From Mexico City to Harvard
Online Video Advertising + Search Engines = Opportunity For Small Businesses
6 Jan 2009 Author: admin In: Uncategorized
Much is being written and said these days about the rising future of online video advertising. Recent articles like one in the NY Times reporting Google’s move to test video ads in search results pages shows that the once abstract promise of online video advertising is now upon us.
But what are the repercussions for small businesses from online video advertising, and how will it impact their presence in search results?
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You’d Be Wise To “œNoFollow” This Dubious SEO Advice
3 Jan 2009 Author: admin In: Uncategorized
For the past few months, I have been listening to some of my colleagues talk about the nofollow attribute and how to use it to sculpt a page’s PageRank. I heard this SEO advice first at SMX in Stockholm and most recently at SMX in Santa Clara. Stephan Spencer wrote about it in a recent Search Engine Land article, Sculpting Your PageRank for Maximum SEO Impact.
My reaction? My jaw hit the floor. In a nutshell, if you want a site to have an effective information architecture for both end users and search engine spiders, then create a good information architecture. Search usability professionals have been doing this for years, creating web pages that rank and convert, and continuing to evolve their interfaces. Now I see SEO professionals moving back to a familiar strategy: building one thing for software spiders and another for site visitors. Honestly, I believe this dubious SEO advice is an accident waiting to happen.
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Yahoo Maps Adds More Data, Other Improvements
2 Jan 2009 Author: admin In: UncategorizedYahoo Maps has announced a range of improvements. These include expanded global coverage, including better data and coverage of Eastern Europe; and, in the US, more “granular” neighborhood data for 300 cities and 12,000 neighborhoods. Functionality has been improved as well. Tiles are “lighter” for faster load times, colors and styles have been adjusted and there are several other visual improvements.
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SearchCap: The Day In Search, March 6, 2008
1 Jan 2009 Author: admin In: UncategorizedBelow is what happened in search today, as reported on
Search Engine Land and from other
places across the web.
From Search Engine Land:
-
Yahoo Maps Adds More Data, Other Improvements
Yahoo Maps has announced a range of improvements. These include expanded global coverage, including better data and coverage of Eastern Europe; and, in the US, more “granular” neighborhood data for 300 cities and 12,000 neighborhoods. Functionality has been improved as well. Tiles are “lighter” for faster load times, colors and… -
You’d Be Wise To “NoFollow” This Dubious SEO Advice
For the past few months, I have been listening to some of my colleagues talk about the nofollow attribute and how to use it to sculpt a page’s PageRank. I heard this SEO advice first at SMX in Stockholm and most recently at SMX in Santa Clara. Stephan Spencer… -
Online Video Advertising + Search Engines = Opportunity For Small Businesses
Much is being written and said these days about the rising future of online video advertising. Recent articles like one in the NY Times reporting Google’s move to test video ads in search results pages shows that the once abstract promise of online video advertising is now upon us…. -
Google Debuts “Search Within A Site” Search Box Feature
Yesterday Barry blogged about Google testing a search box for site search within general search results. Today the feature is being fully rolled out for selected queries. It’s really an extension and elaboration of Google Sitelinks. The Google Blog explains: [O]ver the past few days we have been testing, and… -
Oops! Google’s SSL Certificate Throwing Out Scary Warnings
Everyone is noticing that when they go to their Google Account through AdWords, AdSense, Analytics, or any Google page that requires SSL, they are being prompted with a security warning. Typically, not a major deal, right? Well, not if you are trying to get customers to buy on your site….
Search News From Around The Web:
Applications & Portal Features
- Google Calendar Sync, Official Google Blog
- Introducing the Google Contacts Data API, Google Code Blog
- 3. 2. 1. Contact. The API has landed, Official Google Data APIs Blog
- One more step, Official Google Reader Blog
Business Issues
- Ask.com And Ye Shall Receive, Forbes
- Enterprise Search Firm Coveo Raises $2.5M to Expand Growth , Coveo
- Federated Media Weighing Its Options, TechCrunch
- Gates No Longer World’s Richest Man, Forbes
- Google will have 90% search market share in the US one year from now, Calacanis
- Who Can Stop Google From Gaining 90% Market Share, Gray Wolf
- YouTube rival hires ex-Google executive Kate Burns, The Guardian
- Zuckerberg on Facebook’s Future, BusinessWeek
Local, Maps & Mobile
- Put Your Business on Our Maps, Official Google Enterprise Blog
Link Building
- SEO Link Building: Budget Stretcher for Online Retail and E-Commerce Sites, Search Engine Watch
- Why linkbait is a long term strategy, BlogStorm
Microhoo
- Microsoft to value Yahoo deal based on all cash?, News.com
- Yahoo Gets Upper Hand in M’soft Fight, New York Post
Paid Search & Contextual
- AdWords system maintenance on March 8th, Inside AdWords
- Diagnosing and treating revenue fluctuations (Part I), Inside AdSense
- AdSense-friendly privacy policy sample for AdSense publishers to use, JenSense
- Google Confirms Page Load Time As Future Factor in AdWords Quality Score, Search Engine Roundtable
- Jangl Turns On Audio Ads, TechCrunch
- March 2008 Google AdWords “Slap”: Minimum Bids Surge, Search Engine Roundtable
- Which AdSense Rectangle Ad Performs Best?, ProBlogger
Searching
- Google Hacking Database Tool Updated, InformationWeek
- Yahoo Adds MySpace Button to Toolbar : Sign of Yahoo-NewsCorp Partnership?, Search Engine Journal
- Ask.com Remains Committed to Search, Search Engine Watch
- Google Down for Many in Germany, Google Blogoscoped
- Hackers find clever new way to hose Google users, Channel Register
- Metasearch engine SortFix offers new take on search results, Pandia
- Submit Your Website at the hakia Club, Hakia Blog
SEM Industry
- SMX West 2008: Rand Fishkin WebProNews Videos, WebProNews
- Tis the Conference Season, Search Engine Guide
- Checking my older predictions, Matt Cutts
- Conference Controversy: Paying Speakers & Sponsor Paid Sessions, Search Engine Roundtable
- Reviews and Ratings for SEM Companies, Marketing Pilgrim
- SMX West 2008: Chris Smith WebProNews Videos, WebProNews
SEO & SEM
- Using Differentiators in Keyphrases: What Every Search Engine Optimization Company Needs to Know, Search Engine Guide
- 7 Types of Advertising To Drive Sales, Scott Fish
- A CEO’s Perspective On SEO, SEM, SMM, PPC, and ROI, Utah Search Engine Optimization
- Google subdomain & 302 spam, Joost DeValk
- SEO Analytics - Tracking Data Essential to Search Marketing Campaigns, SEOmoz
Social Media
- Allegations swirl around Wikipedia’s Wales, San Francisco Chronicle
- Microsoft Blews : A Blogrunner or a Memeorandum or a Sphere ?, Use Bytes
- The Stumble Upon Commandments, OldSchool SEO
- Video: Twitter in Plain English, Common Craft
Video, Music & Image Search
- Sharing photos with a cause, Yodel Anecdotal
- Excuse Me, WatZatSong? It’s a Song Search Engine, Alt Search Engines
- Musicians still waiting on a YouTube payday, News.com
- Nielsen: YouTube Views Down, NewTeeVee
Recent Hot Items From Sphinn, Our Social News Sharing Site:
- Reputation Management and Reputation Monitoring Tips
- Saddle up to Sausage & Eggs Each Day & BITCH @ Google
- SEO Resistant Search
- You’d Be Wise To “No Follow” This Dubious SEO Advice
- SEOmoz launches SEO Analytics - Web Metrics Tracking
- SES NYC: Give us Your Questions For Jason Calacanis
- How to Create a Dynamic Blogroll in 5 Minutes
- Danny Sullivan Tackles Search 3.0 and 4.0 in SMX West Keynote
- Everything I know about Social Media I saw in a British Pub
- I Call Them Gonzo SEO’s for a Reason
- Obit: A West Coast Digerati Deadpools Ask.com
- There is more to Social Media than Sexy Buzzwords
- Build Authority by Using Social Media
- CEO’s perspective of SEO…
- Rand Fishkin and Mike McDonald Should Watch Their Language
- 31 Ways to Find Inspiration for Your Writing
- Why Are You Giving Away Content for Free?
- StumbleUpon Alerter
- Top 10 SEO Myths
- Social Bookmark Links that are Worth Building and Pass PageRank
- Practicing What We Preach: A Social Media Marketing Lesson
- Digg Stalker - A Great Tool to Analyze Digg and Find Friends
- Is Writing Magnetic Headlines Art Or Science?
- Negative Voting: I Am Ann Smarty and I’m a Thumboholic
- Does Sphinn Allow Infomercials?
Coming to SMX Advanced? Register Now for the Best Deal
31 Dec 2008 Author: admin In: UncategorizedRegistration is now open for Search Marketing Expo - SMX Advanced, which is taking place June 3-4 back at the incredible Bell Harbor International Conference Center on the waterfront in Seattle.
SMX Advanced is for experienced search marketers who want to enjoy sessions conducted at a high-level. If you’re fluent in SEM, come to Advanced and converse with others who speak your native language. Last year’s edition was a smash hit; read what participants said about it here. Keep reading to learn about the special SMX Advanced rate.
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Human Hardware: Working Memory
30 Dec 2008 Author: admin In: Uncategorized
At the recent SMX show in Santa Clara I had the opportunity to present at a couple of sessions that explored the topic of user behavior. One of the things I said in one of them is that humans are more alike than we’re different. Because of this, there are some behaviors that a determined by hardwired traits. I call these Human Hardware issues. I’ve touched on some of these in past columns, but I’d like to dive a little deeper in this series.
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Load Time Confirmed As AdWords Quality Score & New Category Exclusion Feature
29 Dec 2008 Author: admin In: UncategorizedGoogle has confirmed that they will be adding page load time as a quality score metric in the near future. The feature will go live in the “next few weeks” but it won’t impact your quality score right away. A month after the metric goes live, Google will then implement the grade into the overall quality score. I still have a few questions pending answers from Google on this topic and hope to postscript this post when I get the answers.
Google also enhanced the site exclusion feature in AdWords by breaking out a way to also exclude by category. The Inside AdWords blog announced the new feature allows advertisers to “exclude certain categories of webpages from your content network campaigns in addition to excluding individual sites.”
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Microsoft’s Google Obsession, MicroHoo’s Asian Outlook And Competing For Digg
13 Dec 2008 Author: admin In: UncategorizedMicrosoft CEO Steve Ballmer is perhaps showing signs of a mildly unhealthy obsession with rival Google. At Microsoft’s MIX08 online technology conference in Las Vegas yesterday he told interviewer Guy Kawasaki in a question and answer session that he was going to continue to chase Google in search even if it costs him his “last breath”: “So it may be my last breath at Microsoft, but we’re going to be there, working away, building share.”
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U.S. Pentagon Bans Google From Military Bases
12 Dec 2008 Author: admin In: Uncategorized
Google mappers banned from U.S. bases from the LA Times reports the U.S. Pentagon has banned Google street view photographers from accessing military bases. The ban came after street view photographs of Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio were found on Google Maps.
The Pentagon told all Defense Department bases to restrict access to all Google vehicles access.
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SEO 101: What You Should Expect From Your SEO
10 Dec 2008 Author: admin In: UncategorizedI’m absent from this episode of SEO 101 because I think I was stuck in Omaha working, so it’s just David (NeO) Brown and Brian (#1 Tool) Mark answering a listener question about what he should expect from his SEO consultant in terms of service, reports and support. This is a great episode, and I even ended up taking notes 
Originally aired Webmaster Radio on 12/10/2007
In a nutshell, a lot depends on your payment level. If your budget is less than a couple thousand dollars a month, Brian believes you’re better off keeping your money and using it towards PPC. On the other hand, if your budget is $2,500 a month and up, you should definitely feel like you’re getting your money’s worth. Download the podcast to listen to Brian and David go in-depth into what you should be looking for from your consultant or firm and what kinds of results you can/should expect.
Programming Note!! Tune in to WebmasterRadio.fm on Wednesday, December 12, 2007 at 1pm/Noon/10am (Eastern/Central/Pacific) to hear the special 100th episode of SEO 101. It’s basically a clip show, but it’s full of out-takes and stupid stuff we said when we didn’t realize Brian was recording, so I’m sure it will be hilarious (and hopefully not too embarrassing!).