Google has made some significant improvements to its AdWords display ad builder. Advertisers were previously able to create and customize display ads, but the enhancements enable users to make building display ads even easier. Features released include an image picker (which gives advertisers the ability to select from previously uploaded images), real-time editing (which shows the text and other customization edits look like without having to select the "update preview" button),...

Local shopping search information provider Krillion will provide Superpages.com (through the Verizon Yellow Pages network) a means to research and buy products on the Web for pickup at a local retailer. Consumers searching on Superpages.com will now be able to find in-store deals from large retailers like Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Target. Select business profiles on Superpages.com now feature a link, “Check Local Inventory for Great Deals,” which leads shoppers to up-to-the-minute...

Internet casino affiliate community site CasinoAffiliatePrograms.com (CAP) has announced a new feature, CAP Alerts Terms and Conditions updates, which is designed to keep members informed on the affiliate programs that have been officialy certified by CAP. The service sends notifications via email and private message whenever any changes are posted to a CAP program's published Terms & Condition website page. Members can choose to monitor any or all of the CAP Certified Programs on...

Local search network Local.com announced that they will begin integrating local video ads in their website courtesy of an agreement with Jivox. The current implementation incorporates geo-targeted video ads from Jivox, an online video advertising service for local businesses. Local.com plans to aggregate geo-targeted video ads from other providers, before ultimately selling video ad units to its growing base of direct Local.com advertisers. This is the first phase of a longer term strategy...

The Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO) announced the launch of its fifth annual industrywide survey to assess the economy’s effect on year-to-year online marketing spending and on continuing changes in budget allocation between various media segments. The survey is open to all search engine marketing professionals working in an agency, or in-house corporate position and you do not need to be a SEMPO member. As an incentive, SEMPO is partnering with Incisive Media,...

The Email Experience Council (EEC) announced the release of its third annual “Retail Email Subscription Benchmark Study.”  The report examined the opt-in practices of 120 of the top online retailers and found there is a clear trend toward richer subscription processes. The study also found that retailers are putting more focus on list hygiene.  Thirty-eight percent of retailers ask subscribers to confirm their email address by re-entering it, up from 27% last year. ...

It should come as no surprise that the type of font designers choose plays a major role in the effectiveness of content. CoffeeCup has developed a solid little Web typography tool called Website Font, that allows designers to use any font on a Website. This means that those amazingly obscure type faces that appeared in your wireframe won't appear as Arial or worse, Times New Roman. Pretty cool, huh? It's definitely something to look into. The Web Typography Pack offered by CoffeeCup is...

Ruby on Rails application performance management solution provider New Relic today announced it has created the New Relic Affiliate Program. Rails development companies, hosting services and Rails user groups can receive commissions for referring new users under the program. Eight companies and one Rails community user group have already signed on to the program as charter affiliates, including Atlantic Dominion Solutions, CarbonFive, Core Continuum, Designkitchen, Foraker Design, New Leaders,...

UK domain registry Nominet is reporting that global growth in domain name registrations fell by 50% this year. Nominet's Domain Name Industry 2008 report found that the average growth rates of 30% over the past few years have dropped to a nominal 15% growth. Top level domains were the hardest hit. .com and .net fell to under 10% growth this year. The bright side however is the CCTLD (country code top level domains) which, while falling slightly still managed a 26% increase this year....

These days it is more important than ever to extend your selling reach. The National Retail Federation is predicting the slowest holiday sales since 2002. PayPal has a new resource for businesses, the Global Selling Guide, providing a variety of helpful information about 17 different countries to give you an edge selling anywhere you can. With the Global Selling Guide you can find information on the country itself, consumer payment preferences, holiday traditions, customs, restricted items,...

Voice-enabled search has been long anticipated, and who better to deliver than Google? The iPhone is the proud recipient of a new Google voice search app, available at the iTunes store, through the updated Google Mobile app. And early tests are extremely positive. The app takes advantage of the iPhone's GPS capabilities, so if you're searching for something to eat or a local retail store, your results will be targeted. You can bet this app is going to be heavily, heavily used by...

Good news for designers, developers ... just about everyone. Google announced Google Analytics Tracking For Adobe Flash, which will now make it much easier to track Flash widgets, embedded videos and microsites, for example. Essentially, this standardizes Flash tracking, so that developers don't need to come up with their own, custom solutions. Below is a video showing the capabilities with Sprout VP of Engineering, Matthew McNeely. Also of note, the code is open source, so that developers...

We've talked in the past about the value of writing, publishing and distributing press releases for your business - increased visibility, syndication on blogs and incoming links, to name a few. PRWeb is one of the big players in the distribution market, and they have a new business tool available. Online Newsroom allows for the creation of a dedicated newsroom for your company, hosted at PRWeb.com "PRWeb is dedicated to providing our customers with the tools they need to help raise...

Wordtracker, long known for their keyword suggestion tool, has another interesting tool worth some attention, for SEO benefits, PPC and even suggestions for new content. Keyword Questions will show you what questions users are asking about your chosen keyword. The results show a "times asked" figure that represents how many times that question has been asked "... on our partner search engines in the US," over the course of the last 140 days. This information can be useful in...

Shopzilla's 2008 eHoliday study, conducted for Shop.org, reveals some strategies that online retailers are taking this year to beat a sagging economy. The study surveyed 60 online retailers from October 1-20, as well as 2,040 online buyers from September 29-October 3. And while many fear a slow holiday shopping season, apparently online retailers feel differently. More than half (56.1%) expect holiday sales to increase at least 15% over last year. So how do retailers plan on boosting...

The World Organization of Webmasters (WOW) announced their Web Pro Community Challenge, sponsored by Adobe, to benefit Child Family Health International (CFHI). The challenge aims to provide enhanced Web capabilities to these non-profit organizations to place more health science students in underserved communities around the world. In addition to the opportunity for Web professionals to showcase their skills, prizes will be awarded. They include Adobe Creative Suite Premium, a one-year WOW...

You don't need to be reminded about the proliferation of online video and what it can do for your business. The trick has always been how to get those millions of eyeballs on your video and, ultimately, to your website. YouTube - the world's most trafficked video site - has a solution ... pay for it. Google is ready to cash in on their $1.3 billion investment in YouTube. This week they announced two important developments in their plans to monetize on the world's most popular...

In May 2008, Microsoft launched their cashback program. Users could sign up and receive cash rewards for every purchase resulting from a Live search. Merchants sell on a CPA basis and cashback reward amounts are determined by the merchant. "We are pleased to report a 30 percent increase in the number of product offers available in Microsoft Live Search cashback, indicative of the strong advertiser interest in the program and early results on its ROI," said Brad Goldberg, general...

The 2009 ad:tech Awards program has opened for submissions, in the categories of interactive ads, interactive campaigns, optimization/search strategy and websites. Don Knox, ad:tech Global VP states, "The ad:tech awards are acknowledged throughout the industry as a preeminent source for recognizing the best of today's digital marketers. In light of our industry's fast pace, we've streamlined the 2009 awards categories to better reflect the core creative currently being...

Communication technology provider Jaduka launched dukaUS, a group-calling application that dials out and connects up to six participants by phone for free. dukaUS features include:     * Web-based group call administration with 'Call,' 'Mute,' and 'Hold'     * Group leader can add up to five other participants per call     * Address book that stores frequently called numbers     * 30 minutes a day of free...