Every time you look at your children and wish they would grow up and stop being so immature, remember that the two are not synonomous. Case in point -- eBay Inc (NASDAQ: EBAY). The market-leading auction website left Google Inc's (NASDAQ: GOOG) AdWords advertising system because it was miffed that Google planned a party the same day as eBay's annual user celebration in Boston.Well after crying at its party, eBay came crawling back, apparently realizing that although it has other options -- Yahoo Inc (NASDAQ: YHOO), IAC/InterActiveCorp's (NASDAQ: IACI) Ask.com, and Microsoft Corporation's (NASDAQ: MSFT) MSN.com -- none are nearly as good as AdWords. EBay's inability to stay away serves as an example of Google's strength in the Internet advertising market.
Of course, this is not what eBay is claiming. EBay spokesman Hani Durzy said, "Overall the takeaway for us was that we weren't as dependent on AdWords as some out there may have thought... Other partners -- Yahoo and AOL and MSN -- really stepped up and provided a lot of value. And natural search continues to drive a lot of valuable traffic to the site."
Empty words, since the actions don't coincide.











Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-25-2007 @ 2:34PM
Michele said...
LMAO... Great reporting!
And what is that carp Durzy is spewing? If that was true, why go back at all?
Independent webstores and alts/niche sites are the way of the future...
6-25-2007 @ 2:46PM
John said...
Google is becoming so dominant that many marketers of various types can't make it without them.
6-25-2007 @ 3:01PM
Beth M. said...
So, eBay is covering, you say? What a shocker! HA!
Google is indeed a force to be reckoned with, and eBay needs to wake up! Mr. Durzi - I wonder how much they pay him to lie through his teeth? I've heard nothing but spin from him since he began being a front-man for eBay. I guess it pays better than the unemployment line, but how can he look at himself in the mirror?
Of course, that in turn reminds me of the old Dilbert cartoon where Dogbert is coaching someone to say it like "your soul has left your body" - and equating it to management. Apparently, having a conscience disqualifies you from working for eBay!
Nice story, and it is always nice when the eBay giant is forced to admit that it really can't do it all after all.
6-25-2007 @ 4:27PM
nycdoctor said...
Why not talk about this in your blog:
SEARCH & DESTROY-AUDIT COULD SIPHON AD $$ FROM GOOGLE
By RICHARD WILNER and HOLLY M. SANDERS
June 24, 2007 -- Paid search ads, responsible for the barrels of cash
that have fueled Google's meteoric growth, could be one of the worst-
spent marketing dollars on the Internet, according to an eye-catching
audit of search results to be released this week.
Most executives, with little regard to how well their companies fare
in the more important natural search results - the top sites that come
up after an Internet search - overspend on paid search because it is
the one area of the search market they understand, said a director
with London-based ISM (Internet Search Management), which will release
the audits.
"Executives know the battleground for business success today is being
fought on the search engine but they know very little about how well
their companies are faring on natural search or if their paid search
advertising dollars are well spent," said Phil Millo, an ISM
director.
As a result, Millo said, companies are pouring money into paid search
- with a good deal of the cash not improving their marketing muscle.
Just this month, in a spat, eBay angrily pulled all of its advertising
money from Google - and saw little drop-off in traffic. The move and
its results have opened a lot of eyes.
"It's gotten to the point that if they're spending $100 million a year
on paid links, maybe it's time to start reassessing where it's going,"
said Mark Simon, of Did-it Search Marketing, a firm that helps
companies with their search marketing plans.
Indeed, eBay spent some of the money they withdrew from Google with
Yahoo! and other sites.
Steve Grossberg, the president of the Internet Marketers Association,
which represents some of eBay's biggest sellers, said the day eBay
launched a Web banner campaign on the homepage of Yahoo! was his
biggest sales day of the month.
Whether other large Google advertisers - like Amazon.com, Bizrate.com
and Target.com - will follow suit remains to be seen.
ISM's audits track the top 4.5 million search phrases on Google and
Yahoo!, a total of 7.3 billion searches a month, to determine which
companies across 50 business sectors pop up most frequently in the top
three or four positions in natural search. Natural search results are
based mostly on a site's traffic, relevance and how many other sites
link to it.
The ISM audits, to be released in London, break down which of 50
business sectors are locked up - that is, have large chunks of natural
search dominated by a handful of companies - and which are wide open.
The digital camera sector is pretty well locked up, the audit found,
meaning it would be very hard to create a Web site or Internet
marketing campaign that would successfully steal market share.
DPReview.com, a site with news and reviews of digital cameras, the ISM
audit found, was the leader, turning up in the top three or four
search results on Google and Yahoo! 73.7 percent of the time. It was
purchased last month by Amazon.com, which was looking to sell more
cameras.
"It's quite interesting that Amazon.com didn't look to mount an
Internet marketing campaign and purchase search ads to gain market
share but rather bought a company few people [had] heard of but which
produced excellent natural search results," Millo noted.
Google's own research shows surfers look toward natural search over
paid search by a ration of 4-to-1, Millo said.
ISM is working with Wal-Mart, Staples and Mercedes-Benz to sharpen
their Internet marketing strategies.
6-25-2007 @ 5:34PM
Amber said...
Great reporting, Gary! I for one can tell you that my sales took a nosedive when eBay pulled their ads from Google. Hopefully though, eBay will make better use of their dollars by doing away with inane search results such as "root canal"...Buy It Now on eBay!
6-25-2007 @ 5:36PM
Amber said...
Oops! That should have been "Great reporting, Eric!" Sorry 'bout that!
6-26-2007 @ 2:24PM
chazofvero said...
Does BLOGGING STOCKS ever have anything good to say
about EBAY ???.....how about the good stuff today about Skype???nothing new??? I wonder who writes your stuff sometimes? I hope not day traders....how about some upbeat stuff??? This is not a slouch stock.....
8-22-2007 @ 2:03PM
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