Digital

• Digital

  Cahall to Head AOL Search, E-commerce

  AOL has hired Ted Cahall, former executive vice president and chief operating officer of Classmates.com, to lead its platforms business unit as executive vice president.

• Digital

  Leapfrog Buys Direct Marketing Firm

  Direct marketing firm Leapfrog Online announced Friday that it has acquired Pennsylvania-based Arrowhead Direct Marketing LLC.

• Digital

  Mobile Marketing Association Members Up 150% in 2006

  The Mobile Marketing Association says it ended 2006 with a 150% increase in membership over 2005, including 30 new member companies that joined late in the year.

• Digital

  Microsoft Q2 Ad Revenue Up, but Search Growth “Modest”

  Second-quarter revenue in Microsoft’s online services business was up 5% year over year, but revenue from search advertising made up only a “modest” part of that growth, the company said yesterday.

• Digital

  Investor Group Purchases Alvion

  Alvion Inc., an e-commerce and data management firm, has been acquired by an investment group lead by Robert K. Sher, who was named CEO.

• Digital

  Yahoo! to Flip Panama Quality Switch on Feb. 5

  In an announcement that caught many search marketing advertisers and professionals by surprise, Yahoo! energized a conference call about its Q4 results yesterday by declaring that it will give Project Panama, its new search-ad platform, a full launch ahead of schedule.

• Digital

  Does Yahoo! Have the Answer for Mobile Search?

  Mobile marketing is going to depend on making the mobile Internet easier to access. Handsets are going to have to get easier to use; carriers are going to have to make data plans easier to understand; and Web sites are going to have to get easier to read and use on the small, small screen. In fact, to get its constituency above the current 11% of U.S. cell phone owners, the mobile Internet is going to have to become more navigable altogether. Yahoo! is banking on an enhanced suite of mobile apps and a new dedicated mobile search function to do just that.

• Digital

  SEO Helps MyFavoriteCity Deliver the Local Goods

  Dave Deasy spent several years running online and small business-oriented programs for Hewlett Packard and America Online. In 2003, he left the high-pressure corporate life to try his own hand at running a small business. Deasy founded MyFavoriteCity.com, which sells gift baskets and souvenirs from about 20 cities around the country.

• Digital

  Yahoo! Sees Early Launch for Panama Part Two

  Yahoo! is ahead of plan with the transition to its new Project Panama search marketing platform and plans an early February launch for the second phase, which will use a quality score to determine the most relevant — and most profitable — pay-per-click ads.

• Digital

  Mobile DM Growing in Finland: Survey

  Finns are increasingly using their cell phones to access the Internet and react to advertising, according to a survey by the Finnish Direct Marketing Association.