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ESPN and MLB Strike Out Looking When it Comes to Search and the 2008 Home Run DerbyJosh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers put on a spectacle during the 2008 MLB Home Run Derby as he hit a single round record 28 home runs in the first round of the contest. I am not quite sure how the ratings will end up, but ESPN, the MLB, and their partners have to be optimistic for decent numbers based on the record breaking performance. And although this year’s derby was probably lacking the star-power of recent derbies past, the network could at least rely on promoting the historic venue-Yankee Stadium in it's final year. With all of the effort surrounding the promotion and coverage of this event by ESPN, the MLB and their partners, it's hard to believe they could have missed out on the opportunity with search, integrating online opportunities, and driving relevant traffic to a destination where further brand engagement could have occurred. One missed opportunity was not capitalizing on the spike in searches on “Home Run Derby” that would expectedly occur around the all-star break. Searching “Home Run Derby” resulted in NO paid ads...
...so it’s clear there isn’t much advertiser competition surrounding these terms. The cheap clicks could have been driven to a special Home Run Derby landing page or microsite with stats, blogs, past Home Run Derby highlights, pictures or even interactive games. But the good news is- it's not too late! The big game isn't until tomorrow night. It's as simple as coming up with a destination and some ad copy, and bidding on the term "all star game"-there is no advertiser competition here either. And the spike for "all star game" is also pretty high in mid July.
Labels: Google, Paid Search, Search, Strategy Why Pay for Online Audience Metrics When You Can Get Them For Free?Everyone loves getting something for nothing, particularly when that something has a pretty decent price tag associated with it. What am I talking about here? It’s online audience metrics, which until now were primarily available to organizations willing to subscribe to comScore or Neilsen Online.So who’s out there shaking things up? It’s our old chum Google! Yes, in the very near future, Google is expected to announce its own online audience measurement tool aimed at helping advertisers identify the best places to reach their target audience and purchase online ads by telling them which sites they visit. Not only will the tool be free, but it will also have a different means of collecting user data than either comScore or Neilsen Online, which many believe will make it better and more accurate. Specifically, Google’s tool will be based mostly on data from Web servers, which will allow for a more in-depth and broad-based view of internet use. Comparatively, both comScore and Neilsen Online gather usage data by tracking panels of people and what they do online or by conducting surveys. This methodology has the ability to make results inconsistent and incomplete as you are in reality measuring a small segment of the online population and then aggregating those results to make more broad-based observations about the marketplace as a whole. In comparison, Google’s tool, which will still rely on some data gleaned from panels, will measure a much broader segment of the population as it will be deployed across their entire very, very expansive ad network. While Google’s system does not appear infallible (it's cookie-based and users can delete cookies), the sheer size of Google’s user base and network has the potential to make this a very revolutionary system and shake-up the way online activity is measured. And because it’s being offered for free, it will make this kind of intelligence more of a commodity and level the playing field in terms of online media planning and buying. What do I mean by “leveling the playing field”? Simply stated, services like comScore and Neilsen Online cost money and are available only to those who can afford them. However, by Google making audience data free of charge, it will enable everyone to leverage it and make more intelligent decisions about how they plan and buy online media. Therefore, while such intelligence has primarily been available to big agencies or companies and touted as a competitive advantage that smaller rivals just don’t have access to, this will no longer be the case. Hence, what is exciting about Google’s forthcoming tool is that it will enable everyone to make more accurate and confident decisions about the buys being executed and the targets being reached, which should in turn lead to an overall increase in the ROI associated with online advertising. And in an era of heightened accountability, this will likely only make advertisers more comfortable with committing more dollars online. But the true value that I see in a tool such as Google’s coming to market, is not just that it’s going to level the playing field, lead to increased budgets and provide free access to data that was previously only available to those with the means to pay for it, but that it’s going to force us as marketers to become better at what we do. In order to be competitive, we’re now going to be forced to further evolve our thinking. So in the online media planning and buying space where will the competitive advantage now come from? Simply stated, it will no longer be enough to say you have access to and spout audience statistics, as soon everyone will be able to do this. Rather you will need to demonstrate that you understand and know how to use and apply this data. The truth is, while everyone likes statistics, people love it when you can demonstrate that you know what they mean and apply this knowledge to solve real business issues. With Google’s forthcoming tool, we’ll all soon be able to know who is going where and doing what. But now, to truly differentiate your plans and buys, you’ll need to demonstrate that you not only have the data, but understand what it means and the business benefits derived from it, and this is what will separate the leaders from the pack. Labels: Google, Industry, New Business, Online Media, POV, small business marketing, Strategy Yahoogle – It’s HereWell folks, it’s official! On Thursday, Yahoo officially stated that under a new pact with Google it will display “some” ads sold by its rival. The deal is expected to generate an additional $800 million in annual revenue for Yahoo, through what the Wall Street Journal describes as improved monetization of certain types of searches.On top of it all, both companies also stated that they are looking for ways to now expand what is considered to be a limited partnership, possibly into the realm of display advertising. Now this would be interesting, as display is one area where Yahoo does hold a commanding lead over Google. While all of the specifics of this deal have not been definitively worked out, the understanding is that Yahoo will control how Google’s ads are displayed along side its own advertising. Although it has not been 100% defined, my guess here is that Yahoo will most likely give priority to ads purchased directly through its own site, but then populate excess inventory with ads from Google. Therefore, it appears that Yahoo is entering in a pact to become part of Google’s “Expanded Search Network”. This means that while you will still be able to buy everything you would like directly via Yahoo, whenever there is a case of excess inventory on Yahoo, Google’s ads will now be displayed. It appears to be a similar arrangement that Google has with sites such as Business.com, from which you can purchase ads directly from or go through Google to do so, as Business.com is part of Google’s expanded search network. Assuming I am correct, and while this great news for the shareholders of Yahoo, there are few things that we as search engine marketers must now consider. If you did not already know, when you buy advertising from Google, you have a few options. You can go with Google Search, which means you advertise to people just searching on Google; Expanded Search, which means adverting on Google and all of its search partners (AOL, Earthlink, etc.); and then of course there are programs such as Google Content. In my experience, most people opt to go with Google’s expanded search network as they not only get access to the audience on Google, but also those on AOL, Earthlink and more. However, unlike Yahoo’s expanded search network, with Google, it’s an all or nothing proposition. This means that with Google, you can not select which search partners you advertise with and which you do not. Additionally, Google does not disclose what percentage of your searches or budget are actually being spent with their partners, versus them directly. This leads most people to believe that when they advertise with Google all traffic and clicks are coming from people directly on Google, but this is not necessarily the case at all. Why this is important is that if Yahoo does join Google’s Expanded Search Network, you could end up spending a good portion of your budget directly with Yahoo unknowingly via Google. Because Yahoo does command upwards of 20% of the Search Marketplace, they still have a very good sized audience and therefore you could soon find your Google programs spending much faster that you had previous realized, as you now have your ads being put in front of Yahoo’s still very sizeable audience. As a result, if you were previously reaping the benefits of Google’s Expanded Search Network, whether you knew it or not, with Yahoo in the fold you may have to start spending a lot more to continue to do so. Additionally, seeing that Google does not let you see the specifics behind what is happening on their Expanded Search Network, you will loose the ability to plan your budget accordingly for Yahoo. I see this as important as both Google & Yahoo perform differently under certain circumstances and therefore you want to be able to structure your campaign on many levels such as Keyword, bidding and budget to take advantage of different audience dynamics. However, under this pact you will be relegated to spending some of your budget with Yahoo, but planning based on your insights from Google. Now, you might say that with Google’s Expanded Search Network you’ve already had to do this for AOL, Earthlink, Business.com, etc., but the difference here is that none of these engines offer an audience the size of Yahoo’s and really have the potential to shift things one way or the other. Now of course you can still advertise with Yahoo directly and plan accordingly, but previously you had the advantage of knowing that you had a Google budget and a Yahoo budget. But now under this new pact you will have a Yahoogle budget and a Yahoo budget, if in fact you decide to advertise directly with Yahoo at all. This leads me to my last point, what does this mean for Yahoo in the future? In my experience, a lot of organizations like the fact that they can go through one provider and get their ads displayed on multiple engines. In the end you basically get the same result, without the headache of having to manage multiple programs and campaigns. In short, life is simpler. So, does this mean that over time, we will see more people just turning to Google to leverage the fact that they can go there and use them as a one stop shop? I guess the answer to this question relies on the definition of “some”, in terms of what the Google/Yahoo pact means when they say it means that Yahoo will display “some” ads displayed/sold by Google. Ultimately the word “some” is very ambiguous, and leaves a lot of room for this partnership to grow and expand. However, while you can at times get better cost efficiencies of going straight to the source, versus going through a partner, the challenges of managing multiple programs sometimes outweighs the cost benefits gained. Therefore, while I do believe that Yahoo will always have direct presence, I feel that the number of advertisers who opt run programs directly with them will shrink as they realize they can go to Google and manage everything from one single interface. This will be particularly true for those businesses that don’t have the ability to have a dedicated search marketing staff, but previously felt they had to run on both engines in order to access both audiences. One thing that is for sure is that by making a bid for Yahoo, Microsoft has certainly shaken-up the search marketing landscape. Who would have thought that the net result of trying to acquire Yahoo, would have the unintended effect of making Yahoo run directly in to the arms of the rival that Microsoft as trying to fend off via their intended acquisition strategy. If you think this is strange; based on the precedent set here, I can only imagine what's going to happen next. Labels: Google, Industry, Online Media, Paid Search, POV, Strategy, Yahoo Google CEO Shares His Secrets to SuccessFortune magazine recently spoke to Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, to discuss why Google continues to achieve impressive financial results in a slow economy. I began reading the article expecting to learn some groundbreaking business philosophies, but found Schmidt’s insights to be rather obvious.Don’t Lose Sight of What’s Working Schmidt expresses the importance of keeping priority on your core products and services while developing new ones to grow and diversify your business. He refers to this as the ‘threat of distraction.’ In Google’s case, 90% of focus remains on their core services such as SEM and allows 10% to new product development. While this ‘don’t put all your eggs in one basket’ philosophy seems fairly intuitive, many large corporations have fallen prey to the allure of new initiatives. Remember New Coke? McDonald’s Arch Delux? Levi’s Type 1 jeans? Nintendo’s Virtual Boy? Many of these companies have yet to regain the market status they held prior to these failed product launches. Rise to The Challenge Schmidt argues that most growing corporations either don’t recognize or address growth-related issues. Schmidt believes it’s important to recognize challenges and do what it takes to overcome them. He feels the biggest threat is internal vs. market based, specifically highlighting the threat of bad leadership. The list of organizations that saw leadership-related failure is long. Some high-profile examples include Enron, Tyco, and WorldCom. Provide an Integrated Experience Schmidt discusses how Google is consciously working to keep all Google-related products and services within the Google brand vs. having a divisionalized business structure. This includes focusing on ensuring that Google products and services are integrated to provide a cohesive experience for their customers. In my experience, Google is doing a fairly successful job of this. As an online marketing firm, Overdrive has leveraged Google’s SEM, Online Media, and Analytics products (to name a few) and has realized the management, data correlation and optimization benefits of their integration. I encourage you all to click here to read Schmidt’s full interview with Fortune Magazine. You’ll also find a link to a Fortune video discussion that provides another take on the growth-related threats Google is facing. DIY Online Display Advertising - Expanding the Playing Field for Online MediaThe online advertising marketing is growing. We’ve all seen the stats. We’ve all see the projections. Yes, advertisers did spend $21.4 Billion in 2007, and by 2011 this number is expected to grow to $42 Billion. (Source: eMarketer)
Ultimately, by leveling the playing field for Online Display, everyone is going to benefit. Now some may view applications and technologies such as AditAll, AdBrite and AdReady as threatening to agencies; but this should not be the case. The fact is, organizations that make a significant marketing investment will continue to hire agencies as their strategic partners and to guide this process. This is not about the Death of the Agency, but rather the Birth of Small Business. Labels: Google, local business marketing, Online Media, Paid Search, POV, small business marketing, Video, Yahoo Paid and Natural Search - Complimentary MediumsI was recently asked the following question by a client: "If we are appearing in the Natural Search Engine Results, why should we we also be paying to appear in the Paid Search results for the same term?" In short, if they're getting the clicks for free, why should they be paying for them as well? However, I don't think the answer is really that simple, as a truly effective search engine marketing campaign is not about Paid vs. Natural, rather its about understanding what makes each medium strong thereby playing to and understanding those strengths.
 Please do note that while it may sound like I am trying to discount the natural results, that is not the case at all. Natural results most always drive more traffic and getting top positions is the true benchmark of success when it comes to any SEO program. However, what I am trying to illustrate is the value that Paid Search results do have, even when you are also appearing naturally for the same term, as paid search offers a level of flexibility and control that you cannot get from Natural SEO. In the end, this is not a case of one versus the other, but about illustrating how having a fully integrated SEM and SEO program can ensure that you can take advantage of all that is being afforded to you in the search environment and driving the optimal user experience for all facets of the page. Labels: Google, Industry, Landing Pages, Paid Search, POV, Search, SEO, Strategy, Yahoo Yahoogle! –A New Way to Define the Online Marketing Landscape…according to Microsoft.Yahoogle (Ya-hoo-gle) n. 1. An arrangement between Google and Yahoo! that would involve or lead to the outsourcing to Google of key paid Internet search terms offered by Yahoo! 2. A world, according to Microsoft, in which talent flees, prices increase, the Feds come after you and most of all Google becomes an Evil Price Fixing Baron.
Labels: Google, Industry, Paid Search, SEO, Yahoo Look Out - Here Comes Yahoogle!Well folks, if you have not already heard the news, Microsoft has withdrawn its offer to acquire Yahoo!. Despite having raised its offer by $5 Billion, from $29/Share to $33/Share, Yahoo! still walked away from the deal unless Microsoft would pony-up an additional $5 Billion ($37/Share).However, what I find makes the collapse of this deal really interesting is that when you read the letter that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer sent to Yahoo! CEO Jerry Yang on Saturday, May 3rd while price was certainly deciding factor, the straw that broke the camels back appears to be Yahoo’s decision to further expand their “partnership” with Google. In short, it’s the prospect of having to acquire “Yahoogle!”, not Yahoo! that has really made Microsoft stop its pursuit and not go hostile. In a letter to Yahoo! CEO Jerry Yang, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer stated that “We regard with particular concern your apparent planning to respond to a “hostile” bid by pursuing a new arrangement that would involve or lead to the outsourcing to Google of key paid Internet search terms offered by Yahoo! today. In our view, such an arrangement with the dominant search provider would make an acquisition of Yahoo! undesirable to us for a number of reasons.” So what would the world according to Yahoogle! look like? Well according to Mr. Ballmer, its one that’s pretty dark in which talent flees, prices increase, the Feds come after you (Microsoft certainly knows about this) and most of all Google becomes an Evil Price Fixing Baron. But who am I to tell you about Yahoogle!, let Mr. Ballmer be your guide! The following is a summary of why Mr. Ballmer feels that Yahoogle! would make Yahoo! undesirable acquisition for Microsoft: 1. No More Panama 2. Talent Will Flee 4. Google Now Sets Every Price So what do you think? Is Yahoogle! good or bad? Whether you agree with Microsoft or not, the paid search and online advertising landscape is quickly changing and Yahoogle! is certainly going to play role in paving the way. Labels: Google, Industry, Online Media, Paid Search, SEO, Yahoo Google Subscribed Links Offers Powerful Branding Opportunity in Search ResultsThere are a few things constant about Google - frequent acquisitions of cool companies, an increasing stock price, and an ever expanding catalog of products. Google Subscribed Links, the latest tool to roll off the Google widget assembly line, allows webmasters to connect with previous visitors to their site through search results.Google Subscribed Links works like this:
 Of course, designing and managing the site feed requires at least a minimal command of XML and HTML. Additionally, you’re going have to induce your visitors to subscribe to the link (market the marketing tool); however, the potential opportunity for visitor retention and branding is just too good to pass up, particularly if your website ranks highly for frequently searched keywords. View examples of Google Subscribed Links. One application of this new product that springs to mind is to serve as a complement to paid search campaigns. You could post a Subscription Link button on a landing page for a pay-per-click campaign. A visitor in the early stages of their search may not be prepared to convert right away, but assuming your site ranks organically, e-marketers could conceivably push customized natural listings to the prospect at every stage of their search and entice a conversion at a later time. Labels: Google, Industry, Integration, Paid Search, SEO Is Google’s Universal Search Designed to Improve the Experience of the User or Stockholder?More Relevant Results? MaybeMore Google Revenues? Likely As Google continues to roll out expanded universal search listings, it will become increasingly difficult to achieve and maintain a strong natural search presence. The new search results will “incorporate information from a variety of previously separate sources – including videos, images, news, maps, books, and websites – into a single set of results” according to Google. Although Universal Search was rolled out in May, Google will gradually include a higher proportion of its local information, maps, images, video, and news results in the prime natural first page real estate. Although the shift will be gradual, the addition of this content into the natural results means that it will be increasingly difficult to achieve or maintain your coveted first page ranking through traditional natural optimization tactics. Inbound links, metatags, and keyword density will still have their place in making pages pop undoubtedly, but savvy marketers will need to make sure they optimize different types of content as well to ensure continued visibility as the natural results continue to evolve. If maps, videos, images and other non-traditional listings continue to take natural real estate from the standard text listings, it will also be important to develop and optimize this content to at least ensure the opportunity to get the highly desirable above the fold natural real estate. So how will the shift to universal results impact Google? Revenue. PPC will become increasingly important for organizations that are currently ranked in the middle and lower portion of page one on Google for their key SEO terms. Now instead of competing with Wikipedia and more direct competitors within an industry, they are also competing with Google itself for a natural first page ranking. Organizations that typically invest more in natural SEO will begin to shift budgets to the paid side if they see universal results bumping their natural listings down to the second page or beyond for important, high frequency queries. When organizations invest in SEO efforts like keyword-centric content development and link-buying, Google loses out on those marketing dollars, so Universal Search certainly makes sense for Google’s shareholders. The increasing PPC spend from dollars that previously funded SEO, coupled with the increase in the volume of advertisers, means a more highly competitive PPC market, and as a result, click costs will likely increase across the board. Natural SEO and PPC marketers alike will certainly be challenged as Universal Search expands, and the competition for the top paid listings will be amplified. PPC will become an even more crucial marketing tactic as natural rankings become harder to attain. So is Universal Search really all about improving user experience? What do you think will happen to Google’s revenue if CPCs double? $500 a share might still be a good time to buy. Labels: Google, Industry, Search, SEO, universal search Microsoft Offers To Buy Yahoo For $44.6 BillionOk, pretty big news right! Technically I do not predict big changes for online advertisers and search marketers in the short term as I am sure Microsoft will not want to rock the revenue boat. It will be in interesting to see how competition between MSN and Yahoo! plays out though.Microsoft said it had offered to buy Yahoo for $31 per share, which it said represented a 62 percent premium above the company's closing stock price on Nasdaq on Thursday. Microsoft said Yahoo holders would be able to trade each of their shares for $ 31 in cash or 0.9509 of a Microsoft share, pro-rated so that no more than half of the overall purchase price is paid in cash. Pre-market trading Friday sent the stock to: 29.34 +10.16 (52.97%) as of Feb 1 8:36am ET. The deal values Yahoo at 65 times earnings. Currently, it trades at 40 times earnings, according to FactSet Research. Yahoo shares haven't traded at $31 since November. The companies held talks about partnering or merging in late 2006 and early 2007. Those talks included the potential of a merger proposal, but Yahoo told Microsoft in February it wasn't interest in being acquired. On another note Google's shares did not do well in pre-market trading: GOOG: Pre-Market: 526.76 -37.54 (-6.65%) Feb 1 8:51am ET This announcement and yesterday's earnings news from Google really hit them hard: "NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Google reported earnings and sales for the fourth quarter that missed Wall Street estimates, sending the stock tumbling after hours." Labels: Google, Industry, Yahoo Seminar: Search Engine, Blog and Social Media MarketingExciting news! I am giving a Search, Blog and Social Media seminar at the NEDMA (New England Direct Marketing Association) Conference on April 30, 2008. You can see my seminar description below. It's not on their site yet but click on the link below to see the preliminary info and sign-up for their newsletter via the "subscribe" box at the bottom of their page to get updates.http://www.nedma.com/annual-conference Search Engine, Blog and Social Media Marketing: Accessing the Critical Moment and Joining the Customer Conversation Search engines have become the number-one resource that consumers as well as business and technology decision-makers use to find and research products and solutions. No other point of consumer or prospect contact has the ability to access the "critical moment" when your target audience is seeking exactly what you are selling. On top of that blogs and social media have become a trusted source of opinion and reviews for consumers, technology professionals and business people researching purchase decisions. They also offer an unprecedented opportunity for businesses to join the marketing conversation between consumers and weave their messages into user generated content and the market place instead of simply broadcasting to it. The main question that every marketer must ask is: "Do I have a strong presence on the search engines, blogs and social media sites?" If not, then the obvious next question must be: "How do I build one in a cost effective and politically correct way?" The answer is search engine, blog and social media marketing. This seminar will focus on the statistics, strategies, tactics, and benefits of search engine, blog and social media marketing. It will also detail the linkages between search engine optimization and a strong presence in blogs and social media sites. Any marketer (both client and agency side) who wish to access prospects when they are researching or discussing their products and services should attend. -Topics covered will include: -Current and predicted trends in search, blog and social media behavior and technology -Assessing your company's search engine presence -A detailed overview of paid search listing and advertising opportunities -A detailed overview of organic search engine optimization -Some tactics regarding universal and image search -Converting search engine traffic into customers and leads -A breakdown of the major search properties, the blog landscape and social media sites -The anatomy of a blog and social media site profiles and channels -Some basic blog and social media outreach and politically correct saturation tactics -Case studies -More... Please come prepared to have a good time and ask lots of questions specific to your organization's products and marketing goals. About the instructor: Harry Gold Founder and CEO Overdrive Interactive Harry started his online career in 1995 when he founded Interactive Promotions. Since then he has been at the forefront in developing successful online programs for various agencies and Fortune 500 companies. His client experience includes search and online media management for top companies that include General Motors, Harley-Davidson, John Hancock, Dow Jones, EMC, Progress, LoJack, Cognos, Mosnter.com as well as many other companies who now enjoy a strong Internet presence. Harry brings to Overdrive a highly distinguished background in online development, search engine marketing, and online media that goes back over 12 years. As the architect and conductor behind Overdrive's programs, Harry's primary mission is to create innovative marketing programs based on real-world success and to make sure that the best marketing and technology practices that drive those successes are continually institutionalized into the culture and methods of the agency. What excites Harry is the knowledge that Overdrive's collaborative environment has created a company of online experts, all of whom drive success for the clients and companies they serve. Harry is a frequent lecturer on search engine marketing and online media for The New England Direct Marketing Association, The In-House Agency Forum, The Ad Club, and Boston University. He is also a recognized subject matter expert and columnist for ClickZ. Labels: Agency News, Google, Industry, Online PR, Paid Search, Podcasts, SEO, Social Media, Strategy Google Testing Demographic BiddingSo I got an interesting email from Google. They have now added demographic targeting and are inviting people to try it out.Google describes it like this: Demographic bidding is a way to help your ads reach audiences of a certain age or gender. If you want your ads to be seen by women aged 18-24, or people over 55, demographic bidding can help. Some publishers on the Google content network know certain individual details about their users Social networking sites, for instance, often ask users to identify themselves by age and gender. On sites that provide this type of information about their users, Google can display your AdWords ads to the groups that you prefer, or prevent your ads from displaying to groups you don't want to reach. See more at: https://services.google.com/demographicbidding/ Labels: Google, Paid Search |
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