Behind the scenes every firm's gearing up its 2010 digital strategy, and
retailers are looking forward to that sudden seasonal uplift in online
sales. Many are running our digital marketing audits to look for areas
where they can boost effectiveness without increasing budgets, as ROI
looks set to be the key theme for 2010.
This month's news was dominated by the changing relationships between
publishers and search engines and that's another theme we're expecting
will characterise next year. A related issue is the Murdoch-led quest to
charge for online content, and wider concerns about the business models
for web media. There's also a sea change to the mobile web from a fixed
web, and in Western Europe, the US and many parts of Asia, mobile should
be a core element in the 2010 plan.
This month's country focus is Italy, and for all the headlines there are
full details on click through.
Best from all @ Digital
Danny Meadows-Klue
Founder and Chief Executive
Digital Strategy Consulting
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Data and statistics
www.DigitalStrategyConsulting.com/intelligence |
Here are the latest stats and figures from the
past month.
Top search engines by search volume: UK
Google UK tops the search engine list with 3/4 of all searches in UK
Top search engines ranked by visits: UK
Google UK maintains its dominance as the UK's most visited search
engine
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Trends
www.DigitalStrategyConsulting.com/intelligence |
Survey uncovers the nation's favourite websites
Spotify has become the UK's second favourite
music service, and is gaining ground on iTunes, according to a new
study looking into the nations favourite web services.
Keep reading...
17/11/2009
Top 10 internet moments of the decade
Iran's election protests, the shutdown of
Napster and the 2008 US presidential campaign have been named amongst
the top 10 Internet moments of the 2000s.
Keep reading...
19/11/2009
Swindon to become first UK Wi-Fi town
Swindon is to be become Britain's first "Wi-Fi
town" with free internet access available to all its 186,000
residents. A £1 million network of 1,400 "access points" similar to
the wireless routers installed in millions of homes will be sited at
strategic locations around the Wiltshire town.
Keep reading...
17/11/2009
Brits would pay 10p to read articles online - poll
Three-quarters of Brits would consider paying
for digital content if it only cost 10p or per article, with Jeremy
Clarkson the most likely columnist to entice punters to hand over
their cash, according to a new survey.
Keep reading...
12/11/2009
Queen sets out Government plans to tackle piracy
The Government finally set out its plans to cut
off illegal file-sharers in this week's Queen's Speech, but the £6
broadband tax is delayed till next year.
Keep reading...
19/11/2009
Illegal downloaders 'are music industry's biggest customers'
People who use peer-to-peer file-sharing
websites like Pirate Bay to illegally download music spend over £30
more on music per year than those who do not download illegally,
according to new research. Internet users who claim to never illegally
download music spend an average of £44 per person on music per year,
while those who do admit to illegal downloading spend £77, amounting to an estimated
£200m in revenue per year.
Keep reading...
02/11/2009
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Social networking
www.digitaltrainingacademy.com/socialmedia |
Facebook clamps down on friend-selling service
Social networking service uSocial has agreed to
stop selling groups of Facebook "friends" to clients after it was
given a cease and desist notice by the social network, but has said it
will continue selling fans.
Keep reading...
23/11/2009
Facebook lets users delete profiles
Facebook is adopting a new simplified privacy
policy which allows users to delete their profiles entirely. Comments
and other information shared with friends will remain on the site, but
deleted names will no longer be attached to the comments.
Keep reading...
20/11/2009
Twitter founder urges Murdoch to be open
Newspapers should become 'radically open' if
they want to make money in the online world, the co-founder of social
networking site Twitter has said.
Keep reading...
20/11/2009
Orange strikes Twitter TV deal
Twitter users in Europe will soon be able to
tweet to each other via their TV sets while watching entertainment and
sports shows, following a deal between Orange and the micro-blogging
service.
Keep reading...
18/11/2009
Bebo cuts UK jobs, halts web TV projects
Social networking site Bebo has been forced to
cut jobs and freeze its web TV projects such as KateModern, following
cutbacks at its parent company AOL. The move will see Bebo freezing
commissions from its web TV production arm, which has been responsible
for shows including KateModern, Sofia's Diary, The Secret World of Sam
King and The Gap Year.
Keep reading...
16/11/2009
LinkedIn and Twitter sync status updates
LinkedIn and Twitter have struck a deal that
lets users publish their status updates across both social networks
simultaneously. LinkedIn is the largest professional social network,
with 50 million members around the world who post information about
themselves, such as resumes, to help find jobs or employees, and to
stay in touch with each other.
Keep reading...
11/11/2009
Facebook wins $711m from spammer
Facebook has been awarded $711.2m in damages
relating to an anti-spam case against Internet marketer Sanford
Wallace. The site filed an anti-spamming case against Wallace in
February this year.
Keep reading...
01/11/2009
Friends Reunited begins TV ad campaign
The Friends Reunited Group is to launch a
national TV advertising campaign, promoting its three brands Friends
Reunited, Genes Reunited and Friends Reunited Dating, airing for two
weeks from the beginning of November.
Keep reading...
01/11/2009
Google begins testing social search
Google has begun testing its social search
service, which adds social network feeds from users' friends to their
search results. Unlike Microsoft's Bing-based Twitter search, Google's
Social Search includes each users' own lists of contacts from various
services to build up a network.
Keep reading...
01/11/2009
FarmVille becomes fastest growing social game online
Facebook game FarmVille has amassed 56m players
within three months of its launch to become the fastest-growing social
game on the internet. The social strategy game, created by US gaming
company Zynga, now draws 21 million users daily and 60 million monthly
worldwide.
Keep reading...
01/11/2009
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Advertising
www.DigitalStrategyConsulting.com/intelligence |
WPP sees advertising outlook 'less worse'
Advertising giant WPP saw its third-quarter
sales fall 8.7% compared to last year, but has seen an improvement on
the previous quarter. Excluding the impact of acquisitions and
currency fluctuations, sales fell by 10.5 percent in the second
quarter, the company said. It described conditions as "less worse" in
the three months to September.
Keep reading...
02/11/2009
Google lets consumers compare AdWords ads
Google has introduced a new ad format that lets
consumers compare text adverts side by side in their search results. Currently only available in the US, 'AdWords Comparison Ads'
will initially be limited to mortgages and will see a limited rollout
over the next week.
Keep reading...
05/11/2009
Google buys mobile ad firm AdMob
Google is to buy mobile advertising firm AdMob
for $750m (£449m), making the search giant the largest player in the
mobile market. AdMob specialises in selling adverts displayed on small
screens, a growing market given the popularity of smartphones such as
the iPhone and the Blackberry.
Keep reading...
10/11/2009
Internet body opens web to multiple languages
The Internet will now allow users to create web
and e-mail-addresses using non-Latin characters, opening up the Web to
billions of people around the world. The Internet Corporation for
Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann) has given the green light to the
change at its board meeting taking place in Seoul, South Korea. This
would include characters as diverse as Arabic, Korean, Hebrew,
Chinese, Greek, Hindi and Cyrillic (Russian).
Keep reading...
01/11/2009
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Ecommerce and online
retailing
www.DigitalStrategyConsulting.com/intelligence |
Top 10 retail search terms: UK
Search terms ranked by clicks for the 4 weeks ending 14th November
2009
Top 20 retail sites: UK
Search terms ranked by visits for
the week ending 14th November 2009
 Amazon speeds up payments with 'payphrase'
Amazon has launched a new online payment
service that lets users pay for goods on the internet by entering a
phrase and a PIN number. The service, called 'PayPhrase' links
two-word phrase and a four-digit PIN number to the users' credit card
and shipping details already stored on their Amazon accounts.
Keep reading...
02/11/2009
Play.com email glitch reveals personal customer data
Play.com has apologised for accidentally giving
out customers' personal details following an email error. The online
retailer sent confirmation emails to customers that hadn't placed any
orders, containing names and addresses of other Play.com customers.
Keep reading...
10/11/2009
Google launches new search product for retailers
Google has launched a search product for online
retailers, as the company looks to expand further into the ecommerce
arena. Google Commerce Search will s include Google´s spell checker,
query stemming and synonym recognition to help retailers.
Keep reading...
06/11/2009
Consumers still in the dark over online privacy rights
Consumers need more information and education
about online privacy and online behavioural advertising (OBA),
according to new research. The study, from the Internet Advertising
Bureau and business law firm Olswang, found that 72% of internet users
are unaware of online behavioural advertising - the practice used to
deliver relevant advertising based upon previous web browsing
activity.
Keep reading...
01/11/2009
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Country focus: Italy
www.DigitalStrategyConsulting.com/intelligence |
Largest internet sites: Italy
Italian audience reach for top 10 parent companies, October 2009
Internet audience: Italy
Time per person for top 10 parent
companies, Italy, October 2009
Consumer internet behaviour:
Italy
Monthly internet use: key
indicators for Italian web users, October 2009
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Mobile
www.DigitalTrainingAcademy.com/mobilemarketing |
Sky debuts live TV iPhone App
Sky has launched a live television iPhone
application letting users watch live news and sport, including live
premiership matches, TV coverage via their mobiles. The Sky Mobile TV
App uses a Wi-Fi internet connection to stream channels including Sky
Sports, Sky Sports News, Sky News, ESPN and At The Races.
Keep reading...
10/11/2009
Orange iPhone to launch next week
Orange is to launch its new iPhone range on
November 10, priced from £30 a month on a 2 year contract. The iPhone
3G and 3GS will retail in Orange shops, Orange on-line, Orange HMV
concessions, Carphone Warehouse and Phones4U from with early opening
times from 7am on November 10th, with other stores across the country
keeping their doors open until late.
Keep reading...
03/11/2009
T-Mobile gives pre-pay customers 'unlimited' web access
T-Mobile has expanded its free texts for life
scheme to now include free internet access for up to 40MB of data a
day. The move marks a further shift in the mobile market as operators
move emphasis from calls and texts towards email and internet access.
By topping up £10 each month, T-Mobile customers will be able to use
their credit solely for making calls.
Keep reading...
03/11/2009
Google unveils Android 2 mobile platform
Google has released the much anticipated
Android 2 software development kit, codenamed 'Éclair'. The new
platform features improved email and social media functions, alongside
multi-touch controls, more camera features, improved maps and a more
user friendly browser. The operating system now supports multiple
email accounts, including those of Exchange.
Keep reading...
01/11/2009
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Broadcasting
www.DigitalStrategyConsulting.com/intelligence |
YouTube's full length UK TV show channel goes live
YouTube has launched a new ad-funded channel
that lets UK viewers watch full length TV shows from more than 60
partners, including Channel 4 and ITN. YouTube has launched a new
ad-funded channel that lets UK viewers watch full length TV shows from
more than 60 partners, including Channel 4 and ITN.
Keep reading...
20/11/2009
YouTube launches channel for citizen journalists
YouTube has launched a new channel that gives
online news editors video access to footage posted by citizen
journalists and even request such video be shot by amateurs seeking
attention. 'YouTube Direct' works on a purely voluntary basis, with no
commission paid to users whose videos are used, but they will receive
credit.
Keep reading...
17/11/2009
YouTube tests skippable ads
Google is testing skippable ads on YouTube, as
the search giant looks to find new ways to monetise the video-sharing
site. The concept of the ad unit is that while users are given the
tools to skip the ads they don't want to see, when they do in fact
watch them, they will do so with more engagement.
Keep reading...
12/11/2009
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Sector focus: pharmaceutical marketing
www.DigitalStrategyConsulting.com/pharmaceutical_marketing |
Pharma web marketing: Traffic and effectiveness
Uplift in branding is high for all website visitors, slightly higher
among those typing URLs directly into browser
Pharma web marketing targets existing patients
Online marketing's greatest impact is on patients refilling their
prescriptions
Pharma brand web marketing effectiveness: US
Online ads work, rich media works better, but brand websites are best
of all
Audience reach of health websites in USA
Reach fluctuates throughout the year giving a yearly average reach of
47.6%
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Companies making the news
www.DigitalStrategyConsulting.com/intelligence |
Microsoft to pay Murdoch for News Corp search results?
Microsoft is reportedly in talks with Rupert
Murdoch's News Corp to pay the media company to remove its news
websites from Google. According to the Financial Times, Microsoft is
talking to other publishers to get them to remove themselves from
Google too.
Keep reading...
23/11/2009
Google to start ranking sites by page load times?
Google has hinted that loading time may become
a ranking factor on its search results for webpages in 2010. The move
could encourage media owners to host their websites on faster servers
to ensure they rank highly on Google. Google's Matt Cutts unveiled the
company's proposal at last week's PubCon in Las Vegas, where page
loading time was included in a list of "what to expect in 2010."
Keep reading...
17/11/2009
Haymarket shuts down Media Week and Revolution print titles
Haymarket Publishing is to close its Revolution
and Media Week magazines, as part of a major restructuring programme.
Media Week will continue online, with a full-time digital editor
taking the reins. It will be integrated into the existing Brand
Republic portal.
Keep reading...
23/11/2009
AOL looks to shed 2,500 jobs
AOL is looking to cut more than a third of its
work force as it prepares to spin off from Time Warner next month.
AOL, which now employs 6,900 workers, is asking for 2,500 volunteers
to accept buyouts and plans to resort to layoffs if it does not get
enough people.
Keep reading...
20/11/2009
Times Online ditches micro-payments for 24-hour charges
The Times has outlined plans for its online
payments model, dismissing micro-payments in favour of a 24-hour
access charge for the online version of the paper. Speaking at the
Society of Editors conference in Stansted, Essex, James Harding,
editor of the Times, said the paper would charge for 24-hour access to
that day's edition of the paper alongside a subscription model.
Keep reading...
18/11/2009
Google updates Translate service with speech tool
Google has revamped its Translate service with
a raft of new features, including a speech tool. The new-look service
features a new layout, alongside instant translation, phonetic input
and text-to-speech engine. "Instant Translation" allows the user to
see a translation of the text as they type it - in the same way as
Google can display results before a user finishes typing their query.
Keep reading...
17/11/2009
Google to give search a Caffeine boost after Xmas
Google has hinted it will soon launch Caffeine,
its much-anticipated
new search engine that is designed to offer faster and more relevant
results. The company has provided no specific launch date, but says
Caffeine should be fully deployed early in 2010.
Keep reading...
16/11/2009
eBay Skype sale gets Greenlight
The consortium of private investors looking to
buy Skype from eBay have agreed to settle litigation with the web
phone firm's founders. The settlement will see Skype's founders Niklas
Zennstrom and Janus Friis, get a 14-percent stake in the Internet
phone service in the transaction.
Keep reading...
09/11/2009
Murdoch to boycott Google entirely?
News Corp is likely to remove its content from
Google searches entirely, as the media conglomerate looks to encourage
people to pay for content online. In an interview with Sky News
Australia News Corp founder and CEO Rupert Murdoch claimed that Google
and others are stealing News Corp content.
Keep reading...
09/11/2009
Google reveals how much it knows about you
Google has bowed to user's privacy concerns by
launching an online tool that lets its account holders know how much
of their personal data the search giant holds. Google Dashboard
provides users with a single view of all the data associated with
their Google accounts.
Keep reading...
06/11/2009
Spotify offers subscription discount via Swiftcover sponsorship
Spotify has reduced its premium six-month
subscription rate for UK users from £9.99 a month to £6.49, following
a sponsorship deal with online car insurance company Swiftcover. The
special deal runs until Monday 2 November.
Keep reading...
01/11/2009
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