eBiz News: Microsoft, YouTube Offer New Ad Programs

This week in e-commerce news Microsoft announced the beta launch of its Content Ads program, a pay-as-you-go analytics tool is slated to debut next month, a new Web site that serves as a legal resource for new e-tailers rolls out and Google began overlay advertising at YouTube.

Microsoft's adCenter Adds Content Ads
Microsoft yesterday upgraded adCenter to include Content Ads, which allow you to place content-targeted ads on the Microsoft network. The new program means advertisers now have access to the MSN audience, including the Tech and Gadgets, Money, Real Estate ane Windows Marketplace pages, with Microsoft planning to expand it to the rest of their partner sites in the near future.

"Until now, this premium inventory has been available directly only through the MSN sales team and has commanded premium pricing. (Now) we are making it available to everyone at a price you will decide," wrote David Jakubowski, general manager of adCenter, at his blog.

For example, if you're trying to attract shoppers researching hiking gear before making a purchase, you can have your ad displayed at the top of the pages where sports stories appear on MSN.

Advertisers with existing campaigns will have those promotions automatically expanded to include content distribution, according to Jakubowski. E-tailers will be able to select where they want ads distributed, on search pages or content pages, and fees are administered through a cost-per-click, or pay-per-click, model.

According to Microsoft, the cost-per-click amount you're billed depends on the keyword bid, the match types, any incremental bids, other advertisers' bids and ad performance.

Sign Up for Free Analytics Trial
In analytics news, Compete Inc., on Sept. 12 is offering a new service called Compete Search Analytics, a Web-based resource that delivers search analytics on a pay-as-you-go basis.

By logging into the service — and paying per use by credit card — the company says Web shop owners can discover new keywords that may need to be bid upon that day, see gaps in their competitor's search strategies that they can exploit, find search terms that net the most engaged visitors, meaning they linger longer after the click to a site, and track performance by comparing how keywords are faring compared to competitors.

Compete Search Analytics provide data from billions of monthly searches by 2 million users on the top six search engines (Google, Yahoo, MSN, Windows Live, Ask and AOL), according to the company. It shows keyword referrals, what sites are benefiting most from popular keyword phrases; site referrals, which keywords are driving traffic to specific websites or categories; and site comparisons, how your search referrals stack up against other sites.

Prior to launch, Compete is also offering a limited number of free beta accounts. If you're interested, send an e-mail to searchanalytics@compete.com with the subject line of "Beta Account."

Legal Resource Site for Sellers
If you're new to e-commerce or if find you often have legal questions, the American Bar Association launched a new Web site designed to help. SafeSelling.org offers legal information for Web shop owners and covers topics such as customer security and payment processing protocol. The site was created by the ABA's Cyberspace Law Committee.

"We wanted the site to be intuitive for the typical small business owner," SafeSelling.org editorial director Jonathan Rubens said in a statement. "From obtaining a domain name to protecting customer privacy, our SafeSelling.org site offers a complete range of logically listed mini-topics to help our target audience find the facts they need."

Can Google Get Money Out of YouTube?
In other news, Google is generating a lot of buzz with the announcement that it's now offering a new type of overlay ad display on YouTube that industry watchers say will help it cash in on the hugely popular site without alienating users.

The ads appear 15 seconds after a visitor begins watching a video clip, and lays over the bottom fifth of the screen, similar to update tickers that run at the bottom of news and sports shows on TV. From there, a viewer can ignore the ad, which will then disappear after 10 seconds, or close it. If the viewer clicks on the ad overlay, the initial video is paused and the video ad runs.

Pricing has yet to be set for the overlay video ads but Google has reported that it will likely offer them through a traditional salesforce, rather than by auction.

NetSuite and CyberSource Join Forces
Finally, NetSuite and CyberSource today announced a partnership that integrates the financial transaction company's global payment acceptance services, risk management solutions and payment security services into NetSuite's programs for e-tailers.

CyberSource says e-commerce payment management services available to NetSuite's customers include the following: support for credit cards, debit cards and electronic checks; fraud prevention services ranging from an online fraud management portal to managed risk services designed to increase sales conversion and reduce the risk of fraud; and token-based, secure storage service, which helps keep sensitive payment data out of merchants' daily business operations.

Michelle Megna is managing editor of ECommerce-Guide.com.

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