Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft has launched a new more unified support Web site for its pay-per-click  advertising program adCenter, bringing a blog, customer support message forums and other services together under one roof in a support site called adCentercommunity.com, the company announced Monday. Microsoft anticipated that the newly retooled support site will be used by adCenter customers including advertisers, users of its adCenter Analytics measurement service, and developers programming with its adCenter application programming interface (API), according to Microsoft adCenter community team members Mel Carson and Carolyn Miller, who made the announcement in a blog entry at the new site. Bringing Together Scattered Tools and Support Sites The support site, which includes blogs and forums for developers and for adCenter and adCenter Analytics users, allows adCenter customers to post messages in four support forums, including an area for discussion of a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet add-on which is available in a Beta test version. Microsoft expects the site to make it easier for adCenter users to find help online, and will offer training videos, audio podcasts, and video interviews, such as a recent interview with Jonathan Hochman of Hochman Consultants which took place at Microsoft's recent adChamps 2008 conference in Seattle, an industry event. Utilizing Existing adCenter Customers The new site will inform adCenter customers of upcoming events, such as a Tuesday live conference call which will be held at 1:00 p.m. Pacific time for adCenter API users, who will be able to talk with members of the development team about a recent upgrade of the API, according to a message posted by Chris Norred of Microsoft. The support site has added individual member profiles to encourage interaction, and intends to be the "one place to visit for all adCenter updates, news, tips, tricks and best practices," according to Carson. By providing forums for customers, Microsoft hopes to let adCenter users share information with one another. "Some of the most knowledgeable users of our products and services are our customers," Carson wrote in the announcement. Monday's launch follows the announcement Friday that Microsoft has purchased privately held San Francisco-based Internet advertising management firm Rapt for an undisclosed amount. Microsoft Unifies adCenter Community Support The site will also include information about relevant adCenter product updates, reviews, how-to guides, and news about projects such as adCenter Labs, which tests such features as content categorization, keyword forecasting and demographic prediction, Microsoft said. Microsoft has added adCenter case studies to the new unified site, with examples of successful advertising campaigns from customers such as online textbook firm CompusBooks.com and online foreign exchange trading service Global Forex. AdCenter users are likely to find the new support site more cohesive, and a welcome change from a previously scattered collection of tools and support sites within the Microsoft system. Some industry analysts using online forums, such as WebmasterWorld, a community of webmasters and search engine marketing (SEM) professionals founded by chief executive Brett Tabke, have wondered why the changes announced Monday by Microsoft were not taken earlier, however now that it has done so, more adCenter users may find news and support for the service easier to access. Related Links:
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