POF -- Aug 28 -- I spent $436 on bebo last week via google. 1,831 clicks, 1,641,390 impressions. Conversions 30 times worse then the average adsense site. I estimate 95%+ of the clicks coming from bebo where accidental, considering the click thru rate was 0.11% that isn't unreasonable. There are many forums on the internet where people complain clicks from big social networks are useless as they are pretty much all accidental. Even yahoo has come out and said myspace clicks are worthless and has banned users from using YPN ads on their msypace profiles because they don't convert at all, and yahoo didn't want to make a deal with myspace. If myspace inventory starts flooding adsense, publishers will switch to YPN by the hundreds of thousands when so much junk inventory gets tossed into the system.
The full article was originally published at POF, but is no longer available.
Mark Brooks: Anyone found the same/different?
It is curious that Google signed the $900 million deal with Myspace. Google is definately tracking conversions both through their free Analytics program and Adwords. It is possible that they expect to sell more CPM or even video (?) ads through the contextual part.
FIM has revealed that they want to build mini-portals around Myspace. Right now the site is largely friends interacting; mini-portals may work better at sorting browsers from buyers.
Google's biggest threat right now is the commoditization of contextual advertising. If Yahoo can do a better job on the contextual targeting element, Google is in trouble.
Posted by: Andrew Johnson | Aug 31, 2006 at 04:29 PM
Our website (www.Manhunt.net) is seeking new members who are gay, male, and over 18. MySpace is able to post our banner on their site which will appear only to their users who are male, over 18, and who identify themselves as gay. The response to our MySpace ad has been wonderful. Bebo does not accept our ads as they haven't figured out how to screen the viewers who are under 18 (we are an adult site) and who are gay males. Their loss.
Posted by: Jonathan Crutchley | Aug 31, 2006 at 06:10 PM