Twitter, fresh off its purchase of TweetDeck, has picked up another tool to help turn on the revenue spout for its microblogging services: It has bought AdGrok, a company that eases small businesses into the world of online advertising. The offer from Twitter, reportedly for less than $10 million, according to VentureBeat, apparently swept the San Francisco startup founders right …
Google to Charge for Directions Location Extension
I suppose I need to take my hat off to Google once again. Don’t get me wrong, I love capitalism, but Google has got the market cornered in so many ways. We, as people, love things for free. Once something has been given away for so long that it becomes a part of our daily life and then a small …
Nielsen ratings boost for online ads
There is never a bad time to start looking at display advertising online to replace some or all of your creative marketing efforts, but earlier is certainly better than later. This is an article from Nielsen ratings talking directly about the topic that TV, Radio, and Newspaper don’t want you to hear about ONLINE advertising display revenues could jump by …
Don’t Fall for the Guaranteed Google Results Pitch
I enjoy articles like this because, so many customers fall for this pitch, and they are normally some of the hardest clients to get on board. Over coming the “victim of a scorched earth” syndrome is very difficult. I think that the more you can educate yourself before making a purchase like this, gives the customer the power to not …
How To Hire A Great In-House Search Engine Marketer (Or Not)
This is a great article for many reasons, but the most important reason is the ability to learn from others mistakes and not make them yourself. At search engine marketing conferences, I am often asked for advice on how to hire people for in-house search engine marketing jobs. Usually over lunch a business owner turns to me and says something …
What Your Customers Aren’t Telling You In Social Media
The emergence of social media has greatly changed social behavior. Instead of pulling the manager of a restaurant aside after a bad meal, people now write one-star reviews on Yelp; instead of asking a friend a question in person, people now outsource their queries to Quora; and instead of providing feedback on a product or experience, people are turning to …
Google Steals Yahoo!’s Display Revenue Crown
As their display prophets foresaw, it came to be that Google ruled all online advertising. While it’s not surprising to hear Google dominated search revenue (a 59.6% share in 1Q11, a tad bit above 59.1% in 4Q10), the latest stats from market researcher IDC also show that Google passed Yahoo! in display revenue during the first quarter of 2011. It’s …
After a Decade, FTC Announces Plans to Update Online Advertising Guidelines
It’s been 11 years since the Federal Trade Commission issued guidelines for online advertising, which by today’s standards makes them practically ancient. The agency today announced it plans to update its 2000 guidelines, “Dot Com Disclosures: Information About Online Advertising,” and is seeking public input on a few key questions. The original guidelines stressed that the same consumer protection laws …
Digital media to claim 15% of worldwide ad spend for 2011
Another study that shows advertising dollars being directed digitally. When it comes to online entertainment, online video in particular has become recognised as a powerful format for both communicating online and providing an enhanced online experience, with advertising becoming the key source of revenue for online entertainment providers. Around 15% of overall worldwide advertising spending will be directed towards digital …