Archive for December, 2006
Matt Cutts – Could You Answer Some Questions While the Misses is Away?
Matt Cutts wife is gone on vacation. With that you would think that Matt would be taking it easy but not so. Rather he has been posting like crazy at his blog. Therefore Rand Fishkin thought it might be a good time to ask Matt some specific questions – eleven to be exact. Seeing that Matt was absent from the SES Chicago show last week, possibly Matt would take some time to answer a set of questions that offer multiple choice answers? The answer was yes which produced a nice list of juicy tidbits regarding Google outlook on web sites and search marketing.
First There’s LinkBait, Now There’s HatBait!
For the last three Search Engine Strategies conferences, Irma and myself have hung out with Liana Evans who runs the Search Marketing Gurus blog and currently works for Commerce360. Li, as we call her is already very outgoing but during the recent SES Chicago conference, she came up with an idea that probably allowed her to meet more people than she ever expected to – HatBait.com.
Google’s Undetected Click Fraud Rate Less Than 2%
In an interview with Andy Beal, Google’s business product manager for trust and safety, Shuman Ghosemajumder, has clarified that Google’s click fraud rate is less than 2% of all “invalid clicks”, which means the actual number is more likely just a fraction of one percent! This in contrast to the 20% or so that most click fraud agencies report. Andy was able to gain inside access to information never before seen outside of the walls of the Googleplex. Whether that was intention or not, it proves that the click fraud rate discovered by most AdWords advertisers is on average less than 2% of all clicks through Google’s system.
Trip Report – Search Engine Strategies 2006 in Chicago
This year’s Search Engine Strategies conference in Chicago was simply a blast. I attended last year but was only there for one day because a spot on a Site Clinic session opened up. I literally flew in Wednesday and left 24 hours later only leaving the hotel once to attend a party held at Buddy Guy’s Legends club. This time around, my wife and business partner, Irma joined me as we attended the entire week. We met tons of cool people and were able to experience some of the highlights of this fabulous city.
Weekly Rap-up of Search Engine Industry News – 12/4 – 12/8
A summary of search related news items that occurred this week including Ask launches Ask City, Jason Calacanis keynotes at Search Engine Strategies Chicago, how to utilize AdWords even when you do not have a web site, Search Engine Strategies in Chicago wraps up and finally rumors that Metcafe is up for sale at a price tag of $200 plus.
Danny Sullivan Announces New Conference Series
We all knew this was coming. With Danny’s recent departure from Search Engine Watch, the resource he founded which was acquired twice, first by Jupiter Media and then by Incisive, it was only a matter of time before it was expected that a new conference series would be announced. While Danny will continue to chair two more Search Engine Strategies conferences for Incisive – New York in April and San Jose in August, Danny’s new conference series will be called Search Marketing Expo, or SMX for short.
Heading To Chicago for Search Engine Strategies Conference
I’ll be heading out Sunday to Chicago for the annual Search Engine Strategies Conference. I will be a Q&A speaker on the “Working With Ad Agencies” session that looks at how SEM firms can survive and thrive in the ad agency world through partnerships, coexisting and other means. I will also be covering the “CSS, AJAX, Web 2.0 & Search Engines” session for an article I will write shortly after the conference for SearchDay. Other than that, haven’t made up my mind exactly which sessions I will attend. Most of all I look forward to meeting up with all my search marketing friends.
Weekly Rap-up of Search Engine Industry News – 11/27 – 12/1
A summary of search related news items that occurred this week including news that Google reaches settlement with Belgium publishers, YouTube coming to a mobile phone near you, a new service geared towards seniors (or those without computers) that allows them to receive email via special printer, Google Answer’s closes, Yahoo seek to scoop up researchers from Google Answers, everything you ever wanted to know about Matt Cutts, Google’s secret advertising network and finally, one of the funniest pranks played on a telemarketer I’ve ever seen.
Is Your SEO a Quack? Ten Telltale Signs That They May Be
While there are many fine SEO firms spread out across the globe, there is equally a share of bad firms as well or as Jill Whalen calls them, “Quacks.” In her most recent newsletter, Jill provides 10 signs that your SEO may be a quack. Some of them are obvious but others might not be quite so obvious to those shopping for SEO services. That is why when searching for an SEO vendor, it is so important to perform due diligence so you can have confidence in who is finally selected. Jill’s tips will help identify firms to stay clear of. I will list them below but for more detailed explanation of each, visit her newsletter archive.
