Patricio Robles

Newspapers trying to figure out online business models

That the newspaper business is ailing isn't exactly news. With some newspapers closing altogether and others doing what they can to deal with still-declining revenue, it's clear that the newspaper industry needs to adapt.

The internet is increasingly the medium that newspapers are turning to as they try to adapt but it's not a quick fix.

by Patricio Robles 02 March 2009 09:30am 1 comment

Yahoo lowering minimum bids on keywords?

Yahoo has new life. The organizational shakeup that was anticipated transpired this week and Yahoo's new CEO Carol Bartz has started Yahoo down a path that employees and shareholders hope will revitalize the company.

But revitalization isn't going to happen overnight. Despite ongoing efforts to boost its search ad business, Yahoo is still in a bad spot when it comes to its search ad offerings.

by Patricio Robles 27 February 2009 11:05am 1 comment

Facebook needs common sense, not democracy

Last week I wrote about Facebook's latest privacy flub which involved a change to the Facebook terms of service that didn't go over too well with Facebook users and the media.

In response to this, Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg issued his standard apology. But that apparently wasn't enough.

by Patricio Robles 27 February 2009 10:20am 2 comments

Is Google now playing favorites with brands?

Question: what's the fastest way to get top SERPs on Google?

Answer: after Google recently updated its algorithm, it just might be: be a big brand.

by Patricio Robles 27 February 2009 09:55am 3 comments

Researchers: paid search ads don't get as many clicks as believed

According to popular reports, 25-30% of the clicks search engines generate are produced by paid results. That's a number that seems reasonable on the surface given that paid search is a multi-billion dollar a year business.

But a study titled 'Investigating customer click through behaviour with integrated sponsored and nonsponsored results' in the International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising throws this figure into question, and also produces some food for thought when it comes to other common beliefs about paid search ads.

by Patricio Robles 26 February 2009 10:37am 2 comments

With search queries getting longer, are long tail keywords a good SEO strategy?

If you sell widgets, being #1 on Google for generic keywords like 'widgets', 'cheap widgets' and 'buy widgets' is the stuff of dreams.

A top ranking for lucrative generic keywords can literally mean the difference between tens of thousands of dollars a month or more in revenue and no revenue whatsoever for many businesses.

by Patricio Robles 26 February 2009 10:19am 2 comments

Yahoo to launch new ad targeting tools

Yahoo is set to launch new tools designed to help advertisers better target their ads to the company's users.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Yahoo is preparing to launch three new tools that will give Yahoo advertisers the ability to target specific audiences across Yahoo's properties.

by Patricio Robles 25 February 2009 09:31am 0 comments

Television still the screen of choice for US viewers

From YouTube to Hulu and everything in between, there's no questioning that online video is big. So big that one might assume it's threatening the role of television.

Not so according to two new reports indicating that online video has a long way to go before it eclipses the television.

by Patricio Robles 25 February 2009 10:08am 0 comments

The 25 most valuable blogs are...

As blogs have gained in prominence as sources of news and information, the value of the most popular blogs has become a subject of much talk.

Some blogs, such as The Huffington Post, have been funded to the tune of millions of dollars by investors who believe that they're the next big media companies.

by Patricio Robles 24 February 2009 09:30am 2 comments