Yahoo Exchanges Alibaba.com Stake For $150M

Yahoo should soon have about $150 million more to its name.  By selling 57.48 million shares, the Sunnyvale-based company is liquidating its stake in Chinese business-to-business site Alibaba.com and collecting a tidy profit.

Yahoo acquired its 1.14 percent stake in Alibaba.com during the company's initial public offering in 2007.  Now, Reuters reports that Yahoo will sell the stake at a 4.0-6.4 percent discount on Alibaba's most recent closing price.

That might indicate that Yahoo's in a bit of a hurry; there's a definite concern, at least, about how both Yahoo and Alibaba.com shareholders will interpret its move.  (A relevant note: Yahoo's stock is already down 1.22 percent this morning).  But even after the discount, Yahoo should realize a profit of 47 percent or more, which makes its investment look like a good one.

Here's another important detail: Yahoo is holding onto its 40 percent stake in Alibaba.com's parent company, Alibaba Group, so it's not getting out of China or anything of the sort.

John Spelich, a vice president at Alibaba Group, also stated, "We are pleased to learn of the Yahoo! decision because having broader ownership of Alibaba.com with increased liquidity and support among institutional investors is what Alibaba.com hoped to achieve when it released the cornerstone investors."

YAHOO! Site Map: A Useful Internet Marketing Tools

A website refers to a compilation of Web pages that can be typically accessed through a software package, commonly known as a Web browser (one example is the HTTP on the Internet). These pages, which are essentially documents that are in the HTML or XHTML format (HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language), are accessed from a ‘common root URL’ – or the website’s homepage (as most people know it). From this homepage, the visitor/Internet user can browse or look through the entire website either with the use of the hyperlinks or the URLs of the different web pages.

Viewed on computers and other devices that are capable of connecting with the Internet (such as PDAs and cellular phones), websites can be grouped into numerous types, depending on their use or the services that they offer. Some of them include the following:

· Archive site – maintains and protects electronic contents that are valuable to the point of extinction.

· Business site – promotes a business or a service.

· Commerce or eCommerce site – offers goods for sale.

· Community site – allows people with related and similar interests to communicate with each other (either through chat or message boards).

· Database site – searches and displays a particular database’s content.

· Development site – provides data and sources that are related to software development and web design, among others.

· Directory site – contains wide-ranging contents that are usually divided into categories and subcategories.

· Download site – allows users to download electronic contents, such as game demos and software.

· Game site – provides a ‘playground’ where people meet and play.

· Information site – contains data or content that have the sole purpose of informing visitors (not for commercial purposes).

· News site – dispenses or distributes news and commentaries (similar to an information site).

· Pornography site – shows pornographic videos and images.

· Search engine site – provides general information and serves as a ‘gateway’ for other sites and resources (can also be a web portal site).

· Shock site – shows images and other materials that aim to offend viewers.

· Vanity site – a personal site that is run or maintained by an individual or a small group, the contents of which can be of any information that the site owner wishes to include.

· Blog site or blogs – registers online readings and posts online diaries or discussion forums.

· Wiki site – allows users to collaboratively edit the contents.

Yahoo! is perhaps the most famous example of a very large website. The most popular and widely-used website, Yahoo! is a mixture of the different types of sites – it is a directory site and a search engine site, among others.

Because of the enormous (and diverse) amount of information that it contains, the Yahoo! site map is an extremely useful feature in the Yahoo! website.

A site map is a web page that lists the entire pages on a web site. Organized in a hierarchical fashion, site maps can be in textual or visual form (a diagram or an image).

The Yahoo! site map serves as a blueprint for the Yahoo! website. Similar to a book’s Table of Contents, the Yahoo! sitemap makes it easier for visitors or users to find specific information or pages on the Yahoo! web site without having to browse many pages, because the site map gives an overview or a visual outline of the Yahoo! web site, with each location provided with active links to enable the user to directly move to a specific location.

In addition, the Yahoo! site map allows web developers to put out links from across their sites, making it easier for search engine robots (or engine spiders) to find these pages.

Because the Yahoo! site map improves the search engine optimization of a site, this feature can be considered a valuable tool for online marketers, whose aim is to stimulate and direct traffic to their web sites.

Note, however, that the Yahoo! site map can only give you the ‘basics’. Because it is important for web marketers to ‘rank high’ on main search engines, an effective web marketing strategy that promotes your web site is also very much needed. Listed below are some search engine strategies to consider:

1. Write a descriptive page title at the top of your webpage that avoids ‘filler’ words like “the” or “and”.

2. Incorporate descriptive keywords on your home page, along with your business name. This is called “keyword prominence”.

3. Include a Description Meta Tag at the top of the web page. This refers to the sentences (1 or 2 lines, with a maximum of around 255 characters) that describe the content of your web page.

These are just some of the many techniques that you can employ to get more users to visit your website. The important thing is to focus on keywords – and let Yahoo! site map do the rest.

Why Just The Right PPC Campaign Management Brings in Lots and Lots of Cash

So you spent all your time and energy building the perfect website. Now you want to share the fruits of your labor, and maybe even make some money on the side through your online ads.

Maybe you have an online business that markets a hot product that you are selling on your website; but you find that you are having trouble bringing customers into your site. So instead of gaining money, you are actually losing money because of the monthly rent that you’re paying to have your website hosted in cyberspace.

The best solution to this problem is to advertise. Let people know that you are here and ready to do business. One of the quickest and most effective ways to advertise your website on the net is to come up with a great PPC campaign management plan. PPC is an abbreviation for Pay Per Click.

Certain keywords or phrases that people type into a search engine lead to hundreds and hundreds of search results that pertain to that specific keyword. Businesses that want to advertise on the net using a PPC campaign have to come up with a plethora of keywords that is associated to the business that they are running; so when potential customers type in these keywords, it will lead them to their business site.

This is pretty much the whole concept that operates behind PPC. This is how a PPC campaign brings in traffic to your site, with the selection of the right keywords that people can search through the net.

Some keywords tend to be more expensive than others, especially popular ones. It is vital to select the right keywords, in order to get your money’s worth. This is why it is important to manage you PPC campaign wisely. Sometimes you are better off opting for the less popular keywords that are not so expensive, especially if you have a limited budget. Some businesses even hire the help of a consultant to manage their PPC campaigns.

There are a lot of experts that specialize in PPC campaign management. They come with strategic plans, and assess the need of their clients. They then come up with a PPC campaign that caters to their client’s specification.

This is why big online businesses seek the expertise of a professional to run their PPC ad campaign, because the right set of plans, can potentially bring in a large amount of profits. The more keywords you have, the more you increase the chances of customers clicking these keywords that would lead them to your website. There are also some software you can purchase, such as GoToast, or Bid Rank. These software track down your keywords listing.

If you are running a business online, and are planning to run a PPC campaign, it is advisable to purchase keywords that are extremely related to the theme of your business. This way, people know what they are getting, and don’t get confused about the content of your website. The secret is to use keywords or phrases that are searched frequently, but cost very little.

The chances are, the longer people stay in your site, the likelihood of these potential customers making a transaction. But first thing is first. You must lure them into your turf.

This is why a lot of entrepreneurs spend a large amount of their budget on advertising, because they know that the right advertising campaign can start the ball rolling.

Also, you should do some research before you start your PPC campaign. There are a lot of PPC search engines to chose from. Those who are less renowned charge less for the same keywords that you’d find in the bigger PPC search engines.

The great thing about PPC campaigns is that you can reach a worldwide audience. Advertising online means global marketing.

Most PPC search engines require a monthly payment in exchange for their services. But if you fail to make payments, they will automatically take your listings out of their search engines. So make sure that you pay your monthly bills, so all the efforts that you put into your PPC campaign don’t go to waste.

The potential earnings that can be generated by starting a pay per click campaign is significant. That’s why a lot of online businesses now are trying to get in on the act. Now, with the right set of keywords, and a smart PPC campaign management plan, more than ever, online businesses are bringing in the big bucks.