Getting Granular: The DigitalGrit Blog

Blog Readership Doubles, According to Forrester

From today's MarketWatch:

Technology is making it easier to ignore mainstream media advertising. Instead, consumers are using Web logs, mobile messaging, comparison shopping Web sites, and word-of-mouth to make buying decisions, according to Forrester Research Inc.

Date released Tuesday by the firm reported 10% of consumers read blogs at least once a week, compared with 5% a year ago. Really Simple Syndication feeds (RSS) are used by 6%, compared to 2% in 2004.

"Technology has given consumers an option to tune businesses out, and tune each other in," said Chris Charron, a Forrester (FORR: news, chart, profile) vice president, in a statement. "On the flip side, technology has given businesses an opportunity to gain greater customer insights at a lower cost," by monitoring blogs and Web sites and message boards "to uncover consumer insight and accelerate the innovation of products, services, and design," he said.

Heard it from: Micro Persuasion

Footnote: MarketWatch says this research is from Forrester, but I'll be darned if I can find a release or anything on Forrester's site. CBS, are you makin' stuff up again?

Blog Readership Doubles, According to Forrester

From today's MarketWatch:

Technology is making it easier to ignore mainstream media advertising. Instead, consumers are using Web logs, mobile messaging, comparison shopping Web sites, and word-of-mouth to make buying decisions, according to Forrester Research Inc.

Date released Tuesday by the firm reported 10% of consumers read blogs at least once a week, compared with 5% a year ago. Really Simple Syndication feeds (RSS) are used by 6%, compared to 2% in 2004.

"Technology has given consumers an option to tune businesses out, and tune each other in," said Chris Charron, a Forrester (FORR: news, chart, profile) vice president, in a statement. "On the flip side, technology has given businesses an opportunity to gain greater customer insights at a lower cost," by monitoring blogs and Web sites and message boards "to uncover consumer insight and accelerate the innovation of products, services, and design," he said.

Heard it from: Micro Persuasion

Footnote: MarketWatch says this research is from Forrester, but I'll be darned if I can find a release or anything on Forrester's site. CBS, are you makin' stuff up again?

Online Ad Revenues Jump 26% to $8.5 Billion in 2005, with SEM Leading the Way. (Is anyone actually surpised?)

At the Mixx Show yesterday, the IAB and PricewaterhouseCoopers announced that Internet ad revenues are up 26% from last year -- just for the first half of 2005:

Internet advertising revenues (U.S.) for the first six months of 2005 were approximately $5.8 billion, a new record and a 26% increase over the first half of 2004. Internet advertising revenue totaled $2.985 billion, just shy of $3 billion for the second quarter of 2005, representing a 26% increase over same period 2004. Q2 2005 revenues represent a 6.6% increase over Q1 2005.

Search is the clear rev-gen leader, earning twice as much as display ads online.

We can all guess why - it's been said a thousand times before (on this blog and elsewhere), and it's the reason most CMOs burn out within 3 years: accountability. We're getting more bang for the buck online, and we can show clients or bosses exactly how effectively their money is being spent. The price of one half-page ad in any worthwhile newspaper that may or may not get results (and can't really be 'tweaked') will buy a medium-sized business a few month's worth of search engine media, which can be edited on the fly, turned off when no one's looking, and capped when it gets near the budget. Additionally, search appeals to consumers and business looking to BUY.

That said, other online media is fueling the growth, as well. Here's the breakdown:

Ad Formats – Internet ad revenues broken down by ad formats are:

	FH 2005	FH 2004
Search	40% ($2,315)	40% ($1,817)
Display Ads	20% ($1,157)	20% ($942)
Classifieds	18% (1,041)	17% ($782)
Rich Media	8% ($463)	8% ($368)
Referrals/Lead Generation*	6% ($347)	2% ($114)
Sponsorships	5% ($317)	9% ($414)
E-mail	2% ($116)	2% ($70)
Slotting Fees	1% ($58)	2% ($92)

*Renamed category in 2005 specifically including Lead Generation activity; 2004 referred to simply as “Referrals”

There's plenty more data available. See the press release on the IAB Web site.

Online Ad Revenues Jump 26% to $8.5 Billion in 2005, with SEM Leading the Way. (Is anyone actually surpised?)

At the Mixx Show yesterday, the IAB and PricewaterhouseCoopers announced that Internet ad revenues are up 26% from last year -- just for the first half of 2005:

Internet advertising revenues (U.S.) for the first six months of 2005 were approximately $5.8 billion, a new record and a 26% increase over the first half of 2004. Internet advertising revenue totaled $2.985 billion, just shy of $3 billion for the second quarter of 2005, representing a 26% increase over same period 2004. Q2 2005 revenues represent a 6.6% increase over Q1 2005.

Search is the clear rev-gen leader, earning twice as much as display ads online.

We can all guess why - it's been said a thousand times before (on this blog and elsewhere), and it's the reason most CMOs burn out within 3 years: accountability. We're getting more bang for the buck online, and we can show clients or bosses exactly how effectively their money is being spent. The price of one half-page ad in any worthwhile newspaper that may or may not get results (and can't really be 'tweaked') will buy a medium-sized business a few month's worth of search engine media, which can be edited on the fly, turned off when no one's looking, and capped when it gets near the budget. Additionally, search appeals to consumers and business looking to BUY.

That said, other online media is fueling the growth, as well. Here's the breakdown:

Ad Formats – Internet ad revenues broken down by ad formats are:

	FH 2005	FH 2004
Search	40% ($2,315)	40% ($1,817)
Display Ads	20% ($1,157)	20% ($942)
Classifieds	18% (1,041)	17% ($782)
Rich Media	8% ($463)	8% ($368)
Referrals/Lead Generation*	6% ($347)	2% ($114)
Sponsorships	5% ($317)	9% ($414)
E-mail	2% ($116)	2% ($70)
Slotting Fees	1% ($58)	2% ($92)

*Renamed category in 2005 specifically including Lead Generation activity; 2004 referred to simply as “Referrals”

There's plenty more data available. See the press release on the IAB Web site.

End of Week 2 for Google Blog Search

I wasn't going to post on this again, but I found this blog post in which  BusinessWeek comments on the fact that their blog wasn't even picked up. Pretty funny, considering they're BUSINESSWEEK for heaven's sake!!!

Tons of links back to this post -- many are accepting BusinessWeek's review as the definitive take on Google Blog Search.

(Note that Steve Rubel is among the commenters weighing in on this one. Note to self: I really need to read his blog more often. It's fantastic.)

End of Week 2 for Google Blog Search

I wasn't going to post on this again, but I found this blog post in which  BusinessWeek comments on the fact that their blog wasn't even picked up. Pretty funny, considering they're BUSINESSWEEK for heaven's sake!!!

Tons of links back to this post -- many are accepting BusinessWeek's review as the definitive take on Google Blog Search.

(Note that Steve Rubel is among the commenters weighing in on this one. Note to self: I really need to read his blog more often. It's fantastic.)

Get a Job! NJ-area Account Managers/ Assistant Account Managers WANTED

If you're smart, talented, and love online marketing, check out the jobs on our Job Blog. We're hiring! And believe me, if you live in the NYC/NJ area, you want to work here. (Do I even need to mention the whole Fast 50/ Best Places to Work in NJ thing again?)

Get a Job! NJ-area Account Managers/ Assistant Account Managers WANTED

If you're smart, talented, and love online marketing, check out the jobs on our Job Blog. We're hiring! And believe me, if you live in the NYC/NJ area, you want to work here. (Do I even need to mention the whole Fast 50/ Best Places to Work in NJ thing again?)

Microsoft and AOL add new VoIP services. See a trend?

Seems that everyone's jumping on the VoIP bandwagon these days. Yahoo buys Dialpad. eBay buys Skype.  Now, according to the IAB SmartBrief, "America Online announced it would launch its TotalTalk VoIP service, the successor to AOL Internet Phone, on Oct. 4" and "Microsoft and Qwest Communications said that beginning next year they will market VoIP service to small- and medium-sized businesses."

All part of the pay-per-call trend? You have to assume. VoIP normally wouldn't even be considered as part of my blog subject material, but when Google, Yahoo!, MSN and even eBay all jump on a trend, you've gotta figure there's going to be a marketing opp in there somewhere. These guys don't do anything unless it presents enormous income potential...

Here's a nice capsulization from Om Malik's blog:

As I hinted earlier, this is a pay-per-call model that could be the “VoIP” play for Google. A lot of start-ups have already started mucking around with it. The leader in this space is Ingenio, which has a deal with AOL. The pay-per-call results typically make more money for sites that use pay-per-call model, and this includes various publications and portals. Another start-up that has jumped into the fray is Insider Pages, an Idea Lab company. Jupiter’s Gary Stein has some thoughts on this trend, as he tries to come-up with reasons for why Microsoft bought Teleo.

We know that local merchants would rather pay for a call than a click; having pay-per-call as a product is pretty much a must for anyone looking to get into the local directory business.

I guess, as Voice-over-IM tries to find its footing, the first application that becomes popular is this “pay for call” feature. Yannick sums it up nicely when he writes:

So could all the talk about Google’s VoIP plans really be all about extending its advertising franchise into pay-per-call, rather than offering plain old consumer minutes, a la everyone else?

An obvious, simple and practical observation!

Obviously, this post was made prior to the eBay-Skype deal, when Google announced plans to go vocal...but it does gives some insight into the trend.

Update: Here's another take from Andy Beal on Google's move to the audible web.

Microsoft and AOL add new VoIP services. See a trend?

Seems that everyone's jumping on the VoIP bandwagon these days. Yahoo buys Dialpad. eBay buys Skype.  Now, according to the IAB SmartBrief, "America Online announced it would launch its TotalTalk VoIP service, the successor to AOL Internet Phone, on Oct. 4" and "Microsoft and Qwest Communications said that beginning next year they will market VoIP service to small- and medium-sized businesses."

All part of the pay-per-call trend? You have to assume. VoIP normally wouldn't even be considered as part of my blog subject material, but when Google, Yahoo!, MSN and even eBay all jump on a trend, you've gotta figure there's going to be a marketing opp in there somewhere. These guys don't do anything unless it presents enormous income potential...

Here's a nice capsulization from Om Malik's blog:

As I hinted earlier, this is a pay-per-call model that could be the “VoIP” play for Google. A lot of start-ups have already started mucking around with it. The leader in this space is Ingenio, which has a deal with AOL. The pay-per-call results typically make more money for sites that use pay-per-call model, and this includes various publications and portals. Another start-up that has jumped into the fray is Insider Pages, an Idea Lab company. Jupiter’s Gary Stein has some thoughts on this trend, as he tries to come-up with reasons for why Microsoft bought Teleo.

We know that local merchants would rather pay for a call than a click; having pay-per-call as a product is pretty much a must for anyone looking to get into the local directory business.

I guess, as Voice-over-IM tries to find its footing, the first application that becomes popular is this “pay for call” feature. Yannick sums it up nicely when he writes:

So could all the talk about Google’s VoIP plans really be all about extending its advertising franchise into pay-per-call, rather than offering plain old consumer minutes, a la everyone else?

An obvious, simple and practical observation!

Obviously, this post was made prior to the eBay-Skype deal, when Google announced plans to go vocal...but it does gives some insight into the trend.

Update: Here's another take from Andy Beal on Google's move to the audible web.