Home of Microsoft Updates and News

INTRODUCTIONS

Welcome to the Windows Community Clubhouse Space — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:32:12 +0000

Windows Live Tags: clubhouse,introduction,story

Clubhouse Community!

Nice to encounter we all! My name is Matt Bernardy as well as we am gratified to contend which we will be your brand brand new Community Manager. we know which Marcus was desired by we all as well as we have the little large boots to fill, though we am vehement to get started.

So who am we anyway? Wow! Where to start? we adore skiing. I’m abnormally tall. we suffer traveling. we adore reading. My the one preferred tone is blue. we am the bit of an adrenaline junky. But many importantly, we adore record as well as the gigantic possibilities it represents.

It might come as the warn to we which we didn’t regularly have this opinion. As the have the difference of fact, it was the year we outlayed operative upon Microsoft’s Imagine Cup which non-stop my eyes. After graduating from the University of Washington, we began operative upon the Imagine Cup as the Competition Manager/Digital Marketing Consultant. The Imagine Cup is the premiere record foe for students around the world. Competitors have been approaching to emanate record solutions which assistance compromise the “toughest problems confronting the universe today.” Finalists experience in dual online rounds prior to they transport to the Worldwide Finals, which have been hold in the opposite city each year. we was advantageous sufficient to attend the eventuality final year in Cairo, Egypt in sequence to blog the event.

In the shade of the Great Pyramids of Giza, we was surrounded by the brightest up-and-coming minds in the record industry, all requesting their creativity as well as bent to rise solutions to the little of the World’s many formidable problems. we was amazed. Then, as we mostly do when we am amazed, we proposed thinking… If record could assistance compromise the complaint as outrageous as universe hunger, we gamble there have been thousands of ways people request it to have their each day lives easier. A couple of reduced months later, we was offering the on all sides which will concede me to try this thought each singular day. Funny how things work out.

As your Community Manager, we will be aiding the complete village in the query to find brand brand new as well as engaging ways of requesting Microsoft technology. But, as the Clubhouse newbie as well as deputy of the people, we need to know what we think. What do we similar to about the Clubhouse? What do we not like? What hurdles do we enjoy? What tips do we have for me? What do we wish to know about me?

Don’t be shy. My Twitter hoop is @mattbernardy. If we do not make use of Twitter, post the criticism as well as we will respond. we demeanour brazen to conference what we think!

Again, good to encounter we all!

Cheers,
Matt

HAPPY NEW YEAR & CLUBHOUSE UPDATES

Welcome to the Windows Community Clubhouse Space — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 17:52:37 +0000

Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2010 in a Clubhouse — my name is Ali, as well as we worked upon a same group as Marcus prior to he left Windows. We all skip him — though we have good headlines for a members! We’ve got a brand brand new Community Manager fasten a team, his name is Matt, as well as he’ll be starting upon Monday, Jan 25. You can demeanour out for key from him unequivocally shortly upon this blog.

In a meantime, a little of we might have had difficulty signing in to a Clubhouse recently. We are operative as well as probable to finalise a issue. If you’re peaceful to help, we’d unequivocally conclude your await - a web pattern group could make use of a palm difficulty sharpened as well as describing a sign-in issue. Please hit me during club_house@live.com if you’d be peaceful to verbalise to a single of a designers 1-on-1.

Thanks again for ancillary Windows — seeking brazen to a good brand brand new year in a Clubhouse!

Ali

HEALTH AND FITNESS ADVERTISERS: PREPARING YOUR ADCENTER CAMPAIGNS FOR PEAK SEASONALITY

Kyle Getz - MSFT — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:00:00 +0000

We all know which Jan is seasonality rise for weight detriment as good as aptness advertisers, though did we know which final year, there were twice as many clicks in Jan as there were in December? Also, the opportunities don't stop when Jan is over: clicks in February, March, as good as Apr still about 35% larger than the rest of the year[1]. Optimizing for the New Year's fortitude searchers doesn't usually compensate off in January; it's critical via the complete initial quarter!

To show off opening after the holidays, here's the weight detriment as good as aptness optimization check list:

1. Start Now! The many critical tip is to begin optimizing right now. If we wait for until Jan 1 to refurbish your poke campaigns, afterwards you'll be personification catch-up for the rest of the rise season. Optimizing early pays off!

2. Secure Top Position: Beginning in January, some-more foe upon weight detriment as good as aptness keywords equates to we need to bid some-more aggressively to say the same position upon the formula page. Advertisers can see CPCs enlarge anywhere from 20% to 100% (or more) depending upon their goals, budgets, as good as bids. If we begin augmenting your bids before the Jan 1 rush, you'll save income after by office building certain opening history.

3. Include Promotions in Ad Copy: If your association is charity any special rebates or incentives to assistance constraint resolution-makers, be certain the graduation is reflected in your poke ads. Not usually do special deals pull in intensity consumers, though they additionally strengthen the report searchers might have seen upon TV or upon your website. Ad copy which includes numbers, specific cost points, and/or promotions mostly receives the aloft CTR than those which don't.

4. Watch your Brand: If we own the purebred trademark, check Bing mostly to have certain your competitors have been not behest upon your copyright keywords. Find some-more report about acceptable uses of copyright terms as good as contention any issues we see to Microsoft Support.

5. Utilize the Content Network: If we wish even some-more traffic, have certain you're opted in to Content ads. Microsoft has the outrageous form of reward partner sites which have been rarely applicable to weight detriment searchers, together with MSN Health, iVillage.com, as good as Rodale. Since weight detriment is top-of-mind for many people during as good as after the holidays, right away is the good time to constraint searches as they're browsing the Microsoft network of sites. Content trade is mostly reduction costly than poke trade and, when used effectively, can perform usually as well. To strech the right audience, begin by behest upon your high-volume poke keywords similar to 'diet', 'health', as good as 'weight loss' as good as enhance your keywords from there.

If we have any questions or comments greatfully revisit the Community Forum as good as keep up with brand new posts by apropos the air blower upon Facebook or by following us upon Twitter.

[1] Based upon adCenter interpretation from Dec 2008 - Mar 2009 for the representation of illness advertisers

PRESENTATION ON MICROSOFT ADPLATFORM OPPORTUNITIES FOR DEVELOPERS

Chris Norred - MSFT — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:35:00 +0000

Eric Totherow, the platform evangelist in our program management group, talked to developers at PDC about the adCenter API, Bing APIs, and the opportunities for developers in the advertising and publishing business. The presentation is best viewed in full-screen resolution. Click the button on the player to open full-screen.

(Please visit the site to view this media)

PAID SEARCH BID CONCEPTS AND STRATEGIES (PART 4)

Trevor Jezierski - MSFT — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 16:30:00 +0000

In Part 1 of this series, we cited "An Empirical Study of Search Engine Advertising Effectiveness" which concludes which acclimatisation rates have been prosaic opposite positions for sure engines. Taking this investigate in to account, we should not establish bids by a upon all sides they will crop up upon a page, though rsther than a volume of income we have been means to outlay per click as good as sojourn profitable.

Every keyword in your comment will expostulate users to a opposite selling knowledge as good as therefore, expostulate a opposite sale amount. Managing your keywords to a sales volume will assistance your association outlay your poke dollars some-more good as good as expostulate some-more essential orders.

One e.g. of this behest plan would be:

Sales Per Click*Advertising to Sales = Bid [SPC*A/S=Bid]

In a list upon top of we've run a keywords by this formula, putting 75% of sales behind in to promotion (A/S). You should work with your monetary dialect to figure out what A/S commission will be many essential for your account. Sales per Click is distributed by receiving income widely separated by clicks.

These brand new bids will lift good behaving keywords in to aloft positions, giving them some-more prominence as good as giving we a event to expostulate some-more orders. At a same time, keywords which have been spending as well most will be lowered to a some-more cost-effective level.

Based upon a interpretation we embrace in your account, we should set up reports for 3 opposite time durations (typically: 7, 14, as good as thirty days) to investigate keywords. By seeking during opposite time durations we will be means to improved comment for seasonality as good as new trends. This will additionally forestall a peculiarity keyword which has had a bad week from being pushed down for as well long.

One downside to this character of behest is it does not take sales margins in to account. If we have been means to lift in margin-level interpretation per keyword, we can take this plan a single step serve as good as regulate your bids formed upon a profitability of any keyword.

A NOTE ABOUT TODAY’S OUTAGE

bingteam — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 06:49:00 +0000

Bing.com was down in between about 6:30 as well as 7:00 PM Pacific Time upon December 3, 2009. During this time, users were possibly incompetent to get to the site, or their queries were returning deficient formula page.

The means of the outage was the pattern shift during the little inner contrast which had hapless as well as unintended consequences.

As shortly as the emanate was detected, the shift was rolled back, which caused the site to lapse to normal behavior. Unfortunately the showing as well as rollback took about half an hour, as well as during which time users were incompetent to make use of bing.com.

We essay to say the tall customary of operational value during Bing. We have been using the post mortem to find out how the program as well as processes need to be softened to forestall anything similar to this from function again.

Satya Nadella
Senior Vice President, Online Services Division

WHY ADVERTISERS GOBBLED UP XBOX LIVE THIS THANKSGIVING

Mark Kroese - MSFT — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 22:35:00 +0000

First there was Black Friday, afterwards cyber Monday, as well as a not long ago combined Green Tuesday. But after regulating in to my harried ad operations physical education instructor upon my approach out a doorway for a new Thanksgiving holiday, I'm wondering if you should supplement "Gamer Thursday" to a legal legal legal legal legal legal holiday sell lexicon.

"Thank God it's Wednesday," remarked Jason Stott, a aforementioned manager, clenching a square of cold pizza. "Only 4 some-more operative days until Monday." Jason was usually half-joking–he as well as a rest of a group in a Advertising Business Group were busier than ever scheming campaigns to run upon a Thanksgiving weekend. In fact, you saw a scarcely 200% enlarge in a series of campaigns regulating upon Xbox LIVE as well as alternative Entertainment as well as Devices ad properties over a same duration final year, as well as an roughly 20% enlarge for a month of Nov alone.

The spike in campaigns is partial of an altogether direction toward on-line shopping, which was up 35% this Black Friday (traditional sell sales ticked up only 5%). But it reflects something else as well: which advertisers have been starting where a shoppers are–in a vital room. Over a Thanksgiving holiday, family groups as well as friends have been roughly as expected to accumulate around a TV to fool around Madden NFL upon their Xbox as they have been to watch a football diversion upon network or wire TV. (And, with a series of Xbox consoles which will breeze up underneath a legal legal legal legal legal legal holiday tree, a assembly will go upon to grow by a New Year.)

What's additionally opposite about this year is a sort as well as extent of brands which have been regulating a height during a legal legal legal legal legal legal holiday sales cycle. In alternative words, it's not only games as well as movies. Old Navy is a good example. Their Gobble Palooza debate ran upon Xbox LIVE in a lead up to a large Thanksgiving selling week end as shoppers went seeking for legal legal legal legal legal legal holiday bargains. Like alternative large brands, together with Wal-Mart, Old Navy is integrating a party ad products in to a incomparable media buy, a single of which includes normal TV, digital as well as at-retail components. Around rise selling events, you have been additionally saying some-more as well as some-more brands book shorter, really targeted debate flights upon Xbox LIVE as a approach to strech a core 18-34 demographic as well as assistance expostulate sales.

Shopping by your Xbox is zero new; members avidly squeeze avatar wear, videos as well as games from Xbox LIVE Marketplace, though it's transparent which selling around console is flourishing as well as expanding in a little flattering cold ways. I'm vehement to see if a direction continues in between right away as well as Christmas.

Or should you call it Xbox-mas?

THE LATEST ON MOBILE AD-TRACKING WITH ATLAS

Andrea Sharfin - MSFT — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:43:00 +0000

For a initial post-Thanksgiving post, you lay down with Adam Cane, Atlas Sales Engineer, to speak turkey about a mobile offering.

Describe a mobile promotion marketplace today.

Mobile promotion now is to a little grade suggestive of a early days of Internet Advertising; there isn't nonetheless an agreed-upon customary for tracking conversions, as well as so click-through rate a first success metric.

In addition, mobile promotion budgets have been flattering tiny these days, though which will shift in time as promotion continues to intersect opposite mediums: TV, phone, as well as internet.

What specific changes do you see function in a subsequent 1-3 years?

As mobile promotion budgets grow, advertisers will direct improved tracking as well as standards. The MMA (Mobile Marketing Association - radically a IAB for Mobile) has expelled ad-serving standards as it relates to ad distance as well as record distance - though has nonetheless to residence what those in a mobile commercial operation consider of as "the acclimatisation conundrum:" How can advertisers fairly as well as equally lane conversions stemming from mobile campaigns; both post-view as well as post-click?

Why is which a problem?

Mobile technologies as well as vendors have typically resorted to server-side cookie record to steadfastly lane users as well as record conversions, distinct many internet advertisers, who can make use of browser-side cookies. However, many mobile vendors gold their technologies with networks, which equates to which there's genuine direct for an unprejudiced celebration to lane conversions.

So, is there an Atlas solution?

Yes. We're operative to safeguard which Atlas can suggest a same unprejudiced 3rd-party tracking in Mobile as you do now with internet advertising. Atlas is now contrast with multiform mobile vendors to "retro-fit" Atlas web browser tracking onto mobile-served campaigns - thorough of conversions. This will concede agencies as well as advertisers to conduct their mobile campaigns a same approach they do online, in further to receiving value of Atlas' singular product offerings similar to rendezvous mapping.

For some-more report about how Atlas can lane mobile campaigns, greatfully contact your Atlas representative.

ELLEN IS GOING BING FOR THE HOLIDAYS

bingteam — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:00:00 +0000

What better way to get in the holiday spirit then some fun giveaways and shopping! If you have seen Ellen Degeneres’s annual 12 days of Giveaways that is starting today you know that it is sure to bring you holiday cheer and great ideas for holiday gifts.

Each day Ellen will give away some very cool gifts to her studio audience and this year, the Bing team has partnered with the Ellen show to highlight the hottest picks for this year, places where you can get great deals on the items online (sorry…not for free here), and an easy way to find more great deals for your holiday shopping. Ellen will choose new items every day until December 18^th – check out http://www.bing.com/ellen every day to see the latest.

We hope for those of us not lucky enough to be in Ellen’s audience that bringing you deals on her favorite products can be the next best thing.

Kristin Meldahl – Bing

DOWNLOAD OUR GUIDE TO DIGITAL MARKETING

Mel Carson - MSFT — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 11:16:00 +0000

When we’re out as well as about during conferences as well as events we mostly get asked where people can find out some-more about a promotion products as well as services.

Well we’re propitious that Microsoft encourages everybody to be an disciple as well as preacher as well as we can find most of us upon Twitter responding questions or indicating advertisers in a right direction.

Our Facebook following is flourishing too, though a categorical places would be a Microsoft Advertising Community where you’ll find all a blogs as well as forums where we’re continually assisting marketers assistance themselves to a resources of report as well as support.

There’s additionally a Microsoft Advertising Website that is a B2B patron heart with detailed resources, research as well as all critical contact information about a innumerable of ways we can daub in to as well as bond with a outrageous tellurian audience.

One prominence a team in Europe has combined to a site in new weeks is a Guide to Digital Marketing.

· Introduction to Digital Advertising

· Advice upon putting online in to a selling brew effectively

· Some difference upon branding contra approach response

· Tips upon improved amicable media as well as email marketing

· How to magnitude results

· Some authorised details

· A nifty list of conditions of conditions in box we need a vocab refresher

We goal a request is beneficial as well as would similar to your thoughts as well as discernment for serve versions.

Cheers

Mel