Clickz Blog Latest search engine news blog articles from Clickz Blog. http://www.seocentro.com/seo-archives/author/Clickz+Blog.html Clickz Blog News Archive http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=13249 How much does Google CEO Eric Schmidt want to be Barack Obama's Chief Tech Officer? This much . (See "Restoring public trust in government," and the link to the related booklet. Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:39:04 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=13247 "I would say that officially, this ad buy proves that you can have simultaneous reach of some kind online. No it's not the same as a superbowl commercial, but it's pretty important for brand advertisers nonetheless. More marketers should be willing to pay a premium for this kind of campaign. A site takeover actually already has some traction and is a great way to flood people with your message. However one site is only one site. Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:37:08 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=13231 Intel is the exclusive sponsor of a new gaming blog, Offworld , from the creators of Boing Boing. The site appears to have gotten off to a slightly rocky start however, since comments remain broken on the second day of its official debut. The blog's launch and its sponsorship were arranged by Federated Media, the conversational media ad rep and network. According to the companies' statement, it "aims to distill the fractured, esoteric world of gaming forums, academia, Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:41:29 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=13200 "Who said this is media? Media is something you can buy and sell. Media contains inventory. Media contains blank spaces. Consumers weren't trying to generate media. They were trying to talk to somebody. So it just seems a bit arrogant... We hijack their own conversations, their own thoughts and feelings, and try to monetize it." -Ted McConnell, general manager-interactive marketing and innovation at Procter & Gamble Co., expressing doubts that marketers belong on Facebook. Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Mon, 17 Nov 2008 22:24:12 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=13192 I suspect more than a few folks are scratching their heads about the whole #motrinmoms scandal du weekend. As my friend @fuzheado said , the divergence in reaction might make a good Mars/Venus case study. He didn't get what all the fuss was about, but his wife honed right in on the problem. Not surprisingly, I'm with the wife. Like the super-vocal moms who took such offense , I immediately "got" the problem with the ad - its tone. As a mom with a 5-month-old, Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Mon, 17 Nov 2008 18:17:36 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=13189 As someone who can't stand shopping, I had no idea the kind of politics that are involved with store circulars, particularly when it comes to that obnoxious post-Thanksgiving consumer blowout they call Black Friday. (Now I can't get that Steely Dan song out of my head.) Apparently SearchAllDeals.com posted a Sam's Club Black Friday circular, prompting Wal-Mart (Sam's Club owner) to send a take-down notice to the site. The letter, by way of TechDirt , Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:37:13 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=13143 As founder of ClickZ back in 1997, Andy Bourland was an inspiration to many working during online marketing's early days. We were reminded of all his good work and deeds when Andy disclosed this week that he suffers from a serious medical condition that leaves him with very little strength, and which he says in all likelihood will take his life in the coming years. Andy, on his blog, reports that he's prepared for the worst, but hoping for the best. Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Fri, 14 Nov 2008 22:47:41 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=13141 It's official. Classifieds firm Oodle let go 10 staffers 2 weeks ago. CEO Craig Donato called it a "prudent decision." In an e-mail to ClickZ News, Donato noted the layoff was part of an overall re-org. "We re-aligned our organization. We made cuts in marketing and consolidated positions in account management, but we're still aggressively hiring in engineering and other key roles. Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Fri, 14 Nov 2008 21:10:36 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=13135 It often doesn't happen for weeks and even months at a time - but this morning, I was disconnected. Twice. The first time was trying to book an appointment with a doctor. The second time, I was trying to make reservations at a high-end restaurant (one that's not, alas, on OpenTable ). In fact, I read about it happening to the rash of the newly-unemployed attempting to contact state unemployment benefits offices. Oh, and a friend just moved to a sleek new office. Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Fri, 14 Nov 2008 18:20:33 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=13090 Directories firm Local.com has linked up with Virgin Mobile USA to offer a new ad-supported mobile directories service. Virgin customers can now search for businesses, view profiles and maps, get directions, and click-to-call their nearby sandwich joint. Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:15:39 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=13061 It's approaching flu season, and Google.org released Flu Trends to identify the relationship between where people have the flu and where people search for the flu online. Researchers at Google noticed that there are more flu-related searches during flu season, and the search trend actually matches that of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 's data. The flu-related search terms are found to be good indicators for the flu, Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Wed, 12 Nov 2008 21:13:41 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=13060 Quick - where's Beacon? If you're coming up with multiple answers, you're not alone. So are local Google AdSense advertisers, and as a result, contextual ads are all out of context. Ads for Beacon-related things spanning the country (literally) from Boston to San Francisco accompanied an e-mail from a friend who hails from Beacon, NY. This problem, of course, is hardly limited to Google. It is indicative of local advertisers who are newer to AdSense - and in all likelihood, Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Wed, 12 Nov 2008 20:39:50 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=13051 Gawker publisher and digital sourpuss Nick Denton just posted a screed arguing digital media are screwed in 2009. According to Denton, "The sector's maturity...means that its underlying growth is more sluggish than it was in the late 1990s. In 2001, Internet advertising swung to a 13% decline from 78% growth the previous year; this time the sector starts from a growth rate of 27%; I would hate to see what a swing as violent as the dotcom burst would look like." Of course, Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Wed, 12 Nov 2008 18:10:25 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=13050 As a business reporter, I rely on the numbers people to help quantify anecdotal information and provide a sense of scope when it comes to things like site traffic, ad spending, the size of an industry or sector â€" that sorta thing. Companies like comScore, TNS, Hitwise, Jupiter, Borrell, Kelsey, and eMarketer (the list goes on and on) are the number people for the online ad industry. But sometimes they're just not measuring the appropriate thing for our purposes. Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Wed, 12 Nov 2008 18:10:21 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=13014 Congrats to Matt McGowan , who's been named vice president/publisher for Incisive Media's ClickZ, and our sister site, Search Engine Watch , and conference group, Search Engine Strategies . For more than two years, Matt's been the global vice president of marketing here, building our brands and businesses on and offline. And he can be counted on to practice what he preaches on Twitter , Facebook , and elsewhere. In his new role, Matt assumes responsibility for sales, Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Tue, 11 Nov 2008 18:33:22 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=13009 Job losses continue to mount in digital marketing and ad sales. ClickZ's layoff tracker recently added a number of new firms to our ongoing tally of headcount reductions in new media. Among the latest: UK broadcaster Channel 4 cut 15 percent of "commercial team," including strategic sales, sponsorship and new media staffers, according to Brand Republic . Hearst Digital reduced its new media sales team from 16 to 12, also according to Brand Republic . Time Inc. Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Tue, 11 Nov 2008 17:12:49 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=13005 I'm always struck by the "Get a Mac" takeovers that run every couple months on NYTimes.com and a variety of other prominent homepages. They're in a class by themselves. This execution sort of encapsulates what the whole campaign is about. You can't argue with satisfaction, but ofr course that's just what John Hodgman's PC tries repeatedly to do. Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:06:08 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=12922 Have you seen Change.gov yet? We at ClickZ spent some time yesterday playing around with the site, which is the official online destination of president-elect Obama's administration. It would seem BarackObama.com and My.BarackObama.com have been retired - at least until 2012. A few questions raised by the new online presence: Is this a marketing or a government site? To the best of our knowledge, Change. Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Fri, 07 Nov 2008 14:11:31 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=12886 BBC Worldwide may be looking to launch behavioral targeting ad technology across its properties. New Media Age reports the BBC's commercial arm has approached a number of behavioral targeting firms, aiming to monetize its international traffic more effectively. Quoted by NMA, Chris Dobson, head of global ad sales at BBC Worldwide, stated, "We're testing first. We intend to roll it out extensively across most components of the sites, including U.K. sites and BBC. Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:25:50 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=12885 "To this day, I have to say that the best thing for Microsoft to do is to buy Yahoo. I don't think that is a bad idea at all'at the right price, whatever the price is, we are willing to sell the company." -Jerry Yang, speaking on-stage at the Web 2.0 Summit. It's an astonishing thing to say for a number of reasons. First, Jerry Yang and his team fought Microsoft's early aggressive advance tooth and nail, and while they've since said they were open to a deal all along, Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:09:56 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=12865 Economic crisis. Layoffs. Companies going out of business. Foreclosures. Sure, this is a flyspeck of a footnote relative to issues of much greater gravity. But if you're an e-mail marketer, tough times call for a tough approach to e-mail list hygiene. Particularly for marketers who mail to B2B or corporate clients. The person at the other end of a subscription to a newsletter, or who had requested offers or product updates, Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Wed, 05 Nov 2008 22:22:55 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=12860 How can you estimate the return on investment for optimizing your Web site? The Website Optimization ROI Calculator , a new interactive tool, was developed by interactive agency ZAAZ. It helps digital marketers estimate return based on anticipated outcomes such as increasing site traffic. Plug in the numbers, for instance, to evaluate how an investment can change the present and future value of your business. For more details behind the calculator, Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Wed, 05 Nov 2008 20:46:08 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=12817 Group M Interaction CEO Rob Norman at ad:tech NY today: "When I'm checking my bank statement [online], I'm not receptive to receiving ads. Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Tue, 04 Nov 2008 23:48:56 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=12814 To appease Justice Department concerns about their search ads tie-up, Yahoo and Google have offered to cap what Yahoo can make through the deal at 25 percent of its total search revenue, the Wall Street Journal reports . Perhaps a bigger deal for search marketers: The revised deal would let advertisers opt out of having their ads distributed on Yahoo results pages. That would partly address concerns of some marketers that they'll wind up bidding against themselves, Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:35:07 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=12797 Pennsylvania and Florida voters must be pretty excited that the political ad onslaught is almost over. But they've got one more day of presidential ads in the battleground states. Today, Philly.com visitors know it. So do MiamiHerald.com readers. There are expandable Barack Obama billboard ads on the homepages of those sites today, and probably other key swing state newspaper sites, too. Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Tue, 04 Nov 2008 16:31:41 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=12751 So on Halloween, I dropped by my bank to deposit a check. Only my bank wasn't my bank any more. It was in costume. The red, white and blue Commerce Bank logo was replaced by something green and utterly unfamiliar: signage for something called the TD Bank. I kept walking, aggravated that I'd have to make a detour to anyother branch. Then, something strange caught my eye: the bank's interior was identical to the way it looked last time I was there. Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Sun, 02 Nov 2008 21:04:36 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=12700 The news this Halloween morning continues the harrowing themes that have dominated the digital marketing space for a couple weeks now. In addition to mounting layoffs at agencies and vendors, several other ghoulish reports should give you pause. Google/Yahoo deal on the rocks. There's very little substance in WSJ's anonymously sourced report about the distressed deal, other than a comment from "people familiar" with the companies' ongoing talks with the U.S. Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:41:05 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=12674 LinkedIn 's getting more connected. The business networking site is making a dozen or so applications available to LinkedIn members. Of potential interest to marketers: the Amazon Reading List. It opens the door for other brands to develop a utility that LinkedIn members might find relevant. Then there's CommunityBuzz. I tried to give the test drive this afternoon, but the application wasn't working. Stay tuned. Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Thu, 30 Oct 2008 22:36:42 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=12668 ValueClick already warned investors back in July that it's performance for the rest of the year would suffer owing to a number of factors. One of those factors was the defection of sites and advertisers from its lead-gen programs in the wake of an FTC investigation of the company. Another is the well-documented trend of falling prices for display ads. So it should come as no surprise the company continued to struggle in the third quarter. Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Thu, 30 Oct 2008 20:38:23 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=12619 It's been interesting to watch the responses to ClickZ's layoff tracker , which tallies job losses in the digital media and marketing landscape. Some have called the feature morbid and unseemly, others grim but useful. It's certainly not happy reading. However, we continue to believe it's a helpful way for our readers to quantify the impact of the global financial meltdown on this sector. The past few days have lengthened the list, Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Wed, 29 Oct 2008 21:55:11 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=12561 Curious about how online media influences consumer behavior? Google and WPP are. They're willing to contribute a collective $4.6 million over the next three years in grant money to endow the Google and WPP Marketing Research Awards Program , a joint research program to look into how online media influences consumer behavior, attitudes, and decision making. The program will be overseen by professor John Quelch, Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Tue, 28 Oct 2008 20:59:03 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=12544 Google, Yahoo and Microsoft have signed an industry code of ethics designed to safeguard human rights and freedom of speech online. The Global Network Initiative guidelines, drawn up by Internet firms, academics and human rights groups, will aim to limit the data that is shared with authorities and governments around the world. Under the guidelines, Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Tue, 28 Oct 2008 16:27:54 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=12534 Recession got you down? Been laid off or downsized? One man, Joel Moss Levinson, has earned over $200,000 in cash and prizes, becoming the king of CGM in the process. Today's NY Times profile describes, and links to, campaigns Levinson has created videos for brands as diverse as Best Western, Klondike, Little Penguin wine, Delta, and the American National CattleWomen, to name just a few. His contest-winning is due in no small part to a social media marketing strategy, Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:52:57 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=12529 AOL's online video player heads to the digital junkyard, sharing the same fate as the vinyl record player. AOL, a unit of Time Warner, will instead use Brightcove's technology, for online video, according to published reports. It will also integrate its online video ad technology into Brightcove's, according to a WSJ.com report . Typically companies that use Brightcove's video player also use its ad technology. Fred McIntyre, senior vice president at AOL, Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:21:39 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=12494 In light of the economic downturn, will online ad spending continue to climb? Henry Blodget, editor-in-chief of the Silicon Alley Insider, posed that question to a panel of speaker at the Digital Publishing & Advertising Conference today in Manhattan. He pointed to the latest pronouncement from Geoff Ramsey, eMarketing CEO, who predicts online ad pending will keep growing. Such predictions, Blodget said, Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Mon, 27 Oct 2008 19:22:59 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=12432 Among Microsoft's diverse revenue streams, its display ad business is the most vulnerable to economic conditions. That's according to CFO Chris Liddell, who yesterday told investors the company still has great expectations for its online services business, which includes its search and ad platforms. According to Microsoft's earnings report yesterday, online services revenue grew an impressive 15 percent to $770 million for the quarter just ended. Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Fri, 24 Oct 2008 18:28:00 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=12413 Integrated marketing has become essential, though tougher than ever to perform efficiently as marketing channels evolve and approaches for measuring results mutate. Helping ClickZ readers work through these challenges is Augustine Fou , SVP of digital strategy at MRM Worldwide . This week, Augustine joins ClickZ's roster of Expert columnists, writing the Integrated Marketing column. Here, Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Fri, 24 Oct 2008 13:02:26 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=12384 Checked in this morning with Bryan Eisenberg , author of "Always Be Testing: The Complete Guide to Google Website Optimizer," about the latest enhancements to Google Analytics . Eisenberg's calling the new features "game changing" for analytics. He especially likes how easy it's to create custom reports. For instance, someone can find out how many visitors on Web site A were referred from Web site B - and read at least eight articles on Web site A. Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:23:37 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=12375 "It's no secret that Martha isn't the easiest person to work for... It wouldn't be the end of the world if [Millard] were to leave." -A source "close" to Wenda Harris Millard, speaking to the New York Post about a worsening feud between Yahoo's one-time sales chief - now CEO at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia - and the company's chairman and namesake. Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:42:16 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=12374 The last 48 hours has brought numerous reports of new job losses in the digital marketing/media sector, and so we've updated our layoff tracker. The biggest news was Yahoo's decision to cut at least 10 percent (roundabout 1,400) global positions this quarter. Others followed yesterday: Experian Interactive/LowerMyBills, Mania TV, Permission TV, and Imeem are all shedding employees. You can find more information on the layoff tracker page . Additionally, Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:25:22 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=12371 More news from the blossoming Russian ad market' Bolstering its presence among the growing ad competition in the region , Russia's largest search site, Yandex, has acquired display ad agency Mediaselling for an undisclosed fee. Mediaselling already had a deal with Yandex through which it sold ads on some Yandex properties. Writing on the company blog , Mediaselling CEO Lev Gleyzer said the firm has "relied on partnership and friendship" with Yandex over the past few years. Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Thu, 23 Oct 2008 10:11:10 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=12355 "Technology from companies like Phorm can help small websites and ISPs compete with Google for a slice of their rapidly growing advertising income. There are now many companies across the world that rely on Google for as much as half of their sales, via paid search and direct response advertising. Those worried by this domination of the paid search market should be supporting this new competition." -British media expert Peter Bazalgette, Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Wed, 22 Oct 2008 20:35:14 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=12315 The Electronic Frontier Foundation is backing John McCain's campaign in its request that YouTube stop taking down some of McCain's videos based on "meritless copyright claims." The EFF sent letters to four TV networks as well as YouTube. The group wants the networks, CBS, the Christian Broadcasting Network, Fox, and NBC, to quit asking YouTube to remove election-related videos featuring clips of its broadcasts. In its letter to YouTube, Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Tue, 21 Oct 2008 22:00:54 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=12287 "The next 12 months may be a period of the 'haves and have nots'. Last night the Spotted Pig was mobbed but the new hot place down the block was not. There are bulletproof restaurants (the pig), bulletproof ad models (paid search) and bulletproof brands (all things apple). In tough times the money will keep flowing to the best companies and will stop flowing to the worst." -Fred Wilson, venture capitalist, writing on his blog today . Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Tue, 21 Oct 2008 13:54:44 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=12260 Last week while perusing my Gmail account, I got a kick out of a note sent to me from the Ralph Nader campaign (yes, he's running for president again, in spite of the media's utter disregard for him or other third-party candidates). He wanted to give me an old family recipe for hummus in exchange for a campaign donation. Today another recipe-related missive arrived in my inbox, titled, "My Mom's Apple Cake Recipe. Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Mon, 20 Oct 2008 20:37:59 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=12255 SendTec has a new report out based on research conducted after the last presidential debate. The SEM firm looked at three of the most-searched political keywords: Economy, William Ayers and, of course, Joe the Plumber. SendTec's reports have drawn fire from Eric Frenchman, the guy who runs John McCain's search ad efforts. Rather than delve into that drama , I do want to note one of the key points made in the latest report. According to the company's research, Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Mon, 20 Oct 2008 18:39:50 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=12254 An interesting point made in SendTec's latest report on Barack Obama's and John McCain's search ads is that "the McCain campaign is not bidding on any terms relating to [William] Ayers." The thing is, though, the Republican National Committee has been buying Ayers-related keywords; the RNC uses Campaign Solutions , the online consulting firm handling McCain's Web efforts. Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Mon, 20 Oct 2008 18:39:49 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=12198 by Douglas Quenqua In its seemingly never-ending quest to make sentient beings out of snack foods, Mars has unveiled a new viral effort that allows people to upload photos of themselves on M&Ms, both real and digital. Visitors to TheCandyLab.com can upload photos of themselves or friends onto a singing M&M and share their creation by e-mail. The anthropomorphic candy can sing one of two songs, Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:09:18 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=12192 It's been a busy week in digital marketing land. In addition to the big stories we've covered, here are a few you may have missed: Agencies dote on their viral videos, but can't agree on metrics. Seventy percent of agency execs plan to increase budgets for viral, according to a survey conducted by Feed Room. But about equal numbers said their videos were a success if viewed 100,000 times, 250,000 times or 500,000 times. For those who doubt those budget increases, Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:50:42 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=12184 "Desperately seeking marketers to support the Yahoo search ad tie-up." Well, not exactly. But TechCrunch reports the company's attorneys have directly contacted at least one large AdWords advertiser. The lawyer told this person, the proprietor of ReverseMortgageGuides.com, that the company was "looking for large advertisers who use both Google and Yahoo (we do) who would be willing to provide public testimonials in support of outsourcing Yahoo's search ads to Google. Search Engines News SEO News Clickz Blog Clickz Blog Fri, 17 Oct 2008 14:32:08 GMT