Archives for posts with tag: search
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Lets Call the Whole Thing Off!

November 6, 2008 //
1

Google announced yesterday that it was pulling out of the agreement with Yahoo which would have allowed them to display Google Adwords listings on Yahoo search results in the US.  The announcement comes in the face of a potentially lengthy and costly legal battles with competition regulators which Google has decided would “distract the from their core mission”.

In Yahoo’s response via email to it partners they reassured PPC advertisers that, whilst they were disappointed by the announcement, it would not prevent them becoming an “ever-stronger player in online advertising”.  and reaffirm their strength in certain sectors by quoted their positioning across selected news verticals.  A clear attempt to say “don’t give up on us yet!”

In a further twist, Yahoo! CEO Jerry Yang has come out and reverted on his original defiance on a sell out to Microsoft by claiming that he was open minded about a potential deal with Microsoft having been bitterly opposed to such a deal when originally proposed.  Its funny how he has changed his mind immediately prior to the Google announcement!

So its back to square one in the search engine battle for supremacy with no deals on the table and everyone working independently.  But for how long?  Yang’s announcement is bound to start the Microsoft-yahoo rumour mill off again and it is probably more likely to go ahead after yesterday but who knows?  I’m sure there will be more twists in the tail before the saga ends.

Tags , , , , ,
Categories PPC

Display Advertising and Search – the perfect partnership?

October 23, 2008 //
0

Microsoft have conducted a piece of research which goes further towards showing the need for an integrated approach to digital marketing where display advertising and search engine marketing are concerned.  Off the back of the overused Atlas example which suggested a 22% uplift in conversion could be produced from a combination of search and display, and Yahoo’s piece which suggest similar impact, Microsoft have launched their own research which backs up the previous reports.

The figures which have come out of the Microsoft report show a 2x improvement in website visits through a combined approach along with a 54% increase in likelihood of a user conducting a brand search if they had been exposed to a display advert.

You have to take into consideration the producers of these pieces when reviewing the results they show you.  Atlas earn their money based on the amount of activity you are undertaking so have a vested interest in increasing it (plus they earn off both impressions and clicks with display).  Yahoo have seen a downturn in the last quarter in the premium CPM display advertising and so it is in their interest to get you buying more.  And similarly Microsoft need something to prop up their lack of progress in paid search.

So you have to take what they say with a pinch of salt, but that’s not to say there is nothing at all in it.  i do believe an effective online plan involves a balance of all elements.  Search as the flexible, movable return based feast, affiliate marketing as the finite guaranteed return and display advertising to boost the brand and increase awareness.  That said I am an advocate of flexible solutions for display advertising and don’t think that any placement is worth more than £10 CPM, there isn’t enough branding to warrant anymore than this amount.

So whilst I would view the actual stats displayed with an air of scepticism, the general principal is sound in my opinion.  A balanced approach with a blend of channels means you get the best of each without placing all your eggs in one basket.

View Microsofts findings here

Tags , , , , ,
Categories Display Advertising

Google’s Gambling Uturn – whos does it affect?

October 22, 2008 //
2

as you all should be aware Google made uturn on their gambling policy at the end of last week and now allows gambling advertisers, who can produce a valid gambling license, access to the Google Adwords programme.  I thought Id produce a quick list of the people this is going to have a major impact on as the change takes hold and more gambling websites start to go live on Adwords.

Google: Obviously this going to have a slight impact the company which made the change!  This is a massive market for online and is bound to generate a large amount of revenue for Google with some stories quoted figures as high as £300 million.

Gambling Companies: Google has opened up a huge new revenue stream for gambling advertisers which had been frustratingly out of their grasp in the past.  Having to make do with traffic and registrations from Yahoo and MSN had meant that these companies, who were willing to spend large amounts on new sign ups, were unable to reach all the available users.  This has all changed now and gambling companies are rubbing their hands together at the prospect of all the new sign ups they are set to receive from this new channel.

Affiliates: Affiliates willing to push the rules had for a long time been making the most of Google’s ban by employing out of hours bidding and trademark bidding to cash in through the gambling affiliate programmes.  With the new changes, and the requirement of a gambling license, affiliates will find it harder to bypass the system, but will also be priced out by the gambling companies as their returns are lower and so they wont be able to compete on CPCs.

Search Engine Optimisers: I’m not sure how big an impact this will have but I just wondered how the introduction of PPC listings is going to reduce the SEO volume in gambling on Google.  In theory it should remove about 20-30% of the available traffic which could impact the time and money invested in SEO by the big gambling companies.

Agencies: If you have gambling clients, rejoice!  Their value has just increased 10 fold.  So long as you are quick off the mark and get them live you could be looking at a good Q4.

Yahoo and MSN: Gambling has been a large part of Yahoo’s revenues for a while as they have made the most of the Google ban.  Now this is lifted they could see a large dent in their revenues from this channel as gambling marketers allocate more of their spend to Google.  The affect will be two fold, with advertisers looking to free up budget for Googled so reducing overall spend, and a natural reduction of competition on Yahoo and MSN which will  bring the market CPC levels down, so its a double edged sword for them.

The market is yet to settle down, and we wont know the full extent until it does but it is certainly one of the biggest announcements google have made in a while and should help their share price a little!

Tags , , , , , ,
Categories Google, PPC

SEO Starting to Register with Small Companies

October 15, 2008 //
1

A recent Telegraph article highlighted how small businesses are starting to recognise the need for effective search engine optimisation (SEO) and in getting their websites recognised and noticed by the search engines. No great news there, this has been growing for a while and more and more small businesses are becoming interested in what not just SEO, but also PPC could do with their business.  The problem is that there aren’t many agencies out their who can effectively service small businesses, with their tight budget constraints often contradicting the importance of the activity to them.  The article references one agency who seem to do this (who I have never heard of by the way!) and there are a couple of other quality agencies who offer PPC and SEO for small businesses.  But all too often a small business owner is left trying to do the work themselves and learning what they can through online help guides, or relying on ineffective off the shlef tools, just leading to further disappointment.

SEO is an art and one which cant be picked up too easily through reading forums and help guides.  You will always come across conflicting advice and confusing technical recommendations you dont have the expertise to carry out.  In my opinion it is always best to seek out expert advice on such a complex topic and for the agencies that can provide this cost effectively there is a large market out there to go after!  It is also a market which is growing as more and more businesses move online to realise the potential it holds.

Tags , , ,
Categories Search Engine Optimisation

Mobile search about to kick off – haven’t we heard this before?

September 26, 2008 //
0

Reuters reported recently that the time has come for mobile search.  In their article, “the time has come for mobile search” they claim the mobile search industry could be worth $2.4 billion by 201.  The actual data has come from Mobile Content Networks Inc. (not that they would be biased!) who make their money from placing ads alongside mobile phone search screens, mmm, why would they be predicted good times ahead I wonder?

The future of not just mobile search but mobile Internet intrigues me, it has been touted as the next big thing for a while now and I have blogged about it in the past (here, here and here) but it still isn’t at a critical mass level or even near for me at the moment.  As the article states, and I have noted in the past, the search terms people are using through their mobile handsets are not for the products and services people search for online.  The Reuters article notes mobile specific search as being the highest volume, typically music tracks or games, where as porn is also a large search term in the mobile world.

My prediction is that mobile search will become a part of the digital mix in the future but not in a way which will see it mirror standard search.  It will require a different model and a different strategy if mobile search is going to become part of a valid digital strategy.

Tags , ,
Categories Mobile Internet
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »