Archive for the 'Internet' Category
In my opinion the acquisition all boils down to Microsoft’s inability to challenge Google mainly in Search and secondarily in web application innovation. Google currently owns 58% of Search industry which is expected to surpass $23 Billion in spending by 2010. As Microsoft’s 10% market share continues to dwindle, they are even increasingly being shut out of the fast growing and lucrative Search market. Hence, the Yahoo acquisition would boost their Search market share to over 30% of Search and give Microsoft a legitimate shot at taking on Google, giving both Microsoft and Yahoo engineers a common enemy. Overall we would be happy to see a legitimate challenger to Google and their near monopoly in the Search marketplace and think that consumers and searchers would benefit from the acquisition. Microsoft AdCenter and Yahoo Search Marketing PPC could use an overhaul too, so here is hoping their combined Ad Systems streamline the process of setting up PPC ads on both of their networks.
In addition to taking Google on in Search the combined company would control a vast amount of web traffic.
Here are the most popular affected websites in the US:
1.) Yahoo
2.) Google
4.) Windows Live
5.) Microsoft Network (MSN)
This is very significant, and controlling 3 of the top 5 most popular destinations on the Internet in the US will allow Microsoft to continue to build up strategic Internet marketing alliances. Building on momentum of recent deals with Facebook and Digg.
Many challenges remain and new bidders for Yahoo might emerge, but in my estimation Microsoft is the best suitor and we expect the deal to be completed. The combined company would have many cultural obstacles and technical (Microsoft shuns Open Source vs. Yahoo has embraced it) but the combined companies would clearly provide a challenge to Google.
As of 12JAN08 all Google data centers have been updated with a new Google PageRank update. The Google PageRank update is beginning to become a little bit of a yawn around the SEM community, since it has little affect on the traffic that Google drives websites via organic web searches.
The most recent PageRank update brought little change to the overall WebpageFX website. The one exception being that our blog home page lost its page rank which is irregular since many posts range from a PR1 to a PR3. One would think in 2008 that GoogleBot would have mastered how to crawl a WordPress blog. We even setup our robots.txt file in a manner to assist GoogleBot along it indexing way.
All this leads one to ponder if Google PageRank should go away entirely. If PageRank is mainly being used by SEOers and marketers to set the prices for paid links which Google has now launched a crusade against, what’s the point of fueling the fire with PageRank updates which have no bearing on SERPS (Search engine results page)?
Here is a good post by the Google mage himself on the importance of PageRank: Matt Cutts Blog - PageRank
Cyber Monday Definition:
The name given by online retailers and e-commerce experts to the Monday following the Thanksgiving holiday. With its Black Friday counterpart in actual store-based traffic, analysts have pointed to significant spikes in online shopping on Cyber Monday.
Source: TechWeb
Today’s public relations campaigns are drastically different from those of even ten years go. Using the Internet, companies can target specific market segments and talk directly to their potential customers through Web sites, blogs, online videos, social networks, news aggregators, forums, and search engines. This has led to a more personalized brand of PR that can grab greater attention for less money.
Once upon a time, public relations required hiring expensive agencies. These firms had built close relationships with traditional media outlets such as newspapers and controlled the information that the public received. When a client needed press attention, the agency would shower its media contacts with various perks, and in return these gatekeepers would provide news exposure.
The rise of the Internet changed everything and signaled the decline of traditional media. Nowhere was this more apparent than with newspapers. As the Web grew, an increasing amount news and information appeared online, much of it entirely free of charge. “New media” sources such as Web sites, blogs, and forums attracted millions of viewers, all hungry for the next article, post, or upload. Soon search engines and aggregators began collecting news into portal locations, making it easy to find specific topics and other information. Most recently, with the advent of Web 2.0 technologies, media sharing sites as well as social networks have facilitated the quick exchange of ideas, pictures, and movies.
As a result, traditional media outlets have lost their ability to hold shut the gates, making it easier to reach people than ever before. Companies can submit news directly to Internet news portals such as PRweb and Digg. Sites like YouTube and Flickr have simple tools to post PR videos and pictures. Still other sites such as Facebook and MySpace let people distribute messages and media virally over social networks. And, of course, Google with its ubiquitous search engine and news feed enables anyone to locate the latest articles and information.
So it’s a cinch to grab lots of attention for mere pennies, right? Not quite yet. While the advertising middlemen are disappearing from the PR equation, it still takes skill to have your news ride the Internet wave. In fact, each type of Web channel, whether a blog, search engine, or social network, requires specifically tailored submissions to maximize distribution. Over my next few articles, I’ll be exploring the most popular venues for Internet PR and how each of them can provide personalized, targeted exposure for your company.
Spending on internet advertising by business-to-business advertisers jumped 17% last year to $1.4 billion dollars.
Highlights:
- B2B advertising spending grew to $14.39 billion last year, up 1.4%
- The largest B2B advertisers are AT&T, Verizon, Sprint/Nextel, IBM and HP make up the top 5
- The #1 internet advertiser was Monster Worldwide, who spent $101.6 million
Data from BtoB Magazine
10 Most Popular Websites on the Internet:
1.) Yahoo!
Personalized content and search options. Chatrooms, free e-mail, clubs, and pager.
http://www.yahoo.com
2. Google
Enables users to search the Web, Usenet, and images. Features include PageRank, caching and translation of results, and an option to find similar pages. The company’s focus is developing search technology.
google.com
http://www.google.com
3. Myspace
Social Networking Site.
http://www.myspace.com
4. YouTube
YouTube is a way to get your videos to the people who matter to you. Upload, tag and share your videos worldwide!
http://www.youtube.com
Read the rest of this entry »
With the release of Apple’s long anticipated iPhone on June 29th, a flurry of conversations arose in the business community. The future of mobile web browsing all of sudden became the present, and we asked “Should we do something?” The truth is that the mobile Web has been around for awhile, but just not in such large distribution. I saw Vinton Cerf speak last evening at
What does this mean for business? It means get ready! Mobile phones will always be much smaller than personal computers, and likely will vary in size for years to come. The user experience on an iPhone is drastically different from that of your PC. If you want mobile users to visit your website and most importantly, stay on it, you should start thinking about the mobile future now. My suggestion is to snatch up your .mobi address, and ask your web developer (maybe even me) to pare down your website for mobile users. Or even better, think of ways you can monetize on this trend and develop a new customer base. You can sit back and relax knowing you’re ahead of the iPhone curve!