Archive for February, 2010

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Google releases its next-generation ad serving platform for publishers


2010
02.25

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Posted in Affiliate Marketing, Google, Marketing, PPC, SEO | Comments Off


Google releases its next-generation ad serving platform for publishers

Key points

* Google announces upgraded ad serving platform, DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP)
* Part of a full suite of products to help publishers maximize online advertising revenues
* New DoubleClick logo unveiled

Today, as part of its efforts to help online publishers maximize advertising revenues from their website content, Google announced its upgraded ad serving platform for publishers – DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP).

DFP is a single platform that upgrades and will replace Google’s existing ad serving products: DoubleClick’s DART for Publishers and Google Ad Manager. The upgraded DFP combines Google’s technology and infrastructure with DoubleClick’s display advertising and ad serving experience.

For larger online publishers, managing, delivering and measuring the performance of ads can be a hugely complicated process. Major online publishers (including social networks, entertainment sites, portals and news sites) use ad serving to manage the complex process of how and when the ads they have sold appear on their websites.

Neal Mohan, Vice President of Product Management at Google, said: “Google wants to help online publishers make the most money possible from their content. The upgraded DFP is part of our suite of products that are designed to help online publishers maximize their advertising revenues. Ad serving is the machinery that powers the online advertising world, so improving that technology can put a lot of money in publishers’ pockets. This upgraded platform is another major milestone in our continuing investment in the display advertising ecosystem.”

The upgraded DFP is part of Google’s suite of products – also including AdSense and the DoubleClick Ad Exchange – to help online publishers maximize their advertising revenues across all their ad space, whatever their size and however they choose to sell their ad space.

It includes a wide variety of key features that will help enable publishers to get the most value out of their online content:

* A new interface that has been completely redesigned to save time and reduce errors.
* Far more detailed reporting and forecasting data to help publishers understand where their revenue is coming from and what ads are most valuable.
* Sophisticated algorithms that automatically improve ad performance and delivery.
* A new, open, public API which enables publishers to build and integrate their own apps with DFP, or integrate apps created for DFP by a growing third-party developer community (apps under development today include sales, order management and workflow tools).
* Integration with the new DoubleClick Ad Exchange’s “dynamic allocation” feature, which maximizes revenue by enabling publishers to open up their ad space to bids from multiple ad networks. Dynamic allocation is described in this document.

DFP comes in two flavors, tailored for different publishers’ needs:

* DFP – for larger online publishers, to which current DART for Publishers customers will be upgraded over the next year.
* DFP Small Business – a simple, free version designed for growing online publishers, to which we will be upgrading Google Ad Manager customers.

To reflect Google’s continued investment in DoubleClick’s products and the central role of DoubleClick’s technology products within Google’s display advertising business, Google is also today unveiling some changes to the DoubleClick logos – including typset changes, incorporating a new “by Google” theme, and retiring the “DART” brand.

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Choosing the right keywords for your seo


2010
02.25

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Posted in Online Brand Management, SEO, SEO Tips | 1 Comment »

Choosing the right keywords to base your site seo optimization around is an important first step. General or generic keywords are usually not the best approach, and sometimes it’s better to be a little more specific and focus on niche keywords relating to your product or service.

For example, let’s talk about www.devedit.com — DevEdit is our WYSIWYG HTML editing component that drops into browser-based applications.

The problem is, there are a LOT of WYSIWYG HTML editors, but how can we get DevEdit to appear in Google’s top 10 rankings? Well, let’s see. Trying to optimize for the keyword “HTML” alone would be a tough task, as it’s too general. There are HTML editors, HTML tutorials, HTML articles, etc.

We need to be more specific, which means:

  1. Targeting a more suitable market that is looking for a content editing solution
  2. Competing with fewer websites targeting the same keywords
  3. Optimizing for keywords that people actually use when performing searches

Targeting a suitable market will depend on your website, as well as the products and services you offer. Try to be specific with your keywords, and remember that people no longer use single keyword search phrases – the average search phrase contains 3-5 related words.

For example, if you’re optimizing for a web development site and you’re located in Sydney, Australia, use keywords such as “web development Sydney” or “web development services Australia”.

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Microsoft Set To Launch Windows Mobile 7


2010
02.24

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The Mobile World Congress is expected to be the launching pad for Microsoft’s refreshed mobile platform.
Anticipated for months, Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 7 is expected to be unveiled by CEO Steve Ballmer at the Mobile World Congress February 15 – 18 in Barcelona. Ballmer has scheduled a Monday press conference at the show.After allowing its earlier versions of Windows Mobile languish, Microsoft is in the position of smartphone darkhorse to Apple’s iPhone, Google’s Android phones, and Research In Motion’s BlackBerry devices. The software colossus will have to unveil something special to attract attention.

Predictions call for a consumer-oriented platform built on Microsoft’s Zune HD player, but with links to Microsoft’s traditionally strong enterprise products such as Office, Outlook ,and Exchange. Microsoft’s Xbox and Bing search engine are expected to figure into any Windows Mobile 7 announcement, as are free navigation features.When will Windows Mobile 7 handsets see the light of day? There is no official word, but reports have surfaced that LG plans to introduce a Windows 7 handset in September.

While its market share has dropped precipitously in recent months, Microsoft’s smartphone platform still commands a respectable 18% of the market, according to research figures released by comScore. BlackBerry dominates the category with 41.6%, followed by 25.3% for the iPhone and 5.2% for Google’s Android phones. Android handsets are catapulting into the market and their shipments have jumped 100% in recent months. The iPhone, too, is growing rapidly.

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Amazon Launches Kindle For BlackBerry


2010
02.23

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The retailer said user demand spurred them to develop the e-book reader software for BlackBerry smartphones.

Amazon on Thursday launched its Kindle application for the BlackBerry, making it possible for users of the smartphone to read digital books purchased from the online retailer and synchronize bookmarks with the Kindle electronic reader and other supported devices.The Research In Motion smartphone joins Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch with a Kindle app which is also available for Windows PCs. Amazon also plans to release applications for the Mac and Apple iPad, a tablet computer set to be released at the end of March.

E-books purchased from Amazon can be downloaded to the Kindle using its Whispersync wireless technology or to any other device with the Kindle application. E-books purchased on one device can also be accessed by other devices through Amazon.In releasing Kindle applications, Amazon does not tie customers to its own e-reader or hamper the reseller from selling as many e-books as possible. Amazon said it chose to support the BlackBerry because of user demand.

“Since the launch of our popular Kindle for iPhone app last year, customers have been asking us to bring a similar experience to the BlackBerry, and we are thrilled to make it available today,” Ian Freed, VP of Amazon Kindle, said in a statement.

Customers using BlackBerry devices on AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon, and other U.S. carriers will be able to use the Kindle application. Amazon has 420,000 e-books available, including 102 of the 112 New York Times bestsellers. However, because Amazon uses proprietary copyright protection technology, the retailer has fewer than half the e-books available from competitors, such as Sony and Barnes & Noble, which support an open e-book standard in their e-readers, the Reader and Nook, respectively.

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Google Renovates Ad Platform


2010
02.23

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The company’s DoubleClick advertising technology, originally a tool for large publishers, is now also available for small publishers.

Google on Monday introduced DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP), a revamped version of its ad serving technology for large publishing companies.
Google also said that a streamlined version of its ad delivery platform, called DFP Small Business, is available for smaller publishers and will replace its previous small business offering, Google Ad Manager.

In effect, Google has completed integrating the technology it acquired through its $3.1 billion purchase of DoubleClick, a deal announced in 2007 and completed in 2008 that gave Google a foothold in the online display ad business.
“DFP comes in two flavors, tailored for different publishers’ needs: DoubleClick for Publishers, for the largest online publishers, and DFP Small Business, a simple, free version designed for growing online publishers,” said Google VP of product management Neal Mohan in a blog post. “We’ll be upgrading current DART for Publishers publishers to DoubleClick for Publishers over the next year as we continue to add features and modules, and we’ll be moving Google Ad Manager customers to DFP Small Business in the coming weeks.”
Google also has a third ad serving product, AdSense, which provides automated ad serving for publishers and Web site owners who don’t want to take an active role in ad management on their Web sites.

DFP arrives with a redesigned user interface, more detailed reporting capabilities, algorithms designed to improve ad delivery and performance, a new public API for third-party developers, and integration with DoubleClick’s Ad Exchange. Ad Exchange is a real-time display ad space auction, which allows DFP users to receive bids for unsold ad space from multiple ad networks.

“If you had any question that dynamically-served advertising — along the lines of what the industry has grown up with in search — is the future of all advertising, then wonder no longer,” said Mark Simon, VP of industry relations at Didit, an online marketing company, in an e-mail. “Google has understood that for years; and it’s wise of Google to keep at the lead of that trend, as all marketing channels become more sophisticated and intertwined.”

Simon says that Microsoft is in an excellent position in the display ad space, thanks to its 2007 purchase of AdECN. If Microsoft responds, he says, it may be through deepening its alliance with Yahoo, which remains strong in the display ad arena. The two companies, through they have partnered in search advertising, remain competitors in display advertising, he says.

“The possible synergies there could create ‘MicroHoo’ competition to Google on the display ad front, in the same way it’s creating competition to Google on the search front,” Simon said.

Simon argues that the movement toward dynamic, automated media buying may eliminate traditional media buying models before too long, a trend likely to make ad management and analytics tools and expertise even more valuable.

PPC News

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Celebrity Twitter IDs


2010
02.23

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Many Twitter users are said to be confused as to what the company’s policies are regarding reassigning IDs. For now, the company is not handling individual requests, unless they fall under its impersonation or trademark rules.

While Twitter is clear about how celebrities can reclaim accounts in their name, average users have little they can do to grab inactive IDs. But there are steps you can take

ID reassignment
With tens of millions of users, Twitter has become one of the most popular sites on the Internet. Along with that has come the inevitable customer service nightmare of dealing with what must be thousands of users seeking resolution about some account name issue or another.

The instances that get the most attention, of course, are those involving celebrities. For example, Tony LaRussa, the manager of Major League Baseball’s St. Louis Cardinals, recently sued Twitter, claiming his trademark rights were being damaged by someone using @tonylarussa to post some rather insensitive tweets under his name. Similarly, rapper Kanye West threw a much-publicized fit about the fact that someone else had registered @kanyewest before he did.

It seems that folks like LaRussa and West are among the few who can get Twitter to quickly respond to complaints about account IDs. Situations like theirs fall under Twitter’s impersonation policy, which reads, “Impersonation is pretending to be another person or entity in order to deceive. Impersonation is a violation of the Twitter rules and may result in permanent account suspension.”

The company’s policy governing trademarks works much the same way. “Using a company or business name, logo or other trademark-protected materials in a manner that may mislead or confuse others or be used for financial gain may be considered trademark infringement,” the policy reads. “Accounts with clear INTENT to mislead other will be immediately suspended.”

Both impersonation- and trademark-related complaints fall under what Twitter calls “name squatting.” Those who feel they have a legitimate name squatting complaint can contact Twitter and fill out a support ticket.

On the other hand, Twitter’s rules make it abundantly clear that the service permits parody accounts, so long as users do not have “clear intent to deceive or confuse.”

“Twitter users are allowed to create parody, commentary or fan accounts,” the parody policy begins. “Twitter provides a platform for its users to share and receive a wide range of ideas and content, and we greatly value and respect our users’ expression…In order to avoid impersonation, an account’s profile information should make it clear that the creator of the account is not actually the same person or entity as the subject of the parody/commentary.” 

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Intel, Nokia join Linux efforts for smart devices


2010
02.15

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Intel and Nokia are combining their respective Linux operating environments to power future smartphones and tablets, another step in a technology tie-up launched last year.

The technology merger will fuse Intel’s Moblin and Nokia’s Maemo software to form a new operating environment dubbed MeeGo, which is expected to power a range of devices, including pocketable mobile computers, Netbooks, tablets, connected TVs, and in-vehicle infotainment systems.

Intel’s Moblin operating system has been offered on Netbooks from Dell, Acer, and Asus and made an appearance at the Consumer Electronics Show on a future smartphone from LG Electronics. Nokia’s Maemo OS has powered its N900, a high-end smartphone that Nokia refers to as a “mobile computer”–a likely precursor for future MeeGo-based devices from the Finnish telecommunications giant.

The Intel-Nokia collaboration began in earnest in June when the two companies announced the beginning of a “long-term relationship,” focusing on developing new chip architectures, software, and a new class of Intel-based mobile computing devices. This move is part of a major shift for Intel–a giant in PC chips but not a player in cell phones.

The goal for MeeGo is to put more flesh on the bones of last year’s announcement. In short, to combine two disparate, unwieldy operating environments under one roof, said Renee J. James, a senior vice president at Intel. “Across a range of devices we’re looking to build a single Linux platform with a single developer environment and a merged API,” James said in an interview with CNET. An API, or application programming interface, is a way for a program to interact with other software.

Both companies stressed that applications that run on Moblin and Maemo will run on top of MeeGo.

Importantly, MeeGo will support equally ubiquitous ARM-architecture chips, in addition to Intel processors. “It’s going to be cross-platform. That means it supports both Intel and ARM,” James said. ARM processors are offered by Texas Instruments, Qualcomm, Samsung, and others, while Intel’s Atom processor powers Moblin-based devices today.

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Microsoft trying again in phone effort


2010
02.15

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While CEO Steve Ballmer is the one who will get top billing at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, it is Microsoft veteran Andy Lees who is largely responsible for shepherding the long-delayed software project to completion.

Ballmer and Lees, who came from Microsoft’s server unit in March 2008, will be showing the fruits of that work–a ground-up redesign of the phone operating system into something that looks a lot more like the Zune HD than it does any prior version of Windows Mobile.

While Microsoft won’t be building the phones itself, it is being pretty strict about both the components that must be included (think FM radio and capacitive touch screen) as well as also prohibiting phone makers from putting their own skin over the user interface, something that many had taken to doing to hide Windows Mobile in recent generations.

In an interview just before he headed to Barcelona, Lees talked about Microsoft’s different approach with the new software, the role of Zune and Xbox in the product, as well as why Microsoft still believes it can catch up to leaders like Apple, Google and Research In Motion.

There is also a separate Microsoft-designed phone effort, code-named Pink, that is due out this year, ahead of the first crop of third-party Windows Phone 7 Series devices, although Lees wouldn’t talk about those.

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Google drops Gmail address in UK


2010
02.09

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Gmail, the free e-mail service run by internet search giant Google, will change its name for new UK users.

Following a trademark dispute the mail account will be renamed Google Mail.

London-based Independent International Investment Research says it started using the Gmail name for a web-mail application two years before Google.

Current UK users of Google’s service will be unaffected, but a separate trademark dispute forced Google to drop the Gmail name in Germany in May.

Talks between both companies broke down several months ago, after they failed to agree a financial settlement.

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Google takes on Facebook and Twitter


2010
02.09

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Google takes on Facebook and Twitter with network site

Google has taken the wraps off its latest social network known as Buzz.

The service – integrated directly with its e-mail service Gmail – allows users to post status updates, share content and read and comment on friends posts.

The site pitches Google directly against rival networks such as Facebook, which has amassed nearly 400 million users since its launch in 2004.

Buzz will try to capitalise on the number of regular Gmail users, which is currently around 170 million people.

Tthe launch appeared to be a “major land grab by Google for the social networking space”.

“They’ve launched Buzz with plenty of interesting new features, particularly for mobile users, but the real question is whether there’s enough to entice social networkers away from sites like Facebook and Twitter,”  a source said

Rival Yahoo already offers a service that allows people to see updates from sites such as Twitter and Flickr from inside their Yahoo Mail page.

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