Google Analytics Launches New Features

Google Analytics announced today new product features that they will be launching in the next few weeks. Here are a few brief descriptions:

1. Increased goal completions. The days of only being able to implement 4 goals are over. Now you will have the ability to implement 20 goals; and be able to  assign specific number of viewed pages and/or time spent on site as a goal

2. Mobile websites will now be tracked regardless if the device runs Java Script or not. Mobile applications within the iPhone and Android will now be tracked through Google Analytics to understand how users are engaging with the application. Of course there will be additional coding required

3. Added advanced analysis features allows you to apply filters within the reports for easy analysis and drilling down into the data without having to export

4. Multiple custom variables will allow you to track and define visitors by specific attributes, interactions, and/or behaviors

5. The most attractive improvement that Google Analytics is launching is Intelligence. While reviewing your reports, Google Analytics will alert you when there have been substantial changes in metrics or trends within daily, weekly, or monthly reporting periods. You will also be able to customize and define your own alerts that you want Google Analytics to  monitor.

If you’d like to read more about the features in more depth, check out the Google Analytics Blog.

Google the Lead Generation Killer?

There is drama brewing the in the lead generation industry!

If you didn’t catch the news that LendingTree has filed a lawsuit against one of its key service providers, Mortech. Whats dramatic about the lawsuit is not really the lawsuit itself. Let me explain:

Everyone should know who LendingTree is, but there is a good chance you do not know who Mortech is.  Mortech provides real time loan pricing data from 100’s of banks to the mortgage industry. There happens to be a number of different companies that provide the same service, but in this case LendingTree chose to partner exclusively with Mortech.

The drama begins to unfold when LendingTree learns that their exclusive partner is allegedly speaking with Google about providing the same services. The LendingTree suit claims that Mortech infringed on their contract and broke their confidentiality agreement by discussing a similar, if not the same, service that is provided to LendingTree. The drama is not necessarily about the specific lawsuit, but rather the fact that Google is looking at bringing a mortgage pricing engine/lead generation platform to their search results.

Believe it or not, Google is not the first search engine to try this. As a matter of fact,  AOL attempted mortgage lead generation in early 2007 with no success and then Yahoo tried lead generation later the same year, again with no success. Don’t count Google out just because AOL and Yahoo couldn’t make it work. Google is taking a completely different approach with their strategy. You can get an idea of what Google’s plans are by checking out Search Engine Lands 2008 article that covered the launch of the UK version. This beta was different then the upcoming US version in that the rates were added by humans. The US version will include real time rates posted by Mortech’s pricing engine. By doing this Google would eliminate the interaction with the brokers, post accurate rates and then be able to possible sell the inquiries on a CPL.

This is big news for companies in the lead generation industry. Its my guess that LendingTree recognizes this as a major threat and is going to do everything possible to stop or slow down the launch of this new Google service. The lawsuit, while directed at Mortech, is more about stopping Google from becoming a direct competitor in my opinion.

The launch of a service like this will easily take clicks away from companies bidding on mortgage related keywords. I don’t think that can be denied, but will it kill the mortgage lead generation vertical altogether? Of course not. A bigger question that needs to be asked is if this plan is successful will they go into other verticals? If Google can successfully generate and monetize mortgage leads from this new service what is going to stop them from moving into other verticals?

The evolution on online marketing has been slowly moving from the CPM and CPC pricing model to a CPA or CPL pricing model. Google noticed this on 2006 and launched their CPA pricing model within Google Adwords. I think this move into the mortgage lead generation vertical shows that they believe advertisers will continue to make the shift towards CPA based marketing strategies. Google will be able to integrate their own lead acquisition platform into multiple verticals and instead of worrying about cost per clicks, ad variations and conversion rates advertisers will simply be able to buy the leads directly from Google.

What do you think? Is this a long shot or exactly what Google plans on doing? Give me your thoughts.

AdWords Trademark Policy Update

Overview

Google recently announced that starting June 15^th, advertisers will be allowed to use trademark terms in their ads even if they do not own that trademark nor are an approved reseller/partner.  Currently, advertisers have complete control over who can place their brand name in the headline and/or description line in order to ensure competitors are not using such brand name as leverage.  Advertisers who own their brand name manually grant companies permission to use these terms in the ad copy on a case by case basis.  Google will be rolling out an automated tool to properly scan landing pages and allow use of brand terms in ad copy based off of the following advertiser criteria:

1.       Resellers or partners:  Tool will scan the landing pages to ensure branded product is sold.  An example is Best Buy selling Belkin routers on the landing page.  The tool would allow ‘Belkin’ to be displayed in the ad copy

2.       Informational sites: Sites that compare and or review products, but do not sell such products.  For example, CNET as an advertiser may have a page dedicated to comparing routers.  They will be able to run ads saying “Looking for a new router? Compare Belkin to D-Link and….”

This change has no affect on keywords: anyone can currently bid on any term in AdWords.  Google’s Quality Score will bring the most relevant ads and landing pages to the top rank.

Why?

It appears that Google is making the marketplace more accessible to all advertisers by automating this feature.  However, the technology rolled out will ensure that competitors will not be allowed to fall under the 2 categories above.  Google’s goal (and that of the search landscape) is to connect the audience with qualified ads and, in effect, connect the user to the right page as quickly as possible.

Impact

The trademark update will obviously give companies less control over who can use their brand terms in ad copy.  However, the direct effect of this change will depend on the brand.

Clients with Resellers/Partners

Companies with a large manufacturing base (i.e. several resellers) may see an increase in cost per clicks as the paid search marketplace increases on both brand and general terms.

Clients’ Products on Informational Sites

On the other hand, informational sites, in time, could be quite beneficial to all advertisers.  Although ad dollars are moving towards the lead gen aspect of search, there are still a large percentage of users researching before they buy.  These sites may take away clicks initially, but these users are becoming more educated about your product and, if it is a good fit, will be more likely to convert - and convert faster.  This means a potential increase in conversion rates and return on investment.

What to do?

Clients with Resellers/Partners

Keep track of your clients’ resellers–which keywords they are bidding on with your brand in copy.  There won’t be much you can do to change their copy, but it is best to avoid click cannibalization and increasing CPCs.  In some situations, you may be able to work with your resellers or partners to keep this from happening.

Clients’ Products on Informational Sites

See which informational sites are displaying your client’s brand in their ad copy.  This could be an upsell opportunity for some premiere display placement, especially if the information is positive for your client.

So mark June 15^th in your calendar as Duplicity Day.  You may start to see your brand more than expected!

~Daniel Romotsky

Google Chrome Viral Videos

The launch of Google chrome was relatively low-key. It went live, media outlets mentioned it–that was about it. Now, Google is stepping it up a notch. Today the search engine Goliath launches 11 YouTube videos in the hopes that they will become “viral.”

This blog post proves that their move is working.

The videos do not call out Chrome’s competition, namely Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari. Instead, the campaigns encourages users to think about what they really want from a browser. Each video varies drastically from one to the other, but all in all, they tout that Google Chrome improves online efficiency and general snazziness.

To see all of the videos, visit http://www.youtube.com/user/googlechrome. It’s definitely worth the trip.

Chrome: Bye Bye Internet Explorer (for me)

I don’t want to jump to any conclusions, but with only a couple day’s use of Chrome, Google’s entry into the web browser market, this might be the last time I click on that little “e” icon in my quick launch toolbar.

For the last couple of years I’ve utilized two browsers daily.  I do so because I can log into the same website with two separate accounts. For example, with both Firefox and IE7 open, I can log into different account profiles on Facebook; a personal account and work account.

With the introduction of Chrome, I now have the luxury of choosing which browsers I want to use. With Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer available to me (and Opera), this more than likely signals the end of Internet Explorer for me.

Personally speaking, without any scientific tests to back up that personal opinion mind you, Chrome feels so much faster than either Firefox or internet Explorer. And the look and feel of Chrome is lighter than IE. Apparently my feeling is on-point as many tests have proved that Chrome is faster.  Check out some of the test results here, here, and here.  Though Firefox, Google’s buddy, refutes some of those claims.

Chrome Features

In my day and a half of use, I’ve already discovered some cool new Chrome features.

We’re so used to seeing some customized homepage when you start using a browser, or having a few tabs open up after we’ve set our preferences, but with Chrome, it automatically shows you linked-screenshots for the most-visited sites at startup, all on one tab, and will do so with any subsequent new tabs that are opened.

That could be a good thing if you are the only one using the browser, could be a bad thing if your significant other or co-worker shares your computer.  Just saying.

One thing that has always bothered me are browser-specific websites, or more specifically sites that work on IE, but not Firefox.  With Google Chrome, Function Point and DART users can rejoice, you can now successfully log into both without having to use Internet Explorer!

Another cool little feature that I have already discovered was the “Find” feature.  it works as with any other browser, but with Chrome, when you press Control-F, it not only jumps to the first instance, but tells you how many instances of that same word is in the document. 

By many accounts, Chrome is great for everyday web browsing, but users that have more advanced tastes should probably wait until a later, more stable release.

One interesting SEO sidenote with Chrome, the browser tabs are brought all the way to the top of the window, eliminating the location where we usually see the full title tags.   Now title tags are limited to space of a tab. Is this a way for Google to focus more on content and less on meta data?  If Chrome, or Chrome’s layout, catches on, will that decrease the current 65-70 title tag character limit and mark a Google alorithm shift?

Anyways, I haven’t used Chrome for any significant amount of time, so I bet there are several cool secrets hidden in Chrome.  All I know is that Chrome, with it’s clean template and efficient web browser with speedy load times, that’s enough for me to move away from Internet Explorer.

Online Marketers Read This: Search Nursery Rhymes

This is my favorite thing in my inbox at the moment.

*Excerpts from MediaPost Publications’s Search insider, July 23 by Aaron Goldman

I’m Snoozing, I’m Snoring

In the style of It’s Raining, It’s Pouring

I’m snoozing, I’m snoring,

Your search results are boring.

Your market share

is barely there.

Will Cashback get you roaring?

Bostock and Yang Went to Great Pains

In the style of Jack and Jill Went Up the Hill

Bostock and Yang

Went to great pains

To avoid an outright acquisition.

They played tough,

$44 billion wasn’t enough.

Then they retreated their position.

Yankee Google

In the style of Yankee Doodle

Yankee Google took over the town,

It’s PR spin smooth as a zamboni.

Stuck creative in its cap,

Scaring Mad Ave cronies.

Yankee Google keep it up,

Automating media, that’s dandy.

And now finally some transparency,

Now this is really handy.

Google can now read Flash files. Sort of.

On Monday, Google announced that Googlebot can better index Flash files. But don’t go too crazy - Googlebot still has significant limitations when crawling Flash files. For example, if your website loads a Flash movie using JavaScript, you’re out of luck because, in the words of Google programmers, “Googlebot does not execute some types of JavaScript.”

Photographers, architects, and designers are particularly fond of all-Flash sites - and are often dismayed when SEO folks caution that the content of all-Flash sites is invisible to search engines. At Geary, we often recommend that clients build an HTML mirror of all content contained in the Flash - both for search engine spiders and for Web users who are blind or don’t have Flash enabled in their browsers.

However, this innovation - despite its significant limitations - could diminish the importance of building an HTML version of Flash sites or using other coding tricks to make Flash files readable to search engine spiders. It’s good news for those who love the slick, cinematic quality of Flash.

Google and Yahoo set to make a BIG announcement at 1:30 PST

A joint press conference is set between the top two search firms and speculation about the announcement is abuzz around the net. An insider at one of the companies is saying that they will be announcing an official search partnership and the departure of a top Yahoo! executive. The partnership will have Yahoo! outsourcing possible all of its search marketing (and maybe search) to Google.

What does this mean for the internet as we know it? Does Google really need control?

Any thoughts?

UPDATE: 3:26  Yahoo!  announces a non-exclusive online advertising agreement with Google

Microsoft, Google, Abundance, Scarcity.

Of course, there’s been a lot of discussion of Microsoft’s ‘cash rebate’ plan for search ( http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24760487/) over here at GearyI. A few comments in Kim’s innovation session down here in San Diego today made me ponder it’s wider implications. We were briefly discussing marketing cultures of scarcity vs. abundance. (i.e., the scarcity model says “there are (x) many customers, and we MUST COMPLETE LIKE CRAZY for them.” Abundance model says “customers come to great ideas – and the entire customer pie grows beyond expectation when we create a good ecosystem to attract them. We do not focus as much on competition as we do on creating great ideas that attract customers.”)

Now if that doesn’t sound like Microsoft and Google going at it, I’m not sure what does.

One interesting post in the blogsphere commenting on all this: machinist blog on salon.com:

http://www.salon.com/tech/machinist/blog/2008/05/23/microsoft_books_search/index.html

It’s an excellent example of the scarcity model (Microsoft) vs the abundance model (Google) at work. As Farhad points out – some monetary effects are less obvious than others. To paraphrase: “If you were a programmer, do you want to work for the visionary company . . . or the one who’s stated focus is their revenue goals?”

If markets are ecosystems, so are companies. And having goals that keep employees inspired – and attract ones with inspiration – is a competitive advantage. Believing that advantage translates to revenue? Well, that’s the whole abundance model, isn’t it? It goes a little outside the spreadsheet.

Sarah

Why Geary Interactive is Excited About Merging with Fathom Online

With our announcement yesterday about our acquisition of Fathom Online, we at Geary Interactive thought we would share the top five reasons why excited about joining forces.

1. Search engine marketing is growing part of the online marketing mix, and Fathom has industry-leading expertise in this field.

2. Fathom has well-established relationships with all the biggies:  Google, Yahoo! and MSN.  Additionally, they have developed proprietary tools to help track and forecast market trends (Fathom Analytics and Keyword Price Index).

3. With this merger we are undeniably one of the few indepedent, integrated digital advertising agencies.

4.  We now have an full-service office in San Francisco which expands our national reach.

5. Fathom Online is as equally excited as Geary Interactive to capitalize on the projected growth of the interactive industry.

To put it lightly, we are ecstatic about this new partnership, and we cannot wait to move forward and utilize our combined industry know-how to maximize our clients’ campaigns.