| Google.com Shuffles AdWords Listings: Results Return After Cookies ...
A number of members at WebmasterWorld noticed that their AdWords ads, which previously ranked on the first page, were moved to the second and third page results. This was first observed on May 16th. On the 16th of May, I noticed that most of the websites that were in the first page rankings in Google USA, had been dropped to second and third page positions. Websites that have replaced them are mostly irrelevant listings from large corporate companies and over-bidded newbies. Is this a glitch in the system, as I don't see how this would increase Googles' revenue if they have a much lower click through rate or if surfers eventually block them out of their vision like they do with banners? Apparently, this member is not alone. On May 16th, others observed the same behavior.
Google Acquires RSS Feed Distributor FeedBurner
Mountain View, Calif. - Google has acquired Chicago-based FeedBurner, a provider of RSS feed distribution and management tools, for an undisclosed sum, the companies said.FeedBurner manages RSS feeds, which allow publishers such as website operators, bloggers, podcasters and others to automatically publish new content over the Internet to users who have subscribed to their feeds. FeedBurner serves more than 430,000 RSS feeds, which Google is expected to integrate into its AdSense network. "The vision is straightforward: publishers who successfully promote distribution and measure consumption will be in a position to derive more value (aka make more money, gain more influence, etc.) from media distribution," FeedBurner CEO Dick Costolo wrote on the company's blog. Related Links:http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/06/adding-more-flare.html http://blogs.feedburner.com/feedburner/archives/2007/06/feedburner_google.php http://www.feedburner.com .
Google Cleaning Up AdSense Network
As ShoeMoney pointed out, many large arbitragers will continue arbitraging. Companies like Business.com or the 100s of shopping search engines are not going to get booted out of syndicating ads.
I think the big long-term distinction between what Google considers low quality and of quality is going to be brand equity. Do people visit your site from channels other than Google? Large brands get more return out of buzz marketing, while smaller businesses lean hard on search. inbound made a great post in that WMW thread about the arbitrage and MFA changes, which notes that Google is getting better at coming up with proxies for visitor value.
Based on Google's authority-centric relevancy algorithms and this move it is clear that Google wants to trust the larger businesses so they have less work to do policing the web.
Making Money From User-Generated Content
More than half of media and entertainment executives surveyed in Accenture's "Global Media Content Survey 2007" cite UGC as a leading threat to their bottom line. On the other hand, about two-thirds of the respondents believe they'll make money on UGC within three years. The reality is UGC can vary significantly in subject matter, quality, and marketability. This is an issue for publishers since advertisers pay a premium for visitor quality based on demographics and media content. The challenge is engaging the audience to extend the experience with the brand while encouraging a quality dialogue. This is even more important for business-to-business (B2B) publishers, where the brand's strength and the audience's targeted nature are significant value factors. Despite these hurdles, publishers are leveraging community power to enhance their offerings.
|
