Quote: “Google’s strategy is to get people to use the Internet more”

Spot on post from @ajkohn. "Google’s strategy is to get people to use the Internet more" blindfiveyearold.com/google-evil-pl…—
Jonathan Mendez (@jonathanmendez) January 28, 2013

It’s actually a bit nuanced than this– it’s to get people the use the open internet.  This isn’t something we’re making up either.  Senior management and advisors I’ve talked to at Google speak about this openly.  It’s very advanced textbook tech strategy– something very few players in the valley have the option of following.

Helpful: Estimating Google Organic Search Visits Hidden by iOS 6 | RKG Blog

This is a helpful article from last month.  Why would you be interested in estimating Google organic search visits? Because of the new way that iOS (iPhones and iPads) implements Google search, which strips our referrer data.  The result is that Google organic doesn’t get credit for the actual amount of traffic it yields

A typical site that generates 25% of its traffic from mobile is already seeing its recorded Google organic search visits running about 12% lower than the actual volume. If iOS 6 adoption were 90%, that figure would increase to 16%.

via Estimating Google Organic Search Visits Hidden by iOS 6 | RKG Blog.

What will ad-tech look like without cookies?

Odd to read this when many years ago, Google hated cookies.

Apple does not care to spread the cookie love to third parties. Neither does Microsoft. It’s their way of thwarting their competitor, Google, which makes the bulk of its revenue in advertising and benefits greatly from the ability to collect targeting data.

via What will ad-tech look like without cookies?.

Confirmed: Google Moving Search Options Above Results

In case you haven’t heard, a format change for Google search results pages.

Confirmed: Google Moving Search Options Above Results.

Google has just confirmed that all U.S. searchers will soon be getting the new interface — one that highly resembles Google’s mobile search results pages. Options to search verticals like Images, News and Maps are moved from the left-side of the page up above the top search results.

If you’re wondering, below is the share of space dedicated above the fold to editorial search results vs sponsored results and listings:

Google Now- makes reality what were adware company’s dreams

We live in the future.

Here are a handful of things that Google Now can do:

• Favorite sports teams: Your favorite sports teams are tracked at all times. If they are playing, Now will have the game set up as a card for you to follow along with, live.
• Weather: No matter what your location is, Now knows the weather and displays it for you on a card.
• Traffic: When you wake up in the morning, Now will tell you how long your commute should take and if an alternate route is recommended. It will do the same when you come home too. It knows when you travel to and from places.
• Reminders: Now will remind you that you have a meeting along with directions on how to get there.
• Transit: If you are standing at a public transit station, Now will recognize this and tell you when the next bus or train will arrive.
• Places: While on the go, Now will recommend bars, restaurants and any other place that it feels you may enjoy.

via Google Now is Awesome. – Droid Life.

Nextag CEO: Google has become a brand killer

I took the liberty of checking their site traffic and it looks like they are down in 2012.

Most people believe that when they type “convection microwave oven” or “biking shorts” into Google, they will receive a list of the most relevant sites. Not true. That’s how Google used to work. Now, when someone searches for these items, the most prominent results are displayed because companies paid Google for that privilege. In addition, Google often uses its prime real estate to promote its own (often less relevant and inferior) products and services, prohibiting companies from buying its best advertisements.

via Jeffrey Katz: Google’s Monopoly and Internet Freedom – WSJ.com.

Quote: “Google doesn’t use bounce rate”

Saw this on twitter the other day and was surprised by it:

“Google doesn’t use bounce rate” @mattcutts told @tomschmitz yesterday, tom says ‪#smx‬ ‪#11c

via Twitter / dannysullivan: “Google doesn’t use bounce.

eCPMs still remain 5x lower on mobile than desktop and the average revenue per user (ARPU) also remains far behind on mobile

As if you haven’t Meeker’s latest internet report yet:

Meeker believes that the current problems with mobile monetization are just a temporary issue. She believes that mobile monetization levels in the U.S. could surpass the desktop within 1-3 years. “Mobile monetization,” in her view, “has more going for it than early desktop monetization.”

via Mary Meeker: “Mobile Monetization Has More Going For It Than Early Desktop Monetization Had” | TechCrunch.

Check out the list below and it’s hard to say that the situation would be similar if Apple/iOS’ wasn’t a big part of the mobile ecosystem.  How the mobile platform war plays out will have huge implications on mobile monetization trends going forward.

Google invests in TV ad startup- Interesting little ad serving schematic

I thought this little TV ad schematic was interesting:

Google invests in TV ad startup Invidi’s $23M round | VentureBeat.