Video blogger Sage Lewis keeps you up to date with what's hot in the world of search marketing and social media.
Sage is the founder and President of The Digital Marketing Agency, SageRock Inc.
SageRock was founded in 1999 to help clients engage customers across an ever expanding interactive marketplace. This is accomplished through multiple channels such as search, social media, and vertical targeting; emerging digital opportunities such as mobile and rich media; behavioral targeting thorough email and dynamic engagement; and refinement of all initiatives through understanding usability and metrics.
By using a nationally experienced, independent marketing agency focused only on digital deployment, SageRock's clients are able to navigate easily through this industry, take a holistic approach, leverage the right tools, and experience seamless implementation.
SageRock Inc. - The Digital Marketing Agency
Microsoft's Steve Ballmer has some pretty extreme views for the business world. I think he might be looking in the mirror too closely when he talks about the business world as a whole....
Search Engine Roundtable gave some interesting advice on upping your budget over at Bing/Adcenter....
PageRank Sculpting is now the hottest topic on the SEO landscape. Learn what it is and how the changes in this area will effect you....
Microsoft's Key Phrase Research tool is now officially in beta. It's a really powerful tool and offers a ton of great information. I highly recommend you check it out!...
SearchEngineWatch.com reports on some comScore data that show the power of using search and display advertising together. Check out the video for some other interesting finds....
The Marketing Pilgrim gives us some inside information on the internal social media policies of The Wall Street Journal. This is an incredibly important part of having a business in this day and age. Everyone should develop an internal social media policy....
Starting June 15 we are all probably going to see a lot more Google Ads containing trademarks. Watch this video to learn how these changes will effect you....
Thanks to Search Engine Guide and Robert Clough I've been able to get some new sweet upgrades to my video system. Check out what I got......
You can't go around pretending you are someone you are not. Check out what the FTC is cracking down on....
Will anyone be able to stop the Google machine? They just continue to expand market share......
Marketing Pilgrim reviews a report from eMarketer that states people are more likely to act on online articles that include brand information....
Andy Beal at Marketing Pilgrim reports on a Forrester Research prediction that basically says, "It's great to be a digital marketer!"...
Google Profiles is a spiffy way to aggregate a lot of information about you. Check out this video to see what it's all about and how you get yours setup....
Marketing Pilgrim provides a good perspective on when to jump on these potentially devastating social media flare ups....
Traditional media is tanking. Possibly crowdsourcing is part of the solution for media in the future....
There is a great article from Harvard Business Review on how to correctly build communities. They spend a lot of time talking about communities in relation to social media....
Google is now looking at IP addresses of searchers and putting in local results even if you didn't put in a geographic modifier....
There is a surprising comScore report on the top age demographic in Twitter....
The theme of this year's Search Engine Strategies New York I feel is: Transition....
The CMO Council 2009 Marketing Outlook Survey is an interesting study on the state of marketing according to marketers. Watch my video on the points I think you will find most interesting from the report....
I just came across a really cool little tool that I'm excited to play around with. Contxts is a service that automatically texts your contact information to people that request it. They just text to: 50500 with your username as the text and then they get your contact information....
Social media isn't just for the consumer oriented companies anymore. New research from Groundswell indicates that social media is taking the B2B world by storm....
A report on some new studies put out by comScore and Pew Internet and Marketing Life. Facebook and MySpace are major players in all demographics....
Sage goes all gaga over one particular scene in the Matrix. He then goes on to use that scene as a metaphor for life: Get out of the day to day grind. Rise above it....
Sage discusses the difference of things you can control and the things you can't control. Sage labels these two worlds as the Circle of Concern and the Circle of Influence. We spend too much time in the Circle of Concern and not enough time in the circle of influence....
While poking fun at himself and where he lives, Sage makes a valuable point about the importance of listening to your surroundings. Sometimes, we focus so strongly on just one thing we want that we forget to be aware of and act upon what's currently around us, which might actually lead to something better than that one thing....
Sage makes a point by filming with his cell phone that what you do doesn't have to be perfect, but you have to take action if you want to see results. Be bold!...
Marketing Pilgrim and Search Engine Watch give us some interesting statistics this week, reporting that paid search is up 12% for the fourth quarter of 2008 and that 77% of U.S. internet audience views online videos. We also get some good information regarding the four main groups to be wary of when it comes to click fraud, and Sage delivers a somewhat scathing report on what he calls Yahoo's "get rich quick" scam....
Sage ties together several real-life examples of unfortunate outcomes to emphasize how important communication is. He believes that communication is "the cause of and solution to all our problems" and that it can be the answer to helping small businesses through the recession....
Sage sports a new studio for the new year. He's added a white board, art-work, a drum set (yes, you heard me!) and even a camera man. 2009 promises to be full of great new videos. This week, we learn that even though traffic was up, online holiday sales were down 3%, but the big story comes out of Canada where we learn about a Twitter address security scam that goes "fishing" for your Twitter information....
Life isn't all "puppy dogs, roses, ice cream and cake," as Sage says. Despite all the hype and increase in internet traffic for Cyber Monday, Search Engine Watch still reports a decrease in projected online advertising from 14.5% to 8.9%. ...
Search Engine Journal reports that Wal-Mart is telling the search engines no links to their black Friday ads; their legal team is even taking action against sites attempting to publish related content. Sage speculates whether Wal-Mart is really that stupid or if this is just some kind of weird marketing ploy. Also in the news are Google and Yahoo....
This week's story of the week revolves around Jerry Yang, the former Yahoo CEO who agreed to quit after increasing criticism in his leadership abilities arose for not accepting the Microsoft deal. Sage provides some history and insight as to why there's more than the failed Microsoft deal behind Yang's less than stellar leadership role. ...
Marketing Pilgrim gives us some good information this week regarding mobile phones and Motrin. First, we learn how detrimental all Flash websites are to iPhone users, who only see a blank page when they try and visit a flash site. Second, Sage talks about the mommy blogger outrage over the edgy Motrin YoutTube commercial. Are YouTube and LinkedIn following Facebook's lead? Now on YouTube, you will now see and can buy PPC ads, and LinkedIn has added demographic-specific Events to user's profiles in a similar fashion. Lastly, check out WebPro News for a detailed translation of a live chat Q&A...
There's some bad news but good tools in the news this week. Yahoo "can't win for losing" as Google terminates its advertising partnership with them and Yahoo shares drop significantly. While Google and Yahoo part ways, Yellowbook and YouTube join forces to distribute SMB videos. Wordtracker announces a new tool that anticipates the questions people are clicking on while searching based off keywords. Also, according to Search Engine Watch, the number of small businesses using social media is expected to double from 300K to 600K in the next twelve months....
In the news this week, BuzzLogic reports that blogging is in fact NOT dead. After conducting a study with Jupiter Research, they found 50% of blog readers say blogs influence their purchasing decisions. Another study, done by Microsoft, "Reveals the Online and Digital Behavior of Women," showing that 86% of women pass along interesting finds to others and 85% say email is the most important tool. Sage also highlights a post by Mike Blumenthal about how easy it is to have your local business listing in Google hijacked; he strongly encourages everyone to immediately go claim their local business center...
The story of the week goes to Jennifer Laycock for her article, The Choice of a Social Media Generation, about Pepsi's new marketing campaign to influential social media bloggers. Twenty-five influential social media and online marketers were chosen to help launch Pepsi's new campaign. The only glitch that Jennifer finds with Pepsi's strategy is that they chose the wrong people; they should have chosen people who are influencers within the Pepsi arena, not just social media. All in all, the fact that major marketing agencies are seeing bloggers as legitimate marketing outlets, is still good news....
On the surface, the story of the week appears to be about an Emetrics survey on Search Engine Watch talking about how "60% of marketing budgets remain unchanged by the economy." If you dig a little deeper though, Sage puts emphasis on a different statistic found in the survey, that 80.4% of marketers say interest in web analytics by senior management is rising. By using analytics to your full advantage, you can "make yourself untouchable," as Sage says. Use the power of numbers to prove why upper management should stretch the budget for you....
Most of our big stories this week revolve around ads and analytics. Search Engine Land talks about how Google's AdWords now integrates images into search results; the example used is products from Blue Nile. According to Yahoo!'s blog, you are now able to geotarget your Yahoo ads by country, city or zip code, and Search Engine Roundtable announces the integration of AdSense with Google Analytics. Plus, Google analytics has added new features like advanced segmentation, customer reports, motion charts and more. Check out the video for information on Microsoft's LiveSearch Webmaster Central forum and the importance of online reviews....
In the news this week, we learn that the internet is not immune from the effects of the economic downturn. According to Search Engine Watch, both Yahoo! and Zillow are cutting jobs. On the flips side, Marketing Pilgrim reports that 60% of marketers are increasing their online budget, while 80% are decreasing use of traditional media. Also, marketers are still learning how to harness the power of mom bloggers, and Google releases two new tools. You can now learn where you have dead links through Webmaster Central's Error URL report as well as build your own display ads in Google's...
Google gains the spotlight with the story of the week. They added a new tool under diagnostics that shows you errors for URLs in your sitemaps. Sage walks you through his Webmaster Central account, showing you how to access these errors and explaining what they mean to you and why it's important to fix them....
Google CEO Eric Schmidt is in a somewhat steamy situation since calling the internet a "cesspool" and saying "We don't actually want you to be successful. . .The fundamental way to increase your rank is to increase your relevance." Sage takes the cesspool analogy a step farther, saying that Schmidt views himself as the heaven to the internet hell, that it's his job to "cleanse" the internet. What Schmidt fails to realize is that he lives in "hell" and makes his money there, so "Stop being a jerk!" says Sage....
MSN steals the show this week with two juicy pieces of news. First, Facebook and MSN join to integrate Live Search into Facebook's search options. Secondly, Live Search is now paying you for searching through them. You can sign up for Search Perks to earn points for prizes like frequent flier miles, notebooks, etc. Lastly, if you're searching for professionals related to the real estate industry, check out Zillow's new Professional Directory; the best part is it's free to get listed in the directory....
After attending SBMU Columbus, Sage discovers the true value of Radian6, a social media monitoring tool. Radian6 provides a pervasive and in-depth picture of social media conversations happening across the entire web. It allows you to track and do analysis on whatever keywords or phrases you choose, so you can monitor your company, your brands, your products and/or your competitors' brands, products, etc. As a higher end tool, Radian6 is not free nor cheap, but Sage feels that it is absolutely worth the value....
Sage packs this week's In the News video full of Google, Facebook, MySpace, Microsoft and more. You'll have to watch the video for the full scoop, but here's some highlights. According to Coneinc.com Americans not only expect companies to have a social media presence but 60% of Americans already interact with companys on social media websites. Marketing Pilgrim reports that MySpace is still number one with its 67.5% market share to Facebook's 20.56%, even though Facebook showed a 50% growth. Look for great conversation and information about Google AdWords, Microsoft adCenter, dynamic vs. static URLs, audio indexing of videos and...
Ads are in the air this week. Microsoft AdCenter announces the addition of a fourth mainline ad placement; MIVA tells us about its new advertising platform; and Google makes a strategic partnership with NBC Universal to display their TV ads on stations like CNBC, Sci-Fi and Oxygen. Google also takes an official stand on duplicate content, stating that there is no penalty for it, other than the possibility of the search engines picking the wrong content to search. Lastly, AOL pulls it all together by allowing you to aggregate Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo! email accounts through their site....
Sage opens with a rather depressing look at the Dow Jones, offering up examples of companies like Meryll Lynch and AIG that have taken some pretty serious hits. The tone lifts though as Sage infuses his typical optimistic attitude into the situation. He encourages people who might be struggling to consider using the web as a means to bring in income....
Sage uses Scoble of Scobleizer.com as an example of a revolutionary approach to brand management. Scoble launched a fairly scathing review of all the DEMOfall '08 start up companies, stating how much they sucked and how he couldn't believe they won $18,000. Scoble's readers did not like this, so they launched they're own attack on Scoble himself....
Do Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld in a Shoe Circus store make for a good viral campaign or just a really bad commercial? YouTube wants you to decide. Meanwhile, CNBC and LinkedIn are partnering to report each other's information, and JP Morgan analysts are reporting that search advertising will suffer in the economic downturn, just not as much as traditional media and display ads. Search Engine Watch announces AOL's PlatformA as having an iPhone ad optimization solution, and Google can now boast about it's new face recognition "name tag" feature for Picassa....
According to Sage, the best things about Google's new web browser Chrome are how speedy it is and the ultimate usability of the address bar. Now, we're just waiting for the add ons and plug ins. Search Engine Roundtable talks about Google's increased ability to search Flash sites, and Microsoft updates their adCenter Keyword Research tool....
One word says it all this week, Chrome! Will September 2, 2008 go down in history as the day Google launched not just a mere web browser but a new operating system? Sage thinks so. He foresees Google's Chrome as a complete departure from we have used and something that will one day come pre-installed on small computers, EPCs, etc....
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?"
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