Google on Wednesday added a new factor, Web page loading speed, to the criteria by which it judges which text ads to place next to search results.
The search company, which makes almost all its revenue from the text ads, gives a boost to advertisers with better ad quality. Google announced Wednesday that quality now includes a measurement of the loading speed of the Web page users see when they click on an ad.
"Starting today, this load time factor will be incorporated into your keywords' quality scores," Google said on its Inside AdWords blog. "Keywords with landing pages that load slowly may get lower quality scores (and thus higher minimum bids). Conversely, keywords with landing pages that load very quickly may get higher quality scores and lower minimum bids."
It may sound like a minor tweak, but a lot of money flows through AdWords, and minor changes affect a huge number of companies bidding for placement next to search results.
Higher-quality ads serve a variety of purposes, Google argues. For one thing, it means somebody who clicks an ad--the action that triggers payment to Google--are more likely to be satisfied. In the long run, higher quality also means that users might be less likely to ignore ads as irrelevant or annoying.
Early in its history, Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin set down "10 things Google knows to be true," and one of them is "fast is better than slow."
Google warned in March that page-load speeds would factor into quality ranking and let advertisers see how they rated beginning in April.
For more details, see the detailed Google article for advertisers on page-loading speeds.
Tom Cruise and his publicity crew are apparently buying up ads on Google AdWords. Hollywood Newsroom first noticed the fact that when you type in "Tom Cruise" in a Google search, paid sponsored ads for the Scientologist's official, soon-to-be-launched Web site appear. "Stay Tuned For Official Site Launch" and "Get the real scoop from Tom Cruise," the ads proclaim.
The timing of the Google Adwords move appears to coincide with Cruise's recent appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, where he made an earnest attempt to convince Oprah and the public that he's not the couch-jumping lunatic he made himself out to be the last time he was on the show.
Maybe taking publicity into his own hands will help the general public realize he's just sadly misunderstood. Right.
Salesforce.com and Google are expected to launch a combined Web site on Tuesday that is designed to allow the online customer relationship management software maker to act as a reseller for Google's AdWords.
For Salesforce.com, the alliance expands its efforts to tie its hosted CRM software with Google AdWords, following its acquisition of privately held Kieden last year. Salesforce.com will expand beyond allowing its customers to launch Google AdWords from a Salesforce.com application to one in which it will act as a reseller of the Google AdWords platform.
The two companies jointly developed Salesforce Group Edition featuring Google AdWords and plan to jointly market the offering, said Kendall Collins, senior vice president of marketing for Salesforce.com.
Salesforce Group Edition is designed to allow companies to connect to Google AdWords and have their advertisement displayed on Google.com when related search terms are entered on the site, as well as distribute their ads on Google AdSense.
When potential customers click on the advertisement, they are taken to the company's Web site. Potential customers are then encouraged to fill out a form that records their name, and this information is transmitted to a company's sales team, as a potential sales lead via Salesforce's technology.
"This alliance was a natural fit for us," said Collins, noting that the two companies are similar in the way they approach delivering services over the Internet, such as leveraging open application program interfaces (APIs).
The Salesforce Group Edition featuring Google AdWords will target mid-size to small companies and cost $1,200 per year for five users, after the 30-day promotional price of $600 for five users for the first year expires. That promotional price includes a $50 per year Google AdWords credit.
As part of the nonexclusive deal, Salesforce will receive all proceeds from the sale of its Salesforce Group Edition and share a nominal portion of any Google AdWords sales, Collins said. The remainder of the proceeds from Google AdWords will go to Google.
While the joint-development efforts between the companies has produced one product, Sean Whiteley, director of Salesforce's search marketing, said its customers will drive future development plans.
"We're hoping that as people use these products, it will become evident what we should do next," Whiteley said.
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