SEO as effective as paid search, study says
WebSideStory has released an interesting study that indicates paid search is only slightly more effective than optimisation when it comes to conversion rates.
The research, which focused on 20 major B2C sites over the first eight months of this year, basically suggests that neither paid or organic search advocates are right to claim their methods are better.
Cookie deletion discrepancies take the biscuit
Vinny Lingham’s blog has carried some interesting research into cookie deletion – an area which has not been studied in depth but affects user privacy, as well as advertisers’ measurements and conversion rates.
The research will also be of great interest to affiliates who may not be getting the credit they deserve.
Old media get act together on the web
Traditional media companies are increasing their share of online advertising budgets at the expense of big internet players such as Yahoo! and Google, according to research by New York-based private equity firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson (VSS).
User generated content becomes a hit in UK
The popularity of sites featuring user-generated content (UGC) has increased dramatically in the UK over the last year, according to research by comScore.
Smoking ban to boost bingo sites
The public smoking ban could see bingo players moving en masse to the web, according to research by white label gaming firm St. Minver.
The company found 60% of the 2667 British internet bingo players it interviewed smoke, well above the national average of 29%. But mobile companies aren't set to cash in on the ban, with 95% of respondents saying they aren't interested in playing games on their phones.
Classified ads rise in popularity
Traffic to the largest classified advertising websites has grown by almost 50% in the last year, according to new research.
Survey highlights sites' sway over music tastes
Recent moves by social networking sites into the digital music business have been backed by a new report.
The 2006 Digital Music Survey, carried out by Entertainment Media Research, shows the likes of Bebo and Myspace have a strong influence over the way listeners’ discover and purchase music online.
Tesco takes lead in online supermarket sector
Tesco is winning the online supermarket war in the UK, although Sainsbury’s internet customers spend more per order and incur lower delivery charges, according to a new study.
Brits trust old media over new
The British public still consider traditional media brands to be far more trustworthy than blogs, according to a survey commissioned by interactive marketing company Telecom Express .
Google faces another click fraud case
Google is facing its third and probably not its last court appearance this year over click fraud, after the filing of a new class action lawsuit in Pennsylvania.
Samuel Lassoff, the owner of two US websites, has accused the search giant of exposing publishers to click fraud through a breach of contract, negligence, unjust enrichment and unfair business practices.
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
