Archive: April, 2008

An interesting report from the Kelsey Group predicts the interactive classified advertising market will grow from its current $3.9Billion spend to over $14.7Billion by 2010. Advancing at a phenomenal 30.5% compounded annual growth rate, the increase in ad-spend will come primarily from traditional media such as newspapers, radio and television. A radical increase in online advertising dollars is not extraordinary news to the search marketing community. We’ve sensed and benefited from this shift in the sensibilities of advertisers for several years now.

What might be a surprise to many search marketers are the exact directions that increased ad-spending is likely to go in. According to the report, much of that money will be focused on highly vertical markets such as home services, home and garden care, health care, legal, finance and auto repair. Because items or inventory from each of these vertical sectors tend to have specific search tools or sections of larger search engines dedicated to them, search results from those categories might soon be found faster amd more easily “off-Google” than at-Google.

To quote search journalist Michelle Greer, “Apparently, some online advertisers are realizing that having ads on the 60th page of a Google keyword search isn’t exactly fruitful.” This is a scenario in which Google becomes its own worst enemy, leading searchers and advertisers to focus their attentions elsewhere.

If you’re a Yahoo! shareholder today,
you’re in for a big surprise,
if you pick up the phone today,
prepare for a long weekend sigh,
for every Microsoft C-Level freak,
is going to invite you out for a drink,
for that’s they way that Microsoft
get’s to take Yahoo!
(to the tune of The Teddy Bears’ Picnic)

Three weeks ago, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer laid a 21-day deadline down in front of the Yahoo! Board of Directors. Tomorrow is the expiration date of that deadline. If Yahoo! doesn’t acquiesce to Microsoft’s acquisition bid, Ballmer has threatened to initiate a proxy fight for control of the Yahoo! Board.

There are a couple scenarios that could play out in the coming 24-hours.

The first is the most obvious. Microsoft goes headhunting in order to gain support for a Micro-hoo friendly slate of candidates to present at Yahoo!’s next annual general meeting in June. This is considered the most likely outcome, assuming Yahoo! continues to put-off Microsoft’s offer.

The second scenario is far less obvious and somewhat less likely. Microsoft walks away from the deal, leaving Yahoo! to continue the business of being second banana to Google. That outcome is possible but, after the three month effort and investment put in by Microsoft, unlikley.

Metamend Search Marketing recently introduced a Reputation Management service headed by industry veteran David Howell. After working in the search industry for as long as we have, the enormity and scope of Reputation Management issues faced by businesses and individuals has long been apparent. A study released yesterday shows the importance of understanding and controlling your online reputation.

72% of social media users will research a company’s customer service reputation before doing business with that company. According to a consumer survey conducted by the Society for New Communications Research, “… affluent consumers are using social media channels to share their personal customer service experiences and learn about others’ care experiences when making purchase decisions.”

The survey, which was sponsored by professional speech and imaging service provider Nuance Communications, found that:

• 59.1% of respondents use social media to “vent” about a customer care experience
• 72.2% of respondents research companies’ customer care online prior to purchasing products and services at least sometimes
• 84% of respondents consider the quality of customer care at least sometimes in their decision to do business with a company
• 74% choose companies/brands based on others’ customer care experiences shared online

“And when you’re up, you’re up,
and when you’re down you’re down,
and when you’re only half-way up,
you’re neither up nor down”.
- The Grand Old Duke of York, nursery rhyme c. 1793

Yahoo! has released Q1 2008 numbers in advance of it’s investors’ conference call which starts in about ten minutes. The report shows that Yahoo! made slightly more money in the past three months than it did in the similar quarter of 2007, but not much more. The report also shows that Yahoo!’s earnings are down slightly from the last reported quarter, Q4 2007.

Yahoo! reports revenues of $1.352billion in Q1-08, a $169million or 14% improvement over the same period last year. While still proving growth in billable services such as paid search advertising and display advertising, Yahoo!’s growth comes at a slower pace than that of rival Google. Still, a 14% increase is likely higher than expected by investors and certainly higher than anticipated by the search marketing community.

That wasn’t enough to improve the net-income per share projections which have hovered around the twelve cent mark for the past year. In fact, Yahoo!’s income-per-share declined by two cents per share from Q4-07 to $0.11/share, the same return offered in Q1-07.