Man Cannot Live By PPC Alone. Can He?
Much has been written lately about the value of combining text ads with display/image advertising online in order to boost visibility and brand awareness. This trend is not necessarily a new one: Yahoo/comScore issued a study in 2006 showing an increase in “online and offline purchasing by consumers who are exposed to integrated campaigns” that [...]
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More Video Coming to Google Search Ads
Back in March 2008, we first saw video live in Google search ads. However, eighteen months later, video ads are still scarce in the SERPs. But maybe Google’s rethinking that, according to a Reuters report about a conference call yesterday.
Google is looking at changes in their search ads:
“Our search ads have largely looked the same over the course of the past seven or eight years,” said Nick Fox, a Google director of product management, referring to the text ads that appear alongside Google’s search results.
Fox detailed various ways that Google is striving to liven up the ads. In August, he said, Google introduced a feature that allows advertisers to highlight multiple links to different products or brands within a search ad.
Fox also mentioned a few advertisers using video today: the remake of Fame and the latest Tiger Woods video game. Google expects more and more ads to feature images and video, as we’ve predicted and reported.
Perhaps most interestingly, Google also discussed the future of search ads on mobile devices, albeit obliquely:
The company also said it was developing features to make search ads more relevant on Internet-enabled cell phones, but did not provide details about where mobile ad revenue fits into the overall picture at Google.
“Mobile for Google been a small but very fast-growing segment that we think is going to be an important part of our monetization and search story going forward,” said Susan Wojcicki, Google vice president of product management.
They also mentioned the recent changes in bidding, campaign management, and the search engine itself.
What do you think? What changes are you most excited about in Google ads? How many image and video ads have you noticed—and are you ready for more?
The One in Which I Ponder the Chances of Success for Microsoft & Yahoo
Now that we’ve all had time to digest Microsoft’s 10-year deal with Yahoo, it’s time to ask ourselves if this partnership will live up to the hype?
It seems like we’ve been talking about this deal every other day for the past year or more. In fact, digging through the Marketing Pilgrim archives–and ending up 30 pages deep in “Microsoft/Yahoo” rumors–I discovered it was back in September of 2007 that the idea first germinated:
…Under the scenario discussed by top executives, Yahoo would have outsourced that search-advertising activity — which places small text ads next to Web search results — to either Google or Microsoft Corp…
At the time, Yahoo’s then CEO Jerry Yang said there were “no sacred cows” for the company. Then promptly dismissed any notion that the company would give up operating its own search engine.
My, how things have changed.
Now–with the drama behind us and the deal announced–we need to consider if this act of collusion will end up presenting a serious challenge to Google’s dominance. While Microsoft’s Bing.com continues to inch forward with market share, will the general search public flock to the Google alternative–or will it send us deeper into the warm embrace of the search engine we’ve loved for the past decade?
I could see how we might ultimately come to like Bing. It’s got a catchy name, some cool TV ads running, and could provide those that love to live outside the mainstream, a flashy new search engine to evangelize. But, does a partnership with Yahoo actually dilute Bing’s chances of success? I’m not talking about success as measured by an increase in market share–by that measure, the deal is already a winner. I’m talking about real success. The kind of success that doesn’t just come from cannibalizing Yahoo’s existing search traffic, but from honest-to-goodness market share stolen from Google.
That’s where I simply don’t see much chance of a happy ending. I’ve worked for a company that decided it wanted to increase market share by means of acquisitions. Sure, you get to show growth on paper, but that’s not growth that’s sustainable. It pleases the shareholders, but neither the heart or mind are satisfied. Want further proof that buying market share is not sustainable? Take a look at the stagnation going on over at IAC’s Ask.com.
The biggest obstacle now facing Microsoft’s Bing is this: do we consider it a weaker offering, because it had to partner with Yahoo? Or, does the partnership increase its chances of success?
Perhaps the only glimmer of hope for Microsoft is that Yahoo has played this role in a previous life. Remember when all of your searches at Yahoo were powered by Google? Back then, Google was still building its own audience, and the exposure provided by Yahoo was, obviously, valuable to the company. Can Yahoo do the same for Bing?
There are many questions that I’m leaving unanswered. This post is merely a means for me to share my own thoughts on the deal–not to tell you how you should feel about it. Feel free to chime in with your own opinion on the chances of Microsoft and Yahoo truly challenging Google. I look forward to reading them!
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Google AdWords To Add Addresses On Ads: Location Extensions
The Google AdWords Blog announced they will be allowing advertisers to add the full address to their search ads through location extensions.
Location extensions gives advertisers a way to create new local ads with extensions from scratch or add extensions to your existing text ads. This will replace the need to have local [...]
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Google Testing New Product Ads
UPDATE: Google Blogoscoped has screen shots of product ads in the wild.
Google Blogoscoped received an anonymous tip Friday about Google’s next move in search advertising through its Affiliate Network: product ads. According to the email the tipster passed along,
Product ads are paid product listings that appear [on Google.com SERPs] when users search for products on Google. . . .
Google product ads will feature product specific information directly in the ad such as price and product image. During the beta program, Google will be testing to identify the most effective ad formats. Google product ads will complement standard text ads on Google.com and will run independently during the beta.
Marketing Pilgrim’s mock up of the potential future of Google
Testing for the new ad format doesn’t require additional ad creative or campaign management: it pulls information from Google Base and sets minimum pricing at “your standard publisher rate, plus the network fee.” (Google also encourages publishers to increase their CPAs “to maximize your competitiveness.”)
The email also included an FAQ. The answers provided clarified that the ads are served “when the user’s query matches information provided in your product feed,” and independently of any text ads during the beta.
Advertisers won’t be able to add keywords to these ads—”Google categorizes and matches the items from your product feed to the user’s search query for you.” Rankings are determined by commission and quality score (which includes relevance, conversion rate of the query and ad, advertiser account history and “other relevant factors.”)
The Wall Street Journal points out today that this test might be a response to Bing’s “decision engine” challenge. Bing is positioning itself as the place to go for finding the best health, travel, local and shopping “answers.” And WSJ may have a point. I mean, compare these two above-the-fold SERPs for [canon digital camera]:
Notice that, at bottom, Bing has no organic results above the fold (the pictures click through to product information and shopping pages on Bing.com). But what kind of clicks do you think they’re getting? When it comes down to it, pictures, prices and product info stand out in a sea of text and blue links.
What do you think? Will tests be positive enough to get Google to roll out product ads?
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Google Adds Image Ads to AdSense Link Units
Are you using AdSense Link Units? The block of links to related-topic ad pages are getting a new “feature” after testing showed positive results—i.e. increased revenue for publishers.
The old (and in case you aren’t familiar with the jargon—note that the page of ads looks a lot like ten blue links.):
And the new version of the ad page:
See the difference? That 2009 Special Olympics image at the bottom is new—and it’s an ad. The Inside AdSense blog gives a few vitals:
These image ads are contextually targeted, based on the link unit topic users clicked to reach the ads. If no image ads are available for the given topic, we’ll only show the original text ads — in other words, we won’t show a PSA or insert a blank space in place of the image ad in this case. Advertisers can bid on these image ads on a cost-per-click (CPC) and cost-per-impression (CPM) basis, so you’ll generate earnings for valid clicks and impressions. You can review the performance of image ads on your link unit pages by generating a link unit report on your Advanced Reports page.
What do you think—is this a presage of things to come on the SERPs?
