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.
Showing posts with label marketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marketing. Show all posts
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Gasta News: Would you buy a car from this website? Car sales up on the Internet.
The internet is the main influence which determines a consumer's car purchase as the majority believe they'll locate a better deal online, according to research from Microsoft.
A sample of 622 people found just two out of 10 people planning to buy a car in the next six months might delay the purchase due to the economic climate, and 65% believe this landscape will provide them with a better deal.
in the decision making process, with online shaping decisions about which make and model consumers choose.Some 39% of people intending to buy said they had not decided on the category of car before coming online, with 55% still undecided over the brand and 61% over the model.
Furthermore, 69% of people said they used the web specifically for deciding which extras they wanted.
The report also said internet research empowered consumers, with 70% saying they feel more confident walking into a dealership if they have researched online first.
Jacqueline O'Sullivan, head of marketing communications at Microsoft Advertising, said, "The internet has now become the most important influence in a car buyers' decision-making process. Also, as less decisions are made before going online car brands have multiple opportunities to demonstrate why theirs should be the one that should be bought."
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Gasta News: Yell Rollout
Yell.com adds more local content while BBC plans set back
Yell is rolling out a series of ultra-local sub-sites featuring town and city information as part of a move to ramp up content across its website.
The classified listings specialist is hiring journalists to create content, including advice on things to think about when hiring a serviceperson as well as quick facts about towns across the UK.
Yell is also considering including local news and event information, if the trial is successful. It plans to use the content to boost its position as a key destination for local services and information online, as well as its search rankings.
Its push comes in the week that local news services were thrust into the spotlight following the BBC Trust's decision to refuse permission for the BBC's planned rollout of local video sites (nma.co.uk 21 November).
The Trust halted plans to spend £68m of licence fee funds on local video, deeming it unjustified.
The proposed move was highly criticised by competitor commercial news providers, such as Northcliffe Media, which owns 151 sites under the Thisis brand. It said it would be unable to compete with such investment by the BBC.
Johnston Press claimed the BBC's Where I Live sites had already damaged its local sites, and Trinity Mirror accused the Corporation of losing sight of its purpose.
The rejection of the plans by the BBC Trust has received a cautious welcome by commercial rivals, with many concerned the setback won't keep the BBC away from local services for long.
Sam McIlveen, digital publisher at Independent News and Media, said, "I don't think this is the end of it. We're still worried because these plans were hugely disadvantageous for local media. Local sites can't compete with the BBC, especially when it's willing to spend £68m."
The Newspaper Society's director David Newell also expressed concern at the BBC not giving up on the area. "We must be on guard to ensure the BBC isn't allowed to expand its local services by other means," he said.
Sir Michael Lyons, chairman of the BBC Trust, said that while consumers want better local services, video sites were unlikely to meet their needs.
Regulator Ofcom said the plans would have a significant negative impact on commercial providers.
Author: By Will Cooper & Luan Goldie | Source: nma.co.uk | Published: 26.11.08
Yell is rolling out a series of ultra-local sub-sites featuring town and city information as part of a move to ramp up content across its website.
The classified listings specialist is hiring journalists to create content, including advice on things to think about when hiring a serviceperson as well as quick facts about towns across the UK.
Yell is also considering including local news and event information, if the trial is successful. It plans to use the content to boost its position as a key destination for local services and information online, as well as its search rankings.
Its push comes in the week that local news services were thrust into the spotlight following the BBC Trust's decision to refuse permission for the BBC's planned rollout of local video sites (nma.co.uk 21 November).
The Trust halted plans to spend £68m of licence fee funds on local video, deeming it unjustified.
The proposed move was highly criticised by competitor commercial news providers, such as Northcliffe Media, which owns 151 sites under the Thisis brand. It said it would be unable to compete with such investment by the BBC.
Johnston Press claimed the BBC's Where I Live sites had already damaged its local sites, and Trinity Mirror accused the Corporation of losing sight of its purpose.
The rejection of the plans by the BBC Trust has received a cautious welcome by commercial rivals, with many concerned the setback won't keep the BBC away from local services for long.
Sam McIlveen, digital publisher at Independent News and Media, said, "I don't think this is the end of it. We're still worried because these plans were hugely disadvantageous for local media. Local sites can't compete with the BBC, especially when it's willing to spend £68m."
The Newspaper Society's director David Newell also expressed concern at the BBC not giving up on the area. "We must be on guard to ensure the BBC isn't allowed to expand its local services by other means," he said.
Sir Michael Lyons, chairman of the BBC Trust, said that while consumers want better local services, video sites were unlikely to meet their needs.
Regulator Ofcom said the plans would have a significant negative impact on commercial providers.
Author: By Will Cooper & Luan Goldie | Source: nma.co.uk | Published: 26.11.08
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Gasta SEM: SXC Marketing
Think you have SEM under control? Think again. Find out how to increase efficiency and lower the boom on the pesky problems of this popular tool.
Your SEM program is terrible. But that's all right because your boss doesn't understand a single thing you do -- he's just concerned that you are doing it and that your numbers look great.
So what are you doing wrong? First of all, stop patting yourself on the back with how great your SEM program is. You're really not that good. Seriously. Now let's move on.
A rock with arms can make SEM look good. Why? Because it's the last stop a consumer makes. By the time they type in a keyword on Google -- and it really is all about Google -- they've already decided what they're looking for. Television, radio, print, banners, events and billboards have all sucked their brains so dry that by the time they come to SEM, they are mindless lemmings.
"I must have product X. Must type in keyword to find product X. Must consume. More, more, more. It will make me happy."
What gets the credit for that last stop? SEM, of course. The consumer sees a television commercial, a print ad, an outdoor billboard and then goes online and types something into Google to find it. Voila!
Did SEM cause that sale or visit? Of course not. It is merely the conduit to it. It's like having an extra door to your store to let more people in. I always marvel at myopic managers who cut their other ad budgets and slowly see their SEM traffic drop and can't figure out why. The trickle may be slow at first, but the curve does become apparent over time. If you want to look like the hero in advertising on the brand side, go into SEM. It's just a shame the creative format requires the writing ability of five-year-old. But it's not about the creative, it's all in the strategy.
In SEM, if you are not maximizing the long tail you might as well be a rock with arms. Why? Google has become the de facto internet navigation engine. Forget portals. If someone wants to go somewhere online, they start at Google. A much smaller entity can compete in the niches of the bigger player's mass reach. It is precisely that "phenomena of choice" that makes the whole AdWords universe work. Unlike in product manufacturing, the price advantages of the long tail are huge in SEM. The fractured niche universe works here, because it's not about someone knowing your brand; it's about them knowing what they want. Going after the long tail in search is different than in product development, chasing after those consumers. As I wrote last week, the costs there can often be quite high, and your business model greatly dictates whether that is advisable.
So how and, more importantly, when do you go after that long tail? Make Google work first
The biggest problem I see with most marketers is diversifying too early. They go on MSN, Yahoo, Google and Ask simultaneously, constantly tweaking each individual program, keyword list and copy. All of that work requires duplicative efforts and drains the time on reporting requirements for your staff. They constantly question why this is working here and not there. It's not strategy, but comparative paralysis.
The Google universe is huge. It is also the biggest market opportunity. Get your entire program to work there first. Build the keyword lists, tweak the copy, expand, optimize and concentrate on making it work on Google. Keep on going down that long tail of keywords. Track performance over months. Expand to the Google Search Network; make the program work there first. Then, once you are hitting the point of diminishing returns, expand the entire program to MSN, Yahoo and Ask. This way it is a strategic approach that is efficient. You just port your program.
Now, are there going to be different performance dynamics across the other engines? Of course there will be. But getting Google to work first is essential. You will end up being able to expand faster than if you work on all platforms simultaneously.
"No time," is what I hear everyone in our industry scream. "Then be more efficient," I scream back. If you can't get your program to work on Google, it's not going to work anywhere else.
Shoot the copywriter, befriend the lawyers
Okay, this is hard for me. I am a copywriter, but seriously, using copywriters for SEM copy is like using a fly fishing pole to catch tuna. It's an efficiency nightmare. A net is coarse, bulky and blunt, but it is a lot more efficient. If you are going after the long tail, where the volume of keywords you will be using can approach the hundreds of thousands, eliminate the process of using a copywriter. A copywriter will grind your process to a halt.
But the copywriter isn't the only drag on efficiency. Remove the approval processes for all copy internally. Your director doesn't need to see it, and neither does your VP. Any approval process on copy just wastes time, a lot of time. And a lot of money, too. It is not about the individual keyword and the copy. It is about the corpus of words. You can A/B test copy within Google all day and keep tweaking it for best performers. A copywriter will never be able to provide copy that is so much better and more responsive that it overcomes the time suck from going after the long tail. The long tail value will far outweigh that. Step back and see the big picture.
In fact, the ones you really want to eliminate from the process are the lawyers. "But legal always has to see the copy!" No one is going to sue you over SEM copy because the search engines will shut you down long before that happens. They are the gatekeepers.
So what should you do with that legal department that is causing you nightmares? Well, befriend them. Sit down with them. Explain the issues, the cost to the company, the time drain on them, the speed to market issues and ask them to draft copy guidelines that you must adhere to. Can't use the word "Guarantee?" Then eliminate it from your copy and post those guidelines in the SEM department. You will save an enormous amount of money, time and frustration.
Look, a legal department once told me that we had to have a disclaimer in our SEM copy. The disclaimer was 120 characters. Ha! Show them the process, the copy and how it works. Set up a meeting with them to walk them through a single keyword posting, copy, the Google Console and then explain that you have 20,000 keywords. They'll get it.
Automate
Utilize ad optimization companies like DidIt or Efficient Frontier. You can try and go after the long tail yourself, but the only way you can effectively manage the portfolio as your keyword list expands into the thousands is to bring in some firepower. It's not about getting a click on your SEM ad, it's about getting the conversion on the back end. Remember that the click is irrelevant. What the consumer does when they get to your site is everything. Agencies like Efficient Frontier and DidIt not only have the tools to help you, their optimization technologies can adjust bid pricing for the most efficient conversion. The money you spend with them will never be more than the amount you save by using them. But it does take time for those systems to gain all of the intelligence they need to properly optimize.
I have heard stories of brands saying they tried optimization software but it didn't work. The only cases where I've seen optimization fail have been when companies did not give it enough time, were short-sighted or when companies approached SEM from a test program they did internally that showed better results. The problem with internal test programs is that anyone in SEM can make a small list of keywords extremely efficient. But when it's time to expand that list, the problem becomes unmanageable.
There are only two companies I know who took SEM in-house and ran it more efficiently. Both had unique business models and both designed their own optimization technologies for their business models. Essentially they have their own SEM agency internally. But Bob, Mary and that intern have no hope of making it scale efficiently internally unless they are given the resources to do so, and the one thing they will need most is time. If you are a small shop, agency or brand, you can do it yourself. It will just take a lot more time to scale, that's all.
Okay, so maybe your SEM program isn't awful, and maybe you're not a rock with arms. SEM is all about efficiency. It may not be the ad venue that's glamorous, and you're not going to be able to point to the television or billboard and brag as you tell your friends you did that. But if you start strategically and approach the process diligently, you will see better results with less of a headache.
Sean X Cummings
Monday, July 14, 2008
Gasta Property Domains: Gasta now reaching 450 Property sites
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
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