In a recent post at Search Engine People, Stephanie Woods reports there's been chatter lately about Google's making page-load speed an important part of its algorithm. That should come as no surprise, she notes, as usability studies have shown time and again that Web users like speed. According to Woods, here's ... more

Behaviorally targeted (BT) advertising generated on average 2.68 times the revenue per ad as non-targeted run-of-network (RON) advertising in 2009, while average CPMs for behaviorally targeted advertising were over twice (2.08 times) the average of RON CPMs, according to the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI). more

Nearly two-thirds (65%) of consumers surveyed say they referenced print or Internet Yellow Pages when looking for local business information in the previous month, according to a study by the Yellow Pages Association. more

Despite the buzz around application stores tied to specific mobile devices such as the iPhone and the BlackBerry, carrier app stores are alive and well in the US: one-half (50%) of all mobile apps consumers accessed carrier app stores at the end of 2009, according to Nielsen's new App Playbook. more

More companies seem to be realizing these days that they can use their power in the marketplace to aim for goals bigger than just bottom-line-related ones. That may be because more consumers, when buying similar products, are opting to choose ones that "give back" to a charitable cause. It's an easy way to ... more

Small business advertisers spent on average $2,149 on search advertising in the fourth quarter of 2009, up 111% from $1,018 spent in the same period a year earlier, and up 30% from the $1,658 spent in the third quarter of 2009, according to a study by WebVisible based on its ... more

When it comes to your search ad's landing page—the page that captures the imagination and clicks of your potential customers—you can't be too careful. So warns Jared Spool in a recent User Interface Engineering post that describes common pitfalls when creating landing experiences. To get the most for your search-advertising dollar, Spool recommends, ... more

If you don't think of podcasting as a mobile medium, think again! Any users with MP3 players (including smartphones) can load podcasts onto their devices and listen to them anywhere—while sitting on the subway, jogging, walking the dog, you name it. Podcasts are inexpensive to produce, and once you've loaded one onto your server, you can ... more

The global mobile applications market is forecast to reach $17.5 billion by 2012 and surpass the market for CDs (which is projected to reach $13.8 billion during the same period), according to GetJar. more

What's a Picnic (apart from the classic family activity involving a checkered tablecloth and a ton of ants)? A Picnic is a formidably large candy bar proffered by Cadbury, stuffed with caramel, wafers and nuts. But unless you're in the mood to strengthen your jaw muscles, it's not really the ... more

Total measured advertising expenditures fell 12.3% in 2009 from 2008 levels, to $125.3 billion, according to data released by Kantar Media (formerly TNS Media Intelligence). more

Cable and Network television together accounted for nearly 44% of ad spending share in December 2009 , according to recently released data from the Nielsen Company. Television's share, when including local TV, constituted some 60% of ad spending for the month. more

Over one-third (36%) of smartphone owners say they want to receive mobile grocery coupons, but only 9% have received a location-based coupon, discount code, or text message on their phone in the previous six months, according to a survey from Compete. more

Fueled by optimism about the economy and business prospects in emerging media and interactive services, mergers and acquisitions activity in media and marketing is expected to rebound in 2010, according to a survey from AdMedia Partners. more

Spending on digital advertising and marketing is forecast to reach $119.6 billion in 2010, overtaking the $111.5 billion projected for print advertising during the same period, according to a study from Outsell. more

Nearly four in ten (39%) Blackberry owners continue to prefer Apple's iPhone as their next smartphone purchase, but another one-third (34%) say they would switch to Google's Android operating system, according to a survey from Crowd Science. more

A local search strategy should include more than just a presence at Google, Yahoo and Bing, says Jay Berkowitz in an interview at the New Times blog. Search marketers should also look to the tools and trends that consumers are embracing, he advises. Here are his tips for adding the latest ... more

Point of fact: One of the most alluring things about Facebook is its infinite capacity to find us a new distraction—be it Farmville, virtual gift-giving or browsing through an old flame's recent family photo shoot (major creepiness factor, BTW). Second point of fact: Some companies know this about Facebook, and are already ... more

Unprecedented change brought on by a volatile economy and the rise of new marketing channels is creating opportunities for marketers—and leading the way for widespread adoption of emerging tactics such as social media, rich media, and mobile marketing, according to a survey of online and direct marketers by Unica and ... more

The adoption of Web-to-TV viewing is in its early stages but is slowly gaining market traction: 24% of US households have a television connected to the Internet, and the most popular types of connections are via videogame consoles, Blue-Ray systems, and Internet TVs, according to a survey from Leichtman Research ... more

A total of 32.4 billion videos were delivered to US Internet consumers in January 2010, down 2.5% from 33.2 billion in December, and nearly 173 million consumers watched online videos in January, down 2.8% from 178 million the previous month, according to comScore data. more

Although most US businesses recognize the growing influence of Hispanic consumers, over one-half (51%) of those surveyed don't market to Latino consumers in Spanish, and 82% have no plans to begin or increase existing efforts aimed at Hispanics in the next 12 months, according to a survey from Orci. more

Consumers are uneasy about the security of their personal information online: 61% of Americans say they are concerned about the amount and security of personal online data that can be accessed by search engines, such as Google or Bing, and 64% are concerned over the amount and security of personal ... more

When a salesperson talks budgets with a CEO, the chief's eyes may either light up or send sparks, depending on the news conveyed. But when a search marketer brings up budgets, the CEO may just get that deer-in-the-headlights look. That's because "few marketers explain how search can affect the goals ... more

The number of digital cinema screens around the world reached 16,405 in 2009, up 86.4% from a year earlier, with further growth expected in 2010 as digital 3D pushes the market toward a 35mm-free cinema sector, according to Screen Digest. more