I anyone needed convincing of the rise in popularity of social media and the impact it has has on the web then the recent Hitwise news letter should provide it. Bebo has just overtaken ebay in the search term share rankings and the top 10 search terms contain 5 terms relating to social media sites, with two of them being youtube. This just goes to show the prominence this sector now has in the market and the opportunity it holds for those who can adopt it to suit their objectives, whether that be through advertising or participation.

The top ten search terms (as tracked by hitwise) for the 4 weeks ending 9/6/2007 are:

1. bebo 1.14% share
2. ebay 1.11% share
3. youtube 0.52% share
4. myspace 0.37% share
5. argos 0.24% share
6. facebook 0.23% share
7. amazon 0.22% share
8. bbc 0.17% share
9. you tube 0.16% share
10. bbc weather 0.15% share

This guy has the moves!! and 51,317,418 viewings! just goes to show the power of youtube and helps explain the £25,000 a day they are going to be charging advertisers for front page exposure when it launches in the UK.

This may sound a lot on the face of it but I dont actually think its a bad deal. with youtube set to overtake the bbc website in the rankings for site visits the cost per thousand on front page exposure isnt going to be too shabby.

The challenge is going to be finding a video which people want to view, add to favourites and ultimately get to the top of the most viewed rankings. If this can be done then the £25,000 cost will stretch much further than one day as the viewings will continue as long as the video remains top of the standings. On top of this, if the video can be used to promote some sort of response from the user, through a youtube microsite or other means then you could be on to a winner.

With the launch of their new product, pay per action, is google encroaching on the affiliate marketplace?

It was an obvious step to make in the evolution of search, it started as a cost per impression based marketing (and in some markets still is), then move to a cost per click metric and now cost per conversion, taking the product further and further down the buying cycle. This obviously removes the majority of the risk for the advertiser and a lot of businesses will welcome the move. I mean, why not? its what the industry would call a “no brainer” if you are only paying for the sales you receive and you know your acquisition costs it is business without the risk.

Google’s motives are a little less clear. Obviously they will steal some market from affiliate channels by launching this, they will also potentially attract more advertisers who dont want the limited risk of PPC. Due to one of the caveats involved (you must use google analytics to track) it will also increase the user base for its analytics tool so a double benefit to them.

On the limitations side you must be paying for an action of which you recieve >500 of in the last 30 days. This limits smaller businesses and also means it may not be applicable to larger transactions or those further down the buying cycle. A car insurance campaign for example might not be receiveing 300 sales in 30 days but it will most likely be getting 300 quotes. They therefore may be willing to pay a set fee for each quote based on an average conversion to sale and their acquisition targets.

It will be interesting to see if this product takes off and how effective it is. Is it the next big thing or just another one of those products google wants to be the first to launch but will never take off?

It appears ebay and google are having a bit of a lovers tiff at the moment with Ebay pulling all paid search advertising in the US on account of Google planning a party to promote Google Checkout that clashed with an Ebay live event!

Ok, so it does go a little deeper than that. Ebay are refusing to allow Google Checkout to become used as a payment method on its auction site. According to Ebay their concerns relate to “fraud, security and related concerns” but undoubtedly the underlying fact is that they want to keep Paypal as the monopoly holder for Ebay transactions. Google originally planned the party as a form of protest but have since cancelled after discussions with Ebay officials.

Ebay claim their removal of paid search listings is a mere “experiment” and a process fo assessing the most effective allocation of marketing budget and it wil be interesting what the results of this “experiement” are. With Google accounting for approx. 10% of Ebays traffic and Ebay spending a reported $26 million monthly on Adwords it will be interesting to see who needs who the most!

Vertical search engines have been discussed for a while now. They have obvious benefits in terms of targeting but limitations in terms of search volume. Miva have recently tried to tap into this market with their precision network which has shown rather underwhelming results, conversion rates 5-10% higher than the standard network but costs as much as 100% higher! effectively pricing themselves out.

Google’s site targeting function is another route into the vertical communities and this holds more benefits as it will be no more expensive, and possibly cheaper, than their standard network. It is effectively the Google content market bu with the ability to select the sites and verticals you wish to appear on, meaning you can choose those most targeted to your industry.

Vertical search marketing allows for more accurate targeting and potential higher conversion rates but it remains to be seen whether this will be the case for the time being, the jury is still out!

Vertical communities are ‘the future of social networking’
by Hayley Pinkerfield Revolution UK 18-Jun-07, 11:45
LONDON

The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and 10Duke have launched the first tennis-dedicated online network, claiming that vertical communities will displace the likes of YouTube and MySpace.
The ATP is using 10Duke’s technology platform to take its existing offline community online. Users can upload footage to 30Love.net via online and mobile to show off their tennis skills. Tennis fans can access behind the scenes clips from the pro tennis tour, view exclusive player video clips and share photos, videos and personal profiles.
Etienne de Villiers, ATP executive chairman and president, said: “30Love.net will be the online home for everyone with a love for tennis and is the latest stage of our ongoing drive to ensure the sport remains relevant. Huge opportunities exist for our sport online and 10Duke’s social networking platform allows us to bring together the tennis community in a way that we have never been done before.”Michael Leavey, CEO of 10Duke, added: “This will be one of the first world-wide communities of its kind, based on a particular interest rather than general sites such as YouTube or MySpace. Vertical communities will be the future of social networking.”Chris Seth, MD of online teen network, Piczo, questioned the niche network business model: “It remains to be seen whether consumers have the time and inclination to visit multiple niche social networks online. The difficulty with a niche strategy is around being first to market. Piczo and others have gained critical mass to create a community and have a viable business proposition for brands.”
The 30Love.net site will launch at the start of Wimbledon with support from leading ATP Players, and will be promoted at ATP’s 63 tournaments this year.

I have written previously about finding the best way to monetise social networking sites without annoying the users and intruding on the social elements.

Myspace founder Chris DeWolfe today hinted (below) at a possible partnerhsip with Ebay as a way to allow its users to trade between themselves. This ties in with the reason social networking is such a growing phenomenon, user interaction. As I have mentioned in the past the key to monetising social networking is to not encroach on the basic model. through genrating a marketplace between users, through ebay or otherwise, and taking a percentage for transactions myspace will be able to earn a large chunk of cash without devalueing their offering. Expect to see other schemes like this appearing soon!

MySpace founder hints at future eBay partnershipby
Charlie McCathie Brand Republic 18-Jun-07, 14:10 LONDON -

Chris DeWolfe, founder of MySpace, has revealed that the site will soon offer user-generated e-commerce transactions through partnerships with online retailers, possibly including the internet auction site eBay. The move comes after several other commercial developments, such as the addition of a classifieds section and the option to buy and sell music via the site. MySpace uses banner advertising and click-throughs to brand profiles to generate revenue, amassing £12.6m each year, and the introduction of e-commerce is likely to generate even more profit. The social networking site is trying fend off the competition from Facebook, which had its traffic grow by 89% last year, compared with 34% growth at MySpace.DeWolfe said: “We will at some point offer user generated e-commerce transactions. So if you’re on your site and you have a line of T-shirts you have designed and you want to sell them to your friends, we want to be able to provide you with the tools you need to do that.”So we could partner certainly with someone like eBay to do that. We haven’t decided yet but it would be probably a good bet that someone like eBay could be a good partner.”DeWolfe also said that another burgeoning market being considered is online video advertising. He suggested that MySpace is currently muting the idea of introducing this element to the site, as it would “definitely be a huge revenue stream”.

An interesting article on how to use the rise of social media to enhance your profile and website traffic. expect many more articles like this in the future as people proclaim themsleves “experts” in this field.

the majority of what is listed below should be contained within an effective SEO campaign, reputations management, rss, article digging etc. there is no doubt the adoption of social media is going to grow in importance in the coming year and the lines between this and SEO are going to become even more blurred than they already are. coupled with the advent of universal search (and whatever name the other search engines come up with) maybe the name search engine optimisation needs to go, as it will no longer become just about search engines.

Using Social Media Marketing to
Promote Your Specialist Information Website
By Miles Galliford (c) 2007

Before I get started, it is worth defining social media. It has become a widely used and abused term that means different things to different people.
My definition of social media is:

‘online technologies and practices that people use to share their opinions, insights and experiences with each other. Information can be shared as text, images, audio or video via blogs, message boards, wikis, RSS, podcasts and social networking sites’.

At the heart of social media is the ability of individuals to interact with other people so that they feel involved and part of a community. A big part of this phenomenon is the activity of finding, sharing and recommending products, services, events and experiences to like-minded people. This is where social media crosses over with marketing.

Social media can be a great way to have your website promoted by word-of-mouth.

If you can get people to talk about and recommend your services to their peers, it is more powerful than any marketing you can buy. So how can you get started?

How Can You Make Social Media Work for You?

The good news is it is easy to start the process of using social media to promote your website.

1) Create a MySpace Page

MySpace (www.myspace.com) is the largest and best-known social network. Individuals create profiles about themselves and then invite similarly minded people to become their online friends. When someone becomes a friend, you can communicate with them and subtly direct them towards your own website.

Setting up your own page is simple and frëe. Go to www.myspace.com and follow the instructions. Put up a brief description about yourself and a link to a more detailed biography page on your own website. Remember, the goal of this page is to drive people to your own site so make sure you get plenty of links included without overtly promoting your website.

Spend an hour every week developing your site and building your líst of friends. Invite relevant people to comment about your website.

2) Add Bookmarking Links to Your Article Pages

A big part of the social web is the ability for people to build lísts of their favourite sites or articles. People with similar interests can then share their lísts and benefit from other people’s recommendations. If your website has frëe content, you should make these articles easy to bookmark or add to favourites lísts. There are a lot of internet sites that now host and share bookmarks. You can add links to these sites to your article pages.

There are two ways of doing this. You can go to each of the leading bookmarking sites and download their code and links onto your site. The ones that you should include are:

Digg - www.digg.com
Technorati – www.technorati.com
Del.icio.us – del.icio.us
Reddit – www.reddit.com
However, if you go this route it can be time consuming and you will omit many of the potential bookmarking sites. The alternative is to put a link to AddThis.com on the foot of each page. This gives your users access to over 30 bookmarking sites.

3) Add an RSS Feed

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Syndication, depending on who you ask. RSS allows people to be notified every time new articles are added to your website so they can keep up to date with your content.

Ask your developer to create some RSS code for your website and then put a link on all of your pages to the RSS code page. The link should be a small orange rectangle with the letters RSS in white.

Publish your RSS feeds at Feedburner to encourage distribution and interest.

4) Email to a Friend

Enabling people to easily email an article to a friend is not typically bundled under the heading of social media marketing, but in my view it is another way to encourage people to share and recommend your content. Add an ‘Email a Friend’ link to all of your content pages.

5) Add a Forum

Having a Forum on your website is a great way of building a community around your subject area. Monitoring the forum will both give you a chance to understand what people are discussing and promote your expertise by adding your own comments.

The downside of a forum is it does need to be carefully managed. You need to allow people to make negative comments so they don’t feel they are being censored, but you have to stamp out aggressive behaviour, personal insults, sp@m and meaningless rubbish. This can be time-consuming work, so don’t bother with a forum unless you have the time to do it properly.

Non-technical people can pay to use vBulletin. More technical people can use a frëe opensource solution such as PHPBB.

You can register your forum with BoardTracker to make it easier for people to find.

6) Create How-To or Product Review Videos

It has nevër been easier to create short videos that can demonstrate your expertise. How-to videos are very popular. For example, if your website is about Making Monëy on eBay, you could create a short video on “How to Take Perfect Photos for Your eBay Listings”. Make sure you have your website URL on the opening and closing sequence of your video to promote your website.

Post your videos on YouTube and Google Videos. Give it a catchy title and teaser to get people interested. Also link to the videos from your own website.

7) Share Your Photos

If you have photos related to your subject area, post them on photo sharing websites such as Flikr and PhotoBucket. For example, if your website is about steam trains, take a camera to your next steam train show and post the pictures on these sites. People searching for steam train images are likely to try these sites. They can then follow the link on the photo to your website. P.S. Remember to include links back to your own site from the images.

Create a Blog

Blogs are very simple content sites where short articles are listed one after the other on the home page. They are usually used to write about current events or comment on news.

Some successful content websites are blogs. Some are much more like magazines with feature articles. If your site is more feature-based, consider starting a separate blog that can be more informal and brief. Update the blog every day even if it is with just one- or two-sentence comments. Blogs that are infrequently updated quickly löse their audience.

Use the blog to drive traffíc to your main website.

You can get basic blogging software for frëe. Try Wordpress or Blogger. For a managed service, try Typepad.

In many ways, today’s social media technologies are still fairly primitive, but I can say with confidence that the phenomenon that they have created - of customers taking control of the buying process – is here to stay. Customers will continue to get stronger, so publishers, manufacturers and anyone else with customers better start listening to what they are saying.

One last point before I finish. It’s really a word of warning. Once you adopt the social media marketing techniques, you are inviting people to comment about your service. You must be ready for negative as well as positive feedback. Good companies listen to the feedback and make positive changes. Poor companies ignore it or worse still, call their lawyers to fight it. If you jump into the social media world, be ready to participate, listen, learn and take action.

The undoubted arrival of personalised search restults and the convergence of different medias as described below with google universal search are going to make things a little complicated moving forward!

Optimising your website for the search engines is one thing, but judging and allowing for the impact of all different forms of media is another. maps, images, videos, retail listings, definitions, reviews, they are all going to become part of a SERP in the future and in order to fully make the most of “search” you will need a presence in as many as possible.

On top of this you have the advent of personalisation which is going to mean one individual could see completely different search results from the next! How do you optimise for this? In theory if you have a well optimised and targetted site you should be ok, because you generate the interest in the first place and so “stick” in the results for that person. If this is the case then it will mean a well optimised site holds more benefits for a much longer period of time.

A shaks up is one the cards!

Optimizing Content for Universal Search
By Claudia Bruemmer (c) 2007
By now, you’ve all heard about Google’s new Universal Search concept, which combines all the information within its vertical databases into one index to serve a single set of Web search results. As you can imagine, this will require some adjustments to standard search engine optimization techniques. If you have been following the Bruce Clay methodology, then you should already be on the right track to optimizing every aspect of your Web site that is under your control. With the arrival of universal search, it’s not just a good idea; it’s a necessity.
Google Vice President of Search Products and User Experience Marissa Mayer said the company’s goal for universal search is to create “a seamless, integrated experience to get users the best answers.” Mayer stated on the official Google blog that the universal search vision would be “one of the biggest architectural, ranking, and interface challenges” the search engine would face.
Mayer first suggested this concept to Google back in 2001. Since then, the company has been building the infrastructure, algorithms and presentation mechanisms needed to blend the different content from Images, Video, News, Maps, Blogs et al into its Web results. This is Google’s first step toward removing the partition that separates its numerous search silos, integrating these vast repositories of information into a universal set of search results. The object is to make queries more relevant for users, but what are the ramifications for SEO?
Google Relevancy Challenge
Based on industry research, Google has a relevancy problem because the database is too vast. Back in 2005, Jupiter Research touched on this, stating it identified an opportuníty for vertical search engines. The study inferred that general search engines were good at classifying vast amounts of information, but not very good at serving results that helped users make decisions.
A year later, Outsell came out with “Vertical Search Delivers What Big Search Engines Miss,” a study that also mentioned the opportuníty for vertical search due to dissatisfaction with general search engines. This report published the oft-quoted fact stating that the average Internet search failure rate is 31.9 percent. The study identified two market trends contributing to the growth of vertical search – failed general searches and rising keyword prices in paid search.
Another noteworthy study was conducted by Convera. Over 1,000 online business users were asked about their search practices, successes, and failures. Only 21 percent of the respondents thought that search queries on general search engines were understood, a mere 10 percent found critical information on the first try in general search engines. This study concluded, “To date, professionals have not been adequately served by consumer search engines.”
The results of these studies show that Google and other general search engines are challenged to produce relevant results, suggesting vertical and niche search engines could eliminate such problems because the niche databases contain topic-specific information, serving targeted, more relevant answers to user queries.
Google’s Solution to Relevancy
Since Google’s move toward universal search, one can only assume it has considered the above problems and decided that pulling all its databases together, comparing and ranking them accurately at warp speed, could be the solution to relevancy. Doing this requires new technical infrastructure, including new algorithms, software and hardware, which Google has been working on since 2001 and is now in the process of implementing. Universal search has implications for search marketers because it is a departure from the uniformity that characterized search marketing in the past, requiring adjustments in SEO methodology. Since the modifications will be implemented in steps, immediate changes in the SERPS won’t be obvious, and there is time to develop new optimization strategies.
Search Personalization
In addition to universal search, Google is also focusing on personalization in the SERPs. This means users will be seeing different SERPS based on their previous queries, if signed into their Google accounts. Users may or may not notice many changes in the SERPs due to universal search and personalization, depending on their level of sophistication and/or powers of observation. However, marketers will be scrambling. Marketers will need to get their clients listed into as many niche databases as possible to íncrease the breadth of coverage for universal search. Social media optimization techniques can be used to enhance both universal and personalized search results.
Universal Search Optimization Strategies
The focus on personalization and universal search requires more emphasis on social media SEO strategies because of user interest in creating content and the vast amounts of new multimedia content created daily on the Web. Marketers are beginning to drive traffíc via social networking sites, and these efforts are known to enhance search engine optimization campaigns. Strategies include creating multimedia content such as blogs, videos and podcasts, and then getting them listed on social search sites like Del.icio.us, Digg, Reddit and StumbleUpon, as well as niche search engines like Technorati, Podzinger and Blinx.
When creating multimedia content, you must ensure that it is tagged and cataloged correctly. Multimedia content is optimized through established fundamental SEO techniques, such as creating keyword-rich, user-friendly content, unique Meta tags, good site navigation and structure, and implementing a successful linking strategy. Below are a few suggestions for creating and submitting multimedia content for several of Google’s vertical databases to gain extended reach through universal search.
Google Image Search: It has always been a good idea to use images on your site for illustrating your products and services. Now, this becomes a way for your customers to find your site via Google Image Search. Optimize your images with descriptive, keyword-rich file names and ALT tags. Use accurate descriptions of your image files for the benefit of the vision impaired and others who might need to view the site with text only.
Google Video (beta): As with optimizing images, use descriptive, keyword-rich file names for your video files. Also create a keyword-rich title tag, description tag, and video site map. Create a Web page to launch your video, optimizing content for SEO and using anchor text wherever possible. Besides submitting to Google Video, also include Blinkx and other social networking and search sites like YouTube and Podzinger (audio and video search engine).
Google News: Here’s where you can submit your press releases for display as “news” and subsequent indexing. Issue press releases containing current information about new products and events your site is involved with and Google News will likely pick it up.
Google Maps: This is also known as Google Local, a vertical that has been included in Google search results for a while. Give your site a local presence through the Google Maps Local Business Center where local businesses can get a frëe basic listing to extend their reach in the SERPs.
Google Blog Search (beta): You all have a corporate blog, right? This is how modern companies communicate with their customers and stakeholders. Tag it (digg, del.icio.us, stumbleupon, etc.), submit to Google Blog search, and extend your reach for Web searches on Google.
In closing, there are many ways social and multimedia content can enhance your SEO efforts. Experiment and learn how to use social media to extend your SEO rankings. As you become aware of the many niche databases for submitting multimedia content, this can go a long way toward gaining visibility through Google’s personalized and universal search.

So how do you monetise the social media trend? a questions which people will be asking themselves in light of the growing phenomenon and the convergence to web 2.0 technology. In my eyes the real question is “how do you monetise social media without putting users off?!” If people start to see social networking sites becoming more and more commercial they will very quickly jump ship. people use these sites to interact, not to be sold to and if pages begin to become plastered with ads this will make users move on to the next site which has become flavour of the week.

there is undoubted potential held in the targetting options availale through social networking sites and I believe this is the tool which will bring success if used correctly. Noone minds seeing ads if they are relating to something they are looking for at that point in time. Think about it, the ability to show and ad for gifts when you konw it is someones partners brithday in the coming weeks, or an ad for a dating site around valentines day only shown to single people who arent in a relationship. This is where the real strength lies in my eyes and if it can be harnest then the money will follow.

Social Network Ad Scramble
APRIL 19, 2007

With fierce competition, sites explore new ad models
Social networking buzz belies an impending sector shakeout, according to In-Stat’s “Social Networking: Finding Friends Online” report.

“In order for a social networking site to be successful, it must attain a critical mass, and competition is fierce to attract new members,” says Jill Meyers of In-Stat. “So far, sites have focused their attention on a younger demographic, which is finite, fickle and limited in expendable income.” Ms. Meyers says Baby Boomers are frequently overlooked when it comes to social networks.

MySpace’s demographics include plenty of wage earners at this point, and Boomers have social networks like Eons.com, but the In-Stat report raises an important question: How can social networks best monetize their memberships? eMarketer estimates that 2007 ad spending on MySpace will outstrip spending on all other social networks combined, so competition will be fierce.

One possibility is selling user data, according to In-Stat.

“Each social networking site collects a plethora of personal and demographic data on each member,” said Ms. Meyers, “and while selling these data to target marketing groups may be unappealing to site members, it may be the best route to profitability for site operators.”

Some social networks are still having trouble just getting their sites to grow. comScore Media Metrix data reveals a range of visitor growth of anywhere from 1177% (Sconex.com) to -40% (LiveJournal.com).

Even Microsoft is offering advice on how to increase social networking ad revenue. The Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions Group commissioned a Metrix Lab study of how social networkers use the sites. The study concluded that creating brand profiles (spaces) that can be forwarded to friends is effective, with a quarter of social networkers posting views on specific ads and a third forwarding spaces, ads or links.

eMarketer senior analyst Debra Aho Williamson says that the time for branded profiles is probably coming to a close.

“The notion of creating a MySpace ad profile page and collecting friends was popular in 2006 but will likely give way this year, as users tire of collecting ‘friends,’” says Ms. Williamson.

Third-party companies are also developing sophisticated modeling software to parse the things people write on their profiles and match ads accordingly.

However, there is a risk that innovative ad models like these will get shelved in order to give advertisers something they’re already comfortable with. MySpace sells “roadblocks” on its home page and even uses old-media speak to explain why advertisers like being there: “Marketers are really interested in the one-day cume they can get from the home page of MySpace,” Fox Interactive Media told eMarketer last year.

While such things will generate revenue, they fall short of the promise of the “one-to-one-to-many” nature of social networking.

For an in-depth look at social network ad spending, eMarketer Total Access subscribers can read the Social Network Marketing: Ad Spending Update report. If you would like information on subscribing, click here.

The current purchases in the market place make it an exciting time to be involved in online marketing. as the articel below states, the boundaries between display and search are blurring but in my opinion they are still pretty clear. the purchase of double click gives google access to millions of potential publishers, further expanding its reach within the market. It also gives them the facility to integrate the double click solution into their system, allowing advertisers to manage a fully integrated online campaign without the need for juggling different media providers.

As Google moves closer to the future of Universal Search could they be planning to integrate doubleclick display results int heir main search page? it would go against the tradition of SERPs but if they were targetted and relevant would they be welcome?

Google Couldn’t Wait To Spend $3.1 Billion For DoubleClick
by Laurie Petersen, Monday, Apr 16, 2007 6:00 AM ET
GOOGLE’S AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE THE leading online ad network DoubleClick for the astonishing price of $3.1 billion in cash was both a bold move to keep the capabilities away from competing bidder Microsoft and a recognition that Mountain View needed to get into the display advertising market sooner than later.
“Search and display on the Internet are converging. The evidence is everywhere,” said Jordan Rohan, Internet analyst and managing director at RBC Capital Markets. “The lines between search and display are faint today and will be gone tomorrow.”
In the conference call announcing the deal from Argentina, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said the purchase accelerates the search giant’s entry into the display ad businesses by years, and the price reflects the future value if the synergies anticipated by integrating search and ad display platforms are achieved.
In addition to its technical prowess, DoubleClick brings deep publisher relationships that it would be difficult for Google to replicate quickly.
“With one acquisition they are buying their way into the one part of the marketplace where they have no presence,” said Charlene Li, vice president and principal analyst with Forrester Research, covering Google, consumer portals and search.
“This deal is about creating a network of publishers and advertisers that would number in the millions,” Rohan added.
Increased online ad spending is one expected end result if big brand advertisers and their agencies are able to tap a more efficient way to place, manage and evaluate all online ad and search spending with a unified buying platform and metric.
“Hopefully, it means a more integrated decision-rich process for online advertising,” said Rohan.
Non-search Internet display advertising increased 17.3% in 2006 to $9.76 billion, as measured by TNS Media Intelligence. That spending now comes disproportionately from mid-size and smaller advertisers. DoubleClick commands anywhere from half to an estimated two-thirds of the ad-serving market.
“If you talk to agencies, one of the biggest challenges we have is to reach the audiences we need to reach because consumers are all over on the Internet,” said Bryan Wiener, CEO of agency 360i. “If anyone can provide tools to make a single buy and optimize it, that’s good for marketers. Still, the marketplace is going to want competitors to Google.”
Look for more acquisition activity as thwarted suitor Microsoft seeks an alternative. Yahoo, which is scheduled to release first-quarter earnings tomorrow, can also expect more pressure to integrate its search and display ad capabilities.
Weekend speculation was rampant that the so-called “DoubleGoo” deal now puts Yahoo in play, although the price, Rohan said, would approach $50 billion, including its stake in Yahoo Japan. Another talked-up target is Seattle-based aQuantive, which owns both No. 2 ad network Atlas, and Accipiter. Still, some 60% of its revenues come from agency Avenue ARazorfish.
“Google is all about performance and measurability,” Schmidt said, also emphasizing the shared yield management vision of Google’s auction-based media buying model and the announced auction system DoubleClick plans to launch mid-year.
Users, Schmidt said, will benefit by seeing more targeted and relevant ads; online publishers will get access to more advertisers to monetize inventory; and agencies and advertisers will get a new way to manage search and display ads in one place, with a common set of metrics.
Google co-founder Sergey Brin said the company will adhere carefully to its consumer privacy principles when asked if consumer search behavior will be used to display behaviorally targeted ads.
Both companies were equally reticent to describe future products that may result from the acquisition.
“DoubleClick is a very healthy company,” said Rohan. “So Google only has to not mess up in order for the deal to be a mild success. For it to be an industry transforming transaction” has to do with those future products.
The deal is expected to close by the end of the year and must go through antitrust review by U.S. regulators under the Hart-Scott Rodino process. But company officials are optimistic it will pass muster.
“We believe this is a combination that will generate significant efficiencies for the market,” said DoubleClick CEO David Rosenblatt.
True winners are San Francisco-based private equity firm Hellman & Friedman along with JMI Equity and management. DoubleClick was taken private in 2005 for $1.1 billion.
Google was one of the final four companies in due diligence during that process.