• Will YouTube Become The First Search Destination?
    At the Google ThinkMovie event in Hollywood, Calif. on Tuesday, the Mountain View, Calif. tech company released research. Debra Schwartz, Google analyst, presented it. I touched on some of this in the two pieces published Wednesday in Online Media Daily, but I'd like to elaborate on one specific finding I believe is relevant for a variety of industries -- not just movies.
  • Googling Trivia Search Puzzle Reveals Casual Game Opportunities
    Today's Question: One company headquartered in Mountain View, Calif. will hold an event in Hollywood on Tuesday. Company executives decided to bring the event to Southern California because I belong here. Despite technical challenges based on copyright infringement and other difficulties in turning celluloid into bits and bytes, more consumers will consume me via the Web this year. What am I?
  • Keyword 'Radiation' Pumps Revenue
    Marketers allocate between 85% and 90% of their paid-search advertising budgets to Google, which continues to see an increase in query volume and slight uptick in bid rates. When the search engine reports Q1 2011 earnings, investors will find a pleasant surprise, according to a report released Sunday from Global Equities Research. But rather than search market share and stable query volume, Trip Chowdhry, managing director at the firm, suggests that incremental ad buys on the keyword "radiation" on google.com and associated AdSense business will drive the news.
  • Paid Search Up; Will Facebook Campaigns Offset Returns?
    Some marketers may have a Zen moment to make a move when thinking about combining search and social in a campaign, but if not closely monitored the real outcome might produce different results. As for paid-search campaigns, March continues to see growth in both spending and revenue. Clicks rose 12% year-over-year for the second consecutive month, and average conversion rates outpaced the growth in all other metrics. Revenue rose 39%, as marketers spent 30% more on campaigns.
  • Social Check-Ins Incentive To Monitor Business Listings
    A deal between Localeze and ReachLocal unveiled earlier this week is being touted by the two companies as the "control" switch for online identities. The listings highlight name, location, telephone number, strengths, weaknesses, and how the company differs from others. The story about core competencies and strengths wrapped into a few sentences need to entice potential customers to click through to the Web site or pick up the phone and call. Think of it similar to a paid search ad, but with more details.
  • Yahoo Tidbits From Search To Display
    Will search engines become liable for searchable content? If courts around the world continue to protect rights holders and follow the Court of Rome's decision on the liability of search engines, they might. The IPT Italy Blog points to a case brought to court related to the movie "About Elly." The problem stems from the engine providing a link that allowed searchers to reach a Web site that let people stream or download the movie.
  • Twitter's Shiny Object
    Twitter finally found search and interest-based ad targeting. In Monday's blog post, Carolyn Penner tells us Twitter made it easier to find new accounts to follow, based on interests. The social site doesn't offer interest-based ad targeting. Not yet, anyway. But users can search for content based on their interest. I'm hypothesizing when I write that the ad targeting will likely come next. If it doesn't tie into Promoted Tweets or another ad platform that Twitter offers now or in the future, the company will have missed an excellent opportunity for advertisers to more closely target ads. For now, let's …
  • Mobile Paid-Search Bid Management Best Practices
    Marketers need to keep in mind the nuances for bidding on keyword terms in mobile paid-search campaigns. The top two positions will become the most important. There's no right rail in mobile search results, and users tend not to scroll down to the bottom of the page. Tying conversions back to mobile campaigns will become increasingly important, whether the campaigns stand on their own or combine with traditional or emerging applications built on coupon codes, radio frequency identification technology (RFID) or near field communication (NFC).
  • SEM April Fool's Day 2011 Product Launches
    Google has embarked on a "great new adventure," launching gBlimp to give marketers and advertises a pitch in the sky. The tech company describes the new fleet as "meticulous" blimps that will fly above major cities, displaying AdWords ads to a larger audience than ever before.
  • Mobile Will Generate Up To 30% Of Web Site Traffic
    Search remains at the core of most mobile activities. Marketers must learn best practices. In an AMA-sponsored webinar, Google and The Search Agency on Wednesday presented stats and best practices for mobile search. The group ran through building support for mobile landing pages, differences between mobile and tablet campaigns, hyperlocal and sitelink ads, as well as call-to-action and click-to-call enabled ads.
« Previous EntriesNext Entries »