Larger Media Companies Aim to Corner Internet Ad Market
Large-scale media companies looking to establish an Internet advertising presence similar to Google's are now starting to build their own ad networks specific to their brand or topic. Forbes is the latest corporation to try this tactic by selling ads for financial blogs. Whereas smaller web portals are only capable of selling so many ads, larger media companies who form brand-specific ad networks are able to sell much more to advertisers who wish only to buy from one source and not from hundreds or even thousands of individual sites. Now there is a question of whether or not portal ad companies and huge media companies will merge their advertising capabilities. Next up in the race against Google, these newly formed topic-specific ad networks will focus on providing visitor-targeted Internet ads and other value-add initiatives.
Microsoft Explores New Options for Finding Relevant Search Pages
Contrary to the algorithms used by most search engines to arrange search results by relevancy, Microsoft has explored a different avenue. In 2006, the engine attempted to track its users' search and browsing behaviors to see what pages actually provided the answers that users were looking for. By keeping track of which pages were clicked on, which was followed from the search results for a certain query to the stopping point (where we assume the user found his/her answer), Microsoft found that pages proving the most relevant to searchers were not necessarily the pages found near the top of organic search results, and in some cases were not indexed by the engines at all. Microsoft has not yet announced any new additions to its search engine algorithms, but the study suggests that when a certain user types a query into an engine, he/she could be taken directly to the page that helped a previous user answer the same question without having to search through several different pages on his/her own.
Ask.com Not Really Dead
Despite rumors that Ask.com has plans to abandon its much-copied search technology in favor of becoming a question and answer portal for married women, Ask executives claim just the opposite. Despite a large portion of its users being women, the company says it intends to use its existing Teoma search technology to hone in what users want most in terms of online search and answers to their questions. Included in Ask.com's plan is the technology to make it easier for people to type in questions and receive answers through the engine's search bar, as well as presenting search results in a much more user-friendly way.
Google's Acquisition of DoubleClick Finalized
After several setbacks in its quest to add display ad company DoubleClick to its empire, Google has finally gotten the OK from the European Union. Both Yahoo and Microsoft impeded the purchase of DoubleClick by filing complaints with the EU, but the Commission ruled in Google's favor, giving the search engine the opportunity to establish itself in the display ad market. The EU failed to recognize the fact that the current leader in display ads, Yahoo, might soon be absorbed by Microsoft or how this merger could provide Google with an unfair advantage. Google's acquisition of DoubleClick was completed just a few hours after being given the go-ahead by the European Commission.