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Google Sells Off After Missing Earnings Estimate

Michael Fowlkes — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 09:30:00 EST

Filed under: Earnings Reports, Forecasts, Bad News, Google (GOOG)

Shares of search engine giant Google (GOOG) fell by $19 per share (almost 4%) in after-hours trading Thursday after the California-based company was unable to hit estimates for its second quarter.

As we noted in our earnings preview, Google has done very well over the past couple of years, and the company has outpaced analyst estimates each of the past seven quarters.

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Google Sells Off After Missing Earnings Estimate originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 16 Jul 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google tests movie previews next to text search ads

Brian White — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Competitive Strategy, Google (GOOG), Marketing and Advertising

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) will be bringing movie and television ads into those text advertising spots next to internet search results. That's right -- the unobtrusive but incredibly relevant text ads that have made Google tens of billions of dollars in recent years are going to become mixed with other types of search results from more than just one medium of content. Google has already delved into video content next to search text ads, and movie previews should be a great addition.

Google has been testing video ads next to its text ads since 2008, and it added unofficial product-demonstration clips into the mix quite a while ago. For example, search for "iPhone" on Google and you will see plenty of YouTube videos that come up in search results, many of which are complete product reviews and demonstrations of the best-selling smartphone.

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Google tests movie previews next to text search ads originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 18 Aug 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google's Android platform expected to increase mobile advertising? We'll see

Brian White — Fri, 08 May 2009 18:20:00 EST

Filed under: Products and Services, Google (GOOG), Marketing and Advertising

Google Inc.'s (NASDAQ: GOOG) advertising success on the web has slowed down in the last few months, proving that the all-powerful Google is not immune to the slowdown in advertising hitting all mediums during the recession. Add mobile advertising from Google to that list as well.

Although Google partner T-Mobile USA has sold more than one million Google Android-powered smartphones so far, that doesn't year compare to smartphone sales made by Research in Motion Ltd.'s (NASDAQ: RIMM) and Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AAPL). Yet, those two platforms don't inherently have advertising embedded into them. Yet.

Continue reading Google's Android platform expected to increase mobile advertising? We'll see

Google's Android platform expected to increase mobile advertising? We'll see originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 08 May 2009 18:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google powers 72% of all U.S. web searches in February

Brian White — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 13:40:00 EST

Filed under: Products and Services, Google (GOOG)

Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) continued its torrid command of the internet search market in February, powering 72% of all those searches. As always, the next three competitors were way behind: Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) has 17% of the market, Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) had 6% and Ask.com had 4%.

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Google powers 72% of all U.S. web searches in February originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 11 Mar 2009 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google rapidly expanding search advertising channels?

Brian White — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Competitive Strategy, Google (GOOG), Marketing and Advertising

When advertising-centric companies like Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) start assessing business models in this recession, one thing remains clear: innovate or shrink. Standard advertising channels are all suffering as consumers close their wallets and purses amid massive layoffs and plummeting savings, and Google is not immune to this.

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Google rapidly expanding search advertising channels? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 10 Mar 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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YouTube's advertising model goes traditional

Brian White — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 12:45:00 EST

Filed under: Products and Services, Google (GOOG)

When Tom talked about Google, Inc.'s (NASDAQ: GOOG) failure to properly monetize YouTube, he questioned if Google's purchase of the world's largest video-sharing site was a mistake. In relative terms, Google's use of stock to purchase YouTube was a short-term impact more than anything. But he's right -- YouTube still has not found a secret sauce to monetize the huge amount of video traffic being sent to and viewed from the site every second of the day.

What has taken Google two years to figure out here? YouTube has been a playground for testing different online video monetization methods, but none of them have really worked. YouTube started out as a grassroots video-sharing site, and as its customer base has grown, it's one area where ads continually have been shunned by its viewers. So, Google may be giving up and going to a traditional method of selling advertising on YouTube: the pre-roll and post-roll ad video clip.

This model has been used on news websites and most other types of video sites with success. It's a model that works. Plug in a 10-second or 15-second video in front of (and following) a customer-requested video clip and that advertising model works. Publishers have to keep them short (10 seconds is optimal), of course. So far, Google has shunned this kind of traditional video advertising on YouTube. But, as the Wall Street Journal reported this week, it may be ready to forge ahead with this model. It needs to get a respectable amount of revenue from YouTube somehow, because now, it's not.

YouTube's advertising model goes traditional originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Jul 2008 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Another move by Google to draw developers

Douglas McIntyre — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 09:20:00 EST

Filed under: Products and Services, Launches, Competitive Strategy, Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT)

Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) has come up with a new plan to make friends with developers. Software engineers who use the Google Apps Engine to build products will get free access to run their application developments in Google data centers. According to The Wall Street Journal :"Google will provide limited data storage, computing and network capacity as part of the App Engine test and eventually make available additional storage and network bandwidth to developers for a fee."

It is another clever move by the big search company. It encourages developers to align themselves with Google products and services and allows the company the chance to make money down the road. It also makes Google seem "progressive" in its relationships with outside software coders, a reputation that rival Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) does not share. Redmond still charges for most developers to use its services although its does provide some code to companies who want to build applications for Windows.

Google is also taking advantage of the fact that it has one of the largest , if not the largest, collections of servers in the world. Not all of the data and storage capacity on these machines is being used all of the time. What Google will eventually charge developers for is running on hardware the company has already paid for. That makes the project a very profitable business and helps the company diversify away from search revenue.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Another move by Google to draw developers originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 08 Apr 2008 09:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Is mobile advertising not what it's cracked up to be?

Brian White — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 14:06:00 EST

Filed under: Competitive Strategy, Google (GOOG), Yahoo! (YHOO)

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) have been saying for years that the next frontier for internet-based advertising is the cellphone screen. With wireless handsets having high-speed data connections and really impressive (but small) screens, and with cellphones outselling PCs one would think both companies are right on the money. Not a quarterly conference call with Google can go by without CEO Eric Schmidt alluding to the mobile ad space as a whole new frontier for Google.

When a research firm like Gartner predicts $11 billion in industry revenue from mobile advertising in 2011, that is the kind of figure that makes many stand up and pay attention. But so far, mobile advertising reality is not turning out to be rosy as that. Mobile advertising is an industry worth under $1 billion in 2007; can it really skyrocket to over $11 billion in four years? Most likely, no.

A main reason for this is the incredible complexity of mobile web browsing on the mainstream cellphone (lack of a keyboard, perhaps?). I'm not talking Palm Treos, iPhones and other muscular, do-it-all phones, but the kind the average joe carries in that front pants pocket. Do you know of many people who regularly access the web on their cellphone? Think about it for a second. According to Jupiter Research, only 16% of Americans regularly access the web on all those cellphones. What's going to get that figure up to 50%?

For one, a much less convoluted way for normal phones to hop on the web, making it as easy as web browsing on a PC. It's nowhere near that now, save for a handful of device categories like smartphones and the like. Think text messaging could be the answer? Will customers stand for being interrupted with advertising over text messaging? It's an opportunity that could launch a consumer revolt more than anything. What's left, then? Mobile advertising will get there and indeed win the day -- just not by 2011 and in the numbers predicted.

Is mobile advertising not what it's cracked up to be? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 19 Dec 2007 14:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This week in Advertising Age -- Jesus wine, TV ad prices

Tom Barlow — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 17:51:00 EST

Filed under: Products and Services, Launches, Google (GOOG), General Electric (GE), Walt Disney (DIS), CBS Corp 'B' (CBS)

Jesus, this is a good wine. There is a new line of wines from Israel targeted for American Christian wine drinkers, The Grapes of Galilee. Grown by the Sea of Galilee and irrigated with water from the Jordon River, the $14 bottles of chardonnay, cab, and merlot are imported by Pini Haroz, who hopes the wines will find a home on Christmas tables.

Lenore Skenazy wrote about a new use for Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) ads. A publisher trying to choose between two titles for a new book bought two blocks of Google ads, each with a candidate name, and totaled the hits each received. Almost instant results, without focus groups, surveys, and interminable meetings.

This week's issue included AA's annual report on the leading media companies. Among the findings:

U.S. Media revenue ($285 billion) by sector --

Cable systems & satellite: 29.4%
Cable networks: 12.7%
Broadcast TV: 11.9%
Newspapers: 11.6%
Magazines: 6.9%
Internet: 6.8%
Yellow pages: 4.7%
Radio: 4%

The yellow pages took me by surprise. I don't even know where mine are.

Want to buy an ad on a television show? AA has a breakdown of cost per 30 seconds for each network show. For a spot during The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS)'s ABC show Grey's Anatomy, you'll drop $419,000. Desperate Housewives will set you back $270,000, CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS)'s CSI $248,000. Bottom feeders can find bargains at General Electric Company (NYSE: GE)'s NBC show Dateline ($28,000), CBS's Crimetime Saturday ($49,000) and ABC's Cavemen ($78,000).

This week in Advertising Age -- Jesus wine, TV ad prices originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 10 Oct 2007 17:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yahoo's acquisition is right

Kevin Kelly — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 17:42:00 EST

Filed under: Deals, Competitive Strategy, Google (GOOG), Yahoo! (YHOO), Marketing and Advertising

Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG) has dominated the internet advertising space for quite a while via AdSense and AdWords but judging from interpreting a recent news event, Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) is finally going to be able bring it on. Yesterday it was announced that Yahoo! completed its purchase of RightMedia, in complete, for another $650 million. Although Yahoo! has already been a part-owner in the company, and the news that the complete acquisition was to occur was known by the public, the completion is very significant for the future of the internet advertising space.

When I used to run my own website I was very in-touch with the recent additions to the advertising space. In my opinion, RightMedia has one of the most interesting and innovative models for both advertisers and publishers. Essentially, RightMedia has created an open marketplace for all parties involved in internet advertising. As we've all learned from eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY), open marketplaces are much more interesting for everyone involved - the bidders clearly see what they are receiving and for what price while the sellers are able to maximize the amount paid for any item.

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Yahoo's acquisition is right originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 13 Jul 2007 17:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Is Google doing evil by profiting from typos?

Sarah Gilbert — Mon, 01 May 2006 09:08:00 EST

Filed under: Products and Services, Newspapers, Google (GOOG)

As long as I've been surfing eBay, I've been in on the dirty little not-so-secret that many of you share: typos are the way to go if you want to save money. There's even a search engine devoted to it.

I'm not the only former spelling bee champ exploiting the less fortoonat. Google makes money on typos too, by selling ads that appear on sites like nyrimes.com, ebbay.com, and OPB.com. Google insists that it's in the clear legally - after all, no one is confused, thinking that "OPB.com" really is Oregon Public Broadcasting's non-profit news site when it he arrives at the ad-filled site.

Sure. We know. None of us are total, complete dolts, no matter how poor our spelling or slippery our keyboard. But what we do know is that this seems a bit underhanded. And profiting from that? Harvard researcher Ben Edelman says that seems to fly in the face of their motto: "Do no evil," in this Washington Post article [registration required].

More evidence that Google's the next evil empire. Stay tuned...

Is Google doing evil by profiting from typos? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 01 May 2006 09:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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