Ask.com has closed a deal with Symantec (Norton software), where ask.com will provide the consumers a toolbar with search feature, displaying Ask results. So far, no matter how inovative Ask.com tools were, they couldn’t get a major market share in the Search space. With this new deal, it will become more interesting to watch their evolution. They seem to follow the same approach as Yahoo, when they signed a deal with McAfee.
The consumers will have the search tool integrated inside their toolbar, provided by Norton in their new release due Tuesday.

I was not aware there was such a thing as a recession proof car, but there is! Take a look at some of the cars that Business Week defines as recession proof cars.

1. Honda Fit
2. Honda CR-V
3. Mini Cooper
4. Toyota Prius
5. Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetech
6. Lexus LS460
7. Toyota Sienna
8. BMW 328I

Business Week describes a recession proof car as a car that no matter what gas prices are these are all good cars to have. For instance, when the gas prices were peaking at $4.00/gallon, these cars would still be good cars to have because of their good gas mileage. These are all cars that are in high demand now, and most likely going to continue to be in high demand down the road. The other big factor that has determined this list, is none of these auto makers are in “big ” economic trouble right now.
Leadpile Lead Exchange generates a lot of car purchase leads and auto finance leads. These are all people looking for a car. Maybe these cars listed above will be the next hottest models people are running out to get. We will see…..

Here is the latest news on what is going on with the struggling auto industry.  Automakers are trying to get congress to approve a bailout for them, yet FORD has announced it does not need any help.  However, congress wants to add a stipluation in with this potential “deal”… that is a “car czar”.  This car czar would potentially be there to monitor every aspect of the money, evaluate the business relationships they have, and oversee everything else related to the industry.

So, what is a car czar and what is congress wanting this “person” to do?  According to NPR news, a few traits that is recommended is someone who knows industrial companies and can follow the money. Another person states the car czar must have financial smarts who is going to make decisions that are going to benefit Americans. However, is this something one person can truely take on? How about a committee that governs these future decisions that are made?
Leadpile Lead Exchange is definitely interested in this industry because we work a lot with the auto finance lead type. What happens in the automakers “world” affects our marketplace. We will be keeping an eye on what happens with the automakers and if they really decide to hire a car czar.

There was a recent report by Channel 15, that brought up a study done by Vanderbilt University. In this study it pointed out, “Payday loan customers who are approved on their first application are more likely to file for bankruptcy than those whose initial applications are denied, according to a study out of Vanderbilt Law School. ” I am not sure I understand where this is going as far as trying to point out a bankruptcy filing rate with those that took out a payday loan. The people that could not get a payday loan probably did not qualify for the loans because of some sort of income issue or other specific requirement the payday lenders require. I would think this sort of individual had more potential of falling behind and contemplate bankruptcy, don’t you think?
Leadpile Lead Exchange has been generating payday loan leads for some time now. Blaming or relating  bankruptcy filing rates to those that have taken out a payday loan, and not those that have been approved for one, just does not make sense to me. Does this also mean that someone who took out a new auto finance loan is more likely to file bankruptcy, versus someone that applied for an auto finance loan and was denied? There are people that have a lot of outstanding past due debt that I would say is more of a correlation to filing bankruptcy, versus someone who took out a payday loan.  Those that did not manage their debts properly, had an expected loss of job, or those that had a major financial change in their life are more of a cause of someone filing bankruptcy. Payday loan = bankruptcy?  Payday loan = what else?

According to Forbes.com, the big 3 auto makers have concluded testimonies in front of Congress. They are requesting emergency financial assistance and failed in their first attempt in front of Congress. Round 2- they get another chance to plea their case. However, Congress is looking to see if these big 3 auto makers actually have a plan in place. According to Forbes, “What they likely want to see is how the carmakers will lower their labor costs and develop more fuel-efficient cars U.S. consumers will want to buy. The companies are happy to lay out their future product plans, which include more hybrids, plug-in electric cars and new turbo-charged gasoline engines that sip fuel. But the rest is tougher to do.”  Let’s see how the next week or so pans out for GM, Chrysler and Ford.  My fingers are crossed for you.

Leadpile Lead Exchange, and I am sure all other lead companies, are hoping something positive comes out of the meeting with congress. We would love to see the demand pick back up!  

With tough times even in the internet business world, businesses must find effective ways to generate new business. Companies need to see results from their money spent on advertising, so many choose to invest in lead generation.
Businesses could spend an infinite amount of money on PPC and not know what the result could be. Businesses could spend undefined amounts of money on hiring someone to do SEO.
Businesses could purchase “lists” and cross your fingers there will be a response rate that is acceptable.
OR
Businesses can look at lead generation (CPL), where each lead you purchase is a defined person who is interested in their product. There are various ways lead generation companies are generating leads. For example, leads can be generated from things such as surveys or incentives. However, these are not always going to be as targeted of leads, because consumers could be looking at it like what is in it for them? Unlike some other lead generation companies, Leadpile Lead Exchange is working with ONLY consumers who are opting in for a particular product of service. This end result means a lot more targeted consumer,  and a much bigger chance the lead will convert to an actual sale.  What should businesses choose?
Marketing dollars are down, so this requires a strict focus on making the most out of what you spend on marketing. Businesses can’t afford to pay for random non targeted ads, unopened e-mails or wasted clicks. CPL pricing models allow businesses to get returns on every advertising dollar they spend.  Tough times are not just affecting consumers, it is affecting businesses all over the world.  Businesses are fighting over every last potential sale because they are becoming far and few between!

In past years, the internet did not play a big part in a company’s product sales.  Today, this is certainly not the case. The internet is a major player in generating revenue for all industries. Specifically, financial related websites are very popular for consumers to find out information and also purchase items. Leadpile Lead Exchange is no different. The highest demanded leads in our marketplace are financial related lead types. These are companies wanting to provide financial services to consumers looking for assistance.
The auto industry is also no different than our marketplace, and other companies generating business online. According to DMNews, internet generated car sales will rise from 5.1 millions in 2007 to 7.7 million in 2012. This means that auto makers, no matter what their future status is, need to be visible on the internet in order to generate car sales. This would mean that with the tight economy and not as many people out shopping for a car, auto makers must utilize search engines and SEO efforts to get the much needed attention of consumers. DMNews also stated that Nissan North America, Chrysler and GM have done the best with utilizing search marketing.
So does this also mean that those auto lead exchanges that are not focusing on any other lead type are suffering right now? My guess would be yes. Leadpile Lead Exchange is also feeling the effects of less consumers online looking for a new car, however that is why diversifying the lead types we generate is so very important. People are in dire need of other financial services besides just getting a new car, and we want to be able to help with that.

First, I would like to say congratulations to our next president of the United States. No matter who everyone voted for, we are all keeping an eye on how the future of our struggling America pans out.  Secondly, there was something that America should really pay attention to, and that is an amazing effect the internet had on the election of our 44th president.
The internet AND social networking tools contributed to the Barack Obama being elected. According to businessstandard.com,“Obama, on his part, has refined the digital act further — a fact revealed during his presidential announcement speech in Springfield last October when he said: “Let us be the generation that reshapes our economy to compete in the digital age…” A few examples of this being implemented, was in the case where almost 300,000 people created accounts on the barackobama.com website, he became the first YouTube politician, got involved on Facebook, MySpace, text messaging and all other avenues of the internet for fund raising and party awareness.
Another interesting aspect in this presidential campaign was, “Obama has proposed the creation of the nation’s first Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to ensure that the American government and all its agencies have the right infrastructure, policies and services for the 21st century. The CTO will have a specific focus on transparency, by ensuring that each arm of the federal government makes its records open and accessible as the e-government Act requires. The CTO will also ensure technological interoperability of key government functions”, according to Business Standard.
No matter who was elected, the excitement of the internet and the power it can have also excited Leadpile Lead Exchange. We are in it for the long hall on wherever this great internet craze LEADS us!

LeadPile is excited to announce that we have partnered with RevUpCard for Easy, Instant Commission Payments anywhere in the world!

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Partnering up with Revupcard is going to make getting paid commissions that much easier for our Leadpile sellers!

Exchanges, marketplace, networks, lead providers, lead generators or all the above are places any advertiser/lead buyer can purchase leads.  How ever or where ever you get your leads, there are going to be variations in the conversions you have as a advertiser.  Why is this?  One large factor is the end user- the person/company that purchases the lead has a major affect on how well purchased leads convert.

A recent article on Lead Market Watch brought up some good points about lead buyers providing performance data to the lead provider. As a lead buyer, you want to get the most amount of leads at the least amount of cost to your company. Also, having the highest conversions to sales with the least amount of money invested in these leads is very important. Therefore, would you be cutting off your own feet if you provided how the leads are specifically performing to the company that provided them to you? When things aren’t going so well, the natural thing to do is always complain and express that. However, should you tell the lead company what the results of these leads was, in order to provide them with specific information on the lead providers bringing in the leads? Would providing this information eventually promote the exhange/network etc to increase the cost per lead if they are seeing the specific success you are having? These are a lot of tough questions that I am sure have a lot of different opinions on.
Here are Leadpile Lead Exhange we welcome lead buyers to provide conversions to us and also any potential issues with the leads. The more information we have on the leads the more we can help the next guy that is wanting to buy leads from us.
On a side note, each buyer of leads is going to have different ways of working leads they purchase. Knowing that, it is hard to actually compare apples to apples with leads. Knowing overall specifics of the leads and the companies buying them, will also help us to see any sort of consistancy on that lead type.
Some other questions lead providers might be curious to know are:
1. How long is your sales cycle?
2. How quickly do you call the leads you purchase?
3. How many times to you call the leads?
4. How many leads does it take for your company to get an application?
5. How many applications does it take for you to get a sale?
6. Approximately what kind of cost/fees does the customer absord for your service?
This information can be very helpful to any company that is providing leads, however there could be some information that is just not something that the lead buyers want to provide.

   Well it is that time again, Ad-tech New York is happening in a little over a week, and it will be represented by all the top advertisers in the country. This conference has been around for more than 10 years bringing together media, marketing and technical professions. According to ad-tech.com, “As the digitization of media continually redefines the business of marketing, it is ad:tech’s mission to provide brand advertisers, agencies, portals, online publishers and technology providers an unparalleled forum – one that supports the exchange of ideas, experiences, new practices, emerging models and expert opinion.”

Leadpile Lead Exchange will be attending the conference. This conference allows businesses to meet current partners and also look at setting up new partnerships. We look forward to seeing old faces and new faces. If you are planning on being there, we would love to see you! Let us know!
Leadpile would also like to say thanks to all the affiliates we are currently working with, and those that come on board with this Brilliant Lead Exchange!

We all know what is going on with the economy and how it is affecting the auto industry. However, yesterday MSNBC stated that Michigan (home of GM, Ford, and Chrysler) lawmakers are reaching out to the Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and our nation’s treasury secretary to help loosen up the credit requirements. This is in hopes that something can be passed with regards to the 700 billion dollar bailout. Lawmakers are concerned the status of the economy is going to cripple our auto industry.

The sad part about this is the lawmakers are estimating at a reduction in car sales by almost 30%. They estimate this could drive car sales down to roughly 11 million vehicles sold per year, and this is lowest figure since 1983. At this point, having lawmakers step in might be a good idea to help to prevent a bad situation from becoming devastating to the auto industry.
This sort of drop in demand by consumers wanting a new car, is also affecting the lead volume in our marketplace. Our goal is to still capture those consumers that need and want a car in this tough economy.