I can remember the very first time a client gave me incremental money for the holiday season. It was a whopping $10,000 to spend over two months. I was flying high – we all were. Our entire agency, all five of us, stopped working and had a glass of champagne together to celebrate. This was […]
Classic linkbait campaigns follow a “throw it up against the wall and see if it sticks” model. Which begs the question: what do you do when it does stick? Let’s say you’ve written a solid piece of linkbait, and you’re ranking on page one for a topical head or near-head term. So what do you do next? […]
Shoppers using Google Product Search are sometimes being misled by incorrect tax and shipping information in search results. And that’s despite Google’s recent crackdown on merchants who either omit tax and shipping details, or list false/incorrect data in their product feeds. Back on March 14th, Google announced new rules for Product Search merchants. Among those […]
It is potentially the smartphone I’ve been waiting for since last year: the latest Android version, a “pure” Google experience and the ability to use what I consider the only real “4G” out there — Verizon. The Galaxy Nexus has arrived, at least with reviewers. There’s still no sale date announced for the US. I’m a […]
The old AdSense interface is gone for good, as of yesterday, so holdouts clinging to that version are being thrust smack-dab in the middle of the new AdSense. Users had previously been able to toggle back and forth between the old and new versions of the interface. Publishers have certainly had plenty of warning. Google […]
You see them more and more, those funny looking QR codes that deliver up information to your smartphone when you scan them. They’re most used in paper publications, most scanned by those 25-34 and nearly half that use them did so to get discounts. More stats below, in this infographic from TopSEOLiverpool.co.uk: Want the infographic […]
Yesterday Google Checkout users were notified that it was being merged into and replaced by Google Wallet. This makes sense on every level. From a ‘brand” and visibility standpoint Wallet is a more successful product already. Checkout was introduced in June, 2006 (it was rumored to be called “GBuy” ahead of launch). It was directed […]
Exciting! Now you can share full songs from Google Music with others on Google+, like no other service allows. That’s how I heard the pitch watching the Google Music event today. The reality is much different. Nice, but still disappointing in ways. Google Music Vs. Android Market Google Music is Google’s cloud-based music service. Until […]
To virtually no one’s surprise, Google today announced the launch of a digital music store that integrates with its existing cloud-based music storage locker. And that locker service is officially out of beta with today’s announcement. The Google Music Store exists in the Android Market alongside app, book and movie stores. It’s available in the […]
A new report from Experian Hitwise revealed that Google+ picked up steam last week and had its 3rd largest week to date. Hitwise chronicled US visits back to the social network’s inception and analyzed the social network’s total traffic. Last week (the week ending on Nov. 12th) Google+ saw a 5% increase from the previous week and a […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Organic, Paid & Owned Social Media Tactics – Master Them at SMX Social Media Marketing Learn tactics you need to be successful on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and more. Attend SMX Social […]
Bing-powered search made small gains in U.S. market share during October, according to the latest Hitwise numbers. Bing gained 3% between September and October, going from 12.8% market share to 13.23%, while Yahoo also rose slightly from 15.27% to 15.39%. Combined, that boosted Bing-powered share among major search engines to 28.62% … still a far […]
Want to show off the people who follow your shiny new Google+ Page, right on your own website? Now you can, with a Google+ badge that shows the faces of those subscribed. Badge Maker Now, Uh, Makes Badges When Google+ Pages launched last week, the badge making tool also went live — but it only […]
As many B2B marketers have learned the hard way, the traditional methods of marketing to consumers are simply not effective in the business arena. The following 5 tips are proven, easy to implement landing page tactics that will help you generate more leads and improve lead quality. 1. Implement Clean, Clear Landing Pages The design […]
In life, timing can be everything. But in marketing, it can make the difference between a sale and a missed opportunity. That’s why the topic of recency is so important to marketers. Fortunately, search retargeting can help marketers capitalize on recency to drive performance. Understanding Recency & The Window Of Opportunity The concept of recency […]
Much has been written about the poor in-house SEO, fighting the good fight to inculcate SEO awareness and best practices throughout the organization. This is an unenviable task and more than one in-house has shared a narrative with me that sounds something like this: SEO: “So, I’m concerned that we’re not proactively link-building and that […]
Once upon a time Foursquare was a mobile app that allowed you to “check in” places and tell your friends you were there. That seems like a long time ago now. Foursquare has evolved into a local discovery tool and loyalty platform for businesses. It has effectively won in its “check-in” segment and has moved […]
Microsoft’s search/social hybrid project is alive and well and, if current reports are to be believed, may be headed toward some kind of private beta test in the near future. If you were with us back in July, you might recall the small firestorm that burned for a couple days after news spread about Socl.com. […]
Yahoo is rolling out a couple new search experiences that are aimed squarely at holiday searchers: recipes and shopping. Prior to tonight’s new display, a search for “apple recipes” would include the standard algorithmic results (i.e., 10 blue links) along with a small shortcut at the top of the search results pointing searchers to recipes […]
Last week Mozilla released version 8.0 of Firefox and a nifty new feature allows you to search Twitter directly from the Firefox search box. Although I’m a Firefox user, last week’s update was not a big deal for me. Why? I’ve had access to Twitter’s search engine and Twitter’s “who to follow” database from my […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Third Party Page Managment Comes To Google+ Google+ pages for brands & businesses were announced last week, and Google has been busy rolling out supporting features. Yesterday, Google began displaying select […]
Google+ pages for brands & businesses were announced last week, and Google has been busy rolling out supporting features. Yesterday, Google began displaying select Google+ pages in the search results. Today it has been announced that Google+ partnered with six companies to create Google+ page management tools. The selected companies are: Buddy Media Context Optional Hearsay […]
A couple of weeks ago, Google eliminated the “+” operator from its set of tools that allow you to more precisely specify what you’re searching for. The “+” operator previously allowed you to require that certain words were found in your search results. This was useful if you wanted exact matches for search terms that […]
Let’s go, you and I, on an imaginary trip to Oslo in Norway. Now, the first two things you’ll want to do is arrange flight tickets to Oslo, and find a good place to stay. Where do you go for this information? A small (but growing) fraction of the online population will hop over to […]
The Pew Internet & American Life project polled over 2,250 Americans to find out why exactly they use social media platforms. The results pointed to one common answer: keeping in-touch with acquaintances or reconnecting with former friends they may have lost touch with. Some of the lowest motivators include using social media to create new […]
For many search marketers, SEO Book is a legend. Founded by (another legend) Aaron Wall in 2003, SEO Book now includes Aaron’s wife Giovanna Villanueva, Peter Da Vanzo, and Eric Covino. Membership works out to around $10 a day ($300 a month) and includes over 100 custom training modules, a private forum, exclusive members-only tools, and […]
Initially, when I was pulling a Google+ presentation together for PubCon last week, branded business pages were not “allowed” at the time. However, the features businesses can use to increase traffic and grow a following on Google Plus are pretty much the same as before branded pages were launched. For the record, this is not […]
The search trade association SEMPO sent a letter to FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz asking for regulators to restrain their urge to regulate Google. In the letter SEMPO argues “Free-market innovation in the Search industry is a key element in ensuring that the Internet continues to serve humanity’s needs as our reservoir of vital information and […]
Google Is Target of ShopCity Antitrust Complaint to FTC from Bloomberg News reports yet another FTC antitrust complaint was filed against Google. This time the complaint was filed by ShopCity, a service aimed at helping local businesses sell products online. The complaint was filed on November 11th by Gary Reback, an antitrust lawyer at Carr […]
If you’re running a website which is published in anything from 20 to 170 countries, you have a mighty task ahead of you. One small update on a small part of the global content can result in a mammouth roll-out task to cover all the markets you publish in and create both cost and headaches […]
Local mobile ad network xAd has released its first quarterly report detailing traffic trends and user behavior on its network. While all mobile ad networks offer geotargeting, xAd is one of a small number of mobile networks that specializes in local (search and display). CPM rates are considerably higher than on more conventional mobile ad […]
At some point last week Google Analytics quietly released an apparently small change to its Landing Pages report (Content tab => Site Content => Landing Pages). This report was almost useless before this change and now it joins the list of the most useful reports on the tool. In a few words the change was […]
As promised, Google has announced a way for WiFi router owners to stop Google from including them in the company’s location database. The opt-out requires a change in the name of the wireless network (the SSID) to include _nomap at the end of the name. In other words, if your wireless network is named “McGeehome,” […]
Somewhere between the “precision of search and the serendipity of social media” lies Trapit. Trapit is a “personal discovery engine” based on the same underlying technology that forms the core of Apple’s Siri virtual assistant. From the outside, however, it looks something like a cross between StumbleUpon and Flipboard or Zite. Co-founders Gary Griffiths and Hank […]
Earlier today, ‘All About Content’ reported that Google+ data was showing in Google’s organic search listings. Two different items are now appearing in the search results pages, recent Google+ posts and an “Add To Circles” button. The only caveat? These results will only show for select Google+ brand accounts that have been approved for Direct Connect. Even […]
Light bulbs that connect to the internet? Elevators that reach into space? Robots that show up for work in your place? These are a few of about 100 ideas that Google is reportedly toying with inside Google X, the name of a “top-secret lab” somewhere in the Bay Area. The New York Times wrote about […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: SEO Best Practices For HTML5: Truths, Half-Truths & Outright Lies During a panel at SMX Advanced 2011 in Seattle, I remember hearing a question about Schema.org tags. More specifically, I remember […]
During a panel at SMX Advanced 2011 in Seattle, I remember hearing a question about Schema.org tags. More specifically, I remember Greg Boser remarking about how search engines have come full circle. First, they gave us meta data. Then they took it away (as a ranking factor). Now, search engines are once again asking us for […]
Should companies pay for ads on their brand name? There are plenty of good reasons to do so regardless of the ROI, but those keenly interested in ROI and vexed by the concept of paying for traffic on their trademarks still ask the question. We’ve done some research on this topic that we’ll share below. […]
Like many of you, I’ve eagerly been testing out Siri, the popular new voice-activated “personal assistant” on Apple’s iPhone 4S. Whether testing her functionality to complete basic tasks like setting a calendar appointment or checking the weather – or her responses to some rather ridiculous requests like, “Siri, do you love me?” – I’m quite […]