This week I spent a few hours wondering the cavernous exhibit hall at Ad-Tech San Francisco. After careful consideration, I present you with the 1st annual Blogation Ad-Tech Awards (sponsored by [insert name of AdSense advertiser to the right of this posting here]). Best Ad-Tech Sponsorship: The nominees are: The floor in the entrance area (NetBlue) The stairs (DoubleClick) The lounge (WebMasterRadio?) The computer terminals (don’t know) The badges (Datran) The bags (Casale?) The coffee breaks (don’t know) The air conditioning system (OK, I made that one up). … Continue reading →

Ad-Tech begins tomorrow, which means that many of us will be sporting new t-shirts, koosh balls, and slightly fatter bellies (from the free dinners) when the week is through. I’ve never paid for the Ad-Tech speaking sessions; I’m perfectly happy to wander the exhibit hall in the hopes that I find a company I’ve never heard of before. But I’ve been to enough Internet trade shows to be able to pass on some sage wisdom to those of you who actually paid to hear speakers. Here’s my advice … Continue reading →

When Google announced changes to its AdWords API program a few weeks ago, there was a bit of outrage amongst the SEM community. Unfortunately, the outrage was completely misdirected. Let me just be clear: the fact that Google is now charging for API usage isn’t what the SEM community should be outraged about; rather, it’s that Google is trying to “unlevel” the playing field by preventing bid management companies from showing both Google and Overture data on the same page of an application, or using Google data to … Continue reading →

In late 2005 I posted my top ten predictions for 2006. Let’s see how I did. Here’s a summary of the predictions with comments on my progress: 1. 2006 will be the year of “cost per action” or “CPA” marketing. SO FAR: Well, I can’t say that the world has gone absolutely bonkers over online lead generation (a/k/a CPA marketing). Then again, Scripps did buy uSwitch for $366 million so maybe I’m onto something. In general, the jury is still out on this one. Grade: B 2. There … Continue reading →

Imagine what your Internet company could do with $230 million dollars. To put it in perspective, you could buy: 460,000,000 clicks on Yahoo or Google (assuming an average CPC of $.50); 2500 experienced Internet employees; A major acquisition (for example, about 1/3 the acquisition price for Shopping.com or LowerMyBills); The gross domestic production (GDP) of the Solomon Islands; $230 million of additional profit! Alternatively, if you are Yahoo, you get . . . CEO Terry Semel. That’s right, in 2005 Terry Semel pulled in $230 million in compensation, … Continue reading →