July 11, 2008
Dallas-Forth Search Marketers Question the Closing of Google Dallas Office
The board of the Dallas-Fort Worth Search Engine Marketing Association is scratching their heads over a decision by Google to close their Dallas office. The group says Dallas-Fort Worth are search marketers are responsible for spending $100 million on search advertising, the majority of it going to Google.
“Our association members have worked with many different vertical Google sales offices across the country, and the general consensus is that the Dallas Google office was one of the best, if not the best team to work with,” said Rob Garner, DFW SEM president. “The Dallas Google office has supported the association and the North Texas search industry from the beginning, and their presence will be greatly missed.”
Dallas Googlers must choose between staying in Dallas and leaving Google, or staying with Google and relocating. They are invited to attend the DFW SEM Association's quarterly meeting on July 16 at the Renaissance Hotel in Richardson, Texas. The group says there should be opportunity for networking for those choosing to stay local.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on July 11, 2008, 11:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Google CEO Affirms Stance on Independent Yahoo
In the wake of Carl Icahn's declaration that Microsoft would buy a Yahoo run be a different board (and Microsoft's affirmation of the claim), Google CEO Eric Schmidt hasn't changed his position on what should happen with Yahoo. Speaking to reporters in Idaho yesterday, he reiterated that he believes an Independent Yahoo is best for the industry.
Schmidt called Microsoft's bid for Yahoo "anti-competitive," something Google has been saying from the beginning. He also said that the Redmond-based software giant has a history of being anti-competitive, and that's evidence enough of their intentions with acquiring Yahoo.
Of course, Google is facing its own anti-competitive issues with its recently announced search advertising deal with Yahoo. Despite the partnership being non-exclusive, the Justice Department formally opened their antitrust investigation into the matter earlier this month.
Still, it's no doubt that the search ad deal fuels Schmidt's desire for Yahoo to remain independent. That and a Microhoo would mean a stronger second place competitor in the search ad marketplace. Though, most would agree that second place is definitely first loser in a Google-dominated search industry.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on July 11, 2008, 11:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Yahoo's Conversion Tips: Optimize, Navigate and Track
Over at Yahoo's Search Marketing blog, Marketing Communications Manager Roger Park is offering up tips on converting your search ads. He breaks down a bunch of best practices principles to three main steps: Optimize, Navigate and Track.
Optimize
Optimizing your landing pages is crucial to a profitable search marketing campaign. Park advises:
- Have a "deep link" to a product on your site
- Offer several contact methods
- Online shopping carts should be secure and easily visible
- Remove broken links
- Have good server availability
Navigate
Park encourages site owners and developers to put themselves in the shoes of their web site visitors. I personally have found that many of my clients have a difficult time being able to do this. They're just too close to their business. So, it was nice that Park also served up some tangible tips:
- Create an obvious pathway to the product that the visitor searched for
- Don't have too many layers between the landing page and the end goal - no more than 2 clicks
- If the end goal is sale, move non-commercial content below the fold
Track
Successful marketing campaigns are built on solid data. Consistently evaluate your data and tweak your paid search campaigns accordingly. Yahoo's conversion-only analytics tool can help you do that. The tool can help you analyze keywords, tweak landing pages, and improve under-performing ads.
What do you think of Park's advice? Anything else you would add to the mix? Share your ideas in the comments!
Posted by Nathania Johnson on July 11, 2008, 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
24 iPhone Applications That Accelerate Mobile Search
Apple is releasing the next generation of its popular iPhone today, and users of the first gen phone (including yours truly) get a software upgrade that enables downloading of applications available for the iPhone 3G. Of course, search has made its way onto several applications, so let's take a look at what's available.
Straight Up Search
First up, Google is the only one of the major search engines to offer up an iPhone search app. Suggest and My Location are utilized and you can also use Google search to query your iPhone contacts. The app is free.
The generically named Web Search pulls queries from search engines and presents them in a iPhone friendly format. The idea behind the app, which costs $1.99, is that not all search sites are optimal for browsing via the iPhone's Safari browser, so Web Search takes the results and formats them for better usability.
Going Local
A whole host of applications are making local search easier. Some are the iPhone versions of popular web sites. Others are designed just for the iPhone. They make use of a user's location and several include reviews and ratings, which are popular among searchers. Here's a list:
- YP Mobile - developed by Yellowpages.com
- Yellow Pages - developed by Avantar
- Local Picks by Trip Advisor
- Where to Go
- UrbanSpoon
- Places
- Yelp
- Vicinity
- Where
YP Mobile vs. Yellow Pages iPhone apps
Media: Images, Video, Music and Movies
Both Flickr and Photobucket are offering apps for their popular photo sharing site. You can also browse public photos on their sites. Meanwhile, Truveo developed a video search app for the iPhone. YouTube (complete with search) comes packaged with the original iPhone software.
Midomi allows users to hum a song and the app will search for the song that's hummed. I plan to make great use of this service.
Box Office, OneTap Movies, and plainly named Movies help you search, you guessed it, movies!
Travel
So far, the travel search apps (or lack thereof) leave a lot to be desired. I mean, this is the iPhone! People use it while they're out and about and, you know, traveling. But for now, here's what users can download:
- Travelocity - find flight times and nearby hotels
- British Airways - find flights with the airline
- Transit Guides - mostly just for NYC, San Francisco, and DC right now
Etc. and So On
Here's a couple more apps, in case you didn't have enough.
- People - a white pages directory
- CareerBuilder - search for jobs on the go
- Pulawai Real Estate Search - maybe not prime time for this app with the housing crisis, but useful if you're house hunting, especially if on a relocating trip
There are also several apps which deliver information, such as news and sports scores. They kind of take search out of the equation.
Make no mistake, the iPhone is in the process of re-defining search (whether it meant to or not), and mobile search advertising is a space you need to explore.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on July 11, 2008, 9:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Gord Hotchkiss of Enquiro shares new brand research
One of the smartest people I know is Gord Hotchkiss, the president and CEO of Enquiro. He's smart because he asks questions about how people use search engines, navigate websites and engage with advertising -- and then conducts groundbreaking research to find answers before anyone else.
Most search engine marketers know Gord as the father of eye tracking research -- and if Gord got an American dollar or a Canadian Loonie every time someone used an image the "Golden Triangle" in their PowerPoint presentation, then he could take early retirement up in Kelowna, British Columbia.
Lately, Gord and the folks at Enquiro Research have been looking at online branding -- and the the relationship between brand lift and search engine rankings. I caught up with him at SES Toronto last month and asked him what he had discovered lately while conducting some new studies with Google.
Web Search, Branding, & Brand Lift with Gord Hotchkiss
While Gord won't be speaking at Search Engine Strategies San Jose, Bill Barnes, the co-founder and executive vice president of Enquiro, will be. Bill is speaking at the "Searcher Behavior Research Update" session on Wednesday, August 20, 2008 -- which is Day 3 of the SEM conference.
Bill's a smart guy, too. Or, as we'd say here in Boston, "wicked smat." And I'll bet that he'll be sharing some of Enquiro's new research on how searchers interact with search engines.
If you're looking for the latest studies and findings -- or just some new slides to incorporate in your PowerPoint presentations (with proper attribution, of course), you'd be considered "wicked smat" in my neck of the woods if you attended this session.
Posted by Greg Jarboe on July 11, 2008, 7:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
