by Synopsis — Ranking higher than your chief competitors on Google (and other search engines) has always been one of the primary goals of search engine optimization. With the advent of local search and real-time search results, the construct of the all-important first page of search engine results has changed, with a variety of different types of results, including current news items, recent Twitter results, and local maps. Website listings may fall well below the fold,...
Articles in General SEM
Christmas in July: Build Your Online Marketing Strategy Now
The Christmas shopping season may be a good half-year away, but search marketers should be getting into the holiday spirit right now. Experienced online retailers understand the traffic crush and increased conversion rates that come with the convergence of Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa. Most people who have worked at an internet retailer during this time also have first-hand experience with a level of activity that rivals a shopping mall on Black Friday. With a little...
Excel Pivots Into Position For Keyword Ranking
As I confessed awhile back, I’m a total amateur with the more intricate parts of Excel, so I rely on tools to help me slice and dice data when I need to do so. Looks like maybe I’m not alone in my reticence to take baby steps toward becoming a Jedi master with Excel (I should live so long!). Yesterday, another site came to my rescue with a beginner’s guide to pivot tables, a feature...
What’s Brewing In Google Labs To Help With Your Search Engine Marketing?
Exploring and innovating is all part of the Google experience – Google Labs is a hub of virtual experiments and exploration, with ideas coined from Google staff around the world. Some of these projects will never be more than a limited edition run while others will go on to become mainstream Google properties, enjoyed by millions. As the search engine of choice for most web browsers, Google is also the listing of choice for most...
Bing Cashback Cashes It In
One of the early differentiating features of Bing, Microsoft’s revamped search engine, was the Cashback function, whereby purchasers received some cash back for every qualifying purchase made. The program is due to expire on July 30, 2010, although points earned via the program can be cashed in for another year. Why has Microsoft decided to stop the program? Here’s what they had to say on the Bing Community blog. “Why are we doing this? When...
Excel-ing at Yahoo! Reports And Other Excel Helpers
I’m a huge fan of Excel, even though I can’t write a macro to save my life. My brain doesn’t seem to want to work in an entirely logical fashion, for which I am usually grateful, but not when I’m trying to figure out a way to organize a ton of data and get to the core of a problem or figure out a way to transpose some data without changing the cell references. Luckily,...
Fitting SEO Into The Company Puzzle
Henry Kissinger once said, “The conventional army loses if it does not win. The guerrilla wins if he does not lose.” This scenario fits well into the world of SEO. Large corporations have considerable muscle in terms of their website’s strength and authority, akin to an army. By comparison, marketers with smaller sites using SEO tactics that range from safe to risky could be labeled guerillas. Large corporations have tremendous goals to reach in order...
Bringing SEO In-House: Overcoming the Challenges
Bringing SEO in-house has countless advantages – the primary one being a live body walking the halls and available for meetings and impromptu conversations about SEO. However, by bringing SEO in-house, you will also face challenges in pulling it off successfully. Armed with knowledge of the challenges, you can minimize potential problems and recognize clues to prepare for what lies ahead. Knowing What You’re Up Against: The In-House SEO Life Cycle We are starting to...
2007: Time to View Search Holistically
Recent conversations in the search engine marketing community point to a developing trend that is disturbing: the promotion of the idea that paid search is more valuable than search engine optimization, and visa-versa. Although there are many legitimate arguments on both sides of the discussion, some claims made by highly visible parties are darkening the waters of search. This could not be happening at a worse time, as more and more brand managers are looking...
Outsourcing Search Marketing to Low-Cost Labor Destinations
The 2008 US Presidential election campaign may very well feature outsourcing as one of the important debates; however, it would be wrong to assume that only telemarketing or programming jobs are outsourced. Search marketing jobs are also outsourced to low-cost labor destinations. The trend started in early 2002 after the dot-com bust and before the Google IPO. People started realizing the importance of search engine optimization and how large a role it can play in...
