Display ad revenues have doubled in the last two years says Google CEO Larry Page who reported a 25% increase in all fourth-quarter revenue, citing a strong holiday season for Search and Mobile advertising.

The Zagat ratings on Google Local will translate well for Santa Rosa which has considerable tourist traffic. Visitors want to know what the locals recommend. Click headline for more…

New Google ad formats like “click-to-call” for smartphones shows custom phone numbers like 1-800-FLOWERS. A click on the mobile ad always generates a phone call, it never goes to the website. Perfect for take-out food and towing services! Click headline to read more!

Google’s Strategy with Boost Setting up Google AdWords advertising is wicked hard. Two months ago I taught a four hour class to 20 business owners at Santa Rosa Junior College on AdWords and even though every student left with an active Google AdWords account, the amount of material that needed to be covered in such [...]

Great advertising will drive clicks to your website. If the website is weak, the clicks won’t turn into customers. Visitors have to say, “Yes! This is what I’ve been looking for!” I can create a sensational ad campaign, but the money will be wasted if the website does not convert visitors to customers. How do [...]

The number of frauds and the rate of scamming has jumped recently. Google is now permanently banning any AdWords advertiser running a scam or linking to a website that places malicious code on your computer (malware). In the past, Google relied on algorithm-based fraud prevention, but that is changing. If Google detects fraud in an [...]

Google’s policy is to allow any advertiser to buy keywords that include their competitor’s trademark. This has triggered an class action suit against Google, according to the New York Times article by Michael Helft. In the past, Google has sometimes disapproved ads that use the competitors name in the text when the trademark holder has [...]

While many advertisers target high school and college students, older consumers have more spending money. “We advertise to an audience that has assets, not allowances,” bragged Henry Schleiff, head of Hallmark TV, in a NYTimes article noting that demographic shifts and a recession are making older consumers — long shunned in favor of free-spending, younger [...]

After a weekend of intense negotiations to hammer out an agreement acceptable to government regulators, Google and Yahoo learned Wednesday that the officials intended to file a lawsuit. Google chose to walk away from the deal, sparking rumors that the Microsoft bid was again on the table.