We are excited to be attending the 2008 Online Marketing Summit in Atlanta on August 12th, which is an educational event for marketing professionals. This year, the topics include:
- Website Strategy
- Customer Life-Cycle and Loyalty Marketing
- Search Engine Marketing
- Demand Generation
- Email Marketing
- Social Media Strategies
A colleague and I are attending this event in hopes of honing our strategic thinking initiatives. The importance of knowledge-based decision making is critical in today’s economic environment. I think that the sessions offered in this summit will help us greatly with our goals and initiatives when we return.
I’m excited to get involved in the Complete Website Strategy session for a chance to understand user experience and how to improve it. I am conflicted about whether to attend the Social Media Strategies session or the one one Behavioral Targeting and Technology. The first is geared towards learning how leading companies build online communities and leverage the latest Web 2.0 technologies to proactively engage customers. The latter focuses on how experience-driven web initiatives can succeed with a combination of online marketing strategies and a technology infrastructure. Please leave comments to suggest which you think would be most beneficial.
This busy day will end with a much needed Happy Hour, with drinks on OMS! Hopefully I’ll be able to remember the day’s lessons so I can reflect back after we return!
Once again, Yahoo is playing follow the leader with Google.
Google recently announced their capability to read Flash content and Yahoo just announced their ability to do the same. This gives online marketers more freedom to create media rich websites without worrying about creating a separate HTML site. Up until now, Flash developers didn’t need or care about Search Engine Optimization (SEO), but that will now change as online marketers evaluate Flash content for SEO initiatives.
#3 player in Search, Microsoft, has not weighed in to date.
You can read further about the news on SEORoundTable.com.
As Reported by Efficient Frontier, below is a look at the average cost-per-click in major paid search marketing campaigns by vertical industry for June 2008, compared to May 2008.The vertical industries with the most fluctuations were Mortgage, Travel, Retail and Finance.
Full coverage of the data in the report can be found at www.SearchEngineWatch.com or on Efficient Frontier’s Blog here.
From an online marketer’s perspective, here are factors that can cause cost-per-click data to fluctuate:
- More advertisers entering the market
- More aggressive bidding to maintain positioning
- Better quality search ads and quality score as determined by the search engine
What do these micro-changes in price reveal to Marketers about current business trends?
In this report, Mortgage advertisers experienced a 12% increase in average cost-per-click which can be interpreted in several different ways:
- Are more mortgage advertisers shifting dollars from other offline tactics like print, TV and Outdoor?
- Is the increase the result of projected increases in real estate activity during summer months?
- Have mortgage leads become more valuable due to lower demand? (Thus causing higher cost-per-click tolerance)
Yahoo now has deals with competitors’ Microsoft and Google redefining “keep your enemies close”. Below is a chart showing the deals side by side.
| Feature |
Google |
Microsoft |
| Stock Purchase |
Google might have shown Yahoo investors love by a purchase, but that might also have triggered more anti-trust issues |
Would have purchased $8 billion worth at $35 per share, probably producing a short-term spike in value |
Search
Assets |
Yahoo maintains own paid & organic search services |
$1 billion to acquire paid and organic search. Yahoo would have been out as a search player. Right now, it’s second place with Microsoft third and yet to gain on Yahoo |
| Paid Search |
Google powers some; Yahoo maintains its own service and can partner with others. Smart move if Yahoo believes it really does have long-term future in search |
Microsoft powers all, presumably from blending Yahoo & Microsoft systems |
| Organic Search |
Yahoo powers all |
Microsoft powers all, presumably from blending Yahoo & Microsoft technology |
| Contextual Ads |
Google powers some |
Appears Yahoo would have continued keeping this; Microsoft itself doesn’t have a substantial program |
| Domain / Direct Navigation Ads |
Yahoo appears to continue selling its own ads in this very lucrative space |
Uncertain if Microsoft would have taken this over |
| Market |
US & Canada & non-exclusive. This is important — Yahoo could still partner with Microsoft elsewhere. Moreover, those valuing a Yahoo-Microsoft deal to Yahoo-Google should remember that Yahoo effectively has “more to sell” |
Worldwide |
| Term |
4 years initially; 3 year renewals optionally for total of 10 years |
At least 3 years |
| Guarantees |
Yahoo guarantees Google can serve $83 million in ads each quarter on Yahoo or can walk out in first 10 months — call it about $100 million overall; Yahoo doesn’t have to send any set number of queries to Google; Yahoo amazingly has no public revenue guarantees from Google |
In company memo, Microsoft said it would have guaranteed Yahoo would earn more than it currently makes, for 3 years. |
| Poison Pill |
Yahoo has to pay $250 million if there’s a “change of control” that terminates the agreement in first two years; more restricted terms applied to what “control” means if Microsoft gains Yahoo shares |
If Microsoft did take over Yahoo, after 10 months, it could continue the agreement with no guarantees to Google and still avoid poison pill payment |
| Financial Upside |
According to Google & Yahoo, $250-$450 million per year in extra income — up to $800 million annually; Microsoft & Yahoo could still partner outside US |
According to Microsoft, $1 billion per year in income above current levels |
Other
Upside |
Yahoo maintains control of a powerful search brand, can partner outside US; Yahoo & Google IM services to talk to each other |
Yahoo would have no need to maintain engineering staff, infrastructure and protect against brain drain |
| Downside |
Anti-trust issues might not allow (but Microsoft-Yahoo had issues, too) |
Microsoft would compete with Yahoo in display area yet Microsoft has strongly suggested search+display is a winning combination - so Yahoo would lose a key component other than “data” that would be given to them; search was main value (to me) of earlier deal at $40 billion, now only worth $9 billion? |
| Anti-Trust |
Yahoo & Google think it’s not an issue; already had earlier test cleared by will wait 3 1/2 months for US Justice Department review |
Yahoo & Microsoft might have had issues in email & other portal services; Microsoft expected to fight Yahoo-Google |
| Challenges |
Yahoo brain drain;
who’s still running stuff? |
Microsoft stays stalled in search; brains from Yahoo feel like they’re still going to Google |
Source: Search Engine Land
As many expected, Yahoo and Google officially announced a non-exclusive advertising agreement.
The news puts an end to lingering talks involving Microsoft and their intentions to acquire Yahoo…read the Microsoft press release here.
In case you missed it, back in April, Yahoo confirmed that it was running a limited test of Google Inc.’s AdSense for Search service, which delivered relevant Google ads alongside Yahoo!’s own search results. Apparently, the test was successful!
Yahoo’s press release points out revenue projections from the deal, which they expect to generate $250m to $450m during the first 12 months.
Google’s press release makes an interesting point that both companies will work on integrating their instant messaging clients.
For marketers, many expect better performance from Yahoo campaigns resulting in more visitors and higher conversions.
Of course, now the real test begins…stay tuned.
