WebProNews

GoDaddy Gets Smart and Social

GoDaddy has released as service called SmartSpace, which it claims will make creating web sites  - complete with blogs, chat rooms, email addresses, photo galleries, and video showcases - easy for people that are not the least bit "tech savvy."

Yahoo Improves Content Match Technology

Search Yahoo News for the term [advertising recession], and you'll see about 1,200 results.  But things could be worse, as another arm of the company is seeking to address the problem with some upgrades to its Content Match advertising product.

NBC Redefines Its Local Sites

NBC is launching new local sites in cities across the United States, targeted at "locals only" to help them stay connected with what is going on in their respective cities.

Google Offers Inbound Link Advice

Google’s Maile Ohye concluded Link Week with a tutorial on inbound links. It says basically what SEO experts have been saying for years: content and inbound links are most important, and in that order.

FCC Clears Free Wireless Broadband

Free speech issues weren’t enough to knock down FCC Chairman Kevin Martin’s push-through of a free national wireless Internet initiative, but few were talking about those free speech issues anyway.  T-Mobile's and Deutsche Telekom AG's arguments about signal interference—which is the cry-wolf line of the wireless industry these days--weren't either; after successful testing in Seattle, free wireless Internet is on the way.

Google Maps Introducing English Labels For Japan

Visiting a country in which English isn't the official language can be tricky.  Visiting one in which the Latin alphabet isn't common can be crazy.  But luckily for some travelers, Google's trying to sort out the matter on its maps of Japan.

Number Of Illegal Downloads Falling In The UK

Fewer people in the UK are illegally downloading music for fear of having their Internet connections cut off, according to a new survey from Entertainment Media Research.Three quarters of music pirates would stop if told by their Internet Service Provider (ISP) the survey of 1,500 UK consumers revealed.About 39 percent of music fans currently download songs from illegal sites, compared to 43 percent in 2007.Proposals announced in July said that music pirates could have their Internet access restricted if a voluntary enforcement on piracy is not effective.

Text Ads Get More Clicks Than Video Ads

Online video ads are not as popular as perceived with only 11 percent of consumers saying they were likely to click on video ads, according to a new study from iPerceptions.Simple text ads were found to be the most likely to receive clicks with 25 percent of consumers doing so, followed by display ads at 20 percent and banner ads at 12 percent.The only people who seem to be engaged by video ads are young people under the age of 25, a group that accounts for nearly one-third of the video-ad viewing audience.

Gray Lady Warms Up To Linking Out

Let it be on record that in late 2008, the New York Times decided linking to other sites is acceptable for respected journalism operations. The headline, meant to be the replacement of the town crier, is heavy and sluggish with decrescendo: “Mainstream News Outlets Start Linking to Other Sites.” I’ll save you the trip to the calendar. No, we haven’t time-warped back to the Nineties.

Marketers To Spend More On Viral Video In 2009

The majority (70%) of ad agency and media buying executives plan to increase budgets for viral video marketing in 2009, according to online marketing firm Feed Company.Even with the industry's support for viral video, the benchmark for viral video success remains unclear.