Marketers May Not Recognize Click Fraud Benjamin Edelman's Blog Research released this week on click fraud from Ben Edelman, attorney and assistant professor at the Harvard Business School in the Negotiation, Organizations & Markets unit, suggests online marketers lack the technical expertise to tell when they're being robbed. Edelman finds online advertising fraud can happen without sophisticated spyware, even to cost-per-action advertisers. At first glance, conversion-contingent advertising (cost-per-action/CPA, affiliate marketing) seems the perfect way to prevent online advertising fraud. By paying partners only when a sale actually occurs, advertisers often expect to substantially eliminate fraud. Unfortunately, he says, this view is overly simplistic and optimistic. Edelman notes in his report that banner ads from Allebrands invisibly load affiliate links, which is the simplest example to understand. Other affiliates load affiliate links and drop affiliate cookies as users merely view a banner ad. By viewing a banner ad on a third-party Web page, he explains, "the affiliate can drop its cookies and obtain a commission on purchases users make from the targeted merchants within the return-days period." - Read the whole story... Guide To Keyword Research Search Engine Guide Stoney deGeyter has put together a series on keyword research to guide you through the process. The step- by-step guidelines should help you to sort and organize your keywords for an effective marketing campaign. It may seem elementary, but deGeyter reminds us to remember the importance of core terms, one-, two- or three word combinations that provide a very broad summary of information on the site. He says two words typically make the best core terms. Don't make them too broad because they need to track targeted traffic, and don't be too specific, which could also drive away traffic you want to attract. DeGeyter says to look for two- or three-word combinations that have limited qualifiers. If "sports bag" covers your topic sufficiently, then don't bother using "wholesale sports bag," "rolling sports bag," or "large sports bag," as core terms. - Read the whole story... Comparing Search To Fly Fishing Microsoft adCenter "There's a lot of similarity between fly fishing and search engine advertising," says Charles Thrasher, noting that "trout rise to different insects as they hatch at different times of the year, even different hours of the day. A fly offered at the wrong time or with the wrong presentation is likely to be ignored." Similarly, he notes, give him a code at the wrong time in the buying cycle, and he's likely to ignore it (Simplistic, yet, truer words were rarely spoken.) Thrasher provides other examples of similarities between search and outdoor activities. Noting that search starts with a need, he describes the beginning of his realization of one need: "After walking a trail on Cougar Mountain, my ankles ache and I realize that my Converse tennis shoes, although fashionably retro, are probably not the best footwear for a mountain. I need something better." - Read the whole story... SEO Basic Q&A Online Marketing Blog Lee Odden posts a Q&A on two SEO topics, noting that these "real questions from Web site owners" reflect the need for ongoing education and updates for anyone involved in marketing through search. For example, one question, regarding the feasibility of using directories Yahoo's Directory and DMOZ.org as logical places places to acquire inbound links, also asks "What if I only submit my website to algorithmic search engines and not directories: Does it really matter?" Odden reminds readers that "submissions to algorithmic search engines are not necessary," going into the basics of how search engines find pages in the first place. - Read the whole story... |
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