Introducing Google Ad Innovations
The principle behind the advertising products we build at Google is simple: ads are information. But the type of information that ads provide is getting more varied and inventive all the time, and as a result ads are getting more interesting, social and useful. As advertising evolves, we want to build the tools that make it possible for marketers to connect with customers in meaningful, creative ways. We’ve found that the best way to do that is to focus on the user, test new approaches regularly and listen closely to the feedback of the advertisers using our products. To work closely with advertisers on what comes next, today we’ve launched Google Ad Innovations, where we’ll show you some of our latest ideas around advertising technologies and get your feedback. One of the new features we’re showcasing is a set of AdWords reports, launched last week, called Search Funnels. These reports can help an advertiser understand whether there are keywords in her account that are helping to drive sales at a later date. At Google Ad Innovations, you can read more about this feature, watch a video walking you through how it works and send us your ideas on how to improve it. If you’re interested in the future of advertising with Google, pay Ad Innovations a visit — we’ll regularly add tools and features to the site, and we hope you’ll check them out!
Read More: Googleblog.blogspot.com
Whither Ad Networks?
The Advertising Network business is dramatically changing due to massive market fragmentation. It used to be that ad networks were “the way” that people acquired significant reach and met performance targets in campaigns. Publishers chopped up all of their spot market inventory to dole out to a variety of ad networks and then the networks packaged and resold that inventory in a variety of reach/brand or performance bundles. I have spent a lot of time thinking about how things will work out for Advertising.com. After having worked there for many years and recently leaving, I wondered, “what will become of Ad.com?” I have reached some conclusions that signal to me a dramatic market shift that will rock every ad network and result in the dissolution of most of the advertising networks we see today. I expect the number of advertising networks to fall precipitously (less than 40?) in the next few years and the networks that survive will be far smaller. The spot market is going to work a lot differently in the future: inventory will be acquired differently and the inventory will be sold differently. First, the inventory that ad networks acquire today will be bought via exchanges tomorrow. Publishers use yield optimizers to manage daisy chains today, but simple daisy chain management can never realize the true value of inventory to individual bidders without a real-time auction of the impression across the entire set of interested parties. The result is that a few yield managers are slowly turning themselves into RTB exchanges (Admeld, etc.), while other people buying spot inventory directly from publishers will probably see that inventory get sourced to exchanges instead. Why would a publisher not maximize the availability of that impression to advertisers? Limiting an impressions availability to a single network or group of networks artificially limits the yield opportunity to publishers. Exchanges, a technology platform with a minimal transaction fee, will be the primary means by which spot market impressions are liquidated.
Read More: CogMap.com
Yahoo! Shutters Contextual Ad Publisher Network
Yahoo has informed members of its Yahoo Publisher Network (YPN) that the program will be ending at the end of the April. The contextual ad product – much like Google’s AdSense – enables publishers to easily monetize their sites on a cost-per-click basis, by serving contextually relevant text onto their sites. An e-mail was circulated to YPN publishers today stating, “After conducting an extensive review of the Yahoo! Publisher Network beta program, we have decided to close the program effective April 30, 2010.” The platform was in beta since its launch in 2005.
Read More: ClickZ
70% Chance’ Apple Builds Its Own Search Engine In The Next Five Years: Munster
Top Apple analyst Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray is the latest to build on the notion that Apple will build its own search engine in a note on Apple’s battle with Google.
Gene writes: We believe Apple could utilize data unavailable to Google, data generated by the company’s App Store, to create a mobile centric search engine, which would be a unique offering to Google’s search engine. An iPhone specific search engine could be a difficult undertaking, but we feel Apple could make a minor acquisition of a search company that has built a web index, like a Cuil, and utilize the index as the base for building its own engine. We believe the odds of Apple developing a search engine in the next five years are 70%. One hurdle for Apple in developing its own search engine would be generating enough advertiser interest to form a competitive marketplace; however, we believe the rationale for an Apple search product is to protect data rather than generate profit.
Read More: BusinessInsider
