Don't miss a single issue of Kikabink News! Add anna@kikabink.com to the “Friends” list or “Whitelist” in your Address Book.
In This Issue:
* NEWS AND COMMENT * Google Launches Google Ad Planner On the heels of releasing Google Trends, Google has released the beta version of Google Ad Planner. Ad Planner is a beefed up version of Google Trends and specifically aimed at media planners. According to Google, when using Google Ad Planner, a media planner will need simply enter demographics and sites associated with a given target audience, and the tool will return information about sites (both on and off the Google content network) that this audience is likely to visit. Further, it's possible to drill down further to get more details such as demographics and related searches for a particular site, as well as aggregate statistics for the sites added to the media plan. Media planners will also be able to use Google Ad Planner to quickly create media plans and export these to a .csv file or to DoubleClick's MediaVisor. If Google Trends is any indication, Ad Planner may only be really useful for sites with a certain minimum level of traffic. Even so, we're looking forward to giving this baby a test run! Click here to comment on this article Sources: Google Adwords Blog, http://adwords.blogspot.com/2008/06/introducing-google-ad-planner.html, Kikabink News, "Free Tool: Google Trends To Measure Trends In Traffic and Searches", Kikabink News, June 26, 2008, http://www.kikabink.com/news/18/free-tool-google-trends-to-measure-trends-in-traffic-and-searches/ SearchMe: Is This The Future of Search? I won't hold my breath just yet, but a new search engine, SearchMe, has emerged that may just change the search paradigm. I can't really give SearchMe justice by describing it. You'll more easily appreciate its potential by trying it out for yourself (see link below). However, in essence, SearchMe provides a visual preview of the webpages that result for a given keyword search. In my opinion, this provides a much richer indication of what a given webpage is about than the text listings you find in Google, Yahoo and Microsoft Live. SearchMe has also just released a swag of new features including new video and image search engines, as well as a new visual bookmarking tool called stacks, which allows you to bookmark, group and share sites with others. If SearchMe's underlying search algorithm is anywhere near as powerful as Google's - and, as you'll see, it offers some interesting search options – it may eventually build a serious market for – and dominate - visual search. Whether visual search itself will ever become preferred over text-based search is another question. However, with 100,000 - 200,000 queries per day and growing, SearchMe is certain a search engine to keep an eye on. The only thing SearchMe will need to work on is a viable business model. Not particularly hard, given the examples set by Google, Yahoo and Microsoft. If it does opt for an advertising revenue model, SearchMe will just need to balance the interests of searchers with the monetization aims of Internet marketers. Alternatively, it may do well to emulate Google and focus on attracting and achieving a critical mass of users before it seeks to monetize them. As a search tool, SearchMe does not anywhere near match the depth of Google's data but is still worth using. Also, note that you can submit websites that it hasn't already indexed – perhaps a good opportunity for getting exposure among the “early adopters” in your market. Most of all, keep an eye out for the marketing opportunities that SearchMe may present. Click here to try out SearchMe for yourself Click here to comment on this article Sources: Michael Arrington, "SearchMe Launches Stacks, Gets Serious About Search Relevance", TechCrunch, June 24, http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/06/24/searchme-stacks-show-the/ YouTube has introduced a new policy to allow its content partners to display longer videos. Specifically aimed at encouraging independent film makers to upload feature films, the file size of such videos may be as large as 1 gigabyte. The move seems to be aimed at keeping people on the site longer, in order for them to be exposed to more ads. I wonder where this is headed... If the ad model works for film makers and small (and large) production houses, will we see the advent of "straight to YouTube" movies? Click here to comment on this article Sources: Michael Learmonth, "YouTube Shifts Strategy, Tries Long-Form Video", Silicon Alley Insider, June 18, 2008, http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/6/youtube_tries_long_form_video * HIGHLY RECOMMENDED * An Internet Business Model That Really Works If you run or want to run an Internet business... you'll want to check this out. Tim Kerber and Ryan Lee have just launched a how-to program on how to launch and operate a membership site. It's an EXCELLENT business model that underlies the success of many top Internet based businesses. And if it interests you, here's a unique opportunity to get the inside story on how to set up a membership site and maximize your income from it. ==> Find out about an Internet business model that really works Why Speed Beats Perfection As a recovering perfectionist, let me wholeheartedly stress that, in many cases, you're better off getting started with a given marketing initiative... rather than waiting for all the research to be done, all the analysis to be complete, and everyone to be consulted. While I also believe that some research, analysis and consultation is often necessary – you know, better to “look before you leap” to cite another cliché – once the evidence is overwhelming, it's crucial to get underway for a number of reasons. Possibly the most important reason for starting as soon as possible is to quickly get REAL answers about whether or not your marketing initiative will work. No research study - and no-one's expert opinion - beats actual market results. Assuming you have the ability to measure the results of your initiative (which is mandatory) you will soon see what is working and what isn't, and what needs to be dumped, changed or further tested. Which means delaying an initiative in order to gather more opinions about what will and won't work is typically a colossal waste of time and resources. By all means begin your initiative based on some reasonable assumptions. For example, it's reasonable to expect that an offer based on what's popular according to search engine keyword analysis will be effective. But don't delay it in order to conduct focus groups on whether or not your offer is likely to appeal to prospects. The opinions of a handful of focus groups (of six or so people each) are no match for the actual conversion data you'll get from testing the offer in the marketplace. Another reason why speed beats perfection is that it usually ensures that you actually do implement! So many worthwhile projects – including entire businesses – fail to get off the ground because they become mired in analysis paralysis... an endless loop of “stake holder” consultation... or the need for everything to be exactly right. After a certain point, the longer the delay, the more others - and even you - will likely question the whole idea, and the greater the chance that it will be canned. Thirdly, when you tend to introduce new initiatives only after a long, protracted process, you effectively perpetuate the idea that things must take a long time and a lot of effort before they can be implemented. Further, the pain associated with introducing a new initiative is likely to deter you from implementing further new initiatives. Not good when your business future likely relies on product and marketing innovation. Meanwhile, long delays cause you to miss out on the power of momentum. Getting things going and seeing results quickly – good or bad – is empowering. It sends a message – both to yourself and others - that you CAN implement quickly... which, in turn, makes it easier to implement other things quickly. Click here to comment on this article * HIGHLY RECOMMENDED * FREE – 7 hrs of DVD training! Derek Gehl is giving away his $297 "Internet Millionaire's Protege Bootcamp" DVDs for FREE! That means you can get 7 hours of professional online business training in the comfort of your very own home - and all YOU have to pay is the cost of shipping the package to your door! Be fast though. Apparently there are only 101 copies of Derek's world-class training DVDs left... ==> Claim your free 7-hour DVD training system now Free Must-Have SEO Tool: RankChecker No Internet marketer – well, no Internet marketer with at least a passing interest in search engine marketing – should be without: 1. The Firefox web browser - whether Firefox 2.0 or 3.0 (the latest version); or 2. The free SEO tools and software available from Aaron Wall's Seobook.com website. (His book, SEO Book is a must-read too). These are available as plugins for Firefox. I'll cover some of these tools in future issues of Kikabink News. For now, though, let me explain why Aaron's RankChecker tool is a must-have. To put it simply, if you want to know how your website ranks for one or more keywords... RankChecker will tell you. You basically type in your domain name, type in however many keywords you wish to check, click “Start” and RankChecker will tell you where you rank (if at all) in Google (US and international), Yahoo Search, and Microsoft Live. You can also export the results in CSV format (i.e. to save in your spreadsheet program). Click here to download or learn more about RankChecker (yes, it works with Firefox 3.0): If you haven’t already, click here to download Firefox 3.0 (I’ve heard a couple people say it’s buggy but it seems fine to me… and it certainly leaves its main competitor in the dust). Click here to comment on this article * HIGHLY RECOMMENDED * Finally, a Reliable and FREE PDF Convertor Need to publish a report... release a new ebook... or simply format your text document into a clean, crisp PDF document? Don't want to pay the hefty prices charged by many PDF conversion tools? Then you'll love Free PDF! Not only is it free, but it's also extremely easy to use. In fact, with Free PDF, creating a PDF document is simply a matter of following 3 steps: log in to the Free PDF site, insert the text you want to convert and... generate your PDF! Why not give Free PDF a spin right now? ==> Click here to try Free PDF for yourself * CLASSIFIEDS * Turn Key Franchise Development Learn how to franchise your business and double profits with only 3-4 franchisees. Click here to learn more Giveaway With a Totally New Spirit Offering new services and innovative concepts to Internet marketers. Click here to find out more Discover The Cutting Edge SEO Training 100% Guaranteed To Deliver... Or Your Money Back Click here to learn more Get the #1 Best-Selling Internet Wealth System That's Launched MORE "Six-Figure Income" Websites Than Any Other Now with even more videos and tutorials, you WILL make at least $5,000 by Dec. 31 2008 or we'll give you back DOUBLE your money! Click here to learn more Discover The Only, All-in-One, Site Brainstorming, Building, Hosting and Marketing, Step-by-Step System of Software Tools That Delivers a Thriving, Profitable Business... and More. Click here to learn more That's it for now. If you have any questions or feedback click here to drop me a line. To your profit,
Anna Johnson Share The Knowledge Forward this email to friends and colleagues! Subscribe To Kikabink News Subscribe to Kikabink News and receive your news, comment, research, tips and more to make your Internet marketing more profitable. Change To Text Format Click here if you'd prefer to receive Kikabink News in text format (no images). Copyright © 2008 Kikabink International Pty Ltd ("Kikabink"). All rights reserved. The content (including text, graphics and software code) of this newsletter may not be copied, translated, published or otherwise used in any way without written permission. Kikabink makes no warranty of any kind about the accuracy, completeness, merchantability or fitness for purpose of the content or any product or service advertised in this newsletter. |
