifting sounds … you must catch a live gig from these guys, you are missing something special" – Hotpress.com
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Gasta News: Google Personalized search, Personified
Interview with Googles Matt Cutts
Cutts said, "I'm not sure I would say ranking is dead but it's not as important as it used to be. The fact is the smart SEOs are not just necessarily looking at the rankings. They are looking at conversion, they are looking at their server log. It's great if you're ranking for a phrase but unless that leads to sales that doesn't help you very much."
"The challenge is not to pay so much attention to ranking, pay attention to traffic, pay attention to conversions and keep building good content and don't worry about 'can I show people that I rank number one for my trophy phrase.'"
Universal Search In 2009
"Universal is really useful and I think it will continue to expand and what that means in 2009 you can't just think of yourself as an SEO," said Cutts.
"SEOs are starting to embrace the fact that they are marketers. It's a broader spectrum. You have to think about how you build buzz, how do you get loyal customers, how do you optimize your ROI. All those different things and that can include how do I make good videos, do I have a book, things like that."
Cutts says that people will continue to pay attention to video and images in 2009 but noted a down side. "Of course anywhere there is money there will be spam." Google has been focusing on its different properties to manage the spam issue.
Metadata
Google has gotten better on Flash and submitting a video to video sitemaps is really helpful in getting onto Google Video Search. "We want to be able to present video from all kinds of places," said Cutts.
Video File Format
"Whatever file format you want to use is totally fine."
Mobile
Cutts says that just because search engines are getting better at Flash does not mean mobile is. On mobile devices you can't just think about search engines. You have to think about the user experience.
Competing with Black Hat SEO
"Black Hat SEO is getting a little more malicious. In a world where Black Hat is moving towards really illegal things as an SEO you have to decide your risk tolerance and do I really want to try to compete with people who are doing illegal stuff or do I want to make a long term site that's gonna stand the test of time."
Subdomains
There is no real advantage to using Subdomains. If you have a lot of Subdomains that can be a lot of work. You don't want to overdo it. Really it's what ever is easiest for you.
Cutts said, "I'm not sure I would say ranking is dead but it's not as important as it used to be. The fact is the smart SEOs are not just necessarily looking at the rankings. They are looking at conversion, they are looking at their server log. It's great if you're ranking for a phrase but unless that leads to sales that doesn't help you very much."
"The challenge is not to pay so much attention to ranking, pay attention to traffic, pay attention to conversions and keep building good content and don't worry about 'can I show people that I rank number one for my trophy phrase.'"
Universal Search In 2009
"Universal is really useful and I think it will continue to expand and what that means in 2009 you can't just think of yourself as an SEO," said Cutts.
"SEOs are starting to embrace the fact that they are marketers. It's a broader spectrum. You have to think about how you build buzz, how do you get loyal customers, how do you optimize your ROI. All those different things and that can include how do I make good videos, do I have a book, things like that."
Cutts says that people will continue to pay attention to video and images in 2009 but noted a down side. "Of course anywhere there is money there will be spam." Google has been focusing on its different properties to manage the spam issue.
Metadata
Google has gotten better on Flash and submitting a video to video sitemaps is really helpful in getting onto Google Video Search. "We want to be able to present video from all kinds of places," said Cutts.
Video File Format
"Whatever file format you want to use is totally fine."
Mobile
Cutts says that just because search engines are getting better at Flash does not mean mobile is. On mobile devices you can't just think about search engines. You have to think about the user experience.
Competing with Black Hat SEO
"Black Hat SEO is getting a little more malicious. In a world where Black Hat is moving towards really illegal things as an SEO you have to decide your risk tolerance and do I really want to try to compete with people who are doing illegal stuff or do I want to make a long term site that's gonna stand the test of time."
Subdomains
There is no real advantage to using Subdomains. If you have a lot of Subdomains that can be a lot of work. You don't want to overdo it. Really it's what ever is easiest for you.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Gasta Seo: Milind Mody, CEO of eBrandz Inc
Milind Mody, CEO of eBrandz Inc has stated that Local search engines have most to benefit from the downturn.
Search engine marketing might have to scale down branding campaigns in favor of tactics which yield great 'short as well as long term Return on Investment'."
Specifically Mody said that local search is an important part of the overall mix. "Client reviews and customer ratings form an important aspect of local search SEO. These reviews also helps in branding and reputation management. So I would also highly recommend working with clients on getting their customer ratings and reviews on local search engines."
He said he believes that online advertising is more recession proof than other forms of advertising and that research indicates that any decline in online advertising is because clients are slashing their overall budgets.
"In many cases, clients are reducing print and other offline marketing budgets and spending more online," said Mody.
Search engine marketing might have to scale down branding campaigns in favor of tactics which yield great 'short as well as long term Return on Investment'."
Specifically Mody said that local search is an important part of the overall mix. "Client reviews and customer ratings form an important aspect of local search SEO. These reviews also helps in branding and reputation management. So I would also highly recommend working with clients on getting their customer ratings and reviews on local search engines."
He said he believes that online advertising is more recession proof than other forms of advertising and that research indicates that any decline in online advertising is because clients are slashing their overall budgets.
"In many cases, clients are reducing print and other offline marketing budgets and spending more online," said Mody.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Gasta Video: Noah Elkin from Steak Digital
Optimizing video and images for search is no longer optional. It's a must-have for brands that want to continue connecting with their customers.
Historically, successful advertisements have depended on two main ingredients: compelling words and captivating imagery. The ascendancy of search engine marketing has put a new premium on the value of words, for if search tells us anything, it's that marketers should take their cues from the terms people plug into search engines.
In effect, marketers who want to capture their customers' attention need to "listen" to the different ways they are expressing their wants and desires through search. Consequently, advertising success today depends on a slightly different set of criteria. Marketers must harness insights into customers' thought processes and the vernacular they use to seek out brands and products. You must synchronize that language across a campaign to ensure that customers not only look for your brand but also find it once they've gone to the web.
In-house and agency search practitioners, as well as experts around the industry, have been sounding this drumbeat for a long time now, but search still faces an uphill battle in relation to sexier on- and offline media. What it really boils down to is an image problem.
The fact that a highly -- if not the most -- effective advertising medium (by some measures, anyway) continues to have an image problem speaks volumes about the culture of advertising. We live in an age when John Wanamaker's old adage -- "Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half" -- rings truer than ever for brand managers caught in the transition from offline to online media.
It's not that brand advertisers aren't interested in results and ROI, as tempting as that might be to conclude at times for some search practitioners. Rather, it's that TV and even print are far more emotive than the comparatively austere text ad. TV and print also have the luxury of employing visuals, which provide richer options for conveying a brand's tone, image and message, as well as ultimately creating the kinds of brand associations that lead to loyalty and advocacy. In an industry that evolved on the back of images -- still, moving or otherwise -- there is some truth in the notion that search is as unsexy a medium as you can find. That is, unless your idea of "sexy" is the cold hard dollars that come from conversions -- not that there's anything wrong with that.
How do we go about making search sexier without compromising its effectiveness? Ironically, it may come down to using words to deliver the power of images. Provocative findings from comScore have been making the rounds of all the major conferences this year, and they point strongly in this direction. On the one hand, comScore has shown that interest in multimedia content among searchers is both widespread and not yet matched by placements in blended search results (as first revealed at the Orion panel at SES NY), particularly where video is concerned. On the other, recent studies have demonstrated that over-emphasis on last-click conversions and under-emphasis on latent on- and offline effects result in the loss of a shockingly high percentage of search's overall value.
Combined, the following three trends shed light on the relationship of keywords to images:
- The call to better monetize the 95 percent of paid search ads that do not lead to a click
- The implication that search can and should function as more of a branding vehicle
- Increased searcher interest in video, news and images
As blended search results become the norm across the industry, optimizing video and images is no longer a nice-to-have -- it's a must-have for brands that want to continue connecting with their customers.
I've always said that search will give TV new relevancy to the extent that commercials drive viewers to search engines to find more information about a product they've seen advertised. Now it's becoming increasingly evident that TV -- and news clips and movies and music videos and images -- will do their part to provide new relevancy to search as well.
Noah Elkin is vice president of corporate strategy for international search-inspired digital agency Steak.
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