All entries for March 2009

Google Adwords 'Broad Matching', selling clicks for bad search queries.

Writing about web page http://www.cope-technology.co.uk/services/design.htm

I have been adding filters to extract the real search terms used by Google’s broad search match visitors. See my previous entry on why I am tracking these terms.

The main aim is to quickly identify the false hits and to add more negative keywords. So for ‘harness assembly’ I had already spotted ‘horse’ as a negative keyword but missed ‘dive’.

Some of the clicks were so wide of the mark like ‘template for circuit chart in house’ for circuit design that I checked further. Template as a snyonym for design? OK, I can see this but why would the searcher click on the Ad, right? This echos back the search term but this was too long so it only shows ‘circuit design’. The ‘surface mount’ may also refer to light switches and mains power sockets but the rest is pure Gobledegook for house wiring.

The search results below reveals the problem. Sometimes even Google cannot find the right results for a search term. But Google Adwords has been finding ways to get clicks for some of these. The poor searcher will still have to refine their search after bouncing from the advertiser’s site but Google will have been paid! If you want to learn more about tracking Google follow this link.

Robert McGonigle : 25 Mar 2009 09:58 |  Tags: Broad Matched Keywords Google Adwords |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Should I trust Business Banking staff that aren't allowed to use Email?

Writing about web page http://ppcpromotion.co.uk/ethos/terms

I have been going through the pain and bureaucracy of setting up a business bank account for the Limited Company. I was on hold for a long period when a young man offered to call me back. I will be going out. Could you email the information? I asked.

He replied that he was not authorized to use external email.
Should I trust a bank that does not trust their employees who set up bank accounts?

Robert McGonigle : 25 Mar 2009 09:12 |  Tags: Business Banking Hsbc Hsbc Policies |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Music & Copyright; If compilation soundtracks still confound what chance Youtube?

Writing about web page http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7933565.stm

The dramatic brinkmanship of the bulk copyright negotiations between Youtube UK and the PRS hit the news this morning, see the BBC story.

This reminded me of the problem described in Chris Anderson’s book The Long Tail and on this Blog entry that prevents re-runs of TV series such as ‘WKRP in Cincinnati’ to be cleared because of all the music copyright problems!

I have continued to search around for CD versions of some my best-loved albums having recently found Bob Marley’s ‘Live at the Coliseum’ pressed again but the album that had evaded me the longest was FM, the soundtrack album of the film of the same name. Earlier this year I noted that many of the tracks below were being played on Radio 2.
All of these were attributed back to their original albums but this was too much of a coincidence! I went onto Amazon and found the CDs were available again in the US and bought an import copy. The track list, below, from Amazon is incomplete and in the wrong order. I had to resist putting these back in order!
Life In The Fast Lane, Do It Again, Lido Shuffle, It Keeps You Runnin’, Your Smiling Face, Life’s Been Good, We Will Rock You, FM (Reprise), Night Moves, Fly Like An Eagle, Cold As Ice, Breakdown, Bad Man, Tumbling Dice, Poor Poor Pitiful Me, Livingston Saturday, There’s A Place, Way You Are

The deal being sought by Google’s Youtube is important for the Web 2.0 creative sites such as Animoto. The main creative constraint to creating the movie you want is music copyright. One of my companies, LickWorX creates a large amount of original music to match any sound you want. To discover Geoff Nicholls, composer and musician, also a back-stage and occasionally on-stage member of Black Sabbath, was a founder of LickWorx has just added to the sense of fun it has been to work with them.

Robert McGonigle : 10 Mar 2009 10:12 |  Tags: Animoto FM Soundtrack Geoff Nichols Lickworx Music Copyright |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem