LexisClick Online Marketing

The deal struck between Microsoft and Yahoo! Last week, which sees Yahoo!’s search facility being powered by Microsoft’s technology for the next ten years, could have big implications for the future of search.

Yahoo!’s website will use Microsoft’s Bing search engine as Microsoft endeavours to take a larger share of the search market from the über-search giant Google. In return, Yahoo! will manage Microsoft’s search advertising business. Yahoo! will receive 88 per cent for ad sales accompanying search results on its site.

Rather than stepping out of the search market, as some rivals have suggested, Yahoo!’s Yoelle Maarek told the Daily Telegraph that the deal was actually “liberating” Yahoo!, enabling its team to focus their energy on front-end search innovations instead of making back-end tweaks.

This is an exciting time for Yahoo!, who also recently announced a partnership with Twitter that enables users to access personal real-time Twitter feeds from their Yahoo! homepage. These deals are both parts of Yahoo!’s goals of becoming more social and increasing its advertising strength.

But what does this mean for the future of search? Could the Google Giant really be under threat?

In three words: We doubt it.

Google has been getting some bad press recently, and is currently subject to European Union antitrust investigations. The online community wasn’t exactly “buzzing” about Google’s entry to the social media market, and in Italy Google executives were jailed after a video of a boy being bullied was posted on the site.

The thing about Google, though, is that it is constantly innovating while competitors chase to keep up. It has recently announced that it will be buying Picknik, an online photo editing service, while the latest beta of browser Chrome includes automatic translation options and enhanced privacy. And among the flurry of bad news last week, Google also launched a new advertising service, DoubleClick for Publishers, which combines AdManager with the DoubleClick DART platform – giving batter ad placement algorithms and enhancements to tracking and reporting of ads.

I think the Yahoo!-Microsoft partnership is an interesting move and ensures that energy and innovation continue to be injected into the world of search at some pace – which can only be a positive thing for everyone.

Read the full Daily Telegraph interview with Yahoo!’s Yoelle Maarek.

Marketing General, Search Engine Optimisation Google, Online Advertising, Online Marketing, Yahoo!

I’ve just finished listening to a very interesting webcast by UK Shadow Chancellor George Osborne, during which he was asked about the competitiveness of the UK’s digital economy.

Osborne likened the development of super-speed broadband to that of canals, railways and road systems in centuries past, and I think that’s a fantastic analogy.

Should the Conservatives get elected at the next election (rumoured by pretty much everyone to be in May) they have plans to utilise part of the BBC Licence Fee to pay for the rolling out of superfast broadband to help ensure the UK remains and grows as a competitor in the digital economy.

Listening to Osborne’s speech, I couldn’t help thinking that the same was true for the UK’s millions of businesses.

A recent report by Kelkoo reveals that UK consumers were responsible for almost a third of all European online sales in 2009. The average annual spend by consumers in the UK was £1,102 on 37 items, while the rest of Europe spent, on average, £774 on 20 items.

Kelkoo forecast that in 2010 UK online retail sales will grow by 12.4% to £42.7 billion, while total retail sales will grow by just 1.7%. European online sales will grow by 20% to reach £153 billion.

Bruce Fair, Managing Director of Kelkoo UK, said of the findings: “2010 is when we will really start to see online sales achieving a significant share of overall retail trade in the UK. While the retail industry is showing slow signs of recovery, the online shopping sector bucked the trend in 2009 delivering double-digit growth, and is expected to continue to perform strongly in 2010.”

That means that getting your online marketing strategy right is more vital than ever this year.

With so many businesses, large and small, online, what you first need to think about is what makes your business stand out from the crowd. Can you offer the best prices, the fastest service, the most knowledge and professionalism in your market?

Identifying what it is that makes your business unique – and will attract and retain the customers you want – is an essential part of your business’s online strategy. Then there’s social media – how best can you use it to market your products and services?

These are just a couple of points you must consider when planning your online sales and marketing strategy. For expert advice on all aspects of online advertising, marketing and web design, contact LexisClick today.

Marketing General, Social Media Marketing Online Advertising, Online Marketing, Social media for business, Social Media Marketing, Web Design