Question: have you conducted a search recently on Facebook? And have you noticed that something different, something huge was happening? AllFacebook went as far as saying that the social site was “declaring war on Google.” So what is it all about? I’d personally call it “stealth search”, no less. Read on.
If you were lucky enough to conduct a query that yielded such results on Facebook, you might have seen that now it does display entries for pages OUTSIDE of its own platform. Not pages, apps or profiles only but, yes indeed, third-party websites and links directly to those. I’ll take you there but first, let’s rewind a bit.
Expansion of feature allows national phone numbers irregardless of user location.
When AdWords brought Click-to-Call to mobile ads a month ago, the idea was to enable local businesses to reach searchers on-the-go. Now, the feature is being extended to national advertisers who wish to use a primary number.
For example, let’s say you’re searching for a car rental and an ad from a national chain pops up in your mobile search. Perhaps they want to funnel all calls through a single number. Now, they can do so with Click-to-Call mobile ads in AdWords.
The new toolbar aids with viewing data.
AdWords has been providing more and more data over the past few months, which lends itself to needing ways to view that data. One such way is a brand spankin’ new toolbar under the Campaigns tab.
The new toolbar allows you to filter and segment data for easy access to insights on what’s going on in your AdWords campaigns. Here’s a screenshot from the Inside AdWords blog:
New restrictions go into place at the end of the month.
Selling prescription drugs online is big business. And where there’s lots of money, there’s usually people wanting to engage in nefarious practices. That’s why there are restrictions placed on pharmaceutical ads which appear in search engines.
Google is updating their policy for pharmacies wishing to market their products via AdWords. Here’s what you need to know:
- Google will only accept ads from pharmacies accredited by the National Association Boards of Pharmacy VIPPS program, and from online pharmacies in Canada that are accredited by the Canadian International Pharmacy Association (CIPA).
Google AdWords has launched a new site where you can get training on their paid search platform. For FREE.
There are “on demand” courses, which you can view anytime (registration required). Or you can sign up for various webinars, which AdWords conducts on a regular basis.
The free training site is easy to navigate. Simply click here to get started on the North American training site or here for UK and Ireland.
It must be partnership announcement day in the search industry. Earlier this morning Jonathan Allen reported on the new deal between Distilled and SEOMoz. Now, we’re getting word of a new partnership between Webtrends and Acronym Media. The two have paired up to provide software solutions to aid search marketers in managing and executing their efforts.
“The need for marketers to easily optimize their content from a single platform while integrating with partners like Acronym Media will be a significant priority in the near future. Acronym Media understands the importance of bringing this philosophy together through search marketing and web measurement,” said James McDermott, vice president partnerships, Webtrends.
It’s no secret that Google had a strong fourth quarter to end 2009. Their earnings last week showed it and we’ve already seen it in a report from Efficient Frontier.
Taking a look at two more quarterly reports, from Adgooroo and SearchIgnite, we see more of the same. Google continues its dominance in search advertising.
Adgooroo
SearchIgnite
Despite Bing’s steady gains in search query share since launch, they don’t seem to be capturing the hearts of advertisers. From speaking with advertisers, the problem seems to be AdCenter, which is frustrating on many levels for those with bucks to spend.
If search ads for mobile search on full internet browsers is part of your overall search campaign, you’ll be glad to know that Google AdWords is providing additional targeting for those ads.
Now, you can target via device and carrier. Just want to target iPhone users? There’s a target for that. Right now, it looks like you can only target Android, iPhone/iPod Touch, and Palm Web/OS devices.
For carriers, you can target various telcos in the U.S. and Canada. In the U.S., you can target Verizon, Spring, Nextel, T-mobile, AT&T, Metro PCS and Cricket. In Canada, you can target Rogers, Telus, and Bell Canada.
Both Anchor Intelligence and Click Forensics released their quarterly click fraud reports this week. Each report showed the click fraud rate rising in the fourth quarter of 2009, compared to the previous quarter.
Click Fraud Rates
Anchor Intelligence saw the attempted click fraud rate increase from 18.6% in Q3 2009 to 25.7% in Q4 2009. Anchor Intelligence defines attempted click fraud as those with malicious intent.
Click Forensics saw the click fraud rate increase from 14.1% in Q3 2009 to 15.3% in Q4 2009. The click fraud rate in Q4 2008 was 17.1%.
Every January, journalists, bloggers and other industry folk take to their respective blogs and publications to predict what may happen in the New Year. Search is no exception to such speculation.
We compiled a list of five predictions for search in 2010 and asked experts to weigh in on whether they think those predictions will play out.
1. John Battelle – Google will make a corporate decision to become seen as a software brand rather than as “just a search engine.”
Pat Duncan, Associate Partner in Rosetta’s Consumer Products & Retail vertical
