Gasta.com Shopping Channel

Why Gasta.com search network is important to advertisers

2012-01-26T06:31:00.000-08:00

This brilliant article by Elisa Gabbert Why Gasta.com search network is important to advertisers

Paid Search Marketing

What Kinds of Businesses Should Use PPC Advertising?
By Elisa Gabbert January 25, 2012 Posted In: Paid Search Marketing Comments: 0
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On Monday we published a new infographic based on original research into the industries that spent the most money on Google advertising last year, contributing to Google’s 2011 revenues of $37.9 billion, 96% of which came from advertising.
Following up on those results, we wanted to share some advice for new or hopeful AdWords advertisers – namely, what kinds of businesses are finding great success with AdWords and other pay-per-click (PPC) advertising platforms? What types of characteristics could make your business a good match for PPC?
Below are five traits of businesses that usually see great results and strong ROI from paid search marketing. If any of these apply to your company and you’re not yet engaging in PPC, this marketing channel is worth investigating.
High Customer Lifetime Values
Some industries can afford to spend quite a bit acquiring new leads and customers because the lifetime value of a new client is so high. For example:
• Dentists, doctors, etc. – When a dentist acquires a new client, they can potentially be worth thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars over the course of many years, especially if they go on to refer more clients.
• Colleges & online degree programs – University of Phoenix, ITT and DeVry spend a lot on PPC because a new student is worth a lot over the course of his/her education. The same applies for other types of training programs.
• Cable and Internet providers, utilities – People tend to stick with one provider of phone, cable, or Internet service and pay that monthly bill for a long time. Any recurring service (subscription-based software, for example) could fit the same model.
High Margins
Sometimes it’s not about “lifetime value” so much as the high margins on a single purchase. Think relatively big ticket items like:
• Lawsuits – A lawyer can make a lot of money off a single case, which is why keywords like “personal injury lawyer” are so expensive – even if that client only needs your services for the one lawsuit, the margins can be very high.
• Repair jobs – Some kinds of home repair can be very expensive (roof repair, new pipes, etc.), so catching someone who needs this kind of work done can be a big win.
• Computer equipment – Servers, copiers, etc.
• Home Appliances – These days people usually comparison-shop online before buying something like a washer and dryer. Same goes for purchases like mattresses and large furniture.
• Cars – We've seen used car franchises have a lot of success with geo-targeted PPC.
Hard-to-Find Products
If your e-commerce business carries products that aren’t easy to find just by walking into a Wal-Mart, you’re probably a good candidate for PPC advertising. People often use search engines to find weird items that aren’t carried in many brick and mortar stores, such as unusual hobby supplies or rare records. (One weird purchase I made recently was a bunch of empty perfume sample vials.)

Diverse Array of Products
Retailers like Amazon (which spent over $55 million on AdWords in 2011) and eBay ($42.8 million) that carry a wide array of products have found a lot of success with PPC. Often, retailers like this advertise on tens of thousands of keywords, paying a small amount per click by bidding on long-tail keywords or using dynamic keyword insertion. Long-tail keywords have lower competition and, accordingly, lower costs per click, so advertisers can turn a profit even on lower-cost items.

The above ad from Lee.com, which showed up on a search for “black skinny jeans,” is almost certainly using dynamic keyword insertion to feature the exact search phrase as the ad headline. (The generic ad text is the tipoff.)
Seasonal or Event-Based Value
Florists love PPC because most people don’t send flowers very often – they look for a florist at the last minute when they need to send a floral arrangement for a funeral or an anniversary. That’s why 1-800-Flowers spent more than $30 million on AdWords last year. Some other businesses that can use PPC to attract seasonal or event-based traffic include:
• Gift baskets
• Costumes (concentrate your spend around Halloween!)
• Wedding registries

Top Twenty Gasta Shopping terms

2011-09-10T08:18:00.000-07:00

2011-07-05T08:20:00.000-07:00

Adzones for Gasta search network

2010-11-13T07:27:00.000-08:00

Full List of Gasta search network sites for UK/Ireland search & shopping 217 websites:-

* americanos.gasta.com
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* ukproperty.net
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* westbelfastonline.com
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http://www.gasta.com/Shopping/

2010-11-13T07:24:00.000-08:00

Gasta search network UK now offering great shopping mart for all your online shopping needs in UK and Ireland http://www.gasta.com/Shopping/

Gasta Tech Update: Vanessa Newkirk

2010-04-29T07:12:00.001-07:00

The ways that consumers initiate their digital experiences and engage with brands are evolving. For the last 10 years, search engines reigned supreme as the way users navigated their online travels. But social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are encroaching on the search engines' dominance as an entryway to the internet and brands.SEM and social media: Bridging engagement and performance

Like SEO, SEM is an effective means for extending and complementing social media efforts. Coordinating SEM and social media strategies ensures that marketers are able to capitalize when the buzz generated from various social media platforms drives users to engage with search engines.

Consumer interaction and engagement are at the core of social media, and this is where brand insights and trends can emerge. While search engines are incorporating real-time information from social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, it is important for brand marketers and agencies to examine the consumer-generated content in terms of insights and trends that they can potentially layer into their search (as well as display) media strategies.

Just as the use of SEO and SEM can help validate a brand, the integration of SEM and social media results can help increase relevancy and validate brand and consumer values by recognizing their interactions in the social sphere and continuing the "relationship" on brand properties. The social space is all about creating brand fans by forging relationships with consumers and providing them with opportunities to engage in more robust ways than more traditional two-dimensional digital media tactics (like paid search and display) can achieve.

The search engine space is about providing relevant results to what the consumer is looking for. Creating bridges between the two strategies based on content data, trends, and insights helps foster post-social-engagement, deepen brand relationships, and facilitate the conversion process.

Putting all the pieces together
Creating a holistic digital media campaign is the ultimate goal, because it allows brands to close the loop between social engagement, which spurs brand affinity and customer retention, and search engine marketing, which is the most common way users start down a conversion path.

Noticing how the various channels affect one another is the critical first path to success. While SEO and social media are structured around long-term strategies, SEM is typically more focused on the short-term conversion-based path.

The ways that consumers initiate their digital experiences and engage with brands are evolving. For the last 10 years, search engines reigned supreme as the way users navigated their online travels. But social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are encroaching on the search engines' dominance as an entryway to the internet and brands.

As technology advances and consumers continue to evolve digitally, their online behavior changes -- it's up to marketers to follow suit if they want to reach and engage with their desired consumer base. Marketers must look at ways to integrate and optimize their digital marketing and media mix to reach and engage with consumers while supporting their business goals. This article will explore ways in which the social and search channels can work together to optimize both conversion performance and consumer engagement with your brand.

Social media and SEO: Finding common ground
Social media and search engine optimization (SEO) have competing goals. One aims to pull users to a designated website, while the other enables and encourages conversations and interactions on third-party properties. To unite these two goals, marketers need to find the common ground between the two, which is the content created and shared between marketers and consumers.

Using social media marketing and search engine optimization together enables marketers to capitalize on instances in which social interactions become search queries. In this era of real-time search results, the ability to capture this intersection point is of growing importance. Consider the use of Twitter. Users who follow more than a handful of people (and brands) will likely have difficulty recalling a message or sponsored tweet. In search of information, consumers typically turn to search engines. If you don't have a search engine marketing plan in place to capture the users exposed to your social media efforts, you're missing valuable opportunities.

The beauty of social media is that it inherently creates sound bites and memorable slogans; for example, if you're running a promotion via a social platform, you want to anticipate the keywords consumers are going to use in their queries and build the appropriate website content needed to stay relevant for those search terms.

SEO and SEM: Enhancing synergies
The connections between SEO and paid search are solid. Beyond their proximity in search engine results pages, the two work together to build relevancy for consumer queries. For example, if a consumer is searching for "Brand X Widget Y" and they see both paid and unpaid results, they are reassured that those links relate to their query and will lead them to the most relevant page.

When the two strategies work together, they also provide marketers the opportunity to direct users in a highly targeted manner. Depending on the product or service query, it might make more sense to lead consumers through a higher funnel process page (such as a homepage). In other instances, it might make more sense to send users to a page that enables a deeper product or service experience. Using both paid and organic search strategies together enables marketers to cover all the bases by supporting various approaches in information seeking and/or purchase decisions differently while serving as way to build their SEO reputation in the process.

In strategically viewing and planning these three channels together for both the long- and short-term, marketers and agencies will be able to see gaps and anticipate opportunities to influence results. While integrated strategies are planned in advance of a campaign or initiative, certain levers of paid search and social media can be adjusted "in market" to respond to evolving consumer behavior and preferences. Search and social platforms can be utilized not only to map and respond to trends, but also to reevaluate SEO strategies to ensure performance traction is gained and present at the search engine level.

What lies ahead for digital media campaigns?
Industry experts are touting 2010 as the year of mobile. With the continued adoption of 3G devices and advances in technology, we see tremendous opportunity for brands to build connection points with consumers on this platform. Social media is proving to be the most readily adopted digital media channel in the mobile space by consumers. It is no surprise that the marketing platforms and extensions for brands are following.

Mobile forum applications like Foursquare show that users are embracing the opportunity to update their profiles or announce their locations to their social followers, so brands should seek to position and integrate the right message at the right time and place (or in the right context).

While other forms of mobile marketing, such as search, are not as widely adopted, people still seek information on the go. So, while SEO and SEM may be overshadowed by the lure of apps and other slicker forms of mobile advertising, the search components of mobile should be considered part of the overall strategy, just as mobile is an extension of the digital platform.

Vanessa Newkirk is VP of media services for Geary Interactive.

Gasta Tech Update: Vanessa Newkirk

2010-04-29T07:12:00.000-07:00

Gasta Tech Update : Investments

2010-04-25T06:30:00.000-07:00

Traders should remain cautious.

In an incredible show of resiliency, the markets shrugged off another threat of a deeper correction and headed once again to new highs. The bears have to be extremely frustrated by now as each bout of selling has been quickly absorbed by buyers. The bears have been unable to string together more than two days of selling for several weeks now as the markets relentlessly stair step higher. While the markets continue to climb, some market leaders, such as Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (Nasdaq:GMCR) and Amazon.com(Nasdaq:AMZN), are starting to falter. As mentioned last week, the markets are showing some negative divergences and it’s clear that this rally has been losing momentum. This is normal for a rally that has gone uncorrected for several weeks. The markets will pull back at some point, and traders should remain cautious.

The S&P 500, as represented by the S&P 500 SPDRS (NYSE:SPY), was able to get to marginal new highs on Friday, as it cleared the highs set earlier this month. Despite the strength shown in SPY by erasing last week’s distribution day, SPY appears to be in more of a consolidation than a breakout move higher. Volatility is starting to increase a bit and volume is starting to increase without significant price advance. This is typically showing distribution, so traders should remain on alert over the next few sessions. One possible level to watch is the closing relation of SPY to its 20-day moving average. SPY has respected this average recently and a close beneath it would imply weakness.

Source: StockCharts.com

The Diamonds Trust, Series 1 (NYSE:DIA) ETF, which tracks the Dow Jones Industrial Average, is showing a very similar pattern to SPY. It has managed to clear its prior highs, although not by much. DIA is sitting at new highs while its MACD indicator remains at its lowest level in several weeks. This is an example of a negative divergence, and simply points out that a trend move may be losing momentum. While this is not a reversal signal, it does warn a trader that the move is getting long in the tooth.

Source: StockCharts.com

The chart for the Powershares QQQ ETF (Nasdaq:QQQQ) is also showing a similar divergence, although it has managed to clear its prior high by a wider margin than SPY and DIA. The $50 level was the area to watch, and QQQQ was able to successfully hold this level on a weekly closing basis. Some tech leaders such as Google (Nasdaq:GOOG) and Amazon.com are beginning to lag, so traders should closely watch Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL) as the highest profile tech leader still acting strongly. If AAPL begins to falter, it would surely have an impact on QQQQ and the rest of the sector.

Source: StockCharts.com

The Russell 2000, as represented by the iShares Russell 2000 Index (NYSE:IWM) ETF, has continued to maintain its leadership role as IWM cleared its prior highs before other market index ETFs and closed well above them as well. IWM is once again much extended from its 20-day moving average and as such, traders should be cautious about entering new trades in this space right now. However, despite being overbought, IWM continues to show the strongest structure of the market index ETFs and even the negative divergence in its technical indicators is not as pronounced as the others.

Source: StockCharts.com

Bottom Line
As mentioned last week, the fallout following the Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) fraud charge was only a single distribution day until proven otherwise. The markets responded quite strongly by quickly negating the weakness and trading to new highs this week. The current rally is reminding me of the tail end of the financial crisis, when traders couldn’t believe how the market was dropping every day - only this time, the market's going up! Ultimately, the markets will need to correct, and this will likely happen when the majority of traders decide that buying the dip is foolproof. While traders should always be cautious and stick to their plans, this becomes even more important when the markets begin to trade at extremes. This is when fear of missing a move becomes most likely as traders see stocks rallying day in and day out. While it’s definitely possible that the markets can continue to rally unabated, the current environment is vulnerable to violent shakeouts, and traders should account for this in their trading plans. By sticking to high-quality setups, traders can continue to take advantage of the great market environment, while avoiding a disaster on a reversal.

By Joey Fundora

Joey Fundora is an independent trader located in South Florida. Joey focuses on using technical analysis techniques to uncover supply and demand imbalances in equities. To see more of his work, visit his site on

Investopedia on Gasta.com

2010-02-11T14:04:00.000-08:00

Gasta.com Get The Financial Edge!
Whether it's a buyer's market or a seller's market, all homebuyers have one thing in common: they don't want to get ripped off. But how do you know if you're getting a fair deal on the home you're prepared to place an offer on? Read on to find out how to evaluate the price of any home so you can make a sound investment decision.

1. Research Recently Sold, Comparable Properties
A comparable property is one that is similar in size, condition, neighborhood and amenities. One 1,200-square-foot, recently remodeled, one-story home with an attached garage should be listed at roughly the same price as a similar 1,200-square-foot home in the same neighborhood. That said, you can also gain valuable information by looking at how the property you're interested in compares in price to different properties. Is it considerably less expensive than larger or nicer properties? Is it more expensive than smaller or less attractive properties? Your real estate agent is the best source of accurate, up-to-date information on comparable properties (also known as "comps"). You can also look at comps that are currently in escrow, meaning that the property has a buyer but the sale is not yet complete.

2. Check Out Comparable Properties That Are Currently on the Market
In this case, you can actually visit other homes and get a true sense of how their size, condition and amenities compare to the property you're considering buying. Then you can compare prices and see what seems fair. Reasonable sellers know that they must price their properties similarly to market comparables if they want to be competitive.

3. Look at Comparables That Were on the Market Recently but Didn't Sell
If the house you're considering buying is priced similarly to homes that were taken off the market because they didn't sell, the property you're considering may be overpriced. Also, if there are a lot of similar properties on the market, prices should be lower, especially if those properties are vacant. Check out the unsold inventory index for information about current supply and demand in the housing market. This index attempts to measure how long it will take for all the homes currently on the market to be sold given the rate at which homes are currently selling. (For further reading, see Selling Your Home In A Down Market.)

4. Consider Market Conditions and Appreciation Rates in the Area
Have prices been going up recently or going down? In a seller's market, properties will probably be somewhat overpriced, and in a buyer's market, properties are apt to be underpriced. It all depends on where the market currently sits on the real estate boom-and-bust curve. Even in a seller's market, properties may not be overpriced if the market is on the upswing and not near its peak. Conversely, properties can be overpriced even in a buyer's market if prices have only recently begun to decline. Of course, it can be difficult to see the peaks and valleys until they're history. Also consider the impact of mortgage interest rates and the job market on the economy. (Knowing your mortgage choices is important. For more information, read Shopping For A Mortgage .)

5. Are You Buying a For-Sale-by-Owner Property?
A for-sale-by-owner (FSBO) property should be discounted to reflect the fact that there is no 6% (on average) seller's agent commission, something that many sellers don't take into consideration when setting their prices. Another potential problem with FSBOs is that the seller may not have had an agent's guidance in setting a reasonable price in the first place, or may have been so unhappy with an agent's suggestion as to decide to go it alone. In any of these situations, the property may be overpriced.

6. What Is the Expected Appreciation for the Area?
The future prospects for your chosen neighborhood can have an impact on price. If positive development is planned, such as a major mall being built, the extension of light rail to the neighborhood, or a large new company moving to the area, the prospects of future home appreciation look good. Even small developments like plans to add more roads or build a new school can be a good sign. On the other hand, if grocery stores and gas stations are closing down, the home price should be lower to reflect that, and you should probably reconsider moving to the area. The development of new housing can go either way - it can mean that the area is hot and is likely to be in high demand in the future, increasing your home's value, or it can result in a surplus of housing, which will lower the value of all the homes in the area.

7. What Is Your Real Estate Agent's Opinion?
Without even analyzing the data, your real estate agent is likely to have a good gut sense (thanks to experience) of whether the property is priced appropriately or not and what a fair offering price might be.
8. Does the Price Feel Fair to You?
If you're not happy with the property, the price will never seem fair, even if you get a bargain. Even if you pay a little over market value for a home you love, in the end, you won't really care.

9. Test the Waters
Even in a seller's market, you can always offer below list price just to see how the seller reacts. Some sellers list properties for the lowest price they're willing to take because they don't want to negotiate, while others list their homes for higher than they expect to earn because they expect to negotiate downward or they want to see if someone will make an offer at the higher price. If the seller accepts your price or counteroffer, you'll get an indication that the property probably wasn't worth what it was listed for and you have a good chance at getting a fair deal. On the other hand, some sellers may underprice their properties in the hope of generating lots of interest and sparking a bidding war. Unlike on eBay, however, the seller doesn't have to simply sell to the highest bidder: sellers can reject any and all offers that don't meet their expectations. If you have your heart set on the property, be warned that some sellers may be offended by lowball offers and refuse to work with you if you chose to employ such a tactic. Also, when you offer less than the list price, you may increase your risk of being outbid by another buyer. (For strategies that will help you to come out on top in any negotiation, read Getting What You Want.)

10. Get an Appraised Value and a Home Inspection
Once you're under contract, the lender will have an appraisal of the property done (usually at your expense) to protect its financial interests. The lender wants to make sure that if you stop making your mortgage payments, it'll be able to get a reasonable amount of its money back when it forecloses on your home. If the appraisal comes in at considerably less than your offering price, you may not be getting a fair deal. In fact, the lender may not even let you purchase the home unless the seller is willing to bring the price down. A home inspection, which is completed after you're under contract, will also give you a way to gauge your offering price. If the home needs many expensive repairs, you'll want to ask the seller to make the repairs for you or discount the purchase price so you can make them yourself.

Conclusion
When you're shopping for a home, it's important to understand how homes are priced so you can make a sound investment and reach a fair agreement with the seller. Using these tips, you'll be able to make a confident and well-informed offer on any home in any market.

Gasta Investing advice from Berkshire Hathaway

2010-02-05T14:15:00.000-08:00

5 Investing Statements That Make You Sound Stupid
Some people love to talk stocks, and some people love to laugh at those people when they try to sound smart and important but don't know what they're talking about. If you want to be a part of group No. 1 and avoid being the brunt of the jokes from group No. 2, you've come to the right place. This article will help you sound knowledgeable and wise while talking about the market. Here are five things you shouldn't say, why you shouldn't say them and what an experienced investor would have said instead.

Statement No. 1: "My investment in Company X is a sure thing."
Misconception: If a company is hot, you'll definitely see great returns by investing in it.

Explanation: No investment is a sure thing. Any company can have serious problems that are hidden from investors. Many big-name companies - Enron, WorldCom, Adelphia and Global Crossing, to name a few - have fallen. Even the most financially sound company with the best management could be struck by an uncontrollable disaster or a major change in the marketplace, such as a new competitor or a change in technology. Further, if you buy a stock when it's hot, it might be overvalued, which makes it harder to get a good return. To protect yourself from disaster, diversify your investments. This is particularly important if you choose to invest in individual stocks instead of or in addition to already-diversified mutual funds. To further improve your returns and reduce your risk when investing in individual stocks, learn how to identify companies that may not be glamorous, but that offer long-term value.(To learn about other "sure things" that went bad, read The Biggest Stock Scams of All Time.)

What an experienced investor would say: "I'm willing to bet that my investment in Company X will do great, but to be on the safe side I've only put 5% of my savings in it."

Statement No. 2: "I would never buy stocks now because the market is doing terribly."
Misconception: It's not a good idea to invest in something that is currently declining in price.

Explanation: If the stocks you're purchasing still have stable fundamentals, then their currently low prices are likely only a reflection of short-term investor fear. In this case, look at the stocks you're interested in as if they're on sale. Take advantage of their temporarily lower prices and buy up. But do your due diligence first to find out why a stock's price has been driven down. Make sure it's just market doldrums and not a more serious problem. Remember that the stock market is cyclical, and just because most people are panic selling doesn't mean you should, too. (To learn more read, What Are Fundamentals? and Buy When There's Blood In The Streets.)

What an experienced investor would say: "I'm getting great deals on stocks right now since the market is tanking. I'm going to love myself for this in a few years when things have turned around and stock prices have rebounded."

Statement No. 3: "I just hired a great new broker, and I'm sure to beat the market."
Misconception: Actively-managed investments do better than passively managed investments.

Explanation: Actively-managed portfolios tend to underperform the market for several reasons. Here are three important ones:

1. Whenever you make a trade, you must pay a commission. Even most online discount brokerage companies charge a fee of at least $5 per trade, and that's with you doing the work yourself. If you've hired an actual broker to do the work for you, your fees will be significantly higher and may also include advisory fees. These fees add up over time, eating into your returns.
2. There is the risk that your broker might mismanage your portfolio. Brokers can pad their own pockets by engaging in excessive trading to increase commissions or choosing investments that aren't appropriate for your goals just to receive a company incentive or bonus. While this behavior is not ethical, it still happens.
3. The odds are slim that you can find a broker who can actually beat the market consistently if you don't have a few hundred thousand dollars to manage.

Instead of hiring a broker who, because of the way the business is structured, may make decisions that aren't in your best interests, hire a fee-only financial planner. These planners don't make any money off of your investment decisions; they only receive an hourly fee for their expert advice. (To learn more, Understanding Dishonest Broker Tactics and Words From The Wise On Active Management.)

What an experienced investor would say: "Now that I've hired a fee-only financial planner, my net worth will increase since I'll have an unbiased professional helping me make sound investment decisions."

Statement No. 4: "My investments are well-diversified because I own a mutual fund that tracks the S&P 500."
Misconception: Investing in a lot of stocks makes you well-diversified.

Explanation: This isn't a bad start - owning shares of 500 stocks is better than owning just a few stocks. However, to have a truly diversified portfolio, you'll want to branch out into other asset classes, like bonds, treasuries, money market funds, international stock mutual funds or exchange traded funds (ETF). Since the S&P 500 stocks are all large-cap stocks, you can diversify even further and potentially boost your overall returns by investing in a small-cap index fund or ETF. Owning a mutual fund that holds several stocks helps diversify the stock portion of a portfolio, but owning securities in several asset classes helps diversify the complete portfolio. (To get started, read Diversification Beyond Equities and Diversification: It's All About (Asset) Class.)

What an experienced investor would say: "I've diversified the stock component of my portfolio by buying an index fund that tracks the S&P 500, but that's just one component of my portfolio."

Statement No. 5: "I made $1,000 in the stock market today."
Misconception: You make money when your investments go up in value and you lose money when they go down.

Explanation: If your gain is only on paper, you haven't gained any money. Nothing is set in stone until you actually sell. That's yet another reason why you don't need to worry too much about cyclical declines in the stock market - if you hang onto your investments, there's a very good chance that they'll go up in value. And if you're a long-term investor, you'll have plenty of good opportunities over the years to sell at a profit. Better yet, if current tax law remains unchanged, you'll be taxed at a lower rate on the gains from your long-term investments, allowing you to keep more of your profit. Portfolio values fluctuate constantly but gains and losses are not realized until you act upon the fluctuations.

What an experienced investor would say: "The value of my portfolio went up $1,000 today - I guess it was a good day in the market, but it doesn't really affect me since I'm not selling anytime soon."

Conclusion
Conclusion
These misconceptions are so widespread that even your smartest friends and acquaintances are likely to reference at least one of them from time to time. They may even tell you you're wrong if you try to correct them. Of course, in the end, the most important thing when it comes to your investments isn't looking or sounding smart, but actually being smart. Avoid making the mistakes described in these five verbal blunders and you'll be on the right path to higher returns.

Group: Search Engine Land

2010-01-26T07:39:00.000-08:00

Gasta shopping announcement Group: Search Engine Land
Subject: Search Engine Land Announcement: SMX West Rate Increase Jan 30
The Early Bird Rate for Search Marketing Expo – SMX West expires Saturday, January 30th. Register now and save up to $350 on your All Access ticket. Why should you attend SMX West? Read on...

- More than 150 of the world’s most knowledgeable speakers will present at SMX West. They’re selected based on ability AND willingness to share the tactics and strategies that made them successful. See who’s speaking in addition to featured keynote Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO. http://searchmarketingexpo.com/west/2010/speakers

- With 50+ sessions and multiple tracks, you’ll find exceptional content you need to become a more effective, innovative and inspired internet marketer. Check out the agenda: http://searchmarketingexpo.com/west/2010/agenda-at-a-glance

- The ideal assortment of networking opportunities to renew industry connections and make new ones. Come meet your next client, vendor, partner, employee (or employer) at SMX West. There’s no better place to grow your professional network.

Join us March 2-4 in Santa Clara, CA. Register today and pay only $1245 for a three-day All Access pass. Remember, early bird rates end January 30. Don’t miss out! Register at http://searchmarketingexpo.com/west/2010/register

PS: Interested in sending the whole team? You save an additional 20-35% when registering at least three people. Check out our attractive group registration rates.

New Figures on Gasta shopping channel

2009-08-21T07:04:00.000-07:00

Gasta Shopping Channel record sales for July :

Did you know that a whopping 83% of consumers say that customer reviews influence their online purchasing decisions? Or that... 70% of online shoppers actively seek out customer reviews before they buy

More than half of US online shoppers surveyed, read user reviews as part of their product research

Nearly 9 of 10 US online buyers read reviews at least "some of the time" before making a purchase

Gasta SearchMatch model proving a winner in Downturn

2009-08-19T22:46:00.001-07:00

Gasta SearchMatch time slots proving classic traditional models work best

Search engine optimization is the practice of targeting the search engines with keyword-rich content so that your blog posts, web pages, and other online content has a chance to rank well for the keywords and concepts that are important for your business. But how do you do it? Gasta.com has developed a simple anti click abuse systems that goes back to the traditional web value. Pay for a first place listing.

Modern Day SEO is not easy, even if you know how to write search engine friendly content, you have to compete against other businesses in your niche targeting the same keywords. You could try to find the gaps in the market and target those keywords that no one else is going after. But are those keywords valuable? That’s a decision you have to make.

The key to optimizing your web pages simply,are to find the Gasta keywords that are just right for your business. They may or may not be the most valuable keywords for your niche, but they are the perfect fit for your business and the customers you want to target. Then, once you identify the perfect keywords, you build pages that are designed to rank well and deliver targeted traffic to those pages consistently.
With Gasta.com there is no PPC so therefore no click spam, every click is already paid for in your time slot, time slots run for 3 months, 6 months, or one year.

The time slots allow marketers to have a summer campaign or a winter campaign, for intsance you could target the music festival season, or christmas. This model was developed by gasta.com in the late nineties to better organise and manage ad revenues.The model has won great recognition and developed Gasta.com as a great brand. Now with an online shopping channel and a great video search all of which have there own advertising platform in SearchMatch the sky is the limit.

FAQ on Gasta white label solution

2009-08-09T08:13:00.000-07:00

FAQ on Gasta white label solution

How will our branded site receive traffic?

a) Case 1 - A new domain with no existing traffic or index on Google

· As a Gasta Partner you will be connected with 200 active sites on the Gasta Network that have over 110,000 indexed pages in Google

· Our network will cross promote you internally across all our sites (http://gasta.com/ads/adnetwork)

· Gasta serves between 250k to 500k searches a day <-- We will push you domain

· You domain will be picked up and indexed on Google within 24-72 hours of launching

· Case example Gasta.cn <- when initially launched it was index with over 12,000 pages on Google with 6 weeks

b) Case 2 - Existing domain

· You can bring in an existing domain

· As previous applies.

Will we need to SEO the site our selves

· No, our sites are completely SEO optimised using our platform. The only thing we start out doing is creating a dictionary of keywords that describe your site (see - baroneracing.com HomePage) - this leverages and helps search engines both understand and create an index for you site.

· Our system takes care of the rest - for example Google SiteMaps, Meta Titles etc.

· We can provide you with a complete admin interface that allows you to tweak and add keywords and SEO mark-up or we can care-take this for you.

Who will host it?

· We can will host it - however we can offer to install the site on your own server if you wish.

Can we customize the links on the home page

a) Standard implementation (eg. baroneracing.com or gasta.com)

· Yes, the home page is completely customisable.

· The standard layout will allow you to change the keywords (tabbed directory) and ALL text on the home page.

· This is controlled from your admin area, or care-taken by our support team.

b) Custom implementation

· We can 100% create a customised homepage for you - alternative designs or new features as you request

Will there be adsense ads in our result page

· You can turn ads on and off via the control panel.

· If you wish to have adsense (or any other simliar third party ads) you can control them from you control panel.

· Your ads, your revenue, your option.

Note: On Ads

· The Gasta White Label has it's own version of adsense built in. We call these 'InstantAds' and 'SearchMatch'.

· Using the example http://gasta.com/Search/casino

o Draw you focus to the top left logo and the grey bar - directly below this is 'SearchMatch'.

o Now to the right column and at the top - notice your ad - this is 'InstantAds'.

· You can control the number of ads you wish to display in each unit via the admin.

· Both ad types can cross pollinate with each other.

· The Ad scope (this is how the system decides what ads to be displayed) can be set to 'exact' or 'universal'

o 'exact' is a direct keyword or contextual match

o 'universal' - display an exact match first (if available) and always display 'ad stock' regardless.

In addition

· You can sell you ad space if desired directly.

· You can create your own network of related sites.

· You can export you ads to existing sites (similar to Google Adsense)

· We can sell ad space for you.

· Turn the feature off.

I would suggest that the ads system be filled with a library of your corporate and associated network services and set to universally be displayed.

Gasta white label solution comes in three partnered solutions.

Basic

· We retain control of all Ads and Revenue including Google, SearchMatch, InstantAds and other third party campaigns

· Only the logo and keywords can be customised

· Branding and Copyright remains as part of the Gasta Network

Partnered

· As part of the Gasta Search Network all advertising revenue sold to third parties via your domain is split evenly on SearchMatch & InstantAds.

· All third party advert revenue (eg. Google Adsense, Trade Doubler etc.) on your site is 100% is retained by your company.

· You will receive a 50% discount on all adverts you place across the entire Gasta Network.

· Ad revenue sharing is completely optional. You may turn the ad system off.

· Initial set-up cost

Dedicated

· 100% Control of Ad system and 100% retained Advertising revenue

· 100% Branding as Your Company

· Create your own Exclusive Ad Network and Ad Content.

In addition we can provide you with a completely bespoke design. We can offer to redesign the home page or results page to suit your company needs.

Gasta web 2.0

2009-08-08T12:29:00.000-07:00

About Gasta
Started in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1998 Gasta is a global search engine and web directory. Translated into six Languages, Gasta has now launched search engines in Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, French, & German,

Gasta has now launched SearchMatch paid inclusion programs for all 400 of its search engines and sees paid listings as the future of Internet marketing enabling and empowering advertisers to bid on niche contextual Keywords and phrases that are directly related to their business. Gasta organic growth of traffic extends the long tail of keywords and adds added value to all our client campaigns.

Platform
Gasta is written in MVC Asp.net, C#, and XML, Jscript,

Social Marketing Services
Gasta now offers the ability to share web search results, videos, news items, images, and Blogs with your chosen social networking partner site, Gasta now has social marketing links with FaceBook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Stumbleupon, Bebo, and Digg. This service not only offers an added value to our users but also greatly assists our advertisers with their social marketing and brand awareness campaigns.

Geo Targeting
Gasta automatically includes effective Geo Targeting of advertising across regions so the user searching in Dublin receives adverts from Dublin and UK Regions and the user searching in New York receives inventory from USA regions.

More than 97% of gasta.com users live and/or work in the regional search areas the index is aimed at. This offers an extremely focused way of targeting prospective customers. Localize to globalize. With Gasta.com you the advertiser only pay for the traffic you receive. Gasta.com has a unique featured Site scheme allows you to directly gear expenditure to traffic. This is the most cost effective method with no wasted clicks.

Diverse User Base

Gasta.com search results are rendered by a network of Search Partners ranging from major Internet brands to organizations who specifically address the Region. Gasta has also implemented social marketing tools on all search results to share video, news, images, blogs, and web results as well as the actual SearchMatch ad itself. A unique service for a search engine.
Gasta.com has a more focussed appeal because it is targeted directly to a local audience

Ad Management
24/7 Ad Campaign Management access your account and manage your listings 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with the gasta.com Management and bid System

Gasta white Label solution
The Gasta Hosted white label solution can be launched in a matter of minutes and offers a variety of solutions and ad platforms to Partners. These search engines can start earning revenues as soon as they are launched with a variety of monetisation features such as preloaded Google Adsense and SearchMatch and InstantAds platforms. Gasta has now launched white label partner sites in India, USA, and Australia. We are currently seeking regional partners in China, Singapore, and Latin America.

Partners
Gasta partners include:
Services: Microsoft Bing, Google, Miva, ABC Search, Adify, BT, Mirago UK, Admeld, Adconion,
Social Marketing: LinkedIn, FaceBook, Twitter, Digg, Stumbleupon, Bebo,
Content : BBC, Irish Times, Irish News, Belfastmedia group, FlashSeek,
Francis Higgins
bizz@amiwired.com

Gasta SearchMatch

2009-08-07T09:54:00.001-07:00

Your Customers Are Online: Can They Find Your Website?
The search world is fluid; keywords, rankings, links and more change everyday, and define your brands online success or failure. Help your customers find your products and services by effectively promoting your online brand with proven techniques. A recent Datran Media survey found 57% of marketing executives identified search marketing as one of the strongest advertising mediums for their company. Another 54% indicated that they have increased budgets for search while decreasing offline and direct marketing efforts.
Gasta SearchMatch™ now offering the best value for European keyword advertising across 200+ internet search engines. Get your niche targeted keywords now with a unique Instant Ad Free/

Social Marketing Services
Gasta now offers the ability to share web search results, videos, news items, images, and Blogs with your chosen social networking partner site, Gasta now has social marketing links with FaceBook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Stumbleupon, Bebo, and Digg. This service not only offers an added value to our users but also greatly assists our advertisers with their social marketing and brand awareness campaigns.

Gasta SearchMatch

2009-08-07T09:50:00.000-07:00

Gasta.com: Using Long Tail Keywords to Your Advantage

2009-08-03T15:23:00.000-07:00

Gasta.com: Using Long Tail Keywords to Your Advantage
A keyword is a simple word or phrase that is typed into the search engine by a user looking for information. For example if a searcher was looking for information on family photography tips, they might use some of the following common search terms.

"family photography photography tips taking photos"

If you used a keyword research tool like Wordtracker, you would discover that these phrases are very popular search terms. In fact, if you built a web page that focused on any of the keywords above, you would have a very difficult time ranking in the top 10 on Google's search results page?

Why? Because the competition for general keywords can be fierce. Keyword competition is defined using the term Supply. If a keyword phrase as a high supply, it means that there are many web pages out there that are using this keyword. The higher the supply, the more the competition.

Long Tail Keywords are simply the longer and more targeted phrases that people type into the search engines. In our photography keyword example above, we looked at a few very general competitive keywords. Here are some long tail keywords relating to photography.

"night time photography tips eliminate blinking from photos removing red eye from photos"

Do you see the difference? Long tail keywords are much more targeted to a specific sub topic. The nice thing about discovering long tail keywords in your particular niche is that they typically have a much lower level of competition, so it is easier to rank in the top ten in the search engine results.

Another advantage is that long tail keywords bring in much more targeted traffic. While the keyword 'family photography' may be a very competitive keyword for photography sites, the traffic brought in by such a keyword will be pretty broad.

By comparison, someone finding your site through the long tail keyword 'eliminate blinking from photos' is looking for specific information. If you can provide that information, you stand a much better chance of building trust and confidence with this visitor and converting them to a newsletter signup, registration or purchase.

Someone that gets to your site via a long tail keyword is typically ready to pull the trigger on some type of purchase or action. We say that they are "late" in their buying cycle. In addition, you'll find it easier to achieve a top ten ranking at the search engines for long tail keywords.

By sprinkling them into your page copy, you are more likely to pull in traffic that converts at a higher rate. The downside is that long tail phrases will typically not generate the high traffic numbers of more general keywords. But remember, the more general keywords are much more competitive.

If you use an analytics package like Google Analytics, you'll actually be able to see the types of long tail keywords that people typed in to get to your site. While long tail keywords can make up 50% or more of your traffic, many of them will only be one-time traffic generators.

So then, is it possible to research and target long tail keywords when writing your web pages? The answer is 'yes' and 'no.'

First off, if you write good original content that is genuinely helpful to your target market, you'll automatically weave in long tail keywords without even trying. As your page content grows, visitors will get to your site through more and more of these long tail phrases. In other words, the tail will grow longer and longer. In fact, you'll find visitors getting to your site using search phrases that you would have never thought of yourself. This is the value of focusing each of your content pages on a specific topic that provides valuable information to a narrow target audience.

Read Long Tail Keywords for additional tips on using the long tail to rank higher in the search engines and generate targeted traffic.

All hail the long tail!

5min Raises $7.5 Million to Fuel its Video Syndication Network

2009-07-24T07:02:00.000-07:00

Globespan Capital Partners and Spark Capital Invest in Series B Financing

NEW YORK, July 23 /PRNewswire/ --( )5min (www.5min.com), the leading syndication platform and destination for vertically focused broadband lifestyle, instructional and knowledge videos, today announced that it has secured $7.5 million in Series B financing. Led by new investor, Globespan Capital Partners, the round also includes existing investor, Spark Capital. Globespan Managing Director Jonathan Seelig will join 5min's Board of Directors.

5min syndicates its content through its semantic video engine, VideoSeed, and its proprietary video player to websites such as Answers, wikiHow, Wikia and Articlesbase and hundreds of vertical sites. The 5min platform collectively reaches a potential audience of over 200 million monthly unique visitors, and of this group, 14 million people watch at least one video per month. 5min has also built a multi-vertical content library of over 100,000 professionally produced videos through partnership with media companies such as Hearst Corporation's UGO Entertainment, Elle, Car & Driver, The Doctors, Pet Side, Britannica, Ford Models, Kiplinger, Big Think, WatchMojo, Road & Track, Woman's Day and more.

"While 5min has become the largest 'how-to' video destination site," says Ran Harnevo, CEO and co-founder of 5min, "we've also developed the only video platform that leverages a huge category-specific library to semantically syndicate the most relevant content to passionate audiences across the Web, wherever they exist. We provide every site publisher with professionally produced content, a video technology platform, and a full video monetization solution - all in one free offering."

With the financing, 5min will continue to grow its VideoSeed Semantic Syndication platform, which allows virtually any Web property to inject contextually relevant content, and a source of revenue from day one. The platform essentially creates scalable TV channels for brand-safe content across major categories--including, business, food, health, home, garden, sports, technology, travel and more--and will continue to scale with the new round of capital.

"5min is 2009's answer to the impact of cable on broadcast TV in the 1970s and 1980s, bringing advertisers the opportunity to sell into specific categories with ads that reach an engaged vertical audience across a wide range of Web sites in a single purchase," said Seelig. "A brand can essentially sponsor an entire niche of targeted, enthusiastic consumers."

"5min has beaten all of its milestones since we led the A Round, which include rapid growth in revenue, video views and syndication and content partners," said Spark Capital General Partner Alex Finkelstein. "We are very pleased to have Globespan and Jonathan Seelig join Spark as investors in 5min."

About 5min

5min is the leading syndication platform for lifestyle, knowledge and instructional videos, reaching over 200 million monthly unique visitors. As a destination site, 5min.com is the top "how-to" video site with more than 3.5 million unique visitors each month. 5min's library features short-form videos from some of the world's largest media companies as well as the most innovative independent producers. Video recipes, yoga and fitness routines, tech tutorials, DIY projects for home and garden, health videos on specific conditions, beauty and fashion tips, video game walk-throughs and much more. Go to http://solutions.5min.com for more information.

About Globespan Capital Partners

http://www.gasta.co.uk/Search/5min Partners is a leading global venture capital firm with over $1 Billion under active management. Globespan takes a balanced approach to investing with multi-stage investments in information technology and cleantech companies. Our investment team has a proven track record based on partnering with management teams to build strong, successful companies. We have significant experience and relationships in Asia which allows us to provide our portfolio companies access to global markets. With offices in Boston, Palo Alto and Tokyo, we invest in companies all across the U.S. and in Japan on behalf of a global base of limited partners. More information about Globespan Capital Partners is located online at www.globespancapital.com.

About Spark Capital

Spark Capital is a venture capital firm with investments focusing on the conflux of the media, entertainment and technology industries. The partners of Spark Capital carry diverse expertise in media and technology industries with proven track records identifying and actively building market-leading companies in sectors including infrastructure (Qtera, RiverDelta, Aether Systems, Broadbus and BigBand), networks (College Sports Television, TVONE and XCOM) services (Akamai, thePlatform, Admeld) and digital media (Twitter, Boxee, 5min). With a deep network that spans technology and media, investing and operations, Spark Capital provides world-class entrepreneurs and revolutionary companies with the resources to succeed in today's marketplace. Spark Capital has $622 million under management, and is based in Boston, Mass. To learn more, visit www.sparkcapital.com.

Talking to your teen about dating

2009-07-24T06:44:00.000-07:00

Talking to your teen about dating

Dating is an important aspect that you need to deal with while parenting your teen. You need to share a friendly relationship with your teen so that he or she is willing to listen to your advice regarding dating. When you see the indicators that your teen is ready for dating, have a talk with him on the subject, and consider a few important points before you broach the topic.

The following tips may help you talk to your teen effectively about dating:

1. Choose a good time to talk to your teen when you are in a good mood, and so is he, and both have sufficient time at hand.
2. Do not give the impression that you are going to preach some lecture on morality. Be a friend to your teen and arouse his or her keenness and interest to discuss the subject with you.
3. Communicate to your teen that a discussion does not mean a license to go ahead and date. Let him or her know that your discussion is meant to reassure both of you that you have correct ideas and information about dating.
4. Inform the advantages and disadvantages of dating, in terms of the monetary costs involved, the amount of time that will be required for it, and the positive benefits of dating too and understanding the opposite sex more closely.
5. Make it clear to your teen that dating or any other activity must not be pursued merely because “others are doing it, so I too must do it.” One must take an individual stand on everything, and go according to one’s own thoughts on such issues.
6. Convey to your teen that like with all privileges, dating too comes along with a sense of responsibility. The family values and social values and practices must be held high in anything that you do, including dating.
7. Be an active listener, and allow your teen to respond to your advice. Allow him or her to ask questions, make comments and come out with any thoughts freely so that you can address the issue more clearly for the teen.
8. Let your teen know that you are solidly behind him or her in everything. Assure your teen that in case any difficulty or problem that may arise, he or she must have the confidence to share the situation with you, instead of hiding it and complicating the matter beyond control.
9. Discuss sex frankly during your talk on dating. There is no advantage in avoiding the issue, and rather educate your teen about the perils of sexual diseases and unwanted pregnancies.
10. Overall, let your teen understand that dating is normal, natural and pure fun. With some thoughtfulness, teens can enjoy dating creatively and have lots of healthy fun that they actually deserve.

BIO: Bizymoms has been helping women work at home for over a decade and now provides information on everyday matters and important issues. Our People and Relationships section provides you with information and tips on keeping all of your relationships thriving.

Gasta Tech News: Bing News

2009-05-25T10:23:00.000-07:00

Microsoft Aims Big Guns at Google, Asks Consumers to Rethink Search
Here's Why an $80M Ad Effort for a Search Engine, Bing, Makes Some Sense

Microsoft has used attack ads to go after Apple, and now it has Google in its sights.

The software giant is set to launch an $80 million to $100 million campaign for Bing, the search engine it hopes will help it grab a bigger slice of the online ad market. That's a big campaign -- big compared with consumer-product launches ($50 million is considered a sizable budget for a national rollout) and very big when you consider that Google spent about $25 million on all its advertising last year, according to TNS Media Intelligence, with about $11.6 million of that focused on recruiting. Microsoft, by comparison, spent $361 million. Certainly Google has never faced an ad assault of anything like this magnitude.

JWT has been tapped for the push, which will include online, TV, print and radio. Another sign of the campaign's size: At a time when most agencies are laying people off, JWT added creatives on the Microsoft business last week.

People with knowledge of the planned push said the ads won't go after Google, or Yahoo for that matter, by name. Instead, they'll focus on planting the idea that today's search engines don't work as well as consumers previously thought by asking them whether search (aka Google) really solves their problems. That, Microsoft is hoping, will give consumers a reason to consider switching search engines, which, of course, is one of Bing's biggest challenges.

"If you grab the average user off the street and ask them, 'Does search suck?' I think they'd say no. They don't know what else can be done," said Shashi Seth, a former Google executive who is now chief revenue officer at Cooliris. "They think search does a pretty good job, and if you could prove otherwise with a product that's differentiated, people will sit up and take notice."

Case for refinement
Indeed, data show that about 65% of people are satisfied or very satisfied with online search. But Microsoft sees an opening on its own proprietary search data: 42% of searches require refinement, and 25% of clicks are the back button.

That's why Mr. Seth likens the Bing marketing challenge to that of the Apple iPhone before it was introduced. Most people, pre-iPhone, didn't know they were missing a multi-touch screen, or an application that would enable them to detect what song was playing wherever they were. But Apple, through its ads, showed how markedly different the experience was and created a new de facto standard for phones.

Many will argue that no amount of advertising Microsoft throws at the product will make a difference -- the quality of search results is the only thing that matters. And that may have once been true; after all, Google built its brand on the back of a great user experience, results that were markedly better and zero ad support.

But that's not necessarily true anymore, as the quality of search engines has approached parity. Sure, there are no switching costs, and it's easy to simply type in a new web address should a better engine come along, but the psychological pull of the leading brand in the space overrides those factors for many consumers.

Consider that Google has conducted internal tests, according to people familiar with them, in which the company put its logo and treatment on another engine's search results. Users still prefer the results with the Google logo, even if they're not Google results. Or consider that a revamped Ask.com made its debut in 2007 to a glowing review from The Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg, who said it "holds its own with Google, and even beats the champ on some searches." Two years later? Ask's share of search is down 28%.

'Better mousetrap'
"I don't think they can win this game with a better mousetrap," said Allen Adamson, managing director of Landor Associates, New York. "They have to compete with Google on a brand front -- there's no other way to skin this but go head on against the Google brand."

Obviously Microsoft has not shied away from "going head on" in its Windows campaign. Its chief attack on Apple -- that it's too expensive and not worth the high price -- is showing some signs of working. Apple's value perception among 18- to 34-year-olds has dropped significantly since the campaign launched in late March, which might be a testament to the right message at the right time.

Still, advertising isn't a panacea, as even the most self-absorbed ad man knows, especially when it's not the right advertising. Ask.com famously spent $57 million in 2007 to market its engine, and another $22 million last year, according to TNS. The 2007 campaign was an oddball execution from Crispin Porter & Bogusky that touted "the algorithm" -- a concept unlikely to grab anyone not already entrenched in the world of digital marketing. What Microsoft needs to do is go after people who don't know and probably don't care what an algorithm is.

And all the advertising in the world only works if the product backs it up. People who've seen the Microsoft product suggest it's useful and has some nifty filtering tools, even though it's not a markedly different-looking interface, at least for text search (some of the multimedia search results, however, do look quite different from how Google currently displays them).

"It doesn't take a lot to switch people from one type to another and usually it's a unique feature that gets people excited," said David Karnstedt, CEO of Efficient Frontier and former head of sales for Yahoo. He reflected on his days at AltaVista, which Google supplanted. "Google got people excited because it got people and places right early on. That got people to really start to switch, and once developed the habit of using Google, it was hard to get them to switch back."

Gasta Shopping:The Next directory

2009-05-19T17:37:00.000-07:00

Bringing middle-market clothes to the home shopper for the first time, it promised delivery within 48 hours. The Next directory was the brainchild of one of the giants in the British retail scene, George Davies, then CEO of Next, and it paved the way for the mail-order and online shopping boom as we know it today.

But it was not all plain sailing. As Simon Wolfson, CEO of Next today, ss it celebrates it's 21'st birthday, reveals: “For the first three or four years, it didn’t make money. What went wrong was a divergence from the Next retail chain, which was a must-go destination on hundreds of high streets all over the country. Next Directory had the same spirit, the same quality, but was more fashionable, less accessible.”

The turning point came in 1992 when Next Directory and Next retail merged, both offering the same aspirational clothes that were good quality and of great design. Next Directory, like its high street namesake, was for a long time renowned for its “working wardrobe” – a look epitomised in thousands of black and navy trouser suits beloved of the young career woman on a budget. But its latest high- summer collection, inspired by Woodstock, is a perfect illustration of how it embraces a more laid-back image, too.

The directory has continually expanded, with a greater emphasis on casualwear, menswear, babies’ and childrenswear, swimwear, party wear, together with homewares, furniture and all the items that reflect the changing lifestyle of the core customers, generally aged between 25 and 55.

Launched in 1999, online shopping meant that the entire book could be viewed on the internet. Today, a copy of Next Directory is in one in every 12 households in Britain. More than three million “books” are printed four times a year, making it the biggest-selling book in Britain – possibly outselling the Bible – and the biggest fashion e-tailor in Europe.

What Next? Simon Wolfson believes online business will continue to grow, but he does not envisage people wanting to relinquish the directory itself.

“Customers like to flick through the pages. It is like being able to shop straight from a great fashion magazine – at prices you can afford.”

2009-03-10T07:13:00.001-07:00

Hi To all Ping FM users, this is great !

Gasta News: Gasta Gearing up for Mobile advertising

2009-03-10T05:46:00.000-07:00

Enter the Mobile Shoppers
You may not have the marketing dollars to spend on an event such as Super Bowl Sunday but you can play the same game the big spenders are playing. Think of the elements of a Super Bowl ad -- compelling creative for a captive, interested audience -- and take them on the road. Any existing event with an audience -- a concert, a sporting event, a trade show -- can offer the opportunity to reach individuals with compelling content, through a highly personalized medium: the mobile phone.
Consider concerts -- they occur year-round and cause a firestorm of blogging and Twittering -- not to mention the sheer enthusiasm and loyalty of concert-goers that just can't be beat. Alt-hipster icon Beck was an early adopter of engaging his fans through mobile devices -- during his 2005 tour, in the period between the opener's set and Beck's headlining slot, the JumboTrons urged fans to text photos and messages that would be displayed on the board. Fans opted into the process, got a chance to see themselves on screen, and Beck had a large mobile database.
In-event advertising has evolved quickly to provide users and marketers alike with what they need. If you've been to an NBA game in the past 20 years, you probably were part of a "high points" promotion -- if your team scores 130 points (or, during the offense-challenged 1990s, 110 points), everyone gets a free chalupa the next day at a local taqueria. Now, there's some brand awareness that's being built for the taqueria, certainly; but what are the odds that more than a few of the fans will (1) still have their ticket stub and (2) remember to bring it to work the next day?
With mobile, all that changes. The same taqueria can offer up the same program to participants who send a text message to a short code displayed when the magic number is hit. They can sweeten the offer with a drawing for upgraded tickets at a future game. And they can send a reminder and a mobile coupon right around lunchtime the next day.
People are much more likely to volunteer their information via text message when they're experiencing full-on sports fever -- and act on a reminder 24 hours later -- rather than remembering to dig out a folded ticket stub at noon the next day at work. Mobile works to build loyalty for the league, the team and the restaurant -- particularly when fans opt in to receive future messages and offers.
Concerts and their associated sponsors -- brands and broadcasters -- are now taking full advantage of this trend as well. Take for example Los Angeles radio station 102.7 KIIS FM. When the station sought to promote its annual blowout concert, Wango Tango, it turned to mobile marketing. KIIS asked listeners on-air to text the word "wango" to a shortcode; in return, the listeners received a text message from KIIS with information on a contest they could enter to win free tickets to the concert. More than 20,000 people responded to the mobile call-for-action. During the actual concert, attendees could also text to win seat upgrades, or text a shout-out to their friends that would be displayed across the screens by the bottom of the stage.
The real financial benefit, however, was that KIIS was able to sell advertisements via mobile to reach the enthusiastic crowd that was texting back and forth. Ultimately, Wango Tango attendees were given a much richer brand experience with KIIS thanks to the mobile campaign. By being able to communicate directly with brand ambassadors on a one-to-one level, they were truly connected to KIIS and its sponsors.
The power of mobile marketing is indelibly linked to the level of comfort people have with their cell phones. They carry them around all day, they choose to use them, and will look at any messages they receive, even if it's only for a moment. By choosing to respond to an ad by text, they're actively participating in a discussion with your brand. TV commercials assault viewers who don't have a choice but to fast-forward or sit through them and internet ads take up bandwidth and block paragraphs of the article they're reading. With mobile, you are quickly and effectively interacting with engaged users.
So how do you execute a mobile campaign at an event? It's simple, really. Think about ways to engage the audience. Shout-outs are popular for passing the time until live action begins. You can give away product through calls to action via text. Or you can offer an upgrade to the front row. You can even poll the group on whether the home team will win or the artist will play his or her newest hit first or last. The possibilities are numerous.
Ultimately, mobile ads provide a service or tangible benefit to consumers. The potential exists to create "must-see" mobile content that could eventually rival big event TV ads -- they're playful, engaging and uncomplicated. They're everything you want your brand to be.
Jeff Hasen is the CMO at HipCricket.

Gasta News: Child safety Online

2009-03-06T09:38:00.000-08:00

social Nets’ Child Safety Pledge: Five Ways To Prevent Cyber-Bullying
Marshalled by the European Commission, 17 web and social network providers have agreed to a five-point plan to protect under-18s online. Signatories are Arto, Bebo, Dailymotion, Facebook, Giovani.it, Google/YouTube, Hyves, Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) Europe, MySpace, Nasza-klaza.pl, Netlog, One.lt, Skyrock, StudiVZ, Sulake/Habbo Hotel, Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) Europe and Zap.lu. They agreed to limit children’s exposure to cyber-bullying and grooming by…
—Providing an easy to use and accessible “report abuse” button.
—Making sure under-18s’ profiles are set to “private” by default. “This will make it harder for people with bad intentions to get in touch with the young person,” the commission says.
—Ensuring under-18s’ private profiles are not searchable either on the websites or via search engines.
—Guaranteeing that privacy options are prominent and accessible at all times, so that users can easily work out if just their friends, or the entire world, can see what they post online.
—Preventing under-age users from using their services - eg. if a social networking site targets teenagers over 13, it should be difficult for people below that age to register.
The measures must be implemented by April. More info at the commission’s site. To mark its Safer Internet Day, the commission has produced an awareness campaign...

Gasta News:Research

2009-03-06T09:36:00.000-08:00

Men Are From iPlayer, Women Are From Google:
The UK internet’s already rather balanced gender composition will edge even closer to 50/50 toward 2013, a new eMarketer report says. But the sexes use online media in slightly different ways, it says - men are more likely to use VOD and women show a greater proclivity toward search engines…
From the report: “It is noteworthy that men access some categories of content - including music, multimedia, podcasts and RSS feeds - more frequently than women. The proliferation of online TV and video offerings, including the BBC iPlayer, has given all internet users in the UK further incentives to view content on the web, but men take more advantage of these options.
“When shopping online, men often gravitate toward specialty sites to research products and services, while women head to search engines. Men in the UK have also demonstrated greater engagement with the mobile web than women.” The report, compiled by a woman, also says British men “may” be using the web more during the economic downturn as they tend to be breadwinners.
There’s little quantitative analysis to back up the claims in the part of the report we received, which does say the UK internet is made up 51.1 percent by men and 48.9 percent by women.

Gasta.com : New shopping channel open for business

2009-03-05T07:41:00.000-08:00

The Gasta European Search Engine Network has today launched a new shopping channel across all 250+ domain and partner sites. The shopping channel also offers a shop buy comparison option and is powered by Kelkoo.

The Gasta shopping channel will initially be rolled out on the 12 main core sites of the Network including www.europasearch.com.

Saskia Turner the European head of marketing for the Gasta Search Engine Network said "This is a powerful and innovative development to extend the reach and delivery power of the Gasta Search engines, with our network of over 250 web titles it is critical that we continue to meet the search needs of our many users and search marketing requirements".

The Gasta Search engine Network also boasts two digital Advertising platforms and a hosted white label solution that stretches across Europe to USA, China, and Japan.

VFI Briefing: Tunisia womens rights

2008-08-20T07:40:00.000-07:00

Ayet Laouni is a member of Tunisia's senate and an owner of her own maritime business. She credits her success to the liberal approach to women's rights that the government has shown since independence, and to its investment in education. "I am very grateful to my country," she says. "I was born and grew up in a part of the world where life is supposed to be hard for most people, but harder for women. In fact, I come from two parts of the world, Africa and the Arab Muslim world."

She is not alone. In 2007, Tunisia was ranked the highest in North Africa by a "gender gap" index compiled by the World Economic Forum, headquartered in Switzerland. Examining women's school enrolment, access to jobs, earnings and other indicators around the world, the index also ranked women's status in Tunisia as the second highest among all Arab countries. However, on a global scale Tunisia was still near the bottom, ranking 102 out of 128 countries surveyed. Algeria came in at 108, Egypt at 120 and Morocco at 122.

A number of sub-Saharan countries did notably better in terms of women's rights and social position, with Ghana ranked at 63 and Kenya at 83. While North African countries appear to be doing poorly in relation to the rest of Africa, they have in fact witnessed a decade of substantial reform, achieving some progress in improving the status of women.

Reforming family codes

Much of the reform has been in these countries' "family codes," sets of laws guiding the role and status of women in marriage, as well as their rights in divorce and custody matters. The family code has been an important focus for women's rights activists because its laws are "absolutely critical and fundamental in Muslim society," says Mounira Charrad, a Tunisian-born professor at the University of Texas who has researched women's issues in Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco.

Those laws, Ms. Charrad told Africa Renewal, "address issues that are at the core of social life." Successfully reforming them, she says, can improve women's marriage rights, access to divorce and ability to secure custody of their children.

In recent years women in Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia have secured more rights, greater access to education and a modest increase in their political representation.

Tunisia reformed its family code in 1957. However, it was only in 1993 in Tunisia (and a decade later in Algeria and Egypt) that a woman who married a foreigner could pass on her citizenship and nationality to her children. Prior to that, the children had to apply for residence permits just like any foreigner.

"When the present Tunisian government allowed a woman to pass on her citizenship to her children, this created a seismic cultural change in the society," Ms. Charrad told a panel convened in 2007 to mark the anniversary of the 1957 reforms. "Traditionally citizenship, as well as all other legal rights, was passed on through the father's side. By permitting citizenship to pass through the mother's line as well, the law challenged the entire patrilineal concept of the family."

Much of the credit for this progress lies with the emergence of dynamic and indigenous women's movements in North Africa during the 1980s and 1990s, explains Valentine M. Moghadam, head of the gender equality and development section of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Leila Rhiwi was the director of one such group in Morocco, Printemps de l'égalité (Spring of Equality). Women in North Africa today enjoy more rights and protections than 20 years ago, she told Africa Renewal. "Then it was very different. At that time women did not have any power over their own lives."

But progress has been halting and uneven. In 2005 Egypt granted women expanded divorce rights. But efforts to change the law to allow women to travel without the permission of a husband or father were dropped by the government for fear that they were too radical to pass.

Ms. Rhiwi, who is currently the women's rights coordinator for Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia (a region known as the Maghreb) for the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) observes that there have been different degrees of progress in Morocco compared with Algeria and in the Maghreb countries compared with Egypt. "What we have seen is a change in the law, not a change in society. However, changes in law allow for changes to occur in the society."

Between law and practice

Ms. Charrad agrees. "The law has made a difference in countries like Tunisia, where reforms happened in the 1950s. There we have had a length of time to see the changes. We know now that when the laws change, women are able to file for divorce more easily and custody is easier."

"What the law does not change is the social situation," she told Africa Renewal. "Socially, divorce remains very difficult. They [divorced women] suffer economically, and they find themselves treated as outcasts."

VFI News: IMF Endorses Tunisia Investment Growth.

2008-08-05T09:22:00.000-07:00

The June 2008 International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission to Tunisia has revealed extremely promising figures. These findings, coupled with the latest tourist statistics for the first 6 months of 2008, confirm that Tunisia combines two essential ingredients for property investment potential – a stable and growing economy and steadily increasing tourism.

According to the IMF report, Tunisia remains on track for 5.5% GDP growth in 2008, one of the highest in the Mediterranean and far above the increase expected in many other countries which are currently in the grip of the global credit crunch. Forecasts for 2009 are even higher (5.9%) and the IMF also predicts further strong growth for the medium term. Unemployment levels have dropped and inflation is in check, both important indications of strong economic performance.

Tunisia is a newcomer on the property investor’s map – foreigner ownership of residential property has only been permitted for the last 3 years – but the young Tunisian property market already holds plenty of eastern promise. With property prices still low, many property analysts have likened Tunisia to the Moroccan market several years ago, but as the Independent highlights, “it is Tunisia that the better-informed property-hunters are exploring in search of affordable holiday homes.”

Tunisia’s property market may be young, but when it comes to tourism, Tunisia is well established. Ranked third by The New York Times in its list of global ‘must-sees’ for 2008 (coming behind only Lisbon and Laos), Tunisia is firmly forging a name for itself as a luxury holiday destination for well-heeled travellers. Tourism is a steadily increasing industry and the World Travel and Tourism Council forecasts an annual increase of 4.3% between 2009 and 2018. However, growth may actually be considerably higher since tourism rose by 4.7% during the first half of 2008 with the second 6 months expected to produce similar results.

Tunisia with its abundance of frontline beach developments – often with low-entry prices – has already grabbed the attention of major developers and investors, particularly those from the Middle East. UAE giants such Sama Holding (a subsidiary of Dubai Holding) and Dubai-based Emaar have massive investment projects in the country, representing outlays of $14 billion and $1.9 billion respectively.

2008 looks set to be Tunisia’s year – excellent economic results, the country’s free trade agreement with the European Union (the first southern Mediterranean nation to achieve this) and booming tourism – and is well worth considering for property investment. “Tunisia’s property market may just be in its early stages,” says James Gonzalez, Market Analyst at Obelisk, “but with its strong economy and tourist sector, large-scale property investment by Middle East developers and low-entry prices, Tunisia looks well set to become one of the most interesting emerging markets.” Why not add Tunisia on your property investment portfolio in 2008?

VFI Overseas:Le Voilier Resort

2008-08-04T06:59:00.000-07:00

Le Voilier Resort is a modern beach front/marina style development with a mixture of 1 bed 1 bath, 2bed 2 bath, & 3 bed 3 baths apartments all built to a superior specification.

Designed by one of the most important and cutting edge architectural firms in this area VFI OVERSEAS PROPERTY is happy to be able to offer not only a fantastic investment but an investment which you will be able to enjoy for many years to come.

Apartments from as little as €24,999

Contact VFI IRL Direct – 00353 21 2427641 UK Direct – 0044 208 0995761 Freephone UK – 0800 680 0704
Email:
sales@vfioverseasproperty.com or visit our website www.vfioverseaspropertytunisia.com