SEO Articles

Visit Rank for $ales

Read my bio

email me

Home

My 2 featured articles for the week ending Sep. 29, 2006:

Archived blogs for the week of Sep. 25, 2006

1242 - Sep. 28, 2006 - 2.18 PM EST

Some are always late!

Although I wrote about the Google Operating System almost 2 1/2 years ago, some are now starting to use the termed I coined and that I wrote in my original article back on April 9, 2004. Some people are always late I guess!

To quote my own article, "As most of you know, the Windows operating system is the most popular and the most utilized personal computer operating system in use today, and has been for many years. Windows has made Microsoft the powerhouse it is today, thanks to its user-friendly interface and a number of other features that greatly simplify your daily life.

However, there is now a new computer operating system that is taking over, and it’s not coming from inside your personal computer, and it’s not from your company’s LAN (Local Area Network) or intranet network either. What I’m referring to here is the Google Operating System.

If you feel that for the past couple of years Google has managed to transform many people’s lives, you are not alone. We are witnessing a trend that will probably increase and will become even more widespread in the coming months and years. Thanks to many of its PHD’s and engineers, and using its vast research labs in Mountain View California, Google is building a gigantic information system, complete with its own computer operating system that anybody can use, 24 hours a day." Read the whole article...

Posted on Businessblog™

1241 - Sep. 27, 2006 - 1.14 PM EST

Internet ads outpacing other forms of advertising

According to the latest numbers compiled by eMarketer, Web advertising spending is set to increase over 26 percent in 2006 to over $15.8 billion, down a bit from 2005's rate of slightly under 30.4 percent.

Such growth slowing down is consistent with the more than 2.1 point drop from 2004 to last year, and signals a potentially more mature market. However, according to Geoff Ramsey, CEO of eMarketer, Internet advertising can support more sustainable growth in the coming months.

"Total media in the U.S. is growing at about 4.8 percent for 2006 to put this in perspective," Ramsey said. "Even the Internet is not immune to some economic hiccups, and we're seeing slow but subtle signs that consumer spending is not what it could be at this point."

To arrive at its projections, eMarketer considers the estimates of several marketing research firms, including Jupiter Research, TNS, Forrester and nearly 20 other analyst firms and financial researchers.

It combines such data with surveys of its clients, and other independent research. Its figures are constantly updated and revised with real-time results, so even the news from Yahoo last week that it was seeing softness in ad sales in certain verticals is weighed into the calculations, though that plays only a small role, Ramsey said.

"Any Internet marketer can have a rough time with a particular segment, but that doesn't mean everyone else is," Ramsey said. "Yahoo does control about 18 percent of total online ad spend, so if they have a stumble, it's going to effect our numbers at some juncture."

Although growth is slowing down a bit, the overall increase that remains is likely to be sustainable growth, Ramsey said. For next year, eMarketer expects even more modest growth of less than 15.2 percent, followed by a 17+ percent growth in two years from now.

Posted on Businessblog™

1240 - Sep. 26, 2006 - 1.48 PM EST

Online ad revenues up 37 percent over 2005

Internet advertising revenues in the US for the first six months of this year were about $7.9 billion, a 37.1 percent increase over the first half of last year, according to the latest numbers from the IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau) and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Additionally, online advertising revenues totaled $4.0 billion for the second quarter of this year, representing a 36 percent increase over the same period last year, and a 5.52 percent increase over the first quarter of 2006.

"Overall, online advertising continues to reach new milestones, exceeding $4 billion in quarterly revenues for the first time, and well on track for another record year of revenues," said Pete Petrusky of PwC.

"With the seventh consecutive quarter of growth behind us we are confident that the Internet will continue to reconcile the imbalances between its share of media consumption versus its relative share of total advertising spend."

Paid search advertising, accounting for 40 percent of online ad revenues, continued to be the most popular online ad format, followed by display and classified advertising.

"As a whole, interactive advertising delivers an arsenal of options for Internet marketers no matter what their marketing or business objectives are," said Greg Stuart, CEO of the IAB.

"From search, broadband, lead generation, behavioral targeting, consumer-generated content and new emerging platforms like mobile and iPTV, Interactive continues to solidify its position as a mainstream medium."

Of all measuring methods used, CPM was the favorite pricing analytic among the respondants.

Posted on Businessblog™

1239 - Sep. 26, 2006 - 9.14 AM EST

Microsoft to launch its Digital Advertising Solution

Microsoft will soon announce the launch of its Digital Advertising Solutions that will combine its broad set of global advertising products and services into a unified offering for advertisers.

Microsoft's Digital Advertising Solutions are designed to connect advertisers with their target audiences across such devices as PCs, X-Box(R) video game systems, Web-enabled mobile phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs).

Joanne Bradford, corporate vice president of global sales and marketing and chief media revenue officer at Microsoft, said Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions is a response to one of advertisers' key challenges.

"As today's consumers spend more and more time online across various digital devices like mobile phones and video games, advertisers are finding they can no longer reach their entire target audience by advertising on a single medium," she said.

"Microsoft is uniquely positioned because of our extensive global audience, high level of consumer engagement, and engaging ad opportunities across Microsoft's platform to connect advertisers with a million different audiences of one.

We're addressing the reality of media fragmentation and enabling advertisers to get back to what they do best: creating engaging and creative ads."

Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions offers advertisers the ability to reach more than 465 million consumers each month across the MSN(R) network and millions more through Windows Live(TM), Xbox Live(R) and Office Online.

Microsoft's advertising portfolio extends its reach across some of Microsoft's latest releases such as Live Search and Live Local Search, through relationships such as those with Facebook, and the acquisition of in-game advertising pioneer Massive Inc.

Posted on Businessblog™

1238 - Sep. 25, 2006 - 5.03 PM EST

Google loses bid to overturn a court order

Google has apparently lost a bid in overturning a Belgian court order that requires it to publish an earlier ruling forbidding it from reproducing article snippets on its news aggregation service.

As a result, Google faces a fine of 500,000 euros (336,400 pounds) per day for not posting the Sep. 5 decision on its Belgian search engine.

It said on Friday it still refuses to post the ruling. "We are very disappointed that the court has decided to uphold its decision that the original judgement be posted to Google.be and news.google.be," a Google spokesperson said.

In the past, Google had argued that the posting was unnecessary given the widespread publicity of the case.

Google wants to fight the decision again as part of a broader attempt to overturn the entire case. The Belgium court is expected to consider the appeal again in November.

"We believe that Google News is entirely lawful and brings real benefits to publishers by driving web traffic and more users to their sites," the spokesperson said.

Posted on Businessblog™

Copyright © Serge Thibodeau 2006. All rights reserved.

All views and opinions expressed on this blog are those of Serge Thibodeau only and are not representative of any company listed. All slogans, trademarks, text or logo representation used or referred to on this blog are the property of their respective owners.