Category Archives: advertising

Sponsored Link icons on Google Maps

Posted on March 11, 2007 by Rakesh Agrawal

I’m seeing more and more sponsored link icons on Google Maps these days. Some searches that will trigger the icons are hotels, plumbers and Home Depot. Google has experimented with a number of different ways to incorporate advertising on Maps: … Continue reading →

Posted in advertising, google, local search, maps | Comments Off on Sponsored Link icons on Google Maps

Show me the ads

Posted on December 18, 2006 by Rakesh Agrawal

I like ads. At least some ads. When I’m watching programs that I’ve recorded, I sometimes will rewind just to see an ad. These are usually ads from creative advertisers like Target and Apple. Occasionally, I want to share ads … Continue reading →

Posted in advertising, video | 1 Comment

Making the most of search engine traffic

Posted on December 17, 2006 by Rakesh Agrawal

News organizations are actively playing the SEO/SEM game. If you do a search for “Iraq War“, “taco bell“, “litvinenko“, you will get both organic results and sponsored links from major news sites. The sites take different approaches to where they … Continue reading →

Posted in advertising, google, search, seo | 3 Comments

Searching for Web talent

Posted on December 16, 2006 by Rakesh Agrawal

I’m in the process of hiring two Senior Product Managers for AOL Search. The people I hire will be working on two very exciting and truly innovative products that have the potential to significantly improve the way more than 40 … Continue reading →

Posted in advertising, aol, newspapers | 2 Comments

NBC’s Horny Manatee (SFW)

Posted on December 13, 2006 by Rakesh Agrawal

Conan O’Brien stumbled into another great example of viewers interacting with and reshaping what appears on broadcast TV. This one happened when Conan ad-libbed the URL hornymanatee.com after a segment in which an FSU manatee appears in front of a … Continue reading →

Posted in advertising, video | Comments Off on NBC’s Horny Manatee (SFW)

Lawyers, sponsored links and Taco Bell

Posted on December 5, 2006 by Rakesh Agrawal

This was quick: The first Sponsored Link when you do a search for “taco bell” is an ad for New Jersey lawyers looking to take advantage of the E. coli scare. It will be interesting to see how quickly the … Continue reading →

Posted in advertising | Comments Off on Lawyers, sponsored links and Taco Bell

Google Maps adds click-to-call

Posted on November 19, 2006 by Rakesh Agrawal

Google Maps now offers a free click-to-call service. When you see a phone number, you can click a “call” link, enter your phone number and Google will call you and the business. The feature worked flawlessly; my phone rang almost … Continue reading →

Posted in advertising, google, local search, maps, yellow pages | 2 Comments

Fun with metrics

Posted on October 13, 2006 by Rakesh Agrawal

With AJAX, streaming video and other technologies making page views a less and less meaningful metric for Web businesses, Jeremy Zawodny asks what is the best metric for Web 2.0?There is no single metric that works across all sites. Of … Continue reading →

Posted in advertising, statistics, web 2, web 2.0 | Comments Off on Fun with metrics

Want more ads with your Gmail?

Posted on October 4, 2006 by Rakesh Agrawal

I was in my Gmail account and noticed a new addition to the Sponsored Links that appear along side the email: the option to get more sponsored links. Clicking any of the links under “More about…” gets you a page … Continue reading →

Posted in advertising, email, google, search | 3 Comments

Mobile ESPN heads for the showers

Posted on September 29, 2006 by Rakesh Agrawal

ESPN pulled the plug on its mobile offering yesterday. The service offered an ESPN branded cellphone. This comes as no great surprise. Among Mobile ESPN’s challenges: ESPN is not a telecommunications brand. Limited selection of handsets. Limited range of price … Continue reading →

Posted in advertising, mobile, wireless, wireless data | 1 Comment