Searchers Still Like to Buy Offline
"A new study says that though a majority of shoppers use the internet to research products, nearly half still prefer to make their purchases through bricks and mortar retailers.
The Post-Holiday Online Shopping Study, sponsored by iProspect and conducted by Jupiter Research, found that 47% of Internet users who reported researching products online during the 2005 holiday season bought those products offline at a physical store, by phone or through some other offline channel.
It's not that shoppers are uncomfortable using the internet. Fully 63% of survey respondents said that they researched products at online merchant sites, and 62% of Internet shoppers used general search engines (such as Google and Yahoo!) when researching products online. "
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Performics Reveals Increase in PPC CLicks and Cost
"Performics, the search marketing division of online advertising company DoubleClick, reports that the number of search marketing clicks in Q4 2005 grew 107% over the previous year, and the average cost of keywords rose 114%. "Keyword and overall campaign growth remain very strong. Search portfolios are expanding as marketers seek to connect with consumers during all stages of the buying cycle, and therefore, results are being measured beyond immediate ROI alone," said Stuart Larkins, Performics vice president of search in a statement."
"Performics, the search marketing division of online advertising company DoubleClick, reports that the number of search marketing clicks in Q4 2005 grew 107% over the previous year, and the average cost of keywords rose 114%. "Keyword and overall campaign growth remain very strong. Search portfolios are expanding as marketers seek to connect with consumers during all stages of the buying cycle, and therefore, results are being measured beyond immediate ROI alone," said Stuart Larkins, Performics vice president of search in a statement."
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
WhitePages.com LAUNCHES NEXT GENERATION GEO-DESTINATION TARGETING FOR ONLINE ADVERTISERS
Local directory site WhitePages.com is currently testing a new geographical targeting option for advertisers. The feature, dubbed "geo-destination targeting," combines IP-based targeting--a very common technique that allows advertisers to target ads based on the location of a user.
Bill - Wouldn't it be cool to do this during a major Tradeshow?
Local directory site WhitePages.com is currently testing a new geographical targeting option for advertisers. The feature, dubbed "geo-destination targeting," combines IP-based targeting--a very common technique that allows advertisers to target ads based on the location of a user.
Bill - Wouldn't it be cool to do this during a major Tradeshow?
Consumers Report Drop In Spam
"FIFTY-EIGHT PERCENT OF CONSUMERS FEEL that the e-mail marketing they receive is usually targeted to their needs and interests--up from 53 percent in 2005, according to a study released Tuesday by e-mail services firm Epsilon Interactive.
The study, based on a January survey of 1005 respondents, also found that spam appears to be waning. Fifty-six percent of consumers reported receiving less spam now than last year. "
"Although spam is on the decline, the survey states, false positives on ISPs' spam filters remain relatively steady. Thirty-one percent of consumers report that e-mail they have opted-in to receive has ended up in their junk mail folder--down from 32 percent last year--and 55 percent of users regularly check their junk mail folders for legitimate marketing messages, up from 52 percent last year. "
The study also noted that Yahoo Mail this year has overtaken AOL as the most widely used e-mail service among those surveyed, with Yahoo claiming 23 percent of respondents, compared to AOL's 15 percent. Last year, 19 percent of respondents used Yahoo, while 20 percent used AOL. Microsoft's Hotmail remains in third place, with a 12 percent share--unchanged from a year ago--while Gmail went from 1 percent in 2005 to 5 percent in 2006. "
"FIFTY-EIGHT PERCENT OF CONSUMERS FEEL that the e-mail marketing they receive is usually targeted to their needs and interests--up from 53 percent in 2005, according to a study released Tuesday by e-mail services firm Epsilon Interactive.
The study, based on a January survey of 1005 respondents, also found that spam appears to be waning. Fifty-six percent of consumers reported receiving less spam now than last year. "
"Although spam is on the decline, the survey states, false positives on ISPs' spam filters remain relatively steady. Thirty-one percent of consumers report that e-mail they have opted-in to receive has ended up in their junk mail folder--down from 32 percent last year--and 55 percent of users regularly check their junk mail folders for legitimate marketing messages, up from 52 percent last year. "
The study also noted that Yahoo Mail this year has overtaken AOL as the most widely used e-mail service among those surveyed, with Yahoo claiming 23 percent of respondents, compared to AOL's 15 percent. Last year, 19 percent of respondents used Yahoo, while 20 percent used AOL. Microsoft's Hotmail remains in third place, with a 12 percent share--unchanged from a year ago--while Gmail went from 1 percent in 2005 to 5 percent in 2006. "
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Test Big, Test Often
"'Testing big' means testing something radically different. Many times when I have tested small, I ended up with results that were dead even, statistically insignificant or contradictory when retested. This happened both when we tried to arrive at the optimal number of products for an e-mail (Is 6 better than 8? Is 9 better than 7?), and when we tested different subheads for product categories. Every best-day-to-mail and color test I've done was 'too small' as well.
A big test yielded a big difference in results. We tested two versions of an e-mail, one leading with the advertising message and the other leading with the consumer benefit. Of course the consumer benefit approach won, but what was surprising was the magnitude of the win: it beat the advertising approach by 140 percent! "
"'Testing big' means testing something radically different. Many times when I have tested small, I ended up with results that were dead even, statistically insignificant or contradictory when retested. This happened both when we tried to arrive at the optimal number of products for an e-mail (Is 6 better than 8? Is 9 better than 7?), and when we tested different subheads for product categories. Every best-day-to-mail and color test I've done was 'too small' as well.
A big test yielded a big difference in results. We tested two versions of an e-mail, one leading with the advertising message and the other leading with the consumer benefit. Of course the consumer benefit approach won, but what was surprising was the magnitude of the win: it beat the advertising approach by 140 percent! "
Center for Media Research
Pick Influential Search Engine By Category, But Yahoo! Safe Bet
Findings from BIGresearch's latest Simultaneous Media Survey show that Yahoo! is the overall #1 search engine choice for most influential on purchase decisions and Google is number 4. Media influence and/or engagement are hot topics in today's ROI driven ad world concludes the report.
Joe Pilotta, VP of Research at BIGresearch. Says 'When you look at the impact of Internet Advertising on specific purchase decisions and not just click throughs, the impact of internet advertising is a different story,' For example, the influence on electronics purchases showed Google #1 followed by Yahoo!, MSN, AOL and Ask Jeeves.
Influence of Internet Advertising on Purchase Decisions (Ranked by Search Engine Preference)
Electronics - Apparel/Clothing- Car/Truck - Grocery
1. Google 1. Yahoo! 1. MSN 1. AOL
2. Yahoo! 2. AOL 2. Yahoo! 2. Yahoo!
3. MSN 3. MSN 3. Google 3. Ask Jeeves
4. AOL 4. Google 4. Ask Jeeves 4. MSN
5. Ask Jeeves 5. Ask Jeeves 5. AOL 5. Google
Source: BIGresearch, February 2006
'If we tally the ranking of search engines' influence on category purchase decisions...Yahoo! (is) number 1 with a score of 13, with 1st or 2nd place finishes in every category, MSN number 2 at 21, AOL number 3 at 23, Google number 4 at 26 and Ask Jeeves number 5 at 32...' said Pilotta.
As Pilotta points out, share, as measured by Nielsen//Netratings, may not be the precursor of the important influence on purchase. "
Pick Influential Search Engine By Category, But Yahoo! Safe Bet
Findings from BIGresearch's latest Simultaneous Media Survey show that Yahoo! is the overall #1 search engine choice for most influential on purchase decisions and Google is number 4. Media influence and/or engagement are hot topics in today's ROI driven ad world concludes the report.
Joe Pilotta, VP of Research at BIGresearch. Says 'When you look at the impact of Internet Advertising on specific purchase decisions and not just click throughs, the impact of internet advertising is a different story,' For example, the influence on electronics purchases showed Google #1 followed by Yahoo!, MSN, AOL and Ask Jeeves.
Influence of Internet Advertising on Purchase Decisions (Ranked by Search Engine Preference)
Electronics - Apparel/Clothing- Car/Truck - Grocery
1. Google 1. Yahoo! 1. MSN 1. AOL
2. Yahoo! 2. AOL 2. Yahoo! 2. Yahoo!
3. MSN 3. MSN 3. Google 3. Ask Jeeves
4. AOL 4. Google 4. Ask Jeeves 4. MSN
5. Ask Jeeves 5. Ask Jeeves 5. AOL 5. Google
Source: BIGresearch, February 2006
'If we tally the ranking of search engines' influence on category purchase decisions...Yahoo! (is) number 1 with a score of 13, with 1st or 2nd place finishes in every category, MSN number 2 at 21, AOL number 3 at 23, Google number 4 at 26 and Ask Jeeves number 5 at 32...' said Pilotta.
As Pilotta points out, share, as measured by Nielsen//Netratings, may not be the precursor of the important influence on purchase. "
Display Ads Balloon 12%
"ONLINE MARKETERS SERVED MORE THAN 138 billion display ads last month, marking a 12 percent increase from December, according to new data from Nielsen//NetRatings AdRelevance.
Financial services advertisers accounted for the most impressions by far--22 percent last month, up slightly from 21 percent in January 2005. Telecoms purchased 19 percent of all online ads, more than double last year's 8 percent. Retail goods and services marketers accounted for 16 percent of impressions, compared to 15 percent last year.
Where did marketers spend their online ad dollars? E-mail sites were a favorite choice, garnering 35.1 percent of impressions--up from both last year's 20.2 percent and last month's 32.1 percent. The bulk of those ads were on Yahoo and MSN; Yahoo Mail drew 22.3 percent of all impressions, while MSN Hotmail garnered 9.6 percent. "
"ONLINE MARKETERS SERVED MORE THAN 138 billion display ads last month, marking a 12 percent increase from December, according to new data from Nielsen//NetRatings AdRelevance.
Financial services advertisers accounted for the most impressions by far--22 percent last month, up slightly from 21 percent in January 2005. Telecoms purchased 19 percent of all online ads, more than double last year's 8 percent. Retail goods and services marketers accounted for 16 percent of impressions, compared to 15 percent last year.
Where did marketers spend their online ad dollars? E-mail sites were a favorite choice, garnering 35.1 percent of impressions--up from both last year's 20.2 percent and last month's 32.1 percent. The bulk of those ads were on Yahoo and MSN; Yahoo Mail drew 22.3 percent of all impressions, while MSN Hotmail garnered 9.6 percent. "
Monday, February 20, 2006
E-Commerce Sales Increase 25%
"E-COMMERCE SALES ACCOUNTED FOR 2.4 percent of all sales in the fourth quarter, up from 2.3 percent the previous quarter, according to new figures released Friday by the Department of Commerce. Total fourth quarter e-commerce revenues came to a seasonally adjusted $22.94 billion. For all of 2005, e-commerce sales rose by 24.6 percent. "
"E-COMMERCE SALES ACCOUNTED FOR 2.4 percent of all sales in the fourth quarter, up from 2.3 percent the previous quarter, according to new figures released Friday by the Department of Commerce. Total fourth quarter e-commerce revenues came to a seasonally adjusted $22.94 billion. For all of 2005, e-commerce sales rose by 24.6 percent. "
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Auto Industry Revs Up Online Advertising
Automotive advertisers are following the trends and making the switch to online advertising at the expense of other media, according to a new eMarketer report on automotive online marketing. According to the study, the top ten automotive advertisers spent only 2.5% of their total ad spending from January to November 2005 online. The eMarketer report estimates that auto companies will spend $2.7 billion on online advertising in 2007 compared to the $1.4 billion spent in 2005. Furthermore, the auto industry will capture 15 percent of U.S. online advertising spending by 2007 compared with 11 percent in 2005.
In today's press release, Lisa E. Phillips, eMarketer Senior Analyst and author of the new Automotive Online: Gearing Up for Greater Spending report said, "The industry's foot is definitely coming off the brakes and onto the accelerator this year Automotive advertisers are gearing up for an online advertising surge, and it's going to come at the expense of other media. Phillips also commented, The automotive industry is the largest advertiser in the world. In the US alone, the industry spent more than $17 billion in the first 11 months of 2005. But, despite the fact that almost 70% of consumers use the Web at some point in their automotive purchases, the industry has been slow to commit to online advertising and promotion.
Tactics mentioned in the report include: Audi and Volvo sponsoring National Public Radio podcasts; Cadillac's five-second film contest bumping site traffic 35%, according to Promo magazine; Chrysler targeting "Road Trip" advergames to moms interested in its Town & Country minivan; ..."
Automotive advertisers are following the trends and making the switch to online advertising at the expense of other media, according to a new eMarketer report on automotive online marketing. According to the study, the top ten automotive advertisers spent only 2.5% of their total ad spending from January to November 2005 online. The eMarketer report estimates that auto companies will spend $2.7 billion on online advertising in 2007 compared to the $1.4 billion spent in 2005. Furthermore, the auto industry will capture 15 percent of U.S. online advertising spending by 2007 compared with 11 percent in 2005.
In today's press release, Lisa E. Phillips, eMarketer Senior Analyst and author of the new Automotive Online: Gearing Up for Greater Spending report said, "The industry's foot is definitely coming off the brakes and onto the accelerator this year Automotive advertisers are gearing up for an online advertising surge, and it's going to come at the expense of other media. Phillips also commented, The automotive industry is the largest advertiser in the world. In the US alone, the industry spent more than $17 billion in the first 11 months of 2005. But, despite the fact that almost 70% of consumers use the Web at some point in their automotive purchases, the industry has been slow to commit to online advertising and promotion.
Tactics mentioned in the report include: Audi and Volvo sponsoring National Public Radio podcasts; Cadillac's five-second film contest bumping site traffic 35%, according to Promo magazine; Chrysler targeting "Road Trip" advergames to moms interested in its Town & Country minivan; ..."
Taking a Bite Out of Google's Third Party Cookies
In addition to testing Click-To-Call ads for AdWords, Google is quietly testing an addition to AdSense: 3rd party cookies for tracking image ads. Last week, some AdWords publishers received an email from the AdSense team advising them of the test.
Part of the letter reads:
"To track the performance of a campaign, 3rd parties ad-servers may place a cookie on users' computers to capture standard web traffic information such as time, date, IP address and browser information."
It's something that has been lacking from Google's roundup of AdSense services, and it will allow advertisers to run more individualized and targeted campaigns, opening the door to displaying ads on an individual site by keyword or subject. (Incidentally this may also result in increased AdSense checks for publishers.)"
In addition to testing Click-To-Call ads for AdWords, Google is quietly testing an addition to AdSense: 3rd party cookies for tracking image ads. Last week, some AdWords publishers received an email from the AdSense team advising them of the test.
Part of the letter reads:
"To track the performance of a campaign, 3rd parties ad-servers may place a cookie on users' computers to capture standard web traffic information such as time, date, IP address and browser information."
It's something that has been lacking from Google's roundup of AdSense services, and it will allow advertisers to run more individualized and targeted campaigns, opening the door to displaying ads on an individual site by keyword or subject. (Incidentally this may also result in increased AdSense checks for publishers.)"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)