Video blogger Sage Lewis keeps you up to date with what's hot in the world of search engines.
The government is finally on the social media bandwagon. The U.S. Dept. of State not only has a blog with comments but it also has YouTube, Flickr, Twitter and Facebook accounts, plus RSS feeds. Also in the news, Yahoo launches their Buzz.com site, emulating other social bookmarking sites like Digg....
Sage unleashes his endorsement for Search Engine Guide's Small Business Marketing Unleashed conference that is coming to Columbus, OH this September 22-23. Day one is full of general sessions to get your feet wet in everything from site architecture to blogging for business and link building; day two dives you down deep into hands-on workshops such as viral marketing, copywriting and usability. Sage's favorite aspect about SBMU is how intimate the environment is. With only 100 attendees, everyone meets everyone and you learn more. Check it out at SBMU.com....
What do Google, SERPs and Cartier all have in common? They are all "In the News" this week. Sage encourages us to check out Google's new tool Google Insights as well as Cartier's My Space page. Google Insights allows you to search for what people are well, searching for and then see both a geographic breakdown and time line of of popularity by percentage. Cartier's appearance on My Space adds credibility to an online community that was previously viewed as the "slums." Sage also highlights several SERP-related studies and articles, discussing the importance of being in the top ten while...
Stoney deGeyter is in the hot seat this week with his article "An End To Ranking Reports Is An End To Analysis." Stoney discusses the pros and cons of Google's ban on Web Position Gold's SERP reports....
Sage responds to a link exchange request from SEOdepth.com. He walks you through the process of understanding why these emails are generally spam. After showing that his link would not even appear on the SEOdepth website but on a completely different custom software development site, Sage warns people to be wary of who they are linking to, and he encourages these link spammers to at least have something of value to offer. Earn your links!...
Search Engine Watch steals the show this week with three informative articles. We learn about Microsoft's BrowseRank, Compete's site traffic comparison tool and China's search engine Baidu's soaring profits. Google makes an appearance this week as well. Search Engine Roundtable reports on Google's governmental search engine, Uncle Sam, and the Comscore press release sites Google as number one of the top 50 U.S. web properties for June of 2008....
Sage lays the smack down on the internet marketing industry as he brings to light the immaturity and name-calling surrounding the Edward Lewis "hubbub". Having been at the receiving end of scathing, hateful remarks by Shoemoney and his cohorts, Sage identifies with how it feels to be the underdog. He tells the industry to grow up! -- and stop acting like the immature children of the marketing world. If we want to play hard ball with the big boys of TV and print, then we have to start acting like a mature professional industry....
Social media is all the rage, and it's here to stay, but it's hard for businesses to know what to do with it and how to do it. Sage encourages both believers and skeptics to check out the book Groundswell by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff, citing it as one of the best social media resources from the business perspective. As an aside, our very own Jennifer Laycock is mentioned on page eight!...
Sage touches on some of the sadder aspects of our economy and world, broaching the greatly suffering real estate and energy industries. He believes people currently in these fields have wonderful opportunities to reach out to people and make a difference. A call to action is issued, encouraging these people to share their stories on the web, using blogs and Youtube as their platform....
As you think about your web marketing and what you want to accomplish, remember your American DNA. Your goals for the rest of the year can be achieved but you have to be tenacious and optimistic....
Ever wanted to own your very own top level domain name? Well, now you can. The BBC reports a complete internet overhaul with relaxed rules for the previously restricted .com's, .net's, .org's, etc....
Sage gives credit to Skitzzo of SEO Refugee, who writes "An Open Letter to SEO Bloggers: Back up Your Statements!" In the letter, Skitzzo expresses his frustration with SEO bloggers for stating theories and opinions as facts without any supporting evidence....
Local search walks away with two categories this week with continued praise for David Mihm's "Local Search Ranking Factors" article, and Local.com increases communication on its site by adding user reviews and ratings. USA Today featured Google's Matt Cutts as he shares five tips on how to help your website succeed in the search engines. And, the SEMPO survey says. . . the SEM industry exceeded its projected $11.5 billion spending with and actual spending of $12.2 billion in 2007!...
David Mihm steals top honors this week with his article "Local Search Rankings Factors." Sage refers to the post as the definitive local search document, thus far. David picks the brains of the top 20 local search experts to help determine what the most important factors are for local search. He created a scale of negative five to positive five that he uses to rank topics on how important they are to impacting your rankings. With a total of 47 different criteria listed, David not only tells you how the experts ranked them, but he also tells you how much...
Whether you're Barack Obama or the Associated Press, this week has been about cleaning out the proverbial skeletons in the closet. Obama launched a website called Fight the Smears (.com) in which he debunks and clarifies false rumors about himself and his family. The Associated Press is bringing legal action against bloggers for using too much of the AP's content in their blogs. Also, ClevelandSEO.com points to The Karcher Group as a good case study for domain name changes; The Karcher Group has been blogging in detail the trials and tribulations associated with transferring their domain name to TKG.com....
Sage highlights the Harvard Business Review blog, Conversation Starter. The post, "How to Be a Social Media Change Agent" features an interview with Josh Bernoff, author of The Groundswell Effect. The book provides case studies of what people are doing in the business world with social media. As one of the leading business publications in the world, the Harvard Business Review adds legitimacy to social media and internet industries as a whole by its coverage both online and in its print publication....
As Sage says, "It's a Yahoo! and videos week." CBS and Yahoo! reach a deal for web video sharing, and Yahoo! becomes the exclusive portal to resell display advertising for Walmart.com. Youtube ads the option of interactive Video Annotations, allowing you to add commentary, background and link to other stories and videos. Youtube also ads apology center and underwear fitness to its list of attributes....
Joost de Valk of Yoast.com makes an indelible mark in the WordPress and SEO worlds with his article "WordPress SEO: The Definitive Guide To High Rankings For Your Blog." This all-encompassing resource talks about everything from basic technical optimization methods like Permalinks, title optimization and image optimization to advanced technical optimization techniques like disabling unnecessary archives, pagination and nofollowing unnecessary links....
Sage highlights Jennifer Laycock's article "How Social Media (Didn't) Change Business," in which she uses her grandfather as an example of what business is really all about, and that's PEOPLE. Jennifer's grandfather was an insurance agent who delayed his retirement for a year to personally take care of all his clients' claims after a major tornado struck the area.
C-Level people are spending more time on line. Historically consumers of traditional media, C-Level people are now incorporating online media into their daily routine. Comscore data is out and it shows Google going up, up, up and Yahoo going down, down, down. No surprise there. Microsoft is now less than 10% share of the US market. New York Times reports online search ads are faring better than expensive display ads. Search ads are considered cheap and effective. Microsoft is now willing to pay you for searching with their Cashback from Live search. Google Sites now available to everyone....
Sage talks about Google's expansion of their Beta version of "Automatic Matching" for Google AdWords and brings to light SEMPO's latest survey about online advertising. The survey found that 57% of online advertisers would rather target age and gender specific demographics with their campaigns. Ask.com becomes the ninth largest web property in the world with their acquisition of Dictionary.com, and yes, you, I said you, can work for Barack Obama. According to the job posting on Search Engine Watch, Obama is looking for internet experts to help him with his campaign....
Google engineer, Matt Cutts, steals the show with his Web 2.0 expo video "What Google Knows About Spam." Sage extols the virtues of watching the video if you're looking to avoid spam in your own site and also if you want to make sure you aren't accidentally becoming the spammer yourself! Cutts provides tips on how to prevent spam and encourages site owners to register their sites in Google's Webmaster Central area, which allows Google to notify you if something is wrong....
This week, Sage addresses Shoemoney's article "SEO Has No Future," in which Shoemoney talks about Google-influenced search results and the pervasive problem of web spam in the industry. Sage proposes that the article is possibly nothing more than a link baiting ploy and that the industry maintain focus on optimizing for the visitor's experience. Google looks to increase visitor experiences by including landing page loading time as a quality score factor in Google AdWords by mid-June, and they are in preview release stages of a new, comprehensive, sophisticated, integrated social media tool called Google Friends Connect....
Sage addresses the failure of Microsoft's attempt to buy Yahoo!. The winners and losers of the whole ordeal are brought to light in an article by Andy Beale at Marketing Pilgrim, in which, ironically, Google comes out top winner, despite Yahoo!'s successful acquisition of Fast Search. Google also takes center stage with their artist-driven iGoogle themes that are now available, and the art of web development has a new resource thanks to Danny Dover at SEOmoz who came up the "The Web Developer's SEO Cheat Sheet."...
Twitter and DirectTV go head to head this week by creating and solving customer service issues at the same time. Mack Collier's article "Worst Example of a Company Twittering?" exposes DirectTV's bumbled use of Twitter, explains the frustration that can cause, and encourages companies to use social media tools "as the rest of us do." The DirectTV/Twitter saga actually begins with Stoney deGeyter's tweet about the company's presence, is filled in with his article "Why DirectTV is Losing My Heart (and Quite Possible My Business)," and then ends with another tweet about the company's immediate response to his customer service...
Sage Lewis interviews Abby Prince from WebPro News at Search Engine Guide's Small Business Marketing Unleashed Conference in Houston, Texas. We not only learn that Abby was covering the conference for WebPro News but also that she comes from a traditional journalism background at a local TV news station. Abby points out Matt Bailey's analytics workshop as one of the many informative sessions at Unleashed, and she talks about how the internet creates more opportunities within the field of journalism....
Want to know what conference you should attend, especially if you're "green" in the web marketing industry? Karen Lea of Brainwavestoys.com extols the virtues of Search Engine Guide's Small Business Marketing Unleashed Conference during her interview with Sage Lewis. Karen says that one of the best things about the conference is learning she has a whole community of support available to her....
Wayne Small from SBSfaq.com in Sydney, Australia shares his Aussie input about Search Engine Guide's Small Business Marketing Unleashed Conference during his interview with Sage Lewis. According to Wayne, one of the most beneficial aspects of the conference was the presence and participation of speakers in sessions other than their own. Wayne touches on the usefulness of Matt McGee's SEO Pyramid and Stoney deGeyter's website architecture class, while emphasizing how SBM Unleashed really focuses on the fundamentals of web marketing....
Jiannis Sotiropoulos from the Pandemic Blog divulges his findings about how to maximize your YouTube results in his article, "Going Viral with YouTube." Sotiropoulos studied four different videos, three of which were popular and one that wasn't. Sage highlights five of his major findings, including results like the number of friends you have on YouTube does NOT play a role in promoting it nor does the quantity of videos, but the quality of your video and having lots of friends on other social networking sites does influence the popularity....
Legal details are the name of the game this week. First up, Sage covers Search Engine Watch's story on Internet Advancement, the SEO agency slapped with a $100,000 scamming fine. Then it's on to Georgia's ruling on trademark infringement as it pertains to meta tags. Amidst the legalese, he touches on the info that Google Bots now fill forms to uncover invisible data, Yahoo!'s "no minimum bid" rule, and Facebook's new IM tool....
Michael Arrington from TechCrunch gets top honors this week with his article "Comcast, Twitter And The Chicken (trust me, I have a point)." After being without cable service for 36 hours, Arrington utilizes Twitter as a way of spreading his discontent and frustration. Within twenty minutes of the first tweet, a Comcast executive contacts Arrington and arranges for the problem to be fixed immediately. Sage points out and encourages everyone, not just major company executives, to utilize Twitter's Tweet Scan as a way of tracking what's being said about them and/or their brand. Not only does the article display the...
Google News bloggers debunk myths about how to get your article submitted to Google News; myths include examples such as having a picture next to your piece increases your rankings. Blogging continues to gain popularity, but according to MediaPost.com, only 23% of people who read blogs are more likely to go out and buy those bloggers suggested products. Also, the debate is heated on the Search Engine Watch forums about whether or not SEO should be standardized....
Sage invites you to come meet him and hear him speak in person at Search Engine Guide's upcoming Small Business Marketing Unleashed Conference....
Professional and comedic props go to Stoney deGeyter of Pole Position Marketing this week for his article "The Anatomy of a 12-Month Link Baiting Campaign." Stoney clearly defines his step-by-step process for becoming a "household name" over the span of a year. His humor and bares all attitude make the article both amusing and informative....
Sage encourages industry experts to be aware of their audience as Search Engine Roundtable reveals, via Jacob Neilson findings, that 25% of people don't know how to do a Google search. SEMPO releases statistics at SES New York from a survey that shows the North American search marketing industry growing from $9.4 billion in 2006 to $12.4 billion in 2007 and projecting an increase to $25.2 billion by the year 2011. Also, YouTube announces the "Adorable Laughing Baby" as the winner of its contest....
Whether you're a hard-core newspaper reader or an avid obtainer of news on the Internet, results from a Reuters' study show that 70% of people are disillusioned with traditional journalism and that 50% of them are turning to Internet news sources. Online news sources such as the New York Times inform us 17% of people who click on paid links are more likely to buy. Ask.com denounces speculation about becoming a Q&A site for women, firmly stating they will remain a search engine, just a slightly smaller one after their 40 person lay off. Don't bother looking for the new...
Scott Buresh receives top honors this week with his article "Sam's Club Wants to Be Your Search Engine Optimization Company-Should You Let It?". He explains that Sam's Club is partnering with a company called Innuity to provide small businesses with access to a dashboard that submits their sites to local search engines, all for only $25! Scott's concern is that customers will feel they are getting the whole SEO package when really it's just a small piece of it, but he does acknowledge the possibility of the affiliation increasing validity for the SEO world....
Sage packs this video full of everything from a new gadget on Google’s Webmaster Tools to a free website service provided by Google Sites, which was formerly the Jot Spot. Matt Cutts also gets air time this week for his article on subscribed links and how to use them, and the Harvard Business Review notices how the Internet-originated peer to peer (or P2P) business approach is influencing other societal structures, like banking....
This week's "In the News" brings disappointment to the SEO world as Flickr goes Nofollow with its links, preventing the use of Flickr for personal link gain. Ask.com uses Compete to add new pop up stats when you roll over the binoculars on their website, and now you can ward away boredom by watching other peoples' lives at Play.blogger.com....
Sage puts a fresh spin on Sphinn, highlighting several stories instead of focusing on just one. Unlike Digg, which is a more general social media site, Sphinn is strictly an Internet marketing site. Sage extols the virtues of using Sphinn to stay savvy on the latest Internet news....
Sage gives a thumbs up to Search Engine Guide for the site redesign! Search engine optimization continues to gain popularity according to Marketing Sherpa's latest survey; it's low cost and high return keep SEO as one of the best online tactics for budget plans. Danny Sullivan's site Search Engine Land confirms Yahoo's layoffs, and Google emails its customers so they know to link their AdWords account with their Analytics to ensure accurate results....
Analytics are everywhere this week with the release of Google's Urchin 6.0 and the entry of analytics player Crazy Egg. Urchin 6.0 is expensive for the average user at $2,995 after beta and geared more towards large companies that are protective of their analytics data; Crazy Egg offers some standard features but is trying to capitalize on their "visualize your visitors" approach, in which their Heat Map allows you to see where people are clicking on your site. Last but definitely not least, are the SEMMY Awards, where Rand Fishkin walks away with the big win for his SEO article, "Search Engine Rankings Factors 2.0."
Sage spotlights an article by Marketing Sherpa that reveals the results of multivariate landing page testing on SEM conversion rates. With little initial investment, companies have the potential to double their conversion rates. The artice also points out four major lessons to learn from multivariate testing, such as remembering that site redesign is crucial and to expect organizational barriers.
This week's "In the News" video talks about advancements that companies like Southwest airlines and Ask.com are making to enhance personal touches for their uses; Southwest is adding internet access on some of their planes, and Ask is now offering customized skins on their search tools. Also, Google expands its local search results, making more options available to users but SEO harder for other sites.
Concern spreads as Yahoo announces that profits are down and that it will be cutting hundreds of jobs this year. Web Side Story users find themselves in migration formation as the site gets acquired by Omniture, and Google remains in the headlines as they launch their attack on BlackBerries via Google's iPhone capabilities.
Sage details an article by David Wallace, "Why You Should Not Place All Your Eggs in One Basket," in which David uses IncrediMail as an example of why it is important for small businesses to invest in multiple forms of marketing. He lists six different opportunities to project your business, including paid search, blogging, social media, web forums, word of mouth referrals, and even traditional marketing.
In a world of information and conversation overload, here is some advice on how to focus on quality instead of quantity in regards to your social media endeavors. Sage focuses on learning how to balance reaping the rewards of social media while still being actively social yourself.
Flat panel television sets will allow you to watch YouTube videos and view your Picassa pictures without even going to your computer. 60 Minutes interviewed Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg about possible privacy problems surrounding its Beacon software.
Sage highlights an article by Search Engine Guide's Jennifer Laycock that asks vital questions of small businesses in 2008. "Would your company be missed if it closed today?" and "Is your business able to keep its promises?"
Sage uncovers the pros and cons of Ask's new voice activated mobile device for driving directions and Wikia's new search engine launch. With ease of usability is a concern for both releases, Sage extols the virtues of a free Internet design "Best Practices" report found on Matt Bailey's accessibility website.
The business landscape is changing and the longtail-esque small business is gaining power.
Let's have a reality check about social media and your business. You can't just barge into these communities schlepping your wares and expect everyone to get excited and buy, buy, buy. You need to use the secret sauce if you are going to have success.
While Hollywood writers strike you can jump into the void and create your own original content to build links and increase awareness of your company.
Google toolbar version 5 is out. Flickr offering stats to pro users. Only 47% of Internet users check their Google reputation.
What are the lessons to be learned from someone crazy enough to block search engine spider from her site?
Sage discusses AskEraser, Matt Cutts' take on sub-directories versus sub-domains and record breaking online sales this year.
If you are running a link building campaign that includes purchasing paid links, Sage has provided some insight into why this is becoming more and more risky.
Radiohead moves should open your eyes to possible changes in other industries. Verizon debuts Web 2.0 marketing campaign. AOL acquires Quigo for $300 million. Google at your gas pump. Tapping into social networks.
I love this article written by Stoney deGeyter on multiple levels. There is much to be learned with this article starting with how it grabbed my attention.
Planning downtime? Better 503. Matt Cutts... get ready to get dinged! What does constant innovation get you? $700 a share.
Jennifer Laycock's blog post, "Twitter CAN be Useful! Who Knew?", reminds us that in today's business world you need to be open to new ideas and new iterations of ideas. What may seem a waste of time at first glance may hold promising potential as a business application.
In this week's video news, Sage discusses Googley goodness, the upgrade in storage capacity for Gmail, Webmaster Central updates, AdSense revenue share numbers, Microsoft voice search, Live Mobile and The Office gets their Social Media groove on.
Check out Sage's latest video to learn about new goodies in Google Analytics, Google Reader stats, YouTube, Gooruze and other hoobidiha.
Being based in Ohio, you know a seminar taking place in Cleveland is going to get Sage excited and the 14 Days to a Better Website Seminar does just that. Matt Bailey from Site Logic Marketing and our very own Editor in Chief, Jennifer Laycock, will be hosting the seminar and Sage gives you the run down on why you should attend....
Sage's story of the week is Jennifer Laycock's reporting on the fact that nearly twice as many consumers trust online reviews over search ads. Now, Jennifer isn't suggesting you dump your search ads. Instead you need to compliment them with reviews, refer a friend and product ratings. How do you get them? Ask! Make it easy for your customers to give feedback, point them to review sites and make it easy for them to refer a friend....
So, if image alt tags aren't just for SEO, then what are they for? Your visitors! SEO plus usability equals more traffic. StumbleUpon is fun, fun, fun! And it's a great resource to tap for new visitors for your site. More AdSense meets YouTube goodness. Now there is more than one way to cash in. Online consumers love online reviews and recommendations. Did we mention it's a social world?...
Sage gives us the run down on what's been happening this week.
For the second week in a row author Stoney deGeyter makes the cut for Sage's pick of the week. If your optimization efforts are going to succeed you need focus and a process and Stoney's checklist gives you just that.
Google Trends now updated daily. Broadmatch at Google gets booed. It's toooo broad. AdWords conversion goodies. Enquiro does eye tracking on Google Universal Search. DMOZ... gone from Google?
Sage Lewis gives his take on the Search Engine Guide article of the week. This week's pick is an article by Stoney deGeyter titled, "Content or Community, The Red Pill or the Blue?"
Web Site Design for SEO
Optimizing eCommerce,
Flash, & CMS Sites
SEO Copywriting
Quality Content = More Traffic
RealTechNetwork Ad Sales
Specializing in all forms of rich media.
Ezilon Web Directory
Search or list your site in your region
Video blogger Sage Lewis keeps you up to date with what's hot in the world of search engine marketing.
| www.flickr.com |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Search Engine Guide Blog | Search Engine Marketing | Internet Search Engines | SEM Resources & Consultants | Newsletters | Advertise | About | Site Map
Search marketing information for small business owners.
Fetching the best small business news.
A friendly place to share small business ideas and knowledge.
A different kind of small business marketing conference.
Home of our network.
Copyright © 1998 - 2008 K. Clough, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy
FreeFind Site Search Engine - FreeFind adds a "search this site" feature to your website, making your site easier to use. FreeFind also gives you reports showing what your visitors are searching for, enabling you to improve your site. FreeFind's advanced site search engine and automatic site map technology can be added to your website for free.
(Unpaid placement - FreeFind is a Search Engine Guide partner.)