This Week’s Industry News
Compiled By Rocket Clicks Staff
Netflix Streaming Movies Reign Supreme Over Torrents
For perhaps the first time ever, the most trafficked Internet content is not coming through illegal means. Netflix recently ousted peer-to-peer file sharing as the king of U.S. Internet traffic, accounting for 22.2% of the country’s total broadband traffic (BitTorrents take up 21.6%).
Live entertainment, such as NCAA basketball and NFL football games, is also becoming increasingly popular, and understandably so Internet subscriptions are much cheaper than a monthly cable bill.
Source: Wired
Display URL Domain Name Shows Up In Select Google AdWords Headlines
Google has recently included the destination URL (minus the “www” prefix) in certain display ads, claiming it can increase click-through rates (as is always the reasoning for visual AdWords format changes).
Source: Google Inside AdWords Blog
New Google Advisor Includes Comparison Ads
Google first introduced AdWords Comparison Ads in their testing phase on mortgage ads in 2009. Comparison Ads, which allow companies to alter their content to make it more relevant and targeted, were soon made available to other financial industries. Now, the new Google Advisor tool includes Comparison Ads and will help user accounts do better, faster research on their competitors and desired keywords.
Source: Google Inside AdWords Blog
Sony CEO: It’s A Bad, Bad World (For Internet Security)
Sony’s recent issues with Internet security have apparently opened the eyes of CEO Howard Stringer, who basically said he can’t guarantee the company’s gaming network is 100% secure. He used the phrase “bad new world” to describe the revelation that people can hack into “secure” computer systems.
Source: Wall Street Journal
In Case You Haven’t Noticed, And Judging By The Attendance, You Haven’t, Blekko Is Growing
Blekko only indexes a small portion of the Internet, and has a long ways to go to get to the size of even Bing. But the little search engine that could has 750,000 unique monthly visitors (and growing), and recently entered into a smart partnership with the iPad app Flipboard. Flipboard is easily one of the most popular apps available for Apple’s iPad, and gives Blekko a big vote of confidence by choosing it over Google as a search partner.
Source: Search Engine Journal
LinkedIn IPO Soars As First Social Network To Go Public
LinkedIn’s stock skyrocketed from $45 to a peak of $122.70 around noon on Thursday, and closed out the day at $94.25 per each share of the 30 million currently trading. LinkedIn was valued at $9 billion at the closing bell, and there are plenty of skeptics expressing doubt over the social network’s long term viability at that price.
That $9 billion was 18 times its projected revenue for this year, and LinkedIn has already estimated it’ll lose money by the end of 2011. If there was this much buzz about LinkedIn, imagine what will happen when Groupon, Twitter, and Facebook go public.
Source: Associated Press
The Facebook ‘Like” Button Is Following You
Facebook “Like” or “Recommend” and Twitter “Tweet” buttons are a routine site on any web page, but clicking those buttons may also mean that the social networks are tracking your next moves around the web. As long as you’ve logged into your Twitter or Facebook account once in the past month, they are capable of tracking your movements throughout the Internet and using it to target ads.
Source: Wall Street Journal
Facebook Fights Against California Privacy Bill
Facebook from last week would be SO mad at this week’s Facebook for the social network’s current push back against a California bill that seeks to prevent web sites from collecting private information about their users. The proposed legislation is actually very strict, and nearly every major search engine and social network has signed an open letter of opposition.
Source: Tech News World
DISH Network CEO Steps Down
DISH Network CEO Charlie Ergen, has stepped down from his post, but will take on more of a strategy role as an executive. Joseph Clayton will soon take over as president and CEO of DISH Network. Clayton was previously the CEO of Sirius Satellite Radio from 2004-2008, and his arrival lifted DISH Network’s stock by 48 cents by mid-day on Monday.
Source: Forbes
Notable Commentary
Worth Reading Before The Rapture
Effective Strategies For SEO Keyword Research
Tom Schmitz from Portent Interactive provides extremely useful guide to competitive research through the use of SEO keyword tools. This article is short, quick, and packed with good information.
Analysis By: Thomas M. Schmitz, Portent Interactive
Get Your Quality Score Healthy Right Away
Craig Danuloff runs down some ways to maximize your Quality Score on a new account before you get too deep into the campaign. Treat this article like PPC gold, as Craig draws much of his knowledge from industry guru Brad Geddes.
Analysis By: Craig Danuloff, Click Equations
Why You Should Care About Quality Score Displaying On AdCenter
This article details the similarities and differences between the AdCenter and AdWords Quality Score judgments, and why it pays to give attention to both.
Analysis By: This Week in Relevance
The Second Ad Position Gets All The Attention
Contrary to popular belief, possessing the second position in Google’s sponsored ad links is actually more beneficial than being at the top. Matt Brian offers some context and interesting points about this eye-tracking study.
Analysis By: Matt Brian, The Next Web
If You Eat While Working, You May Start Gaining Weight
Eating while working is a common sight in the average office setting, but doing so could result in a few extra pounds around your waistline. According to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition, eating while being distracted prevents you from feeling “full,” like you would if you were just focused on eating.
Analysis By: Sue Shellenbarger, Wall Street Journal
