Search Marketing And ROI Technology

Google Really Is The Borg

2008-07-03T02:18:00.003-04:00

The idea that Google will soon be in a position to substantially control what happens on the internet is not a fantasy. Given their collection of data, the advertisers and product sellers, the publishers and readers, are all ultimately under the influence of Google opinion.

Given their search reach, what they determine to be worth reading is soon the common view. People use the references to link to and lift those sites in the other search engines' results. While they may show differences the top 100 across most engines have a deep similarity.

We face the possibility that Google is Big Brother and in Orwellian fashion Google determines what is news speak.

The recent launch of the Google Affiliate Network possibly shows a little too much of that manipulation.

They tell Publishers:

Google Affiliate Network can help you discover new advertiser referral programs and generate more revenue.

Easy to use

Save time with an intuitive user interface, fast-loading pages, and creative trafficking tools.

Tracking and reporting

Track conversions and member IDs for loyalty marketing. Schedule and save reports.
Automated payments

Receive electronic payments, consolidated across advertisers, twice a month. Choose from a variety of commission structures.
Support and development

Contact our experts for technical support or to help you find new revenue opportunities.

Publisher recognition

Earn AffiliateVIP status and enjoy exclusive marketing opportunities and greater visibility in the network.

Hold out that carrot and people will jump through hoops - remember when they were selling Gmail accounts on EBay.

And to Advertisers they promise filtering and success:

With Google Affiliate Network, you can manage a custom affiliate marketing program and attract publishers to grow your affiliate channel.

Affiliate marketing expertise

Consult with our affiliate marketing specialists on planning and distribution, account optimization, and technical issues.

Network depth and breadth

Choose from a wide variety of high-quality publishers based on detailed profiles and metrics.

Tracking and reporting

Track conversions, evaluate performance, and optimize your program with actionable data.

Network quality

Work only with qualified publishers who are continually screened, reviewed, and advised by our quality team.

Performance-based pricing

Rest assured that cost-per-action pricing means our interests are aligned with yours.

Will they lower AdSense income to push the affiliate advertising? Well they are supposed to be optimizing both sides.... but basically you put your companies in their hands. Fair exchange is no robbery - or this should be a win-win situation are cliches I expect to hear. But remember these are the guys who thought the Adwords minimum bids were a benefit to everyone - funny I seem to have helped finance all the work because I never saw a low CPC during that period.

Google seems ready to constantly be battling the government. Hey their lawyers are well trained by now.

To quote another Orwellian work: "All animals are created equal, but some are more equal than others" and I guess Google gets to make that determination.

Just a heads up.

If You Give A Mozz A Sandwich

2008-06-10T16:21:00.018-04:00

I am hoping people are familiar with that classic "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie" - if not it is a children's classic.

The recent post over at SEOMoz about XSS security was informative - well worth the sandwiches sent as payment by Search Engine Watch for the heads up.

So the story goes...

If you give a Mozz a sandwich he (or she) will probably want champagne to go with it.

Then after a bottle or two or three - they will most probably need to go to the bathroom.

When they get to the bathroom, they will probably notice that their eyes are bloodshot and want some Visine.

While they are waiting for you to get them the Visine, they will probably come up with some funny ideas for linkbait.

"Search Marketers With The Most Bloodshot Eyes At Conferences" will be created and deployed as another excellent blog entry.

People will get annoyed at their inebriation being plastered on the web, and a huge discourse will ensue on the Mozz blog. Sides will be drawn, links to the action will occur, but that just means more comments.

So when the traffic dies down and all the social networking is done they will be hungry and want more sandwiches.

Now if you happen to be used as the next reference - whatever you do - Do Not Give The Mozz A sandwich.... because......

Hope you guys liked the sandwiches Matt McGowan sent you last week. And Rebecca, Rand, Scott and Jane (figuring the order of who gets mad first)... I was joking and could not pass up the story... and I did not title it "If You Give A Moz A Cocktail" - that will be the sequel!

Darren I know you did not share in the sandwiches, but will buy you a drink when I see you at next conference.

TechSet Coming To NYC

2008-05-31T20:37:00.002-04:00

Watch out New York City the TechSet is crashing Internet Week. Stephanie Agresta just let me know that her band of mischief makers will be attending various events.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

Mahalo Daily VJ Finalists Rated

2008-05-21T20:44:00.003-04:00

Okay Jason Calacanis is promoting Mahalo Daily and giving people input Idol style where you can vote for the finalists. All attractive women so not too hard watching - though no blondes some may be bottle brunettes.

My vote from bottom to top are below.

Brazilian Fight Dancing does not cut it - needed more experienced fight dances moves - not articulate VJ.

This one thinks the MMA guys are articulate and then the video shows them as to the contrary, unless compared to her.

Not too bad but slow and a little boring.

Interview a bit weak, some questions are silly.

Great smile, confident interviewer and action holds attention.

good interview and well mixed video - holds attention to end.

Who To Vote For?

2008-05-16T04:23:00.002-04:00

Okay not necessarily the usual topic of my posts but it is something that will impact it, in my opinion.

I like John McCain - he gave for his country in a very direct manner. You have to respect that... but he echoes Bush way too much and the president is one person who scares me.

Obama I hope is the right call. He should stop the bleeding caused by Bush economics... in all walks of life I cannot understand how people would vote for a party that takes from most of their pockets. The Democrats spends most of the money on its people in the broad sense, Republicans tend to have a smaller number they call its people.

Sunday is 4/20, Ultimate 420 Lists

2008-04-18T17:27:00.002-04:00

Got to love the effort put into the EveryThing 420 post by the guys at Best of the Web. No doubt stoners through the world will be reading this on Sunday.

Rob you are the man... I now know who to come to for rolling out massive content.

Rebecca Lieb Leaves ClickZ

2008-04-18T16:40:00.002-04:00

ClickZ has some big shoes to fill this week, with the announcement that Rebecca Lieb is leaving as Editor-in-Chief.

Having worked with her over the past couple of years, I know she will be missed.

No doubt we will see her in some other influential role in our industry and at the various conferences. Where ever she lands someone is gaining a great asset.

Rename SMX: The Danny, Rand and Matt Show

2008-04-15T12:25:00.002-04:00

I have heard disturbing rumors that Danny Sullivan is trying to get Google to change the Google Dance from SES San Jose to an SMX event, guess an alternative one for SMX is not on the agenda and the conference battle is down to who has the best parties.

Danny recruited me to the SEW forums when they first started and the community was less of a battlefield. And through a series of attritions - or should I say SMX acquisitions - I became the editor. Elisabeth Osmeloski was the first and by far the best person to have the role.

Our industry used to be a friendly and open space where industry leaders gladly shared information with everyone. Now it seems these people are being limited to what conference they can speak at.

I would like to know Danny if you have told people they can only speak at one or the other of the events. Never seemed to be the case but have heard that this is now being told to speakers.

SEOMoz who I have always considered friends have become partners of sorts with SMX - I noted the whole family spoke at one recent event - father, mother, brother, Rand and other Mozzers. Guess the late night champagne drinking after the SES conference sessions are over.

And Matt Cutts... if you spent more time at SMX events you would be hard pressed getting anything done at Google. I definitely thought SES New York was going to have your cat speak at the search engine for pets sessions but maybe you were told it was not allowed.

Add the addition of Vanessa Fox to the SEL/SMX team and I guess you could call the California offices 'Little Google'.

Hopefully I am wrong about all this and the speakers that once were free to speak at any and all events will be back at other events soon.

As a newly started online marketing agency I know the need to attend the major conferences to get yourself out there and to build contacts with the various vendors - but have been told am 'persona non grata' at SMX... now what could I possibly have done to merit that decision?

Yahoo Search Assist And Other Search Suggestions

2008-03-03T12:14:00.002-05:00

I have been watching Yahoo's Search Assist and it seems to be getting smarter. So obviously it has some record of what I am searching for during a session (I hope they have not cookied me) and using that to improve their suggestions.

Funny I remember having this conversation with a friend maybe 5 or 6 years ago.

We were discussing how search could become more intuitive. The example my friend used was Albert Einstein. If you want a bio then a straight search would generally list a wikipedia entry or something similar. But what if you wanted his formulas or theories... a search assist to offer deeper suggestions would be appreciated. This is done to a degree by IGoogle and now by Yahoo Search Assist.

But what if you were looking for your local plumber Albert Einstein - now he would be buried amid the millions of pages of the famed scientist.So a more detailed search would be needed and ultimately he would be found. The use of these search histories would help, as would Google Bookmarks.

Christopher Noll from PC World recently wrote a great article on plugins that help improve your browser...

The push to build the browser into a search assistant seems to be an area that is getting a lot of attention right now.... something to keep an eye on.

Hottest Geeks? What About Hottest SEMs!

2008-01-29T13:47:00.000-05:00

Okay there is a competition for the hottest geeks, with some stellar entries... IJustine is my favorite.... cute and a great sense of the absurd - would make a great exwife.

And what do we have in the search space???

Who Really Could Buy Yahoo And Succeed

2008-01-28T14:24:00.000-05:00

The New York Post wrote an article about companies interested in buying Yahoo! now that it is below $24 a share. But I think the writer, while well versed in who could be interested does not know the space well enough to see who really will or could buy it and succeed.

AOL - well that is just a joke. They are having a hard enough time keeping their own efforts afloat and buying Yahoo would just add to their problems.

Yahoo needs someone to take charge and realize that the company is not in competition with Google for search share. What has been the main strength of the company has been its communities - Yahoo Groups and all variations of that, as well as their solid content areas. Monetize those through banner/sponsorship and other media and grab search as an adjunct to that. The searches would become more specific and conversions would go back to the days when Yahoo led the field.

The Post's list was: AOL, AT&T, CBS, Comcast, Microsoft, Viacom and News Corp.

At&T - come on they have a hard enough time getting their services working properly... I hate the dropped ads commercials because instead of dropping they turn a lot of my conversations in to "hear every third word" gibberish.

CBS - well they have the money but they would bring the traditional media model to Yahoo and create what Seth Godin calls "A Meatball Sundae." Their online efforts are okay but reflect an old media style that if applied to Yahoo would just hasten its demise.

Comcast, Viacom - jumping to the web to offset dropping offline numbers - as investor I would say pass.

Okay the two real contenders are left: News Corp - another Aussie's multinational oligarchy - hey Rupert you buy Yahoo and people will start to see you as a James Bond bad guy - but if you do I can be bought for advise!!!

And finally Microsoft - this is the real company that could do something with all that Yahoo has and could be. Of all the potential buyers Microsoft actually knows the space the best and could combine their own success models in Finance and other content verticals to further improve visitor numbers and confidence. With Yahoo's search numbers combined to their own, Bill will be closer to the Google share of the market and then possibly be able to compete with Larry and Sergey for the space and help us all.

The only other dark horse would have to be a company from Asia.... Baidu and Alibaba come to mind.

So Jerry if you want to mention this article and its ideas in your quarterly earnings report feel free. Good Luck tomorrow.

You Sphinn Me Right Round Baby

2008-01-21T19:46:00.000-05:00

John Andrews has been a successful internet marketer for quite some time. A little under the radar (which I am sure he will smile about if he reads this) until recently, but is well known by many experienced long-term netters.

There have been recent controversies - but anyone that reads his blog knows he offers great advise about so many things that most people keep to themselves.

Right now he is shooting for a record number of Sphinns for an article he wrote half a year ago. Clever and I wish I had thought about it first... maybe not quite kosher but hey just the creativity is worth a blind eye by the SEL crew.

He has given us ideas on how to use social media and for that matter all online media.

John I liked your suggestions on Sphinning for Links and know the soon to be long standing record for the effort for 300 will be successful. Someone has to be the King of "Sphinnbait".

Is Organic Search Still Number One For Google?

2008-01-07T13:34:00.000-05:00

I have a hard time believing Google's main priority is its flag ship product - organic search. With the constant playing it now does; pushing sites up and down on what appear to be whims - we know that is not the case but the reasons at times seem lame.

For example, this latest #6 drop which has older sites that do not have any recently added inbound links dropped about 6 positions. I can understand that top references should be adding links constantly and thus no recent inbound links would suggest these once authoritative sites have lost their edge. But is it not possible that they have saturated their space and people do not link to them anymore as they have already or know everyone else has.

When a newbie finds a site from one link and then see it on a lot of other sites they visit, they are not going to link to it as they see it as the industry standard that everyone knows. They would look for some more obscure but interesting site to link to so it shows they have done some work in the space and am contributing maybe not the best site but one of interest that many have not seen (or so they may think).

What I do see Google spending a lot of time on is changing AdWords to improve their income. Grabbing up other companies in the overall online world. Analytics - hey here is another market we can dominate by giving away the product until everyone is gone; wifi - we have money lets buy the spectrum to monopolize the growing popularity....

The list goes on and on of new ventures Google is working. And to make sure the gloss does not fall from the rose they have spin doctors at every step.

Matt I love you - know you are intelligent, witty and a cat lover - but you are the King of Spin - note I did not spell that Sphinn.....

Michael Gray was on to something at that infamous Paid Links Are Evil panel - people seem to allow the front runners to set the rules... this is true of business as well as politics.

Google is not the FCC - but maybe the FCC should pay a little more attention to what Google is doing. When the Hunt brothers tried to monopolize the silver industry last century the government stepped in. Antitrust has been a hurdle for Bill Gates' expansion of Microsoft - yet no one said anything about Google's actions in the analytics space - and the DoubleClick deal got approved with no real pain.

Guess when the company is popular in this era of mass communication many people are intimidated to say anything against them as the public backlash could be huge.

Stop playing with YouTube, stop buying up more industries, stop trying to save the world and go back to what it was that got all this money and power... good leading edge organic search.

GMail Offering Group Chat Now

2007-11-29T17:07:00.000-05:00

You have to love the innovations. Sure I get pissed occasionally with some of the Google antics but they really are trying to improve the user experience.

I started using the Group Chat today. Not bad.

The Google Channel on YouTube is pretty good as well. Hey they even have Matt Cutts giving lessons on Snippets.

They even are backing the One Laptop Per Child program - with the "buy one get one donated from you" recently.

So you may still need to drop the "Do No Evil" motto - why not change it to "Help The Best You Can".

Will Google DoubleClick Become Big Brother Or The Borg?

2007-11-20T16:07:00.000-05:00

Yesterday a letter from the Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust suggested that the merger of Google with DoubleClick could be a bad thing for the internet. It would allow Google to have too much control over all types of internet advertising and content.

The recent comments by Matt Cutts about what Google expects from webmasters - no follow, no link buying or selling, etc. is as Michael Gray said, in San Jose, not law. Google is not the government - though the Big Brother (and hopefully we are not thinking TV show here) comparisons have a little merit, I do not see it as the more accurate coupling.

Google is the Borg (and this time we are talking TV shows). It sucks up all elements of the web and bends them to the Google collective. I am tired of blasting the "Do No Evil" mantra - but it needs addressing.

When it first launched Google was the hippie uncle - cool product, no merchandising, very minimalist. Well look how far they have come now.

I just started to name products but deleted that as it would have taken way too long. Let's face it they are in every form of online marketing and with each entrance they decimate their competitors. Whole industries are dying because of Google and it is not going to stop.

When the United States eventually becomes the third world country its economy seems destined to get to, Google will have moved along to further building China and other faster growing economies.

I hold stock.... and think it a great investment - but I really don't like where they are going with all this. When Vanessa Fox left so did any fantasy of her becoming the Seven of Nine.... and Matt I am going to be looking for assimilation marks next time we are at the same event!

Microsoft Will Show You Your Competitors' Numbers

2007-11-16T17:09:00.000-05:00

I had a meeting with a crew from Microsoft today about where we were going in the near future with search advertising with them.

The powerpoint presentation was impressive.... but showed how much they will let you know about your industry's search behavior in general, and your competitors information in particular. Not bad really until you realize they are sharing the same information about your numbers with your competitors!

They outlined top keywords used by our industry, volume available, range of CPCs and other demographic information. We were shown what our highest competitor was spending for how many clicks and what impressions.

We got information on 5 specific competitors - their impression numbers, clicks, average position and average CPC. You have to start thinking. Why do all the heavy lifting when Microsoft will share the knowledge with every new advertiser in the space.

We saw that we had a couple of competitors paying less per click - $4.50 compared with their $1.50 and averaged slightly higher in position and significant difference in their favor for CTR.

I like Microsoft - but they would not let me opt out of sharing my information.... as long as I get this report monthly I can keep my competitors behind me... we have done the heavy lifting and know what is worth buying.

Their offer for help writing creatives was turned down.... we know how to reach the right people why let someone who doesn't run the show?

Getting Directions Guys Can Live With

2007-11-09T15:28:00.000-05:00

Google is implementing a plan that should have any guy wanting directions happy to use. You simply go to a gas station and while you are getting gas you have access to Google Maps!

It really is a perfect place for people to get directions - I used to stop at gas stations and look at the maps they had of their neighborhood (they usually were the ones given as part of your local phone book).

It is a major branding play but unless Google allows a bidding war on who gets the maps - will it be Hess or BP or Exxon etc - which would give the one with the maps a lot more traffic - I do not see how they make money (and we have all come to know Google is about making money).

Yahoo Opting Out of Search Soon?

2007-11-09T14:39:00.000-05:00

I have to think that Yahoo has finally come to its senses and plans on dropping its push in search. Let Ask run its commercials and fill the void?

I guess Jerry Yang has decided he has too much on his plate and giving up the search battle will allow the company to concentrate on portals and banner ad sales. Makes sense since the search sales people have been absorbed into media sales.

Or is the decision based on the fact they figure Microsoft will get around to buying them soon and then it can be their headache.

I am thinking this since Yahoo is not exhibiting at the Chicago SES conference. They are doing PubCon - but hey everyone loves the drinkfest.... They did not exhibit at New York adtech either - and that was the biggest gathering of marketing people held this year anywhere!

I hope Microsoft gets there soon so my stock can get some value again.

Party Like A Rock Star? Party Like An Aussie!!!

2007-10-30T12:13:00.000-04:00

Okay guys hand it over. I think I meet all the criteria from all of the judges - the fact that I have partied with all of them should not be a conflict of interest!

Jeremy Shoemaker and crew are giving away a fully paid trip to Vegas PubCon. Okay it may be link bait but bottom line is it is a great prize and one worthy of a lot of free links just for the chance to hang with the judges and the rest of the wild ones running around Vegas that week.

If the winner is in town for the later part of the week I will even show them an Aussie Wild Night.....

I so love contests as link bait over the numerous "screw Google and give me back my PR" rants going on right now....

iPodolgy, iCars And Other Things Over The Top

2007-10-03T16:46:00.000-04:00

I am so tired of all the press things "I" and things "G" get these days... and I am adding to it which is redundant. But I had to put it down on paper before I hurt someone wearing an IPod.

Okay the IPhone looks kind of cool... but way too much for a phone - so realistically it is a status item. Look at how cool and cutting edge I am I have an IPhone. Even with the drop in price I think it is a waste. I lose three or more phones a year and at even $400 I would be tipping less at the bars if I had to pay that much to replace my current phone.

The IPod may be a clever and handy item to most people, but to me it is a continuation of the isolation of mankind. You say something to a person at work and they don't answer.... oh they have the white "antisocial" buds in their ears.

And now Ipodology - a term that seems to be getting some play lately. I thought it was some sort of Steve Jobs cult, but apparently it is having the ultimate song array in your IPod, according to Urban Dictionary. Or maybe it just covers all things IPod and how it is such a growing part of our society.

The ICar has been a rumor, but seems to be sliding towards reality.

Other similar rumors are about the GPhone. Hey why doesn't Steve and the Google boys band together and take down the big M.

The web has been a great tool in modernizing our society - we seem to be truly moving towards the "Global Village" coined by Marshall McLuhan.

What we have to avoid is the extremism that allowed the dot com bubble and its burst in 2000. The inflated prices of some popular sites right now seems to suggest it could happen again soon.

Last week at the MIXX conference, I wanted to ask Google VP Tim Armstrong what was it about YouTube that was worth $1.65 billion. And Bill if you are reading this, do you really think FaceBook is worth $10 billion dollars? And why do they attempt to buy five percent for $500 million when CEO Steve Balmer calls the site a "fad"?

Seems we are getting back to the expensive nonprofitable websites that people believe will make them rich in the future. Thankfully most of the buying is being done by other online companies - unfortunately I own stock in a couple of them and I don't want to see Google and Yahoo make stupid decisions that could steal my kids college funds.

When I was in Amsterdam earlier this year I saw a great comedy show at Chicago Boom - Me, MySpace and IPod - the humor was cutting but hilarious. what we need to do is share this healthy sceptism.

In a world where our knowledge base (Wikipedia) can be edited by anyone with an internet connection, you have to remember most people have an agenda.

So take out the ear buds and talk to people. You will be amazed at how much fun exchanging stories and jokes can be!

Is Yahoo Getting Married Soon?

2007-09-05T16:10:00.000-04:00

Okay they have something borrowed... let's face it Panama is just the Google black box with different wrapping. They just got their hands on something blue - as in Blue Lithium... and where is the something new... well staff would cover that one - they have had some major turn overs in recent months.

Now who could they possibly getting married to? And I guess they are the woman in the equation since guys are not collecting something blue etc.

Microsoft has been a rumored suitor... but who else could there be?

Given the size of the company it would need to be someone with deep pockets... maybe an offline corporation that wants to get into the web in a big way...

I am open for suggestions...

Marissa Mayer, the Holy Grail and CPA Walked Into the Bar......

2007-08-30T13:47:00.000-04:00

In hidden rooms at the GooglePlex there are people frantically working to develop a CPA model for all of us searchers. Despite it being called the "Holy Grail" by Marissa Mayer at the Search Engine Strategies conference keynote address last week, cost per acquisition would eliminate quite a few of the search industry's problems.

Hey it would have been nice if this had been worked on and implemented before we had to pay through the nose for the "inactive" search bid process Google claimed would counter click fraud.... basically we just paid for the loss in revenue and sooner or later it was all back.

Now Ms Mayer I see Google riding along like the characters of the Monty Python in the Holy Grail movie... coconuts for horse sounds and an air of stupidity.

Wake up... if Bill Gross has not rolled this out yet then it can't be done right at this time.

The product now on offer in AdSense could be one of the first big launches that they will have to pull out.

If someone gets to this first, or Google simply gets sidetracked by another 10 projects, the balance of power in the search industry will change with it.

"Bring out yer dead... Bring out yer dead"

But I ain't dead yet! - drop the ball on this one and you will be making funeral arrangements.

The Google Honeymoon Is More Than Over

2007-08-10T14:57:00.000-04:00

The change made recently to Google's AdWords pricing makes me wonder how the relationship ever started. We were seduced by what looked like an engine that cared and are now finding out we are being pimped.

I hear the words.... it is to help people get top positions - but come on doesn't that mean get people to spend more money.

Did someone actually sit back and say "how can we raise pricing and get advertisers to think we are helping them?"

Hell isn't having the lion's share of traffic enough. Must we be squeezed for every dollar?

Stating that Quality Score will have a lot more importance is dubious at best. The QS was already a major factor. Hey between that and the good old inactive actions the advertisers paid for Google's poor attempt to drive out the arbitragers. I brought that up at every arbitrage panel at SES and never got an answer.

This time around Google wants to jump up the bids by now using the actual Max CPC to determine placement.... I must be stupid but they have always used the Max Bid as a factor I thought.

Okay but really isn't the QS now just taking the place of the Max Bid... it is major influencer and has had the import of evaluations done by $10 per hour help. Some may be solid but the vast majority were looking for some easy money - can you blame them... so is Google.

Facebook CEO Accused Of Stealing Site Concept

2007-07-23T15:15:00.000-04:00

They open it up to non-college users and the site blows up... I have been inundated with friends requests (and sent out a bunch to add to it)... there are widgets and email notifications... it was major viral marketing... and now it all may end if the lawsuit holds up.

MediaRiver's ClickSurge Interesting Content Monetizer

2007-07-23T14:37:00.000-04:00

I don't know how I missed this when it launched at the end of May, but I was glad to have a conversation with a couple of the people over at MediaRiver (formerly known as Intelltext) and a one-on-one webinar that showed me the potential of this new little widget.

ClickSurge pulls content links relevant to the page content it appears on. Not ads per se but links to articles - from your site and other publishing sites thatare part of the network.

Intellext, creators of the Watson next-generation contextual search software, changed its name to MediaRiver, and released a new product for web publishers, highlighting a move into the digital media space.

ClickSurge, MediaRiver's new offering, enables Web publishers to guide Internet users to the publishers' online content in a discovery-based contextual model. ClickSurge increases page views and maximizes the reach and profitability of monetized content by contextually placing links to that content onto web pages at a publisher's website, at a partner's website or on any Internet page, including user-generated content sites such as blogs and social networks using modern widget technology.

"As the digital media landscape grows increasingly crowded, driving new visitors to Web properties and maximizing the time those users spend on those Web properties is paramount for generating revenue,"said Al Wasserberger, CEO of MediaRiver. "With ClickSurge, content publishers are able to quickly and easily connect the right audience to the right content at the right time, dramatically improving unique
user counts and page views per visit."

ClickSurge leverages MediaRiver's core contextual technology, which was originally developed in the Intelligent Information Laboratory at Northwestern University and used in the company's Watson desktop application, applying it in the case of ClickSurge to the Web. The company's patent-pending technology allows content of any type, including video, music, pictures or text, to be linked onto any web page dynamically and contextually, based on the unique properties of that web page.

When used for driving site recirculation, as it will be for new MediaRiver customers Haystack.com and RevolutionHealth.com, ClickSurge drives up the number of pages viewed during each site visit by contextually linking content throughout a ublisher's site or family of sites. Users view a publisher's related content and follow logical, sequential page views of that publisher's monetized content. As a result, the site visitor enjoys a compelling user experience and the publisher prompts monetized page views by keeping users on the site.

"People online are experiencing links to rich, relevant content. Once engaged, they are likely to click through to a publisher's various properties," said Art Chang, CEO of social network Haystack.com and founder of venture capital firm Tipping Point Partners, LLC. "ClickSurge is the ideal platform for presenting our content to new audiences, driving syndication deals and creating a compelling online experience that keeps users on Haystack.com longer."

ClickSurge serves as a key business development tool for creating and implementing traffic-driving partnerships. Regardless of how a publisher monetizes their content syndication and cross-linking partnerships, ClickSurge automatically populates their partners' Web pages with links back to monetized content.

Media companies such as new MediaRiver customers Motley Fool (www.fool.com), ClubPlanet (www.clubplanet.com) and Revolution Health will also be using ClickSurge to drive page views as a part of their viral web widget strategies.

"When Motley Fool discovered ClickSurge, we recognized its potential to virally distribute our content to investors all over the Internet while increasing traffic to our monetized content," said John Keeling, SVP of Fool.com. "With ClickSurge, we look to multiply page views throughout our network of sites. The platform will be a key way to expand our online audience."

There is no upfront cost for a web publisher to get started with ClickSurge. Instead, the publisher pays only a percentage of the new revenue realized from new traffic to their web properties.