Google acquires AdMob: solidifies place in the mobile ad market
Google may have its fingers in a lot of pots when it comes to digital advertising, but to date, it has not replicated its runaway success in search. While the company may be late to market with its online display advertising play, Google is not risking the same fate in mobile.
From the Android to mobile search, Google has been making plays there for months. And with today's acquisition of AdMob, the search giant will have more of its bases covered in that market.
Murdoch: Google? We don't need no stinkin' Google
Rupert Murdoch is a media mogul who hasn't shied away from revealing his true feelings towards Google. The best way to sum them up? If Google didn't exist, he would be all the happier.
Earlier this year, Murdoch asked cable industry execs "Should we be allowing Google to steal all our copyrights?" His response: media execs should be saying "Thanks, but no thanks" to Google.
The five biggest myths about Google
On the internet, few companies receive more attention than Google. And for good reason: Google touches so many individuals and businesses. From search to its 'side projects', just about everything Google does creates interest.
Google's prominence, not surprisingly, has led to the creation of many myths. Here are my top five.
The ‘Vince’ update unravelled: does Google recognise brand equity? (pt 3)
Could this be the smoking gun, the SEO equivalent to 'CCTV' evidence of Google's manual intervention? I'll let you decide. My place is only to present the evidence.
Without wanting to sound sensationalist, I found this evidence quite shocking because as we all know, Google would never hand manipulate a SERP... would it?
Google pulls the trigger, gets into lead gen
In late August, we reported on a lawsuit filed against Google by LendingTree alleging that Google was planning to offer an online lead gen service related to mortgages using technology offered by a LendingTree vendor that was contractually forbidden from working with LendingTree's competitors.
While the status of that lawsuit is unknown, it is now official: Google has entered the lead gen business.
Google's future in behavioral targeting looks bleak
The future of behavioral targeting is in danger. With an ongoing Congressional investigation and growing privacy concerns, it looks as though consumers and regulators are not keen to have advertisers track web surfing behavior online. But there's another side to the story — does behavioral targeting even work?
The idea is that by following users online, they can get a clearer idea of people's buying habits and serve more relevant advertising to them. If that is not true, the case for behavioral targeting falls apart. And if preliminary results from Google's nascent attempts are any indication, BT does not appear to be working for the search giant.
According to Jim Brock, founder of PrivacyChoice, chairman of Attributor, and former senior VP at Yahoo, Google's “interest-based advertising” only reaches about 25% of AdSense sites.
Six inconvenient truths about SEO
You've probably seen them: programs claiming to teach you how you can use SEO to boost your Google rankings and in turn build a successful internet business that runs on cruise control. All for the low price of $49.95.
While such programs almost always fall into the 'scam' category, there is truth to the notion that SEO can be a pathway to success. If you run any sort of website, chances are you need traffic, and SEO can deliver it. But there are some inconvenient truths about SEO that often get ignored, especially in 'newbie' circles. Here are six of them.
Google's iPhone Killer doesn't need to kill anyone to succeed
In the war against the Jesus phone, Motorola has a new contender. The cellphone provider has manufactured the latest Google phone, set to hit Verizon stores next week. Droid ads take on AT&T's iPhone directly, explaining functionality the iPhone does not have and what Droid does right, making it look like Verizon's trying to make a big play for the iPhone's business.
But Droid doesn't have to knock the iPhone off its popularity pedestal to pay off for Verizon, Motorola or Google. It just has to do better than the rest of the competition.
The ‘Vince’ update unravelled – does Google recognise brand equity? (pt 2)
Yesterday we took a retrospective look at the 'Vince' update, exampling the 'Poker' and 'Life Insurance' SERPs, and how Google has cleverly managed to identify and apply corrective adjustments to a small number of rankings for big brands.
Today we're looking at the 'Holidays' and 'Betting' SERPs and the possible methods behind these adjustments, as well as introducing data from the Stickyeyes data set, enabling us to dig deeper into the back-link profiles of these movers and shakers.
Google adding music to search
Google pretty much has its bases covered. Looking for an image? There's Google Images. Looking for a video? Video results appear in search. As do products.
But one thing has been noticeably absent: music. Which is not an insignificant fact given that two of the top 10 search queries in the United States are music-related. But Google being Google, it has a plan for music.
Social media: the best and worst of 2009
Email marketing: six steps to improving customer engagement in 2010
Web 2.0
Graham Charlton
Strategy & Planning
