Could the Sports Illustrated Jinx, where teams and athletes featured on the cover famously flounder soon after publication; have spread to their fellow Time, Inc. weekly Time Magazine? This week the boys from Google are gracing Time’s cover and from their easy smiles (and a byline that mentions Internet domination) you’d think that the transformation is complete: Google has finally “pwned” us all! Well, a theory that there is some kind of jinx fits because Google seems to be getting it from all angles now. But with all the piling on, it’s important to remember that Google’s core business, search advertising, is still very much a winner.
In regards to lofty stock prices, it’s been said that the same breeze at the bottom of a mountain is a gale at the peak, meaning it doesn’t take much negativity to knock a few dollars off the price of a stock that’s performed well. And Google’s peak so far has been among the loftiest a corporation has ever experienced to date. Their success stuns – individuals netting billions, a stock price (NASD: GOOG) skyrocketing to $475 as influential analysts hint at future valuations of $1,000, $2000. Runaway success has been associated with Google since even before their IPO in November, 2004. This aura, however, may have fostered a false sense of invulnerability for the giant Mountainside, CA-based search engine.
ICMediaDirect.com, by virtue of being an online advertising company, has much to thank Google for, particularly the interest they generated in our field. Their brand recognition alone has served as advertising for our industry in recent years. Google was so hot for so long, that just being in a related space may have opened doors for us that might have otherwise been closed.
There have been some cracks in Google’s façade for some time, but little notice was given to them in the wake of relentless success. However, the record skipped last month when Google disappointed the public with their earnings and the stock sold off about 25% from its high. Still, public scrutiny was more focused on Google’s earnings, not their business.
That is, until Barron’s, the influential weekly financial newspaper, featured Google this past weekend. There was nothing playful on their cover, just the familiar Google logo being submerged into water, like the Titanic. The article makes a compelling case that Google’s success is overvalued.
Among the issues discussed was a genuine peril unique to search based advertising: click fraud. Barron’s wondered how anyone presently could gauge the depth of this problem when; a) this problem technically enriches Google, while robbing thousands of their customers, and b) its almost impossible to distinguish how much is committed. If Google knows, they’re not saying. So we see an incalculable problem within online advertising, the very business that’s finally measurable. Go figure.
But Barron’s mentioned other problems that are vexing Google, as well. The very guys on the cover of Time, Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page along with CEO Eric Schmidt, are feverishly selling their stakes in the company as is the rest of top management. While much of these insider sales registered and scheduled for execution long ago – what’s truly disconcerting is that no insiders seem to be buying any stock in their company. It’s a spooky one-way street.
Even the puff piece in Time Magazine contained this loaded bon mot from Schmidt, “The company isn’t run for the long-term value of our shareholders but for the long-term value of our end users.” I had to read the quote twice to make sure I had actually read it correctly and then again to make sure I could figure out what he meant by “end users”.
This is what the CEO of Google thinks of the people who’ve made him worth 10 figures. It made me think of Bill Murray’s character’s advice to the students at Rushmore Academy, “Take dead aim at the rich boys. Get them in the cross hairs, and take them down.” Sorry, Eric, but this Robin Hood approach elicits this sort of reaction … especially when it is directed at the people who made them rich.
I believe that Google was rabidly over-hyped and is still overpriced, but it’s their chosen business, the one they perfected, and the one that I admire. Now that some Google bashing is somewhat en vogue, be sure some uninformed opinions will form. The same minds that assumed all things Internet were about to be ruled by King Google, they too will be claiming Internet advertising to be a false business, an unworthy venture.
This couldn’t be more wrong. One of the signatures of the Web 1.0 bubble of 2000-2001 was that these overheated interactive companies weren’t making money. Not only were they unprofitable, many couldn’t even generate revenue. They were drenched with the promise of new technology and nothing else. Yes, the Internet was wondrous then, but making money off of it was not possible, at least not before some of those burn rates contributed to global warming. (Don’t laugh; check out the data, it matches perfectly.)
Then along comes the search wonder of Google. Google is merely an overpriced stock, not a collapsing bubble. Their contribution is both simple and stunning. They came up with little text boxes to correspond and link properly with searches on their network. That’s all.
99% of Google’s revenue comes from search advertising. While Barron’s was right to question whether this technology really warrants partnership with NASA for space exploration, the article also boils Google down to a machine that is merely “hawking ads” in providing contrast to Google’s self-billing as a global technology leader.
Search advertising made Google bigger than Coca-Cola in only a few short years. If that’s the end result of “hawking ads”, then Google is doing something right. Microsoft and Yahoo apparently want to hawk ads like Google, too, as Barron cites the increased and inevitable competition.
Google’s lesson for us at ICMediaDirect.com, and for anyone in Internet advertising, is that you cannot separate Google’s success from Google’s search. Everything else is a side story. Stock prices, jet planes, R&D (billions spent for that remaining 1%) – all of it serves to distract from this: 99% of Google’s revenue is derived from search advertising. Search advertising works.
This isn’t the next bubble burst, just a story of a company that did its job so blindingly well that the public overvalued its stock. Now it’s time for its stock price to cool off. I’m happy to see the sector grow more competitive. That’s terrific. I think that everyone, even Google’s shareholders, view this as a healthy sign for the search advertising industry, if not a certified validation.
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Demand Service With Your On-Demand Software
On Demand! We want it here, we want it now. Hell, we want it yesterday. Considering the instantaneous nature of the Information Age, these requests are reasonable to make of any technical solutions provider. This is especially true, if not exclusively so, of an on-demand software company whose function is to host software systems and deliver them online. When these high performance services are availed to us, we experience the 21st Century connectivity – but if they can’t deliver as promised, they might as well have not offered.
The story is that Salesforce.com, a leading provider of on-demand software, lost a major customer to Oracle Systems. These rumors sent Salesforce.com’s stock (NYSE: CRM) tumbling down from $42.99 in late January. The company had been performing wonderfully; their stock price tripled in the course of the past year, but perhaps investors are reacting to rumors with a “where there’s smoke, there’s fire” mindset. There is reason for concern
Salesforce.com has been troubled in recent months by technical problems, namely crashing servers. These crashes, in turn, cripple the service they provide customers. An inadvertent outage might be an inconvenience, but repeated crashes generate outright hostility. Their company blog, Salesforcewatch.com, admirably fields these fiascos in comment thread format.
Unfortunately, some of Salesforce.com’s recent problems are just plain unacceptable. You cannot separate the human element from any technological business. Service representatives at Salesforce.com, like anywhere else, must perform as well as their product and are, I’m sure, well up to the task – provided their product is working.
What can a phone jockey at Salesforce.com do to help an irate salesman who cannot access his files? Suggest some yoga? Totally faultless in this affair, the customer service rep is better equipped for lost passwords or other menial mysteries. When the integrity of a company’s infrastructure hiccups and interferes with the customer’s business (forget featured conveniences – salespeople keep everything but their children’s names on file), it doesn’t matter who picks up on other end – the damage is already done and it’s time for vitriol. The assumed redundancy of the provider has failed. The offered technologies are no longer magic.
Chris Nicodemo, IT Director at ICMediaDirect.com, let me have it straight from the hip, “IT wins the battles, but we’re only as good as the technology we provide. First, our systems are redundant and we back that up with attentive personal service. Quality personal support helps retain the customer base.”
Here’s hoping that Salesforce.com’s customers are patient through this rough patch– because their chosen business to be a good one.
They are not without their high profile defenders, says Prudential Equity Group analyst Brent Thill: “We think the potential customer loss issue is overblown” and adds that their biggest customer accounts for only 2% of their revenue target for 2006. (Tip: don’t try telling your boss that his or her reactions to lost clients are “overblown”.)
On-demand software can and should be a terrific and profitable business. It would be best for a company in this business to work its kinks out now because mobile Internet connection will soon play a huge role in the business world, particularly in sales. Sales teams in insurance, pharmaceuticals, financials, building supplies – they will all need even more performance from their software providers. And just like today, they will still hate the paperwork and minutiae. Whoever best simplifies the sales process wins.
The on-demand software provider shoulders the burden of its customer’s database and keeps it easily accessible. General benefits include:
• Saving company costs on hardware installation and maintenance.
• Offering user ID/password for clients
• Billing issued on pay-as-you-go basis
• Handling update installs and patches
This is an example of 21st Century functionality at its best. On-demand customers need only a good Internet connection to benefit. IT anxiety and systems implementation can be outsourced, thus leaving a company more able to focus on core business. Solutions will vary, to be sure, but a software provider’s service must be fully reliable – no exceptions. Hopefully Salesforce.com learns from this bump in the road.
Salesforce.com’s own corporate blog, “CRMCoach”, refers to online software being the new “gold rush.” Perhaps. But, historically speaking, gold has often been the prime motivation behind careless actions. I quote the Coach: “We’ve gone from a web where everyone expected everything for free to one where we make software freely or very reasonably available and sell services.”
If you’re charging people money while building expectations, you had better provide results. If not, customers will walk, if they haven’t already.
The story is that Salesforce.com, a leading provider of on-demand software, lost a major customer to Oracle Systems. These rumors sent Salesforce.com’s stock (NYSE: CRM) tumbling down from $42.99 in late January. The company had been performing wonderfully; their stock price tripled in the course of the past year, but perhaps investors are reacting to rumors with a “where there’s smoke, there’s fire” mindset. There is reason for concern
Salesforce.com has been troubled in recent months by technical problems, namely crashing servers. These crashes, in turn, cripple the service they provide customers. An inadvertent outage might be an inconvenience, but repeated crashes generate outright hostility. Their company blog, Salesforcewatch.com, admirably fields these fiascos in comment thread format.
Unfortunately, some of Salesforce.com’s recent problems are just plain unacceptable. You cannot separate the human element from any technological business. Service representatives at Salesforce.com, like anywhere else, must perform as well as their product and are, I’m sure, well up to the task – provided their product is working.
What can a phone jockey at Salesforce.com do to help an irate salesman who cannot access his files? Suggest some yoga? Totally faultless in this affair, the customer service rep is better equipped for lost passwords or other menial mysteries. When the integrity of a company’s infrastructure hiccups and interferes with the customer’s business (forget featured conveniences – salespeople keep everything but their children’s names on file), it doesn’t matter who picks up on other end – the damage is already done and it’s time for vitriol. The assumed redundancy of the provider has failed. The offered technologies are no longer magic.
Chris Nicodemo, IT Director at ICMediaDirect.com, let me have it straight from the hip, “IT wins the battles, but we’re only as good as the technology we provide. First, our systems are redundant and we back that up with attentive personal service. Quality personal support helps retain the customer base.”
Here’s hoping that Salesforce.com’s customers are patient through this rough patch– because their chosen business to be a good one.
They are not without their high profile defenders, says Prudential Equity Group analyst Brent Thill: “We think the potential customer loss issue is overblown” and adds that their biggest customer accounts for only 2% of their revenue target for 2006. (Tip: don’t try telling your boss that his or her reactions to lost clients are “overblown”.)
On-demand software can and should be a terrific and profitable business. It would be best for a company in this business to work its kinks out now because mobile Internet connection will soon play a huge role in the business world, particularly in sales. Sales teams in insurance, pharmaceuticals, financials, building supplies – they will all need even more performance from their software providers. And just like today, they will still hate the paperwork and minutiae. Whoever best simplifies the sales process wins.
The on-demand software provider shoulders the burden of its customer’s database and keeps it easily accessible. General benefits include:
• Saving company costs on hardware installation and maintenance.
• Offering user ID/password for clients
• Billing issued on pay-as-you-go basis
• Handling update installs and patches
This is an example of 21st Century functionality at its best. On-demand customers need only a good Internet connection to benefit. IT anxiety and systems implementation can be outsourced, thus leaving a company more able to focus on core business. Solutions will vary, to be sure, but a software provider’s service must be fully reliable – no exceptions. Hopefully Salesforce.com learns from this bump in the road.
Salesforce.com’s own corporate blog, “CRMCoach”, refers to online software being the new “gold rush.” Perhaps. But, historically speaking, gold has often been the prime motivation behind careless actions. I quote the Coach: “We’ve gone from a web where everyone expected everything for free to one where we make software freely or very reasonably available and sell services.”
If you’re charging people money while building expectations, you had better provide results. If not, customers will walk, if they haven’t already.
Free Wi-Fi Blessings for that City by the Bay
Last week the city of San Francisco accepted a joint bid from Google and Earthlink to bring universal wireless access, or “Wi-Fi” to that city by the bay. Residents will be able to log in wirelessly to the Internet from home, work, cable car, or wherever. San Francisco is among the first cities of a number going “muniwireless”- that is, citywide free Wi-Fi; Philadelphia has already cut a similar deal with Earthlink, while Austin, Boston, and Chicago have also announced plans to do the same. I believe this trend will continue and foresee the spread of Wi-Fi connection to most cities in upcoming years.
This endeavor, a pet project of San Francisco’s mayor Gavin Newsom, is good for his career and, more importantly, good for San Francisco. The civic adoption of universal Wi-Fi is rather progressive as it tackles a hi-tech social issue by providing Internet access for all. I truly believe this to be a kind act and, additionally, believe San Francisco’s stature in the tech community will be greatly enhanced. Let’s not hold our breath waiting for free laptops, however.
It’s fun to work in online advertising because brainstorming is a natural part of the job. When industry announcements are made water cooler chit-chat inevitably leads to idea formation. In this particular case we know that San Franciscans are all for it, but what will this mean for Google and Earthlink, who are providing the Wi-Fi free of charge? The consensus: plenty. Their service, while donated, also serves as terrific PR and quite possibly an opportunity for future business. As a provider of advertising, Google is on to something good.
Not only does this announcement add the word “muniwireless” to my vocabulary, but it may show us how personalized search can be. A co-worker at ConductSearch.com stunned me by pointing out that this Wi-Fi could conceivably deliver search ads that would be relevant to the very city block you’re logged in from. Contemplate the possibilities.
Thanks to signal boosters every few blocks and a mandatory Google sign-in (no shocker there) they’ve got your location covered. Some are crying foul and citing Big Brother tactics. I disagree. Free Internet access is not a guaranteed right and if electing to take advantage of this offering means logging into a service under reasonable conditions, well, so be it. At best, detractors come off as misguided; at worst, ungrateful.
Some critics of this free buffet are even turning up their noses at the fare. While Wi-Fi is that much better than dial up (Google says the free connection will be about 300 kilobits per second), it’s not quite broadband. And this too, apparently, has ruffled a few feathers. Whether it’s a free lunch or just a snack, just enjoy it already.
For those of us who can live with free Wi-Fi here’s an example of how local advertisers will be able to tailor ads to meet their opportunities: It’s a beautiful Saturday in the park, you know, the kind that makes everyone feel like a kid again. At some point the proprietor of a nearby ice cream parlor, call it “Biggie’s”, realizes his ice cream sales aren’t justifying the foot traffic he sees outside.
An idea comes to our good-humored purveyor and he takes action by accessing Google’s localized search. It takes only a few minutes to create and run an ad over the local platform that reads: “Today only: 2 for 1 Ice Creams at Biggie’s Ice Cream Parlor. 2-5 PM, All Welcome”.
The only thing that will keep the crowds from his business is a rain storm. Not only would park goers with online access via laptop or handheld device see these personally relevant ads, but they’d be sure to spread the word. As a buzz is built in the park Biggie’s Ice Cream will have a big day. Targeted and effective local advertising like this should be a hallmark of muniwireless cities in years to come. Good for San Francisco. I hope it comes to New York soon.
This endeavor, a pet project of San Francisco’s mayor Gavin Newsom, is good for his career and, more importantly, good for San Francisco. The civic adoption of universal Wi-Fi is rather progressive as it tackles a hi-tech social issue by providing Internet access for all. I truly believe this to be a kind act and, additionally, believe San Francisco’s stature in the tech community will be greatly enhanced. Let’s not hold our breath waiting for free laptops, however.
It’s fun to work in online advertising because brainstorming is a natural part of the job. When industry announcements are made water cooler chit-chat inevitably leads to idea formation. In this particular case we know that San Franciscans are all for it, but what will this mean for Google and Earthlink, who are providing the Wi-Fi free of charge? The consensus: plenty. Their service, while donated, also serves as terrific PR and quite possibly an opportunity for future business. As a provider of advertising, Google is on to something good.
Not only does this announcement add the word “muniwireless” to my vocabulary, but it may show us how personalized search can be. A co-worker at ConductSearch.com stunned me by pointing out that this Wi-Fi could conceivably deliver search ads that would be relevant to the very city block you’re logged in from. Contemplate the possibilities.
Thanks to signal boosters every few blocks and a mandatory Google sign-in (no shocker there) they’ve got your location covered. Some are crying foul and citing Big Brother tactics. I disagree. Free Internet access is not a guaranteed right and if electing to take advantage of this offering means logging into a service under reasonable conditions, well, so be it. At best, detractors come off as misguided; at worst, ungrateful.
Some critics of this free buffet are even turning up their noses at the fare. While Wi-Fi is that much better than dial up (Google says the free connection will be about 300 kilobits per second), it’s not quite broadband. And this too, apparently, has ruffled a few feathers. Whether it’s a free lunch or just a snack, just enjoy it already.
For those of us who can live with free Wi-Fi here’s an example of how local advertisers will be able to tailor ads to meet their opportunities: It’s a beautiful Saturday in the park, you know, the kind that makes everyone feel like a kid again. At some point the proprietor of a nearby ice cream parlor, call it “Biggie’s”, realizes his ice cream sales aren’t justifying the foot traffic he sees outside.
An idea comes to our good-humored purveyor and he takes action by accessing Google’s localized search. It takes only a few minutes to create and run an ad over the local platform that reads: “Today only: 2 for 1 Ice Creams at Biggie’s Ice Cream Parlor. 2-5 PM, All Welcome”.
The only thing that will keep the crowds from his business is a rain storm. Not only would park goers with online access via laptop or handheld device see these personally relevant ads, but they’d be sure to spread the word. As a buzz is built in the park Biggie’s Ice Cream will have a big day. Targeted and effective local advertising like this should be a hallmark of muniwireless cities in years to come. Good for San Francisco. I hope it comes to New York soon.
Be An Internet Entrepreneur Within A Week!
Be An Entrepreneur Within A Week!
I will let you know you the secret of resell Rights so that you don-t have to spend weeks or months creating a product of your own to sell.
And also how you can earn much more than just the $97 you sell the Mini-Encyclopedia for -because it has a built in back-end upsell to the All-In-One Web Site which helps the Customer set up his own Internet Business selling the Mini-Encyclopedia or another product if he wishes.
This service pays you for your Customers- access, plus THEIR Customers- access, and THEIR Customers, down to 5 Levels deep! You have the potential to earn up to $9,000 a month, every single month with this service which is upsold by the Mini-Encyclopedia!
==================
THE SPEEDY OPTION
==================
Now let-s talk about how you can set up your Internet Business selling this Mini-Encyclopedia EVEN quicker -with an awesome FastTrack Option provided by the service.
How fast? How about within a WEEK or earlier?
The FastTrack Option helps you set up your own Internet Business by CUSTOMIZING your Mini-Encyclopedia with your Referral Link to the All-In-One Web Site. Their support team will also:
- Set up your Hosting Account based on the Domain Name you-ve chosen
- Put up your Killer Sales Letter complete with YOUR credit card purchase link
- Upload your Mini-Encyclopedia to the right folder for download by your Customers only upon a successful purchase
- Create the "Thank You For Your Purchase Page" with a link to your Mini-Encyclopedia for your Customers to download
- Set up your Sequential Autoresponder System already loaded with the follow-up messages (like this one)
- Generate a Pop-Up Window on exit for you (it will only pop-up when your Prospects are leaving your web site) to get your Prospects to leave their e-mail addresses for you to follow up with them
- Set up your Database software for your Customers and Prospects so that you can e-mail them in the future
- And many other things that you may not want to do!
With this service, EVERYTHING is done for you except marketing. You only focus only on marketing!
It simply doesn-t get any better than this.
Now you can be an Internet Entrepreneur with a HOT product to sell WITHIN A WEEK - and you can be earning your money one day after that - as you let your contacts know about your Internet Business!
I will let you know you the secret of resell Rights so that you don-t have to spend weeks or months creating a product of your own to sell.
And also how you can earn much more than just the $97 you sell the Mini-Encyclopedia for -because it has a built in back-end upsell to the All-In-One Web Site which helps the Customer set up his own Internet Business selling the Mini-Encyclopedia or another product if he wishes.
This service pays you for your Customers- access, plus THEIR Customers- access, and THEIR Customers, down to 5 Levels deep! You have the potential to earn up to $9,000 a month, every single month with this service which is upsold by the Mini-Encyclopedia!
==================
THE SPEEDY OPTION
==================
Now let-s talk about how you can set up your Internet Business selling this Mini-Encyclopedia EVEN quicker -with an awesome FastTrack Option provided by the service.
How fast? How about within a WEEK or earlier?
The FastTrack Option helps you set up your own Internet Business by CUSTOMIZING your Mini-Encyclopedia with your Referral Link to the All-In-One Web Site. Their support team will also:
- Set up your Hosting Account based on the Domain Name you-ve chosen
- Put up your Killer Sales Letter complete with YOUR credit card purchase link
- Upload your Mini-Encyclopedia to the right folder for download by your Customers only upon a successful purchase
- Create the "Thank You For Your Purchase Page" with a link to your Mini-Encyclopedia for your Customers to download
- Set up your Sequential Autoresponder System already loaded with the follow-up messages (like this one)
- Generate a Pop-Up Window on exit for you (it will only pop-up when your Prospects are leaving your web site) to get your Prospects to leave their e-mail addresses for you to follow up with them
- Set up your Database software for your Customers and Prospects so that you can e-mail them in the future
- And many other things that you may not want to do!
With this service, EVERYTHING is done for you except marketing. You only focus only on marketing!
It simply doesn-t get any better than this.
Now you can be an Internet Entrepreneur with a HOT product to sell WITHIN A WEEK - and you can be earning your money one day after that - as you let your contacts know about your Internet Business!
Does your website facilitate the new breed of layman users ?
Does your web site facilitate the new breed of layman users?
There is a dramatic surge in the number of layman users
Internet has got virtually deep down penetration across the globe, and the profile of its users has also gone a sea change. Over the years, the internet has come out from the prerogative of select users of scientific and defense community to mass accessibility. And probably this is the temperament of this so called cyber age where people have just started to treat computers as just another thing that is indispensable to modern human existence.
Today the use of computers is not necessarily confined to high–tech professionals, but has spanned over all functions and disciplines including common man for his everyday’s purposes. Hence, there is a awful number of users who browse through the Internet on a periodic basis, and their surfing skills are at best rudimentary. Time is ripe for making your web site superbly user friendly.
This new breed of users with minimal exposure to browsing is vulnerable to encounter a little more difficulty in even a web site that is otherwise user friendly. Here is an important point not to be missed out that this new breed of surfers can be a great prospect for your site when their needs are understood and correspondingly catered to.
The need of the moment is to make your site excessively user friendly so that they are not lost on the web, and they do not just wind up browsing in sheer hopelessness. They need to be guided through simplistic features to help them know what to do next in order to get what they are looking forward to.
This sort of users lacks fundamental competence to search the stuff on the Internet effectively, faces hiccups in navigating web site and looks in astonishment while dealing with typical annoyances on the web. Their utter inability to understand your site often lead them to another site in search of ease, and it does constitute losses for you!
Designing your web site in such a manner as will enable them to learn quickly and steer clear the way to enriching experience is what is required in this regard.
But before making your web site layman friendly, it is essential to get the pulse of the browsing tendencies and habits of layman users.
An insightful look at the online behavior of layman users
Here are some interesting observations on the typical behavior of relatively new users while they use the Internet.
It is quite amazing to learn that new users have been found to practice a novel method to log on to a particular web site whose URL is known to them. They have been observed to type in the URL in Google search, and subsequently clicking on same URL in the returned search pages.
A report from Metacrawler, an Internet research firm, reveals the fact that search queries like "hotmail.com", "www.hotmail.com", "Google", "Yahoo” etc. are among the top search engine queries. It implicitly proves that people do not seem to know that they can access any site by simply typing its URL in the browser address bar.
While going through the returned search pages of Google, new users tend to read the titles of the pages, which they think are closest to their search criteria, and click on such hyperlinks. Hence, the titles of the pages in search results have to be strategically written.
Haphazard pieces of information clustered all through the page not only confuse the users but also scare them. Unsystematic organization of content on the page and a low count on readability make them feel that desired information is non-existent on the page. The randomness of content simply turns them off because they do not bother to look deep; they just scan and skip.
It has been found that new users are not comfortable with pop-up advertisement windows. They mistakenly close other windows, ponder over how to go back, or even close dial-up connection in their attempt to deal with the pop-ups. It has been seen that layman users are not at ease to manage multiple browser windows.
Helping layman users to browse with confidence and convenience
In the light of the above observations, a couple of simplistic features might be added to your web site in order to tap the traffic of layman users. Definitely such features will be contributing to the overall usability of your site in a positive way.
You can not afford to miss the listing of your web site in prominent search engines. It has nothing to do with your offline advertising campaign however aggressive it might be. Such advertisement will of course help your URL gain popularity, but chances are not distant that some new users end up complaining that your web site could not be accessed. Not to mention here, getting listed in the search engines has got its own bundle of benefits.
If you wish to have your own start page for the users of your site, it pays to place search engine links or a search box onto that page. This will help layman users to stick to your start page.
It is clear now that the titles of the pages in search results are crucial for clickthroughs. Therefore, the title of your page should be in accordance with the key words you are optimizing the page for. The title should be enticing and relevant enough to be clicked on. Each page of your site has to be individually optimized for a particular key word for a good traffic.
There can not be any hard and fast rules in using pop-ups and newsletter subscription windows. It essentially depends on the proficiency level of users who visit the site. It is always preferable to have test run of such features before implementing them throughout the site. Once you experience the loss of traffic due to such features, it is a subtle indication that such features are not for your site. The crowd visiting this site is dominantly layman users, and hence it is to be a lot more user friendly.
The learning advantage
In short, capitalizing on the idiosyncrasies and rudimentary skills of this new breed of Internet users can open the gateway of more traffic and hence more revenues that can eventually translate into your web success.
There is a dramatic surge in the number of layman users
Internet has got virtually deep down penetration across the globe, and the profile of its users has also gone a sea change. Over the years, the internet has come out from the prerogative of select users of scientific and defense community to mass accessibility. And probably this is the temperament of this so called cyber age where people have just started to treat computers as just another thing that is indispensable to modern human existence.
Today the use of computers is not necessarily confined to high–tech professionals, but has spanned over all functions and disciplines including common man for his everyday’s purposes. Hence, there is a awful number of users who browse through the Internet on a periodic basis, and their surfing skills are at best rudimentary. Time is ripe for making your web site superbly user friendly.
This new breed of users with minimal exposure to browsing is vulnerable to encounter a little more difficulty in even a web site that is otherwise user friendly. Here is an important point not to be missed out that this new breed of surfers can be a great prospect for your site when their needs are understood and correspondingly catered to.
The need of the moment is to make your site excessively user friendly so that they are not lost on the web, and they do not just wind up browsing in sheer hopelessness. They need to be guided through simplistic features to help them know what to do next in order to get what they are looking forward to.
This sort of users lacks fundamental competence to search the stuff on the Internet effectively, faces hiccups in navigating web site and looks in astonishment while dealing with typical annoyances on the web. Their utter inability to understand your site often lead them to another site in search of ease, and it does constitute losses for you!
Designing your web site in such a manner as will enable them to learn quickly and steer clear the way to enriching experience is what is required in this regard.
But before making your web site layman friendly, it is essential to get the pulse of the browsing tendencies and habits of layman users.
An insightful look at the online behavior of layman users
Here are some interesting observations on the typical behavior of relatively new users while they use the Internet.
It is quite amazing to learn that new users have been found to practice a novel method to log on to a particular web site whose URL is known to them. They have been observed to type in the URL in Google search, and subsequently clicking on same URL in the returned search pages.
A report from Metacrawler, an Internet research firm, reveals the fact that search queries like "hotmail.com", "www.hotmail.com", "Google", "Yahoo” etc. are among the top search engine queries. It implicitly proves that people do not seem to know that they can access any site by simply typing its URL in the browser address bar.
While going through the returned search pages of Google, new users tend to read the titles of the pages, which they think are closest to their search criteria, and click on such hyperlinks. Hence, the titles of the pages in search results have to be strategically written.
Haphazard pieces of information clustered all through the page not only confuse the users but also scare them. Unsystematic organization of content on the page and a low count on readability make them feel that desired information is non-existent on the page. The randomness of content simply turns them off because they do not bother to look deep; they just scan and skip.
It has been found that new users are not comfortable with pop-up advertisement windows. They mistakenly close other windows, ponder over how to go back, or even close dial-up connection in their attempt to deal with the pop-ups. It has been seen that layman users are not at ease to manage multiple browser windows.
Helping layman users to browse with confidence and convenience
In the light of the above observations, a couple of simplistic features might be added to your web site in order to tap the traffic of layman users. Definitely such features will be contributing to the overall usability of your site in a positive way.
You can not afford to miss the listing of your web site in prominent search engines. It has nothing to do with your offline advertising campaign however aggressive it might be. Such advertisement will of course help your URL gain popularity, but chances are not distant that some new users end up complaining that your web site could not be accessed. Not to mention here, getting listed in the search engines has got its own bundle of benefits.
If you wish to have your own start page for the users of your site, it pays to place search engine links or a search box onto that page. This will help layman users to stick to your start page.
It is clear now that the titles of the pages in search results are crucial for clickthroughs. Therefore, the title of your page should be in accordance with the key words you are optimizing the page for. The title should be enticing and relevant enough to be clicked on. Each page of your site has to be individually optimized for a particular key word for a good traffic.
There can not be any hard and fast rules in using pop-ups and newsletter subscription windows. It essentially depends on the proficiency level of users who visit the site. It is always preferable to have test run of such features before implementing them throughout the site. Once you experience the loss of traffic due to such features, it is a subtle indication that such features are not for your site. The crowd visiting this site is dominantly layman users, and hence it is to be a lot more user friendly.
The learning advantage
In short, capitalizing on the idiosyncrasies and rudimentary skills of this new breed of Internet users can open the gateway of more traffic and hence more revenues that can eventually translate into your web success.
Microsoft s Entrance to AdCenter Google and Yahoo Be Prepared
Let’s welcome Microsoft’s AdCenter to the PPC advertising field. A quick question, though, why is AdCenter here? Microsoft, the juggernaut, sat on the sidelines for quite awhile and watched as first Overture (later bought by Yahoo) and then Google took online advertising to the level which we see it today.
This business, hardly fully grown, yet quite developed, is still dominated by Yahoo and, in particular, Google. AdCenter is not an entry into the ground floor of a new field of business, but a giant undertaking in a field that, frankly, Microsoft will likely not be able to shove people around in. I suppose Microsoft could get in the microchip processing business, too, I mean they’ve got the money – the point is businesses don’t just enter new enterprises because they can. Inexperience taking on experience is rarely a winning proposition. Yet in this case, apparently, Microsoft is taking on Google just because they can – there is enough dough.
Microsoft has deep pockets, deeper than Google – no matter what Google’s stock price is, because they have the years of profitability. What kind of deep pockets, you may ask? In Nov. ’04 Microsoft issued a special dividend and paid $3 per share to stockholders. Microsoft has over ten billion shares outstanding. So, in effect, they dispersed $30 billion dollars from their coffers to their shareholders. Too much money lying around - not a bad problem for a company to have, eh? If you check out Google Finance and look at Microsoft’s balance sheet, you’ll see that they have money enough to do anything still – and that includes dueling Google with AdCenter.
The basic aim of Microsoft’s AdCenter is to increase advertising revenue and directly compete with Google in the industry share of advertising dollars. Is it green pastures of profit or the lust of competition that’s brought Microsoft into this game? It’s tougher to sell the profit motive, honestly. Conventionally speaking Microsoft’s scenario today would have been unthinkable only four or five years ago – that Microsoft would try and become a major provider of online media.
Perhaps Microsoft is entering into an opportunity, partially by luck, where they can exploit Google. Google has made some quantifiable mistakes and created weaknesses that competition could exploit, possibly. I believe that one key to knocking Google off the top of the heap is to go after the advertising base.
I’ve observed AdCenter, advised new users, and even signed up for it myself. The AdCenter console is sleeker than Google and the reporting (and this is important for advertisers – possibly lost on Google) is better. Primarily, they offer a Cost Estimator for advertisers, to help keep within budget while providing rank, traffic and cost estimates per keyword. AdCenter, on the surface at least, seems intent on ceding information over to the advertiser.
Microsoft’s AdCenter can further drive a wedge between Google and its advertising base by raising the click fraud issue. Aside from being notoriously difficult to communicate with, for advertisers with concerns, Google has been secretive, almost sneaky, about their click fraud settlement – contacting advertisers to opt-out of the class action settlement with a harmless looking email, some say that resembles spam. Google may be creating an environment of mistrust that could, ironically given Microsoft bullying reputation, drive advertisers to Microsoft’s AdCenter.
I think that if Microsoft wants to step up their Search Engine Marketing platform, above what’s available they have a number of duties:
1) Bring more meaningful web conversion data for advertisers – and that’s exactly what they seem to be trying to do with their reporting interface options for advertisers.
2) Seek out partnerships here, there, and everywhere. The Yahoo and eBay announcement had thunderous effects on the search arena – a real blow, perhaps, to Google’s pride. Has success, as it’s known to do in human nature, bred contempt?
3) The toughest trick of all, and one where Google is only getting stronger – increase gross user search. This is the one factor that could make AdCenter’s whole existence futile. Google is doing a bang-up job of increasing an already dominant share of search. Just this week Google recorded 43.1% of searches conducted by US residents in April. This is up from 36.5% in April, 2005. Google has been taking all comers lately with charges of click fraud, secrecy, being hypocrites, even the protectors of child porn – charges don’t come much more scurrilous in the corporate world. But Google’s growing share of search is a magic bullet, impossible for competitors, short-sellers, or even run-of-the-mill ill-wishers to ignore. It confirms that they are the top banana in the world of Internet marketing. Simply put, when people want to find things on the Internet, they’re going to Google first. The inference is clear, Google’s search is best. While Google grows the competition claws to keep market share, competition that includes Yahoo, a company that only exists right now to slowly bleed search share to Google, a percentage point at a time, despite an impressive track record and performance in the field. And this is promising to Microsoft?
Good luck.
This business, hardly fully grown, yet quite developed, is still dominated by Yahoo and, in particular, Google. AdCenter is not an entry into the ground floor of a new field of business, but a giant undertaking in a field that, frankly, Microsoft will likely not be able to shove people around in. I suppose Microsoft could get in the microchip processing business, too, I mean they’ve got the money – the point is businesses don’t just enter new enterprises because they can. Inexperience taking on experience is rarely a winning proposition. Yet in this case, apparently, Microsoft is taking on Google just because they can – there is enough dough.
Microsoft has deep pockets, deeper than Google – no matter what Google’s stock price is, because they have the years of profitability. What kind of deep pockets, you may ask? In Nov. ’04 Microsoft issued a special dividend and paid $3 per share to stockholders. Microsoft has over ten billion shares outstanding. So, in effect, they dispersed $30 billion dollars from their coffers to their shareholders. Too much money lying around - not a bad problem for a company to have, eh? If you check out Google Finance and look at Microsoft’s balance sheet, you’ll see that they have money enough to do anything still – and that includes dueling Google with AdCenter.
The basic aim of Microsoft’s AdCenter is to increase advertising revenue and directly compete with Google in the industry share of advertising dollars. Is it green pastures of profit or the lust of competition that’s brought Microsoft into this game? It’s tougher to sell the profit motive, honestly. Conventionally speaking Microsoft’s scenario today would have been unthinkable only four or five years ago – that Microsoft would try and become a major provider of online media.
Perhaps Microsoft is entering into an opportunity, partially by luck, where they can exploit Google. Google has made some quantifiable mistakes and created weaknesses that competition could exploit, possibly. I believe that one key to knocking Google off the top of the heap is to go after the advertising base.
I’ve observed AdCenter, advised new users, and even signed up for it myself. The AdCenter console is sleeker than Google and the reporting (and this is important for advertisers – possibly lost on Google) is better. Primarily, they offer a Cost Estimator for advertisers, to help keep within budget while providing rank, traffic and cost estimates per keyword. AdCenter, on the surface at least, seems intent on ceding information over to the advertiser.
Microsoft’s AdCenter can further drive a wedge between Google and its advertising base by raising the click fraud issue. Aside from being notoriously difficult to communicate with, for advertisers with concerns, Google has been secretive, almost sneaky, about their click fraud settlement – contacting advertisers to opt-out of the class action settlement with a harmless looking email, some say that resembles spam. Google may be creating an environment of mistrust that could, ironically given Microsoft bullying reputation, drive advertisers to Microsoft’s AdCenter.
I think that if Microsoft wants to step up their Search Engine Marketing platform, above what’s available they have a number of duties:
1) Bring more meaningful web conversion data for advertisers – and that’s exactly what they seem to be trying to do with their reporting interface options for advertisers.
2) Seek out partnerships here, there, and everywhere. The Yahoo and eBay announcement had thunderous effects on the search arena – a real blow, perhaps, to Google’s pride. Has success, as it’s known to do in human nature, bred contempt?
3) The toughest trick of all, and one where Google is only getting stronger – increase gross user search. This is the one factor that could make AdCenter’s whole existence futile. Google is doing a bang-up job of increasing an already dominant share of search. Just this week Google recorded 43.1% of searches conducted by US residents in April. This is up from 36.5% in April, 2005. Google has been taking all comers lately with charges of click fraud, secrecy, being hypocrites, even the protectors of child porn – charges don’t come much more scurrilous in the corporate world. But Google’s growing share of search is a magic bullet, impossible for competitors, short-sellers, or even run-of-the-mill ill-wishers to ignore. It confirms that they are the top banana in the world of Internet marketing. Simply put, when people want to find things on the Internet, they’re going to Google first. The inference is clear, Google’s search is best. While Google grows the competition claws to keep market share, competition that includes Yahoo, a company that only exists right now to slowly bleed search share to Google, a percentage point at a time, despite an impressive track record and performance in the field. And this is promising to Microsoft?
Good luck.
Leaders in Alternative Search
There is a search engine based in Pasadena, California called Snap.com with a stated desire to become “The other way to Search”. All it takes is a click and a search or two to see how Snap.com is a true alternative to the norms of search advertising. I recently asked some employees at ICMediaDirect.com to check out Snap as an example of a company that not only thinks “outside the box”, but operates there, too.
We’d do well to steer clear of any insurance group billing itself as a revolutionary and unprecedented kind of policy-provider. Indeed, risk management calls for avoiding risk while seeking measured solutions. This is in stark contrast to the Internet, which is still developing as a platform and needs creativity and innovation as much as we need oxygen. So when a giant like Bill Gross, founder of Snap.com, aims to build search alternatives, I take special notice.
In case you’re unfamiliar with Bill Gross, he is credited with developing the concept of contextual online advertising as we know it today through GoTo.com. His ideas have evolved into the success of pay-per-click that Google, Yahoo and others enjoy. I don’t know if anyone calls him the “Godfather of the Internet”, but I wouldn’t object to the phrasing. Simply put, his monetization model still fuels the progress of our medium.
For the last few years Gross has been hanging his hat at Idealab, a true hotbed of business ideas. Idealab’s ambitions even venture into harnessing solar energy. Snap.com is an offshoot of Idealab and is noteworthy for the exceptional contextual search features it provides. Searches with Snap.com give in-window previews of contextual ads. It allows you to glimpse a website in question before actually have to click and visit it. This innovation provides convenience to the potential visitor, who may get a better idea of what’s in store before clicking on an ad. The mouse-over display also saves the advertiser money, improves cost per acquisition, and lowers the visitors’ abandonment rate by minimizing the number of needless clicks from uninterested visitors.
Could you imagine a major search engine giving both users and advertisers this break? An advertiser with Snap.com gets more relevant and interested visitors while cutting down on accidental and costly clicks because people won’t be clicking on sites they don’t want to visit. This is one innovation most search engines will likely not adopt; I don’t see Google discouraging clicks to paid advertisements. This far reaching platform could be construed as self-defeating for a search engine when conventional standards are applied, but Bill Gross isn’t trying to be like everyone else. He either sees the future here or is taking jabs at the very model he created – or maybe a little of both.
Perhaps visual search displays for are too far ahead of its time. Leading search engines don’t want more informed and pickier searchers clicking fewer ads, but Gross’s career path is replete with successfully zigging while others zag. It might take some happy accident of his or an innovation of another company to marry well into Snap’s added contextual platform before Snap’s functionality goes from a cool alternative to an industry staple. I think Bill Gross banks on this.
Snap.com has also spawned Big.com, a search tool that employs the simplest concept that could ever be thought up, yet no one really did until Big.com: that’s a search engine with giant font. People who like Big.com include seniors, the vision impaired and me. It’s terrific, almost shocking to behold. The layout of Big.com is beautiful once you figure out what you’re looking at. Like any standard search engine, you’ll get results by entering keywords into a search bar. In this case, it’s virtually impossible to not find the search bar – trust me. Your Search Engine Results Page (SERP) comes back very simply with natural or organic results in the left column and paid search ads in the right – all in huge can’t miss print with paneled screen encompassing buttons instead of wee links to click. The ironic thing is that this giant font flies in the face of the incredible shrinking font of the Internet, a trend that’s due to contextual advertising which has increased the value of screen space, a trend that Bill Gross helped start as much as anyone.
Google and Yahoo don’t seem to be splashing big font for their users. I believe part of the Google’s franchise is a simple uniform look. Different font sizes for different users might ripple that magnificent pond. And with Yahoo, they need all the space they can get, big font might shoo some of their offerings off the monitor and that’s definitely not part of their business plan. It’s easy enough to change the color scheme, though. I like that.
Bill Gross has already contributed more to the Search business than anyone could expect an individual to. He could bow out now an accomplished pioneer. But that wouldn’t be like him or anyone with a pioneering spirit would it? As big names in search advertising emphasize profits, I think we have to dig around elsewhere to see where innovation will come from. And change just might come from the same guy who changed the rules of Internet advertising to begin with.
We’d do well to steer clear of any insurance group billing itself as a revolutionary and unprecedented kind of policy-provider. Indeed, risk management calls for avoiding risk while seeking measured solutions. This is in stark contrast to the Internet, which is still developing as a platform and needs creativity and innovation as much as we need oxygen. So when a giant like Bill Gross, founder of Snap.com, aims to build search alternatives, I take special notice.
In case you’re unfamiliar with Bill Gross, he is credited with developing the concept of contextual online advertising as we know it today through GoTo.com. His ideas have evolved into the success of pay-per-click that Google, Yahoo and others enjoy. I don’t know if anyone calls him the “Godfather of the Internet”, but I wouldn’t object to the phrasing. Simply put, his monetization model still fuels the progress of our medium.
For the last few years Gross has been hanging his hat at Idealab, a true hotbed of business ideas. Idealab’s ambitions even venture into harnessing solar energy. Snap.com is an offshoot of Idealab and is noteworthy for the exceptional contextual search features it provides. Searches with Snap.com give in-window previews of contextual ads. It allows you to glimpse a website in question before actually have to click and visit it. This innovation provides convenience to the potential visitor, who may get a better idea of what’s in store before clicking on an ad. The mouse-over display also saves the advertiser money, improves cost per acquisition, and lowers the visitors’ abandonment rate by minimizing the number of needless clicks from uninterested visitors.
Could you imagine a major search engine giving both users and advertisers this break? An advertiser with Snap.com gets more relevant and interested visitors while cutting down on accidental and costly clicks because people won’t be clicking on sites they don’t want to visit. This is one innovation most search engines will likely not adopt; I don’t see Google discouraging clicks to paid advertisements. This far reaching platform could be construed as self-defeating for a search engine when conventional standards are applied, but Bill Gross isn’t trying to be like everyone else. He either sees the future here or is taking jabs at the very model he created – or maybe a little of both.
Perhaps visual search displays for are too far ahead of its time. Leading search engines don’t want more informed and pickier searchers clicking fewer ads, but Gross’s career path is replete with successfully zigging while others zag. It might take some happy accident of his or an innovation of another company to marry well into Snap’s added contextual platform before Snap’s functionality goes from a cool alternative to an industry staple. I think Bill Gross banks on this.
Snap.com has also spawned Big.com, a search tool that employs the simplest concept that could ever be thought up, yet no one really did until Big.com: that’s a search engine with giant font. People who like Big.com include seniors, the vision impaired and me. It’s terrific, almost shocking to behold. The layout of Big.com is beautiful once you figure out what you’re looking at. Like any standard search engine, you’ll get results by entering keywords into a search bar. In this case, it’s virtually impossible to not find the search bar – trust me. Your Search Engine Results Page (SERP) comes back very simply with natural or organic results in the left column and paid search ads in the right – all in huge can’t miss print with paneled screen encompassing buttons instead of wee links to click. The ironic thing is that this giant font flies in the face of the incredible shrinking font of the Internet, a trend that’s due to contextual advertising which has increased the value of screen space, a trend that Bill Gross helped start as much as anyone.
Google and Yahoo don’t seem to be splashing big font for their users. I believe part of the Google’s franchise is a simple uniform look. Different font sizes for different users might ripple that magnificent pond. And with Yahoo, they need all the space they can get, big font might shoo some of their offerings off the monitor and that’s definitely not part of their business plan. It’s easy enough to change the color scheme, though. I like that.
Bill Gross has already contributed more to the Search business than anyone could expect an individual to. He could bow out now an accomplished pioneer. But that wouldn’t be like him or anyone with a pioneering spirit would it? As big names in search advertising emphasize profits, I think we have to dig around elsewhere to see where innovation will come from. And change just might come from the same guy who changed the rules of Internet advertising to begin with.
Why does Your Business Need A Credit Card Processing Service?.
The Credit Card Machine is used for the retail transaction settlement. This whole process is done through the Credit Card System, named after the small plastic card issued to users of the system. The credit card issuer lends the consumer money and this card allows the consumer to -rotate- their balance. Credit card machine is the tool for accepting credit cards.
To keep the business run smoothly, one needs Credit Card Machine to be installed for speedy and safe transactions. The credit card system helps to maintain the competitive edge in the business. As a Merchant you need a Credit Card Machine and a Merchant Account. With the help of a credit card machine, the merchant account transaction is initiated. Once the merchant swipes the card in the machine, the account information is keyed in this information is passed on to the bank. The bank now checks the customer’s account for the availability of funds. If the funds are sufficient the transaction is authorized. Thus in a matter of seconds, the whole transaction process is carried out. The customer is happy as he or she gets instant service and a convenient payment option while the merchant is also satisfied to receive an instant payment.
www.merchant-accounts.com offers the best service at the lowest prices. It provides different types of Merchant Accounts like Retail Merchant Account, Internet Merchant Account, Wireless Merchant Account etc. These Merchant Accounts help the Merchant by providing credit card processing service. It also offers credit card processing equipments like credit card machines and terminals. Various types of credit card machine are available on the site, which fulfill different requirements of Merchants. You can choose the machine that suits the type and size of your business.
The Credit card machines also come according to the specific need of the merchant. Some Credit card machines are wireless, some come with printer, some without printer. The wireless one is the most expensive but is functionally the best. www.Merchant-accounts.com offers some of the best credit card machines from well-known brands like Hypercom, Verifone, Lipman, Nurit etc. These credit card machines will add volumes to your business and increase your sales manifolds.
www.Merchant-accounts.com provides reliable and safe merchant accounts and efficient credit card machines and terminals. Visit the site to know more about the services and products offered by the merchant services provider.
Pay Per Click VS Organic SEO...and the winner is?
Pay Per Click has changed the way we advertise our businesses. PPC has made it possible for small and large business alike to show up on the first page of Google, as long as they are willing to pay for it. Even if you don-t have a website, you can create a landing page and push a product or service. This would certainly save you the time and money of building and optimizing a site. Still, how much better is PPC compared to organic SEO? Well, let-s take a look...
PPC will allow your add to hit the engines very quickly, where organic SEO could take months to produce the same results. Organic rankings, however, cost you nothing per click, whereas PPC could cost you any where from a few pennies to a few dollars. Recently I wrote an article that discussed how organic SEO was chosen five to one over PPC. Organic listings are more popular because they are more relevant. PPC ads are paid advertisements and may or may not be what you are looking for.
What about PPC fraud? Google just shelled out 90 million dollars due to fraudulent clicks. What does that mean to you? Well it could mean that your competitor could try to deplete your advertising money by clicking on your ads in the hopes of running your daily budget dry so they can have less competition. Or, it could be that your ad is on a website that is related to what you sell. The site owner that hosts your ads gets paid when someone clicks on it. Some site owners will go to great extremes to get as many fraudulent clicks as possible. It-s a get rich scheme that has worked in the past, although Google has really cracked down on it.
So, what happens to PPC? Will search engines improve their methods to stop click fraud? The latest theory is that search engines will allow you to pay only if a sale is made or a form is completed. Good idea? Maybe, maybe not. The agreed upon cost per lead, which would take the place of the bid, will be high. What will they do with sites that sell over a phone number? Leads can still come from there as well.
Anyone who knows me and my work knows how I feel about organic SEO. I have helped many companies increase their search engine traffic and lowered their dependency on PPC. In my mind organic should come first and be aided by PPC, but that-s just one man-s opinion.
This round goes to organic SEO! Click as many organic listings as you want. I dare you!
PPC will allow your add to hit the engines very quickly, where organic SEO could take months to produce the same results. Organic rankings, however, cost you nothing per click, whereas PPC could cost you any where from a few pennies to a few dollars. Recently I wrote an article that discussed how organic SEO was chosen five to one over PPC. Organic listings are more popular because they are more relevant. PPC ads are paid advertisements and may or may not be what you are looking for.
What about PPC fraud? Google just shelled out 90 million dollars due to fraudulent clicks. What does that mean to you? Well it could mean that your competitor could try to deplete your advertising money by clicking on your ads in the hopes of running your daily budget dry so they can have less competition. Or, it could be that your ad is on a website that is related to what you sell. The site owner that hosts your ads gets paid when someone clicks on it. Some site owners will go to great extremes to get as many fraudulent clicks as possible. It-s a get rich scheme that has worked in the past, although Google has really cracked down on it.
So, what happens to PPC? Will search engines improve their methods to stop click fraud? The latest theory is that search engines will allow you to pay only if a sale is made or a form is completed. Good idea? Maybe, maybe not. The agreed upon cost per lead, which would take the place of the bid, will be high. What will they do with sites that sell over a phone number? Leads can still come from there as well.
Anyone who knows me and my work knows how I feel about organic SEO. I have helped many companies increase their search engine traffic and lowered their dependency on PPC. In my mind organic should come first and be aided by PPC, but that-s just one man-s opinion.
This round goes to organic SEO! Click as many organic listings as you want. I dare you!
SES NYC(Search Engine Strategies Conference & Expo): A Bustling Conglomeration
oursing through the carpeted hallways of the Hilton NYC convention center, thousands of people from every demographic were either entering or exiting the various lecture halls. This was not to say that the traffic at the booths was small, but the numbers of people who were there just to gather information was dizzying. The 2006 Search Engine Strategies Convention in New York City was everything an attendee or sponsor could hope for. Kicked off by a keynote speech given by Ask.com’s Barry Diller, it’s been awhile since rumor circulated concerning the possible sale of Ask.com. However, when Diller says: “search will be everywhere,” in regards to the future, it may be assumed that the seasoned media vet has no plans to retire his jersey in the near future. More players mean more competition. This bodes very well for the niche players, too. The torch of search innovation will be carried forward by the “have-nots;” companies still hungry to improve search in order to attract new users, because the game is far from over.
I walked the convention as a representative of a niche player, ConductSearch.com. And like any search specialist, I’m excited to see Ask.com focusing efforts on the quality of the search process, as opposed to merely scheming to retain a massive user base, like Google or Yahoo. There’s nothing wrong with Google’s applications, but is its focus to improve and continue revolutionizing search, or to preserve its own dominance? Is amazing map technology advancing the search process or does it keep us talking about Google?
Diller, in keeping the focus on search instead of shares, is pointing Ask.com in the right direction - one that benefits end users. Perhaps they are looking to attract the discriminating web surfer before reeling in every Internet user. You may not have heard of many sponsors and exhibitors at the SES, but be sure that most believe, like Diller, that search is just getting started.
Search is evolving and everyone, like Ask.com, seems to be focused on performance. In fact, the countless exhibitors at the conference each had their own search implementations that better the process. Great ideas were everywhere. It’s a good thing the conference was well stocked with accompanying literature, because I could never have remembered it all. A simple case of information overload perhaps, but still indicative of the innovation that’s flooding the search industry. Everybody seems to have some new proprietary innovation; everyone wants to build the Next Big Thing.
One thing to note about the evolution of Ask.com is its link to bloglines, the feed aggregator. XML feeds are vital to search engines, particularly to ones that want to stand out in terms of higher performance for their users. Ask.com is not gunning for tops in aggregate search (yet), but is instead refining the search base it already has. And the functionality of XML feeds plays right into this development.
We love to see any search engine focus on performance; since ConductSearch.com’s particular technological search innovation is the world’s first real-time, self-updating fraud protection system. The key word? Reliability. We’re helping search engines, big or small, improve their product.
Let’s go back a couple of years. Do you remember when search was a pain in the neck? Weeding through spam and bogus or misdirected results was like trying to watch television through static. (Does anyone remember static?) All that spam and word cramming tended to ruin the search experience. Google is largely credited with the vast improvement in results, and shares credit with Overture for developing the model for today’s search advertising. And, while this has been a joy for the user (ie. better results, increased faith in the search process); it’s not without its occasional drawbacks, like the scourge of click fraud.
Click-fraud has proliferated in the new age of search- further proof that search needs improving. Users at their computers are largely unaware of the risks or dangers– only advertisers get hurt, which means easy money for crooks, and it doesn’t hurt the big
engines. And even then, advertisers might not figure it out – click-fraud is an almost untraceable crime. Ironically, it’s shadowy crime in a measurable arena.
The gradual effects, however, are corrosive. Once an advertiser feels they’ve been taken, the mistrust that develops as a result can spook them from making future online campaigns. Everyone, eventually, gets hurt: advertisers, users, engines.
Trust is an essential element in any business model and ConductSearch.com’s technology serves to build trust by sniffing out fraudulent bot-clicks. Thusly, we’re a just another niche tackling a larger problem to enhance the overall search process. If smaller companies don’t tackle stuff like this, who will? After all, it doesn’t cost the search engines any money.
The road towards better search should serve us well, just as the growing use of search, estimated to increase an additional 26% this year alone, will too. There are doubters; some legitimate (a Google executive claimed last week that search is not an infinite resource, and it made headlines!), some laughable. One clown media commentator, who shall remain unnamed, thinks that search (and blogs) is actually dying out because many users have found their favorite sites and will not continue to explore the internet in the future. Astounding. His implication is that people have discovered all they need from the Internet, as in, the bus has stopped folks, now get off. I don’t think so.
Search is simply getting better one application and innovation at a time. Seeing so many exhibitors at SES makes me suspect that the best innovation is coming from upstart online companies, who wish to make names for themselves by providing a better product. Almost any conference attendee would predict a continuation in search improvement, but few are going to sit on the sidelines to watch others do it. Change is up to us, the innovators, and not those who look to preserve an existing user base.
I walked the convention as a representative of a niche player, ConductSearch.com. And like any search specialist, I’m excited to see Ask.com focusing efforts on the quality of the search process, as opposed to merely scheming to retain a massive user base, like Google or Yahoo. There’s nothing wrong with Google’s applications, but is its focus to improve and continue revolutionizing search, or to preserve its own dominance? Is amazing map technology advancing the search process or does it keep us talking about Google?
Diller, in keeping the focus on search instead of shares, is pointing Ask.com in the right direction - one that benefits end users. Perhaps they are looking to attract the discriminating web surfer before reeling in every Internet user. You may not have heard of many sponsors and exhibitors at the SES, but be sure that most believe, like Diller, that search is just getting started.
Search is evolving and everyone, like Ask.com, seems to be focused on performance. In fact, the countless exhibitors at the conference each had their own search implementations that better the process. Great ideas were everywhere. It’s a good thing the conference was well stocked with accompanying literature, because I could never have remembered it all. A simple case of information overload perhaps, but still indicative of the innovation that’s flooding the search industry. Everybody seems to have some new proprietary innovation; everyone wants to build the Next Big Thing.
One thing to note about the evolution of Ask.com is its link to bloglines, the feed aggregator. XML feeds are vital to search engines, particularly to ones that want to stand out in terms of higher performance for their users. Ask.com is not gunning for tops in aggregate search (yet), but is instead refining the search base it already has. And the functionality of XML feeds plays right into this development.
We love to see any search engine focus on performance; since ConductSearch.com’s particular technological search innovation is the world’s first real-time, self-updating fraud protection system. The key word? Reliability. We’re helping search engines, big or small, improve their product.
Let’s go back a couple of years. Do you remember when search was a pain in the neck? Weeding through spam and bogus or misdirected results was like trying to watch television through static. (Does anyone remember static?) All that spam and word cramming tended to ruin the search experience. Google is largely credited with the vast improvement in results, and shares credit with Overture for developing the model for today’s search advertising. And, while this has been a joy for the user (ie. better results, increased faith in the search process); it’s not without its occasional drawbacks, like the scourge of click fraud.
Click-fraud has proliferated in the new age of search- further proof that search needs improving. Users at their computers are largely unaware of the risks or dangers– only advertisers get hurt, which means easy money for crooks, and it doesn’t hurt the big
engines. And even then, advertisers might not figure it out – click-fraud is an almost untraceable crime. Ironically, it’s shadowy crime in a measurable arena.
The gradual effects, however, are corrosive. Once an advertiser feels they’ve been taken, the mistrust that develops as a result can spook them from making future online campaigns. Everyone, eventually, gets hurt: advertisers, users, engines.
Trust is an essential element in any business model and ConductSearch.com’s technology serves to build trust by sniffing out fraudulent bot-clicks. Thusly, we’re a just another niche tackling a larger problem to enhance the overall search process. If smaller companies don’t tackle stuff like this, who will? After all, it doesn’t cost the search engines any money.
The road towards better search should serve us well, just as the growing use of search, estimated to increase an additional 26% this year alone, will too. There are doubters; some legitimate (a Google executive claimed last week that search is not an infinite resource, and it made headlines!), some laughable. One clown media commentator, who shall remain unnamed, thinks that search (and blogs) is actually dying out because many users have found their favorite sites and will not continue to explore the internet in the future. Astounding. His implication is that people have discovered all they need from the Internet, as in, the bus has stopped folks, now get off. I don’t think so.
Search is simply getting better one application and innovation at a time. Seeing so many exhibitors at SES makes me suspect that the best innovation is coming from upstart online companies, who wish to make names for themselves by providing a better product. Almost any conference attendee would predict a continuation in search improvement, but few are going to sit on the sidelines to watch others do it. Change is up to us, the innovators, and not those who look to preserve an existing user base.
Hey It s Your Domain Your Future
Establishing your business or organization online is critical to business planning. And a good starting point is to establish your own domain name. Since the registration process is a snap and its benefits undeniable, there’s no excuse not to have your own domain registered – even for businesses or projects barely on the chalkboard.
First, you’ll need to find out if your domain is available. There are several online avenues for this task. I’ve found the Trademark Electronic Search System, http://www.uspto.gov/main/trademarks.htm to be a valuable resource. Another option is www.whois.sc.
Sometimes hyphens are used in domain names. Some feel that a hyphenated name (www.scientific-pizza.com) is pleasing to the eye and easier to read and identify. Many believe hyphenated URLs rank higher on search engines.
Another school of thought believes that hyphens are a bad idea since people don’t remember them and users may be lost trying to figure out where in the domain name the hyphen falls. The marketers, business managers, and webmasters who create websites should try and decide how best to proceed – will the hyphen help or hinder? Ex: www.scientific-pizza.com, www.scientificpizza-chicago.com, www.scientific-pizzas-chicago.com, as you can imagine, some work better than others.
Some additional sites (register.com, networksolutions.com, and godaddy.com) also present a variety of domain registration options. You will need to do some legwork in order to find out which site offers the most cost-effective registration solution for your needs - and a higher price doesn’t indicate a “better” web address or website since the net results will be the same – your new domain.
The nitty-gritty details need only to be shouldered by these companies who offer the service. This leaves you free to concentrate on some of the more important aspects of your domain. It’s simple – you decide what you want your name to be.
Now the domain is yours for as long as you choose to renew your registration. Renewals are usually done on an annual basis.
You can have your own domain. And your own unique domain name provides a variety of competitive advantages almost as soon as it’s registered:
1) You’ll reinforce your name brand and strengthen online association with your organization or product. Let the following example explain: Which do you think works best, www.scientificpizza.com or www.free-hosting.com/business/restaurant/~scientificpizza?
2) It’s professionally assertive to have your name on your domain, instead of that of a free hosting service. Think about it, even if the service could handle high user volume associated with your company, wouldn’t business or interest balk at seeing another corporate name on your URL? Establish yourself with your own domain.
3) It brands your product or business with a touch more trust than without. Again, an example should suffice: Which would you trust more john@scientificpizza.com or johnscipizza1977@yahoo.com? And if you were John – which would you want on your business card?
4) Just brace yourself for the wave of people who will find you. Search engines deliver people who are looking for your product, or something close to it, and possibly people who weren’t looking for anything at all. Your domain reels it all in. Search engines tend to index the homepage of websites, and some don’t list pages on free hosting sites.
5) Secure your domain name before someone else does. It used to be a cottage industry, of sorts, where people would snag domain names before companies or entrepreneurs would – for the sole purpose of selling them at a premium price. This angle, while not particularly hot, is still in play. It’s possible that another entity could take your ideal domain before you get it, so considering the costs involved, you should always opt for buying domain names.
6) Expanding a bit on #5, registering for future use or “parking” your domain is sound procedure. Don’t forget, just because you buy your domain name doesn’t mean you have to do anything with it for the time being. You can let it sit undisturbed until a use is found. They don’t go bad, you know?
7) If you’ve established email addresses in conjunction with your domain, you will not lose them – even if you change ISPs or if there’s disruption in access to your domain.
No business or organization can thrive today without a website. If yours isn’t online yet, it should be. It’s never been easier, and the benefits are as limited or as limitless as the effort you put into it. The Internet has a permanent place in mass communications – and if you want to establish your presence in the marketplace of tomorrow, then you need to secure your domain today.
First, you’ll need to find out if your domain is available. There are several online avenues for this task. I’ve found the Trademark Electronic Search System, http://www.uspto.gov/main/trademarks.htm to be a valuable resource. Another option is www.whois.sc.
Sometimes hyphens are used in domain names. Some feel that a hyphenated name (www.scientific-pizza.com) is pleasing to the eye and easier to read and identify. Many believe hyphenated URLs rank higher on search engines.
Another school of thought believes that hyphens are a bad idea since people don’t remember them and users may be lost trying to figure out where in the domain name the hyphen falls. The marketers, business managers, and webmasters who create websites should try and decide how best to proceed – will the hyphen help or hinder? Ex: www.scientific-pizza.com, www.scientificpizza-chicago.com, www.scientific-pizzas-chicago.com, as you can imagine, some work better than others.
Some additional sites (register.com, networksolutions.com, and godaddy.com) also present a variety of domain registration options. You will need to do some legwork in order to find out which site offers the most cost-effective registration solution for your needs - and a higher price doesn’t indicate a “better” web address or website since the net results will be the same – your new domain.
The nitty-gritty details need only to be shouldered by these companies who offer the service. This leaves you free to concentrate on some of the more important aspects of your domain. It’s simple – you decide what you want your name to be.
Now the domain is yours for as long as you choose to renew your registration. Renewals are usually done on an annual basis.
You can have your own domain. And your own unique domain name provides a variety of competitive advantages almost as soon as it’s registered:
1) You’ll reinforce your name brand and strengthen online association with your organization or product. Let the following example explain: Which do you think works best, www.scientificpizza.com or www.free-hosting.com/business/restaurant/~scientificpizza?
2) It’s professionally assertive to have your name on your domain, instead of that of a free hosting service. Think about it, even if the service could handle high user volume associated with your company, wouldn’t business or interest balk at seeing another corporate name on your URL? Establish yourself with your own domain.
3) It brands your product or business with a touch more trust than without. Again, an example should suffice: Which would you trust more john@scientificpizza.com or johnscipizza1977@yahoo.com? And if you were John – which would you want on your business card?
4) Just brace yourself for the wave of people who will find you. Search engines deliver people who are looking for your product, or something close to it, and possibly people who weren’t looking for anything at all. Your domain reels it all in. Search engines tend to index the homepage of websites, and some don’t list pages on free hosting sites.
5) Secure your domain name before someone else does. It used to be a cottage industry, of sorts, where people would snag domain names before companies or entrepreneurs would – for the sole purpose of selling them at a premium price. This angle, while not particularly hot, is still in play. It’s possible that another entity could take your ideal domain before you get it, so considering the costs involved, you should always opt for buying domain names.
6) Expanding a bit on #5, registering for future use or “parking” your domain is sound procedure. Don’t forget, just because you buy your domain name doesn’t mean you have to do anything with it for the time being. You can let it sit undisturbed until a use is found. They don’t go bad, you know?
7) If you’ve established email addresses in conjunction with your domain, you will not lose them – even if you change ISPs or if there’s disruption in access to your domain.
No business or organization can thrive today without a website. If yours isn’t online yet, it should be. It’s never been easier, and the benefits are as limited or as limitless as the effort you put into it. The Internet has a permanent place in mass communications – and if you want to establish your presence in the marketplace of tomorrow, then you need to secure your domain today.
212 Newsmaker Night with John Battelle: Arthur of The Search
I’m looking at John Battelle’s words that I jotted onto my notepad: “ephemeral to the eternal”. He was describing the permanent trace we leave behind as Internet users – how our immediate needs or curious whims are logged forever through the process of search. These electronic etchings serve as treasure maps to those nimble and opportunistic enough to read them. Search is a vitally important aspect to the users and businesses alike, and there isn’t a better guide in the field today than Mr. Battelle. When people ask me about search, which is often; I immediately refer them to his blog, Searchblog (www.battellemedia.com), without qualification.
I went with ICMediaDirect.com’s VP of Sales, Diana Lee, to hear Mr. Battelle speak last week in New York City. It was 212 Engagement’s “Newsmaker Night”, sponsored by CBS Digital Media. He authored ‘The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture’, he has an influential search industry blog aptly named Searchblog. He founded The Standard and Wired Magazine. And there’s even more, but what interests me is that his opinion shapes the opinions in the Search world. Simply put, Battelle’s credentials impress.
With all his accomplishments, Battelle still has plenty on his plate. A professor on leave from U. Cal Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism, he’s also Chairman and Publisher of Federated Media Publishing or also known as FM, an author driven advertising enterprise focused on, yup, authors – those folks writing the blogs we read.
Since FM consumes most of his efforts these days, Battelle spent a good portion of his floor time on his venture and on blogging in general. His presentation was, like his writing, witty and easy to follow. I found his message relevant and spot-on since his experience is intimately connected and reflective of the Internet and search trends.
Battelle’s Federated Media caters to the blogger. But not just any blogger; there are literally millions. The only ones are those who has established readership. FM provides them with the advertising legwork and control in order to free them up to do what they do best, blog. The star in FM’s stable is Boing, a top-5 in readership blog.
While Battelle explained his vision for FM to be an advertising network for top bloggers of all kinds, he also had some interesting thoughts for aspiring bloggers:
1) Update regularly. Citing outdated personal experiences, he stressed, annoys the readers. If you’re not updating, some other blogger is – and readership responds to this because they want “fresh” information.
2) Have something to say. Battelle gave examples of blogs that disappointed, corporate blogs that launched despite having nothing to say. Think of blogs as a tool for expression, a tool for writers to expound on themselves. No one wants a blank newspaper.
It was a novel experience for me to see a blogger whom I hold in such high regards. There was also an unexpected jolt for me with Searchblog. Something that shouldn’t have surprised me at all, but the site denotes reader appeal that is based on blogs. He mentioned in passing having 75,000 regular visitors. This matter of fact just floored me. The informal feel of my favorite blogs tend to leave me in a frame of mind where the content I read is among the authors, arbitrary readers, unworthy stragglers, and me. This makes up Seventy-five thousand?? Our tiny little club is huge. The NY Post doesn’t leave me feeling like that.
I liked Battelle’s broad descriptions of online publishing, such as general aims of the industry a few years ago versus now. The goal used to be to get visitors to websites for waiting content or message, like online informational or service depots – dreams of one stop websites were common then.
Instead, today it’s about the process that matters, not the package. Battelle calls this “marketing to the intent” to the Internet users and not merely marketing websites with content. Search is the key ingredient here, bypassing clumsy chores of selling and branding and whatever else it takes to get someone interested in electronic point of sale or content. He noted interactivity, where users create content, thus making the Internet closer to a platform than a destination.
He also cited today’s popular phenomenon – MySpace. In viewing the new media, or what’s been widely introduced to us by Battelle and friends as “Web 2.0”, a process rather than a packaged end like a newspaper for example, we can now see the capabilities at play with open source. MySpace, the corporate entity, produces almost no content in relation to the content it offers. That’s content by web users and an almost perfect web utility, though I tend to imagine it’s just filled with school girl angst, unicorns, and boy band music, but that’s just me “playerhating” – the game is…”coolio?”
Since I’ve read his book and check his blog daily, I readily concede that it is not coincidence that many of my views match John Battelle’s. Like his blog, I can also recommend his book, ‘The Search’. Together or alone, they are excellent resources for understanding the search industry today.
I went with ICMediaDirect.com’s VP of Sales, Diana Lee, to hear Mr. Battelle speak last week in New York City. It was 212 Engagement’s “Newsmaker Night”, sponsored by CBS Digital Media. He authored ‘The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture’, he has an influential search industry blog aptly named Searchblog. He founded The Standard and Wired Magazine. And there’s even more, but what interests me is that his opinion shapes the opinions in the Search world. Simply put, Battelle’s credentials impress.
With all his accomplishments, Battelle still has plenty on his plate. A professor on leave from U. Cal Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism, he’s also Chairman and Publisher of Federated Media Publishing or also known as FM, an author driven advertising enterprise focused on, yup, authors – those folks writing the blogs we read.
Since FM consumes most of his efforts these days, Battelle spent a good portion of his floor time on his venture and on blogging in general. His presentation was, like his writing, witty and easy to follow. I found his message relevant and spot-on since his experience is intimately connected and reflective of the Internet and search trends.
Battelle’s Federated Media caters to the blogger. But not just any blogger; there are literally millions. The only ones are those who has established readership. FM provides them with the advertising legwork and control in order to free them up to do what they do best, blog. The star in FM’s stable is Boing, a top-5 in readership blog.
While Battelle explained his vision for FM to be an advertising network for top bloggers of all kinds, he also had some interesting thoughts for aspiring bloggers:
1) Update regularly. Citing outdated personal experiences, he stressed, annoys the readers. If you’re not updating, some other blogger is – and readership responds to this because they want “fresh” information.
2) Have something to say. Battelle gave examples of blogs that disappointed, corporate blogs that launched despite having nothing to say. Think of blogs as a tool for expression, a tool for writers to expound on themselves. No one wants a blank newspaper.
It was a novel experience for me to see a blogger whom I hold in such high regards. There was also an unexpected jolt for me with Searchblog. Something that shouldn’t have surprised me at all, but the site denotes reader appeal that is based on blogs. He mentioned in passing having 75,000 regular visitors. This matter of fact just floored me. The informal feel of my favorite blogs tend to leave me in a frame of mind where the content I read is among the authors, arbitrary readers, unworthy stragglers, and me. This makes up Seventy-five thousand?? Our tiny little club is huge. The NY Post doesn’t leave me feeling like that.
I liked Battelle’s broad descriptions of online publishing, such as general aims of the industry a few years ago versus now. The goal used to be to get visitors to websites for waiting content or message, like online informational or service depots – dreams of one stop websites were common then.
Instead, today it’s about the process that matters, not the package. Battelle calls this “marketing to the intent” to the Internet users and not merely marketing websites with content. Search is the key ingredient here, bypassing clumsy chores of selling and branding and whatever else it takes to get someone interested in electronic point of sale or content. He noted interactivity, where users create content, thus making the Internet closer to a platform than a destination.
He also cited today’s popular phenomenon – MySpace. In viewing the new media, or what’s been widely introduced to us by Battelle and friends as “Web 2.0”, a process rather than a packaged end like a newspaper for example, we can now see the capabilities at play with open source. MySpace, the corporate entity, produces almost no content in relation to the content it offers. That’s content by web users and an almost perfect web utility, though I tend to imagine it’s just filled with school girl angst, unicorns, and boy band music, but that’s just me “playerhating” – the game is…”coolio?”
Since I’ve read his book and check his blog daily, I readily concede that it is not coincidence that many of my views match John Battelle’s. Like his blog, I can also recommend his book, ‘The Search’. Together or alone, they are excellent resources for understanding the search industry today.
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