Mountain View California based Google is apparently willing to share even more information than previously regarding what the curious are searching for by providing a list of the 100 hottest topics queried on the Internet’s leading search engine. Available now, the new Hot Trends rankings reveal day-to-day information on the hottest search terms that Google has been providing Internet searchers.
Referring to the Google Trends project he worked on, Amit Patel, a Google software engineer said, “It’s very entertaining and it’s very addictive.” Of course, Search Engine Marketing specialists may desire more than entertainment or to feed an addiction when perusing the daily trends of Google searchers.
A word of caution here, although Google claims that the improvements will enable users to analyze search terms within sub-regions, the results are edited. That said, here’s the link to Google Trends and here’s one for the new Hot Trends Top 100
Published by dj //
Dell has announced that it intends to offer Ubuntu 7.04 as its Linux desktop on new computers. In a February forum significant feedback indicated that customers wanted Linux on their desktop and notebook computers.
Dell’s response, a partnership with Canonical to offer Ubuntu on a variety of their new desktop and notebook products. According to Lionel Menchaca, Digital Media Manager, “This represents another step in the overall enhancement of our Linux program.”
Now the question is, if the rumors that Michael Dell has Ubuntu 7.04 running on his own new notebook are true, how does he like it?
Published by dj //
Sources at Microsoft Corporation said today that the Redmond, Washington based software giant will pay approximately 6 billion dollars to purchase the on-line advertising company aQuantive. Microsoft has continued to struggle in the on-line advertising market while competing against the mega-giant Google. With its AdWords and AdSense programs, Google currently dominates the lucrative Internet advertising field, a rapidly expanding Internet cash cow returning unprecedented profits reminiscent of the web’s pioneer days.
The deal comes as no surprise, occuring just after Google recently wrestled the purchase of DoubleClick away from Microsoft for a mere $3.1 billion. This was quickly followed by Yahoo’s recent buyout gambit for RightMedia and the 24/7 RealMedia purchase by advertising giant the WPP Group. Still, it’s Microsoft’s largest acquisition ever and the latest in a flurry of deals for on-line advertising firms by big Internet and media companies. According to Chris Dobson, head of global advertising sales at Microsoft, “If you ever had any doubt that Microsoft was going to be big in the on-line advertising space, this should make it clear that it will.”
Microsoft recently tried unsuccessfully to buy DoubleClick and after being outbid and outmaneuvered by Google for that acquisition, faced substantial competition for aQuantive, which explains the inflated price tag for the Seattle, Washington based ad company. Although Microsoft is paying around 10 times the estimated revenue for aQuantive in this latest round of leviathan deal making, it was obviously determined not to be outbid by arch-rival Google or anyone else this time. While Wall Street saw the price of Microsoft stock drop slightly, predictions that Internet ad spending will increase by approximately 28 percent this year to a total of $31 billion globally, indicate the potential for future growth in on-line advertising is strong and expected to expand.
Unfortunately, the result of all of the above mentioned activity, be it Microsoft’s or Yahoo’s or Google’s, will leave Internet advertisers and online marketers with fewer alternatives for themselves and their clients. It’s interesting to note that while history is being crafted in these monstrous deals, history is also being ignored or even worse, disregarded.
Shouldn’t we know by now that we’ve already been taught that true strength lies in diversity? Doesn’t anyone remember the dinosaurs? History teaches that once upon a time they were really big and they were really dominate, until one bad afternoon with an asteroid came crashing down and put them all on ice.
Stay tuned as Web 3.0, “The Only-Net” continues to evolve.
© 2007 DM Jackson - All rights reserved
Published by dj //
According to a story this morning in the New York Post, Microsoft Corporation may be crafting a $50 billion dollar deal to buy it’s sometimes ally and ofttimes competitor, Yahoo. Although the Wall Street Journal quickly reported that the discussion between the two leviathan corporations are in very preliminary stages, a merger may be likely, regardless of the speculative nature of this morning’s news.
Various Internet pundits have chimed-in on this most recent mega-merger. Some claim that this is a natural paring to be expected as jockeying for top position in the Internet Search industry continues. Others see it as a bad marriage of two terribly mismatched corporate cultures, one highly focused on the Internet and the other highly focused on buying anyone that they can’t outmaneuver. One thing is for sure, combining these two still puts them in second place relative to the gargantuan search company, Google Corporation.
If anyone remembers that this past March, Microsoft’s Chief of Search Technology, Christopher Payne, announced his resignation and departure to pursue, “other interests”, then the pride of Redmond’s move may be seen by some as, “to be expected”. However, I don’t recall hearing about anyone hanging a “For Sale” sign on Jerry Yang’s or David Filo’s front door as some Internet visionaries seem to imply. Further, if this should come to pass, what’s next? Are we heading toward only one Really Big Search Engine (RBSE), with only one set of results?
Welcome to Web 3.0 aka., the “OnlyNet”
© 2007 DM Jackson - All rights reserved
Published by dj //
Internet leviathon Google recently announced that it will soon be offering a pay per action (PPA) advertising program to compliment the popular pay per click program, Google AdWords. Comonly referred to as affiliate programs or affiliate marketing, PPA affiliate programs offer a fee for customer referrals from third-party web sites and have grown in importance since their inception.
There is considerable speculation that Google’s entry in to yet another lucrative advertising channel is based on criticism over phenomena known as, “click inflation” and growing concerns about how extensive the “click fraud” problem really is. Others claim that this may mark an end to web sites as we know them or at least drastically alter the content of existing pay-per-action affiliate networks.
At this point, it’s anybodys guess. Perhaps this is just the incentive needed in order to re-examine existing web site with an eye toward creating efficient conversion oriented content. Only time will tell if the new Google Pay Per Action program will turn our Internet efforts into the sales funnels we want them to be.
Published by dj //
Over the years, biographers, journalists, contemporary “big thinkers” and writers like me have commented on the incredible genius of the renowned theoretical physicist Albert Einstein. How did he do it? What made him tick? Was he from another planet or from another time?
In addition to the “Theory of Relativity”, he left the rest of us a wonderful legacy of thought provoking and memorable statements. You can find books, t-shirts and even web sites full of his sayings. I have a t-shirt that has a picture of Einstein sticking his tongue out with the saying, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” While this is one of my favorite Einstein quotes, there are others.
Einstein has been quoted as saying, “Genius is ninety percent sweat.” Like everything else about relativity, this applies to everything else, even the Internet! It’s important to remember because for the most part, those halcyon days of seemingly genius ideas leading to nearly instant on-line success are mostly over. Sweat is what you must do in order to become an Internet genius nowadays. That is of course, if you really want to succeed.
Published by dj //
Chris Payne, corporate vice president for Microsoft’s Live Search initiative, is leaving the company to, “pursue other interests”. Although a Microsoft spokesperson declined to comment and Mr. Payne was not available, it is doubtful that his departure will be lamented.
Microsoft’s search site has performed poorly under Payne’s leadership, loosing market share since the company launched its highly touted Search Engine, early in 2005. This attempt to challenge the leviathan in search, Google, while noble in its intent to provide the Internet with an additional choice in search results, has netted Redmond pretty close to nothing at the moment.
Payne went on record in a 2006 interview with the Seattle Post Intelligencer acknowledging that Microsoft needed to show a significant improvement in it’s search market share. He was quoted as saying, “I’m hoping this does turn it around,” and, “We believe that it’s still very early in search… that there’s still significant room for differentiation.”
Well, apparently no one in Redmond has sufficient sense of humor to see that the flat growth in search query volume on Microsoft’s Live Search engine has,”turned around” or “significantly differentiated” it while Google and Yahoo search volume have risen by 33 percent and 22 percent, respectively during the same time period, according to Nielsen NetRatings data.
A replacement has not yet been announced.
Published by dj //
Although advertisers spent a mere $3.1 million on Podcast advertising in 2005, budgets rose to a more noticeable $80 million in 2006. Industry watchdogs and advertising resource providers are paying close attention to the “crystal ball gazing” market forecasters who predict that spending on Podcast advertising will grow nearly tenfold in the next five years.
Published by dj //
We’re busy installing Ubuntu Linux desktop OS and upgrading the office computers here at WebMarket West’s offices in Southern California this weekend. For those of you who haven’t heard about the fine work that Canonical Ltd., is doing with the Ubuntu Project, check it out at ubuntu.com
Ubuntu is a South African word that roughly translates (transliterates, as no direct translation is possible) to suggest a universal bond of sharing. The principle of Ubuntu is “humanity towards others”. After spending the day performing several flawless installs, it does seem that Ubuntu Linux is more than deserving of the title, “Linux for Human Beings”.
After installing Ubuntu Linux 6.10 on 5 computer systems, things are still going smoothly. Once we’re done upgrading our office I hope to provide a more in-depth review and report on why switching to a new Linux desktop operating system might benefit your office.
A great big hat tip to the Ubuntu Project for finally providing a desktop alternative to Windows.
Published by mikej //
Posted on February 17th, 2007 in Uncategorized
Welcome to the WebMarket West Search Marketing blog. Stay tuned for information on Search Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Internet Advertising and online Public Relations.
Published by admin //
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