BizReport : April 6, 2008 - April 12, 2008 Archive

April 6, 2008 - April 12, 2008 Archive

Advertising | April 11, 2008

MarketingSherpa: 75% of users don't see ads below the fold

It appears that most online ads are not being viewed by the consumers they are targeted to. According to a recent report from Marketing Sherpa, only about 25% of consumers see online ads "below the fold". This is true whether a site has high traffic numbers or not. >>

Advertising | April 11, 2008

Google is the most popular video source for Europeans

In the UK and Europe, as in most of the connected world, Google ranks at the top for online video viewership. A new report from comScore, which has launched a European version of their video metrix, shows Google sites as number one in France, the UK, Germany and in Canada, too. >>

Mobile Marketing | April 11, 2008

Itsmy.com reaches the million-user mark

The mobile social space is filling up face and advertisers need to take notice. According to company data from itsmy.com, the mobile social network has signed its one-millionth user to the ad-supported platform. >>

Viral Marketing | April 11, 2008

Word-of-mouth holds most clout

When it comes to influencing purchase decisions, word-of-mouth recommendations from family and friends scored highest, according to ZenithOptimedia’s recently released Touchpoints ROI Tracker. >>

E-commerce | April 10, 2008

Teens take stock of spending

Even teens are cutting back on their spending. Piper Jaffray’s 15th semi-annual “Taking Stock With Teens” survey found that the amount teens spent on fashion dropped almost 20% YoY. >>

Research | April 10, 2008

NRF: Online retail sales to rise

The National Retail Federation has an optimistic outlook for online retail sales, expecting double figure growth in 2008 despite an overall drop in consumer spending. >>

Internet | April 10, 2008

Yahoo to test Google AdSense

Yahoo has frustrated Microsoft today by announcing a limited trial of Google’s AdSense for Search. Google ads will appear alongside Yahoo search results, albeit only for U.S. Internet users. >>

Research | April 10, 2008

Nielsen: Half of British aren't "high-speed" freaks

Online marketers may be interested to note that a recent report from Nielsen//Netratings found most Britons aren't logging on to the Internet via highest-speed connections. Only about one-third of consumers are utilizing the highest-speed connections (2Mb-8Mb). >>

Search Marketing | April 10, 2008

ChaCha enables voice-based mobile search

Forget about trying to compete in the super competitive search engine wars. One so-called "alternative" search engine is refocusing their efforts on the mobile web in an effort to gain a surer foothold in the market. Part of the change has been to enable voice-based mobile search. The voice-based model allows consumers to ask questions as if they were speaking to a friend. The questions are answers a few minutes later via text message. >>

Research | April 10, 2008

PicLens: Publishers can engage more with photos

Publishers looking for a better way to engage readers might take another look at the pictures included with their blog posts, news stories and RSS feeds. Rather than using small, captioned shots a new interface from CoolIris called PicLens allows pictures to be used full-screen. >>

Research | April 09, 2008

Hitwise: Google takes record share of search

Google notched up its highest proportion of U.S. Internet searches to date earlier this year, according to new data released by Hitwise. >>

Research | April 09, 2008

'Graying and affluent' market on the rise

The “graying and affluent” market is increasing in numbers and income, according to a recent study by The Media Audit. >>

Research | April 09, 2008

Nielsen: Video consumption on the rise

An interesting thing happened from January to February according to a new report from Nielsen//Netratings: the number of unique users viewing video streams decreased but the time spent viewing streams increased. >>

Search Marketing | April 09, 2008

comScore: Search pushes auto insurance quotes

Auto insurers should pay special attention to their paid search campaigns. And, if they aren't running with paid search this may be the time to get involved. According to a new study from comScore, auto insurance quotes referred by search queries increased more than 35% in 2007. >>

Mobile Marketing | April 09, 2008

Amobee partners with QuickPlay for mobile video ads

Add another provider to the growing list of those providing mobile video advertising clips to mobile users. This week Amobee, a mobile ad solutions provider, and QuickPlay, a mobile video solution company, partnered to provide mobile video ads to consumers. >>

Research | April 09, 2008

On-page placement - the missing metric

An eye-tracking study, commissioned by MarketingSherpa, demonstrates that below-the-fold ad placements aren’t seen by the majority Internet users. >>

Research | April 08, 2008

$225m buys Nielsen a research firm

The Nielsen Company has announced the addition of IAG Research to its growing list of acquisitions. >>

E-commerce | April 08, 2008

Recession and convenience drive coupon use

Coupon redemption rates in the U.S. have dropped to around 1% during the last decade, but it appears that the whiff of recession in the air and an online distribution strategy is enough to turn even those on above-average incomes into coupon clippers. >>

Research | April 08, 2008

UK: Value of Internet advertising to topple TV

Faster broadband and the proliferation of laptop ownership are fuelling the growth of online advertising in the U.K., according to a recent IAB report. >>

Advertising | April 08, 2008

Etology serves 500 million ad impressions daily to Europeans

With the economy slowing down both online and offline in the US, marketers are beginning to wonder how to convert more sales. The key could be to dabble in advertising outside the US. But, how can advertisers be certain that the online ad space they buy will lead to increased traffic or product conversions? >>

Social Marketing | April 08, 2008

Pollara: Influencers may not be influencing

A recent study from Canadian research group Pollara may have some social marketers rethinking their game plan. According to the study, the so-called Influencers of social media may not be as good at influencing other users as originally thought. >>

Advertising | April 08, 2008

Kontera enters ad partnership with Microsoft, LinkedIn

Using Kontera's contextual ad technology, Microsoft will begin delivering relevant ads to IT users in the LinkedIn Answers program. When a user logs in and asks a question, Kontera's technology will analyze the content delivered and offer relevant Microsoft product links. >>

Search Marketing | April 07, 2008

Search rankings: Aim high says iProspect

The importance of achieving a high search result position continues to increase, according to new study findings from iProspect. >>

Research | April 07, 2008

Study: Gamer demographic complex

If, when your goal is to target gamers, you direct your creative department toward an audience of teenage boys on a diet of takeaway pizza, caffeine and lacking a life away from their computer screen, think again. >>

Advertising | April 07, 2008

Yahoo's AMP to drive online ad revenues

Microsoft has issued Yahoo with an ultimatum - seal the deal in three weeks or risk a hostile takeover. But, could Yahoo have an ace up their sleeve to convince shareholders that Microsoft has undervalued their worth? >>

Social Marketing | April 07, 2008

Universal McCann: US trails the global social marketplace

Both MySpace and Facebook may have come from the US but according to a recent report from Universal McCann those offerings have not placed the US first in the social space. According to the report, the US trails the rest of the world when it comes to social media growth. >>

Search Marketing | April 07, 2008

HealthPricer tightens search process

Comparison search engines are growing more popular with online shoppers every day, but in many cases consumers become frustrated with the generic listings because the product they are searching for isn't necessarily returned in the query results. HealthPricer, a healthcare products comparison search engine, has revamped their search features - and the revamp could benefit marketers as well. >>

Advertising | April 07, 2008

Marchex, Cobalt Group to provide call-based ads

Call-based ads are the latest buzz topic for advertisers. By providing content while consumers are waiting "on hold", businesses are hoping to better engage them and increase sales. Local advertising company Marchex and auto marketing organization The Colbalt Group are partnering to provide both on- and offline call based ads for local auto dealerships. >>