Black Friday Battles
Posted by vern on November 28, 2008 at 11:54 AM
Yes, it's Black Friday, the traditional kick-off of the Christmas shopping season. As I write this, sleepy-eyed bargain hunters are probably heading home after standing in line for hours to get their Black Friday discounted TV or GPS. Other shoppers - the late arrivals - are circling the mall, battling to find a parking spot.
Sounds like fun, but I'm immersed in a shopping frenzy of another kind. You see, I manage the paid search marketing for a major regional retailer. My team and I are engaged in cyber-battle with competing online retailers like Best Buy and Amazon. Today will be spent monitoring and reacting to their Black Friday and online product offerings and putting my client in a position to snatch sales from their less nimble and poorly managed advertising.
Some of you may be under the impression that paid search marketing is a "set it and forget it" form of advertising. Sure, there are automated systems that we take advantage of to increase efficiencies and ROI. But we also take a hands-on approach to account management. We monitor competitor prices, ad copy, ad SERP positions, and product availability.
Today's already been a lot of fun. It's amazing to see the big name retailers bidding their ads to the #1 position on the Google SERP for products that are sold-out, backordered or, amazingly, not even on the landing page linked to their paid search ads. I'll add "In Stock" to my competing ad and my client reaps the rewards. If we sell out of that product the corresponding ads are taken offline ASAP to preserve ROI. If I have an item with a significant price advantage, I'll put it in the ad and bid to a middle of the road position on the SERP to lower CPC.
Have a safe and successful Christmas shopping experience - shop online! You'll save gas, money, time and your sanity. Merry Christmas!
Mobile Applications - They Just Keep Getting Better
Posted by chip on November 25, 2008 at 08:43 AM
It's time again for your monthly update on all things mobile and once again we have a variety of exciting mobile applications to discuss.
If you've been following the mobile space at all it should come as no surprise that development in this area has been occurring at an ever increasing pace. The expanding use of smartphones is largely to thank for this, especially the iPhone and the new Android based T-Mobile G1.
So without further ado, let's just get right into it.
Image: Waiting for the Train by Joi
G1's ShopSavvy
Dallas based Big in Japan has unveiled a comparison shopping application for the T-Mobile G1 called ShopSavvy. As one of the winners of Google's Android Challenge (under the name GoCart), ShopSavvy allows consumers to comparison shop by simply capturing the barcode of any product with the G1's built in camera. ShopSavvy then uses the barcode information to search the web for the best price on the product both online as well as at nearby brick and mortar locations.
SlyDial
As the name suggests, SlyDial is a mobile application that allows you to call people on the sly by dialing directly into their voicemail. As someone who's favorite thing about text messaging is that it allows me to communicate short thoughts without the formality of actually making a call and speaking to someone, this has to me my favorite application this month. The SlyDial application is free and currently works with Blackberry, Windows Mobile and the iPhone.
Moodio
While mobile phones with MP3 capability have become a dime a dozen, the ability to access internet radio stations through mobile devices can still be a bit of a challenge, especially if you want to be able to customize your available station options. Moodio is a free service that allows you to do just that.
In fact if your favorite station isn't currently available you can add it to their list yourself. The only limitation to enjoying Moodio is going to be your service plan. It's highly recommended that you only use Moodio if you have a flat rate plan that allows for unlimited downloads. Otherwise, this application has the potential to rack up serious charges from your provider.
Voice Search & iPhone
Google joins the ranks of those to offer voice activated search for mobile phones with the latest release of the Google Mobile App for the iPhone. With the free application, iPhone users can simply ask a question of their phone and receive Google search results relevant to the question.
Mobile Maps from Google
The mobile support of Google Maps continues to be improved upon, most recently with the addition of street level views, and will soon be equivalent to the full web version.
The primary limitation at this point is currently that it requires a live data connection in order to access the maps. However a comment made by Maps Guide Tom in this Google Groups thread sure makes it sound like Google might be working on an update that would allow you to access previously stored cached versions when you don't have an active connection.
Mobile Flash
Driven by the desire to become a preferred platform for the growing market of applications that run on the higher end mobile devices, Adobe has been working on the development of a full-fledged Flash Player 10 for mobile devices. While the actual release could still be up to a year away, at Adobe's Max conference they revealed working demos for the majority of the major smartphone platforms, including Android -- the one major omission still being Apple's iPhone.
Another mobile update comes to a close almost as quickly as it began. As always, if I've skipped over your favorite application please feel free to add it to the conversation by posting a comment.
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Mobile
Mobile Applications
Oneupweb
Find & Exploit Your Niche in the Online World
Posted by steve on November 24, 2008 at 11:24 AM
What do you offer your customers?
I'm not necessarily referring to the actual product or service or solution. What I mean is, what is it that you offer that your customers can't find elsewhere?
In the online world, nearly every space and every corner is filled. Competition is absurdly fierce. And it's often unconventional. Not only do you have to worry about direct competitors, on the web you also face unconventional competition - not necessarily for customers, but for space.
It's becoming increasingly necessary for businesses to figure out their niche. Then focus on it, and exploit it.
For many companies, their types of products or services automatically place their business into an identifiable category. Often times though, it's one particular product or service that truly defines their unique business niche.
Let's say, for example, that an online jewelry retailer offers everything from women's watches to men's wedding bands. For most of the products they sell, they offer others' brands. However, they also create their own line of engagement rings, which are not only distinctive, but can be priced at the retailer's discretion.
Let's use an example from the B2B space. A company that offers enterprise resource planning software is using its marketing budget to target businesses of all types and sizes. The company's software is customizable and scalable, but is better designed to meet the needs of small to mid-sized businesses in the service management industry.
In many cases, it's just sensible to offer multiple products or solutions, or offer them to different types of customers. Someone needs A, so we should also offer B. It's the nature of business - grow, expand. Regardless, however, of the diversity of a business's product line or service offering, in most cases, they have their strengths, and they have their weaknesses.
Would the jewelry retailer be better served by allocating 100% of its time and resources toward their own product line? Should the ERP software provider refine its marketing approach to only target small- to mid-sized businesses?
I believe it was Orville Redenbacher that said, "Do one thing, and do it better than anyone else." Now I wouldn't say his popcorn is the best I've ever had, but it's pretty good - the Movie Theater Butter, anyway.
His philosophy, though, is one that is highly fitting in this day and age. Nearly every industry, both online and off, is saturated with competition, and the question that companies need to be asking is, "Are we the best at what we do?"
Image: Orville Popcorn Advertisement by puroticorico
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Competition
Niche Marketing
Oneupweb
They Like Us! They Really Like Us!
Posted by maureen on November 21, 2008 at 10:44 AM
This year, the Davey Awards received over 4,000 entries from ad agencies, interactive agencies, production firms, in-house creative professionals, graphic designers, design firms, public relations firms - and just one from Oneupweb.
And now, the entries have been judged, the votes have been counted and the good news is in - our newsletter, OneUp Low-Down , stood apart from the rest and is being honored with a 2008 Silver Davey.
I have to admit, I'm excited. I've had the pleasure of helping our newsletter grow and take shape over the past year. It's been an ongoing commitment to our clients and subscribers, albeit a silent one, that this newsletter would not only include the latest happenings at Oneupweb, it would serve as a snapshot of the digital marketing industry and provide important research that online marketers need to know. And of course, it would do it in a fun, creative and entertaining manner.
From the digital marketing tip of the month to the hottest item on our CEO Lisa Wehr's desk, the newsletter provides fresh ideas that are proven to help online marketers be successful. A special In the Industry section highlights the latest news, studies and findings in the field, and the occasional goofy picture or YouTube video are thrown in to highlight the different abilities of social media marketing.
But is our mission accomplished? Hardly. While the Davey Award affirms that our newsletter is among the best of the best, it also serves as a reminder that we can always do more. And we will.
Next year, we're going for gold.
Don't miss out on the vital information, statistics and more.
Subscribe to OneUp Low-Down today!
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Davey Awards
Silver Davey
Oneupweb
Read Between the Spectrums - Will White Spaces Shed Light on Broadband Innovation?
Posted by jared on November 19, 2008 at 11:00 AM
Do you feel bad for your Internet Service Provider (ISP)? No? You mean you don't like paying exorbitant monthly fees and bloated service charges?
Not even with Comcast being reprimanded for bandwidth throttling? Or an upcoming legislative year with net neutrality back on the table?
Or more recently, the FCC approval to use unused broadband spectrums known as "white spaces"?
With the government's approval to use white spaces, ISP tycoons such as AT&T and Comcast may have to start getting creative to keep turning that huge profit.
Serving as a buffer between broadcast channels to help limit and prevent signal interference, white spaces are able to travel faster, farther and travel better through walls. Owing to the need of less wireless transmitters and the power of the signals, these white spaces would be more cost efficient than current WiFi signals, only much stronger and much cheaper.
Image: Ghosts of Glasgow by atomicjeep
Opponents of the issue argue that using these spectrums would cause interference with wireless signals such as TV channels and devices like microphones used by entertainers, preachers and sports arenas. The most famous being Dolly Parton who wrote a letter to FCC commissioners urging them to consider the dire consequences of this ruling.
But if you're not inclined to sign up to the Chicken Little camp, and would like a more astute and realistic assessment of the situation, advocates of the issue include Google co-founder Larry Page, Microsoft's chief research and strategy officer Craig Mundie and even the scion of all things technology, Bill Gates.
These guys might have a little clearer understanding as to the implications and applications of white spaces than Dolly Parton.
And just what are the implications and applications for those in the search and digital marketing industries?
For one, rural areas with previously limited or no Internet resources will gain access to not just fast and powerful web usage, but much cheaper access than that provided by the big ISPs.
Also, as Larry Page stated, providing Internet access that works virtually everywhere would translate into more searches on Google, not to mention MSN and Yahoo!, as these previously untapped markets begin to explore the web, and 20 to 30 percent increase in advertising revenue.
The most immediate impact would be for mobile devices such as smart phones and laptops, which are becoming mainstream in terms of Internet and search usage. Having a clearer and much faster path for users to find information via their mobile device is another avenue for advertisers to put clients, products and services in front of larger audiences.
This could also mean increased PPC budgets for targeting these untapped areas of commerce. It could mean small businesses in these areas building web pages and hiring SEO firms to increase presence and traffic around local search avenues.
It could also allow the United States to shake the stigma of being a middle-of-the-pack competitor in terms of its global position in broadband penetration and innovation.
Best case scenario: White space usage forces ISPs into rethinking their business model. Worst case scenario: ISPs find yet another way to exploit this broadband innovation.
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ISP
White Spaces
Oneupweb
Google Image Search - To Steal or Not to Steal
Posted by jason on November 18, 2008 at 02:07 PM
It's a graphic designer's dirty little secret. A plethora of images of anything you can think of, all for free! That's right, good old Google Image Search. Well, if you're thinking of pulling an image from some random site via Google images, think again my friend. Though it is a useful resource, just because an image appears in a Google image search does not make it free for the taking.
According to Google:
The images identified by the Google Image Search service may be protected by copyrights. Although you can locate and access the images through our service, we cannot grant you any rights to use them for any purpose other than viewing them on the web. Accordingly, if you would like to use any images you have found through our service, we advise you to contact the site owner to obtain the requisite permissions.
In other words, the original creators of the images own the copyrights. When you click on an image and are redirected to their website, it will hopefully provide more information on the image's copyright (or the lack thereof). Specifically, look for a copyright statement somewhere (usually on the bottom) or a Terms of Use section.
Images published in the U.S. are automatically copyrighted by their owners, even if they do not explicitly carry a copyright warning. Therefore, you may not reproduce copyright images without their owner's permission, except in fair use cases, or you could risk running into a lawyer's warnings, cease-and-desist letters, and copyright suits.
Recently in Germany, Google has learned that there is "kein fairer gebrauch" or "no fair use". The internet search giant lost two German copyright decisions, as the courts ruled that the thumbnail images that appear in Google Image Search violate German copyright law. The company said in an email that it believes "that services like Google Image Search are entirely legal and provide great value and critical information to Internet users." "Today's decision is very bad for Internet users in Germany," Google added.
What does this mean for U.S. citizens who use Google Images? Nothing different yet, but many sources say this will most likely start a chain reaction and could possibly spread to the U.S.
There are millions of pictures on the internet, and the odds are pretty good that no one will care if you use one for non-commercial purposes (like a personal blog). If someone does end up caring, they will most likely ask you nicely to take it down before taking any kind of legal action... hopefully.
For more information about copyright as it stands in the United States, be sure to check out: Copyright.gov
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Copyright
Google
Oneupweb
SEO? Check. PPC? Check. What's Next?
Posted by teal on November 17, 2008 at 11:37 AM
With the gloom of the current economic struggles upon us, it's common for companies to wonder what else can be done to capitalize on marketing budget already spent.
If investments have already been made to improve organic search listings and steps have already been taken to optimize pay-per-click campaigns, it's time to think about what can be done to make the most of this financial and time investment.
Image: 311 Steps by glennharper
Specifically related to capitalizing on search marketing campaigns, there are a couple of things you can tighten up to ensure that the dollars spent in this channel are performing optimally.
First and foremost, if you haven't already, make sure you have accurate and dependable tracking/analytics in place. Sadly, it's all too often that money is spent with no real data to prove return in investment or worse, to prove lack of return on investment. Oneupweb clients and project managers use ROI trax—our proprietary search reporting tool—to track ROI on search marketing campaigns. By having access to precise data you will be able to make educated decisions about what your company should do next to make the most of this marketing channel.
Secondly, and only through accurate reporting can this truly be determined, your team should take a good hard look at the numbers to see what users are doing once they get to your site. If search campaigns are driving relevant traffic to the site, what's happening when they get there? What's the conversion rate? What's the bounce rate? Is there evidence that your website is delivering the data needed for visitors to move to the next step? If the data shows that your website has a low conversion rate, some simple alterations could make a big difference. Speaking with an online marketing expert will help you determine if usability or conversion improvement services are right for you.
As always, if you have any questions about what's next in online marketing for your company, please contact Oneupweb. We're ready to chat!
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Marketing
Analytics
Oneupweb
Spam on the Run - Email Spammers Get Shut Down
Posted by Christopher on November 14, 2008 at 02:17 PM
Subject Line: Is it you? Anja here...
Body: I am lonely girl from Eastern Europe who found your email and who is thinking 'what is not love if not two people be happy and for respect?'
Oh, Anja. I feel it. I do. Because what is not love if not two people be happy and for respect?
What is not love if I'm not sending myself, from my own email address, helpful savings on Cialis? How thoughtful of me! I must know something I don't know. What is not love if I'm not IMMEDIATELY HELPING a member of Nigerian royalty claim his rightful inheritance?
What is not love? Not love is what dropped like fifty tons of wet cement all over McColo Corp., a web hosting firm based in San Jose, California, as of Tuesday.
After a lengthy investigation into spam-related activities, the Washington Post's Security Fix contacted McColo's ISP providers, Global Crossing and Hurricane Electric. After reviewing the overwhelming evidence of super-economy sized spamming, McColo was promptly shut down.
Thus, the factory churning out more spam than Hormel (zing!) grinds to a halt, and a jillion Viagra-laden image-based missives dissolve into simpler particles.
Image: SPAM! by cursedthing
McColo, it is reported, was responsible for 75% of the spam blasted to email addresses world-wide. Say that slowly: seventy-five percent. Holy schmokes, that's a whole lotta spam. And, in a rare instance of ensuing reality nearly matching expectations, in the days that followed the amount of junk email, globally, dropped by roughly two-thirds. Spam filters worldwide, anthropomorphized, breathe a huge sigh of relief as what was once a seemingly unstoppable onslaught becomes a mere trickle.
"We can handle this," say the spam filters. "You guys rest easy..."
But should we? As we speak, the throne of the King of Spam sits vacant, but the minions are restless. How long before someone else picks up the gauntlet? The thing about spam is that, even in an age this jaded, it works. I don't condone it but spam works. People respond. People buy. It's strafe-bomb marketing. You only get one hit in a million emails? Then send out a trillion. Still not enough? Then send out a trillion every minute. It's getting blocked? Change the format. Then send out a trillion. Every minute.
Spam is the cockroach of digital communication. For every one you kill, a hundred hatch. After the apocalypse all there's going to be left are cockroaches, rats, and email spam. And, just like any other profitable mutation, it has its own beauty. The love letters written by robots. The gut-punch appeals to raw human need. It's pure marketing, unencumbered by conscience.
But not, apparently, by repercussions.
PS - Please feel free to sing the first part of the title to the tune of "Band on the Run" by either Paul McCartney and Wings or the Foo Fighters (your choice). I did.
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Email Spam
Junk Email
Oneupweb
SEO Helps Small Companies be the Big Fish
Posted by alex p on November 13, 2008 at 01:38 PM
One of the benefits of working at Oneupweb is our location here in Traverse City, Michigan. Not familiar with northwest lower Michigan? Check out the Our Area page for a small photo sampling.
Oneupweb is located at the southeast corner of Leelanau County, which makes our office a great starting point for after-work and weekend excursions. One-stop-sign towns are scattered throughout Leelanau County, and are nestled in and around natural and man-made landmarks such as the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and the Grand Traverse Lighthouse.
Leelanau County is the kind of place that thrives on tourists and summer residents from May through September but turns peacefully silent the moment the last orange leaf blows off the maple tree.
Following the great exodus, the million dollar question many Leelanau County locals try to answer is how to make a good enough living to allow for the opportunity to live here year around. As a result, a handful of enterprising individuals have created businesses specializing in niche products with a Leelanau County flair.
For the most part, these companies rely on internet mail order, local and national word-of-mouth (tourists are great at word-of-mouth), catalog mailings, the holiday gift show circuit, holiday gift giving and pleading with those Oprah people in Chicago to get in on some list.
Some of these companies have done an amazing job with these marketing techniques and are distributing their products all over the world, while others are still trying to get off the ground. Locally these companies are big fish in a small pond, but nationally they are small fish in a big lake.
So how does search engine optimization (SEO) fit into this?
I ran a few of these local companies' product keywords through the old Google machine and with the exception of one company that is a giant in the cherry products industry, none of them placed very high on a search engine results page (SERP).
After poking around a few of their websites, it didn't take long to start finding substantial mistakes which hampered their ability to place strongly on a SERP. Not good for the little fish.
Now this is where SEO can turn that little Yellow Perch of a Leelanau County business into the proverbial King Salmon.
What gets me excited about SEO is that it can give a small mail order company with an incredible product the opportunity to have a large presence in its given market.
Marketing departments, in companies large and small, need to consider how SEO can help give them the exposure that they are working so hard for.
Don't be the little fish in the pond. Learn how SEO can give you the opportunity to be the big fish.
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SEO
Search Engine Optimization
Oneupweb
A Mom's Buying Cycle - Catalog to Search Engine to Store to Website
Posted by duncan on November 12, 2008 at 02:57 PM
I want to share the story of how my wife recently acquired our Burley Honey Bee baby bicycle trailer. It was a beautiful blend of direct mail catalog, search engine research, in store kicking the tires, and ultimately a website purchase.
2008 brought us our wonderful new baby girl. She is growing up so fast! It has been fun to shop for her, and even more fun for me to watch her mom, my wife, do the shopping online.
Yes, as a longtime search/online marketer, even my wife becomes a case study to me.
I know what you are thinking - Mom must get pretty sick of me looking over her shoulder every time she goes online to shop for the baby. You're right. I have to be stealth about it, or she'll stop shopping until I have left the room.
We are avid outdoors people. But this year we hardly touched our bikes through the spring and summer. The time had come to go beyond the walking and jogging strollers. Fall was here and there was still some good weather.
We'd been thinking about getting a baby trailer for our bikes for awhile. Then it came - REI's latest direct mail catalog. Before I had a chance to toss the catalog in the recycle bin, my wife was flipping through the sales pages and found Burley's Honey Bee trailer.
Magic. Just what we have been waiting for.
My wife realizes that I require due diligence and shopping comparison for any item that has a price tag over $100. So she went to the search engines to see if the direct mail catalog price for the Honey Bee was competitive.
Here's a glimpse at what she found in Google:
You can see that the REI website was listed high in the organic search listings, and also had a paid search ad on the right side of the page. As Burley is a popular brand, it was no surprise to see several other advertisers in the paid listings. Google also provided a few Shopping Results that helped with price research.
After clicking on all the relevant sites, we determined that REI's print-catalog sale price was indeed the best price anywhere. We then factored in shipping costs and any REI.com coupons we could find to determine the final price. It still looked like the best deal.
I would also like to give REI credit for having the same price on the website that it had in the catalog.
Next step was to make sure we liked the trailer enough to buy it. We went to Burley's website to find dealers near us, then hopped in the car and drove to a local bike shop to look at the Honey Bee. The trailer seemed tough enough for us, but the local shop's price was not competitive with the online offers, even when you figured the shipping cost. Also, the local shop wasn't willing to give us the REI price. We went home. (I need to mention that REI's closest brick and mortar store is about a 4 hour drive. That's too far to shop in-person for us.)
Later that day we went back to the REI website and made our order. My wife mumbled a few "I told you so's." I think she just wanted to order it from the catalog without bothering with all the research. In this case we would have been fine, but we may have discovered a better deal, and the research wasn't hard to do.
From a direct mailed catalog, to a search engine, to a brick-and-mortar store, and back to the website for purchase. This is how people shop now. Marketers should be aware of the trend and make sure their online and offline promotions match up.
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Direct Mail
Online Shopping
Oneupweb
The Long, Long, Long Tail of Search
Posted by nick on November 11, 2008 at 01:12 PM
I think it's safe to say that many search engine optimization initiatives start out by focusing on a core set of keywords.
These keywords should represent a website's overall content while taking into account words and phrases that people are actually searching for. After all, bringing qualified traffic to a website is one of the goals of SEO.
Optimization efforts ensue and, if things are done correctly, the results are as plentiful as Thanksgiving dinner. At first, some may want to award all this newfound success to the initial set of chosen keywords, but not so fast.
It's time to take a much closer look at the impact long tail search terms have on your site traffic.
Image: Southern Humpback Whale at Platypus Bay by Richard.Fisher
A recent blog post from Hitwise presents us with some interesting numbers to look at while considering long tail terms.
According to the author, the Hitwise search data gathered over the last three months shows the majority of traffic coming from long tail search. The top 100 terms, which one might suspect contains those terms initially targeted through optimization, represents only about 5.7% of the total search traffic for the time period. Extend this out to the top-500 (8.9%), top-1,000 (10.6%), and top-10,000 (18.5%) terms, and we still see that the vast majority of search traffic is coming through terms other than those that are most popular.
So what does this all mean for long tail search? It means that it's massive, or rather, has the possibility to be massive for sites who manage it as best they can. Keeping in mind that everyone searches differently is important. These differences promote seemingly endless possibilities in the ways in which internet users could potentially find sites.
Optimizing a site around a core set of keywords is an important first step, but paying attention to long tail variations is crucial to the overall impact of your search optimization efforts. The benefit of these highly focused, long tail terms can bring users to your site who already know what they are looking for, which usually means there is a higher chance of them converting if they find what they want.
While every site will garner long tail traffic in its own way, and may not necessarily reflect the numbers mentioned above, understanding the potential for long tail is what is really important. It can account for so much more of a site's traffic than most think, which means it's something every webmaster should take into consideration.
AT&T Says Sorry, You Have Reached Your Download Limit
Posted by alex on November 10, 2008 at 09:56 AM
Apparently the 5% of AT&T subscribers that upload and download from the web on a regular basis have become "bandwidth hogs", taking up 50% of AT&T's network capacity.
Therefore, in an attempt to curb this trend, AT&T Inc., the largest internet service provider in the country, has begun to limit the amount of data that subscribers can use each month.
Now, don't get too worried, these restrictions, which started on November 1st, only apply to AT&T subscribers in Reno, Nevada. But if all goes well, AT&T may broaden the download limits to other areas.
In addition, the limitations will depend completely on download speeds. If you are using the slowest DSL service, users can download 20 gigabytes per month at 768 kilobits per second.
Your limits will increase with download speed, sometimes up to 150 gigabytes per month at 10 megabits per second. In order to even fill that amount, a subscriber would have to download consistently at max speed for 42 hours.
So, while the everyday normal email checking and web surfing won't take an AT&T subscriber into the realm of their maximum limit, those users who use programs like NetFlix on a regular basis, may find their monthly movie fix limited; a monthly cap of 60 gigabytes allows for 3 full length movies per month.
Comcast Corp., the nation's second largest internet service provider, who also happens to be AT&T's biggest competitor, officially began a similar program in August with limits of 250 gigabytes per subscriber.
In many other industrialized nations, internet providers are heading in the opposite direction - offering greater capacity to meet growing demand. And when usage caps are necessary, the limits are exponentially greater than here in the U.S., as Betsy Schiffman at Wired's Epicenter blog points out:
In Japan, which boasts one of the most advanced fiber-optic broadband markets in the world, one carrier recently implemented a usage cap, but it was 30 GB per day -- roughly an-eighth of Comcast's total monthly cap.
AT&T says anyone who goes over 150 gigabytes will automatically be enrolled in the download cap. Go over your monthly allotment, and you'll get a warning the first month, after that you'll be looking at $1.00 per gigabyte overage charge.
You can track your gigabyte usage via AT&T's website in order to ensure you aren't hitting your limit. And, if you have fulfilled about 80% of your download fill, AT&T says it will send you a complimentary note informing you that you're getting close to your maximum download capacity.
AT&T hopes that by placing these limitations they will be able to find a solution that allows them to equitably provide affordable broadband services to all customers.
So, is AT&T making a bad move here, by potentially stifling the flow of innovation from web-based companies, most of which rely on the unlimited set price?
Or, is this a smart move for these companies so that they can set future customers expectations?
Personally, I am not a fan on having limits on something that many people rely on, and will most likely come to rely on even more in the future.
Google Looking out for Google
Posted by luke on November 07, 2008 at 10:57 AM
Don't expect to see Google Pay-Per-Click Ads on Yahoo search results anytime soon. Google announced earlier this week it was walking away from its advertising partnership with Yahoo.
A day later, Google chief executive Eric Schmidt said he believes the companies would have been successful had they chosen to defend the deal in court. According to The New York Times, Schmidt went on to state that:
We canceled the deal with about one hour to go before a lawsuit was going to be filed against our deal. We concluded after a lot of soul-searching that it was not in our best interest to go through a lengthy and costly trial which we believe we ultimately would have won.
Ultimately, Google wanted to avoid the possibility of damaging existing relationships with valued partners and users. While I agree with Google's decision and plausible reasoning, I can't help but wonder if this was Google's plan all along. Let's go back:
February 1, 2008 - Microsoft makes an unsolicited bid for Yahoo. Hearing this, Google steps in to support Yang's independent mind-set, triggering a series of conversations between Google and Yahoo executives to see if Google can help Yahoo to remain independent. The ensuing advertising agreement signed in June was the culmination of those conversations.
Now, despite Google's confidence in defending the deal, Google walks away following a bit of "soul-searching."
I can't help but wonder if this was Google's plan all along. When you look at it, there's only one clear winner: Google. Google helps kill any potential deal between Yahoo and Microsoft and Yahoo's price per share drops below $14 and the company is left with no additional cash flow.
There is no doubt Mr. Yang welcomes a new Microsoft deal with open arms and while season 2 of A Microsoft-Yahoo Partnership may premiere soon, Google has and will continue to delay any potential agreement between the two.
In the end, Google has more time to grow search share, build its acquisitions roster and dominate the online realm, leaving Microsoft and Yahoo well behind.
Holiday Online Retail Buying Trends - A New Oneupweb White Paper
Posted by starr on November 06, 2008 at 04:34 PM
Bad economies force marketers to become smarter about how and when they reach buyers.
When gas prices reached historic highs this year, forcing many to park their car in favor of a bicycle, a good marketer found a way to reach that bike riding crowd. So instead of a billboard parked on a highway these bikers were never going to see, a smart marketer targeted bikers who were at home searching online for a cushier seat.
The moral of the story is people are shopping online and the economy is reinforcing that behavior. This online shopping trend will continue well past this holiday season.
At Oneupweb, we realize the timing of a campaign can largely impact marketing goals. That's why we've released a study of 2007 Holiday Online Retail Buying Trends.
This study examines online consumer shopping habits to help retailers know when holiday shoppers are going online. Are online holiday sales highest on Black Friday or Cyber Monday? Or neither day? We'll tell you.
Download our white paper to learn how to maximize online earnings this holiday season.
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Research
Online Retail
Oneupweb
Google AdWords Quality Score Evolution
Posted by adam on November 05, 2008 at 03:07 PM
Over the years Google AdWords has worked to improve pay-per-click ad relevance for users, while building a strong steady revenue stream. As a way to increase ad relevance, CTR and user confidence in PPC ads, the Google Quality Score was born.
In 2005 Google assigned Quality Score to keywords based on the users' experience with a keyword/ad/landing page combination. But Google doesn't sit on its laurels.
Since its original inception Quality Score has evolved regularly, attempting to create a better searcher experience while increasing return on investment.
Image: Human evolution by Tkgd2007
Here is a timeline of notable changes made to Quality Score since its inception:
July 14th, 2005: Quality Score is introduced, the next generation of keyword evaluation.
December 2nd, 2005: Quality Score determines if position #1 is attainable.
December 8th, 2005: Landing page quality becomes a part of the Quality Score calculation.
November 6th, 2006: Quality Scores calculated on the Content Network & another landing page quality algorithm update.
February 14th, 2007: The introduction of transparent minimum keyword bids.
July 5th, 2007: A combination of bid and Quality Score determines what share of total available impressions your ad is eligible for.
August 22nd, 2007: The improved top ad placement formula means Quality Score becomes the most important factor in determining eligibility for position #1.
September 18th, 2007: Select categories of sites could receive low Quality Scores by default.
June 18th, 2008: Landing page load time can now negatively or positively affect keyword Quality Scores.
August 21st, 2008: Quality Score is now calculated at the time of the search, every time.
September 15th, 2008: Minimum bids will be displayed as 'minimum first page bid', meaning that keywords will no longer become inactive for search.
I point out all these changes because each caused advertisers to revise PPC strategy by researching new keywords, building new quality score friendly landing pages and/or reworking ad copy strategy.
In September "minimum first page bid" went live for all advertisers. Google says, "'First page bid estimates' replace 'minimum bids' in your account -- providing a more actionable and useful metric to advertisers" and, "Remember that you can bid less than your first page bid estimate and still show on subsequent pages".
This sounds great! Now advertisers will have clear insight into the required bid to be on the first page of sponsored results.
But, is anything crystal clear when it comes to Google's algorithms? Why would 'minimum first page bid' be any different? It's not.
This has caused many advertisers to increase bids, ensuring that first page positioning is maintained. The final impact felt by advertisers by this change is still undecided. One thing is for sure, this type of change leaves advertisers in one of these three categories:
1. Upset and frustrated because suddenly their best converting keywords now have unaffordable minimum bids, causing traffic to dry up.
2. Annoyed with the inconvenience. But once the required strategy changes were made the campaigns perform better as a result.
3. Happy because the Quality Score changes reduced cost and put them ahead of competitors who have poor quality campaigns.
Oneupweb's clients fall into the second and third categories. We work very hard to ensure our clients are ahead of the curve. When sudden changes happen, we evolve our campaigns to capitalize on the new ranking models, rather than complain about them.
The market is always changing. Having nimble PPC campaigns and a creative, open mind is very important. The decisions we make with our clients are based on testing and statistical analysis. We don't buy into hype, because numbers don't lie.
The solution isn't always clear. Oneupweb can help you find it.
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Google AdWords
Quality Score
Oneupweb
Obama Sign Thief Gets One-upped - 30' Dancing Obama Wins
Posted by keirsun on November 04, 2008 at 10:27 AM
Being that it's Election Day here in the U.S. we here at Oneupweb wanted to recognize the importance of this day, while providing a little entertainment too.
The following video was inspired by the thieves who repeatedly stole our Obama for President signs off the front lawn of Oneupweb.
Little did they know who they were dealing with...
Obama Sign Thief Gets One-upped by Oneupweb from Oneupweb on Vimeo.
If you like this video, you can vote for it here:
Obama Sign Thief Gets One-upped by Oneupweb
30 Foot Obama Dances on Building
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Obama
Barack Obama
Oneupweb
Oneupweb Wins Prestigious Honor
Posted by starr on November 03, 2008 at 11:16 AM
Some may not expect to find an award-winning digital marketing firm in northern Michigan. But here we are, the hardworking crew of Traverse City-based Oneupweb, continuing to surprise even ourselves.
BtoB magazine recently announced Oneupweb's Office Survival Kit won BtoB's Best Direct Campaign (single piece) category.
Just last year, highly-sought ad agency Ogilvy & Mather was honored in this category for its American Express "Blueprint" campaign.
Our Office Survival Kits communicate our company's services while also showing real world results through case studies - all packaged in a fun and inventive way. Knowing that these kits were held in the same standard with major ad agencies from New York, Seattle and other big cities was extremely gratifying for all of us. Thank you BtoB for such a prestigious honor!
In the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) trenches, where battles for position are fought at alarming speeds, it's easy to get absorbed. You can become so focused on your specific task that you can forget the impact the work that you do can have on others.
This award was a fresh reminder of the kind of outstanding work we perform for our clients every day. I'm not sure if it's all the cherries we eat, or the amazing view of Grand Traverse Bay from our office windows, but we are definitely doing something right.
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BtoB
BtoB Best Award
Oneupweb