Internet Marketing Weblog
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.
Garret Cunningham | 3:52 pm | September 2, 2008 | Affiliate Marketing, Online Media Planning (OMP), Pay-Per-Click (PPC), Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Tracking
Tracking visitors from their arrival on your website through to their departure is an essential component of any online marketing campaign.
It is only through effective analysis of this information campaigns can be improved and developed to grow the performance and improve the user experience.
A few of the key factors we can determine from the use of an effective tracking system include:
· Which keywords generate the highest Return on investment (both sponsored and natural)
· Which external websites drive the most traffic and revenue for your site (including search engines)
· Number of visitors to your website
· Average length of stay on your site
· Which pages result in the highest number of visitors leaving your website (may help identify pages with errors)
· Visitors trends, showing correlations between new visitors and returning as well as the impact of each media channel on the performance of others
Various tracking options
There are many tools available which can provide these functions individually, but few which operate as a complete service.
The suitability of each tracking tool also depends greatly on the needs of the campaign.
For example, to only track a Pay per click campaign running on Google, Google conversion tracking would suffice, however this would not help with measuring user experience or any other media channels.
Google Analytics
For in-depth Website analytics, which would provide a valuable insight into user experiences, search engine performances and traffic levels for your website, Google Analytics can be very effective, as this provides much of this information as standard, but also has the opportunity to expand on the standard services to then include e-commerce information relating to products sold and the revenue generated.
Another benefit is that it is free!
Lynchpin
For a more simplified view of the performance of each media channel we recommend a tracking tool such as Lynchpin, which as opposed to providing website analytical information, focuses on sales and revenue for each media channel.
This tool can also provide an overview of the impact of each media on others, giving an idea of which channels generate new visitors, and then through which channels they return again in the future.
Costs start at around £400 per month.
DoubleClick
Probably the most efficient performance measuring tool which provides similar information is DoubleClick.
Again this operates as a revenue and sales reporting tool as opposed to analytical data, but offers even more in-depth information than most other reporting tools.
DoubleClick is especially effective for media campaigns covering many channels and especially when integrating Online media Planning.
It is especially effective for Online Media Planning as this is a channel most commonly associated with building brand awareness, but not directly generating a return on investment.
With a tool such as DoubleClick not only can the direct return on investment be measured, but also the indirect.
The key differentiating factor with DoubleClick is the use of the post impression cookie. This allows the tool to not only track users who click on a link, but also those who have simply viewed a banner ad, giving a better reflection of how effective the brand building exercise is performing.
Costs are more complex and include a set up fee and then it operates on a CPC basis depending upon your traffic levels.
A few things to consider
When deciding which tool is most suitable to match your campaign needs it is important to take into consideration a number of factors:
· What information is needed
· The level of detail required
· Which key performance measures are most important to your business and how these need to be split out
· And finally what level of investment you are prepared to commit to, as the price of these tools vary greatly
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%).
Julian Sharpe | 11:10 am | August 26, 2008 | News, Social Media
BBC has added another widget to its portfolio with the pending release of the new 5 Live Football Player it will offer live football commentary and additional content including exclusive interviews.
5 Live Football Player has the ability to be embedded on blogs, Facebook, MySpace, Bebo and iGoogle and will offer 192 live English Premiership commentaries as well as action from the other leagues and cup competitions including:
The Championship
Champions League
UEFA Cup
FA Cup
Carling Cup
Scottish Premier League
Scottish Cup
International matches.
Further features will allow it to carry 5 Live’s popular 606 phone-in shows and webcam views of the studio. It can also be re-skinned to match the user’s team colours with the content is customisable, to allow personalisation. We have yet to try it out but will review and report and lets hope its as good as the BBC iplayer.
Julian Sharpe | 9:05 am | August 21, 2008 | Affiliate Marketing, News, Social Media
Ebay’s is looking at revising its auction model after the No 1 auction site revealed it was looking at making significant changes to its business model.
Ebay said that it was likely to place more emphasis on its fixed-price listings, claiming sellers will see listing fees fall. Changes are due to come in to effect in the UK on 24 September; this will include an overhaul of its site search, making it easier to find fixed-price items, and the dropping of image upload fees.
Quote:
Lorrie Norrington, presidentof Ebay marketplace operations in the US, said, “I’d say this is the most fundamental change we’ve made, ever, to the marketplace. It’s a huge shift from where we’ve been.”
Likewise, Clare Gilmartin, director of marketplaces for Ebay in the UK, said, “Today’s improvements will remove barriers for sellers so they can make the most of this opportunity and offer even more goods for sale on Ebay. That means even greater choice for buyers and in turn greater success for sellers.”
Current Ebay figures show that as many as 178,000 people earn their primary or a secondary income from running an Ebay-based business.
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 | 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.
Julian Sharpe | 9:02 am | August 13, 2008 | MIVA, News, Pay-Per-Click (PPC)
Miva has announced a further loss of 6.3 million dollars (£3.3m) in Q2, this is in the week that it rejected a takeover proposal from video search specialist Blinkx.
This is now the second consecutive quarter that the MIVA network had suffered a loss, being down by 5 million dollars (£2.6m) for Q1 2008 Revenues were at 30.2 million dollars (£15.8m) for the quarter, down from 32.7 million dollars (£17.1m) year on year.
Quote:
Peter Corrao, Miva CEO and president, said, “The most recent quarter has been a transitional one for our business. We’re encouraged by the results of the growth initiatives that we’ve been working towards, such as the continued rollout of our Alot toolbar and home page brand and the continued growth of destination sites like Spill.com.”
Julian Sharpe | 11:30 am | August 11, 2008 | News, aol
AOL has unveiled its new Olympic Games campaign site, which includes exclusive and targeted content from former British Olympians Sharron Davies and Derek Redmond.
The site will include daily news updates and information from the Beijing Games, with experts Davies and athlete Redmond providing comment and predictions.
Quote:
Nina Vanneck, AOL Europe’s director of sport, said, “Our Olympics news site has been specially developed for British audiences and builds on the success of our previous sports-focused blogging platforms.”
She added, “The launch of this site underscores AOL’s commitment to providing consumers with the richest media experience.”
Julian Sharpe | 12:43 pm | August 7, 2008 | Google, News
Google has finally been able to relieve itself of the search engine marketing company Performics with a sale to agency Publicis Groupe for an undisclosed sum.
Google has been trying to remove Performics from its portfolio, a company which they inherited through its purchase of parent company Double Click.
Performics advises its client base how to run effective search campaigns and current has over 130 search engine marketing clients. Publicis plans to integrate the 200-strong company with its digital unit VivaKi Nerve Centre, which combines the services of agencies including Digitas, Starcom-Mediavest, Zenith Optimedia and Denuo.
Quote:
Maurice Levy, CEO of Publicis Groupe, said the acquisition would bring in a raft of new clients. “Not only will this acquisition bring critical mass to Publicis Groupe’s formidable search capabilities, but it will also enhance our affiliate marketing and overall performance marketing offering,” he said
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