First things first, let's start with a little background...If you would have told me a year ago that I'd be working as an in-house SEO, I would have laughed in your face and told you to go do something dirty to yourself. Yet, here I am today, working as an in-house SEO, and I couldn't be more pleased with the decision to try something that I never thought I would do again: work for someone else. A little under a year ago, as I was on my way home from a surf trip in Mexico and had just crossed the US border, an email came through my phone. It was from the former CEO of Ask.com, Jim Lanzon [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Search | In House Search Marketing

One of the major obstacles marketers face, particularly with B2B search engine marketing, is the availability of content to support keyword initiatives. While we realize the importance of new content, the demand for time and resources will always be tested. The key to success: don't try to reinvent the wheel every time new content is required. In this article, we'll explore several areas of content creation and distribution which can assist in creating effective B2B content marketing strategies and support search engine optimization initiatives. The Core Foundation: Value Extraction Many [...]

Related Topics: B2B Search Marketing | Beginner | Channel: SEO | How To | How To: SEO | SEO: Writing & Body Copy

China Mobile and state-run news agency Xinhua have launched Panguso a new search engine that will let people search for news, web sites, images, videos and audio, according to Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua. The new search engine will filter results according to the guidelines issued by the Chinese government, often referred to as "the great firewall of China." Here's a terrific analysis of how internet censorship in China works by The Atlantic's James Fallows. Panguso faces more than censorship challenges, as it confronts Baidu's whopping 76% market share in China, according to Anal [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Consumer | Search Engines: Baidu | Search Engines: China Search Engines

With Hollywood's golden night fast approaching, buzz is building in Yahoo! search for the 83rd annual Academy Awards set to air this Sunday, February 27, 2011. We'll know soon enough if Yahoo! users are any better at predicting winners than Bing or Google Trends. [caption id="attachment_65748" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Yahoo! Oscars 2011 Hot Searches"][/caption] According to Yahoo!: Searches for "when are the Oscars" are spiking on Yahoo! Searches on Yahoo! for "Oscars 2011" are up 1403% Oscar ballots are spiking on Yahoo! up 38% Searches for the award show are s [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Consumer | Search & Society: General | Search Headlines

60 Tactical Sessions. 150+ Expert Speakers. 2 Weeks til SMX West — Register Today! Join us March 8-10 in San Jose, CA for exceptional content on SEO, PPC, social media marketing and more. Check out the multi-track agenda. At SMX West, more than 150 of the world's most knowledgeable speakers will share the tactics and strategies that make them successful — see who's speaking. Register today and secure your spot! Want to send your team? Discounts of up to 35% are available – check out our group pricing. [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Other | Sponsor Messages

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Should Korean Search Engine Naver Worry About Local Competitors Or Google?For just about the last decade, Naver has been the dominant player in the south Korean search market holding a share of some 70%. However, this doesn’t mean that Naver is not worried about competition — including from global players such as Google. How many other industries do you know where the principal worry is [...] How To Rank Nationally With Local LinksWhen y [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Other | SearchCap

For just about the last decade, Naver has been the dominant player in the south Korean search market holding a share of some 70%. However, this doesn't mean that Naver is not worried about competition -- including from global players such as Google. How many other industries do you know where the principal worry is not about the second or third player or even smaller competitors -- but about the also ran which only has a two percent share in the market -- namely Google? In September of last year, the CEO from Naver's parent company NHN Communications, Kin Sang-hun, said that Naver has i [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | Multinational Search | Search Engines: Outside USA

When you think "Local SEO", what generally comes to mind is the 7-pack, reviews, local dominated search results, distance from the centroid, and other miscellaneous terms that mean you can rank for "city keyword". Because of this, the strategies between local and national SEO tend to segregate. Not as much as say, PPC and SEO, but the fact that local SEO specialists exist (and thrive) shows that there is a distinct ideology at play there that separates it from national strategies. If your business has a publicly listed physical address, you have some incredible link opportunities that ex [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | How To: Links | Link Week

[caption id="attachment_65488" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Image courtesy Shutterstock.com"][/caption] Why does search giant Google care about Isohunt, a search engine that few have ever heard of? That's the question raised in a Paid Content report. Turns out Google filed a friend-of-the-court brief in a civil case against Isohunt Web Technologies, a BitTorrent site, because it's concerned the court will set a precedent it doesn't like. The copyright infringement case -- brought by Columbia Pictures, Disney, Paramount Pictures, Tristar Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox Films, U [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Features: Analysis | Google: Legal | Legal: Copyright

Sure, everyone has heard of Facebook and Twitter, but what about Feed the Bull or Tweako? Yes, you can talk about sports on your old college roommate’s Facebook wall, but what about squaring off with strangers on a site like YardBarker? These types of niche social networking sites are what the social media industry has started to develop into; general sites about anything and everything are now fading into the background simply because everyone has them, especially the 18-26 year olds, who have had Facebook for 6 years or more and are finally getting over it. Much like GPS units, cell [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social | Search & Social

Russia blames Google for stirring Egypt unrest: report from Reuters reports Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's deputy, Igor Sechin, as telling the Wall Street Journal: Look what they have done in Egypt, those highly-placed managers of Google, what manipulations of the energy of the people took place there. Of course it is a bit interesting to see Russia blame the changes and unrest in Egypt on Google. Of course, he was citing Google's Ghonim who was and still is currently very active in the revolution in the country. This implies that some Russian leaders are very interested [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Google: Business Issues | Google: Employees | Google: Outside US

Pierre Far from Google wrote a blog post on how to design mobile friendly websites while considering Google's webmaster guidelines and best practices. I've pulled out the key points from this post in bullet format: Google differentiates between traditional mobile phones and smartphones. Google has two bots: Googlebot and Googlebot-Mobile. Googlebot crawls desktop-browser type of webpages and content embedded in them and Googlebot-Mobile crawls mobile content. Currently only traditional phones are supported with special useragent strings within Googlebot-Mobile, not smartphones (this [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | Google: Mobile | Google: SEO | Google: Web Search | How To: Mobile Marketing | How To: SEO | SEO: Cloaking & Doorway Pages | SEO: Duplicate Content | SEO: Mobile Search | SEO: Redirects & Moving Sites | Top News

Only two weeks until Search Marketing Expo – SMX West kicks off at the San Jose Convention Center, March 8-10. Here’s what’s in store: Exceptional content: Sixty sessions for search marketers of every skill level will be presented. Sessions will cover all of the search topics: paid search advertising (PPC), search engine optimization (SEO), local/mobile search, social media marketing, analytics and much more. See the agenda for further information. Keynotes & Presenters: You’ll be treated to three outstanding keynote presentations: Foursquare director of business development [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Other | SEM Industry: Conferences | SEM Industry: Search Marketing Expo - SMX | SMX & DMD Alerts

Reflecting the growing number of content types on its platform, Facebook has changed its search results display -- the drop-down that appears as soon as users begin typing in the Facebook search box. The new display is organized into different content types, replacing the old version which showed results in a straight list format with no organization. That screenshot, showing the start of a "google" search, includes Groups, Pages, Questions and People. Other sample searches I've tried included Places, Apps, Events, and Shared Links in the dropdown. As All Facebook points out, though, cl [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social | Facebook | Top News

French newspaper Le Monde issued a report using search query data to argue that the French are pre-occupied with whether their leaders (and would-be leaders) are Jewish. According to AFP, data from Google's search suggest/auto-complete function indicates that French people are routinely searching on politicians' names followed by the world "juif," which means "Jewish" in French. The article says: Along with terms such as "IMF" and "2012" -- for those interested in [Dominique Strauss-Kahn's] global finance work or prospects in next year's French presidential election -- the fourth comm [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | Google: Outside US | Google: Suggest | Google: Web Search

Ever dream of being your own boss? If you've got a good idea and are willing to take the plunge into starting your own business, it's now easier (and cheaper) than ever to get a local business started. Put Up Your Website (<$100/yr) You'll probably want your own domain, so you'll have to shell out $12 or so to a domain seller like GoDaddy and get a shared hosting package for $7/month. After that, there are a number of free website builders you can use such as Weebly. You don't need to be a techy to do any of these things, but it helps if you are not afraid of trying to figure out how t [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | Local Search | Search Marketing: Local Search Marketing | SEO: Local

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google Simplifies Site-Specific Bidding on Display NetworkGoogle is eliminating managed placement default bids in an effort to simplify bidding on its Display Network. Now Display Network advertisers who use managed placements will only have to deal with a regular default bid and a Display Network default bid. The change will go into effect March 15. They effect managed placements only, which [...] Hot At Sphinn: Hiring An SEM Consultant, Black Hat [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Other | SearchCap

Google is eliminating managed placement default bids in an effort to simplify bidding on its Display Network. Now Display Network advertisers who use managed placements will only have to deal with a regular default bid and a Display Network default bid. The change will go into effect March 15. They effect managed placements only, which are placements that target specific web sites in the content network that accept display ads. "We’ve heard feedback from advertisers that it’s confusing to work with these three default bids," said Google in a blog post, adding that most advertiser [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Google: AdWords

"Variety" seems to be the primary keyword when it comes to the hot stories last week on our sister site, Sphinn. A story about Twitter tools was popular among Facebook users and a discussion about defining the "long tail" garnered several comments, but the biggest stories of the week involved black hat e-commerce SEO and a discussion about hiring consultants. In our "Discussion of the Week," we asked How to Hire an SEO/SEM Consultant?, and that was the most popular conversation of the week. But our favorite comment of the week came in a discussion about the NY Times outing JC Penney for vio [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Other | Sphinn

Google's long created title tags from means other than using the HTML title tag, however, there are reports that it might be increasing the times it does so. A WebmasterWorld thread has dozens of webmasters complaining that Google is not using their HTML title tags. The HTML title tag is often used by Google as the blue hyperlink in the Google search results. The words used in that hyperlink can often mean a click or skip when a searcher is scanning the available search results for a query. So when Google decided to not use your HTML title tag, you are hopeful that Google picks something mo [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | Features: General | Google: SEO | Google: Web Search | SEO: Titles & Descriptions | Top News