The Teqtonic Blog
Just as Web 2.0 has caught on as a buzzword, now marketers can't get enough of Web 3.0. With this third generation of social media, marketers can customize their ads and products in ways they haven't seen before. Web 2.0 is all about search and find marketing, an advancement over the old, "let's push ads in front of people and hope they notice. " This post recommends blogs as an effective Web 2.0 tactic, as least until Web 3.0 is more developed.
Marketingprofs.com
By now, you're probably using search marketing to create brand awareness and sales. But is it time to hire an outside service to handle this task? Most advertisers are still managing search marketing in-house. But a post from this marketing prof site suggests that you should consider bringing on a team of specialists to handle the broad array of skills needed to create effective campaigns. The post goes on to list nine specific search marketing roles, ranging from Web programmer and network administrator to copywriter and SEO specialist. Be wary, the post concludes, of trading breadth for depth …
SEO By The Sea
If Bill Gates is behind it, then it must be good, right? Well... Apparently, Gates is listed as one of the inventors behind a search system that is built on feedback from consumers clicking through search engine ads. The feedback is used to help rank search ads -- along with the marketers' services and goods. In another twist, advertisers give purchasers rebate points for offering their comments. The consumer feedback is used for ranking future ads. A Microsoft patent application for this search feedback feature was filed early this year.
Wisconsin Technology Network
If you can't get them the first time, try, try again. That's what Internet marketers are starting to do with some new technology named re-targeting. What it does is pursue shoppers who passed up making a purchase the first time, trying to lure them back in at the virtual cash register. Here's how it works. Ads are placed to tap users on the shoulders as they leave a Web page and tempt them back on the site with more product and service promotions. There's a couple of groups offering this service: BlueLithium and Revenue Science, among them. Supposedly, this …
Search Engine Land
Click fraud is one of the big annoyances of online advertising today. Now help is on the way. Google AdWords and Yahoo Search Marketing have tools to protect advertisers from threat of fraud by a simple click on the computer keyboard. The post gets fairly technical here, explaining that most click fraud happens in the content network (news or blog elsewhere on the Web) rather than within search results. It goes on to give some useful tips on how to block ads from showing in certain countries, how to limit competitors from clicking on your ads, and how to …
Search Engine Watch
If you really want your search ad to stand out, then one of the best places is a site for finding people. Searches for individuals make up about one-third of all "peck and find" missions on Google and Yahoo engines, according to the experts. It's a hot area that has attracted a lot of venture capital and competitors. Now, another newcomer, Spock.com, has joined the race with a beta site. It competes with WhitePages.com and ZoomInfo, among others. Spock already claims to have 100 million people indexed so far -- equivalent to about one-third of the U.S. population. …
Search Engine Land
Searches could get a little faster now that Yahoo has added "as you type" search suggestions to its toolbar on Internet Explorer. It's similar to a function I like and use regularly in my new Windows Vista software. The intuitive feature saves wear and tear on the wrists and fingers. But if you don't like getting suggestions for what you're searching for as you type, you can easily disable the little hints in the new Yahoo search function. Don't even think of trying a pop-up ad here, though. Yahoo Toolbar will automatically block it. This same post notes …
Business 2.0 blog
There's a big ad opportunity in Google's latest strategy to let people add business details to its online maps. Anyone can do it, apparently. Under Google's recently introduced business referral program, the search firm will pay reps $2 for info about the enterprise and another $8 if the data is verified by the shopkeepers. Now here's where the magic comes in. Google then promotes its AdWords programs to the local businesses. Presto, they turn into paying Google ad customers. This is a Wikipedia-like way to compile a comprehensive directory of local venues practically for free.
Times of India
Now that we're surfing around India, how about that item that George Zacharias, the boss of Yahoo India, has called it quits? His departure follows two other recent high-level exits at Yahoo's portal in the subcontinent. Stepping in to take his place is Singapore-based Keith Nilsson, who heads up international emerging markets for the portal. It adds up to troubles in several key markets for Yahoo, including the U.S. Yahoo China, for instance, has checked in for a major makeover that will debut toward the end of this year. The redo is being led by Alibaba.com, a Chinese …
Business Standard
Speaking of local search, look what's happening in India. Here, a Bangalore-based startup has launched a search engine for the city called askaila.com. It relies on an advanced algorithm to ferret out local information -- including ads! -- for every search under the sun. Search results include local contacts, reviews, and articles. There's also an option to short-text-message the info to your phone. The co-founders of this goodie, Kiran Konduri and Shriram Adukoorie, are techies from the Indian outsourcing and software community. Expect this startup to scale quickly and possibly move to other cities. Konduri's first company was …