The Digital Lookout

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.