Gasta Money: Warren Buffet’s unsolicited

The financial world is abuzz with news of Warren Buffet’s unsolicited takeover bid for Kayla Summers' lemonade stand. We’ll start there in our look at the significant financial events happening this week.

In Pictures: Baby Buffett Portfolio - His 6 Best Long-Term Picks

Warren Buffett Invests $2 billion In Girl’s Lemonade Stand
The Oracle of Omaha has found it harder and harder to keep coattail investors guessing as to where he will invest next. On Wednesday, it was reported that Mr. Buffett walked to his office and bought a cup of lemonade from 10-year-old Kayla Summers. Impressed by the girl’s sales ability and low overhead - her mom pays for the lemons - Buffett sunk $2 billion into her operations. Asked what she would do with the money, Kayla responded that she had plans to "buy a pony." Berkshire shares rose 4% on the news.

Stock Market Future Found in a Tattoo
Jack "Switchblade" Adams, 45, discovered an unexpected boon in the tattoos he received during a career with the merchant marines. By his own admission, Adams was "blind drunk" when he wandered into a tattoo hut in Singapore, Bangkok, or Shanghai.

"I can’t rightly remember which," he said, "there was this old woman with a glass eye and a parrot, or maybe the parrot had the glass eye."

Two days later and back at sea, Adams and his comrades admired the simplistic tattoo that everyone assumed was a stylistic mountain range. Five years later, Adams noticed an eerie similarity between the tattoo and the historical graph of the Dow Jones Industrial Average that appeared in a newspaper.

To test his theory, Adams compared the paper to his tattoo and identified the 2008 drop followed by an extended rally. He went to a stockbroker and sold the market short. When the drop occurred, Adams took his profits and went long, making a 600% return on the trade. (For more on the Dow, see How Now, Dow? What Moves The DJIA?)

More Greeks Move to Atlantis
Faced with a government bond default, tax increases and service cuts, legions of Greeks have decided to leave their homeland and move to the fabled city of Atlantis.

"I've never heard of anyone paying taxes in Atlantis," Adrian, a student at Athens University pointed out, "I just wish someone had marked the Pillars of Hercules on the map."

Long line-ups at sporting goods stores fought for a limited supply of oxygen tanks - and even snorkels were fetching hundreds of euros. Greek officials pointed out that no one knew where Atlantis actually was, but other European Union members welcomed Atlantis into the Eurozone in the hope that its debt-free balance sheet could help shore up the Greek economy. (Learn more about what's been happening in Greece in EU Economics: It's All Greek To Me.)

Fed Accidently Leaves the Printing Press On
On Monday, an embarrassed Ben Bernanke told the public that he and other Fed officials accidently left the printing press running all weekend.

"I remember hitting the lights and I asked Donny [Vice Chairman Donald Kohn] to make sure the press was off. Apparently, he didn’t hear me," Bernanke explained to reporters.

It’s estimated that almost $3 trillion is set to enter the system, guaranteeing a sharp rise in inflation and drop in purchasing power. Bernanke encouraged people to look on the bright side.
"This will help pay down our foreign debts and balance the budget in one fell swoop," he said. " It's kinda lucky that way."

In addition, Bernanke explained that very few people will actually feel poorer and that, other than the severed hand of the American ambassador to China that arrived in the mail, there was little in the way of negative responses.

"It’s a lot easier than those Treasury bond purchases, anyhow," Bernanke added. "Congress has told us to just let the bugger run."

Man Makes a Fortune In Stocks He Almost Bought
Back in the 1980s, Randy Wallace began keeping a list of stocks he almost bought. His list included many of today’s top companies when they were just starting out.

"I thought to myself, computers look like a sure thing. So I wrote down a couple companies like Microsoft (NYSE:MSFT) - back then no one was paying attention to them - and added in some others like Coca Cola (NYSE:KO) and McDonalds (NYSE:MCD). I had $10,000 to put into them, and I almost did."

By tracking his near miss portfolio if he had bought and held it, Wallace discovered that he was a multimillionaire in an alternate universe.

What did he actually buy with the money?

"GM and Chrysler stock."

Conclusion: April Fools
If you are a Greek merchant marine with a bad tattoo, a parrot with a glass eye, own shares in GM and Chrysler or collect a salary in U.S. dollars, then I’m deeply sorry - but you can take solace in the fact that you’re one of a kind.

Gasta Tech: Hitwise news

Experian Launches Hitwise Internet Measurement Services for France
Search Terms Analysis
Search Analysis - 'olympics'
Fast Mover
Vancouver 2010 - Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games: www.vancouver2010.com
Leveraging Competitive Intelligence
Benchmark Your Online Performance
Category Spotlight
Shopping and Classifieds - Flowers and Gifts
Hitwise Intelligence Blogs
Superbowl Ad Searches
Events
Where is Experian Hitwise?



Feature Article
Experian Launches Hitwise Internet Measurement Services for France
Experian has further expanded its Marketing Services portfolio in Europe with the launch of Experian Hitwise in France. Experian's Internet measurement service will help domestic and international marketers operating in France to improve their online marketing, content development, affiliate strategies and search tactics.

Experian Hitwise is reporting on more than 75,000 websites across 100+ industries and over 1 million search terms, based on the anonymized and aggregated Internet activity of 90,000 French Internet users from all over the country. Experian Hitwise also operates in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Canada and Brazil.

View the rest of article.

Search Terms Analysis
Search Analysis - 'olympics'
Hitwise Search Intelligence™ data reveals the top websites from the complete list of websites that received traffic from the search term 'olympics'. The results are ordered based on the volume of traffic for the week ending February 20, 2010.
Most popular websites that received traffic from ‘olympics' for the week ending 02/20/10
Rank Website Domain Share
1. NBC Olympics www.nbcolympics.com 38.74%
2. Vancouver 2010 - Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games www.vancouver2010.com 20.46%
3. Google News news.google.com 4.09%
4. Tourism British Columbia www.hellobc.com 3.84%
5. IOC Official Website www.olympic.org 3.38%
6. Yahoo Sports - Olympics sports.yahoo.com/olympics 2.96%
7. Facebook www.facebook.com 2.78%
8. Wikipedia www.wikipedia.org 1.64%
9. ESPN www.espn.com 0.99%
10. Reuters www.reuters.com 0.85%



Fast Movers
Vancouver 2010 - Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games: www.vancouver2010.com

Rank week ending - February 20, 2010 - 213
Rank week ending - February 13, 2010 - 877
Positions jumped - 664

The Vancouver 2010 - Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games website moved up 664 positions among all websites visited by U.S. Internet users (week ending February 20, 2010) to rank number 213 overall and number 10 in the Sports industry. Of the website's total traffic, 56 percent consisted of new visitors. The top three websites visited after the Vancouver 2010 website were Facebook, Google and YouTube.

The top DMA® (Designated Marketed Areas) of visitors to the Vancouver 2010 website were from Los Angeles, CA (11.13%), New York, NY (7.19%) and Chicago, IL (4.09%). The majority of visitors to the website were male (56%), aged 35-44 years (29%) with a household income of $60-$100K per year (30%) for the four weeks ending 02/20/10. Other websites with a similar demographic profile to the Vancouver 2010 website were Google Docs, MSN - Wonderwall and Yahoo! Sports - Olympics.

Leveraging Competitive Intelligence
Benchmark Your Online Performance
By using Hitwise Rankings reports, you can monitor a website's ranking by visits, pages, or average session time against your industry, for specific time periods. For example, if you are looking to advertise on a media website, using Hitwise Rankings reports you will discover that of all the websites in the Canada Broadcast Media industry, international websites CNN and BBC News attract the highest market share of visitors at 19.33% and 11.73% respectively, while a local station like CP24 attracts 2.47% for the week ending 02/20/10. Using this information, you can determine that media websites foreign to Canada could be better to partner with in order drive more traffic to your website. This data is useful to gauge online market share of traffic.

For Hitwise clients who would like to discuss this application further, please contact Hitwise Customer Support, or visit the Hitwise University and review the Rankings Fact Sheet or view the Benchmarking Online Performance Best Practice Review.

To learn more about Hitwise Rankings reports, click here.
Top websites for Canada Broadcast Media Industry for the week ending 02/20/10
Rank Website Domain Share
1. CNN.com www.cnn.com 19.33%
2. BBC News news.bbc.co.uk 11.73%
3. MSNBC www.msnbc.com 8.53%
4. Le Canal Nouvelles lcn.canoe.ca 4.39%
5. Al Jazeera www.aljazeera.net 3.50%
6. Bloomberg.com www.bloomberg.com 3.37%
7. ABCnews.com www.abcnews.com 3.15%
8. TVGuide.ca www.tvguide.ca 2.79%
9. Fox News www.foxnews.com 2.49%
10. CP24 www.cp24.com 2.47%


Category Spotlight
Shopping and Classifieds - Flowers and Gifts
This category includes sites that provide flower sales and delivery, as well as sites that specialize in the sale of gifts. It incorporates both online and offline vendors. The data below is based on All sites - Weekly rankings for the week ending 02/20/2010 - Ranks by 'Visits.'
Shopping and Classifieds - Flowers and Gifts - All sites - Weekly rankings for the week ending 02/20/2010 - Ranks by 'Visits'
Rank Website
1. Gifts.com
2. Hallmark.com
3. Collections Etc
4. Florists' Transworld Delivery
5. DaySpring Cards
6. ProFlowers
7. The Lakeside Collection
8. Teleflora
9. 1-800-flowers.com
10. PersonalizationMall.com

Local Competitiveness Index

97.5%
of traffic to this category was directed at domestic sites.


Top 10 Upstream Industries
Rank Industries Upstream Clicks
1. Computers and Internet 55.29%
2. Search Engines (Computers and Internet) 35.16%
3. Shopping and Classifieds 21.50%
4. Email Services (Computers and Internet) 10.35%
5. Rewards and Directories (Shopping and Classifieds) 6.29%
6. Social Networking and Forums (Computers and Internet) 5.61%
7. Flowers and Gifts (Shopping and Classifieds) 4.57%
8. Lifestyle 4.47%
9. Entertainment 3.99%
10. Business and Finance 3.57%

Top 10 Downstream Industries
Rank Industries Downstream Clicks
1. Shopping and Classifieds 35.00%
2. Computers and Internet 23.74%
3. Search Engines (Computers and Internet) 9.06%
4. Flowers and Gifts (Shopping and Classifieds) 8.16%
5. Business and Finance 7.61%
6. Rewards and Directories (Shopping and Classifieds) 7.60%
7. Entertainment 6.64%
8. Lifestyle 6.25%
9. Social Networking and Forums (Computers and Internet) 5.96%
10. Department Stores (Shopping and Classifieds) 5.80%




Hitwise Intelligence Blogs
Superbowl Ad Searches
February 22, 2010 - Heather Dougherty

As a follow up to my blog post about the lift in traffic to websites advertised during the Super Bowl, I thought it would be interesting to see which advertisers were searched most often. Among the search queries that were related to Super Bowl ads during the week ending February 13, 2010, the top ten were mostly generic searches for ads & commercials. Two specific ads were mentioned in the top ten search terms - Doritos and Tim Tebow for 'Focus on the Family'. Overall 7.5% of the traffic to the portfolio was from paid listings and 'super bowl commercials 2010' was the top paid term.

View the rest of this blog post.



Events
Where is Experian Hitwise?
SMX West
March 2 - 4 - Santa Clara, CA
We are pleased to offer you a special discount off registration. Use the code: smx10hitwise at registration. Don't forget to visit the Experian Hitwise booth in the exhibit hall!

Hitwise University Live at TravelCom - The Online Travel Persona
March 9 at 4:00PM (CST) - Dallas, TX
How well do you know your customers? Your competitor's? In this University Live session, Bill Tancer will introduce you to the latest data to define your current and target customer with Experian Hitwise online behavioral data. RSVP to attend.

TravelCom
March 9 -11 - Dallas, TX
Join Bill Tancer, General Manager, Global Research at Experian Hitwise as he speaks on the panel 'Online Consumer Behaviors, Patterns and Trends' on Wednesday, March 10 at 9:00AM (CST). Don't forget to visit the Experian Hitwise booth in the exhibit hall!

Portrait of a Digital Consumer
March 23 at 12:00PM (EST)
Join Experian Marketing Services data experts for this webinar and you will hear how today's consumers interact with digital media, which channels they prefer, their demographics and how you can reach them with the right message. Register.
Media queries at Hitwise
If you are interested in using Hitwise content and statistics in publications and presentations, we encourage you to do so. Please source the content as "Hitwise North America - www.hitwise.com/us".
Additionally - if you require assistance with statistics or content, please feel free to contact Matt Tatham at press@hitwise.com.

Gasta Tech Update: Facebook Adds 5 Million Users in January

Gasta social marketing tools for Facebook and Twitter lead to massive traffic increase for 2010

How does the biggest social networking site kick off a new year? By adding 5 million new users.

This is what Facebook did in January, according to Inside Facebook. According to the company’s findings, Facebook ended January with 108 million U.S. users, up from 103 million in December.

Men between the ages of 26 and 34 made up the largest gain, with more than 600,000 of users in this group joining the popular social networking site in January. Women between 18 and 25 followed behind with 581,000 new members in the first month of 2010.

As has been reported in earlier months, older age groups are still the fastest-growing Facebook populations. In January, men between 45 and 54 grew 10.5 percent, or by 472,000 new members. Women between 55 and 65 followed close behind with 9.4 percent growth, or 391,000 new members to the social network.

Eric Eldon at Inside Facebook conjectures at why this happened in January.

“It’s possible that lots of Facebook-using younger people went home for the holidays and made their parents sign up. Facebook saw massive traffic spikes around Christmas and New Year’s, according to Hitwise, and we wonder if this was when thousands of Facebook evangelists fired up the computer — or laptop, or netbook, or iPhone — and taught their relatives how Facebook works.”

Still, older age groups are relatively small on Facebook. Users between 45 and 54 make up 12 percent of the social network’s population, while just 7 percent are between 55 and 65.

About 52 percent of all users of Facebook are between 18 and 34, while 56 percent of all users are women.

According to comScore, Facebook finished 2009 with 111.9 million users, more than doubling its user base of 54.6 million users in December 2008.

Though the social network is thriving, it has encountered many lawsuits along the way. Recent cases involve click fraud and copyright infringement over a third-party application.


Sources:

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=121679

http://blog.comscore.com/2010/01/strong_year_for_facebook.html

http://www.insidefacebook.com/2010/02/01/facebooks-january-us-traffic-by-age-and-sex-growth-led-by-young-women-grown-men-and-their-parents/#comments

http://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2010/01/facebook_user_a_1.htm

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=121682

Google is set to launch a property dimension to its UK mapping system.

The new service will allow both estate agents and private sellers to put their property as an overlay on Google Maps.

The plans were outlined at a conference called Estate Agency Events last week, although Google has declined to give official confirmation.

Shares in the property portal Rightmove fell more than 10% as news emerged, the sharpest faller in the FTSE 350 index of companies for the day.

The new service is expected to launch next year and would be similar to a service Google launched in Australia.

Sarah Beeny
Sarah Beeny says Google will level the property playing field

That site allows estate agents to list properties for free, with pictures taken from its Street View service and listing details on a map.

Speaking to BBC News, Edward Mead - sales director for Douglas & Gordon estate agents - said that the new system would be a win-win situation for both Google and estate agents.

"The technology to do this is already in place and estate agents are a little busier these days, although transactions are still fifty per cent down on what they once were.

"So this service, which is free, will appeal to estate agents' cost-cutting nature and given that sixty per cent of agents are one-off traders, this will have serious appeal."

Mr Mead said that Google's head of property and classified team, Ben Wood, briefed 30 of England's top estate agents at Estate Agency Events last week, telling them everything about the system, other than an official launch date.

'Hurt estate agents'

But Sarah Beeny, who presents Channel 4's Property Ladder and also runs her own home sales property site Tepilo, told BBC News that the service could well damage estate agents in the long run.

"It will hurt estate agents and it will hurt property sites like Rightmove.

"If it does what Google says it will, then it brings the buyer and seller closer together and that could mean removing blocks in the way, and that could mean no longer having to pay extortionate fees to estate agents.

"It will certainly blow Rightmove out of the water. You can only get your property listed on that site if you are an estate agent - what Google will do is level the playing field and they are doing it for free," she said.

For sale signs
The site would directly link property buyers with vendors

The news shook traders on the London Stock Exchange. At one point, shares in online property portal Rightmove fell by 13% over concern about competition from the world's biggest search engine, although a late afternoon rally saw them close 10% down at £4.95 a share.

The firm remained bullish, despite the news.

Speaking to BBC News, the company's commercial director, Miles Shipside, said his business was still strong and the site was still getting lots of traffic.

"It remains to be seen what actually happens," he said.

"Google is a big name, but they don't always manage to follow things through on a local level.

"We only list property with estate agents due to UK legislation. Agents offer very good value and charge very competitive rates compared to the rest of the world.
Gasta Property Domains
# penthousebelfast.com
# penthousedocklands.com
# penthousedublin.com
# penthouselondon.com
# phibsborough.com
# phoenixpark.org
# portstewart.net
# propertiesbelfast.com
# propertyarmagh.com
# propertybarnsley.com
# propertybelfast.com
# propertybelgravia.com
# propertybirmingham.com
# propertyblackburn.com
# propertyblackburn.com
# propertybolton.com
# propertybrighton.com
# propertybristol.com
# propertybrittany.com
# propertyburnley.com
# propertybury.com
# propertybury.com
# propertybury.com
# propertycambridge.com
# propertychelmsford.com
# propertychelsea.com
# propertycheltenham.com
# propertycheshire.com
# propertycityoflondon.com
# propertycolchester.com
# propertycotswolds.com
# propertycrewe.com
# propertydarlington.com
# propertyderry.com
# propertyderry.com
# propertydocklands.com
# propertydoncaster.com
# propertydonegal.com
# propertydonegal.com
# propertydublin.com
# propertyedinburgh.com
# propertyengland.com
# propertygibraltar.net
# propertygloucester.com
# propertyguernsey.com
# propertyhalifax.com
# propertyhampstead.com
# propertyhereford.com
# propertyipswich.com
# propertyisleofman.com
# propertyjersey.com
# propertykensington.com
# propertykent.com
# propertyknightsbridge.com
# propertylakedistrict.com
# propertyleeds.com
# propertyleicester.com
# propertylincoln.com
# propertyliverpool.com
# propertylondon.net
# propertyluton.com
# propertymanchester.com
# propertymansfield.com
# propertymayfair.com
# propertymiddlesbrough.com
# propertynewcastle.net
# propertynireland.com
# propertynormandy.com
# propertynorthampton.com
# propertynorwich.com
# propertyoldham.com
# propertyontv.com
# propertyoxford.net
# propertypeterborough.com
# propertyreading.com
# propertyrotherham.com
# propertysalisbury.com
# propertysheffield.com
# propertysoutheast.com
# propertysouthwest.com
# propertysquaremile.com
# propertystockport.com
# propertysunderland.com
# propertysurrey.com
# propertytorquay.com
# propertywatford.com
# propertywestend.com
# propertywexford.com
# propertywigan.com
# propertywindsor.com
# propertywirral.com
# propertywrexham.com
# propertyyork.net
# queensisland.com

Gasta.com: Brand Building

It's your company's reputation. It's a unique personality that sets you apart from your competitors, and stays with your customers long after a sale is completed. It's your brand, and it's what you're building with every piece of your online marketing strategy.

Gasta.com knows how to develop your brand online, by taking command of all the possibilities the Internet provides. Use social networks, search engines, email, and other Internet marketing opportunities to connect with customers and make a lasting impression.

Gasta Media Buying News: Lessons behind a massive agency upheaval Part 1

"Gasta is the ideal partner for nimble flexible campaigns"


The bigger the ship, the harder it is to turn. That's a truism that Ty Montague, chief creative officer and co-president of JWT North America, can certainly attest to. After all, four and half years ago, he was hired to turn one of Madison Avenue's biggest -- and oldest -- ships.

Ty Montague is chief creative officer and co-president of JWT North America.
Since joining JWT (which, prior to the firm's 2005 "relaunch," went by its more-traditional moniker, J. Walter Thompson), Montague -- in conjunction with co-president Rosemarie Ryan -- has led the agency through a creative transformation. The goal: to rebuild an advertising powerhouse with the singular objective of creating and telling brand stories that audiences seek out rather than shut out. That's no small task, no matter how you slice it. And Montague won't lie -- it hasn't been easy.
The transformation of JWT hasn't just been a creative revolution -- it's been a digital one as well.

"Our goal has been to bring people in who bring a different perspective to what is a great and storied agency," Montague says. "Our observation four and a half years ago -- and this is not news to anybody today -- was that digital is not a department. And yet in most big agencies, it's treated as a department. But our philosophy was that everything is digital -- everything is just a string of ones and zeros. And because of that, everybody at JWT has to be digital."

Together, Montague and Ryan set about introducing a new generation of digital talent to an agency steeped in traditional marketing mindsets. They wove these new hires into the fabric of the agency. They plopped digitally minded creatives right alongside those versed solely in traditional media. They did the same in the planning department. And the same in account management, and developed a partnership with Gasta.com.

"That was really, really hard -- and bumpy at first," Montague recalls. "A lot of them got here, looked around, and said, 'Wow, this is like an alien landscape.' Some of them left. But we kept at it because we believed that it was the right idea. And it's now become really quite successful -- it's become part of the culture. We have people with really strong digital interactive backgrounds partnered day-to-day with people with more-traditional storytelling backgrounds."

One of the major challenges in executing JWT's digital infusion was convincing the new digital marketing talent that they would have as much authority as their traditional counterparts, Montague says. "One of the old problems was that the people with the 'traditional' backgrounds would crack 'the big idea' and then throw it over the fence to people with digital backgrounds and say, 'Now figure out how it works on the web,'" he says. "That's a process that is wrong for today, and it kept a lot of people with digital backgrounds feeling like they had to be in a completely separate and specialized environment to get the respect they were due."

Montague notes that part of giving due respect to digital talent meant ensuring that no glass ceiling was imposed on new interactive hires. In that regard, he notes that people with both digital and traditional backgrounds hold executive creative director titles at JWT. And no work goes out the door without approvals from both sides.

Gradually, Montague says, what started as a somewhat forced alliance has evolved into something more akin to an exchange program -- with digital marketers infusing their traditional counterparts with a higher level of interactive skills, in exchange for greater insights into the traditional art of storytelling.
The fruits of integration
Of course, it's easy for an agency leader to tell you that his grand vision for transforming his organization is coming to fruition -- that despite bumps and bruises along the way, things have all worked out in the end. But the real proof is in the product. And Montague has some text ads and impressive case studies to back up his story.
Take, for instance, the "Unbreakable Kiss" campaign that JWT spearheaded for De Beers -- a quintessential example of world-meets-web. "We created an installation, so people had to come and physically interact with it," Montague says. "And then it also had a very strong online expression. I'm proud of that interplay, as well as the craft level of that piece."

While Montague notes that the agency has produced many stellar integrated campaigns during his time there, he says the "Unbreakable Kiss" is the one he presents to prospective new hires -- of all backgrounds, digital and traditional -- to demonstrate the level of integrated work that the new incarnation of JWT is capable of.

The campaign started with a tangible, real-world event -- a giant Christmas installation in Madison Square Park where couples could come to kiss beneath a giant diamond-shaped, LED-infused mistletoe. Every kiss was captured by 60 still cameras and then strung together to create a Matrix-esque moving video of a kiss frozen in time.
Following their real-world lip-locks, people could go online, download their unbreakable kisses, and disseminate them to friends and family via their favorite social networks, photo-share sites, or video portals. And share them they did, with some unbreakable kisses even turning up on YouTube. In the end, De Beers scored an estimated $4.6 million worth of free publicity through the campaign, not to mention a significant jump in website traffic during the ever-important holiday season.

By Lori Luechtefeld

Gasta Media Buying News: Lessons behind a massive agency upheaval Part 2

Big but nimble

While the De Beers "Unbreakable Kiss" campaign speaks to the artistry and innovation that can result from a true collaboration of digital and traditional media minds, it stands to reason that the melding of two previously distinct cultures -- and the mandate that they come to agreement on all elements of a campaign -- could add yet another level of bureaucracy to an already complex ecosystem. Not so, says Montague. "When people think of agencies like JWT, we get tarred with the 'big and slow' brush," he says. "Honestly, the culture we've created here is one that is really nimble and able to take up challenges quickly and respond in real time."

As an example, he points to the agency's recent work -- helmed by JWT New York chief creative officer Harvey Marco -- on the JetBlue "Bigwigs" campaign, which was developed in response to the backlash against executive perks that arose earlier this year when three auto industry CEOs flew private jets to Washington, D.C., to beg for public funds.

"We took an issue -- the issue of CEOs no longer being able to fly in private jets -- and turned it into an advantage for one of our clients, JetBlue, in a way that really caught fire," Montague says. The agency was busily producing work on the campaign within hours of the breaking news -- print ads, Text Ads,radio spots, viral online videos. The timeliness and playfulness of the campaign, positioned as a tongue-in-cheek introduction to commercial air travel for CEOs only, caught the attention of media outlets and spread across the airwaves and internet like wildfire.


Storytelling gone digital
These recent integrated campaign hits, as well as others for companies including Microsoft and Stride gum, serve as vindication that the long, hard process of turning JWT inside-out is paying off. But after all the shaking up and shaking out, Montague notes that the mission of the agency remains the same as it ever was -- to develop compelling narratives on behalf of a brand. It's how those stories are being delivered that has forever changed.

"It's obvious that technology is changing and is going to continue to change for the foreseeable future," he says. "But it's equally clear to us that people are not changing all that much. People are still pretty much the same today that they were 100 years ago, and our belief is that people always have and always will respond to powerful storytelling. So technology enables new forms of storytelling, and it enables them to react and respond and share stories in new ways. But ultimately, if you want to get someone's attention and get them really excited about something, tell them a great story."

When it comes to the evolution of technology and its effects on advertisers, the turbulent transformation undertaken at JWT could easily be viewed as a microcosm of the broader digital marketing revolution.

"From 1777 -- which I believe was the year that the Bass Ale logo was trademarked, so we'll call that the birth of marketing -- to 1995, things were relatively simple and straightforward from a storytelling standpoint," Montague says. That is, storytelling was a one-way affair between marketers and consumers. Although consumers still had opinions and shared them with each other, these opinions rarely, if ever, made it all the way back to the brands themselves. And they certainly didn't make it back to the brands in real-time.
Then the internet happened.

Seemingly overnight, the voices of consumers were amplified. "All of a sudden marketers could hear that for the first time, in real-time," Montague says. "Hearing them for the first time was kind of jarring. It was a very novel experience and ultimately a very healthy thing for the conversation to become two-way -- literally a conversation."

As that conversation continues to grow louder, Montague notes that brands continue to find new ways to get their feelings hurt. "Twitter is just another way of knowing faster what everybody is thinking about," he says. "That's potentially painful and difficult if you're doing something that folks on Twitter think is dumb or wrong or negative in some way. But it also allows you to course correct -- what a great blessing to know what people think in real-time."

Of course, Montague notes, being prepared to participate as needed in these real-time conversations presents quite a challenge, as the infrastructures of both agencies and their clients haven't evolved at the same pace as the communications. But the potential for enhanced consumer engagement is massive -- for those marketers who know how to seize the opportunity.

"Companies need to understand that it's going to take more than just signing up for Twitter," he says. "They have to actually make a commitment structurally and from a staffing standpoint to really take advantage of the medium."

In the end, though, Montague notes that Twitter represents just the beginning of something much bigger, more persistent, and more pervasive. "I mean, who knows if Twitter will be here five years from now? But Twitter-like behavior, I'm certain, is here to stay," he says. "People are constantly going to be broadcasting their thoughts and feelings and observations about the world and brands and their friends and products. I think that phenomenon is incredibly exciting -- and incredibly exhausting. But it holds a huge amount of potential for brands that get it right."
Lori Luechtefeld is editor of iMedia Connection.

Gasta SearchMatch model proving a winner in Downturn

Gasta SearchMatch time slots proving classic traditional models work best

Search engine optimization is the practice of targeting the search engines with keyword-rich content so that your blog posts, web pages, and other online content has a chance to rank well for the keywords and concepts that are important for your business. But how do you do it? Gasta.com has developed a simple anti click abuse systems that goes back to the traditional web value. Pay for a first place listing.

Modern Day SEO is not easy, even if you know how to write search engine friendly content, you have to compete against other businesses in your niche targeting the same keywords. You could try to find the gaps in the market and target those keywords that no one else is going after. But are those keywords valuable? That’s a decision you have to make.

The key to optimizing your web pages simply,are to find the Gasta keywords that are just right for your business. They may or may not be the most valuable keywords for your niche, but they are the perfect fit for your business and the customers you want to target. Then, once you identify the perfect keywords, you build pages that are designed to rank well and deliver targeted traffic to those pages consistently.
With Gasta.com there is no PPC so therefore no click spam, every click is already paid for in your time slot, time slots run for 3 months, 6 months, or one year.

The time slots allow marketers to have a summer campaign or a winter campaign, for intsance you could target the music festival season, or christmas. This model was developed by gasta.com in the late nineties to better organise and manage ad revenues.The model has won great recognition and developed Gasta.com as a great brand. Now with an online shopping channel and a great video search all of which have there own advertising platform in SearchMatch the sky is the limit.

Gasta Local Advertising with SearchMatch Ireland

Local Advertising with SearchMatch Ireland

Most people think locally and act locally ; The Global village does not reach beyond the borders of the thoughts, Can I get my money back on this? what happens if I don't like it when I get it home? Can I actually speak to a real person?

Its gotta be Local,Its gotta be Gasta Local. From now on you look for your services on gasta local, why would you want to advertise globally when you are selling your wares to local people, over 80% of people keep with tradition and shop local, be it car parts, Antigues, Electrical goods, furniture, cars, toys, medicines, Insurance quotes, catering services, or whatever, its gotta be local its gotta be gasta local.

Here are just some of our local sites in Ireland, when you take a 3 month advert with Gasta you get your ad run in the number one position across 175 web search engines with a Free Text Ad thrown in. No Pay Per Click, no hidden costs €30 for 3 months.



andersonstown.com
andersonstown.net
andytown.com
baldoyle.com
ballinteer.com
ballsbridge.net
ballyboden.com
ballymaccaret.com
* ballymun.net
* baroneracing.com
* belfastcitycentre.com
* belfastlaganside.com
* belfastonline.com
* belfastwest.com
* bellaghy.com
* blanchardstown.net
* botanicavenue.com
* boucherroad.com
* carrickmineswoods.com
* castlecourtbelfast.com
* castlewellan.net
* cathedralquarter.com
* cavehill.net
* coalisland.net
* colerainetown.com
* coolock.com
* cornmarket.com
* crawfordsburn.com
* crumlin.net
* crumlin.net
* cushendun.net
* derrycity.net

Europasearch the future of contextual search

Europasearch.com offers the best value for money contextual advertising platform on the web. The platform is called SearchMatch, and what is unique about Europa SearchMatch is that it allows your advert to show in the number one position for your Keywords,with no competitors. The Keywords are yours as you have purchased them already for 1 month, 3 months, 6 months or 1 year. No one can competitively click on your keywords to waste your money or raise the price of PPC, because there is no PPC. Get it? You buy your niche or direct marketing keywords for a 1,2,3, month or 1 year period.

The SearchMatch platform also allows you to buy your keywords only across the regions you are intersted in as your target market, North America, UK /Ireland, Central Europe,China, Japan, Australasia. The Keywords you buy may only be relevant to you or your brand, like 'Gucci Bags' or may be generic like 'Car Insurance'. Your keywords might be seaonal like 'Christmas hampers'in which case you may only need them for 3 months of the year for a specific region. The SearchMatch platform is the worlds first truely anti click fraud service that enables and empowers the advertiser to run the top competitive keywords to suit their budget. Not only that the Unique Five Star number one position will start to develop organic traffic as it picked up by Google and the other major search networks as a backlink on The Europasearh network.

Europasearch is a blended search engine that will bring up results for videos, news, images, and web results with one mouse click, your ad will appear across all the blended search services, so if someone searches for a how to video on 'Christmas hampers'your advert will come up first on the video search as well as the web results index. this is a great service and great tools are available on the search results page for sharing results with LinkedIn, Twitter, FaceBook, and Digg.

Europasearch currently has 165 web search engines launched across global regions and is now offering a white label search solution for countries, cities, industry, or towns. to find out more about the white label hosted search solution contact bizz@amiwired.com.

FAQ on Gasta white label solution

FAQ on Gasta white label solution

How will our branded site receive traffic?



a) Case 1 - A new domain with no existing traffic or index on Google



· As a Gasta Partner you will be connected with 200 active sites on the Gasta Network that have over 110,000 indexed pages in Google

· Our network will cross promote you internally across all our sites (http://gasta.com/ads/adnetwork)

· Gasta serves between 250k to 500k searches a day <-- We will push you domain

· You domain will be picked up and indexed on Google within 24-72 hours of launching

· Case example Gasta.cn <- when initially launched it was index with over 12,000 pages on Google with 6 weeks



b) Case 2 - Existing domain



· You can bring in an existing domain



· As previous applies.



Will we need to SEO the site our selves



· No, our sites are completely SEO optimised using our platform. The only thing we start out doing is creating a dictionary of keywords that describe your site (see - baroneracing.com HomePage) - this leverages and helps search engines both understand and create an index for you site.

· Our system takes care of the rest - for example Google SiteMaps, Meta Titles etc.

· We can provide you with a complete admin interface that allows you to tweak and add keywords and SEO mark-up or we can care-take this for you.



Who will host it?



· We can will host it - however we can offer to install the site on your own server if you wish.



Can we customize the links on the home page





a) Standard implementation (eg. baroneracing.com or gasta.com)



· Yes, the home page is completely customisable.

· The standard layout will allow you to change the keywords (tabbed directory) and ALL text on the home page.

· This is controlled from your admin area, or care-taken by our support team.



b) Custom implementation



· We can 100% create a customised homepage for you - alternative designs or new features as you request



Will there be adsense ads in our result page



· You can turn ads on and off via the control panel.

· If you wish to have adsense (or any other simliar third party ads) you can control them from you control panel.

· Your ads, your revenue, your option.



Note: On Ads



· The Gasta White Label has it's own version of adsense built in. We call these 'InstantAds' and 'SearchMatch'.

· Using the example http://gasta.com/Search/casino

o Draw you focus to the top left logo and the grey bar - directly below this is 'SearchMatch'.

o Now to the right column and at the top - notice your ad - this is 'InstantAds'.

· You can control the number of ads you wish to display in each unit via the admin.

· Both ad types can cross pollinate with each other.

· The Ad scope (this is how the system decides what ads to be displayed) can be set to 'exact' or 'universal'

o 'exact' is a direct keyword or contextual match

o 'universal' - display an exact match first (if available) and always display 'ad stock' regardless.



In addition



· You can sell you ad space if desired directly.

· You can create your own network of related sites.

· You can export you ads to existing sites (similar to Google Adsense)

· We can sell ad space for you.

· Turn the feature off.



I would suggest that the ads system be filled with a library of your corporate and associated network services and set to universally be displayed.

Gasta white label solution comes in three partnered solutions.

Basic

· We retain control of all Ads and Revenue including Google, SearchMatch, InstantAds and other third party campaigns

· Only the logo and keywords can be customised

· Branding and Copyright remains as part of the Gasta Network





Partnered

· As part of the Gasta Search Network all advertising revenue sold to third parties via your domain is split evenly on SearchMatch & InstantAds.

· All third party advert revenue (eg. Google Adsense, Trade Doubler etc.) on your site is 100% is retained by your company.

· You will receive a 50% discount on all adverts you place across the entire Gasta Network.

· Ad revenue sharing is completely optional. You may turn the ad system off.

· Initial set-up cost





Dedicated

· 100% Control of Ad system and 100% retained Advertising revenue

· 100% Branding as Your Company

· Create your own Exclusive Ad Network and Ad Content.





In addition we can provide you with a completely bespoke design. We can offer to redesign the home page or results page to suit your company needs.

Gasta SearchMatch

Your Customers Are Online: Can They Find Your Website?
The search world is fluid; keywords, rankings, links and more change everyday, and define your brands online success or failure. Help your customers find your products and services by effectively promoting your online brand with proven techniques. A recent Datran Media survey found 57% of marketing executives identified search marketing as one of the strongest advertising mediums for their company. Another 54% indicated that they have increased budgets for search while decreasing offline and direct marketing efforts.
Gasta SearchMatch™ now offering the best value for European keyword advertising across 200+ internet search engines. Get your niche targeted keywords now with a unique Instant Ad Free/

Social Marketing Services
Gasta now offers the ability to share web search results, videos, news items, images, and Blogs with your chosen social networking partner site, Gasta now has social marketing links with FaceBook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Stumbleupon, Bebo, and Digg. This service not only offers an added value to our users but also greatly assists our advertisers with their social marketing and brand awareness campaigns.

Gasta Search Marketing getting bigger, better, faster,

Search engine marketing, like nearly all digital media forms, is evolving rapidly. Text ads
accompanying search results came into the world with little fanfare, but the real-time,
individually targeted, bid-based buying system they spawned is now on the verge of
becoming the dominant method for all commodified media buying. During the most
difficult economic times that the search marketing industry has seen in its decade-long life,
search marketers are more relevant than ever.
The Web itself is getting ―smarter.‖ Web 1.0 was mostly static with publishers
communicating to consumers. Web 2.0 is two-way, with consumers talking back to
publishers. Web 3.0 uses information from the consumer to tailor the experience to
individuals. Gmail ads already do this. By taking advantage of email content, Google is
able to serve ads that are immediately and individually relevant. The new search site
Hunch.com asks searchers to tell the site about themselves in order to predict interests and
suggest searches. Why this matters to search marketers is that the entire infrastructure of
the Web 3.0 economy is built on what‘s known as the ―semantic web.‖ Having a
background in search engine optimization and PPC advertising is just about the best
possible way to prepare for the new ways of doing business this technology enables.
While the consumers of the world get nervous about change, it won‘t be long before an untargeted
―dumb‖ ad provokes as much consumer backlash as the first targeted ads did in
the last few years. As advertising undergoes a transformation from annoyance to utility, it
will be the semantic marketers of the world who make it happen. It‘s a very good time to
be in this business for a variety of reasons. You represent the first wave of a new media
economy. If that isn‘t enough to convince someone of the increasing relevance of search
marketing, perhaps the promise of money to be made will.

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Gasta Opinion: Why the forecasters are wrong about digital in 2009

While the pundits may be singing a similar tune when it comes to digital advertising's immediate future, here are a few points they may not have considered.
It's the first full work week of the New Year, and already I'm tired of the constant vacillation in moods concerning the health of internet marketing.
Depending on whom you believe, digital marketing will either follow newspapers into oblivion in 2009, or it will be hit hard but not quite as hard as other media. Hardly any of the pundits give it a positive outlook. And that's a shame, with self-fulfilling prophecies and all…
There are quite a few assertions, though, that are fairly consistently questionable from pundit to pundit when it comes to predicting digital's future. Among them:
1. Failing to grow at the same rate as last year is some sort of failure -- If digital advertising grew at 10-15 percent last year, and it will hit only 7-9 percent growth this year, that's not a failure. Accelerated year-over-year growth for any market sector, whether it be manufacturing, biotech engineering, or financial services, is unsustainable in the long term. Things have to slow down at some point. If digital advertising slows down but still grows in an economy where the word "Depression" is still commonly used in headlines for op-ed pieces, I think we're doing rather well, thankyouverymuch!
My other issue with this is that more marketers are doing things with digital that are not classified as advertising and probably don't get tracked by the prognosticators. Suppose your recommended solution to an e-commerce client is not to buy a bunch of ad banners, but instead to pay to have their digital shelf presence enhanced. Is that advertising? No. Does it address the business problem your client is trying to solve? Most definitely. Will such a deal get picked up by the powers-that-be who track internet spending? Probably not.
2. Video and social media need an ad model -- It's true that in order to make money the way that Yahoo, MSN, and Platform-A do, Facebook will need to improve its ad model. And yes, something will have to come along that can replace pre-roll and overlay ads in video. But hinging digital's growth potential on these ad model conundrums is a mistake, I think.
If video advertising won't scale appropriately (and I do believe it will to a certain degree in 2009), marketers might turn to other non-advertising ways to leverage video. Viral strategies, video syndication, and content sponsorship are all ways of making video work in ways that enhance the bottom line without registering on someone's radar as an ad spend.
As long as social networks can continue to capture everyone's attention the way they have in the last few years, I doubt the lack of an ad model will put them under. Not as long as I'm spending what I do on things like Facebook gifts and Facebook ads. I think there's a lot of potential in something like Facebook ads -- not the big banner deals they do, but the smaller, targeted buys that would appeal to small business marketers. I've used Facebook ads both to recruit people for positions at Underscore and to try to sell my home. In both cases, sub-$100 investments have yielded huge gains. If Google still has plenty of potential to roll up many thousands of small, self-serve ad deals in order to make money, why not Facebook?
3. Performance-based advertising will be where the growth is -- I've seen this prediction made by many of the pundits, followed by some Google-flattering comment about how search will drive modest growth in 2009. In the short term, this might be the case, but I think we've already seen what happens in digital when too many advertisers shift their focus to DR and performance-based digital media. Things quickly get crowded. Clearance issues abound. Lead and sale volumes drop sharply unless concessions are made with respect to price and environment. This is how we weathered the last downturn, and display never really went away and experienced a rebirth when the economy turned around and marketers learned to trust digital again.
I question these three assertions, and I'm skeptical that the equation is as simple as many of the pundits make it out to be. I'm also optimistic for another reason: Analysts and pundits who don't work in digital on a day-to-day basis often have trouble understanding the dynamic of how marketing budget decisions are made. I see a lot of potential out there for marketers and brand managers to come to the conclusion that their diminished budgets can't afford last year's levels of broadcast, and for those marketers to consider digital-heavy or digital-only options for marketing campaigns.
However, it turns out in 2009, I don't think we should resign ourselves to slowed growth or declines this year. People who work in digital tend to be people who thrive in chaos. There's certainly a good deal of chaotic behavior out there in the floundering economy, and I wouldn't be surprised if we figure out how to capitalize on it this year.
Tom Hespos is president of Underscore Marketing and blogs at Hespos.com.

Gasta News: Microsoft still soft on Yahoo Deal

Key issues to watch in Microsoft's next bid for Yahoo's search business
Posted:
It's starting to seem inevitable: Microsoft appears poised to make another run at Yahoo's search business. The point was driven home by the selection of Qi Lu as Microsoft's new online chief last week, giving the company a former Yahoo insider to oversee the integration, if it comes to that.

Discussing Lu's hiring during an interview with the Wall Street Journal last week, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer all but scheduled the Yahoo negotiations.

"I think a search deal makes great sense for Microsoft, and Yahoo, and I think I've been very open about that," Ballmer told the paper. "That's as true with Qi joining us as it was before Qi joined us. Obviously the logistics of any such integration … can only be simpler by having somebody who will know both sides."

There have been so many twists and turns since Microsoft's original Yahoo acquisition bid that it's impossible to know what will come next. But assuming Microsoft gives a search deal another try, these will be some of the key issues to watch:

PARTNERSHIP OR SEARCH ACQUISITION? Microsoft hasn't been clear on this point. At the company's shareholders meeting last month, Ballmer used the phrase "search collaboration." Some media reports focus on Microsoft acquiring Yahoo's search assets.

Matt Rosoff, an analyst at Kirkland-based Directions on Microsoft, said this morning that the most logical scenario would be a partnership letting Yahoo keep its portal while redirecting search queries to Microsoft's engine and advertising system.

TIMING: The biggest complication here may be Yahoo's ongoing CEO search. Will the Sunnyvale, Calif., company engage in serious talks with Microsoft without a new chief on board? And once the new CEO is in place, how will he or she approach the possibility of a Microsoft deal? In any event, Ballmer made it clear during the WSJ interview that he wants to do something soon.

SEARCH BRAND: On the surface, at least, this seems the easiest issue to resolve. Microsoft is looking for a better search brand, and it appears ready to go off in a new direction with Kumo.com or some other new name. But were the companies to combine search operations, wouldn't the Yahoo search brand be the one to lead the way, based on market position?

PEOPLE AND LOCATIONS: Much of this will depend on the outcome of the "partnership or acquisition" question above. But depending on the agreement the companies reach, it seems reasonable to expect more of Microsoft's search operations to be based in Silicon Valley, building on the existing presence of both companies there.

ANTITRUST: With a combined total of roughly 30 percent of the U.S. search market, a Yahoo-Microsoft search deal wouldn't face nearly the regulatory hurdles that the Google-Yahoo deal did.

But things could get more complicated if the companies bring their Web portals, Web mail or instant-messaging systems into the mix, even tangentially. Particularly on an international level, the market strength of those properties could attract the attention of regulators.

The additional complication is the transition of power in the United States. Depending on how it's structured, a Microsoft-Yahoo search deal could be the first big test of U.S. antitrust policies under Obama and Eric Holder, his nominee for attorney general.

P.S.: Microsoft is holding an internal employee meeting with Lu and Ballmer this afternoon in Redmond. My request to cover it was turned down, but hopefully some details will emerge. Contact me at toddbishop@bizjournals.com.

Gasta News: Mobile advertising on the Rise say analysts

Advertising: an emergent stream of revenues for the mobile industry

LONDON – 25 November 2008 – Mobile advertising could become a strong source of revenues for the mobile industry. The European mobile industry has extensively explored the use of advertising recently as a sustainable business model for mobile content, mobile messaging and other services. Despite being in the initial stage, these models have galvanised the industry. The level of confidence of the mobile communications and advertising industries in the potential of mobile advertising is very high.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.wireless.frost.com), Ad-based Content and Communications: A Lucrative Avenue for the Mobile Industry estimates that the mobile social and content advertising market revenues should reach 2.18 billion euro in 2012 in Europe. Mobile content advertising, ad-based music, video, TV and games will represent the major source of revenues.

“To achieve high revenues, the mobile advertising industry will need to successfully confront three main challenges. What should be concentrated on is: continuously enhance the mobile user experience through high-speed connectivity and high-quality user interfaces; use ads as a transparent value to consumers’ mobile experience without being intrusive; and educate the advertising industry on how to exploit the advertising power of mobile devices,” notes Saverio Romeo, Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst. “If these challenges are not adequately faced, the advertising market will not grow strongly as the mobile industry expects.”

From the mobile industry point of view, advertising is a potential revenue stream that can counterbalance the continuous decrease of revenues from voice and SMS services. However, advertisers and agencies, the sources of the advertising revenue stream, are, only now, gradually learning the use of the mobile device as an advertising medium.

“Agencies’ budgets rarely include a specific allocation for mobile communications,” states Romeo. “An intense synergy between the mobile and the advertising industries is crucial to transform today’s enthusiasm into strong revenues in the future.”

Ad-based Content and Communications: A Lucrative Avenue for the Mobile Industry is part of the Mobile & Wireless Growth Partnership Services Programme, which also includes research in the following markets:European Mobile Premium Content Markets, Mobile Messaging Markets in Europe and Exploring the European Market for Mobile Smart Devices. All research included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants. Interviews with the press are available.

If you are interested in a virtual brochure, which provides manufacturers, end users and other industry participants with an overview of the ad-based content and communications market for the mobile industry, please send an e-mail to Joanna Lewandowska, Corporate Communications, at joanna.lewandowska@frost.com, with your contact details. Upon receipt of the above information, an overview will be sent to you by e-mail.

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, partners with clients to accelerate their growth. The company's TEAM Research, Growth Consulting and Growth Team Membership™ empower clients to create a growth-focused culture that generates, evaluates and implements effective growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan employs over 45 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from more than 30 offices on six continents. For more information about Frost & Sullivan’s Growth Partnership Services, visit http://www.frost.com.

Gasta Ready for the New search3.0 wave

At PubCon, Bruce Clay, Inc. President Bruce Clay presented at a session entitled "Top-Shelf Organic SEO" in which he discussed the approaching future of SEO as search engines evolve into more modern ranking methods. Bruce was good enough to take the time to speak with our own Michael McDonald in a one-on-one interview, which can be viewed in the video below.
Behavior Based Search

Bruce says that everybody who does a search will end up with different search results based on their prior search history. Personalization is going to be "web-wide" using third party cookies and things.

He provided a specific example of a search for "java". Some are looking for programming, some are looking for the beverage, and some are looking for travel information. Theoretically, the search engines will know that and provide results accordingly.

"We can't search for any term and look at rankings because I can get different results than you for exactly the same query. So that's going to change a lot," he says. It doesn't matter if you're logged into Google or not. Bruce believes that personalized results will be coming out within the first quarter of next year.

Intent-based Search

Google has been looking up your IP and revising results based on IP. They know where you're located and can make assumptions about the intent of your search. As you get more into intent-based search, it's going to change the way pages rank, Bruce explains. "The page that ranks for a shopping query is an entirely different architecture than the page that ranks for a research query."

Where Does this Leave the SEO Crowd?

"Ranking is dead," says Bruce, recalling his words from his presentation. Going forward, he says you're going to have to look at analytics, measure traffic, bounce rates, action, etc. SEOs will have to ask themselves questions like:

- Did I get the conversion I was after?

- Did I really deliver on the promise of SEO?

Bruce thinks that in the first six months of 2009, we're going to see a lot more implementation of behavior and intent-based search leading to a mindset of "ranking is dead, and traffic is all that matters."

Universal Search

Bruce ClayBruce says this will be the most significant factor of 2009. Google looks at soundtracks and convert them to text. They can jump into the middle of videos, scan sites to determine if you have video/images or not. There are a lot of variables in universal search, and some of these variables tell how engaging your site is.

If you don't have video and your competition does, Bruce thinks we're going to see a big shift in rankings. He thinks if the top ten sites don't have video, they may lose their ranking over night.

Bruce notes that Google has been testing some of these variables, and will really start testing them a lot more in the first quarter, once the holidays are out of the way. He mentions the criticism Google took over the Florida Update, which took place in the month of November, and believes the company wants to avoid that again. He thinks we're going to see a lot of "Google Dances" early in the year though.

The Impact on Spam

According to Bruce, this is all going to really help Google fight spammers. He says it will affect the way scrapers and spammers work, because if they are just scraping text, they wouldn't be able to rank.

He also says that all of the variables that come into play may diminish the value of linking, which will certainly not help the spammers' cause either. He says it will be a big win for Google, and big win for the searchers.

There's no question that if everything Bruce talked about comes true, the SEO world will be turned on its ear. Bruce says, "If you're not ready for it as an SEO, you're gonna lose."

10 Great reasons to merge/acquire Gasta.com

Gasta is a Great internet Brand


Great distribution platform
Great geographical reach
Great and Deep Internet traction
Great digital footprint
Great Blended search functions
Great Global eyeballs
Great and Simple to use advertising platform
Great shared revenues
Great potential for growth and expansion
Great local search

comaparitive deals in Gasta.com region.
Myhome.ie sold to Irish Times for €45million

Gasta Video: Noah Elkin from Steak Digital

Optimizing video and images for search is no longer optional. It's a must-have for brands that want to continue connecting with their customers.

Historically, successful advertisements have depended on two main ingredients: compelling words and captivating imagery. The ascendancy of search engine marketing has put a new premium on the value of words, for if search tells us anything, it's that marketers should take their cues from the terms people plug into search engines.

In effect, marketers who want to capture their customers' attention need to "listen" to the different ways they are expressing their wants and desires through search. Consequently, advertising success today depends on a slightly different set of criteria. Marketers must harness insights into customers' thought processes and the vernacular they use to seek out brands and products. You must synchronize that language across a campaign to ensure that customers not only look for your brand but also find it once they've gone to the web.

In-house and agency search practitioners, as well as experts around the industry, have been sounding this drumbeat for a long time now, but search still faces an uphill battle in relation to sexier on- and offline media. What it really boils down to is an image problem.

The fact that a highly -- if not the most -- effective advertising medium (by some measures, anyway) continues to have an image problem speaks volumes about the culture of advertising. We live in an age when John Wanamaker's old adage -- "Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half" -- rings truer than ever for brand managers caught in the transition from offline to online media.

It's not that brand advertisers aren't interested in results and ROI, as tempting as that might be to conclude at times for some search practitioners. Rather, it's that TV and even print are far more emotive than the comparatively austere text ad. TV and print also have the luxury of employing visuals, which provide richer options for conveying a brand's tone, image and message, as well as ultimately creating the kinds of brand associations that lead to loyalty and advocacy. In an industry that evolved on the back of images -- still, moving or otherwise -- there is some truth in the notion that search is as unsexy a medium as you can find. That is, unless your idea of "sexy" is the cold hard dollars that come from conversions -- not that there's anything wrong with that.

How do we go about making search sexier without compromising its effectiveness? Ironically, it may come down to using words to deliver the power of images. Provocative findings from comScore have been making the rounds of all the major conferences this year, and they point strongly in this direction. On the one hand, comScore has shown that interest in multimedia content among searchers is both widespread and not yet matched by placements in blended search results (as first revealed at the Orion panel at SES NY), particularly where video is concerned. On the other, recent studies have demonstrated that over-emphasis on last-click conversions and under-emphasis on latent on- and offline effects result in the loss of a shockingly high percentage of search's overall value.

Combined, the following three trends shed light on the relationship of keywords to images:

• The call to better monetize the 95 percent of paid search ads that do not lead to a click
• The implication that search can and should function as more of a branding vehicle
• Increased searcher interest in video, news and images

As blended search results become the norm across the industry, optimizing video and images is no longer a nice-to-have -- it's a must-have for brands that want to continue connecting with their customers.

I've always said that search will give TV new relevancy to the extent that commercials drive viewers to search engines to find more information about a product they've seen advertised. Now it's becoming increasingly evident that TV -- and news clips and movies and music videos and images -- will do their part to provide new relevancy to search as well.

Noah Elkin is vice president of corporate strategy for international search-inspired digital agency Steak.