I was lucky to discover this one early on Tuesday for both one of our English accounts and our Japanese accounts.
Here the glitch must have been with the integration of the Google house tools and their new API - as these bulk uploads were done by our ad rep team.
I was fixing the English when we discovered the Japanese problems.
Apparently the API also dealt major problems with bid management tools according to the Google Blog. So all those ROI tracking and bid management companies better be checking to see the status of their clients Google ads...
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Monday, September 19, 2005
Google Wins Another Round Against TypoSquatters
Like a recent descision given in Australia, Google has claimed another victory in a California court regarding domain names with misspelled versions of their company name.
This 'TypoSquatting' - a name I love - is getting out of control. People run in front of popular companies and grab anything they can for the extra traffic such sites make from people who misspell the URL.
Another annoying habit is to grab variations like abcdfrench.com etc. for language versions of comapnies websites. As more studies of how people get to websites are published there are always people running in front grabbing domains for ransom or misguided traffic.
Either way these practices really need to cease. I mean try something original like a McDonner burger....
This 'TypoSquatting' - a name I love - is getting out of control. People run in front of popular companies and grab anything they can for the extra traffic such sites make from people who misspell the URL.
Another annoying habit is to grab variations like abcdfrench.com etc. for language versions of comapnies websites. As more studies of how people get to websites are published there are always people running in front grabbing domains for ransom or misguided traffic.
Either way these practices really need to cease. I mean try something original like a McDonner burger....
SEOBook launches another tool: Meta Search Engine
Aaron is at it again. This time he has rolled out a handy meta search tool for anyone that is constantly comparing results among the big four.
MyriadSearch provides results for Google, Yahoo!, MSN and Ask Jeeves.
You can also weight the responses in the All category that mixes the results through the percentage of position a given site has through all four engines - this way you can assess how those engines impact in the mix.
It is another tool I will spend a lot of time using. Thanks mate!
MyriadSearch provides results for Google, Yahoo!, MSN and Ask Jeeves.
You can also weight the responses in the All category that mixes the results through the percentage of position a given site has through all four engines - this way you can assess how those engines impact in the mix.
It is another tool I will spend a lot of time using. Thanks mate!
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Google Launches Blog Search
Google tries to give us something new every other week.
This time it is Blog Search.
I like the position this blog gets so far. Though it still has a few bugs like listing the same blog for say 6-7 of the listings from individual dated entries.
Once they get the bugs out this will be handy.
This time it is Blog Search.
I like the position this blog gets so far. Though it still has a few bugs like listing the same blog for say 6-7 of the listings from individual dated entries.
Once they get the bugs out this will be handy.
Microsoft Buying Into AOL
According to an article in today's NY Post Microsoft is in "advanced discussions" with Time Warner to buy about half of its interests in AOL. This deal could take about two months to conclude but offers all types of possibilities.
Apparently, Time Warner has spoken with Yahoo! and Google about this too.
Google is currently providing AOL with both its organic and PPC search results. A partnership with AOL by Microsoft could be seen as a big win by MSN. Yahoo! had already relinquished their spot at AOL by allowing Google to grab up all the foreign PPC and slowly strengthen their position.
The sucess of the AOL portal and the new policy of allowing people to keep their email accounts without having an actual paid account has been a major shift in the AOL business model. If Microsoft gets the AOL portal as a significant publisher they will make a giant stride in the search industry.
Considering they have yet to launch the PPC product in the US - beta is set to start October 18th - MSN has shown it is skillful in the business arena.
Apparently, Time Warner has spoken with Yahoo! and Google about this too.
Google is currently providing AOL with both its organic and PPC search results. A partnership with AOL by Microsoft could be seen as a big win by MSN. Yahoo! had already relinquished their spot at AOL by allowing Google to grab up all the foreign PPC and slowly strengthen their position.
The sucess of the AOL portal and the new policy of allowing people to keep their email accounts without having an actual paid account has been a major shift in the AOL business model. If Microsoft gets the AOL portal as a significant publisher they will make a giant stride in the search industry.
Considering they have yet to launch the PPC product in the US - beta is set to start October 18th - MSN has shown it is skillful in the business arena.
Thursday, September 8, 2005
Forget ROI, It's All About the SERPs
According to the latest Jupiter Research and IProspect study, upper management judges search marketing performance on where the company web site is positioned in the search results or overall web traffic before much more relevant ROI numbers.
Guess it is time to educate upper management, or improve rankings for terms that are very industry specific but get no real convertible traffic.
Realistically the numbers show an improving understanding of the industry. 51% look at web traffic, 49% look at search positions but 43% are looking at ROI.
Two years ago the concept of ROI measurement in most cases did not go beyond numbers landing at the homepage.
Guess it is time to educate upper management, or improve rankings for terms that are very industry specific but get no real convertible traffic.
Realistically the numbers show an improving understanding of the industry. 51% look at web traffic, 49% look at search positions but 43% are looking at ROI.
Two years ago the concept of ROI measurement in most cases did not go beyond numbers landing at the homepage.
Interesting New Search Technologies
Search for podcasts and search for TV and radio broadcasts are getting hot. I know these technologies have been in development for some time, but they are starting to get some solid publicity lately.
Google has been playing with ways to monetize TV and Radio search, so no doubt they have some variation of this software lying in a room at the compound.
I have been waiting for a solid 15 minute news podcast that I can download every morning to listen to on the way to work... maybe this search engine will help me find it.
Google has been playing with ways to monetize TV and Radio search, so no doubt they have some variation of this software lying in a room at the compound.
I have been waiting for a solid 15 minute news podcast that I can download every morning to listen to on the way to work... maybe this search engine will help me find it.
Wednesday, September 7, 2005
Yahoo Accused of Helping to Jail Journalist in China
Yahoo! is being accused of helping the Chinese government convict a journalist charged with stealing state secrets. Reporters without Borders first broke this story and it is now getting major coverage.
BBC News site gives a good summary as well as explores the implications of developing the market in China.
Obviously there are implications of trading in a restrictive country. Also Yahoo! does not guarantee absolute privacy. If the US government needed information about terrorism we would be up in arms if Yahoo! denied it. The access question is going to get some press... the issue however will not be resolved... but hopefully some people will learn that a multinational corporation needs to be aware of varying politics and not be swayed by any one set of rules.
BBC News site gives a good summary as well as explores the implications of developing the market in China.
Obviously there are implications of trading in a restrictive country. Also Yahoo! does not guarantee absolute privacy. If the US government needed information about terrorism we would be up in arms if Yahoo! denied it. The access question is going to get some press... the issue however will not be resolved... but hopefully some people will learn that a multinational corporation needs to be aware of varying politics and not be swayed by any one set of rules.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)