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Posts Tagged ‘Yahoo!’
Why Facebook will be the next $100 Billion company. And how it gets there.
Mike Mothner | January 21st, 2011
Why Facebook will be the next $100 Billion company. And how it gets there. People balked when Facebook turned down a $1 billion offer from Yahoo. They said the $15 billion valuation when Microsoft invested was insanity. And with Goldman Sachs’ recent investment at a valuation of a whopping $50 billion, the naysayers are crying foul once again. Well folks, mark my words: Facebook will be worth $100 billion in under 5 years, and I think it could be half that time. Here’s how I think it is going to happen. Before I get to that however, let’s recap the naysayer’s argument. At a valuation of $50 billion, that is a whopping 25 times their estimated revenue of $2 billion last year. By comparison, stalwart Microsoft is valued at about 4x revenue, Apple about 5x revenue, and Google about 8x their revenue. So 25x is obscene. The other arguments that Facebook’s value is grossly inflated include: They may have 650 million users globally but many are international and hard to monetize They may deliver an enormous number of page views (about a quarter of all page views in the US belong to Facebook, which is an astonishing statistic) but they aren’t worth much to advertisers They haven’t really figured out their revenue model yet It’s just a big photo site and place to post worthless information; there’s no true utility Social network users are not loyal; Facebook could become the next MySpace All of those are completely valid arguments. What Continue reading…
Tues News: 3/2 (Win Some, Lose Some Edition)
Michael Block | March 2nd, 2010
“Sometimes you win. Sometimes you tie. You almost, almost, almost never lose.” –Will Ferrel,”Bat Fight” 2009 Oh, Will Ferrel, truer words have probably been spoken many, many times before. However, Will isn’t completely wrong, either. As it stands, this quotation is not only accurate as it applies to bat fights; it’s also pretty accurate as it applies to Google. Think about it: lots of victories, a couple of washes and the occasional failure. In this edition of the Tues News, we’ll take a look at a recent Google win, a recent loss and an upcoming venture that could go either way. Let’s get going! Google scoring another victory isn’t particularly newsworthy, however, in the area of patent law, every win is potentially huge. This week, Google was finally awarded a patent for location-based advertising. I know what you’re thinking: “Hey, isn’t that patent incredibly broad?” Answer: yup! I’m not sure whether this will make Google’s purchase of AdMob the smartest move since they bought Urchin but it certainly seems like a possibility. Could Google use this patent to go after Yahoo Search Marketing and MSN adCenter? Could they wield this as a weapon against Apple in the mobile game? We’ll certainly find out but, either way, this is an epic win for an already phenomenally successful company. [MarketingPilgrim] When I was a kid and my Little League team lost, my dad would remind me, “You can’t win ‘em all.” Then I would go play Tecmo Super Bowl on Nintendo, beat Continue reading…
Tags: at&t, click to call, Google, mobile advertising, search marketing, Yahoo!
Posted in Tues News | 2 Comments
US Search Market Share Graphics
Michael Block | October 14th, 2009
ComScore recently released the US Search Market Share numbers for September and there are very few surprises. Google is still king–even more so than before–with 64.9% of domestic search traffic. Bing and its $100M marketing push gained a sliver of ground and now can claim 9.4% of the market. Yahoo! and its “We’re not really a search engine” marketing push, as well as its heretofore unsuccessful “It’s Y!ou” marketing push have slipped half a percentage point to 18.8% of US searches. Ask and AOL pull up the rear with 3.9% and 3.0%, respectively. Here is a visualization of the shares: Maybe it’s just the hunger talking (we’re doing an office weight-loss contest) but I couldn’t help but notice a resemblance between that chart and this chart: That can’t bode well for Yahoo, Microsoft and company, can it? Save this Post!
Tues News: 9/15 (New Stuff Edition)
Michael Block | September 16th, 2009
Whenever people ask me to explain what I do for a living, their eyes generally glaze over faster than a doughnut on a Krispy Kreme assembly line. On occasion, it even seems like I can get bored with the world of search marketing. Sure, it’s an ever-changing industry but really, how much changes on a week to week basis? Well, as it turns out, quite a lot can change! This week, we’ll explore a few new products from the masters of the search world. I hope you didn’t get too comfortable, because this will be quite the revelation! What’s the use discussing any further? Let’s get going! Have you ever heard of Flipper? No, I’m not talking about the charismatic dolphin who is both “King of the Sea” and “Faster than Lightning.” No, in this case, I’m talking about Google, which, strange as it may seem, may actually be king of the sea (and everything, if you’re keeping track) and is certainly faster than lightning. Google recently announced the release of Flipper, a new way to search through the news. That’s right, Google FastFlip makes your news browsing experience a whole lot more natural-looking and normal-seeming. If you use Google News, this will turn your head and make you appreciate your provider, if you don’t use Google news, this new visual interface may make you a believer! [TechCrunch] If you thought that FastFlip was the only new way to search, then you’ve heavily underestimated Microsoft which, as time will tell, Continue reading…
Tags: Bing, fastflip, Google, Microsoft, search marketing, visual search, Yahoo!
Posted in Tues News | 3 Comments
Google, Yahoo, or Bing? Take the Blind Search Test.
Amanda Moshier | August 10th, 2009
If you’ve been paying attention to the Internet world lately, it has likely come to your attention that there is a new player in the search game called Bing and the Microsoft and Yahoo deal which has been discussed ad-nauseum since Microsoft offered Yahoo $45 billion in early 2008 has finally come to a close. What does it all mean? It is going to take time to sort it all out. Whatever the effects of the merger, the effects it has on user experience and advertisers are most significant, and much can be said in that regard. As resident PPC expert and VP of Client Relations, Mike Block, says in his recent blog, Tues News: 8/4 (Big Deals Edition): Anyone who has spoken to me about my opinions regarding the Big Three (Google, Yahoo and Microsoft) in search knows that I rank the user experience with Google at the top, Yahoo as a distant second and Microsoft as an even more distant third. When Bing came out and made some noise, it was my opinion that Bing would be nothing more than an expensive flash in the pan unless Microsoft could make the user experience better for the advertiser through its adCenter product. As it stands, the stubborn folks over at Microsoft still make bulk changes very difficult to perform, offer a poor quality account editor that is incompatible with Apple computers and employ customer service representatives that have always seemed overworked at best and poorly trained at worst. Block’s Continue reading…
Tags: Bing, blind search test, Google, international search results, Microsoft/Yahoo merger, Yahoo!
Posted in Google, Internet News, Microsoft, Yahoo! | 9 Comments
Tues News: 10/20 (Bad Idea Edition)
Michael Block | October 20th, 2009
They say that there are no stupid questions. Chances are, if you have a question and you think it’s stupid there are ten other people in the room wondering the same thing. This axiom, however, doesn’t hold true for ideas. With ideas, there are good ideas and bad ideas and very little in between. We’ve all had bad ideas in the past (I once tried to wall mount a TV and hide the wires in the wall by myself; guess how that ended) and the best thing to do is to try and learn from them. Well, as it turns out, we aren’t alone; the big three search engines have bad ideas as well. In today’s edition of the Tues News, we’ll explore some of the recent bad ideas that Google, Yahoo and MSN have had. Some of these are real doozies: Undoubtedly, you’ve heard of YouTube. What you may or may not be aware of, though, is that the absolute worst things you’ll ever read are found in YouTube comments. It’s like the bathroom wall of the Internet. Has it been a while since you’ve seen the n-word in print? Head over to YouTube and check the comments; I’m sure it won’t take you long. Do you enjoy reading misinformed but staunch and ardent opinions about important and unimportant issues alike? Head over to YouTube! Do you like improper spelling, grammar and syntax? YouTube; head over there. Anyway, Google, which owns YouTube, thinks it would be a good idea Continue reading…
Tags: Bing, comment search, Google, squatting, trolls, Yahoo!, youtube
Posted in Tues News | 15 Comments