MediaPost.com: search

Google, EU Spar Over Privacy Changes

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:10:49 -0500

Privacy regulators in the EU have asked Google to delay its plan to start compiling more detailed profiles of its users. Google indicated it would reject the request.

Social, Search Identify Super Bowl Favored Team, Ads

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:51:00 -0500

Clearspring ran sentiment analysis from its AddThis sharing platform showing the team that fans in each U.S. state favor, based on overall clicks, searches and shares. The New York Giants took more than 40 states; New England took the remainder. The data considers about 2 million events daily across 10 days, not including sentiment. Clearspring tapped data related to search activity, social shares and clicks to analyze not only the favored football team of Super Bowl XLVI, but the favorite brands running ads during Sunday's game.

The Fallacy Of Google's Protected Query Data Announcement

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:25:00 -0500

It's been nearly four months since Google first announced it was making search "more secure" by encrypting the search queries of users logged in to Google Accounts. At that time, many of us (me included) were outraged. It was difficult to look beyond the immediate announcement to understand the larger chess match at hand. We were losing raw keyword query data, and that data is essential to SEO. And bear in mind, this wasn't the typical user resistance that has become common anytime Facebook makes some aesthetic change; this was the result of Google making it more difficult for SEOs to do our jobs.

Former NFL Falcons Player Helps Brands Score Touchdown From Social, Search Referral Traffic

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:24:00 -0500

Former Atlanta Falcons linebacker Will Overstreet is the creator of Voices Heard Media, a company that has developed an interactive platform to help keep visitors on Web sites, Facebook pages, blogs and more, increasing interaction through questions and answers, polls, and contests. Users are encouraged to share experiences, results, and recruit others to join in. This week the company released an analytics package designed to track interaction, engagement and statistics.

MedicalDezign Introduces Medical Search Engine Optimization Program...

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:09:51 -0500

When implemented correctly, a proper medical search engine optimization strategy will allow any patients searching for a medical or dental practice in their area to be led directly to a link to the physician's site.

Wildnet Technologies Wins Time Research Media Service Excellence...

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:09:51 -0500

Delpy hospitalised at Sundance with migraine French actress/director JULIE DELPY was forced to skip her new movie's post-screening discussion at the Sundance Film Festival on Wednesday because of a migraine.

Google Can't Weigh In On 'Used' Digital Music Case

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:00:00 -0500

The battle between EMI's Capitol Records and "used" digital music store ReDigi has drawn the attention of Google, which this week attempted to file a friend-of-the-court brief in the case.

Facebook Ad Growth Outpaces Search Marketing

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:35:00 -0500

Budgets for advertising on Facebook continue to grow at a faster clip compared with paid search, according to Kenshoo Social. But are budgets growing faster because social appears as the shiny new object, or have marketers finally figured out how to calculate ROI from Facebook campaigns?

Google, RKG Find Musical Chi-Chings On Tablets For Sweetwater

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:26:00 -0500

Tablets garner conversion rates greater than 10% compared with PCs, and average order values of more than 30%, according to Matthew Mierzejewski, vice president of pay per click at Rimm-Kaufman Group (RKG), a digital marketing agency supporting paid-search campaigns. Owners tend to have disposable income for entertainment-related services, and appear to be more competent with shopping online, especially on iPads.

The Facebook Personality Test

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:40:14 -0500

I've always believed that you could learn everything you needed to know about a person by asking them who their favorite Beatle was. But for the test to work, you actually have to know the Beatles on a fairly intimate level, and their status as a cultural baseline is regrettably eroding. Now, you could use a more standard but much less interesting approach; say a Myers-Briggs personality sorter, or the "colors" test. But a recent paper by Ashwini Nadkarni and Stefan Hofman (both from Boston University) in the Journal of Personality and Individual Differences offered a more timely way to sort out the extroverts from the introverts (and the neurotics from the narcissists). It seems our usage of Facebook may provide a remarkably accurate glimpse into who we are.

Mobile Ad Network Mojiva Hits 1 Billion Uniques, Globally

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:24:00 -0500

Mobile ad network Mojiva laid claim Thursday to having the ability to serve ad on more than one billion unique devices globally each month. The company said it serves more than 45 billion ad requests in 190 countries and reaches approximately 224 million unique devices monthly in the U.S. In the United Kingdom it serves 33 million; Germany, 10.6 million; France, 5.5 million: Spain, 6.4 million; and Italy, 8.7 million. Research firm eMarketer estimates marketers will spend $2.61 billion in the U.S. on mobile campaigns this year.

Microsoft Taps Into Privacy Angst To Lure Google Users

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:10:00 -0500

Microsoft is making the most of the flap over Google's decision to revise its privacy policy. Today, the Seattle-based software giant unveiled an ad campaign bashing Google for the new policy.

Papczun To U.S. President, Performics

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:48:00 -0500

Performics, the performance marketing agency owned by Publicis Groupe, upped Eric Papczun to U.S. president.

Five Lessons From Israel For Search Marketers

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:33:00 -0500

When I'm in a pinch for Search Insider topics, I draw from personal experience -- i.e., what's on my mind the day my column's due. I'm especially fond of analogies (best served with a healthy dose of puns) that relate my life and times to my chosen profession. Typically, my muse is a company -- Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Groupon, etc. Sometimes, it's a person -- for example, Steve Jobs. However, today it's a country. Sitting on a long flight back to my sweet home Chicago, I'm reflecting on my time in Israel last week and seeing what nuggets might be digestible for SEM.

NFC Adoption Rates Rising In Advertising, Marketing

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:44:00 -0500

Expect approximately 100 million near field communication-enabled smartphones to ship in 2012. The forecast released by VDC Research suggests that consumer demand will create a "pull" effect for hardware manufacturers and application developers, as more brands attempt to influence buying decisions from mobile devices that can read the software driving transactions.

How Amazon Co. Quidsi A/B Tests Multiple Variables

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:07:00 -0500

Ask questions and get quick answers on what consumers value more. That's the beauty of tools that help marketers test multiple variables on Web site pages or in paid-search ads. It didn't take long for Teju Prabhakar to discover that setting up A/B multivariate testing to determine what drives the highest conversions becomes nearly impossible without the correct tools.

77% Of CMOs Unsure Where To Reach Consumer

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 06:17:00 -0500

While managing platforms is problematic, managing people isn't easy, either, with 29% saying that hiring or retraining talent is a problem, and few think they have the necessary training in place.

Hulu's Super Bowl Ad: Searching For Mushy TV Brains

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:21:00 -0500

Hulu's Super Bowl ad features Will Arnett ("Up All Night," "30 Rock" and "Arrested Development") in front of the "Hollywood" sign looking to open a door to one of the big Hollywood sign letters. Inside the Hollywood sign -- kind of a metaphor for getting inside Hollywood -- Arnett teases viewers with the line "mushy mush." The idea is that the TV industry is populated by aliens who use TV to turn human brains into 'mush.'

Presidential Google+ Hangout Could Land Laid Off Semiconductor Worker A Job

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:32:30 -0500

The wife of a laid off U.S. semiconductor engineer got the chance to present her husband's resume to President Barack Obama Tuesday after participating in the presidential Google+ Hangout that took place on Monday night. The virtual interview from the White House, presented by YouTube and Google, allowed folks to ask Obama questions. After Jennifer Wedel, the wife of the laid off semiconductor engineer, explained to the president her husband had been laid off, Obama asked her to forward his resume to the White House. Peter McDermott, who captured the first interview following the interaction, explained in a Google+ post that Wedel confirmed the White House received the resume.

Leno, Seinfeld Want Acura's NSX

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:19:00 -0500

The Super Bowl campaign includes a pre-game release of a 1-minute 50-second extended version of "Transactions," PR initiatives, search, seeding and paid media placements. The commercial will be featured in Acura dealerships.

Did Ask.com Finally Nail It?

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:18:00 -0500

Did Ask.com's renewed search agreement with Google, mobile voice search application, and its latest ad campaign help to revive the ailing question- and-answer (Q&A) site? Ask.com picked up momentum on its latest ad campaign through a series of messages that ask lots of questions. The company elected to opt-out of airtime during Super Bowl Sunday and run a steady stream of ads in select markets -- Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle.

Google Search Plus Your World: Monitoring Your Reputation Just Became Even More Important

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:38:57 -0500

Google recently launched its new default search results deemed "Google Search Plus Your World," which is already creating quite a controversy in SEO circles and beyond. Regardless of if searchers like the results, the reality is that Google has placed great emphasis on Google+ and is likely hoping that GSPYW will increase Google+ adoption.

Search Engines, Aggregators: Alleged IP Theft Prompts Agencies To Pull Real Estate Listings

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:53:00 -0500

"The Wall Street Journal" and other publishers are not the only content producers to put up a wall between their content and aggregators and search engines pulling information from their Web sites.

Yandex Taps Nokia's Navteq For Maps, Mobile

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:09:00 -0500

Russia's search engine Yandex said Monday it has purchased map licenses from Nokia subsidiary Navteq to develop detailed world maps for its Yandex.Maps service. Using the service, Web site owners can embed maps of various countries, noting city buildings and urban traffic networks, on their sites.

The Evolution Of Google

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 10:04:03 -0500

Google introduced a new privacy policy last week -- and while it is essentially a practical move on its part to simplify more than 60 separate policies into a single, overarching policy, it says a lot about the company Google has become.