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As you probably know from reading some of the recent posts in this space, I've been enjoying using GlassAlmanac.com as a guinea pig for some SEO and visibility experiments/efforts. A recent experiment has focused on Twitter search result visibility. I don't have any incredibly deep insights to share, so move along if that's what you're here for. But I did want to pass along the perhaps obvious idea that Twitter's "people" search results are heavily weighted toward the account name … but there are other factors at play, too. Background: For the…
SEM (Search Engine Marketing)
Most Topular Stories
Optimizing for Twitter People Search: Does a Keyword in Your Name Help?
Small Business Search Marketing4 Dec 2013 | 9:17 am -
Re-indexing Magento through the command line
Branded35 Dec 2013 | 7:50 amFrom time to time, you might find the need to re-index Magento via the command line. This could be for a whole host of reasons, for example, if the indexer is timing out or not finishing through the web interface. Magento includes an indexing script and you can find it in the shell folder. From here, you have a number of commands at your disposal. Checking for the status of all indexes php indexer.php --status Should give you output like this: Product Attributes: Pending Product Prices: Pending Stock Status: Pending Tag Aggregation Data: Pending Default Values: Pending Catalog URL Rewrites:… -
Free Shirt Friday – Bench-Mor @BenchMor
ShoeMoney6 Dec 2013 | 7:00 amBench-Mor brings us this week's Free Shirt Friday. Bench-Mor™ states that it will simply increase your bench press capability. While reducing the stress on your shoulders, elbows and chest, the strategically developed device will help perfect your bench press form so that muscle memory occurs resulting in a rapid escalation of weight capability. If you would like to see your website or company featured on Free Shirt Friday click here. Looking for an SEO service that won't get you banned? -
MasterCard Wants All of Their Employees to Be Social Media Brand Advocates
Marketing Pilgrim - Internet News and Opinion6 Dec 2013 | 1:23 pmLarge companies spent millions of dollars a year aligning themselves with social media brand advocates. They figure the average person will be more interested and open to a referral from a non-related third party, then a social media mention from the company itself. But what about your own employees? Should they be brand advocates, too? Earlier today, Frank wrote about the Twitter board members who don't Tweet. It's weird, right? You're high up in a company but you don't use, let alone evangelize the service? On the other end of the spectrum is MasterCard. -
The Clix Marketing Blog's Weekly #PPC News & Views: Dec 6, 2013
The Clix Marketing Blog6 Dec 2013 | 7:25 amHappy December Friends! Hope you're all staying nice and warm out there and having a nice slow down after the holiday weekend. If not, well, 'tis the season I guess. Today we'll look at posts talking about flexible bidding, the Opportunities tab, and more! Happy reading! Wordstream There have been tons of new features rolling out in AdWords recently. One area often overlooked by the ppc blogosphere is the Opportunities Tab. Recently, it's had a few facelifts and gotten some fun new features. Erin Sagin walks us through what she sees as the Pros & Cons fo the New…
Free Shirt Friday – Bench-Mor @BenchMor
6 Dec 2013 | 7:00 amBench-Mor brings us this week's Free Shirt Friday. Bench-Mor™ states that it will simply increase your bench press capability. While reducing the stress on your shoulders, elbows and chest, the strategically developed device will help perfect your bench press form so that muscle memory occurs resulting in a rapid escalation of weight capability. If you would like to see your website or company featured on Free Shirt Friday click here. Looking for an SEO service that won't get you banned? -
Get your brand out in front of thousands at Affiliate Summit 2014
5 Dec 2013 | 6:02 amI am auctioning myself to wear your company's shirt for 3 days during the Affiliate Summit West Event January 2014 in Las Vegas. All of the proceeds go to Matt Talbots Kitchen which feeds the homeless, in the name of the Affiliate Marketers Give Back foundation which is a non profit group lead by Missy Ward (Affiliate Summit Co-Founder). The winning bidder can pay us by Credit Card, Check, or Wire Transfer. This is a HUGE oppournunity to get your company out to a very targeted audience. I normally take between 50 and 100 pictures with people and this year we will be doing video… -
Adult monthly box
4 Dec 2013 | 8:52 amWith the new monthly box craze, I went online to see if there was any sort of "naughty box" that I could get for friends for xmas presents. For those unfamiliar with the monthly boxes you get a box of trial stuff in a particular niche and it comes monthly. I currently have about 8 different ones and it's awesome when they come, it's cool to be surprised. Anyway, there appears to be nothing in the adult space. I think this would be a interesting opportunity for someone looking for a new endeavor. It's kind of the culmination of consumers wanting more things in… -
November Recap
3 Dec 2013 | 9:05 amHope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Here is the recap from for November: Nov-05 12:36:42 - Google's Patents and why people shouldn't freak out (15 comments) As we are going through filing various patents for our PAR Program its interesting to see that it takes many years before you even get any sort of response… then you have to make rev…[more] Nov-06 09:25:53 - I am a TV Junkie. (30 comments) I keep a running tally of all the series/shows I have watched here. …[more] Nov-07 08:00:13 - S.O.S. to SMS: Are You Still Alive? (14… -
Time tested affiliate program and a big opportunity
26 Nov 2013 | 1:55 pmLast week I did a video interview with Jeffrey John who is one of the foremost experts in the astrology affiliate industry. Many affiliates are always chasing the next hot thing. I know… I have been there. But things go up and down… especially CPA networks. Dating, MMO, Free+ models, Ringtones, whatever.. it's not.. it's dead. The astrology niche has not only stood the test of time but also can be advertised in many ways that these other niches can't. So affiliates who take their knowledge in other spaces and apply it to the astrology space can…
Marketing Pilgrim - Internet News and Opinion
MasterCard Wants All of Their Employees to Be Social Media Brand Advocates
6 Dec 2013 | 1:23 pmLarge companies spent millions of dollars a year aligning themselves with social media brand advocates. They figure the average person will be more interested and open to a referral from a non-related third party, then a social media mention from the company itself. But what about your own employees? Should they be brand advocates, too? Earlier today, Frank wrote about the Twitter board members who don't Tweet. It's weird, right? You're high up in a company but you don't use, let alone evangelize the service? On the other end of the spectrum is MasterCard. -
Study Says Choice Overload Leads to No Sale
6 Dec 2013 | 12:47 pmTake a run around the internet and you'll spot the trend right away – images, images, images with very little text. Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram, image sites are hot but that doesn't mean it will work for your ecommerce store. A new study from the University of Miami School of Business Administration shows that, if your goal is selling products online, image overload might actually work against you. The researchers began by studying consumer preference while performing typical online shopping tasks. They then asked the participants whether they'd prefer to have an… -
End of Year Job Searching on the Marketing Pilgrim Job Board
6 Dec 2013 | 7:16 amThe Marketing Pilgrim Internet Marketing Job Board is a great place to find those end of the year job search opportunities that will help you move forward in the new year. You can find the full listings here. If you are looking for that perfect hire you would be hard pressed to find a better audience than ours for just $27 / per month per listing as well. Find out how to list your December openings here. Have you seen the new listings this week (as of December 6th)? Here is a sampling: Freelance Senior Marketing Manager – Adecco – New York, NY Social Media Strategist –… -
New Twitter Board Member Has Used Twitter – Once
6 Dec 2013 | 4:12 amIf you would like proof that those who are charged with leadership are often not all that aware of what it is they are helping to lead, just take a look at the latest board of director appointee for Twitter (Marjorie Scardino) and her Twitter 'presence' as of last night. Quartz points out Crazy, right? Not exactly. It turns out that most of Twitter's other board members also use the service sparingly—that is, the board members who aren't founders (Jack Dorsey and Evan Williams) or currently running the company (CEO Dick Costolo). Non-executive board members are expected to… -
Facebook's Organic Reach Waning for Marketers So Spend More on Ads Now!
6 Dec 2013 | 4:00 amFacebook is doing something for the greater good of those using the service. They are cleaning up the News Feed. How nice, especially when the result of this move is to limit the organic reach of page updates. AdAge explains what this really means Facebook is being more blunt about the fact that marketers are going to have to pay for reach. If they haven't already, many marketers will soon see the organic reach of their posts on the social network drop off, and this time Facebook is acknowledging it. In a sales deck obtained by Ad Age that was sent out to partners last month, the…
The Clix Marketing Blog
The Clix Marketing Blog's Weekly #PPC News & Views: Dec 6, 2013
6 Dec 2013 | 7:25 amHappy December Friends! Hope you're all staying nice and warm out there and having a nice slow down after the holiday weekend. If not, well, 'tis the season I guess. Today we'll look at posts talking about flexible bidding, the Opportunities tab, and more! Happy reading! Wordstream There have been tons of new features rolling out in AdWords recently. One area often overlooked by the ppc blogosphere is the Opportunities Tab. Recently, it's had a few facelifts and gotten some fun new features. Erin Sagin walks us through what she sees as the Pros & Cons fo the New… -
All I Want For Christmas From LinkedIn
26 Nov 2013 | 6:00 amIn the spirit of the holidays and as an addition to our wish list for AdWords I would like to give LinkedIn my wish for the one tool I desperately need on their self-serve PPC platform. A Bulk Editor Let me tell you a story. The story begins with me working on a fairly large LinkedIn advertiser's account. We were targeting CXOs and VPs in the same campaigns and we wanted to split those out into separate campaigns so we could track them independent of one another. The first step in this process involved duplicating each original campaign and changing the ad copy, tracking URLs &… -
Google AdWords Feature Alert: Undo From Change History
25 Nov 2013 | 6:31 pmIt's a Thanksgiving miracle! No, it's not a perfectly browned and crispy bacon wrapped turkey…although I'll never give up hope. Google has given us an undo option embedded within the change history! Last week Michelle posted her wishlist for AdWords, number 7 was a clear wish for an option to revert changes made from the change history log. 7.) Revert changes from Change History page Tonight, while I was browsing through the change history trying to figure out what happened inside one of my accounts that caused CPA to spike I found an undo button and I rejoiced! So… -
Sharing is Caring: My Bid Adjustment Matrix for Lead Gen Accounts
25 Nov 2013 | 9:47 amBid adjustment strategies are a dime a dozen. Every account is different and every manager has their own ideas about when and why bids should be adjusted. But that doesn't mean that we can't learn from each other. I thought I'd share my general outline for adjusting bids in hopes that some other managers might share theirs. Then we'd have a nice little community chat going about bidding strategies. That sounds like fun to me. So here's my strategy. It's nothing fancy, just a nice and simple matrix that helps make my decisions easier. (Note: This matrix… -
The Clix Marketing Blog's Weekly #PPC News and Views: November 22, 2013
22 Nov 2013 | 8:32 amHello friends, and welcome to this week's edition of PPC News and Views! We've got another fantastic list of articles for you covering landing pages, holiday campaigns, and long-tail keywords. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the show! Just kidding…you'll definitely need to read a bit for this whole thing to make sense. Had ya goin' though didn't I? From the Experts Wordstream Cyber Monday is fast approaching and although by this point you should probably have all of your strategy figured out, that doesn't mean there isn't time for a couple more…
Small Business Search Marketing
Optimizing for Twitter People Search: Does a Keyword in Your Name Help?
4 Dec 2013 | 9:17 amAs you probably know from reading some of the recent posts in this space, I've been enjoying using GlassAlmanac.com as a guinea pig for some SEO and visibility experiments/efforts. A recent experiment has focused on Twitter search result visibility. I don't have any incredibly deep insights to share, so move along if that's what you're here for. But I did want to pass along the perhaps obvious idea that Twitter's "people" search results are heavily weighted toward the account name … but there are other factors at play, too. Background: For the… -
Is This a Google Hummingbird Search Result?
8 Nov 2013 | 10:34 am(Obviously ALL Google search results are Hummingbird-impacted, but this one really caught my eye today as being odd. Maybe you agree?) A couple times a year, I need to share a link with someone to an old article that I wrote here on SBSM: Dear Small Business Owners: Put Down Your Ranking Reports The easiest way for me to get that URL is to do a Google search for "put down ranking reports." In the past, that query has produced results that are pretty much exclusively SEO-related. I did that search this morning, and got this: As you can see, it's an odd mix of football… -
Glass Almanac (Finally) Has Its "Google Moment"
5 Nov 2013 | 8:49 amThere's a moment during the life of every new website* when Google starts to like and trust the content it's crawling. I call it the "Google moment." If you're keeping an eye on your analytics (as you should be), you can usually tell this moment pretty easily. Watch the amount of organic search traffic coming to your site. When that graph starts to trend upward, you're on the right track. For some sites, this moment might come within a matter of days or weeks. Other sites? Longer. There's no rhyme or reason to it. Like many SEO questions, the answer… -
Yelp's Reviews, Active Business Accounts Jump in Q3
30 Oct 2013 | 8:55 amYelp's third quarter 2013 earnings report shows a huge gain in two of the company's primary (non-financial) metrics: the number of active businesses using Yelp, and the total number of reviews Yelp says it now has more than 57,000 active business accounts, up from 35,500 a year ago — a 61 percent increase. These are defined as accounts from which Yelp made money during the quarter. Reviews jumped from 33.3 million a year ago to 47.3 million at the end of Q3, a 42 percent gain. I should note that a small portion of the growth is due to Yelp's ongoing integration with… -
GlassAlmanac.com: Why It Took 6 Weeks To Choose A Domain
22 Oct 2013 | 8:20 amTrademarks, domain scarcity, price negotiations, social availability and so much more. Those were just some of the things involved in choosing a domain name for my new website, Glass Almanac. I've already written about how Google and Bing have handled the new site, and promised to write more about what I'm experiencing in launching it in the hopes of helping others who are also thinking about starting a new site/blog. This is the next post in that occasional series. Choosing a Domain Name I had a few rules in mind when I began thinking about the right domain for my Google Glass…
A major update to our Local SEO plugin
4 Dec 2013 | 7:56 amToday we're releasing a major update to our Local SEO plugin, bringing it to version 1.2. This new version has functionality that quite a few of you requested, most important of them is a new store locator option. Store locator When you're a brand that's sold in several stores throughout a country, continent or even the entire world: you'll want to tell people where they can buy your product. If you're the owner of a chain of stores, you'll want people to be able to easily find where the nearest store is. We've made that ridiculously easy. When you… -
Demystifying Viewing Patterns
3 Dec 2013 | 5:44 amLately I've been intrigued by something called the 'viewing pattern' of people. This is a pattern in which people view, in this case, websites. There are really a lot of ideas about this out there. Now I'm wondering: is there one right pattern? In other words: is there one pattern we should follow when designing our product and landing pages? Before I fully dive into the subject, let me say I'm aware that these kinds of patterns are subject to culture and education. Most probably the patterns are also vastly different for languages that are read from right to… -
Yoast is looking for a senior WordPress developer
27 Nov 2013 | 3:15 amUpdate 29-11: we've found a developer, @cagenl, he'll be starting January 1st. We're growing at Yoast, our plugins are doing extremely well and we've got lots more in the works. What's becoming clear though is that we are in dire need of an addition to our team: we need a senior WordPress developer. So, if you're that guy or girl who: can easily develop a WordPress plugin given a set of functional and technical requirements and come up with better requirements themselves if what Joost thought up was actually stupid; has proven experience in developing WordPress plugins;… -
RSS feeds in the age of Panda and Penguin
21 Nov 2013 | 5:50 amWhen I started blogging, everyone used an RSS reader and your RSS feed was the way of getting your new content in front of people. The use of RSS has dwindled, at least for us because the readership here on Yoast has quadrupled over the last 2 years but the number of RSS subscribers is now less than 1/4th of what it was 2 years ago, let alone the traffic. We had passionate discussion about full-length RSS versus summaries in those days.Full length would mean people could read your content but would not get to your website, meaning you'd have less ad views, if that was how you made… -
Should you test that?
20 Nov 2013 | 7:33 amWhy testing is not always the right way to start optimizing your conversion. Learning more and more about Conversion Optimization, it appeared to me as though testing (A/B or multivariate) is the only way to go. Most of the sites of agencies claiming to help optimize your conversion, state that you should separately test every freaking little change you make on your page. Of course, I am exaggerating a little, but my point remains that conversion rate optimization implies a lot of testing. And that is a lot of work…. Scientific Progress The scientist in me revolted! In science, we make…
Conversation Marketing from Portent, Inc: Internet Marketing with a Twist of Lemon
Heads Up, Internet Marketers: How to Use PPC to Bolster Your SEO [Inspired by My Mozinar!]
4 Dec 2013 | 6:00 amElizabeth initially presented the information below during her Mozinar on Sept. 10. But for those of you who aren't interested in an hour-long audio presentation but want more info than a Slideshare, this is the post for you. Consider this the "Tall," not Venti version… Give us a break, it's Seattle. Once upon a time I started out as what I thought was a "paper clip" marketer. (Turns out that's actually a "pay per click" marketer, as I was gently corrected by a Google SERP.) Since then, I've been smashing my way through paid search accounts at Portent. By working… -
Dispersed Citation and the Idea Graph: November Webinar Video
21 Nov 2013 | 2:54 pmJust wrapped up today's webinar. If you missed it (for shame) here's the video: I actually only have about 1/3 of the meeting management window in the video this time. Nice improvement. -
5 Delicious Analytics Custom Segments: Taste the Rainbow
14 Nov 2013 | 6:00 amPhoto by Jase Curtis. I was the kid who sorted out Skittles by color. My favorite flavor was lime, which they've since changed to green apple — an atrocity if you ask me. That isn't my point today, but I think it's influenced how I work as a marketer. Google Analytics has done a lot of work around their segmentation tool. I won't give you the 101 on it. I'll leave that to Justin Cutroni. He wrote a fantastic piece on the new parts of the tool in July. Much like the Skittles rainbow, you can learn a lot about your site's marketing mix by segmenting the various colorful, tasty… -
What TWTR Has To Do
12 Nov 2013 | 1:54 pmDisclaimer: I'm not an analyst. I'm not a master marketing prognosticator. But sometimes it's fun to look at a company and ask "If this went perfectly, what would it look like?" That's what I'm doing here. Don't buy stock based on my ramblings. Please. Yep, Twitter's gone public. They're now TWTR. (Which I find funny, since you remove vowels for more spc on the twtrs). Their stock skyrocketed the first day on the market, going from $26 to $47. Now it's down to $40; still that's darn good. But folks are still wondering:… -
SEO Makeover for 2014: A Practical Guide for Businesses
4 Nov 2013 | 6:00 amSEO is about attracting non-paid search traffic to your website. The idea is that a person searches the Web using Bing or Google, etc. and your site comes up in the non-paid search results. To that end, it's important to make sure your website is easily understood by both people and machines. People = your target market, your ideal website visitors. Machines = search engines like Google and Bing. It's a problem if your website confuses people and they can't easily find what they're looking for. Or they can't smoothly accomplish the tasks they want to complete (or you want them to…
search engine marketing - Google News
kuwait.topseos.com Promotes December 2013 Rankings of Top Search Engine ... - Newsday
8 Dec 2013 | 2:15 amkuwait.topseos.com Promotes December 2013 Rankings of Top Search Engine NewsdayThe independent authority on internet marketing in Kuwait, kuwait.topseos.com, has proclaimed the top search engine marketing agencies in the online marketing industry for the month of December 2013. Numerous agencies are put through an in-depth 10 Best Search Engine Optimization Agencies in France Ranked by france Virtual-Strategy Magazine (press release)all 56 news articles » -
Top Search Engine Marketing Services Rankings in Germany Released by ... - Newsday
7 Dec 2013 | 2:29 amTop Search Engine Marketing Services Rankings in Germany Released by Newsday10 top search engine marketing consultants in Germany have been declared by germany.topseos.com for December 2013. (PRWEB) December 07, 2013. germany.topseos.com has announced the ten best search marketing companies in Germany for the -
topseos.ru Reports December 2013 Ratings of Best Search Engine Optimization ... - Newsday
7 Dec 2013 | 2:29 amtopseos.ru Reports December 2013 Ratings of Best Search Engine Optimization NewsdayThe independent authority on internet marketing in Russia, topseos.ru, has announced the best search engine marketing companies in the internet marketing industry for the month of December 2013. Many companies are put through a thorough analysis of -
topseos.mx Announces December 2013 Listings of Best Search Engine ... - Newsday
7 Dec 2013 | 2:29 amtopseos.mx Announces December 2013 Listings of Best Search Engine Newsdaytopseos.mx declares the best search engine marketing firms in Mexico for December 2013. (PRWEB) December 07, 2013. topseos.mx has disclosed the December 2013 edition of the rankings of best search engine marketing companies in Mexico. Online -
The 'New SEO' is Plain Old Marketing - Search Engine Watch
6 Dec 2013 | 4:54 amBusiness 2 CommunityThe 'New SEO' is Plain Old MarketingSearch Engine WatchA part of the new world of SEO is as basic as going to our marketing roots. There's no way that building relationships through networks is going to bring you more search engine traffic as quickly as 200 directory links did three years ago. Expecting Why Depending Solely On PPC Is A Very Big Marketing FailBusiness 2 CommunityTips for Making Your E-Commerce Website SEO FriendlyClickZBest SEO Advice Available On the WebPR-BG.com (прессъобщения) (press release)SBWire (press release) -The…
Search Engine Guide : Small Business Search Marketing
Yeah, But...Our Site Converts Just Fine
11 Nov 2013 | 6:52 amby Mike Fleming Really?!?! How do you know that? Did all of your "yeah, butter" competitors all share their conversion rates with you? Even if they did, how do you know what's good and what isn't? If by "fine," you mean you're making a profit, then great. But, is that all you want, just to be "fine"?A 100% conversion rate just doesn't exist, no matter what you do to your site: Some will say yes, some will say no and then some will say maybe. It's that last category of site visitors that can have a major impact on future business growth. The difference between the amount of maybes… -
How You Know You Need a New SEO Firm
31 Oct 2013 | 1:01 pmby Nick Stamoulis Although the SEO industry at large may not have the best reputation thanks to a handful of spammers and SEO con men (and I do believe they represent the smaller segment of providers in this industry), there are plenty of great SEO firms out there that are just as committed to your success as you are! There is no need to suffer through a bad or negligent SEO firm. Here are 4 ways you can tell that it's time to find a new SEO firm: 1. Your SEO firm is not educating you. The world of SEO has changed dramatically in the last year and chances are many more changes are coming down… -
Does experimental marketing require lots of customers?
16 Oct 2013 | 2:19 pmby Mike Moran Everyone knows what a great job the big boys do. Amazon, eBay--you can go down the list. All of these "born on the web" companies have massive feedback loops that allow them to experiment with small changes in their marketing, their user experience, their offers, and ten other things. Whenever they make a change, they see if more people are buying and decide whether the new way "works" or not. Amazon's CTO once told me they can change a font at breakfast and know whether it was a good idea by lunchtime. But how can you do the same thing, when you don't get nearly as many… -
How to Streamline Time-Consuming White Hat SEO Techniques
4 Oct 2013 | 2:29 amby Brian Dean I don't need to tell you that white hat SEO is the only viable option for businesses that want long-term traffic from Google. In fact, Rand Fishkin said it best in his post: "White Hat SEO: It F@$#ing Works ". The downside of white hat SEO -- and the reason that so many people turn to "the Dark Side" -- is that white hate SEO is also F@$#ing time consuming! That's why I've put together this guide to help you squeeze more high quality backlinks from your link building campaigns. Guest Posting I personally know an agency owner that publishes more than 500 guest posts every single… -
Reeling In Your Content Marketing Ideas
30 Sep 2013 | 8:31 amby Nick Stamoulis Have you ever struck content marketing idea gold? Maybe you had the best team brainstorming of your career? Maybe something changed in your industry that opened up a whole new avenue of topics? Or maybe you are just getting involved in a new business venture and your content marketing ideas are coming in at a mile a minute. It's a nice problem to have, but it's still a bit of a problem! While most of us struggle to come up with enough ideas, having too many ideas that pull our content marketing efforts in a hundred and one directions can also hurt more than it helps. That's…
Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing
Google News Reader Is Updated For Android & iOS, With Customized Settings & Added Desktop Features
6 Dec 2013 | 1:31 pmGoogle is updating the look and feel of its News reader on Android and iOS devices, as well as adding a few new features. According to the announcement, the new Google News reader for Android and iOS offers three new customized settings: the option to change the theme from light to dark, reduce or... Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article. -
SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 6, 2013
6 Dec 2013 | 12:57 pmBelow is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google Busts Yet Another Link Network: Anglo Rank Google's head of search spam, Matt Cutts, just confirmed on Twitter that Google has targeted another "private... Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article. -
Google Busts Yet Another Link Network: Anglo Rank
6 Dec 2013 | 12:20 pmGoogle's head of search spam, Matt Cutts, just confirmed on Twitter that Google has targeted another "private link network" – this one is named Anglo Rank. Matt's tweet was pretty direct, he wrote: "There are absolutely NO footprints linking the websites... Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article. -
Google Officially Testing Images In Web Search Results Snippets
6 Dec 2013 | 9:56 amGoogle has confirmed they are running a user interface in the search results to show images within the web search snippets. Reader, Samuel Edwards from Tenthwave Digital sent us a screen shot of this unusual Google search results test. A Google spokesperson confirmed this is indeed one of... Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article. -
Bing Brings Enhanced Mapping To Windows 8.1
6 Dec 2013 | 9:43 amYesterday Microsoft announced "Bing Maps Preview" for Windows 8.1 (including tablets). The new mapping app offers a range of enhanced features and capabilities. It seeks to bring highly realistic, 3-D imagery together with a more intuitive UI. Google Earth and what used to be called... Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Search Engine Journal
The 10 Most Popular Online Payment Solutions by @albertcostill
8 Dec 2013 | 12:00 pmImage Source: Wikipedia We don't have to be in the thick of this hectic shopping season to know how important online purchases are. It's a booming industry throughout the entire year. And, it's a vital part of your business. If you're not able to make electronic sales, how can your online business survive? Without being […]Author informationAlbert CostillJust a typical guy that enjoys an ice-cold beer, pizza, sports and music. Since venturing into the blogosphere many years ago to discuss his favorite tunes, Al has been known to write for online publications by Alpha Brand… -
Google Is Testing Embedded Images In Search Results Snippets by @mattsouthern
8 Dec 2013 | 1:52 amSEJ reader Samuel Edwards, from Tenthwave Digital, gave us a heads up about something he recently spotted while doing a Google search. Google appears to be testing embedded images in the snippets of web search results. Samuel discovered this while doing a search for 'Flower Beauty Facebook' and found snippets contained embedded images of profile photos of […]Author informationMatt SouthernMatt Southern is a marketing, communications and public relations professional. He provides strategic digital marketing services at an agency called Bureau in Ontario, Canada. He has a… -
How To Set Yourself Apart When Applying For A Digital Marketing Job by @RonellSmith
7 Dec 2013 | 12:00 pmA recent job post for a social content specialist at my company drew more than 110 applicants in less than a month, underscoring the interest in the field of digital marketing. With odds like these, it's tough for even the best résumé to get through, and even if it does, how does an applicant set […]Author informationRonell SmithDirector of Strategy at Advice Interactive AgencyRonell Smith is the Director of Strategy for Advice Interactive Group, a full-service digital marketing agency with offices in Texas, California and Florida.TwitterFacebookGoogle+LinkedInThe post How To… -
Top 5 Social Media Fails of 2013 by @ab80
6 Dec 2013 | 12:00 pmLast year we shared an infographic about the greatest Social Media fails of 2012. The content was received very warmly by the community and we decided to do something similar this year. Traditionally we analyzed both the most successful cases (see truly inspiring examples on our blog) and the ones that caused public outcry. Today […]Author informationAleh BarysevichMarketing Director at Link-Assistant.ComAleh Barysevich is Marketing Director at Link-Assistant.Com, the company that makes SEO PowerSuite (website promotion toolkit) and BuzzBundle (social media software) for bloggers,… -
Google Toolbar PageRank Has Been Updated, First Update In Over 10 Months by @mattsouthern
6 Dec 2013 | 10:36 amJust a couple months ago Matt Cutts said he would be surprised to see an update to Google Toolbar PageRank by the end of this year. Despite him having said that, here we are in December and Google just updated their Toolbar PageRank values this morning. It's always a big deal in the SEO community […]Author informationMatt SouthernMatt Southern is a marketing, communications and public relations professional. He provides strategic digital marketing services at an agency called Bureau in Ontario, Canada. He has a bachelors degree in communication and an unparalleled passion for…
Marketing Land - Internet Marketing News, Strategies & Tips
SpaghettiOs Apologizes For Offensive Pearl Harbor Day Tweet
7 Dec 2013 | 6:18 amSuffice to say, asking Americans to remember one of the worst attacks on their country by a foreign power by sharing a picture of a giant, smiling piece of pasta waving an American flag probably wasn't wise. But that's what SpaghettiOs — the canned spaghetti product from Campbell... Please visit Marketing Land for the full article. -
Apple Driving Indoor Location Revolution With iBeacons In All Its 254 Stores
6 Dec 2013 | 1:50 pmIt's often the case that a technology percolates for a period of time below the surface before it rises to general visibility. That's the story of indoor location, which has been around for years but is now gaining momentum — in large part because of moves that Apple is making. In... Please visit Marketing Land for the full article. -
Marketing Day: December 6, 2013
6 Dec 2013 | 12:59 pmHere's our daily recap of what happened in online marketing today, as reported on Marketing Land and other places across the web. From Marketing Land: Facebook: We Define News Feed Quality At Source Level, Not By Content Type Still coming to terms with Facebook's recent promises to reward... Please visit Marketing Land for the full article. -
Facebook: We Define News Feed Quality At Source Level, Not By Content Type
6 Dec 2013 | 11:18 amStill coming to terms with Facebook's recent promises to reward high-quality content in the News Feed, and what it means for your brand and/or clients? In an interview today with AllThingsD, Facebook's News Feed Manager Lars Backman, sheds a little more light on what the company is... Please visit Marketing Land for the full article. -
Will New Foursquare App, Push Notifications, Boost Engagement?
6 Dec 2013 | 8:01 amFoursquare's 40 million users probably fall into three tiers: "super users," occasional users and those who've downloaded the app and no longer use it. Foursquare won't say how many of its users are "active."That's a general challenge for the company:... Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.
Avoid These Dumb AdWords Mistakes When Getting Started with Your First Campaign
4 Dec 2013 | 6:55 amBefore we begin in earnest to lecture you on the subject of the article, let us reiterate what you surely know already: it is imperative that you have a proper and relevant landing page ready for when people do click on your ads. Without that, you will end up losing money. Period. Now let's talk about Dumb and how not to be. 1. How Wide is Your Net? Are you targeting all the keywords that came up as being lucrative and 'buying' when you did your research? That's probably not a good idea. You will be spreading yourself too thin, imagining that every keyword will get you… -
20 Online Tools To Monitor Your Competition
29 Nov 2013 | 12:05 pmIn today's hyper-competitive world, no business should remain ignorant to what its competitors are doing. Obtaining essential information on the businesses you compete with allows one to always keep one step ahead of them. It's easier to determine their strengths and weaknesses and capitalize on this knowledge to conquer your market. Monitoring your competition is important for developing turn-key business strategies which will give you a competitive edge. Fortunately, for you, there are quite a few online tools available today. This means you can do competitor espionage from… -
8 Powerful Tips To Increase Blog Traffic By Running Giveaways
25 Nov 2013 | 6:26 am#1 Post a Blog Announcing Your Giveaway You will first want to start out by announcing your giveaway to your readers. If you don't announce it and get the word out there, then how can you expect anyone to participate? It may seem like the obvious, but you would be surprised as to how many people don't get the word out there the right way. When announcing it, make sure that you include all of the details about how the giveaway will work. #2 Track the Entries with Blog Comments One of the easiest ways for you to keep a track of the people who are entering your giveaway is through… -
Social Media Sites Increase their Influence in the Search World
5 Nov 2013 | 10:51 amIf your marketing strategy still doesn't include a social media angle, the time to start looking to incorporate one is now. Search through Google and other search engines still drives a large percentage of traffic to websites, proper SEO practices are important. The emerging trend amongst the newest internet users – the ones who will have buying power soon – is using social media sites to discover new websites. How social media is replacing search To give a real life example, I frequently log into my Facebook and Twitter accounts to find interesting stories to read. You may say… -
Ditch the Dinosaur, Re-Design your Website
22 Oct 2013 | 12:30 pmObviously a website is incredibly useful for businesses wanting to expand beyond their local market or looking to build a web presence. It can help drive traffic, attract attention and increase profits. Perhaps slightly less well known is that a well-maintained website will make a world of difference. From a user perspective we've all been in the situation where we are performing a Google search, think we've found a quality site, and then click on it to realize it's antiquated—and internet dinosaur—and in our haste we accidentally close multiple windows as we scramble to leave the…
Internet Marketing News - Search Engine Marketing
More on the Global Network Initiative
8 Dec 2013 | 7:51 pmLast week, we wrote about the interest that Internet marketers have in the privacy initiative that Yahoo!, Google, and Microsoft have agreed to with regard to repressive governments and Internet usage. Here's what Yahoo! had to say in their recent press release: This landmark initiative will help guide information and communications technology companies in protecting and advancing freedom of expression and privacy across the globe when they encounter laws and policies that interfere with these fundamental human rights. "Yahoo! was founded on the belief that access to information… -
Article Marketing: Finding Topics for Articles
8 Dec 2013 | 7:51 amArticle marketing can be an excellent path into a regular income on the Internet. Whether you sell products or services on your website, are an affiliate marketer, or earn revenue through programs like Google AdSense, article marketing can drive traffic to your site and generate income. But it's not always easy to think of topics about which to write. A blank Word document can be one of the most intimidating sights on the planet. Sometimes you stare at the screen with a vague memory of having known something at one time, but you can't quite figure out what it was. Don't… -
Enjoying the Results of Website Traffic
7 Dec 2013 | 7:51 pmAs most online business owners know, you can spend thousands of dollars on a fabulous website and even offer an incredible product or service, but still fail. The reason is that the right amount of focus is not placed on the importance of marketing. As a result there is little traffic and without traffic, no sales. What makes this so exciting is that to create strong website traffic you literally have a multitude of options. When you use the right tools and resources and make sure each is managed appropriately, you will see a huge jump in website traffic. One of the goals in choosing and… -
What's a Press Release without Press Release Distribution?
7 Dec 2013 | 7:51 amA press release will do fine in newspapers, but it isn't going to influence a majority of consumers on the Internet. When a press release is on the Internet, it has the potential to be seen by more eyes than if a newspaper press release were published everyday for a year. This is because it has a worldwide presence. Someone in Singapore can view that press release if they want to. They could probably even make a purchase from the website of the press release owner. The possibilities are endless with online press release distribution. With the right press release distribution service,… -
Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, and China
6 Dec 2013 | 7:51 pmAs anyone with an interest in international Internet marketing knows, it can be difficult to navigate the waters in companies with repressive regimes. Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft have borne the brunt of outrage over their practices in countries like China, which severely restricts Internet access and demands records that we in the U.S. would consider an invasion of privacy. The San Francisco Chronicle (www.sfgate.com) reported on that the Big Three had hammered out a code of conduct that would govern their dealings with oppressive foreign governments. Although the code is still under wraps,…
Search Engine Watch - Latest
Facebook Admits: Expect Organic Reach for Pages to Continue Declining
6 Dec 2013 | 11:35 amFacebook now admits that businesses will need to pay in order to get their companies posts and information in user newsfeeds.The way businesses do business on Facebook is changing, and it's going to be expensive. -
IAB Tackles Native Advertising Standards as FTC Investigates
6 Dec 2013 | 11:00 amThe Interactive Advertising Bureau is attempting to set industry standards in regards to native advertising, though whether or not self-regulation by advertisers will be enough to satisfy the Federal Trade Commission remains to be seen. -
Google Now Allows Gmail and Calendar Data Downloads
6 Dec 2013 | 10:00 amFinally, Google will allow users to download data from their Gmail and Google Calendars, a function that has long been available on many of their other services. The feature will help users who want to store an offline backup of their information. -
Cyber Monday 2013: Largest Online Spend in U.S. History
6 Dec 2013 | 9:05 amData shows Cyber Monday was a huge success, with comScore proclaiming it as the day with the heaviest online spend in U.S. history. Other data shows social media played a notable role in sales this year. However, shoppers may not have received the best de -
Surprise! Google Updates PageRank Just in Time for Christmas
6 Dec 2013 | 6:30 amPageRank may not be dead after all. Google unexpectedly updated PageRank early this morning, just six weeks after head of webspam Matt Cutts told PubCon Las Vegas attendees not to expect another update this year.
Internet Marketing NewsWatch
'The Top 5 Marketing Discoveries in 2013' MarketingExperiments Webinar December 11
8 Dec 2013 | 6:14 pmMarketingExperiments is hosting a webinar on Wednesday, December 11 at 4.00 pm EST. The topic of the webinar is "The Top 5 Marketing Discoveries in 2013: The last 50,000+ hours of research distilled into 60 minutes". [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] -
'Content Marketing Strategies: Tear Down Geographic Barriers to Sales' – 'MarketingProfs' Blog
8 Dec 2013 | 5:53 pmThe latest article on 'MarketingProfs' is titled "Content Marketing Strategies: Tear Down Geographic Barriers to Sales". [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] -
'3 Ways Marketers Can #Win With Twitter's New Tailored Audiences' – 'Marketing Land' Article
8 Dec 2013 | 5:45 pmThe latest article on 'Marketing Land' is titled "3 Ways Marketers Can #Win With Twitter's New Tailored Audiences". [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] -
'How To Drive User Engagement By Creating Habits' Business 2 Community Webinar December 11
8 Dec 2013 | 5:32 pmBusiness 2 Community is hosting a webinar with Nir Eyal on Thursday January 2 at 5.00 pm ET. The topic of the webinar is "How To Drive User Engagement By Creating Habits". [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] -
'Social Media 101: How To Structure Updates for Facebook, Google Plus, and Twitter' – 'Business 2 Community' Article
8 Dec 2013 | 4:53 pmThe latest article on 'Business 2 Community' is titled "Social Media 101: How To Structure Updates for Facebook, Google Plus, and Twitter". [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
The Search Agents
Sluggish Black Friday Sales Give Way to New Shopping Trend: Cyber Week
6 Dec 2013 | 11:08 amCyber Monday may be over but the promotions certainly aren't. This week, many retailers announced extensions of their Cyber Monday deals via social media channels, dedicated emails, homepages, and the search engine results page (SERP). Interestingly, advertisers have begun promoting what appears to be a new shopping trend on the horizon: Cyber Week. The recent repetition of the phrase "Cyber Week" in retail ad messaging sparked our interest, so naturally, we investigated. On Wednesday, we performed a Google search for "Cyber Monday" which returned paid search ads from Best Buy,… -
Grant's Rants: Facebook, Get Your Act Together!
5 Dec 2013 | 3:22 pmIn this week's episode, Grant is ranting about the foolish Facebook feed! With an influx of ads, edge-ordered posts, less (apparently) relevant content, and a move to serve corporations before individual users, Grant is not a happy (Facebook) camper. Sure it's free, but shouldn't it be useful too? Which begs the question… "What the hell is going on with Edge Rank and Facebook's monetization strategy?" -
Google Trends Are Now More Intelligent
5 Dec 2013 | 10:16 amGoogle recently announced an update to Google Trends that will make it easier to explore and compare trending topics and entities. It can now compare trending topics based on the type of entity, making it easier to measure the trending interest of the topic that actually matters to you. For instance, Google provides different data for the search query "rice" depending on whether or not the user intended to search for Rice (Cereal) or Rice (University). In an earlier blog post, David Carrillo, Manager of Earned Media, highlighted the benefits of using Google Trends as a key tool for… -
Sneak Peek: Driving SEO Performance with CSS
3 Dec 2013 | 11:32 amCascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a great way to enhance and stylize HTML webpages while preserving and driving SEO value. Our latest white paper provides designers and developers with tactics that leverage CSS to provide excellent user experiences while minimizing the impact on page weight and speed. Here's just a taste of the features and benefits of CSS: CSS allows you to enhance on-page content to enhance user experience. Content encoded with CSS is fully accessible to crawlers. Design elements such as graphics and custom fonts can be rendered with lightweight CSS code instead of image… -
In-Depth Articles Offer High-Authority Results, but Lack Relevance
26 Nov 2013 | 9:51 amIn August, Google launched a new SERP feature called in-depth articles which feature long-form content about broad search terms. Currently, this block of results appears at the bottom of the SERP and consists of three results, each with an image, title, publisher, and description. In order to give content a chance to appear in this section, Google advises implementing schema.org markup, authorship and publisher markup, pagination and canonicalization, and First Click Free for restricted content. In the brief time that in-depth articles have started appearing, it appears that Google's…
eMarketer Articles and Newsroom Posts
Article: Luxury Consumers Respond to Exclusive Access, Not Promotion
26 Nov 2013 | 8:01 pmTony King tells eMarketer, "I think it's up to the brand to know what its customers are looking for based on what they've previously purchased or looked at online. If that's known, customers can be offered something exactly suited to them—before the general public has access to it. A good salesperson at a luxury store will call to tell you an item you're going to like will be available. That's what ecommerce is lacking, and that has to improve." -
Article: Holiday Purchase Decisions Still an Antisocial Affair in the UK
26 Nov 2013 | 8:01 pmDespite social media forming a staple of much of UK consumers' digital life, it will not feature as a significant influencer this Christmas according to research. Traditional word-of-mouth is still important, however. -
Article: Retailers' Digital Ad Spending to Reach Record Levels in 2013
26 Nov 2013 | 8:01 pmBolstered by growing ecommerce sales and time spent across digital channels, the US retail industry will grow its digital ad spending more rapidly this year than in 2012, according to new figures from eMarketer. -
Article: In Brazil, TV and Internet Are the Preferred Media to Use Together
25 Nov 2013 | 8:01 pmAs Brazil's internet market continues to expands digital media is making its way into more of consumers lives—but not to the detriment of traditional media consumption. In fact, digital and traditional media now play a mutually reinforcing role in the growing trend of simultaneous media use, with some pairing together better than others. -
Article: Advertisers Continue Rapid Adoption of Programmatic Buying
25 Nov 2013 | 8:01 pmA new eMarketer forecast predicts higher-than-expected spending totals for US real-time bidding digital display advertising this year, with solid growth expected for the next several years. By 2017, advertisers will spend more than $9 billion on RTB.
Posts from the Econsultancy blog
Gmail image changes: everything email marketers need to know
6 Dec 2013 | 6:51 amEmail marketers have always faced the technological challenge of having to quickly adapting to the unknown, often in a matter of hours. This week is one of those, where we find that Gmail has made changes to the way it handles images. At first, I can appreciate that this may sound insignificant, but it affects all of us. In this blog post, I will try to demystify these changes for you. What are the changes to Gmail? Traditionally, when you open an email, the images download. When you go back to the email, a second impression of each of those images is recorded. However, this week Gmail has… -
20+ fantastic apps our Twitter followers love
6 Dec 2013 | 5:01 amCreating a successful app is an incredibly difficult task, whichever platform you are using. For every super-viral Candy Crush there's a thousand zero download zombie apps littering the floor of the app store. So what makes a great app? I recently took to Twitter (via an app naturally) to find out what busy digital people loved about apps... A question for you Twitter - what's the best/most used app you've downloaded in the past month? Any function. — Econsultancy (@Econsultancy) December 5, 2013 Save time FTW Many of our Tweeters underlined a simple fact: People are busy. When every… -
10 interesting digital marketing statistics we've seen this week
6 Dec 2013 | 3:34 amOnce again, here are some of the most interesting digital marketing statistics we've seen this week. Statistics include Pinterest, eBay, mobile, social customer service, Amazon and a bumper stack of data from Cyber Monday. For more digital marketing stats, check out our Internet Statistics Compendium. Failure to measure offline sales means marketers are missing out on ROI A failure to take a holistic view of customer journeys means marketers are missing out on potential revenues, according to a new report from ResponseTap. In particular, marketers are 'flying blind' when it comes to… -
Harper Collins: from publisher to creative content business
6 Dec 2013 | 2:56 amHarper Collins and its business development team are a great example of how publishers are adapting to the business of content, not simply bound sheaves of pulped wood. In an indicator of how service-based the UK economy has become, Harper Collins now sums up its business as following: "We create bespoke content based on products and campaigns for our clients." "We work with content, not just books, across print, digital, mobile and more." "Our editorial expertise, content and creativity enable clients to communicate brand identity and values." One of the areas of the publishing house where… -
Six ways to make the most of data feeds in affiliate marketing
6 Dec 2013 | 2:38 amHere are our top tips on the best ways that affiliates can use data feeds to increase their sales commission.1. Work your content hard for sales commission We all know that 'content is king' but in practice accessing this content is less straightforward than it seems. Some networks operate within quite a narrow schema for product submission and not all product features and attributes are available to affiliate marketers. The good news is that there are now various affiliate tools available which allow affiliate marketers access to all the data in an advertiser's product inventory.
Search Marketing Standard Magazine | Covering Search Engines
Your Secret Online Marketing Tool: Website Feedback
21 Nov 2013 | 6:22 amEditor's Note – Usability plays a huge part in the success of your website, but it's often given way too little attention in the rush to get a website live. A webmaster may think that if a user is really interested in the product or service, they will struggle through whatever usability challenges are in their way in order to make their purchase. Alas, that is far from reality. Even small barriers in the way of a stress-free purchase can cause a potential buyer to abandon the site and look for another business from which to buy. Furthermore, that tipping point of abandonment… -
SEO Service Spammers: Combating Disinformation
19 Nov 2013 | 6:26 amEditor's Note: I've been getting quite a few of those annoying spam emails that are trying to sell SEO services, promising the moon at the cost of green cheese (got some of that way in the back of my fridge, I think LOL). They seem to go through cycles — for a few months I'll be absolutely bombarded with them, and then for a few months I'll only see a few. But there is no doubt that if you are involved in online marketing, you are liable to see these kind of emails winding up making it past your spam filters. So what do you do about them (besides delete them)? -
Five For Friday — November 11-15, 2013
15 Nov 2013 | 5:19 pmHere are five of this week's most interesting and informative blog posts and articles in the world of online marketing: 1. Digital Hospitality, AKA Predictive Personalization – At ClickZ, Benjamin Spiegel talks about how digital properties learn a customer's likes and dislikes and, more importantly, how predictive personalization is much more powerful than the old rules-based personalization still used by most sites. 2. Market Intelligence Report: PPC Campaign Management Tools 2013 – Although you do have to fill out a form to be able to download this report, it's worth the… -
In Rare Form: Best Practices For Online Forms
12 Nov 2013 | 6:00 amThe more we use the Internet for purchasing, online banking, and checking into our social networks, the more likely we will be asked to complete a clumsy or frustrating web form. We know forms must be designed for a wide variety of people, and yet this is one of the leading stumbling blocks designers run into. How can a single form satisfy every user interaction? What can be done to minimize errors and form abandonment? The key to designing a form that your customers will use is to build it so they can use it. Form builders tend to neglect special needs users, despite the easy availability of… -
Five For Friday — November 4-8, 2013
8 Nov 2013 | 10:40 amHere are five of this week's most important and informative blog posts and news items from the world of online marketing: 1. Twitter's Goal in IPO: To Avoid Becoming Facebook — Of course the news about the uber-successful Twitter IPO is all over the place, but Reuters has an interesting piece on the story behind the planning of the move and how those charged with orchestrating the IPO worked to avoid the kind of lackluster result that was the Facebook IPO. 2. How We Got 1,000+ Subscribers From a Single Blog Post in 24 Hours — I know the title of this blog post…
B2B Search Engine Marketing & Social Media Blog | KoMarketing Associates » Search Engine Marketing Blog
12 Simple Ways to Build Links Through Events
5 Dec 2013 | 10:08 amAfter spending much of my year at conferences and trade shows, I can tell you events are a great place to learn what's happening in your industry, connect with your peers, and drive new business. Events also offer an opportunity for businesses to increase their brand visibility and gain a few links to their site. Being December, I was hoping to come up with something clever around the "12 days of Christmas" theme but I didn't have any luck. So instead, here are 12 simple ways to build links through events: Pre-Show 1. Registration Have you attended an event recently where you didn't… -
7 LinkedIn Marketing Tactics Designed To Boost B2B SEO Performance
2 Dec 2013 | 5:46 amEarlier this year, we highlighted LinkedIn's significance on B2B internet marketing initiatives. However, as I discussed in a recent column on Search Engine Land, LinkedIn has historically been overlooked by SEOs in favor of other social media platforms, primarily due to the fact that links in profiles and discussions aren't really "SEO friendly" (links incorporate a "nofollow" attribute). But as Google refines and rebuilds its search engine algorithm, relationships become a more important factor in building the links that develop relevance for keyword… -
What B2B Marketers Need to Know About Schema.org & Micro Data
23 Nov 2013 | 5:18 pmHave you ever wondered why some of your competitors' search engine results feature images, address listings, or even video and e-commerce catalog information? One of the reasons this might be happening is because of the micro data and schema.org markup on your competitors' web page templates. The use of micro data, in particular schema.org, is becoming a more important component of search engine optimization for web marketers. Many resources on schema.org and rich snippets focus on consumer-oriented benefits like ratings and product listings, making this functionality less… -
B2B Content Marketing as Storytelling: Is It Really That Simple?
20 Nov 2013 | 9:31 amI recently returned to work after essentially living on another planet for three months (i.e., I had a baby). It took a couple of weeks to get settled back in—there was one day I came to the office wearing two different shoes and yet another where I stood in front of the Keurig bouncing a baby who was at home with her nanny—but I eventually rediscovered my workplace rhythm. My first week back, I was eager to see what I'd missed in the world of B2B content marketing during my time away. What were the latest content trends being discussed in blogs and on social media? What types of… -
Three Critical Factors in Choosing a B2B Retargeting Solution
19 Nov 2013 | 1:33 pmLast month, we wrote a blog post on retargeting, including best practices, and why retargeting (or remarketing) was an important tool for B2B marketers. Given that less than 2% of online visitors (according to Optify's B2B Marketing Benchmark Report) convert to customers, retargeting can become a complementary tool for bringing back potential lead opportunities that did not "convert" in a first visit. While there are many remarketing/retargeting services, we often get asked how to choose one over another. In other words, why should B2B marketers use a retargeting solution other than…
The Invesp Blog: E-commerce and Landing page Optimization
4 Quick Conversion Rate Boosts to Take the Sting Out of Holiday Price Competition
2 Dec 2013 | 6:29 pmWhile many of the early holiday sales figures for 2013 have been mixed, there's one thing that seems consistent. Price competition is stronger than usual. Early results show shoppers are spending less per purchase this year (3.9% less according to Bloomberg) and at least some of that is blamed on deep discounts. So What Are You Going to Do About It? The obvious answer is that you may need get into more price competition than you bargained for. But you can offset some of the costs of added price competition with higher conversion rates. The problem is that it's a little late for this… -
4 Reasons Why the 2013 Ecommerce Holiday Season Will be Unusual
25 Nov 2013 | 3:26 pmHere we go. On average, at least 20% of your annual sales will happen between now and the end of the year. That it's an important time for all retailers, online and off, is an understatement. The holiday sales season is make or break time for many and you should be aware of the following facts about the 2013 season. 1. The shopping season is almost 20% shorter than 2012. You're losing nearly a week of selling time. That means promotions and pricing will be more aggressive to make the most of the shortened season. Are you ready? 2. It's more perilous to ignore mobile sales. While it's… -
5 Stats That Show Tablets Blow Away Smartphones for Mcommerce Sales
18 Nov 2013 | 2:53 pmAs I perused last week's Invesp infographic, The Importance of Mobile Website Optimization, I was particularly struck by one distinct difference between tablet and smartphone shoppers: Tablet users are 3 times more likely to purchase than smartphone users. If you're like me, when you think of mcommerce sales, the image that comes to mind is primarily one of smartphones. But the reality is quite different. And, like the 300% increase in likelihood of purchase outlined above, the magnitude of the difference is particularly striking. The implication is that not only is mcommerce an important… -
The Importance Of Mobile Website Optimization [Infographic]
13 Nov 2013 | 8:50 pmHow important is mobile website optimization? Consider how much time and money people are spending on mobile devices these days. The numbers agree as well– 10% of the world's total internet traffic is mobile-driven. In 2012 alone, $6.7 billion worth of goods were bought via mobile devices, just in the US. Mobile device sale is expected to touch $31 billion by this year end. Read our infographic, "The importance of mobile website optimization" for a deep look at mobile traffic, mobile sales and the growing importance of mobile optimized websites. Infographic by- Invesp To… -
3 Steps to Start Boosting Your Conversion Rates with Online Shopping Personalization
11 Nov 2013 | 1:50 pmAs always in an Invesp infographic, the recently posted Online Shopping Personalization & Trends presents a lot of interesting and useful information. Now it's up to you to take advantage it. And the infographic gives you all the reason you need to do so by pointing out that almost 60% of ecommerce marketers experience good ROI after personalizing their online stores. Other data highlighted in the infographic includes: Over 55% of shoppers believe it's easier to find more interesting products on personalized online retail stores and are more likely to return to sites that make product…
ReelSEO Video Marketing
Fun Video Friday: Benedict Cumberbatch And Christmas Mash-Ups
6 Dec 2013 | 12:02 pmWelcome to Fun Video Friday. where we learn that the secret to a successful viral video is laughing babies, people falling, hot ladies, sleeping puppies, dancing babies, kittens and monkeys. Plus, Benedict Cumberbatch does R. Kelly. -
25 Top YouTube Business Power Players for 2013 - Thumbs Up!
5 Dec 2013 | 8:28 pmWelcome to our 2013 list of the up and coming new media whizzes within the business of YouTube - a list of the most prolific business minds who will undoubtedly be shaping the face of digital, social media, and entertainment as we know it in the years to come. -
Attention! Stop Everything And Watch Christmas Cats TV
5 Dec 2013 | 7:05 pmChristmas trees, cats, cheesy festive music and a fully grown man in an elf costume. It can only mean Christmas Cats TV! You only have one more day to catch this insanely brilliant live stream so what are you waiting for? -
The Day In Online Video News And Views 5th December 2013
5 Dec 2013 | 5:15 pmNetflix win two huge WGA award nominations, video content is working effectively for the New York Times and people are taking videos from 'The Onion' seriously again. More on these and other stories of the day in online video from ReelSEO. -
How To Download YouTube Thumbnail Images [Creator's Tip #120]
5 Dec 2013 | 4:05 pmIf you ever need to grab a thumbnail image from your own video (because you've lost, or don't have access to the original) or from someone else's video, we show two very quick ways to do that in this week's Creator's Tip.
SEO Considerations for Some of Your Weirdest Website Questions
5 Dec 2013 | 8:50 amWhen you first get started creating a website and creating your own company you're going to come across quite a few questions you didn't anticipate. Most of these questions won't be directly related to SEO and will have a very basic answer; however it's important not to just move on to your next project. No matter how simple or weird a question might seem; you always have to ask yourself whether or not your decision regarding that question is going to affect your SEO in the future. Surprisingly, there are little things about a website that do affect SEO that people don't bother to… -
How to Create Your Own URL Shortener
4 Dec 2013 | 6:01 amAs a consumer or someone just surfing the net, you probably don't really care how or why a URL is shortened, and that's the idea. You might notice that the link is short and doesn't look like the company name, but by now this is so common that paying attention to what the link looks like just isn't something on anyone's mind. In fact, many people I've spoken with don't even notice if a link is shortened at all. So who cares? Small business owners should. A lackadaisical attitude toward URL shorteners isn't smart for small business owners. Which URL shortner you use (or lack… -
SEO Without a Website: Wait, What?
3 Dec 2013 | 6:09 amIt sounds crazy, but you don't actually need a website to practice SEO. Optimizing your brand for the web is an incredibly useful skill, and if you're planning on opening a business someday it helps to learn how SEO works and start getting involved as soon as possible. Understanding the basics of SEO and then practicing those different SEO techniques can help get you found online and make your presence known in your industry online—you can add the website later. The question then becomes how to make this happen. SEO is a very large and involved topic, but most of the advice and tips out… -
New Google Media Tools for Journalists: What Do You Think One Month Later?
2 Dec 2013 | 5:47 amLast month on October 16, Google launched what is called "Google Media Tools," which certainly got the journalism industry buzzing. Amongst all of the SEO changes and new initiatives for Google users, this seemed to be one of the first major initiatives created specifically to help journalists. Google Media Tools is all about creating a centralized resource where journalists can find all of the tools Google has to offer in one convenient place. Not only does this new hub keep things organized, but it also offers advice and makes it easier for journalists to understand how Google can…
Search Marketing
Happy Thanksgiving & Hanukkah!
27 Nov 2013 | 9:25 amWe just wanted to wish everyone safe travels this weekend and a happy Thanksgiving and Hanukkah. -Darin & Casey -
Matt Cutts Wants Your Requests for Google Webmaster Tools
22 Nov 2013 | 7:26 amIf you have ideas on how to make Google Webmaster Tools better for site owners and search marketers, now is your chance to speak up! Yesterday Matt Cutts posted on his personal blog a request for webmasters to provide feedback and requests for what they would like to see in Google Webmaster Tools in 2014. He threw out some ideas to get everybody's wheels turning by listing what he can imagine people may want. He provides the disclaimer below but is open to suggestions. To submit feedback, go to Matt's blog and leave a comment. To be clear, this is just some personal… -
Bing Gains Search Market Share at Yahoo's Expense
22 Nov 2013 | 7:08 amComScore's latest monthly analysis on search engine market share shows that Google is still hovering around 67% market share, while Bing has moved up a little bit at the expense of Yahoo. Last month comScore's report stated that Google's share of the US search market held steady at 66.9% for the third straight month. Google's search share had been at the same spot with very little fluctuation for a while, as it was at the same percent in October 2012. With Google failing to neither gain nor lose its market share, Bing has been moving up in the world. After lingering at 17.9% all… -
Google Opens Interactive 'Winter Wonderlabs'
18 Nov 2013 | 9:53 amThis holiday season Google is opening six pop-up stores in major cities to promote its Nexus 7 tablets, Chromebook computers, and Chromecast smart-television tool. Consumers will have the chance to test out Google's newest toys in these showrooms, called Winter Wonderlabs. In addition to testing products, the showrooms will feature huge snow globes that consumers can walk into and take slow-motion videos of themselves playing in fake snow. "The Winter Wonderlab is a fun and interactive way to experience all of Google's new gadgets in one place," the company said on a new… -
Are you smoking Crack ?
14 Nov 2013 | 12:01 pmBecause Spirit Airlines isn't! Today is a crazy day … I think i'm going to make it National Crack Day … 1st Snapchat turns down $3 Billion Dollars … and now Spirit Airlines email's their list and says they are not smoking Crack … with a hell of a deal to fly to Toronto! I have to admit, the ad got my attention so fast, I couldn't open the email fast enough … then I had mixed feelings about it … My assistant Casey Kurlander helped me see that it certainly got my attention, since I was screaming all over the office about it! What do…
Traffick: The Business of Search
Canadian Journalists, BlackBerry Should Not Be Viewed Through a 'National' Lens
12 Nov 2013 | 9:31 amThe dire predicament of once-dominant smartphone pioneer BlackBerry (formerly Research in Motion) has led Canadian scribes and pundits down the usual path of lamenting this outcome as evidence of some deep flaw in "Canadian companies." Let's be clear. No matter where your company is headquartered, especially when it comes to global technology standards, your ecosystem is harsh… because it is dominated by companies like Google, Apple, and Microsoft. If that weren't true, then Netscape would still be your browser, you'd be using Lotus for spreadsheets, and… -
What Makes Page Zero Tick? "Know Thyself" As Business Strategy
16 Oct 2013 | 11:03 amThe "three circles" planning exercise in Jim Collins' Good to Great has, for me, stood the test of time as a powerful business compass for anyone contemplating corporate strategy for a company of any size. That coupled with the "BHAG" (Big Hairy Audacious Goal). A goal, in fact, doesn't have to be all that big to be pretty audacious when your company is tiny or small. But it's definitely the case that you can benefit by non-delusionally attempting to position and steer yourself towards interested markets — even very big ones — instead of… -
"Jail Time Warranted" For Youths Who Misuse Search Engines: Agency Head — The Shallot
15 Oct 2013 | 12:42 pmBy James Dinnerklieg Digital Culture Reporter — The Shallot October 15, 2013 Children engaged in class projects, or simply curious about what something is, have been playing havoc with online advertiser ROI, according to Cynthia Tripani, CEO of Providence, RI-based digital advertising agency Cyan Cyclone, LLP. "Google seems to be bent on enhancing shareholder value, and has an elaborate agency partnership program," said Tripani. "Yet sometimes I wonder if they have the proper commitment. Children as young as seven years old are searching for items our clients… -
5 Insanely Great AdWords Automation Tricks
7 Oct 2013 | 9:26 amWith the proliferation of high-powered third-party tools, we might be forgiven for overlooking the loads of performance and personality you can inject into an account using the latest and greatest capabilities of Filters in Google AdWords. Give this a try! By creating bespoke outcomes using techniques you customize yourself, you're not only providing the high-value-added service your client or company deserves, but you can feel a bit more creative than you would using somebody else's off-the-shelf methodology. We didn't used to think of "Filters" as particularly… -
The Man Who Took On Chips Ahoy… And Won
5 Oct 2013 | 7:54 amRecently, Canada lost a giant in marketing: Dave Nichol. Strangely, for twelve hours following his death, only one media outlet reported it. And the tributes and official obituaries were particularly slow to trickle in. It's as if no one quite knew what to make of the man. The Globe and Mail has now published a full obituary weeks after Nichols' death. How big an impact did Nichols have on the average consumer? Talk to any Canadian, especially one over a certain age, and they will share with you the experience of: Having eaten a Decadent chocolate-chip cookie (or maybe the whole…
Inside AdWords
Understanding Impact with Earned Actions in AdWords for video
6 Dec 2013 | 9:04 amFor many video advertisers, the benefit of TrueView only begins with the first view. Just as an Honest Trailers link pinged to a friend can lead to several other video views, we see this viewership pattern with paid ad views as well – the initial view can catalyze a long chain of engagement with a brand.Since these earned views are a major benefit of advertising on YouTube and the Google Display Network, we're bringing new capabilities to AdWords for video to help you better measure viewer actions following your video ads. Formerly known as Follow-on Actions, these new reporting columns… -
3 Ways to Measure More Conversions Using Estimated Total Conversions
4 Dec 2013 | 9:01 amIn October, we announced Estimated Total Conversions as a first step to providing you with a more holistic view of the conversions driven by AdWords. It is available to all advertisers who use AdWords conversion tracking. Estimated Total Conversions includes conversions you see today, such as online sales, as well as new conversion types like cross-device conversions and calls. Learn moreThese insights are particularly important to understand because consumers are now constantly connected, using multiple devices throughout the day. In the next few weeks, this will be even more pronounced as… -
Boost Your CTR for the Holidays by Picking Your Best Creative
26 Nov 2013 | 12:00 pmTesting is a great thing, but it's also important to know when and how to pick a winner and reap the benefits of your hard work.Choose strategic moments to remove your worse performing ads and apply the lessons that you've learned. There are times, such as the holiday shopping season when user search interest reaches its peak, when it's in your best interest to run with your best performing creative.Testing sacrifices some short term efficiency to ultimately improve your account in the long run. For that reason, there is an opportunity cost to leaving your tests running… -
Google Partners Goes Global: Empowering agencies with new leads, new tools, new opportunities
26 Nov 2013 | 9:27 amGoogle is committed to making the web work for you. That's why we're proud to announce the worldwide launch of Google Partners – a platform for the digital marketing community that helps businesses and agencies grow and thrive together.Google Partners replaces Agency Edge, Google Certification Program, and Engage for Agencies by taking the best they had to offer and adding a new suite of powerful resources – all in a cleaner, simpler interface. And it allows you to build a closer relationship with your clients.With Google Partners, you can:Earn leads: Connect with potential clients… -
Making a List, Checking It Twice: The Essential Paid Search Holiday Checklist
25 Nov 2013 | 12:00 pmThe holiday season is about giving. And, of course, buying. You know this, and your holiday paid search plan is almost definitely in place by now - but is there anything that could have slipped through the cracks? We want to help you get every drop of retail goodness out of the busy weeks ahead, so we put together this checklist to ensure that your plan accounts for everything it should.Download the Essential Paid Search Holiday ChecklistDoes your plan account for all of those little things that may get overlooked?Efficient communication with your teamDriving performance…
Bing Ads Blog
The Year in Review with Bing: Most Searched Advertising Campaigns and Brands
5 Dec 2013 | 9:00 amAs you may have seen, our friends at Bing released the 5 th annual end of year Bing Trends for 2013 earlier this week. The lists included interesting insights, like the Most Searched Person of the Year, Songs, Sports Teams, Social Media sites and other...(read more) -
Social Media Marketing for Small Business: 3 Content Marketing Tips
4 Dec 2013 | 12:40 pmIf you haven't already, be sure to read the first post in this series, Social Media Marketing for Small Business: Don't Be That Guy… Be Fonzie . While the info contained in that post isn't necessary to grasp these concepts, it...(read more) -
Bing Ads Extreme Makeover: Ad Copy Best Practices Edition
3 Dec 2013 | 9:45 amWriting superb ad copy is a blend of art and science. Here I'll share a number of tips and tricks to help you craft ads using both aspects. Your ad needs to be attractive, be clear about what you're offering, as well as bridge the experience...(read more) -
Marketplace Insights: Yahoo Bing Network UK Finance Vertical Trends for the New Year
3 Dec 2013 | 1:00 amDecember 'tis the season to be jolly, but while we are enjoying and over-indulging ourselves now in festive follies of fun, there comes that point in the new year when a post-Christmas detox is a necessity and we step tentatively onto the bathroom...(read more) -
Bing Places Now Available to Local Businesses in Germany and Spain
2 Dec 2013 | 1:30 amBing Places for Business is now available in Germany and Spain. Bing Places for Business is a free tool that allows you to easily and quickly create an online business profile that helps increase the discoverability of your business by millions of searchers...(read more)
PPC Hero
7 Ways To Boost PPC Performance
6 Dec 2013 | 7:47 pmDo you have an account where performance has gone stagnate? Volume tends to remain relatively flat despite your ongoing optimizations? Or maybe you have a new account and you are looking for ways to grow volume and have an immediate … Read more at PPCHero.com -
Using Strategic Metrics: What Matters (And What Doesn't) [WEBINAR RECORDING]
6 Dec 2013 | 8:52 amWe all love metrics (if you're a PPC manager, how could you not?). But there are plenty of times when we feel like we might be missing the forest for the trees. And even worse, we have metrics that tell … Read more at PPCHero.com -
How Great Social Media Increased Charitable Donations 338%
6 Dec 2013 | 4:45 amAfter the earthquakes in Haiti, the Red Cross raised over $8 Million dollars by text. It was big news in the online and mobile communities. The bigger news was that the Red Cross raised over $35 million combined through various … Read more at PPCHero.com -
Three Scripts to Get You Started with AWQL
3 Dec 2013 | 1:16 pmThe AdWords Query Langauge (AWQL) is an extremely useful extension to AdWords scripts. While scripts allow you to access the entities in an account, AWQL adds the ability to access the AdWords API reports. All the data in the dimensions … Read more at PPCHero.com -
Introducing the New Face of Hanapin Marketing
3 Dec 2013 | 8:24 amAs most readers of PPC Hero know, this blog is written by the account management team at Hanapin Marketing--an enterprise-caliber digital ad agency. So naturally, we're very excited to announce that we have just launched the new version of HanapinMarketing.com! … Read more at PPCHero.com
Search Marketing Sage
3 Google AdWords Announcements You May Have Missed in November
5 Dec 2013 | 7:00 amWait, is it December already? It just seemed like enhanced campaigns came out yesterday. In fact this whole year has been a blur of new and interesting updates and features from Google AdWords. This past month was especially busy here at Search Mojo with us gearing up clients for the holiday rush. I must admit […] -
7 Changes That Rocked Online Marketing in 2013
3 Dec 2013 | 8:06 amAs I look back on what our industry was just 12 months ago and what it is now it's easy to see that this has been the most change filled year in the history of Search Mojo. The very foundations of our industry have changed in seemingly an instant and the ability to adapt on-the-fly has been needed more than ever. -
What Are You Giving #MarketingThanks For?
27 Nov 2013 | 7:09 amAh, Thanksgiving. That one day of the year where we cook, eat, watch football and prepare for the full onslaught of marketing messages that encourage us to BUY MORE STUFF in preparation for the next holiday where we'll cook, eat and watch football. Hidden amongst all the leftovers and Black Friday ads (and Cyber Monday, […] -
Why B2B Branding Is Important
25 Nov 2013 | 8:41 amIt's no secret here at Search Mojo that we love conversions. Everything we do is for the goal of getting our clients more sales leads. Recently, I was doing some research on how to get more leads for some of my B2B clients, and I came across an interesting study titled "From Promotion to Emotion: […] -
Is Twitter Advertising Effective? Exploring the Pros and Cons
21 Nov 2013 | 8:06 amAs an investor and a marketer, the recent Twitter IPO has had me intrigued. What is the perceived value of one share of Twitter, and how valuable are social media companies as a whole? When I'm 80 will my grandchildren favorite my Tweet about "Those darn kids r in my yard again! #middaynap"? Or are […]
Genuine SEO Blog
Optimize To Maximize: An SEO Guide For The Webmaster On A Budget
4 Dec 2013 | 7:06 pmWhen it comes to your website's visibility, you know that placing a strong emphasis on your search engine optimization efforts is extremely important. Having a strong SEO strategy will help your website rank higher on the search engines, which ultimately results in more traffic and more overall website success. However, some website owners don't have the funds to give to a professional SEO company or to hire an in-house SEO specialist. But just because you don't have a professional in your midst doesn't mean you can't still be successful. The following SEO guide is made specifically… -
All You Need To Know About Facebook Ad Statistics
25 Nov 2013 | 6:42 pmWhat Are Facebook Advertising Statistics? Facebook Advertising Statistics are a good way for you to assess the impact of your Facebook fan page and the Facebook Ads. The statistics are there for you to analyze the performance of your Ads and to provide you a lot more information about the type of people who have liked your product or who have clicked on your Ads. Facebook Ad Statistics provide you with valuable information that can help increase the effectiveness of your Facebook Ad Campaign. For the Facebook statistics to be activated, you will require a minimum of 30 likes on your fan page. -
5 Reasons Why You Are Not Reaching Your Target Market – Fix It Now
21 Nov 2013 | 11:05 amYou're not reaching your target market, but why? That's always the questions isn't it? How is it possible for you to reach the target market for your product or service, and how to come up with a solution. Here are five good ways to handle that. You Are Not Targeting The Group Specifically You might think that your advertising and marketing is reaching your target market because it's slightly skewed to that group, but that does not mean that you are targeting that demographic. You have to be much more focused in your marketing scheme. Even if your product or service is… -
Top 5 Website Builders: Build And Publish Your Website Before The Holidays
19 Nov 2013 | 9:02 pmThe holidays are coming and many of us check our New Year's resolutions and reflect on the changes we want to make in the future. Like most people, you've probably made promises a year ago that went unfulfilled. Chin up, you're not alone . The numbers show that fewer than 2% of people do follow their resolutions. Want to join their camp? You have a plenty of time to fulfill most of the points from your List, I'm sure. And if one of the points is 'Build a Personal Website', this article is just what you need . Check out my compilation of the tried-and-tested website builders to… -
Affiliate Marketing For Dummies: Your How-To Guide
18 Nov 2013 | 9:04 amIf you've been attracted to the prospect of affiliate marketing, but don't know where to start, then this guide to affiliate marketing for dummies is what you need. Everything is broken down for you as simply as possible. We can equate affiliate marketing to finding regular advertisers for your website; however, the process involved is a bit different. Instead of being paid for every click you receive on ads, affiliate marketing only brings you income when your site results in the merchant's sale. Many of the big companies in the Internet market started of doing affiliate…
Location3 Media
November Klout Kings
6 Dec 2013 | 1:14 pmThe Location3 Media Klout Competition is rounding into it's final month and the grand prize is still anyone's to win. The highest average month-over-month increase in Klout score will win a coveted ticket to SXSW 2014. The November Winners Are: Highest Score = Sean Bucher(@spbucher): 64 Most Improved = we have a tie! Ryan Geiger(@HowdyRyan) and Matt Matergia (@mterg). Both went from 52 to 58. First person to raise their score 1 point wins the month! -
Appearance of Ads on Google Comes To Desktop
5 Dec 2013 | 1:11 pmA Google Ad for Google AdWords with a Google Ad Tag. So meta. With the many changes Google rolls out to AdWords, the latest update takes place for the search engine results page on desktops, engineering a facelift to the way users see ads. In the past, Google has tried many ways to have the ads naturally blend with organic and maps listings, images or products in the context of universal results- but at the same time maintained that users could distinguish what is a paid advertisement from non-paid. The new roll-out mirrors a change that showed up on mobile devices back in September. The last… -
Monthly Industry Roundup: November 2013
5 Dec 2013 | 8:21 amLOCATION3 MEDIA NEWS: Location3's Social Media Director, Angie Pascale, was invited to speak on two different panels at this year's SMX Social Media Marketing conference in Las Vegas at the end of November. Upon returning from the conference, she offered up the five key themes she noticed while in attendance and has provided both of her presentations on Google+ and Twitter for those are interested in gaining new insight into two of the most popular social networks online today. WHAT'S HAPPENING IN SEARCH? The holidays are upon us and we are certainly taking advantage of many… -
Season of Giving: Our Favorite Non-Profit Campaigns
4 Dec 2013 | 3:18 pmThe first big storm of the year is a great time to get cozy and plan your gifts for the holidays. We wanted to share with you some non-profits that convinced us to give this holiday season with some truly special advertising campaigns. If we missed a great one to highlight, please tell us in the comments! "Help a Student Help a Tribe" by Wieden+Kennedy for the American Indian College Fund Wieden+Kennedy has been creating world-class advertising for the American Indian College Fund for 20 years…for free. The Fund provides scholarships for American Indian students and also… -
Skip Black Friday and use Social to Save on Cyber Monday
27 Nov 2013 | 1:18 pmAh, the holidays. What's not to love? Actually lot, it turns out. Expensive air fare. Disappointing Christmas cookies. That weird aunt. Regression. But there's nothing worse in my book than holiday shopping. The whole experience makes me want to cry. Joining other frenzied shoppers to sift through overpriced, poorly made stuff and deal with sales people like this as carols blare over the loudspeaker? Yeah, not my idea of a really good time. But friends, it doesn't have to be this way. We live in the age of Cyber Monday! Brands are trying to find you online and your friends are sharing…
Search Engine Marketing Blog
Guide To Recovering From An Unnatural Link Warning
5 Dec 2013 | 5:53 pmYou open up your email one day and receive an ominous email from Google about an unnatural link warning. But what does it mean? How did this happen? In an effort to reduce overall web spam and increase the quality of search results Google has been issuing manual web spam penalties to sites that they... read more -
Why Quality Matters Even More in 2014
4 Dec 2013 | 8:08 amAs you start planning for next year's online marketing plan, one thing should be clear: quality matters even more. Google has reiterated that they aim for the best and want to show searchers quality results. Constant algorithm updates show that they will do whatever it takes to sift out the rest. But quality doesn't just... read more -
Similarities Between Organic SEO and Local Search
26 Nov 2013 | 8:08 amLast month, we discussed how social media marketing is closely tied to blogging in this blog post. Today, we'll explore the close relationship between organic search engine optimization and local search marketing. The local search ecosystem is one of the most confusing in the world of online marketing. It's hard to categorize it with organic... read more -
Is Facebook's 5-Star Rating Unfair?
19 Nov 2013 | 9:21 pmIn the past few weeks, you may have noticed the option to rate a local business on the Facebook app on your phone. You can rate the business on a scale of 5 stars and there are murmurs that this option will soon translate to Facebook's regular desktop version. As if Facebook Likes weren't scrutinized... read more -
Dynamic Remarketing for the 2013 Holiday Shopping Season
16 Nov 2013 | 7:11 pmOctober is notoriously known for being a slow month for retailers so this down period is often distressing. It's a good thing that November and December are really known for being prime shopping season. Are you doing enough to set your online business up for success this holiday season? What is Dynamic Remarketing? If you've... read more
Daily SEO Tip
4 Tips For Helping Your Site Dominate Google Hummingbird
4 Dec 2013 | 12:07 pmWhen Google announced on September 26 th that they had updated the core of their search engine with a new build called Hummingbird, most website owners took a deep breath. Search engines are the primary way that websites find new customers and changing the process for ranking their content can dramatically affect where they appear in search results. The good news is that the Hummingbird update won't dramatically affect most sites as long as their content is relative to the search term and is updated regularly. The major change with Hummingbird is that instead of simply counting words in… -
Life of an SEO: Before, After & Beyond Penguin 2.1 [Infographic]
27 Nov 2013 | 6:00 amPenguin 2.1 algorithm updates from Google have taken the SEO world by storm! Professionals dealing with optimisation have to rethink their strategies to incorporate the new inputs and changes. How much have things changed in the SEO scenario post Penguin 2.1? Here's a look at the various aspects of search engine optimisation with the associated changes. Link building a) Pre-Penguin Scenario Website submissions were time-consuming process with people searching for directories. Similarly, you also needed to find link builders for getting valid links. b) Post-Penguin Scenario… -
Bloggers Alert: The New Back Linking Scam To Avoid
24 Nov 2013 | 4:08 pmAs a result of Google's Panda and Penguin algorithm updates, now even link trades, or other forms of acceptable methods of acquiring links, are being filtered out of search results if they include a high percentage of your overall link profile. Google is now able to recognize and filter out a major portion of your traffic if it finds unusual patterns in back links on your site. The links coming into your website should be from superior sites with related content, and it must not look like you have paid someone to do it or you did it yourself. Google wants to see "organic"… -
Internet Marketing Black friday Deals via @LinkAssistant
22 Nov 2013 | 1:27 pmOur great friends at Link Assistant have come up with some cool initiative: They have reached out to top tools, apps and services in Internet Marketing and created an online database of all the best offers. The "shop" will open the doors this Monday, November 25: All Black Friday Deals in Internet Marketing From the submission page, it looks like there will be the the following categories: SEO services SEO tools PPC Social media Training and certification Web design Email marketing Press releases Mobile Other There will be featured section too! MyBlogGuest is participating of… -
What Is Google Hummingbird?
20 Nov 2013 | 9:46 amGoogle has a thing for animals, at least when it comes to naming changes to its search engine algorithm – the virtual machine that sorts through the web to get you the results you want. First there was Google Penguin and Google Panda. Now there's Google Hummingbird, which was recently announced on September 27, Google's 15th anniversary, by the world's biggest search engine. So what is Google Hummingbird, and what does it mean to you? Here is what you know about it, especially if you are interested in performance based SEO: Hummingbird is more than a tweak to the algorithm – it's…
Online Marketing Blog
Online Marketing News: Content Marketing Hacks, Terrible Headline Habits, Twitter's New Update, Mobile Marketing Trends
6 Dec 2013 | 5:01 amContent Marketing Hacks That Will Help You Stand – Keeping content fresh, exciting and bringing back visitors is a challenge for all businesses. Startups, government bodies and Fortune 500 companies all struggle with keeping their content compelling and unique. It's definitely industry and team dependent, but it's a challenge that can often be resolved with a few fresh content marketing hacks. Here are a few hacks that will help you stand out. Ross Simmonds 15 Excellent Responsive Email Templates for Small Businesses – The consumer shift towards mobile devices means that businesses… -
Integrated Marketing Simplified: Be the Best Answer
5 Dec 2013 | 6:36 amMost marketers "get" that services like Facebook, Google and media are where customers can be attracted and engaged. They use email marketing and advertising to promote offers to convert and life is good. At least that's how it used to be. The reality is that customers are becoming more complex, requiring more points of contact and information as they move through the sales cycle. Companies offering up single, direct channel promotions are finding it increasingly difficult to compete. This is why I'm such a big advocate of taking a customer-centric view and then… -
What Do You Get With A Social Media Audit?
4 Dec 2013 | 3:11 amIn Optimize, I include guidelines for doing a number of different audits to establish a basis for determining the gap between a company's current situation and where they need to be in order to succeed. One of those audits is a type that has gained a tremendous amount of popularity given the dramatic increase in attention and budget towards the area. Of course I'm talking about a Social Media Audit. Why do an audit? If you don't know where you're starting from, a lot of time and resources can be wasted improving things that don't need it and neglecting things… -
Mobile Content Marketing With Apps: Pros, Cons, Examples and Best Practices
3 Dec 2013 | 4:28 amEarly adopters of mobile technology in their digital marketing mix have been experiencing great results by providing convenient methods for customers and prospects to find, consume and act on brand information. Mobile commerce success is here too: According to IBM, 25.8% of total online sales for Thanksgiving, and 21.8% for Black Friday were via mobile. As companies discover innovative uses of mobile technology for marketing and communications, they can help differentiate their services, reinforce corporate culture, and build long-term customer loyalty. With growing demand as a content… -
12 Killer Social Media & Content Marketing Blog Posts from 2013
2 Dec 2013 | 8:30 amMetro statue from a recent trip to Moscow This post marks number 3,401 on Online Marketing Blog. Did you know? December is our 10 year blog birthday month! We've covered a variety of topics in depth over those thousands of posts, especially the integration of search, social media and content with marketing and public relations. TopRank's Online Marketing Blog has been a top ranked marketing blog on AdAge 150 from day one and is the only blog to have been named the #1 content marketing blog 3 times by Junta42 (Content Marketing Institute). Reflecting back over the past year there…
aimClear® Blog
Lisa Buyer's "Social PR Secrets" Exposed! An aimClear Book Review
8 Dec 2013 | 11:18 amLongtime industry speaker and aimClear friend of many years, Lisa Buyer, released her debut book, Social PR Secrets, in September 2013. After reading the book and pondering everything Lisa had to share, we decided to celebrate her success with a book review. Without further ado, prepare yourself for a thought-provoking session of social PR secrets! Social PR Secrets In this field-guide-of-a-literary snack, packed full of tips of the trade, Lisa shares wins and losses experienced by blending PR & Social in this ever-changing industry. In Social PR Secrets, she takes us back to the day she… -
Advanced Google AdWords Domination! The Brad Geddes #SMX Social Interview
4 Dec 2013 | 12:35 pmAt SMX Social the week before last, we had the good fortune of attending Certified Knowledge's AdWords Advanced Training Workshop at the Aria Hotel and Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Conducted by Brad Geddes, Founder of Certified Knowledge and author of Advanced Google AdWords, the workshop is a wellspring of fundamentals and ultramodern tips and tricks. After the show, we caught up with Brad to ask him a few follow-up questions regarding the workshop. aimClear: We got a real charge out of attending your workshop last week. It combined a comprehensive review of AdWords… -
The 4-1-1 On B2B Twitter Lead Generation: The John Lee #SMX Social Interview
27 Nov 2013 | 1:03 pmWelcome back to aimClear's coverage of SMX Social! In our final video interview from the conference this year, Marcela interviews John Lee, Managing Partner at Clix Marketing, on using Twitter for B2B lead generation. Twitter Ads has come a long way in the last few years. One of the more recent developments, the Lead Generation card, allows the end user to sign up for your content, including coupon clubs, newsletter sign-ups, email lists, and more. The sign-up includes the user's Twitter handle, email address and name, which can be integrated into your CRM platform, offering… -
Implementing a Social Media & Content Strategy: The Greg Finn #SMX Social Interview
27 Nov 2013 | 12:25 pmWelcome back to aimClear's coverage of SMX Social! Our video series continues as Marcela interviews Greg Finn, Director of Marketing at Cypress North, on incorporating social media into a digital marketing strategy. Greg discusses the importance of establishing goals with clients as a first step in the process to implementing a successful social media strategy; the client's goals will determine the strategy. For the client interested in sales and being everywhere at once, Greg discusses how the product they're selling will really determine where they should be and what they… -
Twitter Advertising: It's All About the End User! The Audie Chamberlain #SMX Social Interview
27 Nov 2013 | 11:18 amWelcome back to aimClear's coverage of SMX Social! Just in time for Thanksgiving, we're sharing our final video interviews from last week's conference in Las Vegas before Turkey Day rolls around. This time, our very own Manny Rivas, Online Advertising Director at aimClear, interviews Audie Chamberlain, Social Marketing Director at Move, Inc. on Twitter advertising. During his session on Day 1, Audie discussed the impact of Twitter advertising, specifically looking at the new products which allow marketers to combine keywords with interests to provide a particularly useful…
5 tips for great client service
6 Dec 2013 | 8:09 amThe best advice I've received in my client-servicing career to date, is: "If you don't look after your clients, someone else will". This advice has never been more poignant than in today's digital landscape. With such a wide range of agency approaches and offerings and the rapid increasing growth in technical knowledge within the industry, one has to ask: is the production of great work and fantastic results enough to stop clients looking elsewhere? The key to client retention is simple: great service. And since we're currently looking for more… -
Re-indexing Magento through the command line
5 Dec 2013 | 7:50 amFrom time to time, you might find the need to re-index Magento via the command line. This could be for a whole host of reasons, for example, if the indexer is timing out or not finishing through the web interface. Magento includes an indexing script and you can find it in the shell folder. From here, you have a number of commands at your disposal. Checking for the status of all indexes php indexer.php --status Should give you output like this: Product Attributes: Pending Product Prices: Pending Stock Status: Pending Tag Aggregation Data: Pending Default Values: Pending Catalog URL Rewrites:… -
Running an SEO RFP & pitch process effectively & efficiently
4 Dec 2013 | 7:50 amOver the past six years, I've been involved in several hundred SEO agency selection processes ranging from formal RFP (request for proposal) and pitch processes, down to more informal chats. The one thing that is becoming increasingly apparent as the industry matures and adapts to the latest Google challenges, is that the agency selection process is becoming more considered with clients spending a lot more time to select the right partner. This is a good thing for the industry but it also brings about challenges when the pitch process is not well-organised. Below are some of my tips for… -
Sitecore announces new Professional Plus edition
4 Dec 2013 | 2:41 amToday, we received some great news from the Sitecore team in that they are introducing a revised Professional Plus version of their license to help support mid-level customers get the most out of Sitecore and its marketing platform. Some of the additional benefits of the Plus edition are: Ability to include four Sitecore Server instances in a solution (previous limit was three) Up to 15 concurrent users on the authoring server (previously 10) Additional legal entities can be added to the license Unlimited domains The ability to include four servers in a solution means that customers can now… -
Has Google made domain migration tougher?
2 Dec 2013 | 7:38 amChanging domains has never been something to be taken lightly but in the past year, Google appears to have made it tougher for brands to carry out a legitimate re-brand, or domain change for other reasons, without suffering catastrophic SEO losses. We've been talking to a number of businesses that have changed domains and lost huge amounts of SEO visibility, even after doing some of the things that are usually recommended during a migration. It seems that Google has got a lot stricter recently when it comes to deciding whether to transfer trust and authority to a new domain. Unless you…
Conversation Marketing from Portent, Inc: Internet Marketing with a Twist of Lemon
Heads Up, Internet Marketers: How to Use PPC to Bolster Your SEO [Inspired by My Mozinar!]
4 Dec 2013 | 6:00 amElizabeth initially presented the information below during her Mozinar on Sept. 10. But for those of you who aren't interested in an hour-long audio presentation but want more info than a Slideshare, this is the post for you. Consider this the "Tall," not Venti version… Give us a break, it's Seattle. Once upon a time I started out as what I thought was a "paper clip" marketer. (Turns out that's actually a "pay per click" marketer, as I was gently corrected by a Google SERP.) Since then, I've been smashing my way through paid search accounts at Portent. By working… -
Dispersed Citation and the Idea Graph: November Webinar Video
21 Nov 2013 | 2:54 pmJust wrapped up today's webinar. If you missed it (for shame) here's the video: I actually only have about 1/3 of the meeting management window in the video this time. Nice improvement. -
5 Delicious Analytics Custom Segments: Taste the Rainbow
14 Nov 2013 | 6:00 amPhoto by Jase Curtis. I was the kid who sorted out Skittles by color. My favorite flavor was lime, which they've since changed to green apple — an atrocity if you ask me. That isn't my point today, but I think it's influenced how I work as a marketer. Google Analytics has done a lot of work around their segmentation tool. I won't give you the 101 on it. I'll leave that to Justin Cutroni. He wrote a fantastic piece on the new parts of the tool in July. Much like the Skittles rainbow, you can learn a lot about your site's marketing mix by segmenting the various colorful, tasty… -
What TWTR Has To Do
12 Nov 2013 | 1:54 pmDisclaimer: I'm not an analyst. I'm not a master marketing prognosticator. But sometimes it's fun to look at a company and ask "If this went perfectly, what would it look like?" That's what I'm doing here. Don't buy stock based on my ramblings. Please. Yep, Twitter's gone public. They're now TWTR. (Which I find funny, since you remove vowels for more spc on the twtrs). Their stock skyrocketed the first day on the market, going from $26 to $47. Now it's down to $40; still that's darn good. But folks are still wondering:… -
SEO Makeover for 2014: A Practical Guide for Businesses
4 Nov 2013 | 6:00 amSEO is about attracting non-paid search traffic to your website. The idea is that a person searches the Web using Bing or Google, etc. and your site comes up in the non-paid search results. To that end, it's important to make sure your website is easily understood by both people and machines. People = your target market, your ideal website visitors. Machines = search engines like Google and Bing. It's a problem if your website confuses people and they can't easily find what they're looking for. Or they can't smoothly accomplish the tasks they want to complete (or you want them to…
Local SEO Guide
About Your Conference Presentation…
3 Dec 2013 | 9:11 amA client recently asked for notes on their draft presentation for an upcoming conference. I have attended a number of conferences lately and, like the rest of you, have had to sit through some pretty poor presentations. While I don't claim to be God's gift to Powerpoint, or even Greg Gifford, I am at that [...]The post About Your Conference Presentation… appeared first on Local SEO Guide. -
Apple Maps Is Starting To Make A Dent in Google Maps
11 Nov 2013 | 1:28 pmSending a little love over to AppleMapsMarketing.com: 63% of iPhone Owners Use Apple Maps Says Comscore Since Apple Maps was released, Google Maps usage on the iPhone in the U.S. has dropped by about 29 million monthly users. Dios mio!The post Apple Maps Is Starting To Make A Dent in Google Maps appeared first on Local SEO Guide. -
Cloudy With a Chance of Pending: Google Local Ranking Weather Report
6 Nov 2013 | 1:49 pmMike Borgelt over at 51Blocks just released this very cool Local Search Weather ReportThe post Cloudy With a Chance of Pending: Google Local Ranking Weather Report appeared first on Local SEO Guide. -
But Some of My Best Friends Are Social Media Managers….
4 Nov 2013 | 6:47 pmThis post on Why Are So Many Social Media Managers Dipshits is so good. My father always said "If you don't have something nice to say about someone, don't say anything." But let's face it, Social Media Managers may just be to SEOs what New Jersey is to New York. I keed. I keed. "DOVE [...]The post But Some of My Best Friends Are Social Media Managers…. appeared first on Local SEO Guide. -
Jill Whalen, Queen of SEO, Retires From SEO
30 Oct 2013 | 10:44 amFor those of you not familiar with Jill, she has been a steady voice of high quality SEO in the industry as far back as I can remember. I certainly have grabbed tip or two from her over the years. Here's her announcement. Kind of like Michael Jordan going out on top. Thanks for the [...]The post Jill Whalen, Queen of SEO, Retires From SEO appeared first on Local SEO Guide.
Occam's Razor by Avinash Kaushik
This I Believe: A Manifesto for a Magnificent Career
11 Nov 2013 | 2:58 amThis I Believe was one of my favorite NPR programs. It's raison d'être: "Americans from all walks of life share the personal philosophies and core values that guide their daily lives." In honor of that spirit, I'll take a step away from our mutual obsession with marketing and analytics and share with you the philosophies and values that guide me when I go to work every day. My professional career spans three countries: India, Saudi Arabia and the United States. It spans factory work, market research, logistics, automotive, super-computers, broadband, financial… -
Search: Not Provided: What Remains, Keyword Data Options, the Future
21 Oct 2013 | 2:44 amIn late 2011, Google announced an effort to make search behavior more secure. Logged-in users were switched to using httpS from http. This encrypted their search queries from any prying eyes, and kept from being passed on to websites the users visits after seeing search results. This led to the problem we, Marketers, SEOs, Analysts, fondly refer to as not provided . Following revelations of NSA activities via Mr. Snowden, Google has now switched almost all users to secure search, resulting in even more user search queries showing up as not provided in all web analytics tools. Yahoo! has… -
Six Visual Solutions To Complex Digital Marketing/Analytics Challenges
30 Sep 2013 | 2:34 amTwo things I love a lot: 1. Frameworks, because if I can teach someone a new mental model, a different way of thinking, they can be incredibly successful. 2. Visuals, because if I can paint a simple picture about something complex it means I understand it and in turn I can explain it to others. This post is at the intersection of those two lovely things. Each of the six visuals re-frames a unique facet of the digital opportunity/challenge, and shares how to optimally take advantage of the opportunity/challenge. We'll start with digital at the highest strategic level, which leads us into… -
Google Analytics Visitor Segmentation: Users, Sequences, Cohorts!
9 Sep 2013 | 2:18 amMy love for segmentation knows no bounds. Whether you do online, offline or nonline analysis, or just like to randomly play with data, insights arrive faster with segmentation. In fact, I've gone so far as to say: "All data in aggregate is crap." That's certainly a bit melodramatic, but beyond the most bare bones "ahh, I see something is happening," you can't get anywhere with aggregate data. To assist your quest for faster, smarter insights, I've defined the Segmentation Selector Framework (Acquisition, Behavior, Outcomes), shared downloadable versions… -
Multi-Channel Attribution Modeling: The Good, Bad and Ugly Models
12 Aug 2013 | 2:26 amThere are few things more complicated in analytics (all analytics, big data and huge data!) than multi-channel attribution modeling. We have fought valiant battles, paid expensive consultants, purchased a crazy amount of software, and achieved an implementation high that is quickly, followed by a " gosh darn it where is my return on investment from all this?" low. A lot of that is because of all the stuff we don't know. There is lots of missing data. And as if that were not enough, there is lots of unknowable data. Neither of which has stopped Gurus and Masters and Agency High…
Posts from the Econsultancy blog
Gmail image changes: everything email marketers need to know
6 Dec 2013 | 6:51 amEmail marketers have always faced the technological challenge of having to quickly adapting to the unknown, often in a matter of hours. This week is one of those, where we find that Gmail has made changes to the way it handles images. At first, I can appreciate that this may sound insignificant, but it affects all of us. In this blog post, I will try to demystify these changes for you. What are the changes to Gmail? Traditionally, when you open an email, the images download. When you go back to the email, a second impression of each of those images is recorded. However, this week Gmail has… -
20+ fantastic apps our Twitter followers love
6 Dec 2013 | 5:01 amCreating a successful app is an incredibly difficult task, whichever platform you are using. For every super-viral Candy Crush there's a thousand zero download zombie apps littering the floor of the app store. So what makes a great app? I recently took to Twitter (via an app naturally) to find out what busy digital people loved about apps... A question for you Twitter - what's the best/most used app you've downloaded in the past month? Any function. — Econsultancy (@Econsultancy) December 5, 2013 Save time FTW Many of our Tweeters underlined a simple fact: People are busy. When every… -
10 interesting digital marketing statistics we've seen this week
6 Dec 2013 | 3:34 amOnce again, here are some of the most interesting digital marketing statistics we've seen this week. Statistics include Pinterest, eBay, mobile, social customer service, Amazon and a bumper stack of data from Cyber Monday. For more digital marketing stats, check out our Internet Statistics Compendium. Failure to measure offline sales means marketers are missing out on ROI A failure to take a holistic view of customer journeys means marketers are missing out on potential revenues, according to a new report from ResponseTap. In particular, marketers are 'flying blind' when it comes to… -
Harper Collins: from publisher to creative content business
6 Dec 2013 | 2:56 amHarper Collins and its business development team are a great example of how publishers are adapting to the business of content, not simply bound sheaves of pulped wood. In an indicator of how service-based the UK economy has become, Harper Collins now sums up its business as following: "We create bespoke content based on products and campaigns for our clients." "We work with content, not just books, across print, digital, mobile and more." "Our editorial expertise, content and creativity enable clients to communicate brand identity and values." One of the areas of the publishing house where… -
Six ways to make the most of data feeds in affiliate marketing
6 Dec 2013 | 2:38 amHere are our top tips on the best ways that affiliates can use data feeds to increase their sales commission.1. Work your content hard for sales commission We all know that 'content is king' but in practice accessing this content is less straightforward than it seems. Some networks operate within quite a narrow schema for product submission and not all product features and attributes are available to affiliate marketers. The good news is that there are now various affiliate tools available which allow affiliate marketers access to all the data in an advertiser's product inventory.
This Year's Cyber Monday Results Are Making History
4 Dec 2013 | 11:00 amInternet retailers are breaking records in 2013. Shoppers spent an estimated $2.29 billion on Monday and according to Internet Retailer, it is the most spent online than in any single day in history. Last year, when we discussed Cyber Monday and the big lesson of mobile searches and purchases, we anticipated this growing in the next year. And the results from this year's Cyber Monday show that it definitely has. Below are some stats that back up mobile's hold and growth in the retail industry on their biggest online sales day of the year. Cyber Monday mobile sales accounted for 17% of all… -
Dreamforce Recap 2013: 7 Key Call Metrics that Will Accelerate Sales Revenue
4 Dec 2013 | 6:44 amHoward Brown, CEO of RingDNA, kicked off Dreamforce with a session on 7 Key Call Metrics that Will Accelerate Sales Revenue. At Fathom, we've used call tracking services for years – both for ourselves and our clients – so we realize the importance in qualifying phone calls just like any other lead. However, this session took call tracking a level deeper – exploring the opportunity to tie both inbound and outbound calls into Salesforce.com directly using RingDNA. Not ever having heard of this tool before, I have to admit – it's worth looking into if… -
How to Make Blogging Easier for Education Marketers
3 Dec 2013 | 8:45 amMarketing a college by maintaining a blog should be simple. After all, blogging is about answering questions, and current and prospective students will always have questions about admissions, financial aid, programs, campus events and so on. But the problem with education blogging isn't finding topics to write about. The problem is finding the time and resources to publish quality posts once or twice per week. Unfortunately, short articles on generic topics aren't going to cut it. If you want to build your school's authority and truly engage visitors, your blog needs well-written,… -
What Van Damme Teaches Us About Manufacturing Marketing
1 Dec 2013 | 10:20 pmJust a few weeks ago, Jean-Claude Van Damme probably wasn't the first person who came to mind if you were considering how to successfully market a manufacturing company. All of that changed, though, when Volvo released a popular commercial that shows Van Damme doing the splits while balanced on the side view mirrors of two backwards-traveling trucks. The video was meant to illustrate the stability of Volvo's patented dynamic steering, and it has been viewed on YouTube tens of millions of times. In addition to demonstrating the stability of Volvo's dynamic steering, the Van Damme… -
5 Marketing Stats for New Business in 2014
29 Nov 2013 | 3:00 amOK, so I'm a liar. You will actually find 7 stats below, but 2 of them are closely related to the 5 main ones, and 5 seems like a tidier (if not cooler) number for this list. Please forgive me. I'll begin this not with a stat, but a statement from an IBM report: CMOs in outperforming organizations invest more effort in capturing and using data to foster customer relationships. (IBM: "From Stretched to Strengthened," 2013) Let's examine this closely: outperforming organizations invest more in capturing and using data. Not just any organizations, but outperforming…
Blog - ion interactive - Software & Services Beyond Landing Pages
All mom wants for Christmas is a better digital experience
5 Dec 2013 | 7:45 amAnd so it starts…"are you ready for holiday shopping this year?" And all I can think is — What? Shopping! Already?!As the mom of a 2 year old, with another baby on the way, you might understand why holiday shopping is the last thing on my mind. In fact, my master plan this year is to completely avoid the in-store madness! This will be the year I avoid the stores all together and shop online! You might say… "who doesn't do this already?" And you're right! According to Adroit Digital's October 2013 survey, almost one-third of mothers said they planned on doing at least 60%… -
18 Mind-Blowing Landing Page Stats [Infographic]
20 Nov 2013 | 6:41 amLanding pages work.They lift conversions, deliver more leads, drive more sales and return fantastic ROI.Not convinced?Our new infographic gives you 18 mind-blowing stats — proving that prioritizing your landing page program is a must for improving your digital marketing results. Proof That Landing Pages Work [Infographic] from ion interactive Bonus! Landing Page Toolkit Get started creating, testing and optimizing campaign-specific landing pages with our 28-page Landing Page Toolkit.The toolkit includes tools for all levels of expertise, from beginner to landing page… -
10 Lead Generation Landing Page Tips
15 Nov 2013 | 6:59 amAt its core, lead generation is all about getting and keeping the attention of prospective leads. People respond well to things they like. Even though your ad got their attention and their click, it's vitally important that they still like what they see after the click.People also do what is comfortable and trustworthy. They avoid pain, angst and work. The more specifically your landing experience can speak their language and earn their trust, the more likely they will be to engage and convert.The landing page is where you have the best chance to really impact your lead generation… -
The case for user-driven segmentation on your web pages
11 Nov 2013 | 6:22 amHere's another gem from the Internet Marketing book some of us are reading on the sales team. Simply starting a sales pitch without understanding who your customer is or what they need will result in your alienation. Customers want to like and trust the one who is selling to them, but if there is no genuine interest or understanding, the customer is turned off. This makes the case for segmentation experiences (we like to call 'em 'Conversion Paths'). Conversion paths that employ user-driven segmentation can be incredibly powerful for lifting conversions (via increased audience & need… -
[Survey] Digital Marketing in 2014: Benchmarks, Insights and Advice
7 Nov 2013 | 8:28 amThe digital aspect of marketing continues to grow, and in fact, all marketing is digital for many organizations today. In this era of creating digital experiences, what practices are marketers using, how agile are they, and which ones are producing the best results?We are sponsoring "Digital Marketing in 2014: Benchmarks, Insights and Advice," a Demand Metric study that seeks to understand the current digital marketing landscape by examining practices, platforms, agility and cost to understand the results of creating rich digital experiences and how they influence the brand. We invite…
Marketing Technology Blog
How to Add Paid Membership to Your WordPress Site
6 Dec 2013 | 1:51 pmOne of the questions I continuously get is whether or not I'm aware of a good membership integration for WordPress. WishList is a comprehensive package that converts your WordPress site into a fully-functioning membership site. Over 40,000 WordPress sites are already running this software, so it's proven, safe and supported! WishList Membersship Site Features Include Unlimited Membership Levels – Create Silver, Gold, Platinum, or any other levels you want! Charge more for higher levels of access – all within the same blog. WordPress Integrated – Whether you're… -
Infographic: Super Festive Facebook Holiday Contest Ideas
6 Dec 2013 | 1:15 pmShortStack analyzed more than 50,000 active Facebook Pages and 300,000 custom Facebook Page apps that serve more than 1.4 billion Facebook fans and, among the things they discovered: Engagement in December increases by as much as 66 percent on custom Facebook Page apps! Other data they uncovered about brands using Facebook Page apps during the month of December: Brands see a 66% increase in contest submissions Brands see a 57% increase in custom Facebook Page app shares Brands see a 47% increase in custom Facebook Page app views Brands see a 33% increase in custom Facebook Page app shares to… -
Infographic: How Are We (vs You) Using Social Media?
6 Dec 2013 | 7:58 amI'm not sure when Heat designed this inforgraphic, but it's so good that I had to share it. The reason why it's good is because it's an honest look and comparison of how marketing professionals utilize social media versus the average, non-marketing person. I don't believe enough leaders in this industry paint an honest picture of social media usage. Many of them remind me of the get rick quick sheisters out there. We have to reset expectations with virtually every client on what their use and following will look like in social media. Unless they have a rock star… -
Infographic: As Predicted, 2013 Holiday Sales Went Mobile
5 Dec 2013 | 5:30 amIt wasn't a surprise, given smartphone adoption, that mobile was going to have a huge impact on this year's holiday sales. Social media is having more of an impact, but it pales in comparison to mobile's impact. Of the sales that occurred, 38% of the online traffic came from smartphones and tablets according to IBM Digital. 21% of all online sales were made from those mobile devices. That's a 5.5% increase over 2012! Overall, the four day shopping weekend continued to show online and mobile growth with consumers opting to surf their tablets and smartphones —… -
How Primary Research Turns Brands into Industry Leaders
5 Dec 2013 | 4:58 amMarketers have turned to content marketing, social media, native advertising and dozens of other marketing strategies to build relationships with their target audiences. Marketing professionals are constantly searching for new techniques and strategies to build their brand's authority and identity. One unique way that several companies are demonstrate their status as industry leaders is by creating unique primary research that is both credible and useful to their readers. Primary Market Research Definition: Information that comes directly from the source–that is, potential…
clickTRUE inks new strategic agreement with Google to become Google Analytics Authorized Premium Reseller in Asia-Pacific
14 Nov 2013 | 7:00 pmFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE clickTRUE inks new strategic agreement with Google to become Google Analytics Authorized Premium Reseller in Asia-Pacific Singapore, 15 November 2013 — clickTRUE, an online consulting group specialising in Search and Conversion strategies and a Google Analytics Certified Partner (GACP) announced today its new strategic relationship with Google to become a Google Analytics Premium Authorized Reseller in Asia Pacific. Google Analytics Premium offers all the power and ease one expects from the standard version of Google Analytics plus extras that makes it perfect for… -
Jackie Lee receives Most Promising Entrepreneurship Award
19 Aug 2013 | 8:15 pmDear Partners, Clients and Friends, It is a great pleasure to be selected as the Most Promising Entrepreneurship Award Winner at the Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Award 2013. I see this as a Team Award for clickTRUE. It is a true testament to the good work that the team has done over the past few years. I would also like to celebrate this award with our partners and beloved clients. I wish to thank them for believing in our capabilities and entrusting us with their digital marketing objectives. This award will certainly spur us to work harder and provide them with even higher service levels. -
clickTRUE secures substantial VC Funding for expansion into Southeast Asia
3 Jul 2013 | 8:00 pmFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE clickTRUE pursues opportunity to capture a share of the pie in burgeoning digital marketing space within Southeast Asia Singapore, 4th July 2013 – clickTRUE, an online consulting firm specialising in Search and Conversion strategies to help brand owners strategise, design and build compelling web experiences announced today that the company has raised a 7-figured sum in venture capital funding led by Rockstead Capital Group and ESW Manage. clickTRUE has grown exponentially over the last 3 years with more than 400% growth in its revenue, making it one of the fastest… -
The Click to Truth
13 Jun 2013 | 10:51 pm"Yay! My internship is in clickTRUE!" This is the first sentence I told my teammate when I received the confirmation message from my teacher on 27th May, 2013. On the same day during Business Leader Program session (an enrichment program in my school; a two-week internship is part of the program), Jereme, one of the guest speakers, shared with all of us about entrepreneurship. He has strong personal charisma and great insights. During later focus group discussion, I chose to join him and hopefully to glean more invaluable thoughts from him. I found out that he… -
Optimise For Conversions Or Quality Score?
10 Jun 2013 | 4:24 pmOne of the frequent questions posed by clients – optimise to get the best Adwords Quality Score or for Conversions? Watch this video as explained by Google AdWords expert Anna Sawyer to find out. Video courtesy of Unbounce. Watch the full webinar at http://bit.ly/AdWordsUnwebinar)
Ker Communications
Black Friday: SEO Website Audit – Save $300
24 Nov 2013 | 8:59 amOops! You missed the sale! But you can still get a complete SEO audit at a competitive price that will give you the info you need to move up, above and beyond your competitors in the search engine results pages (SERPs) On Black Friday, there are even sales on SEO & online marketing services… Order an SEO Audit Now Big Savings – $300 Off Full Website SEO Audit Give your website the gift of better search engine results. This is not another one of those automatic and wildly inaccurate "type in your website and we'll tell you a bunch of things that don't mean… -
More Is Not Always Better in Online Marketing
1 Nov 2013 | 11:10 amHow Too Much of a Good Thing Can Be Bad in Online Marketing There is a tendency among website owners and marketers to believe that if something is good for SEO or internet marketing, a lot more of it is better. Whether it is keywords, incoming links, or blog articles, the pursuit of high quantities of everything regardless of quality is counterproductive and can even be destructive. This belief that more SEO is better probably stems from traditional marketing like direct mail where there was usually a small conversion rate, so mailing more brochures or postcards was one way to get more leads. -
Does Google's Hummingbird Have A Long Tail?
1 Oct 2013 | 6:09 amOn Thursday, September 26th, Google announced that its search algorithm, the complex equation used to return answers to users search queries, has been rewritten for the first time in twelve years. In keeping with Google's pattern of naming things after animals, this algorithm overhaul has been named "hummingbird", because the new algorithm is faster and more precise. Unlike previous updates like Panda and Penguin which were major changes to parts of the old algorithm, hummingbird is a new search engine, but does include parts of the old one like Penguin and Panda. Meanings… -
Website Audit: Find Out What Went Wrong With Your SEO
21 Aug 2013 | 7:28 pmGet an in-depth report on your website's optimization and potential… If you have been doing SEO yourself, have an in-house SEO team, or hired someone else to do link building or optimization and are having some doubts about what has been done, this full website SEO Audit is for you. All the on page factors that can help or hurt your search results will be analyzed, making sure your site meets Google's Webmaster Guidelines. We will check to see if the links you thought you were getting actually exist and report on the quality of your site's incoming link profile. You will get… -
Negative SEO Reality Check
30 Jul 2013 | 10:07 amCan Competitors Harm Your Rankings Simply By Building Spam Links To Your Website? A true story and case study… Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, when done properly, can help ensure that people find your website before your competitors in Google and other search engines. Many people have tried with varying degrees of success to find and exploit loopholes in Google's algorithm in order to rank in higher position than they may really deserve, and do it faster. Google's webspam team works to counter this by closing the loopholes, and sometimes penalizing websites that violate…
Getting started with Google Analytics
3 Dec 2013 | 8:32 amGetting started with Google Analytics I'm certainly no expert at Google Analytics, but recognize that many people and businesses use it as their tool of choice for reporting. I also happen to be friends with one of the best kept secrets of someone who really knows their stuff when it comes to all things GA. Recently, with so many clients choosing to commit fully to GA, I thought it would be a good move on my part to make sure I can stay on top of all the things I needed to know. I dropped Alex an email asking him four simple questions, but what I got back was a plethora of information… -
Ranking Is A DECISION
24 Oct 2013 | 12:24 amRanking Is A DECISION Yes, everyone wants a #1 ranking in Google. But are they really doing every thing that they could be to earn that coveted spot? I doubt it. Why is your site the absolute best at what it offers? Do you own the patent on the technology? Are you the only one who makes what you offer? Chances are if you are reading this, that answer is NO. The rest of us have to compete against others in the space that might have some stronger selling points then us for some things. The reverse is true where your site might have something that is the most compelling than your competitors. -
Freelancer SEO Guide
17 Oct 2013 | 4:26 amFreelancer SEO Guide Had a conversation with a colleague who said that they really didn't care much for my blogging style. It might be abrasive, and that's done on purpose. There are plenty of SEO sites where everything is rainbows and unicorns and we are all one big happy family. Here's what I think about that: But, I've decided to impart some wisdom today in a friendlier version. Anytime you do SEO as a freelancer, there are many things that you are taking into consideration when you take on the project. Will you have the time? Do you have a chance to succeed? Is the… -
Content Strategy Consulting
1 Oct 2013 | 4:42 amContent Strategy Consulting How many times have you thought about the "About Us" page on your website? Probably the moment after it was live, you most likely have never returned to that page. Did you know that 73% of all people who arrive to your site for the first time click on that page? Think that might be important? The days of "build it and they will come" are long gone. Every pixel of space on your site needs to grab the attention of the reader. That doesn't mean display some animated, blinking text to annoy the reader, but make decisions based on data, not… -
Social Activity Equals Traffic, but Doesn't Help in the SERPS
23 Sep 2013 | 4:59 amSocial Activity Equals Traffic, but Doesn't Help in the SERPS So, as some of you might be aware of, I've exclusively posted the last eight or so posts only on social media sites. I purposely didn't try to get any links in the traditional sense. Results? Traffic on the day of and day after the post on the social site, then zero. For some, they think all a site needs to to is simply pump out content on all the social profiles you own and traffic will come like a bee to pollinate a flower. But after testing this theory on multiple sites, it's simply not true. Now, since…
Should I Advertise On Bing?
6 Dec 2013 | 1:54 amThis is a question I often get asked by clients, and so I thought I'd share some information about Bing and why you should definitely consider Bing advertising as a great opportunity within your biddable media strategy. We'll look at what makes it different to AdWords and why it can compliment your existing online marketing. Bing advertising will allow you to build competitive advantage as well as take advantage of lower CPCs and traffic that has been suggested to be more likely to convert. What Is The Yahoo Bing Network? The Yahoo Bing Network is a combined advertising platform which… -
Actionable Tips To Get More People To Open Your Marketing Emails
5 Dec 2013 | 1:32 amIn this day and age your potential customers spend their days being bombarded by marketing message after marketing message; sources reckon 3,000-30,000 per day in fact, many of these in the form of email. The average UK email user may receive 416 commercial emails per month! So how do you get customers to go the extra mile andopen your emails in amongst all of the others they receive? Is Email Marketing Still Important? I would suggest very much so. Email marketing is still an important marketing tool at all levels of business, offering relevant advertising and incentives to a highly… -
How To Track Multiple Websites With Google Analytics
4 Dec 2013 | 1:01 amThis is a transcript for our new video. Hello. Today I'm going to talk to you about how to set up your Google Analytics account to track data across multiple websites. Now there could be a whole host of reasons why you'd have multiple websites in the first place, but for the purpose of this video I'm going to focus on an international company using multiple sites to target different locations across the world. So there are three common methods that you could use. The first is probably the easiest, and it involves creating a new web property per site. So this means that each… -
45 Tools, Tips And Sites To Help With Social Media Management
4 Dec 2013 | 12:28 amIt's Guest Infographic Time! The day of a Social Media Manager is certainly a busy one. With so many things to track, conversations to interact with and new ideas to test it can often be hard to know what to do next. Today's Infographic looks at how to organise an effective day, along with 45 tips to make things quicker and more effective. The key points include: Downcast will help you catch up on podcasts, you can save ideas to Evernote to be read or visually checked later and read content on Zite (we also love Pocket). For email automation try Aweber for scheduling or… -
Augmented Reality: Why Virtual Reality Is No Longer A Work Of Fiction
3 Dec 2013 | 1:42 amBlade Runner, Back to the Future, the Matrix; the concept of futuristic technology is no longer a distant, inconceivable piece of fiction. It is here and it is here now. With advances in modern technology developing at an astonishing rate, the opportunity for marketers to interact with customers and potential customers alike is growing. With the explosion in both the popularity and adoption of mobile devices like the tablet or smartphone, we have seen marketers respond with refreshing methods of engaging with customers. On the whole they have become a lot more creative in the marketing…
SEO Andy
My SEO Trend Prediction for 2013, did they happen?
2 Dec 2013 | 8:29 amLast year I made several predictions about how the seo industry would change over 2013, and the results are pretty much in with just a few days left this year. So lets take a look at what I said and what has actually happened… Prediction One – Quality Wins Rankings (correct) What I Said: I predicted that as with 2012 we would continue to see a shift in search rankings to favour quality content – with a continuing move from article and press release websites. What Happened: Google has continued to roll out panda updates and penguin updates. In addition to this we've seen the… -
In Short: Local SEO Experiment Results – Amazing!
28 Nov 2013 | 9:05 amAround a month ago I began a small but significant SEO test based on what I knew of Google Hummingbird and how it affected Local SEO Search Rankings. The task was simply to build a page, promote it using social media and user comments only, in order to achieve high search rankings for the given specific search terms. The Results are pretty staggering, number 1 search rankings on our primary targets "local seo services in manchester" and a number of peripheral rankings in the top 10. Much more than we expected, especially given we had only around 50 social shares and 6 comments. -
Social Media in the Public Sector – Why?
26 Nov 2013 | 4:12 amGovernment agencies and public bodies of all kinds are using social media tools more and more as a mechanism to disseminate information and engage with the general public. In this series of guides we will be looking at the best practice of the public sector when it comes to using Social Media effectively as an engagement tool. We will be looking at everything from what engagement type you should take (public vs private vs none) to type of language used and social media crisis management. Although we will be focusing heavily on the Public Sector and in particular councils, all of these guides… -
Another??? New Design [note to readers]
20 Nov 2013 | 2:32 pmHi Everyone, I just wanted to pop by and say a few things which I hope clear a few things up. First – Another New Design Over the past few months (6 or so) we have tweaked and renewed our website design. We've changed so much that we have had a number of complaints that it's making some readers feel insecure as they are unsure just why things are changing. So I want to address that somewhat in this post, but before I do that I want to confirm that this will be the last change for at least 6 months. So, Why the want to change so much? Basically, the design we had even just a… -
Best SEO Strategy? Start with Keyword Research
20 Nov 2013 | 11:29 amThere are so many different opinions on which strategies work the best for SEO, but in reality, all SEO efforts should start with extensive keyword research. Whether you agree this is the most important aspect or not, if you don't do keyword research, you're bound for failure. Let's review the reasons behind this being the more important SEO aspect. Getting the Right People to Your Site All successful businesses have to have a way of getting the right audience to notice them, and with all of the competition on the internet, our best chance is to get them through SEO. Researching…
Honey Tree Media
How to Say Thank You on Twitter Without Losing Followers
25 Nov 2013 | 8:00 amMost of us were taught to say thank you when someone helps us. Saying thank you is how we usually show people appreciation. Naturally, this has carried over to social media networks like Twitter, where we thank people for sharing our content, following us, and recommending us to others. Really, can we ever say thank you too often? Yes, actually. It is possible to say thank you too often, especially when we do it in a public sphere like Twitter. When saying thank you is more of a habit than a heartfelt expression of gratitude, we are saying it too much. When saying thank you becomes… -
Getting Started with Content Curation
11 Nov 2013 | 8:00 amPhoto by Herry Lawford In a world where anyone with an Internet connection can be a publisher, people are being inundated with information 24-7, often in real time. People aren't just overwhelmed with content. They are drowning in it, and in desperate need of a way to make sense of it all. Help Your Audience Sort the Signal from the Noise Their is a way to save them, and you can be part of it. It's called content curation. If you become good enough at it, this content marketing tactic can position as a thought leader in your niche. Are you up for the challenge? Keep reading… -
10 Web Design Mistakes That Scare Visitors Away (And How to Fix Them)
28 Oct 2013 | 9:00 amWith Halloween just a few days away, some websites have donned a frightening appearance for the occasion. By Friday, the ghosts and goblins will have vanished from these sites. Unfortunately, there are websites that are making design mistakes that scare off visitors 365 days a year, no ghosts needed. Here are 10 common ones. Are you making any? 1. Slow Page Load Times The average Internet user will wait four seconds for a page to load, three if they're on a smartphone. Having a fast website is critical to the success of your website. Google has even publicly acknowledged page load time… -
The SEO Cheat Sheet Every Web Developer Needs
14 Oct 2013 | 9:00 amHallelujah, Danny Dover has updated his SEO cheat cheat for web developers! Now I can replace my laminated, yet severely battered copy of the original. For five years, I've referred to the former SEOmoz intern's now-famous two-page reference for best practices in technical, on-page SEO. As much as SEO has changed since the last revision, I'm surprised The Web Developer's SEO Cheat Sheet is not an e-book. Still, it packs a lot of useful information for both web developers and Internet marketers into four pages. Here's a rundown of what you'll find in the… -
How to Use Hashtags for Social Media Marketing Success
30 Sep 2013 | 9:00 amFour years ago, Twitter began linking hashtags together so users could easily follow tweets on the same topic. The tags are now commonly used on every major social networking service — including Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Google+ — and contain the potential to greatly amplify the success of your social media marketing efforts. If you aren't regular tagging your tweets, posts, and pins with this form of metadata, keep reading to find out how and why you should. If you are using hashtags, but in a somewhat random, haphazard manner, keep reading. I'm going to give you the tools…
SEO Marketing Blog by Brick Marketing
Should I Worry About Too Many Links?
6 Dec 2013 | 6:00 amDue to the Google Penguin update and all of the subsequent updates to the update, we hear a lot from clients and potential clients that are nervous about the link building component of an SEO campaign. They have heard horror stories about what has happened to other websites that have lost a significant amount of […] -
What a Partial Manual Action Penalty Looks Like
5 Dec 2013 | 6:00 amA few months ago one of our newer clients called us in a panic. Their website's homepage had vanished from the SERPs for their branded keywords; you could only find the page if you actually searched for "companyname.com." While no site likes to take a hit organically for any keyword, missing out on your branded […] -
SEO Statements That Are No Longer True
4 Dec 2013 | 6:00 amThe SEO industry is constantly evolving due to the fact that the way that the search engines view websites is constantly evolving. If your SEO approach is outdated, your site won't be viewed favorably by the search engines. In fact, an outdated approach could even get you into trouble and result in a search engine […] -
Interview with Jon Henshaw of Raven Tools
3 Dec 2013 | 6:30 amRecently I had the chance to interview Jon Henshaw, Co-Founder & CMO of Raven Internet Marketing Tools. He also speaks a lot about online marketing at major industry conferences like PubCon, SMX, SearchFest, SES and others. Question: How did someone with a bachelor's degree in Human Development and Family Studies end up in the world […] -
Want to Stay Connected to Your Audience? Evolve With Them!
3 Dec 2013 | 6:00 amBy now most B2B and B2C brands understand the value of a strong and consistent content marketing strategy. With Google cracking down even harder on link building, using the company blog and other owned content to earn links and social signals naturally is one of the best link building opportunities a website has. But simply […]
Vertical Leap » Blog
Your SEO is doing it wrong
4 Dec 2013 | 7:14 amYou're probably aware – the nature, methodologies and tools of the search marketing industry are changing – quickly and relentlessly. From Google updates, to tools changing, data disappearing... Read more -
How UK copyright law affects websites
26 Nov 2013 | 7:45 amCopyright is, in a nutshell, the right to copy. If you create something, you effectively own the rights to it. This applies to written words as well as... Read more -
How to track conversions across multiple devices
21 Nov 2013 | 7:28 amHow many devices does it take to change a light bulb? Create a conversion? Well according to a recent study the answer is: A lot Research undertaken in... Read more -
SEO trends and tips for 2014
6 Nov 2013 | 12:59 amThere have been so many updates in the SEO industry in 2013 that I thought I'd look forward to 2014 and give some focus to what's going to... Read more -
The ultimate* guide to search remarketing
5 Nov 2013 | 1:21 am*brief – But only because there are hundreds of ways to experiment with this amazing tool! Anyway: Search remarketing, sometimes referred to as RLSA (remarketing lists for search... Read more
Rocky Mountain Search Engine Academy
Google's Turnabout on Fighting Child Pornography
18 Nov 2013 | 9:18 amIn case you weren't aware, Google (Bing also) has not been exactly cooperative in the fight against child pornographers. Their do-no-evil policy apparently doesn't apply to facilitating the development of perverts. Finally they've announced that they will start blocking searches and images that they can identify as falling into the child pornography category. http://bit.ly/HVgsww I've [...]The post Google's Turnabout on Fighting Child Pornography appeared first on Rocky Mountain Search Engine Academy. -
Google's Angry Apostates and the Expensive New World of Internet Marketing
8 Nov 2013 | 7:28 amThe World of SEO is angry. The URL says it all: http://www.sitepronews.com/2013/10/28/google-death-evil/ A lot of people have shared the above link to a post by New Zealand SEO veteran Ben Kemp, who openly contemplates a "forced" retirement. Along with the post it's fascinating, and a bit overwhelming to read all of the comments attached to it, [...]The post Google's Angry Apostates and the Expensive New World of Internet Marketing appeared first on Rocky Mountain Search Engine Academy. -
SEO Guarantees – If Someone Offers You One for Rankings, Be Very Skeptical
29 Sep 2013 | 4:02 pmIs Google Anyone's Trained Monkey? This is something of a companion post to the article I just published on the Horizon Web Marketing blog. The subject of that post was whether or not any SEO professional could legitimately offer a guarantee of a number 1 listing. I made the case that they could. Provided of [...]The post SEO Guarantees – If Someone Offers You One for Rankings, Be Very Skeptical appeared first on Rocky Mountain Search Engine Academy. -
Google Keyword Tool Confusion
22 Aug 2013 | 5:44 pmPlanner? Tool? And what happened to Match Volume? Is the current state of Google Keyword Research confusing you? I'm noticing a fair amount of confusion among many of my students and clients who are casual Google Keyword Tool users about the latest shift in Google's available options. Here's a cheat sheet on where things seem [...]The post Google Keyword Tool Confusion appeared first on Rocky Mountain Search Engine Academy. -
The Good, the Bad, and the SEO Ugly
5 May 2013 | 11:55 amOur marketing director Matt Rutherford recently started a discussion on LinkedIn titled Have you been scammed by an SEO Firm or Company? (click here to link through to the discussion on Linkedin) A lot of good comments were posted, and the whole discussion reminded me of an email that one of my clients actually received some [...]The post The Good, the Bad, and the SEO Ugly appeared first on Rocky Mountain Search Engine Academy.
» Blog
Must Do Competitive Digital Marketing Strategies 2014 (Small Business)
25 Nov 2013 | 6:45 pmYour small business is just one of the 22 million businesses registered in the U.S., according to the latest U.S. Census data. It's almost year-end and time to think about how to keep your business ahead of the competition. These current small business trends will help you take that next step and set you up for success for years to come. Get Into the Clouds Companies continue to move their operations into the cloud. Starting out as a convenient way to store large amounts of data, cloud computing has become an all-purpose solution for many business functions because it allows users to access… -
Step Into The Future with Cloud Networking (3 Things You Should Know)
17 Nov 2013 | 7:45 pmWhen it comes to both your personal life as well as your professional one, it goes without saying that you need a simple, reliable way to share information, apps, documents and more. All while securely connecting with people, employees and businesses with an easy-to-use experience. Once upon a time virtual private networks (VPNs for short) were the way to go in this regard. However, modern technological developments are finding more people switching to cloud networking instead. If you're like a lot of business owners, you may still be wondering which of these two options represents the… -
How To Build A High-Performance Social Media Team
17 Oct 2013 | 1:05 pmMarketing a company's logo and products on social media makes it easy and affordable to promote brands. Social Media Today reports that over 90 percent of all marketers use some type of social media for their business promotions. This reflects the ease and convenience of social marketing, but also the changing demographics of social networks: more middle-aged consumers with greater purchasing power utilize these networks than do teenagers and young adults. A company looking to capitalize on social media marketing can put together a "dream team" of professionals in order to… -
How LinkedIn Can Attract More Business and Contacts
4 Oct 2013 | 7:10 pmApproximately 84% of 3,100 business owners surveyed generated business from LinkedIn, according to the Huffington Post. Much is written about Facebook and Twitter as social networking outlets for business, but few highlight LinkedIn as an essential outlet. The following are a few reasons to consider adding LinkedIn to your marketing portfolio. Develop a Customer Focus LinkedIn personal and company pages allow you to be very specific about what you and your company can do for customers, says Entrepreneur. People will find you through keyword searches, so create these to match precisely your… -
What Is The Secret To Social Media? (VIDEO)
1 Oct 2013 | 2:35 pmThe secret to social media can be summarized quickly. And, it's important to learn what social media is NOT. I'll show you that as well. Here it is in under 2 minutes in this short, illustrative video. The secret to social media in under 2 minutes. The post What Is The Secret To Social Media? (VIDEO) appeared first on .
Have Results SEM Blog
How to Optimize your site for Google "In-depth articles" feature?
4 Dec 2013 | 11:25 amOften when you're searching on Google for a person or organization name, or other broad topic, you'll find a block of search results labeled "In-depth articles." These results provide high-quality content to help you learn about or explore a subject. While the feature is based on algorithmic signals, there are steps you can take as a webmaster to help Google find your high-quality, in-depth content and best present it to users in the search results page. Optimize your site for the "In-depth articles" featureSchema.org Article markupIn general, we'll do our best to understand the metadata… -
Using the "The Skyscraper Technique" for SEO and Content Creation
4 Dec 2013 | 11:20 amThis SEO technique is called 'he Skyscraper Method' because it shares the same logic of Skyscrapers; People always prefer the best of the best. and the highest of the high.There are 3 basic steps to The Skyscraper Technique To Get Quality Links and Targeted Traffic:Step 1: Find link-worthy contentEither by getting the top articles on Google SERP for your keyword, or by searching for the most shared pages of your competitors or Benchmarks (you can use MOZ's OpenSiteExplorer to get the pages with most backlinks for specific sites you believe have Skyscraper content.Step 2: Make something even… -
Animated infographic - Catch up with the new Trend
4 Dec 2013 | 10:57 amHave you seen the new animated Cheetah infographic?Most probably you did, because it's gone viral, with thousands of shares since it was created.Be crazy, Be mad, Be Creative, and Get our of the Box!That is the #1 rule for Link Baiting and Link Building.Infographic designed by Jacob O'Neal -
How OutBrain Amplifying Content Works?
4 Dec 2013 | 8:16 amDreaming of seeing your article featured on the CNN, USA Today, NY Times, or many other big names?Outbrain.com for amplifying content is offering an exciting PPC advertising method, not for ads like Google, Microsoft, and yahoo are doing, but for actual content titles.So, how does Outbrain works? Here is what they say about themselves:Outbrain is the only content discovery platform dedicated exclusively to the distribution of high-quality content.With Outbrain Amplify, links to your content appear as recommendations on the web's largest content publishers including sites like Wall… -
9 Components of a High Converting Page - Infographic by Neil Patel
17 Oct 2013 | 12:47 pmYou may spend thousands of dollars on a PPC campaign to drive traffic to your site. But once you get visits, they bounce because you do not have the right components on the landing page.So what are those components and how to place them on your page to make the best use out of them?Source: The Anatomy of a High Converting Landing Page - Quick Sprout - Neil Patel
Digital Marketing Agency Leeds | Online Marketing UK | Nebstone
SEO Specialists Discuss the Future of Marketing
15 Nov 2013 | 8:33 amSearch engines have come a long way from the old days. With this in mind, how can companies use search and the different mediums of marketing, to further their business objectives? The infographic below includes the most recent thoughts from 9 experts in the SEO industry. Image source: http://www.pardot.com/infographic/9-seo-experts-future-marketing-infographic/ -
Why Marketers Need to Evolve Email Marketing Strategies
28 Oct 2013 | 12:31 pmIn an online age where information is available in abundance, buyers are becoming more demanding and are more likely to be turned off by bland or irrelevant marketing messages. The common email marketing 'splatter-gun' approach of sending as many emails to as many people as possible is no longer acceptable or effective, and often results […] -
7 Great Tips for Improving Ecommerce SEO
19 Oct 2013 | 8:11 amEcommerce sites can be very profitable, but to ensure that it will have enough traffic, you should be aware of how to get the most traffic possible. Without a good SEO strategy, your site won't be ranked, gain authority, or be successful. So to ensure you have a successful ecommerce experience, let's take a look […] -
How to Make Your Blog Visitors Become Regular Readers
2 Oct 2013 | 6:39 pmEvery blogger has a dream. They have a dream where they will write a blog entry and they'll have a surge of loyal readers visiting their website just to hear what they have to say. Unfortunately, for the majority of bloggers this is a dream which they'll never realise. After around three months they'll give […] -
Why It's Vital Your Website Is Web Responsive
25 Sep 2013 | 4:13 amWith tablet sales expected to exceed £100 million by the end of 2013 and smartphones being as common today as radios were yesterday, it is becoming increasingly necessary for websites to be designed to provide an optimal browsing experience regardless of the size of the device. Each of these devices has their own limitations and […]
Online Marketing Simplified
10 Ways to Keep Up with Google
5 Dec 2013 | 12:15 amIn a recent blog post right here on iSpionage.com, you read that Google has gone dark on certain specifics of their keyword data—data that online marketers once relied heavily upon in order to build a successful SEO campaign. Google turning off the lights on keyword data has left a lot of individuals lost (see comments […]The post 10 Ways to Keep Up with Google appeared first on Online Marketing Simplified. -
How To Use PPC to Double Your SEO Results
4 Dec 2013 | 2:38 amUSE PPC to Move You Directly Toward Better SEO Success Image Courtesy of ddpavumba / FreeDigitalPhotos.net Online success for your business requires that you get the right traffic to your website. Using the right SEO tactics to drive that traffic is very important and can certainly produce good results, but by also using PPC you […]The post How To Use PPC to Double Your SEO Results appeared first on Online Marketing Simplified. -
Why Use Competitor Alerts?
27 Nov 2013 | 12:40 pmIf you aren't using iSpionage's Competitive Alerts feature, you should be. Monitor the Pulse of Your Competition Don't let yourself or your clients get outplayed. iSpionage Competitor Alerts automatically send you an email when a competitor adds new keywords, ad copy, or landing pages to an AdWords or other PPC campaign. Simply review these alerts […]The post Why Use Competitor Alerts? appeared first on Online Marketing Simplified. -
Are You Making These Three Fatal PPC Marketing Mistakes?
22 Nov 2013 | 12:22 amWhether you're running an eCommerce store, a SaaS business, or a service company, PPC marketing can be a complicated process. Even though Google AdWords is the platform most people use, there are a multitude of additional options to keep track of like LinkedIn, Facebook, Yahoo, and Bing. Even without those other choices, AdWords campaigns alone […]The post Are You Making These Three Fatal PPC Marketing Mistakes? appeared first on Online Marketing Simplified. -
Helpful Tools for Effective Link Building
18 Nov 2013 | 12:03 pmIf you've been working in the online marketing world for a while, you know that building links effectively is nothing short of down right hard work. There are many do's and don'ts of link building, and those do's and don'ts are often changing, making it difficult to stay current on effective link building trends. To […]The post Helpful Tools for Effective Link Building appeared first on Online Marketing Simplified.
Heroic Search
9 About Page Tips That Won't Leave Your Brand Looking Empty
20 Nov 2013 | 6:00 amNo matter what type of website you run, your About page is one of the most important pages that you will have on the entire site. In some cases it's your first and last chance to make a good impression, the place where the rubber meets the road. While you can show off your skills, [...]The post 9 About Page Tips That Won't Leave Your Brand Looking Empty appeared first on Heroic Search. -
Quora Marketing Tips To Help Boost Your Online Presence
15 Oct 2013 | 5:00 amI know most of you probably know what Quora is, but for those that don't, here's the lowdown: Quora is a user generated content platform that allows people to ask and answer questions. In doing so, one naturally builds up authority and trust in his/her market. Hopefully I can help uncover some quora marketing methods [...]The post Quora Marketing Tips To Help Boost Your Online Presence appeared first on Heroic Search. -
Handling Your SEO Clients Like A Champ
21 Aug 2013 | 8:52 amI've been working with clients for the past 2 years now, both with agencies and as a freelancer. It can be VERY challenging and I thought I'd put together a guide on how you can handle clients, as an SEO. Getting Clients - This is the tricky bit, it always will be. I've split this [...]The post Handling Your SEO Clients Like A Champ appeared first on Heroic Search. -
8 Simple Ways To Give Your Web Content More Personality
30 Jul 2013 | 4:00 amPersonality in your copy is essential for engagement, earning trust, converting visitors, and claiming your own space online. Building a brand that portrays your company accurately and welcoming is vital to any ongoing successes you expect to have. Giving Your Content Personality Big words are for term papers. This can be tempting, we all want to sound [...]The post 8 Simple Ways To Give Your Web Content More Personality appeared first on Heroic Search. -
How To Brainstorm Blog Content Ideas
4 Jul 2013 | 10:59 amBrainstorming fresh blog content ideas can be a tall order, especially if your content schedule relies on frequent content. Sometimes this may tempt you to deliver sub-par content just to meet a deadline. Or, in other cases you may simply be out of ideas and need a new method to jump start your brain. In either case, you always [...]The post How To Brainstorm Blog Content Ideas appeared first on Heroic Search.
Digital Marketing Efficiency: Should Digital Marketing for International Businesses Make Use of Virtual Offices?
18 Nov 2013 | 5:53 amPerhaps one of the most exciting innovations brought about by the digital age is virtual offices. Gone are the days when everyone has to work in a physically-existing office. Today, employees can work in the comfort of their own homes or wherever they can be most productive - across the globe. -
Using Questions as SEO Keywords
8 Nov 2013 | 2:01 amKeywords have been a common SEO practice over the last few years, and placing them within quality content remains a surefire technique to boost your traffic. But with the recent update to Google's algorithm, titled "hummingbird", the search engine is looking at content and its results a little differently. As smartphone usage increases drastically each year, Google has begun catering its search towards mobile users. -
The 15 Types of Bloggers Plying their Trade in the Blogging World
4 Nov 2013 | 12:53 amWhat kind of blogger are you? Answering this question is an important part of becoming a successful blogger. A blogger is defined by the quality of his write ups, the niche the blogger targets, and the authority he builds up over the years. Readers form an opinion of the blogger, his personality, his attitude and character traits from the content he comes up with, for them. -
Few Very Cool Graphic Design Apps
25 Oct 2013 | 12:43 amAs any great graphic designer will tell you, inspiration strikes at the most inappropriate times and capturing those 'eureka' moments can often be quite the task. While negligent and uncaring graphic designers just let them pass by a great designer will always be ready to draw, note or mentally note the idea. -
Keyword research with SEMrush
24 Oct 2013 | 4:31 amPromoting a website requires a lot of effort and know-how, and when they are combined in the right way they will bring outstanding results. Talking about results, I don't mean just improving the page rank or increasing traffic. I'm talking about increasing your customer base and profit. If you don't see either one, then you know--it's time to make things right. And you can bet your bottom dollar we will start with a keyword research and semantic core prioritization.
Medical Practice Strategies
Why Is Patient Engagement Declining?
2 Dec 2013 | 10:56 pmPatients are more disengaged from matters concerning their health than ever before. In a study conducted by the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions in 2012, it was reported that one in three patients are not likely to take preventive health action, have little to no interest in healthcare and are reporting less need for healthcare. The patient disengagement rate went up from 2008's 23 percent to 34 percent in 2012. The Deloitte study has also reported an increase among "passive" patients. About half of healthcare consumers are more likely to take a passive stance toward healthcare. -
Happy Thanksgiving!
27 Nov 2013 | 1:08 amPractice Builders would like to thank you for your commitment to the community, for your dedication to optimum health, for being there when people need you most, and for improving people's quality of life. With great appreciation, we are fortunate for making a positive difference in the lives of your patients and their loved ones. We feel honored to be associated with you, and wish you, your staff, and family a Happy Thanksgiving. Sincerely, The Practice Builders Team -
Social Media Can Boost Medical and Dental Marketing Efforts
25 Nov 2013 | 4:21 amStill unconvinced about the value of social media? Here are some social media statistics to help you make a more informed decision. YouTube YouTube is the number-two search engine in the world. That makes it a great source for leads and traffic to your website. The Relevancy Group reports that around 700 YouTube video links are being shared on Twitter every minute while about 500 years worth of YouTube videos are watched on Facebook every day. Facebook With more than 1 billion users, Facebook is the king of the social media hill. According to Hubspot, around 70 percent of business-to-consumer… -
Is Your Website Mobile-Friendly?
25 Nov 2013 | 4:14 amOver 93 percent of American adults now carry cell phones. Experts have forecast that mobile phones will surpass desktop computers within the next five years when it comes to accessing online content. The big problem is that most websites don't fit the mobile user experience with its small screens and slower Internet speeds. Do patients have to zoom and scroll frequently to access all your web content? Do some areas of your website load slowly, or not at all? Is it easy for you to find and use the site's contact information? Can users simply click to call or click to… -
How to Market Your Practice Under the ACA – Part 2 of 2
25 Nov 2013 | 1:28 amIf recent events are any indication, the expected influx of 30+ million new patients entering the American healthcare system may be a long way off. And with so many doctors exiting private practice for paid jobs in hospitals or large group practices, opting for retirement or starting their own concierge practices, how will you attract your most desirable patients and case types amid the noise and clutter? As we prepare our latest piece on the Affordable Care Act, the federal government has quite a mess on its hands. The government website where people are supposed to sign up under the…