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Microsoft adCenter Analytics to Go the Way of the Condor

posted on March 13, 2009

Sometimes you just have to shake your head and wonder what in the world people are thinking. Then youadcenter-microsoft wonder that maybe you’re not fully aware of all the details and there had to be a good reason to do something. Then you shake your head again and ask what the heck ARE they thinking?

Case in point is the announcement of the closing of Microsoft’s adCenter Analytics. I first came across a quick blurb on Search Engine Watch that linked to the Microsoft adCenter Analytics blog. While we all know that the term ‘Microsoft search’ is possibly an oxymoron does it mean that they have to keep painting a target on themselves for further ridicule? If they are serious about competing in that space (which maybe they just aren’t) it doesn’t seem too prudent to take away your ability to track results of ad campaigns in the same manner that the king of the paid search hill, Google, does…..does it?

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Mozilla Without Googlezilla Could be a Killa?

posted on March 12, 2009

Mozilla and its popular Firefox browser are familiar to most of the tech / internet marketing / geek world andfirefox-logo for good reason. While 67% of the world uses Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser mainly because they don’t know there are other options, Mozilla continues to carve out a strong position in the market. The trouble with that position is that 88% of the revenue the Mozilla Foundation generates is from Google. Meanwhile, Google’s Chrome browser, while only having a 1% market share, is waiting in the wings for Google’s current arrangement with Mozilla to expire in 2011.

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Skype on the Block?

posted on March 12, 2009

eBay has been busy announcing changes and fueling speculation around others. According to the WSJ the online skype-logomarketplace is going back to its roots as an “internet flea market” , as well as moving away from the retail model that Amazon owns and concentrating more on PayPal. Lots of stuff going on during the post Meg Whitman era, huh?

Along with all of this the rumor mill firing up again about what will happen to Skype. BusinessWeek reports that there was more focus than usual at the annual meeting yesterday on Skype’s place in the eBay fold. Considering the fact that just about everything else is up in the air other than the original core business model this is no surprise. It is not the first time that there has been talk about the possible sale of Skype either.

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Company Note to Self: Protect the Brand!

posted on March 11, 2009

We can all probably agree that as we work our way through this current economic situation we are going to see more scams and attempted scams than thief-mpever. Everyone is looking to make a buck and what better way than to either use good old fashioned extortion or play on the fears of those suffering the most. Ahh, isn’t it a beautiful time we live in?

In 2008 the practice of brandjacking picked up the pace and we can only imagine that it will not slow down anytime soon. Clickz covers a report that was done by MarkMonitor and released earlier this week. Leading the pack is that time honored practice of cybersquatting. While this is less likely to happen with bigger brands because of their legal clout and prowess it must be becoming more popular across the board.

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Fortune 500 Cos. Fall Flat with SEO Efforts

posted on March 11, 2009

A study published recently by Conductor, Inc. and reported in MediaPost today gives some interesting insights into the world of big business and organic search. It seemsfortune-500 as if they either haven’t been introduced completely or they simply don’t get along.

The report can be highlighted by this finding alone: Fortune 500 companies spend $51 million per day in aggregate on 88,792 keywords–yet only 20.82% rank in the top 100 of natural search results.

The company did a similar study in November of 2008 but looked at a much smaller subset of keywords. The findings were broken out based on company sector using the NAICS (North American Industry Classification System). While the findings of the report spoke to the overall lack of real success for these biggest of the big firms there were some winners including MGM Mirage (accommodations & food services); Whirlpool (manufacturing); Viacom (information); Amazon (retail trade) and IBM (professional, scientific & technical services).

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Prediction: Local Ad Market in the US Will Shrink

posted on March 10, 2009

It’s that time again folks. It’s time to write a headline that if someone doesn’t look beyond the statement it may seem a little odd or maybe even shocking. Of course since we are concerned with Internet marketing here this is actually a story with a pleasant ending.

The findings are reported over at eMarketer from a study done by the Kelsey Group and BIA Advisory Services. By the year 2013 the local ad market will shrink. The compound annual growth rate from 2008 – 1013 is projected to be -1.4% with the biggest year to year decline occurring this year. Here’s the picture.

emarketerlocal

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SEMPO Dials Back Forecasts for Search Marketing

posted on March 10, 2009

The headline of this post in the WSJ blog would lead one to believe yet again that the sky is indeed falling on the search marketing world. With all the talkhand-and-monitor of the bad economy, the stock market continuing its downward spiral and folks falling into a malaise it would only make sense that when SEMPO ‘slashed’ its forecasts for ’09 it would give ua more bad news.

Well, I suppose it is all in how you define bad news because despite the adjustment downward by this industry group search is still estimated to grow at a healthy 9% this year. As we have said before at Marketing Pilgrim, let’s celebrate the positives.