Looks like Bing is gaining some traction in the USA, as their share of market increases for number of search results served, from 9.1% – 12% in a matter of weeks. For more info check out the stats from Comscore.
June 24, 2009
Bing gains ground in USA
Posted by ariklinger under Business | Tags: Bing, Google, Search |Leave a Comment
June 20, 2009
Just a quick update, was just profiled in Digital Ministry.
June 18, 2009
SearchMe.com – visual search
Posted by ariklinger under Business | Tags: Search Engines, Search Me, Visual Search |Leave a Comment
There are a bunch of visual search engines around now, but this is one of the better ones I’ve seen… www.searchme.com
I like the browsing style, very apple, although not sure where they are getting their search feed from (different to results from yahoo and google on some quick tests).
I also like the idea of creating and sharing stacks. Cute feature.
Techcrunch today announced that Search Me have launched their advertising network:
SearchMe,
the search engine startup which presents search results as a stack of full-page previews that you can flip through, is bringing its ad network out of beta. The Searchme ad platform, which was originally named AdView when it launched in February, is the visual search engine’s version of AdWords, except that instead of selling paid text links, it intersperses ads into results of clickable previews of entire webpages, videos, or other visual advertising. Read the full story here.
June 1, 2009
From techcrunch:
Facebook will soon be allowing all users to claim a vanity URL pointing to their regular profile page, we’ve heard from a reliable source. The announcement should come sometime later this week. Afterwards, at a certain date and time, the landrush will begin. Users will be able to grab a vanity URL of their choice.
May 31, 2009
The Google Trifecta
Posted by ariklinger under Business | Tags: Adplanner, Google, Google Insights, Insights, Keyword Research, Keyword Tool, Online Marketing, Pay Per Click Marketing, PPC, Search Engine Optimization, SEO |Leave a Comment
If you plan to do any business online these days, you pretty much can’t go past Google, whether you like it or not, they are here to stay… personally, I think they are GREAT.
(no I haven’t been paid by Google to write this post!)
I’ve been doing business online for over 10 years, and they have to say Google have totally redefined doing business on the internet (and I’m not just talking about online marketing… I’m talking gmail, google sites, google docs, google maps etc etc the list goes on, if you haven’t check out Google Wave – this looks like it could be interesting).
One topic I wanted to cover today was researching (from a marketers perspective) using some of Google’s more advanced tools.
I call these the Google Trifecta:
- Google Keyword Tool
- Google Insights
- Google AdPlanner (also check out Attention Meter – which compares Alexa and Compete data on a graph)
Each of these tools has a different purpose. I’ll briefly go through each one, and some of their benefits.
Google Keyword Tool
Originally designed to help people find better keywords for their Google Adwords campaigns, the keyword tool is great to find out related keywords, search volumes, and the estimated price per click people are paying.
From one simple tool, you can get access to data on millions of keywords in almost every country around the world!
Make sure when you use it, to select the right country – eg it defaults to USA.
Another tip, is to make sure you select “show all fields” from the drop down menu on the right hand side, otherwise you are missing some of the best data.
Google has recently changed the display of number of searches to show per month, on a country and global basis. It’s a little confusing, so just make sure to look closely to make sure you’re getting the right data!
Similar tools are available such as WordTracker or Keyword Discovery, however these are paid services.
Google Insights
With Google Insights you can compare search trends across countries, categories, wesbites and timeframes. This is useful to see how many people are searching for a particular keyword or website over time time, and you can then graph it. I love this tool, it’s great for seeing how well your brand compares to the generic search in google (eg how many people type “pepsi” vs “coke” vs “cola” in a particular country, at a particular time etc)
Google Adplanner
Google Adplanner is similar to Nielson or Hitwise (which are services that let you see the relative popularity of a website). The main difference is you will pay thousands of dollars a year for these services, while Adplanner is free.
There is some debate as to the quality of the data used in Adplanner, and Google don’t really disclose how they acuqire the data, or how their metrics stack up against competitors. It’s widely thought (but disputed by Google) that they use their Google Toolbar and Google Chrome browser to collect user behaviour to use with Adplanner.
Adplanner is useful to see how many people are visiting a particular site, and which other sites they visit (eg how many people visiited amazon.com last month, and what other sites those people also went to).
I highly recommend checking out all these tools. You’ll be amazed at what you can find out in a few simple clicks.
Enjoy!
Ari
May 27, 2009
Track your social network with an iphone app tag cloud
Posted by ariklinger under UncategorizedLeave a Comment
I just installed this looks interesting…
——
Zensify is a new lifestreaming iPhone app which lets you update, discover and track pictures, videos and comments across multiple social networks. Other apps have tried to do similar things. But what sets Zensify apart is that it shows the user trends within your social graph in the form of a tag cloud of key words. In other words it brings a lot more intelligence to your social graph. Suddenly, you can see a big trending topic amongst people you follow. I’ve been wanting something similar for a while and I’m not alone. David Winer recently Tweeted: “Wouldn’t it be cool if “trending topics” were localized to the people who are followed by the people you follow.” Well Zensify does this.
via Finally, Zensify’s iPhone app shows key word trends across your social graph.
May 17, 2009
Social Gaming Scores in the Recession – BusinessWeek
Posted by ariklinger under UncategorizedLeave a Comment
So I use Zynga’s apps and I have to say they are great. Their iphone poker app is the best I’ve seen by far. Even though it crashes a bit, it’s still way ahead of the pack.
Great to see that even in a recession web companies can come up with innovative business models, and kick some big goals. A few years ago, online gaming through apps was an interesting idea, but without a tried and true revenue model. Zynga is now doing sales of around $100m. Proof is in the pudding. WOW.
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Zynga’s Disco Holiday Party
Zynga’s most popular game is Texas Hold ‘Em on Facebook. It gets 2 and a half million players a day. Across all networks, 45 million people per month play Zynga games. The bulk of that is on Facebook. In April, Zynga passed widget maker RockYou, owned by NetPickle (NetPickle), to become Facebook’s top application maker, with 40 million monthly active users, according to Facebook. That’s one-fifth of Facebook’s 200 million users.
And here’s the shocker: Zynga is actually generating a lot of revenue, and it’s profitable. The site has annual sales of about $100 million, according to several people close to the company. That’s about double what many blogs have speculated. Zynga has swelled to 250 employees who get Google-like perks. The site gets some revenue from selling ads, but mostly from the 2% to 10% of users who pay $1 an hour to play premium games or buy virtual goods. Even amid the recession, revenue is rising.
May 17, 2009
Interesting to see country code top level domain sales are steady…
some obscure ones going strong here (figures are USD)
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1. GGG.co.uk £17,700 = $26,904 Sedo
2. Baza.pl
(”base” in Polish) 72,000 PLN = $22,320 Pvt Sale
3. Flirten.nl
(”flirt” in German) €11,500 = $15,640 Sedo
4. SolarPower.co.uk £9,000 = $13,680 Sedo
5. Huizen.be
(”houses” in Dutch) €9,999 = $13,599 Sedo
6. Jeux-Gratuits.fr
(”free games” in French) €8,500 = $11,560 Sedo
7. MyPlace.at £7,000 = $10,640 Sedo
8. Konie.pl
(”horses” in Polish) 33,100 PLN = $10,261 Alle
via DNJournal.
May 17, 2009
iPhone gives Optus profits a boost | Australian IT
Posted by ariklinger under UncategorizedLeave a Comment
Good to see the stimulus package is being put to good use…
See below:
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OPTUS continued its run of strong growth in mobile revenues and eclipsed growth rates of its rivals as it posted a $193 million profit for the fourth quarter.
The profit, up 17.1 per cent on the same period last year, lifted the telco’s full-year profit 5.6 per cent to $583 million.
Optus chief executive Paul O’Sullivan attributed the growth to strong iPhone sales and the federal Government’s stimulus packages.
“The mobile market has remained strong in Australia and we believe it’s being driven by two factors. One is the strong appetite that Australians have for internet access through wireless broadband.
“Secondly, the economic stimulus provided by the Government has definitely made itself felt in terms of customer buying patterns,” he said.
