A top mobile service harnesses its strengths to compete in the mobile ad space.
WHERE is a mobile application (both downloadable and mobile web) that focuses on local search and recommendations. This week, WHERE is launching a local/mobile ad network.
WHERE’s goal is to generate relevant ads based on location and context.
“We built WHERE Ads because we wanted to deliver a better advertising experience to our audience.” said Walt Doyle, CEO of WHERE. “Leveraging our unique access to the carrier infrastructure, we are able to deliver hyper-local, contextually relevant content. The result is that we are driving benefit by connecting the consumer and the local merchant. We’re now excited to begin offering this solution to third party publishers.”
Catching up on a week of new stuff from the GOOG.
Google and DISH Network may be teaming up for a TV search.
AdWords released a new feature for advertising on the Google Content Network that filters out below-the-fold inventory.
Google Webmaster Tools now offers Fetch as Googlebot Mobile and the ability for page owners to claim their Sidewiki entry.
Google Public Data Explorer is a new Labs application.
Google Maps served up three updates:
- A new imagery update was released for Maps and Earth. It includes new imagery for areas affected by the Chile earthquake.
Previously the executive director of the Oracle Applications Users Group (OAUG), Mike Levin has been tapped in the same role – but this time at the Web Analytics Association (WAA).
“The WAA has been growing steadily over the years with the help of our association management company, Virtual Inc., and dedicated volunteers, and I’m overwhelmingly impressed with the progress we have made to date,” said Jim Sterne, WAA chairman. “Mike Levin represents the talent that we need to kick things into high gear, and he has the experience and the passion to take us to the next level. I am delighted, thrilled and grateful that Mike has joined us.”
Prepare to be green with envy.
I’m entirely jealous of Allison Schwam. She’s the Senior Search Analyst at Backcountry, an outdoor sporting goods operation. Allison guest posted over at the Inside AdWords blog about how in between ski runs down fresh powder, she keeps an eye on her AdWords campaigns.
She gets up at 7am, eats breakfast and checks her AdWords account. If her goals on target, she emails her boss to inform of her plans to go hit the white powder – and I do mean snow.
Her boss is ok with this.
It will take a few weeks.
We got a glimpse of what the new homepage would be like in November and now the time has finally come. MSN will begin rolling out their new homepage today. But as one of the most trafficked pages in all the web, it should come as no surprise that the full roll-out will take a few weeks.
The new page goes from a blue background to white and relies on structured data from Bing to inform content selection for the homepage.
Other new features include:
Saving time on bidding and reporting reaps big rewards for the digital agency and software provider.
As an interactive marketing agency with clients such as Victoria’s Secret, Disney, and CapitalOne, Razorfish has to be razor sharp with the way they conduct their business. Without the right tools, search marketing can be a tedious, manual task that soaks up company time and profits.
So Razorfish turned to Marin Software to streamline paid search efforts for their clients. As a result, they’ve reduced time spent on daily bidding, reporting, and campaign management by up to 50%.
Local advertising meets search engine optimization with new tool for marketers.
You probably know Citysearch as a local online media site. You may know OrangeSoda as an SEO provider. Together, they make a tasty, sophisticated cocktail.
They’ve come together to make your life easier. And now that the day is three seconds shorter due to the Chilean earthquake, you’re gonna need solutions like the CityGrid Complete.
What CityGrid Complete offers is a network of 100 web and mobile partners for online advertising, including search. What OrangeSoda offers is search engine optimization for organic listings.
One of our own makes the cut.
Congratulations to our very own Mike Grehan who has been named to the 2010-2012 SEMPO Board of Directors. The term for this board, which is insanely light on females (where my ladies at?), begins March 18.
- Chris Boggs – Director, Search Engine Optimization, ROSETTA®
- Massimo Burgio – Founder, Chief Strategist, Global Search Interactive
- Bruce Clay – President, Bruce Clay, Inc.
- Dave Fall – SVP Product and Operations, Clickable, Inc.
- Rob Garner – Strategy Director, iCrossing
- Mike Grehan – VP and Global Content Director, Incisive Media
Handwrite your way to faster search.
If we’re going to be honest, no one completely loves the process of typing search queries (or typing much of anything) onto a mobile device. The search engines know it – that’s why they include query suggestion features on their mobile apps.
There are also voice search features, barcode scanning apps and experiments with like-image search. Now you can add another nifty search feature to the lineup: gesture search.
Google has introduced the feature as a Labs product for Android. To use the search, you write a letter across the screen. Gestures search will then begin bringing up contacts, apps, bookmarks and music that begin with the letter.
New tool allows you to manage multiple search marketing campaigns offline.
The new Yahoo! Search Marketing Desktop is a free tool offering five major tasks:
- Bulk editing: Make mass changes to status, match type and budget settings. Adjust multiple keyword bids. Export to Excel your view of keywords, ads, ad groups and campaigns.
- Campaign transfer: One step to import your third-party campaign data.
- Keyword research: A keyword suggestion engine is included. It allows you to get URL-based keyword suggestions and export the list into Excel.
