Sunday, December 31, 2006
Yahoo Drew More Traffic Than Google in 2006
Judging by total Web views, Yahoo's portal is by far the most popular brand on the Internet for the year, according to data from Nielsen Media Research Web-tracking units. Yahoo, which offers a search engine, news and shopping options, recorded 354.46 billion page views this year. Its rival, Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) , had 147.68 billion views. News Corp.'s recently purchased social networking Web site, MySpace , landed 250.66 billion views.
Auction site eBay had 143.35 billion views, while Microsoft's MSN portal logged 41.22 billion views. AOL had about 73.06 billion views. Classified advertising Web site Craigslist.org and Viacom's popular Nickelodeon network Web site notched 27.06 billion views and 24.7 billion views, respectively.
The Comcast Holdings' Web site had about 23.49 billion views, while Microsoft had 23.22 billion. The figures cover the Jan. 1 through Nov. 30 period.
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Auction site eBay had 143.35 billion views, while Microsoft's MSN portal logged 41.22 billion views. AOL had about 73.06 billion views. Classified advertising Web site Craigslist.org and Viacom's popular Nickelodeon network Web site notched 27.06 billion views and 24.7 billion views, respectively.
The Comcast Holdings' Web site had about 23.49 billion views, while Microsoft had 23.22 billion. The figures cover the Jan. 1 through Nov. 30 period.
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Soaring Online Ad Prices - Is an End in Sight?
Media executives and investors get a pleasant neck ache from watching the skyward path of online advertising revenue. However, for those who have to pay for advertising, the trend is bringing some anxiety. Prices for some types of online advertising are going up, and some retailers and brand marketers have said that the big question hanging over 2007 is whether publishers will be so emboldened by a strong advertising market that they will raise ad prices sharply. "Everybody's excited about online advertising," said Mark Vadon, chief executive of the online jeweler Blue Nile. "But the rates keep going up and up and up." Joanne Bradford, corporate vice president and chief media officer at MSN.com, would not specify the extent to which that site would raise prices next year, but she said that during the past two years, "there's been unbelievable price pressure."
For instance, Bradford said that for the front pages of some popular MSN sections, prices rose tenfold. "That settled down quite a bit, and now we're starting to see price pressure more evenly spread across the network," she said.
According to Greg Stuart, chief executive of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, an industry group that represents online media companies, there are no reliable statistics on average advertising rates, in part because ad agencies often negotiate special rates with publishers and keep those deals quiet. "Rates are going up, but effectiveness is going up, too," he said, suggesting that consumers were more likely to make a purchase or request additional information than in previous years. Online advertising revenue in the U.S. is expected to show growth of 31 percent to US$16.4 billion for this year, according to a report by eMarketer, an Internet consultancy. That spending represents 6 percent of the overall advertising market. Revenue for 2007, eMarketer said, will probably rise 19 percent to $19.5 billion.
Rates are expected to grow at a far slower rate, said Greg Smith, chief operating officer of Neo@Ogilvy, North America, an interactive advertising agency that serves clients like Cisco Systems and the U.S. insurer Allstate. In popular categories like autos, health, finance and travel, Smith said, "rates will creep up, whether it's on Yahoo Health or MSN's auto sites, since places like that always perform very well." Vadon said that the same irrational spending that fueled the rise in online advertising during the dot-com boom was at work now. "In 1999, it was a rush of venture money that did it," he said. "Today, you've got a rush of corporate money. And everyone says the Internet's great because you can measure everything and track results, but a lot of people don't measure everything." Rates for ads on video sites, which are attracting marketers as users stampede toward online videos, have actually shown signs of dropping, said Jordan Bitterman, vice president and media director for Digitas, an online marketing agency. Publishers are offering so many video advertising spots on their Web pages that they are outpacing demand, he said.
Bitterman agreed that rates on certain pages of popular portals and other sites have risen significantly, particularly in recent months, but he disputed the notion that rates were rising across the board. Many publishers still have "10, 20, 30 percent inventory that doesn't get sold out, and you can still get a lot of great efficiencies there," he said. That is precisely the strategy employed by Matt Coffin, chief executive of LowerMyBills.com, a financial services company owned by Experian. Coffin said that on publisher pages attracting a more general readership, as opposed to readers of a specific demographic, rates on ads had actually dropped. "We're a very broad-based advertiser, so we're able to make things like that work," Coffin said. "For other people, it doesn't work to advertise that broadly."
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For instance, Bradford said that for the front pages of some popular MSN sections, prices rose tenfold. "That settled down quite a bit, and now we're starting to see price pressure more evenly spread across the network," she said.
According to Greg Stuart, chief executive of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, an industry group that represents online media companies, there are no reliable statistics on average advertising rates, in part because ad agencies often negotiate special rates with publishers and keep those deals quiet. "Rates are going up, but effectiveness is going up, too," he said, suggesting that consumers were more likely to make a purchase or request additional information than in previous years. Online advertising revenue in the U.S. is expected to show growth of 31 percent to US$16.4 billion for this year, according to a report by eMarketer, an Internet consultancy. That spending represents 6 percent of the overall advertising market. Revenue for 2007, eMarketer said, will probably rise 19 percent to $19.5 billion.
Rates are expected to grow at a far slower rate, said Greg Smith, chief operating officer of Neo@Ogilvy, North America, an interactive advertising agency that serves clients like Cisco Systems and the U.S. insurer Allstate. In popular categories like autos, health, finance and travel, Smith said, "rates will creep up, whether it's on Yahoo Health or MSN's auto sites, since places like that always perform very well." Vadon said that the same irrational spending that fueled the rise in online advertising during the dot-com boom was at work now. "In 1999, it was a rush of venture money that did it," he said. "Today, you've got a rush of corporate money. And everyone says the Internet's great because you can measure everything and track results, but a lot of people don't measure everything." Rates for ads on video sites, which are attracting marketers as users stampede toward online videos, have actually shown signs of dropping, said Jordan Bitterman, vice president and media director for Digitas, an online marketing agency. Publishers are offering so many video advertising spots on their Web pages that they are outpacing demand, he said.
Bitterman agreed that rates on certain pages of popular portals and other sites have risen significantly, particularly in recent months, but he disputed the notion that rates were rising across the board. Many publishers still have "10, 20, 30 percent inventory that doesn't get sold out, and you can still get a lot of great efficiencies there," he said. That is precisely the strategy employed by Matt Coffin, chief executive of LowerMyBills.com, a financial services company owned by Experian. Coffin said that on publisher pages attracting a more general readership, as opposed to readers of a specific demographic, rates on ads had actually dropped. "We're a very broad-based advertiser, so we're able to make things like that work," Coffin said. "For other people, it doesn't work to advertise that broadly."
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Sunday, December 17, 2006
Holiday Selling Tips to Increase Business
For many online merchants, the holidays account for almost half their yearly sales . Small and medium-sized online merchants have a prime opportunity this gift-giving season to attract new customers and keep them coming back throughout the year. From browsing to buying, the Internet will play a larger role than ever in holiday shopping this year according to a new survey conducted for the National Retail Federation by BIGresearch. Shoppers, who are expected to spend US$791.10 each this year on holiday merchandise, said they will use the Internet on average for over a fourth (28.9 percent) of their shopping. From utilizing tested promotions to bundling products, there are many ways for small and medium-sized businesses to generate customer interest this year and attract the attention of online shoppers.
Here are a few tips to help kick off a successful holiday selling season:
1. Help customers find you by listing items on shopping search engines and sites.
Customers are online searching for unique gifts on various search engines and sites. Take advantage of listing product on sites like eBay, Yahoo Shopping, Shopping.com, Shopzilla and Google Base/Froogle to help customers find your products and drive them back to your site. Some e-commerce solutions have management tools that can automatically list a product catalog on shopping sites. Investigate the options available to you in your storefront solution.
2. Use products and promotions that work.
Businesses should use products and promotions that merchants have found to resonate well with customers. Any product and promotion testing should be completed before Thanksgiving. The holidays aren't the time to try new trends; an untested promotion or new site feature may inadvertently drive away traffic, which is the opposite of what merchants want to do at any time -- but especially during the holidays.
3. Instill customer confidence by providing a safe shopping experience.
Merchants should always focus on providing a safe shopping experience for consumers -- doing so can help online retailers increase sales. Two of the most important safety features include safeguarding any consumer information through high levels of security and encryption, and providing a safe payment method. PayPal is a good choice, since privacy is built right into its service. PayPal never discloses buyers' financial information with merchants -- this information is guarded on PayPal's own security systems, so merchants don't even have to take on the responsibility of guarding customers' financial data.
4. Make sure you're ready to attract and service customers.
Merchants are becoming more comfortable with managing their store design, and they are spending more time on store aesthetics. Small businesses have the ability to compete with big-box online retailers, but need to have the professional look and services expected of a large firm. These offerings include: Nicely displayed and clearly labeled products, Shipping costs that are easy to understand and calculate, and Customer service that responds within 24 hours. There are many innovative ways to promote holiday shopping on the Internet. With a little creativity and a lot of testing, merchants can be on their way to building a solid customer base this holiday season that will last all year long.
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Here are a few tips to help kick off a successful holiday selling season:
1. Help customers find you by listing items on shopping search engines and sites.
Customers are online searching for unique gifts on various search engines and sites. Take advantage of listing product on sites like eBay, Yahoo Shopping, Shopping.com, Shopzilla and Google Base/Froogle to help customers find your products and drive them back to your site. Some e-commerce solutions have management tools that can automatically list a product catalog on shopping sites. Investigate the options available to you in your storefront solution.
2. Use products and promotions that work.
Businesses should use products and promotions that merchants have found to resonate well with customers. Any product and promotion testing should be completed before Thanksgiving. The holidays aren't the time to try new trends; an untested promotion or new site feature may inadvertently drive away traffic, which is the opposite of what merchants want to do at any time -- but especially during the holidays.
3. Instill customer confidence by providing a safe shopping experience.
Merchants should always focus on providing a safe shopping experience for consumers -- doing so can help online retailers increase sales. Two of the most important safety features include safeguarding any consumer information through high levels of security and encryption, and providing a safe payment method. PayPal is a good choice, since privacy is built right into its service. PayPal never discloses buyers' financial information with merchants -- this information is guarded on PayPal's own security systems, so merchants don't even have to take on the responsibility of guarding customers' financial data.
4. Make sure you're ready to attract and service customers.
Merchants are becoming more comfortable with managing their store design, and they are spending more time on store aesthetics. Small businesses have the ability to compete with big-box online retailers, but need to have the professional look and services expected of a large firm. These offerings include: Nicely displayed and clearly labeled products, Shipping costs that are easy to understand and calculate, and Customer service that responds within 24 hours. There are many innovative ways to promote holiday shopping on the Internet. With a little creativity and a lot of testing, merchants can be on their way to building a solid customer base this holiday season that will last all year long.
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'Tis the Season for E-Commerce - and E-Crash
With the holiday shopping season in full swing, many shoppers are turning to their computers to shop online, rather than facing the thousands of shoppers at the malls. In fact, according to a recent study by Forrester Research, U.S. online retail sales this holiday season will reach US$27 billion, a 23 percent increase over last year. It's no surprise that, like malls, e-commerce networks are experiencing a glut of holiday traffic. For example, on Cyber Monday, North American retail Web site traffic held strong at about 2 million visitors per minute between the hours of 2 p.m. and 9 p.m. EST, according to Internet service provider Akamai Technologies.
For busy online shoppers, there's nothing worse than going to an e-commerce site that is slow or isn't working properly. Already this holiday shopping season, major e-commerce sites such as Costco.com, WalMart.com, Amazon.com, Macys.com and Footlocker.com have been, at some point, either inaccessible to consumers or operating slowly. Walmart.com crashed for at least two hours after it released online-only specials. Amazon.com had a 15-minute slowdown after it began offering Xboxes for only $100. Costco's site moved at a snail's pace when thousands of people tried to purchase Sony's PlayStation 3. Whether a Fortune 500 giant or a successful e-tailer, it's critical that companies keep their e-commerce sites operating at peak performance, ready to transact business around the clock, around the world. People are going to find other places to shop if an e-commerce site isn't functioning.
Depending on the e-commerce site, there could be several hundred servers deployed at numerous sites around the globe. There could be hundreds of switches and routers across the environment, as well as a variety of operating systems and servers. When the network is the lifeblood of an organization's business, having monitoring tools in place to track traffic and locate infrastructure problems is essential. Network monitoring tools are the bread and butter for Network General, Niksun and NetScout and other vendors. For example, e-tailer Diamond.com uses Network General's Sniffer Distributed solution to prepare its e-commerce sites to handle increased holiday traffic and guard against outages and slowdowns. With Sniffer Distributed, Diamond.com can analyze and troubleshoot its network, which is particularly important during peak selling times -- Christmas, Valentine's Day and Mother's Day.
If any of its sites are down, or if its network performs poorly during these times, the company loses money. Sniffer Distributed helps Diamond.com anticipate, identify and resolve network performance problems and bottlenecks before its customers are impacted. Many of the problems experienced by the big name online retailers happened because the e-commerce sites had dramatically more traffic than anticipated. When companies underestimate online traffic, their e-commerce sites can slow to a crawl or simply crash altogether. For every minute an e-commerce site is down during the holiday season, a company loses hundreds of thousands of dollars as countless customers abandon their online shopping carts, before making a purchase.
Unfortunately, it's not always possible to accurately estimate traffic. Inaccurate estimates don't have to result in lost sales, however. When estimates are off, having effective network monitoring tools in place will help ensure e-commerce sites stay up and running despite heavy traffic. With the ability to track online traffic, and locate and fix infrastructure problems in real-time, companies can ensure their sites don't crash during the most profitable time of the year.
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For busy online shoppers, there's nothing worse than going to an e-commerce site that is slow or isn't working properly. Already this holiday shopping season, major e-commerce sites such as Costco.com, WalMart.com, Amazon.com, Macys.com and Footlocker.com have been, at some point, either inaccessible to consumers or operating slowly. Walmart.com crashed for at least two hours after it released online-only specials. Amazon.com had a 15-minute slowdown after it began offering Xboxes for only $100. Costco's site moved at a snail's pace when thousands of people tried to purchase Sony's PlayStation 3. Whether a Fortune 500 giant or a successful e-tailer, it's critical that companies keep their e-commerce sites operating at peak performance, ready to transact business around the clock, around the world. People are going to find other places to shop if an e-commerce site isn't functioning.
Depending on the e-commerce site, there could be several hundred servers deployed at numerous sites around the globe. There could be hundreds of switches and routers across the environment, as well as a variety of operating systems and servers. When the network is the lifeblood of an organization's business, having monitoring tools in place to track traffic and locate infrastructure problems is essential. Network monitoring tools are the bread and butter for Network General, Niksun and NetScout and other vendors. For example, e-tailer Diamond.com uses Network General's Sniffer Distributed solution to prepare its e-commerce sites to handle increased holiday traffic and guard against outages and slowdowns. With Sniffer Distributed, Diamond.com can analyze and troubleshoot its network, which is particularly important during peak selling times -- Christmas, Valentine's Day and Mother's Day.
If any of its sites are down, or if its network performs poorly during these times, the company loses money. Sniffer Distributed helps Diamond.com anticipate, identify and resolve network performance problems and bottlenecks before its customers are impacted. Many of the problems experienced by the big name online retailers happened because the e-commerce sites had dramatically more traffic than anticipated. When companies underestimate online traffic, their e-commerce sites can slow to a crawl or simply crash altogether. For every minute an e-commerce site is down during the holiday season, a company loses hundreds of thousands of dollars as countless customers abandon their online shopping carts, before making a purchase.
Unfortunately, it's not always possible to accurately estimate traffic. Inaccurate estimates don't have to result in lost sales, however. When estimates are off, having effective network monitoring tools in place will help ensure e-commerce sites stay up and running despite heavy traffic. With the ability to track online traffic, and locate and fix infrastructure problems in real-time, companies can ensure their sites don't crash during the most profitable time of the year.
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The Risky Business of Selling Counterfeit Items Online
Your girlfriend, sister or mother really wants a handbag for Christmas. Not just any old handbag. She wants one emblazoned with the infamous "LV" logo, which stands for high-fashion house Louis Vuitton. They go for thousands of dollars on eBay. Louis Vuitton has a knack for finding creative ways to incorporate that logo into its product. Anything with "LV" on it -- whether it be a shirt, scarf or handbag -- has become a necessity for fashionistas everywhere. That logo also has been pretty easy to copy. Perhaps one of the most famous knock-offs to date is a copy of the brown leather bag with the gold "LV" pattern. However, making and selling these purses is a serious crime, according to the North Carolina secretary of state. Making and selling any counterfeit product -- sunglasses, batteries, toothpaste, perfume -- is illegal.
"We believe very strongly that people [selling counterfeit items are] helping some very serious criminals and their enterprise," said George Jeter, public information officer for the secretary of state. Most counterfeit items come from overseas, Jeter said. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, almost two-thirds of counterfeit goods seized at U.S. ports of entry were manufactured in China. They also have found items being imported from Brazil, India, Russia and Korea. "We look for the sellers, the shippers and the makers," Jeter said. "They're not your friends. They don't care if they hurt you or not. They just want your cash."
Despite the risks -- exploding batteries with mercury in them, faulty lamps that could cause your house to go up in flames -- many people buy knock-offs. "A lot of people are willing to buy a counterfeit product," said Pauline Morrison, president of the Better Business Bureau of Central North Carolina. "We say, 'Buy at your own risk.' There's no guarantee." While Jeter said the agents who monitor counterfeit traffic won't stop someone with a fake bag slung over their shoulder, they will arrest people selling knock-offs. Even people selling replicas with disclaimers about the product not being authentic are at risk for arrest. "We often enforce replicas cases. They make it pretty much like the real deal but they put up a little sign," he said. "A little sign doesn't usually cut it. A lot of the designs and patterns are copyrighted and trademarked."
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"We believe very strongly that people [selling counterfeit items are] helping some very serious criminals and their enterprise," said George Jeter, public information officer for the secretary of state. Most counterfeit items come from overseas, Jeter said. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, almost two-thirds of counterfeit goods seized at U.S. ports of entry were manufactured in China. They also have found items being imported from Brazil, India, Russia and Korea. "We look for the sellers, the shippers and the makers," Jeter said. "They're not your friends. They don't care if they hurt you or not. They just want your cash."
Despite the risks -- exploding batteries with mercury in them, faulty lamps that could cause your house to go up in flames -- many people buy knock-offs. "A lot of people are willing to buy a counterfeit product," said Pauline Morrison, president of the Better Business Bureau of Central North Carolina. "We say, 'Buy at your own risk.' There's no guarantee." While Jeter said the agents who monitor counterfeit traffic won't stop someone with a fake bag slung over their shoulder, they will arrest people selling knock-offs. Even people selling replicas with disclaimers about the product not being authentic are at risk for arrest. "We often enforce replicas cases. They make it pretty much like the real deal but they put up a little sign," he said. "A little sign doesn't usually cut it. A lot of the designs and patterns are copyrighted and trademarked."
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Sunday, December 03, 2006
The Coming Online Video Ad Spending Phenomenon
Spending on online video advertising will soar throughout this decade with sales predicted to break the billion dollar barrier in 2008, according to a report released this month by research aggregator eMarketer. This year's outlay for Net-based video ads grew more than 82 percent over 2005, to some US$410 million. The forecast for next year's growth is even higher: 89 percent, to $775 million, prevised the report. It showed growth peaking in 2007, but sales continuing to climb for the rest of the decade, reaching $2.9 billion by 2010.
While advertisers are starting to accept the online gospel for video, the market is still in a nascent stage, according to the author of the report, eMarketer Senior Analyst David Hallerman. Advertisers want to use online video ads "for the same reason they've poured money into TV over the years -- because it engages people far more than any other form of advertising," Hallerman said. Advertisers have "gotten religion" about online video spots, added Mike Wolf, digital home research director at ABI Research. "The click-through rates are higher for video advertising than for things like banner ads, which has become a pretty tired medium," he said. "Video is a new form to reach consumers that a lot of advertisers are jumping on."
Nevertheless, Hallerman maintained that advertisers are still, in terms of dollars and cents, treading relatively lightly. He explained that they're experimenting with length of ads, their content and their placement. "Advertisers love the idea of pre-roll video ads -- ads that run before a user has watched the content -- because they have a captive audience," he noted. "But there's some indication that, for a significant segment of the audience, they dislike that immensely." As much as netizens may dislike their video snacks garnished with commercials, they're learning to swallow them, ABI's Wolf contended. "There's an implied bargain at work here," he said. "The advertisers and the portals are saying this is the deal we're making with the viewer: if you want to watch this content, you're going to have to watch this ad." A sign that the bargain is being accepted by viewers, he reasoned, is that free or ad-supported content is much more popular than paid content online. "The number of people downloading videos that they pay for through iTunes is much, much smaller than people who watch free or ad-supported video," he observed.
Surveys have shown that as much as 25 percent of Internet users would rather pay for content than be peppered with advertising, Hallerman pointed out. Mixing paid and ad-based content is becoming fertile cybersoil for experimentation, he added. "ABC, for example, is playing two sides of the street," he said. "You can watch their shows for free with ad support at ABC.com, or you can go to iTunes and buy the programs." He predicted that Google's $1.65 billion purchase of YouTube will have an important impact on online video advertising. By 2008, Google should increase video ad inventory by cutting deals with content makers to post their ad-supported video at YouTube, Hallerman claimed.
Will that ad-supported content pollute the YouTube ecosystem? Hallerman thinks not. The success of that ecosystem, he contended, has been its ability to attract a cross-pollinating audience. Visitors may go to the site to watch professional video, but once there, view some of the amateur stuff, too. By the same token, amateur or viral video seekers will take in a professional video when they're at the site. "Both need each other to have a robust audience for the site," he continued. "It works best with a mix of consumer and professional content." Nevertheless, Wolf interjected a word of caution about any potential efforts to monetize YouTube. "Google has to be careful," Wolf cautioned. "What people like about YouTube is that they can watch clips without being bombarded by a bunch of advertising."
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While advertisers are starting to accept the online gospel for video, the market is still in a nascent stage, according to the author of the report, eMarketer Senior Analyst David Hallerman. Advertisers want to use online video ads "for the same reason they've poured money into TV over the years -- because it engages people far more than any other form of advertising," Hallerman said. Advertisers have "gotten religion" about online video spots, added Mike Wolf, digital home research director at ABI Research. "The click-through rates are higher for video advertising than for things like banner ads, which has become a pretty tired medium," he said. "Video is a new form to reach consumers that a lot of advertisers are jumping on."
Nevertheless, Hallerman maintained that advertisers are still, in terms of dollars and cents, treading relatively lightly. He explained that they're experimenting with length of ads, their content and their placement. "Advertisers love the idea of pre-roll video ads -- ads that run before a user has watched the content -- because they have a captive audience," he noted. "But there's some indication that, for a significant segment of the audience, they dislike that immensely." As much as netizens may dislike their video snacks garnished with commercials, they're learning to swallow them, ABI's Wolf contended. "There's an implied bargain at work here," he said. "The advertisers and the portals are saying this is the deal we're making with the viewer: if you want to watch this content, you're going to have to watch this ad." A sign that the bargain is being accepted by viewers, he reasoned, is that free or ad-supported content is much more popular than paid content online. "The number of people downloading videos that they pay for through iTunes is much, much smaller than people who watch free or ad-supported video," he observed.
Surveys have shown that as much as 25 percent of Internet users would rather pay for content than be peppered with advertising, Hallerman pointed out. Mixing paid and ad-based content is becoming fertile cybersoil for experimentation, he added. "ABC, for example, is playing two sides of the street," he said. "You can watch their shows for free with ad support at ABC.com, or you can go to iTunes and buy the programs." He predicted that Google's $1.65 billion purchase of YouTube will have an important impact on online video advertising. By 2008, Google should increase video ad inventory by cutting deals with content makers to post their ad-supported video at YouTube, Hallerman claimed.
Will that ad-supported content pollute the YouTube ecosystem? Hallerman thinks not. The success of that ecosystem, he contended, has been its ability to attract a cross-pollinating audience. Visitors may go to the site to watch professional video, but once there, view some of the amateur stuff, too. By the same token, amateur or viral video seekers will take in a professional video when they're at the site. "Both need each other to have a robust audience for the site," he continued. "It works best with a mix of consumer and professional content." Nevertheless, Wolf interjected a word of caution about any potential efforts to monetize YouTube. "Google has to be careful," Wolf cautioned. "What people like about YouTube is that they can watch clips without being bombarded by a bunch of advertising."
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