Web Pages ala Goldilocks, Too Big, Too Narrow Just Right for Google

With Matt Cutts twittering about Google incorporating website load times  into rankings and Google providing a tool to measure how your website is viewed by different browsers, it might be time to reevaluate your site.

Google Loses Market Share, Small Biz PPC Spend Up

According to WebVisible, the current break down of search share is:

Google: 60.4 %

Yahoo 26.2%

Bing 10.5%

Ask 2.4%

Continuing from the WebVisible report:

“Small Businesses Increase Spend by 91 Percent Generally, small businesses are buying more keywords and dramatically increasing their paid search budgets when compared to last year, according to WebVisible. First off, the average small business purchased 55 keyword phrases in Q3, which is up 30 percent from Q3 2008’s median number of 43. That statistic represents the high-water mark for the four quarters that WebVisible has been tracking small businesses keyword buys. Meanwhile, businesses dedicated an average of $1,658 to search ads, 91 percent more than Q3 2008. And business-to-consumer professional services appear to be the busiest in terms of collecting local sales leads via SEM. Attorneys and dentists made up the top two advertiser categories, with 7.7 percent and 5 percent of total small advertisers, respectively. Each of the two categories invested far more than average, spending $2,560 and $2,005 respectively in Q3. Air conditioning services and physicians/surgeons were the only other categories that accounted for more than 2 percent of search advertisers. Overall, the research suggests that the small business search advertisers are a varied bunch. The top 20 categories accounted for only 36 percent of total dollars spent. Thirty-two percent of search clicks resulted in a “lead conversion,” meaning the viewer either clicked through to a landing page on the advertiser’s Web site, printed a landing page, watched a video, printed out directions, entered an e-mail address, inquired via e-mail, or completed an online form. Clicks to the Web site were far and away the biggest lead conversion type, coming in almost twice as high as the next three categories: printed landing pages, submitted e-mail inquiries, and printed driving directions. For small businesses utilizing a call tracking number, 4.5 percent of the clicks resulted in a call, a 3.6 percent lift from 2008. No material differences occurred among advertisers in terms of CTR or proportion of lead conversions. However, WebVisible said that cost-per-clicks and keyword counts tended to increase with rising spend levels.”

 

Quite a shift!  From a merchant’s perpsective this is a double edged sword. When Google had 75-80% of the marketshare, an arguement could be made to neglect MSN and Yahoo and focus on having the best possible Google ppc campaign. Now that is no longer true. That may put a lot of strain on merchant’s paid search team to manage additional campaigns.

But, with the growing market share of Bing and to a lesser extent Yahoo, merchants who can act quickly and more nimbly then larger orginizations may be able to take advantage and grab a disproportionate share of these other engines at reduced costs.

Google to offer Free Phone Service?

From CNN via WIRED:

Google is set to become your new phone company, perhaps reducing your phone bill to zilch in the process. Seriously. Google has bought Gizmo5, an online phone company that is akin to Skype  but based on open protocols and with a lot fewer users. TechCrunch, which broke the news on Monday, reported that Google spent $30 million on the company. Google announced the Gizmo acquisition on Thursday afternoon Pacific Time. Gizmo5’s founder Michael Robertson, a brash serial entrepreneur, will become an Adviser to Google Voice. It’s a potent recipe — take Gizmo5’s open standards-based online calling system. Add to it the new ability to route calls on Google’s massive network of cheap fiber. Toss in Google Voice’s free phone number, which will ring your mobile phone, your home phone and your Gizmo5 client on your laptop. ÿþ Meanwhile you can use Gizmo5 to make ultracheap outgoing calls to domestic and international phone numbers, and free calls to Skype, Google Talk, Yahoo and AIM users. You could make and receive calls that bypass the per-minute billing on your smartphone. Then layer on deluxe phone services like free SMS, voicemail transcription, customized call routing, free conference calls and voicemails sent as recordings to your e-mail account, and you have a phone service that competes with Skype, landlines and the Internet telephone offerings from Vonage and cable companies. That’s not just pie in-the-sky dreaming. Ask longtime VOIP watcher and consultant Andy Abramson, who introduced the idea of integrating Gizmo5 and Grand Central (now Google Voice), long before Google bought either. “If AT&T is Coca-Cola, Google is now 7-UP.” –Andy Abramson “Google is now the the uncommon carrier,” Abramson said, punning on the iconic 7-UP commercials and the phrase “common carrier.” That refers to phone companies that operate on the traditional publicly switched network — a status that gives them benefits and obligations. “If AT&T is Coca-Cola, Google is now 7-UP,” Abramson added. “All of a sudden you have something that offers more than Skype,” Abramson said, saying the combo could now put Google in competition with phone and cable companies, IP “telephony” (VOIP) companies and Vonage. “But now you can do everything with Google and pay nothing and have a platform where engineers can build new things.” In fact, Gizmo5 offered a rogue version of that service for $6 a month until last week. On November 2, Gizmo5 abruptly canceled the two-month old “residential service,” which paired the free phone number available through Google Voice with Gizmo’s Internet calling service to provide the equivalent of a home-phone replacement like Vonage. Now, that service has been wiped off the Internet and, more intriguingly, Google’s cache of the page disappeared the day after the acquisition was reported. For $6 a month, Gizmo5 residential users got 300 minutes a month of outbound calling anywhere in the United States, unlimited incoming calls on their home computers or even home phones (using a broadband-to-phone network conversion box) and E911 service (which means 911 calls work like landlines calls do, once you register your home address). It’s not too surprising that offer got taken down. For one Google is already trying to steer clear of U.S. regulators by making it clear that Google Voice isn’t a replacement for a home phone since you have to have phone service from some other company to use it. You can forward calls from a Google Voice number to your Gizmo5 number, but you must have a mobile or landline number as well. Google doesn’t say it, but clearly it hopes that restriction will keep the service from incurring the common carrier obligations attached to the regular phone system (PSTN), and the 911 and wiretapping requirements that apply to Internet telephony and to traditional copper wire phones. AT&T has already tried to sic federal regulators on Google Voice because Google is blocking outgoing calls to a handful of shady calling services  mostly free conference-calling services that exploit federal rules that let rural phone companies charge high fees to connect calls to rural areas. AT&T itself has sued similar services that play this arbitrage game, and complaining to the feds may have only brought more attention to an issue the FCC has procrastinating fixing for too long. Gizmo5 will also help save Google money on phone-call termination fees as users start to use computer-based clients to connect to Google Voice. That would allow Google to recoup the purchase price of $30 million in little time, if only it saves even a few dollars per user per year. Google also gets Michael Robertson, a troublemaker with technical chops. Robertson made millions from MP3.com in the dot-com boom, despite drawing lawsuits from major record labels for creating innovative services. He was later sued by Microsoft for his startup Lindows, which made Linux installations for cheap PCs. And his current music venture, MP3tunes.com, is being sued by EMI. Though still in invite-only mode, Google Voice has about 580,000 active users and nearly 1.5 million registered users, according to a Google filing with the FCC. If you are interested in the combination, you might want to sign up for Gizmo5 before the acquisition is formally announced, since Google often freezes new registrations at companies it acquires until it figures out how to integrate the technology.

Google > You

The End of Lead Gen Sites? Comparison Shopping Engines End Near?

Google announced the formation of AdWords Comparison Ads. An extension of AdWords, Comparison Ads lets users compare multiple, relevant offers at a glance. Currently only being offered for mortgage rates, Google plans on expanding this search result in the near future.

From Google: “If they click the promotion, users are taken to a page with more detailed sponsored results. They can choose directly from the offers listed on that page, or they can further refine their search by providing additional information like income and home value. By giving users the ability to refine their search on a number of relevant attributes, we are able to show more targeted ads and provide you with more valuable leads.

Once users find an offer that matches their specific needs, they can either call you directly or request a quote. If a user requests a quote, Google automatically anonymizes the user’s phone number and sends you a unique code that you can use to contact the user. You only pay if a user calls the phone number on your offer or fills out a form to request a quote.”

 

I have always said that it was just a matter of time before Google rolled this service out. A logical step would be offer this on individual items, effectively ending comparison shopping engines. When the revenue that would be derived from that presentation is greater than the obscene ad spend the comparison shopping use (according to one comparison shopping engine VP I spoke with, as much as 80% of their traffic orginates from their AdWord spend) and the time is available for the technology side….I can see Google having it ready for q4 of 2010.

Deja Vu: Adweek says “The Hispanic Market Is Set to Soar” Didn’t We Hear This in 1999? 2002?2004?

From Adweek:

“Hispanic Americans continue to grow in number at a rate four times that of the general population, with the 2010 Census expected to show their total rising to nearly 50 million, from 38 million in 2000. And second-generation Hispanics are fast becoming the driver of the group’s growth, with 88 percent of Hispanic children born in America, versus 61 percent of adults.

As a result, agencies that market to this segment are finding themselves in a strong position, armed with the skills and techniques to take on general assignments from big-name clients. Meanwhile, in a tight business environment, general agencies are starting to compete for work previously reserved for specialist shops.

Is an already competitive agency landscape set to become even more so?

“In the 2010 Census, we’ll see confirmation of a shift from Hispanic consumers who are first generation, where Spanish is the dominant language, to second-generation, bilingual, bicultural consumers. It totally transforms how we market,” says Cynthia McFarlane, chair of Publicis Groupe’s Conill, a Latino agency. “These are consumers who are as influenced by American culture as the country of origin of their families. There is a new American culture forming, and these consumers are having a tremendous impact on mainstream America.”"

 

Far be it from me to accuse anyone in marketing to pander and/or fawn over a supposed ‘hot segment’…but treating the Hispanic population as a homogeneous bloc that thinks, and responds the same way seems overly simplistic. No other ethnic groups is treated this way…people are many, many things…someone isn’t simply Hispanic. They are a mother of 2 of Hispanic descent who enjoys rock climbing, travel to national parks, golf and is active in local politics.

Call me crazy but speaking to her interests and needs would probably be more effective than simply identifying her as a Latina and yelling a precanned message.

The Hills Are Alive With Sound of Google Music

Since I scrupulously only buy music from places the labels have approved and never use any p2p this isn’t huge news for me. but according to Google:

“…we’re rolling out a search feature that does just that by enabling you to search and more easily discover millions of songs, all via a simple Google web search. If you’re searching for music, “time to result” is really “time to music.” Now, when you enter a music-related query — like the name of a song, artist or album — your search results will include links to an audio preview of those songs provided by our music search partners MySpace (which just acquired iLike) or Lala. When you click the result you’ll be able to listen to an audio preview of the song directly from one of those partners. For example, if I search for [21st century breakdown], the first results provide links to songs from Green Day’s new album. MySpace and Lala also provide links to purchase the full song.”

Big news for you? Or was regular search working  just fine for you?

 

 

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/making-search-more-musical.html

Internet Summit 09

I haven’t been to a tradeshow/expo since CES so I am looking forward to seeing a lot of familiar faces at Internet Summit 09. Still waiting on my press pass, so my schedule is still a bit wonky for meetings. I am looking forward to meeting my very good friends from the IBM Global Marketing group! Just a superior bunch of people and exceptionally knowledgeable about their industry. *disclosure: I was a paid consultant on a couple of small projects* If any of my readers would like to get together for a quick discussion, please send an email with the best times and we’ll get something scheduled!

From Internet Summit 09

“At Internet Summit 09 join hundreds of entrepreneurs, senior marketers, investors and executives for expert content on opportunities and trends created by web innovation, social media, online advertising, video, mobile, cloud, real-time, search, Ecommerce and more. Hear from industry leaders and innovators on the future of the industry, how to capitalize on the shifting dynamics of the internet and tap into its unlimited business potential.”

Innovation, intelligence, forward thinking and leadership converge on the Raleigh Convention Center on November 4-5th, 2009 for the second annual Internet Summit.

Google’s Secret Plan for World Domination

Google World Domination

Thanks to Cracked.com! http://www.cracked.com/funny-1790-google/ 

Cash4Gold : SEO and Reputation Management

Many of you know I did SEO for a number of years and still try to keep up to date on the latest techniques. Seems Cash4Gold is even more interested in SEO than I am.  Cash4Gold is also wisely monitoring SERPs for repuation management. 

Over at http://www.cockeyed.com/citizen/goldkit/reputation.shtml they blogged about Cash4Gold’s interesting marketing and business practices.  He determinded that Cash4Gold was paying as little as 30% of the going rate for scrap gold and how to better negotiate with them for a better return.

Check this out. This is straight out of a movie. Remember the “Cash4Gold” article I wrote following Brent K’s experience sending them gold?Cash4Gold Will Offer One-Third of the Actual Value for your Gold You should read it…later. In a nutshell, Brent sent in scrap gold valued elsewhere at $180 and was offered one third of that amount by Cash4Gold. Brent balked at their $60 check and called their customer service line, where he immediately got a new offer: $178! On October 6th, that Cockeyed article was featured on Consumerist.com  (http://consumerist.com/5059452/how-to-avoid-getting-ripped-off-by-cash4gold). Consumerist is so popular that thousands of people read the article, and the high Consumerist pagerank meant that the Cockeyed article would take its place at the tippy-top of  Google results on searches for “Cash 4 Gold”. Anyone searching for “Cash4Gold” had a very good chance at this new insight: Their cash offers for gold are measly. I guess someone at Cash 4 Gold noticed, because a week later, I got an email from Joe Laratro:

I work on the Cash4Gold site. We are trying to clean up their first page of results in Google. Your article: http://www.cockeyed.com/citizen/goldkit/cheat.shtml is ranking very well for term “Cash4Gold”. The site looks like you may do well from Adsense. Is there a financial arrangement we can come to that will offset your Adsense income and make it worth your while to take down or at least “de-optimize” it for that phrase? I would be happy to speak more about this on the phone… Thanks, Joe Laratro President Tandem Interactive – Trendy Online Marketing Solutions Hollywood, FL 33020

How about that? A polite letter, with a clear goal: Bury the “Cash 4 Gold” name in my article so that it doesn’t scare off every would-be gold seller with an internet connection. I was kind of thrilled. People approach me all the time looking for ways to promote keywords, but this was the first time someone else was trying to buy me out of their Google search results. This was just like in the movies, right? Guy writes an article exposing underhanded business practices, business leader arranges a meeting to kill the story. It was fun to fantasize about how much they might pay, and how much editing they would want to contribute for their investment. It was a genuine real-life business dillema! But I wouldn’t ever actually take them up on an offer like that. I’m just not like that. I didn’t do anything. Two weeks later, he sent a follow up.

Rob, I work with Cash4Gold on the reputation management. Your article is ranking #3 on their brand term. They would really like to make it worth your while to take it down or make it more positive. They did something similar by joining (OTHER CONSUMER AFFAIRS WEBSITE)’s advocacy program. Is it worth a few thousand to take it down? If not, maybe a donation to your favorite charity is more to your liking? Feel free to call me anytime to discuss further. Thanks, Joe Laratro President Tandem Interactive – Trendy Online Marketing Solutions Hollywood, FL 33020

Hey! $3,000! That’s more than I made on the Dwight Shrute Bobblehead Costume article! Finally I’ll have an appropriately fashionable tracksuit to wear while puttering around on my Segway. Sweet! Just kidding. I didn’t bite.

Can you believe he outed another consumer “Rip-off” website? They totally took the bribe and let Cash4Gold write the rules on their website!So, loyal readers, there you have it. This is my declaration of not selling out. I think it will work out better this way, don’t you? Still, I’m left wondering, was this their best offer or was it just one third of what I could actually get?

Google Takes Net Neutrality Stand Against ISP Throttling

From Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE50R6W020090128

Google Inc on Wednesday unveiled a plan aimed at eventually letting computer users determine whether providers like Comcast Corp are inappropriately blocking or slowing their work online. The scheme is the latest bid in the debate over network neutrality, which pits content companies like Google against some Internet service providers. The ISPs say they need to take reasonable steps to manage ever-growing traffic on their networks for the good of all users. Content and applications companies fear the providers have the power to discriminate, favoring some traffic over others. Google will provide academic researchers with 36 servers in 12 locations in the United States and Europe to analyze data, said its chief Internet guru, Vint Cerf, known as the “father of the Internet.” “When an Internet application doesn’t work as expected or your connection seems flaky, how can you tell whether there is a problem caused by your broadband ISP (Internet service provider), the application, your PC (personal computer), or something else?” Cerf wrote in a blog post. The effort aims to uncover the problem for users, Cerf said. Cerf is widely known for his work for the U.S. government in designing the Internet protocol in the 1970s and 1980s. In a precedent-setting decision last year, the five-member Federal Communications Commission voted to uphold a complaint accusing Comcast of violating the FCC’s open-Internet principles by blocking file-sharing services, such as those that distribute video and television shows. The case became a flash point in the Net neutrality debate. Comcast is fighting the decision in the courts. COX MAKES MOVE In a move likely to fuel further debate, another large cable company, Cox Communications, said on Wednesday it would begin testing a plan to give priority to time-sensitive traffic like Web page views and streaming videos. Less time-sensitive traffic, such as file uploads and peer-to-peer file sharing, could be delayed under the plan. Cox said it will not discriminate based on owner or source of traffic. Still, Net neutrality advocates are wary of such policies. “The lesson we learned from the Comcast case is that we must be skeptical of any practice that comes between users and the Internet,” said Ben Scott, policy director of Free Press, an advocacy group. Researchers are already using tools to test connection speed and determine if an ISP is blocking or throttling particular applications. Google’s effort will allow an expansion of that effort.