Japanese language Webmaster Central Blog Launched.

Google has launched a Japanese language Webmaster Central Blog. It will be a boon to Japanese webmasters looking for ways to improve their websites and web site rankings. Even if you are proficient in English, it is always nice to read something in your mother tongue. Another factor is that there might be SEO information specific to Japanese region and Japanese language.
The first of such articles, 冬休みに向けてのヒント (Winter Tips ?) is providing a bunch of information such as getting your site indexed to looking after site links.

Tags: Webmaster Central Blog, Japanese webmasters, web site ranking, SEO, Japanese language, site link

OpenX, Open Source AdServer, Going Places

When I asked Will Open Source AD Networks Have Clout?, a year ago, I was not really sure about the OpenAd server by OpenX.
But after actually running the server for experimental work and watching the company grow, things are really changing in the open source or other ad networks. ReadWriteWeb has a good article, on the status of the OpenX, the company behind the OpenAd server.
RWW, aske the company how it is going to challenge the growing Ad markets with many ad networks. The answers are;

1) OpenX is an independent, neutral provider
2) The second difference between OpenX and Ad Manager is that OpenX is open source and "infinitiely customizable".
3) The third difference is that OpenX is "very very feature rich" compared to other ad servers - and not just Google's.
But the RWW article has much more information. As for me, yes it seems that Open Source Adnetworks does seem to have clout.

Tags: OpenX, Open Source AdServer, readwriteweb

Optimize Google AdWords To Serve Hard Times.

If you are handling or looking forward to take over an Google AdWords account, then there is an article you must read. Mashable has published, a post by search marketing guru, Shimon Sandler.
I think it is an informational post, even if you do not deal with AdWords.
Here is the article; How To Optimize Google Adwords

Tags: Google adwords, mashable, Optimize Google Adwords, Shimon Sandler

Google AdSense for Domains, Make Money WIth Parked Domains

If you got parked domains, Google has a progrm to help you to make some money out of it. The program is known as Google AdSense for Domains,
Explaining the value odf the program, Google Adsense is expanding this AdSense option for all publishers in the US (and possibly other countries in the future).

From the main site;
"Q: What domains are eligible for AdSense for domains? A: AdSense for domains can be used on any domain that adheres to Google’s policies.
Q: Is Google involved in the selection or registration of the domains in the AdSense for domains program? A: Google is not involved with the selection or registration of these domain names, and is not in a position to arbitrate trademark disputes between the registrants, our partners, and trademark owners. Accordingly, we encourage trademark owners to resolve their disputes directly with the registrants or registrars. As a courtesy to trademark owners, Google provides a simple publicly available complaint procedure and, once notified of a legitimate complaint against a specific domain, Google will no longer serve ads to that domain. For instructions on how to file a complaint, please refer to the Trademark Complaint Process page. Additionally, a copy of our publicly available trademark policy is available online.
Q: Where can I find more information about the AdSense for domains program? A: Please refer to our Help Center for more information. "

Tags: Google AdSense for Domains, Make Money WIth Parked Domains

Up Coming AdWords Changes For 2009

Google AdWords API blog has posted planned changes for 2009. It also mentions that this might be implemented in the first half of the 2009.
* New calls features
o More operations in a single call: We're changing the way services are constructed so that you'll be able to accomplish more work per call. Specifically, operations will accept a variety of modifiers acting on elements across ad groups. For example, you'll be able to add, update, and delete keywords across ad groups, all within a single call.
o Asynchronous calls: We'll offer asynchronous calls, which will allow you to work with large sets of data faster and more easily. Instead of having to wait for our system to fully complete your request before you can make another one, you'll be able to make another call as soon as the API service confirms that it's received your previous call. No more waiting for large requests to be finished. (Synchronous methods will still be supported as well.)
o Partial failure acceptance: We plan to support partial failure, so large posts aren't rolled back due to a few errors. This allows you to keep moving forward with development and not have to re-do the same posts.
* Lower costs: We plan to directly reduce API units consumed for the new asynchronous methods, and are exploring other ways to improve the value you get from the AdWords API by lowering costs and/or quota use.
* Faster development: Our new codebase will allow us to expose new AdWords features faster, keeping the API more closely in line with the AdWords web interface. This will make it easier for you to keep your applications current and to take advantage of the latest AdWords advancements.

The fundamental changes are supposed to offer you some advantages:

Google AdWords API

Tags: Google adwords, Google AdWords API, SEO Keywords

Google Desktop Gadget For Youtube

YouTube has released a YouTube Gadget for Google Desktop. The Gadget is based on Open Source and relies on Data API feeds to search and retrieve most popular videos from YouTube for the day. The code, will help you to learn how to build your own desktop app to utilize YouTube APIs. The best part is that if have any questions or feedback, you can send an email to gd-developer AT gmail DOT com.
How about building a Advertising Gadget and interfacing with Google AdSense?
YouTube API Blog: YouTube Google Desktop Gadget

Tags: Google Gadget, Google Adsense, youtube, YouTube Desktop Gadget

Psolenoid, Trackback In An Innovative Way!

New way of trackbacks? Yes that is what the new startup, Psolenoid says. You can filter out spam, you can trackback to and get trackbacks from blogengines that does not support trackback feature, like Live Journal.
Usually a trackback comes from a another blog that references on of your posts and the trackback will have a little blurb from the post. Your readers might want to read a new facet on your post or a reaction. So these trackbacks are very interesting and attractive to bloggers.
The process is simple as well and it looks like entering a comment. But rather than me retelling, watch the video and perhaps start getting proper trackbacks and links!
Update:
This site is Psolenoid activated now. I also left a trackback on Psolenoid blog via this method!


Psolenoid from psolenoid on Vimeo.

Tags: trackback, Link Harvest, Psolenoid, Blog Marketing

Free Conferencing! With DimDim!!

We all know thatin any marketing or advertising operation there is always need of being in touch with people. Sometimes near, sometimes afar but having that face to face talk showing the sketch on the napkin and telling about a site and a product that you know, helps a lot. We all go to great lengths to setup and acomplish these meetings.
So according to SnapVoIP, DimDIm has come with a product that allows all the above and more with online conferencing. Follow the line to get a free conferencing account that will allow you to host up to 20 users.
DimDim Sheds Beta Tag And Gives Free Conferencing! | VOIP IP Telephony

Tags: Dimdim Enterprise, Web Conferencing, dimdim, Adobe Flash Server, Free web conferencing

Songbird, Open Source Media Player, Browser Launched

I would say it is a media browser than a Media player as it brings together most of the media on the web. The team has released the first public version of the songbird browser, that has been in the making since 2005.
The Mashtape allows you to search and play a song and then will search the internet for media relevant to the song from places like Flickr and YouTube. I think it is an app worth looking into, if you are media inclined.
So why is this on advertising blog? There are more ways to advertise than the traditionl ways. Now go create content, related to songs, there will be millions watching your products, if SongBird is a hit!

Tags: Songbird, Advertising, Media Advertising

Google FInds New Places For Ads.

Google as a publisher, advertiser is going places and they seem to fine new places all the time. The latest according to Google Official Blog is, the image search ads and Google Financials (in the USA) . So another way to monetize Google, is for you to find!
"If you're based in the U.S. you may already have spotted or clicked on the different text and image ads we’re testing on the results pages of Google Image Search. And last week you may have noticed we launched Sponsored Videos on YouTube — a great example of matching ads to content. In addition, we are today launching text ads on Google Finance in the United States. We're also looking at how best to show display ads on Google Finance. And later, in the very near future, we will start testing text ads on a small number of news refinements within Google Search — so if, for example, you type "iPod" into Google.com and then click on the news link on the upper left-hand side, you might see text ads alongside those results."
Official Google Blog: Ads in new places

Tags: Google Advertising, Google Image Search, Google Finance, google images

Retail Therapy From Google

Really in these hard times, it is necessary to make best of available methods to make your wares sell. According to Google Retail Blog, couch shopping is on the rise!
Google search has brought traffic to sites selling Home Furnishings, Home Improvement, Consumer Electronics and Jewelry and Watches and is is up nearly 30% over last year. Even Apparel and Office Supply search driven traffic is up almost 25% year over year.
So get your sites ready for the increased traffic as you will not be able to control traffic like in your real retail store where you could post security guards or simply close the doors! But there will be certainty to raise the traffic after a good advertising campaign.

Tags: retail sales, google, couch sales

Email Based Spam Marketing Analyzed | VOIP IP Telephony

Spamalytics, Email Based Spam Marketing Analyzed | VOIP IP Telephony

Tags: Spamalytics, storm botnet, spam, UC Berkeley

Canned Resposes With Your Gmail

Gmail Labs (Please note labs features may not be permanent and may give you trouble, but if so happens you can escape lab monster by going to http://mail.google.com/mail/?labs=0 and Labs will be temporarily disabled.) Has introduced "Canned Responses" Gmail.
This should come in handy if you have to send a reply(ies) to without having to type same thing 20 times, in cases like responding to your blog visitors.
If the feature sticks, I think it will be nice to use this as a custom signature. You can have multiple signatures based on blogs, business and personal etc. Perhaps Gmail should rerelease this as Custom Signature!
You can try it by visiting Gmail Labs

Tags: Gmail, Gmail Labs, Gmail Canned response, Gmail Custom Signature

Emoticons In Your Gmail (Gmail Smilies)

Looks like you can send emails embedded with emoticons with your Gmail now. On my gmail, compose mode I have two sets of Smilies or emoticons.
Google Gmail team has not spared anything in the collection as you can see from the above!

Tags: Gmail, Gmail Smilies, Gmail Emoticons

LiveRail AdServer Provides iPhone Apps With Video Ads.

If you are a iPhone application developer, now there is another way to take into account when thinking about monetizing the product. LiveRail's has released iPhone AdManager toolkit which allows developers to insert video ads into their applications.
According to Liverail site, the toolkit comes with example code to give your apps the ability to connect to LiveRail AdServer send targeting criteria, dynamically select, display and track video ads within your application.
There is also two ways to present ads to your audience, one that includes an introductory splash-screen before the pre-roll plays and another that goes directly into a pre-roll before returning to your main application.

The iPhone AdManager requires a LiveRail AdServer account. To open an account, please contact us via www.liverail.com/contact.html.

Tags: iPhone, Mobile Advertisements, iPhone AdManager, LiveRail AdServer

I Can Haz 33K DIGGs!

Who are the Kings of DIGG? here it is from DIGG

Tags: DIGG, king of DIGG

Google Releases AdWords Editor 6.5

Adwords Editor 6.5 has been released with quite a few improvements and enhancements. Some of the most notables are;
Keyword Opportunities (Beta)
The Keyword expansion feature generates keyword ideas based on words or phrases.
The Keyword multiplier combines lists of terms to form new keywords.

Data view improvements
Column auto-sizing: Double-click a column header to fit the width to its contents, or right-click the column header and select 'Auto-size Column.' To auto-size all columns at once, click the column chooser and select 'Auto-size All Columns.'
Horizontal scrolling: You can now scroll from left to right.
Column selection: The column chooser stays open until you click away or hit the Escape key.
Date picker: Use a calendar to select campaign end dates and date ranges for performance statistics.

New editing options
Copy campaign or ad group 'shells': This feature enables you to copy a campaign or ad group without the items inside, then paste the duplicate campaign or ad group into a new location. Go to the Edit menu > Copy Special.
Create duplicates when replacing or appending text: When you use the Replace Text or Append Text tools (in the Edit menu) you can now create duplicates of the items you're editing and modify the duplicates instead of the originals.

Content bids
To use a separate content bid for an ad group, simply specify the bid on the Ad Groups tab. Previously, it was necessary to enable content bids for a campaign by checking a 'Content Bids' box on the Campaigns tab; this checkbox has been removed.

The upgrading your current version said to be a painless operation and you are able to do an inplace upgrade.
Follow the link the get more information and software as well.
AdWords Agency Blog: AdWords Editor 6.5

Tags: Google adwords, Google adwords editor 6.5

Google AdSense for Online Games Beta Launches

If you are a online games publisher, now there is a new avenue for you to increase your revenue. Thanks to Google AdSense for games, you can embed advertisements in you game designs.
Have you ever considered actually how many people games online? It is a pretty hefty number, closer to 200 million people seem to be playing one or more games when they are online. Of course there are many marketing and advertising folks wanting to reach those people.
You can place ad where ever you please in the game. Level Changes are the best places that I have seen adds appear on most online game sites.
There are some restrictions at the time and eligible publishers must have a minimum of 500,000 game plays per day and have 80% of their traffic from the U.S. or the U.K. If you're interested in becoming a AdSense for games beta publisher, feel free to review our complete list of requirements and submit an application. More information is available at games site.


Inside AdSense: Get in the game with AdSense for Games

Tags: Google Adsense, Google Adsense for games, Advertising for Games

Google And Google Doodles Are ten Years New!

The very first Google Doodle: Burning Man Festival 1999

The very first Google Doodle was a reference to the Burning Man Festival in 1999. Larry and Sergey put a little stick figure on the home page to let people know why no one was in the office in case the website crashed! Now, Google Doodles are regularly drawn by Dennis Hwang.


But they are also a good branding technology that has reached a cult level and will keep the Google Brand Alive for time to come.
You can find more of them here but The following is my favorite!

Tags: Google Doodle, Google Brand, Dennis Hwang

Google TV Ads On BLOOMBERG TV Network.

Google has been turning pages in Online Adverting. But lately Google has "searched" for advertisement space on TV as well. So They materialized the Google TV Ads platform to provide the exact need. It is not the recently announced AdSense for Video, But big screen TV's that you hooked up to Cable TV services and Satellite networks.

So Google announced on Thursday that it has come into an agreement with Bloomberg TV Network to provide TV Ads via their network. The TV Ads used to be mysterious medium that common folks could not really touch. But with the Google TV Ads, it has become a self service medium, that anyone with the need could reach out and advertise.

What more is the integration of viewrship data on the TV network. Google will be able to provide second-by-second data from millions of anonymized set-top-boxes, allowing advertisers to measure viewership of their ads more precisely than ever before. With this data, advertisers can better understand what consumers are responding to and make real-time adjustments to their campaigns to maximize the return on their TV ad investments. Google's digital platform also makes it easier for advertisers to find relevant programming through its keyword search functionality.

“We’re pleased to be partnering with BLOOMBERG TELEVISION to continue to make TV advertising more relevant and measurable,” said Mike Steib, director of Google TV Ads. “We will now be able to give advertisers, many of whom have never tried TV advertising before, access to the desirable BLOOMBERG TELEVISION demographic.”

"We're very happy with the progress of Google TV Ads," said Michael Kelly, executive vice president for DISH Network, Google TV Ads' current inventory partner. "Google TV Ads has brought more accurate, accessible, and up-to-date viewer measurement to the industry, enhancing value to our advertisers."

Following is the press release by Google.

NEW YORK & MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA (September 25th, 2008) – Continuing efforts to make television advertising more relevant, accountable and measurable, Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) announced today that the BLOOMBERG TELEVISION® network will make national cable advertising time in the U.S. available through the Google TV Ads™ platform. By offering self-service buying opportunities through Google TV Ads, the BLOOMBERG TELEVISION network will expand its reach to a wider range of advertisers, including those that are new to the medium.

With the addition of BLOOMBERG TELEVISION inventory, advertisers using the Google TV Ads platform can not only reach the high-net-worth BLOOMBERG TELEVISION U.S. audience but can also gain access to viewership data at an unprecedented scale. Google’s TV Ads platform can report second-by-second data from millions of anonymized set-top-boxes, allowing advertisers to measure viewership of their ads more precisely than ever before. With this data, advertisers can better understand what consumers are responding to and make real-time adjustments to their campaigns to maximize the return on their TV ad investments. Google's digital platform also makes it easier for advertisers to find relevant programming through its keyword search functionality.

“We’re pleased to be partnering with BLOOMBERG TELEVISION to continue to make TV advertising more relevant and measurable,” said Mike Steib, director of Google TV Ads. “We will now be able to give advertisers, many of whom have never tried TV advertising before, access to the desirable BLOOMBERG TELEVISION demographic.”

"The BLOOMBERG TELEVISION audience is the wealthiest and most powerful in cable television,” said Trevor Fellows, head of advertising sales at Bloomberg. “As high net worth viewers are extremely difficult to quantify using traditional methods, we believe that involvement with Google TV Ads from an early stage will help us and our advertisers learn more about our audience.”

Google TV Ads offers greater accountability in advertising. With Google’s auction-based pricing system, advertisers only pay for impressions delivered to their ads, and they can receive integrated digital reporting within 24 hours. The BLOOMBERG TELEVISION network joins Google TV Ads’ growing list of inventory, which also includes NBC Universal and DISH Network.

"We're very happy with the progress of Google TV Ads," said Michael Kelly, executive vice president for DISH Network, Google TV Ads' current inventory partner. "Google TV Ads has brought more accurate, accessible, and up-to-date viewer measurement to the industry, enhancing value to our advertisers."

The BLOOMBERG TELEVISION service is the only 24/7 business and financial news television network. BLOOMBERG TELEVISION content is created exclusively by the global BLOOMBERG NEWS® service, with 143 bureaus in 69 countries. BLOOMBERG TELEVISION programming offers viewers a snapshot of the markets with fast, accurate reporting of world indexes, currencies, U.S. Treasuries, commodities futures, agricultural futures, and exchange traded funds, as well as special features, insight and analysis, and proprietary coverage of leading stocks and industry sectors. The worldwide service broadcasts in seven languages.

Google and Google TV Ads are trademarks of Google Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Google's Media Contact:
Elisabeth Diana
650-214-1515
press@google.com

Bloomberg’s Media Contact:
Heidi Tan
212-617-5375
htan14@bloomberg.net

Tags: google, Google TV Ads, Bloomberg TV, Google TV Ads platform, AdSense for Video, BLOOMBERG TELEVISION

Yahoo's APT Promises to Be Uppity Up On Online Advertising!

Likening it's program to color television and DVR revolution, Yahoo's new advertising program, APT supposed to set a new future in advertising.
Hillary Schneider of U.S. operations at Yahoo!, described Apt as a"seminal moment in the industry," promising it will be a "transformative development for the advertising and publishing worlds" by allowing advertisers to shift focus from properties to audiences.
Apt is the third moniker Yahoo! has affixed to its platform. When it first unveiled the concept in February, Yahoo! called it Apex. This was switched to AMP in April. AMP is also the name of an ad management system from Collective Media. I certainly hope that this will not fizzle down as that of Microsoft's live Search Advertising platform which promised to kill Google. Google is pretty much alive last time I checked. On the other hand Google Yahoo relationship seem to be fine.
According to Yahoo, San Francisco Chronicle and San Jose Mercury News First Customers to Go Live with APT.

Some of the initial capabilities featured in the new platform include:

-- Guaranteed cross-selling with pre-defined selling rules

-- Ad Exchange for non-guaranteed inventory

-- Advanced audience targeting techniques based upon behavior and geography

-- Inventory lookup and forecasting across individual and partner sites

-- Creative workflow automation and personalization

-- Powerful rate card tools for improved yield management

-- Filters for better controls around creatives

-- Flexible and powerful APIs

-- Federated ad call to support multiple ad formats

Yahoo! will start to make the platform generally available to advertisers, publishers, networks and agencies in 2009.

Additional information on APT is available at http://apt.yahoo.com.

Tags: yahoo ads, Yahoo Apt, online advertising, San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News, microsoft live search

Google Search Surges Ahead In August.

Google solidified its place as the preferred search engine in August Sliding further from Microsoft and Yahoo.

People preferred Google 63% of the time in August, compared to 61.9% in July, according to figures released Friday by comScore. Yahoo came in second in August at 19.6 per cent, down .9 per cent from July. Microsoft garnered 8.3 per cent of traffic in August, down .6 per cent from a month prior.

So I guess you know where to take your advertising, the online advertising.

Tags: online advertising, Google Search, comScore

AOL To Sell DMOZ To BOTW?

Feedotopia tells us that BOTW, Best of the Web on it's way to acquire DMOZ from AOL. Man I wonder what those high strung volunteer editors think now? The good ones apparently got hired by BOTW!
FEEDoTopia: BOTW To Buy DMOZ! (End Of Free Reviews?)

Tags: DMOZ, BOTW, WEB DIRECTORY, google,

Billion Dollars With Oatmeal, Apple Bran Muffins And A Protein Plate.

That is what the CEO of Starbuck is thinking. Even though it has been closing shops, think tanks have been visiting Peet's perhaps!. BecauseI have been getting my coffee and the Apple Bran Muffins from Peet's when Starbucks was, to most people, a name of a wooden statue on an old ship.
I have not changed my habbits, I still lounge at Peet's, buy my weekly pound of coffee beans at Peets, and the free cup of coffee is an added bonus when I buy my beans, actually make it two cups of free coffee. Because my better half goes with me and we both get a cup of coffee.
But according to Emily Bryson York at Adage, it is all newly thought up by the chain based on customer demand. So expect to hear "do you want breakfast with that?" when you buy your coffee at starbucks. Even though I am a Peets's fan, I have drunk Starbucks coffee. I don't go for those un pronuncable fancy named coffee drinks. Just plain coffee and if it is from Starbucks, I have to add and extra shot of expresso, their plain brewed coffee just does not cut it.
I have had their sandwiches when I was in a hurry and I would eat again if need to. They are not bad.
But I have to tell Mr. Howard Shultz that I don't think I will have his breakfast, because here in Berkeley, I step out of my house and I see an starbucks but I walk an extra two blocks to get to Peet's. Why? you tell me. I wish the Peet's had better advertising and marketting acumen, because they got better coffee. But I urge you to read Emily's article, because you will learn a lot and perhaps invest in those breakfast muffins! Because, Howard knows how to sell. I will too try when I am away from home and Peet's.

VYPE, High School Sports Mag Reaches One Millionth Reader!

TULSA, Okla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--VYPE announces that with its recent addition of four new franchises, it now reaches an audience of over one million readers in major cities across the U.S., including Dallas, Houston, Raleigh, Indianapolis and Louisville. This is the latest milestone for the franchisor that has grown exponentially over the past three years. This achievement represents the hard work and dedication of VYPE franchisees across the country, as well as the quality and accessibility of the print and online content they deliver.

“We’re continuing to expand and will soon add several additional markets to our network of franchisee partners,” said Kevin Hern, CEO of VYPE. “Our success is based on a unique and compelling vehicle for advertisers to reach target audiences, a platform that is solidly supported by our dedication to delivering the most comprehensive and highly relevant coverage of high school sports.”

VYPE, a national syndicate of print and online properties, delivers complete high school sports coverage and commentary on everything that matters to today’s young athletes. The magazines focus on the athletes, coaches and teams that support the spirit and purity of sports at a level where they are still played out of a love for the game. This month, VYPE’s circulation soared to 265,000 issues per month, reaching over 1.1 million people. VYPE has grown from just one franchise in 2005 to 14 today, having added five new franchises in 2008 alone for a 55% growth rate in just one year.

The syndicate has quickly become attractive for franchisees as it provides unprecedented access to high school athletes and their families, enabling advertisers to connect with these highly desirable market demographics that influence and shape the majority of household purchase decisions. VYPE addresses a growing trend with national advertisers seeking direct access to buyers in local markets and connects leading companies and brands directly with local sports communities. Because VYPE is produced locally and covers local high school sports, potential advertisers have the opportunity to either advertise nationally, throughout all publications, or choose specific regions/areas to advertise in based on their target markets.

In addition to print editions that include features, Q&As and advice columns, VYPE has a comprehensive website featuring content from each print edition as well as web-exclusive content, videos, photos and a local site for each franchisee. VYPE’s social networking platform gives student-athletes across the country access to an interactive online community where they can post highlight reels, share ideas and learn from industry experts. Since VYPE is the trusted local partner for coaches, athletes, schools and families for the high school sports scene, VYPE has built-in growth potential in every metropolitan area in the country.

Tags: Sports Advertising, VYPE Magazine, VYPE franchise, High School Sports

Revenue Sharing Social Networking Site ZENZUU Out Of Beta!

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ZZPartners, Inc. (“ZZP”) announced today that effective at its Orlando conference on September 27, 2008 it will commence its local business online advertising program. The program will allow local businesses throughout the U.S. to be able to advertise online on the ZenZuu website. The ads may be banner, audio or video. ZZP, recently formed in April 2008 and based in Las Vegas, Nevada, has the exclusive U.S. license rights to the ZenZuu online social network database and advertising revenue share model. The online social network was released out of beta on August 8, 2008 and has been officially launched. Henry Fong, CEO, commented that “we are very excited about the release of the website as well as the advertising program which will enable local businesses throughout the U.S. to reach a specific targeted demographic at competitive rates.” Recent research reports indicate there is a growing demand for local business owners to advertise online versus the traditional methods of print advertising.

Tags: ZENZUU, ZZP, Social Networks, Social Advertising

Engaging Facebook Social Ads, Where will they Go?

Caroline McCarthy at the Social has written a very nice piece about social advertising. She is talking about the "Engagement Ads," the new "experimental" advertising technology that Facebook unveiled last week.
The new advertising allows members of Facebook to leave comments on participating ads, add the brands to their list of "fan pages," and use them to send friends virtual gifts. For the social network it's a small but important trial as it continues to combat the common wisdom that sites of its ilk can't survive on ad revenue.
But she also speaks about perils of such advertising programs, like the one faced very well by GM with it's Chevy Tahoe advertising program. But I think it is a very good read as we get ready for these interactive advertisements.
Here is Caroline's piece.

Tags: facebook, interactive advertisements, Engagement Ads, Facebook Engagement Ads

Google AdWords Agency Continues Newsletter Series With A New Consumer Technology Newsletter

If you read the AdWords Agency's earlier news letter, Travel Industry Newsletter, then you can point your people towards another news letter by AdWords, this time targeting Consumer Technology.
Even though the news letter itself is targeting people who sell consumer electronics, software, hardware and other technology-related products and services, it certainly could be helpful and provide beneficial tips that you can apply to your clients' campaigns in other industries.
Also if you like to recieve this news letter in the future, let the team know by sending a note to consumertech-newsletter@google.com.


AdWords Agency Blog: New Consumer Technology Newsletter

Tags: AdWords Agency, Google AdWords, Travel Industry Newsletter, Consumer Technology Newsletter

AdSense For Feeds Are In My Feeds Now!

I have just enabled AdSense for Feeds on one of my blogs on Blogspot. Initially there was a bit of snag but with excellence support for AdSense team, my feeds are flowing forth with ease. I just was nice picture ads attached at the end of my feeds! The Google has assured that Feedburner and Google Accounts will be integrated better.
Are you wondering what feeds are then I think in this context you better read the Feedburner tutorial and burn your feeds through the Google AdSense. But if you already have burned your feeds through Feedburner, then you will need to follow a little different path, which I followed. You need to email AdSense support with your account information, (your Feedburner user name and your Google email address, never send passwords through email). You can watch this video and read the post on AdSense Blog. (Link after the jump).


Inside AdSense: I feel the need... the need for feeds

Tags: AdSense For Feeds, Google Adsense, Feedburner, Google email address

AdSense For Feeds Is Waiting For Your Feeds.

Google AdSense has introduced AdSense For Feeds which might be in place for replacing AdSense for Referrals that will be ending going away by the end of the August. Google AdSense for Feeds will allow you to get additional revenue through your blog feeds.
You need to have all your accounts on Google.
Burning a feed is very simple from your AdSense account and is done via AdSense setup and from the link AdSense Fro Feeds.
Ads For Feeds, feed on that People!

Tags: Adsense, Google Adsense, AdSense for Feeds

New DART For Advertisers From Double Click.

Double Click has launched DFA 6, the new version of DART for Advertisers, which includes a completely revamped trafficking interface. The improvements are based on feedback from agency and advertiser clients, and focused on improving the speed and simplicity of the DFA trafficking workflow.
Some of the examples are;

• Reduced the number of webpages required to perform the most common tasks.
• Built quick links to tasks via simple icons and menus.
• Developed inline editing to help you move through the workflow more quickly.
• Enabled Excel imports and exports to eliminate duplicate data entry and reduce potential errors.

If you are ready to start using the new workflow, contact your account manager to upgrade to the new DFA .

You can readmore about it here.

Tags: Double Click, Google, DART for Advertisers, DFA trafficking workflow, Trafficking workflow

Geico's Cavemen Join ESPN As Fantasy-football Salesmen

Even though they seem to be backwards looking and easily intimidated by ads featuring themselves, I always look at cavemen promoting insurance on the TV. But from the news that I read today at Advertising Age, we are going to see, hear and follow more of them, as a deal between Geico and ESPN to cast the cavemen as fantasy-football salesmen has been crafted. Horizon Media, Geico's longtime media agency, helped to craft the deal.
The Geico Insurance company's cavemen has found a places on ESPN's entire media channel, functioning as 'carnival barkers' to attract people to its fantasy-football offering and to the 'SportsCenter.'

Tags: Geico, ESPN, Horizon Media, Advertising Age, fantasy-football salesmen

Advertising To The World (USA) In Internet Age.

Advertising Age is carrying an article about advertising and humor that is lost when crossing borders. We also wrote about the Heinz ad involving a gay family and Advertising Age is also talking about the Snicker saga by Mars.
Both the ads were pulled from the media space but the home country where the ad was displayed did not make a big fuzz about it. It was simply due to pressure from USA and the marketeers worrying about boycotts.
The article is a good read.

Tags: Advertising Age, Heinz ad, Snicker Ad by Mars

AdSense Payments Comes To Your Door Step Through Western Union In More Countries

Since Google AdSense added Western Union as a payment delivery method last year, Many AdSense publishers were able to receive their payments without hassle. Now Western Union has expanded the service to more countries, Bulgaria, Egypt, Lithuania, Morocco, and Taiwan. So if you are in one of those countries, you will be able to get your payment in cash at one of the Western Union branches.
Please keep in mind that in order to pick up your payment, you'll need to present a government-issued ID that matches your AdSense payee name. If you need to update or correct the payee name listed in your account, please fill out our online form. In addition, we'd like to note that payments by Western Union Quick Cash are only available to individual payee names, but not to businesses.

Inside AdSense: Western Union expanded to additional countries

Tags: Google AdSense, Western Union

New Travel Industry Newsletter From Google AdWords

Google AdWords has a new newsletter from The Google AdWords Travel Team.
According to a survey done by Jupiter research, Online travel spending will represent 35 percent of all travel revenue in 2008. So the Google AdWords Travel Team is helping you to take advantage of this trend and grow your or your clients travel business.
The current edition covers the fundamentals as well as new territory to help you get the most out of your AdWords advertising. Read on for advice on strong keyword lists, landing pages, and travel industry resources. Then, learn about engaging audiences with various ad formats and Google Maps features.

AdWords Agency Blog: New Travel Industry Newsletter

Tags: Google adwords, Google AdWords Travel Team, keyword lists, landing pages, Google Maps

AdSense Keywords Research

If you are any kind of website or blog and plan to promote it via SEO or Search Engine Optimization, you need to concentrate on keywords. Without proper keywords it will be hard to get visitors to your sites from search engines. Basically keywords are what web surfers enter into search engines to find products and services or information that they are looking for. So you need to generate keywords that are best matched to your site. Once the they are found you need to sprinkle those within your site and search engine spiders will find those easily.
Follow the link for more information.
Geemodo: AdSense Keywords Research With Google Adwords Keyword Tool

Tags: AdSense Keywords, Google Adwords Keyword Tool, Google Adwords, Keyword Tool, SEO, Search Engine Optimization

When Is A picture Not Worth A Thousand Words? When Crawlers Come Looking For Content!

Sometimes we tend to use pictures and photos to describe something that we are trying to express to the world. We take in the old saying that a picture is worth thousand words. But the old adage does not seem to fit in with todays world, specially when it come to the Internet world. Specially when it comes to the search and advertising crawlers and your web site content. Most web crawlers are not capable of reading picture nor words in the pictures. So always use alternate text with your pictures. To improve your ad targeting, here are few other pointers given by AdSense Blog:

• Use text in addition to images when possible. Please note that the crawler can't read text contained within images.
  
• If you use images, be sure to title them appropriately and provide descriptive ALT tags.
  
• Try imagining your site without pictures or dynamic content. This will give you a good idea of what our crawler reads. If you lack imagination, you can try turning the images off in your web browser.
  

Finally, it's important to keep in mind that the AdSense for content ads on your site are automatically determined. Though it's not possible to choose the ads that are placed on your site, including more text-based content will help make it possible for our system to target your site correctly.

Inside AdSense: A picture isn't always worth a thousand words

Tags: AdSense, ALT tags

Your Next Web Advertisement Request May Come From Nigeria!

Your Next Partnership Enquiry Might Come From Here (Lagos, Nigeria)

According to a post on F-Secure site regarding email messages circulating requesting for advertisements and bearing subject lines are Partnership Enquiry and Website Partnership Enquiry. The names of the senders include Richard Thompson, Edward Johnson, Daniel Lee, Jason Miller, George Nelson, et cetera.
The content of the messages are as such:

To: *deleted*.com
Subject: Partnership Enquiry

Hello,

My name is Jason Miller and I am contacting you to discuss the option of purchasing a text link
or banner on your website (*deleted*.com ).

Could you please tell me what is the price of one text link:

1) on your homepage only
2) all your pages
3) banner ad 120x60, 125x125 on homepage
4) banner ad 120x60, 125x125 on all pages

Thank you in advance!
Jason Miller
There are other examples at F-Secure site and also explanation as how these people manage to scam unsuspecting people, just as in a form of Advance fee fraud alias Nigerian 419 fraud. So Follow this link and educate yourself. You will save some money and grief.
Also another blogger had these suggestions and an active discussion at his site.

So the next time you get an email solicitation for display ads or text link ads (paid links) on your website, be cautious and do a little bit of due diligence:

1. Investigate your buyer thoroughly: do they leave an appropriate name, place of business, and phone number? Do they have an actual website that they want to advertise? Do the owners of the website *know* the alleged buyer of the advertising?

2. Wait for that check to clear: the scam only works if you don’t realize that the check doesn’t clear / it does bounce. This is a non-issue if you’re being paid via Paypal, but if you’re being mailed anything it always helps to be cautious.

3. You can always ask to send the correct amount! ;)

Tags: Partnership Enquiry, Website Partnership Enquiry, Advance fee fraud, Nigerian 419 fraud, Richard Thompson, Edward Johnson, Daniel Lee, Jason Miller, George Nelson, F-Secure, Paypal

Rubicon Project and Why Why Economy Won’t Hurt Online Ad Spend!

This morning I read this interview by ADOTAS that I found to be very informative. It also prompted me to pay more attention to Rubicon Project as well. I think the following snippet should give you an idea of the complete interview that explains why we should advertise our advertising.

ADOTAS: What inspired you to create the Rubicon Project? What did you think was missing in the market?

ADDANTE: Mainly we felt that there was an intense need within the market for a neutral party that would benefit both ad networks and publishers. Online advertising is a huge $27 billion industry, but still 80% of the inventory goes unsold. This is a huge drain in the revenue publishers could be making.

A huge growth spurt in ad networks has occurred over the last few years – there were about 15 ad networks seven years ago and today there are almost 400 different networks. The link between these networks and web publishers was inefficient. There was a huge need for a manageable solution — this is what the Rubicon Project sets out to provide.

Adotas Kathleen, interviews Addante.

Tags: ADOTAS, ADDANTE, Online advertising, Rubicon Project

Geemodo Continues DoFollow Series

Geemodo has a new post on DOFollow and NoFollow that we starte a while ago.

Geemodo: DoFollow, Do You Know If They Really Follow You?

Tags: SEO, NoFollow, DoFollow, Pagerank, comment ranking, myadlets, DoFollow movement, iFollow, link backs

50 Cents, The Rapper Does Not Like Taco Bell Advertising Tricks

Everybody like publicity but there seem to good publicity and bad publicity, when it comes to 50 Cent. The rapper, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, does not like bad publicity. So he has filed a lawsuit against Taco Bell for using his name and likeness without permission.
Among the claims are, trademark dilution, false designation of sponsorship, unjust enrichment and a violation of his civil rights, among other claims for which he and his lawyers are seeking $4 million in damages.
Taco Bell seem to have created this ill fated stunt and leaked to press via OK magazine. "It's publicity they couldn't have gotten, because he would very likely not have agreed to endorse it even if they paid him," said Mr. Jackson's lawyer, Peter D. Raymond of Reed Smith. "He doesn't tend to endorse those kinds of things, low-end fast food."
So live with it Taco Bell, now you are at the low end!
Read more at Advertising Age.

Tags: publicity, publicity stunt, 50 Cent, Curtis Jackson, trademark dilution, false designation, unjust enrichment, civil rights, Taco Bell

Future Ads On NASA!

I could not help imagining and laughing at this no laughing matter! What do you think the ads will cost?
Source.

Tags: NASA, NASA AD, funny photos

Keywords SEO! Before Posting That Blog Post You Just Created....

Search Engine Keywords or SEO Keywords are something that we all look for but we never remember those when we all write good posts crappy posts and no posts (that does not bring in any readers other than yourself!) But what do we do before posting? If you answered checking spelling (you do that?) rereading or any other answer related to composing, you are a little far away from the answer I am going to give you, I read a post on SEOmoz and thought whay did not I think of that. But that did not stop me from following his advice before posting this post, in a few minutes.
The advice is basically to use keyword search before posting your meticously crafted blog post. Perhaps you might be able to find some niche to plug your post into.
But in addition to the keyword search advice, the numerous comments left by various poeple who are giants of Blogsphere and unknown people like me, will certainly increase your knowledge, in a few folds. Follow this link below for the complete advice from SEOmoz.

Tags: Keyword, SEO, SEOmoz, Blog Posting Advice

Adverising! The Viral Products. TechCrunch Rides The Popularity To A Low Cost Tablet PC

Of course I have a tablet PC, no two if you count Nokia N810 as a tablet pc. The Techcrunch Tablet pc is not much different from Nokia N810 as TC is asking for "Just a Macbook Air-thin touch screen machine that runs Firefox and possibly Skype on top of a Linux kernel." The Nokia tablet has all these qualities. Perhaps TC wants a larger screen? (Yes Michael mentioned in a comment that he wants a larger screen.)
So basically they are looking for hardware to fit open source Nokia N810 platform that is available from http://maemo.org/
From the responses at the initial post and the project site (see below) this might be something to look at. Yes I am happy with my Nokia N810 but if there is a tablet with larger screen like my IBM X61, I will jump. Heck at $200 I will join the project!
If you want to contribute, the project is here. Due to large number of comments, now the comments are here.

Tags: Viral Advertising, TechCrunch, Nokia N810, web tablet, Skype, Linux, maemo

Unsavory Porn Ads On Google AdSense?

I found this information at search engine roundtable about a forum discussion within DigitalPoint Forums. The discussion is all about that some websites get adult oriented ads, read porn ads being delivered via Google AdSense on sites.I have not seen any on my sites or the sites that I visit. Then again I do not have any adult stuff on my sites either. SER also mentions that there should not be adult ads appearing on publisher sites if the follow AdSense guidelines, that clearly state that site's content should not contain any "pornography, adult, or mature content.". So ads like the above should not appear on AdSense sites.
But what if you have an article that mentions "Hustler hustling some dazzle"? (This search did not bring any ads on google site. Only searching for hustler brought the above results.)
Will the AdSense ads like above match?
Let me know if you do!
Here's the search engine roundtable article.
Unsavory Porn Ads On Google AdSense?

Tags: Adsense, Adult Ads, Porn Ads, hustler

The Google Trifecta Webinar Recording Is Online Now.

For webmasters, advertising or otherwise need to learn their audience and tune the presentation of warez to match the needs of the customers and reach the Internet nirvana. So to learn about these, I registered this one hour webinar. The webinar took place about a week ago and was presented by biggies in the industry. It was dubbed "The Google Trifecta," this presentation explains the key features of Google Webmaster Tools, Google Analytics, and Google Website Optimizer, and how you can use them together. I have watched this again since then. Follow through and learn a thing or three.

Google Search Experiment : Google Asks You to Digg Your Searches!

What is Google's Edit search results?

This feature allows you influence your search experience by adding, moving, and removing search results. When you search for the same keywords again while you are logged in to your Google account, you'll continue to see those changes. If you later want to revert your changes, you can undo any modifications you've made.

Note: This is an experimental feature served to a random selection of participants and may be available for only a few weeks.

How do I use Edit search results?

Here's how you can move, remove, or add results:
Like it?
This button will move the result to the top of the page and add this marker next to it,
so you can easily recognize it. The result(s) you promote will appear at the top whenever you search for the same keyword(s) in the future.
Don't like it?
This button will remove the result, and it will remain hidden when you search for the same keyword(s) in the future.

Know of a better webpage?

At the bottom of the search results, you can provide the address of a page that's relevant to your search. When you search for these same keyword(s) the page you've suggested will appear at the top with this marker .

Make a comment
This button opens up a text box where you can make a comment. Comments will be visible to you next time the same result appears in a search, and are a great way to remember thoughts you had about particular webpages.
This is an experiment by Google to provide enhanced serch experience. Google giving searchers increased control over their search results improves the overall user experience. But you need to be logged in to your Google account to see the results in a subsequent search.
Google also tells ups that other users also in the experiment will be able to see "Your comments and the webpages you add, promote, or delete, along with the user nickname for the account you're logged in with. You can't directly share your comments or additional results with other users who aren't in the experiment.
There is a development group working on enhancing video support for Asterisk.
If you want to participate, join the asterisk-video mailing list on http://lists.digium.com
Google will use input from this experiment to provide websearch features such as the personalized results you see, and to decide whether features like this would be useful for other users in the future. As Google expands this feature, we may also show the comments and changes that you provided to other users, along with the nickname of the account you were logged in with to make the changes. Like any data you share with Google, this is subject to Google's Privacy Policy.

This feature is available only to very small subset of users. So if you do not see those buttons in your search do not be alarmed.
You can see more screenshoths and a discussion here.

Tags: SEO, Google Search, Google Search Experiment, Google Digg, Digg

Connected to Internet But Cannot Browse!

If you are connected to the Internet and yet you cannot browse websites, it may be because of a recent Windows update that conflicts with Zonealarm. Follow the link below to get the solution.
Geemodo: Latest Windows Security Update Breaks Zonealarm And Blocks Internet Access

Tags: zonealarm blocks Internet, windows update breaks internet access

EntreCard To Bring More Trafic And Credits To You With SezWho!

I have been a member of EntreCard since it launched and it has been one of my major traffic sources. I have diligently followed the rules and dropped cards, advertised on other sites and accepted ads from other sites. It has been great. Few weeks ago I wrote and showed a video about commenting on blogs to attract traffic, audience, readership and community participation. Yes comments bring people. I have created a blog, that does not publish anything but comments that I leave on other sites and within it's infancy (less than two weeks) have attracted more than 500 visits. The site is not registered with any of the blog lists or services like EntreCard or Technorati. The traffic is solely from comments, I leave on other sites. Now I hear the new tool from EntreCard, the site you visit daily to honor your visitors, search places for advertisements or simply to find blogger like yourself. The new tool, not really a tool but Entrecard has joined with SezWho, Internet's premier commenting service provider. So now it entices you to leave a comment when you visit an EntreCard member site and attract some of the traffic and readers from thousands of fantastic sites listed on EntreCard and earn EntreCard Credits as well. I need to increase my credit stash and you will find me commenting on your sites. Read more about it and instruction on this EntreCard Blog post.

Tags: EntreCard, SezWho, Technorati, traffic, audience, readership, community participation

Yahoo Games Offer Ad-Supported, Downloadable Games

Gamotopia has a news report that Yahoo Games has associated it self with two other companies to offer it's collection of online games as down loadable games.
Gamotopia: Yahoo Games Site Launches Internet's Largest Collection of Ad-Supported, Downloadable Games

Tags: Game News, Yahoo Games, NeoEdge, downloadable casual games, Double Fusion, ad-supported downloadable games, ad-supported games, downloadable games

What Is Core Ranking Group Doing At Google

One thing for sure is that the group reassured us that Google does not manually intervene in ranking;
""Does Google manually edit its results?" Let me just answer that with our third philosophy: no manual intervention. In our view, the web is built by people. You are the ones creating pages and linking to pages. We are using all this human contribution through our algorithms. The final ordering of the results is decided by our algorithms using the contributions of the greater Internet community, not manually by us. We believe that the subjective judgment of any individual is, well ... subjective, and information distilled by our algorithms from the vast amount of human knowledge encoded in the web pages and their links is better than individual subjectivity."
But that is not all, Google Fellow Amit Singhal is going to reveal more about the ranking engine works in some future posts. But for now he has touched most questions regarding Google Ranking, like the one above answered. If you are doing anything related to SEO, (If you are on the web, you are) follow the link and educate yourself.

Official Google Blog: Introduction to Google Ranking

Tags: SEO, Google Search, Google Ranking, Ranking engine, Core Ranking Group

Rebirth of Million Dollar Domain Names

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.