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July 3, 2008

Google, Microsoft and Yahoo Collaborate for IAB U.K. Search Help Site

The Interactive Advertising Bureau U.K. has launched its dedicated Search Help Centre, offering advice to marketers on best practices, policy and legal regulation regarding search marketing.

Content for the site is supplied by Google, Microsoft and Yahoo, alongside a panel of agencies and advertisers from the IAB U.K.'s Search Council.

The free resource is intended to provide regularly updated information on issues surrounding trademarks, copyright, invalid clicks, click fraud, user privacy, and intellectual property. It will also include help and advice for advertisers on how to go about hiring a search agency.

Intellectual property will form a key focus for the center. An IAB U.K. release issued today read, "Protecting intellectual property is a growing area of concern because it has become extremely valuable, therefore marketers need to understand what campaign property they own and how to protect it.”

Jack Wallington, chair of the IAB Search Council told me, “For advertisers this is important because they may not be aware of the increasing value of [intellectual property] in search marketing and how to handle and protect it. For agencies it will become a larger issue because they need to decide exactly what they are willing to share with each other and their clients – what is and isn’t competitive information for instance.”

He added that the IAB now recommends making intellectual property a key consideration when starting a relationship with an agency.

The Help Centre resource goes live today.

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June 15, 2008

iPhone Applications, Google, and PPC

Over the weekend, a Google search for "iPhone applications" turned up an assortment of sponsored links.

Google Mobile appeared as the top sponsored link in the right-hand column. (See right.) Visitors who clicked on that link were directed to applications, including maps and search, designed for the iPhone or BlackBerry.

And, AT&T was touting its "Media Mall," a site to download games , ringtones, and other applications for cell phones. AT&T is the exclusive provider of the Apple iPhone.

And Apple appeared in the sponsored links that appear across the top of the search engine results page, along with Zinio, which was promoting magazines for the iPhone.

For the words, "AT&T and iPhone," Google Mobile also turned up as the top sponsored link, followed by AT&T Internet, which was promoting DSL service for $19.95 a month.

The estimated average CPC for the keywords "phone application" was $2.24, while "cell phone application" was $2.74, according to Google AdWords. It did not show an estimate for "iPhone application."

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May 30, 2008

'Sex and the City' and Search

The opening today of "Sex and the City," the movie, got search engine marketers into action, using paid search on Google and Yahoo to promote everything from bling (GiltyCouture and Ziamond), to ringtones, to an online video site (MyHubTV).

What, no Manolo Blahniks?

Yahoo paid search results, below.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 8:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 20, 2008

Ads See Light of Day on Google Image Search

When a Google exec mentions in an interview the search giant is thinking about a new ad product, it's hard to say whether it will become available to advertisers tomorrow, next quarter, or be swept under the virtual rug. In early May Marissa Mayer said in a Bloomberg Radio interview that monetization of its Image Search was something Google was considering. It was hard to read from the interview, though many interpreted her response as a done deal, when we might see image ads with our image results. Depending on your search queries, that day may be today.

At Google's factory tour it was discussed that the ad format was being tested. A Google spokesperson provided further information for ClickZ. "As part of our ongoing commitment to innovation and to help users find new and better ways of getting the information they're looking for, we are currently conducting a small test to show ads on the results page for Google Image Search. The experiment is restricted to a limited number of U.S. advertisers."

A few random searches turned up no ads so far.

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May 7, 2008

Google Dominates Europe, but Eastern EU Sites Gain Share

Today, ComScore released its March data on European search engine market share. Unsurprisingly Google sites came out on top, commanding 79 percent of searches across the continent. Yahoo and Microsoft came in fourth and fifth place, each with about 2 percent of search market share, respectively.

Worth noting however, is the increasing share for engines in the Eastern European markets, which are dominated by non-English language search technology.

Two Polish properties, Nasza-Klaska.pl and QCL Ricardo have shown considerable relative growth in comparison to ComScore's February figures. Nasza-Klaska.pl clocked up 1.3 percent of European searches in March, up from 1.1 percent in February. QCL Ricardo also increased to 1.2 percent in March.

In addition, Yandex, Russia's premier search facility trumped both Microsoft and Yahoo with its 2.2 percent share, slightly below the 2.3 percent it managed in February.

"With Russia's online population now the fastest growing in Europe, it is likely that some of these local search engines will continue to gain traction and market share," Jack Flanagan, EVP of comScore said in a statement.

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April 30, 2008

Politics, Religion, Race, and Paid Search

A day after Senator Barack Obama denounced his former pastor and his statements, a search for "rev. wright" brought up these sponsored results:

The first to appear comes from PreachingSermonsToday.com. The site says it has over 300 sermons for sale, including the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.'s "The Audacity to Hope" speech. It's available as a Word file for $4.95.

Another paid link, labeled "The Audacity of Hate," leads to a column in the Philadelphia Church of God's publication. The "audacious message of hate…does little in the way of helping the black community," Steven Flurry, the columnist, writes.

"Jeremiah Wright Supported," links to a site registered to Boyce Watkins, a CNN commentator, a finance prof, and self-described "huge fan" of Rev. Wright. "The point that Pastor Wright makes is both correct and clear: America is a racist country. It has been in the past and continues to be to this day," Watkins writes.

And they say politics and religion don't mix. Need further proof?

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 7:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

IAC Earnings: Rising Google Lifts All Search Partners

IAC's media and advertising revenues enjoyed a Q1 boost thanks to the company's renewed ad partnership with Google. Ask.com improved both its revenue per query and overall revenues during the period, "even excluding the benefits of the renewed contract." However it's clear from IAC's statement that the company's buddy up in Mountain View deserves much credit for its solid search performance, especially considering total queries were down. A reduced marketing budget also helped profits.

Meanwhile, there was predictable pain over in IAC's Lending Tree unit, which is set to be spun off along with other non-advertising businesses. The company noted it had lowered its marketing investment for lending products, which translates to reduced spending on online lead generation. Again, no surprise there.

IAC's not the only Google partner sitting pretty today. Another party to benefit greatly from its relationship with the borg is TW's AOL, which today reported strength in search advertising thanks in part to the relationship. Meanwhile display advertising revenue on its own sites shrank -- largely due to anticipated factors, it should be said.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 4:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 15, 2008

Clinton: Bitter about Search Ads?

McCain remains the clear frontrunner in paid search, and Clinton isn't spending much at all. While more Web users from all political persuasions searched for "Barack Obama" than "Hillary Clinton" or "John McCain," McCain is still number one in paid search.

According to a new iCrossing report, McCain's camp spent an estimated 60 percent of the total spent by the three top presidential candidates. Obama came in with 25 percent and Clinton an estimated 15 percent. Just how much that is in actual dollars is unclear.

"McCain is also the only candidate with paid coverage on competitors’ names in addition to his own, including candidate keywords hillary clinton, barack obama, obama, and clinton," notes the report, released today. I'm not sure how many years Web consultants have been telling political campaigns to buy their opponents' names....

The presumptive Republican nominee's campaign (i.e., mainly this guy) did the bulk of issue-based search ad spending among the three hopefuls. McCain spent an estimated 70 percent of dollars spent on issue-based keywords, including abortion, border security, campaign spending, Republican nomination, and universal healthcare, among others. Obama accounted for the remaining 30 percent, with paid links showing up in results for Democratic nomination and Democratic party.

The study follows up on a similar one conducted by the search firm last July. At the time, McCain's campaign also led the way in paid search.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 11:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 19, 2008

Rapping SEMPO at SESNY

At SES New York SEMPO hosted an entertaining gathering where Chuck Lewis, AKA MOserious performed a very special rap for the search industry audience.

Posted by Enid Burns at 2:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 11, 2008

Eliot Spitzer, Pay to Play

A newspaper and a retailer that sells surveillance devices each bought the keywords "Eliot Spitzer" on Google a day after the news broke that the New York governor was allegedly a customer of a high-end prostitution ring.

Newsday.com, the Web site for the Long Island, NY, based newspaper, calls attention to its coverage of the Spitzer scandal. The sponsored result, headlined "Spitzer Prostitution Ring," promises news, pics, and gossip about the guv.

Brickhouse Security sends visitors to a landing page, "Catch a Cheating Spouse" that features for sale semen detection test kits, covert GPS trackers, and other items.

Not to be outdone, NYPost.com also purchased the keywords, "Eliot Spitzer," promising readers: "New York Post has Complete New York Coverage. Check it Out!"

On the other hand, there's no takers for the keywords, "Emperor's Club VIP," the name of the escort service that apparently arranged the tryst.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 7:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 10, 2008

Murdoch: News Corp. Won't Fight Microsoft for Yahoo

Speaking at the Bear Stearns Media Conference in Florida today, News Corp. Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch put to bed rumors of a possible tie-up with Yahoo, stating, "We're not going to get into a fight with Microsoft, they have a lot more money than us."

He went on to say that Yahoo had "missed out" in the search arena by failing to invest in Overture quickly enough after acquiring it in 2003. He added "We're very happy to be in the Google camp; they sell our search advertising and pay us well for it."

Speaking further on social networks, Murdoch said that existing sites should attempt to introduce social aspects to their offerings. He suggested that News Corp. may attempt something along the social network lines with its Wall Street Journal site, and that users would be "interested to talk to each other about their investments."

When asked about future deals, Murdoch said he was not looking for big acquisitions, but may be tempted into some smaller ones. He added that he was cautious of the high price tags assigned to online properties at present, and that it would be "very easy to throw away a lot of money on Internet sites."

Regarding the current financial climate, News Corp. is apparently in "good shape" to face a weakened economy, having reduced its dependency on advertising from 41 percent to 23 percent of revenue.

Posted by Jack Marshall at 12:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 7, 2008

Obama SEO Wins and Losses

Apparently a lot of people want to know whether Barack Obama is a Muslim. So they Google things like, "Barack Obama Muslim." At Wednesday's Politics Online Conference in Washington, D.C., search marketing consultants discussed how SEO can be used to counteract the barrage of negative results appearing in such searches. One way the site could improve rankings: if the page title were more specific.

A listing linking to BarackObama.com scores points for linking to a very relevant page, which states the candidate is a "committed Christian," and includes lots of video and text supporting that. However, the page title is totally generic: "Barack Obama/Change We Can Believe In."

Another Obama SEO error: the homepage features a giant image and lacks sufficient text, so as far as search crawlers are concerned, the page may as well be blank.

I guess Obama site optimizers can also make a few...er...changes.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 3:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 5, 2008

Does Ask.com Matter to Marketers?

You may have read that Ask.com has cut 8 percent of its work force and plans to bring back the questions-based query model preferred by its core audience of women in the Bible and Rust Belts. Reuters and WSJ separately reported details on the business decision yesterday.

The search community clearly hates this development, which it sees as helping pave the way (along with Microsoft's bid for Yahoo) for a duopoly in search. Ask had become known in recent years as "the little engine that could," and with its move today the company has given up being a real contender in search.

Ask doesn't matter a ton to marketers since it outsources most of its advertising to Google. However it does offer placements across its own search and content network through Ask Sponsored Listings. I won't be surprised if that program becomes more lucrative in the short term, as Ask narrows its focus on women in the heartland.

The long term is a different story. Over time, the new strategy will lead to searcher attrition and eventually obsolescence as all those thirty and forty year old women become fifty and sixty year old women, then seventy and eighty... well, you get the idea. As for future Ask.com acolytes, there will be none. Who really believes all the twenty-something girls in the Midwest are suddenly going to hit thirty and give up Google for Ask?

Update: Ask challenged some of my suppositions above, including that the company will focus completely on women. "We don't agree that there won't be future Ask acolytes," a spokesperson said during a lengthy discussion this morning. "We have to and we're going to tip our hat to that key demographic [women], but there are a lot of factors that go into this strategy."

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February 29, 2008

ComScore Weighs in on Google Click Volume Debacle Sparked by Its Data

Earlier this week, when comScore set off a GOOG selling frenzy on Wall Steet with data showing click rate growth had flattened, I called the research firm for comment but to no avail. Amazing what 48 hours can bring. After a continued outcry, comScore has now issued a lengthy statement with additional data and charts (previously unavailable to non-clients) arguing, basically, that everyone should just calm down. Here's the money quote:

While we do not claim that these concerns are unwarranted, we believe a careful analysis of our search data does not lend them direct support. More specifically, the evidence suggests that the softness in Google’s paid click metrics is primarily a result of Google’s own quality initiatives that result in a reduction in the number of paid listings and, therefore, the opportunity for paid clicks to occur.

ComScore also shared the following chart, which demonstrates that click rates declined for much of last year, long before economic fears began bleeding into the nation's collective consciousness. It also shows how ad coverage, defined as the percentage of queries that display at least one ad, has declined roughly in parallel to click volume growth.

So you see, comScore says, Google is pumping fewer ads to its users and receiving fewer clicks in return. ComScore theorizes that reduction will be counterbalanced by an increase in revenue per query under the click quality initiative

On a separate but related note, agency heavy SearchIgnite has said it's seen none of the click volume declines described by comScore data, nor revenue shortfalls either. The agency, which claims to represent $200 million in search spending, said ad impressions for the first six weeks of 2008 were up 79.5 percent year over year, while paid clicks were up 47.2 percent. Additionally, ad spending on Google grew by 40.1 percent among the same group of clients (In other words the data doesn't include new business).

SearchIgnite's research should not be considered representative of the search industry at large, as it's just one agency with a defined group of clients who all share one thing in common: they follow SearchIgnite's advice. But then, can comScore's data be treated as really representative of consumers' click behaviors? After all, the company was seriously challenged by the IAB last year, and publishers of all stripes love to take potshots at its audience and traffic estimates.

My take continues to be that while the click rate fall-off is not necessarily the result of a lack of consumer confidence, a lack of confidence is bound to result in a reduction in click volume. More succinctly: No, Google's not insulated from a recession and no, comScore's findings are not (necessarily) a bad sign.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 12:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 26, 2008

Leap Year: Let's Party

Are you a Leaper?

Some calendar challenged people, going by the name of The Quadrennial Council, want your attention -- and sympathy.

"People born on leap day suffer more than most know," reads the council's Web site.

How so? "Retirees charged and arrested for under-aged drinking," the site says.

The council, which says it's based in "Leaptown, DE," purchased keywords on Google for "leap year parties."

Headed up by "Bjorn A. Leepur," the council contends it wants to improve the lives of people born on Feb. 29. It's calling for Feb. 29 to be added to the calendar each and every year.

The man (and woman) behind the curtain appear to be a PR team based in Alexandria, VA: Bremmer & Goris Communications. The firm registered the domain name, leapday08.com.

Okay, so where's the party?

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February 22, 2008

European Regulators Delay Verdict on Search Data Storage

EU regulators have delayed their verdict on the length of time that search engines such as Google and Yahoo can legally retain user data.

At a meeting in Brussels this week, The Article 29 data protection Working Party continued discussions on the matter, but did not deliver the draft opinion it was expected to.

Google has already cut the amount of time it retains search data to 18 months in response to criticism from the Working Party last June. Microsoft followed suit, while Yahoo cut its retention to 13 months. Search engine Ask.com now allows users to erase their data entirely.

Search engines fall under an EU Data Protection Directive if they are collecting users' IP addresses or search history. The directive applies to companies outside of the EU, providing they have an establishment within an EU member state.

Posted by Jack Marshall at 1:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 20, 2008

A Vegan's Search Recipe: Beef Recall

What do the Humane Society of the United States and "The New York Times" have in common?

Each purchased the keywords for "beef recall" on Google, giving the organizations the top placement this morning on Google's search engine results page. By buying the keywords, each organization stands to drive traffic to their sites.

The Times refers Web visitors to its business news coverage of the nation's largest beef recall. About 143 million pounds of beef have been recalled from the Wetland/Hallmark Meat Company after the Humane Society released a video showing plant workers kicking injured cows and using electric prods and forklifts to make move.

The Humane Society connects visitors to its Factory Farming Campaign, including a video that depicts the cruel treatment of sick cows at the slaughterhouse. The advocacy group also provides a call to action: animal rights proponents can fill out a form urging U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Edward Schafer to toughen federal policy and prohibit sick cattle from becoming part of the food supply.

Three other sponsored links appear in the right-column of Google's search engine results page today: Levick Strategic Communications, a crisis communications firm; Revolution Health, a health and medical information site; and SparkPeople, also a health site and online community.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 10:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 1, 2008

Microsoft Wants to Buy Yahoo: Convergence, Continued

There have been rumors of late about some sort of Microsoft/Yahoo hookup -- and here it is. Microsoft just tendered a $31/share bid for Yahoo. All of Yahoo.

It's about the advertising. From the press release: "The online advertising market is growing at a very fast pace, from over $40 billion in 2007 to nearly $80 billion by 2010. The resulting benefits of scale along with the associated capital costs for advertising platform providers make this a time of industry consolidation and convergence. Today this market is increasingly dominated by one player. Together, Microsoft and Yahoo! can offer a competitive choice while better fulfilling the needs of customers and partners."

Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO said in a statement: "We have great respect for Yahoo!, and together we can offer an increasingly exciting set of solutions for consumers, publishers and advertisers while becoming better positioned to compete in the online services market."

After the jump, Ballmer's letter to Yahoo board members. We'll be following developments closely, promise.

Board of Directors
Yahoo! Inc.
701 First Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA 94089
Attention: Roy Bostock, Chairman
Attention: Jerry Yang, Chief Executive Officer

Dear Members of the Board:

I am writing on behalf of the Board of Directors of Microsoft to make a proposal for a business combination of Microsoft and Yahoo!. Under our proposal, Microsoft would acquire all of the outstanding shares of Yahoo! common stock for per share consideration of $31 based on Microsoft's closing share price on January 31, 2008, payable in the form of $31 in cash or 0.9509 of a share of Microsoft common stock. Microsoft would provide each Yahoo! shareholder with the ability to choose whether to receive the consideration in cash or Microsoft common stock, subject to pro-ration so that in the aggregate one-half of the Yahoo! common shares will be exchanged for shares of Microsoft common stock and one-half of the Yahoo! common shares will be converted into the right to receive cash. Our proposal is not subject to any financing condition.

Our proposal represents a 62% premium above the closing price of Yahoo! common stock of $19.18 on January 31, 2008. The implied premium for the operating assets of the company clearly is considerably greater when adjusted for the minority, non-controlled assets and cash. By whatever financial measure you use - EBITDA, free cash flow, operating cash flow, net income, or analyst target prices - this proposal represents a compelling value realization event for your shareholders.

We believe that Microsoft common stock represents a very attractive investment opportunity for Yahoo!'s shareholders. Microsoft has generated revenue growth of 15%, earnings growth of 26%, and a return on equity of 35% on average for the last three years. Microsoft's share price has generated shareholder returns of 8% during the last one year period and 28% during the last three year period, significantly outperforming the S&P 500. It is our view that Microsoft has significant potential upside given the continued solid growth in our core businesses, the recent launch of Windows Vista, and other strategic initiatives.

Microsoft's consistent belief has been that the combination of Microsoft and Yahoo! clearly represents the best way to deliver maximum value to our respective shareholders, as well as create a more efficient and competitive company that would provide greater value and service to our customers. In late 2006 and early 2007, we jointly explored a broad range of ways in which our two companies might work together. These discussions were based on a vision that the online businesses of Microsoft and Yahoo! should be aligned in some way to create a more effective competitor in the online marketplace. We discussed a number of alternatives ranging from commercial partnerships to a merger proposal, which you rejected. While a commercial partnership may have made sense at one time, Microsoft believes that the only alternative now is the combination of Microsoft and Yahoo! that we are proposing.

In February 2007, I received a letter from your Chairman indicating the view of the Yahoo! Board that "now is not the right time from the perspective of our shareholders to enter into discussions regarding an acquisition transaction." According to that letter, the principal reason for this view was the Yahoo! Board's confidence in the "potential upside" if management successfully executed on a reformulated strategy based on certain operational initiatives, such as Project Panama, and a significant organizational realignment. A year has gone by, and the competitive situation has not improved.

While online advertising growth continues, there are significant benefits of scale in advertising platform economics, in capital costs for search index build-out, and in research and development, making this a time of industry consolidation and convergence. Today, the market is increasingly dominated by one player who is consolidating its dominance through acquisition. Together, Microsoft and Yahoo! can offer a credible alternative for consumers, advertisers, and publishers. Synergies of this combination fall into four areas:

-- Scale economics: This combination enables synergies related to scale
economics of the advertising platform where today there is only one
competitor at scale. This includes synergies across both search and
non-search related advertising that will strengthen the value
proposition to both advertisers and publishers. Additionally, the
combination allows us to consolidate capital spending.
-- Expanded R&D capacity: The combined talent of our engineering
resources can be focused on R&D priorities such as a single search
index and single advertising platform. Together we can unleash new
levels of innovation, delivering enhanced user experiences,
breakthroughs in search, and new advertising platform capabilities.
Many of these breakthroughs are a function of an engineering scale that
today neither of our companies has on its own.
-- Operational efficiencies: Eliminating redundant infrastructure and
duplicative operating costs will improve the financial performance of
the combined entity.
-- Emerging user experiences: Our combined ability to focus engineering
resources that drive innovation in emerging scenarios such as video,
mobile services, online commerce, social media, and social platforms is
greatly enhanced.

We would value the opportunity to further discuss with you how to optimize the integration of our respective businesses to create a leading global technology company with exceptional display and search advertising capabilities. You should also be aware that we intend to offer significant retention packages to your engineers, key leaders and employees across all disciplines.

We have dedicated considerable time and resources to an analysis of a potential transaction and are confident that the combination will receive all necessary regulatory approvals. We look forward to discussing this with you, and both our internal legal team and outside counsel are available to meet with your counsel at their earliest convenience.

Our proposal is subject to the negotiation of a definitive merger agreement and our having the opportunity to conduct certain limited and confirmatory due diligence. In addition, because a portion of the aggregate merger consideration would consist of Microsoft common stock, we would provide Yahoo! the opportunity to conduct appropriate limited due diligence with respect to Microsoft. We are prepared to deliver a draft merger agreement to you and begin discussions immediately.

In light of the significance of this proposal to your shareholders and ours, as well as the potential for selective disclosures, our intention is to publicly release the text of this letter tomorrow morning.

Due to the importance of these discussions and the value represented by our proposal, we expect the Yahoo! Board to engage in a full review of our proposal. My leadership team and I would be happy to make ourselves available to meet with you and your Board at your earliest convenience. Depending on the nature of your response, Microsoft reserves the right to pursue all necessary steps to ensure that Yahoo!'s shareholders are provided with the opportunity to realize the value inherent in our proposal.

We believe this proposal represents a unique opportunity to create significant value for Yahoo!'s shareholders and employees, and the combined company will be better positioned to provide an enhanced value proposition to users and advertisers. We hope that you and your Board share our enthusiasm, and we look forward to a prompt and favorable reply.

Sincerely yours,

Steven A. Ballmer
Chief Executive Officer
Microsoft Corporation

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 6:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 28, 2008

Microsoft Live Search: Left, Right and Sony

Branded search terms are more effective than generic search terms, according to a survey conducted by Microsoft and comScore for Sony. Following a two month online panel conducted by comScore of Sony ads on Microsoft Live Search last summer, the survey found that search ads with branded terms were 15 percent more effective at driving brand lift than those with generic terms. They also increased the likelihood of viewers recommending Sony to others by 14.8 percent and that branded search ads yielded a 14.5 percent increase in purchase intent.

As the research was conducted of the Sony brand, the electronics company declined to give Microsoft permission to describe the base numbers associated with the survey and held them to only describing the proportional changes, Beth Uyenco, global research director for Microsoft digital advertising solutions told me. She also said it took several months for approvals to pass between the two companies before the results could now be released. Even so "we found that branded search works much more effectively at the bottom of the funnel, in terms of lifting things like purchase intent and likelihood to recommend. Generic search works well among consumers who are still in the very broad mindset."

Uyenco also said the survey found that aside from actually visiting a store to handle a product before purchasing it, "search is the second most useful tool in product research, and we kinda of knew that."

Separately, Microsoft Live Search is getting into the political swing of things in this election year, and has launched a "political satire" version of its Live Search site. Titled LeftvsRight, the site lets users not only search for whatever term they are interested in, but it also includes snarky comments from two commentators akin to a "Face the Nation" program. The two video hosts, Patrick O’Neil representing the liberal left and Britt Hayes the conservative right, trade barbs as search results are displayed between them. The site was created by McCann Worldgroup San Francisco.

Posted by MatthewNelson at 9:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

iCrossing integrates British Search Brand 'Spannerworks'

British based search and social media specialist Spannerworks is to be re-branded iCrossing, almost a year after it was acquired by the U.S. digital agency.

Former Spannerworks CEO and founder Arjo Ghosh has been named CEO of iCrossing U.K. Ghosh will be based in Brighton, and will lead the company's development and operations within Europe.

Jeffrey Herzog, founder and global CEO of iCrossing stated in a press release, "For the past year, Spannerworks and iCrossing have been operating as one company, with a shared belief that search is the common pathway to all digital marketing. One brand, supported by this common belief, will fortify iCrossing’s position in the global marketplace and strengthen our ability to deliver global digital marketing programs to our clients."

Last week Ghosh was also appointed chair of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising's (IPA) search council.

Posted by Jack Marshall at 11:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 23, 2008

Roost's Bullish on Real Estate Search

A San Francisco startup today has jumped into the online real estate advertising and marketing fray, joining Realtor.com, Zillow, Trulia, Yahoo Real Estate, ZipRealty, RealtyTrac, Cyberhomes, HouseFront, and others.

"What are you drinking?" ClickZ asked Roost CEO Alex Chang. "Lots of coffee," Chang replied, laughing.

With the housing market in turmoil, why another real estate site now? Turning serious, Chang says Roost's a search engine for homes, similar to a meta search engine for a vertical such as travel. No coincidence, then, travel site Kayak.com directors Greg Slyngstad and Joel Cutler sit on Roost's board.

Under its business model, Roost charges on a cost per click (CPC) basis for traffic sent to brokers' and agents' sites. He declines to disclose the company's rates, but says rates will vary by market based on demand.

"Roost is totally focused on search. The actual search experience is cleaner and faster [than other sites]. We're not trying to create content. We're great at search and delivering high quality traffic to our partners on a CPC basis," he says.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 5:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 15, 2008

The Truth About Cats & Dogs

Your dog's not fetch-optimized?

Your cat's not curious?

Check out this Search Engine Strategies New York session: "How to Train Your Pets to Search."

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 9:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 8, 2008

Search Wikia Launches: Could Community Search Kill SEO?

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales yesterday unveiled an "alpha" version of his open source community-driven search engine, 'Wikia Search.' The basic premise is that instead of using a typical algorithm to prioritize search results, users can rate them on relevance.

I had a play with the site today, and it appears this will initially take the form of a simple five star rating system placed alongside each search result -- though the system is not yet active.

Although Wales insists the engine could eventually become a significant player in the search space, its reliance on user feedback means that it will take some time to become effective. As a result, don't expect it to challenge Google in terms of depth and relevance of results any time soon.

It does however raise some interesting questions surrounding the future of SEO, SEM and paid search. For one, the advent of user recommendation places emphasis back on the quality and relevance of site content, rather than optimized copy and metadata. Of course, should socialized search take off, marketers may find new ways to subvert and profit from the results.

Search Wikia will have no relation to Wikipedia, and will instead come under the umbrella of Wales' for-profit organization, Wikia Inc. That suggests it will still present marketing opportunities in some form, perhaps as Google-style sponsored links.

Meanwhile, Google is trying to take a bite out of Wales's empire with the development of its own user-generated online encyclopaedia to rival Wikipedia. Called 'Knol', the service will allow users to generate and edit content.

Posted by Jack Marshall at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 31, 2007

NJ Senator Already Running Search Ads

I’m doing some research on search ads targeted to issue-based keywords by political campaigns. Lo and behold, a Google search on “Iraq War” turned up an ad for none other than my octogenarian New Jersey Senator, Frank Lautenberg.

Protecting America
Read About Senator Lautenberg
& His Plan to End the War in Iraq
www.LautenbergForNJ.com

A search for "end iraq war" results in a similar ad:
It's Time to End the War
Read About Senator Lautenberg
& His Plan to End the War in Iraq
www.LautenbergForNJ.com

The ads link to an Iraq-centric page on Lautenberg’s reelection site, which states, “Senator Lautenberg strongly disapproves of President Bush's handling of the Iraq War and, just as strongly, supports our troops.”

It doesn’t come right out and say the soon-to-be 84-year-old will run for another term, but the site's navigation button to “Contribute. Help Frank Stand Strong for New Jersey” is a pretty good indication. And the fact his campaign is running search ads makes it pretty obvious.

Who says old dogs can’t learn new tricks?

Posted by Kate Kaye at 6:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 28, 2007

InfoSpace Completes $135M Sale of Mobile Business to Motricity

Motricity, a company that builds and runs mobile storefronts for carriers, said today it completed the $135 million acquisition of InfoSpace's mobile services business.

InfoSpace's mobile services unit provides the portal and search functions for AT&T and Verizon in the United States; Motricity offers a storefront, catalog, and other applications that enables its customers to offer ringtones, games, and other content on mobile devices.

InfoSpace, moving forward, will focus on growing its online search business, according to a statement from Jim Voelker, InfoSpace chief executive. InfoSpace's metasearch technology is used by other Web sites such as Dogpile and WebFetch.

Ryan Wuerch remains as Motricity's chairman and chief executive, while Steve Elfman, former executive vice president of InfoSpace's mobile services business unit, becomes Motricity's president and chief operating officer.

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December 11, 2007

Verizon Gets Evil-er

Net neutrality opponent Verizon is busy on other fronts in its efforts to break the Internet -- and to profit in the process.

Last June, the broadband provider announced a plan to "help" users who mistype domain names into their browsers by redirecting to an "Advanced Web Search" page bearing Yahoo search results -- and Yahoo Publisher Network's ads on Verizon's own pages. This DNS redirect service allows the ISP to profit off of its users' errors (but they aren't always errors, as I'll illustrate below), while at the same time overriding other search pages and, as Verizon acknowledges, causing other potential technical problems.

Recently, many of Verizon's high-speed FiOS customers in varying pockets of the country have fallen victim to the hijacking, which seems to be spreading. My Brooklyn-based friend (and Verizon DSL customer) Steve shot me an enraged e-mail the other day full of examples of how Verizon is hijacking not mistyped URLs, but rather the "naked domains" (to coin a phrase) virtually all experienced users have been trained to type in the address fields of their browsers.

The examples he provided include typing "google" (rather than painstakingly typing "http://www.google.com"), "gmail," "apple" and "gawker." As Steve put it, "It goes to a Verizon page with a bunch of clickly links and the URLs in eensy-teensy type below...I can type other things and it behaves normally...but this thing is a freakin' ROADBLOCK."

And it happened out of the blue. My friend is no Web savant, but he's reasonably Web savvy. Verizon is quite obviously overriding his Firefox browser.

Verizon's DNS redirects are not, as the company claims, helping customers who make typos. They're leveraging -- and hijacking -- established Internet user behavior. Overwhelmingly, users type naked brand names directly into their browsers' address fields, confident they'll get to their intended destination. Unless, of course, they're Verizon customers. The redirects can strike anywhere, anytime.

Oh, but Verizon is playing the opt-out card. Only way too subtly, and making opting out of these redirects way too difficult for the average user. See any opt-out instructions on this Advanced Web Search page? Hint: click the "About This Page" button in the upper right hand corner. The link takes you to an about page with yet more links for opting out (depending on the type of service you subscribe to. You're then presented with a long list hardware options, each with its own set of opt-out configuration instructions.

But wait -- it gets even worse. For kicks, I clicked on the Westell Ethernet Modem Verizon provided me with for my DSL service, only to find the message "to change the DNS server settings in this modem to opt out of the DNS Assistance, you must change your DNS settings in your operating system."

Another click to find those instructions reveals a dead end. Verizon only provides information for changing DNS settings for various Windows platforms. Mac owners (like Steve and I) have just followed six links to nowheresville. As he put it, "somewhere {there's an opt-out option, but then it seems unduly complicated."

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 10:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 30, 2007

Clock Ticks on E-Tailer SEO Plans for Holidays

On your marks, get set… "Merchants have less than a 30 day window from now, until roughly the end of November, to get some of those last-minute structural changes in place," said Brian Klais, VP of search at Madison, Netconcepts, a Madison, WI-based search engine marketing firm. He's referring to search engine optimization, and getting Web sites running smoothly and cataloged by the search engines. At the top of the list are cleaning up structural changes in URLs, fixing any 301 redirect issues, and reviewing on-page content.

"What retailers can do now with very little spare time is to think about merchandising strategies. If free shipping is featured in the merchandising mix, then retailers can maximize the offer by keeping an eye on those dates for searchers," Klais advised. He went on with a few tips: Make sure the title tags and the content on the pages have an offer within. Include the words free shipping in the title tag. "It might be enough to convert searcher activity into a click and then into a sale," he said.

Ideally, SEO will be in place by mid-November for most retailers, if it's not already done, in order to allow for indexing by the search engines. That requires about a two-week buffer to obtain proper indexing and link juice, according to Klais.

Posted by Enid Burns at 12:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 23, 2007

Search Continues to Drive NYTimes Co Traffic and Revenue

The New York Times Co's digital business revenues grew 26.5 percent in Q3 over the same quarter of '06, the company said during today's earnings call. The firm's digital businesses, which include its flagship site and About.com, accounted for 11 percent of total revenue.

As far as online ad revenue breakouts, the company said display ads account for over 40 percent of online ad dollars, 23 percent comes from classifieds and 15 percent comes from sales of its paid archives.

SEO is directing much of the traffic that's driving the firm's steady online growth. "Over the long term, we expect to see the scale and inventory benefits that accrue to us through [SEO] significantly outweighing the revenue stream" from "the paid tier," said SVP and CFO James Follo.

Follo also noted some recent digital-only advertisers on NYTimes.com, including Amex and Tiffany. Chanel was another; the luxury brand promoted a watch via a homepage image of the timepiece displaying the correct time.

The company will introduce a new online property, T Online, to complement its T Magazine style print mag in early December. "We're in the process of selling this exciting new digital magazine to luxury advertisers," said President and CEO Janet Robinson.

Other significant Web related events in Q3 included a restructuring of About's operations, including the hiring of additional sales staff, as well as the launch of a new NYTimes.com branding campaign with the slogan, "All the News That's Fit to Click."

Posted by Kate Kaye at 5:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Mozilla Revenues Soar with Search Marketing Fortunes

Mozilla continues to grow by leaps and bounds, largely owing to the long-standing search distribution deal between Firefox and Google. Between its open source foundation and its corporate arm, Mozilla CEO Mitchell Baker yesterday reported 2006 revenues were $67 million, up 26 percent from 2005, when we first looked closely at the foundation's results. The money comes from payments Google makes to Mozilla with every search query originating from Firefox. The foundation gets the cash regardless of whether a searcher clicks an ad, though a Mozilla source suggested the amount of its commission rises when ads are clicked.

All total, Mozilla now has some $74 million in the bank, money its using to expand its open source programs and to fund accessibility initiatives for the blind and disabled. It gave $300,000 to such efforts in 2006, an amount it calls "a small first step."

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 4:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

The Eyes Have It

Congratulations to our longtime paid search columnist Kevin Lee. His new (and first) book, The Eyes Have It: How to Market in an Age of Divergent Consumers, Media Chaos and Advertising Anarchy, was just released.

It's so new, we haven't even received our review copy yet, but we do know that in the book Kevin addresses digital marketing issues far beyond the scope of search alone. Topics include how marketers can know if their agency is capable of executing a profitable digital marketing campaigns; how agencies can ensure they remain competitive; how to build an in-house digital marketing team; auction-based media markets; and media planning in a dynamic digital environment.

If you follow Kevin's columns on this site, or have ever heard him speak on digital marketing (which he does virtually non-stop), you know this is one book that's going to be worth picking up.

Good going, Kevin!

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 11:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 10, 2007

The Opposite of SEO

You probably don't want to do this for your business...

Tonight, I'm meeting a friend at a super-secret new New York City bar. You have to know the address. You have to know the phone number. You have to know how to get in, which involves an access code for a telephone booth at the back of an innocuous hot dog stand which opens a concealed panel, Get Smart-style.

Would you believe a place this secret has a Web site? Well, they do. An opposite-of-optimized Web site. The URL is an acronym of the bar's name. There's no metadata. There aren't any links. And all the text (which consists only of a name and a phone number) is contained in a graphic.

It's an almost perfect example of how to build a Web site that's nearly impossible to find.

Unless your business is mega hyper-buzzworthy, I wouldn't try this at home. (And sorry, I can't provide the URL -- they'd never let me in!)

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 4:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 5, 2007

The Halo Effect

Microsoft reported "Halo 3" reached $300 million in sales in its first seven days at retail. The attention spread to the Web with a 150 percent increase in searches for the term "halo 3" in the four weeks ending September 29, 2007, according to Hitwise. People primarily searched for the game's skulls, release date (September 25), cheats, weapons, and reviews.

At Advertising Week held in New York last week I met with Microsoft and Massive executives, and attended a handful of panels on in-game advertising. The coveted title is and always will be off limits to in-game advertising, but there are ways to align your brand with "Halo" and other out-of-boundaries games. There is "around game advertising" which is largely sponsorships of tournaments both online and offline, inserts in boxes, co-branding promotions, and advertising on enthusiast Web sites. Discovery Channel entered a strong co-branding opportunity with Halo's Master Chief to promote its "Last One Standing" show where Master Chief played as a contestant, and headlined a sweepstakes. For Microsoft, Massive primarily handles in-game ad placements, but the Xbox team has some innovative solutions around the game including placement on the heavily-trafficked Xbox Live.

Posted by Enid Burns at 2:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 2, 2007

What Might New Yahoo Search Mean for Advertisers?

So, Yahoo is revamping it search results, in part by including video and image results along with standard text results. Ask.com and Microsoft have been making similar adjustments to accommodate the increasingly video-centric Web, and Google made a big splash in May with its Universal Search launch.

What's the "new Yahoo Search" mean for advertisers? At this point, you'll probably hear the same speculation about that as we heard back when Google's Universal Search launched.

We could see more multimedia ads -- video, other rich, interactive display units -- available in and around search results. Another thing surmised when Google's new search came out also might apply to Yahoo: more interest in Yahoo search from brand advertisers. While search has long been primarily the domain of direct response advertisers, the fact that brand advertisers tend to have a lot of image-, audio- and video-based content means they might want to optimize that content to take advantage of the new multimedia search results, or pay to get their multimedia assets in the results.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 2:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 1, 2007

Telefonica's Global Search Partners

Madrid-based Telefonica's been busy. Today it said it will partner with Yahoo to bring the search engine's OneSearch, which was launched earlier this year to its users in Ireland, Latin America, and the U.K. Those users will also have access to news, financial information, weather conditions, Flickr photos, Web images, and Web and mobile Web sites. They'll also have access to Yahoo Mail.

Just last week Telefonica and JumpTap announced a deal to enable JumpTap's search capabilities for music, images, and games channels. This service is available to users in Spain, the mobile phone company's home country. JumpTap said it makes Telefonica the first operator in Spain to bring a complete search and advertising solution to the mobile screen.

Posted by Enid Burns at 5:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 28, 2007

You Know It's Time to Modify Your AdWords & AdSense Campaigns When...

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 2:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 26, 2007

Microsoft Talks Up its Live Search Update and Tweaks MSN Video Ads

Microsoft knows it's running in third place behind Google and Yahoo in the battle for search, and at its Silicon Valley offices today the company showed off its latest efforts in improving its Live Search service for its current users, and to bring more users to its system. Separately, the company also changed the manner in which it will place ads on its MSN Video by providing them to users based on how long they're viewing the player, and not at the start of each clip no matter the length.

At its amusingly titled Searchification 2007 event, Satya Nadella, corporate vice president Search and Advertising Platform Group for Microsoft, did lay claim to nearly 70 million -- or 40 percent -- of the U.S. based searching public as using Live Search, but admitted that only 11 percent of them are standalone customers. Mostly due to searchers using more than one search engine.

Looking to improve on its placement, the company is in the midst of upgrading the Live Search core capabilities, which it intends to do on a regular six to 12 month schedule. Nadella said the first thing Microsoft did was examine the search results it had been providing with its prev