A few weeks ago, I commented on the new Demographics Targeting features Adwords introduced as a beta. I pitted males versus females in a conversion test based on two polar opposite image ads. Letting the ads run for one whole week resulted in a substantial amount of impressions and clicks, and the results themselves may surprise you! Read more…
In the “why didn’t I think about that” category is a fine example of how Google reads and reacts to the online marketing world. Now students from around the world can compete in the Google Online Marketing Challenge, giving them first hand experience with search engine marketing from the industry leader. But wait a minute, are those real ads and real funds? Read more…
Omniture has come a long way in Analytics in a very short time span, and although much of my experience with their company comes via technical support calls and escalating minor annoyances, their SiteCatalyst Excel Client should really be praised for it’s innovation. Many of us have become accustomed to getting metrics online through a web interface, compiling reports through Ajax or Java and having them scheduled for delivery. Omniture does away with that. Read more…
I wasn’t planning on writing today, just because it’s a statutory holiday and all, but I saw something today that made me laugh. In preparing a post for tomorrow detailing the Omniture Excel Client, I noticed that when you revert your Internet Explorer 7 settings back to default Google notices! If anyone was ever afraid that Google’s starting down the lines of becoming Big Brother, your fears may be warranted. Read more…
That’s right, if you didn’t think cell phones were a bad enough influence on drivers, there’s more bad news on the way from Wired. According to Wired, mobile internet users (more specifically iPhone users) are avid Googlers. It’s not all doom and gloom, it may help some drivers search for instructions on how to use their turn signal. In all seriousness, this news should come as no surprise to the search marketing community, but does offer up some serious food for thought on how to get those surfers to convert. Read more…
Although Yahoo has rejected a $31 per stock bid by Microsoft to buy the company, they had planned to inflate their true market value with surges of recent growth. It’s an interesting story of two big names, but two small “Davids” in advertising compared to the “Goliath” that is Google. Where is Google in all this? Probably taking the advice of numerous industry insiders telling them to stay out of it. Here’s why… Read more…
Last year I blogged about the importance of excluding content network placements that resulted in abnormally high click through rates. I also blogged about how advertisers should be aware that certain political regions block access to many corporate sites. It took three months but the evidence is undeniable: exclude the bad, and usher in the good. What does that mean? Read more…
Only a few days after getting notification that my application to the Adwords Demographics Targeting Beta had been received, I noticed a notification in one of my client accounts that the feature had been enabled. The demographics interface itself is not unlike Microsoft Adcenter, aside from being somewhat simpler and clear cut: typical Google style. So, did it work? Read more…
The old saying goes, “opinions are like…” and well, you know the rest. Webmasters certainly have a particularly hard time lately to decipher which search engine optimization tactics are worthwhile, and which are nonsensical background noise. Next time you’re at an SES conference, ask everyone who claims to be an expert in SEO to raise their hands. Then make them keep their hands up if they’re actually engineers at Google or Yahoo. Right, so how can the average webmaster weed out the BS? Read more…
Normally big news such as a Microsoft purchase of Yahoo would be left to normal news sites, but since the acquisition would have profound effects on the pay-per-click advertising market, I can’t pass up the chance to comment on it. From a holistic perspective, Microsoft’s acquisition of Yahoo comes as no surprise, as Yahoo has been floundering financially in recent months. From an online advertising perspective, Microsoft will try to position themselves as the only viable alternative to Google Adwords. Or so they think! Read more…
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