Online Advertising

As recently as just a few years ago, consumers had a limited set of research options when they were looking to make an informed product purchase. They may have done a Google search to learn where to buy the product or noticed an advertisement and visited a store to speak with a sales rep about it. F...

Consumers are clearly intrigued by Google+. Following closely on their heels are companies, eager to tap what looks to be the next big trend in social media. Indeed, companies are waiting with bated breath for more details about what Google+ means for them -- that is, what advertising vehicles will ...

Google was notified by the Federal Trade Commission on Thursday that a broad formal investigation will be launched. Google respects the FTC's process, it said in a blog post, and will be working with the agency over the coming months. The FTC's Bureau of Competition reportedly will issue subpoenas t...

Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz and company board members addressed investors Thursday at the company's annual shareholder meeting. Despite majority support for Bartz and other board members, a certain level of discontent was palpable among investors, and one particular shareholder called for an end to Bartz'...

Google announced Monday it's moved to buy online advertising company Admeld, another purchase in what appears to be the search engine giant's move toward the display ad market. Neither company disclosed the cost of the purchase, but reports suggest Google paid about $400 million to acquire Admeld. W...

Spending on online advertising is expected to jump 20.2 percent over last year's spending, according to new figures from eMarketer. If this category of ad spend does indeed reach $31.3 billion, as the company has projected, it will return to pre-recession growth levels and be accompanied by steady i...

Mobile-connected devices allow users to browse where desktop computers can't go, thus increasing the amount of online connectivity for many consumers. This could make a major difference in how marketers choose to reach consumers online. A Nielson report released last week details just how customers ...

Google has set aside a cool half-billion dollars to cover any penalties related to AdWords postings for illegal drugs. The search giant reportedly is nearing a settlement with the DoJ in a criminal investigation into allegations it made hundreds of millions of dollars by accepting ads from online ph...

Courts and regulators have recently made life more complicated for Google, impacting millions of Google users worldwide. Notwithstanding Google's $29 billion revenue performance in 2010, new challenges continue to plague the company. As you may know, Google planned to digitize millions of books. In ...

"Convergence" is a popular term in information technology. It generally refers to the meshing of separate technology platforms -- telephones, computers and televisions, for instance -- to give users multiple options for accessing information. Convergence is what allows us get some of the same shows ...

Video-on-demand website Hulu is embroiled in internal struggles over its business model. The site is a pioneer in Internet video when it was launched by TV networks in 2008, streaming recent episodes of popular TV shows, along with a limited number of commercials, to computers and other devices. Hul...

Facebook is ready to flex its advertising muscles. On Monday, Facebook's business director, Dan Rose, addressed attendees of the DLD media conference in Munich, speaking of the success of social games on Facebook from developers like Zynga and opportunities to expand its advertising to its 500 milli...

The U.S. Commerce Department's proposed federal Internet privacy rules are a giveaway to data collectors, according to some consumer groups. Other critics say they could spell the end of the free Internet. The Commerce Department wants to create an online privacy bill of rights and a code of conduct...

Facebook brushed itself up with a new makeover Sunday, this time focusing on the layout of members' profile screens. Users' profile pages now begin with a snapshot of information about themselves and feature recently tagged photos of the user. Facebook users can list their activities and include fri...

Google is tightening its copyright and piracy protection procedures, instituting new measures that will facilitate Digital Millennium Copyright Act takedown requests and will better oversee search advertisers that use copyrighted or trademarked terms. Specifically, Google will roll out four changes:...