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Online dating among Europeans on the rise

According to a study conducted by market research firm, comScore Networks, up to 18 per cent, or over 38 million of European Internet users visited online personals in the month of July. The figure is marginally higher than North American visitors who formed 17 per cent of total users during the same period. However, usage-wise, European visitors averaged 310 pages per visitor in July, which is 44 per cent more than their North American peers. Also, the online personals audience in Europe grew 26 per cent. Users in Germany have been the most active, racking up 446 pages each compared with 343 for France and just 213 in the UK.

Bob Ivins, Managing Director, comScore Europe says, “In Europe, more specialist local sites such as Meetic in France and iLove in Germany have become successful, experiencing double-digit growth and dominating the category in their home countries”. comScore has released an analysis of usage of the online personals category in regions like North America, Europe, UK, France and Germany. According to Ivins, “It will be interesting to see how the growth rates of the leading European players are affected as local social networking sites such as Bebo in the U.K. gain traction and as MySpace rolls out across Europe”.

Meanwhile, Really Fab Dating, the leading dating site software in the UK has launched innovative and groundbreaking online dating software. It is a simple yet powerful solution that allows creating one’s own dating site, using dating scripts and dating software. The Really Fab Dating Engine enables the making of a basic or even an advanced site by customizing or using templates. The dating site software also gives webmasters the ability to create and operate their own affiliate program tied to their dating site.

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Quadruple-play package launched by ntl

Cable operator ntl is launching UK's first ‘quad-play’ package, offering digital television, mobile, Internet and fixed-line phone services for 40 pounds a month. The package gives two-megabit broadband Internet access with no limits on downloads. Its additional feature is free weekend calls to UK landlines. A 30-channel digital TV service along with Virgin SIM card, 300 text messages and 300 mobile minutes are also included. The companies ntl:Telewest and Virgin Mobile merged this year and are likely to re-brand in 2007. Neil Berkett, chief operating officer of ntl:Telewest said, “Quadplay demonstrates the unique power of the cable-Virgin Mobile union and this is just the beginning. Our new package represents unbeatable value while meeting a wide range of consumers' entertainment and communication needs”.

UK's broadband market is exploding with ever increasing converged internet and mobile offerings. Telecoms operators in the UK are looking forward to becoming total communications-solution providers. Carphone Warehouse was the trendsetter with its free broadband offer launched in April. Direct-to-home (DTH) satellite broadcast provider BSkyB immediately followed announcing its broadband strategy in July, again with a ‘free’ component. It was indeed an aggressive plan to put pressure on BT and ntl.

In the context of UK’s communications market being characterized by aggressive pricing strategies, ntl is claiming that its quad-play package could reduce household bills by around USD 759.35 per year for the four services if separately bought. Freeview, the digital terrestrial television service, which has been very successful in the UK, provides more than 30 TV channels through a set-top box or Integrated Digital Television (IDTV). ntl's strategy is to find a place for the quadruple-play offer with Freeview households.

Whether ntl's pricing strategy proves a winner among customers will have to be seen.

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Yahoo! India is the new entrant of the search marketing boom

Yahoo! India’s latest offering in search marketing solutions for Indian marketers and consumers is the launch of ‘Yahoo! Search Marketing’. Through this offering, Yahoo! is making most of the Internet and search marketing boom in India. Yahoo! Search Marketing wants to widen its reach, which is presently in 23 countries. The latest service will enable marketers to establish a connection with consumers with the help of ‘Sponsored Search’. When the users search for keywords, Yahoo! and its other network websites (Yahoo! Partner Network) such as msn and cnn.com will display placements on their web pages. Marketers can then bid for these highly visible placements through Sponsored Search. However, the number of keywords the marketer buys from Yahoo! is the underlying factor.

Search marketing is a very cost-effective, measurable and an efficient tool of online advertising for marketers. Yahoo! Search Marketing, along with its partner networks, is also providing a model called ‘Content Match’. Content Match will help in driving more traffic to a marketer’s site by facilitating the placement of listings on content sites, newsletters, blogs and online publications.

According to reports, around 21-22 million Internet users exist in India and there is only an upward trend in the number of users who use ‘search’. Search advertising aimed at Indian Internet users is estimated to be worth Rs 2.3 billion and Indian firms spend Rs 700 million. A study released by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) in association with search marketing firm Pinstorm says that 40,000 marketers in India use this platform. These motivating statistics have greatly influenced Yahoo!’s confidence in the Indian market.

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Softbank goes on a launching spree

Japanese Internet services company Softbank will launch 15 new mobile phone models and varied services by the end of 2006. Japan’s market is saturated with a number of players, where Softbank is fighting for a larger share in the pie. The first launch by Softbank will be that of a 12.3 mm handset with 5 million-pixel digital camera, which will be the slimmest in the country.

The company’s new mobile phones will offer an easy link to Yahoo! Internet content. The service enables users with the new handsets to access Yahoo! Keitai, a mobile phone Web portal, simply at the touch of a button. The phones will be equipped with easy net access, equivalent to that of a personal computer. Through the Yahoo! portal, surfers will be able to look at mobile versions of Internet content available, including e-mail, stock prices, news and Net auctions. While the company’s rivals charge for most online content, Softbank will offer it for free.

Softbank had bought British carrier Vodafone's mobile business in Japan in early 2006. This has enabled the company to boast of the largest lineup of mobile phones in Japan. Number portability, whereby users can switch mobile companies without changing their phone numbers is due for arrival next month and causing a heat up in the competition amongst mobile companies. Due to this, NTT DoCoM and Softbank are offering a combined 35 new handset models to gain market share from KDDI. Softbank is already a leader in the country's Internet Protocol telephoning market, where phone calls are transmitted as data over broadband Internet connections.

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