"PriceRunner launches comparison site on mobile."
PriceRunner has struck an exclusive partnership with mobile software provider Picsel to launch a mobile version of the price comparison website.
The company, owned by ValueClick Europe will launch the new service in the early second quarter of 2007.
Consumers will be able to download the free application from pricerunner.co.uk or by sending a text to a shortcode, where the application will be sent back to the user; only standard data roaming charges.
Users will see a full colour mini-version of PriceRunner.co.uk with full functionality to compare prices.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Brits lack Interest
"Brits lack interest in mobile search- survey."
Just one in five (20%) UK subscribers actually search for content on the mobile internet, despite an industry perception that 89% do, according to new research.
The survey, from Mobile Entertainment Forum and Ovum, questioned MEF members including operators, content providers and technology enablers to gauge industry views, as well as 1,000 UK consumers.
Despite subscribers not searching on the mobile internet as often as the industry expects (only 2% searching on a daily basis), those that do are downloading premium material, rather than just surfing.
Amongst consumers using mobile search once a month or more, the most commonly searched for content is ringtones (54%), closely followed by full track music downloads (47%). Of the top four types of content looked for ringtones, full track downloads, sports results and games all featured.
Ringtones, music tracks and games all command a premium and subscribers appear willing to pay for it - only 17% of respondents were put off searching by cost.
This is particularly important with industry respondents citing 'increased downloads' (50%) as the most important quantifier of successful search mechanisms followed by return visits (31%).
Just one in five (20%) UK subscribers actually search for content on the mobile internet, despite an industry perception that 89% do, according to new research.
The survey, from Mobile Entertainment Forum and Ovum, questioned MEF members including operators, content providers and technology enablers to gauge industry views, as well as 1,000 UK consumers.
Despite subscribers not searching on the mobile internet as often as the industry expects (only 2% searching on a daily basis), those that do are downloading premium material, rather than just surfing.
Amongst consumers using mobile search once a month or more, the most commonly searched for content is ringtones (54%), closely followed by full track music downloads (47%). Of the top four types of content looked for ringtones, full track downloads, sports results and games all featured.
Ringtones, music tracks and games all command a premium and subscribers appear willing to pay for it - only 17% of respondents were put off searching by cost.
This is particularly important with industry respondents citing 'increased downloads' (50%) as the most important quantifier of successful search mechanisms followed by return visits (31%).
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Rich Schefren on: Time
These are distinctions from Rich Schefren's brilliant seminar. I hope you can use them too:
1. If you want to build your online business, concentrate on the 'What' not on the 'How'!
2. If your business depends on you and you have no plans on cahnging that ... You don't own a business (you own a job).
3. Why you need to build an Internet business: The Interrnet is still in the wild west days --- but just like every other industry and media channel sooner or later businesses will smother the self-employed.
4. All time has value - there is no such thing as 'free' time, there is only leisure time. They way you think about time and think about yourself will affect everything that happens to you the rest of your life. Do you know the value of your time and how to increase it?
5. Calculating your magic number:
- What is your goal? e.g. $ 1,000,000
- How much did you make in the last 3 months? e.g. $ 40,000
- Current Reality = $ 40,000 * 4 = $ 160,000 for this year
- Your Goal $ 1,000,000 - $ 160,000 = $ 840,000 (your magic number)
- How do you get from where you are today to your Goal?
10% of $ 840,000 = $ 84,000
- Your next step gets calculatd this way: Current income $ 160,000 + $ 84,000 = $ 244,000
That is what you should be thinking about achieving.
- Designing the steps to get there:
How much do you want to earn in the next 12 months? e.g. $ 244,000
How many days/week do you work? e.g. 6 !
How many hours a day do you work? e.g. 10 !
How many productive hrs per day to you work? (productive time is time directly related to making an income, not for example reading an e-book) e.g. 4 (to be optimistic)
Calculate 4 hrs * 6 days = 24 hrs / week; 24 * 50 weeks = 1,200 hrs p.a.
$ 244,000 / 1,200 = $ 203 / hrs
-> That's what you need to make per hour to get to your next step towards your goal.
(Your minute rate: $ 203 / 60 = ca. $ 3.40)
Ask yourself:
- "Is what I am doing worth my hourly rate?"
- "Can I pay s.o. significantly less than my hourly rate to do this for me?
-> If you think of your time as actually being worth what you just calculated, don't be too surprised if before long you are making this kind of money.
1. If you want to build your online business, concentrate on the 'What' not on the 'How'!
2. If your business depends on you and you have no plans on cahnging that ... You don't own a business (you own a job).
3. Why you need to build an Internet business: The Interrnet is still in the wild west days --- but just like every other industry and media channel sooner or later businesses will smother the self-employed.
4. All time has value - there is no such thing as 'free' time, there is only leisure time. They way you think about time and think about yourself will affect everything that happens to you the rest of your life. Do you know the value of your time and how to increase it?
5. Calculating your magic number:
- What is your goal? e.g. $ 1,000,000
- How much did you make in the last 3 months? e.g. $ 40,000
- Current Reality = $ 40,000 * 4 = $ 160,000 for this year
- Your Goal $ 1,000,000 - $ 160,000 = $ 840,000 (your magic number)
- How do you get from where you are today to your Goal?
10% of $ 840,000 = $ 84,000
- Your next step gets calculatd this way: Current income $ 160,000 + $ 84,000 = $ 244,000
That is what you should be thinking about achieving.
- Designing the steps to get there:
How much do you want to earn in the next 12 months? e.g. $ 244,000
How many days/week do you work? e.g. 6 !
How many hours a day do you work? e.g. 10 !
How many productive hrs per day to you work? (productive time is time directly related to making an income, not for example reading an e-book) e.g. 4 (to be optimistic)
Calculate 4 hrs * 6 days = 24 hrs / week; 24 * 50 weeks = 1,200 hrs p.a.
$ 244,000 / 1,200 = $ 203 / hrs
-> That's what you need to make per hour to get to your next step towards your goal.
(Your minute rate: $ 203 / 60 = ca. $ 3.40)
Ask yourself:
- "Is what I am doing worth my hourly rate?"
- "Can I pay s.o. significantly less than my hourly rate to do this for me?
-> If you think of your time as actually being worth what you just calculated, don't be too surprised if before long you are making this kind of money.
What happened to Bob (Proctor)?
Recently I attended a talk by famous Bob Proctor at the YES! Group in London. Bob gave a great talk and here are a few tidbits:
Bob Proctor made it from cleaning floors into a multi-millionaire.
How did Bob develop into such a successful human being?
Basically because he made a lot of money from one day to the other and he tried to find out what had happened to him. How he had changed, why he suddenly became so successful.
That question kept him busy over 20 - 30 years and enabled him to show others what he found out.
His most successful formula to earn real money is: To have multiple sources of income.
The most important question for anyone to answer he said is:
“What do you REALLY WANT?”
(Not what you are prepared to settle for.)
If you find that out, then make a DECISION (not a wish) to get it!
When you settle for less, than you can get, you will get less than you will settle for.
There is a difference in wishing for a thing and another being ready to receive it.
Most people are extras in their own movie. They should be the Star!
There are 3 Income Strategies:
M3. Turn your Annual income into your monthly income.
M2. Invest money to earn money.
M1. Trade your time for money (ignore this one as you can run out of time).
The Mind is the Greatest Power in all Creation.
Because we treat the symptom and not the problem, the problem reoccurs.
His most important tools (?):
-> Reading ‘Think and Grow Rich’ by Napoleon Hill every day …
-> And ‘As A Man Thinketh’ by James Allen
The Yes Group’s MC Martin Boothe asked Bob these questions:
Q: What is THE most important ‘thing’ to take away tonight?
A: Writing down on a card what you really want in life (even if you don’t believe in it today) and reading it loud every day, at least before bedtime for the rest of your life. The more you repeat it the more your mind will believe it.
Q: What kept Bob going for the last 40 years?
A: His love to share what he learned from life.
Three questions to ask yourself:
What am I doing?
What works?
What doesn’t?
Then stop doing No. 3!
Great lines from his talk:
- You are a spiritual being and any (self help) program without a spiritual foundation is incomplete.
- Your thoughts are your most potent weapon. All the thought and the energy is in the present.
- Think in pictures.
- When you understand you can Change. When you can change you have Hope. When you have hope you have Options.
- You are attracting what is in harmony with you. If you don’t like what you are attracting – see what you really have been asking for.
- Your results are an expression of your level of awareness. Effective education and professional coaching over a reasonable time will expand your level of awareness.
- Calm down and speed up.
- The main thing is to keep the Main Thing the main thing …
- If you can’t believe in yourself, find s.o. else who believes in you!
- Money can't talk but it can hear. Call it and it will come.
- Believe and your Belief will create the fact. William James
He ended his fabulous talk with the Poem
“ One And Only You.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Every single blade of grass
and every flake of snow-
is just a wee bit different...
There's no two alike, you know.
From something small
like grains of sand.
To each gigantic star
all were made with THIS is mind:
To be just what they are!
How foolish then, to imitate-
How useless to pretend!
Since each of us comes from a MIND
Whose ideas never end.
There'll only be just ONE of ME
To show what I can do -
And you should likewise feel very proud
There's only ONE of YOU.
That is where it all starts
With you, a wonderful, unlimited human being
James T. Moore
------------ --------- --------- --------
Many thanks to the YES! Group London for organizing such a great evening and providing fantastic speakers on an ongoing basis.
Bob Proctor made it from cleaning floors into a multi-millionaire.
How did Bob develop into such a successful human being?
Basically because he made a lot of money from one day to the other and he tried to find out what had happened to him. How he had changed, why he suddenly became so successful.
That question kept him busy over 20 - 30 years and enabled him to show others what he found out.
His most successful formula to earn real money is: To have multiple sources of income.
The most important question for anyone to answer he said is:
“What do you REALLY WANT?”
(Not what you are prepared to settle for.)
If you find that out, then make a DECISION (not a wish) to get it!
When you settle for less, than you can get, you will get less than you will settle for.
There is a difference in wishing for a thing and another being ready to receive it.
Most people are extras in their own movie. They should be the Star!
There are 3 Income Strategies:
M3. Turn your Annual income into your monthly income.
M2. Invest money to earn money.
M1. Trade your time for money (ignore this one as you can run out of time).
The Mind is the Greatest Power in all Creation.
Because we treat the symptom and not the problem, the problem reoccurs.
His most important tools (?):
-> Reading ‘Think and Grow Rich’ by Napoleon Hill every day …
-> And ‘As A Man Thinketh’ by James Allen
The Yes Group’s MC Martin Boothe asked Bob these questions:
Q: What is THE most important ‘thing’ to take away tonight?
A: Writing down on a card what you really want in life (even if you don’t believe in it today) and reading it loud every day, at least before bedtime for the rest of your life. The more you repeat it the more your mind will believe it.
Q: What kept Bob going for the last 40 years?
A: His love to share what he learned from life.
Three questions to ask yourself:
What am I doing?
What works?
What doesn’t?
Then stop doing No. 3!
Great lines from his talk:
- You are a spiritual being and any (self help) program without a spiritual foundation is incomplete.
- Your thoughts are your most potent weapon. All the thought and the energy is in the present.
- Think in pictures.
- When you understand you can Change. When you can change you have Hope. When you have hope you have Options.
- You are attracting what is in harmony with you. If you don’t like what you are attracting – see what you really have been asking for.
- Your results are an expression of your level of awareness. Effective education and professional coaching over a reasonable time will expand your level of awareness.
- Calm down and speed up.
- The main thing is to keep the Main Thing the main thing …
- If you can’t believe in yourself, find s.o. else who believes in you!
- Money can't talk but it can hear. Call it and it will come.
- Believe and your Belief will create the fact. William James
He ended his fabulous talk with the Poem
“ One And Only You.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Every single blade of grass
and every flake of snow-
is just a wee bit different...
There's no two alike, you know.
From something small
like grains of sand.
To each gigantic star
all were made with THIS is mind:
To be just what they are!
How foolish then, to imitate-
How useless to pretend!
Since each of us comes from a MIND
Whose ideas never end.
There'll only be just ONE of ME
To show what I can do -
And you should likewise feel very proud
There's only ONE of YOU.
That is where it all starts
With you, a wonderful, unlimited human being
James T. Moore
------------ --------- --------- --------
Many thanks to the YES! Group London for organizing such a great evening and providing fantastic speakers on an ongoing basis.
Property search engine
"Property search engine gets funding boost."
Investment vehicle Howzat media has completed its investment in Zoomf, an early stage Web 2.0 residential property sales and letting search engine.
Still in its beta test stage of development, Zoomf plans initially to cover agents offering property in the Greater London Area before rolling out nationally with more product enhancements.
Consumers can drill down to desired property specifications, for location and price range, along with 'deeper' specifications, such as 'with garage/ off-street parking' or 'river view'.
Zoomf also offers consumers local market intelligence and information on local amenities in their area of choice, via map and listings.
These provide users with useful additional information about local schools, transport, shopping and recreational facilities, assisting them in their property search.
Source: Netimperative
Investment vehicle Howzat media has completed its investment in Zoomf, an early stage Web 2.0 residential property sales and letting search engine.
Still in its beta test stage of development, Zoomf plans initially to cover agents offering property in the Greater London Area before rolling out nationally with more product enhancements.
Consumers can drill down to desired property specifications, for location and price range, along with 'deeper' specifications, such as 'with garage/ off-street parking' or 'river view'.
Zoomf also offers consumers local market intelligence and information on local amenities in their area of choice, via map and listings.
These provide users with useful additional information about local schools, transport, shopping and recreational facilities, assisting them in their property search.
Source: Netimperative
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Google opens email service
"Google opens email service to all"
Google has ended the invite-only policy for Google Mail, allowing anyone in the UK to use the Web-based email service.
The service, known as Gmail outside the UK, offers nearly 3GB of online storage space and an anti-spam filter. GoogleMail also groups email exchanges together to help users keep track of ongoing conversations in one folder."
Google has ended the invite-only policy for Google Mail, allowing anyone in the UK to use the Web-based email service.
The service, known as Gmail outside the UK, offers nearly 3GB of online storage space and an anti-spam filter. GoogleMail also groups email exchanges together to help users keep track of ongoing conversations in one folder."
E-mail marketers tracking ROI
Email marketers still struggle to track ROI- survey
Almost half (47%) of marketers are not tracking how much revenue their email campaigns are making, according to a new survey.
The research, from email services provider Adestra and E-consultancy surveyed over 500 in-house and agency respondents across different industry sectors
The findings suggest that many companies do not know which campaigns are generating sales and which are not, or which ones have increased awareness, for non-transactional campaigns. The email marketing sector is growing fast, with 78% of companies are set to increase their email marketing spend according to DMA, November 2006.
Meanwhile, the email services market is growing at 20% per annum, according to E-consultancy’s Email marketing Platforms Buyer’s Guide. However the growth cannot continue in the longer term without the systems in place for tracking the results back to spend.
Around £178m was spent in the UK on email marketing platforms and services in 2006,according to E-consultancy, therefore a significant £84m is untracked marketing budget which may or may not be working. Which other channel would be able to get away with spending this much without knowing the impact?
Paul Crabtree, marketing director at Adestra, says: “It is critical for future growth, and makes basic business sense, to be able to measure ROI. In fact, it can severely stunt growth if you can’t measure ROI as it will make proving the business case for extra investment almost impossible.
The point is that email marketing is probably the most direct channel to be able to measure ROI – and it is a relatively simple process to enable it.”
In the survey over 80% of respondents say their email marketing could be more effective.
Crabtree explains: “Despite most marketers wanting their email campaigns to be more effective – and who doesn’t - as half can’t measure their ROI they have no basis for improving in future. The first thing they need to do is have a system for accurately tracking deliverability to the inbox, through to actual sales and therefore ROI.”
More than half of company email marketers (55%) say that their ROI from email is three times or more. Almost a third of company respondents (32%) say that their ROI is five times or more.
By way of comparison, 64% of Agency / ESP respondents say that their clients’ ROI is typically 3 times or more, and 28% say the ROI is five times or more.
Adestra has offered a top 5 tips on how to measure ROI, reproduced below:
When sending targeted, personalised campaigns to the designated database, ensure the following steps are taken to help measure ROI:
1. Ask each customer how they found out about you
2. Invest in web analytics to track all orders back to where they began their web session from
3. Use an email marketing provider that can integrate with your web site to track orders
4. Monitor other inbound channels (telephone lines) and use discount codes/ special offers/ unique phone numbers to label enquiries and orders. Database systems like Wyvern Magic make this possible without massive investment
5. Allocate and spend unrushed time analysing the performance of each campaign
Source: Netimperative
Almost half (47%) of marketers are not tracking how much revenue their email campaigns are making, according to a new survey.
The research, from email services provider Adestra and E-consultancy surveyed over 500 in-house and agency respondents across different industry sectors
The findings suggest that many companies do not know which campaigns are generating sales and which are not, or which ones have increased awareness, for non-transactional campaigns. The email marketing sector is growing fast, with 78% of companies are set to increase their email marketing spend according to DMA, November 2006.
Meanwhile, the email services market is growing at 20% per annum, according to E-consultancy’s Email marketing Platforms Buyer’s Guide. However the growth cannot continue in the longer term without the systems in place for tracking the results back to spend.
Around £178m was spent in the UK on email marketing platforms and services in 2006,according to E-consultancy, therefore a significant £84m is untracked marketing budget which may or may not be working. Which other channel would be able to get away with spending this much without knowing the impact?
Paul Crabtree, marketing director at Adestra, says: “It is critical for future growth, and makes basic business sense, to be able to measure ROI. In fact, it can severely stunt growth if you can’t measure ROI as it will make proving the business case for extra investment almost impossible.
The point is that email marketing is probably the most direct channel to be able to measure ROI – and it is a relatively simple process to enable it.”
In the survey over 80% of respondents say their email marketing could be more effective.
Crabtree explains: “Despite most marketers wanting their email campaigns to be more effective – and who doesn’t - as half can’t measure their ROI they have no basis for improving in future. The first thing they need to do is have a system for accurately tracking deliverability to the inbox, through to actual sales and therefore ROI.”
More than half of company email marketers (55%) say that their ROI from email is three times or more. Almost a third of company respondents (32%) say that their ROI is five times or more.
By way of comparison, 64% of Agency / ESP respondents say that their clients’ ROI is typically 3 times or more, and 28% say the ROI is five times or more.
Adestra has offered a top 5 tips on how to measure ROI, reproduced below:
When sending targeted, personalised campaigns to the designated database, ensure the following steps are taken to help measure ROI:
1. Ask each customer how they found out about you
2. Invest in web analytics to track all orders back to where they began their web session from
3. Use an email marketing provider that can integrate with your web site to track orders
4. Monitor other inbound channels (telephone lines) and use discount codes/ special offers/ unique phone numbers to label enquiries and orders. Database systems like Wyvern Magic make this possible without massive investment
5. Allocate and spend unrushed time analysing the performance of each campaign
Source: Netimperative
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Emap snaps up mobile social network for £8.7m
Emap snaps up mobile social network for £8.7m
Emap snaps up mobile social network for £8.7m
Emap has bought YoSpace, a UK mobile user-generated content business, as the publisher looks to expand it digital presence.
Yospace provides a mobile community based around user-generated videos. Its products include “See me TV” and “Look at me TV” services.Its customers include a number of major mobile networks in the UK. "
Emap snaps up mobile social network for £8.7m
Emap has bought YoSpace, a UK mobile user-generated content business, as the publisher looks to expand it digital presence.
Yospace provides a mobile community based around user-generated videos. Its products include “See me TV” and “Look at me TV” services.Its customers include a number of major mobile networks in the UK. "
Google Earth for local advertisers
Google Earth offers sponsored links for local advertisers:
Google has incorporated adverts into its world imaging system Google Earth.
The search giant has deployed it Adsense contextual advertising system into Google Earth, which will let advertisers place sponsored local ads in map markers on the site.
The ads can include clickable links, contact details and logos that give the precise location of a certain business.
Google has incorporated adverts into its world imaging system Google Earth.
The search giant has deployed it Adsense contextual advertising system into Google Earth, which will let advertisers place sponsored local ads in map markers on the site.
The ads can include clickable links, contact details and logos that give the precise location of a certain business.
Monday, February 05, 2007
Top online categories
The top gaining worldwide online categories in 2006, in terms of unique visitors, according to research firm comScore:
Growth in Selected Online Categories by Unique Visitors (UVs) Dec. ’05 vs. Dec. ‘06
Total Worldwide - Home and Work Locations Overall, the top-gaining categories worldwide in 2006 included:
- Multimedia (up 37 percent),
- Community (up 33 percent),
- E-mail (up 16 percent),
- News/Information (up 15 percent) and
- Games (up 14 percent).
A major driver of growth in the multimedia category was YouTube.com, which grew 1,972 percent versus year ago to reach 120 million worldwide visitors in December.
In the Community category, which includes social networking sites, MySpace and Blogger were both significant growth drivers, growing 159 percent to 90 million worldwide visitors and 90 percent to 93 million worldwide visitors, respectively.
Growth in the e-mail category was driven largely by the rapid adoption of Google Gmail, which was up 71 percent to 60 million visitors year-over-year.
Growth in the News/Information category was driven largely by MSN News & Weather (up 131 percent to 25 million worldwide visitors), Yahoo! News (up 44 percent year-over-year to 104 million worldwide visitors), and New York Times Digital (up 20 percent to 68 million worldwide visitors).
Source: Netimperative
Growth in Selected Online Categories by Unique Visitors (UVs) Dec. ’05 vs. Dec. ‘06
Total Worldwide - Home and Work Locations Overall, the top-gaining categories worldwide in 2006 included:
- Multimedia (up 37 percent),
- Community (up 33 percent),
- E-mail (up 16 percent),
- News/Information (up 15 percent) and
- Games (up 14 percent).
A major driver of growth in the multimedia category was YouTube.com, which grew 1,972 percent versus year ago to reach 120 million worldwide visitors in December.
In the Community category, which includes social networking sites, MySpace and Blogger were both significant growth drivers, growing 159 percent to 90 million worldwide visitors and 90 percent to 93 million worldwide visitors, respectively.
Growth in the e-mail category was driven largely by the rapid adoption of Google Gmail, which was up 71 percent to 60 million visitors year-over-year.
Growth in the News/Information category was driven largely by MSN News & Weather (up 131 percent to 25 million worldwide visitors), Yahoo! News (up 44 percent year-over-year to 104 million worldwide visitors), and New York Times Digital (up 20 percent to 68 million worldwide visitors).
Source: Netimperative
WPP invests in mobile search ads
Netimperative - WPP invests in mobile search ads
WPP has invested in mobile search and advertising firm JumpTap as the advertising giant looks to expand in the mobile arena.
JumpTap's suite of products and services, which includes its recently announced Advertising Suite and Mobile Search Index, offers advertisers multiple ways to reach their customers.
The firm currently works with eight mobile operators in the US and Europe, as well as advertising networks and vertical content providers, to roll-out these services to mobile subscribers.
WPP has invested in mobile search and advertising firm JumpTap as the advertising giant looks to expand in the mobile arena.
JumpTap's suite of products and services, which includes its recently announced Advertising Suite and Mobile Search Index, offers advertisers multiple ways to reach their customers.
The firm currently works with eight mobile operators in the US and Europe, as well as advertising networks and vertical content providers, to roll-out these services to mobile subscribers.
News Corp invests in online video
Netimperative - News Corp invests in online video firm:
Media giant News Corp. has agreed to purchase as much as a 10% stake in an online video technology provider ROO Group.
Media giant News Corp. has agreed to purchase as much as a 10% stake in an online video technology provider ROO Group.
Friday, February 02, 2007
Overture keyword tool deactivated
The day that many of us were expecting has finally come. The Overture keyword research tool has been deactivated.
So where does that leave the folks who relied on this keyword research data?
Well there are still a few free tools around you can access if you are on a very tight budget.
They are pretty limited in scope, but still of some use. For example:
Google's Keyword Tool
Trellian's Keyword Discovery Tool
Miva's Keyword Generator
7Search's Advertiser Tools
and
Wordtracker's Keywords Tool
Unfortunately, if you are already making a few dollars online (or plan to), I wouldn't recommend these. The data they provide is simply not good enough to base a professional online business upon.
If you haven't already, you should seriously be looking at using a more robust and accurate keyword research tool now.
Karl
So where does that leave the folks who relied on this keyword research data?
Well there are still a few free tools around you can access if you are on a very tight budget.
They are pretty limited in scope, but still of some use. For example:
Google's Keyword Tool
Trellian's Keyword Discovery Tool
Miva's Keyword Generator
7Search's Advertiser Tools
and
Wordtracker's Keywords Tool
Unfortunately, if you are already making a few dollars online (or plan to), I wouldn't recommend these. The data they provide is simply not good enough to base a professional online business upon.
If you haven't already, you should seriously be looking at using a more robust and accurate keyword research tool now.
Karl
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
US Companies selling online
56% of U.S. companies will sell their products online by 2000, up from 24% in 1998. (NUA)
Monday, January 29, 2007
Google shares YouTube ad money
Great News:
Internet giant Google is going to share ad revenues generated from YouTube with the millions of users that create video content on the site.
YouTube has not yet decided how much content generators will be paid or what mechanism will be used to issue the payments. No launch date for the new scheme has been set.
Hurley of YouTube said: We didn't feel it was a great way to build a community. We wanted to keep it pure."
“We are getting an audience large enough where we have an opportunity to support creativity, to foster creativity through sharing revenue with our users. So in the coming months we are going to be opening that up," He added.
Google bought YouTube last year for $1.65bn in November. Around 70 million videos are viewed on the site each day.
Internet giant Google is going to share ad revenues generated from YouTube with the millions of users that create video content on the site.
YouTube has not yet decided how much content generators will be paid or what mechanism will be used to issue the payments. No launch date for the new scheme has been set.
Hurley of YouTube said: We didn't feel it was a great way to build a community. We wanted to keep it pure."
“We are getting an audience large enough where we have an opportunity to support creativity, to foster creativity through sharing revenue with our users. So in the coming months we are going to be opening that up," He added.
Google bought YouTube last year for $1.65bn in November. Around 70 million videos are viewed on the site each day.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
New UK Company Legislation
From 1st January 2007, Company Law requires UK Limited Companies to show on their website and e-mails the standard statutory information which should be shown on the bottom of every Limited Companys headed notepaper:
The address of their Registered Office
The Company registration number.
Place of registration (e.g. the company is registered in England and Wales). This information needs to be shown on all business e-mails and therefore it is recommended that Limited Companies show it as part of their standard e-mail footer.
For websites this information does not need to appear on every page.It could be shown on the front page or perhaps on the about us or legal info pages.
Under the UK E-Commerce regulations the minimum information that must be shown on any Limited Companies website is as follows:
The name, geographic address and e-mail address of the service provider.
The name of the organisation with which the company is contracting must be given so if the company is operating under a trade name details must be shown e.g. XYZ is the trading name of Blogs Limited.
Registered Office (see above).
Registration number and the place of registration (see above).
If the business is a member of a trade or professional association, membership details including any registration number.
If the business is registered for VAT the number should be shown.
Prices given should make clear whether they are inclusive or exclusive of VAT (and delivery costs).
e.g Newman Consulting Limited Registered office 58 Devonshire Road, London NW7 1LL Registered in England and Wales Company number: 5164897
The address of their Registered Office
The Company registration number.
Place of registration (e.g. the company is registered in England and Wales). This information needs to be shown on all business e-mails and therefore it is recommended that Limited Companies show it as part of their standard e-mail footer.
For websites this information does not need to appear on every page.It could be shown on the front page or perhaps on the about us or legal info pages.
Under the UK E-Commerce regulations the minimum information that must be shown on any Limited Companies website is as follows:
The name, geographic address and e-mail address of the service provider.
The name of the organisation with which the company is contracting must be given so if the company is operating under a trade name details must be shown e.g. XYZ is the trading name of Blogs Limited.
Registered Office (see above).
Registration number and the place of registration (see above).
If the business is a member of a trade or professional association, membership details including any registration number.
If the business is registered for VAT the number should be shown.
Prices given should make clear whether they are inclusive or exclusive of VAT (and delivery costs).
e.g Newman Consulting Limited Registered office 58 Devonshire Road, London NW7 1LL Registered in England and Wales Company number: 5164897
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
User generated video revenues
"User generated videos slow to generate revenue."
The honeymoon for user generated content is over, according to new research which indicates that while consumer usage exploded in 2006 revenues will prove slow to develop.
Research from Screen Digest shows that user generated videos accounted for more than half of all online video content, but will make up just 15% of total revenues.
The user generated online video market (UGOV) exploded in 2006 and by the end of the year, user generated videos made up 47% of the total online video market in the US.
Screen Digest believes that advertising will be the principal source of revenue for UGOV sites. In the US ad revenues will grow from $200m in 2006 to almost $900m by 2010. This represents only 15% of all online video revenues.
So whilst there is no shortage of consumers ready to use these sites, the key challenge facing the many companies that now operate in the UGOV arena is finding a business model that will make them financially viable.
According to Screen Digest, there are five business models currently being used to make money from UGOV:
- Advertising
- Content Licensing
- D Commerce (digital sales and rental of premium movie and TV content
- Subscriptions
- Technology Licensing
Whilst they are experiencing a period of trial and error searching for the right advertising formats, the sites risk losing their ‘cool’ factor as users are turned off by finding mainstream advertising on their personal videos. Arash Amel, Screen Digest Senior Analyst and the reports author, comments: ”As yet though, no one has found a way to make real money from the huge audiences who participate on these sites.
"User generated online video will drive the majority of Internet content consumed in the future, but despite its huge popularity with web surfers worldwide, the major players have yet to find a way to generate significant revenues from it."
Why has user generated online video proved to be so popular now?
The popularity of user generated video online reflects what the Internet has emerged to be all about – empowering and connecting people.
In 2007 expect to see videos on Sumo.tv, YourkindaTV and Putfile in the UK, MyVideo and Clipfish in Germany, DailyMotion, YooTribe and Wideo in France and Flurl Media in Belgium.
Source: Screen Digest
The honeymoon for user generated content is over, according to new research which indicates that while consumer usage exploded in 2006 revenues will prove slow to develop.
Research from Screen Digest shows that user generated videos accounted for more than half of all online video content, but will make up just 15% of total revenues.
The user generated online video market (UGOV) exploded in 2006 and by the end of the year, user generated videos made up 47% of the total online video market in the US.
Screen Digest believes that advertising will be the principal source of revenue for UGOV sites. In the US ad revenues will grow from $200m in 2006 to almost $900m by 2010. This represents only 15% of all online video revenues.
So whilst there is no shortage of consumers ready to use these sites, the key challenge facing the many companies that now operate in the UGOV arena is finding a business model that will make them financially viable.
According to Screen Digest, there are five business models currently being used to make money from UGOV:
- Advertising
- Content Licensing
- D Commerce (digital sales and rental of premium movie and TV content
- Subscriptions
- Technology Licensing
Whilst they are experiencing a period of trial and error searching for the right advertising formats, the sites risk losing their ‘cool’ factor as users are turned off by finding mainstream advertising on their personal videos. Arash Amel, Screen Digest Senior Analyst and the reports author, comments: ”As yet though, no one has found a way to make real money from the huge audiences who participate on these sites.
"User generated online video will drive the majority of Internet content consumed in the future, but despite its huge popularity with web surfers worldwide, the major players have yet to find a way to generate significant revenues from it."
Why has user generated online video proved to be so popular now?
The popularity of user generated video online reflects what the Internet has emerged to be all about – empowering and connecting people.
In 2007 expect to see videos on Sumo.tv, YourkindaTV and Putfile in the UK, MyVideo and Clipfish in Germany, DailyMotion, YooTribe and Wideo in France and Flurl Media in Belgium.
Source: Screen Digest
Google stretches lead
Google stretches lead in US market
In December 2006, Google Sites captured 47.3 percent of the U.S. search market, gaining 0.4 share points from the previous month.
Yahoo! Sites grew 0.3 share points, maintaining its second place ranking with 28.5 percent of U.S. searches, followed by MSN Sites (10.5 percent), Ask Network (5.4 percent) and Time Warner Network (4.9 percent).
Americans conducted 6.7 billion searches online in December, up 1 percent versus November. Annual growth rates in search query volume remained strong with a 30-percent increase since the same month a year ago.
Google Sites led the pack with 3.2 billion search queries performed, followed by Yahoo Sites (1.9 billion), MSN-Microsoft (713 million), Ask Network (363 million), and Time Warner Network (335 million).
Source: comScore qSearch
In December 2006, Google Sites captured 47.3 percent of the U.S. search market, gaining 0.4 share points from the previous month.
Yahoo! Sites grew 0.3 share points, maintaining its second place ranking with 28.5 percent of U.S. searches, followed by MSN Sites (10.5 percent), Ask Network (5.4 percent) and Time Warner Network (4.9 percent).
Americans conducted 6.7 billion searches online in December, up 1 percent versus November. Annual growth rates in search query volume remained strong with a 30-percent increase since the same month a year ago.
Google Sites led the pack with 3.2 billion search queries performed, followed by Yahoo Sites (1.9 billion), MSN-Microsoft (713 million), Ask Network (363 million), and Time Warner Network (335 million).
Source: comScore qSearch
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
UK Behavioural Ad Campaign
Ocean Finance runs behavioural ad campaign
UK finance broker Ocean Finance is to roll out a targeted banner ad campaign using a new ad serving solution from PositiveFeedback that responds to browser behaviour.
Managed by TBG London, the campaign follows a test campaign in December. The campaign consists of a number of offers and propositions for loans and mortgages.
PositiveFeedback will be used to calculate which offer and creative will work best for each viewer, serving them with the most relevant banner in real-time.
PositiveAdserver automatically optimises creative rotation using Predictive analytics -technology that takes a number of factors into account, including click-history, before deciding which banner is best to serve the viewer.
Paul Cook, founder of PositiveFeedback said: “Self optimisation is a powerful marketing tool that will be used by many more businesses with an online presence as they realise its potential and ROI. The days of random ad rotation are numbered, I’m sure that intelligent banner targeting will become as common as post-click tracking within the next year or two.
Netimperative
UK finance broker Ocean Finance is to roll out a targeted banner ad campaign using a new ad serving solution from PositiveFeedback that responds to browser behaviour.
Managed by TBG London, the campaign follows a test campaign in December. The campaign consists of a number of offers and propositions for loans and mortgages.
PositiveFeedback will be used to calculate which offer and creative will work best for each viewer, serving them with the most relevant banner in real-time.
PositiveAdserver automatically optimises creative rotation using Predictive analytics -technology that takes a number of factors into account, including click-history, before deciding which banner is best to serve the viewer.
Paul Cook, founder of PositiveFeedback said: “Self optimisation is a powerful marketing tool that will be used by many more businesses with an online presence as they realise its potential and ROI. The days of random ad rotation are numbered, I’m sure that intelligent banner targeting will become as common as post-click tracking within the next year or two.
Netimperative
Monday, January 22, 2007
Germans shop later
Germans shop later but spend more online than Brits.
Germans spent the most online during the holiday period but shop later, according to a new report comparing the Christmas shopping habits of British, French and German consumers.
The figures, from comScore Networks, reveals that German shoppers spent an estimated 5.4 billion EUR from 30 October - 31 December, 2006.
UK consumers spent an estimated 4.0 billion EUR online during the same period,
and the French spent an estimated 1.9 billion EUR.
This compares to an estimated 18.8 billion EUR ($24.6 billion) spent in the U.S. during the holiday shopping period (1 November to 31 December).
ComScore said that these online spending estimates are based on estimated purchases made at sites within comScore’s retail category and exclude travel and auction sites."
Source: Netimperative
Germans spent the most online during the holiday period but shop later, according to a new report comparing the Christmas shopping habits of British, French and German consumers.
The figures, from comScore Networks, reveals that German shoppers spent an estimated 5.4 billion EUR from 30 October - 31 December, 2006.
UK consumers spent an estimated 4.0 billion EUR online during the same period,
and the French spent an estimated 1.9 billion EUR.
This compares to an estimated 18.8 billion EUR ($24.6 billion) spent in the U.S. during the holiday shopping period (1 November to 31 December).
ComScore said that these online spending estimates are based on estimated purchases made at sites within comScore’s retail category and exclude travel and auction sites."
Source: Netimperative
BBC teaming up with Google?
The BBC will possibly make it's programming available via a branded channel on YouTube, according to a report in the Guardian this morning.
Friday, January 19, 2007
How to Maintain Rankings ...
How to Maintain Rankings after a Redesign
If your site has no, or very few rankings, some of this advice may be safely ignored.
However, if your site ranks very well in the search engines, or even has 1 or 2 key positions that you would not want to lose, here are some tips how to maintain your rankings:
Site Structure
The existing structure of your site is in most cases the single most important factor behind a safe redesign. If your structure changes, even just a little, you could easily see your rankings plummet.
With the redesign you will want to do everything in your power to maintain your existing site structure and page file names. The second you move or rename a file you risk losing valuable rankings.
Unless it is absolutely necessary to restructure the file hierarchy, don't. In cases where it must take place, the use of a 301 redirect is your best friend.
The 301 redirect will save your existing customers from head aches when visiting now-moved pages by seamlessly directing them to the new location. Permanent 301's will also help you retain your rankings – sometimes.
Change in site structure can also include your domain name. If your domain name is the only change you make to your site, the above rule still applies. Even when proper 301 redirects are in place, you can expect to see your rankings drop significantly if not entirely.
The 301 should help to reduce the down time, but it is not uncommon to see a sites rankings slip considerably, sometimes indefinitely with a domain change. Changing your domain name can be a complete rankings killer.
If you have implemented the new site to include a new site structure, a valuable tool combination is an XML sitemap combined with an HTML sitemap. For sites with current rankings many will have these two items already in place, but if you don't they can be your best friend. This is one more way to help Google index the new location of your site pages to ensure an easy and faster recovery from the change.
Be Safe! Even if you move all your files around and implement the appropriate 301 redirects and everything looks all nice and perfect, ensure that you also have a 404 redirect in place.
Either direct “page not found” traffic to a custom 404 error page, or to your site's home page. Displaying to a potential client (or search engine for that matter) a 404 error can be tragic. Customers and search engines can lose confidence in your site. The custom 404 page is your best bet for retaining their attention.
Navigation
Undoubtedly, navigation is one of the most important aspects of your site contributing to positive site rankings. Drastic changes in the site's navigation can be fatal to your existing rankings.
Flash
With newer design applications and technologies available these days more and more webmasters are incorporating Flash into their designs. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but if used incorrectly it can destroy your rankings since search engines do not like Flash one bit.
If introducing a new Flash based site is essential to your master plan, you would be best to offer users, and search engines, a non-flash version of your site.
The best middle ground between Flash developers and SEO's is use “spot-Flash”. Incorporate pieces of Flash into the html based site. This will allow the search engines all the content they require, while leaving the aesthetics in place for your visitors. In order to retain your existing rankings, you are best to retain the existing means of site navigation.
While spiders are fully capable of following image based links, as well as a number of dropdown menus, basic text links offer the most ‘bang for your buck'.
Image Links
Alt tags help, but the best way to link to main pages is through standard text links. The text helps add key phrase relevance to the linked page. If your current site utilizes text links, ensure that they are carried over to the new design.
Even if the new site switches over to image based navigation, be sure to include the text based links somewhere on the page.
Content Management Systems (CMS)
If you decide to make the switch to a CMS you need to ensure that changed URL's are properly covered with 301 redirects. Where at all possible retain your existing URL paths.
Many Content Management Systems create a site structure with very unfriendly URLs that contain a number of extraneous characters. Do your best to find a system that will offer clean simple URL strings with minimal extra characters.
Try to find a system that will still allow you to edit all aspects of a given page. Can each page have unique title and meta tags? Can you adjust alt tags? A good search engine friendly CMS is money well spent, especially if you have existing rankings you wish to maintain.
Content
Chances are if you are redesigning the look of your site, the majority of the content will not be changing. If this is the case ensure that all textual content makes it over to the new site, as it is most likely playing a significant role in your existing rankings. Changing up your content significantly can cause a drop in rankings if not done properly.
If your new site will contain entirely fresh textual content you will want to ensure that keyword densities and focus remain as close as possible to the old copy.
Be sure to keep items such as mid-sentence (inline) text links (especially if they link to internal pages on your own site), heading tags, and keyword placement within the top portions of the new site.
If your SEO has implemented text above the header image (often referred to as Search Engine text, or SE text), be sure to keep it in place also. This text was probably placed there to ensure that the search engines saw relevant content immediately when visiting the page, and there is a strong chance this text is contributing to your positive rankings.
Meta / Title tags
Be sure to copy over your title tag, meta keyword tag, and description tag from each page to the new version.
The title tag is especially important as there is still significant value placed here. You want to ensure that each page retains its old, optimized title tag.
The description tags do still carry some weight, and also can have an influence on the copy used in the search engine listing.
The meta keyword tag can really go either way. While these days it provides little to no value, if it is optimized and unique for each page, you may as well carry it over. It will provide some value for some of the smaller engines, but really have next to no impact on Google, Yahoo and MSN.
Alt tags
For images remaining on the site be sure to keep the optimized alt tags in place. These alt tags do have some value in your search engine rankings, and removing them entirely could cause a ranking decline.
Summary
Redesigning your site, even when following all the rules, can still result in your site being demoted. You may still find your rankings disappear. Redesigning a ranked website is really a gamble any way you look at it. Your rankings could drop, they could skyrocket, or they could stay exactly where they are. There is no way to know for sure without moving forward.
Scott Van Achte (article shortened)
If your site has no, or very few rankings, some of this advice may be safely ignored.
However, if your site ranks very well in the search engines, or even has 1 or 2 key positions that you would not want to lose, here are some tips how to maintain your rankings:
Site Structure
The existing structure of your site is in most cases the single most important factor behind a safe redesign. If your structure changes, even just a little, you could easily see your rankings plummet.
With the redesign you will want to do everything in your power to maintain your existing site structure and page file names. The second you move or rename a file you risk losing valuable rankings.
Unless it is absolutely necessary to restructure the file hierarchy, don't. In cases where it must take place, the use of a 301 redirect is your best friend.
The 301 redirect will save your existing customers from head aches when visiting now-moved pages by seamlessly directing them to the new location. Permanent 301's will also help you retain your rankings – sometimes.
Change in site structure can also include your domain name. If your domain name is the only change you make to your site, the above rule still applies. Even when proper 301 redirects are in place, you can expect to see your rankings drop significantly if not entirely.
The 301 should help to reduce the down time, but it is not uncommon to see a sites rankings slip considerably, sometimes indefinitely with a domain change. Changing your domain name can be a complete rankings killer.
If you have implemented the new site to include a new site structure, a valuable tool combination is an XML sitemap combined with an HTML sitemap. For sites with current rankings many will have these two items already in place, but if you don't they can be your best friend. This is one more way to help Google index the new location of your site pages to ensure an easy and faster recovery from the change.
Be Safe! Even if you move all your files around and implement the appropriate 301 redirects and everything looks all nice and perfect, ensure that you also have a 404 redirect in place.
Either direct “page not found” traffic to a custom 404 error page, or to your site's home page. Displaying to a potential client (or search engine for that matter) a 404 error can be tragic. Customers and search engines can lose confidence in your site. The custom 404 page is your best bet for retaining their attention.
Navigation
Undoubtedly, navigation is one of the most important aspects of your site contributing to positive site rankings. Drastic changes in the site's navigation can be fatal to your existing rankings.
Flash
With newer design applications and technologies available these days more and more webmasters are incorporating Flash into their designs. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but if used incorrectly it can destroy your rankings since search engines do not like Flash one bit.
If introducing a new Flash based site is essential to your master plan, you would be best to offer users, and search engines, a non-flash version of your site.
The best middle ground between Flash developers and SEO's is use “spot-Flash”. Incorporate pieces of Flash into the html based site. This will allow the search engines all the content they require, while leaving the aesthetics in place for your visitors. In order to retain your existing rankings, you are best to retain the existing means of site navigation.
While spiders are fully capable of following image based links, as well as a number of dropdown menus, basic text links offer the most ‘bang for your buck'.
Image Links
Alt tags help, but the best way to link to main pages is through standard text links. The text helps add key phrase relevance to the linked page. If your current site utilizes text links, ensure that they are carried over to the new design.
Even if the new site switches over to image based navigation, be sure to include the text based links somewhere on the page.
Content Management Systems (CMS)
If you decide to make the switch to a CMS you need to ensure that changed URL's are properly covered with 301 redirects. Where at all possible retain your existing URL paths.
Many Content Management Systems create a site structure with very unfriendly URLs that contain a number of extraneous characters. Do your best to find a system that will offer clean simple URL strings with minimal extra characters.
Try to find a system that will still allow you to edit all aspects of a given page. Can each page have unique title and meta tags? Can you adjust alt tags? A good search engine friendly CMS is money well spent, especially if you have existing rankings you wish to maintain.
Content
Chances are if you are redesigning the look of your site, the majority of the content will not be changing. If this is the case ensure that all textual content makes it over to the new site, as it is most likely playing a significant role in your existing rankings. Changing up your content significantly can cause a drop in rankings if not done properly.
If your new site will contain entirely fresh textual content you will want to ensure that keyword densities and focus remain as close as possible to the old copy.
Be sure to keep items such as mid-sentence (inline) text links (especially if they link to internal pages on your own site), heading tags, and keyword placement within the top portions of the new site.
If your SEO has implemented text above the header image (often referred to as Search Engine text, or SE text), be sure to keep it in place also. This text was probably placed there to ensure that the search engines saw relevant content immediately when visiting the page, and there is a strong chance this text is contributing to your positive rankings.
Meta / Title tags
Be sure to copy over your title tag, meta keyword tag, and description tag from each page to the new version.
The title tag is especially important as there is still significant value placed here. You want to ensure that each page retains its old, optimized title tag.
The description tags do still carry some weight, and also can have an influence on the copy used in the search engine listing.
The meta keyword tag can really go either way. While these days it provides little to no value, if it is optimized and unique for each page, you may as well carry it over. It will provide some value for some of the smaller engines, but really have next to no impact on Google, Yahoo and MSN.
Alt tags
For images remaining on the site be sure to keep the optimized alt tags in place. These alt tags do have some value in your search engine rankings, and removing them entirely could cause a ranking decline.
Summary
Redesigning your site, even when following all the rules, can still result in your site being demoted. You may still find your rankings disappear. Redesigning a ranked website is really a gamble any way you look at it. Your rankings could drop, they could skyrocket, or they could stay exactly where they are. There is no way to know for sure without moving forward.
Scott Van Achte (article shortened)
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Beyond Traffic and Conversions
Search Marketing 2.0 – Beyond Traffic and Conversions
As sophisticated businesses and marketing agencies embrace the world of Internet Marketing, Search Engine Marketers are being asked to deliver a level of strategy and value never before expected. With the bar raised, we must now focus on targeted business goals to prove ROI.
In today's market, it has become important to prove how SEM will
- increase sales,
- lower customer acquisition costs,
- decrease customer service expenditures, and
- achieve or exceed overall, pre-set, business goals.
I've even been asked to provide accurately projected and guaranteed ROI ratios from one enterprise client. That can be a dangerous corner to stand in when your success relies on Search Engine response.
Though someone within your client's organization is likely accountable for broad planning, budget creation, and ROI development, they will most likely not have the expertise to understand how
- various search patterns,
- landing pages, and
- targeted conversion paths will affect their bottom line.
If you're a Search Engine Optimizer who knows how to get top organic rankings on the Search Engine Results Page through ethical, white-hat methods, great!
If you're a Pay-per-Click expert who understands how to drive traffic through thousands of word variations, geo-targeting, and broad/exact phrase settings, excellent!
But if that's all you know, then your future in this industry is limited.
Here are the some facts:
If your skills do not include business analysis and strategic consulting, even though they may be well developed and important, you're missing the big-picture.
Right now, Directors, VP's, and C-level executives all tell the same thing:
"If you expect us to transfer 10 – 20% of our traditional marketing budgets to the Internet, you must be able to substantiate the broad and granular successes - both in the short-term, as well as through on-going trends."
I could just say, "Sure, we can do that." – But how do I know what I'm promising, unless I truly understand what "success" means for the client?
When you engage a new client for Search Engine Marketing, what's the first step in your campaign?
Is it…Keywords?
Wrong!
It should be an analysis of the client's business.
Some items from the list to investigate:
Marketing plan
Branding initiatives
Sales channels
Prior successes/failures
Past goal patterns
Current goals (broken down by variables)
Obstacles to these goals
Current audience segmentation
Internal structure
External image
Site metrics (usability, trends, baseline)
The thorough business analysis you perform will allow you to build a targeted list of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) based on
- the type of site,
- conversion points,
- branding, and
- several factors specific to the site in question.
The assigned KPIs will then be used to track the success of the campaign and your work.
Finally, once you and your client are in agreement on the KPIs and the broad and granular goals of the campaign, then, and only then, should you begin working on key term development.
I understand many will say that's way too much work to go into a campaign before even starting search term development.
If that's your stance, that's okay, but realize that the rest of the industry is developing sophisticated ROI processes and demanding 10 to 20 times the professional service fees of those stuck in the old, simple-ways of SEM.
So, to review, what is the overall goal of an SEM campaign?
A. Drive traffic to the site
B. Create exposure on the search engines (branding)
C. Improve online sales (e-commerce)
D. Improve offline sales (leads to phone, form, or other contact)
E. Elicit downloads (indirect conversion)
F. All of the above
G. None of the above
Goals of a campaign differ for each client. If you don't develop KPIs and business goals with your clients in the beginning, you'll have no idea what successes to strive for; nor will you know whether or not your clients agree with your assessment of success.
Know your client's business, and understand their goals.
Most importantly, get the client's sign-off on the goals of your campaign and stick to them. If the direction changes mid-stream, get new sign-off; ensuring that you are always on the same page as your client.
By Scott Orth
As sophisticated businesses and marketing agencies embrace the world of Internet Marketing, Search Engine Marketers are being asked to deliver a level of strategy and value never before expected. With the bar raised, we must now focus on targeted business goals to prove ROI.
In today's market, it has become important to prove how SEM will
- increase sales,
- lower customer acquisition costs,
- decrease customer service expenditures, and
- achieve or exceed overall, pre-set, business goals.
I've even been asked to provide accurately projected and guaranteed ROI ratios from one enterprise client. That can be a dangerous corner to stand in when your success relies on Search Engine response.
Though someone within your client's organization is likely accountable for broad planning, budget creation, and ROI development, they will most likely not have the expertise to understand how
- various search patterns,
- landing pages, and
- targeted conversion paths will affect their bottom line.
If you're a Search Engine Optimizer who knows how to get top organic rankings on the Search Engine Results Page through ethical, white-hat methods, great!
If you're a Pay-per-Click expert who understands how to drive traffic through thousands of word variations, geo-targeting, and broad/exact phrase settings, excellent!
But if that's all you know, then your future in this industry is limited.
Here are the some facts:
If your skills do not include business analysis and strategic consulting, even though they may be well developed and important, you're missing the big-picture.
Right now, Directors, VP's, and C-level executives all tell the same thing:
"If you expect us to transfer 10 – 20% of our traditional marketing budgets to the Internet, you must be able to substantiate the broad and granular successes - both in the short-term, as well as through on-going trends."
I could just say, "Sure, we can do that." – But how do I know what I'm promising, unless I truly understand what "success" means for the client?
When you engage a new client for Search Engine Marketing, what's the first step in your campaign?
Is it…Keywords?
Wrong!
It should be an analysis of the client's business.
Some items from the list to investigate:
Marketing plan
Branding initiatives
Sales channels
Prior successes/failures
Past goal patterns
Current goals (broken down by variables)
Obstacles to these goals
Current audience segmentation
Internal structure
External image
Site metrics (usability, trends, baseline)
The thorough business analysis you perform will allow you to build a targeted list of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) based on
- the type of site,
- conversion points,
- branding, and
- several factors specific to the site in question.
The assigned KPIs will then be used to track the success of the campaign and your work.
Finally, once you and your client are in agreement on the KPIs and the broad and granular goals of the campaign, then, and only then, should you begin working on key term development.
I understand many will say that's way too much work to go into a campaign before even starting search term development.
If that's your stance, that's okay, but realize that the rest of the industry is developing sophisticated ROI processes and demanding 10 to 20 times the professional service fees of those stuck in the old, simple-ways of SEM.
So, to review, what is the overall goal of an SEM campaign?
A. Drive traffic to the site
B. Create exposure on the search engines (branding)
C. Improve online sales (e-commerce)
D. Improve offline sales (leads to phone, form, or other contact)
E. Elicit downloads (indirect conversion)
F. All of the above
G. None of the above
Goals of a campaign differ for each client. If you don't develop KPIs and business goals with your clients in the beginning, you'll have no idea what successes to strive for; nor will you know whether or not your clients agree with your assessment of success.
Know your client's business, and understand their goals.
Most importantly, get the client's sign-off on the goals of your campaign and stick to them. If the direction changes mid-stream, get new sign-off; ensuring that you are always on the same page as your client.
By Scott Orth
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
If you are planning for a year
If you are planning for a year, sow rice;
if you are planning for a decade, plant trees;
if you are planning for a lifetime, educate people.
– Chinese Proverb
if you are planning for a decade, plant trees;
if you are planning for a lifetime, educate people.
– Chinese Proverb
Fastest growing Internet sites
Research firm ComScore revealed the fastest growing UK internet web sites
(by percentage change in UK visitors).
The top gaining web site is Deutsche Telekom (driven by its T-Mobile ISP service), with 3.9 million visitors (an 89-percent increase).
Comp. Name Oct.-06 (000) Nov.-06 (000) Percentage Change
Deutsche Telekom 2,106 3,943 87%
Boots Plc 1,649 2,725 65%
Toysrus Sites 1,604 2,611 63%
HMV 2,380 3,262 37%
Woolworths Group plc 2,602 3,542 36%
John Lewis Partnership 2,151 2,893 35%
Dixons Stores Group 4,177 5,393 29%
Play.com Sites 3,639 4,627 27%
Marks&Spencer 2,445 3,106 27%
Wal-Mart 2,277 2,870 26%
GUS 6,993 8,652 24%
Arcadia Group Limited 1,867 2,300 23%
Ticketmaster 2,704 3,261 21%
NATIONALLOTTERY.CO.UK 4,361 5,222 20%
Littlewoods Shop Direct Group 3,888 4,555 17%
Netsolut 1,804 2,097 16%
Sony Online 2,840 3,279 15%
Kingfisher 3,815 4,315 13%
ITV Sites 3,818 4,285 12%
NEXT Group 3,150 3,528 12%
Total U.K. Internet Audience, Age 15+ 29,553 29,498 0%
Top 20 Gaining Web Sites by Percentage Change in U.K. Unique Visitors*
November 2006 vs. October 2006
Total U.K. Visitors, Age 15+ – Home and Work Locations**
* Ranking based on the top 100 U.K. web sites in November 2006.
** Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes
Source: comScore World Metrix
(by percentage change in UK visitors).
The top gaining web site is Deutsche Telekom (driven by its T-Mobile ISP service), with 3.9 million visitors (an 89-percent increase).
Comp. Name Oct.-06 (000) Nov.-06 (000) Percentage Change
Deutsche Telekom 2,106 3,943 87%
Boots Plc 1,649 2,725 65%
Toysrus Sites 1,604 2,611 63%
HMV 2,380 3,262 37%
Woolworths Group plc 2,602 3,542 36%
John Lewis Partnership 2,151 2,893 35%
Dixons Stores Group 4,177 5,393 29%
Play.com Sites 3,639 4,627 27%
Marks&Spencer 2,445 3,106 27%
Wal-Mart 2,277 2,870 26%
GUS 6,993 8,652 24%
Arcadia Group Limited 1,867 2,300 23%
Ticketmaster 2,704 3,261 21%
NATIONALLOTTERY.CO.UK 4,361 5,222 20%
Littlewoods Shop Direct Group 3,888 4,555 17%
Netsolut 1,804 2,097 16%
Sony Online 2,840 3,279 15%
Kingfisher 3,815 4,315 13%
ITV Sites 3,818 4,285 12%
NEXT Group 3,150 3,528 12%
Total U.K. Internet Audience, Age 15+ 29,553 29,498 0%
Top 20 Gaining Web Sites by Percentage Change in U.K. Unique Visitors*
November 2006 vs. October 2006
Total U.K. Visitors, Age 15+ – Home and Work Locations**
* Ranking based on the top 100 U.K. web sites in November 2006.
** Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes
Source: comScore World Metrix
Monday, December 11, 2006
YouTube might just be the best thing
YouTube might just be the best thing that ever happened to old media.
Ever since Google (Charts) paid $1.65 billion for YouTube in October, plenty of pundits - from Mark Cuban to yours truly - have been waiting for the other shoe to drop. After all, the hugely popular video service is stuffed with clips that users have uploaded with complete disregard for copyright.
For awhile, content creators like Time Warner (Charts), Disney and News Corp (Charts) had reason to think that YouTube's sky-high operating costs would cripple the infant site long before any ! judge could. Then along came Google, perhaps the deepest pocket in all of Silicon Valley.
This could get ugly, skeptics surmised. Rumors swirled that Google created a $500 million YouTube legal defense fund. Media titans, including Time Warner CEO Dick Parsons, were heard huffing and puffing. In early November, Google disclosed that it had already been sued - and the media world gasped.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the courthouse. Nothing. YouTube has not only held the threats at bay, but also shown it can be a revenue boon for old media.
Friend or foe? Ask CBS
The strongest evidence: An experimental "brand channel" YouTube launched in mid-October for CBS (Charts) in the hopes that it would become the model for other old media partnerships. The press mostly ignored the deal's ! announcement at the time, most likely because it fell on the s! ame day that Google bought YouTube.
It's worth circling back now. As part of the deal, CBS agreed to offer free video clips for downloading. In return, the media company gets to sniff around YouTube for any content bearing its copyright. CBS can then choose between removing the offending clips or getting a cut of the revenue YouTube generates from any advertising linked to the clip.
The result? By Thanksgiving, CBS had uploaded 300 clips that caught the attention of nearly 30 million pairs of eyeballs. More than 35,000 consumers have subscribed to the free channel. More importantly, the shows that CBS was pushing online suddenly became bigger hits on regular old television too.
Take David Letterman. The late-night talk show host gained an extra 200,000 viewers shortly after his YouTube debut. Craig Ferguson, host of The Late Late Show, saw his audience increase by seven percent - all in a little over a month.
Given that the month was November,! a "sweeps" month in which audience ratings determine how much a network charges for ads until May, YouTube gave CBS an early holiday gift. CBS, with a strong overall lineup, finished the month as the most watched network among all age groups and tied for second in the most coveted demographic, 18 to 49 year-olds.
Focus groups, ready-made
The Nielsen ratings did more than give CBS a lift. It provided key evidence in the war between copyright owners and freeloaders. Music buffs, for instance, have long argued that the free sharing of songs drives CD and other music sales. The problem is, they've never had the statistics to prove it.
But video-sharing proponents do. The CBS deal shows that a direct connection can be made when it comes to free-for-all TV downloads. Networks now have both YouTube figures and Nielsen numbers at their disposal. "CBS is learning about its audience as never before," said CBS Interacti! ve president Quincy Smith.
It won't take long for other ! networks to embrace YouTube. Witness how NBC, a General Electric (Charts) unit, and CBS jumped on the iTunes bandwagon after Disney (Charts)-owned ABC paved the way. So don't be surprised to see NBC, Fox and ABC launch their own YouTube channels. (This week British channel Sky, controlled by Rupert Murdoch's British Sky Broadcasting (Charts), announced a deal for its own version of YouTube, built with Google technology.)
Google's head of business development Omid Kordestani, speaking at an investor conference in London this week, confirmed that "conversations have been going on with all the key p! layers" on developing and making money out of YouTube. He also hinted that old media partners would get the lion's share of advertising revenues.
YouTube could be a boon for the networks in unforeseen ways, too.
Spending millions developing sitcoms only to mothball them halfway through the season? Try developing a three-minute sketch first, rather than a whole pilot, and see if it flies on YouTube. Not sure who to cast in the lead role of your latest crime drama? Show online viewers the audition tapes and let them choose for you.
In the end, the prize fight we pundits have been expecting between Google and old media may rapidly turn into a love fest. While that may not score big ratings in the short run, it's sure to produce a lot more quality entertainment for TV viewers far into the future.
By Chris Taylor, Business 2.0 Magazine senior editor
Ever since Google (Charts) paid $1.65 billion for YouTube in October, plenty of pundits - from Mark Cuban to yours truly - have been waiting for the other shoe to drop. After all, the hugely popular video service is stuffed with clips that users have uploaded with complete disregard for copyright.
For awhile, content creators like Time Warner (Charts), Disney and News Corp (Charts) had reason to think that YouTube's sky-high operating costs would cripple the infant site long before any ! judge could. Then along came Google, perhaps the deepest pocket in all of Silicon Valley.
This could get ugly, skeptics surmised. Rumors swirled that Google created a $500 million YouTube legal defense fund. Media titans, including Time Warner CEO Dick Parsons, were heard huffing and puffing. In early November, Google disclosed that it had already been sued - and the media world gasped.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the courthouse. Nothing. YouTube has not only held the threats at bay, but also shown it can be a revenue boon for old media.
Friend or foe? Ask CBS
The strongest evidence: An experimental "brand channel" YouTube launched in mid-October for CBS (Charts) in the hopes that it would become the model for other old media partnerships. The press mostly ignored the deal's ! announcement at the time, most likely because it fell on the s! ame day that Google bought YouTube.
It's worth circling back now. As part of the deal, CBS agreed to offer free video clips for downloading. In return, the media company gets to sniff around YouTube for any content bearing its copyright. CBS can then choose between removing the offending clips or getting a cut of the revenue YouTube generates from any advertising linked to the clip.
The result? By Thanksgiving, CBS had uploaded 300 clips that caught the attention of nearly 30 million pairs of eyeballs. More than 35,000 consumers have subscribed to the free channel. More importantly, the shows that CBS was pushing online suddenly became bigger hits on regular old television too.
Take David Letterman. The late-night talk show host gained an extra 200,000 viewers shortly after his YouTube debut. Craig Ferguson, host of The Late Late Show, saw his audience increase by seven percent - all in a little over a month.
Given that the month was November,! a "sweeps" month in which audience ratings determine how much a network charges for ads until May, YouTube gave CBS an early holiday gift. CBS, with a strong overall lineup, finished the month as the most watched network among all age groups and tied for second in the most coveted demographic, 18 to 49 year-olds.
Focus groups, ready-made
The Nielsen ratings did more than give CBS a lift. It provided key evidence in the war between copyright owners and freeloaders. Music buffs, for instance, have long argued that the free sharing of songs drives CD and other music sales. The problem is, they've never had the statistics to prove it.
But video-sharing proponents do. The CBS deal shows that a direct connection can be made when it comes to free-for-all TV downloads. Networks now have both YouTube figures and Nielsen numbers at their disposal. "CBS is learning about its audience as never before," said CBS Interacti! ve president Quincy Smith.
It won't take long for other ! networks to embrace YouTube. Witness how NBC, a General Electric (Charts) unit, and CBS jumped on the iTunes bandwagon after Disney (Charts)-owned ABC paved the way. So don't be surprised to see NBC, Fox and ABC launch their own YouTube channels. (This week British channel Sky, controlled by Rupert Murdoch's British Sky Broadcasting (Charts), announced a deal for its own version of YouTube, built with Google technology.)
Google's head of business development Omid Kordestani, speaking at an investor conference in London this week, confirmed that "conversations have been going on with all the key p! layers" on developing and making money out of YouTube. He also hinted that old media partners would get the lion's share of advertising revenues.
YouTube could be a boon for the networks in unforeseen ways, too.
Spending millions developing sitcoms only to mothball them halfway through the season? Try developing a three-minute sketch first, rather than a whole pilot, and see if it flies on YouTube. Not sure who to cast in the lead role of your latest crime drama? Show online viewers the audition tapes and let them choose for you.
In the end, the prize fight we pundits have been expecting between Google and old media may rapidly turn into a love fest. While that may not score big ratings in the short run, it's sure to produce a lot more quality entertainment for TV viewers far into the future.
By Chris Taylor, Business 2.0 Magazine senior editor
Friday, December 01, 2006
Social networking drives European Web growth
Social networking websites are used by nearly a quarter of Europeans at least once a month, according to a new consumer survey.
The 2006 Mediascope research from trade body the European Interactive Advertising Association (EIAA) reveals that social networking via VoIP, IM and and online forums will continue to drive internet growth as the medium becomes a more ingrained part of the consumer’s lifestyle.
The study showed that 72% of Europeans spend the majority of their time online for personal reasons, less so for work. The research also demonstrates that increased broadband penetration across Europe has positively impacted the numbers of hours Europeans spend online and has contributed to the increased use of price comparison, news and local information websites, blogging, online radio and music downloads.
The EIAA study finds that 45% of internet users in Europe now go online every day of the week, which demonstrates the increasing importance of the internet in our everyday lives and its growing role as an engagement medium among European consumers.
The average European internet user now spends 11 hours 20 minutes a week online compared to 10 hours and 15 minutes a week in 2005, an increase of 11%. With this increase, the average European is now online 5.4 days a week. "
Source: EIAA
The 2006 Mediascope research from trade body the European Interactive Advertising Association (EIAA) reveals that social networking via VoIP, IM and and online forums will continue to drive internet growth as the medium becomes a more ingrained part of the consumer’s lifestyle.
The study showed that 72% of Europeans spend the majority of their time online for personal reasons, less so for work. The research also demonstrates that increased broadband penetration across Europe has positively impacted the numbers of hours Europeans spend online and has contributed to the increased use of price comparison, news and local information websites, blogging, online radio and music downloads.
The EIAA study finds that 45% of internet users in Europe now go online every day of the week, which demonstrates the increasing importance of the internet in our everyday lives and its growing role as an engagement medium among European consumers.
The average European internet user now spends 11 hours 20 minutes a week online compared to 10 hours and 15 minutes a week in 2005, an increase of 11%. With this increase, the average European is now online 5.4 days a week. "
Source: EIAA
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Online Business Strategy
Just received an e-mail from Melvin Perry that I found useful. Here is a shortened version:
"This is a principle that governs a large majority of my business strategy. Every day, I am making an attempt to add more content to my business by either:
1. Writing an article
2. Posting a blog entry
3. Posting to a forum
4. Posting a blog comment
5. Creating a free online video tutorial 6. Writing a viral report 7. Submitting a press release
Everyday, I am trying to do at least 2 of the 7 content building methods I mentioned above. And as a result, I have seen trackable improvements to my traffic and business every week.
Therefore, if you do not have a workable marketing strategy, I highly encourage you to focus on building content in order to market and build your business."
"This is a principle that governs a large majority of my business strategy. Every day, I am making an attempt to add more content to my business by either:
1. Writing an article
2. Posting a blog entry
3. Posting to a forum
4. Posting a blog comment
5. Creating a free online video tutorial 6. Writing a viral report 7. Submitting a press release
Everyday, I am trying to do at least 2 of the 7 content building methods I mentioned above. And as a result, I have seen trackable improvements to my traffic and business every week.
Therefore, if you do not have a workable marketing strategy, I highly encourage you to focus on building content in order to market and build your business."
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Most popular Browsers on the Web
The most popular browsers on the web are:
November 2006
1. Microsoft IE 85.24%
2. Mozilla Firefox 12.15%
3. Apple Safari 1.61%
4. Opera 0.69%
5. Netscape 0.11%
The global usage share of Microsoft's Internet Explorer 7 is 3.06 percent. At this moment 3.6 percent of all IE users is using IE 7. The total usage share of Internet Explorer decreased 0.61 percent since the beginning of October 2006.
Mozilla Firefox's 2.0 has a global usage share of 2.38 percent. At this moment 19.5 percent of all Mozilla users is using Firefox 2.0. The total global usage share of Mozilla browsers is 12.15 percent. The total usage share of Mozilla Firefox increased 0.66 percent since the beginning of October 2006.
The total global usage share of Apple's Safari is 1.61 percent which is the same as the beginning of October 2006.
Source: OneStat.com
November 2006
1. Microsoft IE 85.24%
2. Mozilla Firefox 12.15%
3. Apple Safari 1.61%
4. Opera 0.69%
5. Netscape 0.11%
The global usage share of Microsoft's Internet Explorer 7 is 3.06 percent. At this moment 3.6 percent of all IE users is using IE 7. The total usage share of Internet Explorer decreased 0.61 percent since the beginning of October 2006.
Mozilla Firefox's 2.0 has a global usage share of 2.38 percent. At this moment 19.5 percent of all Mozilla users is using Firefox 2.0. The total global usage share of Mozilla browsers is 12.15 percent. The total usage share of Mozilla Firefox increased 0.66 percent since the beginning of October 2006.
The total global usage share of Apple's Safari is 1.61 percent which is the same as the beginning of October 2006.
Source: OneStat.com
Monday, November 20, 2006
‘Watch & chat’ video site launched
Online portal Lycos has launched a new site that lets users watch video content and chat with other users at the same time.
Initially available as a beta test, Lycos Cinema uses a patent-pending video platform which allows users to view and chat in real-time.
The site lets users host their own Screening Rooms, inviting others to watch high-quality video content, while the host of the room controls the video experience.
Screening Room hosts can pause, rewind and fast-forward video streams, and most importantly, chat with other Screening Room viewers. Users can view profiles of other guests in the Screening Room audience and build buddy lists for future watch and chat sessions. Users may also congregate in ‘virtual lobbies’, browsing lists of available screenings, conversing with other users with whom they can watch and chat. Screening Room hosts can password-protect screenings, making watch and chat sessions available by invitation only.
Digital rights owners, artists and content managers can release content to a VIP or general audience with direct interaction, providing screening and sampling opportunities, marketing and promotion and innovative opportunities for new revenue streams. Content is wrapped in Microsoft's DRM technology provided by Microsoft's Windows Media Rights Manager, to protect artists’ rights.
Brian Kalinowski, chief operating officer of LYCOS, said: “Viewing video online becomes much more engaging and enjoyable when you can create a social experience involving friends and family."
Initially available as a beta test, Lycos Cinema uses a patent-pending video platform which allows users to view and chat in real-time.
The site lets users host their own Screening Rooms, inviting others to watch high-quality video content, while the host of the room controls the video experience.
Screening Room hosts can pause, rewind and fast-forward video streams, and most importantly, chat with other Screening Room viewers. Users can view profiles of other guests in the Screening Room audience and build buddy lists for future watch and chat sessions. Users may also congregate in ‘virtual lobbies’, browsing lists of available screenings, conversing with other users with whom they can watch and chat. Screening Room hosts can password-protect screenings, making watch and chat sessions available by invitation only.
Digital rights owners, artists and content managers can release content to a VIP or general audience with direct interaction, providing screening and sampling opportunities, marketing and promotion and innovative opportunities for new revenue streams. Content is wrapped in Microsoft's DRM technology provided by Microsoft's Windows Media Rights Manager, to protect artists’ rights.
Brian Kalinowski, chief operating officer of LYCOS, said: “Viewing video online becomes much more engaging and enjoyable when you can create a social experience involving friends and family."
Saturday, November 18, 2006
First interactive viral video released
Agent Provocateur releases first interactive viral video using coull.tv
New Miss X campaign featuring Kate Moss ad enables viewers to click on desired objects in video and be directed to commerce area
The new Kate Moss Agent Provocateur film, using coull.tv technology, is set to be the first viral film that allows viewers to click on objects within a moving video and be directed straight to the relevant sales website.
The viral trailer is being distributed this week by NovaRising via interactive video email, which opens directly within the receiver’s email application. Initial click through rates of up to 56% have been recorded so far in the campaign.
Viewers will be able to click on Agent Provocateur lingerie being worn by Kate Moss within the film to be forwarded directly to purchase the item.
New Miss X campaign featuring Kate Moss ad enables viewers to click on desired objects in video and be directed to commerce area
The new Kate Moss Agent Provocateur film, using coull.tv technology, is set to be the first viral film that allows viewers to click on objects within a moving video and be directed straight to the relevant sales website.
The viral trailer is being distributed this week by NovaRising via interactive video email, which opens directly within the receiver’s email application. Initial click through rates of up to 56% have been recorded so far in the campaign.
Viewers will be able to click on Agent Provocateur lingerie being worn by Kate Moss within the film to be forwarded directly to purchase the item.
Thursday, November 16, 2006
WOW: Building a Brand
Building an Image for a New (Online) Brand.
I recently got offered a ticket for a branding seminar. The price seemed pretty reasonable since branding can be a pretty expensive exercise and usually is targeted at the 'heavy hitters'. (It did cost the ‘big guys’ millions to build their brands.)
However it just made me recap what I understand the essential in building a new brand to be. And I thought you might enjoy this brief recap too. So here it is:
I believe, in building a new (online) brand your ads, you should:
1. use the brand name within the first words (or ten seconds in a video)
2. repeat the name as much as possible without irritating the reader/viewer and
3. play with the name, spell it etc., make it memorable
The brand image or ‘personality’ of a product is a mix of the following: It’s name, it’s packaging, it’s price, the style of advertising, and above all, the nature of the product itself.
When you build a brand image – build quality!
Most people don’t choose products; they choose an image, even if we wouldn’t admit it ;-)
I recently got offered a ticket for a branding seminar. The price seemed pretty reasonable since branding can be a pretty expensive exercise and usually is targeted at the 'heavy hitters'. (It did cost the ‘big guys’ millions to build their brands.)
However it just made me recap what I understand the essential in building a new brand to be. And I thought you might enjoy this brief recap too. So here it is:
I believe, in building a new (online) brand your ads, you should:
1. use the brand name within the first words (or ten seconds in a video)
2. repeat the name as much as possible without irritating the reader/viewer and
3. play with the name, spell it etc., make it memorable
The brand image or ‘personality’ of a product is a mix of the following: It’s name, it’s packaging, it’s price, the style of advertising, and above all, the nature of the product itself.
When you build a brand image – build quality!
Most people don’t choose products; they choose an image, even if we wouldn’t admit it ;-)
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Google = 78% of all UK searches
"Google accounts for 78% of all UK searches - and it's market share is growing."
Google and Yahoo!’s share of the search market is growing and driving up the share of referrals from search engines to retail websites, according to new research.
Data from Internet research firm Hitwsie indicates that Google powered 78% of UK internet searches in the four weeks to 21 October 2006, up 9% year-on-year. Yahoo! took the number 2 rank based on share of executed UK searches with 7.7% of the search market.
Together Google, Yahoo! Search, MSN Search and Ask.com powered 96.6% of all UK internet searches, up 2% year-on-year.
Google and Yahoo!’s share of the search market is growing and driving up the share of referrals from search engines to retail websites, according to new research.
Data from Internet research firm Hitwsie indicates that Google powered 78% of UK internet searches in the four weeks to 21 October 2006, up 9% year-on-year. Yahoo! took the number 2 rank based on share of executed UK searches with 7.7% of the search market.
Together Google, Yahoo! Search, MSN Search and Ask.com powered 96.6% of all UK internet searches, up 2% year-on-year.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Increasing Traffic with FireFox
I recently stumbled upon a great tool to increase your site traffic with a FireFox extension. (Some will by now already know what I mean ...)
Several 'experts' I trust swear by this tool and apparently it works differently from traditional social booking (like Del.icio.us ) and many report it will drive consistent traffic to your website.
What is this great free tool? Let me do a bit of promotion here: "Come and find out at my next Website Optimization Workshop in London on Sat the 11th of November." If you want to find out more how to get your site optimized, for traffic, list and sales, have a look at the workshop page by clicking here.
Several 'experts' I trust swear by this tool and apparently it works differently from traditional social booking (like Del.icio.us ) and many report it will drive consistent traffic to your website.
What is this great free tool? Let me do a bit of promotion here: "Come and find out at my next Website Optimization Workshop in London on Sat the 11th of November." If you want to find out more how to get your site optimized, for traffic, list and sales, have a look at the workshop page by clicking here.
Meta Tags and Titles
A few hours spent writing unique titles and descriptions for each page of your site is insignificant compared to the increase in traffic that results.
Page titles tell the search engines what your site is about, and meta descriptions give searchers something compelling to click on in the search engine results pages.
Additionally, using keywords in your '<'Title'>' tags further boosts each page’s calculated relevance to a particular subject.
You haven’t done any keyword research yet? That’s no excuse. Do the exercise anyway and use your best judgment based on each page’s existing content. This is where writing for the “long tail” comes in handy. If you are unfamiliar with this subject, check out Matt Bailey’s article, Keyword Strategies – The Long Tail.
By the way, if your web developer proudly shows you a long list of keywords typed into the keyword meta tag, well, you know what I always say in these situations: Take your money and run.
Keyword meta tags were used and abused for years. As a result, most search engines don’t put much stock into them. Time is precious. Spend it on something useful.
Posted by Kar.ri Flat.la
Page titles tell the search engines what your site is about, and meta descriptions give searchers something compelling to click on in the search engine results pages.
Additionally, using keywords in your '<'Title'>' tags further boosts each page’s calculated relevance to a particular subject.
You haven’t done any keyword research yet? That’s no excuse. Do the exercise anyway and use your best judgment based on each page’s existing content. This is where writing for the “long tail” comes in handy. If you are unfamiliar with this subject, check out Matt Bailey’s article, Keyword Strategies – The Long Tail.
By the way, if your web developer proudly shows you a long list of keywords typed into the keyword meta tag, well, you know what I always say in these situations: Take your money and run.
Keyword meta tags were used and abused for years. As a result, most search engines don’t put much stock into them. Time is precious. Spend it on something useful.
Posted by Kar.ri Flat.la
Hyperlink Your Calls to Action
Hyperlink Your Calls to Action
The only reason I can think of that most websites don’t capitalize on this tactic is that it just seems too easy. Yet the simple act of hyperlinking a call to action helps you accomplish two very important goals:
(1) It increases interaction between your site and your visitor.
(2) It gives the search engines one more tip-off as to what your site is all about.
When visitors see a link that contains keyword rich text—text that is hopefully underlined or bolded in a contrasting color—they feel compelled to click on it. People on the web are searching for answers, solutions, or information. Make it as easy as possible for them to find those things.
So, instead of waiting until the end of your amazing sales copy to tell the visitor to “click here,” why not hyperlink the whole thing?
Posted by Karri Flat.la
The only reason I can think of that most websites don’t capitalize on this tactic is that it just seems too easy. Yet the simple act of hyperlinking a call to action helps you accomplish two very important goals:
(1) It increases interaction between your site and your visitor.
(2) It gives the search engines one more tip-off as to what your site is all about.
When visitors see a link that contains keyword rich text—text that is hopefully underlined or bolded in a contrasting color—they feel compelled to click on it. People on the web are searching for answers, solutions, or information. Make it as easy as possible for them to find those things.
So, instead of waiting until the end of your amazing sales copy to tell the visitor to “click here,” why not hyperlink the whole thing?
Posted by Karri Flat.la
Think you got it sussed?
Think you got it all sussed out?
Maybe yes - maybe no(t). I just developed a business card for a new product and I was pretty pleased with the result - until I asked some trusted friends what they thought of it... Really great feedback - I got which changed the face of that new card entirely.
Now why am I bringing this up? To reiterate the online marketers mantra: "Test everything." There really is no substitute for it. There is no better way of finding out than asking the 'the marketplace' (or some friends).
Wishing you insightful testing!
Karl
Maybe yes - maybe no(t). I just developed a business card for a new product and I was pretty pleased with the result - until I asked some trusted friends what they thought of it... Really great feedback - I got which changed the face of that new card entirely.
Now why am I bringing this up? To reiterate the online marketers mantra: "Test everything." There really is no substitute for it. There is no better way of finding out than asking the 'the marketplace' (or some friends).
Wishing you insightful testing!
Karl
Monday, November 06, 2006
Watch 'The Secret' free
Hi everyone,
great inspiration for the week. Don't judge from the intro part - it's worth hanging on to get to the good stuff:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1713414398006481796&q=movie+by+prime+time+production
Below are a couple of bullet points from The Secret, hope they trigger your interest, too.
Make a list of things you are grateful for and go through that list everyday. Don't just repeat it – feel it.
Take a gratitude rock with you.
Visualise to materialise, dwell on the end result.
The how will show up in the commitment to the what.
Put up your vision boards.
Close your eyes for a couple of minutes and feel it. Then go out into the world and let it materialise.
Set the goal so big, that it would blow your mind if you would achieve it.
Declare it, believe it, release it.
When you have an inspired thought trust it and act on it.
Dis-ease.
Energy flows where attention goes.
If you believe it, you see it, you work on it, it will show up for you.
Everything in the universe is energy.
“Whether you think you can or you think you can't you are right.” Henry Ford
enjoy, Karl
great inspiration for the week. Don't judge from the intro part - it's worth hanging on to get to the good stuff:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1713414398006481796&q=movie+by+prime+time+production
Below are a couple of bullet points from The Secret, hope they trigger your interest, too.
Make a list of things you are grateful for and go through that list everyday. Don't just repeat it – feel it.
Take a gratitude rock with you.
Visualise to materialise, dwell on the end result.
The how will show up in the commitment to the what.
Put up your vision boards.
Close your eyes for a couple of minutes and feel it. Then go out into the world and let it materialise.
Set the goal so big, that it would blow your mind if you would achieve it.
Declare it, believe it, release it.
When you have an inspired thought trust it and act on it.
Dis-ease.
Energy flows where attention goes.
If you believe it, you see it, you work on it, it will show up for you.
Everything in the universe is energy.
“Whether you think you can or you think you can't you are right.” Henry Ford
enjoy, Karl
Viral Video Chart
'Unruly Media' Launches First Independent Viral Video Chart
The first chart to compile data from YouTube, MySpace and Google Video, Viral Video Chart lets web users catch the hottest online videos at the very moment their popurlarity begins to skyrocket.
[ClickPress, Wed Sep 13 2006] Today sees the launch of the world's first comprehensive and independent online video chart, www.viralvideochart.com.
The brainchild of London-based company, Unruly Media, www.viralvideochart.com is an independent chart of the most popular videos on the world's top three video-sharing sites, YouTube, MySpace and Google Video.
While Google, YouTube and MySpace all publish lists of the videos most popular with their own users - rather like HMV, Virgin or Walmart might publish music charts based on their own sales data - no chart has, until now, attempted to combine data from all three sites in a credible way."
The first chart to compile data from YouTube, MySpace and Google Video, Viral Video Chart lets web users catch the hottest online videos at the very moment their popurlarity begins to skyrocket.
[ClickPress, Wed Sep 13 2006] Today sees the launch of the world's first comprehensive and independent online video chart, www.viralvideochart.com.
The brainchild of London-based company, Unruly Media, www.viralvideochart.com is an independent chart of the most popular videos on the world's top three video-sharing sites, YouTube, MySpace and Google Video.
While Google, YouTube and MySpace all publish lists of the videos most popular with their own users - rather like HMV, Virgin or Walmart might publish music charts based on their own sales data - no chart has, until now, attempted to combine data from all three sites in a credible way."
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Top of the Blogs
The popularity of online video sites is growing - video content on sites such as MySpace continues to expand and YouTube sold to Google for $1.65 billion earlier this month.
Now a new video chart is set to launch, www.ViralVideoChart.com, compiled by monitoring the ‘most blogged about’ videos on the internet.
Creator Unruly Media anticipate the chart will become an important tool for creative artists trying to generate a fan base, as well as advertising and marketing execs.
Scott Button, MD, Unruly Media, says: “We believe that the Viral Video Chart will offer the most up-to-date information possible on the videos that are generating the most interest on the internet. We aim to continue to expand our data sources to ensure that the chart becomes the definitive run-down of video blog buzz and offers a vital monitoring service.”
The service promises the most comprehensive chart of video footage ever to be gathered online. The independently compiled chart is intended to reproduce for online videos what the Billboard Hot 100 does for music.
Over 2 million blogs are checked daily for videos that bloggers have linked to or embedded as part of their latest entries. Instead of being an after-the-fact look at the most watched videos online, the Viral Video Chart monitors the videos that are generating the most ‘buzz’ in cyberspace in order to uncover the clips that are likely to be the next big thing.
This is achieved by regular data updates from weblogs.com, a monitoring service that tracks which blogs have been updated within the last five minutes.
Netimperative [article shortened]
Now a new video chart is set to launch, www.ViralVideoChart.com, compiled by monitoring the ‘most blogged about’ videos on the internet.
Creator Unruly Media anticipate the chart will become an important tool for creative artists trying to generate a fan base, as well as advertising and marketing execs.
Scott Button, MD, Unruly Media, says: “We believe that the Viral Video Chart will offer the most up-to-date information possible on the videos that are generating the most interest on the internet. We aim to continue to expand our data sources to ensure that the chart becomes the definitive run-down of video blog buzz and offers a vital monitoring service.”
The service promises the most comprehensive chart of video footage ever to be gathered online. The independently compiled chart is intended to reproduce for online videos what the Billboard Hot 100 does for music.
Over 2 million blogs are checked daily for videos that bloggers have linked to or embedded as part of their latest entries. Instead of being an after-the-fact look at the most watched videos online, the Viral Video Chart monitors the videos that are generating the most ‘buzz’ in cyberspace in order to uncover the clips that are likely to be the next big thing.
This is achieved by regular data updates from weblogs.com, a monitoring service that tracks which blogs have been updated within the last five minutes.
Netimperative [article shortened]
Microsoft names Vista launch day
Microsoft has been showing off Vista for months.
Microsoft has announced the date on which Windows Vista will be made available to businesses.
From 30 November corporate customers of the software giant will be able to get their hands on the next version of the operating system.
Also on that date Microsoft will make available Office 2007 - its suite of business programs.
Home users will have to wait until January 2007 to get hold of a copy of the Vista software. "
Microsoft has announced the date on which Windows Vista will be made available to businesses.
From 30 November corporate customers of the software giant will be able to get their hands on the next version of the operating system.
Also on that date Microsoft will make available Office 2007 - its suite of business programs.
Home users will have to wait until January 2007 to get hold of a copy of the Vista software. "
"TV topples to Google"
It was only a matter of time.
In a landmark milestone of multi-channel media marketing, the word is out that advertising revenue at Google Towers has surpassed that of UK conventional terrestrial TV network provider, Channel 4.
With a staggering $1.6 billion in advertising revenues for 2006 (that's about £800 million) analysts now expect ITV to fall next, probably in early 2008.
Google's third quarter revenues topped over £390 million, despite an all-share acquisition of YouTube earlier this summer, which receives over 72 million hits a month to view its online video content.
The move away from conventional advertising media has been predicted for some considerable time, but as the wickets fall in reality, it comes as one of those seminal moments when we all stand for a moment to take stock and to realise that we are now in unchartered territory.
Many of the former newspaper media titles have ditched subscription-based services in favour of online advertising instruments, and, whilst some premium-content organs retain subscription for key areas, most of the attention is turning to where eyeballs are gazing - and that's no longer the 42" plasma or LCD picture frame device in the corner. That, it would seem, is being used for watching DVD movies and as a big screen add-on to the desktop or laptop monitoring device.
So, it makes rational sense that if eyeballs are averting from Big Brother reality TV and Countdown to Google, eBay, Amazon and the rest of interactive online virtual reality, that the advertising and marketing worlds should surely follow.
No rocket science there, in that respect. But what is odd, is the time it has taken for TV execs to wake up and smell the latté - they've been in virtual business denial for nigh on a decade and it comes as some surprise that they haven't made their moves a long time ago.
Paul Quigley, Internet World [article shortened]
In a landmark milestone of multi-channel media marketing, the word is out that advertising revenue at Google Towers has surpassed that of UK conventional terrestrial TV network provider, Channel 4.
With a staggering $1.6 billion in advertising revenues for 2006 (that's about £800 million) analysts now expect ITV to fall next, probably in early 2008.
Google's third quarter revenues topped over £390 million, despite an all-share acquisition of YouTube earlier this summer, which receives over 72 million hits a month to view its online video content.
The move away from conventional advertising media has been predicted for some considerable time, but as the wickets fall in reality, it comes as one of those seminal moments when we all stand for a moment to take stock and to realise that we are now in unchartered territory.
Many of the former newspaper media titles have ditched subscription-based services in favour of online advertising instruments, and, whilst some premium-content organs retain subscription for key areas, most of the attention is turning to where eyeballs are gazing - and that's no longer the 42" plasma or LCD picture frame device in the corner. That, it would seem, is being used for watching DVD movies and as a big screen add-on to the desktop or laptop monitoring device.
So, it makes rational sense that if eyeballs are averting from Big Brother reality TV and Countdown to Google, eBay, Amazon and the rest of interactive online virtual reality, that the advertising and marketing worlds should surely follow.
No rocket science there, in that respect. But what is odd, is the time it has taken for TV execs to wake up and smell the latté - they've been in virtual business denial for nigh on a decade and it comes as some surprise that they haven't made their moves a long time ago.
Paul Quigley, Internet World [article shortened]
YouTube goes 'moblogging'
YouTube goes 'moblogging'
The future Google unit has big plans to help consumers create and share video with their cell phones. But so do a lot of competitors.
First news broke that Cingular Wireless will launch a new music service on its cell phone network. Then YouTube said it would bring video-sharing to mobile phones.
That's two big announcements from two big companies. But which company is likely to have more success? YouTube, for reasons that have little to do with the company's $1.65 billion sale to Internet goliath Google.
Here's the reason: Consumers want to share content more than they want to listen to songs on their cell phones. At least that's what they told In-Stat, a technology research firm, this summer. Sending a clip of Junior's soccer match to Grandma, it seems, is much cooler than watching the latest 'mobisode' of "Desperate Housewives" on a two-inch scr! een.
At the tone, leave a video-mail
"It was striking to see how strongly people feel about using video to communicate," says David Chamberlain, the In-Stat principal analyst who conducted the consumer study.
On Wednesday, YouTube CEO Chad Hurley told attendees at an advertising conference that the video-sharing site will allow users to send clips to other YouTube members within a year, according to a Reuters report. YouTube users already can upload clips from their phones to the company's site and then watch from their personal computers.
Hurley told the advertising execs that video-sharing via mobile phones is an obvious next step for the company. "[I]t's going to be a huge market," he said.
'Moblogging' - the industry term for the nascent mobile user-generated market - is expected to reap $13 billion a year in advertising and subscription revenues come 2011, according to Informa Telecoms & M! edia, a research firm.
YouTube's push into the mobile market is both good and bad news for entrepreneurs like Alex Kelly, the CEO of San Francisco startup Veeker.
On the one hand, it validated Kelly's vision. So far mobile operators have had a hard time offering inexpensive, easy-to-use and fast services that consumers can use to share images and videos captured with their cameraphones. Only about 50 percent of U.S. mobile phone subscribers with built-in cameras actually snap photos. Even worse, a meager 3 percent shoot videos.
In late October, Veeker rolled out a free service that lets users publish short video clips, which the company calls "Veeks," taken with their cell phones. Registered users can then send their output, via Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), to Veeker.com and other sites that accept HTML embed codes, including MySpace and Blogger.
Veeker members have used the service to leave "video voicemails" for friends and to create personal video diaries.
"Mobile video is very immediate, and that's what people are looking for," says Kelly, who's betting the advertising revenues, both on Veeker's website and embedded in videos, will sustain it. "I think [demand] is going to grow a lot faster than people predicted."
YouTube: the kiss of death?
YouTube's move into mobile video could be a boon for startups like Veeker. Rivals could start scouting for their own mobile video service - and that's always good news for smaller players looking to be acquired.
The biggest risk of all? Mobile video will never live up to expectations. That's the prediction from Ken Hyers, an ABI Research senior analyst. Hyers estimates there will be a scant 655,000 mobloggers worldwide at year-end. He expects that number to quadruple to 2.7 million by 2011. That's just a fraction of the estimated 3 billion mobile phone users around the world.
By Michal Lev-Ram, Business 2.0 Magazine writer-reporter
The future Google unit has big plans to help consumers create and share video with their cell phones. But so do a lot of competitors.
First news broke that Cingular Wireless will launch a new music service on its cell phone network. Then YouTube said it would bring video-sharing to mobile phones.
That's two big announcements from two big companies. But which company is likely to have more success? YouTube, for reasons that have little to do with the company's $1.65 billion sale to Internet goliath Google.
Here's the reason: Consumers want to share content more than they want to listen to songs on their cell phones. At least that's what they told In-Stat, a technology research firm, this summer. Sending a clip of Junior's soccer match to Grandma, it seems, is much cooler than watching the latest 'mobisode' of "Desperate Housewives" on a two-inch scr! een.
At the tone, leave a video-mail
"It was striking to see how strongly people feel about using video to communicate," says David Chamberlain, the In-Stat principal analyst who conducted the consumer study.
On Wednesday, YouTube CEO Chad Hurley told attendees at an advertising conference that the video-sharing site will allow users to send clips to other YouTube members within a year, according to a Reuters report. YouTube users already can upload clips from their phones to the company's site and then watch from their personal computers.
Hurley told the advertising execs that video-sharing via mobile phones is an obvious next step for the company. "[I]t's going to be a huge market," he said.
'Moblogging' - the industry term for the nascent mobile user-generated market - is expected to reap $13 billion a year in advertising and subscription revenues come 2011, according to Informa Telecoms & M! edia, a research firm.
YouTube's push into the mobile market is both good and bad news for entrepreneurs like Alex Kelly, the CEO of San Francisco startup Veeker.
On the one hand, it validated Kelly's vision. So far mobile operators have had a hard time offering inexpensive, easy-to-use and fast services that consumers can use to share images and videos captured with their cameraphones. Only about 50 percent of U.S. mobile phone subscribers with built-in cameras actually snap photos. Even worse, a meager 3 percent shoot videos.
In late October, Veeker rolled out a free service that lets users publish short video clips, which the company calls "Veeks," taken with their cell phones. Registered users can then send their output, via Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), to Veeker.com and other sites that accept HTML embed codes, including MySpace and Blogger.
Veeker members have used the service to leave "video voicemails" for friends and to create personal video diaries.
"Mobile video is very immediate, and that's what people are looking for," says Kelly, who's betting the advertising revenues, both on Veeker's website and embedded in videos, will sustain it. "I think [demand] is going to grow a lot faster than people predicted."
YouTube: the kiss of death?
YouTube's move into mobile video could be a boon for startups like Veeker. Rivals could start scouting for their own mobile video service - and that's always good news for smaller players looking to be acquired.
The biggest risk of all? Mobile video will never live up to expectations. That's the prediction from Ken Hyers, an ABI Research senior analyst. Hyers estimates there will be a scant 655,000 mobloggers worldwide at year-end. He expects that number to quadruple to 2.7 million by 2011. That's just a fraction of the estimated 3 billion mobile phone users around the world.
By Michal Lev-Ram, Business 2.0 Magazine writer-reporter
Friday, November 03, 2006
BLACKOUT LONDON
"BLACKOUT LONDON" - 4th November 2006, Starting at Sunset, 4.30 pm to 7.30 pm.
Hi everyone! Once in a while I am putting some - I believe - important issues into this blog, that have hardly to do anything with Internet Marketing. So please bear with me if this is of little interest to you.
"You are invited ...
to take part in a demonstration of People Power in London, UK on Saturday 4th November 2006, by turning off all your lights, and switching off all your non-essential electrical equipment at Sunset.
CLIMATE CHANGE is already compromising the water supply, crops, habitat and livelihoods of millions of people worldwide, and threatens to undermine the Global Economy within a few decades, as well as creating waves of Climate Refugees, and driving countless animals and
plants to extinction.
The principal cause of Global Warming is the rising Carbon Dioxide emissions into the atmosphere from the burning of Fossil Fuels, for electricity generation, transport, manufacturing, industry, space heating and air conditioning.
REMEMBER, REMEMBER, THE FOURTH OF NOVEMBER !
For one day in November, we are asking everyone who receives this message to think about what they can turn off, switch off and unplug, to show support.
We want the power demand in the United Kingdom to reduce so much that the newspapers are obliged to report it.
We want the lights to go out in London, so that on the evening of 4th November 2006, the dimming effect will be visible from space."
And if you don't live in London please take this as an invitation to start a 'blackout initiative' in the area where you live. Let's see which city or area can make the biggest difference, shall we?
For more info please click on this link.
Hi everyone! Once in a while I am putting some - I believe - important issues into this blog, that have hardly to do anything with Internet Marketing. So please bear with me if this is of little interest to you.
"You are invited ...
to take part in a demonstration of People Power in London, UK on Saturday 4th November 2006, by turning off all your lights, and switching off all your non-essential electrical equipment at Sunset.
CLIMATE CHANGE is already compromising the water supply, crops, habitat and livelihoods of millions of people worldwide, and threatens to undermine the Global Economy within a few decades, as well as creating waves of Climate Refugees, and driving countless animals and
plants to extinction.
The principal cause of Global Warming is the rising Carbon Dioxide emissions into the atmosphere from the burning of Fossil Fuels, for electricity generation, transport, manufacturing, industry, space heating and air conditioning.
REMEMBER, REMEMBER, THE FOURTH OF NOVEMBER !
For one day in November, we are asking everyone who receives this message to think about what they can turn off, switch off and unplug, to show support.
We want the power demand in the United Kingdom to reduce so much that the newspapers are obliged to report it.
We want the lights to go out in London, so that on the evening of 4th November 2006, the dimming effect will be visible from space."
And if you don't live in London please take this as an invitation to start a 'blackout initiative' in the area where you live. Let's see which city or area can make the biggest difference, shall we?
For more info please click on this link.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
New UEFA online video service
"UEFA launches online video service"
European football body UEFA has launched a video service for broadcasters providing live Internet coverage of Champions League matches.
Available in 96 countries, UEFA Video Service (UVS), has been developed to enable its broadcast partners to extend their rights and provide live match coverage on the Internet.
Over 20 broadcasters around the world are using UVS to make every UEFA Champions League match from the 2006/07season and every UEFA Cup match from the quarter-final stage in April 2007 available live on the Internet.
As a result, more than 125 matches will be offered in over 100 countries. As well as the live coverage, UVS also provides an archive of over 5,000 videos and 1,000 matches from UEFA competitions dating back over ten years.
The archive features a search function that allows users to find videos by season, club and player. Fans can access live coverage by visiting uefa.com at http://video.uefa.com. Based on their geographic location, users will be served with the live matches available in their territory."
European football body UEFA has launched a video service for broadcasters providing live Internet coverage of Champions League matches.
Available in 96 countries, UEFA Video Service (UVS), has been developed to enable its broadcast partners to extend their rights and provide live match coverage on the Internet.
Over 20 broadcasters around the world are using UVS to make every UEFA Champions League match from the 2006/07season and every UEFA Cup match from the quarter-final stage in April 2007 available live on the Internet.
As a result, more than 125 matches will be offered in over 100 countries. As well as the live coverage, UVS also provides an archive of over 5,000 videos and 1,000 matches from UEFA competitions dating back over ten years.
The archive features a search function that allows users to find videos by season, club and player. Fans can access live coverage by visiting uefa.com at http://video.uefa.com. Based on their geographic location, users will be served with the live matches available in their territory."
AOL drives searches to video sites
"AOL drives high proportion of searches to video sites."
AOL drives the highest proportion of its UK search engine users to online video sites, according to Internet research firm Nielsen/NetRatings.
The research indicates that AOL Search is 39% more likely to be responsible for a click-through to a video/movie site (11%) than it is for a click-through across the entire Internet (7.9%).
MSN/Windows Live Search however is 64% less likely to be responsible for a click-through to a video/movie site (1.5%) than for a click-through across the entire Internet (4.2%).
AOL drives the highest proportion of its UK search engine users to online video sites, according to Internet research firm Nielsen/NetRatings.
The research indicates that AOL Search is 39% more likely to be responsible for a click-through to a video/movie site (11%) than it is for a click-through across the entire Internet (7.9%).
MSN/Windows Live Search however is 64% less likely to be responsible for a click-through to a video/movie site (1.5%) than for a click-through across the entire Internet (4.2%).
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Searching for online video
"Who actually is searching for online video?"
The young guns you would think - wouldn't you.
Hoewever UK family households make up most of the people searching for online video from the home, according to new research!
According to Nielsen, in September 2006, 2.3 million UK households clicked-through to a video/movie site from a search engine, racking up over 6.7 million click-throughs in total.
Thus family households accounted for over half (53%) of all these click-throughs, but , young couples without kids are twice as likely to be responsible for a click-through to a video/movie site (4.8%) than for a click-through across the entire Internet (2.3%).
‘Empty nesters’ are 40% less likely to be responsible for a click-through to a video/movie site (16.2%) than for a click-through across the entire Internet (27.1%).
In Sept 06 younger couples with no kids accounted for 4.8% of all click-throughs to video/movie sites but only 2.3% of all click-throughs across the Internet.
Source: Nielsen, Sept 06
Alex Burmaster, European Internet Analyst, comments: “Contrary to popular perception, search click-throughs to online videos aren’t coming from twenty-somethings. In fact it’s the opposite.
Almost three-quarters of online video search click-throughs come from family households or households comprising couples over 35 with no children.”
The young guns you would think - wouldn't you.
Hoewever UK family households make up most of the people searching for online video from the home, according to new research!
According to Nielsen, in September 2006, 2.3 million UK households clicked-through to a video/movie site from a search engine, racking up over 6.7 million click-throughs in total.
Thus family households accounted for over half (53%) of all these click-throughs, but , young couples without kids are twice as likely to be responsible for a click-through to a video/movie site (4.8%) than for a click-through across the entire Internet (2.3%).
‘Empty nesters’ are 40% less likely to be responsible for a click-through to a video/movie site (16.2%) than for a click-through across the entire Internet (27.1%).
In Sept 06 younger couples with no kids accounted for 4.8% of all click-throughs to video/movie sites but only 2.3% of all click-throughs across the Internet.
Source: Nielsen, Sept 06
Alex Burmaster, European Internet Analyst, comments: “Contrary to popular perception, search click-throughs to online videos aren’t coming from twenty-somethings. In fact it’s the opposite.
Almost three-quarters of online video search click-throughs come from family households or households comprising couples over 35 with no children.”
Monday, October 23, 2006
Mobile Internet popular in EU
"Mobile Internet ‘more popular with Europeans than Americans"
Who would have thought that? The US - a nation where people move thousands of miles for their job and even commute by plane - according to new research are not picking up the 'mobile Internet' as quickly as their European counterparts.
Europeans are far more likely to access the Web on their mobiles than their US counterparts, according to new research from comScore Networks.
The results, form part of the research firm’s new Mobile Tracking Study, which examines how consumers across six countries in Europe and America (US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK) access Internet content from their mobile phones.
The research shows that 29% of European Internet users regularly access the Web from their mobile phones compared to only 19% in the US.
Of the countries examined, the highest mobile Web penetration is seen in both Germany and Italy (34%), followed by France with 28%, Spain with 26% and the UK with 24%. The U.S. figure of 19% is the lowest of the set.
The study also shows that men are somewhat more likely to access the Web from their mobile phones than women. Across all six countries, although the Internet penetration is split evenly between men and women, 55% of those who access the Web from their mobile phones are men.
Who would have thought that? The US - a nation where people move thousands of miles for their job and even commute by plane - according to new research are not picking up the 'mobile Internet' as quickly as their European counterparts.
Europeans are far more likely to access the Web on their mobiles than their US counterparts, according to new research from comScore Networks.
The results, form part of the research firm’s new Mobile Tracking Study, which examines how consumers across six countries in Europe and America (US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK) access Internet content from their mobile phones.
The research shows that 29% of European Internet users regularly access the Web from their mobile phones compared to only 19% in the US.
Of the countries examined, the highest mobile Web penetration is seen in both Germany and Italy (34%), followed by France with 28%, Spain with 26% and the UK with 24%. The U.S. figure of 19% is the lowest of the set.
The study also shows that men are somewhat more likely to access the Web from their mobile phones than women. Across all six countries, although the Internet penetration is split evenly between men and women, 55% of those who access the Web from their mobile phones are men.
Friday, October 20, 2006
Microsoft launches IE7
"Microsoft launches IE7 with tabbed browsing."
Microsoft has updated its popular Internet Explorer web browser, with a number of new features, including tabbed browsing.
Initially launched as a beta test in February this year, Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 has now gone public and is available for download on the Microsoft web site.
The browser requires Windows XP with SP2, Windows XP Pro 64-bit edition, or any version of Windows Server 2003 to run.
A new tabbed browsing feature, similar to that offered by rivals Opera and Mozilla, lets users sort their tabs into a group, which can be opened with one click. This negates the need to have multiple tabs displayed at the bottom of the screen when surfing several websites simultaneously.
Microsoft has updated its popular Internet Explorer web browser, with a number of new features, including tabbed browsing.
Initially launched as a beta test in February this year, Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 has now gone public and is available for download on the Microsoft web site.
The browser requires Windows XP with SP2, Windows XP Pro 64-bit edition, or any version of Windows Server 2003 to run.
A new tabbed browsing feature, similar to that offered by rivals Opera and Mozilla, lets users sort their tabs into a group, which can be opened with one click. This negates the need to have multiple tabs displayed at the bottom of the screen when surfing several websites simultaneously.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
ITV broadbands Champions League
"ITV selects Premium TV for Champions League via broadband."
ITV.com has chosen digital rights company, Premium TV, as its commercial and technology partner to work on its high-profile Champions League broadband project, following a competitive tender.
Under the terms of the deal, Premium TV is streaming live all of the matches broadcast on ITV 1 and 2.
In addition to live games, users of the service are also able to access Premium TV’s Searchable Video Archive (SVA), which allows subscribers to access video highlights and goals from other Champions League matches, as well as player and manager interviews.
The next game to be shown will be Manchester United v Copenhagen on October 17. A 36-hour pass will cost £1.99, while a season pass will cost £19.99.
ITV.com has chosen digital rights company, Premium TV, as its commercial and technology partner to work on its high-profile Champions League broadband project, following a competitive tender.
Under the terms of the deal, Premium TV is streaming live all of the matches broadcast on ITV 1 and 2.
In addition to live games, users of the service are also able to access Premium TV’s Searchable Video Archive (SVA), which allows subscribers to access video highlights and goals from other Champions League matches, as well as player and manager interviews.
The next game to be shown will be Manchester United v Copenhagen on October 17. A 36-hour pass will cost £1.99, while a season pass will cost £19.99.
A Star Is Born
Not entirely Internet Marketing but if you enjoy music you might enjoy this!
Just click on the headline link and turn up the volume (if you're not at work ;-).
Just click on the headline link and turn up the volume (if you're not at work ;-).
Monday, October 16, 2006
Email marketing equal post
"Email marketing volumes set to equal post this year."
The number of email marketing messages being sent are set to equal that of direct mail by the end of this year, according to the latest research from the Direct Marketing Association (DMA).
The DMA’s National Email Benchmarking Survey also indicates that email acquisition click through rates have risen from 6% to 8%.
Overall, the first quarter of 2006 has shown a 30% year on year increase in average mailing volumes and volumes in the first quarter of 2006 have risen by 13% on the last quarter of 2005.
Despite increasing volumes, response rates such as click though rates are remaining static and retention figures still stand at approximately 10%.
Actual payments per 1000 email addresses vary from ‘up to £1’ to ‘over £5"
The number of email marketing messages being sent are set to equal that of direct mail by the end of this year, according to the latest research from the Direct Marketing Association (DMA).
The DMA’s National Email Benchmarking Survey also indicates that email acquisition click through rates have risen from 6% to 8%.
Overall, the first quarter of 2006 has shown a 30% year on year increase in average mailing volumes and volumes in the first quarter of 2006 have risen by 13% on the last quarter of 2005.
Despite increasing volumes, response rates such as click though rates are remaining static and retention figures still stand at approximately 10%.
Actual payments per 1000 email addresses vary from ‘up to £1’ to ‘over £5"
Bebo catching eBay
"Bebo catching eBay as most searched-for brand."
UK social networking site Bebo looks set to overtake eBay as the most searched-for UK brand according to new research.
Internet research firm Hitwise reports that since May, Bebo has been the second most searched-for brand in the UK after eBay, measured as a share of UK internet searches.
However, Bebo’s rapid rise is narrowing the gap with eBay. The market share of UK internet searches for “bebo” has increased more than three-fold in the past six months and 17.6% in the past three months.
The gap in the share of searches for “ebay” and “bebo” was only 5% in the four weeks to 30th September 2006, down from 25% three months ago and 80% six months ago, according to Hitwise. Social networking sites Bebo, MySpace and YouTube have joined Faceparty among the top 20 most searched-for brands in the UK, comparing September 2005 and 2006.
UK social networking site Bebo looks set to overtake eBay as the most searched-for UK brand according to new research.
Internet research firm Hitwise reports that since May, Bebo has been the second most searched-for brand in the UK after eBay, measured as a share of UK internet searches.
However, Bebo’s rapid rise is narrowing the gap with eBay. The market share of UK internet searches for “bebo” has increased more than three-fold in the past six months and 17.6% in the past three months.
The gap in the share of searches for “ebay” and “bebo” was only 5% in the four weeks to 30th September 2006, down from 25% three months ago and 80% six months ago, according to Hitwise. Social networking sites Bebo, MySpace and YouTube have joined Faceparty among the top 20 most searched-for brands in the UK, comparing September 2005 and 2006.
"Google Signs Agreement"
"Google Signs Agreement with SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT to Give Users Access to Expansive Catalog of Music Videos"
Ad-supported video models give users unparalleled access to SONY BMG
MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT's content online and creates new monetization
opportunities
SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT and Google announced a
strategic business relationship designed to make the music company's
expansive music video collection available for online streaming at no
cost to users.
[WOW - that is great news.]
Starting this month, users can watch thousands of
videos from SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT on Google Video. In the coming
months, users will also be able to access content from SONY BMG MUSIC
ENTERTAINMENT artists through Google's partner websites in its
AdSense network.
SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT, Google and web publishers will now be
able to monetize professional video content while respecting copyrights
through these video distribution models.
Ad-supported video models give users unparalleled access to SONY BMG
MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT's content online and creates new monetization
opportunities
SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT and Google announced a
strategic business relationship designed to make the music company's
expansive music video collection available for online streaming at no
cost to users.
[WOW - that is great news.]
Starting this month, users can watch thousands of
videos from SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT on Google Video. In the coming
months, users will also be able to access content from SONY BMG MUSIC
ENTERTAINMENT artists through Google's partner websites in its
AdSense network.
SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT, Google and web publishers will now be
able to monetize professional video content while respecting copyrights
through these video distribution models.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
YouTube goes for $1.65bn
"YouTube goes from zero to $1.65bn in two years"
The twenty-something founders of YouTube have become millionaires hundreds of times over, after their video-sharing website, one of the fastest-growing phenomena on the internet, was sold to Google with a $1.65bn (£880m) price tag.
Less than two years ago, Chad Hurley and Steve Chen began work in Mr Hurley's Silicon Valley garage on a way to allow them to share footage of a dinner party with friends.
But today, visitors watch more than 100 million video clips on the site every day, from television clips, sporting highlights, and millions of home-made videos from webcam users across the world.
Depending on who you ask, YouTube is responsible for turning the internet into the most powerful entertainment medium since television, or for creating a never-ending episode of You've Been Framed. Both sides accept the YouTube phenomenon is set to keep on growing.
Google's executives said YouTube represents 'the next step in the evolution of the internet' and that Messrs Hurley and Chen reminded them of the young Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who created the search engine pioneer in a garage of their own less than a decade ago. Eric Schmidt, the chief executive of Google, said: 'Chad and Steve have created a team that has been innovative and visionary and successful, exactly the kind of people we love to work with.'
Mr Brin said YouTube 'reminds me of Google just a few short years ago'. He said having revolutionised the way people search for content on the internet, Google would now be able to shape the way in which video is delivered to viewers.
By Stephen Foley in New York
The twenty-something founders of YouTube have become millionaires hundreds of times over, after their video-sharing website, one of the fastest-growing phenomena on the internet, was sold to Google with a $1.65bn (£880m) price tag.
Less than two years ago, Chad Hurley and Steve Chen began work in Mr Hurley's Silicon Valley garage on a way to allow them to share footage of a dinner party with friends.
But today, visitors watch more than 100 million video clips on the site every day, from television clips, sporting highlights, and millions of home-made videos from webcam users across the world.
Depending on who you ask, YouTube is responsible for turning the internet into the most powerful entertainment medium since television, or for creating a never-ending episode of You've Been Framed. Both sides accept the YouTube phenomenon is set to keep on growing.
Google's executives said YouTube represents 'the next step in the evolution of the internet' and that Messrs Hurley and Chen reminded them of the young Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who created the search engine pioneer in a garage of their own less than a decade ago. Eric Schmidt, the chief executive of Google, said: 'Chad and Steve have created a team that has been innovative and visionary and successful, exactly the kind of people we love to work with.'
Mr Brin said YouTube 'reminds me of Google just a few short years ago'. He said having revolutionised the way people search for content on the internet, Google would now be able to shape the way in which video is delivered to viewers.
By Stephen Foley in New York
Google acquires YouTube
"Google acquires YouTube - $1.65B deal for video site"
YouTube's Chad Hurley, 29, (l.) and Steve Chen, 27, have a lot to celebrate as their web site got a blockbuster bid from Google yesterday.
The Google guys have swallowed YouTube for $1.65 billion. Marking its biggest deal ever, the Internet giant agreed to snap up the red hot site in a major push for video supremacy on the Internet.
'Google has taken the first step toward being more of a media company than a technology company,' said Joe Laszlo, senior analyst at Jupiter Research. 'They bought the idea that social networking is big business - and they bought the leader.'
The Google-YouTube match-up marks another stunning story for an online start-up that didn't even exist two years ago.
YouTube's twenty-something founders, Chad Hurley and Steven Chen, started the company just 19 months ago, with the idea of giving regular folks a shot at uploading their own short videos onto the Web. In short order, YouTube became the Internet's No. 1 video-sharing site.
The YouTube-ers and their 67-person staff - now overnight millionaires - will join Google but remain largely independent in Silicon Valley headquarters.
On a conference with analysts yesterday, Google chairman Eric Schmidt compared YouTube's Hurley and Chen to Google's fabled founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page. Brin and Page are only a few years older than the YouTube founders.
Both sets of leaders, Schmidt said, built sites that lured mass audiences while the deep pocketed corporate giants just stood by.
That could be a message for all of us. Smaller companies can be more innovative and move much faster. So the question is "How creative can we be?"
YouTube's Chad Hurley, 29, (l.) and Steve Chen, 27, have a lot to celebrate as their web site got a blockbuster bid from Google yesterday.
The Google guys have swallowed YouTube for $1.65 billion. Marking its biggest deal ever, the Internet giant agreed to snap up the red hot site in a major push for video supremacy on the Internet.
'Google has taken the first step toward being more of a media company than a technology company,' said Joe Laszlo, senior analyst at Jupiter Research. 'They bought the idea that social networking is big business - and they bought the leader.'
The Google-YouTube match-up marks another stunning story for an online start-up that didn't even exist two years ago.
YouTube's twenty-something founders, Chad Hurley and Steven Chen, started the company just 19 months ago, with the idea of giving regular folks a shot at uploading their own short videos onto the Web. In short order, YouTube became the Internet's No. 1 video-sharing site.
The YouTube-ers and their 67-person staff - now overnight millionaires - will join Google but remain largely independent in Silicon Valley headquarters.
On a conference with analysts yesterday, Google chairman Eric Schmidt compared YouTube's Hurley and Chen to Google's fabled founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page. Brin and Page are only a few years older than the YouTube founders.
Both sets of leaders, Schmidt said, built sites that lured mass audiences while the deep pocketed corporate giants just stood by.
That could be a message for all of us. Smaller companies can be more innovative and move much faster. So the question is "How creative can we be?"
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Optimize Your Website In A Day
We have developed a new one-day workshop to optimize the performance of web sites.
Workshop participants get the latest and most successful Online Marketing Strategies, Techniques and Resources to apply to their websites.
We start this facts-packed day with basic but often overlooked Site Elements that can increase sales by up to 200%! We then go through the most important, second most important and third most important Part of each Website to show which techniques can be used best.
The next three sections cover how to increase Web Site Traffic, how to build a profitable Customer List and how to turn Site Visitors into Lifetime Customers.
In the last Knowledge Section participants see how to use Tracking, Testing and Automation to keep optimizing their sites' performance even further once they left the workshop.
Participants learn which Methods to use with their own Websites to increase their Site's Performance.
For a full description of the Benefits of this Workshop please see The Website Optimization Workshop
Monday, October 02, 2006
Online firm reveals keyword data
"Online research firm Hitwise UK has launched a new tool that lets online marketers monitor their competitor’s paid and organic search strategies at a keyword level.
The firm has added paid and organic search term data to Search Intelligence 4.0. This new feature lets search marketers view and export website search term information, which details the percentage of traffic a competitor receives from paid and organic listings across the key websites featured within Hitwise.
The paid and organic search term data is based on the search behaviour of 8.43 million UK internet users across all major search engines. Gavin Appel, Hitwise SVP of product development, said:
“With our new paid and organic keyword data, we are now providing our clients with even greater clarity and ultimately, a better competitive edge when planning their search marketing campaigns.”
“This is the latest example of our leadership position in the industry when it comes to keyword research and measurement. With this new data, clients can strike the right balance between search engine optimization and search engine marketing campaigns."
The firm has added paid and organic search term data to Search Intelligence 4.0. This new feature lets search marketers view and export website search term information, which details the percentage of traffic a competitor receives from paid and organic listings across the key websites featured within Hitwise.
The paid and organic search term data is based on the search behaviour of 8.43 million UK internet users across all major search engines. Gavin Appel, Hitwise SVP of product development, said:
“With our new paid and organic keyword data, we are now providing our clients with even greater clarity and ultimately, a better competitive edge when planning their search marketing campaigns.”
“This is the latest example of our leadership position in the industry when it comes to keyword research and measurement. With this new data, clients can strike the right balance between search engine optimization and search engine marketing campaigns."
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Duplicate Internet Web Site Content
Duplicate Content Issues: These have become a major issue on
the Internet.
Because web pages drive search engine rankings,
certain 'black hat' SEOs (search engine optimizers) started duplicating
entire sites' content under their own domain name, thereby
instantly producing a ton of web pages (an example of this would
be to download an Encyclopedia onto your website).
As a result of this abuse, Google aggressively attacked duplicate content
abusers with their algorithm updates. But in the process they
knocked out many legitimate sites as collateral damage. One
example occurs when someone scrapes your website.
Google sees both sites and may determine the legitimate one to be the
duplicate.
About the only thing a Webmaster can do is track down
these sites as they are scraped, and submit a spam report to
Google.
the Internet.
Because web pages drive search engine rankings,
certain 'black hat' SEOs (search engine optimizers) started duplicating
entire sites' content under their own domain name, thereby
instantly producing a ton of web pages (an example of this would
be to download an Encyclopedia onto your website).
As a result of this abuse, Google aggressively attacked duplicate content
abusers with their algorithm updates. But in the process they
knocked out many legitimate sites as collateral damage. One
example occurs when someone scrapes your website.
Google sees both sites and may determine the legitimate one to be the
duplicate.
About the only thing a Webmaster can do is track down
these sites as they are scraped, and submit a spam report to
Google.
Yahoo snaps up video-sharing site
Yahoo has acquired Jumpcut, a video-sharing site that provides web users with online editing tools for creating their own movies.
The San Francisco-based start-up will become a part of Yahoo's Social Media group, which includes photo-sharing service Flickr, and bookmark-sharing service Del.icio.us.
Jumpcut was created by MiraVida Media, and lets users publish and remix video clips using a suite of editing tools. Jumpcut will be working with Yahoo media and advertising partners to offer more content that subscribers can use in remixing movies. "
Netimperative 29-09-2006
The San Francisco-based start-up will become a part of Yahoo's Social Media group, which includes photo-sharing service Flickr, and bookmark-sharing service Del.icio.us.
Jumpcut was created by MiraVida Media, and lets users publish and remix video clips using a suite of editing tools. Jumpcut will be working with Yahoo media and advertising partners to offer more content that subscribers can use in remixing movies. "
Netimperative 29-09-2006
Thursday, September 28, 2006
YouTube becomes fastest growing UK online brand- research
User-generated content websites such as YouTube, Flickr and MySpace have been the biggest Internet success stories of the year so far, according to new research.
A report from Internet research firm Neilsen//Netratings indicates that the three fastest growing online brands in the UK highlight how generating and sharing content is this year’s online theme, with half of the ten fastest growing brands fall under the “Web 2.0” umbrella.
YouTube, Flickr and MySpace all focus on technologies that allow users to define the content that their peers are looking at online.
Commenting on the findings of the report, Alex Burmaster, European Internet Analyst at Nielsen//NetRatings, said:
“The idea of the user in charge through these so called “Web 2.0” technologies is now a reality. The audience to video sharing phenomenon YouTube is testament to this, having grown by a factor of almost five during the year, meaning that more than one in eight Britons online now visit this site.”
Top 10 Fastest growing brands of 2006 Top 10 brands in 2006
by UK Unique Audience (UA)
Growth * RankBrand % Growth Jan-July 2006 (000’s) July 2006 Nature of Business
1 YouTube 478% 3,585 Video sharing
2 Flickr 131% 1,008 Photo management and sharing
3 MySpace 98% 3,502 Social networking
4 American Express 97% 1,178 Financial services
5 Photobucket 91% 838Image / video hosting and sharing
6 Mozilla 91% 1,202 Web browsing software
7 Vodafone 86% 1,340 Telecommunications
8 Bebo 85% 2,784 Social networking
9 Odeon 82% 985 Cinemas
10 B&Q72% 1,370Home and garden retail
Netimperative 14-09-2006
A report from Internet research firm Neilsen//Netratings indicates that the three fastest growing online brands in the UK highlight how generating and sharing content is this year’s online theme, with half of the ten fastest growing brands fall under the “Web 2.0” umbrella.
YouTube, Flickr and MySpace all focus on technologies that allow users to define the content that their peers are looking at online.
Commenting on the findings of the report, Alex Burmaster, European Internet Analyst at Nielsen//NetRatings, said:
“The idea of the user in charge through these so called “Web 2.0” technologies is now a reality. The audience to video sharing phenomenon YouTube is testament to this, having grown by a factor of almost five during the year, meaning that more than one in eight Britons online now visit this site.”
Top 10 Fastest growing brands of 2006 Top 10 brands in 2006
by UK Unique Audience (UA)
Growth * RankBrand % Growth Jan-July 2006 (000’s) July 2006 Nature of Business
1 YouTube 478% 3,585 Video sharing
2 Flickr 131% 1,008 Photo management and sharing
3 MySpace 98% 3,502 Social networking
4 American Express 97% 1,178 Financial services
5 Photobucket 91% 838Image / video hosting and sharing
6 Mozilla 91% 1,202 Web browsing software
7 Vodafone 86% 1,340 Telecommunications
8 Bebo 85% 2,784 Social networking
9 Odeon 82% 985 Cinemas
10 B&Q72% 1,370Home and garden retail
Netimperative 14-09-2006
UK Web users more responsive than most to online ads- study
Online marketing and advertising affects French and British Internet users the most, according to a new European Internet study.
The thirteenth annual NetObserver Europe study, published this week, revealed there are significant differences between the behaviour of European Internet Users.
The study found over half of French internet users declared having participated in an online competition organised by a brand or e-commerce site in the past 3 months, which is significantly more than other European internet users.
Also, French and British internet have clicked on advertising links featured on the results pages from search engines in the past 3 months.
Furthermore, 2 out of 5 British internet users declared having visited a brand or company site just several days after having seen its advertisement on the internet.
This confirms that only the direct click rate is not sufficient to measure the effectiveness of an online advertising campaign.
According to the study, Spanish Internet users make most use of new information and communication services offered by the Internet, such as blogs, Internet telephony, and podcasting, while Germany was the slowest adopters of these new formats.
Meanwhile, Germany comes out ahead in the use of paid online services making the most of sending SMS messages, playing video games (online or downloaded), developing digital photos and are – together with the UK Internet users - amongst those who pay the most to download music and also logos and ring tones for mobile phones. The German Internet users also use more paid practical services, such as auctions, classifieds ads, meeting services, than other European Internet use"
Netimperative - 27-09-2006
The thirteenth annual NetObserver Europe study, published this week, revealed there are significant differences between the behaviour of European Internet Users.
The study found over half of French internet users declared having participated in an online competition organised by a brand or e-commerce site in the past 3 months, which is significantly more than other European internet users.
Also, French and British internet have clicked on advertising links featured on the results pages from search engines in the past 3 months.
Furthermore, 2 out of 5 British internet users declared having visited a brand or company site just several days after having seen its advertisement on the internet.
This confirms that only the direct click rate is not sufficient to measure the effectiveness of an online advertising campaign.
According to the study, Spanish Internet users make most use of new information and communication services offered by the Internet, such as blogs, Internet telephony, and podcasting, while Germany was the slowest adopters of these new formats.
Meanwhile, Germany comes out ahead in the use of paid online services making the most of sending SMS messages, playing video games (online or downloaded), developing digital photos and are – together with the UK Internet users - amongst those who pay the most to download music and also logos and ring tones for mobile phones. The German Internet users also use more paid practical services, such as auctions, classifieds ads, meeting services, than other European Internet use"
Netimperative - 27-09-2006
Blog sites join forces
Shiny Media has partnered with UK entertainment site Hecklerspray to expand its ad-funded blogging network.
Under the terms of the joint venture, Hecklerspray will become a core part of the Shiny Media stable creating a blogging network with a monthly reach some 1.9 million unique visitors. Shiny Media will manage advertising sales for Hecklerspray.com, which currently attracts about 550,000 unique users and 850,000 page impressions per month.
Hecklerspray is a UK-based entertainment blog that was launched on 1 May 2005. It focuses on music, movies, TV, videogames and celebrity news, as well as gossip and reviews. Advertisers on Hecklerspray have included CNN, Turner, VH1, 4AD Records, Variety Magazine, MSNBC, PETA, and AT&T. 'Shiny has developed a portfolio of original and innovative blogs,' says Hecklerspray's Editor, Stuart Heritage.
'We have always admired Hecklerspray,' says Shiny Media's Creative Director Ashley Norris. 'It is the best UK entertainment blog by some distance.'"
Netimperative 09-2006
Under the terms of the joint venture, Hecklerspray will become a core part of the Shiny Media stable creating a blogging network with a monthly reach some 1.9 million unique visitors. Shiny Media will manage advertising sales for Hecklerspray.com, which currently attracts about 550,000 unique users and 850,000 page impressions per month.
Hecklerspray is a UK-based entertainment blog that was launched on 1 May 2005. It focuses on music, movies, TV, videogames and celebrity news, as well as gossip and reviews. Advertisers on Hecklerspray have included CNN, Turner, VH1, 4AD Records, Variety Magazine, MSNBC, PETA, and AT&T. 'Shiny has developed a portfolio of original and innovative blogs,' says Hecklerspray's Editor, Stuart Heritage.
'We have always admired Hecklerspray,' says Shiny Media's Creative Director Ashley Norris. 'It is the best UK entertainment blog by some distance.'"
Netimperative 09-2006
Friday, September 22, 2006
The Future: Online Video Ads
I believe that the online video market (ads etc.) is one of the most exciting areas and it will take the Internet by storm. Here is a good article to quickly get-up to speed on what's going on in this market:
The Future of Online Video Ads
The online video ad market hit $225 million in 2005 and is expected to reach $385 million this year, $640 million in 2007 and $1.5 billion by 2009 (eMarketer). Other projections range as high as $2.5 billion in 2010.
There is no doubt that as broadband penetration multiplies, and both video technology and ad serving technology advance, most major advertisers will want to use this branding strategy because of its ability to engage viewers.
Online Video Engages Users
A study by F. N. Magid Associates for the Online Publishers Association shows that consumers engage with video advertising as follows:
5 percent of consumers view online video daily
24 percent view once a week
46 percent view once a month
While many are attracted to humor, video news clips are most popular, with each genre being viewed by more than 25 percent of visitors at least once a week.
Online video ads have great potential on the web and are particularly appealing to a young, wired demographic. As online videos become more popular on user-generated sites like YouTube, the audience for video ads will increase, as will the number of video ads created. "
By Bruce Clay - September 18, 2006
Read the whole article here.
The Future of Online Video Ads
The online video ad market hit $225 million in 2005 and is expected to reach $385 million this year, $640 million in 2007 and $1.5 billion by 2009 (eMarketer). Other projections range as high as $2.5 billion in 2010.
There is no doubt that as broadband penetration multiplies, and both video technology and ad serving technology advance, most major advertisers will want to use this branding strategy because of its ability to engage viewers.
Online Video Engages Users
A study by F. N. Magid Associates for the Online Publishers Association shows that consumers engage with video advertising as follows:
5 percent of consumers view online video daily
24 percent view once a week
46 percent view once a month
While many are attracted to humor, video news clips are most popular, with each genre being viewed by more than 25 percent of visitors at least once a week.
Online video ads have great potential on the web and are particularly appealing to a young, wired demographic. As online videos become more popular on user-generated sites like YouTube, the audience for video ads will increase, as will the number of video ads created. "
By Bruce Clay - September 18, 2006
Read the whole article here.
Your Own Wikipedia Page
Most savvy SEOs know that Google is placing an increased weight on links from “authority” websites.
Wikipedia, a free internet encyclopedia that can be edited by any user, is certainly one of the top authority websites in the eyes of Google and I´m certainly not the first SEO to observe that an awful lot of Wikipedia pages are currently ranking quite highly in the SERPS.
By Todd Mintz - September 15, 2006
Read how to create your own Wikipedia page here.
Wikipedia, a free internet encyclopedia that can be edited by any user, is certainly one of the top authority websites in the eyes of Google and I´m certainly not the first SEO to observe that an awful lot of Wikipedia pages are currently ranking quite highly in the SERPS.
By Todd Mintz - September 15, 2006
Read how to create your own Wikipedia page here.
Have Your Company Listed Free in Google Maps
Watch out 'local search is going to become big - I believe. So here is a great article about how to set-up your own local listing on Google for fr.ee:
"Do you want to advertise the physical location of your business for free and get a little extra Google exposure? Thanks to Google Maps this is possible and not many people seem to know about it.
Why Should You Bother With Google Maps?
If simply getting more exposure on an emerging Google tool isn’t enough here are the frills that Google provides freely with this map listing:
Google allows you to offer coupons to visitors of your map listing. These coupons are touted as a way to “reward loyal customers and attract new ones”. At this time, coupons are only available to businesses located in the US.
Once your address is fully verified you have full control over your listing. You can add or delete non-address information at will.
You can add all of your business locations from a single account.
Finally my personal favorite; all that your client or prospective client has to do to find your office is click on a link on you"
Article by Ross Dunn - September 14, 2006
"Do you want to advertise the physical location of your business for free and get a little extra Google exposure? Thanks to Google Maps this is possible and not many people seem to know about it.
Why Should You Bother With Google Maps?
If simply getting more exposure on an emerging Google tool isn’t enough here are the frills that Google provides freely with this map listing:
Google allows you to offer coupons to visitors of your map listing. These coupons are touted as a way to “reward loyal customers and attract new ones”. At this time, coupons are only available to businesses located in the US.
Once your address is fully verified you have full control over your listing. You can add or delete non-address information at will.
You can add all of your business locations from a single account.
Finally my personal favorite; all that your client or prospective client has to do to find your office is click on a link on you"
Article by Ross Dunn - September 14, 2006
Thursday, September 21, 2006
MSN begins testing YouTube rival
"MSN has begun testing a video sharing service in the US that looks to rival the likes of YouTube, MetaCafe and Google Video.
Available as part of MSN Video, the Soapbox service lets users upload, search and share personal videos with community members. The service will be integrated throughout Microsoft’s portfolio of online services, including Windows Live Spaces and Windows Live Messenger.
Viewers can search, browse through 15 categories, find related videos, subscribe to RSS feeds, and share their favourites with their friends without interrupting whatever video they’re watching. Soapbox users can also rate, comment on and tag the videos they view, share links with their friends via e-mail, and include the embeddable Soapbox player directly on their Web site or blog.
Rob Bennett, general manager of Entertainment and Video Services for MSN, said:
“Soapbox delivers on a critical component of the MSN growth strategy of deepening audience engagement by enabling people to participate in the content experience. By adding a user-uploaded video service, we are rounding out our existing investments in commercially produced and original content on MSN Video.”"
Available as part of MSN Video, the Soapbox service lets users upload, search and share personal videos with community members. The service will be integrated throughout Microsoft’s portfolio of online services, including Windows Live Spaces and Windows Live Messenger.
Viewers can search, browse through 15 categories, find related videos, subscribe to RSS feeds, and share their favourites with their friends without interrupting whatever video they’re watching. Soapbox users can also rate, comment on and tag the videos they view, share links with their friends via e-mail, and include the embeddable Soapbox player directly on their Web site or blog.
Rob Bennett, general manager of Entertainment and Video Services for MSN, said:
“Soapbox delivers on a critical component of the MSN growth strategy of deepening audience engagement by enabling people to participate in the content experience. By adding a user-uploaded video service, we are rounding out our existing investments in commercially produced and original content on MSN Video.”"
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
"Google helps you increase sales"
Google has launched a new merchant program called 'Checkout' which processes sales for free when you advertise with Google.
Every online merchant has two goals: sell more and spend less. Google Checkout™ is a new way to process transactions that helps you achieve both. Checkout works with Google's search advertising program, AdWords, to increase your sales and minimize your expenses throughout the online sales and marketing process.
Attract more leads.
Shoppers who see the Google Checkout™ badge on your AdWords ads will more easily find you when they search.
Convert more leads into sales.
A fast, secure checkout process helps persuade shoppers to buy on your site and buy more often.
Process sales for free.
For every $1 you spend on AdWords, you can process $10 in sales for free. For sales that exceed this amount or if you don't use AdWords, you can process them at a low 2% and $0.20 per transaction.
Protect yourself from fraud.
Google's fraud prevention tools stop invalid orders from reaching you. And their Payment Guarantee policy helps protect you from chargebacks."
More information:
The Official Google Checkout Blog
News and updates for sellers using Google Checkout.
Available so far only in the US.
Every online merchant has two goals: sell more and spend less. Google Checkout™ is a new way to process transactions that helps you achieve both. Checkout works with Google's search advertising program, AdWords, to increase your sales and minimize your expenses throughout the online sales and marketing process.
Attract more leads.
Shoppers who see the Google Checkout™ badge on your AdWords ads will more easily find you when they search.
Convert more leads into sales.
A fast, secure checkout process helps persuade shoppers to buy on your site and buy more often.
Process sales for free.
For every $1 you spend on AdWords, you can process $10 in sales for free. For sales that exceed this amount or if you don't use AdWords, you can process them at a low 2% and $0.20 per transaction.
Protect yourself from fraud.
Google's fraud prevention tools stop invalid orders from reaching you. And their Payment Guarantee policy helps protect you from chargebacks."
More information:
The Official Google Checkout Blog
News and updates for sellers using Google Checkout.
Available so far only in the US.
Alert: "Extremely critical" Word flaw
Alert: "Extremely critical" Word flaw - Breaking Business and Technology News"
Published: Tuesday 5 September 2006
An 'extremely critical flaw' in Microsoft Word 2000 is currently being exploited by malicious attackers, which could lead to remote execution of code on a user's system.
The vulnerability affects systems running Windows 2000 and occurs when processing malicious Word 2000 documents.
Security company Symantec, which several days ago detected the exploit, Trojan MDropper.Q, noted that it uses a two-step attack.
Trojan MDropper.Q exploits the Microsoft Word vulnerability to drop another file, a new variant of Backdoor.Femo, according to a security advisory by Symantec.
Symantec's advisory stated: 'As with other recent [Microsoft] Office vulnerabilities, documents incorporating the exploit code must be opened with a vulnerable copy of Microsoft Word 2000 for it to work. As such, it makes the vulnerability unsuitable for the creation of self-replicating network worms.'
Microsoft has not yet issued a patch for the vulnerability, and users are advised to forgo opening untrusted documents.
Published: Tuesday 5 September 2006
An 'extremely critical flaw' in Microsoft Word 2000 is currently being exploited by malicious attackers, which could lead to remote execution of code on a user's system.
The vulnerability affects systems running Windows 2000 and occurs when processing malicious Word 2000 documents.
Security company Symantec, which several days ago detected the exploit, Trojan MDropper.Q, noted that it uses a two-step attack.
Trojan MDropper.Q exploits the Microsoft Word vulnerability to drop another file, a new variant of Backdoor.Femo, according to a security advisory by Symantec.
Symantec's advisory stated: 'As with other recent [Microsoft] Office vulnerabilities, documents incorporating the exploit code must be opened with a vulnerable copy of Microsoft Word 2000 for it to work. As such, it makes the vulnerability unsuitable for the creation of self-replicating network worms.'
Microsoft has not yet issued a patch for the vulnerability, and users are advised to forgo opening untrusted documents.
Monday, September 04, 2006
"See your site's Inbound Links"
"See your site's 'Inbound Links' with Yahoo! Site Explorer"
Yahoo! launched a useful tool called Site Explorer, which provides information about your site's visibility in the Yahoo! search engine.
Yahoo! recently announced that Site Explorer has been updated, and if you're not yet familiar with Yahoo! Site Explorer, then I would recommend trying it on your web site.
It's a good resource for web site owners to gain insight into their site's presence in Yahoo!.
The tool shows which of the site's pages are indexed and which pages are linking to the site (inbound links).
If you go through the process of verifying that you are the site owner (authentication), then additional information is available, including what subdomains of the site are indexed by Yahoo!, when the Yahoo! web crawler last visited the site, and additional site metadata such as language.
Detailed information about Site Explorer can be found in the Yahoo! help area. Note that Yahoo! also recently announced that normal queries on their search engine using 'site:', 'link:', 'linkdomain:' will be redirected to the Site Explorer results page.
Karl
Yahoo! launched a useful tool called Site Explorer, which provides information about your site's visibility in the Yahoo! search engine.
Yahoo! recently announced that Site Explorer has been updated, and if you're not yet familiar with Yahoo! Site Explorer, then I would recommend trying it on your web site.
It's a good resource for web site owners to gain insight into their site's presence in Yahoo!.
The tool shows which of the site's pages are indexed and which pages are linking to the site (inbound links).
If you go through the process of verifying that you are the site owner (authentication), then additional information is available, including what subdomains of the site are indexed by Yahoo!, when the Yahoo! web crawler last visited the site, and additional site metadata such as language.
Detailed information about Site Explorer can be found in the Yahoo! help area. Note that Yahoo! also recently announced that normal queries on their search engine using 'site:', 'link:', 'linkdomain:' will be redirected to the Site Explorer results page.
Karl
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