Performics Performance Marketing Blog: SEM, SEO, Social & Display

Mobile’s Great Expectations: Part 1, The Rise of Mobile

Posted by Paul Williams, Search Analyst (Natural Search)

For several years now, businesses, marketers and consumers have basked in the multifaceted glory that has been dubbed Web 2.0. The technicalities of networking have changed since the days of Usenet, the sandboxed AOLs, and personal Geocities pages, but we all can agree that one thing remains the same -- everyone wants to find and share information. This desire has contributed to entrepreneurial efforts from which complex and powerful social tools have been produced. The success of Flickr, Facebook, Reddit, Twitter and the rest of the gang are examples of these social tools. It is arguable that these concepts run concurrently with the evolution of key technologies, but it is not so apparent where exactly the "Internet" as we know it will go from here.

Now that "we the people" create, upload, categorize, and wiki everything, the Internet is more than just a tool for researching and sharing information; it is a component (and, yes, proponent) of life and commerce. While it's inevitable that the technologies will improve for creating, interacting, and accessing the large amount of media and information available online, it's also imperative to think about how the Internet will look in the years to come. I'm sure it’s safe to say the future internet won't be quite as it is portrayed in our favorite science fiction-- instead, I have a feeling it's going to look a lot like it does now on mobile.

Search and Mobile: The coffee debate may linger, but for mobile search Starbucks is clearly less bitter

Posted by Bill Fergus, Account Manager (Natural Search)

As mobile use continues to rise, it’s no surprise that more and more companies are trying to figure out how to leverage their online properties in the mobile space. When clients ask me what they should be doing in mobile, I like to start with the basics of brand coverage and basic user experience.

To answer these questions, I do a quick test by pulling out my Blackberry and searching for my client’s brand through my installed Google App.  Akin to desktop use, Google leads mobile search with a 63% market share (comScore M:Metrics MobiLens. September 2008) so it only makes sense to begin our research there.

Search Happenings

Posted by JC Longbottom, Associate Product Marketing Manager

From the Engines:

·         Google makes two changes to the SERP: longer description snippets, and better understanding of terms that relate to your query.

·         Google Insights for Search now allows for metro-drill down.

Other Topics of Interest:

·         Google seeks to index more local content.

·         Warner Music Group cracks down on YouTube videos.

·         March Madness on Demand sees a 71% YOY traffic spike.

·         Twitter: possible ad model?

·         Aspects of Facebook redesign being reversed.

Some Fun Stuff:

·         Inmate starts fire by heating sausage in toilet.

·         Mediums receive grant to talk to the dead.

Social.icio.us Thursday: Facebook’s Design Challenge: How to Keep 175+ million Users Happy

Posted by Micheline Sabatté, Product Marketing Manager (Search and Performance Media)

If you build it, they will come. If you change it, they will complain. That’s what happened when Facebook released a new design two weeks back to its population of 175+ million active users. In the old days of design releases, user interface (UI) updates like this would typically fire up only a core group of power users who would actually take the time to find a user group or chat room in which they could share their opposition and rally for change.

However, users in Facebook are different. They are empowered with real-time tools and technology in the Facebook platform that make it possible (and amazingly easy) for them to instantly broadcast an opinion (or in this case, a complaint) to all of their friends.

Even I (a far cry from being what most would consider a Facebook power user) felt the need to voice my opinion about the new UI changes by sharing “Micheline Sabatte is getting used to the new FB UI” and “Micheline Sabatte is wondering if this is where I update my FB status.” I even joined a Facebook group set up by my colleague called: “Filter my feed, Facebook!”—which begs for the return of the Facebook Newsfeed Algorithm. 

Well, welcome to the Social Web and Customer Service 2.0.

Google SERP Changes: Are They "Whoa, Dude," or Are They Bogus?

Posted by Jonah A. Berger, Search Specialist (Natural Search)

To quote the incomparable Keanu Reeves from his role as Ted "Theodore" Logan in "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure": "Strange things are afoot at the Circle K." That was 1989, roughly around the time English computer scientist and MIT professor Timothy Berners-Lee was credited with inventing the World Wide Web. With Bill and Ted having little (OK, nothing) to do with cyberspace, let’s fast forward 20 years to the SEO world, where the Circle K plays the role of Google and phone booths have all but vanished due to cell phones, smartphones, iPhones and just about any other device you can fit in your satchel.

The ubiquitous Google recently made more enhancements to its search engine results pages (SERPs), changes that could further refine result relevance and increase the amount of information presented to searchers before their next click. Announced on its official blog on March 24 in a post titled "Two new improvements to Google results pages," Google search results now showcase enhanced “related search” capabilities and longer snippets returned for queries of four or more words. What does all this mean for SEO? Below, I will break down each enhancement and highlight some takeaways from each.

The State of Internet Privacy- March 2009

Posted by Dan Malachowski, Product Marketing Manager (Search and Performance Media)

March has been a busy month for online privacy.  The month started off with now-defunct Adzilla being sued in federal court for ISP-based (deep packet inspection) ad targeting.  Adzilla is being sued for allegedly violating wiretapping laws by looking into the web packets of customers of Adzilla’s partner ISPs without the customers’ knowledge.  The partner ISPs have also been named in the suit.  Adzilla stopped U.S. operations in October 2008 but is being sued for the money the company made while engaged in these ad-targeting practices.

Obama named privacy advocate Jon Leibowitz head of the FTC.  The tech-savvy Leibowitz is expected to scrutinize the online advertising industry and make sure ad companies are protecting consumer privacy.  We’ll see if Liebowitz continues the FTC’s push for ad industry self-regulation or takes a more regulatory approach.  In the meantime, Representative Rick Boucher (D-VA) is preparing a bill to regulate behavioral targeting.  Privacy legislation has also been introduced, but not yet passed, in Massachusetts, New York and Connecticut.  

Search Happenings

Posted by JC Longbottom, Associate Product Marketing Manager

From the Engines:

·         Google’s Tim Armstrong becomes CEO of AOL.

·         Yahoo! adds advanced geo-targeting features.

·         Google beta-testing new Adwords interface.

Other Topics of Interest:

·         Utah search conquesting bill stalled.

·         Danny Sullivan: how people use twitter for search.

·         St. Patrick’s Day search engine logos.

·         Google looks to kill the Kindle.

·         Facebook looks to kill Google.

 Some Fun Stuff:

·         An appropriate excuse.

·         No Ocean’s 11: an unimpressive team of burglars.  

Social.icio.us Thursday: Twitter's Role in the Future of Search

Posted by Ryan Sullivan, Associate Account Manager (Natural Search)

 

Did you hear the tweet about the duck that walked into a bar? If that sounds funny to you, you may be surprised to know that in the past month, nearly 30 Twitter users have told this joke in one form or another.  Twitter has become enormously popular, reaching 6 million U.S. visitors each month (according to Quantcast), and many wonder if its soaring popularity represents the future of Internet search.   

 

As it stands today, the Twitter search feature leaves much to be desired, but it is a great way to monitor current events and topical trends from the fingers of the human conscious.  When major news stories break – and sometimes even break on Twitter – you can see the near immediate reaction from the microblog scene, and often have to refresh your search results several times to stay current with the latest tweets.

 

While it’s true that a remarkable amount of information can be found within a tweet (URLs to similar topics, real-time commentary, and relating facts), how well will Twitter scale?  And, how practical would the results of a Twitter-like search engine really be?

Fans, Advertisers Get Ready for March Madness Online

Posted by Dan Malachowski, Product Marketing Manager (Search and Performance Media)

Fans and advertisers alike are looking forward to the start of the NCAA Tournament this Thursday at noon.  Not since the Obama inauguration will so many people at work be simultaneously streaming online video in their cubicles.  This year, CBS March Madness On Demand will stream all 63 games live through Microsoft Silverlight.  March Madness On Demand drove 4.8 million unique visitors last year and is projecting 7.2 million uniques this year.  The projected increase is partly due to CBS’s distribution strategy to make the content accessible from 300 sites this year.  March Madness On Demand ad revenue is expected to increase 30% year over year to $30 million.  New advertising opportunities include sponsoring the “boss button,” a popular feature that allows viewers to pull up a spreadsheet that looks like work if their boss happens to walk by.

Search Happenings

Posted by JC Longbottom, Associate Product Marketing Manager

From the Engines:

·         Google 72% of searches in Feb. 2009, Yahoo! at 17%.

·         Google Content Network: new opportunities.

·         Google launches “interest based” behavioral targeted ads on Youtube and the partner network.

 

Other Topics of Interest:

·         AdSense publisher wins $721 suit against Google.

·         Online marketing turned a family store into a 60 million dollar business.

·         Google unlikely to buy Twitter says Schimdt.

·         How to write great ad copy.

·         Compete: post Valentine’s Day wrap-up.

·         The collision of search and social.

·         Facebook: now you can target users by primary language and location radius.

·         Conductor: Fortune 500 companies still continue to be largely invisible in natural search.

·         Hulu now the #2 video site behind YouTube.

Some Fun Stuff:

·          A unique, but unlikely excuse: alligator blamed for starting fire.  

·         “To Mr. Adam Ries', with the request to pay his television and radio fees."

·         Groom gets cold feet, sets wedding hotel on fire.