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« February 2008 | Main | April 2008 »

March 28, 2008

How To Sell Mom and Pop On SEO Services & Other Daily Finds for March 28, 2008

Here are some great and newsworthy posts I came across today including a post on how to sell SEO services to "mom and pop" shops or in other words - small businesses and 10 features that Jason Bartholme would like to see added to Twitter.

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March 27, 2008

Do Privacy Policies Help Establish a Site's Trustworthiness & Other Daily Finds for March 27, 2008

Here are some great and newsworthy posts I came across today including a look at whether having a privacy policy on your site or not helps to establish trustworthiness in the eyes of search engines and YouTube is now offering statistics for user submitted videos.

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LinkedIn's New "Company Profiles" Feature is Pretty Lame

I know that LinkedIn Company Profiles is in beta but seriously, they should have fine-tuned it a bit more before announcing it to the world. In a March 20th announcement, LinkedIn informed us that we would now be able to see over 160,000 company profiles in the same manner that you can see individual profiles. These include Fortune 500 companies such as eBay to philanthropic organizations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

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March 26, 2008

How to Get Bloggers to Mention You Without Paying Them & Other Daily Finds for March 26, 2008

Here are some great and newsworthy posts I came across today including a post describing how to get bloggers to mention you without having to pay for it, a post that weighs the costs in using a professional SEO company compared to hiring an in-house marketer, and finally, Wal-Mart lose an online trademark case (always love any story where Wal-Mart is the loser).

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Small Business Marketing Unleashed Conference - Still Time To Register and Save

Small Business Marketing Unleashed takes place in just a few short weeks. This conference is being put on by Search Engine Guide and Small Business Brief and features some very prominent experts in the industry. While the early bird registration deadline has expired, there is still an opportunity to save $100 off the registration fee. It is called the "better late than never" discount in which you can use the word "PUPPY" to save $100 when you register. That means you'll pay $875 for two full days of learning from some of the leaders in the search marketing industry.

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March 25, 2008

Local Search Engine Optimization Doesn’t Exist & Other Daily Finds for March 25, 2008

Here are some great and newsworthy posts I came across today including a great post from Lisa Barone entitled "Local Search Engine Optimization Doesn’t Exist" which essentially argues that all the various types of SEO should fall under a company’s core marketing campaign, another great post from Brent Csutoras who reminds us of all the various elements that go into a good social media optimization campaign, including working it after the fact, and finally, Barry Schwartz has written up a concise tutorial on how to set up Google Ad manager for your site or blog.

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Mixx Adds New "Breaking News" Feature

Mixx has added a new feature to help get stories that are considered "breaking" to the "Popular" page faster. The feature is called "Breaking News" and is only accessible to Super Mixxers. Breaking news stories can become popular just like any other story, but they gain additional visibility since the Breaking News category is visible on Mixx’s “Popular” page. As an additional check, one Super Mixxer is not enough -- it takes two to Mixx a Breaking News story.

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March 24, 2008

Retailers Oppose Google’s Secondary Search Feature & Other Daily Finds for March 24, 2008

Here are some great and newsworthy posts I came across today including a story at The new York Times claiming that some retailers are opposed to Google's secondary search feature when it comes to their listings, Bill Slawski breaks down a new patent filed by Microsoft that may use anchor text to determine the relevance of a page and finally, Google wants to offer nationwide WiFi access for free.

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Which Is Better - PPC or SEO? Case Study of How Client Increased Traffic 60% With SEO

The Dallas Business Journal recently ran a story on one of our clients, Wasp Barcode Technologies, describing how they went from spending enormous amounts of money on PPC (AdWords) to focusing more on traditional SEO and link building. The strategy paid off -- Wasp spent less and got better results. Their web traffic grew by 60%, topping 600,000 visits while they were able to cut external spending by 13% in the process.

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March 22, 2008

Mixx - Please Limit Story Submissions To One, Maybe Two Categories

Social news site, Mixx must be getting more popular. I am seeing a lot of spam recently, mostly of the kind where people are submitting stories to multiple categories. Now there may be times where this is good but in most of the cases I have seen, it has been spammy. I can only assume people are doing this to try to gain additional exposure for their submissions but all it really does is make a lot of noise.

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March 21, 2008

Advertising and the Web – A Match NOT Made in Heaven & Other Daily Finds for March 21, 2008

Another slow news day (plus I was out half the day) but here are a couple of great posts I came across including one by fellow Mixxer, Allen Harkleroad regarding advertising and the web - a match NOT made in heaven and 11 ways to recognize a bad SEO firm.

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March 20, 2008

LinkedIn To Add Company Profiles & Other Daily Finds for March 20, 2008

Slow news day but here are a couple of great and newsworthy posts I came across today including social networking site, LinkedIn to add company profiles and Christine Churchill provides ten strategies you can use to avoid search marketing burnout.

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New York Lawmaker Sponsors Bill To Limit Tracking of Internet User's Activity

After reading about how companies like Google, Microsoft and Yahoo collect information about people online and use it for targeted advertising (behavioral marketing), one New York lawmaker said there ought to be a law against it. He is now working to make that a reality. The New York Times reports that Assemblyman, Richard L. Brodsky is the sponsor of a New York bill to limit how companies collect data on computer users. If the bill becomes a law, it would make it a crime — punishable by a fine to be determined — for certain Web companies to use personal information about consumers for advertising without their consent.

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March 19, 2008

Google Sees "Watershed Moment" For Mobile Usage & Other Daily Finds for March 19, 2008

Here are some great and newsworthy posts I came across today including Google sees "watershed moment" for mobile usage, according to a self-conducted study, Gigablast states that its search results are better than what you will find at Google or Ask, and finally, a look at 7 social media sites and their impact on SEO.

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March 18, 2008

Tips for Overcoming Client-Created Roadblocks in SEO Campaigns & Other Daily Finds for March 18, 2008

Here are some great and newsworthy posts I came across today including some tips for overcoming client-created roadblocks in SEO campaigns, 12 must-have tools for active Diggers, and finally, a video interview from SES new York with Greg Boser as he talks about PageRank sculpting.

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7 Reasons Why Mixx Is Better Than Digg

While social news site Mixx is currently only sending a small fraction of the traffic that a popular post on Digg can send, there are several reasons why Mixx is better in my opinion. Not only is the Mixx staff much more friendly to the search marketing community than Digg is, they outscore Digg in several functionality features. Read on to discover 7 reasons why I think Mixx is better than Digg.

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March 17, 2008

Search Spend Seems Healthy Despite Slowing Economy & Other Daily Finds for March 17, 2008

Here are some great and newsworthy posts I came across today including the preliminary results of the 2007 State of the Market Survey reveal that spending on search remains healthy despite a slowing economy, Patrick Altoft has a great post on GEO targeting for SEO and usability and finally, an email spammer may spend over a quarter of a century behind bars.

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Not Attending Search Engine Strategies New York (SES NY)? Here's the Next Best Thing

I opted out of attending Search Engine Strategies in New York this year, not only because the sessions I typically speak in did not make the cut for this show, but I also have many other travel plans already scheduled for this year. I could have gone as a live blogger on a press pass but it seems like I just caught up on work after SMX West and in just a few weeks I'll be traveling to Houston for the Small Business Unleashed conference hosted by Search Engine Guide and Small Business Brief. This is not to mention SMX Advanced, SMX East, SES San Jose, a trip to Walt Disney World and any travel related to client work.

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March 14, 2008

Yahoo And Microsoft Hold Informal Talks About Combining Companies & Other Daily Finds for March 14, 2008

Here are some great and newsworthy posts I came across today including Yahoo And Microsoft hold informal talks about combining their companies, Microsoft acquires ad management software maker Rapt, and finally, Jennifer Slegg put together nice post from her own experience on why people you follow on twitter don't follow you back

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March 13, 2008

AOL Buys Social Network Bebo For $850 Million & Other Daily Finds for March 13, 2008

Here are some great and newsworthy posts I came across today including AOL buys social network Bebo for $850 million, Bill Slawski explores a recent patent filed by Yahoo that transforms the meaning of what a "navigation query" is and finally, a humorous look at what SEOs might be eating and drinking.

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March 12, 2008

Six Explosive Organic & Paid Link Building Tips & Other Daily Finds for March 12, 2008

Here are some great and newsworthy posts I came across today including six explosive organic and paid link building tips from Loren Baker, Jonathan Hochman shows us how to use Wikipedia to reveal web traffic data, Mixx gets a credibility boost from The New York Times, and finally, just one day after reporting on the RateMyCop.com web site, it seems as if GoDaddy has pulled the plug on it.

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Open Letter Asking Google To Do the Right Thing Regarding Performics

Now that Google officially owns DoubleClick, there is another dilemma at hand and that is they also own a SEO company. Is this a conflict of interest? Absolutely! Let's face it - Google is now in the SEO business - selling services through DoubleClick's Performics to people who want to rank well on search engines, including Google. This also places Google in the paid inclusion business, something it called evil back in 2004, when it went public. Danny Sullivan has written an open letter which basically urges Google to somehow spin off the company and fast.

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YouTube Offers a New Set of APIs

Mashable reports that YouTube has answered the call of making sure you can see your favorite videos just about anywhere. The popular video site has announced they are launching several new APIs that will let you be even more interactive with their service from just about anywhere. Read on for some features surrounding the new APIs.

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March 11, 2008

Google Officially Acquires DoubleClick & Other Daily Finds for March 11, 2008

Here are some great and newsworthy posts I came across today including Google officially acquires DoubleClick after EU approval, decreasing click rates on AdSense ads are intentional, is a new online rating service for cops an expression of free speech or and invasion of privacy and finally, Google finally fails at something.

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Should Twitter Be Used For Serious Stuff?

Stan Schroeder wrote a piece on Mashable questioning whether the popular micro-blogging service, Twitter should be used for anything important. He writes, "Here’s a simple rule: if it’s important, don’t say it on Twitter. If it requires a response, don’t say it on Twitter. If you actually care whether anyone will see what you’ve just written, don’t say it on Twitter. Twitter, however fun it may be, simply isn’t designed for it." Sorry, I don't agree.

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March 10, 2008

SEO Using Thematic Search Modifiers & Other Daily Finds for March 10, 2008

Here are some great and newsworthy posts I came across today including a post on how to improve organic search rankings using thematic search modifiers, a new TopRank poll looking for top reason why people attend marketing conferences, and brand awareness may be more valuable than paid search marketing.

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SMX West 2008 Photos Up on Flickr

I finally got my photos from the SMX West conference in Santa Clara up on Flickr. Sorry it has taken so long but last week I spent the majority of time digging out and keeping up with blogs and social media stuff. There is just under 90 photos there, some of which were taken from the sessions I live blogged while others are more related to the night life and people we hung out with all week.

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March 07, 2008

Sometimes Fixing a Site Means Breaking It First & Other Daily Finds for March 7th 2008

Here are some great and newsworthy posts I came across today including a post from friend Stoney deGeyter pointing out the fact that sometimes fixing a site with SEO means breaking it first, Google and Microsoft prepare to battle to see who will acquire Digg, Matt McGee provides an update to the 2009 SEMMY Awards site and asks for some help form the community in making it happen, and finally, page load time is confirmed as part of AdWords quality score.

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March 06, 2008

10 Adobe Air Apps Worth A Look & Other Daily Finds for March 6th 2008

Here are some great and newsworthy posts I came across today including Mashable recommends 10 Adobe AIR applications for your desktop, Yahoo Maps adds more data and other improvements, despite the rumors and wide-spread speculation, Ask clarifies that they will stay committed to search, SEOmoz launched their own analytics product.

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Is Ask Giving Up Battle for Search or Staying the Course? Which is True?

Lot's of talk related to search engine Ask lately. First there were rumors that Ask would be laying off some of its workforce and abandoning the Teoma technology they had worked so hard on the last few years. Then Ask responds and calls the rumors false. Those of us who are cheering Ask on in the battle for search market share breathed a sign of relief... but not for long. The next day a story breaks reporting that Ask has laid off 8% of their workforce (40 jobs) and that they were changing the strategy of the search engine to "focus to better answering search queries posed as questions." This was followed by a report that Ask would become a search engine geared towards married women. If that wasn't enough drama, today we hear from Ask once again claiming that despite all the rumors and speculation, they remain committed to search. Are you confused? I know I am.

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March 05, 2008

Build Authority by Using Social Media & Other Daily Finds for March 5th 2008

Here are some great and newsworthy posts I came across today including Jeff Quipp from Search Engine people shows us how you can use social media to build authority, Ask gives up race for search market share and will become a site geared towards married women, AOL and Yahoo! are considering a merger (again), and finally, a study into whether paid search or paid content ads are better for actual site conversions.

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I Am Now a Super Mixxer! What Is That?

I love the fairly new social news site, Mixx and find myself spending time there each day, adding stories and voting on others. While viewing my profile today, I see a "Super Mixxer" badge next to my name. Cool, but what does it mean? According to the Mixx FAQ page, "A Super Mixxer is a user on Mixx, who, through a combination of Karma points, high quality, diverse submissions and comments, and being a model Mixxer for at least 30 days, has access to special feature enhancements."

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March 04, 2008

3 Tools to Quickly Submit Your Sites to Web Directories & Other Daily Finds for March 4, 2008

Here are some great and newsworthy posts I came across today including 3 tools that will allow you to quickly submit your sites to directories, Microsoft Office Live Workspace now available to everyone, The SMX West Scwag Awards and Danny Sullivan is video interviewed by Michael McDonald of WebProNews.

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Housekeeping: Replacing Weekly Rap-up With Daily Finds

While I do not attempt to recap all the news that happens in the industry of search and social media here on this blog mostly due to the fact that there are many others that do it quite well, I have published a Weekly Rap-up for some time now. It has been a good way to highlight some of the top stories and blog posts that are put out each week. Now we are doing away with the Weekly Rap-up and in its place will publish a "Daily Finds in the World of Search & Social Media."

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7 Gadgets That Are Sure To Enhance the Twitter Experience

Twitter has become an essential part of my daily life. I use it to keep up on the lives of friends and colleagues, to share interesting things I find on the web as well as to discover items of interest from others, and to share bits and pieces from my own life. I have even learned about breaking news on Twitter before I heard it anywhere else. However, even with all the things Twitter has become useful for, one has to be careful that it does not become a distraction. Read on to learn about 7 gadgets (as well as a link to many more) that will enhance your Twitter experience.

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