LookingConfident's  Instablog

Looksmart to win Best Ad Platform, again.....

Last year, the news was good. LookSmart AdCenter Named "Best Search Engine Ad Platform" by Search Engine Strategies..And this year will be the same. Looksmart's AdCenter will (once again IMO), win this award.

As silly (and multi-aliased) poster in OZ Mike Mora has advised today over on Yahoo.."The platform is actually a finalist as best ad platform at SEW Awards".

http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/090731...

My question to the many "knockers" of Looksmart over the years, to industry "experts",  (yes, to those who are said to be [or, are in fact, self proclaimed] "experts" within the Industry where most complete ignorance abounds from, the poor market itself and all those others that haven't the slightest "clue" as to what is going on in this exciting display advertising 'space'), is this.

Why haven't we got the likes of Google's ($3.1 billion purchase) DoubleClick, MSN's adCenter, Yahoo's Right Media Exchange, or, even ValueClick's search engine platform (their ad servers) in the final three selected for the award, for Looksmart to have to contend with? Why have they ALL failed to make the final three nomination list, I wonder?  I'll now tell you the answer.

Because they haven't been fully TOLD (as to why they are not there) as yet, that's why. Least they would even think about why or, even ask the question, as to why?

I would (and I have indeed) put it to them, ..... does the word (an) INDEPENDENT platform mean anything at all? And that there is a, (and an almost mandatory) need for a totally transparent global, "live" (R TB - real time bidding) auction based, fully automated "one stop shop" (including uniform analytics, data and related billing information) type Global Ad/Pubs Network "inter-connecting" platform?

And would it surprise anyone I ask, IF they got to finally realise that Looksmart's AdCenter not only "ticks all the boxes" it is the ONLY such platform that has THAT full, complete "box of tricks".? And that the facts clearly appear to show us, that it is now being offered to a quickly growing Global market-place? And I would also ask (and have done so - no answers to date), that perhaps some-one may care to tell me of another independent platform that does so, please?

I mean ....

Does it mean anything (at all) to any of these industry "experts", that Looksmart's AdCenter (housed at Looksmart.com) now (and, according to Alexa) recieves some 37.5% of it's total user traffic from Countries other that the US (49%), the UK (6.3%), Australia (4.8%) and 2.4% from Canada? Probably not.

For if it did mean anything to industry "experts", they would then understand that this total of 37.5% of "new" traffic to AdCenter (Alexa) is now coming from India, China, Germany, Indonesia, Ukraine, Russia, Italy, Turkey, Malaysia, Israel and Sweden (& various other countries that make up another 9.6% of total traffic), and are ALL (now) "inter-connecting" advertisers with publishers on a 7/24 basis.

Does it mean anything to industry "experts" that Looksmart's recent full release of it's SmartRotation (a cost-per-action [CPA] driven tool that automatically serves the best-performing ad creative in an ad group based on conversion data from a tracking pixel), is the very latest addition to LookSmart's award-winning AdCenter, a powerful ad serving and keyword auction platform.

And does it mean anything to industry "experts" that Looksmart's AdCenter processes more than a billion daily queries for the LookSmart syndicated network and that it is used by thousands of advertisers via self-service accounts, dedicated managed services and bid management through advanced API technology, I wonder?

And that Looksmart AdCenter is (now - again, according to Alexa) clearly  "inter-connecting" some GLOBAL advertisers/publishers contained within or, from the likes of Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, ask, Bing and Facebook and that this fact would seem to have almost been completely over-looked in their (most industry "experts"), 'day to day' thoughts? Why I ask?

And that there's perhaps even (lots) MORE, to come, too. Why? You can't see why, and yet, that's surely so obvious? Then I'll tell you again.

Does the word (an) INDEPENDENT platform mean anything to anyone?

That there is a critical need for a completely independent, totally transparent, "live" (RT B - real time bidding) auction based, fully automated "one stop shop" platform and that Looksmart's AdCenter is the ONLY such platform that has THAT full "box of tricks", that it offers to the Global market-place?

Perhaps someone can tell me of another independent platform, please?

Hopefully, long suffering (ordinary) shareholders will get to find out (along with those  industry "experts" who are not so sure), following the close of the market this Monday, 3rd of August, when Looksmart get to post their Q2 earning's report to the market and hopefully, some Q3 guidance is forthcoming, too.

Yes ... I hold shares in LOOK (Looksmart) and am glad I do so.

LC