Online Spending Predicted To Surge In 2008

MediaPost Publications, December 10, 2007 — LOCAL ONLINE AD SPENDING WILL surge 48% in 2008 to $12.6 billion, buoyed by demand for paid search and video advertising, according to a new study.

Spending on local search alone is expected to double to $5 billion, while online video will triple to $1.3 billion, predicts local media research firm Borrell Associates. Despite predictions of an economic slowdown next year, the firm's forecast for 2008 exceeds the estimated 44% growth for local media in 2007.

Optimize Me: A Reporter's Journey into the World of SEO and SEM†

MySpace, Squidoo, Twitter Help Juice Matthew Creamer's Online Presence

Advertising Age, December 3, 2007 — As with many stories about the internet, this one begins with porn.

Deep into an October drinking session with the management team at Reprise Media — a firm you might not have heard of but one that works for huge corporations such as Microsoft and recently sold for a huge bundle of cash — we came to a favorite subject of theirs: what happens when corporations, even those who spend hundreds of millions of dollars a year to craft their brand images, ignore their profiles on search engines.

CPG Marketers May Have Found Their Mass-Reach Vehicle: Search†

Study Finds Large Audience Online for Package-Goods Brands

Advertising Age, October 24, 2007 — Research released today by ComScore defies long-cherished beliefs that people don't care enough about package-goods products to do online search about them or go to their websites.

The study found a majority of U.S. consumers visited at least one package-goods website during the three months ended in April, with search driving a substantial proportion of those visits.

Facebook Set to Introduce Major Ad Play†

Social Network Could Unveil 'SocialAds' at NYC Event Next Month

Advertising Age, October 24, 2007 — The invitation, sent to advertisers and agencies in New York, arrived carved onto a Lucite brick.

You are invited to a discussion with Mark Zuckerberg and the Facebook executive team as we unveil a new way of advertising online."

Are Search Ads a Waste of Money?†

Adweek, August 20, 2007 — New research by Microsoft suggests a big chunk of search ad spending is wasted because advertisers pay top dollar for high ad placements clicked by consumers who are en route to their sites anyway. Listings tied to such "branded" keywords, typically a company's name or products, eat up about half of search budgets, Atlas estimates.

Search Marketers Seed Social Networks

Getting YouTube viewers to start searching.

eMarketer, May 18, 2007 — Nearly half of search marketers placed content on social networking Web sites in February 2007, according to the "iProspect Search Marketer Social Networking Survey" sponsored by iProspect and conducted by JupiterResearch. Respondents said they had "proactively placed content" on MySpace, YouTube, LinkedIn and other social networking sites. Marketers said they placed content on these sites to drive traffic, create brand awareness, sell directly and influence purchasing.

The Surfer's Guide to the Web TV Galaxy

Search engines, tech startups, and media networks are competing to become the go-to portal and guide to professionally made online programming

BusinessWeek, April 19, 2007 — Suranga Chandratillake, founder of video search engine blinkx, likes showing off his new remote control. It can't change programs on TV, but this mouse-controlled tool will help users channel surf the Web. Much like the on-air channel guides on cable and satellite TV, the blinkx tool provides a comprehensive list of network TV programming available on the Web. Then, it lets users call up a show—from virtually anywhere on the Web—with the click of a mouse.

Why a Strong Brand Is a Search Marketer's Best Asset†

Travelocity: Nonbranded Keywords Only Convert 4% of Searchers

Advertising Age, March 15, 2007 — For brand marketers using search, a brand name may be their best asset. That's the finding of a recent Travelocity study, which challenged assumptions around the "portfolio approach" to paid search, a common practice in which marketers buy a wide variety of both brand terms and nonbranded terms — like when an automaker buys its brand terms but also buys "SUV" or "convertible."

Start-Ups Seek to Cash In on Web-Video Ads†

Wall Street Journal, March 2, 2007 — Several start-up companies are hoping to cash in on the exploding viewership for online video with systems that can match advertising to video content. Google Inc.'s enormously successfully online-ad system works by identifying key words users are searching for or seeing on Web pages and placing ads alongside them that are targeted to the same words.

Oscar Advertisers Could Have Gotten So Much More†

Microsoft, Dove Used Search Effectively to Extend Brand Messages Online

Advertising Age, February 26, 2007 — Forget Martin Scorsese. Microsoft was the big winner at last night's Oscars — online, at least. Microsft's three-part commercial campaign for Windows Vista was deemed the most successful by SendTec, a direct-marketing firm based in St. Petersburg, Fla. President Eric Obeck said he and his team of analysts conducted rudimentary keyword searches after each Oscar ad to see if more information on the campaign could easily be retrieved online.