JayWeintraub.com - Internet Advertising Analysis and Commentary

Google-matica

Interesting post on the official Google AdWords blog - Inside AdWords (http://adwords.blogspot.com/ ).

It reads:

Looking to increase the number of conversions you're getting on your site? If so, you'll likely be interested to hear what Ann-Lee, from the Website Optimizer team, has to say about a new tool:

As an advertiser you spend both time and money driving traffic to your website, but if your site doesn't engage your audience then it's likely that you aren't converting those visitors into customers. We know that this can be difficult to test and we want to help you out.

Over the coming weeks we'll be testing a new tool called the Website Optimizer that can help you find out which content will convert best on your site. Whether you define a conversion as a purchase or a newsletter sign-up, Website Optimizer allows you to experiment with different headlines, copy, and images on your site in order to find out which combination results in the most conversions. You can use this tool on your landing page or any page that represents a conversion.

At the end of each experiment, graphical reports show which version of your landing page users liked best, as measured by which variation had the highest conversion rate. So, if you're interested in increasing conversions, we think you'll find the Website Optimizer useful.

Using Website Optimizer to experiment with your landing page does not have any impact on your Quality Score, so long as you maintain the existing default landing page for the Ad Group. Once you make a change to your site based on the results, however, the Quality Score might change as with any other changes to your landing page. That said, if a change is good for your users, it is probably good for your Quality Score too.

For this beta, we'll only be able to invite a small number of advertisers to participate, selected from all that apply. Selection will be based on a number of factors, including amount of traffic the landing page receives and the ability to begin testing quickly. We'll contact those selected on a rolling basis over the coming weeks. In the near future, we look forward to releasing this tool to all advertisers.

Learn more about why landing page optimization is important here. Then, find out how Website Optimizer can help you improve your ROI and apply for our beta test.

I haven't had a chance to digest this, but it has some pretty interesting implications, and it makes me think back to the initial chatter regarding Google CPA. It also makes me think of Beth's quite  popular and stirring post on Valueclick / CJ. I'm surprised that a VCLK or other with a large merchant base on cost per action wouldn't have offered this earlier. Smart move by Google.

What do you think?

Featured User Comment re: Incentive Promotion

I thought this comment worth highlighting in case any had ideas or interest in helping this reader. In some sense this  is an Incentive 3.0 problem - rather than going for high value goods as a hook, find a value-add product or service where an add supported offer acts as payment. It's very much along Gratis' reasoning for going to Free Pay. This is a one-off need but imagine a platform where ads (filling out offers) was the currency and sites (NYTimes Select for example) could accept payment from this platform instead of hard currency. There are some timing issues involved - consumers would, like a bank account, want to fill it up in advance otherwise there would be a delay between what you want and your ability to get it. The reason being that filling out a credit card offer might earn a user Xpoints in their ad-wallet but those points thake six weeks before populating to the account. They won't want to wait six weeks before reading an article, but they might be willing to wait that long if they were subscribing to a magazine using the ad-wallet / ad-pay platform.

Anyway, on to the actual comment -

Submitted by Chris Parker
I developed a site called up4abuck.com which is a limited entry competition site where users pay $1 for a fixed odds chance to win that competition.  I found the whole asking people for a dollar problematic and have done nothing with the site in over a year. I have always thought that if I could reduce the value of the competition prizes and find a way to generate advertising revenue without taking money from the customer, the current model could be very easily modified and the site could be extremely successful.  I think incentives marketing could be the answer but I have no idea where to find willing advertisers. I know this is a bit cheeky but does anyone have any ideas?

Google Base Integration Screenshots

When performing a search today I saw something I hadn't previously - Google Base search - inside of the standard search results. This particular example offer a Job search feature within the basic results.

The screenshot above shows an area where I could perform a job search from results in Google Base.

The screenshot below shows the results when that job search query is performed. Notice that the results includes map based display as well along with the ability to further refine my Google Base Job Search query.

Live Simpsons - Incredible Moment in Convergence

Simpsons meets Live Simpsons -

In an unexpected but incredibly clever (not to mention forward thinking) moment, the Simpsons plays not their normal introduction but a live action version seen millions of times on the internet before it was seen millions of times tonight. I saw it last weekend just browsing on YouTube, and it's amazing to see that those at Fox not only decided to use it but create a clever plotline that has the Simpson's starring in a reality TV Show.

According to the date, this was first uploaded March 3, 2006. Assuming YouTube was the first place it appeared, I guess it took a week or two for this to reach the powers that be at Fox, and that means they turned this around pretty quickly.

Regardless, great fun and an example of role reversal - all thanks to broadband adoption and social media critical mass. It's even more exciting given that YouTube had been criticized previously for potentially praying off and only benefiting from trademarked media.  Here we see the internet giving an independent production visibility and a boost, much like how MySpace has changed the lives of many bands.

Provided here is a link to the Live Simpsons search results on YouTube.

P.S. When did Simpsons start being in HD too?!

FM Blog Ad Network

I subscribe to more blogs than I should, but one I read with relative frequency is Fred Wilson's - A VC, Musings of a VC in NYC. I am not alone as he has more than 30,000 such people - an incredible number in the fragmented world of blogs. It's for good reason as he is an incredible thinker, businessman, and judging from his writings, a good human being. From his and others in the blogsphere you realize that he is an A-list networker, has his hands in some of the neatest companies...a one man tipping point.

Many people have advertising on their blogs - it's a natural thing to do, especially when you have the reach and scale he does. More interestingly, what he makes from advertising, he gives to charity. To date, those ads consisted of Google AdSense and the Yahoo equivalent. Today, that started to change as he has joined FM Publishing. His post on FM Publishing got me thinking. As one who spends his days in the online ad space, it's inevitable.

I know very little about FM publishing. With Google and Yahoo we know they use contextual technology to extend their PPC advertisers' reach to the web. Ad Networks such as Advertising.com use statistical optimization with a behavioral layer to select the best ad from a rotation; whereas, a company like Revenue Science uses a purely behavioral approach that can increase earnings for sites by tracking and charging for the value of a specific eyeball not the specific content that eyeball might be on.

In my opinion, FM is in an enviable position - they have the key ingredient to media success, quality content. If I could choose only one of the three main pieces of an ad network to start with - advertisers, publishers, and technology, I'd take the publishers. Which is why I'm fascinated to learn more about a) how FM will use that content lever to generate higher earnings, and b) the underlying philosophy that attracts the A-List bloggers to them versus other ad providers.

FM will surely get premium advertisers but I predict they will struggle to scale. Unlike the other ad companies above, FM is not a technology company nor does it appear to have a technology vision to  help it create efficiencies and maximize its content lever. Perhaps it doesn't need to though. It is the person behind the company that is the real lever (A-Lister John Battelle). His network is about the actual network behind the ad network. It's a blue ocean because it doesn't have to compete on the same levels that others in the ad network space do; yet, it will require trust and collaboration if it is to succeed for the long term. 

My recommendation for Battelle and FM, focus on building the content piece but partner now with a company that has the ad sales and technology resources to help you realize the vision. Your actual network will give you a good leg up but it mixes business with pleasure that will over time place strain on both and test their limits. Don't pick any company though as it seems that much like Google's "Don't be evil" there is a philosophy behind the network that must be preserved, and any potential partner must commit to following that.

FM = a huge opportunity. I think any in the ad network space see it and admire its position. I know I do; give me those sites and I feel passionate I could sell the crap out of them and build a world class product.

To control the world's information

I've recently written on Google and my belief that they leverage, not to mention create, market ineffeciencies for their gain. That lead me to conclude that Google's "Do No Evil" might warrant a change to "No Mercy."

Recent data from speaking to publishers and advertisers leads me to believe that their main mission - "To organize the world's information..." should be "To control the world's information." They are the new gatekeeper, one whose natural search and paid search algorithms' opacity allows them to determine what is truly relevant. It's a marketplace to a point, except that those spending on it and those trying profit from it, i.e. the advertisers and publishes, are kept in the dark.

Whether Google is doing this is purely speculative and borderline conspiracy theory. What is true is that the tipping point of not using Google is here and soon that point will be reached with respect to commerce online. This is really rough idea that I will hopefully work into a more formal article.

For the Record - Google Monopoly

The future of Google is a popular topic and one I cannot avoid but join. Just as Microsoft did in the 80's and 90's, so too is Google doing today - creating a company that will control the way we access and store information. I firmly believe we are witnessing the beginnings of the Google monopoly, and that in three to five years time, Google will play as integrated a role as Microsoft does today. Do no evil - perhaps, but that does not equal consumer control and transparency, two areas where both MSFT and GOOG come up incredibly short. 

Semi-related reading material:
NY Times Article (will expire 11/18/2005 - Times Select...ugh)
Google Classifieds

Quinstreet

I'm looking for some information about Quinstreet. They have long been considered one of the larger more successful lead generation companies, but certain rumors have floated suggesting that they might not be as invincible and their strong-arm legal tactics often seem. I have been guilty of perhaps giving them too much credit in their non-edu based lead businesses.

Certainly, they must be looking at the market and looking for a substantial exit. Will they get it? Should they? Email or comment here. I will not reveal the source.

GMail and Cell Phones

According to a senior investor, GMail, upon its public release requires a cell phone number in order to join. Let's hear some ideas on what they may do with it.