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  2. Online Sales to rise by 15%
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Online Sales to rise by 15% 0 Comments

Julian Sharpe | 4:56 pm | November 10, 2008 | Affiliate Marketing, Events, Google, Jobs, MIVA, MSN, Mobile, News, Online Media Planning (OMP), Pay-Per-Click (PPC), Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Social Media, Tracking, Viral, aol, yahoo

With the Credit crunch still biting it is predicted that Christmas shoppers will turn to the Internet pushing sales up by 15 per cent from last year. Online sales for the final 3 months of this year are forecasted to be around 13.16 billion.

December the 8th has be ear marked as the biggest online shopping day, so let’s see if the statistics agree on the 9th.


Move over Microsoft, Google launches Chrome 0 Comments

Julian Sharpe | 9:54 am | September 3, 2008 | Google, MSN, Mobile, News, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

Google has now moved into the browser market taking on Microsoft only area of true dominance with the launch of Google Chrome, an open-source web browser.

The new browser is released in beta initially and claims among other features to offer the following browser improvements.>

Improved protection from rogue sites>
Improved speed and responsiveness>
More powerful JavaScript engine to power web applications not possible in existing browsers.

Google Chrome has been created using components from both Apple’s Web Kit and Mozilla’s Firefox and the code has been made open to all to harness the power of the development community a kind of Kit car browser is you like. It will initially launch for Windows, with Mac and Linux versions to follow.

The launch of the browser follows on from Google’s previous moves into the operating system market in mobile with Google Android and the document processing market Google Docs, which as expected is challenging Microsoft’s Windows for Mobile and Microsoft Office core products.

First impressions do show a much quicker browser although some comments have been made in regards to imagery issues, but here at Lakestarmedia we will test away and let you know our thoughts on the Chrome browser.


UK broadband 56% and climbing 0 Comments

Julian Sharpe | 9:01 am | August 27, 2008 | Events, Mobile, News, Social Media

Broadband coverage has now reached 56% of UK house holds; this is up from 51% a year ago, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Overall, 16.46m (65%) of all UK household have access to the web in some form, which is an overall increase of 1.23m last year, with 86% of those having a broadband connection, as it becomes cheaper with the current deals being offered by Sky and Virgin Media.

The latest update from the National Statistic Omnibus said that 15% of people access the web via the following methods:

GPRS mobile phone
3G mobile

The report also revealed the following activities as the most popular:

> Sending and receiving emails was the most popular (87% of people)
> Finding information on products or services (84%)
> Travel or accommodation (63%)
> Online banking (49%)

This year also confirmed the increase on shopping online with 55% of all UK adults have bought online within the last 12 months, with a split of 59% of men and 52% of women, travel-related was the most popular (48%), closely followed by clothes or sports goods (42%) and films or music (41%).


Google expects mobile ad revenue to beat internet 0 Comments

Julian Sharpe | 9:43 am | August 15, 2008 | Google, Mobile, News

Google CEO Eric Schmidt has predicted that he sees the future profit zone for the search giant will come from mobile advertising more than internet advertising in the future.


The Google CEO believes the personalisation of mobile advertising will ultimately drive Google’s mobile revenue to naturally overtake its online ad business.

Speaking on US TV, Schmidt said, “We can make more money in mobile than desktop eventually because the mobile computer is more targeted. You carry your phone everywhere, it knows all about you, it knows what you’re up to. We can do a very, very targeted ad. Over time, we’ll make more money from mobile advertising.”

He also countered rumours of delays in the Android software platform, which he claims will be distributed in phones before the end of the year.

Google has one fo the strongest ranges of products available on mobile including a search service and Google Mobile Maps mapping application.


Telefonica creates its group-wide ad platform 0 Comments

Julian Sharpe | 2:10 pm | June 30, 2008 | Mobile, News, Online Media Planning (OMP)

Telecoms giant Telefonica, which owns Mobile phone operator O2, has put in place a group-wide mobile advertising platform in a bid to drive a new source of ad revenue.

It has announced the launch of a single mobile ad server this year for its operators in the UK, Spain, Mexico and Colombia with others to follow in 2009. The server, which is managed by platform provider Amobee Media Systems, allows a range of ad formats to be delivered including display banners, in-game, video, messaging and applications It will have the potential to reach 170m subscribers.

The operator said the platform will give agencies a single point of contact to buy, manage and track contextual and behavioural campaigns.

Quote:

Julio Linares, chief operating officer for Telefonica, said the group’s single ad platform gave it cost savings and quicker campaign deployment.

“The key to successful mobile advertising is doing it in a contextual and non intrusive way,” said Linares.


All aboard now leaving Platform AOL 0 Comments

Julian Sharpe | 6:46 am | June 8, 2008 | Affiliate Marketing, Mobile, News, Online Media Planning (OMP), Pay-Per-Click (PPC), Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Social Media

AOL has announced that its Platform A advertising division will be released across Europe throughout this year.

The new service allows advertisers to purchase across AOL’s range of services, including Advertising.com, affiliate network Buy.at, behavioural targeting providers Quigo and Tacoda, and mobile ad network Third Screen Media making for a very effective overall media option package.

AOL has claimed to reach more than 125m consumers in Europe and is quietly confident that it can now deliver advertisers more effective tools to help run campaigns.


Online ad spend across Europe up 40% says IAB 0 Comments

Julian Sharpe | 9:13 am | June 3, 2008 | Affiliate Marketing, Mobile, News, Online Media Planning (OMP), Pay-Per-Click (PPC), Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Social Media

The news that everybody already knew is now official with Online advertising spend across Europe jumping 40 percent to 11.2bn euros around 8.9bn sterling in 2007, in figures released by Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Europe.

These new figures show continued growth in the market, with advertisement spend up 4bn euros on 2006 with 7.2bn euros (5.7bn).

Top 3 countries are UK, Germany and France and were also the biggest spenders in 2007, accounting for 65% of European online ad spend. While advertisers spent an average €81 (£64) per European internet user in 2007, in the UK this figure reached 121 euros per person.

Further more the findings also revealed that the entertainment & leisure sector spent the most on online advertising, followed by finance & insurance.

IAB Quote

Alain Heureux, president of IAB Europe, said, “Despite a slowdown in advertising spend on some traditional media, the rise of online advertising in Europe continues unabated.”

“Not only is the growth coming from some of the smaller markets which are seeing significant increases in their market value, but also from the more mature countries as companies move their advertising budgets online for the first time.”

However the European growth still falls below that of the US market, where online ad spend reached 14.5bn euros during the same period.


ComScore has purchased M:Metrics for 22 million 0 Comments

Julian Sharpe | 9:47 am | May 30, 2008 | Mobile, News

ComScore has purchased M:Metrics the mobile measurement company for 22 million. It is believed the move gives digital measurement company ComScore a statistical view into mobile figures and was purchased after competitor Nielsen’s purchase of mobile measurement company Telephia in the summer of 2007.

ComScore future development is to increase the size of its metered panel which M:Metrics currently utilises to collect information and survey based data. ComScore and M:Metrics are expected to benefit from financial savings and a strong overall commercial growth as ComScore’s 950 clients base becoming increasingly interested in mobile data as part of there overall strategies.

A quote from Dr Magid Abraham, CEO of ComScore, said mobile had reached an inflection point in the market.

“Our acquisition of M:Metrics makes ComScore an immediate market leader in this space and positions ComScore to deliver significant shareholder value as wireless carriers, telecom equipment providers, media companies, advertising agencies, online publishers, and marketers extend their reach into the mobile internet world,” said Abraham


Microsoft | Expand Mobile Ad’s 0 Comments

Julian Sharpe | 3:30 pm | May 21, 2008 | Mobile, News

Microsoft has increased its overall mobile advertisment inventory by adding further display banners to Hotmail and Messenger accounts. first advertiser to take advantage of these new spaces is Paramount Pictures.

Before this updated Microsoft’s display advertising, which is controlled by Screentonic, was limited to the MSN Mobile homepage. In the near future Microsoft also plans to expand its mobile advertising opportunities around its Live Search service.


Tesco Grocery goes mobile 1 Comment

Neil Yeomans | 2:12 pm | March 6, 2008 | Mobile, News

Tesco Grocery goes mobile

Tesco is working on plans to become the first supermarket to intergrate grocery retailing via its mobile media promotion, after the success of two test campaigns.

Tesco’s undertook two separate trials over last month that allowed consumers to order flowers directly from their mobile phone. These are understood to have been in preparation for a full m-commerce launch.

The promotion targeted Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day with the inital results showing that both have driven significant traffic to the site although no sales data has been supplied. The trial also including the testing of a new transactional systems designed to be used from a mobile.

Resource Links

Tesco

New Media Age


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