Although Google won the battle, it remains to be seen how lucrative this deal will be for all the players. On the surface, it looks like a huge win for News Corp. and a way for Google to only strengthen their advertising lead. Below the surface, here are the unknowns that make me wonder about the likely outcome:
- How will the millions of MySpace users react to the addition of advertising, more than the banner ad that typically pops up? Will they figure it’s no big deal or move on to the next big social networking site?
- Does this demographic really show a tendency to click on many ads? Or, have they figured out how to tune out this sort of distraction and won’t even notice many of them? If my own teenagers are any indication, ads get little attention and very few click-through’s.
- Is there anything in it for MySpace users? I’ve read a few news stories about the deal and I haven’t seen a single mention of any sort of payment to the MySpace user is someone clicks on an ad from their page. I’m guessing the users get nothing out of the deal, so does that create any issues?
- What are the minimum traffic levels and other key metrics that weren’t released in the announcement? How achievable are the numbers and how much does Google save if they aren’t reached? Does a shortfall open the door for News Corp. to terminate the agreement and sign on with someone else?
I used to use adwords on my page that I sell a automation bot for google on and they have sence canceled me. The bot simply automates my space for bands and nightclubs
http://www.myfriendbuilder.com .
Posted by: sam | April 20, 2007 at 09:18 PM