Monday, December 12, 2005
ICANN Reverses Course on '.XXX' Domain
Raising the possibility that it will change course once again on a hotly debated move meant to give adult content Web sites their own Internet realm, the net's governing body has decided to shelve a plan to discuss how to create a ".xxx" domain. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) had intended to discuss how to proceed with putting the new top level domain, or TLD, into place at its meeting this week in Vancouver, B.C. The group's board had previously given the domain its initial blessing. But the group now says it will delay the discussion so that leaders can have time to review a 350-page report that includes feedback from various sources on the creation of the domain. The decision marks the second time since late summer that ICANN has postponed the debate on how to finalize the new domain, which some argue would help to steer children and others clear of adult material but others fear would become an online red light district and the start of attempts to censor free speech online.
If ICANN reverses directions -- and it reportedly faces pressure from both the U.S. and European Union governments to do so -- it would mark just the latest about-face on the proposed domain. In 2000, ICANN voted not to establish ".xxx," a decision that had stood until this August, when the domain was given preliminary approval. ICANN Chairman Vint Cerf announced that the domain, which had been slated to be the first item up for discussion at the governmental advisory committee (GAC) this week, was being tabled for the time being. Though reviewing the report was the reason given, many critics expressed skepticism, noting that the review has been available since late August.
That was around the time that ICANN announced it would enter into "commercial and technical negotiations" with ICM Registry about establishing a TLD that would bear the suffix .xxx.
ICM has argued that with online pornography now a US$3 billion annual business with at least 1 million related domains, a formal location for such sites makes sense. ICM estimates that as much as 10 percent of all Web traffic is tied to adult sites. The original decision not to have a ".xxx" suffix came because ICANN felt that segregating such sites could raise privacy and free speech issues, since governments that have the ability to subpoena Internet records could track who was visiting such sites with ease. The reversal led to concerns that a new wave of cybersquatting -- the practice of registered domain names that would logically belong to others -- with everyone from major corporations to high-profile individuals at risk to have a ".xxx" domain created in their name.
People For Internet Responsibility founder Lauren Weinstein said the decisions on the top level domain are symptomatic of larger issues within ICANN. "This organization continues to make major decisions without significant, broad public input or debate," Weinstein said.
Weinstein said ICANN's original argument against the adult domain made sense. The reversal, by contrast "is an atrocious decision." "The domain will be voluntary, at least at first," he said, "but these efforts are a slippery slope likely leading to widespread filtering and censoring by ISPs, governments, plus a broad range of other entities, affecting a lot more than merely pornographic materials."
ICANN has had its hands full lately dealing with a number of flare-ups as it tries to keep its various constituencies -- including domain registrars and members of the Internet-using public -- happy with how it conducts business. ICANN rebutted an effort to have control of the Web domain structure turned over to a more diverse, international body, something that many foreign governments continue to call for, since ICANN itself was formed by the U.S. Department of Commerce , which retains arm's-length control. This week, the group was hit with two lawsuits over its recent settlement with VeriSign, a deal that gives that company control of the ".com" and ".net" domains through 2012 and one that critics, including independent domain resellers, say will drive up domain registration costs for Web site owners.
Brought to you by Guardian eCommerce.
If ICANN reverses directions -- and it reportedly faces pressure from both the U.S. and European Union governments to do so -- it would mark just the latest about-face on the proposed domain. In 2000, ICANN voted not to establish ".xxx," a decision that had stood until this August, when the domain was given preliminary approval. ICANN Chairman Vint Cerf announced that the domain, which had been slated to be the first item up for discussion at the governmental advisory committee (GAC) this week, was being tabled for the time being. Though reviewing the report was the reason given, many critics expressed skepticism, noting that the review has been available since late August.
That was around the time that ICANN announced it would enter into "commercial and technical negotiations" with ICM Registry about establishing a TLD that would bear the suffix .xxx.
ICM has argued that with online pornography now a US$3 billion annual business with at least 1 million related domains, a formal location for such sites makes sense. ICM estimates that as much as 10 percent of all Web traffic is tied to adult sites. The original decision not to have a ".xxx" suffix came because ICANN felt that segregating such sites could raise privacy and free speech issues, since governments that have the ability to subpoena Internet records could track who was visiting such sites with ease. The reversal led to concerns that a new wave of cybersquatting -- the practice of registered domain names that would logically belong to others -- with everyone from major corporations to high-profile individuals at risk to have a ".xxx" domain created in their name.
People For Internet Responsibility founder Lauren Weinstein said the decisions on the top level domain are symptomatic of larger issues within ICANN. "This organization continues to make major decisions without significant, broad public input or debate," Weinstein said.
Weinstein said ICANN's original argument against the adult domain made sense. The reversal, by contrast "is an atrocious decision." "The domain will be voluntary, at least at first," he said, "but these efforts are a slippery slope likely leading to widespread filtering and censoring by ISPs, governments, plus a broad range of other entities, affecting a lot more than merely pornographic materials."
ICANN has had its hands full lately dealing with a number of flare-ups as it tries to keep its various constituencies -- including domain registrars and members of the Internet-using public -- happy with how it conducts business. ICANN rebutted an effort to have control of the Web domain structure turned over to a more diverse, international body, something that many foreign governments continue to call for, since ICANN itself was formed by the U.S. Department of Commerce , which retains arm's-length control. This week, the group was hit with two lawsuits over its recent settlement with VeriSign, a deal that gives that company control of the ".com" and ".net" domains through 2012 and one that critics, including independent domain resellers, say will drive up domain registration costs for Web site owners.
Brought to you by Guardian eCommerce.
Sunday, December 11, 2005
Report Says Online Advertising Growth Powering Ahead
Online advertising revenues continued to expand at breakneck speed in the third quarter, surpassing US$3 billion for the first time in history and growing nearly 34 percent over the same time frame last year. In their quarterly report on Web marketing, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said sales totaled a record $3.1 billion for the quarter and predicted ad sales may top $12 billion for all of 2005. That would shatter the previous annual record of $9.6 billion set in 2004. "More and more marketers have embraced Interactive as an essential medium to reach and engage their consumers in more immersive brand experiences," said IAB President and CEO Greg Stuart. "Interactive advertising continues to prove itself as the most cost effective medium in driving sales and changing consumer attitudes." The recent expansion of online advertising has helped propel Google into the Internet and stock market powerhouse that it is today and brought new attention to Web properties such as Yahoo and America Online. PricewaterhouseCoopers analyst Pete Petrusky said marketers like the fact that online, the gap between a marketing message and the desired action -- purchasing a product or service -- is narrower than in any other medium. He also noted that the double-digit growth rate is particularly impressive when the size of the advertising revenue base is taken into account.
In a recent interview, Stuart said multi-media advertising that takes advantage of broadband connections will keep ad spending expanding for some time to come. Showing broadcast-quality video ads will enable marketers to target consumers in a way not possible on traditional television, he added. That will likely lead to the Internet taking a larger share of the overall marketing budget from major consumer products companies, adding television to the existing list of media -- newspapers, magazines, direct mail and radio -- that the Web is already seen drawing advertising dollars away from. For now, however, search engine placement, keyword search marketing and related forms of online advertising are driving the growth, according to the IAB. Though its most recent report did not include a breakdown by category, in September, the group said search made up 40 percent of all online ad revenues, display ads 20 percent and rich media just 8 percent during the first half of 2005.
David Silverman, another PwC analyst, said it's clear that more major advertisers are "realizing the benefits of shifting more of their total advertising budgets to online." In fact, some say advertisers are eagerly seeking alternatives to traditional TV advertising, where their messages are being increasingly splintered across specialty cable channels and fast-forwarded through by digital video recorder users.
Analysts note that the surge in online advertising today is the second major wave of interest in using the Web for marketing, the first coming as the Internet matured in the late 1990s and up until the dot-com crash took hold. That surge was built largely on banner advertising and e-mail marketing, while today's expansion is driving largely by search marketing. Some analysts believe the next wave will be even larger, with multi-media ads bringing targeted video messages to the Internet in droves. Today, broadband still makes up a small fraction of the overall online ad spend, leaving plenty of room for growth, analysts say. "Internet video is exploding and advertising will go up along with it," Forrester Research analyst Josh Bernoff said. Already, many typically conservative consumer packaged goods firms have begun to use the Web for a video advertising platform, a trend that will continue to expand in 2006, he added.
Brought to you by Guardian eCommerce.
In a recent interview, Stuart said multi-media advertising that takes advantage of broadband connections will keep ad spending expanding for some time to come. Showing broadcast-quality video ads will enable marketers to target consumers in a way not possible on traditional television, he added. That will likely lead to the Internet taking a larger share of the overall marketing budget from major consumer products companies, adding television to the existing list of media -- newspapers, magazines, direct mail and radio -- that the Web is already seen drawing advertising dollars away from. For now, however, search engine placement, keyword search marketing and related forms of online advertising are driving the growth, according to the IAB. Though its most recent report did not include a breakdown by category, in September, the group said search made up 40 percent of all online ad revenues, display ads 20 percent and rich media just 8 percent during the first half of 2005.
David Silverman, another PwC analyst, said it's clear that more major advertisers are "realizing the benefits of shifting more of their total advertising budgets to online." In fact, some say advertisers are eagerly seeking alternatives to traditional TV advertising, where their messages are being increasingly splintered across specialty cable channels and fast-forwarded through by digital video recorder users.
Analysts note that the surge in online advertising today is the second major wave of interest in using the Web for marketing, the first coming as the Internet matured in the late 1990s and up until the dot-com crash took hold. That surge was built largely on banner advertising and e-mail marketing, while today's expansion is driving largely by search marketing. Some analysts believe the next wave will be even larger, with multi-media ads bringing targeted video messages to the Internet in droves. Today, broadband still makes up a small fraction of the overall online ad spend, leaving plenty of room for growth, analysts say. "Internet video is exploding and advertising will go up along with it," Forrester Research analyst Josh Bernoff said. Already, many typically conservative consumer packaged goods firms have begun to use the Web for a video advertising platform, a trend that will continue to expand in 2006, he added.
Brought to you by Guardian eCommerce.
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Online Sales to Increase as Consumers Battle Gas Prices
A national survey by The Ernst & Young Consumer Trends Center predicts that online sales this holiday shopping season will increase, as consumers seek to combat high gas prices by eschewing trips to the traditional shopping mall. A copy of the survey indicated that, overall, the 2005 retail holiday sales increase for November and December will be 6 percent -- compared with an 8.3 percent increase for the same period last year. "Higher home heating costs and interest rates likely will dampen spending, but there are several factors that could stimulate sales," Jay McIntosh, Americas Director of Retail and Consumer Products for Ernst & Young LLP said.
Consumers should find good values, as most retailers will begin online promotions early and discount heavily this holiday season, the survey said. What's more, consumer electronics should see sales gains as popular items become more affordable, and online sales increase. Apparel remains deflationary, however, due to weak demand and a lack of new compelling fashion trends.
The Ernst & Young Holiday Forecast is based on 14 years of data, including stock market performance, consumer confidence, unemployment rates and historical relationships between retailers and their customers.
There are a number of other, significant retailing trends this holiday season, including sales of private label and luxury items, and the growth of online gift cards, the survey said. "Affluent consumers likely will drive retail sales again this season," said McIntosh. "The building supply segment should continue its solid performance and likely will see holiday sales gains from the post-hurricane rebuilding in the Gulf Coast and the popularity of the home improvement and renovation trend." The mood of American consumers was brighter -- even more than expected -- as gasoline prices receded from record highs and the impact of late-summer hurricanes faded, another report showed. However, though gas prices are retreating to their August levels, consumers have not yet recalibrated their expectations, and are still cautious about spending on fuel.
The University of Michigan's index of consumer sentiment increased to 79.9 in November from 74.2 in October. The survey's index of current conditions increased to 100.3 from 91.2 in October, while the expectations section of the report advanced to 66.8 from 63.2 last month. These indices retraced part of the declines seen in the aftermath of the destruction Hurricanes Katrina and Rita inflicted on U.S. oil and gas industries.
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Consumers should find good values, as most retailers will begin online promotions early and discount heavily this holiday season, the survey said. What's more, consumer electronics should see sales gains as popular items become more affordable, and online sales increase. Apparel remains deflationary, however, due to weak demand and a lack of new compelling fashion trends.
The Ernst & Young Holiday Forecast is based on 14 years of data, including stock market performance, consumer confidence, unemployment rates and historical relationships between retailers and their customers.
There are a number of other, significant retailing trends this holiday season, including sales of private label and luxury items, and the growth of online gift cards, the survey said. "Affluent consumers likely will drive retail sales again this season," said McIntosh. "The building supply segment should continue its solid performance and likely will see holiday sales gains from the post-hurricane rebuilding in the Gulf Coast and the popularity of the home improvement and renovation trend." The mood of American consumers was brighter -- even more than expected -- as gasoline prices receded from record highs and the impact of late-summer hurricanes faded, another report showed. However, though gas prices are retreating to their August levels, consumers have not yet recalibrated their expectations, and are still cautious about spending on fuel.
The University of Michigan's index of consumer sentiment increased to 79.9 in November from 74.2 in October. The survey's index of current conditions increased to 100.3 from 91.2 in October, while the expectations section of the report advanced to 66.8 from 63.2 last month. These indices retraced part of the declines seen in the aftermath of the destruction Hurricanes Katrina and Rita inflicted on U.S. oil and gas industries.
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Thursday, December 08, 2005
Google Sitemaps Flaw Draws User Concern
A flaw in Google Sitemaps is allowing users to see the statistics for AOL, MSN, and any other Internet property with a Google Verification File on its server , according to Search Engine Roundtable, a search engine and marketing forum. The flaw allows users to view the top search queries and top search query clicks for a competitor's sites. The flaw also exposes crawl stats, page analysis, and index statistics. Jason Dowdell, who operates MarketingShift, the blog focused on media research and technology, told TechNewsWorld that Google's Sitemap attempts to help users determine what keywords are searched the most, but a flaw in the program is backfiring on some of its users. "Google is sharing information specific to member Web sites with anybody who finds out about this hack," Dowdell said. "From a competitive standpoint, essentially that means you can confirm some suspicions about how your competition is doing, like what words are their top five most trafficked keywords, and use that for your own advantage." Google was not immediately available for comment.
Ironically, the Google Sitemap FAQ tells users that the company uses the verification process to keep unauthorized users from seeing detailed statistics about a site. But Dowdell said Google uses the same verification file for everybody. "Only you can see these details, and only once we verify you own the site," Google wrote. "We don't use the verification file we ask you to create for any purpose other than to make sure you can upload files to the site." The flaw has some users up in arms over what is viewed as piracy violation. So who is at fault for all of this? British seo specialist and David Naylor, more commonly known as DaveN, wrote in his blog that Google is mostly to blame for not properly thinking through the whole verification process. "But perhaps the real question should be: How much do you want to trust Google with your data when they get caught making mistakes such as this? This kind of data generally isn't too sensitive, but imagine if we put a competitor's site in there?" Naylor asked in his blog. "At very least we'd be able to know exactly what keywords to target."
SearchEngineWatch.com Editor Danny Sullivan wrote in the site's forum that Google "chose a bad way to do things." "Let's get productive. How should they rebuild security?," he asked. "I can see having to put code in robots.txt, easy to do, and nice way to say you want control over the entire domain. Something page-based also makes sense. But JavaScript on a page at the root level, seems hard for someone to fake." Another forum debater, TwisterMC, a Mac search engine optimization designer, agreed that Google has some fixing to do. "I think the verify code should change every time someone adds a new site to their Google Site Map admin area," he said. "That way the code would be truly unique." Google had made no public statement about its plans to correct the problem at the time this article was written.
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Ironically, the Google Sitemap FAQ tells users that the company uses the verification process to keep unauthorized users from seeing detailed statistics about a site. But Dowdell said Google uses the same verification file for everybody. "Only you can see these details, and only once we verify you own the site," Google wrote. "We don't use the verification file we ask you to create for any purpose other than to make sure you can upload files to the site." The flaw has some users up in arms over what is viewed as piracy violation. So who is at fault for all of this? British seo specialist and David Naylor, more commonly known as DaveN, wrote in his blog that Google is mostly to blame for not properly thinking through the whole verification process. "But perhaps the real question should be: How much do you want to trust Google with your data when they get caught making mistakes such as this? This kind of data generally isn't too sensitive, but imagine if we put a competitor's site in there?" Naylor asked in his blog. "At very least we'd be able to know exactly what keywords to target."
SearchEngineWatch.com Editor Danny Sullivan wrote in the site's forum that Google "chose a bad way to do things." "Let's get productive. How should they rebuild security?," he asked. "I can see having to put code in robots.txt, easy to do, and nice way to say you want control over the entire domain. Something page-based also makes sense. But JavaScript on a page at the root level, seems hard for someone to fake." Another forum debater, TwisterMC, a Mac search engine optimization designer, agreed that Google has some fixing to do. "I think the verify code should change every time someone adds a new site to their Google Site Map admin area," he said. "That way the code would be truly unique." Google had made no public statement about its plans to correct the problem at the time this article was written.
Brought to you by Guardian eCommerce.
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Is Your Info Out There, or Are They Just Guessing?
It can be pretty unsettling to get a communication from a strange company that appears to know where you bank, who holds your mortgage or even that you have an annuity or a bank certificate of deposit about to mature. How do those strangers know your private financial business?
In some cases, the information you think is private is actually public record. Your mortgage, for example, is part of the records of the county where you live and anyone can look it up. I went online and found mine, with both the name of the lender and the amount of the mortgage right there on the first page. That makes it easy for mortgage brokers to mention my lender in their refinancing offers. In other cases, a financial institution may have shared your information. The financial privacy notices you get in the mail from banks, brokers, credit card issuers and other financial companies are warnings that your information isn't being kept completely private. "Personally identifiable information" such as account balances often is shared with affiliated companies.
In addition, unless you tell the company not to disclose it, the information can be shared with unrelated third parties. It is up to you to follow the fine-print instructions to "opt out."
Sometimes these communications are nothing more than a marketer's shot in the dark. The so-called "phishing" e-mails are a prime example. If a crook sends out a million e-mails purporting to be from SunTrust Bank, some of the recipients actually will be SunTrust customers. It doesn't mean the scam artist had a list of SunTrust customers to contact. Recently I heard from a reader who was upset about a postcard she received from a company trying to sell her an annuity, informing her that "you may have an annuity that has reached the end of its surrender period." Since she is an annuity owner, it is possible her insurance company shared this information. More likely her name and address appeared on a mailing list -- such as readers of certain magazines or residents of certain ZIP codes -- of people deemed likely to own annuities. Unsolicited communications should be viewed skeptically no matter what the company knows about you. What matters is what you can find out about the company and whether it has something of value to offer you.
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In some cases, the information you think is private is actually public record. Your mortgage, for example, is part of the records of the county where you live and anyone can look it up. I went online and found mine, with both the name of the lender and the amount of the mortgage right there on the first page. That makes it easy for mortgage brokers to mention my lender in their refinancing offers. In other cases, a financial institution may have shared your information. The financial privacy notices you get in the mail from banks, brokers, credit card issuers and other financial companies are warnings that your information isn't being kept completely private. "Personally identifiable information" such as account balances often is shared with affiliated companies.
In addition, unless you tell the company not to disclose it, the information can be shared with unrelated third parties. It is up to you to follow the fine-print instructions to "opt out."
Sometimes these communications are nothing more than a marketer's shot in the dark. The so-called "phishing" e-mails are a prime example. If a crook sends out a million e-mails purporting to be from SunTrust Bank, some of the recipients actually will be SunTrust customers. It doesn't mean the scam artist had a list of SunTrust customers to contact. Recently I heard from a reader who was upset about a postcard she received from a company trying to sell her an annuity, informing her that "you may have an annuity that has reached the end of its surrender period." Since she is an annuity owner, it is possible her insurance company shared this information. More likely her name and address appeared on a mailing list -- such as readers of certain magazines or residents of certain ZIP codes -- of people deemed likely to own annuities. Unsolicited communications should be viewed skeptically no matter what the company knows about you. What matters is what you can find out about the company and whether it has something of value to offer you.
Brought to you by Guardian eCommerce.
Sunday, December 04, 2005
Keyword Search Drives E-Commerce Holiday Traffic
For Thralow, Inc., the majority of its e-commerce customers come from two sources: Those who go directly to its various sites, including binoculars.com, and telescopes.com, and those who find it through Google's AdWords listings. "When somebody goes to Google and types in 'Nikon Monarch binocular' they are ready to buy," said Jon Thralow, director of technology and marketing at the Proctor, Minn. firm, which has made its way onto the Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing private firms for the second time this year. "That's the kind of traffic Google drives to us."
For that reason, Google AdWords makes up the largest portion of Thralow's marketing budget. In addition to the strong quality leads, the firm likes the flexibility of the online keyword buying system. "I probably log on and manage our AdWords at least twice a day," he said. "We are constantly making sure our keywords are working the way we thought they would and making adjustments based on our inventory." Heading into the holiday season, hundreds of businesses are expected to follow Thralow's example, using AdWords from Google and similar products from Yahoo and others to drive high-quality traffic to their sites. And because the products offer flexibility, real-time reporting and other features, the retailers will be constantly adjusting their campaigns to make sure they are advertising the hot items and selling inventory that's stacking up. David Fisher, director of the Google AdWords program, said that Google advises businesses to put themselves in customer's shoes. "They've got a lot of shopping to do, a big list, they want to bang it out as quickly as they can," he said. "Maybe an e-tailer has a holiday deal or a shipping offer, they should target that. They should think about their customers and how they might be thinking."
Though Google and its rivals don't pinpoint forecasts, keyword ad spending is expected to surge this holiday season along with e-commerce itself. The ever-important holiday season may even get an extra boost this year, with some analysts predicting that surging fuel prices and other factors may prompt more shoppers to turn to the Internet for more purchases. Continuing to grow at the historic rate will be harder for e-commerce, which topped US$23.2 billion in 2004, excluding travel, a 25 percent increase over the year before.
"Businesses have been ramping up for a few weeks now," said Fisher. "We certainly see that every year around this time. As we get into the beginning of the fourth quarter, they really start to think about gearing up. We start to see people approaching different ways and different keywords getting more interest."
Fisher said again this year AdWords will benefit from being suitable for businesses of all sizes, including small specialty retailers who might not otherwise be able to drive significant traffic to their niche sites.
"We have really big names, huge retailers, down to small little mom and pop stores that might even be people selling out of their own houses," he said. "The beauty is they can compete for the same keywords."
Being able to target certain ZIP codes or geographic areas or to run national campaigns also attracts advertisers as does the ability to cap daily click-through spending, which offers small businesses with limited budgets some assurance they won't run over at a critical time.
Fisher said the ability to quickly react to trends is another selling point of the keyword ad approach.
"Every year there's that one big item and often it's a surprise as to what it is," he said. "Once you notice that trend you can change your keyword mix to take advantage of what you have to offer."
The system also has built-in flexibility on specific keywords, with the ability to insert different ad copy on the same keywords. With real-time reports on what ads are driving clicks to a site, uccessful copy can be expanded while other creative not performing as well is dropped. "You can update based on where you are for your business, down to the hour or day," Fisher added, meaning that early shoppers and last-minute shoppers can be targeted with different copy or offers on the same keywords. "The beauty of AdWords is that you don't have to lock in weeks or months ahead." For Thralow as for many other e-tailers, the stakes are higher than ever heading into the last eight to 10 weeks of the year.
"This is our season. This is the one that makes or breaks our year," said Jon Thralow. "This is the time of year when no one sleeps." But armed with the hottest online advertising tool, Thralow hopes to make all those sleepless nights worthwhile. "We've got our keywords in place and we're ready," he added.
Brought to you by the Privacy Seal Program from Guardian eCommerce.
For that reason, Google AdWords makes up the largest portion of Thralow's marketing budget. In addition to the strong quality leads, the firm likes the flexibility of the online keyword buying system. "I probably log on and manage our AdWords at least twice a day," he said. "We are constantly making sure our keywords are working the way we thought they would and making adjustments based on our inventory." Heading into the holiday season, hundreds of businesses are expected to follow Thralow's example, using AdWords from Google and similar products from Yahoo and others to drive high-quality traffic to their sites. And because the products offer flexibility, real-time reporting and other features, the retailers will be constantly adjusting their campaigns to make sure they are advertising the hot items and selling inventory that's stacking up. David Fisher, director of the Google AdWords program, said that Google advises businesses to put themselves in customer's shoes. "They've got a lot of shopping to do, a big list, they want to bang it out as quickly as they can," he said. "Maybe an e-tailer has a holiday deal or a shipping offer, they should target that. They should think about their customers and how they might be thinking."
Though Google and its rivals don't pinpoint forecasts, keyword ad spending is expected to surge this holiday season along with e-commerce itself. The ever-important holiday season may even get an extra boost this year, with some analysts predicting that surging fuel prices and other factors may prompt more shoppers to turn to the Internet for more purchases. Continuing to grow at the historic rate will be harder for e-commerce, which topped US$23.2 billion in 2004, excluding travel, a 25 percent increase over the year before.
"Businesses have been ramping up for a few weeks now," said Fisher. "We certainly see that every year around this time. As we get into the beginning of the fourth quarter, they really start to think about gearing up. We start to see people approaching different ways and different keywords getting more interest."
Fisher said again this year AdWords will benefit from being suitable for businesses of all sizes, including small specialty retailers who might not otherwise be able to drive significant traffic to their niche sites.
"We have really big names, huge retailers, down to small little mom and pop stores that might even be people selling out of their own houses," he said. "The beauty is they can compete for the same keywords."
Being able to target certain ZIP codes or geographic areas or to run national campaigns also attracts advertisers as does the ability to cap daily click-through spending, which offers small businesses with limited budgets some assurance they won't run over at a critical time.
Fisher said the ability to quickly react to trends is another selling point of the keyword ad approach.
"Every year there's that one big item and often it's a surprise as to what it is," he said. "Once you notice that trend you can change your keyword mix to take advantage of what you have to offer."
The system also has built-in flexibility on specific keywords, with the ability to insert different ad copy on the same keywords. With real-time reports on what ads are driving clicks to a site, uccessful copy can be expanded while other creative not performing as well is dropped. "You can update based on where you are for your business, down to the hour or day," Fisher added, meaning that early shoppers and last-minute shoppers can be targeted with different copy or offers on the same keywords. "The beauty of AdWords is that you don't have to lock in weeks or months ahead." For Thralow as for many other e-tailers, the stakes are higher than ever heading into the last eight to 10 weeks of the year.
"This is our season. This is the one that makes or breaks our year," said Jon Thralow. "This is the time of year when no one sleeps." But armed with the hottest online advertising tool, Thralow hopes to make all those sleepless nights worthwhile. "We've got our keywords in place and we're ready," he added.
Brought to you by the Privacy Seal Program from Guardian eCommerce.
Saturday, December 03, 2005
World Wants More Say in Control of World Wide Web
The Bush administration and the U.S. tech industry are teaming to take on the rest of the world in a fight about who controls the technical underpinnings of the Internet. Right now, a U.S.-based group does. But countries from Chile to China think they should have more say. The debate is pretty geeky. But if the issues are not resolved, the Net could stop working smoothly. And the fight -- which will come to a head at a United Nations conference this week -- could become a foreign policy problem far outside the virtual world. Already, "there is a lot of mistrust," says Robert Shaw, policy adviser for the International Telecommunication Union, a U.N.-affiliated group that advocates more international control of the Net. "There need to be government-to-government conversations," says Andrew McLaughlin, senior policy council for Google. "Let's not do anything crazy and radical." Google and other tech companies are worried because, in a worst-case scenario, the stalemate could cause the Net's unified address book to break apart. If that happened, someone who typed in www.usatoday.com in the USA might see a different site than someone in Canada, Iran or other countries. Even more moderate changes would likely make a mess, says Avi Silberschatz, a computer science professor at Yale. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," he says.
Like many things on the Net, it started with porn. A little known non-profit, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, is in charge of the Net's technical nervous system. It runs a giant address book that allows computers on the Net to find each other. And it oversees Internet domains such as .com, .net and .org from a small office in Marina del Rey, Calif. ICANN didn't attract much attention until this summer, when it gave preliminary approval to a .xxx domain for adult content. It wasn't a moral judgment. ICANN's job is to decide whether a domain meets technical standards, not whether it's a good idea, CEO Paul Twomey says. Still, the move drew howls of protest from many conservative groups, including the powerful Family Research Council. They said .xxx would legitimize porn -- even though others argued it would make porn easier to filter out. The council asked conservatives to write letters to the Department of Commerce.
After receiving almost 6,000, Assistant Commerce Secretary Michael Gallagher wrote his own letter, asking ICANN to delay approval of .xxx. ICANN did -- sparking a protest of a different type.
Many countries say the U.S. has too much control in running the Internet. ICANN has an international board but operates under a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Commerce Department. The U.S. has promised to make ICANN more independent, but hasn't yet, Shaw says.
ICANN's link to the U.S. government sounds strange, since the Web is worldwide. But its roots go back to the Internet's start as a research project largely funded by the Department of Defense.
One early researcher, Jon Postel, kept track of early Internet information in a notebook. That data were eventually handed over to a group, which evolved into ICANN in 1998 -- the year Postel died. The organization is still located in the same ocean-view building where Postel had his office.
Because ICANN is the offspring of federal research, it's not surprising that it still answers to U.S. officials. That's never thrilled the rest of the world, but the arrangement worked because Commerce largely stayed out of ICANN's affairs. Then Gallagher's .xxx letter gave the impression that "the U.S. Department of Commerce controls the Internet," says Harris Miller, president of the Information Technology Association of America, a tech trade group. Gallagher says his letter was appropriate and helped countries express similar concerns about .xxx. "We were being good stewards," he says. "It was not political. What was political was the response." Much of the world disagreed. "Whatever its origins, the Internet is a global phenomenon, and that must be reflected in its governance," British newspaper The Guardian said in an editorial.
Many countries want an international body under the jurisdiction of the United Nations to take over ICANN's role. "We need to build consensus for a new framework for Internet governance," Shaw says. Unfortunately, there's little consensus so far. Different countries disagree on what ICANN's proposed replacement should look like. And they face opposition from many technology companies. Evolving ICANN is fine, but "trying to create [change] or forcing it would be very destabilizing," says Chris Boam, Internet counsel for communications giant MCI. "Anything we would turn (ICANN's duties) over to would be untested and untried."
There's little other countries can do to directly challenge ICANN, as it does not report to them. But they could set up alternate networks that would compete with today's Internet. More likely, they will ratchet up the pressure through traditional channels, says Thomas Lenard, a senior fellow at the Progress & Freedom Foundation, a conservative think tank. But for that to work, most agree that the stalemate must end. "We could use some cooler heads and less extreme polarized position-taking," Shaw says. "It's hard to have the conversation if everyone is screaming at the top of their lungs," Miller says.
Brough to you by the Privacy Seal Program from Guardian eCommerce.
Like many things on the Net, it started with porn. A little known non-profit, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, is in charge of the Net's technical nervous system. It runs a giant address book that allows computers on the Net to find each other. And it oversees Internet domains such as .com, .net and .org from a small office in Marina del Rey, Calif. ICANN didn't attract much attention until this summer, when it gave preliminary approval to a .xxx domain for adult content. It wasn't a moral judgment. ICANN's job is to decide whether a domain meets technical standards, not whether it's a good idea, CEO Paul Twomey says. Still, the move drew howls of protest from many conservative groups, including the powerful Family Research Council. They said .xxx would legitimize porn -- even though others argued it would make porn easier to filter out. The council asked conservatives to write letters to the Department of Commerce.
After receiving almost 6,000, Assistant Commerce Secretary Michael Gallagher wrote his own letter, asking ICANN to delay approval of .xxx. ICANN did -- sparking a protest of a different type.
Many countries say the U.S. has too much control in running the Internet. ICANN has an international board but operates under a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Commerce Department. The U.S. has promised to make ICANN more independent, but hasn't yet, Shaw says.
ICANN's link to the U.S. government sounds strange, since the Web is worldwide. But its roots go back to the Internet's start as a research project largely funded by the Department of Defense.
One early researcher, Jon Postel, kept track of early Internet information in a notebook. That data were eventually handed over to a group, which evolved into ICANN in 1998 -- the year Postel died. The organization is still located in the same ocean-view building where Postel had his office.
Because ICANN is the offspring of federal research, it's not surprising that it still answers to U.S. officials. That's never thrilled the rest of the world, but the arrangement worked because Commerce largely stayed out of ICANN's affairs. Then Gallagher's .xxx letter gave the impression that "the U.S. Department of Commerce controls the Internet," says Harris Miller, president of the Information Technology Association of America, a tech trade group. Gallagher says his letter was appropriate and helped countries express similar concerns about .xxx. "We were being good stewards," he says. "It was not political. What was political was the response." Much of the world disagreed. "Whatever its origins, the Internet is a global phenomenon, and that must be reflected in its governance," British newspaper The Guardian said in an editorial.
Many countries want an international body under the jurisdiction of the United Nations to take over ICANN's role. "We need to build consensus for a new framework for Internet governance," Shaw says. Unfortunately, there's little consensus so far. Different countries disagree on what ICANN's proposed replacement should look like. And they face opposition from many technology companies. Evolving ICANN is fine, but "trying to create [change] or forcing it would be very destabilizing," says Chris Boam, Internet counsel for communications giant MCI. "Anything we would turn (ICANN's duties) over to would be untested and untried."
There's little other countries can do to directly challenge ICANN, as it does not report to them. But they could set up alternate networks that would compete with today's Internet. More likely, they will ratchet up the pressure through traditional channels, says Thomas Lenard, a senior fellow at the Progress & Freedom Foundation, a conservative think tank. But for that to work, most agree that the stalemate must end. "We could use some cooler heads and less extreme polarized position-taking," Shaw says. "It's hard to have the conversation if everyone is screaming at the top of their lungs," Miller says.
Brough to you by the Privacy Seal Program from Guardian eCommerce.
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Google Gives Away Analytics Free, Mines Data
Google today announced that its hosted Web analytics service, Google Analytics, is now free.
Formerly known as Urchin from Google, Google Analytics is designed to help businesses use performance data to improve their online marketing campaigns and Web sites. Google Analytics is already used by many of the top properties on the Web, including dozens of Fortune 500 companies. Businesses such as The Financial Times, National Semiconductor, Ritz Interactive, Agency.com and Deckers Outdoor Corporation use Google Analytics. "We want to give all online marketers and publishers access to powerful Web analytics to help them better understand what their customers want. With this knowledge, businesses can create more accurate advertising and build better Web sites," said Paul Muret, Google engineering director, and one of the founders of Urchin.
Muret said by making the service free, Google aims to give all Web sites -- large and small -- the tools they need to better serve their customers, make more money, and improve the Web experience for everyone. According to the search titan, Google Analytics can enhance every aspect of online marketing -- from selecting and bidding on effective keywords, to determining the most relevant offers in e-mail campaigns, to optimizing Web site design. By acting on this information, Google said businesses of all sizes can attract more visitors, convert more prospects to customers, and improve the overall return on their marketing investment. Google said Google Analytics is simple enough for businesses new to Web analytics to get started quickly, and sophisticated enough for the most advanced online marketers.
Google Analytics includes integration with Google AdWords, and works with any online ad network. Users of Google AdWords can access Web analytics from a new interface within their AdWords account. Google Analytics automatically tags keyword destination URLs, and imports cost data for ROI reports. The software is also able to track the results of any online marketing campaign, including banner ads, referral links, e-mail newsletters, and organic and paid search.
Because Google Analytics runs on the same computing infrastructure that powers Google.com, the company said it can support the traffic demands of any site, from those with a few visitors a week to hundreds of millions.
Jason Dowdell, founder of MarketingShift, the blog focused on media research and technology, told TechNewsWorld that this move allows Google to increase its presence in the data holding market. "By making their analytics tool free it becomes the best solution in the market for the small- to medium-sized businesses who don't have large advertising and development budgets," Dowdell said. "Not only will Google have detailed stats on how well natural search and paid search perform from their own engine, but now they'll have the same data on their competitors." Dowdell said Google will wind up with "scores and scores of data" on how users behave after the search, which will allow the company to improve its algorithm and gather a tremendous wealth of data -- all for the cost of servers and bandwidth. "This is bootstrapping at it's best," Dowdell said. "When a publicly traded company leverages it's assets in this way it makes investors and users extremely happy."
Brought to you by Guardian eCommerce.
Formerly known as Urchin from Google, Google Analytics is designed to help businesses use performance data to improve their online marketing campaigns and Web sites. Google Analytics is already used by many of the top properties on the Web, including dozens of Fortune 500 companies. Businesses such as The Financial Times, National Semiconductor, Ritz Interactive, Agency.com and Deckers Outdoor Corporation use Google Analytics. "We want to give all online marketers and publishers access to powerful Web analytics to help them better understand what their customers want. With this knowledge, businesses can create more accurate advertising and build better Web sites," said Paul Muret, Google engineering director, and one of the founders of Urchin.
Muret said by making the service free, Google aims to give all Web sites -- large and small -- the tools they need to better serve their customers, make more money, and improve the Web experience for everyone. According to the search titan, Google Analytics can enhance every aspect of online marketing -- from selecting and bidding on effective keywords, to determining the most relevant offers in e-mail campaigns, to optimizing Web site design. By acting on this information, Google said businesses of all sizes can attract more visitors, convert more prospects to customers, and improve the overall return on their marketing investment. Google said Google Analytics is simple enough for businesses new to Web analytics to get started quickly, and sophisticated enough for the most advanced online marketers.
Google Analytics includes integration with Google AdWords, and works with any online ad network. Users of Google AdWords can access Web analytics from a new interface within their AdWords account. Google Analytics automatically tags keyword destination URLs, and imports cost data for ROI reports. The software is also able to track the results of any online marketing campaign, including banner ads, referral links, e-mail newsletters, and organic and paid search.
Because Google Analytics runs on the same computing infrastructure that powers Google.com, the company said it can support the traffic demands of any site, from those with a few visitors a week to hundreds of millions.
Jason Dowdell, founder of MarketingShift, the blog focused on media research and technology, told TechNewsWorld that this move allows Google to increase its presence in the data holding market. "By making their analytics tool free it becomes the best solution in the market for the small- to medium-sized businesses who don't have large advertising and development budgets," Dowdell said. "Not only will Google have detailed stats on how well natural search and paid search perform from their own engine, but now they'll have the same data on their competitors." Dowdell said Google will wind up with "scores and scores of data" on how users behave after the search, which will allow the company to improve its algorithm and gather a tremendous wealth of data -- all for the cost of servers and bandwidth. "This is bootstrapping at it's best," Dowdell said. "When a publicly traded company leverages it's assets in this way it makes investors and users extremely happy."
Brought to you by Guardian eCommerce.
