Lousy Traffic? Buy Adwords
April 3, 2012
From the obvious department:
SEO is one hot buzzword, but more and more people are starting to realize that, what they thought was a web traffic miracle, is really just a quick fix that fails to deliver lasting results. In the recent Search Engine Land article, “Google Research: Even With a #1 Organic Ranking, Paid Ads Provide 50% Incremental Clicks,” one of the poobahs of SEO points out that now that SEO does not work as advertised, if you have a Web site, you have to buy Adwords.
According to the report, Google’s research on paid versus organic found that cutting out paid ads would result in an 89 percent drop in clicks, regardless of whether or not your site is the number one search result.
The article states:
Surprisingly, even when advertisers show up in the number one organic search result position, 50% of clicks they get on ads are not replaced by clicks on organic search results when the ads don’t appear. The study found that 82% of ad clicks are incremental when the associated organic result is ranked between 2 and 4, and 96% of clicks are incremental when the brand’s organic result was 5 or below.
Gee, what a surprise that Google finds that paying them boosts search rankings. Is this the purpose of a Panda invasion? We think so.
Jasmine Ashton, April 3, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Two Pundits and Their Punditry
March 31, 2012
I find the notion of pundits fascinating. The US in 2012 pivots on a news hook, the Warhol fame thing, and a desire to share viewpoints to Flipbook and Pulse users.
This morning I was listening to the crackle of small arms fire in rural Kentucky. Dawn had not yet extended its crepuscular reach to my hollow but two write ups did. Neither is one of those magnum loads squirrel hunters desire here in the Commonwealth. Nope, these were birdshot, but each write up is interesting nonetheless.
Both indirectly concern search and retrieval. Both found their way into my “gems of the poobahs” folder.
First, I noted the digital Atlantic’s write up “The Advertising Industry’s Definition of ‘Do Not Track’ Doesn’t Make Sense.” What caught my attention was the juxtaposition of the word “advertising” with the phrase “doesn’t make sense.” Advertising making sense? The Atlantic “real” journalist has not watched television with a 67 year old. More than half of the TV commercials which I find embedded in basketball games every four minutes don’t make sense. Advertising is about creating a demand for must-have products. Advertising is part of the popular culture and an engine of growth for companies unable to generate sales without the craft and skill of psychological tactics. Check out an advertisement for Kentucky bourbon. Does this headline make sense?
“Honk if you’re proud to be a redneck?
As a resident of Kentucky, I am not sure I know what a redneck is, but I bet those folks in Boston do. But what’s “making sense” part. What advertising does is tickle the brain to make some folks want to drink. And we all know how important it is to imbibe whiskey, engage in “real” journalism, ferry children to soccer practice. Yep, makes “sense” to me.
But here’s the passage which caught my attention:
Stanford’s Aleecia McDonald found that 61 percent of people expect that clicking a Do Not Track button should shut off *all* data collection. Only 7 percent of people expected that websites could collect the same data before and after clicking a ‘Do Not Track’ button. That is to say, 93 percent of people do not understand the industry’s definition of DNT. Which totally makes sense! Who would ever think saying, “Do not track me,” actually means, “It’s fine to collect data on me, but don’t show me any signs that you’re doing so.” Simply because the industry itself has defined ‘Do Not Track’ in an idiosyncratic way doesn’t mean their self-serving decision should be the basis for all policy and practice in this field.
Almost any redneck would understand this passage, the implications of persistent cookies, and the distinction between various types of tracking, including my favorite, iFrames-based method.
Second, I read “Debunking Senator Al Franken On Google, The Internet & Privacy.” This screed is from a “real” journalist and favorite source of juicy quotes on the subject of search and retrieval. The point of the write up is that despite the author’s affection for a US senator as a comedian, the US senator does not know beans about tracking, Google, and, by extension, search and retrieval. Now “search” does not mean find. Search, I believe, means to the “real” journalist using methods to generate traffic to a Web site. I define “search” differently, but the good part in my opinion is this passage:
Ya think? But I mean, Facebook kind of does sell my friends. I can export all of them out to Yahoo and Bing, because Facebook and Yahoo and Bing all have deals. I can’t export them to Google, because, you know, they aren’t friends. Would you call that selling to the highest bidder? When I go over to search on Bing, by default, all my Facebook friends are being used to personalize my search results. Oh, I can opt-out, but you know how hard that is. Since that’s part of a Bing-Facebook deal, is that a line that’s crossed?
Please, read the entire “real” journalistic analysis of a talk by a US senator. I must admit I don’t relate to the questions and analytic points in this paragraph. I recognize the names of the companies mentioned, but “the deal” baffles me.
Why do I care? Three points:
- I sense the emotion in these write ups. Passion is good for advertising and good for capturing attention. However, I am struggling to figure out what the problem is. Advertising seems to be what America is. Untangling the warp and woof of this fabric is difficult for me.
- The ad hominem method and charged language causes me to think that the lingo of advertising has become the common parlance of “real” journalists.
- I struggle to unravel the meaning of certain parts of these two write ups. Am I alone?
Net net: technology and advertising are an interesting compound. Now “real” journalism is quite similar. To quote one “real” journalist, “Ya think?” Well, not much.
Stephen E Arnold, March 31, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
A Road Map for Censorship
March 31, 2012
David Bamman, Brendan O’Connor, Noah A. Smith present some interesting facts based on a study they wrote about in their article, Censorship and Deletion Practices in Chinese Social Media. Their study touches on a variety of different aspects regarding how China allegedly controls the intake and outflow of information.
The Chinese government methods are far different from the United States’ approach. My understanding of the situation is that China takes censorship to extremes and infringes on the freedom of their citizens using the GFW (Great Firewall of China) , which filters key phrases and words, preventing access to sites like America’s Facebook and Google. However, Sina Weibo is the Chinese equivalent of Facebook where bloggers post and pass information presumably in a way the officials perceive as more suitable for the Middle Kingdom.
Sina Weibo is monitored and as long as members stay within the boundaries or disguise their information, posts go unnoticed. If any of the outlawed phrases are entered, the user’s post is deleted and anyone searching for the information is met with the phrase ‘Target weibo does not exist’. If the user properly masks the phrase or words used, the information will get through, showing that there is the possibility of future change regarding the censorship practices in China.
The GFW will catch obvious outgoing information such as political figures, which was monitored during the study. The article asserted:
In late June/early July 2011, rumors began circulating in the Chinese media that Jiang Zemin, general secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1989 to 2002, had died. These rumors reached their height on 6 July, with reports in the Wall Street Journal, Guardian and other Western media sources that Jiang’s name had been blocked in searches on Sina Weibo (Chin, 2011; Branigan, 2011). If we look at all 532 messages published during this time period that contain the name Jiang Zemin, we note a striking pattern of deletion: on 6 July, the height of the rumor, 64 of the 83 messages containing that name were deleted (77.1 percent); on 7 July, 29 of 31 (93.5 percent) were deleted.
No firewall is perfect, but according to the studies done on searches, blogs and texts containing prohibited information, China has a pretty impressive figure. It may not seem reasonable by American standards, but by filtering anything they deem as politically sensitive, China protects the privacy of their country, preventing global rumors and interference.
On one level, censorship makes sense, in particular regarding the business world. The Chinese government makes its corporations responsible for their employees, meaning if an employee is blogging instead of working and puts in illegal information, the company itself is fined, or worst case scenario, shut down. Thus Chinese factories have a high rate of productivity because their workers are actually doing their job.
How is China’s alleged position relevant to the US? There may be little relevance, but to officials in other countries, the article’s information may be just what one needs to check into a Holiday Inn of censorship.
Jennifer Shockley, March 31, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Newspapers Losing Revenue: Time for a Change
March 30, 2012
Newspaper acquisition time? I was surprised by a headline I landed on while browsing Business Week; an article titled, “Newspapers Lose $10 in Print for Every Digital $1” grabbed my attention.
According to the article, newspapers in the United States lost $10 in print advertising revenue in 2011 for every dollar gained online. The article cites a study by Pew Research and blames the 7.9 percent ad revenue loss on competition from tech intermediaries. Newspapers are hurting tremendously in the online arena. Paid news sites and print copies are declining in revenue because consumers want their news fast and free, usually via mobile apps and free news blogs.
Newspaper groups have failed to capitalize on the volume of personalized data available online in the face of increased competition from companies including Google (GOOG) and Facebook, which are selling advertising targeted to consumers based on their interests and demographics, typically at higher ad rates, Rosenstiel said. Newspapers have slowly shifted their businesses online, led in part by the recent success of New York Times Co. (NYT)’s plan to charge readers for access to its newspapers’ websites. Pew’s study estimates as many as 100 newspapers are expected to offer a digital subscription model in the coming months.
No matter how one exercises ingenuity, the newspapers have a broken business model and a customer base indifferent to old information in print or online. Users are not likely to pay subscription fees, even for traditional and trusted organizations, if the material is available elsewhere for free. News groups should reconsider new business models or becoming partners with data-driven companies, or else it could be sell off and go fishing time.
Andrea Hayden, March 30, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Publishers Pose Threats to Text Mining Expansion
March 26, 2012
Text mining software is all the rage these days due to its ability to make significant connections by quickly scanning through thousands of documents. This software can recognize, extract and index scientific information from vast amounts of plain text, allowing computers to read and organize a body of knowledge that is expanding too fast for any human to keep up with. However, Nature.com recently reported on a some issues that have developed in this growing industry in the article “Trouble at the Text Mine.”
According to the article, text mining programmers Max Haeussler and Casey Bergman have run into trouble trying to get science publishers to agree to let them mine their content.
The article asserts:
Many publishers say that they will allow their subscribers to text-mine, subject to contract and the text-miners’ intentions, and point to a number of successful agreements. But like many early advocates of the technology, Haeussler and Bergman complain that publishers are failing to cope with requests, and so are holding up the progress of research. What is more, they point out, as text-mining expands, it will be impractical for individual academic teams to spend years each working out bilateral agreements with every publisher.
While some publishers are getting on board the text mining train, many are still trying to work out how to take advantage of the commercial value before signing on. Too bad it takes more than a degree in English to make text mining deliver useful results. Bummer.
Jasmine Ashton, March 26, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Long Live the Blog
March 25, 2012
Thought blogs were dead? Think again. Neilsen Wire reveals, “Buzz in the Blogosphere: Millions More Bloggers and Blog Readers.” The world is now graced with over 181 million blogs, up from 36 million in 2006, according to research by NM Incite. The study also found that 6.7 million bloggers write on blogging websites, while 12 million more publish through social networks.
Researchers broke bloggers down by category; the article reveals:
“* Women make up the majority of bloggers, and half of bloggers are aged 18-34
* Bloggers are well-educated: 7 out of 10 bloggers have gone to college, a majority of whom are graduates
* About 1 in 3 bloggers are Moms, and 52 percent of bloggers are parents with kids under 18 years-old in their household
* Bloggers are active across social media: they’re twice as likely to post/comment on consumer-generated video sites like YouTube, and nearly three times more likely to post in Message Boards/Forums within the last month”
Three forums, Blogger, WordPress, and Tumblr, when combined boast 80 million unique visitors. The write up posits, though, that the future lies in Pinterest, a fast-growing, visually oriented social media site whose audience inhabits the coveted 25- to 34- year age range.
NM Incite offers competitive advantage through social media analysis. Though headquartered in New York, the company has operations in twenty-five markets around the world.
Stephen E. Arnold, March 25, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
More Data about Down Trends in Online Ads
March 23, 2012
This could spell bad news for those depending on online ad revenues. ClickZ reports, “Spending on Digital Ads Fell Sharply in Q4.” According to Kantar Media’s recent data, investments in both search and display ads fell by 6% in the last quarter of 2011. The decline is part of an overall trend, with advertising in all media drooping by 1% from the same time in 2010.
Writer Douglas Quenqua elaborates:
Paid search was down 6.4 percent from the same period in 2010, led by pullbacks from the financial, insurance and local sectors. Display spending dropped 5.9 percent as auto manufacturers, telecom providers and travel companies tightened their belts.
Advertising in television is faring better than in other markets, boosted mainly by investments in sports programming. Interestingly, ads during Fox’s X Factor singing show also significantly bolstered TV’s numbers during 2011’s final quarter.
Magazines and newspapers are faring poorly, particularly Sunday magazines. The article suggests that these dollars may be heading into the digital realm, perhaps into platforms not currently being measured. Television, however, looks like it will continue going strong for the foreseeable future. No surprise there.
Cynthia Murrell, March 23, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Online Ad Revenue Decline: Implications for Google?
March 17, 2012
The digital advertising industry took a hit in the last quarter of 2011, experiencing about a six percent decline in both display and search, recently released statistics from Kantar Media, which we learned about in ClickZ’s “Spending on Digital Ads Fell Sharply in Q4.”
The optimism of the alleged economic recovery seems to be false, if the Kantar data are accurate. The firm’s numbers show display ad revenue slipped 5.9 percent compared to the same quarter in 2010, while paid search dollars took a somewhat surprising 6.4 percent downturn. Leaner spending by telecommunications providers, automobile manufacturers and businesses in the local sector as a major factor, Kantar Media reports.
But display and search were not the only ad sectors hurt by the overall economic climate. Kantar’s statistics indicate the entire ad industry suffered a one percent revenue drop compared to 2010, marking the first time a quarter’s revenue declined since the end of 2009 and dashing the hopes of many for a recovery. Perhaps this trend is motivating Yahoo to outsource advertising and Google to take steps to enhance its advertising platform.
There were some bright spots. For example, there was a solid football season, the World Series’ seven games and Fox Networks’ new vocalists’ contest The X Factor. Each helped television advertising to couch potatoes growing in the vast wasteland to expand. grow. Kantar reports network TV advertising for Q4 grew 7.7 percent.
Advertising in beleaguered consumer magazines fell 5.2 percent. Sunday magazines’ ad spending dropped 9.8 percent and local newspapers spent 3.9 percent less than last year, marking a continuation of the downward spiral the print industry has been experiencing over the last several years.
Internet ad spending in general gained only slightly with a .4 percent increase in revenue, while online display advertising lost 2.8 percent of its revenue compared to last year, and display ad spending experienced a 5.5 percent decline.
Considering the fact that the revenue streams of search engines like Bing, Yahoo! and Google are made up largely of advertising revenue, some have speculated that these declines in ad spending may push these search engines to charge its users more, shotgun out more ads in hopes of producing clicks which will encourage advertisers to spend more, or saturate a market sector for big spenders who want to reach anyone who is looking for a hotel, airplane flight, or celebrity news item..
“If true, this is bad news for those depending on online ad revenues,” said Google expert Stephen E Arnold, who maintains the site www.arnoldit.com. “If Google revenues go south, the company will take immediate and direct action to pump up revenues and sustain growth. After 13 years of trying to diversify revenue, Google is living up to Steve Ballmer’s quip that ‘Google is a one trick pony.’ The pony is aging now.”
Jonathan Tressler, March 16, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Quote to Note: Publisher Strips the Internet Bare
March 15, 2012
Quote to Note. Interesting write up by a poobah fearful of losing his elephants. Point your vile browser thing at “John R. MacArthur: Internet Con Men Ravage Publishing.” Here is the quote I noted:
As far as I know, there isn’t a single profitable online-only magazine or newspaper in the United States and there isn’t a single profitable newspaper or magazine with an online edition that is seriously considering dropping its print edition.
The write up was free when I located the essay. I don’t have much of an opinion on the arguments in the poobah’s write up. Too late.
Stephen E Arnold, March 15, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
More NASA Technical Excitement: Hackers in the Entity
March 13, 2012
One hopes that some good will come of this.
At one point last year, “Hackers Had ‘Full Functional Control’ of NASA Computers,” reports BBC News. NASA had 5,408 computer security incidents in 2010 and 2011. Furthermore, from April 2009 and April 2011, the agency lost track of 48 its own mobile computing devices through loss or theft. On top of that, this incident; the article reports:
“[NASA Inspector General Paul K.] said that the attackers had ‘full system access’ and would have been able to ‘modify, copy, or delete sensitive files’ or ‘upload hacking tools to steal user credentials and compromise other NASA systems’. . . . Mr. Martin said NASA was a ‘target-rich environment for cyber attacks’. He said that the motivation of the hackers ranged from ‘individuals testing their skill to break into NASA systems, to well-organized criminal enterprises hacking for profit, to intrusions that may have been sponsored by foreign intelligence services’”.
Graduated degrees of bad news for the agency. NASA has since claimed “significant progress to protect the agency’s IT systems.” Note they don’t claim it’s locked down tight.
Officials do insist that “at no point in time have operations of the International Space Station been in jeopardy due to a data breach.” That’s good to know.
NASA has been licensing nifty technology to help the agency “manage knowledge.” Let’s hope NASA gets its knowledge under control or there will be more unfortunate incidents at an agency which is supposed to be darned good at technology. I am beginning for formulate some doubts about NASA’s technical capabilities.
Cynthia Murrell, March 13, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
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