What is link popularity?

Link popularity is the total number of web sites which link to a particular site. Most search engines use link popularity as a factor in determining the search engine ranking or importance of a web site.

The flurry of buzz surrounding search and fraud.

This article by Kevin M. Ryan puts things in perspective for us internet marketers and the google fraud settlement article of a few days ago…

The Click Fraud Culture

By Kevin M. Ryan  |  More by this Author

Our search editor analyzes the flurry of buzz surrounding search and fraud.

Opinions on click fraud are a dime a dozen. While many advertisers still seem ambiguous or unaware of the problem, erroneous clicks in the search engine marketing world have become the seat of controversy.

Last week's feature on the Lane's Gifts and Collectibles, et al. v. Google settlement struck a nerve with many iMedia readers. "Google's Click Fraud Settlement and You" sparked heated comments from advertisers, search engine advertising providers and a few upstarts with proposed solutions to the problem.

Regardless of your approach to the click-fraud problem, the dynamics of paid search have provided many with a seat at the online marketing table. Once a world that included only techno-gurus and search-centric optimization junkies, search is now a mainstream marketing concern and it seems another segment has popped up around fraud that is showing promise.

Email advice
A good portion of responses to last week's feature came in the form of advertiser comments, many of whom didn't know they had to "opt-out" of the Lane's Gifts settlement.

"I find it interesting that I got my 'Important Legal Notice' on May 20," says Mark Hagar of Berkeley, California-based SaviorPrint.Com. "The first line in bold type in the click settlement website says 'Please come back to this website between June 19, 2006 and August 4, 2006 to file a claim form.' This is conveniently 30 days after the email message was received, in other words too late to opt-out."

Several others found the settlement notice a bit, well, unsettling.

"Overall, it's bizarre how Google went about notifying people about this," says Mikhail Ledvich, chief strategy officer of the technology firm Click Facts, Inc. who also noted that a client's Google mail account rejected the notice as spam. "It seems they really do not want people to opt out of the settlement. A one-time email notice is fairly easy to miss."

With many advertisers up in arms about the settlement notice, drilling down to the details is presenting something of a problem in and of itself.

Credit THIS
The terms of the settlement (credit toward future advertising) aren't sitting well with advertisers and a few have initiated additional legal action.

John N. Horton, vice president of marketing at the web hosting company Advanced Internet Technologies, Inc., another advertiser suing over click fraud losses, had this to say: "We are not going to let this issue rest, as we've lost millions of dollars to click fraud– and can prove it."

The law firm Kabateck Brown Kellner LLP is representing Advanced Internet Technologies in a suit against Google. Brian Kabateck noted in a recent statement that the settlement is almost financially meaningless to Google and doesn't require Google to change its business. Google, Kabateck's firm said, can continue to bill its customers for invalid or fraudulent clicks, and it is not required to improve or change its click fraud prevention efforts.

A spokesperson for Kabateck summed up the comments well. "Obviously he thinks the settlement is a joke."

Although it has become an accepted practice to receive credits (in lieu of a cash refund) for fraudulent clicks, the existing settlement provides nothing for advertisers that no longer advertise with Google.

A whole new world
Sue if you like, blame the lawyers for a bad settlement if you must, but there is a whole new industry popping up around click fraud. There are many technologies in place that help report against erroneous clicks. Many search engine marketing firms offer bundled technologies that aid in click fraud prevention, but there are plenty of others stepping up to help out.

Jim Trego, executive vice president of Click Defense, Inc., represents one such specialized firm that is in the business of click fraud awareness and reporting. "It's a pity that a large percentage of the advertisers don't really have a clear picture of what's happening here. We have a large number of clients that have elected to opt-out. One has entered a claim for over one million dollars in refunds for fraudulent clicks."

Click Defense is just one of the firms that have built a business model around click fraud. Click Forensics' launched Click Fraud Network and the Click Fraud Index– designed to help advertisers validate their PPC campaigns. 

Last week, Jay Stockwell launched his attempt to answer the call for an industry group with an anti-click fraud community destination, Click Sentinel. Click Sentinel offers free click fraud tracking software, click reconciliation software and community support.

The list of click fraud reporting and crediting firms is long and growing fast.

Credits are not enough
Large advertisers might be happy with a credit toward an inevitable spend with a ubiquitous search site but the little guy, waiting for a refund to his credit card, clearly isn't represented in the current fraud acknowledgement to credit system.

A cottage industry has popped up to provide fee-based services to help advertisers seek refunds. The problem is so bad that advertisers are willing to pay a third party to help them collect money in which they are already entitled. 

So many advertisers are clearly outraged by the most recent click fraud settlement that it would seem the "do no evil" motto is more meaningless than ever.

Spare us the didactic melodrama
A good deal of responses to last week's column expressed anger and frustration about the 90 million dollar settlement and proposed 30 million or so that is potentially earmarked for plaintiff's counsel. One included a suggestion as to how to rectify the situation.

SaviorPrint.com's Hagar offered the following advice:

1. Pay counsel 33 and a third percent of the amount of the claims that are awarded by Google (offer less than 30 days to submit a claim form!)
2. Pay counsel in advertising credits applied to 50 percent of the cost of future advertising with Google.

In the end, a solution may be at the tip of our brains, at the heart of our desires and closest to our pocketbooks. Until search providers are required to disclose the amount of revenues lost to click fraud activity and are held accountable to advertisers, we can expect more unsettling settlements and a growing industry, built around foiled efforts to deceive.

Additional resources:
Download the settlement notice and FAQ
Click Fraud Back in the News
Click Fraud On the Rise

Kevin Ryan is iMedia's search editor and the general manager of Kinetic Results, a search agency. Read his full bio.

Behavioral Targeting’s Effect on ROI

By Ari Bluman  |  More by this Author

The 24/7 Real Media SVP of media and technology presents charts and data to help educate marketers.

In September 2004, 24/7 Real Media brought behavioral to the forefront of online advertising with the launch of 24/7 OnTarget. During this time we have learned an enormous amount about what behavioral targeting can do, and how it will be used to achieve amazing advertising results in the future. However, before any of this happens, advertisers, media buyers and publishers will need to understand more about what behavioral targeting is, what it can do for an online campaign and how it can deliver better financial returns to both sides of the ad publishing transaction.

24/7 Real Media has continually worked to help educate publishers and advertisers while refining the taxonomies and methods used to create behavioral segments. Because of this, and increased ad volume, results for each behavioral targeting segment have become more predictable, so that advertisers are increasingly able to focus their ads on the audience that they want to reach rather than on content areas where they might (or might not) be found.

Today behavioral targeting is quickly settling into its rightful place as a powerful and accurate tool among a broad range of targeting options with its ability to deliver better return-on-investment and significantly increase CPMs for parts of the publishers' run-of-site inventory. The following information and charts highlight how behavioral targeting impressions by market distribution, eCPM for given segments, impression served, Click Through Rates (CTR) and market segment for impressions served are emerging to help educate and present a clearer picture for marketers and publishers who are seeking maximum ROI for their future campaigns.

Market distribution of behavioral targeting impressions served
The chart below highlights (in percentage terms) the distribution of impressions across the 24/7 Web Alliance on a quarterly basis. This shows how Run of Network (RON) increased the most in absolute terms, by increasing 50 percent. The number of behavioral targeting impressions grew much faster, with impressions tripling within the same period. In percentage terms, behavioral targeting more than doubled its share of a growing market and dramatically increased its share of the targeted sector (i.e., non-RON).

Consumers Will Spend 260% More for Internet Entertainment in Five Years

 This is a great article and a must read!!! Bryan

According to Digital Lifestyles: 2006 Outlook, from Parks Associates, U.S. consumer spending for online entertainment, including on-demand gaming, music and video services, will grow by 260% in the next five years. Driven by broadband usage and innovations in digital entertainment platforms and content services, revenues will grow from $2.4 billion in 2006 to nearly $9 billion in 2010.

Kurt Scherf, vice president and principal analyst, Parks Associates, said "This year will be a watershed for delivering to consumers an array of new entertainment experiences… we'll see significant product and service announcements throughout 2006."

Scherf indicated that the online video market will be active in 2006, as PC and consumer electronics manufacturers seek to expand their influence by offering more integrated networked solutions to end users.

• The number of worldwide consumer broadband subscribers will grow from 184 million in 2005 to more than 360 million in 2010
• The number of households worldwide using data networking equipment will grow from approximately 82 million in 2005 to more than 135 million in 2010
• Worldwide subscribers to IP multichannel video services (IPTV) will grow from approximately five million in 2005 to nearly 70 million in 2010.

• About Parks Associates: Parks Associates is a market research and consulting firm focused on all product and service segments that are “digital” or provide connectivity within the home. The company's expertise includes home networks, digital entertainment, consumer electronics, broadband and Internet services, and home systems.

  Founded in 1986, Parks Associates creates research capital for companies ranging from Fortune 500 to small start-ups through market reports, multiclient studies, consumer research, workshops, and custom-tailored client solutions. Parks Associates also hosts several fall events and co-hosts CONNECTIONS™ (in partnership with the Consumer Electronics Association) each year. www.parksassociates.com

Very good keyword tools

When trying to find the best keywords for your website try using these tools.

http://www.wordtracker.com

http://inventory.overture.com 

http://goodkeywords.com 

http://www.adwordanalyzer.com

Bryan 

TheSeoTeam.com

Thank you for visiting my blog. I hope that the information that I post is educational and beneficial to all who stop by and read it.

Bryan 

Did you know?

Did You Know…
Ray Tomlinson gave society one of the greatest communication tools in history. He invented email back in 1971 — essentially fostering global business communication and turning the Internet into a digital kitchen table for far-flung family members.
[Source: Datamation]

Bad Online Experience

According to a recent national study conducted by Allurent, an overwhelming 82% of respondents said they would be less likely to return to a site where they had a frustrating shopping experience, and nearly a third said that a frustrating experience when shopping online would make them less likely to buy at that retailer's physical store. 55% of the consumers surveyed said that a frustrating shopping experience online negatively impacts their overall opinion of that retailer.

Bryan

What is SEO?

SEO is short for Search Engine Optimization which is the process of altering a website to achieve a higher listing or placement on the organic or natural side of search engines.

Bryan

Did You Know?

You Did Know…
On February 23, 2004 there were 34,665,404 active.com domain names registered. 
When you include .net, .info, .org, .biz, and .us, the total number of active registered domains is 48,927,948.  [Source: Whois Source Internet Statistics]