Internet Marketing Weblog
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.
Julian Sharpe | 9:32 am | October 22, 2008 | Google, MSN, News, Pay-Per-Click (PPC), yahoo
Search spend on Yahoo and Microsoft has already started to drop it is reported as advertisers move they budgets across to Google following its decision to allow gambling advertising in the UK.
Many of the top brands including Ladbrokes and Bet365 have re-organised budgets to launch large search strategies on Google although there are still possible issues with a saturation of the market happening making for heavily inflated CPC.
Initial spend levels have been in excess of 300 million a lot higher than the initial report of 100 million.
A quote from Rob Allan, Ladbrokes online marketing manager, said.
“We’re increasing spend but also looking at where that money would be best spent,” he said. “Google has significant market share and is where many people go to first online, so Yahoo and Microsoft are not as good from that perspective.
“I can guarantee that over the next month or so money will come out of Yahoo and MSN,” he added the question now is, given Google has 80% market share, do we place the same share of our spend on it.
With Yahoo and MSN both suffering losses last quarter it will be very interesting to see the impact for the next 2 as Google move forward into Gambling area.
Julian Sharpe | 11:55 am | October 7, 2008 | Affiliate Marketing, Google, MSN, News, Online Media Planning (OMP), Pay-Per-Click (PPC), Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Social Media, yahoo
Even with the current Credit Crunch issues sweeping the nation Internet advertising spend seems to still enjoying a level of growth with overall spend reaching 1.68bn in the first half of this year, which is a 21% like-for-like increase based on last year (Source: IAB).
The highlights of the latest survey is a 28% year-on-year growth for paid search, which now accounts for 58.3% of total online spend and almost breaking the 1bn barrier (981m) for the first time in a six-month period.
Other areas saw Display advertising rise 16.3% year-on-year to 333.8m, this was helped by a 36.6% increase in investment on embedded formats such as banners, rich media and video via social media networks.
Report shows that the majority of online display ad spend is still being achieved via the major portals and online publishers, but sales networks representing thousands of smaller sites have increased their volumes and accounted for 41% of all display expenditure.
Classifieds advertisements grew by 30.2% year-on-year to 361.6m as recruitment, property, automotive and small ads continued their migration to the internet from print classifieds, which declined 10% year-on-year.
Technology leads the market sector advertising spend table with a 17.3% market share, followed by finance at 11.9%, entertainment & media at 10.7% and recruitment at 9.9%.
Overall online increased its market share by four points to 18.7% of the total UK ad market, only 0.6% behind total press display (19.3%) and 3% behind TV (21.7%). The total advertising market was £8.98bn, down 0.7% year-on-year, during the period January to June 2008. The advertising market would have experienced a 4.6% decline without internet advertising growth.
Julian Sharpe | 10:40 am | October 3, 2008 | Events, MSN, News
Microsoft is to introduce three new online Search Technology Centers (STC) based in London, Paris and Munich as part of a continued investment in research and development, and of course to try and grab more of the market share that Google dominate currently.
The project is to be led by Jordi Ribas, who is the former general manager for Microsoft Connected TV. Microsoft is now on the looking for local talent to fill these centers of excellence and in addition Microsoft developers will be tasked with building new search products and services. Work from the STC will support Microsoft projects, including its 500m (284m) European Data Centre, to be based in Dublin.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said, “The Search Technology Centre is an important step forward in our long-term strategy to invest in local development of search technology in Europe.”
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.
Julian Sharpe | 11:08 am | August 20, 2008 | Google, MSN, News, Pay-Per-Click (PPC), yahoo
On August 15th it marked the second anniversary of Microsoft ad Center’s after its groundbreaking UK launch and associated claims to compete with Google Ad words. But has it, not even close the system maybe 2 years old but its still 3 years behind Google from its unfriendly user interface to lack of flexibility that ad words offers not only via the main interface but with ad words editor.
The keyword tools although due for an update offer a list of 5 at time, and although it may seem unfair to always compare to Google, they have stuck to basics and used feedback very effectively.
But MSN are not the only ones lagging behind in the paid search market, Yahoo and its now infamous Panama platform have also failed to provide a more superior product however overall it does beat MSN but the promise over a year ago of a editor type tool has yet to appear but the editorial issues seem to moving forward with a more relaxed and realistic system.
So the next 2 years…… Yahoo and MSN both need to pull they socks up in the technology and user side of the paid search systems, however they are still very viable media options and we have always found them to convert well so get back to basic’s and we will all be a lot happier.
Julian Sharpe | 2:21 pm | July 15, 2008 | MSN, News, yahoo
Microsoft reacted angrily at claims from Yahoo that the latest offer for the Microsoft was final and non-negotiable. The continuing battle of wits between the two internet giants increased further yesterday, when Yahoo rejected an offer over the weekend by Microsoft, and called it a “take it or leave it” deal.
Microsoft returning quotes were that the offer was not final, but a way in for more negotiations.
“This discussion has been mischaracterised as a ‘take it or leave it’ ultimatum, rather than a timetable in order to move forward to intensive negotiations,” a company statement read.
Microsoft said the latest offer, which had been more search-focused, had been prompted in part by conversations at the top level between Yahoo chairman Ray Bostock and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.
But Yahoo are quoted as saying that the proposed deal was not as financially favourable as the one it recently agreed with Google.
Rogue Yahoo! shareholder Carl Icahn, who yesterday submitted his final list of proposed candidates to replace the Yahoo! board, said Yahoo!’s rejection of the new deal aimed to “distort, omit and twist events and facts in the manner that Yahoo! has done.”
Meanwhile, research from US search specialist Search Ignite has suggested the cost of a click on Yahoo! will increase by 22% if Google sells the ads.
Julian Sharpe | 4:15 pm | July 9, 2008 | MSN, News, yahoo
Yahoo CEO and co-founder Jerry Yang has accused Microsoft of destabalising Yahoo! with no actual intention to complete its proposed takeover.
Yang said Microsoft’s actions aimed to cause unnecessarily friction within the internet giant and claims he could ensure a bright future for the company.
“I think that I can bring stability back to Yahoo!, and I want to get on with building [the] company,” Yang said. “I think that the destabilising by Microsoft has become. I am not happy about it.”
Yang said Microsoft was unwilling to negotiate, which he called “baffling”, and added that any decision to go with rogue shareholder Carl Ichan, currently bidding to takeover the Yahoo! board, would be a mistake.
“To trust Mr Icahn and his board is really a bad choice,” he said.
On Monday Yahoo! said it was willing to renegotiate with Microsoft, at the same time as Ichan said he would remove Yang if his own board of Yahoo! directors is elected.
Julian Sharpe | 9:19 am | July 3, 2008 | MSN, News
Microsoft has purchased Powerset, a ’semantic search’ specialist, for an undisclosed sum. Microsoft said it utilise Powerset to enhance the Live Search proposition and increase its overall market share against Yahoo! and Google.
The purchase is inline with Microsoft’s focus on understanding how people use search as part of their overall buying process, following the company’s announcement earlier in the year that it was looking at measuring beyond the last click.
Quote:
Satya Nadella Microsoft senior vice president of search, portal and advertising, said, “We know today that roughly a third of searches don’t get answered on the first search and first click.”
“Search engines don’t understand today that ’shrub’ and ‘tree’ are similar concepts,” he added. “We don’t understand that ‘cancer’ sometimes refers to a disease and sometimes refers to a horoscope and when a query or a webpage refers to which.”
Julian Sharpe | 10:46 am | June 18, 2008 | Events, MSN
Microsoft is to official launch its European Search Technology Center (STC) early next year as it attempts to increase the market share for its Live Search across the continent.
Mircosoft said it aims to “disrupt the search and advertising marketplace” by empowering the Search Technology Center in an attempt to make Live Search much more targeted and increase the relevance for European users.
Microsoft Quote Kevin Johnson
Kevin Johnson, president of the platforms and services division at Microsoft, said, “Success in search in Europe is paramount, and we see the investment in this new Search Technology Center as an important step in doubling down on our long-term investments.”
Microsoft Quote Satya Nadella
Satya Nadella, senior vice president of the search, portal and advertising Group at Microsoft, said, “Searchers have different expectations and experiences in every geography in the world, so we believe it’s critical to make deep investments in physical locations in multiple markets to ensure that we’re applying the best local expertise to our research and development efforts.”
The Search Technology Center is scheduled to open next year, however Microsoft said it had yet to decide on a location.
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