My subscription to The Economist magazine is set to expire at the end of the month, so I went to their website for some pricing information. Being in a slightly curious mood, I wanted to see how the UK pricing compared to the US. To my surprise, the prices were almost identical at around $1.99 per issue, at least if … Read More
The Beauty of Download Conversion Tracking in AdWords
Conversion tracking provides AdWords advertisers with valuable information as to how well their AdWords-derived traffic performs once it reaches the advertisers’ websites. Most advertisers who use conversion tracking do so in order to track sales or purchases. The problem with purchase conversion tracking is that it is based on a cookie which lasts for 30 days. Many people routinely delete … Read More
Proof: 50% of successful companies work with SoftwarePromotions!
On Wednesday I wrote a post entitled Doom and gloom? Share your views! I was pleased to get an interesting mix of comments, and a few people emailed me as they wished to remain anonymous. The results weren’t quite what I expected, and I’ve tried to roughly group them into categories. 45% of you felt positive about what’s happening. 25% … Read More
Social Media Fever leads to blindness & confusion
I can’t help but feel that we live in a very strange age. At risk of sounding like a miserable old man, there’s a whole generation (or maybe more than one) who believe that they’re entitled to have everything they want. Whether it’s the latest gadget, the car of their dreams, their fantasy lifestyle (no work but lots of money), … Read More
Warning: New AdWords phishing and the MySQL saga
A number of companies have received a Dear John from Google, over their use of the term “mySQL” in their ads. Google’s trademark policy is at best puzzling, and as pointed out in an earlier post, there appears to be a three-stage hierarchy: Level 1 – companies who direct enough legal heat at Google to make them wince. Sunburnt but … Read More
Ads, interruptions & blood soaked t-shirts
The Social Science Research Network have released a paper that claims advertising doesn’t necessarily negatively impact TV viewing. “Consumers prefer to watch television programs without commercials. Yet, in spite of most consumers’ extensive experience with watching television, we propose that commercial interruptions can actually improve the television viewing experience. Although consumers do not foresee it, their enjoyment diminishes over time. … Read More
Honesty, selling and corruption of the soul
Martin Lindstrom thinks that the internet has become a medium for lies – just like the real estate industry and the used-cars salesmen. He tells the story of a British real-estate chain that chose the strategy of telling the truth – describing property accurately and honestly. According to the article, it worked very well. People began to actually look forward … Read More
Time to retire the 468 x 60
Did you know that the “standard” 468 x 60 ad size has not only been around for more years than I can remember, but is part of the Universal Ad Package (UAP), as published by the Interactive Advertising Bureau? Let’s start with the idea that a body exists to try to ensure that ads conform. Do advertisers like the idea … Read More
Microsoft to Offer Free, Ad-Supported Version of Office
Microsoft has announced plans to offer a free, ad supported version of Microsoft Office 14 when the software is released next year. Stephen Elop, Microsoft Business Division president, explained the idea behind the free version of Office, which will display ads next to the workspace. “There will be ad-based revenue streams. There’s an opportunity to draw those pirate customers into … Read More
Say no to Pspam
Those of you who’ve been following my Trying to work out how to use Twitter antics will already know that I’m still not 100% convinced. Yet would it surprise you to hear that there is spam in Twitter? Probably not. But this is a different kind of spam. I call it Pspam – pointless spam. This is how it works. … Read More
