Link acquisition and dynamic link development take ingenuity. The most effective link developers are those who search for new ways to gain inbound links that can truly make a difference in an SEO campaign. However, some link development tactics use weak spots in websites and take advantage of them in an unethical manner. I’m going to share one of those tactics with you, in the hope that .gov sites that are open to this kind of manipulation can safeguard their security and reputation.

I am a strong believer that by creating a more satisfying experience for your customers and helping them achieve their buying process goals; businesses in turn increase their website sales. In an earlier post I presented my wife’s experience in researching to buy a new car. Her experience demonstrated for me the major difference between a car salesperson helping her achieve her buying process goals than one mostly concerned with selling her a car.

Have you ever tried video marketing? I have and it’s one of the most effective ways to build awareness and traffic for your site (not to mention how much fun it is). If you have a large budget - or no budget at all - here are some tips on how to make video marketing gold!

A question I am asked frequently is what is the average conversion rate for an e-commerce website or for any website for that matter. There is a basic answer and a more complicated yet more practical one.

After being in business for almost 2 years, we have recently decided to get our team out in the field more often to meet the readers, advertisers and partners that help make Search Marketing Standard a reality. Thus, in the 2nd part of the year, our staff will be hitting the conference circuit across America starting with ad:tech Chicago next week.

I might be out-of-line with my thinking but as I was reviewing some of my clients’ paid search campaigns I noticed an alarming pattern.

The headline of a recent cover page article for BtoB Online’s publication (July 16, 2007) stated, “Marketers discover analytics’ power.” Hmm…isn’t it a little late to finally start listening to what many online marketers have been preaching for years? Funny thing is it seems that many businesses have been using analytics “as reports” and never considered the actual value hidden underneath the figures and graphs.

I have always been one of the biggest critics of the idea that the SEM industry is moving as fast as some people claim. For me, business is business and marketing is marketing. There is going to be millions of diggs, YouTubes and Facebooks. These are just trends. This is not what marketing is about. Marketing will always be about people and understanding their needs and emotions. So before you start that blog, write that list for digg submission or shoot that video, stop and think, do you really need it?

Since the emergence of online networking back when Classmates.com was created (1995) there have been a growing number of people rushing to join social networks. Whether on highly populated sites or smaller niche sites, online consumers are moving towards establishing connections in some shape or form. This recent trend has brought millions of advertising dollars to the networks that bring these people together. Let’s look at how much is being spent on today’s fastest growing online trend and why.

Do you allow your customers to post reviews on your website about your products or services? It seems that most businesses have a fear of what their customers might say if given the power to review. Unfortunately for them, customers have a way (especially in the Web 2.0 environment) to find a platform to say what they want to say and how they want to say it.