Microsoft | Internet Marketing Blog

Gates: internet will revolutionise TV

Microsoft chairman Bill Gates has predicted that growing uptake of online video content and broadband TV will revolutionise viewing habits within the next five years.

The ability of web-based TV services to offer users what they want to watch, when they want to watch it, rather than being slaves to TV schedules, will make all the difference, Gates told the World Economic Forum in Davos.

by Graham Charlton 29 January 2007 14:07pm 0 comments

Interview: Online mapping guru Ed Parsons

Ed Parsons is the former chief technology officer of the Ordnance Survey, and one of the most knowledgeable people in the UK’s geospatial industry.

Before his much talked about departure last month, he was one of the central figures in the debate over the Ordnance Survey’s licensing regime – i.e., whether it should offer low cost access to mapping data to encourage the development of applications and mash-ups. He had also been pushing for the organisation to launch an API for non-commercial services and to adopt an open source model in some of its projects.

I caught up with him last week to find out more about internet mapping and his plans for the future…

by Richard Maven 15 January 2007 10:49am 0 comments

Microsoft tests Google Analytics rival

Microsoft is due to release web metrics software that is expected to become a challenger to Google Analytics.

The company last night confirmed it was running a closed 'alpha' test phase for a "very limited' number of our existing customers".

by Robert Andrews 10 January 2007 13:25pm 1 comment

Gates: IPTV to be added to next Xbox

Microsoft boss Bill Gates has outlined his vision for the next 'digital decade', announcing plans to add IPTV services to the next version of the Xbox.

Speaking at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Gates announced that Microsoft will combine the Xbox 360 gaming device with the Microsoft TV IPTV Edition software platform, which he says should be available by the end of 2007.

by Graham Charlton 08 January 2007 15:39pm 0 comments

Mozilla to release Firefox 3.0 next year

Despite the fact that Firefox 2.0 was only released last month, Mozilla is to release the new version of its browser as early as next year.

The rival to Microsoft's Internet Explorer has increased its share of the browser market since the release of Firefox 2.0 to nearly 11% in the US, 22% in the UK, and an average of 23.2% across Europe.

by Graham Charlton 15 December 2006 16:42pm 1 comment

Winning the Bidding War on Google Adwords

You can win a short-term bidding battle on paid search networks like Google Adwords by being smarter than your competitor. But you may not be able to win the longer-term war – that may be out of your control.

Quality-based bidding systems help with bidding wars since there is less transparency on prices bid and they give alternative ways for you to win.

So for quality-based networks, your position will be boosted if you follow any or all of the following techniques...

by Chris Lake 23 November 2006 15:52pm 0 comments

New paid search guide for client teams and agencies

We've just published our mega-comprehensive Paid Search Marketing (PPC) Best Practice Guide, which is going to help a lot of you to finesse your PPC strategies.

by Chris Lake 16 November 2006 12:04pm 0 comments

Understanding different types of keyphrases for PPC success

The majority of search queries consist of more than word - over the past decade searchers have gradually increased the amount of words per query, from 1.2 in 1998 to 3.3 in 2006.

Partly, this is because there is more noise to cut through on search engines like Google and Yahoo. But it is also about savvier searchers, finessing their query to return the most relevant results.

If you are running paid search marketing campaigns you need to understand how search queries indicate propensity to convert, and customer value.

Figuring this out can make a big difference to your return on investment from PPC campaigns...

by Chris Lake 15 November 2006 18:19pm 0 comments

Bill Gates says internet bubble is back

Speaking to journalists in Belgium last week, Bill Gates warned against the rush to new web-based software service, and compared this to the doomed 1990s internet bubble.

Google's deal to pay $1.65 billion in stock for YouTube, an online video company that has yet to turn a profit, has led some commentators to revive talk of an internet bubble.

We've always stopped short of calling it a bubble, for a number of reasons, but certain recent funding rounds are making us reconsider our stance...

by Graham Charlton 13 November 2006 13:44pm 0 comments

Microsoft in cool-envy, Zune to be a ‘dismal failure’ - BusinessWeek

In an article called ‘Zune: Falling Down On Cool’ BusinessWeek savages the forthcoming Microsoft device, predicting that “by this time next year, it will be considered a dismal failure”.

And the reason why it will fail? Because it isn’t cool, and neither is Microsoft, says BusinessWeek. It adds that attempting to become cool is the only reason that Microsoft is launching the Zune in the first place.

Authored by Arik Hesseldahl, the article states that “the Zune will be seen for what it is: a me-too product that is expressing Microsoft's envy at not being cool”.

Maybe so, but business isn’t really about ‘being cool’. 'Cool' helps with product marketing and customer aqcuisition, but product quality and lifespan are key to customer retention, recommendations, and repeat business.

by Chris Lake 10 November 2006 12:32pm 1 comment