For those of you that have attended a Search-Engine Strategies (SES) conference over the last five years you have likely seen or heard of Allan Dick. Allan is one of the most respected members of the Search community and has been moderating panels for SES on the “retailer” track for years. In addition to SES, Allan is Chair of Regional Meetings for Shop.org (the online division of the National Retail Federation) where Allan oversees networking events for ecommerce executives in five major U.S. cities.

On a daily basis Allan is Chief Marketing Officer at Vintage Tub & Bath, an Internet Retailer Top 500 firm based out of Hazleton, PA (about 35 minutes from Pepperjam).

One of the things that Allan has done over the years in an attempt to help retailers take better advantage of the affiliate marketing space is to coordinate and host a monthly teleconference dedicated to affiliate marketing issues.

Most recently I was contacted by Allan and invited to particpate in one of his newest ventures called the “Paying for Performance” teleconference, hosted by noted digital marketing expert Jeff Molander.

The Paying for Performance Teleconference is a 60 minute tele-event that helps e-marketing/e-commerce professionals find solutions to everyday problems through candid advice from peers and industry experts.

Well, the first teleconference is scheduled for Wednesday, February 20, 2008 and I will be part of it. Here are the details:

February 20th’s discussion will feature a debate on how to balance paid search & affiliate marketing strategies. The event includes industry veterans, Larry Joseloff, Sr. Director of Content at Shop.org (a former affiliate manager for brands within Commission Junction and at Discovery Channel Store); Kristopher Jones, President & CEO of Pepperjam Network and Kevin Lee, Exec. Chairman & Founder of search marketing agency Did-It. Request participation in this free, peer-based resource by contacting sponsor, Allan Dick: allan AT vintagetub DOT com.

By the way - if you are in the market for a clawfoot tub make sure to visit VintageTub.com!

affiliate marketing pepperjam Pepperjam Network Uncategorized Vintage Tub & Bathaffiliate marketing pepperjam Pepperjam Network Uncategorized Vintage Tub & Bath

So you’d have to be living under a rock this week if you haven’t heard about Microsoft’s bid to takeover Yahoo!   But just in the off chance that that is the case, allow me to give you a brief synopsis… and by brief, I mean bare bones.

 Last Friday, February 1^st, Microsoft made an unsolicited $44.6 billion bid for Yahoo.  If the sale goes through, it would combine the second and third largest web search providers. Whew!  That took a lot out of me.

Well being the full service internet marketing agency that we are, and having search as one of our core competencies, it shouldn’t surprise you that people around here had some things to say about the potential takeover of Yahoo.  

Weighing in first is pepperjam’s heavy weight contender, CEO Kris Jones.  When asked about Microsoft’s bid to but Yahoo, here’s what Kris had to say:

“On its face, Microsoft’s hostile bid of Yahoo seems nothing more than a desperate attempt by Microsoft to compete with Google’s dominance as the world’s leading search-engine. However, there is a problem here - the Yahoo search-engine isn’t that good and neither is MSN. Both of these firms have had quite some time to differentiate, but failed. On the paid search front Yahoo’s Panama seems to be a big failure and Microsoft’s AdCenter is small. Will the combined MSFT / YHOO entity be something Google should be worried about? No, not really. Google’s search-engine is just that much better. Take the best search features of MSN and add it to the best of Yahoo and nothing really changes.”

Wow, Kris.  Why don’t you tell us how you really feel?  But he does make some excellent points! (no surprise there)  Even if Microsoft and Yahoo combine, taking the best of both companies, does it still stack up to Google?  If I were a magic 8 ball, my reading would say “all signs point to no.”    Neither MSN nor Yahoo have a big enough market share, even combined, that could challenge or persuade others to leave Google.

After speaking with Kris about this, I decided to ask Brian Watkins, our Director of PPC Account Management, what he thought of both the take over and Kris’ comments.  Brian said, “  I agree with Kris.  But on top of that, why would Microsoft even want to take over Yahoo?  Why would they invest money in Yahoo’s subpar technology when they could be using that money to reinvest in their own technology and internal ventures?  Doesn’t really make sense if you ask me.”

Brian’s comments echo something I read earlier today in the International Herald Tribune.  Mark Mowrey, editor of The TechValue Report, a newsletter, was commenting on the bid.  He expressed his frustrations of “Gates’s pursuit of his white whale when Microsoft has bigger fish to fry, like parrying the challenge from free operating systems like Linux; adapting to the migration of computing from the desktop to the cloud, and competing with Apple as it insinuates its hardware and software into people’s living rooms, cars and telephones.  An acquisition of Yahoo has the potential to force management’s eyeballs away from what are keys to the company’s future. I would much rather see Microsoft focusing on breadwinners, as well as the ancillary businesses.”   The Windows operating system and Office productivity software make up the first category; the second includes devices like the Xbox game console and Zune media player.

 Both Brian and Mark Mowrey make excellent points though – why risk a $44.8 BILLION gamble on technology that isn’t even on par with your own, when you could be using that capital to reinvest in your own company’s core competencies?  Right now Apple really is one of the biggest, if not THE biggest competitors for Microsoft right now.  While their search and online portal space is no doubt important, Microsoft is at least still in the ball game with its Xbox console (especially with the success of its Halo3 release), the Zune, which is going head to head with the ipod, and its Microsoft Office Suite which, whether you like or not is in every corporate office, college campus, and home across the globe.   What does a takeover of Yahoo really add to what Microsoft already has, beside a slew of headaches?  (I mean, have you thought about how Microhoo! is going to choose among two e-mail systems, two ad platforms, two instant-messaging systems, and two search platforms, just to name just a few)

Who knows how all of this is going to turn out… but it sure does look likely that Microsoft’s bid will be accepted by Yahoo’s board of directors.  I guess we’ll just have to tune in next week to see the outcome…

Till then, have a great weekend!

KAT

apple blog bloggers blogging blogs buzz marketing cell phone technology cell phones google google adsense google adwords google buyout google maps googling Halo3 International Herald Tribune iphone ipod kat dempsey kris jones Mark Mowrey marketing marketing news marketing industry marketing web media microsoft Microsoft Office msn pepperjam search search engine marketing search engine optimization search engine strategies search marketing Search Marketing Standard Uncategorized Xbox yahoo yahoo panama yahoo publisher network yahoo search engine marketing yahoo search marketing ZUNEapple blog bloggers blogging blogs buzz marketing cell phone technology cell phones google google adsense google adwords google buyout google maps googling Halo3 International Herald Tribune iphone ipod kat dempsey kris jones Mark Mowrey marketing marketing news marketing industry marketing web media microsoft Microsoft Office msn pepperjam search search engine marketing search engine optimization search engine strategies search marketing Search Marketing Standard Uncategorized Xbox yahoo yahoo panama yahoo publisher network yahoo search engine marketing yahoo search marketing ZUNE

Hello again pepperjamBLOG readers! It’s me, Kat, director of online media planning and management here at Pepperjam. As one of my several resolutions for 2008 (others include not falling asleep on the couch, going to the gym, and drinking more water), I have challenged myself to become a more active PPJ blogger. Ok let’s not lie – Kris Jones (our CEO) urged my participation – but I’m more than happy to oblige. Media really took off in 2007, transforming the internet space with video, social media, and open source ads. And 2008 is predicted to outpace ‘07 by double digits. According to a TNS Media Intelligence report, Online ad spending is likely to rise 14% this year – making it the only media outlet hitting double digit growth in ‘08 (outpacing TV, Radio, newspaper and outdoor).

So it really begs the question: what is your online marketing strategy for ‘08? Banners, expandables, pre-roll, video, social media, contextual ads, behavioral targeting, retargeting, email? The possibilities on the internet are endless! Why try to hash through all the ins and outs of media yourself? (trust me – it would take a very, very long time…) Let the media buying professionals here at pepperjamMEDIA do it for you. We have the experience, the knowledge and the technology to make any campaign successful. I know, I know - this is sounding a lot like an ad for teamMEDIA isn’t? Well it certainly is not meant to be. Think of it more as a plug for teamMedia….my baby here at Pepperjam. With Media exploding the way it is, can you really blame me for wanting to share all the new types of ad placements and technologies that exist out there? I think not!

Speaking of technology – did any of you read the Media Post Article Monday about DoubleClick’s DFA Spotlight technology?? Well if not, you can find it here. If you recall, pepperjam and DoubleClick partnered up last year to create one of the biggest powerhouses in online marketing. We have used this technology with some of the largest advertisers out there – Nordstrom and Old Spice – and have had tremendous successes with their rich media campaigns. If you are an advertiser with Rich Media ads – you need not look any further for an agency to negotiate media buys on your behalf. Allow pepperjam to place your media buy and utilize DFA’s cutting edge technology to optimize your rich media campaigns. With DFA’s Spotlight tool we will not only be able to calculate how many times your ad was served and clicked on, but we will also be able to measure conversion rates for various actions taken within rich media ads, including rollovers, ad expansions, multiple click-throughs and video plays. Accountability is key – we want our advertisers to be able to create the most effective ad campaigns out there, and with the help of Spotlight, that’s exactly what pepperjamMEDIA can help you do.

So come on… give pepperjamMEDIA a try. You know you want to.

banners behavioral advertising behavioral targeting blog click through contextual ads conversion rates DFA doubleclick DoubleClick DART email expanables google internet marketing kris jones marketing media buying new marketing technology new year resolutions new years Old Spice online media pepperjam pre roll retargeting Rich Media rollovers social media social media optimization Spotlight TNS Media Uncategorized Video Blogsbanners behavioral advertising behavioral targeting blog click through contextual ads conversion rates DFA doubleclick DoubleClick DART email expanables google internet marketing kris jones marketing media buying new marketing technology new year resolutions new years Old Spice online media pepperjam pre roll retargeting Rich Media rollovers social media social media optimization Spotlight TNS Media Uncategorized Video Blogs

For a second consecutive year Pepperjam Blog has been nominated by Search Engine Journal as one of best blogs in the internet marketing space. This year we are up for “Best Affiliate Marketing Blog.”

Click here to vote for Pepperjam.

affiliate marketing affiliate marketing search arbitrage awards comparison shopping internet marketing pepperjam search engine journal search engine marketing Shogging social media optimization Uncategorizedaffiliate marketing affiliate marketing search arbitrage awards comparison shopping internet marketing pepperjam search engine journal search engine marketing Shogging social media optimization Uncategorized

Today marks the launch of Joel Comm’s “the Secret Classroom,” featuring uncensored educational footage from Mark Joyner, Armand Morin, Jeff Walker, Marlon Sanders, Brad Fallon, Michael Koenigs, Kristopher Jones (that’s me), Dave Taylor, Perry Marshall, Mike Filsaime, Rich Schefren, and Ray Edwards.

Learn more about The Secret Classroom at www.secretclassroom.com.

Here are two previews of the Secret Classroom:

WATCH THE ABOVE VIDEO - CLICK HERE!

Joel Comm pepperjam search engine marketing search engine optimization Secret Classroom seo UncategorizedJoel Comm pepperjam search engine marketing search engine optimization Secret Classroom seo Uncategorized

Reports emerged sometime ago that Azoogle and other CPA networks were being investigated for the possibility of fraud as it relates to various tactics used to promote ringtones. For example, there were questions around the idea of affiliates promoting offers for “free ringtones” when in fact the ringtones weren’t free since a monthly membership fee or similar payment structure was required to download a ringtone.

I will let you read the settlement arrangement for yourself (see below), but a financial settlement of this size, in general, suggests either (1) avoidance of prolonged or expensive litigation, regardless of guilt or (2) guilt based on the facts.

I guess there is also a hope through settlement that it won’t reach the news but others have already started the news train that is likely to follow.

If you read the press release carefully you’ll see that on the one hand Azoogle made a settlement, but on the other hand they are being praised for providing considerable assistance to the Florida Attorney General to help protect consumers from “fraudulent” online marketing practices - that’s definitely one way of making bad news seem not so bad!

It appears that the original story was posted on Digital Point, but has since been taken down (again, it’s my guess that Azoogle doesn’t want this news to spread?????).

However, here is a link to the actual press release posted on the website of the Attorney General of Florida (and former republican Congressman) Bill McCollum and here is basically what it says:

“TALLAHASSEE, FL – Attorney General Bill McCollum today unveiled a sophisticated team to combat internet-related fraud and simultaneously announced the first agreement reached by the newly-created CyberFraud Task Force. The task force, which takes action against companies who defraud consumers online, is part of the Attorney General’s efforts to make the internet safer for Florida consumers. Housed in the Attorney General’s Economic Crimes Division, the task force today reached a $1 million agreement with internet marketer Azoogle (Azoogleads US Inc.), a New York company that creates and manages internet marketing of cell phone products.”

“Consumers in Florida and throughout the nation have long been victimized by internet marketing that promises one thing and delivers another,” said Attorney General McCollum. “This task force will be instrumental in identifying problematic trends in the industry and working towards solutions that will hold the industry and its players responsible for their practices and provide remedies for our citizens.”

Today’s agreement, which will serve as a model for the way cell phone content will be marketed online, resulted from an investigation conducted by the CyberFraud Task Force into the marketing of ringtones and other cell phone products. Investigators determined that consumers, usually children or teenagers who were responding to “free” cell phone ringtone offers, were often enrolled into subscription plans without their knowledge or consent. The fees for the plans were then billed to consumers’ cell phone bills. The cooperative agreement will require the true cost of ringtones to be clearly and conspicuously disclosed on all internet ads and order forms.

In working with Attorney General McCollum’s Office to resolve concerns about its marketing practices, Azoogle has already provided and will continue to provide substantial cooperation and assistance to the CyberFraud Task Force as the working group endeavors to reform the industry….”

For the remainder of the release CLICK HERE.

To read the actual agreement between Florida’s CyberFraud Task Force and Azoogle CLICK HERE.

By the way - it’s my guess that Azoogle did the right thing here.

The truth is that the US ringtone industry of six-months ago and the ringtone industry of today has changed considerably. I have no idea exactly what Azoogle or Azoogle affiliates were doing that could have led to this settlement, but I do not that many CPA and Affiliate Networks were likely using similar practices.

The affiliate ringtone industry continues to mature and as the state attorneys general and the feds get involved I believe there will continue to be a shake out.

This is a smart move by Azoogle to put this behind them. I bet other CPA Networks will have to follow or face stiff legal bills and bad press.

affiliate marketing azoogle Digital Point ringtones Uncategorizedaffiliate marketing azoogle Digital Point ringtones Uncategorized

Microsoft (MSFT) announced this morning that they purchased affiliate marketing comparison engine JellyFish.com. JellyFish gives its customers a cut of advertising revenue from retailers, offering a rebate on purchases made through the site. In this way, JellyFish acts very similar to other popular “cash-back” affiliate websites like eBates, FatWallet, and Cashbaq.

What’s cool to note about JellyFish.com is that the company launched around the same time (June 2006) as Shogging.com - Pepperjam’s social shopping engine. Pete Cashmore from Mashable.com did a nice write-up about Jellyfish and Shogging HERE.

I couldn’t find any details about what Microsoft paid for JellyFish, but JellyFish did take on a $5 million round of VC financing a few months ago so it’s safe to say the price tag was north of that number - My guess is the price tag was probably in the $15-20 million range - it could be more or less, but that’s just a guess. I’ll also mention that I’ll bet that JellyFish wasn’t purchased because of revenues, but because of their impressive use of Web 2.0 technology.

Congrats to our friends from JellyFish!

affiliate marketing Jellyfish search engine marketing Uncategorizedaffiliate marketing Jellyfish search engine marketing Uncategorized

GOOGLE LAUNCHES FREE BID MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY (BETA)

As a leading SEM agency, Pepperjam has the luxury of being one of the first to test Google’s new technologies. We were absolutely stunned (although not entirely surprised) to find out that Google is slowly testing FREE Bid Management Technology within select Google Adwords accounts.

According to the information we have been given so far by Google, here is what the technology will do:

The technology is called Conversion Optimizer - Google claims that its main goal is to help advertisers save time and minimize conversion costs.

According to Google, the Conversion Optimizer lets you specify a maximum cost-per-acquisition (CPA) bid for each ad group. Then, this feature continually adjusts your CPC bids to keep your conversion costs under your maximum CPA bid, showing your ads only when you’re likely to get conversions. By using the Conversion Optimizer, you can save time while minimizing your conversion costs.

I don’t know about you but this sounds a lot like technology that already exists, but for a STEAP, recurring fee. Companies like Atlas One Point (a Microsoft / Aquantive company), Omniture (NASDAQ - OMTR), DoubleClick DART (Pepperjam’s exclusive partner), and Efficient Frontier, among others, offer this kind of technology, usually to agencies and the largest of advertisers. The access fee, per advertiser, can be thousands of dollars per month.

What does this potentially mean for bid management providers like the ones mentioned above? I think is spells serious trouble, especially if Google’s goal (which we assume it is) is to provide the technology for FREE TO ALL GOOGLE ADWORDS ADVERTISERS.

Once Google begins to open up the technology to more and more Adwords advertisers will there even be a need to pay for bid management technology from Atlas and others?

I’ll let you be the judge on that.

What are your thoughts?

In my opinion, this is could completely equalize the playing field for small and large advertisers as it relates to bid management technology access. Smaller advertisers will be able to run their businesses more efficiently and compete on a larger scale based on ROI, instead of advertising budget.

Get more information on the Google Adwords Conversion Optimizer HERE.

atlas one point bidrank Channel Intelligence DoubleClick DART google adwords omniture pay per click search engine marketing Uncategorizedatlas one point bidrank Channel Intelligence DoubleClick DART google adwords omniture pay per click search engine marketing Uncategorized

The Next Internet Millionaire Episode Three is now available!

Poker Anyone?

Here it is:

Next Internet Millionaire UncategorizedNext Internet Millionaire Uncategorized

Welcome to this weeks edition of Meet The Pepperjam Team. This is our 32nd video and this week we have John Heil. John has been with us for about 6 months and works in our publisher services division. He works diligently to make sure that we are always on top of the affiliate network list. He is managing over 10 networks for us an every one is very successful.

When he is not working himself to death he is spending time with his family or playing Gears Of War for the XBOX 360. You can message him for his gamertag Anyway here is John Heil!

Enjoy!

For those of you who don’t know the “rules” behind the Meet the Pepperjam Video Series, here they are:

Every Friday Pepperjam will post a new video interview of a member of our staff - everyone will be included - affiliates managers, executives, search-engine marketing managers, directors, software engineers, assistants, online media buyers, and interns. The person being interviewed won’t know he / she has been chosen until about 30 seconds before the interview - this way you’ll get an unrehearsed, real world look at the employee…hopefully, this will make it interesting and non-corporate, which is what we are known and respected for across the internet marketing industry.

Why are we doing this? Well, I am proud of our team and I think you’ll find them as interesting and intelligent as I do. Also, I’m a student of viral video and the social media space and I want to test the waters as it relates to what corporate america is doing (and not doing) to spread buzz and build next generation work places.

Finally, I just thought it would be cool to put some people in front of a video camera that have never done so before, have a little bit of fun, and see if Pepperjam can spread some additional buzz about why we are the leader in online marketing.

FYI - all videos will also be posted to YouTube. If you think what we are doing is outside-the-box and interesting please blog about it and share the story with the world.

Our previous videos include:

Maura Goodwin
Tara Lou
Dean Karasinski
Kim Noler (dated YouTube founder)
Stephanie Yachim
Roxy (Pepperjam’s English Bulldog)
Kris Jones
Katharine Dempsey
Ken Mohn Jr.
Mandy Foley
Tara DeGiusto
Robyn Martin
Kate Sarnak
Aaron Baker
Michelle Foley
Megan Rogan
Mike Jones
Maggie Oldziejewski
Daehee Park
Leslie Stewart
Trevor Brennan
Brock Siegel
Sarah Hohol
Matt Bradley
Chris Thomas
Nick Jurista
Derek Traver
Amber Sansky
Pepperjam All-Stars (Kris Jones, Mike Jones, Shoemoney, Mediadonis)
Quinn Kavanagh
Jaclyn Francese

Other fun Pepperjam Vids:
“What would you do for a One Year Supply of Energy Drink”
Naked Crazy Man Video
Pepperjam Adds Ping Pong Table to Pepperplex
Roxy with the Tony Robbins Beach Ball

affiliate network Affiliate Summit Miami 2007 engine gamertag gears of war heil john lead of the week Linkshare Golden Link Awards managers marketing media buyers Meet the Pepperjam Team mezi media publisher services search search engine marketing Uncategorized video interview video seriesaffiliate network Affiliate Summit Miami 2007 engine gamertag gears of war heil john lead of the week Linkshare Golden Link Awards managers marketing media buyers Meet the Pepperjam Team mezi media publisher services search search engine marketing Uncategorized video interview video series