Become.com to increase rates

Yes that's true, Become.com has announced that they will also increase their rates. Im still waiting to hear from Google Shopping that they will start charging per click, but that might never happen.

Here is the official announcement.

Dear Valued Partner,

In order to continue fulfilling our mission to deliver qualified customers to businesses, Become.com is making a change to our current rate card minimums. This change will go into effect on June 15th, 2011.

What will change?

Most category minimum rates are changing which will affect most of your listings with Become.com. We ask that you review our updated rate card.

What actions should I take?

Merchants are not required to take any actions. This change will automatically go into effect on June 15th, 2011. However, if you are currently leveraging our dynamic bidding platform to optimize the placement of your listings, please review these bids to ensure that you are still taking advantage of our FREE logo with five cent bid program (when bidding five cents above rate card minimums, your listings will receive FREE logo placement).
We value our partnership and look forward to continuing to drive high quality traffic to you. Should you have any questions, please contact your Account Manager or merchanthelp@become.com.

Google Buys Sparkbuy Laptop Comparison Engine

Google has purchased Sparkbuy Laptop Comparison Engine. Read it on searchengineland.com

Sparkbuy official announcement
"
We are pleased as punch to announce that Sparkbuy has been acquired by Google.
I know, right? We can hardly believe it ourselves.
When we built Sparkbuy way back in the waning days of 2010, we wanted to make it really easy to find the gadget that’s perfect for your needs. Our idea was that you could combine huge piles of structured data with an intuitive interface, et voila: a few clicks to find the electronics widget with exactly the features you want. Have you tried to find a great laptop or TV recently? Crazy hard.
But when people started actually using Sparkbuy, we started to see that the opportunity was bigger. In fact, it was much, much bigger. There are so many "crazy hard" search problems out there we know it could take ages for us to deliver what our customers are asking for. So when Google showed up and suggested we could work together to turbocharge our efforts, we just couldn't pass it up.
We’re stoked about the opportunity to share our vision for search with a broader audience. And while we won't be offering services at sparkbuy.com any more, stay tuned for truckloads of new awesome from our team at Google.

Thanks for coming by!

Sparkbuy Inc.
"

New Microsoft Advertising Small Business site

Small businesses face unique challenges in the online advertising world. That’s why we’ve created a new site exclusively for you. We’re sharing industry and Microsoft Advertising adCenter knowledge for small businesses in one easily accessible place so you don’t have to face those challenges alone.

Visit the site now to view these and other valuable resources:

• New articles lay out the "Getting Started" process in three easy steps.
• Free training videos offer adCenter navigation and strategy advice.
• Blog posts provide information tailored to the small business advertiser.
• Small business case studies present ideas for successful advertising strategies.
• Industry-specific tips give insights to help improve your campaigns.
• Support Center pages deliver focused guidance for search marketing with adCenter.

Amazon Product Ad Rate Increase

Amazon has joined the band wagon and will be raising their Product Ad rates.

Minimum Bids in 36 categories are changing.

On June 1, 2011 Amazon will be adjusting the minimum bid in 36 bidding categories. The minimum bid will decrease in 4 categories and increase in 32 categories. There will be no change to the minimum bid amount in the remaining 117 categories.

Want to see the new rate card click here -> Amazon Product Ads New Rate Card

Amazon Sends out Emails by Mistake

Amazon sent out Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) emails to some of their Product Ads accounts.

Amazon announced

"Yesterday, we experienced a technical issue that resulted in two Fulfillment by Amazon-related emails containing the subject lines 'Welcome to FBA' and 'Fulfillment by Amazon Long-Term Storage Program' being sent to some sellers. If you are not an FBA seller and received these emails, then please disregard them. If you are an FBA seller, only the email with the subject line 'Fulfillment by Amazon Long-Term Storage Program' should have been sent. If you have any further questions about the FBA Long Term Storage program, please click here for FAQ’s. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused. (05/18 - 09:20)"

Its funny because this morning I opened my inbox and got scared someone tapped into my account. I was thinking "I never signed up for an FBA account". Well know you have it it was a mistake.

Here are the emails
Welcome to FBA.pdf

Fulfillment by Amazon Long-Term Storage Program.pdf

Nextag Rate increase

Nextag announced a minimum CPC rate increase today. The new rates will be effective as of June 1, 2011. Here is the new rate card

Current Category	Current CPC	New CPC
Cribs	$0.40	$0.50
Clothing & Accessories/Accessories	$0.30	$0.35
Children	$0.30	$0.35
Handbags & Wallets	$0.30	$0.35
Watches	$0.65	$0.75
Kid's Shoes	$0.35	$0.40
Women's Shoes	$0.40	$0.42
Bed & Bath	$0.35	$0.37
Indoor & Outdoor Lighting	$0.40	$0.45
Sofas	$0.40	$0.45
Home Improvement	$0.40	$0.50
Bathroom Fixtures	$0.40	$0.50
Lawn & Garden	$0.40	$0.42
Small Appliances	$0.65	$0.75
Major Appliances	$0.40	$0.42
Food & Wine	$0.25	$0.30
Prescription Drugs	$0.50	$0.60
Sports & Outdoors	$0.35	$0.37

In response to many requests, Nextag will also be adding the following new categories:

Current Category	Current CPC	New Category	New CPC
Clothing & Accessories	$0.30	Activewear	$0.35
Clothing & Accessories	$0.30	Luggage	$0.35
Office/ Office Stationary	$0.55	Office Stationary	$0.40

Nextag also periodically updates product category classifications. As a result, there will be some CPC changes associated with these classification updates. The following sub-categories are currently being listed in

Current Category Classification	Current CPC	New Category Classification	New CPC
Office/Paper Rolls	$0.55	Computer Accessories/Paper Supplies	$0.65
Office/Printwheels	$0.55	Computer Accessories/Printer Accessories	$0.65
Office/Ribbons	$0.55	Ink Toner and Cartridges	$1.05
Office/Copier Toner	$0.55	Ink Toner and Cartridges	$1.05
Office/Fax Supplies	$0.55	Ink Toner and Cartridges	$1.05
Office/Microfiche	$0.55	Office Equipment/Equipment Supplies	$0.75
Office/Laminators	$0.55	Office Equipment/Laminators	$0.75
Office/Computers Accessories &Supplies/Cleaning Products	$0.55	Office Equipment/Equipment Supplies	$0.75
Office Equipment Supplies/Others	$0.55	Office Equipment/Equipment Supplies	$0.75

The following sub-categories are currently being listed in Office Products or Office Equipment but will now be listed under a new category in which the CPC is lower:

Current Category Classification	Current CPC	New Category Classification	New CPC
Office/Bookcases	$0.55	Furniture/Bookcases	$0.40
Office/Picture Frames	$0.55	Furniture/Home Decorating	$0.40
Office/Clothes/Coat	$0.55	Home Improvement/Organization & Storage	$0.50
Office/Plumbing	$0.55	Home Improvement/Plumbing Supplies	$0.50
Office/Electrical	$0.55	Home Improvement/Electrical	$0.50
Office/Flashlights	$0.55	Home Improvement/Electrical	$0.50
Office/Light Bulbs	$0.55	Home Improvement/Electrical	$0.50
Office/Safety & Security	$0.55	Home Improvement/Security	$0.50
Office/Thermostats	$0.55	Home Improvement/Others	$0.50
Office/Waste Containers	$0.55	Home Improvement/Organization & Storage	$0.50
Office/Paints	$0.55	Home Improvement/Wall Coverings	$0.50
Office/Lamps	$0.55	Indoor & Outdoor Lighting	$0.45
Office/Gloves	$0.55	Tools	$0.40
Office/Ladders	$0.55	Tools	$0.40
Office/Tools	$0.55	Tools	$0.40

The following sub-categories are listed in Office Products but will now be listed under another category name. The CPC will remain the same:

Current Category Classification	Current CPC	New Category Classification	New CPC
Office/Office Maintenance	$0.55	Office Products/Janitorial & Lunchroom/Maintenance Supplies	$0.55
Office Equipment/Fans	$0.75	Small Appliances/Fans	$0.75
Multimedia Projectors	$1.05	Electronics/MultimediaProjectors	$1.05

You do not need to do anything in connection with the CPC changes - any bids below these new minimum cost per click rates will be automatically adjusted on June 1; any bids already equal to or greater than these

Nextag is rated #2 as a revenue generator according to CPC Strategy Q4 2010 Ratings