Web Shopping Search Use Jumps During Mother's Day

Effective online ads.

05.17.04

By WebProNews

Web users were out enmasse this past Mother's Day weekend. Nielsen//NetRatings released a study that showed the amount of traffic to shopping-based search engines rose, in some cases, as much as 91%. The study also found that nearly 13 million unique visitors used online shopping directories and search engines.

AOL Shopping saw an increase of 91% of visitors during the weekend in question. The weekend before found 718000 visitors at AOL's shopping portal. Mother's Day weekend saw traffic increase on AOL to 1.4 million visitors. Froogle, Google's shopping search site, saw an increase of traffic by 80%

"The strong performance of comparison shopping sites during the last six months provides yet one more indication of how search technology has gone mainstream," said Leslie Marable, senior analyst, Nielsen//NetRatings. "Comparison shopping sites address shoppers' needs to find the perfect Mother's Day gift at the best price."

The following is a table of the top 5 sites that saw traffic growth during the period measured by Nielsen//NetRatings.

Brand or Channel	Unique Audience (000) 5/2/2004	Unique Audience (000) 4/25/2004	% Growth
1. AOL Shopping	1374	718	91%
2. Froogle	613	340	80%
3. MSN Shopping	901	668	35%
4. MySimon	311	274	14%
5. Quixtar	285	263	8%

By WebProNews

In a surprise to many experts, Google has begun offering image based ads to their AdWords clients. This new format of Google ads will, like all AdWords/AdSense campaigns, be contextual targeted.

Google does not have plans to display these image ads on Google itself; they will be displaying them on sites that have accounts with Google. From Google's image ads description page:

"we won't show image ads on Google. The initial launch of image ads is focused on sites already showing graphical ads. Because Google image ads are targeted specifically to a page's content, advertisers showing ads on these sites would realize the greatest benefit."

Total control of your online content ***
Transform Word into the only online authoring tool you'll ever need - >>try it free

The formats that Google will be featuring in its newest addition are as follows: Banner (468 x 60), Leaderboard (728 x 90), Inline Rectangle (300 x 250), and Skyscraper (120 x 600).

The image ads campaigns will be on an opt-in basis. Also, when you do decide to show image ads, they may be mixed in with the familiar text-based ads. More from Google:

"The AdWords system will analyze a number of factors on a Google Network content site page and determine whether your text ad or image ad is more appropriate.

If your image ad is more relevant, it will appear. If not, your text ad may appear in its place. This targeting model ensures you're reaching your prospects with the most effective ads. (Please note that a content site publisher must opt into the image ads program before your image ads may appear on his or her site.)"

The reason Google states for offering images in their AdWords program is because they are attempting to diversify their approach to targeted advertising. "Our commitment has always been to enhance the overall web experience for users, advertisers, and publishers by delivering relevant search results and ads."

Although, one has to wonder if changing a medium that brings in such a large portion of your revenue is the best idea. Last year, Google earned $962 million worth of revenue. 95% of that was from ads.

Considering the DoubleClick survey which pointed out that click rates on this medium remained lower than expected, is adding images necessarily the best option? Over at SearchEngineLowdown, Andy Beal has an excellent write up of his impression of Google's newest ad format. He asks "since when do banner ads convert at the same rate as text ads?" It will be interesting to see if all change is good change.

About the Author:
WebProNews | Breaking eBusiness News Your source for investigative ebusiness reporting and breaking news.

Free Newsletters

Part of the iEntry Network
over 4 million subscribers

eCommerceTrends

CRMNewz

SohoDay

Send me relevant info on products and services.

WebmasterFree Downloads

From the Forum:

Risky SEO Techniques

There are high risk techniques that, when employed without the intention of gaming search results, provide solutions for some difficult-to-rank pages. Alan Webb, of ABAKUS Internet Marketing, writes that, "there is unlikely to ever be a full consensus on what is or is not an acceptable search engine optimization technique." ...

Read the Post

Effective online ads.

-- eCommerceTrends is an iEntry, Inc. publication --
iEntry, Inc. 880 Corporate Drive, Lexington, KY 40503
2004 iEntry, Inc. All Rights Reserved Privacy Policy Legal

archives | advertising info | news headlines | free newsletters | comments/feedback | submit article