Ecommerce & Web Marketing Research: November 2004

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November 10 2004

More on click fraud - free white paper

I published an article a couple of months ago on fraud that caught the attention of a specialist in web analytics and click fraud, Dimitry Eroshenko, the CEO of ClickLab. Dmitri and I have teamed up to create a very comprehensive 20 page white paper on the topic that also includes an *exclusive offer* for Taming the Beast.net visitors - $100 off ClickLab services. 

Download the Click Fraud White Paper (PDF- 245kb).

Microsoft about to release true MSN search

Up until now, Microsoft has been using Inktomi powered results for much of it's search data. This has been a less than optimal arrangement for the company, especially given that Inktomi is owned by Yahoo. Microsoft has been quietly developing it's own search technology over the last couple of years and it appears that it will finally be rolled out to the public on Thursday. I had the opportunity of reviewing a preview of the new MSN search some months ago, but it really wasn't enough to pass comment. Thursday will prove to be a very interesting day in the world of search engines as Microsoft enters the fray on it's own two feet.

Firefox 1.0 released

Amid much fanfare and positive press, Mozilla has released FireFox 1.0. At only 4.7 megabytes for the download, it's very lightweight, but that doesn't mean it's light on features. This is a browser that will seriously challenge IE. Firefox has steadily been increasing market share over the months. With Google rumored to also be releasing a browser soon, we'll soon see a battlefield not unlike the browser wars of 2001. Great, just what I needed, to concern myself with cross browser compatibility again. I guess it's time for me to update those articles :).

Have I tried FireFox as yet? I'm just about to. Forgive me Bill.

Download FireFox.

November 9 2004

Botnet for hire - mercenary hackers

Cyber criminals are finding easier ways of making money - through renting out their botnets. With thousands of unsuspecting users' PC's (known as zombies) waiting to do their masters' bidding, with the right contacts and a wad of cash, anyone can take out their competitors or anyone else they choose. This isn't just "could happen" - it is happening. In what is often a dark and twisted web these days, this latest trend is enough to make any ecommerce site owner just that little more paranoid.

Learn more about this disturbing new enterprise in this article on New Scientist.

November 8 2004

VoIP - taking the plunge

I've been writing about VoIP off and on for some time now. 

VoIP (voice over IP), is a form of Internet Telephony. It is the process of sending voice in digital form rather than in analog as with the traditional phone networks.

I first trialed VoIP some years ago - it was interesting, but really just a novelty - dropouts, long delays, config issues etc. etc.

I recently downloaded a software application called Skype to reacquaint myself and was blown away. The promo says "it just works" - and it does. I was even more blown away by my first call - the quality was amazing. The call rates are also enough to put any of the local Aussie Telcos to shame. Even better, calls between Skype users, regardless of where they are, are totally free. Skype is the free aspect of the service, whereas SkypeOut is the premium service that allows you to call landline and mobile numbers. You access SkypeOut from the same software.

My local telco (Telstra Australia) has been giving me a hard time over the last 12 months with poor quality service - I warned them I would have my revenge and with Skype/SkypeOut, I have it. They've lost all my international and long distance business for good. I'll post up a more detailed review in the days ahead, but in the meantime, check out Skype VoIP software. 

November 7 2004

AAF Advertising trends report

The AAF (American Advertising Federation) Survey of Industry Leaders on Advertising Trends 2004 has recently been released. The AAF reports that online ads now comprise approximately 8 percent of advertising budgets amongst major marketing firm. This is up from 5% three years ago and is estimate to rise to 17% in the next 3 years. 

Download the survey results (PDF 242 kb)

Small business wary of online ads

While big business is rapidly embracing online advertising, it appears that small/mid-size business is a little more gun-shy. According to a report on eMediaPost, from details provided by The Kelsey Group:

• 61 percent of businesses surveyed acknowledge the Internet as a significant advertising medium
• Only 14 percent of local advertisers have purchased online ads in the last 12 months
• 5 percent purchased search listings
• 5 percent purchased interactive Yellow Pages ads

Interested in Pay Per Click? Read our PPC advertising guide

Looking to advertise via banners of various sizes or popunders? Read our recommendation of the best banner ad network.

New FrontPage tutorial - FP includes & CSS

I've been using Microsoft FrontPage for many years now. As Taming the Beast has grown, I've never really found a need to switch to anything else - although many of my colleagues grimace when I extol it's virtues.

One of the great features of FrontPage is the FrontPage Include function in conjunction with the use of CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). This dramatically decreases development and maintenance time.  It's surprising how may FrontPage users don't take advantage of these features; so I've created a free template for download and tutorial to demonstrate how to make use of these. 

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November 4 2004

Browser wars continued

It appears that Internet Explorer is continuing to lose some of its dominance in the market - currently it holds a 92 - 93 percent share, down nearly 5 percent in the last year. Most of this is due to the increasing popularity of the FireFox browser. I came across this site today - Spread FireFox. I have to take my hat off to the FF team, one of their campaigns to raise funds from users brought in $250,000. The money will be used to take out full page ads in the New York Times. 

Microsoft states that it will be tightening up Internet  Explorer's security features and there will be other major upgrades in the next release of Windows, scheduled for 2006.

Ahem, Bill? I think you better come take a look at this, you may not have that long.. ;).

Free web traffic statistics How many visitors hit your site? How long do they stay? Try a free traffic monitoring service

November 2 2004

Ecommerce site owners, start your engines!

Ready for the buying giving season yet? If not, you better get a move along. A survey released last week by The Macerich Company (a real estate investment trust that deals with USA regional malls) shows that 57% of all Xmas purchases will occur between end of October and November 25.

The survey results also state that consumers will spend close to $900 on average on holiday related purchases,  including $608.15 on Xmas gifts. The balance will be spent on on decorations, parties and other related items.. ho ho ugh.. have I mentioned how much I hate this time of the year? Only 50 times you say? 'scuse me ;).

Holiday Shopping Time Periods (source macerich.com)

Read the full survey results

Pick up some tips and considerations for Xmas marketing.

November 1 2004

Ecommerce, gaming and sweatshops

I thought that this New Scientist article was a joke, but it appears that some enterprising (for want of a better term) souls are making a small fortune in the gaming world by hiring out gamers; usually sourced from Hong Kong and Mexico who will work for a few dollars a day.

I've never really had much to do with online gaming, but the aficionados I've met spend a great deal of their lives living out war strategy and medieval fantasies. They are not alone - millions of people are involved in these pursuits, so much so that virtual items needed to play and win these games are often auctioned for real cash. Magic potions, swords, game play; you name it, you can buy it. If you run a search on EverQuest, a popular online game, on Google, you'll see ads for these types of things in Adwords on the right hand side. 

In many instances, these items are offered by companies who employ third world labor to play the games and amass the items which are then sold. You can even hire people to play for you while you attend to other things.  This isn't a cottage industry by any means - estimates put the turnover of these kinds of transactions at around 100 million dollars over the past year and rapidly increasing.

It somewhat negates the point of playing the game in the first place if you ask me, but as I said, I'm not a hard core online gamer - and after reading that article I doubt I never will be. Still, it is very interesting to see where ecommerce is flourishing and the fact that there's a niche where serious dollars can be made for just about every human pastime.

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