Inside the Engines

Google
Google has been busy rolling out additions and changes to its advertising models, with major updates coming out monthly. Most recently, Google launched the much-anticipated Google Gadget Ads running on its content network supported by both cost-per-click and cost-per-impression pricing. The ads are designed to include more content and interactive features which can be updated in real-time, including RSS, images, videos, and games. Gadget Ads make it easy for consumers viewing the ads to save and share them, not just through iGoogle but other social networks as well. It’s one of many emerging opportunities that blurs the line between advertising and content.

Google also changed how it promotes search ads to the top of search engine results pages. It now factors in the ad’s maximum cost-per-click (CPC) rather than the actual CPC. Some marketers now must bid higher to gain placement above natural search listings (as opposed to appearing to the right).

Lastly, Google upgraded the advertising offerings on YouTube. Advertisers can run click-to-play video ads that run on the homepage, category pages, and search results pages. Additionally, YouTube offers InVideo ads, with animated Flash overlays appearing on the video with a companion display ad to the right. These ads only run on videos from premium partners, whether established brands like TV networks and sports leagues or established and popular users like lonelygirl15.

Yahoo
Yahoo has been busy with a flurry of announcements since it named Jerry Yang as CEO and Susan Decker as President this summer. Recent acquisitions include online advertising network BlueLithium, news aggregator BuzzTracker, and online collaboration software company Zimbra. It has also been upgrading its search experience in small ways with the expanded use of shortcuts for a range of queries such as retail, health, and sports, with the goal of presenting additional information and links above the natural search results.

Microsoft
Microsoft officially launched the beta of Content Ads, focusing especially on expanding impressions in the finance, health, and technology verticals. In time, Microsoft will offer more controls for content campaigns, including site targeting, site exclusion, and more sophisticated reporting. Initial data from Microsoft’s pilot program signals that content ad performance, measured by conversions per click and cost per conversion, should be on par with search ads; 360i will assess if this is true for campaigns running on the extended network.