Big News: Drake Morton

Google Lifts Ban on Trademark

Terms for Search Ads

Move Could Increase Keyword Costs for Blue-Chip Brands

by Michael Learmonth
Published: May 14, 2009

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Get ready for an influx of brand names in Google keyword ads. The search giant, which until now has prohibited the use of trademarked brand terms in ad text on its search-results page, except when permitted by the brand itself, is now allowing the use of trademarked terms in AdWords copy — under some circumstances, that is. (more…)

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Search Insider Summit Tweet-O-Meter

by Aaron Goldman , Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Another spring Search Insider Summit has come and gone. As always, the weather was hot, the conversations were warm, and the emcee was cool — so cool, in fact, that one attendee was overheard proclaiming, “Gord, you’re my hero!”

In my last column, I revisited the Buzz-O-Meter from past summits and offered my predictions for Top 10 buzzwords at this one. Since I was pretty close, I’m not going to spill much digital ink on explanations or context for this edition of SIS buzzword bingo. Instead, I’ll quickly recap the Top 10 and start a new tradition sharing additional Top 10 lists.
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The Pros and Cons of Demographic Search Engines  

By Janel Landis , Friday, August 22, 2008

THERE HAS BEEN MUCH HYPE over the last few years about vertical search engines and how they will change search marketing; however, in addition to the fact that most have failed to attract sizeable user bases, most vertical search engines do not have paid inventory available or are filling the space with Google or Yahoo ads. In light of this, there is an intriguing new trend emerging in niche search engines. A few months ago, Ask.com announced it was focusing on the female searcher, attempting to position itself as a demographic search engine. After all, as search marketers, we love to leverage every level of granularity we can get our hands on, right? (more…)

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Streamlining Discovery

by Steve Smith , Friday, May 9, 2008

“DISCOVERY” HAS BECOME ONE OF the hot new alternatives to the more common forms of behavioral tracking. One company in the space, MatchMine, lets users create MatchKey profiles of their content “likes” at MatchMine.com or one of its partners like music site Fuzz or film site FilmCrave. The technology creates this profile from the ways a user interacts with different content. Opted-in members can use the MatchKey only at a specific site or bring it with them to other sites in the growing network to inform content recommendations. We caught up with CEO Michael Troiano as MatchMine evolves from its test phase with early partners to a more expansive rollout with new partners Odeo, blogged, and others.
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Search — Where Supply Meets Demand

by Janel Landis , Friday, May 2, 2008

WITHOUT DEMAND, THERE CAN BE no supply. When it comes to search engine marketing, demand must occur on one of your keywords in order for your ad to serve. As advertisers seek more volume in their search engine marketing (SEM) campaigns, typical tactics to accomplish this are to bid on more keywords or to improve click rates and conversion rates through ad copy and landing page testing. While these are essential tactics to employ, they usually only provide incremental lifts in volume. (more…)