Google Revenue Share For Community Sites...

Googles API technology looks set to reward those who contribute to community based sites. Untill now, only the site owner has been rewarded for the unique content provided by its members or active users. Google's free AdWords API service enables developers engineer computer programs that interact directly with the AdWords server. RateItAll.com, a social network and review based community, has announced that it has leveraged the API software to enable revenue sharing for its contributing members. The members can track their earnings without ever leaving the RateItAll.com Web site.

The above approach could see the rate of Internet Real Estate slow down; It's hard to get stand out for your own content, however contributing to a community site may result in increases in revenue making possibilities.

MySpace Meets Friends Reunited

Bebo.com has secured $15 Million in funding for their new venture. The site is certainly targeting a younger audience, providing them with; their own homepage/blog, access to their school page which is built by users, and the ability to create their own network using SKYPE as the communition channel.

It will be interesting to see how this one pans out... Having browsed some of the pages it felt more like a teen chat room than any interesting content.

Social Search & Impact for Marketeers...

Yahoo! have been shouting from the trees about their recently launched paid search engine. 'Social Search' seems to be their new buzz term; but what is it and what does it mean for marketeers?

Martin Child VP of Sales & Marketing from Yahoo! comments "search breakthroughs will come from rich new sources of metadata and user-generated content. The collective knowledge in a user’s community will become the driver for more relevant search results."

Reading between the lines, tracking existing users activity on a search term will play a more important role on the next listing shown to a user for that same search term. Therefore the next user will be learning from the previous users experience, and in turn increasing more relevant listings. This is actually a form of human editing, relying on existing search users to define whats good and whats not. Yahoo! Answers is quoted as a social search experience, complementing algorithmic search by delivering real-life answers in an engaging environment.

With all the above it appears search engines may possibly give a priority to communities and group based sites which is not just blogging but forums and other community based websites. Some marketeers are already tapping into communities through BUZZ marketing; which is the process of finding the figureheads for a given niche or industry and seeding them with information to filter out to their social circles through the internet. The movie industry is a great example of where buzz aids the early awareness; by giving exclusive clips and 'first' break news, the figureheads seed a positive message to their following. Of course with the ease of setting up blogs those buzz nets are now spread wider than ever before, paving the way for search to fill a much needed gap for advertising and revenues. The knock on effect could be that most advertisers have to switch back on their content search to deliver volume of traffic which they have come to expect. Of course its a known fact that content search is at the forefront of click fraud. As always the devil is in the detail, depending on the sophistication of implementation there could be a window of opportunity for SEO Spammers, who are perfectly capable of using click bots (to simulate clicks and drive specific sites up the search ranking). No doubt the Yahoo! search gurus will find a solution to this!

Yahoo! also put on their BRANDING hat on by commenting that search is more than just an acquisition tool; which they are right! Search should be integrated into the whole marketing mix.

Recent research from Yahoo in France indicates that consumers often remember the TV or Press ad but forget the exact web address – turning to internet search to find out more. It's a fact that 8 out of 10 users habitually use a search engine after having partially remembered site addresses.. With the fight to get to the top of organic listings - advertisers will be forced to turn to search as their filter channel. With some websites only released for the launch of a specific product or service, there is often little time to get it ranking for a number of premium search terms; leaving paid search to filter the traffic.

New Look Yahoo!

Yahoo!s new homepage has finally been released. It will be rolled out in UK, US & several European markets. The personal customization of the homepage is inline with MSN Live, which is now on active roll out across US and soon most of Europe. Both MSN & Yahoo! have put greater emphasis on search & community based applications such as IM, Email & Spaces. Both Yahoo & MSN are in strong competition with Google are rapidly entering the Portal arena.

US V Europe For Entertainment Based Media

A recent analysis of 57 movie campaigns for theatrical releases within Dynamic Logic’s MarketNorms database (Q3/2005) reveals that online movie ads perform among one of the highest industries in positively raising Aided Brand Awareness (+9.8) and Brand Favorability (+4.3) on average.

Further research shows that advertising’s impact on Awareness and Purchase Intent was highest early on in the campaigns, at least 4 weeks (21-27 days) prior to the movie release date. In fact, the online advertising’s impact at four weeks out was quadruple what it was a week from the release date, +22.5 points compared to +5.4 points, respectively. Similarly, and perhaps somewhat surprising, the impact on Purchase Intent is greatest about 4 weeks (21 or more days) prior to the movie release with an increase of +13.9 points in consumers’ intent to buy movie tickets. While campaigns still have a positive impact on both metrics over time, the impact decreases as the movie release date nears, as shown in the chart below.



My personal belief is that Europe are behind America in online ticket sales. I believe this is simply because most Americans have a good drive to their cinema which makes planning key. Big blockbusters which are noted as must see movies, have a bigger pull for pre booking, but even then consumers will still chance buying a ticket on the night.

Dynamic Logic comment that "there is an initial boom and buzz effect. Since movie consumers want to be entertained, initial advertising is meant to create buzz and get audiences excited and talking about the film". The greatest challenge in Europe is still with Advertising spends allocated to online from overall marketing budgets. Using editorial and exclusive content can allow you to create the boom and buzz effect without having to purchase high price ad spaces. Even 4 weeks from release you may be competing with another distributor, which means your initial buzz campaign could be diluted from an ad perspective; with exclusive content you could secure premium editorial slots.

Dynamic Logic then addresses competitive positioning with the following statement "Competition for consumers’ movie dollars increases as the release date nears. The closer you get to the movie release date, potential audiences are more likely to be aware of competitive entertainment options for the same weekend and will become more discriminating in their choice of movies to see. Movie consumption requires a relatively heavy time commitment – the average movie-goer is likely to whittle down his or her choices of movies to see in a given week, rather than see all of them". For Europe this is when i personally believe the biggest advertising investment must occur, if you've missed the early buzz phase you could turn a consumer around at this point in the decision making process.

A few years back i worked with a colleague to pioneer a smarter working relationship with media owners, to co-ordinate Editorial & Advertising alongside each other. Dynamic Logics article commented on "Other sources in the form of movie critics and other word-of-mouth reviews also begin to play a greater role in the movie decision making process in the immediate weeks prior to release date. Thus, advertising’s role in driving people to theaters can be diminished where negative reviews override the impact of the campaign". If you can get a media owner to support your campaign editorially then you are actually getting your third party PR.

Given the above, Dyanmic Logic have the following tips for marketers;

* Leverage the “buzz factor” early to generate awareness. Each new movie is a new brand, so raising awareness is an important first step. The more people are aware of a movie early on before competitive and secondary factors increase their role in the decision-making process, the greater the number of people who will be able to consider the movie as the release date approaches.
I personally recommend having close ties with your media owner. In return for an advertising budget, exclusive content you should be able to get early buzz through premium editorial.

* Creative content is STILL key. Use creative that will both generate an interest in the movie and provide a strong call to action to see the movie from the outset of a campaign.
Call to action is not all about 'watch the trailer', think about the environment in which you are advertising in and the target audience. Are you targeting parents in which case you want to pitch the case of the best family movie this summer. Perhaps you are targeting kids in which case messenger downloads and interactive content will help them keep the awareness of the film high.

* Rich media, especially online video ads, are highly recommended. Ads showing movie trailers can also be an appealing draw as they entertain as well as inform consumers. By providing a “sneak peak” of the movie trailer, ads with video can be powerful influence on potential movie-goers. They have the ability to raise awareness and provide enough information that the consumer can evaluate whether or not they want to actually watch the movie.
Remember that working with Rich Media you can set your frequency lower to 2 to get the impact you need.

The fact of the matter is each movie release is different, has a different target audience and different appeal to that audience. Therefore with any campaign you need to be responsive and keep up with trends.

SOURCE: Dynamic Logic's MarketNorms® is a marketing effectiveness database. These findings are aggregate in nature, reflect past results and are not a guarantee of future results for individual campaigns.

Cashback Sites...Setting Commissions

Why do cashback sites exist? Cashback sites came about when affiliates realised that commissions were not getting higher, even though marketing spends online were, & programs with reocuurring commissions were thin on the ground. The cashback site model is an affiliates dream, as you have a chance to secure that consumer for good and encourage them to continue purchasing through offers & incentives.

As a merchant you should think carefully about your Cashback strategy, consider the following:
* Do you have your own rewards program? If yes then your priority will be to offer them the best deal. Work out the resulting commissions and ensure you cashback sites will give a lower % than through your own program. Remember the affiliate has to take a cut, it doesn't all go to the consumer.
* Are you offering a bounty payment for sign up? Think about how much a consumer has to put down and how much they will get back as a result. You are looking for long term customers not people after a £20 or £30 cash fix. Finance clients often pay bounties, however you may need to put a further condition such as account activation of £100. This way the activation is higher than the bounty paid out. The consumer will only win if they truely want that product or service.
* Offers, are you offering a discount voucher? Vouchers are a great mechanic to use in customer aquistions. You have to remember that this consumer is already getting a % back? Remember all these mechanics will hit on your ROI, a % commission and voucher?

If you have trouble retaining customers, Cashback sites could act as your own rewards program. In this instance you may want to consider giving them a higher commission% compared to standard sites in your program. You could review a bounty for % number of sales.

Remember a consumer will like Cashback sites since they can earn money from multiple sites, an offline example is the NECTAR model. I recommend working with Cashback sites, just think about how you set your commissions!

Search Agency V Search Affiliate - The Great PPC Debate.

Affiliates V Agency, who should conduct your search activity? The simple answer is both of them, using strict terms & conditions in which to operate.

Firstly you only need to be concerned about PPC conflicts if you have a brand. A brand is simply a set of associations that; are linked to a product or company name or reside in consumers' memory. If you are a new e-tailer, it is unlikley that you have any brand value at this time. If you have limited resources I highly recommend you work with affiliates in the search environment and have an open policy.

So if you are still reading this article, YOU have a brand. You currently invest a % of your marketing budget into paid search. You have seen a number of advertisers bidding on similar terms, which you see as a conflict of interests.

Your first assumption is that the other ads are from affiliates in your affiliate program. Your solution, put a no PPC policy in place. Well in some cases you are right, but there are other factors at play. "Search Arbitrage" is the process of paying for traffic to a site through adwords and low CPM networks, yet converting it back out through adsense. This would result in an EPC (Earnings Per Click) high enough for you to make a profit on the conversion. The other adverters bidding against you probably fall into the Search Arbitrage group - who you have no control over.

Working with search specialist affiliates can be beneficial to your business. Having worked for a number of media agencies, i have often seen them struggle to make a profit on search management. This has proven more evident with the introduction of reduced agency kick back commissions. Bearing this in mind you have to question whether your search agency are delivering all possible keyword combinations. They may well be hitting their targets, but are they delivering the best possible campaign for you?

Affiliates don't earn a day rate, they don't have big agency targets for profit, so are in a perfect position to tidy up on search.

My solution to working with search specialist affiliates has been proven, it will put affiliates on an even platform with your search agency which reduces the competitivness between them yet delivering the ROI you need.

I will now take you through potential areas of conflict and how to address them.

Brand Names;
If you own the trademark to a given brand name, file for the right to restrict any advertiser. Remember this is not just about stopping affiliates in your program, but all advertisers who are trying to cash in.

Brand Name Misspellings & Combination keywords;
You cannot protect these legally. You can stop your affiliates bidding but you cannot stop other advertisers. So why not work with affiliates to ensure traffic is going to where you can control it?

Brand Associated Terms
Some brands have high profile sub brands which may but not protected by trademarks. These can be as valuable as your brand name, especially with clothing companies.

Generic Terms;
Affiliates have 1000's of combination terms and can work with multiple clients so can have a broader understanding of consumer search trends. Your agency may only be able to work with a small set of clients within a given industry, they may also include a small level of keywords to reduce management.

So in short there are really only 3 groups where there is a potential conflict. This step by step guide will take you through the process of creating a solution for all parties.

Step 1 Work with no more than 6 paid search affiliates, you will find some affiliates have different search network preferences e.g. Miva, Yahoo!, MSN or Google. This means you have a controlled group of people to work with and can easily identify who does and doesnt have permission to bid.
Step 2 Based on the above your standard program Terms & Conditions will be:
Partners/Affiliates who are accepted into this program DO NOT have permission to conduct search activity on our brand name, brand name misspellings of combination search terms. Partners/Affiliates are NOT PERMITTED to use our brand name or brand URL in any paid search advert. Any commissions generated as a result of unauthorized search activity will not be paid
Step 3 So now you need to chose your affiliate partners. Consult your network, or drop me an email at helen @ tigerstep . com and i would be happy to recommend people.
Step 4 You now need to devise a set of Terms & Conditions for these guys to work from. To do this you need to understand the commission impact from your own search activity by reviewing CPC & CR% for each group.
Here is an example of Terms & Conditions for your chosen group
Brand Name - No Permission to bid
Brand Associated Terms - Commission Payable 4%
Brand Name Misspellings, Combinations - Commission Payable 6%
Generic Terms - Commission payable 15% (which is more than the basic program commission of 6%)
Your network can set up the filters to ensure correct commissions are paid. To devise the above you have to calculate an affiliates resulting EPAC (Earnings Per Actual Click). To do this look at the conversion rate from your own search activity for the above 3 groups. Based on an average order value you can work out how much commission an affiliate could earn per click. By setting variable commissions you can ensure that the resulting EPC an affiliate earns is inline with your own search activity.

End result is you have a tight group of affiliates working WITH YOU not AGAINST YOU, if your affiliates are outbidding your own search agency you don't loose on ROI.

Domain Shame!

It appears that the housing market and internet real estate market have one thing in common, everyone thinks they can cash in! My personal opinion is that they are both in need of a correction.

Have you tried looking for a good .com domain name recently? Try searching for something starting with AD. You will quickly realise that domains have been taken by;

Domain Auctioneers; Who's sole intention is simply to resell the domain at a 1,000 times markup. Domains are cheaper than ever

Adsense Junkies; Individuals who simply buy misspellings of established domains or potential type-in domains. Looking for their latest fix they throw a page up dedicated to adsense, then wait for the money to come in! With hosting from as little a $1 a domain it doesn't take much to make a profit. This volume game the junkies play is increasing internet real estate at record levels

Web Pimps; people who set up sites but its full of repurposed content which has no real purpose except the catch the odd internet searcher and filter them out through a paid link.

The biggest crook of all is Alt-Search, a far eastern gentleman who catches domain names when they drop (the process of picking up a domain that someone has not renewed). Alt-Search now has a following of wannabes all trying to replicate his success. The biggest web polluters of them all!

You don't have a cats chance in getting a good domain when it drops as the guys above have too many automated tools to pip you to the post.

The introduction of Google Adsense, Miva Partnership, Kelkoo & Yahoo! search have all caused one thing WEB POLLUTION, but who will clear it up?