Friday, March 27, 2009

We Are Cheap! Microsoft To Apple

<a href="http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-US&amp;playlist=videoByUuids:uuids:0bb6a07c-c829-4562-8375-49e6693810c7&amp;showPlaylist=true&amp;from=shared" target="_new" title="Laptop Hunters $1000 &#8211; Lauren Gets an HP Pavilion">Video: Laptop Hunters $1000 &#8211; Lauren Gets an HP Pavilion</a>
I just saw this on techcrunch and did not know where to look! Guess hard time not only on us!

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Add Preferences To Google ADs You See

Google AD Preferences
Since most websites and blogs show Google ads and they are chosen by the publishers to fit their wares. Now Google is giving you a chance to modify or add preferences to ADs you prefer. Once you visit the Google ADs Preferences site, you will be able edit the interest categories, which are based on sites you have recently visited.
The link to the ADs Preferences page and a link to learn more, after the video;


Ads Preferences
Learn more

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Google Ads On Picasa Searches.


Last few post have been about Google Ads and now Google OS has provided me with another bit of news to write about Google Ads.
This time it is Picasa. If you log into your Picasa Web albums, you will see some ads relevant to what you are searching (Yes so far I have only noticed ads when I search withing Picasa.) May be it is what Google meant when it wrote about Ads in new places
Google Ads On Picasa Searches.
Source (Google Operating System)

Friday, March 13, 2009

AdWords AD Auctions, How They Work?


When I think of an auction, be it a charity auction or land auction or ebay auctions, first thing comes to my mind is the highest bid. If I really wants the goods being auctioned, the best will be the highest bid and I will have to beat the rest of bidders in their high bids.
But I learned today that at the AdWords auctions the system works a little differently. The winner only pays the minimum amount necessary to maintain their position on the page. That means you'll only pay the minimum necessary to beat the person below you. In fact, our quality-based pricing system ensures that you'll often pay less than your maximum bid.
So your prize of the Ad could easily be less than your highest bid!
Confused? Me too, until I watched this video. (Or watch in HD)


Google blog Introduction to the ad auction Also available at inside Adwords Blog

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Optimisation Essentials For AdSense For Content

The Adsense Blog has posted the final episode of the "Optimisation Essentials for AdSense for content" I have followed the series but I am sorry I failed to post about it.
The two previous installments were the best-performing ad unit sizes and taken a look at how to design your ad units for good-looking ads.
So the video explains the placement of the add and where people, visitors tend to click based on heatmap and according to the post the best positions are;
  • Above the fold of a page (the section of the page a user can see without scrolling)
  • At the end of an article
  • Aligned with content
But you can always test these suggestions by testing on your own. If you are a AdSense publisher, you can create channels to track and measure changes in revenue, impressions, clicks, etc. Channels are easy to create and use from your AdSense account. Learn how to do it here Also the original post (Link on the header or below) has a good discussion going on.


Inside AdSense: Optimisation Essentials (Part III)

Better Targeting Of Google Ads

Google started to target ads based on your history of web browsing. When you visit a site with Google Adsense ads, relevant ads will be shown based on content and the subjects, together with your previous behavior!
There were many other advertisers that did this and drew criticism from public and the congress. The proverbial privacy advocates are the first to jump up and down hallways crying fowl. But Google knew better and done a very good job of providing you of means to select the service the way you want. They also allow you to completely opt out of the process if you prefer so.
From Official Google Blog; Making ads more interesting
  • Transparency - We already clearly label most of the ads provided by Google on the AdSense partner network and on YouTube. You can click on the labels to get more information about how we serve ads, and the information we use to show you ads. This year we will expand the range of ad formats and publishers that display labels that provide a way to learn more and make choices about Google's ad serving.
  • Choice - We have built a tool called Ads Preferences Manager, which lets you view, delete, or add interest categories associated with your browser so that you can receive ads that are more interesting to you.
  • Control - You can always opt out of the advertising cookie for the AdSense partner network here. To make sure that your opt-out decision is respected (and isn't deleted if you clear the cookies from your browser), we have designed a plug-in for your browser that maintains your opt-out choice.
Also there is another post at Google Public Policy Blog: Giving consumers control over ads
And here is a video;


Monday, March 9, 2009

Future Of Search, According To Google VP,

Serious brain stretching ahead as Marissa Mayer, Vice President at Google speaks to Charlie Rose, and yes Google will do all the searching for you and even think for you. So you SEO types, watch and learn. (Then again it is an almost hour long video.)

Friday, March 6, 2009

Advertising For Twitter Like Services. (Google Adwords For Real Time Search)

Relevant ads for searches like the service that Google provides are easy (?) as the content is mostly static. Even the dynamic content like blogs become static media, once published and it is a matter of indexing that counts and Google has been good at it.
But to advertise to users on services like twitter is bit too hard as, say like twitter search may reveal real time conversations and targeting ads for these conversations has to be different from traditional web advertising or online advertising.
InSeconds CEO says we need anothe Google Adwords, Google Adwords for real time search. Yep! May be Google need to modify that Google Ads for News to fit the scene.