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Google, Microsoft & Yahoo – The Deal

Now then. This is all starting to sound like the plot of a 1930s Hollywood blockbuster, glorious Technicolour and all. It has that Gone With The Wind feel about it somehow. In a move similar to Rhett Butler’s 'Frankly My Dear I Don’t Give a Damn' pronouncement, last night Yahoo announced a joint advertising and online search deal with Google and told everyone that the Microsoft talks were over. Microsoft say they don’t want Yahoo anymore, but aren’t ruling out a fresh attempt to buy some of the company.

Confused? The bald facts are as follows: In a press release yesterday, Yahoo stated that ‘talks with Microsoft have concluded’. Yes. Well, I think that’s because Microsoft drew a line in the sand at 47.5 billion dollars. But, hey, what’s a couple of weeks and good PR! Now it’s Yahoo who has ‘concluded’ talks. But, if you can believe it, Microsoft have said today that they will be open to an ‘alternative transaction’. Meanwhile in a separate press release yesterday Yahoo announced they’d signed an agreement with Google which allows the following:

‘[It] enables Yahoo! to run ads supplied by Google alongside Yahoo!'s search results and on some of its web properties in the United States and Canada. The agreement is non-exclusive, giving Yahoo! the ability to display paid search results from Google, other third parties, and Yahoo!'s own Panama marketplace. 

Under the terms of the agreement, Yahoo! will select the search term queries for which - and the pages on which - Yahoo! may offer Google paid search results. Yahoo! will define its users' experience and will determine the number and placement of the results provided by Google and the mix of paid results provided by Panama, Google or other providers. The agreement applies to paid search and content match and does not apply to algorithmic search. The agreement also applies to current partners in Yahoo's publisher network.’

While I’m not sure Microsoft will look painfully out at the ravaged techno landscape, pull their shoulders back, run a hand across their brow and say: Tomorrow’s Another Day, I do think they’ll be back for another stab at buying part or all of Yahoo. Lets face it, the bigger and more successful Yahoo becomes the better for the eventual purchaser…And you can read anything into that you want! 

Video Ads come to Google Search Results

Now then. You know Web 2.0? The Universal Search? Well it’s starting to get serious. Web 2 likes interactivity, so no one was particularly shocked when Google launched its advertising programme in the US called AdSense for Video – ad videos confined to websites themselves - back in October last year.

And no one should be surprised that the New York Times now tells us Google has rolled this out into the Search Engine Results Pages (SERP) either! So what’s the story? The real story is that this is an excellent example of how fast technology is moving right now - plus the integration of streaming video will, eventually, have a big impact on what your customers actually see on the SERP.

Basically instead of what they see now: a list of websites, a few images at the top maybe and text ads at the right hand side, they will see your competition’s pay-per-click moving video images. Not yet, not now – at the moment, in the US, they will see a plus sign to click to see the video but in time there will be streaming images on the results page. A whole new world of search engine marketing - yippee I hear you cry!

There are no examples of what these search result videos will look like yet, but for some very cute examples of Google’s AdSense videos with horribly addictive music see:  Cute Video!

So what should you do? First talk to us at Edgeworks and we can help you start planning how to make the most of the future….

For more information on Web 2.0 & Universal Search - the start of the future of Google - click here to request our White Paper.

10 minute guide to Google Optimizer

Following my recent posting on the launch of Google Website Optimizer I was prompted by the team over at Grokdotcom that they have published a non-technical guide to using Google Optimizer. I've read the guide and think it's a must have for all website marketeers who want to improve the ROI of their site.

Go download the guide here: 10 minutes to Testing with Google Website Optimizer and then find yourself somewhere quiet to read, it'll be 10 minutes well spent!

Google Launch Web Optimization Tool

Google has now launched their new Website Optimizer Tool.

Website Optimizer is a free tool that helps AdWords advertisers test different landing pages and determine which one drives the most conversions.  It allows you to test different variations of headlines, promotional copy, images etc on your live site to determine what will best attract users and what will lead to the highest conversion rates. Website Optimizer compliments both Google Adwords and Google Analytics to provide a complete end to end solution.

The new tool represents one of the biggest product launches for some time by Google and should help advertisers improve their conversion ratios.

To view more information about Website Optimizer and to register for an account please visit Google.

Google Maps

I have been looking at Google Maps for a few weeks now and was interested to see this image posted over at Search Engine Land showing a London restaurant proudly displaying it's presence on Google Maps.

For those of you unfamiliar with Google Maps you can find out more by following this link: www.maps.google.co.uk

If Steve Gregory over at Adinuff is right and local is the new global' then we all need to take note and get our listing updated. I'm awaiting Google to send me my Google Maps PIN so I can ensure Edgeworks listings are correct - I suggest you all do the same!