Cashing Out: Week of May 17th-23rd 2009 in Online Marketing News

Ben Edelman Accuses Google of Artificially Inflating Network Conversion Rates

Noted spyware researcher Ben Edelman has published an article accusing Google and certain ad partners (WhenU and large list of typosquatters) of conversion-inflation syndication fraud. The article sites Adwords examples with both video and screen captures of various activity including ones initiated through Google Chrome. Very troubling.

Microsoft Set to Spend $80 Million on Consumer Focused Search Education Campaign

Having seen some success from its “I’m a PC” campaigns targeting Apple, Microsoft is set to employ the same tactic in search. According to Ad Age, Microsoft has budgeted at least $80 million in a traditional media campaign hoping to get users to rethink search. The ads will try to plant the idea that today’s search is broken and doesn’t meet consumers needs. Microsoft’s solution? Apparently a new search engine purportedly named Bing.

Minnesota Fails to Pass Anti-Affiliate Tax Bill

Anti-affiliate tax bill SF 282 has failed to pass in Minnesota. We figured the bill supporters were no match for Flamingo World’s Connie Berg.

Google Puts Screws on Renewing MySpace Search Deal

According to TechCrunch, Google is interested in renewing its search marketing contract with MySpace in 2010 it wants to pay 225 million less per year than what it is paying now. Currently Google is in the last year of a 300 million-a-year deal which they want to whittle down to $75 million. Google is putting the pricing pressure on due to shrinking MySpace audience and poor CTRs.

Facebook Delivers on OpenID Promise

Facebook became the largest relying party for OpenID as it went live with the standard this week. Users with Facebook accounts can now switch from any issuing party (Google, Microsoft) account into Facebook without logging in separately. Hopefully this will increase adoption and consumer awareness of OpenID.

YouTube Channel Partners Get Access to Google Analytics

It may seem like a no-brainer that corporate level advertisers would like to see the data behind their efforts, but only this week YouTube gave its channel partners access to Google Analytics.

IAB Sets Best Practice Guidelines for Social Media Ads

Adoption is the key to any industry group’s success. The Interactive Advertising Bureau has been very successful in getting the standards they have set in regards to online ad types and sizes adopted by advertisers. This week the IAB has released (full document embedded below) best practice guidelines for social media ads. The guidelines were announced at the IAB’s Marketplace: Social Media conference in New York.

Social Media Ad Standards –