All Posts Tagged With: "bankrate"

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Zillow Mortgage Marketplace Grows Up, Getting Quoted Like Bankrate.com

This is just an observation, but I thought it was interesting. As I go about my daily read of online news I am noticing a subtle trend: Zillow quoted for market mortgage rate trends a space long dominated by Bankrate.com.
What does this mean in the lead generation business? Here are a few of my thoughts, [...]

18Dec2008 | Bill Rice | Comments | Continued
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Yahoo to Cut 10%, Watch Bankrate.com

Yahoo has announced a pending 10 percent reduction in workforce to counter a 64 percent drop in revenue, $54.3 million compared to $151.3 million a year ago. Analyst highlight a rapid detriorating display revenue growth in the weakness.
Yahoo, Bellwether for Bankrate.com?
This made me think Bankrate.com, a notably strong performer in a struggling mortgage lead generation [...]

22Oct2008 | Bill Rice | Comments | Continued
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Bankrate.com Masterful at Managing Investor Expectations

Amid disappointing news that Bankrate.com (RATE) would cut 2008 revenue guidance by 2%, resetting expectations between $164 to $169 million, some analyst are rushing in with rating upgrades.
Why?
Because Tom Evans is smart and Bankrate.com has a sturdy platform for weathering economic and advertising storms. The masterful management of expectations early sets a nice low bar [...]

8Jul2008 | Bill Rice | Comments | Continued
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Nature or Nurture? Debating Math or Conversation in Advertising.

ESPN’s move to kick ad networks out of their premium content and brand has sparked several classic debates about publisher monetization. What is the best, and most profitable, way to monetize your content?
There are certainly two strong positions to be debated:

Commoditization of ad inventory can dilute the perceived value of the content and brand
Unsold [...]

25Mar2008 | Bill Rice | Comments | Continued
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Bankrate gobbling up bargain Internet properties?

Bankrate recently completes two acquisitions of InsureMe, Inc. (insureme.com) and Lower Fees, Inc. (feedisclosure.com). It continues a trend of paired acquisitions that included the 4th quarter 2007 purchase of  National Card Services, Inc. and Savingforcollege.com, LLC and a pair of late 2005 deals to take in FastFind and MMIS/Interest.com.
The 2007/2008 acquisitions certainly demonstrate a strategy [...]

13Feb2008 | Bill Rice | Comments | Continued
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OLGA wants more from IAB’s lead generation best practices

Interactive Advertising Bureau’s (IAB) recent release of online lead generation best practices for B2C and B2B is an unprecedented step in bringing a benchmark of acceptable practices to lead generation. Those of us involved in lead generation and lead management see on a daily basis the very loose and wide view of acceptable means to [...]

11Feb2008 | Bill Rice | Comments | Continued
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Bankrate misses estimates, but remains bullish

Bankrate, like most of the Internet advertising market with mortgage market exposure, has missed quarterly earnings estimates. I think the key trend line that needs to be watched is reflected in this statement from Bankrate’s CEO, Thomas Evans:
“It was an unusual quarter in that we had two record months followed by a soft December, when [...]

6Feb2008 | Bill Rice | Comments | Continued