Internet Marketing Blog

True Cybercrimes

September 2, 2010 – 3:16 pm

As social media gains popularity in our common lives, protection of our identity becomes paramount.  One who is more of a dilettante to viral socializing may just decide to deactivate themselves, which is fine.  Others who value social media as a portal to entertainment and interaction plan to investigate their privacy rights according to the website policy, seeking loopholes in data accessibility in order to close them.  

The advancement of smartphone technology will only intensify the sharing of personal information across hardware and channels, so diligence need apply.  We are already seeing this with the development of geolocation, a practice where one can update their point on Earth in real time.  Security concerns have been shared on this space and the cyberworld, so delving in farther is unnecessary.

Despite all of this emerging concern with the increase of channel platforms to transfer data between your laptop, mobile phone, video game console, and the like, the public remains concerned about traditional cybercrimes such as identity theft.  Banks remain the least trusted business, according to recent survey done by Kindsight.  I have heard stories about security fraud in the past and present, as banks would infiltrate their customers with phishing messages while touting the finest security emblems on their webpage.  Credit histories are at stake when e-commerce transactions go haywire. When it comes to banking, however, many people have lifestyles today that do not permit the time to wait in a teller line for routine transactions. Larger firms, in light of the financial settlement passed by Congress, have taken steps to mitigate this personal service by assessing fees.  It will affect several demographics, namely senior citizens who are not technologically efficient.  This situation deserves monitoring by all, as the restrictive legal elements have yet to make a measurable impact.

Millennial who are savvy with their hardware and software easily make the adjustments necessary to protect their personal identity online.  Others struggle with the societal shift to online distribution of personal data, and whether they become successful remains to be seen.

Tweet

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in Blog Marketing, Click Fraud, Content Marketing, Interactive Marketing, Social Media Marketing, World, blog, eCommerce | No Comments »
Tags: abdul fattah ismail, Blueliner, Blueliner Marketing, Click Fraud, click fraud security, identity theft, kindsight, preventing click fraud, Social Media Marketing

Yahoo and Microsoft Deal For Some Of The Search Marbles

August 31, 2010 – 3:42 pm

Yahoo!, after a period of management disarray, is settling into a full search partnership with Microsoft.  A couple days back, the technology firm aligned their services with Microsoft’s Bing to help leverage market share against Google in the search advertising industry.  The technology giants agreed to a ten-year contract with the goal to be a serious contender.  Yahoo was motivated to enter this direction to reduce expenses incurred from years of fiscal mismanagement leading to a reduced stock price quote.  Microsoft wanted to test new search algorithms and expand their product strategies with Bing, which is also aligned with Facebook’s wealth of personal profile data.  Bing needs to recoup startup expenses incurred and this is a start on that path.

Neither company is capable of catching Google alone, but as mentioned, offer unique abilities that can complement one another.  First off, companies are looking to use Bing as a search index and have an ability to negotiate pay-per-click rates more palatable with their budgets.  Bing needs to gain credibility with local and national businesses, and will not cut off their nose to spite their face.  Facebook’s new geolocation application, Places, can drive up search indexes even more as users entrust the privacy settings installed online.  Yahoo wants to gain credibility as a content provider, and possesses loyal visitors who use the website for assorted page applications such as Finance, News, and Sports.  They can now focus on delivering that content with more quality.

In a perfect world, the companies will save resources, while creating a vacuum for research and development that offers a premium price point for online advertisers.  Innovative technologies will present themselves and shift seamlessly between platforms. Here are some thoughts from advertisers at the San Francisco SES Conference on the impact.

Tweet

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in Interactive Marketing, Marketing, Pay Per Click (PPC), blog, online advertising | No Comments »
Tags: abdul fattah ismail, Bing, Blueliner, Blueliner Marketing, Chris Walbert, ppc, ppc advertising, seo media agency, yahoo microsoft deal

Weekly Blueliner Newsminer

August 30, 2010 – 1:39 pm

Good afternoon, everyone.  We are back with the Weekly Blueliner Newsminer, a Monday edition.

1.  Paul Allen Sues Apple, Google, over patents

This story broke on Friday afternoon.  It’s not unlike the suit by Larry Ellison of Oracle over Java Technology, but equally as laughable.  According to the piece, Allen had been sitting on these patents for years and just now realized that they have value.  It’s like the alphabet inventors suing the estate of James Joyce because they are still making revenue from the sales of Ulysses.  I’ve documented on the space about the mobile technology being in a virtual shootout for control.  This is just another gun firing the pistol.

2.  HP and Dell square off for 3Par

HP and Dell continue to reach outside of their traditional customer PC markets by bidding for the data management firm.  The latest word is that 3Par executives consider HP to have a superior presentation and plan to nullify the agreement with Dell.  Both corporations are looking to gain control in the race for cloud computing.  Cloud computing is an emerging industry with remote data centers offsite.  Firms now are expanding their reach into the market with CRM solutions that can be an asset for small businesses.   These days, tech firms are looking to exhaust their piles of cash on the balance sheet.  Whether their decisions benefit shareholders will be seen later on.

3.  Yahoo and Microsoft team up to counter Google

After two years of rebuffing the pursuit, Yahoo and Google team up to gain market share in search advertising.  Bing, Microsoft’s emerging search index, has made moves with an alliance with Facebook, who presents a wealth of personal data for marketers seeking to leverage revenue from social media.    Small businesses will have a wider array of pay per click rates to choose from that fits their respective budgets.  Yahoo receives a strong chunk of the revenue gained from search on their site, while Microsoft provides the algorithms. Both companies can also start experimenting with product innovation, giving hope to restoring Yahoo’s former glory as a search leader.

4.  Intel makes a second deal in two weeks; this time for Infineon

Intel continues to expand into wireless technology buy purchasing Infineon.  Infineon specializes in electronics for automobiles along with producing chips for security cards.  Intel’s track record of expansion has been relatively weak of late, and it is unclear when the investment will return dividends since mobile technology has negligible security issues at this time.  This should be nice for Infineon, as they can focus on product innovation, which has been their weakness.

5.  Google to Acquire Angstro

Google acquired this start-up to build their portfolio and challenge the social media industry, where Facebook clearly is the titan. Angstro has developed applications that mine personal data to deliver search results on a person’s professional network. Angstro also creates social networks and caller IDs for sites like LinkedIn.  Google is clearly worried about Facebook as an emerging search presence and after the disaster of Buzz, looks to pull a rabbit out of their hat. It could be too little, too late.

That’s the Blue news for now. See you next week.

Tweet

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in Interactive Marketing, Marketing, Mobile Applications, Mobile Marketing, Pay Per Click (PPC), blog, online advertising | No Comments »
Tags: abdul fattah ismail, Blueliner, Blueliner Marketing, internet marketing agency ny, new york interactive media agency, weekly blueliner newsminer

For Google, Yelp Will Not

August 26, 2010 – 5:32 pm

The launch of Facebook Places last week is rustling more than privacy settings.  Their rivals are now sparring against one another. In a current report, Yelp has struck a deal with Google to remove their content from Google Places, since the pay-per-click credit would fall to advertisers on Google Places and not Yelp, despite their influential business review to extract a consumer purchasing decision.  Yelp had a syndicated relationship that ended in 2006, but their reviews content appeared after the partnership’s termination.  After a meeting between both site executives, Google promised to remove the content.  Yelp still wants to surface in Google’s search index results, especially with Caffeine as an additive, pun intended.  

Those unsure of the distinction between the two can follow this distinction.  Google Places is seeking to overtake Yelp, Facebook, Craigslist, and other classified search hubs through acquiring third party publisher sites.  Third party publisher sites are created for advertisers to provide server space, campaign delivery, and reporting facilities needed to show content at an optimal cost.  Yelp clearly doesn’t have the financial resources of Google, so third party publishing is a fiber of their cyberspace identity with cookies being the sweet tooth. Cookies are placed on viewed websites to eliminate repeat pop-ups per page open, establish an advertising sequence, and monitor web traffic for analytical reports.  It gives them the platform for their unique customer reviewers to post routinely, creating a bucolic online community.  I think this will be a permanent discontinuation since the e-classified market needs to distinguish itself.

Tweet

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in Interactive Marketing, Marketing, Mobile Marketing, Pay Per Click (PPC), blog, online advertising | No Comments »
Tags: abdul fattah ismail, Affiliate Marketing, Blueliner, Blueliner Marketing, facebook places, google places, internet marketing agency ny, new york mobile marketing agency, yelp

Pay Per Call Advertising from Skype

July 29, 2010 – 3:14 pm

Skype users are able to call, send text messages, or video chat with other Skype users for free.  They are charged with a small rate if a user makes a call to land lines or mobile phone numbers from their computers.  Skype is growing every day and has over half a billion registered users.  Now, Skype introduces a new technique to add revenue with the new pay per call ad unit.  This new type of advertising will turn phone numbers into small advertisements to about 560 million users of Skype service.

Click and call advertising service of Skype allows the users to make free calls to participating businesses found on any web page. This allows the advertisers to get easy access to the consumers or prospects.  Consumers can also call businesses free of cost using Skype. The advertisements will appear in blue, saying “Free call,” in addition to Skype numbers that appear in gray color. Skype offers this service in association with Marchex, which provides analytics for the services. Advertisers can plan a monthly budget based on the number of calls they would like to pay or they can pay based on the number of calls they receive via Skype.

A phone call is a much more valuable lead than a click on a hyperlink and can result in actual sales since the conversion rate is higher on a call. Users can see the free call button or the advertisements only if the Skype browser plug-in installed. This type of advertising is good for local businesses that don’t sell their products or services via online shopping but can generate good leads.

Donal Albert, General Manager of Skype Americas said, “It is an opportunity to tap into a large community of consumers that are initiating calls from their computers.”  Skype generated $550 million revenue in 2008, and its parent company eBay projects $1 billion in revenue by 2011. Skype estimates it currently accounts for 12% of all international call minutes. To find more information on Click & Call Advertising, check out the Skype website by clicking the logo.

Posted by Mohamed Mohideen
Posted in 7 Pillars of Internet Marketing, Content Marketing, Interactive Marketing, Marketing, Marketing Agencies, Pay Per Click (PPC), Small Business, blog, online advertising, web 2.0 | No Comments »
Tags: Blueliner Marketing, digital marketing, Interactive Marketing, Internet Marketing, Mobile Marketing, Mohamed Mohideen, online advertising, pay per click advertising

Need Online Security? Call DoubleVerify

July 28, 2010 – 4:43 pm

Online advertising can bring out the best of creativity or the worst of security, known as click fraud.  Facebook is going through this with their privacy issues that surfaced in the spring.  Nobody has really stepped up, but DoubleVerify intends to make an effort.

DoubleVerify assist with online merchants, advertisers, publishers, and the like to ensure online accountability.  They are looking to build an advertising base so that they can establish credibility within the community. The next step would help ensure that advertising campaigns are being run in good faith and transparent with digital consumers.  Digital marketers are still struggling with privacy issues and security breaches online in terms of soliciting relevant data from consumer bases to tailor their campaigns.  With new users logging into social media networks daily, click fraud measures can no longer be taken lightly.

One of the biggest issues in click fraud security has been the stealing of ad tags, which allow those said ads to run illegally on malicious websites.  Many private entities and China do their diligence to expose spyware on the web, but the fight will be long. For those interested, double your verification here.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in Click Fraud, blog, online advertising | No Comments »
Tags: abdul fattah ismail, Blueliner Marketing, doubleverify, new york click fraud agency, online advertising agency, web advertising ny

China Wants Personal Browsers

July 14, 2010 – 5:10 pm

With the Google standoff drawing to a halt for now, the Beijing regulators turn towards a different, but possibly more divergent task.  According to a newswire from the Associated Press, China now seeks to reduce anonymity in their cyberspace domain.  One of the steps is to require citizens to give their real name when buying mobile technology or entering a browser.

Clearly, this will affect the celestial exchange of information that Google envisions to procreate between academic professionals and students discussing their scholastic journals combined with the expanding portfolio of media services.  Much of the publicity generated from this standoff can only serve to bring a stronger spotlight to security breaches.  Our federal government has taken steps to provide stronger protocols in the name of ecommerce transactions, but has largely laid off regulating public forums.  The roots of this different viewpoint of cyberspace regulation lie in geographical and cultural differences that have been probed with more depth on other information sources.

I will say that despite China’s antipathy towards viral expression, conversations are still being shared about censorship and geopolitics.  They can’t stop the legion of offshore development that transcends national boundaries, real or imagined.  As a growing economic power, China will be depended on as a conduit of digital development due to the growing educated populance.  Many engineers and software developers need to access information anonymously in order to conduct sensitive research.  They will be better off if they accept this position of responsibility rather than pretend that the secret society is still in play online.  Chairman Mao is not walking through the door.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in Business News, Click Fraud, Interactive Marketing, Marketing, World, blog, online advertising | No Comments »
Tags: abdul fattah ismail, associated press china, Blueliner Marketing, click fraud security, google china controversy, internet privacy, new york click fraud agency

Your Thoughts Matter Online

July 9, 2010 – 5:10 pm

One may think that tooting your own horn online can lead to identity theft or click fraud.  The stance is understandable, but largely jaded.  For others, tooting your own horn can pay large dividends.  The public review website, Yelp, has thousands of reviewers that have reached “elite” status.  Yelp, for the uninitiated, offers locals to discuss the merits and disasters of businesses ranging from pet stores to dentists.  Cynics see that as free advertising or disservice for their establishments.

Online reviewers, however, see it as an opportunity to build a valid marketing foundation, followed by a legitimate business opportunity for online advertisers.  After ‘Yelpers’ establish their profile online, they get invited to networking soirees where the online friends establish a human connection.  The meetings round out the experience for elite reviewers.  Their creative expression blossoms, breeding power for both the merchant and product.

Amazon has also generated reviewer cadres over time, which has brought fractious words from certain groups.  They tend to target authors in which they have a grudge against, devaluing the experience for those involved.  For better or worse, their presence is felt among online communities.  Pioneers of online discussion may stick around because they have competitive juices which are nourished by voicing their opinion, which is held in high regard. Some have moved on to the various social media sites which are abound, while others may have to just go to the local tavern or restaurant, where their names are known by everyone.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in Business News, Click Fraud, blog, eCommerce, online advertising | No Comments »
Tags: abdul fattah ismail, amazon, Blueliner, Blueliner Marketing, Click Fraud, new york social media agency, online advertising, online community, yelp

Senate Approves Online Marketing Protection Bill

June 11, 2010 – 5:15 pm

This past Wednesday was still generating buzz from the release of iPhone 4 and Yahoo’s Internet Week Conference in Manhattan.  Under the radar, though, the Senate quietly approved three bills, one of which will affect online marketing.  Senate Committee Chairman John (Jay) Rockefeller, Democrat of West Virginia, offered the legislation, effectively barring companies from automatically passing a consumer’s credit or debit card information to a third-party online partner.  It would also require those third-party merchants to clearly disclose terms of the offer to consumers.

According to an article from The National Journal’s Tech Daily Dose, Rockefeller started an investigation of companies using data-pass marketing tactics to mislead consumers into signing up for discount membership clubs and other services as part of other online transactions with respected online retail sites.  The three firms cited in the report were Affinion, Vertrue, and Webloyalty. They had partnered with established retail firms to enroll millions of unsuspecting consumers netting more than $1 billion in revenues for these firms and their partners.

The committee also noticed that refunds were difficult to obtain from these three firms.  They had created policies to minimize the amount of money they would have to return to consumers that inadvertently enrolled into clubs.

The firms have changed their policies in light of the investigation, but it goes to show that you can never be too careful in purchasing products online.  It is imperative to be cognizant of all the factors at play, including the fine print, your bank accounts, and holding a confirmation note.  I found it discouraging to hear that payment systems operated by American Express, MasterCard, and Visa were continually being accessed by these firms to perpetrate these fraudulent practices.  Microsoft took a hard stance against click laundering, and the consumer must do the same for their own sake.  If one sees a note asking for third-party information, always say no.  You can live without passing that around the internet.  This situation will be monitored here.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in Click Fraud, online advertising | No Comments »
Tags: abdul fattah ismail, Blueliner Marketing, Click Fraud, iab smartbrief, new york ecommerce development agency, online marketing, senate online marketing bill, senate online privacy bill

Click Laundering Overtakes Microsoft

May 28, 2010 – 2:12 pm

A new form of click fraud lingers online where a website gets credit for clicks disguised as legitimate online advertising.  It’s known as ‘click laundering’.  Microsoft was a victim last week and has subsequently filed a lawsuit against RedOrbit, a science news website and other unknown defendants.  The alleged fraud took place on Microsoft’s AdCenter network.  Fraudsters have learned to get around detections by using false parked websites to push ad traffic through to the internet.  The traffic can either come from malware hiding on computers which hijack the browser or botnets programmed to click on the ads without the user knowing it.  If the user clicks on what seems to be a search result code hidden on the site, it registers as a click on an ad.  RedOrbit has denied the allegations and plans to defend themselves in court.  Stay tuned here for updates.  

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in Business News, Click Fraud, online advertising | No Comments »
Tags: abdul fattah ismail, arman rousta, Click Fraud, microsoft redorbit lawsuit, new york website design agency, online advertising, parked websites, redorbit