By: Doug Caverly | Source: webpronews.com

Microsoft and Baidu have reached a "strategic alliance" in regards to Chinese paid search listings. According to an official statement, "Microsoft will display Baidu’s paid search listings on the search results pages of certain Microsoft websites, including MSN, Live, and other partner websites in China."

Erik Johnson, the general manager of Microsoft’s Online Services Group in Greater China, spoke about the alliance. "Microsoft is committed to bringing innovative online services and software, including search services, to Chinese Internet users. China is one of our most important markets and the strategic alliance with Baidu will help us provide new opportunities for advertisers which will further enhance our search business in China."

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By: Lynette Chandler | Source: site-reference.com

It’s understandable. After all, blogging is still relatively new to the majority of bloggers and many businesses are still trying to make sense of the whole blogging scene. Also things evolve as blogging starts to mature, so a good strategy yesterday may turn into a mistake today. These are some of the most common mistakes a blogger makes.

1. Not Asking For Comments
Bloggers always agonize over the lack of comments. But the problem is not that people don’t read the blog or don’t want to comment but the blogger hasn’t given the opportunity for readers to comment. Just like asking for people to order a product, you’ve got to coax people to spend their 3 or 4 precious minutes to comment on your blog. Ask for opinions. People love giving it. Ask for reader’s experiences, input or help to accomplish something. Ask people to suggest something to you e.g. You’re getting incorporated, ask people for suggestions, tips and recommendations. Asking is a way of telling people it’s ok to speak their mind and that you’re open to alternatives.

2.Not Hosting On Their Own Domain
Too many businesses jump on the blogging bandwagon without thinking through how exactly it will fit into their overall marketing strategy. Blogs are started on other people’s sub-domains just to test the waters. Before they know it, the blog has taken a life of it’s own and it’s too late to get their own domain.

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By: Andy Beal | Source: webpronews.com

Why YHOO Will Outperform GOOG in 2007, reasons include:

• Yahoo needs to grow earnings faster than Google to regain investor interest
• It can do that by cutting costs, growing audience, acquisitions or improving monetization (or some combination of all four)
• It is easier to drive monetization than to increase audience markedly, and acquisitions are a mug’s game without better monetization tools. Cutting costs is a non-starter.
• Yahoo trumps Google on total audience, as well as page views
• Yahoo’s monetization is about to improve (to some degree) because of Panama
• It is easier for Yahoo to make a significant improvement in monetization than it is for Google.

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