January 2006

Jill Whalen

Mirror Sites for Flash

My sister had a nice (Flash-based) site created for her. The web developer told her he is going to create a mirror site with HTML to deal with the issue of an all-Flash site....

Karon Thackston

Copywriting Makeover: Subtle Changes Make A Noticeable Difference Part 2 of 2

The headline needed to evoke feelings of trust for the skeptical and a sense of stability for the hesitant. It also needed to provide an obvious benefit - one that would catch the reader's attention....

Jennifer Laycock

Google Launches Toolbar Update

The Google Toolbar is testing some new toys. In a beta launch available only to IE users, Google is offering several new features aimed at making the Google toolbar a more personal and more powerful browsing companion. From the addition of quick launch buttons to Google based bookmarking to closer integration with Gmail and Blogger, the toolbar upgrades look promising....

Gord Hotchkiss

The Real Cost of SEO: It’s not Budget, It’s Believers!

There is a cost to SEO. It's not the budget required, which is minimal relative to other marketing initiatives. It's the time and patience required on the part of one person to get the buy in that's needed to make SEO happen....

Bill Hartzer

Sitemap Pages Don't Help Search Engine Rankings

Sitemaps and XML files, mainly made for the Google Sitemaps program are pretty much useless for ranking purposes. Don't expect to give Google a URL to crawl and expect it to rank anywhere for anything if you don't have everything else in place (like on-topic links to the URL)....

Jim Hedger

Unified Theory of Google

Along with its competitors, Google has been undergoing a remarkable series of changes over the past six months as it adds new features, acquires new technologies and expands its operations. It is no longer a pure search engine company though its search engine is the most popular around the world....

Todd Mintz

How To Be An Ideal SEO Client

If your company has selected or will select an SEO vendor to optimize your corporate website for natural search. How can you best work with an SEO to achieve the best outcome for your website?...

Jennifer Laycock

Link Building is Relationship Building

Many web site owners find link requests to be perplexing. The web is simply full of articles telling site owners how NOT to link build, but with all those lists of "don'ts" floating around, it's still tough to figure out what the "do's" are....

Gord Hotchkiss

Lights, Camera, Point and Click!

Search is the engine that underlies all this functionality. It is the bridge that connects intent and content. This core functionality that will drive almost all online connections in the future....

Jill Whalen

Get Rick Quick SEO

Whether it's search marketing or any other business that you want to get into, no person, book, website, or seminar can make you successful; not in 15 minutes, 15 days, or even 15 years....

Jennifer Laycock

How Offline Actions Impact Online Reputation Management

I've written several articles now talking about the need for companies to practice online reputation manage as part of their search marketing campaigns. What I've not yet covered is the fact that your offline actions can also go a long way toward impacting your online reputation....

Jim Hedger

Redefining the Search Scenery

Google dominates today’s versions of search and both Yahoo and MSN are prepared to admit it. In short, the recent past and the persistent present belong to Google. For its formal rivals, the only place to look is the future....

Stoney deGeyter

Securing a Marketing-Rich Domain Name

Before going out and buying the first domain name that comes to mind, take a step back so you can think it through first. While you can easily change your domain name before your site goes live, once you've begun the work of establishing your web presence changing a domain name is not quite a simple....

Jennifer Laycock

Google and the Department of Justice

If you've not been living under a rock the past week or so, you've likely heard one or two (or a thousand) people comment on the battle that is raging between Google and the Department of Justice....

Bill Hartzer

Use Link Bait to Catch Better Rankings

Although the term "link bait" is fairly new, the entire concept of link bait has been around as long as the internet itself. People have been creating controversial, funny, and informative web sites and web site content that others naturally link to....

Jennifer Laycock

Why Viral Marketing Is Essential To Low-Cost Search Marketing

Think about the last time that a friend told you about a great movie that they saw over the weekend, or how much they loved a new restaurant that just opened up. Online viral marketing works the same way, though the results are much easier to track....

Jim Hedger

SEO Tips in a Sea of Change – Advanced SEO 2006

Since the introduction of the Jagger Update at Google, we have been doing a number of things slightly differently and have updated expectations of our clients and ourselves....

Gord Hotchkiss

Men and Women and Search - Part 2

Men appreciate the internet's ability to help them get the job at hand done. Women are social creatures. They multi task better. They are more comfortable browsing. Women will be more patient with non-obvious navigation options....

Karon Thackston

Copywriting Makeover: Subtle Changes Make A Noticeable Difference Part 1

Changing a few words in your copy can lead to double-digit increases in conversions. If that sounds like a bunch of hype from an online infomercial, stick around and I'll show you how it's done....

Stoney deGeyter

SEO is Dead

The reality is that while SEO will remain an integral part online marketing, those that focus exclusively on achieving top search engine rankings will fail....

Andy Beal

Wink's Michael Tanne Discusses the Future of Tagging

Wink is a search engine that lets you find the results that others think are most relevant. It combines results from all the most popular tagging sites and then adds Google to fill any gaps....

Jim Hedger

15 Shades of SEO Spam

Search engine optimization spam continues to be a problem for the SEO industry as it tries to move past the perceptions of mainstream advertisers....

Jennifer Laycock

v7ndotcom elursrebmem ... come again?

Years after Nigratude Ultramarine made news, v7ndotcom elursrebmem is storming the net with a slew of new pages by SEMs entering a new contest. This difference this time is that there are two competing factions aiming to attract contest entrants....

Jill Whalen

WPG and Google's API Key

We have WebPosition Gold and I can't remember if it was you that said we need to get a Google API key to use the program. I was wondering why and how it works....

David Wallace

Can't We All Just Get Along? - The Battle Between SEOs and Web Designers

I have been following an interesting thread over at Search Engine Watch Forums entitled "Do Designers Hate SEO?" where forum member "glengara" began with the question of whether all-Flash sites should be used in the commercial web space. It is certainly an interesting topic and one that has been hotly debated time and time again. The SEO argues for an "optimized" site that search engines can comprehend while the web designer argues for artistic liberty and creativity....

Jim Hedger

The Year of the Goog

For search engine marketers, 2005 was a tumultuous year full of contradictions. Search marketing became more challenging, even as the search engines became better at finding and sorting data....

Gord Hotchkiss

Men and Women and Search

Men and women have very distinct reasons for going online. Men tend to retrieve information. For woman, the internet is first and foremost a communication vehicle, with email usage a prime reason....

Stoney deGeyter

Top Rankings Guarantees Debunked (Again)

Each week I get calls from prospective clients looking for some kind of guarantee for our services. Sure, we can provide a guarantee that gives us enough wiggle room to be useless, but I would rather work with a company that is a bit more forthright in their business practices....

Jennifer Laycock

How the Search Marketing Industry Shot Itself in the Foot

While top five or even top ten rankings could be achieved by skilled SEMs for almost any keyword phrase, the day is coming when the industry will grow to levels that make phrases so competitive that even the most skilled search marketers will have difficulty attaining top rankings....

Jennifer Laycock

Are You Making Too Much of Your Money From Search Engines?

There are two problems that tend to happen when companies first start exploring search engine marketing. The first is that they get caught up in pay-per-click adversities and ignore organic search. The second is that they start relying on free search engine traffic and use that as an excuse to cut their budget for other forms of marketing....

Bill Hartzer

Absolute Versus Relative Linking

There's not actually any search engine rankings boost per se when you use absolute versus relative links. However, when you use absolute links you make sure the search engines know which "version" of your site to index....

Jill Whalen

Dropped off the Face of Google

I have recently dropped off the face of Google for all my main keyword phrases. I was in the top 10 before Google changed my description snippet for my homepage....

Jim Hedger

Searching for Realistic Expectations – Consumer Electronics Show Letdowns

ast week, commentators were speculating Google was going to announce the development of a low-cost personal computer that directly threatened more than a few of Microsoft’s near monopolies....

Jennifer Laycock

Zero Dollars, a Little Talent and 30 Days - Day 30 - Launching the Press Release, Adding Up the Till and Offering Up a Little More...

As day thirty hit I spent some time wavering between relief and sadness. The relief at finally being finished with such an enormous task was fairly overwhelming. At the same time, the sadness that I felt bringing the project to a close was a bit more palpable than I would have expected. The good news, that day thirty wasn't really an ending, it was more of a milestone....

Jennifer Laycock

Zero Dollars, a Little Talent and 30 Days - Day 29 - Preparing for the Pitch, Spreading Goodwill and Earning from Amazon

On the second to the last day of the project I found myself buried in quite a few different projects. From reviewing pitch ideas to offering up advocacy help to sending the press release, I was still focusing on the public relations angle. I was also surprised to see a sudden flux of affiliate income from an unlikely source....

Andy Beal

Oodle's Craig Donato Discusses the Future of Online Classifieds

When Oodle burst on to the scene back in March of last year, it instantly became a hit among those looking for a more efficient way to search, scan and subscribe to classified ads....

Jill Whalen

Forum and Blog Links

Any links pointing to your site have the potential of giving your site more exposure, which can also lead to an increase in link popularity....

Jennifer Laycock

Zero Dollars, a Little Talent and 30 Days - Day 28 - Finishing up the Press Release, Making My Mark in Froogle and Learning to Squidoo

The last few days of the Lactivist project were going to be all about wrapping up plans for my press release and solidifying my ongoing marketing plans. That meant day twenty-eight was spent reviewing the final press release copy, making plans for distribution, and exploring a new marketing outlet that might have potential....

Jim Hedger

State of Search Marketing 2006

Last year (2005 for those who've already forgotten) was all about change and, aside from the obvious fact that everything in search is going to be or has already been affected, 2006 will be no different....

Gord Hotchkiss

We Are What We Search? Hopefully Not!

I have said, on several occasions, that our search patterns are a reflection of our society. If that's true, our society's intellect is about as deep as the ring left by a Starbucks coffee cup....

Paul Bruemmer

Search Looms Large

With multimedia search and local mobile now widely available, search is not only ever-present, it is simplifying life for all of us. Search will soon edge out email as the most popular web activity....

Mirror Sites for Flash

Copywriting Makeover: Subtle Changes Make A Noticeable Difference Part 2 of 2

Google Launches Toolbar Update

The Real Cost of SEO: It’s not Budget, It’s Believers!

Sitemap Pages Don't Help Search Engine Rankings

Unified Theory of Google

How To Be An Ideal SEO Client

Link Building is Relationship Building

Lights, Camera, Point and Click!

Get Rick Quick SEO

How Offline Actions Impact Online Reputation Management

Redefining the Search Scenery

Securing a Marketing-Rich Domain Name

Google and the Department of Justice

Use Link Bait to Catch Better Rankings

Why Viral Marketing Is Essential To Low-Cost Search Marketing

SEO Tips in a Sea of Change – Advanced SEO 2006

Men and Women and Search - Part 2

Copywriting Makeover: Subtle Changes Make A Noticeable Difference Part 1

SEO is Dead

Wink's Michael Tanne Discusses the Future of Tagging

15 Shades of SEO Spam

v7ndotcom elursrebmem ... come again?

WPG and Google's API Key

Can't We All Just Get Along? - The Battle Between SEOs and Web Designers

The Year of the Goog

Men and Women and Search

Top Rankings Guarantees Debunked (Again)

How the Search Marketing Industry Shot Itself in the Foot

Are You Making Too Much of Your Money From Search Engines?

Absolute Versus Relative Linking

Dropped off the Face of Google

Searching for Realistic Expectations – Consumer Electronics Show Letdowns

Zero Dollars, a Little Talent and 30 Days - Day 30 - Launching the Press Release, Adding Up the Till and Offering Up a Little More...

Zero Dollars, a Little Talent and 30 Days - Day 29 - Preparing for the Pitch, Spreading Goodwill and Earning from Amazon

Oodle's Craig Donato Discusses the Future of Online Classifieds

Forum and Blog Links

Zero Dollars, a Little Talent and 30 Days - Day 28 - Finishing up the Press Release, Making My Mark in Froogle and Learning to Squidoo

State of Search Marketing 2006

We Are What We Search? Hopefully Not!

Search Looms Large