Google has announced a trio of Quality Score changes aimed at making the way the scores are calculated more accurate and giving paid search advertisers a better read on how to improve them. While some in the search community view the changes in a positive light, others are concerned that the tweaks are more focused on improving Google's bottom line. Financial analysts seem to agree, with UBS issuing a research brief about the changes under the headline: "Changes at Google may increase coverage and pricing, though magnitude unclear." A keyword's Quality Score is determined by a number of factors, including the term's click-through rate (CTR), relevance and historical performance, among others. AdWords Quality Scores influence the amount an advertiser has to pay to run the ad, as well as its position, and one of the improvements stems from the way the score is communicated. Previously, advertisers would see a rating of "poor," "OK," or "great." However in the coming weeks, that will shift to a 10-point system, with one signaling an ad of the poorest quality, and 10 the highest quality. According to Jonathan Ragals, COO of 360i, it's a welcome move toward transparency. "Before, you didn't have much visibility into the score itself," Ragals said. "You couldn't tell whether you were at the top or bottom end of the 'OK' or 'great' scale, and you couldn't really see how any changes you made would affect it. With this granular scale, you can make a change and move from 6 to 7, for example, and see that your efforts were successful. You can also better assess the greatest areas for improvement." Others argue that the change is not as significant because the grading is still based on the same opaque algorithm. "We confirmed with Google that there's been no change to the previous algorithm," said Tim Daly, SVP of interactive services for Unreal Marketing. "They just changed the translation, so it doesn't give a real assessment. We don't use it as an indicator of an ad's true quality." The second change is that the Quality Score will be assessed on a per-query basis, as opposed to being tied to the keyword indefinitely. "This way, AdWords will use the most accurate, specific, and up-to-date performance information when determining whether an ad should be displayed," the company said, on the Inside AdWords blog. "Your ads will be more likely to show when they're relevant and less likely to show when they're not." In addition, ads that were previously marked "inactive for search" because they didn't meet the blanket Quality Score requirements may actually be placed in rotation for relevant queries. UBS analyst Benjamin Schacter thinks that the change will likely lead to increased coverage, or the overall volume of ads that show up for particular queries. "With quality scores now calculated on the fly, Google may be able to find scenarios in which these 'inactive' bids achieve a high enough score to be served against certain queries," he wrote in a research brief. "This change has the potential to move millions of words back into the competitive auction for placement." Google Founder and President of Technology Sergey Brin addressed the issue of decreased coverage during the search giant's second-quarter earnings call, noting that the ads' quality team may have been "probably a little bit more aggressive in decreasing coverage than we ought to have been." Brin said that they company continuously tried to reduce coverage while increasing monetization, and saw fewer clicks (because there were fewer ads) as a result. Lastly, keywords will no longer be tied to a minimum bid. Instead, advertisers will see the minimum amount they would need to have their ad appear on the first page of results. According to the Inside AdWords blog, this change was tied directly to advertiser feedback. "We learned that knowing your minimum bid wasn't always helpful in getting the ad placement you wanted," the company stated on the blog. "So we hope that first page bids will give you better guidance on how to achieve your advertising goals." But it's this change that has some search marketers concerned about cost-per-click (CPC) inflation. "The likelihood is that these changes will produce more competition for first page listings, resulting in higher CPCs," according to Rob Weatherhead, who addressed the changes on his blog, Digital Media World. "By allowing people to see what it will cost them to appear on the first page, you are giving them the push to bid to that level. Some will shy away and save their spend, (but) to others it will be the carrot they need to make the next step." Daly agreed: "I think it's going to be a significant price inflation point, as now you'll have to guess whether you've spent enough just to show up." He said that the new system might actually deter advertisers--particularly search newcomers, because such advertisers often launch campaigns with small bids that increase as they become more acquainted with the system. "And I'm not saying that that's the best strategy, but eliminating the conservative tools may negatively impact revenue and new advertiser growth," Daly said. Schacter also felt that the shift could potentially drive higher average CPCs. "We believe that Google's decision to replace 'Minimum bids' with 'First page bids' should, over time, have an inflationary effect on average pricing for certain keywords," he wrote. "We believe that placement on page 1 search results is an important priority for keyword advertisers. By improving transparency in the process for determining which bids will yield page 1 placement, we expect many advertisers will adjust their minimum bids higher in order to compete for that placement." Still, he did temper the optimism with a disclaimer. "While these changes are potentially meaningful monetization improvements, it is unclear how significant the changes will be (i.e., we can't quantify it yet)," he wrote. "Prior monetization improvements have had a material impact on revenue (although very difficult to quantify) and we believe that these most recent changes could as well."
A resident of Sheboygan, Wis. has sued the mayor, police chief and other city officials for violating her civil rights by demanding she remove a link to the police department from her Web site. Jennifer Reisinger runs the sites "Sheboygan Spirit" and "Brat City Web Design," touting her Web development business on the latter. That site also contains a link to the police department. In October, a city attorney wrote to her demanding that she delete the link to the police force from the site. She initially complied, but the department nonetheless launched an investigation of her, according to her lawsuit. Reisinger retained an attorney, who advised her to restore the link to the site. The lawyer also contacted the city, which withdrew its cease-and-desist letter. But that didn't end the matter for Reisinger. Last week, she filed suit in federal court in Milwaukee, alleging that the city's cease-and-desist letter and subsequent investigation violated her free speech rights. "The retaliatory actions taken against Ms. Reisinger by the City of Sheboygan were on orders of Mayor Perez ... and instituted as a means to intimidate and punish Ms. Reisinger for her past political activity," the suit alleges. (Reisinger previously was involved in an effort to recall the mayor, Juan Perez, but her Web sites did not reflect that activity.) The lawsuit also alleges that Reisinger's income dropped 53% as a result of the city's actions. It's not clear from her complaint why she attributes the income drop to the city. In the original cease-and-desist letter, the city argued that the link could give the wrong impression of a relationship between Reisinger's Web site and the police department. But David Ardia, director of Harvard's Citizen Media Law Project, said that the city had no basis to complain about a resident posting information about the tax-funded police department. "There simply isn't any liability associated with linking to a police department Web site," Ardia said. He added that posting a link is arguably unlawful only when the link implicates intellectual property rights. For instance, one court in 2001 ruled that a Web site could be found liable for contributory copyright infringement for linking to a site with instructions for bypassing DVD encryption. Bruce Boyden, an assistant law professor at Marquette University, said he is not aware of courts ruling on the precise question of whether a citizen can link to a police department, but it's generally assumed that people can link to others' sites. "There's a wide amount of agreement out there that a Web site owner cannot forbid other people from linking to the site," he said. The dispute may appear small, but it's also one of a growing number of lawsuits stemming from conflicts between users who create content and commercial or government entities. A recent example is YouTube user Stephanie Lenz's lawsuit against Universal Music Publishing. Lenz, like Reisinger, sued after an entity demanded the removal of content she had created. In Lenz's case, Universal briefly demanded the removal of a 29-second clip showing her toddler dancing while a Prince song played in the background. Lenz argues that her clip made fair use of the material and that Universal should not have sent a takedown notice. Last week, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled that her lawsuit could go forward.
The pressure is on at Eqal--the digital studio that brought the world "lonelygirl15" and "KateModern"--as it prepares to launch its next original series, "LG15: The Resistance," in mid-September. "As in any creative business, there's always that feeling of 'I hope people like it,'" said Miles Beckett, CEO and co-founder of Eqal. "But we're confident with our experience, our team, and our existing base of fans." Appealing to those 50,000 to 100,000 devotes still flocking to lonelygirl15 properties online, the new serial drama shares the same mythology of competing secret societies behind lonelygirl15 and KateModern. Yet in its execution and distribution, "LG15: The Resistance" differs significantly from Eqal's previous projects. For one, both lonelygirl15 and KateModern were distributed from single platforms online--on YouTube and Bebo, respectively. LG15, by contract, will be available on several social networks and online video-sharing sites, including MySpaceTV, imeem, Veoh, YouTube and Hulu. LG15 will also reside on a completely redesigned Web site full of social networking features for fans to create profile pages, participate in live chats, discussion forums, comment boards, and groups. The format for the show will consist of one weekly episode posted every Saturday over the course of its 12-week season. "We shortened the series from six to three months, and have created weekly installments of the show to make it easier for passive viewers to engage with the show," Beckett said. Daily posts by the characters on LG15.com will include short videos and other multimedia content, such as text blogs and photos, for fans who want to be actively involved in the daily happenings, plot twists, and fan interaction that is natively built into the series. The founders of Eqal, previously named LG15/Telegraph Ave. Prods., have come a long way since launching lonelygirl15 in June 2006. A great deal is expected from the self-described "social entertainment company" from fans as well as financial backers. Earlier this year, Eqal raised $5 million in series-A financing from Spark Capital, along with Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen, Mark Burnett Productions producer Conrad Riggs, tech investor Ron Conway and Georges Harik, former director of product management at Google. Still, the company has been profitable since 2007--making money from advertising, brand integration, and licensing and distributing deals. In one instance, Neutrogena partnered with lonelygirl15's producers to insert a Neutrogena scientist into the show's cast and plot. As with the previous series, brand sponsors will be tightly integrated into LG15: The Resistance and woven throughout the narrative. Eqal is still looking for about three new brand partners for LG15. Along with brand integration, sponsors will also be featured via banner advertising on the new LG15 social network, as well as partner distribution sites. "There's a lot of ways to get revenue," said Greg Goodfried, co-founder, president, and chief operating officer of Eqal. "There are international rights, DVDs, and other markets that are very new. But our first goal is to produce really compelling content, and to worry about the monetization later." Along with LG15, Eqal has other projects in the early development stages. In addition, it recently entered into a development deal with CBS to either add to existing net shows with online extensions or new multi-platform series. While nonexclusive, the deal gives CBS a first look at EQAL ideas that would potentially run on TV, Internet or mobile.
OleOle, a social media site for football, has acquired and integrated AVFC Blog, the largest Aston Villa football blog on the Web. AVFC Blog has over 200,000 monthly visits, nearly twice as many as the official Aston Villa site. In addition, OleOle's social media site for football fans is 100% user-generated and gives the AVFC bloggers the chance to expose news, gossip and match reports to an online audience. OleOle has more than 2.5 million visitors per month--and counting. On the site, AVFC bloggers can share content with a larger audience, and interact around blog posts by leaving comments, joining a fan club, connecting with fellow fans, and live-blogging during Aston Villa matches. To grow its audience, OleOle has been adding football blogs to its network left and right, including Arseblog, Lord of the Wing, Chelseablog, Harry Hotspur, Fans del Real Madrid, Boca Juniors Fans, Soccer-Art.co.uk, Football-Spot, and Real Madrid Talk. The acquisition of blogs by larger publishers has become commonplace. The Guardian, for instance, recently acquired media blog Paid Content for roughly $30 million.
What started out in 2003 as simple community-based Web sites and tools for sharing information with friends, social media has grown into a phenomenon of epic proportions with the monumental success of sites such as YouTube, Bebo, Flickr, Digg and a myriad of others. Earlier this month, ComScore reported that over half a billion people worldwide hang out on social networks. That translates into two-thirds of all Internet users. And half of those, about 250 million people, call Facebook and MySpace home. As social networks continue to expand their reach and diversify their content, the number of options for delivering innovative advertising to engaged audiences grows exponentially. Further, the opening of social networking sites to outside developers provides media and brands with direct access to millions of valuable consumers. But the question remains: How can advertisers and brand marketers successfully stimulate these potential consumers? Today, the noise is deafening. There are no less than 500 companies trying to help brand marketers engage with social media -- ad networks, technology providers, monitoring services, and community platforms have all jumped in the pool, but nobody is making a splash. Even the most successful examples of social media marketing, including branded applications and entertaining app-vertisements, have been hard to quantify in terms of measuring their success. So what is the best way to reach a broad audience within a social network while maximizing engagement? The strategy and creative execution will change for each company -- but the end result should always be to significantly build, enhance and sustain what is best-termed "social brand loyalty." Traditional brand loyalty has been defined as a consumer's commitment to purchase and repurchase a brand, their word of mouth advocacy and their prolonged engagement with the brand. Similarly, social brand loyalty, a concept in its infant stages of recognition, is best described as the intense adoption of, commitment to and interaction with a brand within a social network. For advertisers and brand marketers, achieving social brand loyalty is marked by their ability to: • Generate initial use or introduction to a brand. • Educate consumers to the brand features and benefits. • Create intense engagement with the brand. • Extend reach to a broader demographic target. • Drive a rapid lift in awareness of the brand. By generating social brand loyalty, many of the concerns advertisers and brand marketers have about advertising within the social media channel can effectively be answered. In addition, generating social brand loyalty is quantifiable, more efficient and highly effective, providing measurable and proven reasons for brand marketers and advertisers to market to social media audiences. The problem, to date, has been how to create social brand loyalty? In many cases, advertisers and brand marketers have been unable or unwilling to fully understand the social media landscape. And those of us, who have become familiar, regularly struggle to keep up with the constant changes and developments. To many advertisers and brand marketers, the term social brand loyalty might be new. However, the building blocks of social brand loyalty exposure, engagement and advocacy are familiar and essential to any online or offline advertising camping. Unlike other digital media, impressions or eyeballs are not an end to themselves in social media marketing, but rather a means to an end. And that end is extreme engagement with brands in the social world, or social brand loyalty. By adapting and modifying these traditional techniques, advertisers and brand marketers like FedEx, Anheuser-Busch, Priceline, New Balance, and Bacardi have begun to understand that generating social brand loyalty does not mean reinventing the conventional advertising model or redefining traditional brand loyalty. Rather, it is the continued use of old techniques combined with the innovative applications that provide fun and engaging branded experiences that can successfully reach the social audience. The days of unclear goals and parameters for measuring social media advertising are over. We now have a clear objective: to create social brand advocates, eager evangelists of the brand and brand messages, who rapidly recommend the branded application and brand itself. Moving forward, the capacity to generate social brand loyalty will become the mainstream measurement for social media advertising, providing another example of the advertising industry's ability to adapt to changing times.