Multi-screen adoption of digital technology and devices has created a challenge for advertising to deliver relevant, targeted messages. The more connected the consumer, the greater expectation for bigger ideas. A study released Thursday by Microsoft Advertising gives advertisers insight into how a multi-screen strategy can build awareness, generate consideration and encourage purchases.
Younger multi-screen consumers and online gamers -- the most active segments -- are satisfied with today's connected experiences, but they expect substantial improvements in media, advertising and engagement in the future.
Marketers and agencies that attempt to improve this experience will need to find ways to integrate data and track attribution, according to Alison Engel, senior marketing director, Microsoft Advertising. "People may start their day on one device and end it on another," she says. "The computer and the smartphone offer the one-two punch. And as smartphone functions improve, you'll see more convergence in the future."
Sixty-nine percent of consumers who use multiple screens believe being able to access similar media and advertising across screens makes it more useful, and the media experience more relevant and informative. The research study suggests that the computer remains the primary vehicle for learning about brands, products, and services at 88%; followed by TV at 32%; smartphones, 36%; and gaming consoles, 11%. Sixty-five percent of consumers rely on smartphones to make buying decisions when away from home. They use the handset to make decisions about restaurants, theaters, and entertainment.
Multi-screen consumers think more favorably of content providers that deliver similar content across multiple media devices, and 62% of these consumers and nearly 75% of younger consumers admit that a consistent experience generates positive feelings about the provider.
Compared with 35- to-64-year-olds, 18- to-34-year-olds are more likely to find ads fun to watch -- like ads on their computer, smartphone, and gaming console -- and believe ads are more meaningful and relevant across all screens.
In fact, younger age groups find ads fun to watch on a computer, at 36% vs. 22%; smartphone, at 32% vs. 16%; and gaming consoles, at 36% vs. 14%, respectively. This age group also likes ads on their computer -- 33% vs. 19%; smartphone, 29% vs. 13%; and gaming console, 32% vs. 11%, respectively -- and believes ads are more meaningful and relevant across all screens: computer, 40% vs. 25%; TV, 52% vs. 40%; smartphone, 30% vs. 14%; and gaming console, 34% vs. 12%, respectively.
Microsoft Advertising conducted research to understand how consumers use multiple platforms and their attitudes toward devices and capabilities that drive media and advertising. The study, conducted in partnership with Wunderman (a WPP company), aims to teach advertisers about the opportunities to engage audiences with the correct tone and message in the perfect environment. It surveyed 1,200 people ages 18-64 across the U.S. in the spring of 2010 who consume media through TVs, computers, smartphones, and video game consoles.
July 23, 2010
July 22, 2010
Paid-Search Advertising Becoming Ticket For Small Business
Small businesses in jewelry, loans, mortgages and recruitment services significantly increased spending for search engine marketing and advertising in Q2 2010.
Loan companies spent 25% more sequentially in the second quarter, followed by mortgage companies at 23.9%; jobs and recruitment, 14%; and travel, 8%, according to the State of Small Business Online Advertising Q2 2010 report released this week.
The average small business supported by Irvine, Calif.-based WebVisible spent on average $2,231 -- up 160% compared with the year-ago quarter, but just 1% sequentially.
Another sign that the medium continues to build momentum: 43% of all clicks resulted in a Web conversion in the second quarter of 2010, up 39% from the year-ago quarter, and 22% sequentially. This tells WebVisible that consumers want information about local businesses, says WebVisible CEO Kirstin Mangers.
Mangers doesn't see the uptick as an indicator that small businesses believe they must advertise online, but rather a signal that the economy slowly continues to turn around as more jobs become available and consumer confidence levels start to rise.
Click-through rates (CTR) in the second quarter of 2010 on all engines improved year-on-year, but Google and Bing declined sequentially. Google CTRs rose 28%; Yahoo 46%, and Bing 15% in the quarter, compared with the prior year. Google and Bing declined slightly, sequentially, from the first quarter of 2010, with Google's CTR declining to 4.4%; and Bing 6.6%. Yahoo's CTR improved by 35%, compared with the prior quarter.
The average keyword count per advertiser also continued to increase for WebVisible's small business advertisers in the first quarter of 2010. Keyword inventories consisted of an average of 75 root keywords, compared with individual bids with geographic modifiers in Q2 2010 -- a 39% increase over Q2 2009, according to the report.
Paid-search share shifted toward Yahoo in Q2, as WebVisible's platform looks for the best-quality traffic at the lowest price. "This would suggest we're getting higher conversion rates and lower CPCs to buy traffic more effectively," Mangers says. "The same thing is applicable in the U.K. Yahoo's less noisy than Google for local companies. It's easy to be seen and easier to compete at a lower rate, so it's converting higher."
Market share shifted a bit in the second quarter of 2010. Advertisers spent 15% more on Yahoo in the second quarter compared with the prior quarter, gaining 4.1 percentage points in share -- and 23.5%, gaining 5.7 percentage points in share, compared with Q2 in the prior year.
Google lost 2 percentage points in share in the second quarter of 2010 sequentially, to 3.4% share, but year-on-year declined 5 percentage points to 6.8%. Bing's share of spending dropped 5% from Q1 2010, and 6.8% from Q2 2009, according to the report.
By Laurie Sullivan
Loan companies spent 25% more sequentially in the second quarter, followed by mortgage companies at 23.9%; jobs and recruitment, 14%; and travel, 8%, according to the State of Small Business Online Advertising Q2 2010 report released this week.
The average small business supported by Irvine, Calif.-based WebVisible spent on average $2,231 -- up 160% compared with the year-ago quarter, but just 1% sequentially.
Another sign that the medium continues to build momentum: 43% of all clicks resulted in a Web conversion in the second quarter of 2010, up 39% from the year-ago quarter, and 22% sequentially. This tells WebVisible that consumers want information about local businesses, says WebVisible CEO Kirstin Mangers.
Mangers doesn't see the uptick as an indicator that small businesses believe they must advertise online, but rather a signal that the economy slowly continues to turn around as more jobs become available and consumer confidence levels start to rise.
Click-through rates (CTR) in the second quarter of 2010 on all engines improved year-on-year, but Google and Bing declined sequentially. Google CTRs rose 28%; Yahoo 46%, and Bing 15% in the quarter, compared with the prior year. Google and Bing declined slightly, sequentially, from the first quarter of 2010, with Google's CTR declining to 4.4%; and Bing 6.6%. Yahoo's CTR improved by 35%, compared with the prior quarter.
The average keyword count per advertiser also continued to increase for WebVisible's small business advertisers in the first quarter of 2010. Keyword inventories consisted of an average of 75 root keywords, compared with individual bids with geographic modifiers in Q2 2010 -- a 39% increase over Q2 2009, according to the report.
Paid-search share shifted toward Yahoo in Q2, as WebVisible's platform looks for the best-quality traffic at the lowest price. "This would suggest we're getting higher conversion rates and lower CPCs to buy traffic more effectively," Mangers says. "The same thing is applicable in the U.K. Yahoo's less noisy than Google for local companies. It's easy to be seen and easier to compete at a lower rate, so it's converting higher."
Market share shifted a bit in the second quarter of 2010. Advertisers spent 15% more on Yahoo in the second quarter compared with the prior quarter, gaining 4.1 percentage points in share -- and 23.5%, gaining 5.7 percentage points in share, compared with Q2 in the prior year.
Google lost 2 percentage points in share in the second quarter of 2010 sequentially, to 3.4% share, but year-on-year declined 5 percentage points to 6.8%. Bing's share of spending dropped 5% from Q1 2010, and 6.8% from Q2 2009, according to the report.
By Laurie Sullivan
June 25, 2010
10 Tips for Advertising on Facebook
By PPC Here.
Every day, about 200 million people log onto Facebook, spending an average of 14 minutes on the site—adding up to about seven hours per month!
This high number of engaged users represents a huge potential advertising audience for your business. If you choose to tap into this audience, consider following these 10 tips for advertising on Facebook:
1. Familiarize yourself with Facebook’s advertising guidelines. Facebook has very strict requirements for the types of ads you can place on its site. For example, ads can’t contain audio that plays automatically; they can’t contain excessive repetition; and they can’t promote “get rich quick” opportunities. Make sure you adhere to these rules or your ad will be rejected.
2. Make sure your ad text isn’t annoying. Facebook has a feature that neither Google nor Bing has: You can close ads you don’t like. Just click on the gray box at the top right corner of the ad. Facebook will ask you why didn’t like the ad, and you can offer your feedback. If enough people close the ad it won’t be shown anymore. So if you actually want your ad to last beyond a few days or even a few hours, make sure it’s not too pushy.
3. Find a relevant and attractive image for your ad. While ads on the major search engines can’t contain images, Facebook ads allow for one image. When I signed into my Facebook account today, for example, I came across an ad for Caribbean real estate containing a beautiful image of an island surrounded by clear, turquoise water. Be sure to pick an enticing image that highly relates to your product or service. Then you’ll get more qualified clicks.
4. Familiarize yourself with the different ways you can target users. With Facebook, you can target people based on many different factors. You can show your ads to people of a certain age, people in a certain city or country, or people who had a certain college major. You can target single people, Republicans, or employees of a specific company. You can also target people based upon their interests, whether it be snake charming, fly fishing, or cross stitching. Determine your target audience, and then advertise to these people alone.
5. Determine the main purpose of your advertising campaign. Decide whether your main aim is to have users become familiar with your brand, or to generate leads or sales. If it’s the former, then cost per impression advertising is probably the better option. If it’s the latter, then cost per click advertising is likely your better option.
6. If you don’t have a lot of money, don’t spend a lot. You can be a thrifty advertiser with Facebook. According to Facebook’s Help Center, the minimum required daily budget is $1 for both cost per click and cost per impression advertising. The minimum cost per click is 1 cent and the minimum cost per impression is 2 cents. Just keep in mind that if you have a lower budget your ad will be shown less frequently.
7. Use Facebook’s bid estimator to help you set your bid. If you really have no idea what bid amount will get your ad a good amount of exposure, take advantage of this tool. While creating your ad, enter your targeting criteria, and then go through to step 4. The bid estimator will show you the range of bids that are winning auctions among ads like yours.
8. Make the most of the advertising space you’re allotted. Facebook allows 25 characters for the ad’s title, and 135 characters for the ad’s body. While Google also allows 25 characters for its ads’ titles, it only allows 105 characters for the ad’s body (70 for the ad’s text and 35 for the display URL). So take advantage of Facebook’s extra space by including all the information you think will prompt qualified clicks.
9. Monitor your ads’ performance with Facebook’s Ads Manager and Facebook reports. These resources will tell you how many people saw your ads, how many people clicked on them, and your click-through rates. They will also tell you how much you’ve spent, the types of users who have seen your ads, and the types of users who have clicked on your ads. This information shows you which of your ads are successful, and which need improvement. Modify your ad campaign based on this information.
Check out this Facebook advertising blog for more tips on good Facebook advertising techniques. It contains common Facebook advertising mistakes, information about new Facebook advertising features, and detailed tutorials for advertising on Facebook. This video, for example, takes you through June 01, 2010
Google, Yahoo Take On Twitter, Facebook
by Kaila Colbin
From the rational, strategic perspective, we all know companies either evolve or die. Corporate graveyards are littered with organizations that grew fat and complacent, certain that no new technology, business model or social evolution would undermine their position at the top of the heap.
Smart companies protect themselves against inertia, creating systems that force instability and, one would hope, vitality. Design agency Space150, for example, rebrands itself, top to bottom, every 150 days. These efforts require the people there to continually question what they are about and how they position themselves.
But even without such a radically unsettling environment for ourselves, most of us have a built-in characteristic that keeps us on our toes. Call it the "Grass Is Greener" syndrome, a.k.a. "Ooh, What's That They're Playing With?"
Bear in mind that there's not a huge difference between these two motivations. It would be foolish for a large incumbent to ignore the fact that everyone is now playing with the greener grass. If newspapers, for example, had had a bit more of that new-toy envy, they might have recognized the threat posed by the Internet early enough to do something about it. So I'm not here to decry reactions to shifts in behavior.
But I do wonder why, if Google Buzz is "not intended as a challenge to Facebook or Twitter," the company is launching its Buzz API "as answer to Facebook Connect" and its Reshare feature "just like on Twitter."
It'll be interesting to see if Buzz's evolution gives Google any market momentum. I'm betting it won't. After all, feature-chasing has rarely proven an effective tactic for stealing market share. If you're going after a competitor based on that competitor's strengths, why should anyone switch to you?
Which is why I think Facebook currently has more to worry about from Yahoo than from Buzz. Despite Carol Bartz not having a good answer to the strategy question in her testy interview with Michael Arrington, Yahoo has done something pretty important in the social media space: formed a partnership with Zynga.
Here's why I think it's important: everybody is mad at Facebook right now. The press is mad. Its users are mad (although, admittedly, only those that pay attention to FB policy changes). And, even with a new five-year agreement in place, it's a pretty safe bet that Zynga is mad about unilaterally having to give up 30% of its revenue, thankyouverymuch.
And yet Facebook still doesn't seem to care. Perhaps it's banking on the idea that everyone will stay because everyone is there, that nobody wants to go and be "social" by themselves on a new network. But here's the thing: on Yahoo, you're not by yourself; you're with 600 million other people. If Yahoo and Zynga get Facebookers to shift the platform on which they play Farmville and Mafia Wars, that alone could create a tipping point of user behavior -- and imagine if you combine it with Flickr and Yahoo Mail (which, incidentally, is bigger than Gmail).
Of course, there's only one problem: Yahoo doesn't have a social network; its Yahoo 360°, launched in 2005, never gained traction. And, in that same interview, Carol Bartz implied that Yahoo is only looking to do stuff in its "sweet spot."
If Yahoo was going to enter the social space, though, now's the time. Buzz has fallen flat. The tide is turning against Facebook. Yahoo has the user numbers, and it's not feature-chasing.
Over to you, Carol. And you, dear reader, for comment, here or via @kcolbin.
From the rational, strategic perspective, we all know companies either evolve or die. Corporate graveyards are littered with organizations that grew fat and complacent, certain that no new technology, business model or social evolution would undermine their position at the top of the heap.
Smart companies protect themselves against inertia, creating systems that force instability and, one would hope, vitality. Design agency Space150, for example, rebrands itself, top to bottom, every 150 days. These efforts require the people there to continually question what they are about and how they position themselves.
But even without such a radically unsettling environment for ourselves, most of us have a built-in characteristic that keeps us on our toes. Call it the "Grass Is Greener" syndrome, a.k.a. "Ooh, What's That They're Playing With?"
Bear in mind that there's not a huge difference between these two motivations. It would be foolish for a large incumbent to ignore the fact that everyone is now playing with the greener grass. If newspapers, for example, had had a bit more of that new-toy envy, they might have recognized the threat posed by the Internet early enough to do something about it. So I'm not here to decry reactions to shifts in behavior.
But I do wonder why, if Google Buzz is "not intended as a challenge to Facebook or Twitter," the company is launching its Buzz API "as answer to Facebook Connect" and its Reshare feature "just like on Twitter."
It'll be interesting to see if Buzz's evolution gives Google any market momentum. I'm betting it won't. After all, feature-chasing has rarely proven an effective tactic for stealing market share. If you're going after a competitor based on that competitor's strengths, why should anyone switch to you?
Which is why I think Facebook currently has more to worry about from Yahoo than from Buzz. Despite Carol Bartz not having a good answer to the strategy question in her testy interview with Michael Arrington, Yahoo has done something pretty important in the social media space: formed a partnership with Zynga.
Here's why I think it's important: everybody is mad at Facebook right now. The press is mad. Its users are mad (although, admittedly, only those that pay attention to FB policy changes). And, even with a new five-year agreement in place, it's a pretty safe bet that Zynga is mad about unilaterally having to give up 30% of its revenue, thankyouverymuch.
And yet Facebook still doesn't seem to care. Perhaps it's banking on the idea that everyone will stay because everyone is there, that nobody wants to go and be "social" by themselves on a new network. But here's the thing: on Yahoo, you're not by yourself; you're with 600 million other people. If Yahoo and Zynga get Facebookers to shift the platform on which they play Farmville and Mafia Wars, that alone could create a tipping point of user behavior -- and imagine if you combine it with Flickr and Yahoo Mail (which, incidentally, is bigger than Gmail).
Of course, there's only one problem: Yahoo doesn't have a social network; its Yahoo 360°, launched in 2005, never gained traction. And, in that same interview, Carol Bartz implied that Yahoo is only looking to do stuff in its "sweet spot."
If Yahoo was going to enter the social space, though, now's the time. Buzz has fallen flat. The tide is turning against Facebook. Yahoo has the user numbers, and it's not feature-chasing.
Over to you, Carol. And you, dear reader, for comment, here or via @kcolbin.
May 28, 2010
Top 100 Websites Ranked by Google
Rank Site Category Unique Visitors (users) Reach Page Views Has Advertising
1 facebook.com Social Networks 540,000,000 35.2% 570,000,000,000 Yes
2 yahoo.com Web Portals 490,000,000 31.8% 70,000,000,000 Yes
3 live.com Search Engines 370,000,000 24.1% 39,000,000,000 Yes
4 wikipedia.org Dictionaries & Encyclopedias 310,000,000 20% 7,900,000,000 No
5 msn.com Web Portals 280,000,000 18.1% 11,000,000,000 Yes
6 microsoft.com Software 230,000,000 14.8% 3,300,000,000 Yes
7 blogspot.com Blogging Resources & Services 230,000,000 14.7% 4,400,000,000 Yes
8 baidu.com Web Portals 230,000,000 15% 27,000,000,000 Yes
9 qq.com Email & Messaging 170,000,000 11.1% 25,000,000,000 Yes
10 mozilla.com Internet Clients & Browsers 140,000,000 9.2% 2,100,000,000 No
11 sina.com.cn Web Portals 130,000,000 8.4% 3,600,000,000 Yes
12 wordpress.com Blogging Resources & Services 120,000,000 7.7% 1,200,000,000 Yes
13 bing.com Search Engines 110,000,000 7% 2,700,000,000 Yes
14 adobe.com Programming 110,000,000 6.9% 1,000,000,000 Yes
15 163.com Web Portals 98,000,000 6.3% 2,700,000,000 Yes
16 taobao.com Shopping 98,000,000 6.3% 10,000,000,000 No
17 soso.com Entertainment 97,000,000 6.3% 1,400,000,000 No
18 twitter.com Email & Messaging 96,000,000 6.2% 5,400,000,000 No
19 youku.com Video Clips & Movie Downloads 89,000,000 5.8% 1,700,000,000 Yes
20 ask.com Search Engines 88,000,000 5.7% 1,700,000,000 Yes
21 sohu.com Web Portals 82,000,000 5.3% 1,900,000,000 Yes
22 amazon.com Shopping 74,000,000 4.8% 3,300,000,000 Yes
23 windows.com Windows 74,000,000 4.8% 490,000,000 No
24 ebay.com Auctions 74,000,000 4.8% 9,400,000,000 Yes
25 yahoo.co.jp Web Portals 72,000,000 4.7% 27,000,000,000 Yes
26 myspace.com Social Networks 72,000,000 4.7% 27,000,000,000 Yes
27 apple.com Mac 72,000,000 4.7% 960,000,000 Yes
28 tudou.com Photo & Video Sharing 66,000,000 4.3% 1,100,000,000 No
29 conduit.com Advertising & Marketing 60,000,000 3.9% 2,000,000,000 No
30 hotmail.com Email & Messaging 60,000,000 3.9% 1,100,000,000 Yes
31 flickr.com Photo & Video Sharing 55,000,000 3.6% 1,800,000,000 Yes
32 photobucket.com Photo & Video Sharing 55,000,000 3.6% 1,100,000,000 Yes
33 tianya.cn Online Communities 55,000,000 3.6% 590,000,000 Yes
34 about.com How-To & Expert Content 55,000,000 3.6% 710,000,000 Yes
35 cnet.com Technology News 55,000,000 3.6% 490,000,000 Yes
36 hao123.com Online Directories 50,000,000 3.3% 1,400,000,000 No
37 iefxz.com 50,000,000 3.2% 270,000,000 No
38 xunlei.com TV Programs 50,000,000 3.2% 870,000,000 No
39 paypal.com Merchant Services & Payment Systems 49,000,000 3.2% 1,900,000,000 Yes
40 rapidshare.com File Sharing & Hosting 46,000,000 3% 800,000,000 No
41 go.com Web Portals 46,000,000 3% 3,000,000,000 Yes
42 fc2.com Blogging Resources & Services 45,000,000 2.9% 2,400,000,000 Yes
43 bbc.co.uk News & Current Events 45,000,000 2.9% 2,500,000,000 Yes
44 imdb.com Movies 45,000,000 2.9% 1,400,000,000 Yes
45 orkut.com Social Networks 45,000,000 2.9% 5,300,000,000 Yes
46 sogou.com Web Portals 45,000,000 2.9% 540,000,000 No
47 56.com Multimedia Content 42,000,000 2.7% 450,000,000 No
48 aol.com Web Portals 42,000,000 2.7% 4,400,000,000 Yes
49 craigslist.org Classifieds 42,000,000 2.7% 14,000,000,000 No
50 rakuten.co.jp Shopping Portals & Search Engines 41,000,000 2.6% 4,000,000,000 Yes
51 imageshack.us File Sharing & Hosting 41,000,000 2.7% 310,000,000 Yes
52 ku6.com Multimedia Content 41,000,000 2.7% 410,000,000 Yes
53 blogger.com Blogging Resources & Services 41,000,000 2.7% 1,700,000,000 Yes
54 goo.ne.jp Web Services 41,000,000 2.6% 810,000,000 Yes
55 ifeng.com News & Current Events 41,000,000 2.7% 860,000,000 Yes
56 linkedin.com Social Networks 38,000,000 2.5% 1,700,000,000 Yes
57 yandex.ru Search Engines 38,000,000 2.4% 7,000,000,000 Yes
58 mail.ru Email & Messaging 37,000,000 2.4% 10,000,000,000 Yes
59 partypoker.com Cards & Casino Games 35,000,000 2.2% 280,000,000 No
60 megaupload.com File Sharing & Hosting 34,000,000 2.2% 880,000,000 No
61 answers.com Dictionaries & Encyclopedias 34,000,000 2.2% 250,000,000 No
62 alibaba.com Management & Corporate Operations 34,000,000 2.2% 800,000,000 Yes
63 hi5.com Social Networks 34,000,000 2.2% 9,500,000,000 Yes
64 cnn.com News & Current Events 34,000,000 2.2% 1,300,000,000 Yes
65 amazon.co.jp Shopping Portals & Search Engines 34,000,000 2.2% 1,100,000,000 No
66 4shared.com File Sharing & Hosting 31,000,000 2% 1,600,000,000 Yes
67 ameblo.jp Blogging Resources & Services 31,000,000 2% 1,300,000,000 Yes
68 gougou.com Web Services 31,000,000 2% 410,000,000 Yes
69 skype.com VOIP & Internet Telephony 31,000,000 2% 370,000,000 No
70 renren.com Social Networks 31,000,000 2% 2,000,000,000 Yes
71 dailymotion.com Video Clips & Movie Downloads 31,000,000 2% 540,000,000 Yes
72 naver.com Search Engines 31,000,000 2% 5,400,000,000 No
73 weather.com Weather 31,000,000 2% 890,000,000 Yes
74 mozilla.org Internet Clients & Browsers 29,000,000 1.9% 210,000,000 No
75 mediafire.com File Sharing & Hosting 29,000,000 1.9% 370,000,000 Yes
76 bit.ly File Sharing & Hosting 28,000,000 1.8% 330,000,000 No
77 hp.com Educational Resources 28,000,000 1.8% 650,000,000 No
78 livedoor.jp Blogging Resources & Services 28,000,000 1.8% 490,000,000 Yes
79 ehow.com How-To & Expert Content 28,000,000 1.8% 190,000,000 Yes
80 nifty.com ISPs 28,000,000 1.8% 660,000,000 Yes
81 vkontakte.ru Social Networks 26,000,000 1.7% 30,000,000,000 No
82 alipay.com Banking & Personal Finance 26,000,000 1.7% 660,000,000 Yes
83 nytimes.com Newspapers 26,000,000 1.7% 600,000,000 Yes
84 overture.com Search Engines 26,000,000 1.7% 230,000,000 No
85 sourceforge.net Open Source 26,000,000 1.7% 230,000,000 Yes
86 fbcdn.net Language Study & Translation 25,000,000 1.6% 170,000,000 No
87 xtendmedia.com Web Design & Development 25,000,000 1.6% 160,000,000 No
88 xinhuanet.com News & Current Events 25,000,000 1.7% 190,000,000 Yes
89 wikimedia.org Dictionaries & Encyclopedias 25,000,000 1.6% 140,000,000 No
90 pconline.com.cn Mobile Phones 25,000,000 1.6% 250,000,000 Yes
91 daum.net Online Communities 25,000,000 1.7% 2,500,000,000 Yes
92 4399.com Online Games 24,000,000 1.5% 800,000,000 Yes
93 bankofamerica.com Banking & Personal Finance 24,000,000 1.5% 2,300,000,000 No
94 ebay.de Auctions 23,000,000 1.5% 5,800,000,000 Yes
95 uol.com.br Web Portals 23,000,000 1.5% 4,000,000,000 Yes
96 filestube.com File Sharing & Hosting 23,000,000 1.5% 250,000,000 No
97 zol.com.cn Hardware 23,000,000 1.5% 310,000,000 Yes
98 mop.com Roleplaying Games 23,000,000 1.5% 250,000,000 No
99 alexa.com Search Engine Optimization & Marketing 23,000,000 1.5% 960,000,000 No
100 biglobe.ne.jp Web Portals 22,000,000 1.4% 370,000,000 Yes
1 facebook.com Social Networks 540,000,000 35.2% 570,000,000,000 Yes
2 yahoo.com Web Portals 490,000,000 31.8% 70,000,000,000 Yes
3 live.com Search Engines 370,000,000 24.1% 39,000,000,000 Yes
4 wikipedia.org Dictionaries & Encyclopedias 310,000,000 20% 7,900,000,000 No
5 msn.com Web Portals 280,000,000 18.1% 11,000,000,000 Yes
6 microsoft.com Software 230,000,000 14.8% 3,300,000,000 Yes
7 blogspot.com Blogging Resources & Services 230,000,000 14.7% 4,400,000,000 Yes
8 baidu.com Web Portals 230,000,000 15% 27,000,000,000 Yes
9 qq.com Email & Messaging 170,000,000 11.1% 25,000,000,000 Yes
10 mozilla.com Internet Clients & Browsers 140,000,000 9.2% 2,100,000,000 No
11 sina.com.cn Web Portals 130,000,000 8.4% 3,600,000,000 Yes
12 wordpress.com Blogging Resources & Services 120,000,000 7.7% 1,200,000,000 Yes
13 bing.com Search Engines 110,000,000 7% 2,700,000,000 Yes
14 adobe.com Programming 110,000,000 6.9% 1,000,000,000 Yes
15 163.com Web Portals 98,000,000 6.3% 2,700,000,000 Yes
16 taobao.com Shopping 98,000,000 6.3% 10,000,000,000 No
17 soso.com Entertainment 97,000,000 6.3% 1,400,000,000 No
18 twitter.com Email & Messaging 96,000,000 6.2% 5,400,000,000 No
19 youku.com Video Clips & Movie Downloads 89,000,000 5.8% 1,700,000,000 Yes
20 ask.com Search Engines 88,000,000 5.7% 1,700,000,000 Yes
21 sohu.com Web Portals 82,000,000 5.3% 1,900,000,000 Yes
22 amazon.com Shopping 74,000,000 4.8% 3,300,000,000 Yes
23 windows.com Windows 74,000,000 4.8% 490,000,000 No
24 ebay.com Auctions 74,000,000 4.8% 9,400,000,000 Yes
25 yahoo.co.jp Web Portals 72,000,000 4.7% 27,000,000,000 Yes
26 myspace.com Social Networks 72,000,000 4.7% 27,000,000,000 Yes
27 apple.com Mac 72,000,000 4.7% 960,000,000 Yes
28 tudou.com Photo & Video Sharing 66,000,000 4.3% 1,100,000,000 No
29 conduit.com Advertising & Marketing 60,000,000 3.9% 2,000,000,000 No
30 hotmail.com Email & Messaging 60,000,000 3.9% 1,100,000,000 Yes
31 flickr.com Photo & Video Sharing 55,000,000 3.6% 1,800,000,000 Yes
32 photobucket.com Photo & Video Sharing 55,000,000 3.6% 1,100,000,000 Yes
33 tianya.cn Online Communities 55,000,000 3.6% 590,000,000 Yes
34 about.com How-To & Expert Content 55,000,000 3.6% 710,000,000 Yes
35 cnet.com Technology News 55,000,000 3.6% 490,000,000 Yes
36 hao123.com Online Directories 50,000,000 3.3% 1,400,000,000 No
37 iefxz.com 50,000,000 3.2% 270,000,000 No
38 xunlei.com TV Programs 50,000,000 3.2% 870,000,000 No
39 paypal.com Merchant Services & Payment Systems 49,000,000 3.2% 1,900,000,000 Yes
40 rapidshare.com File Sharing & Hosting 46,000,000 3% 800,000,000 No
41 go.com Web Portals 46,000,000 3% 3,000,000,000 Yes
42 fc2.com Blogging Resources & Services 45,000,000 2.9% 2,400,000,000 Yes
43 bbc.co.uk News & Current Events 45,000,000 2.9% 2,500,000,000 Yes
44 imdb.com Movies 45,000,000 2.9% 1,400,000,000 Yes
45 orkut.com Social Networks 45,000,000 2.9% 5,300,000,000 Yes
46 sogou.com Web Portals 45,000,000 2.9% 540,000,000 No
47 56.com Multimedia Content 42,000,000 2.7% 450,000,000 No
48 aol.com Web Portals 42,000,000 2.7% 4,400,000,000 Yes
49 craigslist.org Classifieds 42,000,000 2.7% 14,000,000,000 No
50 rakuten.co.jp Shopping Portals & Search Engines 41,000,000 2.6% 4,000,000,000 Yes
51 imageshack.us File Sharing & Hosting 41,000,000 2.7% 310,000,000 Yes
52 ku6.com Multimedia Content 41,000,000 2.7% 410,000,000 Yes
53 blogger.com Blogging Resources & Services 41,000,000 2.7% 1,700,000,000 Yes
54 goo.ne.jp Web Services 41,000,000 2.6% 810,000,000 Yes
55 ifeng.com News & Current Events 41,000,000 2.7% 860,000,000 Yes
56 linkedin.com Social Networks 38,000,000 2.5% 1,700,000,000 Yes
57 yandex.ru Search Engines 38,000,000 2.4% 7,000,000,000 Yes
58 mail.ru Email & Messaging 37,000,000 2.4% 10,000,000,000 Yes
59 partypoker.com Cards & Casino Games 35,000,000 2.2% 280,000,000 No
60 megaupload.com File Sharing & Hosting 34,000,000 2.2% 880,000,000 No
61 answers.com Dictionaries & Encyclopedias 34,000,000 2.2% 250,000,000 No
62 alibaba.com Management & Corporate Operations 34,000,000 2.2% 800,000,000 Yes
63 hi5.com Social Networks 34,000,000 2.2% 9,500,000,000 Yes
64 cnn.com News & Current Events 34,000,000 2.2% 1,300,000,000 Yes
65 amazon.co.jp Shopping Portals & Search Engines 34,000,000 2.2% 1,100,000,000 No
66 4shared.com File Sharing & Hosting 31,000,000 2% 1,600,000,000 Yes
67 ameblo.jp Blogging Resources & Services 31,000,000 2% 1,300,000,000 Yes
68 gougou.com Web Services 31,000,000 2% 410,000,000 Yes
69 skype.com VOIP & Internet Telephony 31,000,000 2% 370,000,000 No
70 renren.com Social Networks 31,000,000 2% 2,000,000,000 Yes
71 dailymotion.com Video Clips & Movie Downloads 31,000,000 2% 540,000,000 Yes
72 naver.com Search Engines 31,000,000 2% 5,400,000,000 No
73 weather.com Weather 31,000,000 2% 890,000,000 Yes
74 mozilla.org Internet Clients & Browsers 29,000,000 1.9% 210,000,000 No
75 mediafire.com File Sharing & Hosting 29,000,000 1.9% 370,000,000 Yes
76 bit.ly File Sharing & Hosting 28,000,000 1.8% 330,000,000 No
77 hp.com Educational Resources 28,000,000 1.8% 650,000,000 No
78 livedoor.jp Blogging Resources & Services 28,000,000 1.8% 490,000,000 Yes
79 ehow.com How-To & Expert Content 28,000,000 1.8% 190,000,000 Yes
80 nifty.com ISPs 28,000,000 1.8% 660,000,000 Yes
81 vkontakte.ru Social Networks 26,000,000 1.7% 30,000,000,000 No
82 alipay.com Banking & Personal Finance 26,000,000 1.7% 660,000,000 Yes
83 nytimes.com Newspapers 26,000,000 1.7% 600,000,000 Yes
84 overture.com Search Engines 26,000,000 1.7% 230,000,000 No
85 sourceforge.net Open Source 26,000,000 1.7% 230,000,000 Yes
86 fbcdn.net Language Study & Translation 25,000,000 1.6% 170,000,000 No
87 xtendmedia.com Web Design & Development 25,000,000 1.6% 160,000,000 No
88 xinhuanet.com News & Current Events 25,000,000 1.7% 190,000,000 Yes
89 wikimedia.org Dictionaries & Encyclopedias 25,000,000 1.6% 140,000,000 No
90 pconline.com.cn Mobile Phones 25,000,000 1.6% 250,000,000 Yes
91 daum.net Online Communities 25,000,000 1.7% 2,500,000,000 Yes
92 4399.com Online Games 24,000,000 1.5% 800,000,000 Yes
93 bankofamerica.com Banking & Personal Finance 24,000,000 1.5% 2,300,000,000 No
94 ebay.de Auctions 23,000,000 1.5% 5,800,000,000 Yes
95 uol.com.br Web Portals 23,000,000 1.5% 4,000,000,000 Yes
96 filestube.com File Sharing & Hosting 23,000,000 1.5% 250,000,000 No
97 zol.com.cn Hardware 23,000,000 1.5% 310,000,000 Yes
98 mop.com Roleplaying Games 23,000,000 1.5% 250,000,000 No
99 alexa.com Search Engine Optimization & Marketing 23,000,000 1.5% 960,000,000 No
100 biglobe.ne.jp Web Portals 22,000,000 1.4% 370,000,000 Yes
May 27, 2010
Small Business To Increase Traditional and Online Marketing
According to the FedEx Office third annual Signs of the Times national small business survey, small business owners are eager to lead the charge out of the country's protracted recession, with 72% saying they will be the driving force behind the U.S. economic recovery in 2010. 51% of the small business owners polled say their businesses have already, or will fully, recover by the end of this year.
This optimism is a marked improvement over the survey's findings last year, when 54% of respondents indicated they were very concerned about the economy's impact on their business. 18% of small businesses are considering an increased budget for staffing and HR activities in 2010, up from just 9% last year.
This study also found that 42% of those polled are considering increasing spending on marketing and advertising initiatives in 2010, and 30% say they may increase spending on sales initiatives. Both actions are specifically aimed at boosting customer traffic and revenues.
Randy Scarborough, vice president of marketing for FedEx Office, says "Small businesses are... identifying and investing in the tools that will help them bounce back... print ads, direct mail campaigns, online marketing programs, and a social media presence... maximize their budgets... connecting effectively with new and existing customers... "
Underscoring small business owners' firm belief in the value of traditional and online marketing and advertising:
• In 2008, before the recession was fully felt throughout the marketplace, 41% of those polled were considering increasing spending on marketing and advertising initiatives
• In 2009, with the recession in full-swing, 44% of small business owners reported considering a budget increase in that same area
• This survey shows that 34% made cuts to their marketing and advertising spend last year and 31% say that decision had a negative/extremely negative impact on their business results
87% of respondents report that printed marketing/advertising tools are somewhat to very effective at driving customers to businesses, and 61% believe traditional marketing/advertising methods are more effective than Web-based counterparts at bringing in customers
44% of small business owners plan to grow business in 2010 by increasing communication with existing and potential customers via printed materials like newsletters and direct mailings. These entrepreneurs are also actively leveraging other traditional marketing/advertising tools such as:
• Brochures (43%)
• Yellow Pages listings (39%)
• Flyers and signs/banners/posters (37% each)
• Newspaper advertisements (32%)
The small business owners putting the most emphasis in this area may be older than most would expect. 18-34 year-old small business owners are greater proponents of signs, banners and/or posters (51% for 18-34 vs. 36% for 55+) and flyers/brochures (57% for 18-34 vs. 47% for 55+) as cost effective marketing/advertising tools than older owners.
46% of respondents have plans to grow business in 2010 by improving their company's online presence, while another 36% plan to utilize social media/networking websites to build business.
With many small businesses planning to enhance their marketing and advertising efforts across the board this year:
64% say their marketing and advertising materials are, at best, only somewhat consistent in terms of brand, messaging and overall design
23% of small business owners can't invest in improving these materials due to budget restraints
13% find that they spend more than they should because they don't have the time or resources to find cost-saving deals
This optimism is a marked improvement over the survey's findings last year, when 54% of respondents indicated they were very concerned about the economy's impact on their business. 18% of small businesses are considering an increased budget for staffing and HR activities in 2010, up from just 9% last year.
This study also found that 42% of those polled are considering increasing spending on marketing and advertising initiatives in 2010, and 30% say they may increase spending on sales initiatives. Both actions are specifically aimed at boosting customer traffic and revenues.
Randy Scarborough, vice president of marketing for FedEx Office, says "Small businesses are... identifying and investing in the tools that will help them bounce back... print ads, direct mail campaigns, online marketing programs, and a social media presence... maximize their budgets... connecting effectively with new and existing customers... "
Underscoring small business owners' firm belief in the value of traditional and online marketing and advertising:
• In 2008, before the recession was fully felt throughout the marketplace, 41% of those polled were considering increasing spending on marketing and advertising initiatives
• In 2009, with the recession in full-swing, 44% of small business owners reported considering a budget increase in that same area
• This survey shows that 34% made cuts to their marketing and advertising spend last year and 31% say that decision had a negative/extremely negative impact on their business results
87% of respondents report that printed marketing/advertising tools are somewhat to very effective at driving customers to businesses, and 61% believe traditional marketing/advertising methods are more effective than Web-based counterparts at bringing in customers
44% of small business owners plan to grow business in 2010 by increasing communication with existing and potential customers via printed materials like newsletters and direct mailings. These entrepreneurs are also actively leveraging other traditional marketing/advertising tools such as:
• Brochures (43%)
• Yellow Pages listings (39%)
• Flyers and signs/banners/posters (37% each)
• Newspaper advertisements (32%)
The small business owners putting the most emphasis in this area may be older than most would expect. 18-34 year-old small business owners are greater proponents of signs, banners and/or posters (51% for 18-34 vs. 36% for 55+) and flyers/brochures (57% for 18-34 vs. 47% for 55+) as cost effective marketing/advertising tools than older owners.
46% of respondents have plans to grow business in 2010 by improving their company's online presence, while another 36% plan to utilize social media/networking websites to build business.
With many small businesses planning to enhance their marketing and advertising efforts across the board this year:
64% say their marketing and advertising materials are, at best, only somewhat consistent in terms of brand, messaging and overall design
23% of small business owners can't invest in improving these materials due to budget restraints
13% find that they spend more than they should because they don't have the time or resources to find cost-saving deals
May 11, 2010
Twitter has confirmed the soft-launch of a "Business Center," which consists of various features, including the ability for businesses to accept direct messages on the service -- even from people they don't technically "follow."
"This is huge for businesses that perform customer service via Twitter," notes Mashable. "They can get feedback and deal with private customer issues without having to follow the person back first."
"The Business Center Toolkit will let companies using the micro-blogging site for marketing purposes turn on and off different options and functionality," Venture Beat writes.
"This is Twitter's move to offer specific business services that will enhance Twitter's abilities to serve the business community," notes Marketing Pilgrim. "Eventually this will be another one of those things that will maybe even help Twitter, ummmmm, make money ... How about that?"
Presently, only a small group of business users have received emails from the Twitter team, inviting them to test a so-called "Twitter Toolkit," according to Mashable.
According to Twitter: "Only a handful of accounts have these features presently," while it expects to roll out the features gradually. Twitter is asking participating businesses to "fill out some information which will help us verify your business or organization."
Once a business activates its account, it is automatically verified, which leads Mashable to believe that Twitter has finally decided to expand its Verified Accounts program to brands and organizations.
"Business accounts can also add multiple users so different employees can use the same account," notes Fast Company, adding: "The biggest change is in direct messaging ... Normally, direct messages can only be sent and received by two accounts that are following each other, in order to cut down on spam ... But business accounts allow the receiving of messages from users that account is not following -- this could be useful for customer service, since a business wouldn't have to mess around following every single user who also likes Peet's Coffee or whatever."
Mashable et al
"This is huge for businesses that perform customer service via Twitter," notes Mashable. "They can get feedback and deal with private customer issues without having to follow the person back first."
"The Business Center Toolkit will let companies using the micro-blogging site for marketing purposes turn on and off different options and functionality," Venture Beat writes.
"This is Twitter's move to offer specific business services that will enhance Twitter's abilities to serve the business community," notes Marketing Pilgrim. "Eventually this will be another one of those things that will maybe even help Twitter, ummmmm, make money ... How about that?"
Presently, only a small group of business users have received emails from the Twitter team, inviting them to test a so-called "Twitter Toolkit," according to Mashable.
According to Twitter: "Only a handful of accounts have these features presently," while it expects to roll out the features gradually. Twitter is asking participating businesses to "fill out some information which will help us verify your business or organization."
Once a business activates its account, it is automatically verified, which leads Mashable to believe that Twitter has finally decided to expand its Verified Accounts program to brands and organizations.
"Business accounts can also add multiple users so different employees can use the same account," notes Fast Company, adding: "The biggest change is in direct messaging ... Normally, direct messages can only be sent and received by two accounts that are following each other, in order to cut down on spam ... But business accounts allow the receiving of messages from users that account is not following -- this could be useful for customer service, since a business wouldn't have to mess around following every single user who also likes Peet's Coffee or whatever."
Mashable et al
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