For the first time Google shares have broken the $500 mark and Wednesday morning saw an opening at $510.78. These figures give 8 year old Google a market value of approximately $154 billion. When they priced its IPO back in August 2004, the value per share was $85 and after the first day of trading it broke the $100 milestone.
I recently had a conversation with a client who was having some difficulties with his Google AdWords account. This client had then made some changes to financial settings and had resulted in significant charges beyond what was anticipated. In this example, the date range being displayed on the reports was set to a range which made it difficult to see the charges being accrued.
I spent some time working things through with the client which ultimately resulted in the effect on the account being originally sought after.
While managing PPC campaigns is an additional service offered by StepForth, for existing clients I am happy to answer any questions to try and help. For extensive issues we may require a PPC contract, but in many cases I will likely be able to simply answer your questions to help get things on track.
If you have any PPC related questions, please feel free to drop me a note at scott@stepforth.com and I will see what I can do to assist!
In a bid that is sure to raise the interests of many e-tailers, Google has announced that it will be providing free merchant services for the holiday season. Say what?! Yes, FREE.
For those of you who are not familiar with transacting online suffice it to say that this promotion could save participating e-tailers hundreds if not thousands of dollars this holiday season. Read more…
A new shopping search engine has brought to the public a technology that has been used mostly in movies and the offices of law enforcement – visual recognition. The new search engine, Like.com employs their “Likeness Technology™ to create a digital signature that describes the photo’s contents and enables a more accurate search for similar looking items and products,” says the About Us page on Like.com. Read more…
The search engine world never rests. As online marketing professionals discover new ways to obtain top rankings the algorithms evolve right along side. There are two primary reasons behind the updating of ranking algorithms. To increase the quality and relevancy of the results, and to decrease the many page of online spam. Read more…
This is a heads up for my readers and clientele that MSN search applied an update that has significantly affected rankings. The client results we have reviewed so far have all done well by this update but we are continuing to review. So far it appears that MSN is still following the basic principles of good SEO but I have noticed the following elements appear important: Read more…
Search engine company A9, a wholly owned subsidiary of Amazon.com has launched a secure beta called Clickriver which allows advertisers to launch pay-per-click campaigns on Amazon.com. The service is currently in Beta and for the moment is only offered to pre-screened applicants – apply here.
Advertisers will be able to promote their wares “on search results pages and on many product detail pages” according to Clickriver’s FAQ. Opening Amazon to the PPC marketplace has some impressive implications considering the millions of consumers that Amazon caters to. For example, advertisers will now be able to advertise next to products that are currently being reviewed for purchase; a qualifier that will undoubtedly heighten the interest of cutting-edge advertisers. Simply put, the cross-promotional potential of this new offering is huge.
If you happen to get in on the beta I would love to get your opinion on this new service. Just drop me a note via ross@stepforth.com or post a comment.
Special thanks to John Battelle and ResourceShelf for cluing me in on this excellent new offering.
Today Yahoo! announced the launch of Yahoo! Food, a site focused entirely on content from foodies and other culinary household names. In my opinion Yahoo! Food is a smart move and I look forward to seeing how it affects Yahoo!’s bottom line. After all, I don’t know about you but I know many people watch the Food network on a daily basis (including me) and I expect that a site run by Yahoo will offer yet another great resource for foodies.
When Deanna Brown, General Manager of Yahoo!’s Lifestyles was asked on MarketWatch how Yahoo! Food will compete against other food resources like the Food Network and Bon Appetit she had this to say,”I think it is the ease of use and the compelling design, kind of the comprehensive all in one destination.” She finishes by emphasizing the personalization that Yahoo! Food allows; (the site becomes) “your property… and keeps you in touch with what you are looking for.” – source MarketWatch blog.
Finally consider the marketing benefits of business owners who need to promote their cooking wares or resources (books, online directories, etc.); this addition to the Yahoo! Search Marketing network will prove a tasty one indeed.
Kudos to Yahoo, they are definitely trying hard to increase their bottom line. After announcing their 3rd quarter financial results on October 17th, Yahoo! definitely needs all the help they can get.
