Google has come out with its new Google AdWords Interface (still in beta).  I played around with it a bit and am liking it better than the current/main interface — it allows you to bounce between more data in less time and lays out the data well.

Here is the note they sent out…

Try a New Google AdWords Interface Now in Your Account

Hello,

We’re beta-testing a new web interface for AdWords, designed to make campaign management faster and easier. You can try it now in your AdWords account using the “New Interface (Beta)” link in the top corner of the page.

Don’t worry about the new interface disrupting your normal account management work. You can switch back and forth between the new and previous interfaces at any time during the test. And the new interface won’t change how your ads run; we’re only testing changes to the way you see and manage the data in your account.

You can visit our microsite to get a quick overview of the changes and watch videos demonstrating the improvements to campaign management: http://www.google.com/adwords/newinterface/resources.html

We hope you find that the new interface increases your advertising efficiency and makes it easier for you to improve your results. If you have any feedback on the new interface, please let us know using the Feedback link in the top corner of your account. Thanks for advertising with AdWords!

Sincerely,

The Google AdWords Team

Google Inc.
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View, CA 94043

 Here is the note Google sent out to AdSense users. I’ll let you know more about it once it is up and running.

Hi,

We’re writing to let you know about the upcoming launch of interest-based advertising, which will require you to review and make any necessary changes to your site’s privacy policies. You’ll also see some new options on your Account Settings page.

Interest-based advertising will allow advertisers to show ads based on a user’s previous interactions with them, such as visits to advertiser website and also to reach users based on their interests (e.g. “sports enthusiast”).  To develop interest categories, we will recognize the types of web pages users visit throughout the Google content network.  As an example, if they visit a number of sports pages, we will add them to the “sports enthusiast” interest category.  To learn more about your associated account settings, please visit the AdSense Help Center at http://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/topic.py?topic=20310.

As a result of this announcement, your privacy policy will now need to reflect the use of interest-based advertising. Please review the information at https://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/answer.py?answer=100557 to ensure that your site’s privacy policies are up-to-date, and make any necessary changes by April 8, 2009.  Because publisher sites and laws vary across countries, we’re unfortunately unable to suggest specific privacy policy language.

For more information about interest-based advertising, you can also visit the Inside AdSense Blog at http://adsense.blogspot.com/2009/03/driving-monetization-with-ads-that.html.

We appreciate your participation and look forward to this upcoming enhancement.

Sincerely,

The Google AdSense Team

Email preferences: You have received this mandatory email service announcement to update you about important changes to your AdSense product or account.

Google Inc.
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View, CA 94043

Forbes and Silicon Alley Insider have insight into YouTube’s revenue.

A quick overview:

• Google may be making $200 million from YouTube this year and $350 million next year.
• A front page ad on YouTube goes for about $175,000 per day plus a commitment to spend at least $50,000 more on YouTube or Google.
• A branded YouTube channel goes for about $200,000.
• YouTube is the undiputed leader in online video.
• Google’s position gives them great insight into user habits and is allowing them to fine tune the ad experience and model (that will likely become the industry standard).

Early this week Google announced third-party display ad tags will now be possible for image ads running through AdSense/AdWords.  This should boost CPM rates for publishers as the “qualified” third-parties are likely to be more sophisticated advertisers with larger budgets; the extra volume will help put pressure on ad rates too.

Here’s the email they sent out…

 Subject: Third-party ads now available on the Google content network

Greetings from Google!

We’re happy to announce that the Google content network now accepts display ads served from qualified third-party vendors.
During this initial release, only ads in English are eligible, although we look forward to offering more options in the future.

By accepting third-party ads, we can attract a greater variety of advertising on the Google content network, which we believe will
result over time in increased revenue for publishers and more relevant advertising for end users.

If you’re currently opted in to image ads, you’re already able to  receive third-party ads. If not, you can enable image ads to start
receiving third-party ads immediately. (Learn how to enable image  ads at
https://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/answer.py?answer=9741.)

If you choose to allow third-party ads on your site, please update  your privacy policy to inform your visitors that third-party
vendors may serve ads on your site. Please also provide links to  these vendor websites and inform your users that they may opt out
of cookies (if the vendor offers this capability). For more  information about updating your policies, visit
https://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/answer.py?answer=94150.

You’ll continue to have full control over which ads appear on your site with tools like competitive ad filtering and the Ad Review
Center. Also, only advertisers with whom we have proven relationships and who’ve clearly demonstrated commitments to our
quality standards may participate in this program. Our policies governing ad content and formatting remain unchanged.

To learn more about third-party ads, please visit our blog post at
http://adsense.blogspot.com/2008/05/introducing-third-party-ads-on-google.html
and our FAQ at
https://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/topic.py?topic=14535.
If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to contact us at adsense-support@google.com.

Sincerely,

The Google AdSense Team

We’ve all seen the plethora of reports and headlines about the video ad business over the past few years. The IAB continues their efforts to help us all face the right direction. That’s cool because bumping into awkward ad sizes just isn’t what it once was (hey man, the animated gif eye sore days are over; get with the program, and make some money). Check out their guidelines and give them feedback. Click here. Doo it. Doo it.

Hybrids aren’t the only new thing at General Motors.  GM is shifting gears in a big way.  Last year it spent $197 million in online display advertising… and now it plans to spend $1.5 billion on digital and one-to-one marketing, of its $3B budget, over the next three years.

There is more here…

Consumers looking to buy new vehicles were among the first to embrace online research to support buying decisions. And while television and print still have a place in product launches and awareness, many dealers now accept that the purchase process starts – and sometimes ends – online.   …

I personally have spent much more time on auto websites than at the dealer, or anywhere else for that matter.  MINI has a great build-it-yourself site (I spent an hour consumed with the site last fall), which is becoming much more common.  It is the ultimate showroom — your favorite cars, customized to your liking, in the convenience of browsing in your boxers.  And when I do hit the showroom, admittedly just to browse and make sure I didn’t miss something online, I often find out I know as much or more about the car than the car salesman.  Nope, I’m no Einstein, just passionate about the stuff I’m into, like many.  So, it makes perfect sense that auto companies would go where the interest and purchase begins — online.  It’s about education, it’s about connecting with the senses and passion, it’s about the conversation, it’s about…selling cars.

I was invited to try out Google’s beta for TV advertising yesterday. The term AdWords does not really fit here/anymore, but we’ll look past that for the moment. It looks like you cannot target to local TV at this point. It does seems like this would work okay for cable TV advertising. Let me know what your experience is if you try it…

Here is the invite email:

Dear AdWords Advertiser,

You’re one of a select group of advertisers invited to try Google TV Ads beta. The perfect complement to your online campaigns, Google TV Ads makes it easy to reach new customers, drive more traffic and increase your sales volume – turning TV viewers into your customers.

To learn more, join us for an online webinar led by AdWords specialists. Sign up at google.com/adwords/tvads/webinar.html

Are you ready to give Google TV Ads a try? Log in to your AdWords account and click on ‘Create your first television campaign’ in the ‘Other Campaign Types’ section at the bottom of this page.

Now, with Google TV Ads, you can tap into the power of television with the accountability and flexibility of your online advertising campaigns. We look forward to helping you grow your business.

Sincerely,

The Google AdWords Team

Email Preferences: We sent you this email because you inquired about Google TV Ads through our online form and asked to be notified if you became eligible to participate in the Google TV Ads Beta Test.

Copyright 2007. Google is a trademark of Google Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.

Google Inc.
1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy.
Mountain View, CA 94043

…And here is the confirmation/thank you email after I signed up:

Thank you for submitting your contact information.

We will contact you by email with details to participate in Google TV Ads. Please note: if you indicated interest in local targeting only, we will contact you when local inventory becomes available in the future.

We look forward to enabling you to advertise on TV more efficiently and effectively through better measurement, more accountability and greater optimization.

Sincerely,
The Google TV Ads Team

Update:

Here is a YouTube video about an advertiser’s experience with Google TV Ads:

Here is some more info from MarketingVox: Google Brings TV Advertising to Adwords

Here is some BACKGROUND info from TechCrunch: Google Testing TV Ads in California

The popular mainstream blog, AllThingsD, has posted a note drawing attention to the use of tracking cookies on its website. I think AllThingsD is a model for how mainstreaming media (in their case, The Wall Street Journal) can enter the blogosphere and maintain a balance between the blogger vibe and that of traditional media. Given the depth of the WSJ legal resources, this may be a sign of the future. It is interesting you see it on AllThingsD and not WSJ.com; I would have expected the opposite given the looser format of blogs vs. media.

Here is the text:

A note about tracking cookies

Some of the advertisers and Web analytics firms used on this site may place “tracking cookies” on your computer. We are telling you about them right upfront, and we want you to know how to get rid of these tracking cookies if you like. Read more »

Tracking cookies are small text files that can tell such companies what you are doing online, even though they usually don’t record your name or other personably identifiable information. These cookies are used by these companies to try and match ads to a user’s interests. They are used all over the Web, but in most cases, their presence is only disclosed deep inside privacy policies.

We want you to know how to get rid of these tracking cookies if you like. Here are links to pages where you can opt out of the cookies set by our ad-placement contractor and our analytics contractor:

• http://www.doubleclick.com/us/about_doubleclick/privacy/
• http://www.omniture.com/privacy/2o7

We’d prefer a totally opt-in system, but, as far as we know, the ad industry doesn’t have a practical one as of now.

If you want to clean out all tracking cookies from all your Web sites, here are links where you can download three programs that can clean out tracking cookies:

• http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad-aware_se_personal.php
• http://www.spybot.info/en/download/index.html
• http://www.webroot.com/consumer/products/spysweeper/

You can also change the preferences or settings in your Web browser to control cookies. In some cases, you can choose to accept cookies from the primary site, but block them from third parties. In others, you can block cookies from specific advertisers, or clear out all cookies.

Not all cookies are tracking cookies. Like most other Web sites, ours may place cookies on your computer, in addition to any placed by advertisers. But ours aren’t “tracking cookies.” They merely do things like save your registration information, if you choose to register. They do not tell us what you do or where you go online.

[X Dismiss] This notice is intended to appear only the first time you visit the site on any computer.

Here is a screenshot (click to enlarge):

And the sleeping giant in the room keeps getting bigger. Some people jumped in long ago. Some more recently. Some must be waiting until they see $100B. Anyway you slice it… the Internet is not your fathers Internet any more (as if that makes sense; hey remember those Oldsmobile cars…didn’t think so).

Congratulations to all involved in that phat $21.1B number! Am I crazy, or does it seem like the party is just getting started? No, I’m not referring to the economy. For all I know, a global recession will hit and slow everything down. But, when you think about what the Internet has become, and then you think about what could be possible given where we are at today… it seems like we are just getting started. I think they call that job security, or a career path, or something.

And now for the data and a couple quotes…

Internet Advertising Revenues Again Reach New Highs, Estimated to Pass $21 Billion in 2007 and Hit Nearly $6 Billion in Q4 2007

NEW YORK, NY (February 25, 2008) – The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) today announced that Internet advertising revenues for 2007 are estimated to grow to $21.1 billion, a 25 percent increase over the previous revenue record of nearly $16.9 billion for full year 2006.

… “Interactive media continue their unabated growth,” said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO of the IAB. “There is no media as measurable as interactive, and they provide products and services at the precise moment a consumer desires them. I applaud the industry on maintaining this extraordinary momentum of innovation, which has fundamentally changed the way we live today.”

“The record $21.1 billion year of interactive advertising is the culmination of consecutive record quarters throughout 2007,”said David Silverman, partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers. “The continued record growth evidences the importance and uniqueness of interactive media to both consumers and the marketers that are trying to reach them.”