Brand associations on both sides of the Atlantic
Online measurement company Hitwise has run a comparison of search terms associated with Yahoo!, MSN and Google in the US and UK, highlighting some differences in consumers' attitudes to the three portals on different sides of the Atlantic.
The study found that US consumers, for example, largely associate MSN with its portal content while in the UK, the brand is better known for communications tools Messenger and Hotmail.
Yahoo! launches corporate blog
Do you fancy getting to know the boys and girls over at Yahoo! a bit better? If you do then good news. Yahoo! has launched its own corporate blog Yodel Anecdotal aimed at providing users with insights into Yahoo! and the faces behind the company.
Study sheds light on complex Search conversion paths
Research by 360i and SearchIgnite will make interesting reading for search marketers who want to build their understanding of how consumers are interacting with organic and paid search listings before converting.Search engines to form anti-click fraud alliance
Search engines including Google, Yahoo and MSN have teamed up with The US’ Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) to develop ways of better measuring click fraud, according to the Associated Press .Set to be announced later today, the initiative will attempt to develop guidelines that would introduce more accountability into PPC advertising.
Yahoo! Launches New Search Crawler (Slurp!)
Yahoo! recently announced the launch of a new faster, more efficient web crawler. The new crawler ( Yahoo! Slurp as it's known), is designed to navigate through the Web quicker than its predecessor and in the process uses 25% less bandwidth.
Eureka! Google optimises its PPC Adwords quality algorithm
Will Google’s decision to introduce an algorithmic element into its Adwords ‘Quality Score’ spell the end for sponsored keyword arbitrage and add further pressure to affiliates to clean-up their act?
Search marketers in Travel and Auto need to look at bigger picture
The results of two pieces of research based on comScore data show how important it is for marketers to build their knowledge of the role played by online research - and Search - in the buying process.
Google launches Adwords click fraud tool
Google has responded to calls for greater transparency on click fraud by introducing a new tool for Adwords users that displays "invalid clicks".
Google business product manager Shuman Ghosemajumder explains: "The metrics of 'invalid clicks' and 'invalid clicks rate' will show virtually all the invalid clicks affecting an account."
This should provide advertisers with an overview of how Google is dealing with clicks already identified as possibly fraudulent, aka 'invalid', though for many marketers this might not be enough.
Display ads lift Search conversion rates, says research
Research by the Atlas Institute shows that the conversion rate from Search advertising is 22% better when used in conjunction with Display advertising.
The study demonstrates that there is a quantifiable "synergy" between these two channels and will hopefully encourage advertisers to take a more integrated approach to their online marketing.
The research is welcome because there are still companies out there who are shifting their budgets from display advertising into Search without a full understanding of how this might affect their conversion success or long term prospects.
Click fraud on the rise, according to Click Forensics study
Click fraud remains a growing problem for search engines and online advertisers, according to a study by US-based consultancy Click Forensics.
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
