Microsoft's Video Game Ads?

Reported earlier Microsoft's next big move is toward online video games. Online ads in online video games to be precise.

Microsoft finalized the details of aquiring the New York based Massive Inc. on Thursday, though declined to disclose the financial terms of the agreement. The deal is said to range between $200 million and $400 million.

Massive Inc. specializes in placing ads in online video games through the online connection. It is said to remain headquartered in New York at this time. Massive Inc. also has offices worldwide including in London, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sydney which will remain open.

Microsoft will be able to input ads regularly through the newly acquired technology as opposed to using more static methods now. Meaning Microsoft can specialize ads for individuals, times, and locations if desired. One ads space can be filled with numerous ads rather than one singular ad.

Initially this technology will be used in XBox Live and MSN Games online. Microsoft is also exploring ways to use the Massive technology in exisitng avenues.

Microsoft plans to make a big appearance in the online advertising world this year, showing investors just how serious it is in increasing paid options online. Microsoft is spending millions yet again in research and development, last fiscal year it spent $500 million and its spending $700 million this fiscal year which ends in June.

Will Microsft's excess in R&D prove positive for the comglomerate? Google is already up in arms over other Microsoft doings and Microsoft has no intention of backing off. With the launch of IE7, the new internet search engine, and this online video game advertisement Microsoft may very well make it's mark.

Wall Street will be paying attention.

PPC Campaign Expansion

Now that MSN has walked away from Yahoo's Search Marketing there are three players in the field. Well, sorry little guys, the major leaguers are the ones we're focusing on at the moment.

With Google's AdSense, Yahoo's Search Marketing and the new MSN adCentre it may be time to plan on spreading the love (i.e. money) around.

MSN's adCentre boasts demographically and geographically targeted software making it a possible giant in the PPC world. It's MSN Search falls behind in search engine popularity. Google's AdSense has its quirks but also boosts the most popular search engine. So will the sophisticated ad service be enough to pull in buyers? Probably, but not as many as Google's AdSense until they strengthen the MSN Search tool.

Why is this a big deal? Last year the online advertising market was about $12.5B. That's only in the US. Google had a 49% share, Yahoo 22%, and MSN falling in at 11%. The projected growth for 2006 in Internet marketing is about 25%. MSN is setting itself up to receive a larger share of the profits.

The ability to target your traffic much more easily seems like a no brainer. It would usually mean less wasted clicks, more target traffic, more conversions, and better ROI. If your ads could reach a demographic it may make writing text ads les involved. Geographic locations can help with local suppliers and business markets as well as targeting certain areas for "specials". If adCentre delivers AdSense could feel the pinch.

Can Microsoft's $2B ramp up actually make them more relevant online? Two good moves placed coming out of the gate: adCentre and IE7 including the Windows Line Search.

The next few days and weeks should get interesting!

Kristen Owen
Comment on this blog.

Google, Microsoft Arms

Google seems to feel the attack its happily avoided for a while: a competitor is following suit. Google complained recently that the Internet Explorer Version 7 was unfair as it automatically set the default browser to MSN Search. Sound familiar? Just how unfair is this practice? Shouldn't a user be able to open his browser and search immediately, rather than take additional time and steps to set a browser for the first search? People want things and they want them now and they want them easy. What's easier than setting a default browser for the consumer?

Google has cried foul to US and European authorities, though now word on official filings as of yet. Yahoo and Microsoft are calling Google's bluff. Google has set numerous browsers to default to Google Search, some without offering additional options. Mozilla, Firefox, Opera Web browsers and now a new contract with Dell computers was bought to offer Google browsers standard on some computers shows Google is not above paying for a default position. Microsoft embedded its MSN search engine standard into its own browser. Is there a need to point fingers?

This isn't the first blow these two SE monsters have dealt one another, it won't be the last. The real questions seem to be:

Will Google get far with these accusations or are they just causing noise?

Any publicity is good publicity and with Google crying foul its gaining the spotlight when competitor Microsoft should be dazzling. With Microsoft's acquisition of the Amazon A9 system (formerly run by Google) and the new Internet Explorer Version 7 being released Microsoft has plenty to brag about. But somehow Google is the topic on everyone's mind.

What will Google do now?

Some report the IE7 default to MSN is a huge blow to Google. But is it really? "Googling" has now replaced the terms searching or querying in many a vocabulary. With such an absolute presence will this one "blow" really be felt or is it another case of good publicity?

Personally, Google should focus more on its copyright infringement cases and stocks more so than a single defaulted browser. But they didn't ask me for some reason. I don't think this is going to hurt Google as much as some of the other things being done. Google needs to preserve its "honest" image to overcome the sticky, money grubbing corporate image its beginning to reflect.

Google, stay the search engine of choice and keep the people happy. Focus on that and keep your money making schemes a little less open. Many people don't know a lot more than they enjoy using Google search because they are comfortable with it. The IE7 default can be changed; if it's too difficult with its 4 step process people will continue typing www.Google.com into the browser.

But I think Google knows that already. Again, any publicity is good publicity. It's even better when you can steal the spotlight from a competitor while you're at it. Bravo, Google. Mr. Gates, the move is yours.

Kristen Owen is the composer of this blog. To reach her with questions or comments, please feel free at Blog@ContentWorth.com.

Is the Google Conglomerate Losing a Battle?

Another blow, Google has lost a renewal of the Amazon.com contract to its competitor Microsoft.

Amazon.com is one of the largest online retailers. It offers products, reviews, news, book and wikipedia searches, personalized customer pages and more. Continually updated and fresh content on sites such as Amazon.com are search engine candy. Not to mention its a top revenue provider.

While Google is still in the lead in terms of usage, with 49% market share, this loss may reflect the changing of the times. Yahoo! currently holds 22% and Microsoft, 11%.

Although this is just one battle in the search engine wars, it may hold significance in months and years to come. Of course, this follows suit with stocks plummeting in the quarterly earnings report, Google's controversial agreement with the Chinese government, and the rising outrage over censorship and plagiarism.

As of the time of this posting Google has not made a public comment, though reports indicate informal complaints have been made to US and European competition authorities.

Kristen Owen
President
Email me with comments or questions.

Easy Ways to Lose Business: Editing faux pas

Copywriting, press releases, e-mails, newsletters, e-books, product descriptions, content pages, ads all have fallen prey to the hustle that is marketing. Often these pieces of your company, these spot light pieces, will reveal something you don't want clients or potential clients to see. Misspelled words, incorrect grammar, dead text links, misdirected pages, and wrong telephone numbers and e-mail addresses.

Edit your copy! Then get someone else to edit again.

I am amazed how easily someone can throw his image out the door so carelessly. While online forms of media continue to thrive so to do editing mishaps and oversights.

I worked for a company who often utilized both print and web ads. I got interested in learning the designs techniques and worked closely with the creative team to create content and visually inspect ads for production. In doing so I realized while the creative team had reasons of their own to add or delete certain images and rearrange content they desperately needed a proof reader in the least. By becoming the "eyes" for these ads we were able to improve the content, thus the image of our company. Lesson: Getting too close to a project can cause you to "see" things that aren't there but should be and to overlook things that need change.

Try this: reread something you've written a while back, if it wasn't proofed then chances are you'll find simple mistakes that may have cost you.

Copyediting is one of the many services I provide from my web site. It can be as simple as evaluating a web site, e-book, pamphlet, or even a simple page to provide helpful tips on grammar and wording. Spell checks are great but only for impersonal media. Blogs and e-mails can get away with spell checkers. Print media, your homepage, your college thesis, your image deserve more than a simply "ABC Check" prior to its release into the competitive world.

Kristen
President
Blog@ContentWorth.com

After the Fact.

Last time I blogged about the Yahoo! Search Marketing Workshop I attended and how it mainly helped solidify what I've already experienced with PPC campaigns and search engines.

I must admit that all the hype over MarketingSherpa.com got me to investigate once again. Something I had neglected to do in the past weeks of building and launching ContentWorth.com was read up on its site, among a few others. MarketingSherpa has published its 2006 Case Studies. What can I say? I'm LOVE case studies.

I think studies like these open up new avenues of thought for SEM, SEO and other marketers just from the shear fact that we can learn from others mistakes and accomplishments. Plus I always enjoyed case studies in college, though those were usually a little more cultural and a little less search engine focused.

My favorite part of the case studies is seeing others' results from things I have tried myself or have thought of trying. Some clients are more open to new techniques than others, often the time crunch regulates what can and cannot be successfully accomplished. Case studies are one way of laying the groundwork for future search engine marketing projects while also refining current ones.

Although there are only so many hours in the day and clients come first with their PPC and SEO campaigns to optimize, their content to generate, and their inbound links to secure there should be some time set aside to look over things like these case studies. Sure, tried and true methods work, you've tried them and you've seen the results. But wouldn't it be better to arm yourself with other ideas as well? Knowledge sets you apart, that's one reason I find these things so appealing. Have you ever worried about hiring someone with too much knowledge of the market? Didn't think so.

Kristen Owen
President
Blog@ContentWorth.com