VerticalResponse Wins 2008 SmallBusinessComputing.com Excellence in Technology Award for Online Marketing

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- VerticalResponse, a leading provider of self-service email marketing and direct mail solutions for small businesses, today announces the win of the 2008 SmallBusinessComputing.com Excellence in Technology Awards in the Online Marketing category. SmallBusinessComputing.com is a leading online information resource designed to provide technology solutions for small businesses. Nominees were announced on SmallBusinessComputing.com in November 2007 and winners, determined by reader votes, were announced on January 22, 2008.
"At VerticalResponse, we strive to meet the marketing needs of our customers. We are particularly pleased that this award is voted on by the small businesses we developed our product for seven years ago, and continue to listen to as they help us develop new features and services," says Janine Popick, CEO of VerticalResponse. "This award demonstrates that VerticalResponse is more than email, but an effectual marketing solution for small business."
The online marketing category included pay-per-click campaigns, surveys, social commerce initiatives and email marketing. VerticalResponse, with its comprehensive product, services and educational resources, won their category by a landslide.
"This year, VerticalResponse takes home the gold. The majority of its customers are small e-tailers and they seem to be happy," according to SmallBusinessComputing.com. "VerticalResponse won by a large margin with more than 66 percent of the vote."
In the past year, VerticalResponse has integrated new features such as Google Analytics, and a powerful List Segmentation tool, all while maintaining the same affordable pay-as-you-go pricing model -- ideal for small business. Last year's winner, Google AdWords, placed second this year, with close to 30 percent of the vote.
About VerticalResponse
VerticalResponse, Inc. (http://www.verticalresponse.com/) is a leading provider of self-service email marketing and direct mail services empowering small businesses to create, manage and analyze their own direct marketing campaigns. VerticalResponse's flagship product, which allows customers to deliver sophisticated yet easily deployed email campaigns, is the most intuitive and affordable Web-based direct marketing solution available. VerticalResponse is headquartered in San Francisco, California. For additional information, please visit http://www.verticalresponse.com/.
About SmallBusinessComputing.com
SmallBusinessComputing.com (http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/) is a daily information resource designed specifically for Internet and IT professionals dedicated to providing technology solutions for small business owners. The site features a product testing and review section, a buyer's guide, business tools, daily news for e-marketers and Webmasters, and a free e-mail newsletter. SmallBusinessComputing.com can be found on internet.com's Small Business Channel.

Big Internet earnings week points up uncertainties

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Big Internet stocks have fallen 25 percent to 40 percent in the last quarter and haven't looked cheaper in years. But despite expected strong year-end results, many investors are likely to shy away in the short run.
Investors are set to focus on company outlooks and how a slowing U.S. economy will lead to advertising cutbacks and more hesitation among online shoppers over the course of 2008. Yahoo Inc posts results on Tuesday, followed by Amazon.com Inc on Wednesday and Google Inc a day later.
"At the moment, investors are paying an awful lot more attention to outlooks than they are to past performance," said Jeffrey Lindsay, an analyst with broker Sanford C. Bernstein. "Any sign of lowering guidance is instantly seized upon."
Google faces uncertainty over how its online ad business performs in a tighter economy and questions over shifting its computer-based business on to mobile phones, if it wins rights to U.S. airwaves and becomes a wireless operator.
Because Google does not comment directly on its outlook, investors must read the body language of Chief Executive Eric Schmidt or decipher the meaning of any passing comment Google offers about key advertisers in financial services or autos.
The Internet market leader is expected by Wall Street to post fourth-quarter revenue growth of better than 50 percent amid ongoing market share gains in Google's search business. Analysts look for revenue at Yahoo to grow just 15 percent.
Highlighting the contrast with Google, Yahoo is set to announce job cuts alongside lower earnings this week. Sources familiar with the plan say fewer than 1,000 employees could lose jobs -- about half what was rumored on some blog sites.
Yahoo's fourth-quarter profit is seen down 31 percent to 11 cents per diluted share, while Google is slated to post a 40 percent rise, excluding stock options and one-time items.
"We think at the moment, the most negative scenario for Yahoo is fully priced in," Lindsay said. Yahoo shares, which closed 5.3 percent down on Monday at $20.78, are down nearly 40 percent from year-high levels in late October.
He said Yahoo is likely to lose highly profitable broadband partnerships with AT&T Inc and others in the next 18 months, while warning of further weakness in its corporate brand advertising business as the U.S. economy hits the skids.
Lindsay sees no short-term catalyst coming out of Yahoo's expected "mediocre" results; "What investors want to see is how they are going to improve their core advertising business."
On the back of strong toy sales, Amazon revenue is expected to rise 34 percent over a year ago to a record $5.36 billion. Net profit is expected to double to about 48 cents per share.
"Amazon and Yahoo are likely to hide behind deteriorating macroeconomic conditions," Global Crown Capital analyst Martin Pyykkonen said. "They can always raise their outlooks later in the year if things improve."
CHEAP? OR GETTING CHEAPER?
Marking a dramatic reversal, Google was trading near $750 12 weeks ago -- and was forecast to approach $900 in 2008 by bullish Wall Streeters -- and now trades just above $550.
Google is trading around 32 times the 2008 earnings estimate of Bernstein's Lindsay, compared with the pricey 55 times price-to-earnings valuation that he has on Amazon.
Pyykkonen said Amazon remains "priced to perfection" -- meaning the stock price assumes perfect execution. Amazon has a price-to-earnings multiple three times that of eBay's beaten-down valuation.
Despite a 25 percent decline in Google stock since early November, Wall Street is far from capitulating. Nineteen analysts still recommend investors buy Google stock, while only three rate the shares "hold" and no one advises selling.
Clayton Moran of Stanford Group is among the most bearish analysts on Google's stock. He takes aim at the notion that Google's pay-for-performance Web search advertisements somehow insulate the company from a weakening economy.
"A pullback in consumer spending could negatively affect Google's search volumes and click prices and therefore (its) advertising revenue," Moran argued in a research note to clients as he downgraded the stock to hold from buy last week.
Moran has the lowest price target of any analyst formally following the company, at $615.
To win the airwaves needed to launch a national wireless network, Google would likely pay upward of $10 billion just for radio licenses, along with $5 billion a year over the next five years to build out the network, Bernstein has calculated.
Unless it finds a deep-pocketed partner, Google would be committing itself to a business with far lower capital returns, Lindsay argues. Until recently, most analysts had bet Google would stay away from investing in wireless networks.
But strongly worded comments from CEO Schmidt about Google's focus at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Friday have many analysts believing Google may be serious about a U.S. wireless network.
"Google on a relative basis, is starting to look quite cheap," Lindsay said. "But investors are hanging back. They want to find out if Google intends to bid to win in the wireless auctions."

Google spars with European lawmakers over privacy

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Google attacked European parliamentarians and privacy advocates on Monday for trying to have competition authorities consider the handling of personal information in its $3.1 billion takeover of rival DoubleClick.
The argument was the centerpiece of a European Parliament hearing to consider the burgeoning role of the Internet in impinging on the privacy of citizens.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) signed off last month on Google's $3.1 billion deal, which combines its dominance in pay-per-click Internet advertising with DoubleClick's market-leading position in display ads.

After listening to a visiting FTC commissioner, U.S. and European privacy advocates and European parliamentarians question the impact of the deal on European citizens' on-line privacy, Google's global privacy counsel shot back.
"People (are) trying to take a privacy case and shoehorn it into a competition law review ... I can understand that people continue to peddle this theory in Europe after having lost in the United States," Peter Fleischer said. His attack did little to calm the waters.
"The reason you want to have the data is because it gives you a competitive advantage. It is business. I don't think they can be completely disconnected. And we should discuss that side of things too," said Sophie in 't Veld, the Dutch parliamentarian who sought the hearing.
She called information a competitive factor and declared: "Having that much information is market power."
Federal Trade Commissioner Pamela Harbour said her four colleagues at the FTC had taken a traditional approach and excluded questions of privacy in their decision. She dissented.
"I believe a traditional approach does not capture the interests of all the parties. There is no proxy for the consumer whose privacy is at stake," she said.
The European Commission has said it will not take privacy into consideration. In the past six years, it has not turned down any all-U.S. deal approved by U.S. authorities.
Fleischer, asked about the deal rationale, said Google wanted to get into banner advertising. He said his firm did not build dossiers on individuals through searches, instead using the words of each search to decide what ads to display with it.
Contractual limits would prevent Google from using DoubleClick information from individuals, he said.
Stavros Lambrinidis of Greece, who chaired the meeting, asked whether Google turned information over to government authorities.
Fleisher said that if authorities go "through a valid legal process we will respond to it."

Ads for a gun course (plus free gun!) are turned down by Facebook as a violation of its guidelines.

With the shootings at Virginia Tech and so many high schools still echoing around the country, it’s perhaps not too surprising that the social networking site Facebook has turned down ads from the Front Sight Firearms Training Institute, which is owned by millionaire Dr. Ignatius Piazza.

Vnunet reports that the site refused to host pay-per-click ads from the Institute that offered a four-day course in handgun training, as well as a one-day concealed weapons permit. To top all that, they also offered the first 5,000 respondents a free handgun.

Facebook rejected the ad – perhaps somewhat contentiously - under Point 6 of its guidelines, which state:

"Provocative images will not be accepted. Ads may not contain, facilitate or promote adult content, including nudity, sexual terms and/or images of people in positions or activities that are excessively suggestive or sexual. Ads may not contain, facilitate or promote offensive, profane, vulgar, obscene, or inappropriate language. Ads may not contain, facilitate or promote defamatory, libellous, slanderous and/or unlawful content."

To be fair, the ads don’t seem to hit any of those criteria, and Piazza said,

"Facebook administrators must find the idea of Front Sight positively changing the image of gun ownership through training law-abiding citizens in the safe and responsible use of handguns to be offensive, profane, vulgar and obscene. It appears to me that Facebook is discriminating against gun owners and placing gun ownership in the same category as pornography."

But that is another debate altogether. Facebook has offered no comment on the decision.

A Step Towards Solving PPC Click Fraud Concerns Announcing: PPC Assurance from Enquisite Search Analytics

Enquisite Search Analytics adds a fully automated PPC refund submission process to its PPC Assurance product. Online ad networks such as Google and Yahoo! use automation to present companies advertising to users around the world. Auditing these massive networks has been almost impossible, until PPC Assurance was released. Now you can automatically file claims for mistakes and errors which cost you money.

Search Analytics market leader Enquisite has added an automated refund tab to its paid-search analysis software "PPC Assurance." This one-click PPC audit and refund claim filing system is unique in the paid search marketing and click fraud analysis marketplace, and helps cement the company's position of leadership in the field of search marketing analytics.
With the addition of the automated claim filing feature, the PPC Assurance product extends search marketers campaign management capabilities to audit and verify PPC campaigns, and becomes the only fully automated paid search auditing service on the market.
Search ad-networks are willing to admit that their systems can make mistakes and will grant advertisers refunds if their errors can be properly documented and detailed. Compiling such data using pre-existing analytics applications was virtually impossible. PPC Assurance collects the data needed by the search networks to verify complaints and delivers it to them at the click of a button.
"We're pleased to offer search marketers and advertisers the opportunity to monitor their campaigns properly, and get refunds for improper ad displays where warranted," says Enquisite CEO Richard Zwicky. "The value of knowing whether or not a PPC campaign is executing properly, and being able to report on it simply and easily is invaluable."
Zwicky continues, "Combining peace of mind with the ability for advertisers to go beyond passive reporting, and actively recoup money from improper ad displays is the next step in proper campaign management practices. Using Enquisite's PPC Assurance service can save larger advertisers tens of thousands of dollars each year simply on the basis of automating the verification and audit process. The additional value proposition of eliminating charges stemming from invalid click activity drives your campaign ROI up immeasurably."
Collecting and reporting PPC (pay-per-click) campaign errors in a format which is easy for anyone to understand, and yet still meets the requirements of the major search engines is part of what sets PPC Assurance apart. These campaign errors can occur for any number of reasons, some of which can slip past the ad-networks as they are difficult to detect. PPC Assurance employs a wide array of algorithmic and heuristic tests to gauge the validity of each click recorded against your account.
Keeping your PPC campaign in order can save your business a good deal of money, both in management costs, and in recovering misspent money.
Google, Yahoo, and other ad networks use automation to ensure your advertising displays to potential customers. Verifying that ads were displayed correctly however was a largely manual audit process. PPC Assurance uses sophisticated algorithms to verify in real-time the ad networks' systems, monitor PPC campaign activity that falls outside your paid search campaign parameters, and documents and presents irrefutable information on campaign violations to the ad networks to support customer's refund claim requests.
PPC Assurance employs a wide array of algorithmic and heuristic tests to gauge the validity of each click recorded against PPC accounts flagging indicators such as:- improper geo-targeting (customers in towns or countries which are not proper)- improper nation or metro region matching- specific improper patterns of click traffic- Improper ad displays- Displays of ads on improper networks / sites- "missing" clicks billed by the ad-network but not visiting your site - improper language settings of site visitor- And several other characteristics of invalid click activity ...
Keeping their PPC campaign in order can save business a good deal of money, both in management costs, and in recovering misspent ad-spend. See how PPC Assurance can detect, document and report invalid click activity and delete invalid click charges from PPC accounts.
The Refund Tab in PPC Assurance is the newest feature to be built into the Enquisite search analytics suite of reports.

Europe Queries Google On Privacy Issues

Brussels - The fight between advocates of personal privacy and the Internet giant, Google continued Monday.

European privacy advocates and government officials are asking competitors of Google to consider issues personal information handling of Google’s takeover of DoubleClick.

Google on Monday strenuously attacked this effort in their takeover attempt of their rival.The argument taking place between European parliamentarians, Google, and advocates of personal freedom on the Internet was the centerpiece of a Parliament hearing to consider these issues.

The European Parliament is choosing whether to consider the role of privacy on the Internet and the rights of individual citizens for privacy.In the United States the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has already approved the takeover of DoubleClick by Google. This takeover is important because it combines the pay per click Internet dominance of Google with the market leading display position of DoubleClick.
“Some people are using this to make a case of privacy and turn it into a law review competition,” said Google Counsel Peter Fleischer. “The reason to desire this data is for the advantage competitively, it is business,” said Fleischer. “It is not possible to be disconnected completely,” continued Fleischer. Google takes the position that they require the IP address of users in order to be able to serve their customers. They maintain to know which language, or what results to give from a query, that the IP address is a needed element to serve their customer base.

PrintFest and DMA Join Forces

January 21, 2008 -- PrintFest 2008 will be held at the Anaheim Conference Center in California, March 27th to 29th, 2008. As many of our readers will remember, the predecessor of this show was the Gutenberg Festival which was founded in 1973 and sold to GASC in 1999. Following the final year of the Gutenberg Festival in 2005, Chris Jacobson, whose father founded the Gutenberg Festival and Horsetrader Magazine, resurrected the Southern California show in 2006 as PrintFest and has gradually been rebuilding attendance and exhibitor levels.

Chris Jacobson
PrintFest 2008 is particularly interesting because Jacobson is collaborating with the Direct Marketing Association of Southern California (DMAsc) to host PrintFest and the Southern California Direct Marketing Expo under one roof, bringing print and marketing together, with an event that is targeted equally at printers, marketers, designers and other creative professionals.
“Our belief is that in a changing industry such as ours,” said Jacobson, “you cannot continue to do things the way you have always done them. Our objective at PrintFest this year is to bring customers and printers together with manufacturers and suppliers, paying special attention to the education of creatives and marketers relative to the changing world of print.”
Printers need to understand that all of this new media and alternative media is not the enemy. It is the wave of the future as the worlds of marketing and print collide, and it is part of the package that printers must bring to their customers in a consultative solution. -- Gary Mack, Primary Color
One way PrintFest is adapting to a changing environment is in the way the show is being promoted. “In the past,” says Jacobson, “we have promoted the show in the same way that most others have, with static mailers. Not so this year. We are walking the talk with a full integrated cross-media marketing campaign.”
Gary Mack of Primary Color, a pioneer in cross-media strategies, is spearheading the campaign design and execution. He says, “I was on a panel with Bob Hughes, Executive Director of DMAsc, last year at On Demand. That’s when the idea for the cross-media campaign promoting PrintFest was born and Chris was thrilled with the concept.”
Variable mailers will be sent to past PrintFest and Direct Marketing Expo attendees as well as other targeted lists beginning this month. When recipients visit their customized Web URL included on the mailer, they will be asked a series of questions. Business rules programmed into the site will determine what conference sessions are most suited for each individual attendee and present them with a proposed conference agenda, which they can modify as they like, and they will be given the opportunity to register. There will be a series of automated follow-ups by print and e-mail, depending on responses, to keep the dialog going and excitement levels high.
A cornerstone of the PrintFest conference is Thursday’s session, an in-depth case study built around the design, development, execution and results of this multichannel campaign. “We are using ourselves as the guinea pig,” explains Jacobson. “And we are going to provide all of the details, warts and all, about how this campaign was orchestrated. It will include what we did right, what we did wrong, the results we achieved and our conclusions. It will be very educational.” The case study will begin with a joint overview session and break out into marketing and print tracks for detailed discussion.
Bob Hughes and DMAsc have been PrintFest supporters since its inception. He says, “Our members are excited about this joint venue. There will be conference tracks tuned to both marketing and printer attendees, and lots of networking opportunities for both. Although we have been doing an Expo for 30 years and have had good success, like Chris, we realized that in this changing world of ours, we needed to change too. The joint PrintFest/Direct Marketing Expo event is the perfect platform for that change.” Hughes indicates that included in the marketing tracks will be hands-on learning sessions about a series of hot topics, including search engine optimization, e-mail pay-per-click, and multichannel cross-media communications. “We will be teaching them how to do it themselves,” he adds, “This is not just theory; it is solid hands-on exposure with a real-world backdrop.” Printer tracks will focus on how to use the latest cross-media techniques, including personalized Web URLs.
Jacobson indicates the show is on target to have 250 to 260 booths, with 2,500 to 3,000 total attendees between the print and marketing sides of the show. WhatTheyThink is a show sponsor and our own Dr. Joe Webb will be there to moderate a keynote panel of experts as well as a number of conference sessions on Friday, and will be offering his own somewhat contrarian opinions throughout the conference. The keynote, with the topic, “The Integration of Print with the Future of Marketing Communications,” will include Jeff Jacobson, President & CEO of Presstek; Charlie Corr, Vice President of Corporate Strategy for Mimeo, and others yet to be announced, in what should be a lively and very informative session on Friday morning.
“One thing I find interesting,” comments Jacobson, “is that at PrintFest, about 10% of attendees come for the conference and exhibition, and 90% are exhibition only. It is exactly the opposite for the Direct Marketing Expo. The majority of attendees—and there have been more than 400 in recent past Expos—come primarily for the conference, but do take time to visit the Expo.”
Hoping to boost conference attendance, the PrintFest strategy for 2008 is very focused. “In Gutenbergs gone by,” says Jacobson, “we have had over 60 classes, and there might only be three people in some of the classes. We wanted a fresh perspective, with new people coming in to speak at sessions with content we think is important for attendees. Instead of trying to be everything to everyone, there are fewer, more focused conference sessions, and this will raise the overall value of the conference.” The group has also taken into account the demographics of attendees on a daily basis to further target conference content. “On Friday,” says Jacobson, “you generally see attendees from larger companies. Saturday draws the smaller printers, freelancers and people from small creative and design agencies who cannot afford to close up shop on Friday but still want to take advantage of the educational opportunity. We have designed conference sessions with their individual needs in mind.”
Jacobson points out that everything that is new at PrintFest in 2008 is being added to, and not in place of, traditional content for the printer audience. “Printers still need to be informed of the latest in both current and future technologies and systems, and how to transition profitably from today to tomorrow,” he says.
“Printers need to understand that all of this new media and alternative media is not the enemy,” concludes Mack. “It is the wave of the future as the worlds of marketing and print collide, and it is part of the package that printers must bring to their customers in a consultative solution. That is what we are spotlighting at PrintFest—focusing on the print component, but bringing it all together in a comprehensive approach. The case study of our cross-media campaign to drive conference attendance will be a terrific launching pad for the discussions that will go on over the course of the event.”

Federal Reserve Plays Russian Roulette with US$

In an age where governments of every political stripe distort data to promote their own self interests, it’s hardly surprising that they present inflation data in a manner that is best suited to their particular needs. By the same token, it’s entirely natural for official inflation data to be wildly at odds with the reality that is faced by consumers and businesses, and to be regarded with utter disbelief.
So it wasn’t shocking to hear Federal Reserve officials insist last week, that inflation in the United States is under control, before telegraphing another tidal wave of liquidity injections into the US economy in the months ahead. “Stable inflation expectations give the Fed a lot of room for maneuver. If the evidence suggests that substantial policy easing is appropriate, I don’t think we’re going to face a risk of adverse inflation consequences,” said St Louis Fed chief William Poole on Jan 9th.
In an election year for the highest office in the land, American politicians from both sides of the isle, are quick to propose all kinds of fiscal stimulus and pork barrel projects to jump start the sputtering US economy. But adding more monetary stimulus to the mix has the potential to ignite hyper-inflation in the US economy, and a speculative attack on the US dollar in the $3.2 trillion a day currency market.
“It’s difficult enough to make good policy in a complex economy and complex financial system,” said Fed chief Ben “B-52” Bernanke on January 11th. “Political considerations will play no role, and I assure you as strongly as I can, that we will be objective and analytical, and we’ll do what’s right for the economy,” he said.

It’s now becoming increasing clear, that the only prices the Fed is focusing on these days are home prices and those for toxic sub-prime mortgage debt. The Fed is pegging the federal funds rate in the direction of US home prices, mimicking the Bank of England as an asset targeter. Last week, nearby futures contracts on the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller, an index of home prices in the top-10 US cities, fell below the 206-level, or roughly 7% lower from a year ago.

Robert Shiller, a Yale University economist, and co-founder of the widely watched house-price index, predicted on Dec 31st, a possibility that the US economy would stumble into a Japanese-style recession, with house prices declining for years. “American real estate values have already lost around $1 trillion. That could easily increase threefold over the next few years. This is a much bigger issue than sub-prime. We are talking trillions of dollars’ worth of losses.”

He noted that Chicago futures markets are pricing in further declines in US home prices, with farther dated contracts on the S&P Shiller Index pointing to losses of up to 14 percent. In the third quarter of 2007, US homeowners withdrew $20 billion less in equity from their homes than in the prior quarter, and since housing prices have continued to tumble, the outlook for cash-outs has continued to dim.

Article marketing 'drives traffic'

One way for marketers to draw people to their website is article marketing, where the prospective customer is offered free, no-obligation information through news stories on their site, an expert has commented.Michele F Richardson, a small business consultant, made her comments through an article in online marketing publication the Internet Wonders Ezine.She explained that a website's visibility is vital to its success and suggested article marketing, pay-per-click advertising and offline advertising could work together to bring a website to consumers' attention."It doesn't matter how great your website is, if no one ever sees it, it might as well not exist," continued Ms Richardson.Ryan Even, an industry commentator, recently wrote in his internet marketing blog that relevant and unique content can be a "solid and practical" means of promoting a product or boosting a website's rankings.However, he argued that many websites may lack the skill or time to effectively use article marketing.

Room 214 Renews Integrated Web Marketing Program with Best Promotions

Room 214 Integrated Web Marketing Agency

Boulder, Colo., Jan. 17, 2008 – Room 214, a Boulder, Colorado-based search engine marketing and social media agency, has renewed its web marketing contract with Best Promotions, a promotional products company.Best Promotions renewed it's web marketing and search visibility program with Room 214 to execute search engine optimization, email marketing, pay-per-click advertising, analytics and conversion tracking, reputation management, blog development, podcast production and awareness.The integrated program combines online marketing disciplines such as SEO, pay-per-click, landing and conversion pages, with social media outreach through blogging and podcasting to give Best Promotions a true position and voice in the promotional products business.“We have been working with Room 214 for two years now and have seen triple digit growth in our business every year,” states Brian Cerra, vice president of sales for Best Promotions.com. "What I like is how they focus and present programs that leverage our internal strengths, decrease our customer acquisition cost and don't put a resource load on our business as it grows due to their efforts.”Best Promotions, http://www.bestpromotions.com, is a leading online promotional products company whose mission is to offer the best products for the best prices, backed by the best customer service in the industry. Best Promotions can put your company logo on wide selection of apparel, bags, totes, business cases, chairs, mugs, food items, golf accessories, umbrellas, pens, pencils, wooden nickels and many others. Visit http://www.BestPromotions.com, or call 1-866-881-2378.Room 214, http://www.Room214.com, is a Boulder-Colorado integrated web marketing and social media agency offering outsourced search marketing services that includes: web development, custom blog development, podcast production and promotion, online syndicating press rooms, optimized press releases, RSS marketing, online article marketing, search engine optimization, pay per click campaigns, email management and social media campaigns leveraging Facebook, StumbleUpon, YouTube, Google Video, iTunes and others.Download Room 214's recent RSS or Die ArticleVisit:Best Promotions, http://www.bestpromotions.comRoom 214, http://www.Room214.comCapture the Conversation Blog, http://www.capturetheconversation.com

Search Engine Marketing Blog, Pay Per Click Journal, Announces Site Redesign with Additional Resources

PayPerClickJournal.com, an extraordinarily helpful website for anyone interested in learning more about the marketing power of Pay Per Click advertising, is very pleased to announce the redesign of the site with additional PPC management resources.
Boston, MA (PRWEB) January 16, 2008 -- PayPerClickJournal.com, an extraordinarily helpful website for anyone interested in learning more about the marketing power of Pay Per Click advertising, is very pleased to announce the redesign of the site with additional PPC management resources. PPC advertising can achieve remarkable results for any website but to realize the maximum gains from this search marketing approach, it is essential that keyword research and other factors are considered before the launch of the PPC campaign. The site redesign features a cleaner layout and blog posts are organized into several categories so that readers can quickly find the information that interests them.

An integral part of the Brick Marketing blog network founded and managed by Internet marketing expert Nick Stamoulis, the goal of PayPerClickJournal.com is to provide site visitors with helpful information on how to maximize their investment in PPC advertising. For over ten years, Nick Stamoulis and experts and Brick marketing have been helping clients achieve their goals through Internet marketing strategies such as PPC advertising. This facet their extensive blog network is part of his ongoing effort to educate his clients and help them make informed decisions about Internet marketing.
Nick Stamoulis said, “Achieving results from Pay Per Click advertising is not merely a matter of outbidding your competition for the best page position for selected search terms. There are many factors that must be considered such as target audience identification, keyword research, ad copy, and much more. The goal of PayPerClickJournal.com is to help readers understand all that goes into any effective PPC advertising campaign.”
The blog posts are updated daily and written by the PPC experts at Brick Marketing so that readers gain from his insight and many years of experience in PPC management. The blog entries approach PPC advertising from a number of different angles and shed light on all the aspects that Mr. Stamoulis considers as he crafts each Pay Per Click campaign.
Anyone interested in learning more about the marketing potential of PPC advertising as well as take part in discussions on various topics is encouraged to visit the site at http://www.payperclickjournal.com/.

Yahoo goes Israeli, teaming up with Walla

For many years, Israel has been an important center for global tech powerhouses like Google, Microsoft and Intel, who have recognized that the nation's technical expertise, plus its strategic Middle Eastern position, can make a presence here decisive in the struggle for a piece of the billion-dollar Internet pie. Now Yahoo will follow in the footsteps of these giants by opening a research and development center in Haifa, and entering into a strategic partnership with sabra search portal Walla!, according to a report in Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz . The California-based company is currently negotiating office space in the Matam technology park in Haifa, which is already home to 50 other high-tech firms, including international players like Intel, Microsoft, Elbit Systems and Philips. Its research center, due to open within a few months, will attempt to carve out a greater share in the nearly $50 million Israeli search market, currently dominated by Google, which has R&D centers in Tel Aviv and Haifa. Through the partnership with Walla!, Yahoo will develop local expertise in search-based advertising technologies such as pay-per-click and targeted search. Google currently maintains hegemony over this market, but Yahoo hopes to develop the technologies and databases behind Walla's existing AdVantage platform, which will continue to be managed by Walla!. "The agreement with Yahoo allows us to offer Walla's surfers an excellent search product," Walla CEO Ilan Yeshua told Ha'aretz. "The existence of another strong player in the search and textual advertising sector will contribute to competitiveness, both in the search experience and in the range of possibilities available to advertisers." Providing news, search and email services, 12-year-old Walla! is one of the most popular Israeli internet portals, holding the title of the nation's most visited website for many years until it was overtaken by Google.co.il in 2006.

Comparison Shopping Feature Announced on SpivO

Price compare feature on the new upgraded SpivO search engine was launched today. SpivO Shopping has added many new stores and product feeds to their price comparison shopping channel. SpivO’s newest channel launched from the upgrade is SpivO Shopping, a price comparison web site that allows users to compare prices of thousands of items from hundreds of online stores. A beta version of the shopping channel was launched last year in the SpivO Workshop, but it was not finalized until today’s official launch.

The SpivO Shopping channel, like most of the new channels to be released on the new network, is based on simplicity. Since 2004, when SpivO became a search engine, they have tried various ideas for improving the profitability potential of the search engine. During 2007’s renovation meetings, the profitability of the search engine was under guidance of SpivO’s parent company, American Marketing Management and Motivational Services, Inc., SpivO’s technology management company, Adviatech Corp., and Adviatech’s fifty percent shareholder, Jason Standard Corp.

Adviatech held the final decision authority on where to position ad space. SpivO’s revenue is generated from ad impressions on their interactive news channels, commission compensated advertisements from retailers and service providers such as iTunes, Sirius Satellite Radio, and Movielink, job postings on the soon to be launched SpivO Job search, hotel, rental car, and flight bookings on the soon to be relaunched, SpivO Travel, advertisements from SpivO’s direct sponsors, Google Ads to supplement un used ad space, and credit card applications.

Adviatech’s Vice President, Jason Bland, worked closely on the project’s technical and business planning objectives. Bland commented today “It’s a fragile balancing act of simplicity, clean page styles, and profitable ad placement. We carefully weighed out the pros and cons on what to do with SpivO Shopping. Ultimately, we decided that our focus should be on bringing product content into SpivO Shopping to display the most relevant ads. We are not ready, at this time, to pursue a business model similar to Shopping.com which allows store owners to upload product feeds and pay per click.”

Google News Inside Launches New Attractive Website Design

Google News Inside has been through many changes. But without a doubt, this design is perfect for what Google News Inside represents. Professionalism, quality, and accurate information about Google.
New York City, New York (PRWEB) January 14, 2008 -- The answer to the question "What is Google up to?" can now be easily answered: Simply visit Ginside. Ginside is a regularly updated space where information relating to current Google news and other hot happenings within the quickly growing Internet empire is shared. The owner of the website, Jonathan Dingman, puts his own personal spin on all of the news on Ginside's website.
Ginside provides an important service to anyone who is interested in keeping up with current events at Google. This includes new features, stock information, and information relating to the faces behind the search engine empire. This may also include changes in algorithms and guidelines relating to affiliate marketing, search engine optimization and pay-per-click advertising through Google AdWords and Google AdSense, plus more. Ginside will often feature search engine tips as well.

The list of interested parties includes webmasters, Internet marketers, affiliate marketers, search engine optimization firms, website designers and plain old Internet enthusiasts. What this means is that Ginside is quickly developing a strong reputation that will continue to grow as interest in the behind-the-scenes aspects of Google does.
With such a strong understanding of Google and the way that search engines work, it really is no wonder why Ginside decided to update their website design to include a visually appealing and user friendly design. Ginside understands that both form and function are necessary in order to create a well balanced website, and a well balanced website is exactly what they have created with their new website design.
Ginside is also known as Google Inside, and is dedicated to providing all of the most recent and relevant Google news by following current activities and speculating about future activities relating to Google. With so much going on at Google all the time, it is important to know what is going on, and what is what Ginside strives to provide.
The founder of Ginside, Jonathan Dingman, was recently quoted by SearchNewz.com, "I honestly feel that if Google is doing this to bully the paid link market, the industry will just find another way to determine link values. Technorati, Compete.com, Alexa, Y! backlinks, you name it, there's another metric out there." He has a strong background in search marketing and has worked for companies such as Commission Junction and ROO Media.

Registration is Open for The 2008 As Was Conference for eBay PowerSellers

PowerSellers finally have an event (other than eBay Live!) where they can learn about techniques, strategies, and tools that will help them grow your online sales business, on and off eBay. Registration is now open for eBay sellers, trainers, and consultants to attend The 2008 As Was Conference for only $299 per person. It will be held at Disney’s Yacht Club Resort at Walt Disney World, Florida on Thursday 28 February, Friday 29 February, and Saturday 1 March 2008. Most recently added to our event are our Business Clinics. These are free, one-on-one consulting sessions where eBay sellers can get advice from a team of experts. Our expert panel includes staff from eBay, As Was, and other companies.TAWC Will Teach You How to Make More Sales, Be More Profitable, and Attract More Customers Through:* Software and systems that will make your eBay and off-eBay selling easier, automated, and more efficient.* Blogging, shopping comparison websites, pay-per-click advertising, and your own email mailing list.* Finding the right products to sell and the strategies for selling them successfully.* Item presentation, listing design, and how to build the most effective eBay Store.* Faster and cheaper shipping.* Hiring part-time, full-time, or seasonal staff. Highlights of TAWC Include:* Informative sessions designed to teach you with the newest and best ideas, techniques, and strategies that will make you more profitable.* Sessions presented by eBay staff, industry experts, and successful online sellers.* FREE Business Clinics; get personalized advice from a team of industry experts.* Plenty of time to meet speakers and exhibitors, and join roundtable discussions.* A fun environment with three FREE networking lunches in our banquet room.* Networking dinners around Walt Disney World.* Learn what you're not going to hear at eBay Live! or any other conference. Sessions and PresentationsOur sessions are all in one track so that you're not missing one by listening to another. Represented programs from eBay include Seller Development, Affiliate Program, and eBay Stores. Speakers at the event include representatives from eBay, As Was, Monster.com, Six Apart, Constant Contact, ChannelAdvisor, Kyozou, buySAFE, Worldwide Brands, JDT Technologies, Keepmore.net, HammerTap, Merchant Advantage, Z-Firm, and Refund Retriever. Check out the whole agenda & schedule!“Remember how it feels when you discover something that sets you apart and ahead of other people? Attending our conference is going to be two-and-a-half days of that feeling.” explains As Was President, Debbie Levitt. “We know that many sellers are hungry for the type of education they can receive at the annual eBay Live! conference. In our day-to-day consulting work, we are constantly asked what companies, products, and services will help eBay sellers grow right now. We decided to combine these two with the fun environment we knew we could create, especially at Disney, and The As Was Conference was born.”Unlike traditional conferences, the two-and-a-half day conference is designed to spur attendees’ excitement with sessions packed with actionable information and demonstrations. Early bird registration is $299 per person through February 14th, and includes all of the presentations and sessions, round table discussions, and sit-down lunch networking events in a festive atmosphere. Attendance will be capped at 400 so that attendees can have quality time with speakers and vendors. To learn more about the As Was Conference and to register to attend, visit www.aswasconference.com.About As WasAs Was is a full-service consulting firm specializing in branding, design, sales and marketing strategies, operations management, and training for eBay and online sellers. As Was has been making the world’s marketplace your marketplace since it was founded in April 1995, and has been an eBay Certified Service Provider since August 2004. For more information, please visit www.aswas.com or call 520.204.1935.

Obesity website calls in marketing firm

A website aimed at struggling slimmers has called in the services of a digital marketing agency to create an email marketing campaign and boost its search engine rankings.Healthier Weight commissioned the services of twentysix Leeds last year and the firm is now launching an email marketing and customer relationship push.The marketing firm also plans a pay-per-click and organic search engine optimisation campaign for the dieting site.Chrissie Twigg, managing director of Healthier Weight, commented that obesity is a sensitive issue and that the internet provides the "perfect environment" for those seeking information.Managing director of twentysix Leeds Gail Duddleston continued: "The aim is to engage users who like the anonymity and convenience of online by providing them with a space where they can share their experiences and get expert advice."According to Marketingservicestalk, the site will gather email information by tempting users to sign up in order to receive discounts, access to a forum and online help. Government agency Business Link suggests firms plan their email marketing campaigns carefully to ensure the content is "relevant and interesting" to recipients.

BidVertiser Ads for Feeds (RSS/ATOM) - Now in Public Beta

Haifa, Israel (PRWEB) January 10, 2008 -- BidVertiser, a site-targeted pay per click advertising network, has now entered the RSS market by offering web publishers a new way to monetize their RSS/ATOM feeds - BidVertiser Ads for Feeds. The huge growth of RSS feeds, empowered by the growth of blogging, created the demand for new ways to monetize RSS feeds. Hundreds if not thousands of debates through the blogsphere confronted those supporting full feeds with those supporting partial feeds, and it always ends in the question how can one monetize his feeds.

By using BidVertiser Ads for Feeds, web publishers are now able to display site-targeted ads in their feeds and get paid on a pay-per-click basis, using the same powerful ad serving technology that is being used by tens of thousands of publishers to monetize their web pages. As an added benefit, participating publishers get access to BidVertiser's multiple-subscription Feed Widgets that will help them publicize their new feed. All Feed Widget are designed for quick and easy integration with all of the popular blog platforms.
Current publishers can simply login to their account and register their feed as a new BidVertiser spot. New publishers can open a new publisher account by clicking here. Detailed instruction for web publisher can be found in the BidVertiser Blog.
"You can't start to monetize your feeds too soon," said Moni Shabtay, BidVertiser's CFO. "The huge growth of RSS makes feed monetization as important and effective as website monetization."
About BidVertiser:BidVertiser runs a pay per click advertising network, serving billions of ads per month on tens of thousands of websites. BidVertiser offers web publishers with the ability to sell their ad space, automatically, to the highest bidder, on a pay-per-click basis. Advertisers can place ads directly on sites of their choice and pay only when a visitor clicks-through to their site, as well as geo-target their ads.
BidVertiser serves text ads in all types of standard ad units as well as allowing eBay advertisers to create ads for their listings automatically (as an eBay Compatible Application) and now, with the added support for RSS/ATOM feeds, BidVertiser opens a new way for publishers to monetize their online ventures.
For more information visit http://www.bidvertiser.com/

Direct Online Marketing™ Earns Qualified Google Advertising Company Designation

Google AdWords has awarded Direct Online Marketing™ Qualified Google Advertising Company status, the only search engine marketing company in West Virginia to achieve this accomplishment. Designation as a Qualified Google Advertising Company exhibits Direct Online Marketing™'s commitment and experience in providing clients with effective paid search marketing and other Web promotion services.Achieving Qualified Google Advertising CompanyGoogle's paid search (pay per click) platform awards Qualified Google Advertising Company status to firms that meet specific requirements. These include maintaining an advertising spend within Google AdWords of $100,000 per quarter or more for a US search engine marketing company. Additionally, multiple employees must pass the Google AdWords Professional exam, which demonstrates a thorough understanding of the AdWords system.All Direct Online Marketing™ employees working on paid search marketing accounts have exceeded the required score for the Google AdWords Professional exam. The company maintains a fully trained staff dedicated to attaining the best possible results for client campaigns.President Justin Seibert adds, "We are proud to have accomplished Qualified Google Advertising Company status. As one of the very few such companies in the region, Direct Online Marketing™ is excited to offer exceptional paid search marketing services to our clients in the Pennsylvania-Ohio-West Virginia region and across the United States. We have dedicated employees that love to look for solutions with tangible benefits to our clients."Other Search Engine Marketing Company DistinctionsIn addition to designation as a Qualified Google Advertising Company, Direct Online Marketing™ staff has attained status as Yahoo! Search Marketing Ambassadors, Microsoft adExcellence Members, and Marketing Experiments certification in Fundamentals of Online Testing and Landing Page Optimization. Direct Online Marketing™ and its staff are also members of the Pittsburgh Technology Council, AMA Pittsburgh, and the Pittsburgh Advertising Federation.About Direct Online Marketing™Direct Online Marketing™ is Wheeling, West Virginia’s only full-service Internet marketing firm and the first Qualified Google Advertising Company in West Virginia. The search engine marketing company is focused on working with the unique needs of each client in order to achieve bottom-line results. The company aims to help its clients increase revenue through targeted online marketing tactics such as business blogging, pay per click search, search engine optimization, email marketing, and Web site development.Learn more by calling 1.800.979.3177 or by visiting www.DirectOM.com.

Direct Online Marketing™ Earns Qualified Google Advertising Company Designation

Google AdWords has awarded Direct Online Marketing™ Qualified Google Advertising Company status, the only search engine marketing company in West Virginia to achieve this accomplishment. Designation as a Qualified Google Advertising Company exhibits Direct Online Marketing™'s commitment and experience in providing clients with effective paid search marketing and other Web promotion services.Achieving Qualified Google Advertising CompanyGoogle's paid search (pay per click) platform awards Qualified Google Advertising Company status to firms that meet specific requirements. These include maintaining an advertising spend within Google AdWords of $100,000 per quarter or more for a US search engine marketing company. Additionally, multiple employees must pass the Google AdWords Professional exam, which demonstrates a thorough understanding of the AdWords system.All Direct Online Marketing™ employees working on paid search marketing accounts have exceeded the required score for the Google AdWords Professional exam. The company maintains a fully trained staff dedicated to attaining the best possible results for client campaigns.President Justin Seibert adds, "We are proud to have accomplished Qualified Google Advertising Company status. As one of the very few such companies in the region, Direct Online Marketing™ is excited to offer exceptional paid search marketing services to our clients in the Pennsylvania-Ohio-West Virginia region and across the United States. We have dedicated employees that love to look for solutions with tangible benefits to our clients."Other Search Engine Marketing Company DistinctionsIn addition to designation as a Qualified Google Advertising Company, Direct Online Marketing™ staff has attained status as Yahoo! Search Marketing Ambassadors, Microsoft adExcellence Members, and Marketing Experiments certification in Fundamentals of Online Testing and Landing Page Optimization. Direct Online Marketing™ and its staff are also members of the Pittsburgh Technology Council, AMA Pittsburgh, and the Pittsburgh Advertising Federation.About Direct Online Marketing™Direct Online Marketing™ is Wheeling, West Virginia’s only full-service Internet marketing firm and the first Qualified Google Advertising Company in West Virginia. The search engine marketing company is focused on working with the unique needs of each client in order to achieve bottom-line results. The company aims to help its clients increase revenue through targeted online marketing tactics such as business blogging, pay per click search, search engine optimization, email marketing, and Web site development.Learn more by calling 1.800.979.3177 or by visiting www.DirectOM.com.

Want to advertise your business online? Beware of click fraud

PORTLAND, Ore. - Click fraud has been called the dark side of online advertising, a type of Internet crime aimed at running up bills and cutting down the competition - one click at a time.
Every time you use Google or Yahoo, there are always links at the top of the list for sponsored sites and they do not pop up there by mistake.
Business owners pay for those links. It's called pay-per-click advertising and for many small businesses, it's a great way to attract new business.
However, there is a down side.
Scott Hendison used pay-per-click advertising for an insurance business.
One day, he noticed his bill was increasing, but there was no increase in actual leads. Someone had been fraudulently clicking on his ad and running up his bill, with no intent on using his services.
The good news is that there are ways to protect yourself:
Keep it local - Search engines have the ability to target advertising at a specific area. It's called geo targeting and it can help you because you are not advertising to the world.
Buy software - You can purchase software to help against click fraud. There are several online sites that provide that service, so you can shop around if you think you may be a victim.

WebGuild Using Questionable Tactics To Promote Events

Are you going to the Web 2.0 Conference later this month? No, not the one put on by O’Reilly in San Francisco. I’m talking about the Web 2.0 Conference & Expo put on by WebGuild later this month.
Or do you plan on attending the popular Future of Web Apps Conference? Not the one put on multiple times per year by Carsonified. This is a different Future of Web Apps conference, also held by WebGuild.
Confused? So am I. I hadn’t heard much about WebGuild, but recently dozens of spam comments started appearing on TechCrunch lambasting us for not promoting WebGuild’s Web 2.0 Conference. Examples:

Why aren’t you guys covering what is important in Web 2.0 like the Web 2.0 Conference. They have an early bird that ends in days. Don’t you think that would be of interest to your reads that Apple store line up and CapGemini related crap.
As per your comment # 4, # 16 and # 18 - you keep saying that you are site that covers Web 2.0. How come you TC is not covering Web 2.0 Conference & Expo on Jan 29, 2008. As a reader this is more important to me than some of the crap I read. I went there last year and it was a blast http://www.webguild.org/meetings/web20/2008/
The last Web 2.0 Conference & Expo will take place on Jan 29, 2008. After that Web 2.0 will die. It will be no point going to Web 2.0 related conferences after that.

These comments are made by various names, but they all have one thing in common - the same IP address. And that IP address is also the same one used by WebGuild’s President, Daya Baran, when he leaves real comments on TechCrunch.
What’s Going On?
I emailed Tim O’Reilly and Ryan Carson to see if they knew about the events and what their position was. O’Reilly, anxious to avoid situation like this one, said he reached out to Baran to ask him to change the name but never heard back. Ryan Carson was unaware of the event, but was not happy to see the use of the brand his company has built up over the last few years.
I also spoke to Baran on the phone. He said that his conference names are descriptive of the content and perfectly valid. Any legal attempts by O’Reilly or Carson to stop him from using the names, he said, would be comparable to the RIAA suing people for copying music. In short, he was unapologetic, and he also claimed that he was unaware that O’Reilly tried to contact him.
Baran also denied that he left the spam comments. He says he has a number of interns and volunteers at this office, and they may be leaving the comments.
Is This Ok?
Putting legal issues aside, This is still not ok. O’Reilly and Carsonified took a lot of financial risk and time in building up their brands around their conferences. For someone else to come in, take the brand and put on their own conference around it is just not ethical. To compare this with people downloading music is a red herring. A better analogy would be a new band calling themselves U2 and selling CDs under that name. It just smells off.
In fact, attendee confusion is the biggest issue I have with the event. Someone new to the community may have heard about the Web 2.0 Conference or The Future Of Web Apps, click on one of the spam links and buy a ticket for an event they think is something else. I asked Baran if he thought some people might be confused by his conference names. His response was “I don’t know.”
The confusion issue is real. I actually first emailed Ryan Carson to ask him if he was putting on the Future of Web Apps conference in partnership with WebGuild. Given how immersed I am in this community, I’m pretty sure that if I was confused, others will be, too.
Apart from these issues, WebGuild seems like a legitimate organization. They hold monthly events with high profile speakers at Google and elsewhere. Baran claims they are a non-profit organization, and that he takes no salary from his position there.
So why wade into grey areas of trademark infringement and blog spamming? Run the business clean, and build your own brands and community. That’s my advice.

Online marketing services 'set to grow'

The search engine optimisation (SEO) market is likely to "thrive" over the next 12 months, an expert has predicted.Kent Lewis, president of search engine marketing firm Anvil Media, made his comments via a blog in Search Marketing Standard - a publication dealing with issues affecting advertising online.He also claimed that pay-per-click advertising will experience a boost as firms seek to harness the power of the internet in marketing their brands, as will online reputation management (ORM) services."ORM will rise to the top of the media buzz-o-meter with big brands and celebrities hiring firms like Anvil to make negative search results 'disappear'," Mr Lewis suggested.Midlands-based SEO firm B10G claims the "viral nature" of bad press can have an alarmingly quick affect on a company and even make or break a product.Bloggers in particular can impact on a firm's reputation if they have suffered a bad experience with a company, it states.