Google has just released major changes to their AdWords platform that is set to heavily influence the way video advertising is purchased in the future. Just as Google has done with targeted online advertising through Google AdWords in the past, so they are set to do with video advertising from here on.

Much like the paid search that Google currently spearheads, the new AdWords for Video imitates that bidding model to allow for more affordable advertising and much more targeted video whether you’re an advertising agency or a small start-up doing in-house marketing. Perhaps the most significant change here is that advertisers will be able to target around ten times more users based on their demographics.

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Facebook has recently acquired the mobile photo sharing application Instagram for a record $1 billion dollars, which has left many commentators scratching their heads as to why the price tag was so high. Clearly this decision was not made on a whim by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, but possibly indicates that the leading social networking site plans to take on a new direction, and mobile photo sharing is part of the plan.

According to figures, Facebook users are increasingly accessing the site and making use of its features via mobile devices and in a public statement Facebook admitted that it needs to build its mobile strategy. Instagram already has a large user base of over 25 million worldwide, making it the largest social network on the mobile platform. However, even though Instagram has great online success, it is a relatively small company with only thirteen employees and currently has no incoming revenue. Facebook’s real interest in Instragram is its photo sharing capabilities, which highlights the significance of photo sharing in the online social experience, something that Facebook hopes to capitalise on.

As part of the Yahoo and Microsoft merger commonly known as the ‘Search Alliance’, the process of migrating all Yahoo Search Marketing accounts to Microsoft adCenter has finally started in the United Kingdom. The merger will see Yahoo’s search engine powered by Microsoft’s Bing. This migration has already been completed in the United States, Canada and India and the service will be fully incorporated and available to UK advertisers by 19th March 2012. The Microsoft ad platform currently accounts for only 6 – 7% of all UK search traffic, which is an interesting prospect for advertisers. However, sceptics doubt that this progression of the Yahoo Microsoft Search Alliance will have any impact on Google’s market share, who enjoy over 90% of all search queries in the United Kingdom. Below we examine how the merger will affect the search marketing industry and advertisers.

The last week of November marked an auspicious event for the MediaVision team- the annual end-of-year celebration. The much anticipated weekend trip to the Breede River was not only a reward for all the hard work of a busy and successful 2011, but encompassed the company ethos of maintaining spirited and passionate staff members to ensure only the highest quality of work is produced. The directors, Louis, Thomas, Brett and Melissa go to great lengths to ensure that the MediaVision team works as a single motivated unit, extending work activities after hours, much to the appreciation of the employees. After all, for a search marketing and SEO team to succeed as we do, individuals must be passionate, creative, willing to share ideas and of course, enthusiastic about simply coming to work in the morning.

As copywriters entering a new year we need to take a look at how the internet has changed in 2010 and what this means for 2011. Online writing is a crucial aspect of the internet – while a picture may tell a thousand words, sometime it takes words to explain something more clearly.  Various groups have put forward their predictions for what is in store for online writing in 2011, and how this will affect search marketing services. Below are some predictions:

If you ever had a mother that was slightly obsessed with manners (which my mother definitely was) there is no doubt that you have been taught a certain degree of etiquette. From saying please and thank you to not putting your elbows on the table, etiquette is expected and respected in a vast majority of social circles. Just as we exercise etiquette amongst our friends and family, so should we exercise a degree of etiquette with our social media strategy as a part of our brand. Do you bring politeness and etiquette into your social media brand strategy or do you prefer to turn your nose up at the need for manners?

So if you haven’t already heard, Twitter has recently bought over and now has the rights to their very own web analytics company, Smallthought Systems. Through this, it is likely that Twitter will soon offer their own analytics service and this recent business move has brought the issue of Twitter analytics to the forefront.

There has been an ongoing debate as to whether acquiring a Twitter analytics package or system is worth it as many feel that free tools and general knowledge will let you do your own analytics for free. There is however a few Twitter analytics packages that will help you track as well as store and save all your related Twitter information under one roof.

Kids are growing up a lot quicker these days. I am still surprised when I spot a 10 year old girl with a full face of make up on, chatting away on her mobile telephone. I always wonder what they are talking about – what can so important that it cannot wait until school starts the next day? I am sure though that I could learn a thing or two from someone 15 years younger than me when it comes to computer technology and social networking because as much as I am connected to the social networking scene, I am sure these kids have tumbled further down the rabbit hole. If kids are walking around with mobile phones attached to their ears 24/7, there is no doubt that they are constantly connected to social networking sites just as much. The issue of social networking safety has always been a prominent one and even though the age requirement for logging onto Facebook is 13, there is no stopping young children connecting to their favourite social networking site and interacting with others who are much, much older.