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Yahoo! Search Widget for Your Android Phone
June 30, 2010, 11:25 pmWe're introducing the Yahoo! Search Widget for the Android smart phones today, making it much easier to access web search on the Android phone home screen. The UI is simple and compact to fit the size of your phone screen. Under the covers, we've packed in some cool features. You can type the query using the touch screen or use the voice input to...
Huge Swings In Google Webmaster Tools Link Reports
June 30, 2010, 11:12 pm"Many webmasters are reporting huge swings in Google Webmaster Tools link reports. Is it a bug, or is there some other reason for such huge changes?"
Domino's New Ad Shows How Fake Its Ads Are
June 30, 2010, 7:22 pmby Claudine Zap First, Domino's Pizza gave us an ad campaign that apologized for its bad pizza â" and introduced the new and improved pies. Now, the pizza chain has a new ad â" going after the fakeness of its own ads. You know those beautiful, sizzling pizzas on TV, with the perfectly placed pepperoni and the symmetrically melted cheese?...
Bing Query Language Guide available
June 30, 2010, 7:22 pmI have a quick post today. The Bing Developer Center blog recently published an informative post on using the Bing Advanced Query Language. The guide they reference covers a deep dive into search command operators with detailed descriptions and examples. I thought this might be of interest to the webmaster community as well, so I am posting a link...
Google News Redesigns
June 30, 2010, 7:19 pmGoogle's midlife crisis of design faith continues. This time Google news gets the treatment.
Bing Query Language - seriously geeked-out Advanced Operators
June 30, 2010, 6:32 pmBing just published (and publicized) an extensive list of Advance Operators. What a look into their search technology this offers! For example, here's a description of the advanced operator norelax:
Microsoft adCenter API Top 10 viewed topics for June 2010
June 30, 2010, 6:25 pmHello, Here are the most viewed adCenter API topics on MSDN for June 2010. Microsoft adCenter API United States Alabama (United States) Campaign Management Service Operations Microsoft adCenter Campaign Management API Microsoft adCenter Campaign Management API Reference Country Codes Microsoft adCenter Reporting API Microsoft adCenter API...
Google News Becomes More Personal and Social
June 30, 2010, 5:49 pmGoogle is rolling out several updates to its News homepage to make it easier to navigate through relevant news, highlight interesting stories that would otherwise get buried into the streams of news influx that gets into the homepage as well as an easier news sharing feature. The updated Google News homepage, which will be rolled initially to U.S....
A Mustafa Must: Latest Old Spice Ad
June 30, 2010, 5:20 pmby Vera H-C Chan Log rolling. Swan diving. Home improvement. Is there nothing that Isaiah Mustafa can't do? At the risk of shamelessly overexposing the shirtless Old Spice guy...oh forget it, too late for meaningless apologies. Suffice to say that Mustafa's latest seamless starring vehicle has arrived, a week after the first won a Cannes Film...
Amazon Acquires Woot
June 30, 2010, 5:03 pmWoot, the 24-hour deal site with a wacky sense of humor, has been acquired by Amazon. Woot fans needn't worry that all the fun's coming to an end, however, as official announcements concerning the deal have so far been both completely reassuring and nearly nonsensical.
Accept Payments from Your Laptop with Android Payment Extension for Google Checkout
June 30, 2010, 5:03 pmGoogle has a new Android Payment Extension for the Google Checkout Store Gadget. This allows people to make purchases with their phones, and would be helpful to merchants who wish to accept credit cards. "Once your customer tells you the items he or she wants to buy, you can create a cart with those items on your laptop," explains Peng Ying of the...
Google Revamps Google News Homepage
June 30, 2010, 5:03 pmGoogle has made some changes to the Google News homepage. "There's an old saying that all news is local," says Google's Kevin Stolt. "But all news is personal toowe connect with it in different ways depending on our interests, where we live, what we do and a lot of other factors. Today were revamping the Google News homepage with several changes...
Yahoo! and Microsoft Search Alliance Update: Top Questions from Customers
June 30, 2010, 4:57 pmAs part of our efforts to design a high quality transition experience for customers, the Yahoo! and Microsoft teams have been meeting face-to-face with advertisers to solicit feedback and understand key questions and concerns. Customers have shared that theyre looking forward to the Search Alliance and its unified marketplace. Another piece of...
World Cup Buzz, Loose Lips, Teen Adrift: June 2010 Buzz
June 30, 2010, 4:45 pmby Vera H-C Chan Fancy footwork mesmerized much of the world this month, but many decisions still had to be made (and unmade): Congress approved financial reform but not unemployment benefits extensions, the Supreme Court whittled at handgun bans and corporate reform laws , and both the White House and a judicial committee pondered personnel...
Google Adds Suspicious Log-in Detection to Google Accounts
June 30, 2010, 4:15 pmGoogle is extending the suspicious log-in detection feature it recently launched for Gmail to all Google account users, starting this week. If you use any Google product that requires you to log-in with a Google account, this applies to you.
"Using the IP address you provide to us, our automated system can determine your broad geographic...
Teenagers Experience Facebook Fatigue, So Facebook Must Be "Going Away"
June 30, 2010, 4:11 pmFacebook may be in big trouble. Mashable is pointing to a study from Roiworld that surveyed 600 teenagers, and found that while 80% of them are spending two hours per day online (on average), they are also showing signs of Facebook fatigue. According to this survey, one in five who have a Facebook account are either using it less or no longer...
Google Improves Chrome's Accessibility
June 30, 2010, 3:53 pmUnless you count the time Ford arranged for a blind man to drive a Mustang on the company's proving grounds, speed and special nods to accessibility don't often go together. Today, however, Google made its speedy browser, Chrome, more accessible by introducing a new category of featured extensions. ChromeVis, which was designed to improve the...
Wonder Woman 2.0
June 30, 2010, 3:53 pmby Mike Krumboltz Attention all obsessive comic fans! Set your mood dials to "outraged." Wonder Woman , one of the most popular superheroes of all time, is getting a new look. Even casual fans of the Amazon Princess can spot her famous threads a mile away. Blue shorts with white stars, a bold bustier, and bright red boots that make Superman's look...
BP Subverts Google's URL Policy - Sends Clicks to YouTube
June 30, 2010, 3:50 pm"A simple search for "oil spill" brings up BP's paid search ads from their crisis management campaign. The display URL shows the BP.com domain, but the ad sends you to to YouTube. Is this allowed now?"
Google Reportedly Trying to Buy ITA Software
June 30, 2010, 3:36 pmReuters is reporting that Google is in discussions to buy ITA Software , an airline IT and services provider. The company is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and provides airfare info to airlines, travel agencies, and travel web services. According to Reuters, there is a great deal of concern about such a deal among the travel industry. ( hat...
9 Steps to Diagnosing Lost Search Engine Traffic
June 30, 2010, 3:34 pmThink you've lost search engine traffic to your website? Here are my 9 steps you can use to determine the extent of it as well as the possible causes.
Google, ITA Software Talks Causing Stir in Travel Industry
June 30, 2010, 2:59 pmReuters is reporting that Google is in discussions to buy ITA Software (which has been rumored for months), an airline IT and services provider. The company is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and provides airfare info to airlines, travel agencies, and travel web services.
According to Reuters, there is a great deal of concern about such a deal...
UK Adds 1.9 Million Internet Users
June 30, 2010, 2:21 pmThe size of the UK Internet audience grew by five percent from 36.9 million people in May 2009 to 38.8 million people in May 2010, according to a new report from the UK Online Measurement Company (UKOM). Among the 1.9 million new Britons using the Internet, 1 million (53%) were at least 50 years old. Men over 50 were responsible for most of this...
You're Invited! 2010 SEOmoz PRO Training Series
June 30, 2010, 2:14 pmPosted by jennita Yabba Dabba Doooo! Ok, I have no idea what the Flintstones has to do with SEO training, but the point is... I'm excited. It's that time of year again when we open up registration for the PRO Training Series: Tips, Tricks and Tactics . See! Now do you get why I'm so giddy? As with every year, we have a killer lineup of speakers...
AdSense: Behind the scenes - Meet Debby
June 30, 2010, 2:14 pmDo you ever wonder who's helping you optimize your webpages? Who works hard to ensure your payments get to you on time? Who works with our product and engineering teams to deliver the products and features that you want? Over the next few weeks you'll find out just that! We're kicking off a video series where you'll meet some of our AdSense team...
"YouTube Ready" Captions Can Add to Your Search Strategy
June 30, 2010, 2:03 pmYouTube has begun rolling out a "YouTube Ready" designation for professional caption vendors in the U.S. This comes with both a logo and support from the Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP). Those who have earned the "YouTube Ready" seal of approval have passed quality evaluation administered by the DCMP, have a site and YouTube channel,...
Chrome Stable Release Gets Built-in Flash Player
June 30, 2010, 1:46 pmGoogle has enabled Flash Player integration in the stable release of its Chrome browser. "In March, we announced that we would be bringing improved support for Adobe Flash Player to Google Chrome," says Product Manager Jeff Chang. "Along with driving the development of a next generation browser plug-in API, this integration will eliminate the need...
Garofalo's New Gig, Anna Chapman Uncovered, Robin Williams' Request: What's the Buzz
June 30, 2010, 1:46 pmby Claudine Zap Our top picks from the day's hottest searches. Janeane Garofalo (Searches increased by 6,699%). The comedian is considering an acting gig on the "Criminal Minds" spinoff. Anna Chapman (+6,099%). The glamorous Russian spy may have given up her cover , but surely her book and movie deals are coming soon. Robin Williams (+3,904%). The...
10 Steps to Courageous Leadership
June 30, 2010, 1:44 pmby Stoney deGeyter
Leadership isn't just for those with the title or position of leadership. Every person, in any given situation, is a leader of something. You may not have the prestige or salary, but there is no doubt that you carry some leadership responsibilities, however small they may be.
Very few leaders start at the top. They start...
Internet Users Age 6-14 in Brazil Spend 60 Percent of their Online Time on Entertainment and Communication Sites
June 30, 2010, 1:33 pmcomScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released a study of online behavior among 6-14 year-old consumers in Brazil, a recent addition to comScore's demographic segmentation capabilities in the market. The study found that Internet users 6-14 years of age accounted for 12 percent of the total online population...
Submit Various Content Types to Google in One Sitemap File
June 30, 2010, 1:28 pmGoogle now lets you submit various content types in one sitemap. For example, if you want to submit videos, images, mobile URLs, etc. in the same sitemap, you can do so. "Site owners have been leveraging Sitemaps to let Google know about their sites content since Sitemaps were first introduced in 2005," explains Google Webmaster Trends Analyst...
Reward dads and grads with great savings
June 30, 2010, 1:16 pmGraduation and Father's Day are around the corner, and it's time to reward dads and grads for their hard work. Google Checkout makes it easy to find great deals to show dads our appreciation and to give grads our congratulations. Hundreds of Checkout stores are offering exclusive discounts of $5, $10, or $20 on purchases made now through June 18,...
How I Drove Over 1.3 Million Pageviews through Digg for $90K in Ad Revenue
June 30, 2010, 1:10 pmThis case study covers social media strategy I executed last fall where I drove over 1.3 million pageviews to a microsite in less than four days for about $90K in ad revenue. The bulk of that traffic was driven on the first day of promotion. The url was submitted to Digg.com. The url was also sent to bloggers who posted similar content on their...
SEM Intermediate Series: Understanding Goals and Success in Budgeting
June 30, 2010, 1:05 pmThis is the 12 th post in the SEM Intermediate Series , a collection of posts intended for search engine marketing (SEM) professionals looking for guidance in monitoring and adjusting key performance indicators (KPIs) and other aspects of campaign management that help determine PPC success in Microsoft adCenter. This series is a continuation of...
Explaining Facebook's Spam Prevention Systems
June 30, 2010, 12:41 pmAs a global service connecting 400 million people, Facebook has helped build and extend communities around the world. As with any community, the benefits of bringing people together are occasionally accompanied by inappropriate or unacceptable conduct by a small number of people. This behavior ranges from thoughtless to criminal and can degrade...
Team Edward vs. Team Jacob: And the Buzz Goes To...
June 30, 2010, 12:01 pmby Vera H-C Chan Forget wolves: Robert Pattinson has to watch out for the cougars. In the never-ending " Twilight " battle between Team Edward and Team Jacob, we have the results: The vampire â" and the man who plays him â" claims the buzz. Sure, there's been a lot of tough talk about the Wolf boy â" aka Jacob Black , aka Taylor Lautner...
The iPhone 4 – Who has the best sales process?
June 30, 2010, 11:46 amThere has been loads of buzz over the launch of the new Apple iPhone 4, hey its an Apple product there is going to be lots of hype whatever the product is.
Now that you can get the iPhone 4 on various networks in the UK, I decided to compare the process of buying one from the leading retailers to see who’s website performed best. As you...
Google Wants Your Help to Reduce Webspam
June 30, 2010, 11:43 amIf you have any suggestions for Google's webspam team, now is the time to make them. Google's Matt Cutts, who leads the team, has called for suggestions for webspam projects for the year in a post on his personal blog. "About a year and a half ago, I asked for suggestions for webspam projects for 2009 ," says Cutts. "The feedback that we got was...
eBay's BlackBerry App Offered In 6 More Countries
June 30, 2010, 11:43 amWhen announcing its acquisition of RedLaser one week ago, eBay noted that a purchase is made every two seconds using eBay's mobile apps. Only now, as impressive as that frequency is, the delay between purchases may decrease, since the eBay application for BlackBerry has become available in six more countries. Folks in Australia, France, Germany,...
Amazon Offers New Royalty Program For Kindle Authors
June 30, 2010, 11:26 amAmazon.com said today it is now offering independent authors and publishers who use its ebook self-publishing program, the Kindle Digital Text Platform (DTP), a 70 percent royalty option. For each book sold from the Kindle Store for Kindle, Kindle DX, or one of the Kindle apps for iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, BlackBerry, PC, Mac and Android phones,...
Facebook Reveals Some Details About How it Handles Spam
June 30, 2010, 11:26 amFacebook has revealed a little bit of information about how it looks at spam. The company says it wants to be more transparent about how it handles it. Along with this transparency is a new message explaining why content might be blocked. It looks something like this: "With billions of pieces of content being shared on Facebook every month and bad...
Amazon Purchases Woot
June 30, 2010, 11:10 am"Woot has signed an agreement with Amazon - yes, the Amazon - to become an independent subsidiary of the ecommerce colossus"
Google's AdMob Reflects on 2 Years of Mobile Evolution
June 30, 2010, 10:50 amAdMob released its Mobile Metrics report for May, which focuses on changes in the mobile market over the course of two years. Unsurprisingly, a lot has changed. While AdMob's network traffic itself has grown a lot in that time, the company says there continues to be strong regional differences with devices used to access the mobile web....
We have a winner â" SEO Copywriting Certification training
June 30, 2010, 10:44 amWell, choosing the best entry was hard. .. 'But at the end of the day, the F. Scott Fitzgerald reference got to me. Please join me for with a warm round of applause for Heather Georgoudiou from Revenue Performance ! Starting today, she's receiving a free subscription to the SEO Copywriting Certification training! I caught up with Heather and...
Race to the finish line in a flash
June 30, 2010, 10:38 amWe recently released a new version of our Google Chrome browser with Adobe Flash Player built in, automatically bringing you the latest and greatest updates. To celebrate, we teamed up with a few creative folks to make Chrome FastBall , a Flash-based game built for YouTube. Want to race? Complete various games to get the shiny chrome ball to the...
Webspam projects in 2010?
June 30, 2010, 10:38 amAbout a year and a half ago, I asked for suggestions for webspam projects for 2009 . The feedback that we got was extremely helpful. It's almost exactly the middle of 2010, so it seemed like a good time to ask again: what projects do you think webspam should work on in 2010 and beyond? Here's the instructions from an earlier post: Based on your...
Diagnose Keyword Issues with New AdWords Feature
June 30, 2010, 10:10 amThere is a new Keyword Diagnosis option in the Keywords tab in AdWords. This can give advertisers detailed diagnostic info for multiple keywords at a time.
"Whether you have ten keywords or ten thousand, making sure your ads are showing is a top priority," says Miles Johnson of Google's Inside AdWords crew.
To use the feature, simply...
Watching Netflix on Android is Only a Matter of Time
June 30, 2010, 9:55 amA job listing for an "Android Video Playback Expert" under Partner Product Development has been spotted on the Netflix job listing page (via BGR > Nerdcast ). Under the description of the position , Netflix says it's looking for "a great engineer to help us build Instant Streaming client implementations on Android devices." There you have it....
Weekly Search & Social News: 06/29/2010
June 30, 2010, 9:49 amWell I am a day late, but we at least made it to another edition of ' 7 Days of Search and Social ' - there was some interesting readin' last week from the rise of Facebook the 'search engine' to a distinct lean towards the business side of things. Speaking of which, a huge congrats goes out to the SEJ/Search and Social gang whom made news with...
Links 2010. How can I Get The All Fabled One Way Link?
June 30, 2010, 9:47 amAs rare as a unicorn? "Oh, I need help in finding one way links, day after day, I'm after it and it's a slow crawl, anybody have any advice, besides, keep at it?"
Google Continues Experimenting with Different Ad Strategies
June 30, 2010, 9:33 amAccording to the Wall Street Journal , YouTube is looking to launch skippable ads in YouTube videos later in the year. Google reportedly talked about this in a press conference at its "Real-time Bidding, Banner Ads, Googles Newest Big Business and Burgers" event. WSJ quotes senior product manager Baljeet Singh as saying, users would be able to...
Google Docs Viewer Comes to Android, iPhone, iPad Devices
June 30, 2010, 9:32 amReading documents has typically been a painful chore on most smartphones, where applications struggle to rationalize the so-called third screen. Google, whose Android operating system is racing after Apple's iPhone operating system in the U.S. market, has been taking steps to remedy this by adapting applications it wrote for the desktop to mobile...
PPC Tips for the Small Business Owner
June 30, 2010, 9:32 amIt can be difficult for the little guy to compete with corporations¾moderate SMB programs are no match for endless marketing budgets and the resulting inflated keyword costs. Working in an agency, I see this first hand every day. But I also see areas where small business owners and franchise stores can compete if they become smarter with their...
The 7 Essential Steps to Creating Your Content Masterpiece
June 30, 2010, 9:03 amIn the UK, we have a derogatory term for newspapers: chip wrappers. No matter how good, today's front page wraps tomorrow's fish and chips. Bloggers can relate. You slave for hours to write a stellar article that bursts into the limelight for only a few days, or even hours, before it's forgotten. Readers who find you this week won't know what you...
IMDb Rolls Out Android App
June 30, 2010, 8:58 amAmazon.com's Internet Movie Database (IMDb) has launched an Android app and a new mobile and social feature called "IMDb Everywhere." IMDb's Movies & TV App for Google Android devices features voice search, sharing and option menus. The Android app allows users to look up local movie show times, TV listings, watch trailers, buy movies and share. ...
Yahoo Promises Customer Care In More Languages
June 30, 2010, 8:58 amYahoo's products and services may soon establish a larger following among non-English speakers. This morning, Yahoo promised to introduce new customer care services in nine different languages, with Arabic being a top focus. The other eight languages are French, German, Italian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, and Turkish, meaning Yahoo's...
Ad.ly Launches its In-Stream Monetization Platform
June 30, 2010, 8:40 amAd.ly announced today that it has launched its in-stream monetization platform for apps and websites. This means that apps or sites that publish streams from any source (like Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc.) can use Ad.ly's API to serve contextually and locally targeted ads based on streams they are reading and where they're located....
Will New iPhone Drama Gives Apple's Reputation A Test?
June 30, 2010, 8:28 amIf you look at the history of Apple you will see a roller coaster ride of starts and stops, triumphs and tragedies and virtually everything in between. As it is in life, you are really only as good as your last at bat and in the past few years Apple has just been hitting a ton of home runs. Good products have a tendency to help people forget the...
Trouble Linkbuilding? Write the Copy
June 30, 2010, 8:28 amFinding new ways to attract inbound links is one of the hardest parts of SEO. Finding quality sites offering links with quality anchor text is a tedious process many in the industry shy away from. Organic, authentic link building is difficult, no doubt about it. But it is this difficulty that brings out the best in SEO practitioners.
Will New iPhone Drama Gives Apple’s Reputation A Test?
June 30, 2010, 8:19 am
If you look at the history of Apple you will see a roller coaster ride of starts and stops, triumphs and tragedies and virtually everything in between. As it is in life, you are really only as good as your last at bat and in the past few years Apple has just been hitting a ton of home runs. Good products have a tendency to help...
Is Google's "Best Guess" Good Enough for Social Search?
June 30, 2010, 8:10 amWhen it comes to social media, it appears Google is playing a guessing game. Exhibit A: Google has announced it will start spidering your Google Buzz content and bring anything relevant into your Social Search results-you know, that little box that you see at the bottom of your search results page? Anyway, from the hundreds of words on the page,
Foursquare Gains $20m, New Investor in Andreessen Horowitz
June 30, 2010, 8:02 amFoursquare has announced that it's closed a new $20m Series B round of funding with Union Square Ventures, O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures and new partner, Andreessen Horowitz.
"The two big names behind Andreessen Horowitz - Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz - are each legends in Silicon Valley," says Foursquare Founder and CEO Dennis...
Is Google’s “Best Guess” Good Enough for Social Search?
June 30, 2010, 7:48 am
When it comes to social media, it appears Google is playing a guessing game.
Exhibit A:
Google has announced it will start spidering your Google Buzz content and bring anything relevant into your Social Search results–you know, that little box that you see at the bottom of your search results page?
Anyway, from the hundreds...
Google Puts Buzz Into Social Search
June 30, 2010, 7:47 amGoogle has expanded its social search feature to include additional links that appear in the Buzz tab of users' Google profiles. Users who use Google Buzz have the option to add "connected sites" and post content from these sites publicly on their Google profiles. "For example, you can choose to connect your Twitter account and set your tweets to...
Flash and Rich Media Represent 40% Of Online Ads
June 30, 2010, 7:02 am
While Adobe’s Flash has been vilified by Apple’s Steve Jobs it is still an important part of the advertising world at least for now. comScore has produced a report that shows that 40% of the total online display ads are using Flash and rich media. The chart below shows the breakout amongst other formats.
A shift in this...
3 Essential Small Business Search Marketing Trends
June 30, 2010, 6:54 am"Qualified", "showing intent to buy", "high conversion rate" and many other phrases are used to describe search engine marketing. As a $16 billion industry , Search Marketing including SEO (search engine optimization) and PPC ads (pay per click) represent a substantial opportunity for small businesses to connect with customers at the moment they...
8 Greyhat Tactics SEOs Are Using, Use at Your Own Discretion!
June 30, 2010, 6:53 amSEOs have to admit that some of the tactics they implement can be a bit greyhat. This post discusses a number of different tactics that have been debated as being on the greyhat side of SEO.
Former Facebook CTO Says 'Google Me' Social Platform Is For Real
June 30, 2010, 6:29 amThe rumor launched by Kevin Rose about Google working on a social platform to be called Google Me is taking on a new twist as former Facebook CTO, Adam D'Angelo, steps into the dance by saying that it's "a real project."
Click to read the rest of this post...
Marketing Content Not Available To Search Engines Isn't Worth Localising
June 30, 2010, 6:24 amThis is a comment which isn't particularly popular among localisation professionals yet if you are localising a website as part of your marketing strategy, omitting SEO from the process is condemning your marketing plan to failure. Sure, your website would be relevant to native speakers of your target language, but if it isn't appearing in search...
How Does Google Work?
June 30, 2010, 5:45 amThis image might need updated in the years to come, but it does a great job laying out how Google works when you type a query into their search engine. Search is so easy to do that it is hard to appreciate how complex it is unless you take a look under the hood. Which is exactly what this graphic does :D Click the image to get the full sized beefy...
Foursquare Raises B Round at $20Million
June 30, 2010, 4:45 am"... we've raised another round of capital. Today we closed on a $20m Series B round with Union Square Ventures, O'Reilly AlphaTech Ventures and our newest partner, Andreessen Horowitz. "
6 Ways PRO Can Add Value in 15 Minutes
June 30, 2010, 3:51 amPosted by randfish As many of you who read this blog know, I'm a terrible self-promoter. I actually feel guilty writing about, linking to and promoting the products and services that make payroll for the amazing SEOmoz staff and allow us to conduct cool research , produce awesome guides and build out spiffy office space . But, every few months, I...
Mistaken DMCA Notice Affecting AdSense
June 30, 2010, 3:25 am"I feel like I've been fired, while I've been working day and night for "my employer."
France Antitrust Regulator Wants Clarification From Google Over AdWords
June 30, 2010, 3:10 am"It told the companies to clarify over the next four months the procedures resulting in the suspension of an advertiser's account."
Recommended Blog Research Techniques
June 30, 2010, 1:15 amAlmost every industry out there has some sort of industry blogs that a business can comment on to help with their link building. It's very rare that you find an industry without a place to leave any comments even if it might only be a few. There are ways a person can find industry specific blogs if they are uncertain on where to start looking.
Keyword Discovery - Keyword Research Tool Review
June 30, 2010, 12:13 amOut of all the search engine optimization strategies and tools out there a business websites keywords are one of the most important components they will take when venturing into the area of online marketing and achieving search engine rankings. Keywords are the bread and butter to your search engine marketing campaign and if you get those wrong...
Paid Links Aren't Bad -- Disruptive Links Are
June 29, 2010, 7:06 pmIt's been said before, but here's a fresh take on the paid link debate. Shouldn't search engines forget the issue of whether someone was paid and instead try to figure out if a link is deserved or not? If a paid link isn't disruptive, why be upset with it?
Flying Car a Step Closer to Reality
June 29, 2010, 5:35 pmby Mike Krumboltz Weird-looking cars are a dime a dozen. Far less common are weird-looking cars that can also fly AND have approval from the Federal Aviation Administration. Indeed, as far as we know, there's only one of those babies: The Terrafugia Transition. The private aircraft/funky-looking car has been in the news before. But the recent...
Madonna Has "Material Girl" Fashion Line Sewn Up
June 29, 2010, 5:35 pmby Claudine Zap While Madonna is the original " Material Girl ," it's fair to say she is far from girlhood at this point. Still, that hasn't stopped her from creating a "Material Girl" fashion line at Macy's with her actual girl, Lourdes Leon. The diva's daughter helped design the junior's department duds for the August 3 launch. As their...
Twilight Saga: Eclipse: Movie Review Roundup
June 29, 2010, 5:18 pmby Mike Krumboltz Brace yourself, kids: The third Twilight flick, " Eclipse ," hits theaters on Wednesday. The film is popular enough to be review-proof, but that hasn't stopped the nation's critics from chiming in with their thoughts on whether "Eclipse" is worth squealing over. Most critics can't help comparing "Eclipse" to the saga's first two...
What is PageRank Good for Anyway? (Statistics Galore)
June 29, 2010, 5:12 pmPosted by SeanWF This post was originally in YOUmoz , and was promoted to the main blog because it provides great value and interest to our community. The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of SEOmoz, Inc. This is my first YOUmoz post, and I would greatly appreciate your feedback. I will be actively responding...
Tech Stocks Suffer As Market Falls
June 29, 2010, 5:01 pmToday marked the debut of Tesla Motors on the stock market, and the electric car company did rather well. Lots and lots of other companies suffered losses, however, and the ones we tend to cover at WebProNews were hit especially hard. Here are a few numbers for a frame of reference: at the end of the trading day, the Dow was down 2.65 percent,...
How To Report A Google Maps Problem
June 29, 2010, 3:58 pmby Miriam Ellis If you use Google Maps with any regularity, you are almost bound to encounter errors and problems. In the past, users with a problem were thrown upon the vague mercies of the Google Maps Help Forum where chances of receiving a response or achieving resolution were slim. As of last fall, things have really changed with Google's...
Brown University Strengthens Ties To Google
June 29, 2010, 3:09 pmGoogle Apps for Education is having a good week. Yesterday, public schools in Iowa and Colorado got onboard, and today, a representative of Brown University made another announcement. By popular demand, Brown faculty, staff, medical, and grad students are all "going Google."
Geoff Greene, Director of IT Support Services at Brown,...
What the Display Ad Landscape Looks Like in the U.S.
June 29, 2010, 3:06 pmcomScore has revealed some findings on display ads in the U.S. Flash and rich media ads account for 40% of impressions, according to the firm's report. JPEG ads led the market with over 42% of impressions in the U.S., while "leaderboard"-style banner ads (728 x 90) were the most commonly viewed display ad by size.
"We've witnessed...
Bonanzle Enables Facebook and Google Log-in
June 29, 2010, 2:38 pmBonanzle announced that it is now supporting Facebook and Google as methods of logging in to the site. This could go a long way in increasing usage of the site. "If you're like me you have lots of accounts on the web," says Alex Berg on the Bonanzle blog. "And remembering all those usernames and passwords can get a bit tricky; unless you keep them...
Alex Stirs Up Searches, Fears
June 29, 2010, 2:38 pmby Mike Krumboltz Tropical Storm Alex is baring down on the Gulf of Mexico. Experts expect it to hit land on Wednesday night, by which time Alex will likely have turned into a hurricane. There is tremendous concern regarding the effect the storm could have on the oil spill's cleanup efforts. Also, as is always the case when natural disasters hit,...
SEM Intermediate Series: Researching Negative Keywords for Your Microsoft adCenter Campaigns
June 29, 2010, 2:38 pmThis is the 11 th post in the SEM Intermediate Series , a collection of posts intended for search engine marketing professionals looking for guidance in monitoring and adjusting the key performance indicators (KPIs) that determine the success of a PPC campaign. This series is a continuation of the SEM Beginner Series . If you haven't already read...
Savings.com Launches Answers Service
June 29, 2010, 2:04 pmOnline coupon site Savings.com has launched Answers, a new service that allows users to ask shopping related questions and receive answers from others in real time. To try Savings.com Answers service, users ask a question about a product or a service they want to purchase. The service relies on the Savings.com community, who respond with answers...
Demand Media Teams up with Tyra Banks
June 29, 2010, 2:04 pmBeauty and entertainment company Bankable , of which Tyra Banks is the CEO, has struck a deal with Demand Media , which will culminate in an interactive web property, an online video series and a set of mobile apps. Tyra Banks will also become a shareholder in Demand Media.
Web Goes "Gaga" for Dancing Grandpa
June 29, 2010, 2:04 pmby Claudine Zap Lady Gaga may have inspired many things, but here's one we wouldn't have guessed: A grandpa with some serious moves . A video that's mesmerized the Web (poor quality aside) stars an older man grooving out to Lady Gaga's song Poker Face . After Ms. Gaga sees this gem, she may want to hire " Grandpa Gaga " as a backup dancer. As...
Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Official HD Trailer
June 29, 2010, 2:00 pmReleased yesterday, there are already 511 news articles about the Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Official HD Trailer in Google News. And Part 1 of the movie won't be released in November 2010 and Part 2 won't arrive in theaters until July 2011.Click to read the rest of this post...
The Social Media Strategy I Executed to Drive Over 1.3 Million Pageviews in 4 Days
June 29, 2010, 1:53 pmHere is the story on how I learned to communicate with target communities on social media platforms. This case study covers how I drove over 1.3 million pageviews to a client's microsite in 4 days.
All Good Content Starts Here: Keyword Research
June 29, 2010, 1:50 pmby Stoney deGeyter
One of the great things about developing content for your website is that, with a little research, you can know exactly who your target audience is and how create content to meet their needs. Spending a few minutes before setting pen-to-paper, or fingers-to-keys, can tell you just about everything you need to know about...
Hulu Plus Launches for Ten Bucks a Month
June 29, 2010, 1:29 pmWe've known for quite some time that Hulu was working on a paid service, and the time has finally come. Hulu launched Hulu Plus today. It's both ad-supported AND requires a subscription. Hulu says this is revolutionary. Here are some details to know about Hulu Plus: 1. It's available on select Samsung Internet-connected TVs and Blu-ray players....
Facebook and CrowdStar Enter Five-Year Agreement Around Facebook Credits
June 29, 2010, 12:54 pmCrowdStar , the makers of popular (on Facebook) games like "Happy Aquarium," "Happy Island," "Zoo Paradise," "Happy Pets," and "Hello City", has entered into a five-year strategic relationship with Facebook, in order to accelerate growth of these games. "As part of this announcement, Facebook Credits will be the exclusive in-game virtual currency...
A New Tetris in the Works?
June 29, 2010, 12:54 pmby Mike Krumboltz Tetris is among the most famous, most successful videogame franchises of all time. The original, created in the '80s by Russian scientist Alexey Pajitnov , inspired countless sequels, unauthorized ripoffs, art exhibits , and even game shows . But through all the falling blocks, there has never been a truly satisfying way for more...
Jennifer Capriati's OD, Steve Carell's Departure, 'Harry Potter' Trailer: What's the Buzz
June 29, 2010, 12:36 pmby Claudine Zap Our top picks from the day's hottest searches. Jennifer Capriati (Searches increased by 15,836%). The tennis pro is recovering from an " accidental overdose " of prescription drugs. Brian Austin Green (+1,292%). The actor married "Transformers" star Megan Fox in Hawaii . Elena Kagan (+1,271%). Let the grilling begin: Confirmation...
Why Website Speed And Page Load Times Are So Important To Your Online Readers
June 29, 2010, 12:20 pmHow slow is your website when accessed by a typical reader with an average Internet connection? Find out now: Check out Google Webmaster Tools, or go to Alexa.com and type your website URL, or do a test on GTMetrix and see where your page load times stand compared to your top competitors. If you are getting Ds and Fs on GTMetrix and if Alexa and...
Less than 20 Days Until BlueGlass LA
June 29, 2010, 12:19 pmIf you're waiting to buy your tickets to BlueGlass LA , don't wait too much longer, as the seats are filling up and BlueGlass LA is looking to be a conference of EPIC proportions. The speaker lineup for BlueGlass LA reads like a list of top quality Keynotes,
adCenter Desktop 7.3 Release Notes (June 2010)
June 29, 2010, 12:13 pmThe adCenter Desktop team has been taking your feedback over the past few months and working diligently to improve your Desktop experience. In this major update to adCenter Desktop, we have addressed many requests and bugs around performance and reliability. Here is a detailed list of whats new: Improved performance. You will notice a major change...
Windows Live Messenger iPhone App Gets Over a Million Downloads in 5 Days
June 29, 2010, 11:28 amMicrosoft launched its Windows Live Messenger app for the iphone last week. Today, the company has announced that in only five days, the app was downloaded by over a million people. "While Messenger for iPhone is relatively new, for many connecting with Messenger friends on your mobile phone is not new," says Microsoft's Michael Chang. "In...
Apple iPhone Glitch Prompts Lawsuit
June 29, 2010, 11:27 amby Claudine Zap The iPhone 4 . A technical marvel. Unless you want to make calls. At least, that's been a gripe of some new users of the gadget â" prompting complaints all over the Web and even a class action lawsuit . That's right â" the group of lawyers that sued Facebook over misleading ads on Farmville and Marifa Wars has set its...
More Online Retailers Focusing On Mobile Strategies
June 29, 2010, 11:20 amThe popularity of mobile applications among consumers is driving online retailers to speed up their mobile marketing initiatives, according to a new study from Forrester Research and Shop.org.
Nearly three-quarters (74%) of online retailers currently have or are developing a mobile strategy. One in five have a mobile strategy already in...
YouTube Users Have a New Selection of Music to License for Videos
June 29, 2010, 11:10 amYouTube has announced its support of a site called FriendlyMusic from RumbleFish . The site lets YouTube users purchase a lifetime license to edit songs into their videos. A user can find pre-cleared music for YouTube on the site, then purchase an mp3, and use it in videos. In a post on the Official YouTube Blog, the company says : Since its...
Google Chrome Moves Past Apple Safari, Says StatCounter
June 29, 2010, 11:10 amStatCounter said June 28 Google's Chrome Web browser has leapfrogged Apple's Safari browser in the U.S., with 8.97 market share to Safari's 8.88 percent. Chrome has been well ahead of Safari around the world, with 9.4 percent of the market compared to 4 percent for Safari, said the researcher, whose data is based on an analysis of 3.6 billion page...
Apple Won't Deliver on July 1st iAd Release Despite $1-10 Million Entry Ticket [Report]
June 29, 2010, 10:45 amAccording to AdAge, marketers forked out between $1 to $10 million to have their campaigns carried on Apple's iAd platform but it looks like the slated July 1st delivery is unlikely to happen - mostly due to Apple's solo dealing of the technical issues.
Click to read the rest of this post...
Flash and Rich Media Ads Represent 40 Percent of U.S. Online Display Ad Impressions
June 29, 2010, 10:35 amcomScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today announced the introduction of the Ad Metrix Creative Summary report, designed to provide detailed intelligence on the size, formats, and types of display ads being used by advertisers on publisher sites. The report showed that JPEG display ads led the market with more...
Increase Viewership and Monetize Videos on Facebook
June 29, 2010, 10:35 amPalo Alto-based Dyyno has introduced what it claims is the first free Facebook app for businesses that want to produce, distribute and monetize video for marketing and promotional efforts. Given Facebook's huge user base, this is likely a very welcome effort. "Dyyno's Facebook application supports Facebook's social graph by including the 'Like'...
Google Launches New Options for Goals in AdWords
June 29, 2010, 10:18 amGoogle has released three new options for advertiser goals in the AdWords opportunities tab. These are: 1. Maintain or Decrease Cost - Identify ideas that might help you maintain or decrease your current spend. 2. Increase Traffic - Identify ideas that can help you get more traffic at varying cost levels. 3. Balance Cost and Traffic - Review a mix...
Incisive Media Wins Award for Best Use of Social Media at Conference Awards 2010
June 29, 2010, 10:13 amWhen it comes to social media, SES walks the walk as well as talks the talk. This morning, Incisive Media announced it's SES team has won the Best Use of Social Media award at the first Conference Awards 2010.Click to read the rest of this post...
Charles Bukowski and the Secret to Immortal Writing
June 29, 2010, 9:55 amHenry Charles Bukowski, Jr. was arguably the greatest American fiction writer of the last half of the 20th century. Fortunately for his book sales, most think of him as the archetypal drunk, misanthropic male pig. Don't let the hype fool you, though. Bukowski possessed the secret to something nearly every blogger wants: what makes truly immortal...
New Rules for Optimising Content in the Social Media Age
June 29, 2010, 9:36 amSo, back in the day, SEO content had two objectives: 1. optimise for search engines; and 2. be interesting to users.
And that was the order of importance.
After all, writing for the search engines meant more people would see your content. So you did everything you needed to so the spiders could understand what your content was about.
This...
Official Google statement: 6 tips to get quality links
June 29, 2010, 9:36 amLast week, Google published an official statement about quality links and their effect on your website rankings. In the statement, Google wants to explain their viewpoint on earning quality links. This week's article contains six link building tips that Google endorses.
Facebook API Console Aimed at Making the Open Graph API Simpler
June 29, 2010, 9:26 amApigee has launched a Facebook API Console. This is a free tool that allows Facebook developers to learn, debug, interact with and develop on Facebook's Open Graph API in a more simplified way. The company tells us the vision is to make working with the Open Graph API as simple, social and functional as possible - "to let FB's one million...
Google Includes Some Merchant Ratings in Adwords
June 29, 2010, 9:26 amGoogle is adding to its Adwords experience for advertisers and consumers alike by integrating merchant ratings with their ads. It sounds like a good move for sure but as with all things 'rolled out' by Google you should probably dive into the fine print to see who actually qualifies and more. Merchant ratings are nothing new and are one of the...
How to Turn Your Copy from "Bull" to "Believable"
June 29, 2010, 9:26 amGlaring red fonts and highlighted text aside, there's one facet of copywriting that's true no matter who you're writing for â" Yelling louder doesn't make your writing more believable. You can paste up all the screenshots you want as "proof", but when it comes right down to it, the customer's innate resistance is giving them every reason...
Baidu Plans Dip Into Silicon Valley Talent Pool
June 29, 2010, 9:20 amEven as Google's making concessions for the sake of staying in China, its chief rival there is in one sense branching out. Baidu announced today that it will hire some American engineers, and although that might not sound too remarkable, they'll actually be the first people the company has hired straight from the U.S. Zheng Bin, Baidu's human...
Yahoo Aims to Mainstream Hadoop with New Security and Workflow Offerings
June 29, 2010, 9:20 amYahoo made a significant announcement at its Hadoop Summit today. The company says it's made significant enhancements to the open source software , accelerating the potential for enterprise-wide adoption by mainstream businesses. "Hadoop is where science meets big data it's the technical underpinning that powers our innovative consumer and...
MapQuest Rolls Out New Look
June 29, 2010, 9:20 amAOL's MapQuest has introduced a new look and feel that goes beyond maps and driving directions and focuses more on local search. Starting today users can opt in via a link to try out the new MapQuest. The new redesign will replace the old version of MapQuest in about a month. New features include: One-box search for finding directions, maps and...
China's Baidu Could Increase US Staff by 400%!!!
June 29, 2010, 9:08 amWhile Google and the Chinese government duke it out , Baidu is quite happy to sit back and benefit from the increased traffic. In fact, business must be good for the indigenous search engine because it plans to go on a hiring spree . OK, maybe "spree" is an exaggeration-the company plans to hire another 30 people. The company on Tuesday said it...
Google.cn Homepage Now Redirects on Click (Instead of Auto-Redirecting)
June 29, 2010, 8:51 amWhen you now go to the google.cn homepage, you'll see a static image of a Google homepage instead of the real thing* (a Chinese explanation on the page translates to something along the lines of "We have moved to google.com.hk... Please add our site/ update your bookmarks"). Click anywhere on the page, and you'll be forwarded to the Hong Kong...
SEOptimise Summer Party 2010 â" We're on a Boat'
June 29, 2010, 8:46 amLast Friday was the SEOptimise summer party, being such a sunny day we made the most of it by going punting (unfortunately no-one fell in!), followed by a beer or three in Oxford. We thought we'd share some of the photos with our readers: There's more pictures on Flickr and Facebook too. © SEOptimise - Thinking of attending SMX London in May...
Is There a Difference Between Old Napster & YouTube?
June 29, 2010, 8:45 amIt was 1999 and the world of sharing music changed forever when Napster came into the scene and we all suddenly had FREE MUSIC! Napster was the first 'peer-to-peer' distribution program online to share media from mp3s to videos. When you think of Napster now, one person and one band comes to mind. Lars Ulrich, the drummer from legendary heavy...
Why Duplicate Content Is Good For You
June 29, 2010, 8:45 amThere are only two things that matter in SEO: writing great content for your users , and building links into that content . Everything else is a distraction. This advice comes from Dan Crow , the Product Manager for Google Crawl Systems, who speaks regularly at SEO conferences. Forget everything else, he says, just focus on two things: great...
YouTube Ads Are Cheapest Source of Traffic
June 29, 2010, 8:45 amYouTube Channel and the initial findings are contained in this blog post. First step to setup a campaign is easy as much of your YouTube promoted videos campaign can be setup within the YouTube interface. You will soon discover that the YouTube interface limits creativity and is slow to make updates and changes needed for a successful...
China’s Baidu Could Increase US Staff by 400%!!!
June 29, 2010, 8:39 am
While Google and the Chinese government duke it out, Baidu is quite happy to sit back and benefit from the increased traffic.
In fact, business must be good for the indigenous search engine because it plans to go on a hiring spree. OK, maybe “spree” is an exaggeration–the company plans to hire another 30...
Future Proofing Your SEO
June 29, 2010, 8:36 amTerry has written a great article on how to future proof your SEO and the effect of parallel indexing. ..... Google used to crawl the web, then process/index that content, and then update the index. At first they were able to add incremental updates, which replaced those annoying Google dances. Often these were referred to as back link updates,...
Why I Don't Care About "Google Me"
June 29, 2010, 8:34 amSo the big rumor of the weekend is that Google may soon launch a Facebook competitor called "Google Me." It all kicked off after Digg founder Kevin Rose tweeted: Now everyone is jumping in and speculating just how Google might do battle with Facebook. As for me? Let me ask you this: What product has Google launched that has seriously competed in...
Is your site ranking rank? Do a site review â" Part 4 (SEM 101)
June 29, 2010, 8:28 amThis is the fourth of five posts on the topic of conducting your own site reviews. In the previous posts, we discussed why you'd want to perform a site review ( Part 1 ), then took an initial look at page-level issues ( Part 2 ), followed by a discussion of site-wide issues ( Part 3 ), that can affect site performance for users and search engine...
Is your site ranking rank? Do a site review â" Part 5 (SEM 101)
June 29, 2010, 8:28 amThis is the last of five posts on the topic of conducting your own site reviews. In the previous posts, we discussed why you'd want to perform a site review ( Part 1 ), then took an initial look at page-level issues ( Part 2 ), followed by a discussion of site-wide issues ( Part 3 and Part 4 ), that can affect site performance for users and search...
Bing crawler: bingbot on the horizon
June 29, 2010, 8:28 amSince our last post in November , the Bing team has been busy rolling out improvements to the Bing web crawler. As a result of this work, we want to announce in advance our plans to change the name of our crawler (aka user agent). Out of beta with a new name On October 1 st , 2010 , we will drop the beta designation from the Bing crawler and...
Bing on your mobile browser, iPhone, and beyond
June 29, 2010, 8:22 amThis is a big week for the Bing mobile team. First, not only is our updated iPhone app available in the app store , but we just rolled out a big update for people who want to use Bing from a mobile browser on their high-end smartphones. We all love our apps, but sometimes its easier to search from the browser instead of through an app. The good...
Summer of Shopping
June 29, 2010, 8:22 amThe Bing Shopping team listened to your feedback and has come back with some exciting updates and new features to Bing Shopping. In addition to the new user interface we made a lot of under the hood enhancements that surface more relevant results. Our goal is to make shopping intuitive and easy for you. Lets talk about the updates. First off,...
Get More Out of Your YouTube Presence
June 29, 2010, 7:30 amAbout a month ago YouTube released its Partner Communication hub, described as the "go-to spot" for news on the latest features, updates, and events for partners. YouTube has been making tweaks to this site to make it more useful.
Specifically, YouTube has revamped the Optimization Resources section and added some new documents aimed...
Opening Your Marketing Engagement Beyond Silos
June 29, 2010, 7:30 amThis research from Get Response tracks with my own experience: “A distinct minority of small-to-mid-sized-business (SMB) marketers use social media links or icons in their promotional emails.” And I’ll argue that even larger businesses do not consider steps like this…not instinctively.
Marketers are so busy, we can sometime think in silos....
Google Gets Tricky With China Situation
June 29, 2010, 7:24 am
If you were Google and you were faced with the possibility of losing your license to operate in the largest market on the planet AND you had to stay true to your commitment to not censor your results, what would you do? OK, that’s not a fair question since you aren’t Google but the NY Times tells us what they have done to...
Why Give Away an eBook?
June 29, 2010, 7:24 amCory Doctorow, a now acclaimed science fiction novelist and professional blogger for Boing Boing, has an interesting take on the freedom of eBook publishing. And bear witness, it's not quite gospel, but sometimes it sure sounds like it. He says he's been giving away eBooks for free, and boy has he made some money off it. His is a different story...
What if My Competitors Point Spammy Links to My Site?
June 29, 2010, 7:24 amPosted by randfish After last week's Whiteboard Friday on the penalties paid links can incur , I got several questions about whether paid/spammy links could be used as a weapon to potentially harm someone else's rankings. In this post, I'll walk through why this is rarely the case, how you can defend yourself from potential scenarios and why this...
El DeBarge Surprises at BET Awards, Lilith Fair Sales Disappoint, Prince Harry Takes a Tumble: What's the Buzz
June 29, 2010, 7:23 amby Claudine Zap Our top picks from the day's hottest searches. BET Awards (Searches increased by 1,442%). Forget the awards: El DeBarge is back . Lilith Fair (+903%). The music festival has scrapped some tour dates due to low ticket sales . Weekend box office (+466%). "Toy Story 3" trounced Tom Cruise. Predators movie 2010 trailer (+148%). The...
The Return of El DeBarge
June 29, 2010, 7:23 amby Mike Krumboltz Some '80s icons will never be forgotten. And then there are others, like singer El Debarge , who need to remind people that they're still around every once in a while. The R&B crooner's surprise appearance at the BET Awards on Sunday sparked off a slew of Web searches for his family, greatest hits, and upcoming album. He didn't...
Resistance is Futile
June 29, 2010, 7:23 amby Mike Krumboltz Female fish aren't that different from human counterparts. Neither can resist a fella with a moustache. According to a buzzy article from the BBC , researchers have discovered that the male Molly fish sports a "moustache" because "female fish find the moustache sexually attractive." This is news to everyone but Burt Reynolds and...
Social Media Press Release Tips
June 29, 2010, 7:23 amA comprehensive and effectively written social media release can do phenomenal wonders for any online business. They bring exposure, traffic, and heightened awareness, as well as encourage calls to action and energize various sectors of the online community in many different ways. A social media press release needs several pieces to make the...
Low Click-Through Rate Culprits and What You Can Do About Them (Part III)
June 29, 2010, 7:18 amWhile the previous two posts in this series addressed steps you can take to improve your click-through rate (CTR), this one is a bit different as Im going to cover the related topic of maintaining your ideal position once youve achieved it. Most savvy search engine marketers know that a strong, competitive bid is crucial to secure a strong,...
10 Reasons Why Your Analytics Are Failing & 13 Tools To Help
June 29, 2010, 7:18 amWeb Analytics are a key indicator to the health and performance of any website, but online marketers often get lost in the complexities and details, forgetting how important analytics actually are and why. Analytics can provide a wealth of information but marketers often look at high level indicators such as: top content, bounce rates, entrance...
Google Me This, the Potential Facebook Killer?
June 29, 2010, 7:18 amIt was a classic tit-for-tat. No sooner did the idea that Facebook is challenging Google in search re-emerge than word of Google challenging Facebook's social network dynasty came from none other than Digg co-founder Kevin Rose. Rose tweeted June 26 : Google hasn't responded to my request for more info, but I can tell you now its spokespeople...
Fertility Rates, the Psychic Octopus, and World Cup Outcomes
June 29, 2010, 7:12 amWhat do you get if you spend a week pondering life, climbing hills in Italy, watching football, reading Super Freakonomics, and then come home to play around with one of Google's many incredibly helpful Labs creations? Garbled conjectures about comparative fertility rates and their possible correlation with soccer victory in this year's World Cup,...
Google Stops Redirecting China Queries to Hong Kong Site In Hope For Licence Renewal
June 29, 2010, 7:12 amGoogle announced it is making changes to its approach in China. At stake: its ability to apply for - and hopefully obtain - the renewal of its Internet Content Provider (ICP) licence with the Chinese authorities. The deadline is tomorrow. The clock's ticking. Click to read the rest of this post.
Google's New Plan for China
June 29, 2010, 7:12 amWe haven't heard much about the Google/China situation lately, but now Google's Internet Content Provider license is up for renewal, so Google has provided an update. On the Official Google Blog,SVP, Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer David Drummond says : We currently automatically redirect everyone using Google.cn to Google.com.hk,...
Why SEO Is Like a Seed
June 29, 2010, 7:12 amSEO is not something that happens right away. For most people they have learned to understand that search engine optimization takes time and you need apply good quality approach in order to make an impact on your targeted industry search results.
A Comprehensive Guide to Link Building via Blog Commenting
June 29, 2010, 7:12 amThough there is a lot of debate about the value of blog commenting as a form of link building, it is still a very popular linking strategy. This guide covers some basic things you will probably encounter while blog commenting, and how to make sure you get your comment approved more times than not. Benefits of Blog Commenting Links First off, let's...
How to WIN the PR Game
June 29, 2010, 7:12 amI sometimes find myself amazed at just how some people approach public relations. Public relations or PR is all about one thing: enhancing a company's reputation. We've seen some PR debacles played out recently including BP's cavalier attitude to the damaging oil slick now spreading across the Gulf of Mexico and Toyota's shock and consternation...
EU Request To Retain User Data From Search Engines Sparks Widespread Anger
June 29, 2010, 5:39 amSearch engines are a hot topic at the moment, especially for governments wanting to regulate them in one way or another. The most recent tension came from Pakistan's decision that it will monitor Google, Bing, Yahoo (and other sites) for blasphemous content. Now it is the EU's turn to try to impose checks on search engines through its...
MSNbot Changing to Bingbot on Oct.1, 2010
June 29, 2010, 3:08 am"we will drop the beta designation from the Bing crawler and change the name of the crawler to reflect Microsoft's new brand for search."
The Length of Commission on Advertising Sales?
June 29, 2010, 2:20 am"Years ago a client made me an offer to sell his adspace for a commission. I did so, and during this time I also provided other web-related services to him. Now I'd like to move on to pursue my own projects, but the client and I disagree over further compensation to me for the ad sales. " - (subscription required)
Google China will no longer forward to Google Hong Kong
June 29, 2010, 1:54 am"Over the next few days we'll end the redirect entirely, taking all our Chinese users to our new landing pageand today we re-submitted our ICP license renewal application based on this approach."
The Regrettably Short Story Of The Isolated Product Developer
June 28, 2010, 8:54 pmWhat happened to this miserable geek, in a tale of woe but also blistering laughter? Find out!
Google Docs Viewer Goes Mobile
June 28, 2010, 4:26 pmBusinesspeople are busy people, and with its latest Google Docs upgrade, Google's tried to take that fact into account. Now, it should prove much simpler for individuals to read documents when the only screen handy is part of a smartphone or iPad.
A post on the Google Mobile Blog stated earlier, "Last week, we announced that the Google...
Yahoo Publishes Web Content Style Guide
June 28, 2010, 3:17 pmThe publication of an online style guide and a site dedicated to helping publishers is another instance of Yahoo's concentration on content, and move away from search.
This is a big commitment to the online publishing space and the style guide could become the AP stylebook for the web.Click to read the rest of this post...
Facebook Snags Chrome Engineering Director
June 28, 2010, 3:09 pmA man who, according to his LinkedIn profile, "started and manage[d] the Chrome OS project" is now leaving Google. Matthew Papakipos announced this afternoon on Twitter that his future paychecks will come from Facebook, instead.
You can read Papakipos's tweet about the shift for yourself below. It actually makes the...
The Secret iPhone Charging Issue
June 28, 2010, 2:49 pmThinking about getting yourself an iPhone 4, or perhaps you have the iPhone 3G S and aren’t eligible for your upgrade yet, here’s a tip for y0u about an important issue that Apple doesn’t seem to want to share (or atleast make it visibly public). Simply put, your iPhone can be charged 400 Times, a charge being each time you...
Google is Stupid - AdWords Continues to Lose Qaulity Customers
June 28, 2010, 2:44 pmA long list of quality Google AdWords advertisers continue to get "ummm Bye-Bye" notices from Google: "I've had my Google account since 2003 and have ran ads for brick and mortar..."
More Business Travelers Using Facebook And Twitter
June 28, 2010, 1:34 pmBusiness travelers rank adjusting travel plans, making dinner reservations and checking into hotels as three of the top four "must have" mobile applications, according to a new survey from KRC Research and commissioned by Omni Hotels & Resorts.
Besides taking care of travel matters, the survey found business travelers use mobile...
New "Bingbot" Will Crawl Non-optimized Sites More Easily
June 28, 2010, 1:05 pmMicrosoft has announced that it will be bringing the Bing web crawler out of beta on October 1st. It will be rebranded as "the Bingbot" and replace the existing msnbot. "It will still honor robots.txt directives written for msnbot, so no change is required to robots.txt file(s)," a Bing representative tells...
Colorado and Iowa Join Oregon in Making Google Apps Available to Public Schools
June 28, 2010, 12:41 pmGoogle announced today that Colorado and Iowa are now offering Google Apps to public schools. Oregon did the same back in April, and now 3,000 more schools across Colorado and Iowa will have Google Apps available to them.
"These state-wide agreements enable schools and districts to benefit from centralized resources such as deployment...
Facebook Gears Up For Big Expansion In India
June 28, 2010, 12:34 pmIt's full speed ahead for Facebook in India. The company's new office in the country is supposed to open within two months, and when it is running at full capacity, reports indicate that the office is supposed to accommodate a whopping 500 or so employees.
True, 500 individuals isn't a lot in the grand scheme of things. But since the...
Opportunities to speak at SES Hong Kong in September.
June 28, 2010, 12:12 pmUp to 43 percent of the world's online population will reside in Asia by 2013, according to projections from Forrester Research. And China will account for 17 percent of the global online population.
In mobile, eMarketer forecasts China will have 1.3 billion subscribers and 957 million mobile Web users by 2014. The consultancy projects there will...
Insights from Site Search in Google Analytics
June 28, 2010, 12:10 pmAnalytics software is focused on telling you what visitors did on your site, and the clues that this information can provide ranges anywhere from pages that are underperforming, to ideas for new keywords to target. However, to get the most out of the information, you have to spend some time setting it up beyond simple installation. One of these...
Visualize More Links and Traffic — Ranking the Best SEO Infographics
June 28, 2010, 11:51 amMany great examples of SEO infographics rated based on interestiness, integrity, form and function. Great resource.
FTC Cracks Down On Online Payment Scam
June 28, 2010, 11:12 amAt the request of the Federal Trade Commission, a federal court has halted an online scam that used identity theft to place more than $10 million in bogus charges on consumers' credit and debit cards, pending a trial.
More than a million consumers were hit with one-time charges of $10 or less, and their payments were routed through dummy...
Should User Engagement Come at the Expense of Pageviews?
June 28, 2010, 10:57 amMSNBC.com is rolling out a redesign of its site that has raised a few eyebrows. The reason for this is the shift in focus from pageviews to user engagement. The site has moved to a one-page format, and has traded in banner ads for a different approach.
There's no question that user engagement is a good thing and can attract advertisers, but...
Never Mind Google, 16-year old Muqeet Is Launching Pakistan's Dedicated Search Engine
June 28, 2010, 10:46 amGoogle. Pakistan. Rings a bell? No, this is not about the country's Telecommunications Agency (PTA) keeping an eye on Google, Bing, YouTube and other websites for blasphemous content. This is about a brand new search engine that will launch on July 1st, all dedicated to Pakistan in terms of content. The trick? It's been created by a 16 year old,...
Promising Numbers From Facebook Video Advertising
June 28, 2010, 10:22 amAt OMMA Video, Brett Wilson, co-founder and CEO of TubeMogul, presented some new research on the tradeoffs between video ad types on Facebook. On Friday, I visited TubeMogul's offices in Emeryville, CA, and got a full report -- at the company's employee barbecue.Click to read the rest of this post...
What Would Google Have to Do to Make You Stop Using Facebook?
June 28, 2010, 10:12 amLast week, it was talk about how Facebook's "going to war" with Google. This was based on Facebook using "likes" as relevance indicators in it's search results. As some pointed out, Facebook has a long way to go when it comes to competing with Google in search. Bing stands to gain more than anyone, as far as Facebook improving...
Why I Don’t Care About “Google Me”
June 28, 2010, 9:18 am
So the big rumor of the weekend is that Google may soon launch a Facebook competitor called “Google Me.”
It all kicked off after Digg founder Kevin Rose tweeted:
Now everyone is jumping in and speculating just how Google might do battle with Facebook.
As for me? Let me ask you this: What product has Google launched...
A Comprehensive Guide to Link Building via Blog Commenting
June 28, 2010, 9:17 amAn awesome guide to things you will encounter when blog commenting to build links.
Yahoo Releases Style Guide for Web Content Creation
June 28, 2010, 8:59 amYahoo has published its own style guide for content creators to write "effectively for the web." In fact, Yahoo goes so far as to call the guide "The Ultimate Sourcebook for Writing, Editing, and Creating Content for the Digital World".
"The growth of online communication is only accelerating," says Yahoo Senior...
Elevation Partners Spends $120M More On Facebook Shares
June 28, 2010, 8:50 amThe private equity firm that counts rock star Bono as a member of its investment team is taking a greater interest in Facebook. According to a new report, Elevation Partners has spent $120 million on five million of the company's secondary market shares.
Sarah Lacy wrote earlier this morning that Elevation disclosed the move in "a...
It Pays To Know People in High Facebook Places
June 28, 2010, 8:47 am
Elevation Partners is most known for one of its investors, U2’s Bono, and it’s big time play with Palm. Now, the first one is good for the headlines but the second one, not so much. It appears as if Elevation is getting beyond its recent history as it invests $120 million in Facebook in the secondary market. This signals a...
Opera: Most Mobile Data Consumption Comes at Night
June 28, 2010, 8:42 amOpera has released its new State of the Mobile Web report. In the report, Opera finds that 8:00pm through 12:00am are the peak hours for mobile data consumption.
"Regardless of differences in economy, culture or location, those four evening hours account for a disproportionate amount of mobile data consumption," the company...
iPhone 4 Most Successful Product Launch in Apple History
June 28, 2010, 8:40 amApple announced that it has sold over 1.7 million iPhone 4s, as of Saturday, June 26th. It only launched on June 24th. "This is the most successful product launch in Apples history," said Steve Jobs, Apples CEO. "Even so, we apologize to those customers who were turned away because we did not have enough supply." On Friday, analysts had estimated...
How to Easily Analyze and Translate Any Robots.txt File
June 28, 2010, 8:40 amI have already shared my opinion on the variety of various Robots.txt checkers and verifiers : be aware of them but use those with caution . They are full of errors and misinterpretations. However I happened to come across one really good one the other day: robots.txt checker . I found it useful to use for self-education in the first place. Checks...
Tom Conrad - Navigating the Smartphone Seas
June 28, 2010, 8:34 amInterested in why Tom Conrad, the CTO of the Pandora music recommendation service, said "I need Android like I need a hole in the head"? He stopped by the Digg office last week as part of the Engineer-to-Engineer: San Francisco Tech Talks to talk about how a focus on mobile applications helped transform Pandora into the enormously popular service...
Chrome Edges Safari In The U.S.
June 28, 2010, 8:34 amGoogle's Chrome browser has overtaken Apple's Safari in the U.S. for the first time on a weekly basis according to StatCounter.
The company says for the week beginning June 21 Chrome surpassed Safari to claim third place in the U.S. browser market.
"This is quite a coup for Google as they have gone from zero to almost 10% of the US market...
Amazon Adds Video/Audio to Kindle Apps
June 28, 2010, 8:17 amAmazon has announced an update for its Kindle apps for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch that lets users see embedded video and hear audio clips within Kindle books. Of course new books that actually take advantage of this functionality have been announced as well. The first books to utilize it were Rick Steves' London from Rick Steves and Together We...
Google Testing “Evil Ads” that Appear to Violate Trademarks
June 28, 2010, 8:13 am
It’s been over a year since Google decided to open up a can of worms, with a change to its stance on trademark use on AdWords.
Well, it appears the search engine is not only willing to open the can of worms, but it’s also willing to throw them about the place and see what kind of a stink it can create.
Exhibit A?...
Alibaba Makes First US Moves Acquiring Vendio
June 28, 2010, 7:55 amThe FT reports today that Alibaba, the Chinese business-to-business search giant, has made its first move to acquire a serious foothold in the US following years of sabre rattling, by buying Vendio.com - an e-commerce platform which allows you to share your inventory with Ebay, Google, Shopzilla and Amazon. Figures for the acquisition were not...
The Grateful Dead 4-Step Guide to the Magical Influence of Content Marketing
June 28, 2010, 7:43 amWhat did one Grateful Dead fan say to the other when the drugs wore off? "Man, this music sucks!" Jokes aside, no one can argue the cultural influence of the Dead and the legions of loyal Deadheads who continue to love the band. And a big part of how it happened was due to the band's pioneering content marketing approach. Instead of banning...
How do you know what is search spam?
June 28, 2010, 7:28 amby Mike Moran
Last week, I asked the musical question, "Is Your SEO Strategy to Barely Avoid Spamming?" One of the commenters told me that he waited and waited in that article to find out what the line was between spamming and ethical behavior, but I didn't tell him. So, that's what we tackle this week.
Spam has an easy definition: it's...
Foursquare Locates More Funding?
June 28, 2010, 7:16 am
It appears as if foursquare is truly hitting the big time as the rumor mill chugs along about investment of capital by major players in the VC world. The firm in this case is Andreessen Horowitz and while this has not been ‘officially’ announced the reports are out and about including one in the Wall Street Journal.
The...
Dutch social media activity: a steady growth
June 28, 2010, 7:02 amIn the Netherlands the biggest social network is not Facebook, but Hyves . And its our luck that the people at Hyves like numbers. On a regular basis they are publishing new numbers, usually showing us their growth. They always try to be as 'honest' as possible with these numbers, and therefore using numbers from for example Comscore. The last...
On the European Union search engine schizophrenia
June 28, 2010, 6:57 amThe European Parliament has asked the European Commission to include search engines in the Data Retention Directive. This will force the search engines to store your searches and IP addresses, undermining the Commission's attempts at protecting the privacy of European citizens. Privacy and search engine data storage It is not easy being a search...
Why Google Won't Buy Twitter & What They Will Buy Instead
June 28, 2010, 6:22 amWelcome back to the infamous "Twitter Weekly" attack where I dissect the hype around Twitter like a mad dog on crack. This week I will ridicule the baseless but nevertheless highly popular gossip about Google aiming to buy Twitter . First off I tell you one thing: Guess what? Google won't buy Twitter! I don't have to disturb Eric Schmidt's...
Yahoo Management Shuffle Confirming Shift Away From Search And Into Content?
June 28, 2010, 5:57 amYahoo is seeing quite some movement in its top management. Brad Smith, Intuit President and CEO, as well as Patti Hart, CEO of International Game Technology (IGT), joined the company's board. At the same time, although the moves are not necessarily related, Larry Cornett, Yahoo's VP of search consumer products quit. So what goes on? Is this a...
"Google Me" Unlikely To Kill Facebook But Will Vie More Aggressively
June 28, 2010, 5:36 amAlthough it is denying foul play, Facebook is apparently stealth-testing its search capacities in a move clearly threatening Google's search engine supremacy... and NOW, in turn, Google is rumored to be on the verge of launching a "Google Me" service that would jeopardize Facebook's domination of the social scene? Who's killing who or is it the...
Patience is an SEO Virtue
June 28, 2010, 12:20 amPosted by Kate Morris We have all been there once or twice, maybe a few more than that even. You just launched a site or a project, and a few days pass, you login to analytics and webmaster tools to see how things are going. Nothing is there. WAIT. What?!?!?! Scenarios start running through your mind, and you check to make sure everything is...
Link Bait Program Building Ideas
June 28, 2010, 12:14 amBusiness owners and website managers are always trying to think about what it will take to get good quality industry links pointing to their website (or link bait). I'm not talking about the mass blanketing of directories I am talking about the nice, juicy link bait type of links that get people to want to link to your blog posts or website.
adCenter API Production Environment Upgraded to Version 7
June 27, 2010, 7:48 amWe recently released the new Microsoft adCenter API Version 7 to the API Production environment. The newest features from the adCenter Summer 2010 Upgrade and several key API improvements are now available to you. adCenter API Version 7 will replace adCenter API Version 6 in the coming months. We recommend that you familiarize yourself with the...
Microsoft adCenter Summer 2010 Upgrade: New Features
June 27, 2010, 7:31 amThe Microsoft adCenter Summer 2010 Upgrade is complete. There are several new features designed to help you manage your overall search and content advertising strategies, and some of these weve heard requested right here in the community. These features are focused on insight, performance, and ease of use.
Suite101 Shares Thoughts on Google/Demand Media Patents
June 27, 2010, 7:14 amGoogle was recently granted a patent called " Identifying inadequate search content " that the Financial Times says appears to replicate part of the Demand Media approach to algorithmic content - a style of content production that is becoming increasingly popular among media companies (Yahoo's acquisition of Associated Content and AOL's new...
SEO Benefits from Affiliate Links
June 27, 2010, 2:20 amIndepth article on SEO and Affiliate Links: "... ideas that you might want to consider to eliminate the dup content and split link juice issues caused by the canonicalization problems associated with affiliate links" (-subscription required)
English Town Embraces Facebook Glee Club
June 27, 2010, 1:36 amThe following is part of our "Your Stories" series on different ways Facebook is used across the world. Submit your story to us and we'll consider featuring it in future posts. Richard Whennell, a music teacher in the English town of Bracknell, had wanted to start a community choir for years. It wasn't until the American television show "Glee" hit...
Pelé Shares Life Lessons from Football
June 27, 2010, 1:36 amAhead of the World Cup opening on Friday, we asked Brazilian football legend Pelé to share his thoughts on the role social media plays in spreading the positive lessons taught from football (also known as soccer in some countries). Be sure to root for your favorite team on Facebook through the Goal! Leaderboard . The World Cup is upon us and I am...
First Look - The New Digg Version 4.0 Alpha
June 27, 2010, 12:23 amBrent Csutoras takes a look (with plenty of screenshots) at the new "alpha" version of Digg. There are some interesting changes that may impact how search/social marketers use the site.
Make ‘Content Anticipation’ Your Goal
June 26, 2010, 11:30 pm
When discussing content and the web, most of the talk is around generating content for consumption by consumers, prospects and anyone else who might buy an offering whether it is a B to C or a B to B play. That’s all well and good but the “content generation” concept is really just another old school marketing tactic wrapped...
What is My SEO Charging Me For?
June 26, 2010, 11:27 pmMany website owners don't have a good understanding of exactly what their SEO does, how he does it or how he charges for it. This should help answer many of those questions. Research is always the first step! You and your SEO will collaborate to decide what market niche you should focus upon. Then your SEO will guide you to the least populated...
ccTLD Registrations Still Growing
June 26, 2010, 10:04 pm"Domain statistics registrations."
International football and cross-border shopping â" for the love of the game
June 26, 2010, 12:40 pmHi, it's Nimish Dwivedi, Head of Asia Pacific Marketing. What an amazing group round for the World Cup in South Africa! Once every four years, over a span of a month, national teams across the world compete for the ultimate prize in international football. The global nature of this tournament is also a reflection of cross-border shopping...
Exclusive Sneak Preview of the New Digg!
June 26, 2010, 9:22 amBrent Csutoras, my partner at BlueGlass, was one of a handful of social media users to be chosen to test the new Digg Version 4.0. Brent was also the first tester to get permission to share his experiences in the new Digg. So he's put together an awesome in-depth overview of the new Digg v4.0 alpha, and is sharing exclusive screenshots @ Digg...
Cup of Joe: Those Who Can’t Blog, Make Infographics!
June 26, 2010, 7:54 am
So, all week long I have been thinking about a really fun post idea where I make fun of Andy’s iPhone 4 obsession anticipation. But, unfortunately for you, (and fortunately for Andy), I haven’t had any time to write that gem of a post. Instead I have been baby sitting nieces and nephews all week while balancing client...
Smartphones Continue to Threaten GPS Device Usage
June 26, 2010, 7:18 amcomScore has released some numbers about smartphone and feature phone browser and app usage, as it relates to map access and mobile navigation in the U.S. These numbers are based on a study, which found 14% of mobile users in the U.S. accessed maps on their devices in April, as the mobile map audience reached 33.5 million users, a 44% increase...
Facebook Will Threaten Google When Social Becomes Search Hub
June 26, 2010, 6:44 amThere's been some support for but mostly blasting of AllFacebook's argument that Facebook's forthcoming Open Graph initiative are setting the company up to challenge Google in search. While there was a lot of speculation about Facebook's search strategy, the company has confirmed with us that "all Open Graph-enabled web pages will show up in...
Google Admits GoogleBot Can Execute Javascript Code
June 26, 2010, 2:09 am"...those looking closely at their server logs may notice that Google is now requesting links that don't appear directly in JavaScript -- links that get put together on the fly and Google could not possible know about unless it could execute at least part of that JavaScript code."
Positions Up In SERPs But Traffic is Down
June 25, 2010, 10:02 pm"We're back to a position we used to hold a good year ago. However, we're actually seeing traffic drop - we know what these positions should bring, but it's no where near old traffic levels."
'God Particle' Makes Music, the iPhone 4 Has an iGlitch, Lunar Eclipse Viewed: Buzz Week in Review
June 25, 2010, 8:08 pmby Claudine Zap It's not every day that a tiny thing like a particle is big in Buzz. But this week, the search for the "God particle" had a huge musical debut. A little doodad called the iPhone 4 made a splash on the Web. And the first of two lunar eclipses make an appearance â" or is it a disappearance? â" this weekend. All this and more in...
How Should You Price Your SEO Projects?
June 25, 2010, 8:06 pmYour pricing for on-page and site structure optimization should typically be based upon the site size and intricacy. You should consider the amount of time and expertise level you’ll be putting forth, as well as your competition’s pricing.
Statistics a Win for SEO
June 25, 2010, 7:28 pmPosted by bhendrickson We recently posted some correlation statistics on our blog. We believe these statistics are interesting, useful and provide more insight into the wasy search engines work (a core principle of our mission here at SEOmoz). As we will continue to make similar statistics available, I'd like to discuss why correlations are...
Google to Murdoch: Go Ahead, Make My Day
June 25, 2010, 6:00 pmIn November 2009, I posted, "Murdoch to Google: Drop Dead." It analyzed News Corp. Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch's threat to block Google from being able to search its Web sites. I said "maybe Murdoch should think twice before pulling the plug on 25 percent of WSJ.com's traffic" and I concluded, "who knows, maybe the tables will be turned...
The New Face of BP
June 25, 2010, 5:41 pmby Mike Krumboltz Ever since the BP oil spill began to creep across the Gulf of Mexico, folks have been asking, "Who do we blame?" Of course, there's no one person at fault. However BP has made a consicious effort to make one person the face of the recovery effort. His name is Darryl Willis and you may have seen him in BP's recent PR blitz. In the...
Facebook In Early Stage Search Engine Tests?
June 25, 2010, 5:17 pmQuestion: have you conducted a search recently on Facebook? And have you noticed that something different, something huge was happening? AllFacebook went as far as saying that the social site was "declaring war on Google." So what is it all about? I'd personally call it "stealth search", no less. Read on.Click to read the rest of this post...
...
Facebook Showdown: Obama vs. Gaga
June 25, 2010, 4:45 pmby Mike Krumboltz It's not every day that the leader of the free world goes head-to-head with a singer known for wearing studded bras. But such a contest is brewing this weekend...on Facebook . The popular social networking site announced that President Obama and musician Lady Gaga are neck and neck in terms of their fan numbers; both are...
Chrome Incorporates Flash Player
June 25, 2010, 4:39 pmGoogle's support of Flash, while never a secret, is now very much a matter of public record. The latest stable version of Chrome - 5.0.375.86, if you're keeping track - includes Flash and even has it programmed to start "on." A very short and straightforward announcement on the Google Chrome Releases blog broke the news: "The integrated flash...
Low Click-Through Rate Culprits and What You Can Do About Them (Part II)
June 25, 2010, 4:28 pmChoosing keywords is really about striking a delicate balance, isnt it? If your chosen keywords are too broad, you may see success in increasing your click -through rate (CTR) , but at the same time, youre running the risk of unqualified traffic driving up costs and bringing down your return-on-investment (ROI) . If your keywords are too narrow,...
Jimmy Kimmel and Drake Make Twitter Less Funny
June 25, 2010, 4:16 pmJimmy Kimmel Live showed a video this week featuring the titular Kimmel and currently-popular entertainer Drake singing/rapping about tweets. Something has clearly jumped the shark here, and it's just a question of what: Jimmy Kimmel Live or Twitter-related comedy. These types of skits may have still been mildly amusing a year ago, but it's clear...
Digg Technical Talks - Kohsuke Kawaguchi
June 25, 2010, 3:59 pmAt Digg, releasing code quickly is very important. We do parallel development and testing, automated unit and functional tests, and continuous integration and deployment. We use Hudson to tie everything together. This week, we had the creator of Hudson, Kohsuke Kawaguchi, speak to our engineering team about the current state of Hudson and what we...
Empowered Customers Need Empowered Employees Need Empowered IT
June 25, 2010, 3:36 pm[Originally published on Ted Schadler's Blog for Information & Knowledge Management Professionals .] by Ted Schadler Groundswell technology comes to consumers first. At home, we get social, mobile, video, and cloud services pitched to us 24x7. Facebook, Android, iPad, Foursquare, Google, YouTube, Office Web Apps, Twitter. The list is endless and...
Yahoo! Search Marketing Desktop Launches Excluded Keywords Feature
June 25, 2010, 3:31 pmExcluded Keywords, Switching Accounts and Downloading Specific Campaigns The latest version of Yahoo! Search Marketing Desktop launches today. You provided us with feedback during our Beta and in webinar surveys. Our product folks listened, and they thought that these new features might assist you in your attempt to be both efficient, as well as...
Bing Highlights Why You've Been Using Google News
June 25, 2010, 3:13 pmAlong with many other features Bing has launched this week , it has revamped Bing News, which now includes some new features. For one, you can set your local hometown to get headlines from. Google has let you do this for quite some time, but Bing hasn't, and now it does. Although you can include multiple locations in your Google News mix if you...
Twitter Ads Impress Coke
June 25, 2010, 3:10 pmTwitter's Promoted Trends concept is a hit. A marketing executive at Coke, which was only the second company (after Disney) to give it a shot, could hardly say enough good things about the new ad platform in an interview, using words like "great" and "phenomenal."
Carol Kruse, Vice President of Global Interactive...
Millions Of Viewers Tune Into YouTube In May
June 25, 2010, 2:56 pmcomScore recently released their monthly numbers in regards to online video usage and rankings for the month of May. Below are some highlights from the release:
Google Sites attracted 144.6 million unique viewers during the month (101.2 videos per viewer), followed by Yahoo! Sites with 46.0 million viewers (7.3 videos per viewer),...
Webmasters Cry Mayday for Google Rankings Again
June 25, 2010, 2:11 pmA lot of people had something to say about Google's Mayday algorithm update from the beginning of May. A lot of people felt that it was costing them rankings and revenue . Google's Matt Cutts talked more about Mayday at SMX Advanced a couple weeks ago. He said that it was designed to try and spot signals of quality on pages and sites that would be...
Fox Launches Mobile TV For BlackBerry users
June 25, 2010, 2:11 pmFox Mobile has introduced the U.S. launch of Bitbop, a wireless entertainment subscription services that allows smartphone users to view full-length television shows on demand. The service offers high-quality video and subscribers can choose from a selection of programming from a number of content partners. Full-length movies will be available...
Twitter Breaks its Tweets Per Second Record a Week After Setting it
June 25, 2010, 2:11 pmLast week, Twitter announced that it had broken a record for tweets per second (3,085), courtesy of the Lakers beating the Celtics in the NBA Championship. Now they have already topped this a week later. Today, Twitter announced the new record of 3,283 tweets per second, this time coming as a result of Japan's 3-1 victory over Denmark in the World...
Mobile Maps Usage Surges; Apps Trump Mobile Browsers
June 25, 2010, 2:10 pmComScore report that for the three month period ending April 2010, that more smartphone users accessed maps via applications, than maps via mobile browser in a month. Click to read the rest of this post...
Google Books Releases Scans of Ancient Texts
June 25, 2010, 1:49 pmGoogle has announced the release of over 500 scans of Ancient Greek and Latin texts for research purposes. These are from the sixteenth through nineteenth centuries, and are available through Google Books "Jon Orwant and I created this collection using a list of several thousand important Classics volumes identified by our collaborators Professor...
WhitePages.com Aims to Beat Google in Local Business Search
June 25, 2010, 1:37 pmI've been using Google for local searches for awhile out of habit, but gave it a lot more play when the company opened its Places Pages with details about landmark locations and local businesses when users search Google Maps. This is very serviceable and I found the ratings and reviews listed in Place Pages useful. But then I just learned what...
Mariah Carey Being Sued, Oily Rain, and iPhone Issues: What's the Buzz
June 25, 2010, 1:26 pmby Claudine Zap Our top picks from the day's hottest searches. "Eclipse" premiere (Searches increased by 468%). Now that's commitment: Camping out on a sidewalk for days to catch the L.A. opening of the third installment of the vampire series. Raining oil (+890%). A video appears to show oily rain in Louisiana. Could be. Or could just be dirty...
Google Can Delete or Install Apps on Your Android Phone
June 25, 2010, 1:26 pmYesterday, Android Security Lead Rich Cannings posted on the Android blog about using its ability to remotely remove apps from Android devices. This came shortly after a questionable report (widely deemed as inaccurate) discussed alleged security issues with Android apps. Android didn't exactly say the actions were related, but it didn't take long...
Bing Changes Could Attract More Users, More SEO Focus
June 25, 2010, 12:51 pmAs we talked about in a recent WPN article, it's time to start taking your Bing optimization seriously if you haven't been already. For one, Bing will soon power Yahoo search. For two, Bing deliver's Facebook's web search results, while Facebook is giving people more reasons to search with them.
Bing is making changes of its own. It's been...
Wordpress SEO Expert @Yoast Publishes Video SEO Guide
June 25, 2010, 12:47 pmGetting videos into search results can be tricky. Wordpress SEO expert, Joost de Valk, has blogged a technical guide to improving your SEO results for videos.
"It seems as though everyone is focusing on XML Sitemaps, while there's actually not 1 but 4 methods of getting Google to recognize your video content," Joost de Valk noted.
With the...
Facebook Lights a Fire Under Google- Open Graph Search Engine
June 25, 2010, 11:55 amimage courtesy of http://trendslator.wordpress.com If you've been reading my posts on here, you know that I'm very into the future of internet marketing and search, and predicting how things are going to come out. In an article I posted a little while ago about the F8 event , I made a small note in my ending about what this means from an SEO...
'Rocky' Could Play Gotti
June 25, 2010, 11:37 amby Claudine Zap John Gotti Jr . wants his father's story to be told. And if rumors are to be believed, he wants Sylvester Stallone to tell it. That's right: "Rocky" could do "Gotti." It's an offer movie-goers just couldn't refuse. According to the gossip site TMZ , the son of the mob boss is in talks with the mother of all action heroes to play...
Low Click-Through Rate Culprits and What You Can Do About Them (Part I)
June 25, 2010, 11:37 amJust as it is with traditional print advertising, the time and effort you put into your PPC ads has the potential to make or break your SEM campaigns. Your ads should not only be eye-catching and informative, but specific and relevant to the information users will find on your website. Failure to grab your audience with your ad title and copy...
Lee Odden On SEO And The Social Web â" OMS Minneapolis Keynote
June 25, 2010, 11:37 amLee Odden, TopRank Online Marketing CEO gave the opening keynote of Online Marketing Summit Minneapolis. Lee spoke on the intersection of SEO and the social web and provided key takeaways for companies on achieving success. As the social web and search engines integrate and innovate tighter, the intersection between search and social is growing...
Hulu Gossip: Subscription Service Might Debut Next Week
June 25, 2010, 11:25 amSpeculation about Hulu's subscription service is beginning to feel never-ending; inaccurate rumors concerning the date of its arrival and other details have been circulating for far too long. But one new report indicates that a beta test of the subscription service might finally begin next week, and another hints that a deal with PlayStation...
Apps for Maps: Smartphones Drive Gains in U.S. Mobile Navigation
June 25, 2010, 11:20 amcomScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released a study on mobile map usage based on data from its comScore MobiLens service. The study found that 14 percent of mobile users in the U.S. accessed maps on their devices in April 2010, as the mobile map audience reached 33.5 million users, up 44 percent from the...
PayPal Lets Apps Accept Credit Cards
June 25, 2010, 11:20 amPayPal has announced that it now accepts credit cards in apps. The company's payments platform, PayPal X , now has a Guest Payments feature. "With this new feature, developers will now be able to accept credit card payments without requiring customers to open up a PayPal account," a spokesperson for the company tells WebProNews. Guest Payments is...
It's Official: Guest Payments Is Now Live
June 25, 2010, 10:58 amHi all â" Naveed here with an exciting announcement. As you may remember from Innovate 2009 and my blog post yesterday morning, we announced that one third of the future PayPal X roadmap would be devoted to features driven by feedback from our PayPal X developer community. And we've been listening. Our developers asked for an easy way to accept...
iPhone 4 Sells Like Crazy, but Not Without Complaints
June 25, 2010, 10:58 amThe Huffington Post has an article putting together the biggest iPhone 4 complaints so far. Among these complaints are: camera malfunctions, supply, screen discoloration, scratchable cases, poor reception, switched volume keys, and search limitations. It is the reception problems that seem to be getting the most attention. This may be due to...
Cheaper Knock-Off Phones Reportedly Doing Well in Smartphone Market
June 25, 2010, 10:58 amAccording to a new report from ABI Research , Smartphone shipments are expected to grow 21% this year to 224 million, but "Shanzai" devices may be getting a fair share of consumers' money. ABI Research VP of forecasting Jake Saunders says, "While there is considerable fanfare and interest around the latest iPhone and Android phones from Apple,...
Our 2 min Wrap Video from Cannes Lions 2010
June 25, 2010, 10:35 amThat's it from Cannes! We hope you enjoyed our coverage on the Microsoft Advertising Blog . We've posted all our interviews and recordings of all the demos on Bing Video and there are hundreds of photos on Flickr and our Facebook Page . In the meantime enjoy this 2 minute rollercoaster ride through the week!
Likes Mean Relevance in Facebook Search
June 25, 2010, 10:18 amNick O'Neill at All Facebook reports that Facebook has confirmed that "all Open Graph-enabled web pages will show up in search when a user likes them." He also calls this Facebook's "war on Google." While utilizing likes and the open graph as a ranking factor in search should help Facebook improve its internal search, it doesn't represent much of...
URL Shorteners and Community-Driven Link Building
June 25, 2010, 10:18 amYou hear over and over again how important it is to participate in the community when it comes to social media and search marketing. Well, that's mostly because it's true. Google acknowledged this in a recent post to the Webmaster Central blog, which we discussed further here . "If your site is rather new and still unknown, a good way marketing...
5 Tips For Giving Your Readers Their Best RSS UX
June 25, 2010, 10:06 amIf you blog, you neglect the RSS reader experience at your own peril. Even while Facebook, Twitter and other social platforms are becoming mainstays for news and content consumption ( often at the expense of RSS ), the reality is that RSS is still a vital part of blog optimization. With millions of people still using online and desktop RSS...
The Cannes Debate with Sir Martin Sorrell and Keith Weed
June 25, 2010, 10:00 amThe final seminar we attended at Cannes Lions 2010 also happened to be one of the more interesting. Pitted against WPP chief Sir Martin Sorrell was Keith Weed, Unilever CMO. They discussed a veritable smorgasbord of topics throughout the hour long debate, with some very strong opinions on consumer insights, creativity, social media, global market...
What's Next for Marketing? PwC, IPG and J and J at Cannes Lions 2010
June 25, 2010, 9:43 amMany people here at Cannes Lions 2010 have been looking into crystal balls all week and some have seen the same vision. It invariably consists of a digital future where technology is reaching bigger audiences with richer, more relevant and engaging advertising. It was Marcel Fenezs turn to share the perspective PwC has in his capacity as Global...
Two New Directors Elected At Yahoo
June 25, 2010, 8:47 amPatti Hart, the CEO of International Game Technology, and Brad Smith, the president and CEO of Intuit, now have ties to Yahoo, too. Yesterday, Yahoo's shareholders effectively welcomed these individuals to the company by electing them to its board of directors.
Hart and Smith are replacing John Chapple and Ronald Burkle, who didn't seek...
YouTube Has Record Month In May
June 25, 2010, 8:41 amDuring the month of May 183 million U.S. Internet users watched online video, according to the latest figures from comScore.
YouTube saw record levels of viewing activity during the month with an all-time high of 14.6 billion videos viewed and surpassing 100 videos per viewer for the first time.
U.S. Internet users watched nearly 34 billion...
Here a Link, There a Link, Everywhere a Google Ad Sitelink
June 25, 2010, 8:28 am
Back in March, we told you that Google’s Ad Sitelinks were a huge success for…Google.
OK, maybe advertisers liked them as well, but if you weren’t careful, you could find your ads see a 30% increase in click-throughs. That all sounds great, as long as you were prepared to cover the cost of those increased...
With Facebook Open Graph Search, Is Facebook SEO Next?
June 25, 2010, 8:23 am
It seems to be clearer than ever that Facebook is really making a run at Google around search. The announcement that “all Open Graph enabled web pages will show up in search when a user likes them” this new area for search abuse optimization is now becoming a reality.
All Facebook reports
Earlier this week we published about...
Microsoft Hopes Its New Mobile Ads Will Toast Apple’s iAd
June 25, 2010, 8:13 am
Microsoft has paid close attention to the apparent early success of Apple’s iAd platform and it would like a piece of the action.
In fact, it believes its new Windows Phone 7 ad platform will be the best thing since sliced bread–seriously! It’s calling the platform “Toast!”
Windows Phone 7, due out...
Bloggers Should See Increase in Sharing of Content
June 25, 2010, 8:07 amGoogle's Blogger has released new share buttons for users, which can be placed under posts to encourage the sharing of content. The buttons let users share via email and popular social networks. "Blogger also has a Share link in the navbar, but for improved convenience you can now have share buttons below the post (we also gave them nice rollover...
Guaranteed: Improve Your Writing Overnight with "The Rule of 24â³
June 25, 2010, 7:27 amFew things in life are guaranteed. This is especially true if you are a writer. But this one rule " The Rule of 24 " is guaranteed. Iron clad. Doesn't matter who you are, what you write, how you write, or how hard you try to prove this wrong. You won't. You can't. The Rule of 24 will make your writing better. Every time. No exceptions. Simplicity...
Twitter Gets FTC’s Attention on Privacy Concerns
June 25, 2010, 7:15 am
With all of the mess that surrounds Facebook and data security etc., it seems at times that other web properties are doing it well. That’s a dangerous assumption. Yesterday Twitter was thrown into the data security spotlight when it took some medicine from the Federal Trade Commission regarding data / security breaches in the...
Video: Interview with Carolyn Everson at Cannes Lions 2010
June 25, 2010, 6:59 amCarolyn Everson joined Microsoft this week as Head of Global Sales for Microsoft Advertising . She joined me on the pier here at Cannes Lions to chat about the festival, what excites her about digital, and how she's going to go about telling the Microsoft Advertising story. Follow us on Twitter and our Facebook Page and subscribe to the Microsoft...
Windows 7 Sells 150Million, That's Seven Copies Per Second
June 25, 2010, 5:58 am"Windows 7 is the fastest selling operating system in history..."
YouTube Continues To Dominate Online Video Use
June 25, 2010, 5:02 am"The number U.S. Internet users watching online video inched up in May... ...Overall, 183 million Web surfers watched nearly 34 billion videos, with YouTube accounting for 43.1%..."
ICANN Votes In Favor To Approve Dot X X X gTLD
June 25, 2010, 4:22 am"ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, said the next step would be talks with ICM Registry to ensure that it still had sufficient backing from the adult industry to justify its creation."
Whiteboard Friday - We Bought Links and It Worked!!
June 25, 2010, 1:31 amPosted by Scott Willoughby WARNING! This week's video is pure evil! If you are faint of heart, easily disturbed, care for small children, terrified of slugs, curious about magnets, or fond of licorice, TURN BACK NOW! This video provides actual evidence that the diabolical practice of buying links can actually work (and astoundingly well). It also...
How to SEO Your Video Submission
June 25, 2010, 12:17 amI see many great videos online almost on a daily basis and it still blows my mind how some of these videos can be completely un-optimized when it comes to getting them to rank in search results. Just randomly submitting a video without any thought whatsoever into YouTube or Vimeo and not really taking the time to truly optimize the components of...
Verizon Droid Offer Paves the Way for the Droid 2
June 24, 2010, 8:01 pmEarlier this week I wrote pieces previewing the Droid X launch , which came to pass June 23, and the Droid 2 , which did not. Nothing, not a word was breathed about the Droid 2. No one even asked! I'm ashamed of myself and the other reporters, bloggers and analysts in the room at the Mandarin Oriental in New York City. We had Verizon Wireless EVP...
Why SEO is a sure and profitable copywriting niche
June 24, 2010, 7:50 pmSEO and content marketing are here to stay, and more and more businesses than ever are recognizing, investing in, and outsourcing SEO copywriting talent. Just the other day, Marketing Sherpa published its Chart of the Week, clearly indicating that companies are planning to spend the biggest chunk of their outsourced marketing dollars on SEO, even...
Digg Technical Talks - Jeff Hammerbacher
June 24, 2010, 7:39 pmJeff Hammerbacher stopped by Digg yesterday to talk about analytical data platforms. In his talk he describes what these platforms are and why you should care.
Experian Hitwise: 2010 FIFA World Cup Traffic Increased 22 Percent Yesterday
June 24, 2010, 7:24 pmAccording to Heather Dougherty, Director of Research at Experian Hitwise, World Cup traffic increased 22 percent yesterday, June 23, 2010. The surge came on the heels of the USA victory over Algeria in the 2010 FIFA World Cup tournament.Click to read the rest of this post...
Experian Hitwise: 2010 FIFA World Cup Traffic Increased 22 Percent Yesterdayâ
June 24, 2010, 7:05 pmAccording to Heather Dougherty, Director of Research at Experian Hitwise, World Cup traffic increased 22 percent yesterday, June 23, 2010. The surge came on the heels of the USA victory over Algeria in the 2010 FIFA World Cup tournament.â Click to read the rest of this post.
Building a Business by Focusing on Angry Overly Important Individuals
June 24, 2010, 6:47 pmI just read a WSJ article about how some hotel chains are trying to woo people leaving negative remarks publicly about their brand. 'I Hate My Room,' The Traveler Tweeted. Ka-Boom! An Upgrade! Generally speaking, the idea is crap. In essence they are spending resources trying to make the most unsatisfied segment of their market happy, and...
Tori Spelling's Gossip Grenade
June 24, 2010, 6:25 pmby Claudine Zap Tori Spelling wants you to know: Her " Beverly Hills, 90210 " co-stars hate her. People magazine reported this shocking piece of news that she revealed on Ryan Seacrest's radio show . At least, it would be shocking, if there were any evidence that it were true. If it were a "90210" episode, maybe Tori would drive herself to the...
Who Is Horse-Boy?
June 24, 2010, 6:03 pmby Mike Krumboltz Across the Web, a very important, very bizarre question is being asked: Who, exactly, is horse-boy ? The mystery began when an unusual photo surfaced from Google's "Street View" program. The Web software allows users a street-level view of neighborhoods all over the world. Most of the photos are completely unremarkable, but one...
Facebook Hires White House Economics Expert
June 24, 2010, 4:55 pmA round of applause for Facebook's HR department, please. Today, the company announced that it's managed to hire Marne Levine, who last held the title(s) "Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Chief of Staff of the National Economic Council at the White House." Levine, who should remain based in Washington,
Three Princes, a Queen, and a Princess-To-Be: Royal Roundup
June 24, 2010, 4:50 pmby Mike Krumboltz Think being in a royal family is a stuffy existence? Not always. There are trips to Africa, exclusive tennis tournaments to attend, and opulent weddings to plan. Over the past few days, the royal families from England and Monaco have been stepping out and sparking Web searches. Here's a recap for you, the commoners.
Like Web Analytics? Check Out The Beyond Web Analytics Podcast
June 24, 2010, 4:43 pmDo you like Web Analytics? Do you want to stay up to date on the latest developments in the industry? Recently, a few Web Analytics "geeks" decided to start an audio podcast to interview key people/vendors in the Web Analytics space. The podcast also covers topics related to Web Analytics such as Mobile Measurement, Social Media Tracking,...
A Rough Start for 'Knight and Day'
June 24, 2010, 3:58 pmby Mike Krumboltz Not so long ago, Tom Cruise was the biggest movie star on the planet. During the '80s and '90s, the guy could not miss. But then, one fateful day, the excitable star decided to jump on Oprah's couch . It's been a rough go ever since. Many feel that the infamous moment, combined with a bizarre interview with Matt Lauer, caused...
Picking the Right Affiliate Marketing Software
June 24, 2010, 3:58 pmWhen working with affiliate marketing, you need to be able to understand and pick the right software to fit your needs. There are tons out there (believe me, I've started looking and informing myself already) but sometimes it's just overwhelming. You can't really rely on word of mouth for these things, or reviews, because each one will fit you...
AOL Sells Market Research Firm DMS Insights to uSamp
June 24, 2010, 3:52 pmMarket research company uSamp has acquired DMS Insights (Digital Marketing Services) from AOL. uSamp says it will combine with DMS to offer "best-in-class" online sample and panel management solutions, with the combined global panel reaching 2.7 million. The company notes that this includes an extensive Hispanic panel of over 100,000. "This is a...
SEM Intermediate Series: Keyword Organization Best Practices
June 24, 2010, 3:52 pmThis is the 10 th post in the SEM Intermediate Series , a collection of posts intended for search engine marketing professionals looking for guidance in monitoring and adjusting the key performance indicators (KPIs) that determine the success of a PPC campaign. This series is a continuation of the SEM Beginner Series . When launching or...
comScore Reports 183 Million U.S. Internet Users Watched Online Video in May
June 24, 2010, 3:43 pmOkay, so this seems more like a continuing trend than breaking news. But the comScore Video Metrix service today reported that 183 million U.S. Internet users watched online video during May 2010. But the new news is that YouTube.com achieved record levels of viewing activity during the month with an all-time high of 14.6 billion videos viewed...
Google Makes Sitelinks Available in All AdWords Campaigns
June 24, 2010, 3:12 pmGoogle has launched Ad Sitelinks for all AdWords campaigns. The feature was made available late last year for advertisers' top performing ads, but is now available via a one-line format for all campaigns. Google says advertisers who have used the format in the past have experienced big gains, and have boosted click-through-rates by over 30% (on...
Mobile Version of Bing Gets New Features
June 24, 2010, 2:50 pmMicrosoft announced that Bing has upgraded the mobile version of its search engine for high-end smartphones. Supported devices include: Windows phones, iPhones, Android, Palm, Kin, and Zune HD devices. We're talking about the site at m.bing.com - not Bing's mobile apps, just to be clear.
The Future of B2B Search Marketing
June 24, 2010, 2:33 pmThe first B2B Search Strategy Summit was held yesterday in San Francisco. It featured a morning keynote by Gord Hotchkiss of Enquiro and an afternoon keynote by Jay Middleton of Adobe.Click to read the rest of this post...
Man Indicted For Hacking And Email Threat To VP Biden
June 24, 2010, 2:32 pmA Minnesota man had indicted in federal court for hacking into his neighbor's Wi-Fi connection and allegedly posing as the neighbor to make threats to kill Vice President Biden and email child pornography. The indictment, filed today, charges Barry Vincent Ardolf, 45, of Blaine with two counts of identity theft, one count of making threats to the...
Google Removes Questionable Apps from Android Market
June 24, 2010, 1:45 pmYesterday a questionable report from SMobile Systems was released talking about Android security and how a fifth of Android apps pose security risks. The methodology behind this report has pretty much been ridiculed throughout the Blogosphere, though quite a few publications covered it. CNET even went so far as to retract the report . Google's Jay...
Alibaba Buys Vendio, Gains 80,000 eBay, Amazon Sellers
June 24, 2010, 1:23 pmAlibaba.com has announced its acquisition of Vendio , a multi-channel e-commerce company offering solutions for small businesses that let them sell through channels such as eBay, Amazon, and their own Vendio-supported stores. Through the acquisition, Alibaba is gaining access to over 80,000 targeted small businesses in the U.S. and can direct them...
WhitePages Releases New Version of Local Business Search Offering
June 24, 2010, 1:23 pmWhitePages.com has released a new version of its Business Search today. It includes contact info for over 15 million local businesses around the U.S. as well as a Store Locator providing one-click access to neighborhood contact info for over a million local branches of national chains. The angle WhitePages is taking is that it is replacing the...
Happy Meal's Sad Lawsuit, Al Gore's Troubles, Gloria Steinem on 'Colbert': What's the Buzz
June 24, 2010, 12:48 pmby Claudine Zap Our top picks from the day's hottest searches. Gloria Steinem (Searches increased by 4,535%). The long-time feminist came back to the "Colbert Report" to dish about the end of men and Republican women. Whooping cough (+643%). California has declared a state-wide epidemic . Al Gore (+330%). The former vice president now faces...
Delays in Reporting Today Thursday 6/24
June 24, 2010, 12:25 pmOur reporting service and performance data is delayed today Thursday 6/24 due to the current upgrade in progress. We hope to have the data available by 5 pm PT today. We will post additional information here when available. Apologies for the inconvenience. Jeff Dillon,
comScore Releases May 2010 U.S. Online Video Rankings
June 24, 2010, 12:14 pmcomScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released May 2010 data from the comScore Video Metrix service showing that 183 million U.S. Internet users watched online video during the month. YouTube.com achieved record levels of viewing activity in May with an all-time high of 14.6 billion videos viewed and...
Diacritization added to the Google Language API
June 24, 2010, 12:08 pmEarlier this year, we launched the Tashkeel (Diacritization) service on Google Labs. I'm pleased to announce that we've added an experimental Diacritization component to the Google Language API . This is a simple JSON API which you can use to add diacritic symbols to strings of Arabic text. To test it out, try clicking this link:...
Google Participates In First Smart Grid/White Space Trial
June 24, 2010, 11:25 amEnergy efficiency and the white space spectrum have come together thanks to Google, a young company specializing in wireless tech, and an electric utility that also deals in telecommunications. The organizations announced that the first smart grid wireless network trial is underway.
This test has apparently been in progress for a while in a...
Update on PayPal X Services Pricing
June 24, 2010, 11:17 amHi all â" Naveed Anwar, senior director of PayPal's Developer Network, here with an update on the PayPal X services pricing for developers that we unveiled last fall at Innovate . The new pricing will create a whole new set of use cases where PayPal replaces cash and checks for services such as rent, consulting businesses or payroll and was...
Facebook Becoming Even More Valuable To Retailers
June 24, 2010, 11:14 amPeople spend about one-third of their online time each week on Facebook, a trend that gives retailers and other businesses a chance to use social media to reach their target market, according to a new study by research firm Morpace.
Consumers spend an average of 7.3 hours each week on Facebook, and 22.4 hours on the Internet overall. Those ages...
Common Mistakes Big Brands Make in SEO
June 24, 2010, 10:58 amIf you've ever worked with a big brand (or tried to) for SEO, you'll recognize everything in this "right on the mark" post from Rishi Lakhani.
Twitter Reaches Agreement With FTC
June 24, 2010, 10:53 amTwitter just announced it has reached an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission that resolves some concerns the organization had with Twitter's security practices. The concerns at hand involve some compromises made last year, which Twitter had already addressed, and most people had probably forgotten about by now. Twitter's A. Macgillivray...
YouTube Streams Twilight: Eclipse Premiere
June 24, 2010, 10:36 amUpdate: MySpace is streaming it as well . Original Article: YouTube announced that it will be streaming the red carpet footage of the Twilight: Eclipse premiere this evening. It's that big a deal. "The scene from Hollywood may look nothing like Forks, but all of your favorite vampires and werewolves will be there giving live interviews and...
Facebook SEO Ranking Factors, 2010 Study Results
June 24, 2010, 10:28 amA study on the findings regarding Facebook SEO ranking factors along with ideas to maximize organic visibility in Facebook’s organic SERPs.
Flixster and BuddyTV Team Up on Ad Sales
June 24, 2010, 10:14 amFlixster has announced a partnership with BuddyTV , which involves the creation of an advertising platform to reach users of both networks. Flixster says it has a U.S. audience of U.S. audience of over 20 million people a month, with an additional 7 million users on its mobile apps for iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry, and Palm Pre. Of course it...
Visa Launches its PayPal Competitor in Australia
June 24, 2010, 9:51 amLast month we saw MasterCard make a move to start gunning for PayPal. Now it's Visa. Visa has launched a new payments service called PayClick in Australia, but reportedly has "a view" for global markets. Visa says it's ideal for downloadable content such as music, games, and movies.
The Power of Social Proof
June 24, 2010, 9:22 amYour product or service is amazing, your website is gorgeous, your sales copy is solid and for some reason nobody is buying. Does this sound familiar? If you are looking to make an impact in your market, one easy way to do so is by adding features of social proof to your website. In case you aren't familiar with the term "social proof," it is...
Amazon Against Post Office Ending Saturday Mail Delivery. Netflix Ok With it.
June 24, 2010, 9:11 amAs you may know, there is talk that the U.S. Postal Service could end mail delivery on Saturdays. Internet companies that ship items to consumers don't all have the same opinion on this matter, as is evidenced by comments from Amazon and Netflix. Paul Misener, Amazon VP for Global Public Policy gave a testimony at a hearing in Washington on the...
Google, Twitter Document Political History In Australia
June 24, 2010, 9:11 amThis week, Australia got its first female prime minister (Julia Gillard replaced Kevin Rudd following a surprise challenge for the leadership of the Labor Party), and throughout all of the excitement, it seems that Google and perhaps Twitter provided two significant ways for people to keep up with events. The Official Google Australia Blog might...
Facebook Blocks Twitter. Is a Lawsuit Next?
June 24, 2010, 8:52 am
Just minutes after Twitter announced a feature to see which of your Facebook friends are on Twitter, Facebook blocked it!
Now, thanks to Techdirt, we can see that this is not just some harmless mistake. Facebook does not want you having access to the data you’ve worked hard to compile. In other words, if you try to access...
Content Navigation And Search: How To Facilitate Online Content Exploration
June 24, 2010, 8:50 amA nice, gorgeous-looking web site which has no design or navigation intelligence is a like handsome man with no brains. It may be nice to look at him but anyone would rapidly get bored with such a partner. Same thing happens on the web. While many strive to build super-good-looking web sites, only few really understand the strategic value of...
Farmville Launches On The App Store
June 24, 2010, 8:43 amZynga said today it is launching its popular social game Farmville for iPhone and iPod touch.
The company said this week marks the one year anniversary of the game and Farmville has attracted 75 million users worldwide.
The move by Zynga builds on its strategy to bring social games to a broader audience across a number of platforms. The...
Google Meta Description Usage Clarified?
June 24, 2010, 8:37 amIn the search marketing industry, we like to believe we've got hard and fast rules as to what goes into proper SEO. From the way we choose keywords to the length of page titles, to how often and where best to place links from one page to another and across web sites. The fact however, is that we don't have direct access to the search engine...
Adapting SEO for Personalized Search
June 24, 2010, 8:37 amIf there's one thing that's made me borderline OCD (happy now Michael ?) would be the world of personalized search. Probably more so, behavioural data, is an area (both explicit and implicit) that seems to be part of any likely evolution of search engines (and by extension SEO). Now, I am not alone in this. The folks at Google have also been more...
Understanding the Three Primary Goals of Social Media
June 24, 2010, 8:36 amby Jennifer Laycock
Earlier this week, I wrote a post about the need to build a social media strategy around specific goals instead of simply launching a presence because "everyone else is doing it." Today, I'm going to map out the three primary goals most social media outreach campaigns fall into. If you're still trying to figure out how and...
Twitter Aims to Make Finding Your Real Friends Easier
June 24, 2010, 8:26 amTwitter has updated its "Find Friends" feature, which could go a long way in getting users who are still skeptical about how Twitter can be useful to them, to have more of a reason to keep using the service. There are now features to help users find their friends from Facebook and LinkedIn on Twitter. The Facebook app is currently having some...
MySpace Comes to Hotmail, Windows Live Messenger
June 24, 2010, 8:26 amMySpace has announced integration with Windows Live Messenger and Hotmail. The beta integration is rolling out to mutual users of the two services starting today. "By integrating core features of both platforms, users will be able to discover what their friends are doing online through photos and the activity stream across social networks," says...
FedEx Delivers Real Twitter Support During iPhone Tracking Crisis
June 24, 2010, 8:23 am
Which company do you think of when you hear,” when it absolutely has to be there overnight?”
OK, that was an easy question, considering FedEx is mentioned in the post title.
But, imagine if thousands of customers were facing “when you have absolutely no idea where it is or when it will get...
WhitePages.com Relies On 'Daily Pop' Deals And Self-Curated Local Listings To Boost Traffic
June 24, 2010, 8:20 amWhitePages.com is looking to boost its traffic through the upcoming formal launch of its Daily Pop deals offering as well as the introduction of more local business listings, Jason Milstead, director of business search, told PaidContent in an interview. Here's the plan. Click to read the rest of this post.
Use Ad Testing to Help Reach Your PPC Marketing Goals - Part 2
June 24, 2010, 8:17 amby Mike Fleming
OK, so you get this previous post about ad testing and you set up some tests... now what? How do you measure the results?
One of the cool features of AdWords is the ability to make a report to observe almost anything about your account. In the case of measuring ad performance, you can create an (that's right, you guessed...
Blend Search And Social To Harness Global Data
June 24, 2010, 8:14 amThis is the message Marty Weintraub is going to share with delegates at the International Search Summit on 28th October in London when he presents on how marketers can use international social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, as well as search and keyword tools to gain valuable insights and data that will drive global success....
How to Access the Internet (A Guide from 2025)
June 24, 2010, 8:14 amWelcome to the Internet! By following the simple rules below, you make sure your internet experience is smooth and risk free. RealIdentity Before signing on, please ensure you have received your RealIdentity card from local authorities. Signing on to the internet has been ruled illegal in the Stop Anonymity Act of 2012, and you need to be sure to...
Put Your SEO and Copywriter in Their Place... So Your Keywords Will Be Too!
June 24, 2010, 8:05 amby Stoney deGeyter
There's a time and a place for everything. The place for sweat pants to be worn is at home, not at the airport; the place for cigarette butts to be thrown is an ashtray, not out your car window; and the place for the Twighlight movies to be watched is on the corner of nowhere and never again.
When dealing with your online...
WhitePages.com Updates Local Business Product
June 24, 2010, 7:24 am
Did you know that WhitePages.com regularly ranks among the Top 50 web sites in the US for traffic? I didn’t but I guess that just shows that I don’t need to find many phone numbers. That kind of traffic though is a valuable asset and WhitePages.com is looking to take advantage of the push in local business information that has...
Dr. Evil's 7 Tips for Achieving Worldwide Marketing Domination
June 24, 2010, 7:23 amUsually we save all the sneaky tricks and techniques for the newsletter , but today I'm feeling rambunctious so I decided I'd uncork some of the good stuff. Don't read today's post unless you want to reach out and scoop more than your fair share of customers and sales. If you're already making more money than you want, this one's not for you. Are...
Yahoo! and Ben Stiller at Cannes Lions 2010
June 24, 2010, 7:12 amBen Stiller wearing his Stillerstrong headband onstage at Cannes 2010 It was a one-person-in, one-person-out policy at the Debussy Theatre on Tuesday for the Yahoo!, Ben Stiller and Jeff Goodby seminar. What would this Frat Pack member have to say about digital advertising as it is now and where its going? As an actor, Ben believes that...
Thank You To Our Web Hosting Sponsor VISI
June 24, 2010, 7:00 amFor the past 3 plus years, TopRank's Online Marketing Blog has been hosted by Minneapolis based website hosting provider, VISI . When our past host shut us down without warning for getting too much traffic, VISI and Online Marketing Blog connected and worked out a sponsorship. VISI is the only company with an ongoing "ad" on this blog. Uptime...
Is Mobile the Future for eBay?
June 24, 2010, 6:54 am
While everyone is trying to figure out just how big mobile commerce will get, eBay is just out doing something about it. That’s kind of refreshing in this day and age of hype replacing action. So what has lit the mobile fire under eBay? Simple market principles like survival and competition (you remember those, right?)....
What A One Man Setup Needs To Do For Business Backup
June 24, 2010, 6:30 am"What do you do when you're in your one-man-business and a client wants to know what business backup there is when you're away for any period of time."
Should Google Offer Ad Opt-Out Based on Categories or Companies?
June 24, 2010, 5:52 amShould Google give its users the chance to opt out of specific ad categories? Giannis thinks so, writing (spacing adjusted): I've been so sick of watching the same ads again and again, that I've event tried using AdBlock. Great software, but I don't want to block all of my ads but just the annoying ones! You would think that by showing the same ad...
FCC "Quietly Holding Talks" About Net Neutrality with AT&T, Verizon, Google and Others
June 24, 2010, 5:52 amThe Wall Street Journal writes : Federal Communications Commission officials are quietly holding talks with phone and cable companies about a legislative compromise that would give the agency authority over Internet lines without the need to adopt a controversial proposal to reregulate Internet lines. FCC Chief of Staff Edward Lazarus and other...
Google, Apple and Microsoft Showing Off HTML Capabilities
June 24, 2010, 4:55 amGoogle has created an (only subtly branded, mostly trying to be neutral looking) HTML5 showcase, presentation and tutorial called HTML 5 Rocks (on a side-note, this site is inaccessible from China). What exactly HTML5 will be though in popular usage may be decided in new browser and standard battles. Take Apple's HTML5 showcase , for instance:...
Video Interview: Mich Mathews on Underdogs & Overdogs at Cannes Lions 2010
June 24, 2010, 4:43 amYesterday's Microsoft's seminar was hosted by Senior VP of Marketing, Mich Matthews . In it, she brought us through three key messages: the first around how Microsoft manages its brands as an overdog, the second on how we manage our brands as an underdog and finally some innovation in mobile and gaming that will create all kinds of opportunities...
How to Deal with Competitors Copying Your Links
June 24, 2010, 4:33 amYou just spent a hearty amount of time with consultants, at a conference, or in front of your computer screen learning about linkbuilding. The plan is perfect and the execution is going just as well. Rankings are going up, traffic is sky rocketing, and your boss loves you.
Then you notice a competitor is climbing the rankings one day. You do some...
YouTube Wins Against Viacom
June 24, 2010, 4:20 amFrom the YouTube blog yesterday: Today, the court granted our motion for summary judgment in Viacom's lawsuit with YouTube. This means that the court has decided that YouTube is protected by the safe harbor of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) against claims of copyright infringement.
Google Spreadsheets Now Working in China
June 24, 2010, 4:20 amWhen Google decided to redirect requests to their .cn (Mainland China) domain to .hk (Hong Kong), some people speculated that more of Google would now be blocked. Actually, Google.com still works as before, and at least one Google service can be added to the unblocked list now, too (though not necessarily with any causality): I'm now able to...
Are You Contagious? - Cannes Lions 2010
June 24, 2010, 3:29 amHow are you conversing with your customers? Are you letting them do all the talking or are you engaging them seriously about their concerns? As marketing practitioners ourselves, Microsoft Advertising was firmly in agreement with the points raised by Publicis and Contagious in their session yesterday that talked about how contagious ideas should...
Digitas â" Brand Interruption V Brand Integration - Cannes Lions 2010
June 24, 2010, 3:12 amHands up those of you who fast forward through TV ad breaks on their DVR? Yeah, me too. Its a growing challenge to the TV advertising model as the sales of DVRs continue to rise. Digitas broached this subject today in their seminar at Cannes Lions 2010, pitting brand interruption advertising against brand integration advertising. However, the TV...
BlueGlass Merges SEO/SEM firms 10e20, Search&Social, Brent Csutoras, Second Step Search
June 24, 2010, 3:00 am10e20, Search & Social, Brent Csutoras and Second Step Search: they used to be distinct firms in search engine optimization, search marketing/PPC, social media marketing, etc... but now they've all merged into one entity. Meet the consolidated agency called BlueGlass.
Click to read the rest of this post...
Twitter Adds Find Friends From Facebook and LinkedIn
June 24, 2010, 12:40 am"The app also lets you save your LinkedIn connections as a list, post your Tweets to LinkedIn, and add your Twitter account to your LinkedIn profile."
Tasks to Market Your Business Online
June 24, 2010, 12:10 amYou own a business, you get up every morning with the realization that you have to do something with regards to marketing your business online, but you are just not sure where to start. Is this your current situation? Watching all your competitors roll past you online and you are still not sure what you should be doing? It can be difficult but...
Climate Change defeats a Prime Minister
June 23, 2010, 10:40 pmMaybe a simplistic headline, but Australia now has a new Prime Minister after Kevin Rudd stood aside for Julia Gillard to take the reins of the Federal Labor Party and the Australian Government. An impending federal election combined with a series of political errors, such as the handling of the Home Insulation Scheme and the backflip on the...
Matt Cutts Movie Marathon
June 23, 2010, 9:21 pmPosted by Dr. Pete This post is the culmination of two of my lifelong dreams: (1) To spend an entire day on YouTube and call it "work", and (2) To Photoshop Matt Cutts' face on cartoon food. Early in 2009, Matt Cutts, Google's most visible anti-spam engineer, began releasing a series of short Webmaster Help videos . You've probably seen some of...
Buzzy Sounds Stir the Web
June 23, 2010, 7:12 pmby Claudine Zap The vuvuzela is the South African horn that â" like it nor not â" has provided the buzzing background to the World Cup . And now it has its very own pop song. In response to a proposed ban on the blare, a team of producers pulled together a dance track called "Blow That Vuvuzela." Now the annoying stadium ambiance has become...
YouTube Get Summary Judgment Against Viacom
June 23, 2010, 5:51 pm
YouTube has chalked one up for the distribution channel of videos. The Google Blog says it best so I’m going to let them say it:
Today, the court granted our motion for summary judgment in Viacom’s lawsuit with YouTube. This means that the court has decided that YouTube is protected by the safe harbor of the Digital Millenium...
YouTube / Google beats Viacom over $1B Lawsuit
June 23, 2010, 5:18 pmToday in court Google won out over Viacom's $1 Billion lawsuit, essentially showing that the court has decided that YouTube is protected by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) against claims of copyright infringement. Viacom had sued YouTube over copyright infringement relating to the many video clips of various Viacom owned programming...
Joe Barton Tweets, Deletes
June 23, 2010, 4:50 pmby Mike Krumboltz Rep. Joe Barton, who made a name for himself when he apologized to BP last week, is back in the news after posting an update to his Twitter account reading, "Joe Barton was right." This somewhat confusing statement is apparently a reference to his initial apology, which implied that, in his opinion, BP was the target of a...
Eightfold Logic Intends To Link Up Potential Business Partners
June 23, 2010, 4:50 pmEightfold Logic has decided to empower those companies who are serious about their search rankings by creating 'a dating site' for businesses. It's called Linker.
In a bid to reduce the time wasted courting site owners who don't respond to link requests, the enlightened minds at Eightfold Logic identified parallels between the online dating scene...
Droid X Hits Ahead of iPhone 4
June 23, 2010, 4:33 pmby Mike Krumboltz Need a fancy, new phone? Have a deep-rooted hatred of all things Apple? This is your lucky day, misanthrope. The newest Droid phone, dubbed the Motorola Droid X, hits stores today, just in time to steal a bit of the new iPhone's thunder. Right now, it's exclusive to Verizon. You can read more of the nitty-gritty details over at...
Batman Fan Flick
June 23, 2010, 4:33 pmby Mike Krumboltz Can't wait for the next Batman movie? Maybe "City of Scars," a half hour fan film starring the Dark Knight, can hold you over. With a budget of around $27,000, it's not your typical YouTube upload. This baby is professional through and through. You can watch it here .
eBay Acquires Barcode-Scanning iPhone App
June 23, 2010, 4:25 pmA popular iPhone app is now the property of eBay and about to get much better. eBay announced this afternoon that it's acquired RedLaser, and the company best known for its auction site intends to make the app free, increase merchandise selection, and integrate it into other products.
RedLaser is actually free as of this moment - eBay made...
That a Basketball Score? Nope, it's Tennis
June 23, 2010, 4:16 pmby Mike Krumboltz In tennis, having to win by two games can be a pain. Just ask American John Isner and France's Nicolas Mahut. Their Wimbledon contest has gone on for an inconceivable ten hours . And it's not over yet. The match was recently suspended on account of darkness. The fifth set is currently all knotted up at 59-59.
Flickr Photo Pages Get a Change in Design
June 23, 2010, 4:13 pmFlickr has launched a new photo page. Some elements of the page have been enlarged, or "embiggened" as Flickr puts it. Photos are now displayed in a bigger 640 pixel width and the photo page itself is wider.
"As you can imagine, this is the most trafficked page on Flickr, with our 85+ million visitors spending a good deal of time...
YouTube Victorious in Battle with Viacom
June 23, 2010, 3:53 pmGoogle is reporting that it has won its long legal battle with Viacom. Google Vice President & General Counsel Kent Walker had the following to say on the YouTube blog : Today, the court granted our motion for summary judgment in Viacoms lawsuit with YouTube. This means that the court has decided that YouTube is protected by the safe harbor of the...
Microsoft and Mediabrands Announce Advertising Coalition Led by 4A's
June 23, 2010, 3:30 pmToday Microsoft Advertising and Mediabrands announced developments on the Media Operations Management System (M.O.M.S.), which is described as "an agency agnostic, enterprise-level architecture to connect the marketing ecosystem." The M.O.M.S. project was launched a year ago . Since then, Mediabrands and Microsoft have expanded their team to...
Russian President Joins Twitter
June 23, 2010, 3:30 pmAnother very significant person has come to recognize the value of Twitter. Today, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev stopped by Twitter's headquarters in San Francisco, met with the company's executives, and sent his first tweets. Medvedev's very first tweet, available in either Russian or English thanks to the creation of twin accounts, read,...
YouTube wins case against Viacom
June 23, 2010, 3:25 pm(Cross-posted from the YouTube Blog ) Today, the court granted our motion for summary judgment in Viacom's lawsuit with YouTube. This means that the court has decided that YouTube is protected by the safe harbor of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) against claims of copyright infringement.
Raven Tools to Sponsor BlueGlass LA
June 23, 2010, 3:24 pmGreat news today coming out of the BlueGlass and Raven Internet Marketing Tools camp ~ Raven Tools will be a premier sponsor of the BlueGlass LA conference on July 19th and 20th in West LA. Raven Tools has been a long term supporter of SEJ and our conference series, as they have sponsored the Search & Social Summits and also power SEJ Tools, our...
YouTube to Reward Partners Who Put Ratings on Content
June 23, 2010, 3:13 pmYouTube announced to is U.S. partners today that it has recently rolled out its content rating system to all U.S. partner-uploaded content, and giving away a prize to the first ten partners that add ratings to all of their content by the end of July. "Now, when you upload a video that does not have a specified content rating (i.e. MPAA or TV...
How External Deep Linking and More Content Can Boost Your Rankings
June 23, 2010, 2:38 pmEveryone wants a better ranking. Heck, we all know that that nice boost from position 8 to 5, or 2 to 1 for your targeted search term can mean a world of difference in the pageviews and clicks you receive, and that's probably a metric you're aggressively tracking. But how can you surpass the competition in your targeted search rankings? External...
Google Launches Ad News Site
June 23, 2010, 2:27 pmGoogle has launched a new advertising news resource called simply " Google Ad News ." It's a site that is powered by Google News and various ad-related categories you can choose feeds from. "The rapid pace of change in the advertising space can be dizzying," says Google business marketing manager Oliver Deighton. "From new ad formats to new ad...
.ORG Gets New Security Protection
June 23, 2010, 2:27 pmThe Public Interest Registry, the organization that manages .ORG addresses, said today it's the first generic top-level domain (gTLD) to offer Domain Name System Security Extensions or DDNSSEC. "We are proud to take this next step in DNSSEC deployment and transform the vision of a safer Internet into a reality," said Alexa Raad, CEO of .ORG, The...
Google "Open Sources" Froyo
June 23, 2010, 2:27 pmThe Droid X (running Android 2.1) from Verizon and Motorola was announced today, and along with that, Google announced that it is open sourcing Android 2.2 (or Froyo) to its partners who manufacture Android devices. "Customers will enjoy great new features and improved browser performance," says Goole VP of Engineering Andy Rubin. "And developers...
Industry leaders combat Internet fraud with new alliance
June 23, 2010, 1:33 pmHi everyone, I'm Michael Barrett, chief information security officer at PayPal. PayPal is working with key industry leaders eBay, Microsoft, Citizens Bank and several U.S. regulators, consumer organizations and security groups, in an effort to combat Internet fraud. This initiative, called the Internet Fraud Alert, will permit companies and...
iPhone 4 Reviews Take Over the Web
June 23, 2010, 1:33 pmiPhone 4 reviews are all over the web now. Techmeme has a pretty huge roundup of them . You can find just about every angle of this phone covered, including the insides . TechCrunch is reporting that Apple may be adding another patent infringement lawsuit against HTC. These two companies already have suits against each other. Fortune points to a...
SMB’s Learning to Tie Social Media to E-Mail Campaigns
June 23, 2010, 1:28 pm
From time to time I address the current situation of the SMB (small and medium business) as it relates to Internet marketing as a whole. It’s an interesting study because while the vast majority of the companies in the US fall into this category (some estimates place it as high as 95%) they are the least understood of all...
Celebrating Android
June 23, 2010, 1:16 pmToday, Verizon and Motorola announced the newest device powered by Android at an event in New York. We were thrilled to be there, and humbled by what our partners have been able to accomplish with Android. Every day 160,000 Android-powered devices are activated - that's nearly two devices every second, used for the first time by people from New...
Social Bookmarking: Pop Goes Your Content
June 23, 2010, 1:02 pmThis is not a post about social bookmarking for hobbyists. This is how to do social bookmarking for/a> SEO - cold hard advice. But, read on hobbyists - there's great news in this for you, too.
Anne Hathaway's Jewels, Rolling Stone Profile, E-Reader Price Cuts: What's the Buzz
June 23, 2010, 12:58 pmby Claudine Zap Our top picks from the day's hottest searches. Anne Hathaway (Searches increased by 1,945%). Jewelry given to the star from ex-boyfriend and imprisoned businessman Raffaello Follieri, will be auctioned off by the FBI. Rolling Stone magazine (+1,802%). Read the magazine profile that got General Stanley McChrystal in big trouble....
Google Apps Gets Multi-Domain Support
June 23, 2010, 12:30 pmGoogle has introduced multi-domain support in Google Apps. This comes in a new admin control that lets businesses and organizations with two or more domains on Google Apps manage them from a single control panel. "Thousands of organizations deploy Google Apps every day, and a challenge for some large businesses has been migrating employees on...
‘I Want My $2!’ — The Power of SEO with Conversion
June 23, 2010, 12:21 pmBy combining website conversion principles with SEO, we can create a better user experience and help improve a site’s bottom line.
Judge rules in favor of YouTube over Viacom
June 23, 2010, 12:03 pm"Viacom's US$1 billion copyright infringement lawsuit against Google's video-sharing site YouTube has been dismissed by the court..."
Rude Behavior Causing Americans To Tune Out Social Networks
June 23, 2010, 11:44 amMore than one-third (34%) of Americans are "tuning out" social networking sites, with 39 percent doing so because of rude behavior, according to a new survey by Weber Shandwick and KRC Research. "We prefer to communicate through social networks the same way we do in everyday social settings. We tend to congregate around shared interests. We want...
Zuckerberg On 1 Billion Users: "Almost A Guarantee"
June 23, 2010, 11:44 amFacebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg does not think small. "Big" doesn't do his objectives justice, either. At the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival today, Zuckerberg talked about getting 1 billion users and making his site the top social network in every country in the world. Facebook isn't as far away from achieving that second goal as...
What's the Best Way to Market to Mobile Users?
June 23, 2010, 11:22 amDynmark has released a report based on a study of creative marketing agencies' use of mobile marketing. The firm spoke with figureheads from agencies including Ogilvy, Gyro HSR and Essence Media. What ways do you use mobile in your marketing mix? Discuss here . The main theme of the report is that permission and trust are essential to SMS...
The Latest from Bing: New Entertainment Features and a New Look
June 23, 2010, 11:16 amLast night our friends over at Bing unveiled a new design and announced some exciting new features, focused on Music, Gaming, Movies and TV searches. As Yusuf Mehdi said on the Bing Blog , Our focus was on making it easy if you can type.
comScore Reports Top 20 Web Properties in Israel
June 23, 2010, 11:11 amcomScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released an overview of Internet usage in Israel based on the comScore Media Metrix audience measurement service. The data revealed that despite Israel's modest market size it has one of the most active and engaged Internet populations in the world, ranking second only...
Do New Advertisers Pay 4x More Than Established Advertisers?
June 23, 2010, 11:10 amAn experienced search marketer is aware that what you pay per click within Google is directly tied to your Quality Score and the Ad Rank ( Quality Score * Max CPC Bid) of the other advertisers. If you are new to search marketing , you might not know that only in the last few years did Google even give advertisers the ability to see their Quality...
Google Also Looking Into Music Service Tied To Search [Report]
June 23, 2010, 10:49 amAs Microsoft launched its Bing Entertainment search hub, it's no surprise that reports are surfacing about Google planning to roll out its own music service, tied-in with its search engine. Citing "people familiar with the Internet giant's discussions with the music industry," a Wall Street Journal report started the rumor a couple of days before...
Big Name Internet Marketers Join Forces for BlueGlass
June 23, 2010, 10:42 amSome big names in Internet marketing have gotten together and started up BlueGlass Interactive , described as a "new agency concept that combines proven online marketing strategies and resutls with a suite of proprietary technologies." Here's the management line-up: Chris Winfield - Chief Marketing Officer, Dave Snyder - SVP of Search, Brent...
101 Social Media Tools for Social Media Marketing and More
June 23, 2010, 10:23 amWhat a collection! Took me a few hours to look through and it definitely deserves another look!
Target Marketing for the Small Business Online
June 23, 2010, 10:13 amTarget marketing is effective for all businesses but especially useful for small businesses needing to stand out and compete with smaller ad budgets. The more you know about your buyers, the more you'll understand what they want and how to target them. The problem is, no matter what you're selling, online advertising can be expensive and has stiff...
Twitter's New "Forces of Good" Stream
June 23, 2010, 10:05 amBack in January, Twitter launched Hope140.org, a site dedicated to showing the ways that Twitter is helping the world. Now, they've launched a Twitter account for it. Today, co-founder Biz Stone tweeted about it:
We've set up a new account called @hope140 and it will be Good.Wed Jun 23 12:55:33 via Twitter for iPhoneBiz Stone
biz
It's a bit...
Facebook Thinks Email is "Probably Going Away"
June 23, 2010, 9:56 amFacebook thinks email is dying. Classic. How many times have we heard this now? Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg gave a speech at the Nielsen Consumer 360 conference recently, essentially claiming as much. Do you think email is dying? Comment here . "In consumer technology, if you want to know what people like us will do tomorrow, you look at what...
7 Strategies for Escaping "Me Too" Product Launches
June 23, 2010, 9:56 amAre you noticing an awful lot of launches nowadays? Well, it's not just you. As many bloggers jump off the Adsense bandwagon, they're getting into the launch game, with a neverending stream of premium eBooks, white papers, audio interview series, video courses, membership sites, networking events, webinars, conferences, consultation packages,...
Bing Entertainment: Search and View Movies, Music, TV, etc
June 23, 2010, 9:39 am"...the company unveiled Bing Entertainment, which provides the ability to search, view and - depending on the medium - purchase films, TV, music and games."
Malware Targeting iPhones Can Also Infect iPads
June 23, 2010, 9:16 amMalware aimed at infecting iPhones can also compromise the iPad, according to a new report from PandaLabs. "This doesn't mean we're about to face an avalanche of infections. We have always stated that as Apple increases its market share, cyber-crooks will begin to show more interest in targeting the platform," said Luis Corrons, technical director...
One-Fifth Of Android Apps Said To Pose Security Risks
June 23, 2010, 9:16 amEveryone would do well to show a little caution when browsing the Android Market, according to a new report. SMobile Systems - which specializes in security issues pertaining to mobile phones and the wireless infrastructure - believes 20 percent of the available applications allow third parties access to info better left unshared. Indeed,...
MerchantCircle Gives Merchants Their Own Version of Foursquare
June 23, 2010, 8:53 amLocal business social network MerchantCircle has launched a "Mayors" program to its 1.4 million members, no doubt an attempt to capitalize one the growing popularity of Fourquare. "As you know, local players who focus on the consumer space have introduced gaming elements, like check-ins and badges, to add fun and interest and drive traffic to...
Dear Facebook Friends, You're Doing it Wrong
June 23, 2010, 8:47 amUnless you've gone to a college in the last 10-15 years (and only when the book existed), you may not even know where the name Facebook came from. (In case you want to know, here's a hint .) Facebook, originally known as thefacebook.com, was a service that connected college students to their classmates and to friends in other universities. The...
Bing Announces Entertainment Upgrades…in a Gazillion Words
June 23, 2010, 8:43 am
Bing’s announcements annoy me. I’m sorry, but it’s true.
Why do they annoy me?
Because if something can be said in 50 words, Bing will figure out how to say it in 5000. A common theme among Bing’s announcements is too much explanation of the features they’re rolling it. It’s like they’re...
Can the Useful Cookie Survive the European Legal Muddle?
June 23, 2010, 8:42 amSince the 24th November last year, European country governments are required to legislate for better electronic privacy " which includes bringing in much more transparency over the use of the "Cookie". The way European Union law develops is designed to work as an effective compromise between having one consistent law for the whole of Europe and to...
Bing Does Bang Up Job in Entertainment, Still No Match for Google
June 23, 2010, 8:30 amNo surprise that Microsoft's Bing team should focus on the entertainment vertical hosting a star-studded news event in Los Angeles hosted by Ryan Seacrest. Changes include moving Quick Tabs from the left-hand rail to under the "answer bar" (this is the search box) atop the Bing Website: But the big news is the launch of the Bing Entertainment...
AT&T Grandfathered 3G iPads Missing Promised Unlimited Option
June 23, 2010, 8:27 amAT&T has screwed up again and it's impacting tens of thousands of people who ordered iPads before June 7th in order to be offered the unlimited bandwidth option. These unlimited grandfathered iPads started arriving today, but when you go to the AT&T signup screen it only shows limited bandwidth plan options.
==
Update: Go to Apple's iPad...
Yahoo Apparently Gives Up On Search Relevance, Fires Editorial Team
June 23, 2010, 8:23 am
There are three ways to look at this announcement:
“Yahoo started its week with layoffs in Sunnyvale,” an employee tells us. “Seems to be affecting the editorial team that does search relevance testing.”
Yahoo is preparing for Bing. You don’t need search relevance teams when you’re handing over...
Bing Makes Big Changes to User Interface, Search Experience
June 23, 2010, 8:12 amBing has made some design changes and added a bunch of new features. For starters, the quick tabs have moved from the left pane to the just below the search box. "Secondly, you will see a new design aesthetic applied to Bing," says Bing Corporate VP Brian MacDonald. "We have tried to bring you an experience grounded in clear readable typography...
Client's Guide to SEO: How to Approach SEO Agencies
June 23, 2010, 7:32 amHappy waiter by howard N2GOT Today someone was searching for a " client's guide to SEO " over at my SEO 2.0 blog. I think this topic is more fitting here on SEOptimise so I will explain the best approach to SEO companies and Internet marketing agencies for potential clients. In 2010 most people in business already know at least something about how...
Pay Per Face: 52 Facebook Advertising Tips & Best Practices
June 23, 2010, 7:21 amFacebook Ads Are Interesting' and Profitable Combine AdWords' copywriting and analytics with image-oriented linkbait, and you've got Facebook ads. And it's a new system to figure out how to compete in. To that end, I've combined my own experience with creating and optimizing Facebook ads for myself and clients with a survey of the existing...
The iPhone Reality in Europe: Low Overall Penetration, Enormous Impact
June 23, 2010, 7:10 amcomScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today outlined the impact the first three generations of Apple's iPhone have had on the European mobile market, in light of record pre-sales and extraordinary consumer demand for the iPhone 4, which launches tomorrow.
AT&T Completes Acquisition of Verizon Assets
June 23, 2010, 6:47 amAT&T has completed its acquisition of wireless assets from Verizon Wireless, which Verizon agreed to give up to gain regulatory approval of its acquisition of Alltel. AT&T says the transaction enhances its wireless network coverage in primarily rural areas in 79 service areas across 18 states, including: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado,...
Video: Darren Huston Keynote â" Managing Transformation Through Innovation â" Cannes Lions 2010
June 23, 2010, 6:01 amWe hosted several hundred customers at a business conference here at Cannes Lions yesterday. They were treated to some demos of current and future technology that pushed the boundaries of the consumer experience, but also helps marketers and brands really connect through immersive and engaging experiences. Kinect for Xbox 360 was shown live on...
Win a Free Pass to Online Marketing Summit Minneapolis
June 23, 2010, 6:01 amIt's that time of year again and the ClickZ Online Marketing Summit will arrive shortly to the Minneapple, Friday June 25th. The conference organizer has generously donated a free pass to the 1 day workshop for us to give away here on Online Marketing Blog. The agenda covers everything from Social to SEO to B2B Blogging to Email Marketing.
Bing Banks On Deep Contextual Search With One-Stop Entertainment Hub
June 23, 2010, 5:59 amBing sure knows how to deliver on its promises. In our June 10 SEM post, we did tell you that a show was slated to take place in Los Angeles for another Bing announcement. That sure was the place to do it (you'll see why in a second), and the search arm of Microsoft rolled out the red carpet - no less - for the launch of its new born: Bing...
American Express Open Releases Paid-Search Platform
June 23, 2010, 4:40 am"The platform provides a dashboard and point to access two of the major search engine paid-click advertising platforms from Google, and Microsoft adCenter and Yahoo Search Marketing."
Google Analytics $index – What it is and how to use it
June 23, 2010, 4:22 amOne of the features of Google Analytics is the ability to view the $index value of a certain page, but do you know what it means and how to use it?
How $index is calculated
$index is calculated by looking at which pages are viewed on the way to a person making a purchase or completing a goal. The more unique views a page gets on the way to a...
Google Unveils its Own HTML5 Site
June 23, 2010, 4:12 am"Google is releasing a new developer resource dedicated to all that is HTML5."
Video: Interview with Richard Dunmall â" VP Microsoft Advertising Asia at Cannes Lions
June 23, 2010, 2:06 amFollowing our insightful conversations with agencies in the Asia Pacific region , we chatted to Richard Dunmall â" VP of Microsoft Advertising in the region â" to ask about his experience of Cannes Lions , get his thoughts on advertising in his part of the world, and where he thinks we might be headed. Follow us on Twitter and our Facebook...
Empowered in the Harvard Business Review
June 23, 2010, 1:21 amSomething very cool has happened. The folks at Harvard Business Review have accepted and published our article about the concepts in Empowered . This article is a great introduction to the ideas in Empowered. It talks about how empowered customers place demands on companies, and how it takes empowered employees - highly empowered and resourceful...
Must-Have SEO Recommendations: Step 7 of the 8-Step SEO Strategy
June 23, 2010, 1:21 amPosted by laura This post was originally in YOUmoz , and was promoted to the main blog because it provides great value and interest to our community. The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of SEOmoz, Inc. You know the client. The one that really needs your help. The one that gets pumped when you explain how...
Every Website Has Goals (or it Should!)
June 23, 2010, 1:21 amThere are many ways you can change things on your website in order to improve the overall user experience. For most people the goal of their website is usually to improve their bottom line but if you take a step back and think about what your business does you might find that your website should have many other goals as well. Here are some of the...
Yahoo's 404 Handling from Yahoo Slurp
June 23, 2010, 12:26 am"So what the heck is going on here? Is this some kind of spoofing in order to crawl my site to get past current bad bot blocking and / or exploit trawling?"
SEMPO Institute SEO, SEM Training Review
June 23, 2010, 12:18 amWith internet marketing being such an essential ingredient to any thriving business entity in today's market place the need to have an organization where others can learn everything from complex internet marketing techniques to essential search engine optimization steps is very imperative.
11 Sure Fire Ways to Annoy Your Readers
June 22, 2010, 11:16 pmAre you unknowingly annoying your readers? Well, if you are making these 11 mistakes, you might be turning them off.
'Knight and Day': Movie Review Roundup
June 22, 2010, 6:45 pmby Claudine Zap Onscreen, Tom Cruise has shown us his intense side (think "Mission Impossible"). Offscreen he's shown us his crazy side (Oprah's couch jumping incident, anyone?). With " Knight and Day ," we get to see the actor's lighter touch â" while still keeping the body count high and the stunts nonstop. So how do the critics like the new...
Linkscape Index Update: New Partnerships & API Data
June 22, 2010, 6:39 pmPosted by randfish Many of our keen members observed that late last week, Linkscape's index updated (this is actually our 27th index update since starting the project in 2008). This means new link data in Open Site Explorer and Linkscape Classic , as well as new metric data via the mozbar and in our API . Index 27 Statistics For those who are...
Google Maps for Android Becomes More Like FourSquare
June 22, 2010, 5:13 pmGoogle has just released Maps 4.3 for Android phone and based on the new features given out by the Google Mobile Blog, it seems like the app is being geared towards becoming more like FourSquare and other location-aware social media apps. According to Google, the new features of Google Maps 4.3 would help you quickly choose the right place to grab...
Microsoft Updates Bing for iPhone App
June 22, 2010, 5:13 pmJust in time for the roll out of iPhone iOS4, Microsoft has updated its Bing iPhone app to include two new useful features - enhanced social integration with Twitter and Facebook and Visual Scanning. The enhanced social feature of Bing iPhone app now lets you connect your Facebook and Twitter accounts and see combined updates from your friends...
Amazon Universal Wishlist
June 22, 2010, 5:01 pmWe've added a new optional button to the Alexa Toolbar for Firefox , the Universal Amazon Wishlist! Now if you are browsing and see a product that you want, you can add it to your Amazon Universal Wishlist without having to browse away from the page you are on. You don't even have to be visiting amazon.com to use it. The Universal Wishlist joins...
'Footloose' Gets Its Star
June 22, 2010, 4:55 pmby Mike Krumboltz " Footloose ," the 1984 film about dancing teens, launched Kevin Bacon 's career. Will the remake do the same for Kenny Wormald ? The film's producers had been looking for the right actor to fill Bacon's sizable shoes for some time. Several high-profile stars had been rumored for the role, including Zac Efron (dropped out, didn't...
Google Search By Voice Introduces Support For Korean
June 22, 2010, 4:44 pmAn estimated 80 million or so people speak Korean worldwide, and starting today, it should be possible for them to conduct searches on Google without lifting a finger. Google Search by voice now supports the Korean language. Obviously, this is an important step forward since it may make Google more popular with a large number of people.
Ronaldo's Words of Wisdom from the World Cup: Stay Focused
June 22, 2010, 4:09 pmWith the World Cup in full action, we asked Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo to share his perspective on what drives him to play football (known as soccer in some countries) and the role of fans online. Be sure to root for your favorite team on Facebook through the Goal! Leaderboard . For as long as I can remember, my focus has been on futbol....
Google Shows Its HTML5 Love with New Site
June 22, 2010, 4:03 pmGoogle has created a new resource for developers looking to use HTML5 in their work. The site is called HTML5 Rocks and has launched with nine tutorials on HTML5 features. In addition to step-by-step tutorials, HMTL5 Rocks features an interactive presentation and a code playground where you can experiment with APIs. The site keeps a running tab of...
eBay Lists its iPhone 4 Sales Guidelines
June 22, 2010, 4:03 pmThe iPhone 4 is scheduled for release on June 24th. eBay has prepared for this and has set some rules for how the site will handle sales. On eBay, Apple authorized resellers will be allowed to list an unlimited number of items per week. eBay Top-rated sellers will be allowed to list up to 8 items per week. Sellers with a history of selling in the...
Strong International Growth Forecast For Twitter
June 22, 2010, 3:41 pmIf it hasn't already done so, Twitter may soon need to hire a few translators. This afternoon, the stats experts at Pingdom took a look at how the site is doing on an international basis, and it seems that Twitter's rate of growth has become rather high in about a dozen different countries. Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela stood...
How I Drove Over 36 Million Pageviews Following This Social Media Policy
June 22, 2010, 3:29 pmThe social media policy I followed to drive over 36 million pageviews to web properties worldwide, is based on a social media analysis model I call The Social Trinity . The 3-part methodology instructs one to first identify all points of exposure on a social platform for your digital assets, such as profiles, pages, blogs, discussion areas;...
Google to Retire AdWords Report Center
June 22, 2010, 3:18 pmGoogle is making changes to reporting in AdWords. They've moved some of the reports from the Report Center to the Campaigns tab, and will do so with more as time goes on. "Now you can use AdWords to see the search terms and automatic placements where your ads appeared, segment your data by things like keyword match type and day of week, and email...
Google Maps for Android Gets an Upgrade
June 22, 2010, 2:56 pmGoogle has released an update for Google Maps for Android. Version 4.3 comes with new a few new features. First, users can see a snapshot of what people are saying about a place from the search results page. "Instead of pouring through full reviews, you can start by looking at what the most frequently mentioned aspects about a place are, such as...
Google Music Service is a Me, Too Proposition to Boost Android
June 22, 2010, 2:32 pmWhen I watched Google launch Google Buzz on a Webcast last February, I confess I did so with mixed feelings. It was good to see Google do something more serviceable in the social Web, even if it did make Gmail an open social graph and breach privacy etiquette. But it also felt like a me, too to compete with Facebook and Twitter, the social kings...
New Agency BlueGlass Interactive Has Online Marketing Dream Team
June 22, 2010, 2:15 pmNo matter what area of online marketing you may need, the newly launched BlueGlass Interactive has it covered by some of the best people in the space. The company announced its formation today and is already getting press in the New York Times . Click to read the rest of this post.
Seasoned Interactive Marketers Join Forces Under One Agency
June 22, 2010, 1:59 pmMore than two dozen marketers, including 10e20 President Chris Winfield and CMO Second Step Search Loren Baker have joined forces to establish a new agency, BlueGlass Interactive.Click to read the rest of this post...
Top 10 Reasons Why Every SEM Needs an iPad
June 22, 2010, 1:53 pmLast weekend I finally convinced myself to buy an iPad, after a few weeks of trying to figure out if I actually needed one. I know I'm not the only one - and there's probably a lot of people in the search industry who are currently contemplating the same decision, so I'm sure you'll appreciate a few extra reasons you convince yourself that an iPad...
Google And Apple Trusted More Than Facebook And Twitter
June 22, 2010, 1:53 pmNearly half (49%) of U.S. adults trust Apple, Microsoft and Google, according to a new Zogby Interactive survey. Twitter and Facebook were rated much lower, with trust levels of 8 percent and 13 percent respectively. Microsoft, Apple, Facebook and Google are all more trusted than traditional media, which had a trust level of 8 percent. While...
Yahoo Releases PlaceFinder to Spread Location Awareness
June 22, 2010, 1:53 pmYahoo has announced the public release of Yahoo PlaceFinder , a web service providing multi-language global geocoding of named places, that replaces the Yahoo Maps Geocoding API. What PlaceFinder does, is allow developers to make their apps location-aware. Yahoo's official overview for the service: The PlaceFinder web service allows you to convert...
WWE Body Slams YouTube Community with Full-Length Episodes
June 22, 2010, 1:22 pmNate Weinstein, who manages Entertainment Marketing at YouTube, has just announced a new deal that adds to YouTube's growing footprint of premium content and offers marketers interested in reaching an important demographic some of world's best wrestling entertainment to advertise against.Click to read the rest of this post...
Cyndi Lauper's Reality Show, 'Green Hornet' Trailer, Chelsea Clinton Sets the Date: What's the Buzz
June 22, 2010, 1:12 pmby Claudine Zap Our top picks from the day's hottest searches. Leonard Nimoy (Searches increased by 12,318%). Mr. Spock was honored by "Star Trek" fans in Vulcan, Canada . The actor is hanging up his pointy ears for good. Cyndi Lauper (+8,366%). The '80s pop star and competitor on "Celebrity Apprentice" will star in a reality show about her life....
AT&T Grandfathered 3G iPads Missing Unlimited Option!
June 22, 2010, 1:12 pmAT&T has screwed up again and it's impacting tens of thousands of people who ordered iPads before June 7th in order to be offered the unlimited bandwidth option. These unlimited grandfathered iPads started arriving today, but when you go to the AT&T signup screen it only shows limited bandwidth plan options. Thousands of people ordered by June 6th...
What's More Important in Search? Freshness or Quality?
June 22, 2010, 1:12 pmIt's been a while since we looked at one of the Google Q&A webmaster videos that Matt Cutts does, but I found this recent one particularly interesting, considering the emphasis that has been put on freshness in search engines lately. The user question in this particular video says: Some people are under the impression that blogs are good for SEO...
Summer Clothing and Apparel: Make Your PPC Ads Pop with Promotions (plus a Downloadable Keyword List!)
June 22, 2010, 1:01 pmNow that summer is officially here, seasonal spikes in searches on clothing and apparel terms are expected. Although this bit of information was the inspiration behind this post, the below ad copy best practices can be used across a variety of retail verticals, so be sure to review them for relevancy to your own campaigns: According to historical...
Weekly Search & Social News: 06/22/2010
June 22, 2010, 1:00 pmHello my faithful web wanderers and welcome to another edition of ' 7 Days of Search and Social ' - we're officially into summer here (northern hemisphere at least) and we all know what that means; slooooooow. The search world does seem to lag a lot as far as news is concerned at this time of year, which makes this Gypsy's reporting job a little...
New Digg Drupal Modules
June 22, 2010, 12:55 pmHere at Digg, we love open source.
WordStream's Free Negative Keyword Tool Weeds Out The Unwanted To Boost Click-Through Rates
June 22, 2010, 12:55 pmWordstream, the SEO and PPC solutions provider, has just launched its Free Negative Keyword Tool - yes you did read free- designed for marketers to identify and remove irrelevant impressions and clicks. No, wait. That's what it does but the tool is intended to help boost ROI by increasing click-through-rate and Quality Score. Click to read the...
Google Voice Now Open to Everyone
June 22, 2010, 12:49 pmGoogle has finally opened Google Voice up to the public, and no longer requires users to have an invitation to use it. There are already over a million people using it, the company says, and that number is about to increase dramatically. "We're proud of the progress weve made with Google Voice over the last few years, and were still just...
Mayday, Mayday: Why SEO content development is more important than ever
June 22, 2010, 12:32 pmMy guess is that you've already heard the buzz surrounding Google's "May Day" announcement (and its rankings aftermath). Even if it's late June, Google's May Day algorithm change continues to be analyzed, expounded upon (and yes, even feared) by search engine specialists and the clients who love them. Good news: it's not all bad news....
New PayPal research reveals Canadians are using cash, checks less frequently
June 22, 2010, 12:26 pmHi Everyone. It's Nicky Mezo from PayPal Canada. A new study on the future of money reveals that you're not alone when it comes to being frustrated with cash and checks. How are Canadians dealing with this frustration? According to the research commissioned by PayPal, Canadians are opting to reach for their digital wallet instead. The Future of...
Search & Social, 10e20 & Brent Csutoras MERGE to for BlueGlass Interactive
June 22, 2010, 12:20 pmToday we released the major announcement that Search & Social (the parent company of Search Engine Journal) has merged with 10e20 and Brent Csutoras, Inc. to form one AMAZING all encompassing online marketing agency, BlueGlass Interactive, Inc . This merger brings together some of the best people in online marketing, and a some great friends and...
Video: Focus on Asia Pacific Agencies at Cannes Lions 2010
June 22, 2010, 11:52 amWe're just cranking out the video insights on our Cannes Lions micro site right now! The above was shot at lunchtime today and includes some nuggets of wisdom from digital agency folk who plan and buy media in Asia. Delegates are coming to Cannes from all over the world, and we wanted to showcase some of the opinions and thought leadership from...
U.S. Mobile Virtual Gaming Market Worth $168M in 2010 & Poised To Explode [Study]
June 22, 2010, 11:33 amU.S. consumers' spending on in-game mobile virtual goods this year is set to exceed $168 million, according to a joint study by research firm Magid Associates and software developer Aurora Feint. The mobile virtual goods market is still nascent and holds great promises for marketers for the future. Here's why.Click to read the rest of this...
There's No Such Thing as Perfect Content
June 22, 2010, 11:31 amby Stoney deGeyter
If George Lucas taught us anything with his re-tinkering of the original Star Wars trilogy it's that there is no such thing as "perfect." When it comes to your website's content, the same holds true. But in the case of your website, the tinkering should improve upon the original rather than create a bastardize version of an...
Four Engines, Four Ways To Generate Links
June 22, 2010, 11:29 amExcellent list of ways to use various search engines to find new sources of links. As always, Debra shares ideas that might be missed otherwise.
Sears And Kmart Ready Online Movie Service
June 22, 2010, 11:26 amSonic Solutions said today it has entered into an agreement with Sears to provide consumers access to entertainment on a range of Internet connected devices including TVs, Blu-ray players, and mobile phones.
Under the multi-year agreement, Sears has licensed Sonic Solutions' RoxioNow platform, which will power digital entertainment delivery...
Apple Announces 3 Million iPad Sales in 80 Days
June 22, 2010, 11:24 amApple announced that it has sold three million iPads in the 80 days since its introduction. "People are loving iPad as it becomes a part of their daily lives," Apple CEO Steve Jobs said in a statement. "We're working hard to get this magical product into the hands of even more people around the world, including those in nine more countries next...
Google Voice Challenged By Patent Suit
June 22, 2010, 11:21 amFrontier Communications, a communications provider with a market cap of around $2.4 billion, is not happy with Google. In fact, Frontier is dissatisfied to the point that it sued the search giant this morning, claiming that Google Voice infringes on a patent it holds.
This isn't a question of whether or not some minor feature bears a faint...
Video Interview with Quentin George CDO at IPG Media Brands â" Cannes Lions 2010
June 22, 2010, 11:12 amJust before the Microsoft Business conference this morning, I chatted to Chief Digital Office from IPG Media Brands - Quentin George â" about his experience at Cannes, what marketers should be thinking about in this multi-screen online world, and gives us insight into his digital dream. Follow us on Twitter and our Facebook Page and subscribe...
Introducing the Beginner's Guide to SEO v2.0
June 22, 2010, 11:12 amPosted by Danny Dover Today, I am proud to announce the new and improved Beginner's Guide to SEO . This free tutorial covers everything you need to know to get started improving your search engine rankings in the major search engines. Put simply, this is the resource I would have kicked a fool in order to get my hands on when I was first diving...
Yahoo Fires Search Relevance Testers
June 22, 2010, 11:07 am"Yahoo started its week with layoffs in Sunnyvale," an employee tells us. "Seems to be affecting the editorial team that does search relevance testing."
McAfee Studies What Teens Are Getting Away with Online
June 22, 2010, 11:06 amMcAfee has released the results of a study today, finding that nearly half of online teens have shared personal information with strangers. The study looked at this and other areas of concern for parents. "Keeping kids safe no longer only means teaching them about the dangers of alcohol or how to deal with a school bully," says McAfee's Tracy...
The More People Read, the More Likely They'll be to Choose an E-Reader Over an iPad
June 22, 2010, 11:06 amAs you may know, eBook readers are getting cheaper. Yesterday B arnes & Noble lowered the price on its 3G Nook , forcing Amazon to also lower the price of its Kindle . Combine that with the popularity of the iPad , and the market for eBooks is growing. Retrevo has shared with us some results from a survey on the topic . The firm asked participants...
Meet the World’s First Free Negative Keyword Tool
June 22, 2010, 11:00 amToday, we released the world’s first Free Negative Keyword Tool for improving your click-through rates and Quality Score, which in turn can significantly improve your ROI across your entire PPC account.
Video Interview with Darren Huston CVP at Microsoft at Cannes Lions 2010
June 22, 2010, 10:54 amI caught up with Darren Huston, CVP of Microsoft's Consumer and Online division after the TED @ Cannes event last night. In charge of marketing and advertising sales of Microsoft's consumer products like MSN, Bing and Xbox, Darren shares his thoughts on the TED Talks, his expectations for the week here at Cannes Lions , and how Microsoft is...
Video: Microsoft Advertising Execs Share Thoughts from Cannes Lions 2010
June 22, 2010, 10:37 amWe caught up with a host of Microsoft Advertising executives yesterday, to get their perspective on the week ahead here at the International Advertising Festival â" Cannes Lions It's always great to understand what's driving our business from the helm, and in these four short snippets they gave us some insight into understanding the agency...
Video - Behind the Scenes at TED @ Cannes â" Cannes Lions 2010
June 22, 2010, 10:37 amYesterday, here in the south of France, we hosted TED@Cannes . The venture, in partnership with Starcom Mediavest Group , had created a huge amount of buzz beforehand and we were honoured the TED team gave us back stage access to the rehearsals and speakers so we could give you a glimpse of what goes into these amazing talks. Fact: They've been...
LinkedIn Groups Gets A Facelift
June 22, 2010, 10:28 am
LinkedIn is sneaky. You would think that a site that just announced it reached the 70 million user mark would be hard to keep off the radar but sometimes it feels that way. Just check out how many social media ‘experts’ and ‘gurus’ admit that they need to work on their Linkedin presence more. In terms of being cool it...
Yahoo Updates Advertisers on Microsoft Transition
June 22, 2010, 10:19 amYahoo has provided an update on the planned search alliance with Microsoft due out later this year. The company says the goal is still to have the transition in the U.S. and Canada complete before the start of the 2010 holiday season. Yahoo says that in late summer, it will offer a window of several weeks in which advertisers can choose a time to...
WordStream Offers Free Negative Keyword Tool
June 22, 2010, 10:08 amWordStream has announced that they'll be offering a free negative keyword tool . In PPC marketing, the ability to narrow down your keywords and have selective strings can mean the difference between wasteful and efficient spending. If you're used to using a traditional keyword suggestion tool, this will be no different- it gives you suggestions on...
SearchManager Consolidates Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, & Facebook Ad Campaigns
June 22, 2010, 9:57 amAmerican Express has launched a new search marketing tool for small businesses via its OPEN forum . The tool, powered by Clickable , is called SearchManager , and lets business owners manage paid search campaigns across Google AdWords, Yahoo Search Marketing, Microsoft adCenter, and Facebook ads from one dashboard. "According to Forrester Research,
Pilgrim’s Picks for June 22 – Monday’s Over Edition
June 22, 2010, 9:56 am
How was your Monday?
Mine? Mine was pretty awful and I’m glad it’s over. Still, today is a new day and, so far, it doesn’t suck!
Let’s get your day started off on the right foot with these Picks:
Quora’s Highly Praised Q&A Service Launches To The Public (And The Real Test Begins)
E-mail...
New iPhone OS Brings Privacy Updates
June 22, 2010, 9:48 am
If you are a big player in the Internet space these days you will be brought into the spotlight for anything around privacy. You can be confident of that. With Apple getting plenty of attention with a new iPhone OS release (iOS 4) and the latest generation iPhone 4 about to hit the hands of those pre-order folks (keep your fingers...
Are You Planning Your Social Media Backwards?
June 22, 2010, 9:40 amby Jennifer Laycock When it comes time to put together a social media strategy for your company, there are a few key steps you need to consider before getting started. Unfortunately, most companies bypass these steps and do everything in exactly the wrong order. Their conversations usually go a little something like this: Person 1: We need to...
New Google patent: the reasonable surfer and your links
June 22, 2010, 9:36 amLast month, Google was granted a patent that states that the different links on a linking page have a different effect on the linked pages. How does this affect your website and what do you have to do to secure your rankings?
Process for Analyzing a Twitter Account
June 22, 2010, 9:28 amWhenever someone follows me on Twitter, I will check out their profile to see who they are and if they are legit or a spammer. For the most part, if someone is active in the community and is involved in Internet Marketing in one way or another, I will follow them. However in order to keep my account clean and filled with only active and relevant...
Twitter And Facebook Driving Email Marketing
June 22, 2010, 9:17 amMarketers that send email messages that include social sharing options generate 30 percent higher click-through rates (CTRs) than emails without a social sharing option, and messages with three or more sharing options generate 55 percent higher CTRs, according to a new study from GetResponse.
"The impressive 55 percent CTR increase achieved...
Google and Compete Reveal Data About How People Research and Buy Phones
June 22, 2010, 9:17 amGoogle and Compete teamed up on a study on consumers' shopping habits as they relate to purchases of wireless devices and smartphones. "With over 450 mobile devices in North America and an average of 10 new phone launches each week, how do shoppers decide which phone is right for them? How do marketers influence these purchase decisions?" asks the...
Bing iPhone App Upgraded with Social Search Results
June 22, 2010, 9:17 amMicrosoft has released a new update to the Bing app for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The app now lets users connect their Facebook and Twitter accounts to see combined status updates from their friends. They've also integrated search results from your friends using this data. "So if you search for a movie, you'll see movie showtimes first, then...
LinkedIn Makes Some Changes to Groups
June 22, 2010, 8:54 amLinkedIn has released some updates to its Groups feature. This is the first major update to Groups since the company launched discussions last summer. For starters, LinkedIn has eliminated the wall between onsite comments and off-site content like shared news articles. A new design makes it easier to look at the latest updates of a discussion and...
Google Music Store Rumors Resurface
June 22, 2010, 8:53 amSometime in the next six months, it may become possible for individuals to buy music straight from Google. People familiar with the matter believe the company will launch a music store with ties to its main search engine, and later, a cloud-based subscription service is supposed to debut. Of course, we've heard similar rumors many times before,...
When to Stop Drinking from the Information Fire Hydrant
June 22, 2010, 8:53 amI've been working with people and helping them figure out their personality styles for years, but I'm brand-new to blogging. So I did the logical thing and started researching. How to write an interesting post , how to target my audience , how to find my writing voice . If you've ever thought about trying a brand-new endeavor " like starting a...
Google & Twitter Fight for Your Right to Break the News First
June 22, 2010, 8:41 am
Did you know there’s a ruling before the appeals court that, if not overturned, might prevent you from using Twitter to share some hot news topic you just heard about?
It might also prevent Google News from indexing a blog post until given the go ahead by the original source of the news?
Crazy? Yes, but you can thank the...
8 things linkbuilders shouldn’t do when asking for links
June 22, 2010, 8:37 amLinkbuilding, we all know its one of the, maybe even the, biggest factors in SEO. Fact is that links matter. A lot. And that's why the art of linkbuilding exists. And its truly an art I would say. Especially if you look at those who can’t do it.
How to Speak Geek at SES Toronto 2010
June 22, 2010, 8:19 amOne of the hottest sessions at SES Toronto 2010 was "Speaking Geek: How Marketers Can Work with Web Developers to Achieve Business Goals."Click to read the rest of this post...
Social Darwinism; a guide to Twitter dorking
June 22, 2010, 8:16 amI actively use foursquare and other social networks, but I don't even go to the extent these people do. I try to keep private things private and what I want public (or don't care if it's public) public. I'm submitting this because it's something it has some great examples on how foursquare can be used against you.
Spammers Exploiting World Cup to Target Attacks
June 22, 2010, 8:14 amSymantec has released its June 2010 MessageLabs Intelligence Report, which looks at the recent increase in scams containing FIFA World Cup-related messages. The World Cup is being used to target unsuspecting users, and that is expected to increase as the event goes on. Brazil appears to be in the lead when it comes to focus of targeted attacks....
Adobe Launches Flash Player 10.1 for Mobile
June 22, 2010, 8:14 amAdobe announced today that Flash Player 10.1 for mobile is now available, saying that it has been redesigned from the ground up with new performance and mobile-specific features. This is the first release that brings the full Web across desktops and devices, the company says. "We are thrilled that more than three million Flash designers and...
JWT Does More than Talk about Ideas at Cannes Lions 2010
June 22, 2010, 8:08 amFernando Vega Olmos Stories need to be incomplete, they should be a provocation or invitation for people to participate. For 57 years, the most creative concepts in advertising have been called out at Cannes. Today, JWT didnt deviate from this by sharing their top 10 creative ideas from this year. The showreels had the audience gasp, laugh and...
Rock Stars' BP Boycott, Pixar's Record, David Blaine's Secrets: What's the Buzz
June 22, 2010, 8:02 amby Claudine Zap Our top picks from the day's hottest searches. David Blaine (Searches increased by 1,080%). Spoiler alert: The method behind the magician's levitation trick is explained . Boycott BP (+871%). Music acts like Korn, Backstreet Boys and Lady Gaga will not be gassing up their tour buses with BP. Cole slaw recipe (+307%). Our favorite:...
Bombs Away!: 'Jonah Hex' Edition
June 22, 2010, 8:02 amby Mike Krumboltz Nobody expected " Jonah Hex " to beat " Toy Story 3 " at the box office. But even the most cynical Hollywood pundit couldn't foresee the flick's embarrassing eighth-place finish . Eighth place, kids. Not even elementary school science fairs hand out ribbons for eighth place. The movie made less money than the...
Odd Laws Move the Web
June 22, 2010, 8:02 amby Claudine Zap Sometime in the near future, the license plate on your car could be playing an ad at a red light. Or the president could have the power to switch off the Internet. Or cheerleading could trump volleyball as a team sport. That's right, all these wacky ideas could become the real law of the land. It's your Buzz odd-law roundup. Your...
PayPal named a top innovator!
June 22, 2010, 7:57 amHi, All. Laura Chambers here, senior director of PayPal Mobile. I'm focused on mobilizing PayPal and bringing outstanding PayPal applications and features onto the mobile platform, and am excited to share that PayPal's iPhone Application was just named one of the Top 25 most innovative products for 2010 in LAPTOP Magazine! In a world first,
Salesforce Chatter Now Available to Everyone
June 22, 2010, 7:56 amSalesforce.com has announced the general availability of Salesforce Chatter , the company's cloud-based enterprise "social collaboration" app and platform. Chatter was introduced in November , launched in private beta back in February to 100 companies, and eventually expanded to over 5,000 customers. "Salesforce Chatter is the most exciting...
Googles View on Quality Links
June 22, 2010, 7:56 amOver at the Google Webmaster Central Blog , Kaspar Szymanski has published a post about quality links. One of the most popular questions Google tends to receive is what are the best practices for organic link building. In this post Kaspar explains Googles viewpoint on the issue. There are no breakthrough techniques listed in the Google post, but...
Alternative Sexy Pin-up Campaign Goes Viral
June 22, 2010, 7:56 amOver the years I have seen many great marketing campaigns that just made me say "wow". You know the ones, the campaigns that are so off-the-wall, yet also brilliant that you think' "why couldn't I have thought of that?" Well, I have decided to start posting these whenever I find them so that I can show clients or find them again when I need a...
Google vs Bing â" Notes I Promised from Today's SEO 101 Show
June 22, 2010, 7:56 amThe following are the rough Bing vs Google search engine optimization notes from the SEO 101 Internet radio show that aired today which I co-host with John Carcutt; listen to the archived show in podcast format . These notes were compiled during my attendance at the SMX Advanced conference in Seattle the previous week. Bing vs Google: Bing does...
Content Marketing: Definitions of Curation & Context
June 22, 2010, 7:51 amCompanies are realizing the value in "brands as publishers" and are making real commitments to the creation of content in their online marketing mix. It's no longer enough to provide fundamental features and benefits information about products and services to succeed competitively online. Consumers and of course, business buyers, seek additional...
Helping Others Understand Online Marketing
June 22, 2010, 7:30 amRecently I was called up for jury duty, which is not unusual in itself, but something happened that I found to be interesting. As a part of a potential jury pool for a DUI case in Phoenix, people in the group and myself were asked a set of questions about whether we could be fair and impartial. Afterward, potential jurors were brought in...
SEO is a Marketing Discipline - a call to arms for our industry
June 22, 2010, 6:44 amAn important post by UK online marketing veteran Rishi Lakhani (@rishil). Why is it that we as an industry don't command the kinds of budgets other marketing channels do? Why are we often subject to the whims of CEOs and boards who say "we need to rank for [big keyword] by next month" with no understanding of what it takes for sustainable long...
Google Music Service To Take a Big Bite At The Apple
June 22, 2010, 6:13 amWSJ: "Google Inc. is preparing to roll out a music download service tied to its search engine later this year, followed by an online subscription service in 2011, according to people familiar with the Internet giant's discussions with the music industry."
Google Search Share Up Slightly in May - Hitwise Report
June 22, 2010, 4:32 am"Google accounted for 72.17 percent of all U.S. searches conducted in the four weeks ending May 29, 2010. Yahoo! Search, Bing and Ask received 14.43 percent, 9.23 percent and 2.14 percent, respectively."
AdSense Revenue Drops But For Me Pubcenter Up
June 21, 2010, 11:27 pm"This last drop in adsense revenue pushed me to try Microsoft ads again and I am happy to report, it is paying what adsense paid before the drop.."
The Social Media Policy I Followed to Drive Over 36 Million Pageviews
June 21, 2010, 5:00 pmThis is the People Media Movement. The campaign aims to eradicate technological barriers posed by digital networks that stop brands from communicating with their target communities. We move to facilitate such communication through education on the uses of communication tools on digital networks, and working in part with development teams ...
Conductor Aim To Conduct Culture Of SEO Throughout Your Organisation Via SearchLight
June 21, 2010, 4:39 pmConductor launched its 'automated' SEO platform last week. I attended the launch event, and if that was anything to go by, then SearchLight promises to be a captivating product.Click to read the rest of this post...
Google Share of Searches Hits 72 Percent in May 2010
June 21, 2010, 4:35 pmExperian Hitwise today announced that Google accounted for 72.17 percent of all U.S. searches conducted in the four weeks ending May 29, 2010. Yahoo! Search, Bing and Ask received 14.43 percent, 9.23 percent and 2.14 percent, respectively.Click to read the rest of this post...
Experian Hitwise Gives Google The Win In May
June 21, 2010, 4:25 pmMay went Google's way, according to new statistics from Experience Hitwise. Indeed, although the numbers supplied by comScore and Nielsen earlier this month suggested almost the exact opposite, Experian Hitwise's data indicates that Google gained market share while Yahoo and Bing lost.
So how big was the search giant's (alleged) gain? ...
Google Shares Its Viewpoint on Earning Quality Links
June 21, 2010, 3:39 pmSEO changes all the time as search engines make adjustments to their algorithms and user interfaces, users adopt new technologies, etc. Still some things never change, like Google's view on spammy links.
In a new post to the Google Webmaster Central blog, the company has expressed its most recent viewpoint on earning quality links.
The first...
Yahoo + Bing ≠ Google
June 21, 2010, 3:29 pm
So, Yahoo and Bing, how’s that “taking on Google” thing working out for y’all?
Oh, never mind.
Multi-State Investigation Launched Against Google
June 21, 2010, 3:10 pmGoogle may be in big, big trouble. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who was the first Attorney General to scrutinize the company over its collection of sensitive WiFi data, is now leading a probe in which officials representing more than 30 states have expressed interest.
Indeed, according to a statement released by...
Barnes & Noble Forces Amazon to Lower Kindle Price
June 21, 2010, 3:08 pmEarlier today, Barnes & Noble revealed a new Wi-Fi version of its Nook eBook reader, and along with that, dropped the price of its 3G version to $199. Not to be outdone, Amazon has now announced that it has dropped the price of its Kindle from $259 to $189.
Barnes and Noble noted in its announcement that the new Nook 3G price made the device...
Google Works with About.com On Making the Web Faster
June 21, 2010, 2:36 pmAbout.com has partnered with Google's Make the Web Faster team to make About.com faster. This is relatively significant to the web, given that About.com results often rank very high in search results.
This likely means that will continue, as Google recently made page speed a ranking signal (though only one of over 200). The work About.com has...
Would a Google "Newspass" Work Better Than its Existing Paid Content Options?
June 21, 2010, 1:37 pmThere is a rumor that has been floating around the web for a few days (apparently starting at Italian newspaper La Repubblica) that Google is working on something called Newspass, which would let users pay for news content across multiple publications that charge for content - another way for publishers to get paid and still utilize Google (Google...
Is Your SEO Strategy to Barely Avoid Spamming?
June 21, 2010, 1:08 pmby Mike Moran
I am increasingly getting a question from organic search marketers about where the "line" is between sharp SEO tactics and spam. Basically, it's the SEO equivalent of "how many miles per hour over the speed limit can I go without getting pulled over?" If this sounds like an interesting question to you, I'd like to humbly respond...
Demand Media Responds to Domain Audit Report Accusations
June 21, 2010, 1:03 pmUpdate: Quinn Daly, senior vice president, Corporate Communications at Demand Media has gotten back to us with the following comments:
eNom is the largest domain name wholesaler and we take this responsibility very seriously. We cooperate with multiple law enforcement agencies, as this is our policy and meets ICANN requirements. ...
2010 Sphinn Member Survey: Now Open
June 21, 2010, 12:53 pmIf you have 5-10 minutes, we'd love to get your feedback on Sphinn via a new member survey that we're launching today. Before you start the survey, though, please read the blog post.
Middle Men: Another Internet Story Coming to the Big Screen
June 21, 2010, 12:39 pmIt's looking to be the year of Internet stories penetrating mainstream cinema. You've no doubt heard about "The Social Network", David Fincher's upcoming film about the founding of Facebook. The poster for that was just released the other day.
Another film, which hasn't received as much press is Middle Men, based on the true story of...
Google Gmail for iPad Gets Full-screen Compose Window
June 21, 2010, 12:05 pmGoogle, whose relationships between its applications and how they run on rival Apple's popular consumer electronics devices is often scrutinized, has altered its Gmail for iPad app to provide a full-screen compose view. When Google originally unveiled the app in April, iPad owners who wanted to access their Gmail accounts from the tablet were...
Facebook CEO Meets UK's Prime Minister, Culture Sec.
June 21, 2010, 11:24 amUK politicians may soon be making status updates and friending voters like never before. Mark Zuckerberg met with the UK's Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport - along with Prime Minister David Cameron - today, and apparently made some recommendations that were well-received.
To be clear: the bulk of the conversation...
TheFind.com Says It Has Overtaken Yahoo in Comparison Shopping Visits
June 21, 2010, 11:07 amShopping search site TheFind announced today that it has overtaken Yahoo Shopping as the #2 site in the category (comparison shopping engines), citing comScore 's numbers. TheFind also says it has grown by 175% year-over-year according to ChannelAdvisor . TheFind.com had close to 7 million unique monthly visitors in May, according to data from...
What Coupon Searchers are Looking For
June 21, 2010, 11:03 amRetailers generated nearly $31 million in online coupon sales through RetailMeNot.com in May, according to the site. That's over a 42% increase compared to the same time last year, and that's just through RetailMeNot.
The company has released a report looking at coupon usage and search behavior in the month of May. RetailMeNot says it's in a...
Google Reworks the Gmail iPad Experience
June 21, 2010, 10:44 amGoogle has released a new "compose" interface for its Gmail web interface for the iPad. Users now get a big full screen compose window, as opposed to a split screen with the inbox and compose views. "More text is visible at once and there are no more distractions with messages on the side. Weve also fixed problems that prevented scrolling on long...
Paid Search Is Taking Over The World
June 21, 2010, 10:27 amby Sage Lewis
Paid Search has quickly become the most important component of online advertising, and in 2010 this segment will account for $29.8 billion, up by 16.5% over 2009 totals on a constant currency basis. From this Marketing Pilgrim article.
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Wireframing And Website Prototyping: Best Tools Under $150 To Design Your Website
June 21, 2010, 10:23 amWireframing and website prototyping tools allow you to take full control of your website architecture without hiring a web designer. You can build a faithful draft of what your website layout will look like without detailing color, graphics and specific design elements. In this MasterNewMedia guide you will find the best wireframing and website...
Social Media Users Probably Not Doing Enough to Protect Their IDs
June 21, 2010, 10:22 amA new study conducted by the Ponemon Institute and sponsored by Experian's ProtectMyID.com found that people are doing little to protect their personal information on social networks, opening them up to increased vulnerability for ID theft. While about 80% of those surveyed expressed concern about security around social media, over half of them...
Win a free subscription to the SEO Copywriting Certification training
June 21, 2010, 10:16 amWant a free subscription to the SEO Copywriting Certification training ($599 value?) One lucky person will receive a subscription at no charge - here's all you have to do: In 75 words or less, comment on this post and tell us why you want to be a Certified SEO Copywriter. Maybe you're a freelance writer, and receiving your Certification will help...
Newspapers Launch eBay Competitor Boocoo to Help Boost Revenues
June 21, 2010, 10:05 amOver 300 newspapers have joined together with Ranger Data Technologies to launch a new online auction site called Boocoo that would compete with eBay, and hopefully boost newspapers' revenues. The auction site puts an emphasis on local auctions. Could an online auction site help newspapers in the revenue department? Tell us what you think ....
The Fundamental Flaw in BP’s Social Media Push
June 21, 2010, 9:48 am
What’s missing from this list of words?
Updates
Response
Statement
Briefing
Broadcast
Distribution
Push
Those are just some of the words that I found while looking around BP’s social media efforts for the Gulf oil spill. So, what’s missing?
How...
20 Warning Signs That Your Content Sucks
June 21, 2010, 9:41 amAdmit it ' you've wondered. You're writing and writing and writing, and a few people say they like it, but you're just not getting results. Traffic is coming in at a trickle, links are hard to come by, and your comments section is about as lively as a nightclub at breakfast. And you can't help wondering ' Do you just need to be patient, waiting...
8 Villains of Social Media
June 21, 2010, 9:30 amSocial Media Marketing sure isn't easy. It takes time to get to know the space you're in, to network with like minded users, and to develop a strong content strategy that works within your niche and target social channels. But to make matters worse, there are users who can (and will) make your road to success even more difficult. So in order...
Here Comes Apple's iOS 4
June 21, 2010, 9:18 amiOS4, the recently announced new version of Apple's mobile operating system is due out today. Users of devices that utilize this OS are no doubt anxious to get it, but they shouldn't have to wait much longer. Although as Brad McCarty at The Next Web points out , "Bear in mind, iPhone OS 3 (released last year) took the better part of the day to hit...
SEO Link Building Strategy: Quantity vs. Quality of Inbound Links
June 21, 2010, 9:07 amGood post of why getting quality links are more important than getting a large quanity of links.From the article, "Working at an agency is great for a lot of reasons, but if I had to pick my absolute favorite it would be the insight you gleam from client feedback. Successfully dealing with client questions and assertions is an extremely...
Dell Confirms Interest In Google Chrome
June 21, 2010, 9:01 amOne of the largest computer manufacturers in the world is quite interested in Google's operating systems, according to a representative. A Dell exec in fact indicated today that his company is in talks with Google and wants to help break new ground. Amit Midha, President for Greater China and South Asia at Dell, told Reuters , "We have to have a...
Social Media & Reputation Management
June 21, 2010, 8:49 amNow that Facebook has officially taken over the world, it has become increasingly important to monitor your account closely as possible. A company's social media presence, better yet reputation, can be affected drastically if proper preparations are not intact. Many companies, Fortune 500 and small businesses alike, know they HAVE to have a...
ICANN Launches New Searchable Wiki
June 21, 2010, 8:37 amICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) has launched a searchable wiki with the goal of providing the public with easy-to-access info on every "substantive resolution" approved by the Board of Directors. "Each resolution has a 'work-in-progress' wiki page that provides basic information, including when it was approved, what...
Barnes & Noble Introduces Nook Wi-Fi (A Cheaper Version)
June 21, 2010, 8:37 amBarnes and Noble today introduced its Nook Wi-Fi device priced at $149. In addition, the 3G version of the Nook has been lowered to $199. The company notes that the new Nook 3G price marks the first under $200 dedicated full-feature eBook reader that offers both free 3G wireless and Wi-Fi connectivity. It also now has a new software update that is...
Dell Looking Into Google’s Chrome OS
June 21, 2010, 8:31 am
Ok, so you were once one of the dominant names in computing with your innovative way of putting together computers to customer specs. You had happy customers and made a serious dent in established computing giants market share. Then batteries started to catch on fire, “Dell hell” became part of the online lexicon and the world...
Barnes & Noble Introduces Nook Wi-Fi (A Cheaper Version)
June 21, 2010, 8:22 amBarnes and Noble today introduced its Nook Wi-Fi device priced at $149. In addition, the 3G version of the Nook has been lowered to $199.
The company notes that the new Nook 3G price marks the first under $200 dedicated full-feature eBook reader that offers both free 3G wireless and Wi-Fi connectivity. It also now has a new software update that...
Search Engine Watch Labs Are New to SES San Francisco for Connected Marketing Week
June 21, 2010, 8:19 amOne of the many new sessions at SES San Francisco, which will be part of Connected Marketing Week August 16-20, is a series of Search Engine Watch Labs. These intensive two-hour sessions expand upon the very popular SES site clinics.Click to read the rest of this post...
Domain Audit Report Accuses Demand Media of Sponsoring Fraudulent Domains
June 21, 2010, 8:14 amKnujOn.com has released a report and corresponding press release claiming that Demand Media's domain registrar eNom may be knowingly sponsoring fraudulent pharmaceutical networks. Here are a couple paragraphs from the release: Our findings are shocking and go a long way to explain the prevalence of cybercrime and spam. While the major focus of the...
Three Marketing Myths On U.S. TV & Web Usage: Simultaneousness, Cord-Cutting, GenY [Study]
June 21, 2010, 8:05 amTV, video, iPads and all... we're undoubtedly in an interactive age. Fine, that's a given. How about those trends that seem to obsess marketers? Nielsen says that nearly 40% of people use TV and the web simultaneously each week in the U.S.... Marketers are running for that population. But what about the 'cord-cutting' phenomenon? And speaking of...
AOL and Mediabrands Partner on Retail Advertising
June 21, 2010, 7:57 amAOL and Interpublic Group's Mediabrands (one of the largest buyers of retail advertising in the U.S. ) have announced a digital retail advertising partnership. The two companies plan to align their collective resources and announce a Retail Advisory Board in the coming weeks. Mediabrands partners with top retail and CPG brands, and we are...
Thinking Critically About Web Video
June 21, 2010, 7:51 amWeb video is hot. Some say your chance to be a pioneer . How hot, and how much of an opportunity? Recent reports from comScore, consistently say more than 80% of the total U.S. Internet audience views online video in a given month. YouTube's fact sheet states every minute , 24 hours of video is uploaded to the network and 2 billion videos are...
World's Greatest Salesperson - Cannes Lions 2010
June 21, 2010, 7:46 amThey are often considered a breed apart, but nobody can deny the importance of having a great sales team. In the words of Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman of the UK Ogilvy Group, creating desire doesnt automatically translate into human action and that good salesmanship is very much coming back into vogue. He spoke at length today in the Debussy...
Three Myths On U.S. TV & Web Usage: Simultaneousness, Cord-Cutting, GenY [Study]
June 21, 2010, 7:40 amTV, video, iPads and all... we're undoubtedly in an interactive age. Fine, that's a given. How about those trends that seem to obsess marketers? Nielsen says that nearly 40% of people use TV and the web simultaneously each week in the U.S.... Marketers are running for that population. But what about the 'cord-cutting' phenomenon? And speaking of...
The New Consumer?
June 21, 2010, 7:18 am
In the Internet marketing world we talk about how to reach consumers. We talk about reaching them in online advertising like display ads. We talk about generating content that they will be interested in. We talk about search marketing and how targeted it can be when done correctly. And of course, when we can stop talking about...
SEO Tutorial: Assessing a Keyword Domain for Purchase â" Does Buying Make Sense or Not?
June 21, 2010, 7:01 amRecently a client of mine has been once again approached by someone who wanted to sell him an exact match keyword domain for one of the main keyphrases we optimize for. It was a German domain so I will use another similar phrase as example instead. In this SEO tutorial I want to show you the process of assessing a keyword domain for purchase and...
A Turning Point In The Field Of SEO
June 21, 2010, 6:26 amAdam Audette's take on SEO, UX, IA, SMX advance, social media and how the end user is the one that matters.
Google To Launch Newspass Paywall [Report]
June 21, 2010, 4:29 amGoogle has the blogosphere and the media buzzing after a report from Italian daily La Repubblica announced that the company is readying to launch a paid content format to be called "Newspass" by year end. Click to read the rest of this post...
Twitter: Big in Japan
June 21, 2010, 2:46 amWelcome back to the "Twitter Weekly" column. This week I want to talk about the phenomenal success of Twitter in Japan . Of course I refer to the AP article that was widely circulated this week. It seems that Twitter is huge in Japan, 16,3% of Japanese Internet users tweet, especially compared to Facebook which is only used by 3% of the Japanese...
Foretelling the Future of Television at Cannes Lions 2010
June 21, 2010, 2:17 amPalais de Festivals - Cannes Im here at the 2010 Cannes Lions International Advertising festival where Microsoft Advertising is playing a lead role in events and activities across the board. One of these is a workshop that takes a look at where television and TV advertising may be headed. Its called The Rise of Rich TV: Bringing It All Into...
Choosing the Right Keyphrases - Especially for the Smaller Sites!
June 21, 2010, 1:24 amPosted by Sam Crocker Hey there folks! Today's post is a hands-on walkthrough of some of the decision making used when choosing the keyphrases to target. Producing a list of the most important terms in an industry is nice, but actually choosing the right keyphrases is essential. The post was largely created in response to a question submitted by...
Local SEO Is Changing Rapidly
June 21, 2010, 12:22 amSearch engine optimization and online marketing was once for industry big wigs. That has changed drastically over time. Local SEO is more important than ever. As more and more people fire up their handheld devices and computers to find what they need less people rely on archaic forms of information such as the phone book and newspaper. Local...
SEO Flows Through Everything
June 20, 2010, 6:37 pmAnyone who has been an SEO consultant knows that SEO is often bolted-on as an after-thought. Which is, of course, the worst way of doing SEO. Part of the problem is that SEO is often thought of, by clients, as a fix. It is a fix applied to solve the unforeseen problem of not showing up in search engine result pages. Whilst some businesses get it,...
The Deal with the Hottest Pitchmen (and Women)
June 20, 2010, 11:17 amby Vera H-C Chan If there's anything we've learned from Hollywood, the town likes to bank on familiar faces, and it likes to sell ads. But crossing over from commercial break into a show doesn't happen all that often: For every Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer, there's the Geico Cavemen dying a quick primetime death . Ah, but all it takes is one deal...
Google Has a "Search Story" For Father's day
June 20, 2010, 6:15 amYou probably remember Google's Super Bowl commercial . It was the company's first TV ad, and it kicked off a broader campaign called Search Stories . In fact, over 150,000 people have created their own search stories, and there is even one for Toy Story 3. In honor of Father's Day, Google has put together a special Father/Daughter search story....
Ted Rubin Sees OpenSky for Online Commerce
June 19, 2010, 11:30 pm
Many people in the social media world are familiar with Ted Rubin. He is one of the most enthusiastic and energetic users of social media in the business. What makes Ted quite unique is that he is an executive level social media user. It’s unfortunate that we call him unique in his efforts. We have to though because most...
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
June 19, 2010, 1:52 pmIt's March 17th, which means it's time to put on your favorite green hat, shirt, or shoes, grab a three leaf clover and head outside to celebrate St. Patrick's Day ! St. Patrick's Day, named after the patron saint of Ireland , is a holiday celebrating friendship, fun, and of course, Irish culture. In countries around the world (including the US,...
Johnny's Copyblogger Wrap-Up: Week of June 14, 2010
June 19, 2010, 12:03 pmThe problem with doing what I do online is that I have no idea how to describe what it is that I do. You may think that's dumb fodder for a Wrap-Up intro, but since I've established that gloomy 80's guitarists and product placement tattoos are fair game, an identity crisis should fit right in. Telling folks that I build blogs and websites is...
Did Facebook Win in a Lame Category?
June 19, 2010, 11:11 amReports of Facebook's surprising revenues have added momentum to the prevailing viewpoint that the popular social networking platform is a looming financial juggernaut, possibly on a par with Google. On further reflection, though, the two companies couldn't be more different. Google burst on the scene because it solved a really hard problem " web...
Google Moves To Reconcile Chrome, PDFs
June 19, 2010, 8:07 amLove 'em or hate 'em, PDFs are far from rare. Legal documents, official letters, and corporate reports - among many other things - are often found in this format rather than any other. It's important, then, that the Google Chrome team has begun to take PDFs into account. Don't run off to view a PDF in Chrome just yet - you probably won't get too...
Cup of Joe: Lady Gaga Understands the Fundamentals and So Should You!
June 19, 2010, 7:36 am
Before there was Lady Gaga there was Stefani Germanotta. Some of you might be surprised that Stefani Germanotta is Lady Gaga.
I have a small confession to make. I like Lady Gaga. She’s an amazing entertainer, musician, artist, and dancer. While I enjoy Ms. Gaga’s music, I also have noticed several important marketing...
What Was the Big Bing News at SMX Advanced?
June 19, 2010, 12:19 amThe last time I posted I revealed that there would be a big surprise revealed by Bing the next day' in fact just hours later when the conference commenced once more. Well, I took eons to get back to you but the deal is this, Bing has rewritten their Webmaster Tools Center from the ground up and will be releasing it this Summer (around then). There...
Google Street View WiFi Appears To Have Collected Email and Passwords
June 18, 2010, 11:29 pm"'However, we can already state that Google did indeed record email access passwords [and] extracts of the content of email messages,' CNIL said."
Barbara Bush, Bristol Palin, and Joe Barton: Buzz Week in Review
June 18, 2010, 8:22 pmby Mike Krumboltz Two daughters of famous political figures scored big in the Buzz this week. Barbara Bush Jr. spoke out in support of President Obama's health care reform on Fox News. Elsewhere, Bristol Palin, daughter to vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, spoke with "Good Morning America" about her parenting plans. Read on for those...
BP Parodies Rock the Web
June 18, 2010, 7:31 pmby Claudine Zap The oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico is no joke. But the widening environmental disaster has inspired plenty of BP parodies on the Web. Those who can no longer watch the live feed of the oil spill have hit the Web for some comic relief. Searches on " spoofs bp web " have gushed 800% higher in just one day. For the Twitterati,
Is Google Indexing Your Content Faster with Caffeine?
June 18, 2010, 4:35 pmDuring SMX Advanced recently, Google announced that Caffeine, its big overhaul to its indexing system, was completely rolled out. At the event, WebProNews talked to Google's Matt Cutts about it . Talking about how Caffeine affects webmasters, he compared it to having a limo waiting to pick you up at the airport, as opposed to having to catch a bus...
API Reporting Download Issue
June 18, 2010, 4:07 pmSome advertisers, particularly those using Java as their development environment, may experience issues when attempting to download reports via the API, and may receive SSL Handshake errors. We are currently investigating this at highest priority, and will post additional information here when available. Jeff Dillon,
PayPal Partners with Major Nonprofit Donation Solution Provider
June 18, 2010, 3:50 pmPayPal announced an agreement with Convio , a provider of solutions for nonprofits to raise funds, to let Convio implement PayPal to collect donations online. PayPal says this will help boost donations for Convio's 1,300 nonprofits and give them access to the 84 million active PayPal users across the globe. "By adding PayPal as an integrated...
Scoping Out Your Keywords
June 18, 2010, 3:43 pmYour keyword list should range from general to specific Editor's Note: This is another in a series of posts we're calling "The Best of the YSM Blog." These are posts containing timeless advice and best practices that never go out of style. Even if you read it the first time, it's not a bad idea to review this information periodically to help get...
Nielsen Puts Both Yahoo, Bing Up In May
June 18, 2010, 3:15 pmRight on schedule, Nielsen's provided another look at the U.S. search market, and although absolutely nothing changed at the top - Google's market share didn't fluctuate at all between April to May - something interesting did occur last month as Yahoo and Bing gained ground.
Here's a little bit of historical info in case past stats don't come...
Privacy Q&A, Death Sentences...Just Another Day for Facebook
June 18, 2010, 3:10 pmFacebook's privacy settings have been the subject of a great deal of discussion ever since the company held its F8 developer conference and launched the Open Graph , social plugins, and instant personalization. Eventually, Facebook made a bunch of changes to its privacy settings . People still have plenty of questions though, and acknowledging...
America Ferrera Gets Engaged, George Lucas Gets Interviewed, Celtics Get Killed: What's the Buzz
June 18, 2010, 2:41 pmby Claudine Zap Our top picks from the day's hottest searches. America Ferrera (Searches increased by 988%). The beautiful star of "Ugly Betty" is engaged to her long-time boyfriend, Ryan Piers Williams. George Lucas (+883%). Did you feel a disturbance in the force? Jon Stewart will interview the "Star Wars" director at his ranch for the "Star...
Lakers Win Over Celtics Gets Twitter Record Tweets Per Second
June 18, 2010, 2:24 pmTwitter announced today that it achieved a record 3,085 tweets per second last night as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Boston Celtics in the NBA Championship. For comparison, Twitter sees an average of about 750 tweets per second in a given day, and 65 million total tweets in a day. One has to wonder how much the Fail Whale has held these numbers...
Introducing Our 5 New Sphinn Editors
June 18, 2010, 2:17 pmPlease join me in giving a warm welcome to our five new Sphinn editors: Glen, Debra, Todd, Mat, and David. The post also mentions that we've done away with the "moderator" title.
Adults And Teens Equally Likely To Text While Driving
June 18, 2010, 2:07 pmAmerican adults are just as likely to have texted while driving as teenagers and are significantly more likely than teens to have talked on their cell phones while driving, according to a new report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. More than a quarter (27%) of American adults say they have texted while driving, about the same...
Verizon May Follow AT&T Pricing Model, Eliminating Unlimited Data Plans
June 18, 2010, 1:21 pmVerizon may soon be following in the footsteps of AT&T with a tiered pricing plan. Bloomberg interviewed Verizon Communications CFO John Killian , who told them they'd "probably need to change the design of our pricing where it will not be [a] totally unlimited, flat rate." There were mixed feelings about this when AT&T did it, with a large amount...
YouTube Kicks Off Dance Contest with Help from Step Up 3-D Director
June 18, 2010, 1:04 pmYouTube has teamed up with Dr. Pepper Cherry and Jon M. Chu, Director of Step Up 2: The Streets and the upcoming Step Up 3-D , on a YouTube dance contest called, "YouTube Dance Contest: Dance Studio". In this contest, YouTube users are asked to submit videos of themselves dancing for a chance to win a trip to LA and spend a day with Chu at a "jam...
Google Announces Google Display Network
June 18, 2010, 12:41 pmGoogle announced today that it is putting all of its non-search display advertising offerings together into one network called the Google Display Network. Neal Mohan, Vice President of Product Management explains the reasoning behin this on the Inside AdWords blog : "Over the past year, weve been focused on investing in display advertising, and...
Social Productivity Tools for the Social Entrepreneur
June 18, 2010, 12:36 pmEffective time management is a daily pursuit of the Internet entrepreneur and maximizing his or her time online allows him or her to do more things in less time. There are tools that are useful to both the entrepreneur themselves, as well as to a team they may need to establish for a large campaign. What social productivity tools are most...
Google Docs Gets Better Sharing Features, Cleaner UI
June 18, 2010, 12:36 pmGoogle already conducted a major overhaul of Google Docs this year, rewriting the Docs code with a new JavaScript layout engine to improve and accelerate the document, drawing and spreadsheet editors in Docs. Google June 17 Docs' sharing functionality, which in this day and age of social software has become table stakes for today's collaboration...
Show Off Your Dance Moves
June 18, 2010, 11:16 amOK, YouTube. We know you love to dance. You've been shaking your stuff in front of the camera in your bedrooms, bathrooms and on the streets for years now. And all that practice is about to pay off: we're joining forces with Jon M. Chu (and Dr Pepper Cherry) for the first-ever "YouTube Dance Contest: Dance Studio." If you love dance, you know who...
Google Shares New Discoveries Related to World Cup Search Activity
June 18, 2010, 11:15 amLast week, as the world got ready for the World Cup, Google looked at search activity around the event. The company broke out its Insights for Search tool, along with some other internal sources to provide the data it shared. Google now has a new post up detailing some other discoveries it has since made. "It turns out that people who search for...
Scammers Target Facebook "Like" Button
June 18, 2010, 11:15 amSecurity firm PandaLabs has reported the spread of scams hijacking the Facebook "Like" button. The attacks use messages related to the popular game FarmVille, the "Sex and the City 2" movie or the keyword sex to get the attention of logged-in Facebook users as they browse Web pages with the "Like" button. Clicking the link brings the user to a Web...
Scammers Target Facebook “Like” Button
June 18, 2010, 10:55 amSecurity firm PandaLabs has reported the spread of scams hijacking the Facebook "Like" button.
The attacks use messages related to the popular game FarmVille, the "Sex and the City 2" movie or the keyword sex to get the attention of logged-in Facebook users as they browse Web pages with the "Like" button.
Clicking...
Open Web Challenged By Misuse of the Word "Open"
June 18, 2010, 10:53 amIn a recent article, we looked at how open web developers are trying to make social media better for you, the user. We've talked to Google's Open Web advocate Chris Messina a number of times recently. He's instrumental in the open web movement. At Google I/O, Messina talked with us about several topics related to the open web, including Facebook's...
Sharing Your Web Content for Maximum Buzz [Video]
June 18, 2010, 10:34 am
It’s always a pleasure to sit down with the venerable Dr. Ralph Wilson of Web Marketing Today.
Back in December we recorded this video on how to share your images, videos, and presentations in order to help with your rankings, reputation and general buzz building.
Want more great tips? Be sure to subscribe to the Web...
Welcome to the New SEO Journal!
June 18, 2010, 10:24 amThanks to the great folks at SWORD Studios , we have redesigned our blog and we went live this morning! Here are the new features with the new SEO Journal: 1. New Design â" Based on your feedback, we re-designed the site to make it easier for you to navigate, search and read my daily updates and free tips about SEO and search engine marketing....
OneRiot Adds Facebook to Realtime Search API
June 18, 2010, 10:12 amOneRiot has just announced some additions to its realtime search API. "We are integrating Facebook data into the stream, so Facebook users who publicly share links on their profiles are now influencing the realtime search results available through OneRiots API," Meredith Bagnulo with OneRiot tells WebProNews. "In doing this, OneRiot now reflects...
Microsoft Tests New Local Mobile Ad Product
June 18, 2010, 10:12 amMicrosoft Mobile Advertising has started piloting a new local ad product for mobile. Geodelic , a third party publisher of a location-based discovery app is conducting the pilot. "We are conducting this pilot to gain insights into end user behavior and engagement with local mobile ad products," says Raj Kapoor on the Microsoft Advertising Blog....
YouTube Local News "News" Just Part of YouTube Direct?
June 18, 2010, 9:49 amSF Weekly ran a story yesterday evening about YouTube having a "top secret news experiment" involving citizen journalism and "going local in San Francisco". Peter Kafka at All Things Digital played down the news , saying he was told by "a person familiar with the sites' plans, "YouTube is working with a San Francisco TV station to launch a new...
Watch: YouTube Reporters Capture Lakers Fan Riot Footage
June 18, 2010, 9:49 amYouTube's CitizenTube, the citizen reporting site that will power YouTube's news feed , has posted some videos of riot footage from after the Lakers won the NBA championship. Footage includes fire and explosions. Insanity: Imagine if the Lakers had lost.
Watch: YouTube Users Capture Lakers Fan Riot Footage
June 18, 2010, 9:29 amYouTube's CitizenTube, the citizen reporting site that will power YouTube's news feed, has posted some videos of riot footage from after the Lakers won the NBA championship.
Footage includes fire and explosions. Insanity:
...
Google Enabling Paid Content Movement?
June 18, 2010, 9:29 am
Google is a pretty smart company wouldn’t you agree? They have been able to ‘make markets’ in a sense because there is now a lot of money being made where just 15 years ago there was no industry to even make it in. One could probably argue (although here is no the place) that without the industry of the Internet of which...
Microsoft Launches Internet Fraud Alert System
June 18, 2010, 9:14 amMicrosoft, eBay and PayPal have launched an Internet Fraud Alert system aimed at helping security researchers report information they find online about stolen data.
Microsoft says its Internet Fraud Alert service will allow security researchers to more securely share information with service providers, retailers, financial institutions and...
Yahoo Redirects Directory Pages to Search Pages
June 18, 2010, 9:09 amYahoo is reportedly redirecting directory pages to web search pages. Matt McGee at Search Engine Land received a tip from Sean Carlos about it, and confirmed it with Yahoo. Apparently since as early as December, Yahoo has been doing this in four countries: France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Yahoo told McGee , "As part of Yahoo!s ongoing effort to...
5 Reasons Why Trying to be Successful Will Keep You Poor
June 18, 2010, 9:09 amDave Navarro wrote recently that worrying about what you're doing (or not doing) is the surest way to keep you poor and unsuccessful. It's a cracking article with a heap of good points, one of them being that the key difference in the way successful people operate is that they see failure as an integral part of the process of achieving success....
Microsoft Partners with Hyatt and Quiznos to Pilot Local Mobile Advertising Solution
June 18, 2010, 8:57 amToday, we are pleased to announce that Microsoft Mobile Advertising has begun piloting a new local ad product for mobile. This pilot is being conducted with Geodelic, a third party publisher of a location-based discovery application. We are conducting this pilot to gain insights into end user behavior and engagement with local mobile ad products....
World Cup 2010: Bing's Brilliant Football Facts (Part 2)
June 18, 2010, 8:57 amFollowing on from my last post ( Bings Brilliant Football Facts part 1 ) we have so far seen some of the great highs and lows in this years long-awaited World Cup. Not only has there been some great goals, slight upsets and top highlights of the tournament, but there has been some fantastic content around the event and this includes superb content...
150,000+ Create Their Own Version of Google Super Bowl Ad (Toy Story 3 Included)
June 18, 2010, 8:51 amYou may recall Google's television commercial that played during the Super Bowl - " Parisian Love ". This was Google's first television advertisement, and YouTube says it led to over 150,000 users creating their own versions of it, as part of Google's "Search Stories" campaign . "It's become a great example of how a brand can involve its audience...
Facebook's (Rumored) 2009 Revenue: $800 Million
June 18, 2010, 8:51 amFor quite a while, we've been making comparisons between the size of Facebook's user base and the populations of different countries. Now, Facebook may be able to measure up to a few nations in terms of finances, too, with a report claiming the social network generated $800 million in revenue last year. The GDP of somewhere between 14 and 24...
Create a Technology Report of Any Website with W3Techs
June 18, 2010, 8:39 amI have once shared a web-based tool that allows to view "technologies" behind any website (like server information, widgets, etc). This week I am sharing another similar tool. W3Techs is a nice little addon that creates a technology report of any website. It provides less information than BuiltWith we saw earlier but very often a short concise...
The Top 20 Mobile Phones in the US
June 18, 2010, 8:34 amMillennial Media has released its monthly Mobile Mix report, focusing specifically on various mobile devices and OS's, and listing the Top 20 Mobile Phones in the U.S. "Mobile Mix measures device, OS, carrier, and now application trending data on our network. New to Mobile Mix this month, is a snapshot of the most active mobile app channels; and...
Salesforce Intros Community Rewards & Recognition Program
June 18, 2010, 8:34 amSalesforce has announced a new Community Rewards & Recognition Program , which the company says brings rich metrics including a clear call out of who its top contributors are. "We are keeping the program simplistic at first focusing on the IdeaExchange and Answers contributors," says Salesforce's Erica Kuhl in a blog post. Salesforce will be...
US Online Ad Spending to Grow 10.8% in 2010
June 18, 2010, 8:14 am
Pssst!
Wanna buy some hot charts and industry predictions for the US online advertising industry?
Good, I’ll need about 700 portraits of George Washington, in green, and they’re all yours.
OK, joking aside.
If you have $695 lying around, and absolutely need to know the inside track on the growth of the online...
Apple Releases MobileMe Mail to All Members
June 18, 2010, 7:54 amApple has announced that the new MobileMe Mail at me.com is now out of beta and available to all members. MobileMe Mail has both widescreen and compact views and rules to keep your email organized. Apple explains, "Mail rules help you reduce inbox clutter by automatically filing messages into folders you select ahead of time. Set them up at...
Search Seen As Biggest Single Winner Of U.S. Online Ad Spend In 2010 [Study]
June 18, 2010, 7:46 amU.S. online ads spending will reach $25.1 billion this year, with search being the single biggest category and social media marketing taking over from display media, according to eMarketer's latest report.
Click to read the rest of this post...
Facebook Rumored to be Fine in the Revenue Dept.
June 18, 2010, 7:35 am
As Internet marketers, our ability to do our job and really our fate as a whole has little to do with anything we actually control. What I mean is that if it weren’t for all of the different mechanisms like Google, Facebook, Twitter etc our work would look quite a bit different. Since we are completely dependent on these kinds...
OnLive - A Cloud Gaming Service Launches
June 18, 2010, 7:12 amThe evolution of gaming has taken interesting turns in its relatively short history. We've gone from arcade machines, to home consoles, with the latest breakthrough being downloadable gaming content. OnLive, is a gaming service which looks to be pushing the boundaries yet again; with cloud gaming.
Will OnLive be a successful venture? tell us
The...
Search Agency Update - What Are Companies Up To?
June 18, 2010, 5:42 amBits and bobs to keep up with search agency news: Magnetic, Kenshoo, WebVisible, Covario, BLiNQ, Ace Metrix and BrightRoll.Click to read the rest of this post...
Whiteboard Friday - What's Working for You? with Richard Baxter
June 18, 2010, 1:29 amPosted by great scott! The avalanche-like flow of special guest Whiteboard Fridays continues this week with another installment featuring our beloved London SEO expert, Richard Baxter (anchor text, y'all). Last week Richard helped us all learn how to get our fresh content indexed licketty-split, and this week he's back to help us learn how to...
SEO v.s. User Experience
June 18, 2010, 12:15 amAll website owners who understand the importance of search engine optimization and having a successful running website at some point are faced with a rather large dilemma, SEO or user experience? Often times those tools and gadgets that really help in increasing a user experience harm on-site search engine optimization efforts in a great way.
9 Things That SEO Clients Must Understand
June 17, 2010, 10:21 pmReminds me of many of my clients.
World Cup Buzzing: Turn It Down
June 17, 2010, 9:54 pmby Claudine Zap Don't get us wrong, we're all for buzz. But there can be too much of a good thing. At the World Cup , the buzzing sound made by the Vuvuzela, the plastic noisemaker, is baffling TV viewers â" and leading to a symphony of searches. Lookups have ranged from " what is a vuvuzela ," to " what is that buzzing noise at the world cup...
SEO Competitive Intelligence Strategy
June 17, 2010, 9:14 pmIt's bad enough having to compete with Google's engineers. But to win the search game, you need to out-compete your competition, too! Back in the dark, distant past - around the turn of the century - there was an "us" vs "them" mentality in search. "Us" being webmasters, and "them" being search engines. Back then, in those simple times,...
Google Patents A System For Identifying Topics of 'Inadequate Content'
June 17, 2010, 8:54 pm"However, Google obtained a patent this year for a system that would help it identify 'inadequate content' on the internet, based on comparisons of what people search for and what they find, executives who have reviewed the filing, said."
Convio and PayPal team up to increase nonprofit donations
June 17, 2010, 8:18 pmHi, all, I'm Judy Chang from PayPal's nonprofit team. In an effort to make it even easier to donate with PayPal, today we announced an agreement with Convio , a leading software solution for nonprofits, which will help boost donations for Convio's 1,300 nonprofits and give them access to the 84 million active PayPal users across the globe. PayPal...
ECommerce: How To Cut Credit Card Fraud
June 17, 2010, 7:00 pm"WebmasterWorld Members discuss tips and ideas to help reduce credit card fraud on ecommerce sites."
Microsoft's Poaching of Serena From Google Apps is a Big Deal
June 17, 2010, 5:38 pmPeople are having interesting reactions to Microsoft's vainglorious victory over Google by luring Serena Software and its 800 or so employees back to its fold for collaboration software. Quick back story: Serena was a long-time Microsoft Exchange shop but wanted to move to the cloud in 2008 . Microsoft wasn't a cloud computing player then, at...
'Toy Story 3': Movie Review Roundup
June 17, 2010, 5:04 pmby Mike Krumboltz Nothing's a sure thing, except death, taxes, and maybe Pixar. For 15 years, Pixar has been turning out critically acclaimed films, without a stinker to speak of. This weekend, the studio that brought audiences " The Incredibles ," " Finding Nemo ," and " Up " takes the wrapping off the highly anticipated " Toy Story 3 ." How does...
MySpace Confirms Departure of Co-president Jason Hirschhorn
June 17, 2010, 5:04 pmMichael Arrington at TechCrunch let a cat out of MySpace's bag a little early, revealing that the company would announce the departure of co-president Jason Hirschhorn tomorrow. A representative for MySpace just sent us the following statement from News Corp. Chief Digital Officer Jon Miller on the matter: We fully respect Jasons decision to leave...
Google Announces Commerce Search 2.0
June 17, 2010, 4:52 pmJust in time for summer when most students are probably going to shop for hot summer items and to help retail sites prepare their stores for the summer shopping season, Google has just launched Google Commerce Search 2.0 . Available now for U.S. and UK retailers, Commerce Search 2.0 provides a better experience online for shoppers while greater...
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer Reveals New Mobile OS Plans
June 17, 2010, 4:41 pmMicrosoft CEO Steve Ballmer reportedly revealed by video this afternoon that a new mobile operating system for enterprise devices, as well as an enterprise version of Windows Phone 7 will be available in the near future. PCMag.com reports that Ballmer mentioned this during the launch of the new Motorola Enterprise smartphone, quoting him as...
Yahoo Announces Another Shareholders' Meeting
June 17, 2010, 4:41 pmIt's time again for Yahoo's shareholders to get a semi-exclusive earful regarding where the company is headed. Yahoo's scheduled a shareholders' meeting for Thursday, June 24th, for the sake of filling everyone in. The last time Yahoo held a shareholders' meeting, the company led up to it by announcing a partnership with Nokia the day before. So...
Stay.com Lets You Create Your Dream Getaway â" Easily
June 17, 2010, 4:30 pmThere are travel guides and tips online, travel books like Fodors or the Rough Guide, even newsstand nested travel magazines with grandiose pictures of dream destinations. But, so far, no one has created the perfect online travel tool ' and man do I love to travel! A new startup I tested the other day, Stay.com , provides the opportunity to browse...
The Most Followers Assembled On Twitter
June 17, 2010, 4:01 pmSysomos released a new social media report today which looks deeper into followers on Twitter and they try to explain how influence is not always measured by the number of people who follow you. Here is a summary of the study: They found that while celebrities have a large number of followers, most of them are low authority users. Social media...
MTV TJ (aka Twitter Jockey) Finalist Makes His Case
June 17, 2010, 4:01 pmIt came to my attention today that one of the 18 finalists for MTV's TJ (Twitter Jockey) job is from just up the interstate a piece from our headquarters, so I figured that was as good a reason as any to reach out to him for his take on the contest and his hopes of being the chosen one. "MTV took a unique approach to finding all of the candidates...
7 Top Reasons You Should Still Be Using Sphinn
June 17, 2010, 3:32 pmMany people have noticed during the last 12 months that Sphinn has gradually become less of a force within the search industry. I have to admit, I've been one of the users who used Sphinn heavily in the early days - but during the last 6-12 months have found myself visiting the site far less frequently. Having been involved in a Sphinn meeting at...
Limewire Looking To Be Put Out Of Business By Music Publishers
June 17, 2010, 3:29 pmbers of the National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA) have filed a massive copyright infringement lawsuit against LimeWire. The suit follows a recent action filed by the RIAA that resulted in a court decision holding LimeWire liable for inducing copyright infringement leaving and leaving the company just days to show why the service ...
Bing Launches "King of Bing Maps" Contest
June 17, 2010, 3:21 pmBing has announced that it's searching for "someone to worship." By this, they mean lead the way in Bing Map App development. So naturally, they've launched a contest. The contest is called the "King of Bing Maps Challenge," and the winner gets a $1,000 Bing Travel gift card. 2nd prize gets a $500 card and 3rd gets a $250 card. Winners, selected...
Google Docs Privacy Options Revised
June 17, 2010, 3:18 pmIn the wake of privacy uproars about pretty much everything, Google's taken steps to ensure Google Docs meets the highest possible standards. This afternoon, the company introduced three easy-to-understand (and easy-to-set) document visibility options.
Here's the most important thing to know: documents are private by default. ...
Boston Globe Adopts Open-Source Neighborhood News Mapping Platform OpenBlock
June 17, 2010, 2:48 pmThe Boston globe is among the early adopters of OpenBlock, an open-source platform that offers news organizations the possibility to display local news data on clickable neighborhood maps. The newspaper's move is part of a wider initiative worth a total $450K launched by the Knight Foundation, announced at the MIT earlier today.
Click to read...
Second PayPal X Developer Challenge Announced
June 17, 2010, 2:35 pmLook for many, many interesting new PayPal apps and services to surface over the next four or so months. The second PayPal X Developer Challenge was announced today, and the competition is sure to draw lots of participants with $150,000 in prizes on the line. A PayPal representative explained in an email to WebProNews, "[T]he grand prize is worth...
Supreme Court - Gov't Emloyees Texts Are Not Private
June 17, 2010, 2:35 pmBreaking eBusiness news bulletins .... The Supreme Court has ruled 9-1 that texts of government employees can be looked at by government managers. Specifically, the Court ruled that a California Police Department was within its rights to view pager texts of a Patrol Officer. Whether this ruling extends to cell phone texts on company issued phones...
Supreme Court - Gov't Employees Texts Are Not Private
June 17, 2010, 2:30 pmBreaking eBusiness news bulletins ....
The Supreme Court has ruled 9-1 that texts of government employees can be looked at by government managers. Specifically, the Court ruled that a California Police Department was within its rights to view pager texts of a Patrol Officer. Whether this ruling extends to cell phone texts on company issued phones...
Code Pink Sees Red
June 17, 2010, 2:18 pmby Mike Krumboltz Tony Hayward , the CEO of BP , is taking his lumps from a mostly angry United States Congress. But before the government got its chance to question the oil executive, a member of the activist group Code Pink stood up and shouted out during Mr. Hayward's opening statement. The protester had covered her hands with something...
FCC Seeks Comments On Broadband Regulation
June 17, 2010, 2:18 pmThe Federal Communications Commission today said it is seeking public comment on the best way to support its efforts to ensure universal access to high-speed broadband services while promoting innovation, investment, competition and protecting consumers. A recent decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals derailed prior understandings about the FCC's...
Sphinn 2.2 in Planning … Your Feedback Requested
June 17, 2010, 2:09 pmAs the post says, we've started developing ideas for the next upgrade/version of Sphinn, and we'll be looking for your input. Please do read the blog post and start thinking about things you'd like to see in the future here on Sphinn.
Google Introduces New Version of Commerce Search
June 17, 2010, 1:52 pmGoogle has announced the launch of Commerce Search 2.0 for retailers in the United States and the United Kingdom. This is a new version that the company says provides a better online experience for shoppers, as well as greater control, while providing immediate ROI for retailers. Google Commerce Search originally launched back in November . It was...
2010 Online Marketing Summit regional events!
June 17, 2010, 1:39 pmWow! I can't believe it's already time again for OMS regionals! I am really excited this year to be talking about everyone's favorite topic'links! At OMS San Jose tomorrow I will be talking about link acquisition trends, techniques and strategies for building links in 2010. It's always fun at the OMS regional events and I am really looking...
Colbert Tells The New York Times To Go Tweet Itself
June 17, 2010, 1:26 pm
Just plain funny. Enjoy.
(via)
AdWords Advertisers Get Click-to-Call from Apps Format
June 17, 2010, 1:21 pmGoogle has made its click-to-call ad format for mobile apps and mobile website content available for all AdWords advertisers. The feature was demonstrated at Google I/O in May.
"Expanding our popular click-to-call functionality on mobile search ads to now include mobile content and apps helps increase the reach of your ads across the mobile...
Brian Austin Green Engaged, Harrison Ford Weds, and Bedbugs Bite Goldman Sachs: What's the Buzz
June 17, 2010, 1:17 pmby Claudine Zap Our top picks from the day's hottest searches. Bedbugs (Searches increased by 1,559%). We'll say one thing for the nasty critters: They don't discriminate. Goldman Sachs had to spray its office towers from an infestation . Brian Austin Green (+1,546%). The actor proposed to Megan Fox in Hawaii. While the happy couple is engaged ,...
Why Social Publishing Drives More Valuable Traffic
June 17, 2010, 1:07 pmA number of major media companies are starting to implement tools for third-party authentication for consumers. We spoke with JanRain, which provides a tool called Engage that companies like Tribune Interactive, Meredith, E.W. Scripps, The Dallas Morning News, bizjournals, and the National Geographic Society are all using. With the solution,...
This week in search 6/6/10
June 17, 2010, 1:04 pmThis is one of a regular series of posts on search experience updates. Look for the label This week in search and subscribe to the series. - Ed. We work hard to consistently develop new tools, features and algorithmic changes to help us better understand what you mean when you enter a query into the Google search boxâ"and we ultimately use that...
Think Penny Wise, Search Foolish when it comes to investing in an SEO copywriter
June 17, 2010, 12:54 pmHello, all! Today's post is by Pam Foster, a highly experienced SEO copywriter and one of the first Certified SEO Copywriters in the world. Enjoy! The other day, a marketer for a sophisticated mid-size national company inquired about hiring a professional SEO copywriter to improve his website's search engine traffic and sales results. He admitted...
New sharing settings in Google Docs
June 17, 2010, 12:47 pmGoogle Docs is designed for collaboration from the ground up. You've always been able to share documents with individuals and groups, and today we're making it even easier to share and control access to your files across your organization. The new features include the ability to: Easily apply sharing settings to a doc â" Google Docs can now be...
Google Commerce Search 2.0 Means On-The-Fly Customization For Shoppers And Retailers Delight
June 17, 2010, 12:37 pmA week to the day after releasing its new AdWords Analyze Competitors feature, Google is once again launching a new tool - Google Commerce Search 2.0., the newest version of its tailor-made search engine for retailers. Click to read the rest of this post...
Will CPG Catch Up in e-Commerce?
June 17, 2010, 12:30 pmWith a 6-month-old son now running our household, our shopping patterns have changed dramatically. What used to be about meandering shopping trips has now transformed into focused shopping, looking for the best deals and convenience. If I have to choose between a half hour drive to the closest Babies R Us, fighting traffic and crowds along the...
Microsoft Advertising All Up at Cannes Lions 2010
June 17, 2010, 11:55 amHot off the wire - our press release about our participation at Cannes . Microsoft Advertising will once again have a significant presence at the Cannes Lions International Advertising festival taking place from 20-26 June 2010. Mich Mathews, Microsofts Senior Vice President, Central Marketing Group, will deliver a keynote speech,
Feisty Females: By the Numbers
June 17, 2010, 11:44 amby Vera H-C Chan Old broads, we salute you. Joan Rivers , at age 77, has been reaping strong reviews and churning up the buzz . Betty White 's so hot right now, the 88-year-old is stirring up fake nudie photo rumors . (Yes, we said fake. Sorry.) And there are a lot more female pioneers still doing the hard work of being funny â" plus some side...
IL, MA Attorneys General Join Google Inquest
June 17, 2010, 11:27 amAnyone near one of Google's offices who's interested in starting a small business might consider a torch and pitchfork shop. Privacy groups and authorities of all types continue to look into Google's WiFi data blunder, with the Attorneys General of Illinois and Massachusetts being the latest to launch investigations. Lisa Madigan of Illinois and...
8 Reasons In-House SEOs Hire SEO Consultants
June 17, 2010, 11:27 amPosted by Lindsay When I was an in-house SEO I hired outside SEO consultants. Now as the outside SEO consultant I often work with in-house SEOs. In the comments of my most recent post, an interesting question came up, "...why would a company who has an in-house SEO expert hire an external company?" Here are 8 excellent reasons why talented...
Text Phishing Attacks See Big Drop In Q1
June 17, 2010, 11:11 amText-to-phone phishing attacks saw significant a drop in the first quarter of 2010, decreasing 62 percent compared to the previous quarter, according to a new report from security firm Internet Identity (IID).
Even with the drop, the number of credit unions being spoofed in text-to-phone cases stayed the same, meaning these organizations were the...
"If you work at Hiatus, you've gone Google!"
June 17, 2010, 10:23 amEditor's note: Continuing our "Going Google Everywhere" series, we've invited Sheila Garrison and Kristin Heaton-Peabody, co-founders of Hiatus Spa + Retreat, to explain how Google Apps helped them launch and grow their socially conscious spa in Dallas, Texas. Learn more about other organizations that have gone Google on our community map ....
Summer is here, and so is Google Commerce Search 2.0
June 17, 2010, 10:17 amSchool is out for the summer, and that means it's time for some swimsuit shopping, travel purchases andâ"before we know itâ"buying back-to-school supplies. To help retail sites get ready for the summer shopping season, today we're launching Google Commerce Search 2.0 for retailers in the United States and United Kingdom. The new version of...
BlueGlass LA is Only One Month Away! Register Now
June 17, 2010, 10:12 amTime is ticking down to register for the BlueGlass LA online marketing conference, which is proving to be one of the most important marketing events of the decade. BlueGlass LA , a collaborative effort of Search & Social (SEJ), 10e20 and Tony Adam of MySpace will be a bit of a different approach to an online marketing conference. Our goal is to...
Google Maps in UK Gets "Properties"
June 17, 2010, 10:12 amGoogle has just added a new option to Google Maps UK which could be useful if you're property hunting in the UK. This new option called "Properties", gives you a little red dot on Google Maps which display every house or flat for sale or rent. The new feature also lets you refine your property search by sale or rent, bedrooms, bathrooms and most...
Home Improvement Spring Boost
June 17, 2010, 9:43 amI wanted to elaborate on a point raised in my blog post last week about Shopping and Classifieds trends in Canada . I mentioned in the post that House and Garden websites enjoyed 26% growth in share of Canadian internet visits year over year to April 2010 to become the fifth largest retail industry in Canada (up from 7th in April 2009). We...
AOL Dumps Bebo For Reported $10 Million
June 17, 2010, 9:27 amAOL has confirmed in an SEC filing this morning that it has sold its ailing social site Bebo to digital media investors Criterion Capital Partners. Although the value of the deal was not disclosed, reports have the price tag at a mere $10 million although AOL had forked out a hefty $850 million to acquire the company in March 2008. Click to read...
Website Design Guide: Best Practices And Examples Of Website Interface And Navigation Design Solutions
June 17, 2010, 9:25 amHow do go about improving or creating great website designs? Unless you have some references and key principles showing you how critical legibility, layout and content organization are, in determining your site look and feel, you are going to remain unsatisfied. Solving your typical web design challenge by searching for yet another cool new web...
Google Maps UK Gets Property Search
June 17, 2010, 9:20 amPeople who are in search of a place to live in the UK have a new ally in Google. This morning, the search giant introduced a "Properties" option on Google Maps UK, allowing users to see and sort through many of the houses and apartments/flats that are available for sale or rent. As you might gather from the screenshot below, the "Properties"...
Advocacy Groups Want Better Facebook Privacy Controls
June 17, 2010, 9:20 amThe Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the ACLU of Northern California, and number of other privacy groups are calling on Facebook to give users true control over their personal information by taking critical steps to protect users' data. In an open letter sent to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the coalition asks Facebook to close its "app gap" and allow...
Can You Get More Links if You Turn Off Comments?
June 17, 2010, 9:20 amEvery so often, an argument and ensuing discussion erupts in the Blogosphere over whether or not it is ethical to block comments on a blog post and what value they actually add to content. Would you rather have blog comments or Facebook "likes" and retweets? Let us know . The latest one started when John Gruber at DaringFireball wrote a post in...
Four Steps to Finding Your Ideal Writing Voice
June 17, 2010, 9:20 amVoice is one of the most important elements of a successful blog . Period. Without voice, new arrivals to your blog won't read beyond the first paragraph. Give your readers a strong voice, though, and they won't be able to keep their hot little fingers off that RSS button. But what is voice, exactly? And how can you make it come through in your...
Only 10% of Marketers Consider Social Media Important for Customer Engagement
June 17, 2010, 9:05 am
If I were to ask you “how do you measure customer engagement,” what would you say?
That’s just one of the questions that Forbes asked CMOs in a new Forbes Insights report entitled: “The New Rules of Engagement: CMOs Rethink Their Marketing Mix” (free download). And, while CMOs seem to understand the...
YouTube Brings Easy Video Editing to the Masses
June 17, 2010, 8:46 am
Want proof that anything that can be done on the desktop can be done in your web browser?
YouTube has just announced its brand-spanking new online video editor–allowing anyone to make simple edits and improvements to their uploaded videos.
You’ll find it located inside of TestTube–how cute–because...
Google I/O & SMX Advanced Lessons â" Android & Don't Beat Matt Cutts at Pool
June 17, 2010, 8:41 amOver the past month there has been 3 major conferences in the new search world: Google I/O , Apple Worldwide Developers Conference , & SMX Advanced . I attended the first and last but there must have been some cross-up with my invitation to the Apple WWDC. :) Google I/O was a defacto Android conference where I noticed a lot of frustrated former...
Catching-up with Evolution: Shaping the Next Generation of Digital Marketing
June 17, 2010, 8:41 amThe evolution of search and social, and more broadly the interaction of the public at large with the internet and the available media online, is naturally of huge interest to all those that offers services in the industry. As search engines continue to evolve and social media stretches its own boundaries, this set-up really tests the agility of a...
Gulf Oil Spill Tracker Called 'Biggest Online Video of the Year'
June 17, 2010, 8:37 amAt the OMMA Video event this week, MediaPost columnist Steve Smith called the Gulf Oil Spill Tracker created by PBS NewsHour the "biggest online video of the year." He added, ""There is no better example of the power that online video has."Click to read the rest of this post...
Bing to Power Yahoo Results Starting in August
June 17, 2010, 8:35 am
It seems live forever ago that Yahoo and Bing finally got it together and announced that Bing would power Yahoo’s search results.
Well, it appears that “B-day” is fast approaching. According to a joint presentation, Yahoo has already started testing Bing’s search algorithm and the switch over will take...
Paid Search Accounts for Almost Half of Online Advertising
June 17, 2010, 8:27 am
According to MAGNAGLOBAL paid search is the leading form of online advertising, accounting for nearly 50% (actual 46.3%) of all online advertising. To Internet marketers this is not much of a surprise but it is something that many businesses still don’t grasp.
The study predicts a steady path of growth in overall online...
Geo-Marketing Security Expectations For Businesses
June 17, 2010, 8:18 amWe have discussed the security risks of local business listing hijackings in the past. One of the comments made about these security discussions is why do the geo-listing websites like Google, Yahoo, Bing, and up to 60 others insure the security to avoid hijackings? Of course the question to be asked is why should they provide the security...
Create a Branded Social-Sharing Bar with Apture
June 17, 2010, 8:18 amLast week I had some great time speaking to Apture representative who encouraged me to go ahead and give their tool a try at SEOSmarty.com . Before I share my experience with you,
Commission Junction Chosen Twice as Often as Other Affiliate Networks
June 17, 2010, 8:14 am
California based Commission Junction (a division of Value Click), announced on June 15th 2010 that 63% of online retailers who use third party affiliate companies used Commission Junction. This was more than twice as much as any other affiliate provider. The data backing this claim came from online retailers surveyed for the...
Second PayPal X Developer Challenge: Bigger and Better
June 17, 2010, 7:55 amHi everyone â" Osama here, with an announcement that I'm really excited to tell you about. The second PayPal X Developer Challenge is now officially open! Just like our first Dev Challenge, we're rewarding the most innovative payments applications â" that leverage the PayPal X platform. We got so excited with all your great ideas last time...
WordPress 3.0 Released
June 17, 2010, 7:54 am"Developers and network admins will appreciate the long-awaited merge of MU and WordPress, creating the new multi-site functionality which makes it possible to run one blog or ten million from the same installation."
Twitter Starts Testing the Promoted Trending Topics
June 17, 2010, 7:29 amTwitter is testing promoted trending topics as reports last week indicated that they would. If you go to Twitter.com and take a look at the trending topic list, you will probably see one with a yellow box marking it as "Promoted."
Currently, the promoted trending topic is "Toy Story 3", a Disney Pixar movie that opens this...
AOL to Unload Bebo for Cheap
June 17, 2010, 7:25 am
Two years AOL bought Bebo for $850 million it looks like the fire sale for this ‘asset’ may happen. We had wondered if this was even an option considering some of the tax laws attached to the sale like this could work against AOL. If that were the case it was a real possibility that AOL would just let Bebo fade into the...
Take the 2011 Digital Marketing Poll
June 17, 2010, 6:58 amIt's safe to say 2009 and 2010 were breakout years for social media. Our last Digital Marketing poll showed 6 of the top 10 tactics as social media complemented by search engine marketing and email. Slimmer marketing budgets and mass media attention have inspired a rush to many types social media marketing tactics bringing a certain...
AOL Sells Social Networking Site, Bebo, To Private Investment Firm
June 17, 2010, 6:30 am"Criterion Capital Partners, a small private investment firm, announced that it had bought the business, but did not disclosure the amount paid."
YouTube Talks New Video Editing Tool
June 17, 2010, 6:30 amAfter early reports of a new YouTube video editor, the company officially announced it and talked about how it works. The tool allows the average person to edit videos in the cloud. No software installation is necessary. Users can combine multiple videos they've uploaded to YouTube, to create longer pieces. They can trim the beginning/end, add...
Canadian Retailers Falling Behind
June 17, 2010, 6:24 amA recent Statistics Canada (StatsCan) report found that more Canadians are window shopping and making purchases online. This week we published a report on the online retail industry in Canada, Online Retail Trends and Opportunities , which similarly showed an 8% year over year increase in visits to Shopping and Classifieds websites in April. The...
YouTube Cloud Video Editor
June 17, 2010, 5:59 am"The editor is ideal for merging single, short clips into a longer video."
MSN and Sainsbury's Create the Perfect Digital Recipe
June 17, 2010, 5:50 amAn MSN team in our London office has been cooking up a veritable online feast, partnering with the supermarket chain to bring Sainsburys Food and Drink on MSN UK to our readers. I caught up with Richard Moore, who headed up the project, to understand how the microsite had been put together: Can you give us some insight into the MSN Creative...
Integrating the Social Community in Offline Media
June 17, 2010, 5:08 amImagine my surprise as I was sitting in the Philly airport, reading a copy of Lucky Magazine, that I should come across something I love. It’s an advertisement from Bing. Yes, I said love. It’s a blatant advertisement, and it’s from Bing (stop groaning, they are getting better!).
The total win is that they are using the...
PubSubHubbub, Wordpress & Faster Indexation
June 17, 2010, 4:52 amA look at how PubSubHubbub works, why it's awesome and how you can set up your own hub using Wordpress.
Bing/Yahoo Search Alliance: Tests Begin
June 17, 2010, 3:30 am"Algorithmic transition for US and Canada before Holiday 2010, estimated August/September."
Happy 1st birthday, Google Wave!
June 17, 2010, 12:38 amLast week, we opened sign-ups for Google Wave to everyone as part of Google Labs and made it available for all Google Apps domains. Here is the quick (seven minute) update on the state of the product from this year's Google IO conference: Today, it's been a full year since the Wave team first got on stage at the Moscone Center and demoed a new...
Testimonials Can Help Your Reputation
June 17, 2010, 12:09 amIf you have a reputation management issue on your hands you will certainly have to pull out your arsenal of reactive marketing efforts in order to fight that negative press back to where it came from. This means making your testimonials visible for everyone to read. You now have to win back the hearts of your audience and re-gain their trust once...
Some Merchant Credit Card Processors Requiring Funds In Reserve
June 16, 2010, 9:09 pm"'With the economy in a slump many credit card processors are requiring merchants to keep funds in reserve to cover future processing fees or potential chargebacks.' WebmasterWorld Members ask if this stance is becoming more common."
BP Profits Move the Web
June 16, 2010, 7:44 pmby Claudine Zap Here's a question to ponder. BP â" buy or sell? The Buzz Log would never dole out stock tips, but we can report big searches from folks wondering whether to invest in the oil company. The energy company, now synonymous with environmental disaster, has agreed to siphon dividends away from investors and put them toward a $20...
Feisty Dames: By the Numbers
June 16, 2010, 6:30 pmby Vera H-C Chan Old broads, we salute you. Joan Rivers , at age 77, has been reaping strong reviews and churning up the buzz . Betty White 's so hot right now, the 88-year-old is stirring up fake nudie photo rumors . (Yes, we said fake. Sorry.) And there are a lot more female pioneers still doing the hard work of being funny â" plus some side...
Twitter’s Trending Topics Ads Spotted in the Wild
June 16, 2010, 6:23 pm
Well, looky what we have here:
Yes sir! You’re looking at one of the very first glimpses of Twitter’s rumored Trending Topic ads–spotted by uber-Twitter user @Ed. Clicking on the link takes you to a trending topics page which has…wait for it…an ad for Toy Story 3.
The New York Times Ranks as Top Online Newspaper According to comScore
June 16, 2010, 5:55 pmcomScore today released a report of the top U.S. online newspaper groups based on the comScore Media Metrix service. The newspaper category represents the first site category for which each of the top ten ranked entities has transitioned to the comScore Media Metrix 360 (Unified Digital Measurement) methodology. Click to read the rest of this...
AdWords Now Tells Advertisers About Competitors' Performance
June 16, 2010, 5:24 pmGoogle Adwords is firing up a new tool, Analyze Competition, designed for advertisers to measure how their campaign performs compared to competition. So now instead of solely having their own metrics, advertisers can look at their campaign ROIs within the landscape of relevant/similar keyword categories. That easy. Really. Click to read the rest...
Bing vs. Google: Prominence of Ranking Elements
June 16, 2010, 5:20 pmPosted by randfish This past week during the SMX Advanced conference in Seattle, I presented some correlation data alongside Janet Driscoll-Miller , Sasi Parthasarathy of Bing & Matt Cutts of Google. Matt in particular was quite vocal in expressing a desire to see additional data points from our research, primarily around the prominence/visibility...
Google Search Funnels Give Search Marketing Brand Value
June 16, 2010, 4:46 pmA few months ago, Google introduced AdWords Search Funnels reports . These describe click and impression behavior on Google.com that leads up to a conversion, with reports like Assisted Conversions, First and Last Click Analysis, Time Lag, and Path Length. These reports are proving helpful for advertisers that would like a little more brand...
9 SEO Content Mistakes Businesses Make
June 16, 2010, 4:37 pmExperienced SEOs know not to do these things. Unfortunately, there are plenty who still need the message.
Help Us Improve Your Google Merchant Center Experience
June 16, 2010, 3:49 pmHow can we improve your Merchant Center experience? What features would you like to see added, and how could we make it easier to manage your product data? Starting this week, we'll be kicking off a discussion thread on our help forum in the "Tips and Suggestions" category. Each week's thread will focus on a different part of the Merchant Center,...
Mayday! Your long tail is going to get shorter, but maybe fatter
June 16, 2010, 3:00 pmby Garry Przyklenk
As a frequent writer on search marketing topics and web analytics with a vested interest in the popularity of my content, I have to say the recent Google Mayday algorithm discussion at SES Toronto had me somewhat worried. Maile Ohye of Google Webmaster Tools keynoted day 2 in an open forum discussion...
Time to Start Placing More Emphasis on Bing SEO
June 16, 2010, 2:57 pmGoogle SEO vs Bing SEO has been a topic of discussion throughout the industry since Bing was launched. The topic got some heavy play last week at the SMX Advanced conference, and with Yahoo and Bing coming together sometime this year, online marketers are going to want to start thinking harder about incorporating Bing into their strategies if they...
How To Combine Brand & SEO
June 16, 2010, 2:46 pmIn 2008, Eric Schmidt let slip that Google would use brands as a signal to clean up the "internet cesspool. SEOs ears twitched. Quoted by CNET at the time: Web crawlers aren't particularly good at making judgments about the truthiness of digital matter, and the wisdom of the crowd can't keep up with the river of data streaming online. Schmidt gave...
Online Newspapers Attract More Than Half Of Internet Audience
June 16, 2010, 1:55 pmMore than 123 million Americans visited newspaper websites in May, representing 57 percent of the total U.S. Internet audience, according to a new report from comScore. The New York Times Brand led the category with more than 32 million visitors and 719 million pageviews during the month. The average visitor viewed 22 pages of content on the New...
Yet Another Blather About Why Performance Digital Advertising is a Crack Cocaine of Iterative Delight, Whereas Spray & Pray Traditional is Not
June 16, 2010, 1:27 pmDriving around in the beautiful sunshine, you tend to see a lot of billboards. And if you're an AdWords junkie, you tend to notice a lot of ads that would never work if their performance was tested. Contrast that with the stinging pain of real time feedback from digital advertising prospects who must click (let alone, buy). We don't get to fire up...
The New York Times Ranks as Top Online Newspaper According to May 2010 U.S. comScore Media Metrix Data
June 16, 2010, 1:26 pmcomScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released a report of the top U.S. online newspaper groups based on the comScore Media Metrix service. The newspaper category represents the first site category for which each of the top ten ranked entities has transitioned to the comScore Media Metrix 360 (Unified...
Now You Can "Like" Comments on Facebook
June 16, 2010, 1:22 pmFacebook is rolling out a feature that lets you "like" comments on posts just as you can the post itself. It's a simple feature that has surprisingly been absent until now, but now it's here.
"Since first launching the 'Like' feature in 2009 and the ability to comment on News Feed stories in 2008, we've seen these features become...
"I Like Your Comment"
June 16, 2010, 1:15 pmSince first launching the "Like" feature in 2009 and the ability to comment on News Feed stories in 2008, we've seen these features become central to the way people communicate on Facebook. They're two of the most heavily used features on the site and have proven to be a simple way to discuss posts and show appreciation for the content friends...
Betty White's New Show, iPhone Orders Slowed, Obama's Speech on Oil Flow: What's the Buzz
June 16, 2010, 1:04 pmby Claudine Zap Our top picks from the day's hottest searches. Star Wars: The Old Republic (Searches increased by 18,482%). Watch the trailer of the upcoming game. Obama speech (+1,031%). The president called on BP â" and the company agreed â" to a $20 billion compensation fund for victims of the oil spill. Al Gore (+1,013%). The former vice...
AOL Has Reportedly Found a Buyer for Bebo
June 16, 2010, 1:04 pmBack in the Spring, it became evident that AOL was looking to unload Bebo, especially after its former president joined Facebook.
At that time, Jon Brod, Executive Vice President of AOL Ventures, wrote in an internal memo, "Bebo, unfortunately, is a business that has been declining and, as a result, would require significant investment in...
Welcome to DFO- The Basics of Data Feed Optimization
June 16, 2010, 12:25 pm
Let’s play a game. Let’s pretend you are the webmaster of www.reallyawesomeflannelrobes.com and you have a supply of awesome flannel robes. How do you plan on selling your flannel robes? I guess you’d want to do some SEO, right? So you optimize your website for the phrase “buy flannel robe”. You hire some hot-shot...
SEM Intermediate Series: Understanding and Optimizing Match Types
June 16, 2010, 11:54 amThis is the 9 th post in the SEM Intermediate Series , a collection of posts intended for search engine marketing professionals looking for guidance in monitoring and adjusting the key performance indicators (KPIs) that determine the success of a PPC campaign. This series is a continuation of the SEM Beginner Series . If you havent already read...
Social maturity
June 16, 2010, 11:26 amIt used to be that just launching a social application made you a marketing leader. Now everybody's doing it. Some people just run campaigns. Doritos' Super Bowl ads are a great example. So are little applications like Mad Men Yourself , where you can make your own icon to represent yourself as a Mad Men character. These are great, but they don't...
Privacy and Security Still Obstacles for Check-In Services
June 16, 2010, 11:26 amuTest has released the results from a check-in services "Bug Battle" competition, in which over 300 users from about 40 countries reported bugs in popular check-in services Fousquare, Gowalla, and Brightkite. A total of 870 bugs were reported - technical, functional, and GUI bugs in the web and mobile apps of these three services. Foursquare had...
NOAA Launches Website To Track Gulf Oil Spill
June 16, 2010, 11:26 amThe National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has launched a website with near-real-time information about the response to the Deepwater Horizon BP oil spill. The site, GeoPlatform.gov features data on the oil spill's path, fishery closed areas, wildlife and place-based Gulf Coast resources such as pinpointed locations of oiled...
A Different Perspective from OMMA Video
June 16, 2010, 10:58 amI was a keynote speaker at OMMA Video yesterday in New York. If you want to watch the 20-minute keynote, it is available on USTREAM.Click to read the rest of this post...
The First Rule Of Dot War: You Do Not Tweet About Dot War
June 16, 2010, 10:46 amHave you ever found yourself wondering if your Twitter icon could beat another in a pixel battle royale? Sure, we all have at one point or another but now, thanks to Dot War , you can battle it out with other Twitter icons. With whom are you going to have your Twitter icon do battle? Let us know . If youre unfamiliar with Dot War, it is a...
How to Make More Sales With the Help of ELO
June 16, 2010, 10:29 amLaunches have been on my mind a lot lately. Not just because of Jeff Walker and his PLF3 release, but because I have been on a crazy launch kick myself with several back to back. I have learned a fair bit about what to do and what doesn't work so well, especially in the area of email promotions. My main discovery, though, I gleaned from my Shy...
Sun Covering Up its Page 3 Girls for Apple?
June 16, 2010, 10:00 amYesterday, the Sun's iPad app made headlines because it was reportedly somehow able to sneak nudity past Apple's app approval process, which is notoriously strict (even with cartoon nudity). This led to speculation around the blogosphere that Apple would make exceptions for newspapers when it comes to nudity. After reaching out to the Sun,...
The Skinny on Google TV and Why it Will Make Google Fat Money
June 16, 2010, 9:54 amA lot of people came away from watching the Google TV presentation in person at Google I/O or via YouTube May 20 confused about what the service actually was. As one of the thousands of people watching it from YouTube, I surely was. Thanks to spotty Bluetooth access, the two-hour plus presentation had too many technical hiccups to provide a clear...
Attorney Generals See Google Privacy as Means to Boost Careers?
June 16, 2010, 9:41 am
Google’s facing more heat over the revelation it may have broken privacy laws when it “accidentally” snooped on public Wi-Fi networks.
I had two choices with this story. Rejected, by a very close margin, was this amazing little factoid:
Google said it accidentally gathered data from unsecured Wi-Fi...
B.J. Novak Roasts Google, Apple, Facebook at Webby Awards
June 16, 2010, 9:15 amB.J. Novak of NBC's The Office and Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basteds hosted the Webby Awards last night.
In his opening monologue, he talked about how great Pandora is, how Apple should stop updating iTunes "for two days", unreliable Google Maps time estimates, the New York Times accepting an award from the Internet, Facebook...
Facebook Is A Major Video Ad Player And Zynga Its Secret Weapon
June 16, 2010, 9:09 amFacebook is turning out to be a major video destination although it's not what the social site is best known for. Indeed, don't be fooled. Facebook's video ads performance is putting to shame other channels. The secret? Social games' virtual currencies - and yes, inevitably, Zynga.Click to read the rest of this post...
Good Copy, Bad Copy: The Magic Is In The Headlines
June 16, 2010, 9:02 amYou Blog and tweet and optimize your site and pay for ads and Facebook and syndicate articles'.all to drive traffic to your site. So what happens when the traffic gets there? With only a few seconds to grab the attention of your site visitor and pull them into your site â" your headline is the most important element of your website (this...
13 Online PPC Marketing Courses
June 16, 2010, 9:02 amIf you are relatively new to PPC marketing , it's a good idea to consider taking an online course. There are quite a few of these courses being offered, and unlike your typical blog entry or news article, they provide a comprehensive overview of paid search advertising. Another benefit is that many of the courses offer a certification exam. Here...
Wordstream Announces 6K Facebook Fans Sweepstakes
June 16, 2010, 9:02 amOur good friends at Wordstream have some fun contest for you and some awesome prizes as well! And the good news that we have partnered with them to bring even more fun! Participating has never been easier: just like BOTH Wordstream Fan Page and SearchEngineJournal.
As YouTube Offers More "Credible" Content, Perception Still Lacks
June 16, 2010, 8:57 amYouTube has a lot of influence on people's daily lives. It is often touted as the world's 2nd largest search engine, and is by far the top online video destination. Ipsos released some new research, seeking to understand how consumers engage with media brands, with a specific focus on popular online video and TV brands. YouTube was found to be the...
Yahoo Expands TV Widget With Sony
June 16, 2010, 8:57 amYahoo said today it has expanded the availability of its Yahoo Widget Engine on Sony's Internet-connected BRAVIA TVs. The Yahoo Widget Engine allows viewers to watch videos on Showtime, check sports scores on USA Today, shop on eBay, play games or connect with friends on Twitter and Facebook, while watching TV. The Yahoo Widget Engine on BRAVIA...
Use Ad Testing to Help Reach Your PPC Marketing Goals
June 16, 2010, 8:48 amby Mike Fleming
Once a PPC account is set up and running, a good account manager is always looking for ways to improve results to better reach the account's marketing goals. One such way is to test different types of ad messages to gain insights into what attracts your industry's customers to your products/services so that you can better...
It’s a Trap! The Big Bad Bookmarking Scam
June 16, 2010, 8:44 amAvoid websites that try to tell you its okay to pay them to bookmark and push your site. It's NOT ok!
PayPal Announces First Collaboration with Government Agency on Mobile Commerce
June 16, 2010, 8:34 amPayPal announced today that it is collaborating with Singapore's Infocomm Development Authority , a national government agency, to have PayPal's mobile payment platform power the m-commerce infrastructure of Singapore's Digital Concierge program. This is of particular significance because it marks the first collaboration between Paypal and a...
How to Audit Your Social Media Efforts: 20+ Questions to Ask Yourself
June 16, 2010, 8:29 amThis is a guest post by Kwame Boame . Follow him on Twitter . If you look around the social web a lot like me, you will agree that most social media campaigns suck. Some people think social media is just fun. Some however see it as an opportunity. What do you think about using social media for business? I hope you are still not confused by the...
Opera Adds Geolocation, WebM Support
June 16, 2010, 8:17 amFlock made headlines by releasing a new version of its social web browser on the Chromium platform today, placing a great deal of emphasis on speed. However, Opera has also released a new version of its browser with a similar emphasis. "Opera 10.60 beta is so fast, it will blow you away," says Opera Chief Development Officer, Christen Krogh....
Experimenting With AdSense For Mobile Browsers
June 16, 2010, 8:01 am"This year the growing mobile traffic was impossible to miss... ...I decided I would whip up a quick and dirty mobile version of the site, and redirect mobile users to it."
What Is Latent Semantic Indexing â" SEO Defined
June 16, 2010, 7:59 amLatent Semantic Indexing (LSI) is a system used by Google and other major search engines. The contents of a webpage are crawled by a search engine and the most common words and phrases are collated and identified as the keywords for the page. LSI looks for synonyms related to the title of your page. For example, if the title of your page was...
More Predictions About Online Advertising’s Future
June 16, 2010, 7:22 am
It looks like the mid-year re-evaluations and updates to the “start of year” predictions for the future of advertising are rolling in at a rapid pace. Today’s entry comes from one of the largest advertising firms in the world, Interpublic and its Magna Global unit. The news is good for advertising overall and...
The Power of Blogs & Social Media in B2B Marketing
June 16, 2010, 6:39 amAs a living example of a B2B company that fully leverages blogging and social media in our online marketing, TopRank Marketing has a lot of first-hand insight that we can share with clients. I know there are many B2B marketers that are uncertain about their place on the social web and over 6 1/2 years of B2B blogging experience can provide the...
Twitter Has A Rough Go As Of Late
June 16, 2010, 6:37 am
As most of you have noticed lately Twitter has had its share of downtime. Talk of the Twitter fail whale used to be more prevalent but until recently was seen as more of a nuisance rather than an issue. Well, for many users the amount of downtime experienced recently is moving quickly into the realm of real concern rather than...
Twitter Talks Excessive Service Outages
June 16, 2010, 6:28 amTwitter has acknowledged its latest increase of outages not only on its status blog (as usual), but on the Official Twitter Blog . The company says it has been Twitter's worst month since October, from a site stability and service outage perspective. "We're working through tweaks to our system in order to provide greater stability at a time when...
Has Google Cut Back Its Site Crawling?
June 16, 2010, 6:15 am"One WebmasterWorld Member reports: 'On all Sites the crawling by Google decreased by around 98%.'"
Flock Taps Google's Chromium to Bring Speed and Social to the Browser
June 16, 2010, 5:26 amFlock has announced a complete redesign of its browser, originally based on Mozilla Firefox. The new one is based on Google's Chromium platform (the open-source project behind Google Chrome), and like Chrome, places a great deal of emphasis on speed. Of course Flock also places a great deal on what it's already known for - social media activity...
Twitter Says Stability Should Improve
June 16, 2010, 4:10 am"However, we certainly are not happy about the disruptions that we have faced and even caused this week and understand how they negatively impact our users."
A world first collaboration between PayPal and a government agency to spur the adoption of m-commerce
June 16, 2010, 3:03 amHi, it's Farhad Irani, VP of PayPal Asia Pacific, at CommunicAsia, one of the largest telecom shows in Asia. M-commerce is really taking off in this mobile-mad region as consumers increasingly shop on their mobile phones. We're seeing many innovative ways, like our collaboration with Maxis in Malaysia , for businesses to address this regional...
URL Rewrite Smack-Down: .htaccess vs. 404 Handler
June 16, 2010, 1:08 amPosted by MichaelC First, a quick refresher: URL prettying and 301 redirection can both be done in . htaccess files, or in your 404 handler. If you're not completely up to speed on how URL rewrites and 301s work in general, this post will definitely help. And if you didn't read last week's post on RewriteRule's split personality , it's probably...
Strategize Your Content Creation
June 16, 2010, 12:16 amThe internet has an unbelievable amount of search marketing potential for a business website but to just dive in and flail your arms around in the internet waters will not grow your business the right way. You have to take a step back and figure out which areas you want to be the most visible in and you will want to have a clearly laid out plan of...
2010 World Cup: All eyes on South Africa
June 15, 2010, 7:40 pmTeams representing 32 nations have gathered in South Africa for the 2010 FIFA World CupTM, the quadrennial football (aka soccer) tournament celebrating the world's most popular game, which begins Friday, June 11, and concludes in a month, with the championship match on Sunday, July 11. This World Cup has special significance as it will be the...
What's 'Bafana Bafana'?
June 15, 2010, 5:36 pmby Mike Krumboltz World Cup fans who watched South Africa hold on for a 1-1 draw against heavily favored Mexico last week may have wondered why people were chanting " Bafana Bafana " at the top of their lungs. The phrase was everywhere: On scarves, banners, and the lips of every South African fan in the crowd. So, what the heck does "bafana...
White House Press Secretary To Take Questions On YouTube
June 15, 2010, 4:23 pmEveryone who intends to watch President Obama speak about the Gulf oil spill on TV tonight may also want to be near a computer monitor 15 minutes later. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs has said he'll answer user-submitted questions on YouTube in front of what has the potential to be a more global audience.
Individuals with YouTube...
Army Cuts the Velcro
June 15, 2010, 4:05 pmby Mike Krumboltz In a move that has the Web buzzing, the U.S. Army has decided to banish Velcro from uniform pants and bring back buttons. Replacing the fastener on uniforms isn't your traditional front-page news, but the shift has captured the attention of many. A buzzy article from USA Today explains that soldiers told their superiors that the...
Google Earth Becomes Available For iPad
June 15, 2010, 3:19 pmiPad owners who are looking for a surefire way to draw more attention to their big, shiny screens should proceed straight to the iTunes store and download Google's latest offering. The company's made Google Earth, which has been a popular sort of eye candy for years, available for the iPad.
This represents a quick turnaround on Google's...
comScore Media Metrix Ranks Top 50 U.S. Web Properties for May 2010
June 15, 2010, 3:13 pmcomScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released its monthly analysis of U.S. Web activity at the top online properties for May 2010 based on data from the comScore Media Metrix service. Seasonal events in May including Mother's Day and professional sports playoffs drove the dominant online trends during the...
Facebook Taking Over The World
June 15, 2010, 3:13 pmNot only has Facebook gathered huge numbers of members – half a billion at the last count – but the social network has also become the number one social presence in many countries, displacing some home-grown domestic social networks.
A glance at the world map of social networks 2010 you see above shows a clear picture of the...
New Video Shows How Google TV Works
June 15, 2010, 2:34 pmGoogle has posted a new video showing off Google TV. Those who watched the keynote at Google I/O won't see much new here, but it does show some of the different things you can do with it that previous videos didn't show. It shows actual footage, rather than animation, anyway.
Watch here:
...
PayPal "SEND MONEY" Sweepstakes â" Send Money, Win Big!
June 15, 2010, 2:22 pmHi All, it's Stacy General, online personal shopper for PayPal. I'm excited to let you know about a cool new promotion for our customers using Send Money . Send Money is an easy, secure, and fast way to pay friends and family online, internationally, to your teen, or via mobile. And you can send cash to just about anyone â" all they'll need is...
ForeSee Results Launches Social Media Measurement Tool
June 15, 2010, 2:17 pmForeSee Results has introduced a "Social Media Value Calculation" tool aimed at helping its clients understand the impact of their social media marketing campaigns on revenue. "Most businesses have accepted the marketing value of social media without any real proof points," said Larry Freed, president and CEO of ForeSee Results. "We can count how...
Consumers More Likely to Buy From Ads on Media Sites Than Social Media?
June 15, 2010, 2:17 pmThe Online Publishers Association has revealed some findings from research on how brands are perceived across content in different online environments. Specifically, it looks at how environments like media publications (such as ESPN.com, iVillage, NYTimes.com, Wall Street Journal, etc.), portal channels (such as AOL News, MSN Money, Yahoo Sports,...
Social Media Accounts For 22% Of Time Spent Online
June 15, 2010, 2:17 pmThe Web is a vastly more social place now than it was a year ago, according to new data from Nielsen. Double-digit growth occurred in a couple of categories, and at this point, Nielsen believes an impressive 22 percent of all time spent online is spent perusing social networks and/or blogs. Actually, that figure may be even larger for June;...
Bam Bammed, Bafana Bafana, Benatar Book: What's the Buzz
June 15, 2010, 12:28 pmby Vera H-C Chan Our picks from the hottest searches of the day. Bam Margera Hospitalized (8,870%). Not a stunt: A weekend bopping by a bat-wielding 59-year-old woman landed the skateboarder in intensive care and delayed a "Jackass 3-D" shoot. The assailants has her day in court Thursday. California Earthquake (627%). A 5.7-magnitude aftershock...
Advice From A Social Media Groupie
June 15, 2010, 12:03 pmIf social bookmarking is part of your marketing plan, this article and the one it links to (here’s her story) is essential reading.
6 Tips to Engaging Communities (Yours or Others!) for SEO Benefit
June 15, 2010, 11:50 amHowdy folks! This week I’m taking a look at how to make the most of existing communities and what you need to focus on if you decide to create your own all with hopes of increasing links and improving your SEO strategy.
1. Plan ahead!
It really is a shame when a campaign goes hot and no attention has been paid to the potential SEO...
Weekly Search & Social News: 06/15/2010
June 15, 2010, 11:36 amHello my faithful web wanderers and welcome to another edition of ' 7 Days of Search and Social ' - considering it was conference madness for the North American market, there was still a fair bit of good geeking to be had last week. From hacking for SEO to testing, Yahoo and FaceBook.. to Bing getting more social, plenty here for all. I hope this...
Google Gains Access To 400,000 More Books
June 15, 2010, 11:31 amThis morning marks the start of another big day for Google Books. After what felt like months of little or no news about its digitization program (except perhaps for updates concerning legal challenges), another breakthrough's occurred, with the Austrian National Library ready to offer Google access to as many as 400,000 books. This move won't...
Apple Launches Apple Store App
June 15, 2010, 11:31 amApple has introduced a free mobile application, the Apple Store App, that allows users in the U.S. to buy Apple products including the new iPhone 4, directly from their iPhone or iPod touch. The new Apple Store app allows users to find an Apple retail store in their local area and make reservations for retail services including free tech support...
eBay Lets Buyers Filter Seller Feedback by Negative and Positive
June 15, 2010, 11:31 ameBay is giving users a new option for looking at feedback on sellers. They can now filter the feedback to look at just negative, positive or neutral. eBay's announcement says: Starting this week, you'll be able to see a member's Feedback ratings by type positive, neutral, or negative on their Feedback Profile page. Just go to the Feedback...
Introducing the Go Google cloud calculator
June 15, 2010, 11:08 amPeople often ask us what it really means to go Google â" how it will impact their business and productivity? What are the actual savings? To answer some of those questions, we've built a little tool we're calling the Go Google cloud calculator that lets you explore your potential savings in an easy-to-understand way. Once you find out your...
Twitter Outages, Second Look Could Push People to Google Buzz
June 15, 2010, 11:02 amBlogger Robert Scoble is shilling for Google Buzz , that once forgotten but now found social conversation service Google launched in February. Buzz was launched fully baked. But yet not. There was no beta tag, but the service was woefully bereft of functionality. Users could use it to post links, videos and photos, but finding and consuming...
Zynga To Boost Asian Presence With $147 mln Investment From Softbank
June 15, 2010, 10:54 amSocial gaming platform Zynga is reported to have raised $147 million (13.5 billion yen) from Japanese telecommunication and media group Softbank to fund its expansion in Asia, the region that is widely tapped to be the market with greatest potential in the foreseeable future. "Connecting the world through games," Zynga is really living up to its...
Does the World Still Need Twitter?
June 15, 2010, 10:28 amTwitter users know that the service goes down fairly often, but that doesn't seem to alienate them. While Twitter has certainly had its issues with user retention in the past, it continues to grow. Last month, the site grew by nearly 10% (over the previous month) by our estimates, with total registered users estimated at 122 million. That's not...
IBM Reverses Mistake With Coremetrics Acquisition
June 15, 2010, 10:15 am
Don’t you just love getting the inside scoop on a big acquisition?
I do!
So, after reading that IBM had agreed to acquire web analytics fim Coremetrics for an undisclosed sum, I was happy to find former IBMer Mike Moran share some information you may not know. Like the fact that IBM originally sold its web analytics unit to...
PayPal Australia works with Federal Government to Educate on Cyber Security
June 15, 2010, 10:10 am G'day! It's Malte Feller from Australia here. Last week was National Cyber Security Awareness Week in Australia. We participated throughout the week sitting on panels, hosting media events, speaking at forums, and using every channel we have to help educate Australia's internet population on how to stay safe online. National Cyber...
Google Caffeine is live: what you need to know
June 15, 2010, 9:36 amLast week, Google officially announced that their new web indexing system "Caffeine" is live on all Google pages. What does this mean for your website and do you have to change anything on your pages?
5 Ways to Kill Your Search Rankings & Solutions
June 15, 2010, 9:31 amOne of the biggest fears for web site owners that have long relied on search traffic for new business is a sudden drop in search engine rankings. Some webmasters are experiencing this very situation as a result of Google's recent Mayday update ( Matt Cutts video ). In most cases, it takes a lot for a tenured web site to mess up it's search...
Video Game Play Becoming More Social
June 15, 2010, 9:25 amComputer and video game use is widespread with 67 percent of American households playing, according to a new report from the Entertainment Software Association. The report found a social aspect of game play with 62 percent of gamers reporting they play with other gamers in person at least one hour a week and 48 percent of parents said they play...
How SEJ Tools Handle all Your Keyword Research Process
June 15, 2010, 9:08 amSEJ Toolset is designed the way that you would never need any other SEO tool. This post shows you how it guides you through the whole keyword research process: 1. Get Keyword Suggestions Research words with Wordtracker: Wordtracker is yet another tool you can gain access to via SEJ tools dashboard. It allows to set the match type to tailor your...
Facebook CEO Deletes Controversial iPhone 4 Post
June 15, 2010, 9:03 am
While I’ve followed the story about Mark Zuckerberg dissing the iPhone, it wasn’t really of much interest to me–or to you.
Until today.
For those of you unaware, the Facebook CEO posted the following to his Facebook page:
For a CEO with a high profile such as Zuckerberg, that probably wasn’t the smartest...
Yahoo Takes Control Of Flicker.com
June 15, 2010, 9:02 amTypo-prone photographers appear to owe Yahoo a "thank you." After making at least one generous offer and then resorting to a lawsuit, the company's acquired Flicker.com, presumably for the sake of saving people who misspell "Flickr" from visiting the wrong site. A Hong Kong-based business known as Ashanti first acquired the Flicker.com domain...
Twitter 'Places' Bold Move Towards Paid Search With Foursquare, Gowalla, Localeze, TomTom Ties
June 15, 2010, 9:02 amTwitter launched its 'Places' feature, pulling together local check-in services Foursquare and Gowalla, and meshing them in with data from local search firm Localeze and global navigation solutions provider TomTom.
The move was announced by Twitter's Othman Laraki on the company's blog as part of the company's plans to contextualize tweets. Read...
Ultimate Quality Score Guide: 15 Experts on How to Increase Quality Score
June 15, 2010, 8:32 amWe asked 15 PPC experts - including Andrew Goodman, George Mitchie, Dave Davis, Marty Weintraub, Brad Geddes, Josh Dreller, and more - 4 questions about Quality Score and got a lot of great content. Find out what they had to say about:1. The factors involved in Quality Score2. How to identify Quality Score problems & Improve Quality Scores3....
How to Boost Your Sales with a Strong Guarantee
June 15, 2010, 8:22 amYou didn't used to see many guarantees for online services and digital products. But today's new generation of bloggers and entrepreneurs have discovered that this age-old offline technique can be one of the most powerful routes to more sales. They know that online buyers are plagued by fears and doubts. And there's nothing that will kill a sale...
Don't Burn Out Doing Your Own SEO
June 15, 2010, 8:22 amIf you are like many people out there you probably had to cut back on many personal and business expenses over the last two years leaving your internet marketing on either hold or all up to you. If you are a business owner juggling many daily activities it could get very interesting trying to keep up with your own online marketing activities. Just...
Twitter Places Includes Integration with Foursquare, Gowalla
June 15, 2010, 8:19 amTwitter announced that Twitter Places is now available on Twitter.com and mobile.twiter.com. This is a feature that lets you tag tweets with specific places by sharing your location.
Some users had access to location-sharing features back in March, but it appears that it is being rolled out on a massive scale now. Over the next week, Twitter...
PR, News Releases, and Why They're Marketing Tools
June 15, 2010, 8:11 amWho said you should only send press releases to journalists? Why not send them directly to your buyers? You can reach millions of buyers with press releases. Stay in touch with your current clients, create buzz about your company, products and services, and create brand awareness â" all with online press releases. In his book, "The New Rules of...
SMX Advanced 2010 London: Participant's Report â" Day 1
June 15, 2010, 7:42 amNote from Ann: SMX Advanced 2010 London was quite some time ago but I found this article an awesome report - especially useful for those who couldn't make it to the event. Enjoy! Since 2007 London has already hosted three SMX conferences of general level, and perhaps, organizers thought the audience had at last got ready for more serious event...
FIFA World Cup 2010: Did South Africa Miss an Opportunity to Make a Lasting Impression?
June 15, 2010, 7:42 amAmidst much fanfare, the 2010 FIFA World Cup is underway in South Africa. The tournament is the most watched sporting event in the world with an expected viewership of over 700 million. The estimated economic impact to the country is $12 billion. But has South Africa missed a golden opportunity to increase the appeal of the country for tourists...
Ad Spend Growth Slow But It’s There
June 15, 2010, 7:30 am
Everyone in the advertising and marketing world would love to see everything get back to the halcyon days of ad spending like there was no tomorrow which seemed to exist prior to our current economic climate. Well, it’s OK to dream but if that dream interferes with the reality of a situation then you have trouble. A recent...
Twitter Announces Location Based Tweet Tags
June 15, 2010, 5:58 am
Twitter is officially in the geo-location game. Yesterday it announced the roll out of its Twitter tweet tagging service which will give the location of where you are tweeting from to those interested in knowing those things about you. The Twitter blog describes it in the context of the World Cup horn blowing soccer matches.
If...
Webmasters Receiving Letters Demanding $$ Over Image Copyright
June 15, 2010, 5:13 am"...with demands for $1000 for using their images unless you cough up proof of ownership to the images."
Cannes Lions 2010 â" Sharing the Microsoft Schedule
June 15, 2010, 4:23 amBing Birds Eye Map of Cannes While the 10 day forecast for Cannes certainly looks mild, the action certainly will not be. With 3,000 more people registered than last years somewhat subdued event, and our competition looking to really step it up this year, I wanted to highlight some of the Microsoft events that are cant miss for everyone heading...
How To Make Awesome Ranking Charts With Excel Pivot Tables
June 15, 2010, 12:30 amPosted by richardbaxterseo On the " So You Want to Test SEO? " panel at this year's SMX Advanced Seattle, Branko Rihtman from SEO Scientist presented some spiffy looking ranking charts, measuring positioning by keyword, over time. A few people asked me how exactly you make a chart like that. Being something of an Excel fan, I was instantly...
A Break Down of Link Types
June 15, 2010, 12:19 amWhen it comes to building a business and website online most people know that building links is important, but what type of links are important to build? One source might say one thing and another says another so it could get confusing very quickly. The reality is that a combination of a variety of link types is really important to any link...
Can We Talk? Joan Rivers Documentary Gets Buzz
June 14, 2010, 8:27 pmby Claudine Zap This past weekend, blockbusters " The A Team " and " The Karate Kid " did battle at the box office. But a surprising limited-release documentary about a fesity Joan Rivers stole a lot of the buzz. Can we talk? The comedian is the subject of " Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work ," and the documentary is getting glowing reviews : Roger...
Get a crash course on AdWords reporting tools
June 14, 2010, 6:51 pmIt's hard to fix a problem when you don't know it exists. That's why the reporting tools available in AdWords are so important. Features like segmentation , filters , and custom alerts let you move through your campaigns like a shadow in the night, spotting potential issues and taking action quickly. We've just released Find new insights in...
The 50th Symposium on Foundations of Computer Science (FOCS)
June 14, 2010, 6:45 pmPosted by Jon Feldman and Vahab Mirrokni , Google Research, NY The 50th Annual Symposium on Foundations of Computer Science (FOCS) was held a couple of weeks ago in Atlanta. This conference (along with STOC and SODA) is one of the the major venues for recent advances in algorithm design and computational complexity. Computation is now a major...
Spanish Lawsuit Joins Stack Against Google
June 14, 2010, 4:26 pmGoogle's collection of sensitive WiFi data sent over personal networks will cause the company problems for a long time if a group with a long name has its way. The Association for the Prevention and Investigation of Crime, Abuse and Malpractice in Information Technology and Advanced Communications has filed a lawsuit in Spain.
Lester Haines...
Flash Floods on Flickr
June 14, 2010, 4:10 pmby Mike Krumboltz The flash floods in Oklahoma City have caused extensive damage and led to some terrifying images. As of press time, no injuries have been reported, but the stark photos reveal a furious natural disaster, in which nothing should be taken for granted. Several Flickr members photographed and uploaded pictures of the devastation . An...
How The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is Marketed Online
June 14, 2010, 4:10 pmOnline ad firm Unicast reached out to us to talk about how it is helping the makers of The Twilight Saga engage the series fanbase online "where others have failed", and how the film industry is increasingly looking to online ad platforms to drive sales. "With $710 million box revenue for The Twilight Saga: New Moon,
Old Spice Guy Gets a New Hot Contract
June 14, 2010, 3:53 pmby Vera H-C Chan That's nice for the new Old Spice guy, but what about the horse? Isaiah Mustafa 's seamless (and shirtless) turn in the Old Spice commercial back in February bestirred the buzz and bromantically-inclined fans , and opened the door for other topless former football players (more on that, below). Now Mustafa's comic timing â"...
See collaboration in action on Google Docs
June 14, 2010, 3:41 pmCollaboration is at the heart of the modern workspace, yet many businesses still run cumbersome client-side software that makes it unnecessarily difficult to work together. With Google Docs, coworkers can collaborate in real-time on documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and drawings. Instead of creating a document, sending it as an attachment,...
Is the Future Getting Brighter for Google Buzz?
June 14, 2010, 3:21 pmAs I talked about a couple weeks ago, Google has been making some moves that could greatly increase Google Buzz's shot at more widespread adoption. This includes the addition of some features, and perhaps more importantly, the release of the Buzz API (announced at Google I/O).
Recent feature additions include a reshare button (basically the Buzz...
Starbucks, Yahoo Partner Over Free WiFi
June 14, 2010, 3:19 pmIndividuals who tend to both tote laptops and drink lots of coffee will have reason to think better of Starbucks and Yahoo in coming months. Starbucks intends to provide free WiFi in all of its stores, and then a partnership with Yahoo should result in the creation of a unique "Starbucks Digital Network."
The first part of this...
The Need for Speed: What Does Caffeine Mean to You?
June 14, 2010, 2:31 pmby Stone Reuning
Google's new system for indexing content on the
Internet, Caffeine, went
live June 8.
It used to be that Google updated its indexes
every couple weeks. Now it's darn close to real time.
This is good news if you update your content
regularly. Since Google now refreshes its index much more frequently, it will
be constantly...
YouTube Begins Testing News Feed Feature
June 14, 2010, 2:20 pmYouTube announced today that it is testing a new feature called the YouTube News Feed, which it is working on with the University of California at Berkley's Graduate School of Journalism . The feature would track news as it breaks on YouTube. "Whether it's an altercation between a Congressman and a student in Washington, D.C., violent attacks...
Citi Cuts Google Price Target
June 14, 2010, 2:20 pmGoogle investors should say goodbye to a projected $10 per share, according to new data from Citi. The financial services company kept its "buy" and "Top Pick" ratings while revisiting Google's stock today, but lowered its price target from $640 to $630. Google's suffered a lot of small defeats like this in recent weeks and months. Two of our...
Consumers More Interested In Content Delivery Than Gadgets
June 14, 2010, 1:58 pmWhen it comes to technology trends people are most excited about, online content delivery is at the top of the list, according to a new study from market research firm Chadwick Martin Bailey. The study asked over 1,200 U.S. consumers ages 18-65 which of the recently hyped technologies they are most excited about. Topping the list was movie rentals...
Google Suggest Symbolizes Google Creepiness, Carr Says
June 14, 2010, 1:51 pmNicholas Carr, who is ratcheting up the rhetoric about how the Internet is making us stupid to support his new book , has just had an essay in that vein related to Google published by The Atlantic . Carr is disturbed by how Google Suggest, the feature in Google's search box that provides suggestions as we type letters while doing a search, tries...
News Corp. Makes New Moves For Online Content Monetization
June 14, 2010, 1:42 pmUpdate: Journalism Online tells WebProNews it cannot reveal its publisher partners at this time, due to confidentiality agreements.
Original Article: News Corp. announced today that it has acquired Skiff, and that it has made an investment in Journalism Online, LLC.
First off, Skiff is Heart Corporation's e-reading platform aimed at...
Are Credit Card Payments the Biggest Obstacle to Mobile Commerce?
June 14, 2010, 1:40 pmRetrevo has provided us with some results from a recent survey looking at consumer behavior with regard to making purchases using mobile phones. Based on these findings, it appears credit cards may be getting in the way. Key findings include: - Mobile shoppers seem to have doubled since February - In a February 2010 Retrevo Study , almost 10% of...
Tony-Award Winners, Ghana's Victory, 'True Blood' Starts: What's the Buzz
June 14, 2010, 1:23 pmby Claudine Zap Our top picks from the day's hottest searches. Tony Awards 2010 (Searches increased by 1,487%). The award show honored Hollywood stars Denzel Washington and Scarlett Johansson. Discount patio furniture (+1,012%). Summer's almost here: Time to get the backyard relaxation-ready. Weekend box office (+504%). "Karate Kid" delivers a...
Yahoo Monetizes its Log-In Page
June 14, 2010, 1:17 pmYahoo has unveiled a new display ad unit for the Yahoo log-in page . "The new ad unit enables marketers to creatively spotlight their brands on one of the most-trafficked destinations on the Internet for the first time," a representative for Yahoo tells WebProNews. The log-in page is visited by about one in ten Americans every day, according to...
Trends, Target Audience and Tips for Wedding Industry Advertisers in Microsoft adCenter
June 14, 2010, 12:54 pmMake no mistake about it, weddings are big business. After the experience of planning my own wedding, I realised that instead of putting my energies into search engine marketing (SEM), I would have been better off owning a quaint old barn in the countryside that I could rent out against inflated rates to loved-up couples. However, whilst waiting...
FCC Forms Working Group To Improve Broadband
June 14, 2010, 11:52 amFederal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski has introduced a Universal Service Working Group aimed at providing a collaborative approach to the FCC's reform of universal service programs to better support broadband. The working group will be led by Sharon Gillett, Chief of the Wireline Competition Bureau, and will include...
New Name and New Badges for Authorized Consultants
June 14, 2010, 11:52 amYour friendly neighborhood Google Analytics Authorized Consultant program is getting a new costume and superhero name, though their powers will remain the same. (Read: we are renaming the program and with that comes a shiny new logo - we think of our partners as superpowered). Our partners are now called Google Analytics Certified Partners. Here's...
Take A Virtual Tour Of The Anne Frank House
June 14, 2010, 11:06 amAs part of the official 50th anniversary of the Anne Frank House, LBi Lost Boys and Anne Frank House have developed a 3D version of the house at Prinsengracht 263 in Amsterdam where Anne and her family lived in hiding for two years during the Second World War. The Secret Annex Online is part of the new Anne Frank website , and allows visitors to...
Quality Of The iPhone 4.0 Screen
June 14, 2010, 11:06 amYeah, people are arguing about whether it really is a retina display. IE, can your eye see individual pixels on the new iPhones screen? I say hell with that. The screen is the best one Ive seen by far. How good is it? Well, click on the photo above and youll be taken to the full resolution photo straight off of my Canon 5D MK IIs sensor of the...
Quantcast: Android's Market Share Near 20 Percent
June 14, 2010, 11:06 amLook for (or hide from) more debates about the iPhone and Android devices. Even as Apple fans prepare for all the hoopla surrounding another iPhone launch, it seems that Android's achieved another victory, with Quantcast putting its U.S. market share up by a significant amount for May. Android ended May with a market share of 19.9 percent,...
It's the Simplicity, Stupid
June 14, 2010, 10:49 amI'm a cartoonist. This is my tenth year blogging. My work has been mentioned in big media including Wall St. Journal , Financial Times , New York Times , and The Guardian . It's been mentioned in bestselling books like Groundswell and Tribes . And it's been mentioned on thousands of blogs, including many of the big, A-Lister ones. That's all well...
Trackur Update- The White-Labeled Social Media Monitoring Dashboard
June 14, 2010, 10:26 amWe are pleased to announce that one of the amazing social media monitoring dashboard tools has decided to offer its services as white-label! Trackur has always been a trusted monitoring tool, and now having one with your branding can be more affordable than ever. Not only will everything be custom to your company, but you won't have to spend...
MTV Looks for its First "TJ" or "Twitter Jockey"
June 14, 2010, 10:17 amIf you are not too young, you may recall when MTV regularly played music videos. There was a time, when that was pretty much all they played. In between the videos, a person called a "VJ" would talk about the videos, introduce them, etc. Now MTV is looking for its first "TJ", or Twitter Jockey.
MTV (along with ZYNC from...
Can You Put a Dollar Amount on a Facebook Fan?
June 14, 2010, 9:58 amFacebook is bigger than anyone ever imagined it would be, and it's not done growing. Businesses are finding more ways to use it to their benefit, and more people seem to be willing to get involved with brands on the social network. What value would you place on a Facebook fan? Let us know . Businesses are getting traffic from Facebook, but they're...
Study: Young Adults Better Managing Online Reputations, Only 4% Suffered Attacks
June 14, 2010, 9:46 am
Some fascinating stats (from Pew) about social networking privacy and reputation management among online adults–especially 18-29 year olds.
In fact, there are so many, your head might spin–so I’ll try and breakdown the most important ones.
It appears that young adults have become a lot smarter about who sees...
TripAdvisor Goes Social With Facebook
June 14, 2010, 9:40 amTripAdvisor has introduced "TripAdvisor Trip Friends" feature, which allows users to get advice from their Facebook friends about planning their next vacation. When researching a destination, hotel, attraction or restaurant on TripAdvisor, users who have logged in using Facebook will now see a list of friends who have been to that location, via...
Creating A Social Media Marketing Action Plan â" Part 3: Reporting
June 14, 2010, 9:23 amNow that we've defined our KPI's and configured our analytics , it's time to put together a client/management facing report that is both actionable and comprehensive. Reporting can be tricky. Everyone has a different opinion as to how you should format the report, what types of charts you should use, how much detail you should go into, etc. In my...
YouTube, Guggenheim Partner To Seek Creative Vids
June 14, 2010, 9:18 amYouTube, HP, and the foundation behind some of the most famous museums in the world have teamed up to discover creative online videos. Winners of the YouTube Play: A Biennial of Creative Video competition will then get to see their videos presented at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, along with the Guggenheim museums in Berlin, Bilbao, and...
Link Campaigns for Foreign Sites
June 14, 2010, 9:00 amAt my office of 20 people, two speak German and one speaks Spanish. Some of us know a bit of Italian, and we've had a Polish speaker and a few who were proficient in French. We've had recent requests for work in French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Swedish. Link building is a much easier task to outsource than many other aspects of SEO. If I were...
Kinect - The Xbox 360 Enhancement Formerly Known as Project Natal
June 14, 2010, 8:55 amMicrosoft has unveiled Kinect, a controller-free gaming device for Xbox 360, previously code-named Project Natal. "It's an amazing year just when you look at the things people are expecting," says Marc Whitten, corporate vice president of Xbox LIVE, who thinks 2010 could be the biggest year yet for Xbox. "But were excited to also be announcing...
Link Building With Charities
June 14, 2010, 8:38 amCharities are often in the same league as university and government websites when it comes to domain authority and trust. Links from authoritative sites, such as these, are still one of the biggest factors for ranking high in the SERP's. A link will not only help your link profile, it will also benefit your company's brand, helping to associate it...
Track Any Page Changes with Diphur
June 14, 2010, 8:38 amI have reviewed some ways to track any page for changes (listing some web-based tools, FireFox addons as well as Google Chrome extension ). This can have various application for different SEO-related tasks like SERPs tracking , reputation monitoring, keyword research, etc. Today I am sharing another alternative tool you may want to try. Diphur is...
US Government to Classify Search Marketers
June 14, 2010, 8:34 amThe US Department of Labor (US DOL) asked SEMPO to help them find industry experts and professionals who can assist in the creation of a new O*NET classification for Search Marketers.
Trackur Launches White-Labeled Social Media Tracking for just $297!
June 14, 2010, 8:28 am
Click to Enlarge
I’m delighted to share with you the brand new Trackur web site AND announce the launch of the industry’s most affordable white-labeled social media monitoring dashboard.
We’ve revamped the Trackur.com site and also made some usability improvements to the Trackur dashboard–which, by the way,...
Symantec Urges World Cup Fans to Use Caution on Facebook and Twitter
June 14, 2010, 8:08 amSecurity firm Symantec has announced that during the World Cup it expects social media activity to spike dramatically, and predicts a concurrent rise in fraudulent activity on the web in general, and social networks in particular. "The 2010 Football World Cup may be the first to be held in Africa, but it is also considered by many to be the first...
Why optimizing your pages for search doesn't work
June 14, 2010, 7:50 amby Mike Moran
What do you do when you set out to attract search traffic? If you start by optimizing your pages, you might not succeed, because you must answer the question, "Optimize for what?" You must optimize your pages only for a specific set of search keywords. If you accept at face value that you already know the search keywords you...
Facebook's Guide to the World Cup
June 14, 2010, 7:45 amFacebook has posted the Facebook Guide to the World Cup, which shows soccer/football fans how to get the most out of the World Cup experience on the social network. "Facebook is helping football fans make the World Cup a more social experience, a Facebook representative tells WebProNews. "Fans around the world can take part in the World Cup action...
Consumers Continue to Abandon Online Checkouts
June 14, 2010, 7:36 am
Whether it’s a function of the economy or the same ills that have plagued shopping carts since the dawning of e-commerce, there appears to be no letting up in abandonment rates for websites at the true point of sale, the checkout.
eConsultancy reports on several recent surveys and studies that show the trend continuing but few...
Using AdWords Bidding Options to Spend PPC Dollars More Intelligently
June 14, 2010, 7:34 amby Mike Fleming
The guide for what bidding options to use in your PPC campaigns is the same for any other option - your marketing goals. What are you trying to accomplish with this campaign? Once you figure that out, then knowing the options available and which goals that fit well will help you more intelligently reach those goals.
Here are...
Twitter, Iran and Reality One Year Later
June 14, 2010, 6:54 am
As marketers and just people in general, we depend on statistics and analysis to understand the world around us. We also depend heavily on observation, opinion and perceived expertise of others. We have many different ways to take in information and data about the world around us including social media, which has its pros and...
Incisive Media's ClickZ Launches "Connected Marketing Week" in San Francisco, August 16-20, 2010
June 14, 2010, 6:46 amIncisive Media's ClickZ is launching "Connected Marketing Week" on August 16-20, 2010 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.Click to read the rest of this post...
Yahoo, Microsoft U.S. Search Market Shares Grew Fastest in May - comScore
June 14, 2010, 4:26 amThere is no doubt at this point that Google remains the #1 engine for core search in the U.S. as comScore reported in its May qSearch analysis but the search giant has been losing pace while Yahoo and Microsoft recorded increases in their market shares compared to figures from the previous month.
Click to read the rest of this post...
Critical Security Update For Adobe Flash Player To 10.1.53.64.
June 14, 2010, 4:10 am"Adobe recommends all users of Adobe Flash Player 10.0.45.2 and earlier versions upgrade to the newest version 10.1.53.64 by downloading it from the Adobe Flash Player Download Center or by using the auto-update mechanism within the product when prompted."
How to Get Links in Tough Industries
June 14, 2010, 4:08 amPosted by Paddy_Moogan Howdy SEOmozzers Im Paddy Moogan I work for Distilled in the UK office. This is my first SEOmoz post, hope you find it useful and I look forward to your feedback. How this post came together... A few weeks ago we decided to try to help people who do link building in industries where links are not always easy to come by. We...
Google vs Bing On Maps And User-Content Overlays
June 14, 2010, 4:03 amLast week, we shared with you a whole batch of news both on the part of Google ( Caffeine , Gmail chat and more ) and Bing ( CashBack , Safari, maps and social results among other novelties) as we reported on their ongoing competition to woo Apple. Both search engines had issued news on their Maps features but news kept pouring in on those apps as...
Quantity is History! Quality is where it's at!
June 14, 2010, 12:04 amIt shouldn't come as a shock that the internet space is mighty crowded. There are almost no niches left untouched and space in search results is growing at a very fierce rate. So what do you do? How could you possibly start a hosting company or internet security website now? As long as you remember that everything now revolves around a quality...
Give Buzz another look
June 13, 2010, 9:26 pmHave you given Buzz a try recently? Robert Scoble just asked if it was time to reconsider Buzz . Coincidentally I said almost the same thing in a question and answer session with Danny Sullivan last week at the SMX Advanced search conference. I'll repeat what I said last week. Do you remember when you first started on Twitter, and you didn't know...
SEO Is Mostly Quack Science
June 13, 2010, 6:13 pmGood article debunking the recent SEOmoz "study" of correlation for certain SEO factors.
How To Price
June 13, 2010, 5:58 pmEver wondered how to price your SEO services? Your products? Have you set your prices at a point where you can get the best possible returns? Pricing seems simple, but there's a bit of an art to getting it right. In this article we'll take a look at different ways to price, a few strategies to use, and why you might want to avoid charging everyone...
Online Reputation Management Case Studies: BP Oil Spill, Toyota Recall, and Goldman Sachs Fraud Charges
June 13, 2010, 11:44 amTwo years ago, I wrote "Online Reputation Management Requires Cabinet War Rooms." In the post, I asked, "Is your company prepared for the inevitable crisis to come?" Today, one of the most important lessons learned from the BP oil spill, Toyota recall, and Goldman Sachs fraud charges is just how few companies are prepared for a crisis.Click to...
Google Looks at World Cup Search Activity
June 13, 2010, 7:09 amGoogle broke out its Insights for Search tool (as well as some other internal sources) to paint a picture of search activity related to the 2010 World Cup. The World Cup's 30 days of soccer began on Friday, and there will no doubt be plenty more related searching in the coming weeks. Google Consumer Operations Strategist Jaime Forman-Lau says :...
When Clients Have Bad Ideas
June 13, 2010, 2:16 am" Recently he had a "great idea" to implement a reverse phone lookup like service. I try to explain that it might turn out to be a waste of time and resources, but he didn't listen."
Google WiFi Data Collection Could Be Prosecuted In Numerous Countries
June 13, 2010, 2:02 amAs many as 30 countries world wide are considering prosecution of Google for its collection of data from unsecured hotspots while gathering information for its Street View project, according to the Age. The United States, many countries in Europe and Asia Pacific are among those now looking at Google's actions.Click to read the rest of this...
Johnny's Copyblogger Wrap-Up: Week of June 7, 2010
June 12, 2010, 3:59 pmThe following is a transcript of the Copyblogger editorial meeting in Austin, Texas, on June 8, 2010. BRIAN CLARK: I've had it up to here with Johnny Marr. Having him write the Weekly Wrapup was a big mistake. Always with the scones; constantly with the scones. He ordered five dozen of them to eat with his tea and then still ate my danish. Then he...
Response to David Sacks' Quora Post
June 12, 2010, 12:23 pmH i all, Sam Shrauger here. I was interested to see David Sacks' Quora post republished on Inside Facebook yesterday in response to the question: Can Facebook Credits replace PayPal one day, why or why not? I think David raised some fantastic points about the relative costs of PayPal and Facebook Credits, as well as the value propositions...
Congratulations & Goodbye to Jordan McCollum
June 12, 2010, 12:05 pm
I have good news and bad news.
First the good news. Marketing Pilgrim editor Jordan McCollum has given birth to Rachel Diana– a beautiful 6lb 9oz baby girl!
Now the bad news. Jordan won’t be returning to Marketing Pilgrim.
I’ll let that sink in. The totally awesome, intelligent, witty,...
Google's Short Answers Move To Mobile Phones
June 12, 2010, 12:01 pmTen blue links may never be less useful than when a person who's in a hurry is forced to squint at them on the screen of a cell phone. Google's taken an important step, then, by making the short answers it introduced a month ago available to folks who are on the go. The possible uses are far-ranging, and the actual act of employing this feature...
This week in search 5/30/10
June 12, 2010, 9:04 amThis is one of a regular series of posts on search experience updates. Look for the label This week in search and subscribe to the series. - Ed . Safety, security and privacy are important parts of the search equation for us at Google, particularly as we continue to bring you the best possible search experience on the web. Security in particular...
Maile Ohye Keynote and Other Top Stories from SES Toronto 2010
June 12, 2010, 7:47 amThe top story of Day 2 of SES Toronto 2010 was the keynote conversation by Mike Grehan, Global VP Content for SES, Search Engine Watch and ClickZ, with Maile Ohye, Senior Developer Programs Engineer for Google.Click to read the rest of this post...
Cup of Joe: The Amateur Plague Is Here To Stay
June 12, 2010, 7:08 am
There is a plague within the Internet marketing industry. This plague has existed since the inception of marketing online, and will probably continue to exist as long as there is money to be made on the Internet. It’s likely that if you have done anything online you have seen it in action. What plague am I talking about?...
Indian Premiere League cricket exceeds expectations
June 12, 2010, 2:16 amSeason three of the Indian Premier League (IPL) ended last week when the Chennai Super Kings beat the Mumbai Indians in the final match. That game brought to a close a fast-paced and fun season of cricket, which was available for the first time on the IPL channel on YouTube. Over the course of the season, the IPL channel racked up nearly 55...
Recalls Galore: Buzz Week in Review
June 11, 2010, 8:02 pmby Mike Krumboltz The world is a dangerous place, but there are things you can do to minimize the risks: Wear your seat belt, look both ways, and, most importantly, always pay attention to product recalls. This week, several high-profile recalls rocked the Search box, as people sought more information on the potential dangers and, in one case,...
Movie Casting Rumor Roundup
June 11, 2010, 7:44 pmby Claudine Zap Like most movie-watching Americans, we don't just want to see what's out now, we want to know who will â" maybe â" star in what's next. Buzz casting rumor roundup, at your service. Can a villain be this adorable? For those who don't watch the hapless musical duo from the HBO series " Flight of the Conchords ," this news may...
Google Rolls Out Local Business Tags Nationwide, Soon on Mobile Too
June 11, 2010, 5:37 pmRecently, Google started rolling out its new advertising feature for local businesses - Tags . This feature is geared for local businesses throughout the U.S. who wants to beef up their listings on Google.com and Google Maps. If you're running a local business and you have placed listings on Google.com or Google Maps, you can enhance your listing...
The Kung Fu Kid
June 11, 2010, 4:58 pmby Mike Krumboltz Reasonable audiences could assume that a movie called " The Karate Kid " would be about a kid who, well, does karate. But, in the case of the newly released feature starring Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan , that assumption is only half right. The truth is that Mr. Smith's character (aka "the kid") does not practice karate, but the...
MySpace Offers Interactive World Cup Content Site
June 11, 2010, 4:52 pmMySpace has an interactive, media and feature rich World Cup profile it's showing off, as the event kicked off today. "We've built this community for our users to act as an aggregate of the flurry of World Cup activity not only across MySpace but across the entire web including videos, live status updates and tweets via Kosmix, World Cup content...
Promoted Trends May Mean More Ad Revenue For Twitter
June 11, 2010, 4:52 pmTwitter's preparing to take another step away from its revenue-less past, according to a new report. Rumor has it that a fresh "Promoted Trends" feature will complement the system of Promoted Tweets the company's already devised. Peter Kafka wrote this afternoon, "Advertisers will be able to insert their own term into the list of trends that...
Whiteboard Friday - Get Indexed Faster! with Richard Baxter
June 11, 2010, 4:29 pmPosted by great scott! One of our favorite things about SMX Advanced is that it brings all kinds of cool people to town, and you know what that means: special guest stars on Whiteboard Friday! This week we've got one of our pals from across the pond, Richard Baxter of SEO Gadget , joins Rand to talk about how to get your content indexed faster....
comScore Releases May 2010 U.S. Search Engine Rankings
June 11, 2010, 3:43 pmcomScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released its monthly comScore qSearch analysis of the U.S. search marketplace. In May 2010, Americans conducted 15.9 billion core searches, up 3 percent vs. April.
Google Local Tags for Ads Now Available Nationally
June 11, 2010, 3:42 pm
Google has taken what was once their enhanced listings for local businesses, renamed them Google Tags and is rolling the program out nationwide. With local search becoming more and more important in the Internet marketing landscape this is welcome news for many who are trying to figure out the best way to get the most mileage out...
Was The Google Mayday Update A Complete Failure Then?
June 11, 2010, 2:54 pmA look at what the Google Mayday update failed to accomplish.
Bing Talks New Webmaster Tools
June 11, 2010, 2:41 pmMicrosoft made some significant announcements related to Bing at SMX Advanced in Seattle. Later this summer, Bing will offer a redesigned version of Bing Webmaster Tools based on feedback from webmasters. The tools will provide webmasters with a simplified, more intuitive experience that delivers a comprehensive view of how Bing indexes their...
Pew Predicts Cloud Computing Dominance By 2020
June 11, 2010, 2:30 pmThe term "cloud computing" might well be shortened to just "computing" by the time 2020 rolls around. The results of Pew's latest study show that a significant majority of Internet experts believe cloud computing will represent the main way in which people will interact with software at that point. Pew contacted 895 "internet experts and other...
Broadband Continues To Drive Online Video Viewing
June 11, 2010, 2:30 pmHigh definition television, DVRs, and the Internet are creating higher quality and better experiences for consumers, leading to an increase in the amount of videos Americans watch, according to a new Nielsen Three Screen Report. "Consumers are driven by the convenience and quality that today's technology now enables," said Matt O'Grady, Executive...
Bing Launches Facebook Maps App
June 11, 2010, 2:07 pmBing has launched a new Facebook Maps apps, which a Bing representative tells WebProNews uses Facebook APIs to pull in your friends information from Facebook. It lets you see your Facebook friends right in Bing Maps. With the My Friends map app , users can view profile pictures, status updates and write on someone's wall, right from within the...
Some Final Thoughts from SMX Advanced Seattle 2010
June 11, 2010, 1:33 pmI attended SMX Advanced for the first time and was very impressed with the depth and quality of the sessions. The key takeaways for me after two days filled with listening and learning are summarized below: The level of sophistication agencies and advertisers are reaching in tracking and analyzing their data is absolutely amazing. Whether...
Is your marketing collateral screwing your brand?
June 11, 2010, 1:22 pmQuestion for you: When's the last time you reviewed your marketing collateral. No, not your site copy. Your other marketing materials: Your customer emails, fax forms, customer service surveys, order receipts - anything you send to a client or prospect. Guess what? Your collateral marketing material may be undoing all of your good SEO copywriting...
Jane Fonda's Medal, Sasha Obama's School Event, Zoe Saldana's Peacemaking: What's the Buzz
June 11, 2010, 1:10 pmby Claudine Zap Our top picks from the day's hottest searches. Sasha Obama (Searches increased by 23,993%). The presidential parents attended an end-of-year event at their youngest daughter's school. Flight of the Conchords (+3,928%). Jemaine Clement, a star of the HBO series, has reportedly signed on to be a villain in "Men in Black III."...
World Cup Fever Hits the Internet Hard
June 11, 2010, 12:27 pm
From time to time I talk about sports and Internet marketing here at Marketing Pilgrim. I do it mainly because I am a fan but even more so as a marketer because sports sells. Now being in the US, soccer (or football to the rest of the world) is not as dominant in terms of shear numbers and impact as a spectator sport. It does,...
Why Recent Google Algorithm Update is Costing Some Sites
June 11, 2010, 12:25 pmGoogle's recent algorithm update, nicknamed "Mayday" by webmasters got a lot of people riled up, as many claimed it seriously affected their rankings, and potentially their revenues.
Do you think the update has affected your revenue? Comment here.
WebProNews spoke with Google's Matt Cutts at SMX Advanced, and he talked a little...
Kicking off the World Cup Coverage with Yahoo! Search
June 11, 2010, 12:25 pmSoccer fans around the world will be waving their flags today as the World Cup opens in South Africa " and American enthusiasm for the world's most popular sport is reaching new heights. Since the beginning of the month, we've seen a dramatic increase in searches for terms like World Cup , FIFA World Cup teams and live soccer score , as well as...
EA Sports Launches Free World Cup Game On Facebook
June 11, 2010, 12:03 pmEA Sports said today it has launched a free social soccer game on Facebook to mark the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The game, EA Sports FIFA Superstars, was developed by Playfish and will be available on additional social networks soon. "We are leveraging our soccer expertise with the experience of our partners at Playfish to create a casual...
PayPal Announces Some Pricing Changes
June 11, 2010, 11:23 amToday, PayPal announced that it is making some changes to its user agreements and pricing. The changes are specifically related to refunds, chargebacks, and Amex payments. PayPal senior director of SMB Merchant Services Eddie Davis outlines the following changes: Refund Prices Starting August 10 , PayPal will retain the transaction fee (typically...
What You Don't Know About Local, Social and Video
June 11, 2010, 11:11 amThree final insights from SMX Advanced Seattle day two Day two of SMX Advanced 2010 started off a bit sluggish. Maybe it was the ominous clouds in the Seattle sky. Or the fact that most of search marketing's superheroes had too much, um, fun the night before at back to back networking parties. But one word made the crowd perk up before noon:...
Title Factors that Impact Search Rankings and Click-through
June 11, 2010, 11:11 amImprove your site's searchability by improving your headlines You can't write online in the same way that you write a sales letter, brochure or radio script. It simply doesn't work. Being slow to recognize these differences has proved to be the undoing of many an online venture. The above is an excerpt from the book Net Words , which talks about...
Yahoo Achieves Display Ads/TV Market Advance
June 11, 2010, 11:01 amToday marks a significant win for the Yahoo in terms of advertising deals and traditional media. Media General, a communications company with a market cap of around $250 million, announced that it will become the first member of the Yahoo Newspaper Consortium to sell Yahoo display ads at TV stations. This move didn't come out of the blue; it...
PayPal Policy Updates
June 11, 2010, 10:37 amEddie Davis here, senior director of SMB Merchant Services. Starting in July, PayPal will be making a few changes to our user agreements, and we want to make sure that our merchants get the first word from us about some changes we're making to our pricing. Our standard transaction fees remain unchanged for PayPal payments and direct credit card...
Google Lets AdWords Advertisers Analyze Their Competition
June 11, 2010, 10:26 amGoogle has introduced a new "Analyze Competition" feature for AdWords advertisers. It can be found in the "opportunities" tab. The feature examines the account's activity over two weeks, and lists categories that represent the products/services you're advertising. These are based on search terms and are matched up against your keywords, ad text,...
Google Takes Local Business Tags Nationwide
June 11, 2010, 10:25 amGoogle's Tags local ad product, which the company unveiled in April as part of a transformation of its Local Business Center into Google Places , is now available nationwide with new features. Tags lets local businesses pay $25 month to add little yellow call-outs to their listings in search results on Google Maps. The tag spotlights coupons,...
RED ALERT : Mass IIS Server Web Wide Attack Under Way
June 11, 2010, 9:54 am"There's a large-scale attack underway that is targeting Web servers running Microsoft's IIS software, injecting the sites with a specific malicious script. "
Tell All Q&A With Google's Maile Ohye â" SES Toronto Morning Keynote
June 11, 2010, 9:40 amMaile Ohye, Senior Developer Programs Engineer, Google delivered the morning keynote on day two of Search Engine Strategies Toronto. Maile discussed Google's approach to helping site owners shared answers to burning questions from the moderator and audience. The format was a Q&A, and the following is a summary of the best questions and answers...
Pilgrim’s Picks for June 11 – Outrage Edition
June 11, 2010, 9:30 am
Google calls Vietnam’s Internet rules restrictive
6 Tips on Image SEO
Google Retires Web Alerts, Replaces With ‘Everything’ Option
Canadian Court Notes That Keyword Advertising On Competitor’s Trademarks Is Not Deceptive
Facebook and Google Submit Comments on Privacy Bill
WordPress.com Down for the...
Footnote Opens Access To Online Civil War Collection
June 11, 2010, 9:23 amFootnote.com, a website focused on original historical documents, has opened up access to its Civil War Collection for free to the public for the remainder of June. Footnote says it has worked with the U.S. National Archives over the past three years to create the largest collection of Civil War documents on the Internet, featuring over 30 million...
Kicking off the World Cup: Saluting the Passion of 700 Million+ People
June 11, 2010, 9:17 amIt has been four long years since Italy defeated France and the 2010 World Cup tournament in South Africa is finally here! The most watched sporting event in the world officially kicks off this morning with Mexico's El Tri going head-to-head with South Africa's Bafana Bafana. This month-long celebration of the beautiful game commands a major,...
Nationwide Rollout Of Google Tags Begins
June 11, 2010, 9:06 amGoogle Tags, the program meant to give local businesses a better way of standing out from other search results, is growing up. Google announced late yesterday that it's concocted a couple new features, and that it's rolling out the program on a nationwide basis, too. The rollout will not equate to an immediate launch. Business owners in...
Search the Web Faster with Cleeki for FireFox
June 11, 2010, 8:54 amWe have already seen some addons that make searching Google easier and more fun as well as looked at the ways to by-pass the actual SERPs while searching. Today's addon is another option to add to your searching arsenal. Cleeki is a nice little addon that makes searching the web much faster. I've been using it for about three weeks before actually...
What All Content Creators Need to Learn From Roger Ebert
June 11, 2010, 8:37 amRoger Ebert's name is synonymous with movie reviews. Many of us remember him bantering with Gene Siskel on the TV shows Sneak Previews and At the Movies . But he doesn't banter much anymore. He lost his ability to speak due to complications of thyroid cancer in 2006. Ebert may have lost the lower part of his jaw, but he hasn't lost his voice. He...
Dear AdWords Advertiser, You Suck! Love, Google
June 11, 2010, 8:35 am
Google AdWords would like you to know that you’re a loser.
Well that sucks, doesn’t it!
Wipe away that tear–it doesn’t mean that your father-in-law was right about you all along. Nope! While Google AdWords wants to tell you that you’re not up to par, it’s doing so in a kind way–and it...
Yahoo and Microsoft Still Aiming for Holidays for Integration
June 11, 2010, 8:35 amUpdate: As we reported months ago, Yahoo and Microsoft hope to get their search/advertising integration in place in time for the holidays. The Wall Street Journal has now confirmed that this is still the case.
Original Article (03/09): Yahoo's line of thinking with regards to the big Microsoft/Yahoo search and advertising deal is...
Twitter All Set to Monetize With Smallthought Buy, URL Shortener Launch, "You Both Follow" Feature
June 11, 2010, 8:31 amIs Twitter readying to serve search marketing to brands and businesses? At least, it very much has the look and feel of it, as the micro-blogging site has acquired analytics company Smallthought Systems - the maker of Trendly and Dabble - and announced the upcoming release of its own URL shortener while also testing a new "friends in common"...
What’s the ROI of Twitter? Acquisition Might Finally Answer That Question
June 11, 2010, 8:17 am
There’s one question that seems to be asked of Twitter all the time: what’s the ROI?
I tend to reply with some smart alec comment such as “That’s like asking: what’s the ROI from my telephone!” Yeah, that doesn’t go down too well, but it’s true. Twitter is a channel, a tool. Just...
Google May Start Letting Publishers Promote Stories in Google News
June 11, 2010, 8:11 amGoogle is apparently experimenting with a new Google News feature, which may or may not become widely available (hence the "experiment" label). The feature is called Editors' Picks, and it's being displayed for a small subset of Google News users. That is according to Megan Garber at Nieman Journalism Lab ( via Techmeme ), who happens to be one of...
U.S. World Cup Searches Point To Portugal And Mexico Teams - Experian Hitwise
June 11, 2010, 7:49 amIt's FIFA World Cup 2010 kick-off day in South Africa and football fans across the globe have their own ideas on who they think will win the title. Research firm Experian Hitwise analyzed U.S. searches around the topic in the week to June 5th and found that Americans interested in "soccer" mainly looked for information related to Portugal and...
6 Tips on Image SEO
June 11, 2010, 7:42 amImages as an asset for organic search results and search engine optimization are often overlooked. Images can drive traffic through image search as well as inclusion in universal search results. There are actually several dimensions to image optimization that involves better placement in search results, optimization for user experience and in...
Twitter and t.co: All Your Links Are Belong to Us!
June 11, 2010, 5:49 amOops, you're on our blacklist! Welcome back to Twitter Weekly , our Twitter column: Today I'll rant about the latest move by Twitter to monopolize the real estate of their own service. Twitter will in future reroute all links posted to Twitter via it's new t.co shortener. URLs in tweets won't display as shortened links anymore , regardless which...
12 Top Tips from SMX Advanced Seattle 2010
June 11, 2010, 5:49 amI've been out in Seattle this week for SMX Advanced 2010. I'll try and do a more detailed write-up once I'm back, but in the meantime I've shared 12 top tips which I covered on Twitter during the show. It's been a very good conference and great to finally meet a lot of people in the US (too many to mention) and have one or two beers with the likes...
Rio Ferdinand the most searched for footballer in the UK; Cristiano Ronaldo the most popular around the world
June 11, 2010, 4:41 amLast week 1 in every 155 search terms typed into a search engine in the UK were World Cup related. However, this number refers only to terms containing variations on the phrase 'world cup'; there are obviously lots of other types of search taking place as a result of events in south Africa not least a many related to the footballers actually...
The Case for Adoption: One Giant Step for Attribution
June 11, 2010, 4:24 amIn the spring of 2008, years of research including but not limited to cross-site duplication, search and display synergy and navigational search culminated in the development and production of Engagement Mapping , the first fully-integrated conversion attribution technology offered by the Atlas Advertiser Suite. Engagement Mapping provides Atlas...
Googler Side Steps Commonly Accepted Practices
June 11, 2010, 2:29 am"...the issue was reported June 5th, 2010 (a Saturday) and then made public less than four days later. Public disclosure of the details of this vulnerability and how to exploit it, without giving us time to resolve the issue."
Yahoo Adds Facebook Link To Yahoo Answers
June 11, 2010, 2:12 amYahoo is really pushing its connection with Facebook, as Liva Judic reported Monday, and now they have made a clever use with Yahoo Answers.
Click to read the rest of this post...
Google Caffeine is Alive, Now What?
June 11, 2010, 12:17 amFor the last 8 months (since November of 2009 ), Google has been spoke about the new search engine algorithm known as "Google Caffeine". For months everyone in the search engine optimization industry and world has had theories of what will change (although Google has given hints in the past) but we all still were holding our breaths to an extent....
Getting Marketing & Development Teams Working Together â" SES Toronto
June 10, 2010, 11:20 pmIt's a common story: an online marketing professional returns from a conference full of exciting new ideas and tactics, only to fail at selling those ideas internally. In many cases, marketing and IT/development professionals don't always understand each other, and as a result potentially high value projects stall out and never see the light of...
Super Student Video of Super Mario
June 10, 2010, 8:30 pmby Claudine Zap This student project may be the best argument yet for letting kids play video games. A team of students in Japan created this amazing stop-motion video based on the Nintendo game Super Mario Bros . In their version , Mario is made of pastel Post-It notes and moves around the school, leaping down stairs and up the classroom walls,...
Peter Morville Keynote and Other Top Stories from SES Toronto 2010
June 10, 2010, 7:39 pmThe top story from SES Toronto 2010 was the "kick-ass keynote" by Peter Morville, the President of Semantic Studios and author of Search Patterns.Click to read the rest of this post...
Karate Kid and A-Team: Movie Review Roundup
June 10, 2010, 5:45 pmby Michael Krumboltz Like the '80s? This is your weekend, amigo. Two films based on beloved '80s franchises will hit theaters, and both have big shoes to fill. " The Karate Kid ," starring Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan , tries to make folks forget about the Ralph Macchio original. Meanwhile, " The A-Team ," featuring Liam Neeson , Bradley Cooper ,...
Map Licensing Law May Spell Trouble For Google In China
June 10, 2010, 4:54 pmGoogle may soon find out whether or not the Chinese government is at peace with its decision to redirect searchers to Google.com.hk, judging by a new report. It turns out the company must soon receive official approval to keep its mapping services running in the country. Loretta Chao wrote this afternoon, "[C]ompanies must demonstrate that they...
Google Launches Page Speed for Ads
June 10, 2010, 4:08 pmToday, Google launched Page Speed for Ads . This is an extension of the Page Speed web performance tool the company open sourced last year . When you analyze a page with the Page Speed tool, it will display suggestions that you can use to make your page faster. The difference is that now you can use the "Analyze" menu to determine if a suggestion...
Forrester Analyst Lauds Google TV
June 10, 2010, 3:51 pmGoogle TV made something of a splash when it was first announced, earning bloggers' approval and even some early commitments from would-be buyers. Then everyone moved on to the next big news story. But today, a Forrester analyst returned to the subject, claiming Google TV "is a bigger deal than you think." To drive his point(s) home, Forrester...
Kenshoo Scales Up With Experian Hitwise, Demandware/NetSuite Deals, New Kenshoo CCO Offering
June 10, 2010, 3:46 pmIt looks like search engine marketing platform, Kenshoo is being very active lately, scaling up big time. It has entered partnerships with research firm Experian Hitwise as well as e-commerce platform providers Demandware and NetSuite. On top of it all, The Tel-Aviv based company also introduced a new service, Call Conversion Optimization (CCO),...
Google Stops Nudging People Toward Custom Homepage
June 10, 2010, 3:45 pmGoogle June 9 began trying to nudge its users to install photos as backgrounds for their Google homepages by featuring popular images on Google.com for 24 hours. Users were so annoyed , Google turned off the custom homepage, which tell you how the service is being received from the start. I covered the original move, an homage to Bing's more...
Beyond the Search Box
June 10, 2010, 3:22 pmWe at Yahoo! love the search box . In fact, you can find a handy search box at the top of every Yahoo! page â" be it Yahoo! Mail , Yahoo! Sports or omg! â" as well as in our handy Yahoo! Toolbar . But nowadays, Search has evolved to mean so much more than one or two keywords entered into a text box. Yahoo! has been at the forefront of...
How Open Web Developers Are Trying to Make Social Media Better for You, the User
June 10, 2010, 3:10 pmLast week, a new open protocol called OExchange was released with the aim of simplifying sharing. Right out of the door, it had names like Google, Microsoft, and LinkedIn signed on. WebProNews spoke with Google's Open Web advocate, Chris Messina about how the protocol could benefit businesses and site owners. "There are a couple different ways to...
Bringing Bonnaroo to you: live stream event this weekend
June 10, 2010, 3:10 pmThe forecast for the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival this weekend in Manchester, Tenn., is scattered thunderstorms, but you don't have to worry a stitch about that (unless you'll actually be frolicking in the 700-acre field where it takes place). That's because starting this Friday and throughout the weekend, we'll be live streaming directly from...
Sen. McCain and Snooki: United We Tan
June 10, 2010, 2:06 pmby Mike Krumboltz If someone asked you to name two people who are the least likely to have something (anything!) in common, you might very well pick Senator John McCain and Snooki from the TV series "Jersey Shore." But, as it turns out, the two have very similiar beliefs when it comes to a key political issue: tanning taxes . Allow us to explain....
More Americans Going Online To Connect Locally
June 10, 2010, 2:00 pmMore Americans are using online tools as a way to connect to their neighbors and local communities, according to a new report by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Nearly a quarter (22%) of all adults (representing 28% of Internet users) have singed up to receive alerts about local issues such as traffic, weather alerts, school events and...
Speeding Along
June 10, 2010, 1:46 pmDigg's engineering team is committed to a lightning fast website. We've recently released our widget and button rewrite and we've been investing heavily in our V4 infrastructure rewrite .
Twitter Acquires Analytics Company Smallthought Systems
June 10, 2010, 1:29 pmTwitter announced that it has acquired Smallthought Systems, the creators of Dabble DB , an online database Twitter has used in the past to track and share information about projects internally. "Every day millions of people use Twitter to create, share and discover information, and as we grow, analytics becomes an increasingly crucial part of...
World Cup 2010: Bing's Brilliant Football Facts
June 10, 2010, 1:29 pmIt's that squeaky-bum time again as Sir Alex Ferguson would say, where the nation holds its breath in hope for England's long awaited World Cup glory. England's World Cup participation is expected to provide a major revenue boost to the economy, some predicting it to be worth between £1.5billion - £2billion ( The Times ). So how have Bing and...
Length Of Online Video Viewing Increases
June 10, 2010, 1:12 pmA new eMarketer survey points to a brighter future for online concerts and other forms of long form music videos. If the first iteration of online video was about silly pet tricks on YouTube, the next wave will be about professionally produced full-length content... according to Paul Verna, eMarketer senior analyst. This shift will be propelled by...
Akamai Launches Open Video Player for HTML5 Toolkit
June 10, 2010, 1:12 pmAkamai has released a new Open Video Player for HTML5 developer toolkit, aimed at simplifying the task of creating flexible HTML5-based video player applications for delivery of HTTP content. "The goal of the Open Video Player for HTML5 is to provide a foundation to allow customers to quickly implement world-class solutions for cross...
Katy Perry Goes Blue, Kevin Costner Goes to D.C., Obama's NYC Digs Up For Rent: What's the Buzz
June 10, 2010, 12:50 pmby Claudine Zap Our top picks from the day's hottest searches. Salma Hayek (Searches increased by 803%). The actress may be the beautiful and talented star of "Grown Ups" but she doesn't like snakes . Kevin Costner (+552%). Mr. Costner went to Washington and told Congress he could fix the oil spill. DNA testing (409%). If you were promised a...
Google Voice, Gmail VoIP Rumors Spark Interest
June 10, 2010, 12:49 pmThere is a rumor going around the blogosphere that Google may be working on a VoIP service utilizing Google Voice integration with Gmail. A spokesperson for Google tells WebPronews, "We're always testing new features and looking for ways to improve our products. We have nothing to announce at this time." Google Operating System (an unofficial blog...
Play Connect-the-Dots to Win at Online Marketing
June 10, 2010, 12:38 pmRemember those puzzles you used to do when you were six or seven? That mass of dots and numbers on a page just looked like a mess. But when you went through and connected dot 1 to dot 2, moving on through dots 100 and 101, you wound up with a picture of a pony. You might think you've outgrown connect-the-dots. But actually, it's one of the most...
6 cool things YOU can do with Google Analytics Custom Segments
June 10, 2010, 11:25 amThe background: in 2009, Google Analytics added a feature – Multiple Custom Variables – which allows you to store additional data in Google Analytics – specifically name/value pairs at a visitor, visit or pageview level. You can then segment and report based on these custom variables (CVs), to discover new things about your...
6 cool things YOU can do with Google Analytics Custom Variables
June 10, 2010, 11:25 amThe background: in 2009, Google Analytics added a feature – Multiple Custom Variables – which allows you to store additional data in Google Analytics – specifically name/value pairs at a visitor, visit or pageview level. You can then segment and report based on these custom variables (CVs), to discover new things about your...
YouTube Autoshare Feature Introduced For Orkut
June 10, 2010, 11:20 amEven if the average American doesn't think about Orkut on a regular basis (or ever), Google demonstrated today that it hasn't forgotten about the social network. The option to automatically share YouTube activities with people on Orkut was introduced this morning. A lot of folks in India and Brazil are likely to welcome this move, considering...
Yahoo Finds Need for Improvement in Online Reputation Management
June 10, 2010, 11:20 amYahoo has shared the results of a survey that not only looked at how parents monitor children's online behavior , but how adults take control of their own digital reputations. The survey (conducted among 2,003 Internet users in the U.S., ages 1864) revealed the need for a great deal of reputation management education. According to Yahoo's findings,
Truveo Launches Video Search App On Facebook
June 10, 2010, 11:19 amAOL's video search engine Truveo has launched a new discovery application on Facebook.
The new Truveo Facebook app allows users to search a database of videos and channels directly within the social network as well as share videos with others. The app also allows users to find content via a friend's recommendations based on their interests.
As...
And the winner of the BlueGlass LA prize is'
June 10, 2010, 11:03 amThe anticipation was killing me, so I decided to let the news go a few minutes early. Without further ado, I would like to announce who the BlueGlass LA moderators announced as the winner of a free ticket and hotel room for BlueGlass LA! Drum roll pleaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaase! *bang bang bang bang bang* '. *tap tap tap tap tap*???? okay'...
Yahoo: Child Safety a Company Priority
June 10, 2010, 10:58 amYahoo has released some findings from a survey about how parents monitor children's online behavior. The company says it makes safety a company priority by supporting efforts to educate children, parents, adults, and communities about safe online experiences. Yahoo takes a "multi-faceted approach in promoting a safer online experience," Yahoo's...
"Grease" Is the Word'and the Sing-A-Long
June 10, 2010, 10:58 amby Claudine Zap It may have been some time since you crooned along to every last lyric of the " Grease " soundtrack. But that questionable skill set will finally have a home in this summer's re-release of the movie-musical, where you'll be encouraged to sing during the show. Here's a peek: As you can see from the trailer, even if you don't know...
Bing vs Google Face-Off Still On: Bing Announces Search Index Boost, Social Results & More
June 10, 2010, 10:07 amDid you notice the competition going on between Bing and Google? The game is still on and after Google announced its new Caffeine search index, it is Bing's turn to tout the future release of its enhanced 'Bing Webmaster Tools' this summer. Click to read the rest of this post...
5 Simple Steps to Viral Video Results
June 10, 2010, 9:42 amLet's start off funny. The following are NOT the 5 steps to viral video results: Sit around drinking and talking about funny video ideas. List a bunch of successful viral videos and come up with knock-off ideas to copy them. Call every funny video idea "viral" before it's even created and before someone has ever seen it and before anyone has ever...
Pilgrim’s Picks for June 10
June 10, 2010, 9:30 am
Is it Friday yet?
After last week’s abbreviated work-week, this week seems to be dragging on some. How’s your week going? Really? See if these Pilgrim Pick’s can brighten your day.
Google Voice to Integrate with Gmail as a VoIP Service
Flickr + Facebook!
Linden Lab Lays Off 30 Percent Of Staff
Google’s...
Social Media Strategy: A Video Interview With Ravit Lichtenberg - Part 2
June 10, 2010, 9:28 amWhat is social media? Is it a strategy or a tactic?
You cannot just gather fans on Facebook one day, send messages on Twitter the next and start commenting on YouTube and Linkedin in between, hoping that this is the way you can get social media to help your marketing efforts. What you are going to end up with is a lot more time spent on social...
Video, Links and Google Korea at the International Search Summit
June 10, 2010, 9:19 amFrom International SEO Tips to Local Links Strategy to Baidu and Google Korea, the International Search Summit in Berlin provided delegates with a wealth of information on a range of international online marketing topics. As well as providing valuable, actionable information to those managing websites in multiple languages,
Google Does Bing Imitation With Background Images
June 10, 2010, 9:19 amWe'll admit right here: you probably already have a very good idea what this article's about. But if you don't, please visit Google.com and take in whatever desert or field of flowers is on display as a background image. And now consider yourself up to speed on the fact that Google's mimicking Bing. That's one hard-to-avoid conclusion, anyway.
What is Fair Use? You Tell Us.
June 10, 2010, 9:19 amWhat is fair use? It's a question that doesn't seem to go away. Traditional media publications often throw blogs under the bus for borrowing quotes and spreading news to their own audiences. While there are certainly plenty of cases in which blogs do trample on the concept of fair use, to say that blogs in general follow this practice is simply...
Facebook And PTA Partner On Internet Child Safety
June 10, 2010, 8:56 amFacebook is partnering with the National PTA to promote safe Internet use to kids, parents and teachers. The goal of the partnership is to provide information, support and news to encourage citizenship online, cut down on cyberbullying and improve Internet safety and security. The National PTA said it will use its website to reach out to the...
Local Business Listing: A Marketing Opportunity and a Security Challenge
June 10, 2010, 8:56 amLocal business listings began with a basic business directory more than a decade ago. Chances are, your business has a local listing wherever you have a physical address location. Check it out " go to Google, type in your company name. You'll probably see a map locating your business and an address. Of course all you may find other information...
BlueGlass LA : Last Day for Early Bird Tickets
June 10, 2010, 8:56 amToday is the last day to register for BlueGlass LA at our special Early Bird rate of $495.00. Ticket sales for the early bird special stop tonight at 11:55 EST, so as of right now you have 14 hours and 30 minutes left to register for this discounted price. Want an even better deal? Sign up with the discount code sejreader for an additional 10% off...
Using Authority Labs for "Local Pack" Rank Checking; My Review
June 10, 2010, 8:55 amAuthorityLabs is simple yet extensive seo software that's been around for about a year now. The software provides daily ranking data, as well as link data for any page or domain from multiple sources. Lately they've been integrating new data sources so that you can get exact match search volume numbers for every keywords in your account, for...
Quickly Embed Tweets to a Web Page with Blackbird Pie
June 10, 2010, 8:15 amDo you often use the screenshots of your (or maybe someone else's) Tweet? I see the Twitter screenshots throughout the web. People use the screenshots of Tweets as quotes or to visualize the idea or just for fun. This is why the new non-official tool by Twitter employee Robin Sloan got my attention.
Google Looks to Government Help Regarding China
June 10, 2010, 8:12 am
Google has to walk an interesting line at times. It needs to keep itself at arms length from government scrutiny and activity but at the same time needs to be close enough to call on governments (as in worldwide) for assistance.
That is certainly the case as Google looks to the US government and European government for help in...
How Young is Too Young?
June 10, 2010, 8:10 amI started blogging at age 20. Glen , too, got an early start . Today, there are young bloggers who have their own websites and blogs. Some even boast high rankings and good sized communities. As someone who is nearing 30, I look at these younger folks and am really impressed with their accomplishments, and I especially admire these youngsters as...
New Product Launch by gShift Labs at SES Toronto 2010
June 10, 2010, 8:00 amgShift Labs is expected to announce new product features to their SEO platform this morning at SES Toronto 2010. That's the second new product launch by an exhibitor at the event.Click to read the rest of this post...
Why Google Wants the Entire World to Upload an Image to Its Homepage
June 10, 2010, 7:47 am
See that? That is Google’s homepage today. For everyone…in the world!
When Google announced that it would let users upload images to its homepage, it was cute. It gave me the ammo to suggest that Google was copying Bing–which was the first big search engine to go with the background images.
That’s still a...
AOL Set To Expand Content Play But For Whose Benefit?
June 10, 2010, 7:17 am
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to watch AOL’s CEO Tim Armstrong be interviewed by Slate’s Jacob Weisberg at the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s Innovation Days event during Internet Week in New York City. It was interesting to listen to Armstrong because he is an engaging guy. He comes off as very passionate about AOL and...
AT&T Vulnerability Exposes 100K iPad Email Addresses
June 10, 2010, 7:13 am"The hacker group that claims to have discovered the weakness the group calls itself Goatse Security said it was able to trick AT&T's site into coughing up more than 114,000 e-mail addresses, including those apparently of famous media personalities and important government officials."
Flickr Will Now Post to Your Facebook Feed
June 10, 2010, 7:11 amYahoo has been integrating Facebook into its properties more deeply, and Flickr is no exception. The company announced that it is launching a new and improved way to share Flickr photos on Facebook.
Users can simply connect their Flickr and Facebook accounts, and Flickr will automatically send updates to your Facebook feed every time a new photo...
7 Benefits of Partnering SEO & PR
June 10, 2010, 6:55 amThere are many intersections between earned media and organic search engine rankings, so it makes sense that they would work well together. The PR industry is in an interesting situation right now with so much of the traditional media world moving to digital media. Whether they admit it or not, journalists rely on PR professionals for a pipeline...
They Searched Bing, Won Bling and Reign Supreme
June 10, 2010, 6:22 amBack in April, Microsoft Advertising UK launched the Bling it! competition , a tongue-in-cheek quiz about Bing and its key features, specially conceived for British media agencies. After 8 weeks of fierce competition between 30 media groups, the results are now official. The trophy was conquered by Atom 42 . The London-based online marketing...
Small Things to Improve Your SEO
June 10, 2010, 12:12 amThere is a thin line between being a good internet marketer and not being a marketer at all but rather a technical spammer. It still gets me how some of this "crap" can still appear in search results that has zero to no user value. You know those links that you open and there are 100 interlinked keywords, 47 blinking affiliate banners and content...
Google Clones Bing Homepage Image of Day
June 9, 2010, 6:30 pmGoogle has stolen a feature straight away from Bing and now features a homepage picture of the day as the backgroun (AKA Bing Background)
Endangered National Sites Captured in Photographs
June 9, 2010, 5:58 pmby Claudine Zap If you plan to visit a national park this summer, plan carefully . States are strapped for cash, and many are eyeing state-owned parks and historic sites for closures. What's endangered? As many as half the states are considering 400 sites to close around the country, which include, according to Preservation Nation, "Native...
Ads On The Move: Mobile Paid Search â" SMX Advanced Seattle 2010
June 9, 2010, 5:41 pmAs the mobile search space continues to grow, mobile ad opportunities keep growing as well. In this session we learned some of the latest tips, techniques and strategies for paid search marketers when it comes to mobile search ads in results and in search applications. Here are some key take-aways from each presenter to help you get started with...
Google Mayday Update Designed to Hit Auto-Generated Pages, Content Farms
June 9, 2010, 5:11 pmGoogle's recent algorithm update, nicknamed "Mayday" by webmasters got a lot of people riled up, as many claimed it seriously affected their rankings, and potentially their revenues.
WebProNews spoke with Google's Matt Cutts at SMX Advanced, and he talked a little bit about Mayday, saying that it was designed to try and spot signals of...
Women Winning the Political Battles...and the Buzz
June 9, 2010, 4:43 pmby Vera H-C Chan Change, thy name is woman. Hillary Clinton did not secure the top ticket in the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries, but midterm elections analyses is calling 2010 the year of the woman. Or is it? While women are approaching gender parity in pivotal senatorial and gubernatorial races, there's not quite the critical mass of...
Google Rallies Again Against Chinese Censorship
June 9, 2010, 4:43 pmIf you thought Google and China had achieved some kind of ceasefire agreement after Google pulled its stunt involving Google.hk.com, think again. David Drummond, Chief Legal Officer at the company, indicated today that Google's seeking political allies who might joins its fight against censorship. The Press Association reported this afternoon,...
Caffeine Transforms Google From Bus to Limo
June 9, 2010, 4:03 pmWebProNews spoke with Google's Matt Cutts out at SMX Advanced today. He talked a little about Caffeine, which Google just announced is complete , nearly a year after its initial announcement at SES, when Matt also spoke with us about it. Caffeine, it should be noted, does not change how Google ranks content. It's all about the speed at which...
Save 15% on BlueGlass LA’s Search & Social Conference
June 9, 2010, 4:01 pm
Are you going to PubCon Austin?
Not your thing? Too far? Haven’t decided yet?
Or perhaps you’d like to double up on your small group training for that week?
Well, be sure to take a serious look at BlueGlass LA–two days of search and social marketing training from some of the smartest guys in the industry. A...
Twitter Sees Nearly 10% Growth in May
June 9, 2010, 3:40 pmEach month, we look at Twitter's growth in terms of new user registrations, number of tweets, and tweets per user registration. This info is provided by Matthew Daines, the lead developer of Twellow , our Twitter app, which serves as the Yellow Pages for Twitter. According to the numbers for May, registrations were up 9.8% over April to 11.5...
Privacy Group Accuses Google Of "Criminal Act"
June 9, 2010, 3:40 pmAccording to Privacy International, the whole Street View/WiFi data mess wasn't caused by someone accidentally copying and pasting the wrong code. Neither was a single rogue engineer to blame. Privacy International, a nonprofit organization that's been around since 1990, instead asserted today that Google demonstrated "criminal intent." It seems...
Privacy International Accuses Google Of "Criminal Act"
June 9, 2010, 3:17 pmAccording to Privacy International, the whole Street View/WiFi data mess wasn't caused by someone accidentally copying and pasting the wrong code. Neither was a single rogue engineer to blame. Privacy International, a nonprofit organization that's been around since 1990, instead asserted today that Google demonstrated "criminal...
Snaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake!
June 9, 2010, 3:12 pmby Mike Krumboltz Remember how Indiana Jones would completely lose his cool around snakes? Well, Indy's like the Fonz compared to Salma Hayek. While giving an interview to promote her new movie "Grown Ups," a snake slithered across the floor. Ms. Hayek, not willing to take any chances, promptly climbed on top of her chair and yelled for "someone...
Whiteboard Interview - Google's Matt Cutts on Redirects, Trust + More
June 9, 2010, 2:52 pmPosted by great scott! We've got a very special bonus video for you today. Our buddy-and the Googliest spam cop to ever walk the webz- Matt Cutts stopped by to do a quick interview in front of ye olde whiteboard. Watch in wonder and amazement as Rand and Matt discuss headers, status codes, how much of the web is worth indexing, porn, redirect...
Bing Updating Webmaster Tools This Summer
June 9, 2010, 2:18 pmMicrosoft made some significant announcements related to Bing today at SMX Advanced in Seattle (which our own Mike McDonald is covering. Keep an eye on live.webpronews.com ). Later this summer, Bing will offer a redesigned version of Bing Webmaster Tools based on feedback from webmasters. The tools will provide webmasters with a simplified, more...
Bing Offers New Take On Social Search
June 9, 2010, 2:18 pmThis afternoon, Bing will take a big step forward in terms of social search. Yusuf Mehdi, Senior Vice President of the Online Audience Business at Microsoft, announced at SMX Advanced that a Bing site will start to integrate information from Facebook. Bing.com/social - which isn't live at the time of this writing - is supposed to build on the...
The President Is Speaking? Zzzzz
June 9, 2010, 2:12 pmby Mike Krumboltz He's one of the most charismatic politicians in the world, capable of giving speeches that inspire millions of voters. But there is at least one young man who'd rather take a nap than listen to President Obama wax poetic. Earlier this week, President Obama gave a speech at Kalamazoo Central high school in Michigan. The school had...
How Much Is BP Spending On Google Search Ads?
June 9, 2010, 2:05 pmWith so much speculation about how much BP is spending on Google ads, we decided to take a crack at the math.Click to read the rest of this post...
Zynga Launches Western-Themed Game On Facebook
June 9, 2010, 1:55 pmZynga, the company behind the popular "Farmville" game has launched a new title on Facebook called "FrontierVille." Zynga describes "FrontierVille" as a Wild West-themed social game that allows users to tame the wilderness, grow a family, and build a frontier town. Features of " FrontierVille " include multiple avatars on one screen, virtual...
Latest On The Microsoft-Yahoo Alliance For PPC Advertisers
June 9, 2010, 1:50 pmOn Monday, Microsoft and Yahoo invited search marketers and vendors to an all-day overview of the upcoming Microsoft-Yahoo Alliance. Here are some of the highlights from the day.Click to read the rest of this post...
Apple Blocks Admob
June 9, 2010, 1:41 pmGoogle has been feeling the heat over the past few days with the global uproar over its rogue StreetView wifi data collection and its increasingly difficult relationship with Apple. The iPad maker, who was widely rumored to be looking at leaving Google for Bing, has now included Bing as a search engine choice on Safari.Click to read the rest of...
Darth Vader's Diagnosis
June 9, 2010, 1:38 pmby Mike Krumboltz His enemies and underlings are painfully aware that Darth Vader is highly irritable and prone to bursts of anger. But until now, we don't think anybody knew that the Dark Lord of the Sith may have suffered from borderline personality disorder. According to a popular blog over at CNN , French researchers have concluded that Mr....
Google Rolls Out Maps Navigation, Mobile Voice Search, Improved Gmail Chat, Caffeine
June 9, 2010, 1:26 pmIt's been a bit of a roller-coaster ride for Google recently and it seems the company wants to attract positive attention today, with a series of announcements that we'll share with you here. The first one is its Caffeine indexing system that we've looked at in an earlier post.Click to read the rest of this post...
Yusuf Mehdi Keynote, SMX Advanced Seattle 2010: New social vertical from Bing
June 9, 2010, 1:21 pmThis mornings SMX Advanced keynote was a Q & A with host Danny Sullivan and Yusuf Mehdi, Senior Vice President, Online Audience Business at Microsoft. Yusuf announced and demoed a new feature coming to Bing: bing.com/social, which shows the.
California Primary Results, Darth Vader's Diagnosis, Jamie Bell Rumors: What's the Buzz
June 9, 2010, 1:21 pmby Claudine Zap Our top picks from the day's hottest searches. Darth Vader (Searches increased by 4,706%). Here's a plotline never considered in the "Star Wars" movies: The move to "the dark side" was due to borderline personality disorder . Jamie Bell (+1,615%). Rumor has it the British actor will replace Tobey Maguire as the new Spider-Man....
Google Search Index Gets Caffeine Shot
June 9, 2010, 12:58 pmAfter just under a year of public testing, Google is finally adding some flavor to its search engine and rolled out Caffeine, its "next-generation architecture" search indexing system. Caffeine should allow the company to deliver faster and more accurate results within an increasingly complex and demanding search environment. Click to read the...
Google Wants Positive Attention: Maps Navigation Roll Out, Mobile Voice Search, Improved Gmail Chat, Caffeine
June 9, 2010, 12:58 pmIt's been a bit of a roller-coaster ride for Google recently and it seems the company wants to attract positive attention today, with a series of announcements that we'll share with you here. The first one is its Caffeine indexing system that we've looked at in an earlier post URL. Click to read the rest of this post.
Convio Releases Study on Online Marketing for Nonprofits
June 9, 2010, 12:42 pm
Austin, TX based Convio has released their 2010 “Online Nonprofit
Benchmark™ Study”. This study was released by Convio as a guide for nonprofit marketers to get a better understanding of their online marketing efforts and also includes some really interesting data.
According to Convio, nonprofit web traffic grew from 2008...
Facebook gives false information on number of users
June 9, 2010, 12:29 pmThe Norwegian newspaper Dagens Næringsliv reports that Facebook is misinforming advertisers about the number of users in the Oslo area. The question is whether the company's visitor statistics can be trusted at all. Norway has a very high Internet presentation, but we have always found the number of 2.6 million registered users to be too high....
Majority Of Facebook Users Are Fans Of At Least One Company
June 9, 2010, 11:49 amMore than half (58%) of U.S. online consumers begin their day interacting with companies via email, compared to 20 percent who start their day on search engines and 11 percent on Facebook, according to a new study by Exact Target. "Consumers who check email first tend to be more task-oriented, subscribe to more emails and interact with brands...
Google WaveThis Borrows from Twitter, Google Buzz
June 9, 2010, 11:38 amFor the 1 million users who are still using Google Wave more than a year since it was created, Google is making it easier for users to grab content from the Web into a wave. Users previously had to cut and paste Web info into a wave. WaveThis is a button, bookmarklet and Chrome extension that lets users launch a discussion in a wave directly from...
Google Caffeine Goes Live
June 9, 2010, 11:21 amGoogle has just announced the completion of it's Caffeine Project which according to Google offers the freshest search results than what its current search index can offer. Google Caffeine is also the largest collection of web content that Google can offer. Google Caffeine is all about delivering fresh content, be it a blog or forum post or even...
Hulu Subscription Service Launch Said To Be Weeks Away
June 9, 2010, 11:04 amWhile rumors about making people pay to use Hulu have been circulating for what feels like forever, a subscription service may, for better or worse, finally materialize this summer. New rumors put it a "month or two" out, and indicate that Xbox and iPad compatibility are also on the way. Reuters talked to several people who opted not to have...
Google, Caffeinated
June 9, 2010, 10:58 amSearch is in our veins as surely as that morning cup of java is a required kickstart for many of us. Being caffeinated will be the only way to make it through the remainder of the week, with the SMX Advanced and SES Toronto conferences in high gear. (Toronto's main festivities start tomorrow. For delegates, there is a pre-party at the Charlotte...
Hulu Subscription Service Launch Said To Be Month Or Two Away
June 9, 2010, 10:57 amWhile rumors about making people pay to use Hulu have been circulating for what feels like forever, a subscription service may, for better or worse, finally materialize this summer. New rumors put it a "month or two" out, and indicate that Xbox and iPad compatibility are also on the way.
Reuters talked to several people who opted...
Google’s New Indexing Infrastructure “Caffeine” Now Live
June 9, 2010, 10:07 amDon't miss out on all the background info from Vanessa Fox.
Pilgrim’s Picks for June 9 – Hump Day Edition
June 9, 2010, 9:45 am
You’ve made it to Wednesday! Give yourself a pat on the back, grab some coffee, and enjoy today’s Pilgrim’s Pick!
Google Maps Navigation comes to Canada and mainland Europe, remains free as a bird
The Truth About the Faces in Your Facebook Ads
Twitpic Launches Face Tagging
Twitter Now Has 190 Million Users...
Blinkx Launches Four Add-Ons For IE 8
June 9, 2010, 9:21 amVideo search engine blinkx has introduced four custom browser add-ons for Internet Explorer 8 users. "Together or separately, these four add-ons will change the way users interact with blinkx.com, their Internet Explorer 8 browser and video on the Web," said Suranga Chandratillake, founder and CEO, blinkx. "As the Web moves increasingly towards...
Online Reputation Monitoring: the Fastest Growing Analytics Niche in 2010
June 9, 2010, 9:15 am
The third annual Online Measurement and Strategy Report, has been published by Econsultancy and it’s full of great news for the online reputation monitoring industry!
As someone that offers social media monitoring tools, this chart brings a little tear to my eye.
That’s right, there’s been a 9% increase in the...
How to Rescue Your Readers from Purchase Paralysis
June 9, 2010, 9:09 amEver been so scared you can't move? It's a common reaction to a really scary situation. We know we're in trouble. We know we need to move. But we can't seem to convince ourselves, so we do nothing. Some people make a living helping others out of tight spots like this one. Firefighters, for example, are trained in how to get in there and persuade...
Google protests Apple's iPhone Developers Agreement
June 9, 2010, 9:02 am"Artificial barriers to competition hurt users and developers and, in the long run, stall technological progress," Hamoui said. AdMob recently disclosed that roughly one-third of the ads it served in April were for devices running the iPhone platform.
Advanced Gmail Chat Features Made Easier To Find
June 9, 2010, 8:59 amWhatever sorts of microphones and webcams the average Gmail user has attached to his (or her) computer may soon start getting a lot more use. Yesterday evening, Google made the video chat, voice chat, and group chat features much more prominent. A post on the Official Gmail Blog explained, "Video chat, voice chat, and group chat have all been...
Google Expands Maps Navigation and Voice Search Into More Countries/Languages
June 9, 2010, 8:59 amGoogle announced today that it is launching Google Maps Navigation in 11 new countries. These include Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland. Google Maps Navigation is Google's GPS navigation system, and this would be version 4.2 of the service. It works on Android devices 1.6...
Are You Using This Copywriting "Silver Bullet"?
June 9, 2010, 8:53 amI can tell you from experience that without fail, one of the most common reasons websites suffer from a low conversion rate is because they fail to make a statement. There's no "push" â" no energy and no interest in the offer. So how do you grab your readers' attention when they're in that scrolling and scanning state of mind? You hit 'em...
SEO Automatic for the People: My Interview with Scott Hendison
June 9, 2010, 8:52 amI've known Scott for over 4 years now and I've been trying to get him to do an e-interview for almost that long. He's a real smart guy with a strong background in areas (WordPress, Hosting, Affiliate) that are off the radar of many folks. Finally, after the release of his SEO Automatic plugin, he agreed to answer some questions for me. 1) ...
Hacking for SEO – BEWARE of the Crap Hats
June 9, 2010, 8:51 amThis is a public service announcement! - seriously. Please do note this tactic and advice. It can SERIOUSLY hurt your site (or client's site). Book mark it, pass it along to others... do what you do. I would like to get the word out on this exploit. Thanks
Google Maps Preview; a Move in the Right Direction for Gmail
June 9, 2010, 8:42 am
Here’s a quick little Gmail update that will come in handy.
The next time a client, friend, or..anyone actually…sends you an email with a street address in it, Gmail will display a Google Map of the location. Like this:
The new feature needs to be enabled via the Gmail Labs tab within your Settings. Oh, and those of...
Wordpress plugins to Automatically Watermark Your Images
June 9, 2010, 8:35 amIt's been a while since I published my post on why and how you can watermark the images you publish on the web (this helps both for copyright protection and brand awareness). One of my sites relies on images heavily and I decided to automate watermarking. So in this post I am sharing two Wordpress plugins that automatically watermark the images...
Twitter Has Shortened Links All Wrapped Up
June 9, 2010, 8:31 am
I’m not going to even begin to pretend that I fully understand exactly how Twitter will implement its new default URL shortener, all I know is that it’s coming sometime this summer.
…all links shared on Twitter.com or third-party apps will be wrapped with a t.co URL. A really long link such...
New Twitter Links to Play Significant Role in Resonance Algorithm
June 9, 2010, 8:18 amTwitter has introduced a new, secure link-shortening service called t.co. All links shared on Twitter.com or third-party apps will be wrapped with a t.co URL. While links might appear something like this: http://t.co/DRo0trj on SMS, they might appear more based on the domain they are going to on Twitter.com and in third-party apps. So if that...
Freshness May Count More in Google These Days (Not Just Because of Caffeine)
June 9, 2010, 8:08 amGoogle's new SERP design (you know, with the left-hand panel), has created more areas for webmasters to focus their SEO efforts on. While most of the options available here have been available for quite some time, they are now in the user's face and they will be used more.
WebProNews spoke with Matt Cutts, head of Google's Webspam team, at...
Twitter Extends Tests Of Its Own Link Shortener
June 9, 2010, 7:57 am"As a first step, developers who create applications on the Twitter platform can now begin to prepare for this service."
IP Addresses Filed In 'Hurt Locker' Piracy Court Order
June 9, 2010, 7:23 am"Before Voltage can actually name defendants in its case, it must first acquire the identities of the alleged pirates from their ISPs."
New PPC Blog Community
June 9, 2010, 7:08 amI've recently started learning about PPC and I'm really loving it so far. One thing you may notice (especially if you're working through Google Adwords) is that it can be very confusing at times. Not anymore. Launched by Aaron Wall (you may recognize him as the CEO of SEO Book ) we are proud to present the PPC Blog Community - a site which...
Shopzilla SEO Interview with Michael Nguyen
June 9, 2010, 6:35 amSpotlight on Search Interview with Michael Nguyen, SEO Strategist for Shopzilla & Bizrate.com. Helping companies with very, very large web sites increase sales through improved search engine performance takes a unique type of person. Think equally strong left and right brain lateral thinking. Heavy doeses of technical savvy plus creative problem...
New Product Launch by Acquisio at SES Toronto 2010
June 9, 2010, 6:00 amThere will be a new product launch by Acquisio this morning at SES Toronto 2010. The PPC management software provider is expected to announce a full integration between the Acquisio SEARCH ad management platform and Google Analytics.Click to read the rest of this post...
Bing Has Big News to Come in Just a Few Hours
June 9, 2010, 3:03 amI am at SMX Advanced in Seattle and today it came to my attention that Bing will be revealing some big news in just a few hours from now. So, if you are at SMX Advanced, be sure to visit the Bing sponsored presentation after tomorrow morning's Bing keynote (where the main announcement is likely to take place) and then don't miss the Bing...
Customized SEO Strategy & Recommendations: Step 6 of the 8-Step SEO Strategy
June 9, 2010, 1:50 amPosted by laura This post was originally in YOUmoz , and was promoted to the main blog because it provides great value and interest to our community. The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of SEOmoz, Inc. Turn your computer up. Now go here and play this song . Ready, Creator? Were going to create the heart...
Dan Zarrella Twitter Tips Video
June 9, 2010, 12:18 amHubspot's Dan Zarrella provides some great helpful tips about how to better utlize Twitter. Check out the video from Dan Zarrella below: Often time's people don't realize how important the simple basics of Twitter can really be to strengthen an SEO approach. Especially when you include a link in your tweet and that tweet gets re-tweeted a handful...
Google Now Fully Caffeinated
June 8, 2010, 11:30 pm
In August of 2009 Caffeine was introduced to parts of Google’s ecosystem and there has been plenty of speculation as to just how much it has impacted results. Of course, whenever anything is rolled out to just a percentage of the Google search as a whole it can be tough to see just what it is actually doing.
Now there is no...
Virus Payload Showing Up On Ads From Third Party Networks
June 8, 2010, 9:57 pm"What's going on is nested ad networks and somewhere along the way it would appear that one of the ad networks is loading ads from an infected 3rd party ad server."
Turkey Bans Some Google Services
June 8, 2010, 9:52 pmIBTimes reports some doubleplusungood news for Turkish Google users: Turkey has imposed an indefinite ban on Internet search engine Google and many of its services citing "legal" reasons. In an official statement, Turkey's Telecommunications Presidency said it has banned access to many of Google IP addresses without assigning clear reasons. The...
23andMe Mixes Up Customer DNA Data
June 8, 2010, 9:34 pm23andMe does relatively cheap analysis of your genetic information. Google had invested in the company before, and its co-founder Anne Wojcicki is married to Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who previously mentioned the company in his blog ("As a customer of 23andMe, I have always been excited about the product. I have found what pieces of DNA I...
Google Completes Caffeine Update After Nearly a Year
June 8, 2010, 8:43 pmGoogle announced today that it has completed its new web indexing system called Caffeine. The company claims it provides 50% fresher results for web searches than the previous index and is the largest collection of web content it's offered. "Whether it's a news story, a blog or a forum post, you can now find links to relevant content much sooner...
Microsoft adCenter Desktop Lab â" SMX Advanced Seattle 2010
June 8, 2010, 8:33 pmToday in a sponsored session at SMX Advanced, Peter Chang, Adib Kadir and Mike Carruth from the adCenter Desktop team ran a lab to show customers how to install and use the Desktop to optimize adCenter campaigns. Key points from Peters introduction.
Searching for Descartes, solving a centuries-old international mystery
June 8, 2010, 6:05 pmWhen I was a history major at Haverford College , I spent countless hours with old documents at Magill Library. It was one of the best parts of the Haverford experienceâ"studying and researching with a great collection of musty works. Little did I or any other student know at the time that as we worked, we sat a few feet away from an...
Pictures of the Oil Spill Move the Web
June 8, 2010, 5:31 pmby Claudine Zap We have reached the 50-day mark of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico . As the oil slick continues to spread, it's almost impossible to take our eyes off the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history. Eyewitnesses are capturing the grim mood on the ground â" and in the water. Oil covered birds, a National Guardsman suited up...
BlueGlass LA
June 8, 2010, 5:30 pmI spoke to Loren from Search Engine Journal today and he mentioned a conference he is helping put together in Los Angeles. The conference is BlueGlass LA . It's on July 19/20 in LA. The speaker line up is pretty awesome and takes a business / start up approach on top of the killer search & social media tactics he will be reviewing. Tickets are...
Freshness May Count More in Google These Days
June 8, 2010, 4:27 pmGoogle's new SERP design (you know, with the left-hand panel), has created more areas for webmasters to focus their SEO efforts on. While most of the options available here have been available for quite some time, they are now in the user's face and they will be used more. WebProNews spoke with Matt Cutts, head of Google's Webspam team, at Google...
Google Flu Trends Spreads To Eight More Countries
June 8, 2010, 4:27 pmThe next time bird flu, swine flu, or any other nasty bug strikes, it'll be possible to get a significantly better idea of the effects worldwide. Today, Google Flu Trends started processing information in eight more countries. Google decided to focus on the southern hemisphere - where it will soon be the winter flu season - with this update, and...
Diana's Dress Fetches a Tidy Sum
June 8, 2010, 3:59 pmby Mike Krumboltz Princess Diana was well known for her bold sense of style. Among her most talked-about looks was a black dress that she wore out on the town at the tender age of 19, just after she became engaged to Prince Charles. The dress caused a bit of a stir back in the day, due to its " racy " nature. Of course, "racy" is a relative term...
Canadians Asked Politely to Put Their Town on the Map with Bing Photo Contest
June 8, 2010, 3:37 pmHow do you get Canadians from Victoria to Petawawa to put their town on the map? You ask them politely to submit photos they have snapped of their hometowns to the Bing photo contest.Click to read the rest of this post...
A Segmentable Funnel
June 8, 2010, 3:36 pmReady for a fun workaround that you can use in Google Analytics if you like? We enjoyed this contribution from a poweruser that anyone can try. Are you familiar with the Funnel Visualization report? It's a visual representation of your onsite conversion funnel , showing how many visitors go to each step and how many leave the funnel at that step....
BofA Merrill Lynch Lowers Google, Yahoo, eBay Estimates
June 8, 2010, 3:25 pmIndividuals who have invested in Google, Amazon, eBay, and Yahoo might want to lower their expectations. Bank of America Merrill Lynch cut its price targets on the companies' stocks today, with Google by far bearing the worst of it. Now, instead of $685, Bank of America Merrill Lynch has taken the position that Google will just hit $630. That's...
Google Introduces AdWords Campaign Experiments
June 8, 2010, 3:25 pmToday Google introduced AdWords Campaign Experiments (ACE), a tool designed to optimize AdWords accounts by letting advertisers test and measure changes to keywords, bids, ad groups, and placements. "In the past, the most common way to measure how changes to your account affected your campaign performance was to measure how the campaign performed...
BofA Merrill Lynch Lowers GOOG, YHOO, eBay Estimates
June 8, 2010, 3:18 pmIndividuals who have invested in Google, Amazon, eBay, and Yahoo might want to lower their expectations. Bank of America Merrill Lynch cut its price targets on the companies' stocks today, with Google by far bearing the worst of it.
Now, instead of $685, Bank of America Merrill Lynch has taken the position that Google will just hit...
Primary Searches
June 8, 2010, 2:45 pmby Mike Krumboltz Across the country, people are heading to the polls to vote in the primary elections. Though not as buzzy as the 2008 presidential election (hey, few things are), this collection of political races is generating a lot of heat on the Web. Below, a list of five of the buzziest candidates, according to their performance in the...
ClickZ 2010 Marketing Awards Deadline Extended Until June 22
June 8, 2010, 2:34 pmAt the request of our readers, the deadline for the ClickZ 2010 Marketing Awards will be extended to 5pm ET, Tuesday, June 22, 2010. Click to read the rest of this post...
Google Announces Caffeine is Completed
June 8, 2010, 2:22 pm"Today, we're announcing the completion of a new web indexing system called Caffeine." - Official Google Blog
Baidu Sets Sights On Market Share Of 79 Percent
June 8, 2010, 2:21 pmBaidu's share of the Chinese search market is going to get much bigger quite soon, if the company has its way. An exec explained this morning that Baidu would like to see its share reach 79 percent next year. Tang Hesong, General Manager of Corporate Development at Baidu, relayed that figure at a news conference, according to Reuters , and since...
NASA Will Fly Your Face In Space
June 8, 2010, 2:03 pmNASA is inviting people to send photos of their faces into orbit aboard one of the final remaining space shuttle missions. Visitors to the " Face in Space " website can upload their picture to fly with the astronauts aboard shuttle Discovery's STS-133 mission or Endeavour's STS-134 mission. Participants will receive a special certificates from the...
Survey Suggests Majority Oppose Taxes to Save Journalism
June 8, 2010, 1:17 pmAs we referenced in an earlier article , the Federal Trade Commission is considering whether or not it can step in and save journalism. A "staff discussion" document from the FTC proposes some ideas for "Potential Policy Recommendations to Support the Reinvention of Journalism". Among the ideas in the document are various taxes. For example, a 5%...
An Eye for an iPhone: By the Numbers
June 8, 2010, 1:12 pmby Vera H-C Chan You'd think after three years, geek-reverence would've eased up by now. Not a chance â" Like Moses brandishing the commandments, Steve Jobs appeared at Monday's Worldwide Developers Conference bearing the iPhone 4G . This latest offering from the temple of Apple has summoned hysterical worshippers to Search, and the gadget's...
How to Have a Great Life and a Great Business
June 8, 2010, 1:06 pmCheck out this free 31-page PDF report called How to Have a Great Life and a Great Business (Especially if You're Not the "Business" Type). It not only ties together the themes we've touched on so far in the Lateral Action Entrepreneur series, but also delivers practical ideas on starting a business that leads to more than just money. Here's what...
Alanis Morissette Marries, Bernie Madoff Is Popular (in Prison), Claudia Schiffer Is Controversial: What's the Buzz
June 8, 2010, 12:55 pmby Claudine Zap Our top picks from the day's hottest searches. Alanis Morissette (Searches increased by 6,635%). The rocker married rapper Mario "MC Souleye" Treadway. Wikileaks (+2,577%). A U.S. soldier was arrested for allegedly turning over classified documents and video to the whistleblower website. Bernard Madoff (1,440%). The swindler who is...
Big Bing Bang on iPhone, Maps, Site Enhancements After CashBack Farewell
June 8, 2010, 12:19 pmAfter announcing the upcoming extinction of Bing CashBack, it seems Microsoft's search arm has decided to remain under the spotlights but this time for some positive news. Read on for iPhone integration and maps announcements.Click to read the rest of this post...
Google vs. Bing: Correlation Analysis of Ranking Elements
June 8, 2010, 12:15 pmPosted by randfish Earlier this year, Danny Sullivan of Third Door Media asked me if SEOmoz could put together some data comparing ranking elements of Google against those of Bing to help illustrate the potential biases SEOs might face when optimizing for the two engines. Today at SMX Advanced in Seattle , I presented the following data, compiled...
Europe may store every web search
June 8, 2010, 11:52 amA private initiative in the European Parliament, 'Written Declaration 29â², puts search privacy in peril by proposing to extend the European Data Retention Directive , already in place. The initiative, spanning several political parties, is proposed by Titziano Motti (Italy) and Anna Zaborska (Slovakia). The two are fighting to stop child...
Social Sites Impact On U.S. Consumers Purchasing Decision Growing Steadily [Study]
June 8, 2010, 11:50 amThe impact of social networks on the purchase behavior of American consumers is growing steadily. Harnessing such platforms is inevitable for search marketing agencies, according to Performics, the search marketing arm of Publicis Groupe.Click to read the rest of this post...
Carolyn Everson Joins Microsoft Advertising as Head of Global Ad Sales
June 8, 2010, 11:29 amWere very happy to announce that after much searching, we have found a fantastic Global Ad Sales Leader. Please join with me in welcoming Carolyn Everson to Microsoft Advertising as Corporate Vice President, Global Ad Sales and Strategy. Carolyn joins us from MTV Networks where she was Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of U.S....
Google Maps Coming To OnStar
June 8, 2010, 11:15 amOnStar and Google have reached a deal that will let OnStar users search for and find places using Google Maps and send those destinations to the Turn-by-Turn Navigation service in their vehicles.
OnStar eNav will be available on Google Maps at the end of June. Users can access the destinations at any time and get OnStar directions to the...
Twitter Hits Two Billion Tweets Per Month
June 8, 2010, 11:12 amTwitter's hit another major milestone on its way to becoming an omnipresent method of communication: in May, according to new stats from Pingdom, the site oversaw the transmission of two million tweets. That works out to about 64 million tweets per day, 2.7 million tweets per hour, 44,481 tweets per minute, and 741 tweets per second, which is all...
NYT Doesn't Want Its Feeds in Paid Feed Readers
June 8, 2010, 11:09 amPulse News Reader, an iPad app that Steve Jobs himself showed off in his keynote at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference was kicked out of the App Store later that day, because the New York Times sent Apple a notice that the app was using its content without license.
Kara Swisher at All Things Digital says the app's developers planned to...
Stay Close to the Spotlight with Yahoo!
June 8, 2010, 11:06 amNew TV spot celebrates Yahoo's lead as the number one source for entertainment news As you may know by now, Yahoo's lead in entertainment news is second to none . Yahoo's omg !, for example, enjoys the top spot, with twice the traffic of its nearest competitor, TMZ. That's good for us and good for our advertisers who enjoy one of the most strongly...
'The Facebook Effect': Standing Up Against FARC
June 8, 2010, 11:06 amThe following is an excerpt from "The Facebook Effect," a book by long-time journalist David Kirkpatrick that went on sale today. The book chronicles the growth of Facebook and its impact on the world. This passage from the prologue tells the story behind one man's campaign against a Colombian guerrilla organization that led to worldwide attention...
Demand Media Adds New "Talent & Expert Network" to Content Mix
June 8, 2010, 10:49 amDemand Media announced the beta launch of a new " Talent & Expert Network ". This network resides within its current content creation platform (Demand Studios), and will include what the company calls "authentic and entertaining personalities." Content from this network will be integrated into articles and videos, and will be expanded to new...
Weekly Search & Social News: 06/08/2010
June 8, 2010, 10:43 amTesting 1-2-3 is this thing on?? It's time for another edition with ' 7 Days of Search and Social ' - it was a great week out there last week my friend. There were lots of great posts, videos and of course my fav, patents (Google at least) to keep this geek going. I should also note that this week's offering is 'Drama Free' which is great too...
Major Social Media & Search Engine Relationships
June 8, 2010, 10:32 amAdding real-time search and social search to the mix in the search engine world has created a number of new opportunities for marketers that want to do a better job of reaching customers. With new data sharing announcements happening fairly regularly, it can paint an interesting picture when you lay out the relationships between major social...
How to Use Stories to Change the World
June 8, 2010, 10:20 amIf you have a blog, you tell stories. You may have dealt with the frustration of not having very many people see your stories, of not having enough subscribers or readers. Nevertheless, you keep on documenting your life in your blog posts, your Facebook status updates, your Twitter feed. You tell your stories and hope people will hear you. You're...
Google Launches Tools to Get People Using Wave More
June 8, 2010, 10:09 amGoogle has launched a new set of tools to increase user interaction with Google Wave. Among the tools are a "WaveThis" button, a "WaveThis" bookmarket and a chrome extension. Google Wave was introduced last year, and a lot of hype was built up around it. Very few people actually had access to it for a while, but eventually more and more people got...
WMT: Displaying Soft 404 Errors
June 8, 2010, 10:08 am"Today we're releasing a feature to help you discover if your site serves undesirable 'soft' or 'crypto' 404s."
Social Networks Get More Visits than Search Engines in UK
June 8, 2010, 10:03 amAlright Google has nothing to worry about here. Hitwise's latest report showing the social networking sites and forums such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter got more visits than search engines is applicable only in the UK. According to Hitwise , during May 11.88% of UK Internet visits go to social networs while only 11.33% go to search engines....
Five things you have to do to get high Google rankings
June 8, 2010, 9:36 amIf you want to get high rankings on Google and other search engines, you must do the right things to succeed. You have to work on many different factors to make sure that your website performs better than the sites of your competitors. This week's article helps you to check the five most important points.
Pilgrim’s Picks for June 8 – World Cup Edition
June 8, 2010, 9:11 am
With the FIFA World Cup kicking off in just a few days, the search engines are getting in on some of the action. And, among all the iPhone 4 hype, Bing’s search engine sneaks in as the #3 search option on the mobile device–Google still remains the default.
Yahoo Tries To Score With Football Fans By Teaming Up With...
Facebook Improves Analytics, Should Help Businesses Monetize
June 8, 2010, 9:05 amAt this point, most businesses have probably come to the realization that they are missing out on some serious opportunities if they do not have a Facebook presence. Facebook is showing that it will keep growing , despite all of the recent privacy concerns capturing the media's attention, and more and more sites across the web continue to get...
Twitter Advertises For Washington Liaison
June 8, 2010, 9:05 amLate last week, Twitter announced that it had 205 employees. Now, the company is searching for number 206, and he (or she) won't be your average engineer. Twitter is instead breaking new ground by seeking a government liaison to represent it in Washington, D.C. A job posting explained, "Twitter is looking for an experienced, entreprenurial...
IMDb Reaches Deal With MovieTickets.com
June 8, 2010, 9:05 amMovieTickets.com has reached a multi-year agreement to exclusively provide online movie tickets for Amazon.com's IMDb Under terms of the agreement, ticket buyers searching for movies and movie showtimes on IMDb are now able to purchase tickets via a co-branded site for theaters affiliated with MovieTickets.com. This offers ticket buyers access to...
How Good SEO Makes You Dumber
June 8, 2010, 8:58 amAs SEO practitioners and content writers, we are taught to do two things with regularity when creating: link internally with great frequency, and also do our best to spread the link love by linking out to others. The SEO and time-on-page fundamentals that these things revolve around haven't changed, but much of our thinking about what this does...
Tick Tock: The Limitations of Average Time on Page and Average Time on Site in Google Analytics [EXPERIMENT]
June 8, 2010, 8:58 amI've been told that I don't have a very good poker face, and I'm ok with that. I find it actually helps my clients, since they can tell almost immediately when I don't agree with something or when a point needs more clarification. For example, there are times I see marketers heavily focus on time-based metrics like Time on Page and Time on...
What you can learn from PTC's long journey to community
June 8, 2010, 8:53 amby Josh Bernoff PTC is a company with 5,000 employees and 25,000 customers. It makes CAD (computer aided design) and PLM (product lifecycle management) software. The story of what it took for PTC to create a customer community is instructive, because it's not a straight line. In real companies, it's not easy to create social applications, so...
Wordstream Launching Free White Label Versions of Three Keyword Tools
June 8, 2010, 8:18 amI have reviewed free awesome tools by Wordstream and we all have agreed that all the keyword research tools are simply awesome. And here's one more great update: let your site readers use the tools as well! Make your site more useful and interactive by embedding the free Wordstream tools to your pages! Yes, you hear that right. Wordstream is...
Get Help with Competitor and Keyword Research with SEJ Tools Research Assistant
June 8, 2010, 8:18 amI have mentioned many times how SEJ Tools help you with keyword research and competitive research through multiple built-in third-party tools. This week I am sharing how all those keyword research tools and data can be aggregated through SEJ Tools Research Assistant feature. The Research Assistant feature is divided into three sections: Domain...
Why you think you have nothing to say
June 8, 2010, 8:18 amby Mike Moran
I am constantly talking to business people, with companies large and small, and I often give them the same advice about Internet marketing, and search marketing in particular: Tell what you know so your customers can learn from your expertise. You can put that expertise on Web pages, on a blog, in tweets, in a YouTube video, a...
Why Writing For The Web Ought To Be More Important
June 8, 2010, 7:59 am"WebmasterWorld Members discuss whether adequate importance is given to the old adage of 'content is king.' The value of the written word should be given far more attention by webmasters."
Ten Online Reputation Management Tips BP Can Use Today
June 8, 2010, 7:47 am
Don’t you hate it when bloggers complain about a company’s actions, yet don’t offer any advice or alternative solutions?
That’s kind of what I did yesterday–when criticizing BP. Well, shortly after publishing that post, I turned to Twitter and started tweeting random ideas that BP could use to be...
Im April Wurden in Deutschland Mehr als 9 Milliarden Videos Online Angesehen
June 8, 2010, 7:33 amcomScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), eines der führenden Unternehmen im Bereich der Messung der digitalen Welt, veröffentlichte heute Daten des comScore-Dienstes Video Metrix. Daraus wird ersichtlich, dass im April 2010 43,4 Millionen Internet-User in Deutschland jeweils mindestens ein Video online betrachtet haben. Im Vergleich zum vergangenen Jahr...
Using Crowdsource Marketing Without Aiding Your Competitors
June 8, 2010, 7:30 amIt almost sounds magical–a system with an on-demand supply of incredibly cheap labor (pennies for many tasks) that is available by simply posting a request on a Web site. Amazon’s Mechanical Turk and other crowdsourcing sites have revolutionized the way companies do intensive manual labor on computing tasks. So, you might want to...
Google Cloud Print's Arrival Getting Closer
June 8, 2010, 7:22 amGoogle has provided an update on the Google Cloud Print service it announced back in April. Google Cloud Print was described as a service that would allow any desktop, web, or mobile app on any device to print to any printer that the user sets up. Google now says development is progressing quickly, and they're testing the service internally....
Real time image search
June 8, 2010, 7:22 amReal time search is at its most powerful when it comes to breaking news. And I often find myself filtering the results to get to the photos. A picture is worth a thousand words and real time images from the oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico or the soccer world championship in South Africa is a powerful way to plug into what's happening. No real...
Gmail and Google Buzz Get Google Maps Previews
June 8, 2010, 7:17 amGoogle has released a new Gmail Labs feature that lets you preview Google Maps within Gmail and Google Buzz.
"I often receive emails containing addresses in them — where to meet for dinner, the location of my friend's new apartment, etc. To find out where these places actually are, I have to copy the address, open up Google Maps, and...
Why Apple’s iAd Didn’t Steal 50% of US Mobile Ad Spend
June 8, 2010, 6:33 am
While the hype may have surrounded the oh-so-cool iPhone 4 announcement, Apple CEO Steve Job’s also revealed that its recently announced iAd mobile ad platform was doing quite well.
Not only has Apple secured big-name advertisers–such as AT&T, Best Buy, GE, JCPenney, Nissan, Sears, State Farm, Target, and The...
Flag searches reflect the patriotic mood
June 8, 2010, 6:14 amYou can't have failed to notice the number of flags flying in the UK over the last few weeks. Many of those hanging from cars, pubs and windows across the land are England flags, but other nations are represented as well. The reason behind the sudden outburst of national pride is, of course, the World Cup. And like any 'real world' phenomena these...
How a 3 Month Old Website Received 958,373 Visits from Google
June 8, 2010, 6:11 amMore good stuff from Viperchill.
25 Brutal Truths About SEO, Google & Main Stream Media
June 8, 2010, 3:52 amImage by spaceamoeba . Many people in the SEO industry write list posts about SEO myths . The authors always want to debunk myths but why repeat the myths over and over in the first place? Why not just speak out the brutal truth instead? Is it because people love myths? Is it because people love to believe in the myths they are taught? Several...
Submit SEO Problems For Distilled To Solve
June 8, 2010, 3:48 amHowdy Distilled fans – this is just a short post. We’re looking to try out a new format for blog posts in the near future where we either do a video or screencast to go through some more practical examples and problems that websites face. We want to make sure our advice is dealing with real issues that people face so to help us do that...
We've officially acquired AdMob!
June 8, 2010, 2:10 amLast Friday, we said that mobile advertising was moving fast. So are we! Today, we closed our acquisition of AdMob. Omar Hamoui has built a great team and great products at AdMob and we're thrilled to officially welcome them to Google. We'll now begin the process of bringing our products and teams together in the best way, and building new...
Microsoft Launches Office on SkyDrive
June 8, 2010, 1:58 am"Office Web Apps on SkyDrive are now available to everyone in the US, UK, Canada, and Ireland."
Google Maps Devours Second Click
June 8, 2010, 1:41 amIn the past when I claimed that the Google Maps insertion in organic search results wasn't more organic search but rather a Google promotion, I was met with skepticism by some, who argued that Google Maps was just another flavor of organic search and visitors would still be able to go to the end ranked website. If you search for something on...
RewriteRule's Split Personality Explained
June 8, 2010, 12:15 amPosted by MichaelC Apache webservers have a really cool and useful little feature called RewriteRule . It's sometimes referred to as the Swiss Army Knife of URL manipulation, because it's got two very important, often-used abilities: URL rewriting : turning dynamic, parameterized URLs into readable, keyword-loaded URLs 301s : to tell the browser...
How To Spread Your Message Online
June 8, 2010, 12:09 amSpreading any message online right now takes times and patience but even more so it really takes dedication and firm grasp on how to pick the right channels online to market your business or yourself through. There are many things you can be doing online to build exposure and they should all be utilized in some way. Here are some examples of how...
Yahoo Trims Search Staff
June 7, 2010, 11:45 pm
With the September integration of the bing / Yahoo getting closer, Yahoo is making moves to prepare for its taking a back seat in the search function to bing’s engine and the team who handles it.
TechCrunch reports that there are no details on numbers but they did hear from Yahoo with the following
“Yahoo! remains focused on...
Facebook Will Have Plenty of People to Put in Front of Marketers
June 7, 2010, 11:30 pm
In the last month there has been more than a little discussed regarding Facebook and privacy. There have been reactions that range from industry famous folks deactivating accounts to some deleting their accounts and everyone, including myself, having an opinion. Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg has become everyone’s...
Best Practice For Website Maximum Fixed Width
June 7, 2010, 9:10 pm"I'm looking for the maximum fixed width I can go on a websites and still be compatible across almost all resolutions/monitors."
Apple Adds Bing to Safari, Prelude to Ditching Google?
June 7, 2010, 8:59 pmApple's Steve Jobs announce many new and exciting things during his keynote speech for WWDC event this morning. One announcement related to search was of course about the Apple including Bing as one of the search engine choices for its Safari browser. Take note, it's just "one of the search engine options" not yet the default browser. Still,
Is There a Doctor (Or 100,000) in the House?
June 7, 2010, 7:06 pmby Claudine Zap Need a doctor? Too bad. Turns out, they are a precious resource. With the passage of the healthcare bill, more people will be eligible for doctor visits. But that's also the problem: There aren't enough doctors to see all the newly insured. Various medical groups, including the Association of American Medical Colleges , have warned...
Content ID and Fair Use
June 7, 2010, 6:02 pmOver the past decade, the evolution of the Internet has altered the landscape for both traditional media companies and the doctrine of fair use, and the media industry has tried to keep up. The new ways that consumers create and distribute content are not a niche phenomenon. Hundreds of millions of people around the world now use the Web to...
9 Expert SEO Tips for Small Businesses
June 7, 2010, 4:47 pmI polled 9 of my professional SEO and social media colleagues for their insights of key SEO tactics and strategies that we should be addressing in our small businesses.
CT AG Launches Another Google Probe
June 7, 2010, 4:25 pmLawyers - and particularly lawyers who know a lot about privacy laws - might want to send their resumes to Google. It seems the company could use some extra legal representatives before long, given that Connecticut's attorney general has now started yet another investigation concerning the collection of sensitive WiFi data.
This means...
Apple Releases Safari 5
June 7, 2010, 4:04 pmSafari 5 boasts 30% faster speeds, more HTML5 support and the addition of Safari Extensions.
See you at SMX Advanced Seattle, June 8-9, 2010
June 7, 2010, 3:39 pmWell be at SMX Advanced here in Seattle starting tomorrow. We're looking forward to great sessions and hope to see you there. Please stop by to see us in our booth and heres a refresher of Microsoft speakers: Tuesday June 8 .
Bing Becomes iPhone Search Option
June 7, 2010, 3:27 pmAlthough Steve Ballmer did not, as some outlandish rumors asserted he would, make an appearance at WWDC 2010 today, Steve Jobs did say something important concerning Microsoft's search engine. Jobs indicated that Bing will now be an official search option on the iPhone. This could constitute a significant win for Microsoft in a couple of ways. ...
This Really Happened
June 7, 2010, 2:40 pmby Mike Krumboltz According to CNN, Elton John performed at Rush Limbaugh's recent wedding. Some are reporting that Sir Elton was paid $1 million to show up. Ahhh, now it makes a little more sense.
New in the Learning Center: adCenter Product Help
June 7, 2010, 2:22 pmBy now Im sure you, Dear Reader, have heard me mention the Learning Center over on the main Microsoft Advertising site. If youve never been there, nows a good a time to check it out given the launch of the new, user-friendly product help section . You may find yourself feeling a sense of deja vu while reading through it,
Apple Unveils iPhone 4, Shows Off New Features
June 7, 2010, 2:22 pmToday at the Apple Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco, after the unveiling of apps for Netflix, Farmville and Guitar Hero, Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone 4, just as everyone expected him to. Features of the device (based on these liveblogged notes from the keynote) include: - All New Design - Thinnest Smartphone ever - Stainless steel...
Steve Jobs Rattles Off Some Interesting Apple Stats
June 7, 2010, 2:22 pmSteve Jobs of course unveiled the new iPhone today, and some new iPhone apps were revealed as well. However, between these unveilings, a lot of interesting statistics were rattled off, so here is a round of up of those (via this liveblogged account of the keynote). - 8,500 native iPad apps in the app store. - 5 million books, at an average of 2.5...
MySpace Music Hires Former Veoh Chief
June 7, 2010, 2:19 pmThe inner workings of MySpace Music - along with a lot of stuff users see - may be in for a significant upgrade. The organization announced today that it's named Dmitry Shapiro, who earned a degree of fame as the founder and former CEO of Veoh, as its chief technology officer.
To provide a little background information: Veoh was a...
HubSpot Introduces New Social CRM Features
June 7, 2010, 2:17 pmInternet marketing software firm HubSpot has released new social media features aimed at helping companies increase their reach and improving prospect relationships.
HubSpot software now features social media lead intelligence, automatically connecting Twitter, LinkedIN and Facebook profiles to a company's leads, allowing marketers to lean about...
Attorneys General in Connecticut, Australia Challenge Google on WiFi Incident
June 7, 2010, 2:09 pmGoogle's WiSpy incident in which its Google Maps Street View cars accidentally collected bits of users' e-mail, browsing habits and other information from unsecured WiFi networks is continuing to get legs. As Google prepares to hand over some of the 600 gigabytes of data it collected to Germany, France and Spain, attorney generals in the U.S. and...
Jane Lynch Weds, Rafael Nadal Wins, MTV Music Awards Wow: What's the Buzz
June 7, 2010, 1:04 pmby Claudine Zap Our top picks from the day's hottest searches. MTV Music Awards (Searches increased by 846%). Some of the buzziest moments have to be watched to be believed. New iPhone 2010 (+761%). The next generation iPhone is expected to be unveiled today . Weekend Box Office (319%). For the third weekend in a row, no movie can touch the green...
Netflix, Farmville Coming to the iPhone
June 7, 2010, 12:58 pmNetflix launched on the iPad earlier this year, and CEO Reed Hastings said that it's quickly becoming one of the most popular platform. That's why during the keynote at the Apple Worldwide Develoepr Conference today (via this liveblogged account of it ), he announced that Netflix for the iPhone would be coming this summer. The timing of a Netflix...
Google Gives YouTube Advertisers Campaign Insights Tool
June 7, 2010, 12:16 pmLast year Google launched Campaign Insights for AdWords. This is at tool for advertisers to see data about their campaigns’ performance. Google has now launched this tool for YouTube ad campaigns.
It's only available for campaigns that are reserved in advance, and not those bought in the AdWords auction. YouTube says it can only measure...
Internet Users Over 50 Prefer Facebook
June 7, 2010, 11:53 amMore than a quarter (27%) of Americans age 50 and over use social media websites, with Facebook being the most popular, followed by MySpace, LinkedIn and Twitter, according to new research from the AARP. "The latest data tells us that more and more, social networking is becoming a part of everyday life for Americans 50+, and boomers in...
Microsoft Kills Bing CashBack, A Great Idea With Gaping Loopholes
June 7, 2010, 11:42 amMicrosoft said it will "bid farewell" to its Bing Cashback feature on July 30, 2010, citing lower-than-expected adoption. However, looking closer at the situation, it appears that the program may well have been a victim of its own success. Read on.Click to read the rest of this post...
Yahoo Steps Up Social And Content Strategy With Facebook Deal
June 7, 2010, 11:30 amAfter having integrated Twitter to its user interface, Yahoo announced it has also entered an agreement with Facebook to cross-share content and social interaction on their respective platforms.Click to read the rest of this post...
Why "Business as Usual" Doesn't Work and The Art of Remarkable
June 7, 2010, 11:23 amFollowing up on Sonia's report 8 Reasons Why Rich People Hate Their Lives , we've got two exceptional interviews with a couple of healthy, wealthy, and wise gentlemen. You know them as novelist Steven Pressfield (author of The War of Art and The Legend of Bagger Vance ) and entrepreneur Jason Fried (president of 37signals and co-author of Rework...
Users Who Spend More Time On Facebook, Spend More Money Online
June 7, 2010, 11:11 amAccording to the latest report by eMarketer , on Facebook, the visitors who spend the most time on the site also spend the most dollars on online shopping, with an average of $67 in spending for the top 20% of visitors. Users who don't use Facebook at all spent an average of only $27 during this time. Twitter users were a litte bit different in...
Six Apart Acquires NaturalPath Media
June 7, 2010, 11:11 amSix Apart, the company behind TypePad, has announced the acquisition of NaturalPath Media , an online ad/media network geared toward "sustainable, healthy, and conscious lifestyles." Some of its more popular sites include: DrGreene.com, GreenLivingIdeas.com, ScientificAmerican.com and EcoSalon.com. NaturalPath claims to be the largest green and...
Study Breaks Down The Demographic Of Bloggers
June 7, 2010, 11:11 amSocial Media monitoring company, Sysomos has just released a study in which they analyzed over a 100 million blogs and reported data on age, gender and location of bloggers. Below is a summary of their findings: Most bloggers are 21-35 years old 51% of all blog posts are written by females USA contributes to a third of all blog posts, followed by...
Going to SES Toronto 2010 to See New Products
June 7, 2010, 10:52 amI'll be flying into Canada on Wednesday to attend SES Toronto 2010. Yes, yes, I'll be going to conference sessions to keep up-to-date on trends and issues, but I'll also be spending time in the expo hall to see new products.Click to read the rest of this post...
Are You Too Lazy to Write Less?
June 7, 2010, 10:36 amHow long should an article or a blog post be? How about a sales letter? The answer is, of course: "As long as necessary. And no longer. " Obvious, right? Most writers know that brevity is crucial. In writing, like many things in life, "less is more." But in writing and in Texas BBQ, we tend to over-indulge. We don't need the extra words any more...
What Would You Do to Get to BlueGlass LA?
June 7, 2010, 10:24 amI'm sure by now, you've heard of the joint conference coming up from Search & Social and 10e20 called BlueGlass LA . We ran a few contests for our previous conference, Search & Social Spring Summit, and have decided to do the same for this one. I was thinking, and pondering, and thought this would be a contest everyone would have lots of fun...
Independent Affiliate Networks vs Large Affiliate Networks
June 7, 2010, 10:03 amThere are few widely-popular affiliate marketing networks you know and probably have accounts with. Besides that, there are plenty of smaller new (independent) affiliate networks you always feel tempted to join and give a try.
How Distilled celebrated 5 years of success…
June 7, 2010, 9:57 am
A few months back was the official 5th Birthday for Distilled (24th March 2010, to be precise) but there was so much going on – you know, the usual stuff: the directors having babies, the opening of our American office… It was a busy time.
Duncan mentioned to me in a meeting that he didn’t want the birthday to go by without a...
Wireframing And Website Prototyping: Best Free Tools To Design Your Website
June 7, 2010, 9:48 amWebsite prototyping and wireframing tools can help you sketch out and draft your overall website architecture without the need to hire a web designer to do it. For this reason, wireframing is the first step one should consider when designing a new website. In this MasterNewMedia guide you will find the best free tools available out there for...
Bing Maps Gets New Features, SDK for Apps
June 7, 2010, 9:44 amMicrosoft announced some new additions to Bing maps today. These additions, the company says, will benefit both developers and end-users. The first addition is that of a software development kit for building Map apps for Bing Maps. "Bing Map Apps are web services that are being integrated as an application layer within Bing Maps," says Bing Maps...
Cannes Lions 2010 â" Interview with CEO Phil Thomas #CannesLions
June 7, 2010, 9:38 amJust two weeks to go until we kick off our coverage of the International Advertising Festival in the south of France. Our team will be there on the ground interviewing delegates and speakers, blogging the seminars and talking oodles of pictures to bring the week alive for all of our readers who can't make it to the Palais des Festivals (Bing Maps...
Will Google TV Help Marketing?
June 7, 2010, 9:27 amWhat we know about Google TV is only a small piece of the pie, but it's safe to say Google's next technology innovation will reach millions of people who already use Google Search, Docs, Gmail, Google Earth, and more Web technologies every day. The leading search engine and marketing company is not new to the Web, but they are new to TV. What...
Consumer Groups Call For Stronger Online Privacy Measures
June 7, 2010, 9:21 amIn response to a discussion draft of a new privacy bill now under consideration by the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet, ten privacy and consumer groups today called for stronger measures to protect consumer privacy both online and off. The organizations including the Consumer Federation of America, Electronic...
Join Me at PubCon Masters Group Training in Austin this July!
June 7, 2010, 9:21 am
I love PubCon. You love PubCon. We all love PubCon!
But, let’s face it, sometimes PubCon can feel, well, a little overwhelming. After all, there are so many great sessions, so many parrellel tracks, that it can be hard to figure out just where you need to be.
So, PubCon founder Brett Tabke has come up with the solution....
Five tips on getting your video into Google News
June 7, 2010, 9:20 amGoogle News can really be a great traffic driver. Now Google News is also integrated in Universal Search it gets even more interesting to get your content out there. How about getting your video content in Google News?
Now accepting entries for the 2010 Forrester Groundswell Awards
June 7, 2010, 9:16 amWe first started the Forrester Groundswell awards in 2007. What a great run! We've seen applications like the one that the amazing Pete Williams used to raise a million dollars for recovery from Australian brush fires and the one that remade the rules for NASCAR . And for the people who created these award-winning applications, the awards have...
Live Now: Yahoo! World Cup Schedule Shortcuts
June 7, 2010, 9:09 amAs we promised last month , we are launching Shortcuts that give you upcoming schedules for a specific team, group or match. Try searching for " worldcup schedule ", " Slovenia vs US schedule ", " brazil soccer " and " group B schedule " and get the schedule you're looking for right on the Yahoo! Search results page. You can easily access scores,...
Dear BP: Fix the Oil Leak First, Then Your Reputation
June 7, 2010, 9:04 am
“BP: Stock rises after it reports oil spill progress”
That’s the headline from a CNN story today.
And that’s the bottom line for BP executives. They can run all the TV ads they want, take-out all the full page print ads in the world, pour money into Google AdWords, and tweet until their heart is content,...
NYT: Blogs Are an Important Part of Our News Report
June 7, 2010, 9:04 amIn a recent article, we asked, " Should mainstream media be held to different standards than bloggers when it comes to crediting sources?" This question stemmed from an incident in which Blogger Danny Sullivan broke a news story , only to have mainstream media publications run with it without giving him credit. This happens all the time with both...
Australia Initiates Google WiFi Data Investigation
June 7, 2010, 9:04 amGoogle's attempts to appease the international community with regards to its collection of sensitive WiFi data don't seem to have paid off. Instead, the Attorney-General of Australia, Robert McClelland, announced this weekend that a new investigation has begun. McClelland indicated that this is not some corporate witch hunt conducted by a few...
Google MayDay Update â" A Closer Look At Impact
June 7, 2010, 8:58 amBy now, most of us know about the big change Google performed this past month to the algorithm known as the "Mayday" update. We know also that it directly affected deeper page content and long tail SEO. Several people, including Brett Snyder over at SEER Interactive have come out with opinions on its impact on their sites, with mixed messages...
Revisiting Your Links Page
June 7, 2010, 8:35 amThere has been an evolution in the practice of link building in the past couple of years. We used to put in hours of agonizing, probably late night, research for potential link exchanges, standing on our heads looking for non-spammy ways of asking for reciprocal links (struggling over how to spell 'reciprocal' each time), mostly with little return...
How Content Syndication Can Backfire
June 7, 2010, 8:30 amIn the present world of SEO (and internet marketing in general) we all know that the 'build it and they will come' approach just ain't going to cut it. One way to get the word out and even build some authority is the use of content syndication. This is generally in the form of RSS. And a LOT of us use this approach. Did you know that this...
With Blogs vs. Traditional Media, Labels Should Not Dictate Trust
June 7, 2010, 8:29 amIn a recent article, we asked, "Should mainstream media be held to different standards than bloggers when it comes to crediting sources?" This question stemmed from an incident in which Blogger Danny Sullivan broke a news story, only to have mainstream media publications run with it without giving him credit. This happens all the time...
Visuwords: Research Word Meanings and Their Relationships
June 7, 2010, 8:12 amVisuwords⢠in a web-based tool that helps you research the meanings of the word, the connection between those meanings and associations with other words and concepts. Visuwords uses Princeton University's WordNet (the tool has already been mentioned by me in my post on starting keyword research ), an open source database built by University...
Improving The Admin Experience
June 7, 2010, 7:40 am"Today I was doing the same old mundane maintenance tasks on a site that is a grueling task of stepping through thousands of pieces of data, back and forth, extra windows opening and closing, a real tiresome bunch of clicking and waiting."
Yahoo Looks to “Create Central Hub for People’s Online Lives”
June 7, 2010, 6:12 am
The headline comes directly from Yahoo’s Yodel Anecdotal blog. Sounds ambitious and it is. The cornerstone of this effort is the full integration of Facebook into Yahoo’s social “system”. The announcement of this update is the biggest change to come from Yahoo after making an agreement with Facebook back in December of...
SEO Linking From My Site To Theirs
June 7, 2010, 6:10 am"WebmasterWorld Members discuss the ethics and value of an SEO company adding links from the site they are working on to their own."
Yahoo's New Integration with Facebook
June 7, 2010, 6:07 amLate last year, Yahoo entered an agreement with Facebook, and we are now seeing the results. Yahoo has begun integrating Facebook deeply into its properties.
Yahoo users can now link their Facebook accounts directly to Yahoo, and view/share updates with their friends across both Yahoo and Facebook. Users can see their Facebook News Feed on the...
Bing’s Cashback Program Shuttered
June 7, 2010, 5:24 am
Believe it or not, it has been just about one year already since bing was brought to life by Microsoft. Out of the gate there was significant buzz and plenty of hopeful Microsoft folks and industry pundits who thought that maybe, just maybe, there was a threat to Google’s search dominance. In many ways, bing has made some...
Cannes Lions 2010 â" Interview with CEO Phil Thomas
June 7, 2010, 5:04 amJust two weeks to go until we kick off our coverage of the International Advertising Festival in the south of France. Our team will be there on the ground interviewing delegates and speakers, blogging the seminars and talking oodles of pictures to bring the week alive for all of our readers who can't make it to the Palais des Festivals (Bing Maps...
Ten Years of Venture Capital: Just Getting Started
June 7, 2010, 4:59 amOver this weekend I celebrated my tenth anniversary as a Venture Capitalist. When I joined August Capital 10 years ago, things weren't so different than they are today. There had been a period of real exuberance in venture investing but it had come to an unceremonious end. The momentum in momentum investing had run out of steam. And it was back to...
New Google AdWords Training Course
June 7, 2010, 4:47 amBack when I got into SEO part of the reason I wasn't too into PPC back then was because I had limited cash, but another big reason I wasn't big on it was because it seemed so simple and boring. Over the past couple years that has changed a lot! Today Google AdWords is far more complex than SEO was in 2003. With that complexity there are additional...
Adobe Alerts Of Flash Player and Adobe Reader Vulnerability
June 7, 2010, 3:26 am"There are reports that this vulnerability is being actively exploited in the wild against both Adobe Flash Player, and Adobe Reader and Acrobat."
Yahoo to Roll Out Facebook Integration
June 7, 2010, 1:29 am"This means you can see your Facebook News Feed from your Yahoo! homepage, Yahoo! Mail, and other favorite Yahoo! sites and services."
Maximizing Conversions By Offering Multiple Conversion Options
June 7, 2010, 1:18 amPosted by RobOusbey When you're told that certain visitors can never be converted, you need a new type of conversion - and need to make sure those visitors get the opportunity to convert without it looking like a 'second best' option. There's a tactic that I've recently seen used in a few very different industries; I wanted to share this with you,...
Local Search Marketing Is Evolving
June 7, 2010, 12:10 amLocal search marketing has really evolved and changed over the last few years and I think we are going to continue to see some really radical changes in the industry in the coming years. There have been businesses that have literally exploded with growth from websites like Twitter and Facebook and I am sure we will hear more of these success type...
Google Brings In Beehives
June 6, 2010, 8:04 amFirst, dogs were allowed in the offices. Next, goats were brought in to cut the grass. Now, bees have also made their way onto Google's property, with four new hives arranged at a safe distance to raise awareness about Colony Collapse Disorder (and supply employees with honey and wax). With regards to the most serious reason for this move, Marc...
Pandia Search Engine News Wrap-up June 6
June 6, 2010, 7:24 amMore news headlines from the world of search engines! The Australian Federal Police tackle Google An official Australian investigation into the search giant's Wi-Fi privacy debacle has launched. (apc June 6 2010) Google using search engine to muscle into Internet businesses, study finds Universal Search favors Google's properties with prominent...
Google adds images to home page
June 6, 2010, 6:22 amGoogle lets you add a background photo to their home page. Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, they say. In fact, much of the most productive innovation taking place in the business sector is copying, and we are not they ones to complain if copying leads to a better search experience. We actually think Bing's home page looks great. The...
Digital Marketing Between the Lines and a Special Offer for MP Readers
June 5, 2010, 11:30 pm
This post is about sports and marketing. I say that so you non-sports types can bail if you like but I suggest you stick around just from a marketer’s point of view. Sports are one of those things. As a marketer you don’t have to be a fan but you have to understand how it reaches people and how people (prospects and customers)...
Johnny's Copyblogger Wrap-Up: Week of May 31, 2010
June 5, 2010, 11:32 amLast week , Brian threatened to replace me as the writer of the Copyblogger Weekly Wrap-Up. All because I left for vacation without writing up the second post from last Friday, and chose instead to lay on the beach ogling bikini girls. The ensuing confrontation on Monday was quite heated. "Yeah, I ditched ' what are you going to do about it?" "I...
Cup of Joe: Online Reputation Management is Easier
June 5, 2010, 7:15 am
That’s right it’s easier.
Easier than what?
Well it’s not as easy as writing silly poems. But it’s probably easier than capping underwater oil spills. And, apparently it’s easier than umpiring a baseball game. But one thing it is most definitely easier than it is: off-line reputation management.
Yup...
Small Business Lessons from Lolcats?
June 5, 2010, 7:00 amDo you think lolcats are silly? You may be right, but that doesn't mean they can't provide important business lessons (if you can get lessons from Justin Bieber, why not lolcats?).
At Google I/O a couple weeks ago, WebProNews spoke with Ben Huh, CEO of the Cheezburger network, which operates the hugely popular I Can Has Cheezburger? lolcats...
Google Mayday Update Confirmed
June 5, 2010, 6:43 amIt is confirmed by Matt Cutts at Google that around the end of April and beginning of May Google rolled out an change to the search engine algorithm that primarily affected long tail searches. Apparently this is all about improving quality of long tail search and does not have anything to do with the much awaited Google caffeine update. Anyway,
Bulk Register.com & eNom Customers: Demand Media CEO Richard Rosenblatt Reveals Hidden Cost
June 5, 2010, 12:07 amThe third reason we really like [eNom] is because the data, right. Almost 10% of the entire web hits our servers. At least 10 million domains. In a world like the web, where everybody is everywhere, trying to figure out what people are doing, particularly in the longtail this is a really exciting source of data. If the domain name data leakage...
Google Street View WiFi Data Collection Lawsuit Amended
June 4, 2010, 11:53 pm"A just-amended complaint in a class-action lawsuit first submitted two weeks ago claims that a patent Google submitted to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in November 2008 shows that the search giant purposefully created technology to gather, analyze and use data sent by users over their wireless networks."
Google's Current Incarnation: How The 'cute little G' Has Grown Up
June 4, 2010, 9:55 pm"Google has gone from being a sort of "partner" to being a sort of "competitor", and it's not a happy change because they're the bull elephant and we're the china in the room."
The Gores, Guatemala, and an Ad for McDonald's: Buzz Week in Review
June 4, 2010, 8:10 pmby Michael Krumboltz A shocking separation! An astonishing sinkhole! A controversial commercial! Below, we sum up some of the week's hottest stories. You might want to go ahead and drop your jaw now. Al and Tipper call it quits Former Vice President Al Gore and his wife, Tipper , announced that they were separating after 40 years of marriage.
"Splice" Girl: Meet Delphine Chaneac
June 4, 2010, 6:56 pmby Claudine Zap We have seen the future. And wow is she weird looking. The sci-fi movie " Splice " is getting plenty of attention for the topic â" genetic cloning â" and its two main stars, Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley . But it's a supporting actor who is generating the most buzz: Otherworldly beauty Delphine Chaneac , who plays the...
Best of Digg: May Comments
June 4, 2010, 6:39 pmAmong the most Dugg comments of the month is this one , about arguably the biggest recent news story: the monumental FAIL that has been the Gulf of Mexico oil "spill" and subsequent clean-up effort. (Of course, you kinda need to see what the commenter is referring to ], but given the subject at hand it's obviously something wicked crazy, stupid...
Say Goodbye to Bing Cashback feature
June 4, 2010, 5:36 pmIf you've been using Bing cashback feature for discounts on your online shopping, we've got some bad news for you - Bing cashback will stop from operating by July 30, 2010. So, that means you've got barely two months to enjoy using the feature and reap whatever benefits that you can from it. According to Bing , while the cashback feature may have...
Microsoft Cashes in Bing Cash Back
June 4, 2010, 4:47 pm"...we will be retiring the Bing cashback feature, which means that the last day you can earn cashback will be July 30, 2010."
Twitter Crests 200-Employee Mark
June 4, 2010, 4:39 pmIt's a good thing Twitter obtained new headquarters in October of last year, or else employees would probably be compelled to stack their cubicles and/or do sardine imitations at this point. A Twitter VP announced this afternoon that the company now has 205 employees, and that fact indicates a whole lot of hiring has been taking place. Sean...
SEO site review session from Google I/O 2010
June 4, 2010, 4:16 pmA couple weeks or so ago, we did an SEO site review session at Google I/O 2010 . The video from that session is now live: The video is about an hour long, but I hope it's a pretty good use of your time if you're interested in search engine optimization. Enjoy!
Spring Cleaning
June 4, 2010, 3:53 pm5 things you should tidy up to improve account performance Editor's Note: This is the first of a series of posts we're calling "The Best of the YSM Blog." These are posts containing timeless advice and best practices that never go out of style. Even if you read it the first time, it's not a bad idea to review this information periodically to help...
Where Are They Now: The 'Star Wars Kid'
June 4, 2010, 3:36 pmby Mike Krumboltz He was one of the Web's first true superstars. But unlike other Internet celebrities, Ghyslain Raza , better known as " the Star Wars Kid ," never wanted the fame. Mr. Raza skyrocketed to geeky glory eight years ago when a video surfaced of him wielding a pseudo-light-saber from the "Star Wars" movies. The then-adolescent was a...
Search Marketing Thought-Leadership Recap, May 2010
June 4, 2010, 3:16 pmIt's been a short week, so you may not have got your full dose of SEW. So below is a full recap of our expert contributions for the month of May, 2010.
May was a huge month for us in the SEW boardroom, with many debuts from talented search marketers in the industry and also the launch of the saturday 'off beat' column. We're very privileged to...
A Social Tool for Actually Getting Things Done
June 4, 2010, 3:11 pmGoogle launched the Google Apps Marketplace in March, and it didn't take long for Manymoon to become the most installed application in it. Manymoon is a social productivity tool that helps businesses accomplish tasks online with their connections, and its Google app is only one of the options it provides.
Manymoon spoke at Google I/O a couple...
Microsoft Gives Up On Bing Cashback
June 4, 2010, 2:33 pmBribery, while useful, isn't always an effective means of obtaining a large user base, Microsoft has discovered. Microsoft announced today that it will retire the Bing cashback program because not enough people stuck around after taking advantage of it. The program did work in some respects, helping Microsoft establish relationships with a lot of...
comScore Ranks The Top Mobile Carriers
June 4, 2010, 2:10 pmThere were 234 million Americans who were mobile subscribers for the 3-month period ending in April, according to a new report from comScore. During that time, Samsung ranked as the top manufacturer with 22.1 percent share of U.S. mobile subscribers, up one point from the previous three-month period. LG ranked second with 21.9 percent share,...
Is Google TV Destined to Fail? Businesses Should Hope Not.
June 4, 2010, 2:10 pmApple CEO Steve Jobs thinks Google's television efforts with Google TV are going to fail. At least that's the impression he gave earlier in the week, speaking at All Things Digital's D8 conference when an audience member asked him about TV. Do you think Google TV is destined to fail, or does its outlook look better than its predecessors? Tell us...
Google's Toolbar PageRank is Being Updated
June 4, 2010, 1:53 pmThanks to confirmation from a post today by Barry Schwartz over at Search Engine Journal I can now state that what we are seeing at StepForth is not an aberration; there is a toolbar PageRank (PR) update happening. What does this mean for you? Nothing, unless your site's toolbar PR drops to zero for over a week and you see negative ranking...
BlueGlass LA : Super Online Marketing Conference
June 4, 2010, 1:35 pmBlueGlass LA , on July 19th & 20th, will be kicking off the new premier BlueGlass conference series by the teams of Search Engine Journal, Search & Social and 10e20. Moderated by Chris Winflield, Dave Snyder, Jordan Kasteler, Brent Csutoras & myself ... the speaker line up will be amazing, as well as the amazing location in West LA !
The New Megan Fox, Bud Selig's Call, Brooklyn Bridge Makeover: What's the Buzz
June 4, 2010, 1:24 pmby Claudine Zap Our top picks from the day's hottest searches. Rosie Huntington Whiteley (Searches increased by 1,429%). Meet Megan Fox's replacement on "Transformers 3." Bud Selig (+1,138%). The Baseball Commissioner says he won't reverse the bad call that messed up the pitch perfect Detroit Tigers game. Flip flops (1065%). If you're shopping for...
DoubleClick Invests In Real-Time Online Ads Bidding With Invite Media Buy
June 4, 2010, 12:37 pmGoogle's DoubleClick said it has acquired start-up Invite Media, a unified platform for "real-time bidding" and display of online media for an undisclosed sum.Click to read the rest of this post...
comScore Reports April 2010 U.S. Mobile Subscriber Market Share
June 4, 2010, 12:21 pmcomScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released data from the comScore MobiLens service, reporting key trends in the U.S. mobile phone industry during the three month period ending April 2010 compared to the preceding three-month period. The report ranked the leading mobile original equipment manufacturers...
Walmart To Offer Online Degrees For Its Workers
June 4, 2010, 12:04 pmWalmart is partnering with American Public University, an online, for profit school, to offer its employees college degrees. Walmart and Sam's Club employees in the U.S. will be able to earn a college degree at a discounted price through a combination of academic credit earned for Walmart job learning and experience, and online course work via APU.
Barclays Trims Google Estimates
June 4, 2010, 11:18 amSorry, Google shareholders, but a respected international investment bank has taken the view that Google won't do quite as well as previously forecast. Barclays lowered its estimates today, due at least in part to the fact the company won't directly sell the Nexus One anymore. Barclays now expects to see Google report pro forma earnings per share...
Which Will Be More Critical to Marketing: iPhone or Android?
June 4, 2010, 11:18 amWhile there are other mobile operating systems that shouldn't be ignored (Blackberry for one), there are two that seem to get the most attention, and that may end up competing most for user and marketer attention above the rest in the foreseeable future. These are of course the iPhone OS and the Android OS.
Which will you place more focus...
Study: SEO & SMM See 20%+ Budget Increases; Copywriting Out the Door?
June 4, 2010, 11:11 am
I love Econsultancy’s industry reports. They’re always chock full of interesting data and…pretty charts.
The latest UK Search Engine Benchmark Report is now out and it’s good news for those in SEO, PPC and Social Media Marketing (SMM).
First, social marketers will love this:
More than half the companies...
Local Search Localeze Launches Business Registration Manager To Boost Customer Confidence
June 4, 2010, 11:01 amLocaleze, the business listings identity management provider for local search, has launched its Business Registration Manager service that validates ownership of a business' online identity.
Click to read the rest of this post...
How to Build a Successful Business with a Small Audience
June 4, 2010, 10:04 amMore subscribers. More traffic. More followers. It's easy to get caught up in the race for more. More is better, right? We all want our businesses and blogs to grow. But not all growth is ideal or even beneficial. Sometimes blind growth can be harmful. More contacts and more eyeballs doesn't always mean better eyeballs . Would you rather have...
4 Key Strategies for Pimping Your Facebook Page
June 4, 2010, 9:52 amHaving a Facebook page can be an enormous business asset. By simply applying 4 key strategies to your Facebook page, you can set yourself apart from the "Me too!" marketers. Big companies have started turning towards Facebook pages as a marketing medium. In fact, some companies have done away with their conventional websites in favor of their...
Pilgrim’s Picks for June 4: Aloha Friday Edition
June 4, 2010, 9:30 am
It’s Aloha Friday, no work ’til Monday!
Whoops, wrong blog. Aw heck, seeing as we started off with a Hawaii theme, we may as well throw up a pretty picture and all dream of being in paradise.
While you sip your coffee (or in my case, Kauai Coffee Co’s “Big Braddah” blend) enjoy these news...
Google’s Schmidt: More “Terrible” to Stifle Creativity than to Harvest Credit Card Info?
June 4, 2010, 9:18 am
It’s been a few weeks since Google inadvertently collected private data from wifi hotspots–while taking its Street View images in Europe and Hong Kong. After initially resisting the requests of the German government to turn over the data, the search giant is now acquiescing to their demands.
Eric Schmidt, chief...
What the OExchange Protocol Means for Site Owners
June 4, 2010, 9:12 amThis week a new open protocol to simplify sharing, called OExchange was introduced. It was released by Clearspring Technologies, with support from Google, Microsoft, and LinkedIn. We talked with Google's Open Web advocate Chris Messina about how the protocol can benefit site owners and businesses. First, to get an idea of what OExhcange is about,
Google Gives In To European Regulators
June 4, 2010, 9:12 amBefore long, certain European regulators will get to see exactly what sort of information Google amassed when the company's Street View cars collected data sent over private WiFi networks. Google has decided to start turning over the data by the end of the week. Interestingly, Google hasn't yet decided to share anything with authorities in Hong...
More Americans Watching And sharing Online Video
June 4, 2010, 9:09 amMore than two-thirds (69%) of adult Internet users have used the Internet to watch or download video, representing 52 percent of all adults in the U.S., according to a new report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project.
Fifty percent of adult Internet users have viewed a comedy video online, up from 31 percent in 2007, and 38 percent...
Choosing the Best Affiliate Marketing Software Solution
June 4, 2010, 9:06 amThere seems to be more and more affiliate marketing software popping up there on the market, and it's pretty tough to pick one out of the bunch. Personally, I like anything that uses a 'nude linking' system, ie. not serving an affiliate link and tracking cookied referrals back to a verified source. However, this can be costly and is a little...
Google May Not Win AOL's Hand With Bing in the Hunt
June 4, 2010, 9:06 amThere was a time when handling search for AOL was a golden money-making opportunity, but that time is 5 years-plus past. AOL CEO Tim Armstrong, who in no small point of irony was Google's top ad sales gun in North America before he took the helm at AOL, said at the D8 conference his company is talking with multiple potential partners to secure a...
X-Ray Creates an HTML Map of Any Web Page (FireFox)
June 4, 2010, 8:48 amAs an SEO you may be taking the full advantage of FireFox's built-in "View source" option. I for one use it multiple times a day for any type of diagnostics. This post looks at a few ways to make viewing the source code of any page more usable. X-Ray X-Ray is a great FireFox addon that makes it much easier to compare the source code with an actual...
Last Day to Save $70 a month on Scribe
June 4, 2010, 8:42 amYour mission, should you choose to accept it: Get the Scribe Advanced Plan for only $27 a month " a $70 monthly savings off the regular price " when you use PROMO27 at checkout. Check out the deal and everything that's new with Scribe here . This message (and the offer) will self-destruct at 5:00 pm Central.
Google Display Ads Featuring Twitter Feeds
June 4, 2010, 8:34 am
It’s safe to assume that Google is getting more and more involved in making their display ads perform better. Why wouldn’t they since there are so many opportunities to generate more and more ad revenue each time the process is refined and made more attractive to advertisers.
Along those lines there are likely to be many...
Seven in 10 Adult Internet Users Have Watched or Downloaded Video Online
June 4, 2010, 8:18 amAccording to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 69 percent of adult Internet users have watched or downloaded video online. That represents 52 percent of all adults in the United States.Click to read the rest of this post...
What's Your Google Background Pic?
June 4, 2010, 8:14 amAs Google's post-fade-in homepage is almost becoming cluttered through the addition of a "Change background image" feature in the bottom left corner - one empty corner left! - I wanted to ask: What did you set your background picture to? Please post a screenshot in the comments (or explain why you don't feel like setting a pic). [Thanks...
Jason Calacanis Suggest 5 Things Facebook Can Do To Regain Trust
June 4, 2010, 8:00 am"We can all learn from these ideas."
Google Patent Application Focuses on Ad Formatting
June 4, 2010, 7:56 am
Google is looking to take the idea of ad customization to the next level based on a patent application filing made public yesterday. The application describes how Google is looking to recommend or determine the right format for a display ad including factors such as size of the ad, colors to be used in the ad and more.
Bnet...
Use Google Analytics custom segments to audit and improve search marketing
June 4, 2010, 7:39 amUse Google Analytics custom segments to audit and improve search marketing Anyone who has ever reviewed the keywords attracting visitors to a site will have seen that brand search terms usually dominate, often accounting for more than 50% of search related visits for well-known brands. Every site has associated brands, but to paraphrase Morrisey,...
How The Mainstream Media Stole Our News Story Without Credit
June 4, 2010, 7:08 amA great guide on how to request links from mainstream news that don't cite their sources properly, by Danny Sullivan: "So why am I pointing fingers in this case? To help keep things even. I think it’s very well known how traditional sources get cited by alternative ones. But while the opposite is true, that’s a story that’s rarely...
Apple Demonstrates HTML5
June 4, 2010, 7:04 am"Apple favours HTML5 over rival format Flash, and doesn't support Flash technology on its multimedia devices, such as the iPhone and iPad."
StumbleUpon Reaches 10 Million Users
June 4, 2010, 6:48 amStumbleUpon announced that it has reached a new milestone . It has acquired its 10 millionth user. The company broke away from eBay a little over a year ago. After that, it released its "web bar" feature as well as a new version of its Firefox add-on, a Chrome extension (which last month StumbleUpon claimed was one of the top 20 third-party...
9 Essential Social Media Tips for Beginners
June 4, 2010, 6:31 amPlunging into social media for the first time can be a bit daunting for individuals or businesses. There is a learning curve when it comes to becoming more social online, and it can take a while to learn what works and what doesn't. Here are a few of the best Do's and Don'ts that can save you time and help grow your social media authority more...
Using Google Analytics to prove the SEO Long tail theory
June 4, 2010, 4:59 amThis post uses data extracted from Google Analytics to prove the SEO long tail theory. Over double conversion rate from 1 phrase to 5 phrase query visits.
Londoners to get Free Ice Cream from Bing this Summer!
June 4, 2010, 4:18 amThe temperature is rising. British pupils have had an early taste of their upcoming holidays by escaping school for a week or so. Light dresses are out and everyone starts boasting red patches of sun-burnt skin You've got it: the summer is upon us in the UK. As some of you will be very busy leveraging the precious best practices about search...
Keyword List Comparison Tool
June 4, 2010, 2:53 amThis video is a review of one of our online SEO tools - the keyword list comparison tool , which makes it easy to compare up to 10 keyword lists against each other. This can be used to help determine the quality of keyword data sources , to pool data into a handy unified list, or to help understand the overlap in keyword strategy from competing...
Whiteboard Friday - Article Marketing + Submission for SEO
June 4, 2010, 12:46 amPosted by great scott! Content, content, content...everybody wants it, everybody needs it, and you're great at creating it, but maybe nobody's reading it. Since that brainy brain of yours is already pumping this stuff out, how can you leverage your great content to get some quick and easy links? There are all kinds of ways to distribute your...
Your Blog Builds More Than Visitors
June 4, 2010, 12:18 amA true dilemma for any aspiring business owner launching a new website, do I launch a blog, a website, both or just one? The reality is that every business should have a blog in today's day of commerce. A blog gives your traffic a reason for repeat interest while giving you a tool to leverage your voice that ultimately leads to good things for...
AdSense for Mobile Now Supports Other Ad Networks
June 3, 2010, 10:35 pmGoogle has just made it possible for publishers who are participating in their AdSense for Mobile apps to use third-party mediators . This means that if you're running AdSense for Mobile on your site, you can now use multiple ad networks simultaneously allowing you to reach a greater pool of advertisers. This will also help you focus more time on...
Missed Spellings in Searches
June 3, 2010, 10:24 pmby Vera H-C Chan Sometimes, it's not a misspelling, but a case of missed spelling. Hundreds upon thousands of unfamiliar words pelt people every day. Many go to search engines, like Yahoo!, to figure out the details of a story. And, as any kid schooled in phonics knows, if you don't know what a word is, sound out what you hear â" or, as is...
LiveStrong OR SpamStrong? You Decide!
June 3, 2010, 9:55 pmWant to Live Strong? You have to look strong. Start with a nice manly high & tight haircut livestrong.com/business_barber/ You have to be strong. Drink propane. 3 times daily. livestrong.com/propane/ You have to bulk up. Not steroids ! Feed the search engines their own search results. livestrong.com/business-don-and-tennas-hair-place_563-326-2277/...
Windows 7 Sells 100 Million Licenses
June 3, 2010, 9:49 pm"Just six months after its release, Windows 7 is now installed on one in 10 of the world's PCs, Microsoft has confirmed."
AOL Eyes New Search Deal with Google, Others
June 3, 2010, 9:10 pmWith its current search deal with Google set to expire, AOL is now looking for possible renewal of its deal with Google or possibly a new search deal with other interested search engine providers. AOL CEO Tim Armstrong said during the All Things D event that AOL has been evaluating what it needs out of the next search deal that it will enter into....
These Boots Were Made for Hot Weather: Top Summer Fashion Searches
June 3, 2010, 6:26 pmby Claudine Zap Now that you've dusted off the barbeque grill and switched on the AC, you might be wondering what to wear. If search is any indication, the look will be long, it will be white, and it will be paired with cowboy boots . Seriously. Summerista lookups on " summer dresses and cowboy boots " are rocking the Search box 1,000% in just one...
Greek, Splice, Marmaduke, Killers: Movie Review Roundup
June 3, 2010, 5:50 pmby Mike Krumboltz Hollywood is releasing four very different flicks this weekend. There's " Get Him to the Greek ," a raunchy comedy starring Jonah Hill and Russell Brand . For horror fans, " Splice ," feauturing Oscar winner Adrien Brody , may provide some gory thrills. Families with young kids and a high threshold for pain can take a chance on...
Google Buys Invite Media to Strengthen Display Ad Service
June 3, 2010, 5:38 pmGoogle's shopping spree continues with its latest acquisition being that of Invite Media , an ad tech startup which specializes in "real time bidding" technology that allows advertisers and ad agencies to buy display ad space and optimize their display ad campaigns across ad exchanges. The acquisition was confirmed by DoubleClick, the company...
Google Adds Android, iPhone Apps to Mobile Search Results
June 3, 2010, 5:16 pmThe next time you do a search on Google.com on your iPhone or any Android phone, don't be surprise to find search results that links to the Android Market or iTunes app store. Google has just started adding these direct download links to its Google for Mobile Search. The new feature is being rolled to U.S. mobile phone users first while users in...
AOL CEO Discusses Google, Search Deals
June 3, 2010, 4:59 pmAOL's current search deal with Google will expire in six and a half months, and although it looks like AOL's CEO, Tim Armstrong, would prefer to stick with the search giant, his options are supposedly not limited. Armstrong talked today about how things could go in several directions. To be fair, Armstrong was nothing but polite when speaking...
Dish Network Moves May Prove Beneficial for Google TV
June 3, 2010, 4:59 pmDish Network is making moves that may benefit Google. Dish Network was of course among the list of launch partners for Google TV, revealed at Google I/O a couple weeks ago. Dish Network will offer the service through its HD DVR boxes. Now AdAge reports that Dish Network is launching a major campaign to promote a new "Free HD for Life" service - a...
Marin Software Raises $11.2 Mln To Boost Development
June 3, 2010, 4:08 pmPaid search management company Marin Software said it raised $11.2 million in Series D financing through its capital investors -- Amicus Capital, Benchmark Capital, DAG Ventures, and Focus Ventures -- and new investor Triangle Peak Partners. Click to read the rest of this post...
TeachAIDS, and Leaving Google
June 3, 2010, 4:07 pmI recently decided to leave Google , after working there for more than six years. I joined in 2003, and it's safe to say that nobody knew where the company would end up just a few years later, and what an amazing journey we were on. Google has provided some of the best memories and friendships of my life. I am very grateful for the time I spent...
comScore to Webcast Analyst and Investor Day Presentations on June 7, 2010
June 3, 2010, 3:32 pmcomScore to Webcast Analyst and Investor Day Presentations on June 7,
comScore to Speak at Upcoming Investor Conferences in June
June 3, 2010, 3:32 pmOfficial "Facebook And Privacy" Page Launches
June 3, 2010, 3:15 pmThese days, remaining ignorant of privacy issues as they relate to Facebook is hard to do; even if the social network didn't communicate about these things, every policy tweak is documented by hundreds of articles. Just the same, Facebook's chosen to get more open about its stance on the subject by introducing a Facebook Page about privacy. The...
Gay-Friendly McDonald's Ad Goes Viral
June 3, 2010, 3:04 pmby Mike Krumboltz A new commercial for McDonald's in France is generating a tremendous amount of Buzz online. In the spot, a teenage boy sits in a McDonald's booth, looking at his class picture, when his phone rings. "I was just thinking about you," he says, with obvious affection. "I miss you, too" he replies, and then says that he has to go. His...
Security Firms Respond to "Google Dropping Windows" Report
June 3, 2010, 2:34 pmRumor has it that Google is not using Windows internally anymore, and security companies don't necessarily find this to be a great solution if security is the concern. More than one has emailed WebProNews with reactions to this story. The Financial Times posted a somewhat controversial article on Monday talking about Google phasing out the...
Social Media Users Aim To Influence Others
June 3, 2010, 2:34 pmNearly two-thirds (64%) of online Americans use social media, and the majority (84%) of social media users reveal information about themselves via social platforms, according to a new poll from Harris Interactive. Not only are many Americans sharing updates about their life (43%), what they are currently doing (36%), and places they are going...
Digg Technical Talks - Jack Dorsey
June 3, 2010, 2:24 pmWe've had some awesome speakers at Digg recently. This week Jack Dorsey the founder of Twitter and Square stopped by Digg to talk about the growth of Twitter and the resulting engineering and cultural challenges. He talks about applying the lessons learned there to his latest venture, Square. Fascinating stuff.
Yahoo Names Raymie Stata CTO
June 3, 2010, 2:12 pmYahoo named Raymie Stata as its new CTO today. Stata is a 5+ year veteran of Yahoo! and formerly its chief architect, and will be taking on the CTO role to oversee all of the company's advanced technologies and drive the technical direction of Yahoo, a representative for the company tells WebProNews. "Raymie has been instrumental in driving key...
Study Suggests Over Half Would Buy Android Tablet if Cheaper Than iPad
June 3, 2010, 2:12 pmA new study from Retrevo (over 1,000 non-Retrevo users) looks at interest in the iPad ahead of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference next week. The company emailed WebProNews with a round-up of significant findings. So without beating around the bush, let's just get to them.
Online Video Is Really The Next Big Thing [Study]
June 3, 2010, 1:45 pmWith the much publicized launch of Google TV, all eyes are now on internet TV growth and how it will impact both areas, i.e. the web and the television business. Cisco issued its Visual Networking Index forecast through 2014 and gives a thorough idea of the role of video in the internet landscape to come. Read on.Click to read the rest of this...
SEO Advice: Make a web page for each store location
June 3, 2010, 1:37 pmIf your company has a bunch of store locations, please don't hide that information behind a search form or a POST. If you want your store pages to be found, it's best to have a unique, easily crawlable url for each store. Ideally, you would also create an HTML sitemap that points to the web pages for your stores (and each web page should have a...
MySpace Partners with Ad.ly on In-Stream Ads
June 3, 2010, 1:19 pmMySpace announced today that it has struck a deal with Ad.ly, an ad service that serves in-stream advertisements, known mostly for its Twitter-related efforts. The deal will let content creators across MySpace (including celebrities, filmmakers, musicians and "social influencers") reach their fans and monetize their activity via the...
U.S. April Mobile Searches Get 90% Boost Via Apps, 50% Via Browsers; Social Networking Still Biggest
June 3, 2010, 1:09 pmWhile social networking gained the most penetration in U.S. mobile market use in April, searches also recorded hefty increases, both via apps and browsers, according to freshly released comScore data . Click to read the rest of this post.
If you screw up, they will trash you. There is no PR fix.
June 3, 2010, 12:39 pmby Josh Bernoff A Twitter account called @BPGlobalPR has been trashing and mocking BP for a while now. The new development is that he's blogging about what he's doing and why . What should BP do about this? Nothing. BP's first job is to fix the spill. Any other activity now is pointless and won't help. The PR department at BP's job is describe,...
Homer Simpson Is the Best, Florida Beaches Brace for Worst, Prince Harry Comes to NYC: What's the Buzz
June 3, 2010, 12:39 pmby Claudine Zap Our top picks from the day's hottest searches. Homer Simpson (Searches increased by 1,429%). The yellow cartoon dad was named best TV character in the past 20 years. Woohoo! Florida beaches (+1,213%). Remember the good old days, when all we feared were sharks ? Natalee Holloway (702%). Joran van der Sloot, once a suspect in the...
BlueGlass LA : Premier Online Marketing Conference from S&S and 10e20
June 3, 2010, 12:21 pmI'm very excited to announce today that Search & Social & 10e20 have joined forces to bring together a conference like no other, BlueGlass LA . The anticipated follow-up conference to the Search & Social Spring Summit, BlueGlass LA is a special collaboration between us & 10e20 (who announced yesterday that Brent Csutoras joined their team ) to...
Should Mainstream Media Be Held to Different Standards Than Bloggers?
June 3, 2010, 12:04 pmShould mainstream media be held to different standards than bloggers when it comes to crediting sources? Mainstream media agencies have frequently turned their noses up at bloggers, essentially claiming that they steal and repurpose the work of their hard working journalists. While this may be true in some cases, it is hardly fair to say that this...
Google And YouTube Launch New Campaign Toolkits
June 3, 2010, 11:42 amGoogle has introduced a "You Choose 2010 Campaign Toolkit" on YouTube and a new Google Campaign Toolkit, both aimed at helping candidates stay connected to voters. The YouTube Blog offers more information on the variety of tools available to candidates and their campaigns. "On YouTube , campaigns will have access to features like a Politician...
LinkedIn Hires Ex-Google Exec As Canada Head
June 3, 2010, 11:24 amAnyone who considered LinkedIn's physical expansion into Canada an odd or ill-thought-out move may want to think again. LinkedIn has been able to secure Jonathan Lister, the former country manager of Google Canada, as its own country manager in Canada. Lister will be responsible for establishing LinkedIn's first Canadian office, which will be...
Former Moderator Shakil Khan Raises Big Money for Charity
June 3, 2010, 10:35 am"...unsafe water and a lack of basic sanitation kills 42,000 people every week, That's more than all forms of violence, including war."
Traditional Agencies + Search Marketing: Are We There Yet?
June 3, 2010, 10:32 amThe great SEO and marketing divide Fifteen years ago, advertising and marketing agencies were doing market research for their clients, crafting targeted messages, and pumping out TV commercials, radio spots, direct mail pieces, magazine ads, billboards, bus ads and the occasional animated Punch the Monkey banner ad . The primary goal of these...
It Isn't Good Content Unless it's SEO'd Content
June 3, 2010, 10:25 amby Stoney deGeyter
People who believe that SEO is the devil's work have a point. Such proclaimers can stand side by side with those who say lawyers are bad, non-christian music is demonic and TV rots the brain. Sure, outlawing lawyers may make the world a better place, Miley Cyrus is corrupting our adulthood and you clearly must have had an...
How to find your content marketing focus
June 3, 2010, 10:21 amOne of the most most exciting things about SEO content marketing is that there are so many possibilities. Companies can start blogs, create white papers, produce an e-book, tweak their Titles, revise their content and tweet to their corporate heart's delight. Feel overwhelmed yet? I realized that with all this talk about, "see how many ways your...
Affiliate Marketing Software Solutions Review
June 3, 2010, 10:17 amAffiliate marketing software compared in the infographic using their stats in language anyone can understand. All you need to do is decide what you want from your software, and browse through the options.
Google AdWords Testing Twitter Display Ads
June 3, 2010, 10:15 amInteresting news on the integration of Twitter feeds into Google AdWords ads, as ClickZ's Douglas Quenqua has the scoop on a new secret project where a Twitter bird will be shown on some Google Ads along with the latest company Tweets. The implementation of feeds into Google advertising is nothing new, as the company currently allows for the...
Google Letting Users Color Their Google Homepages with Photos
June 3, 2010, 10:09 amGoogle said June 2 it will soon let users add a photo or image to the background of the Google homepage. Users will be able to pick existing photos from their PCs, their Picasa Web Albums or a public gallery hosted by Picasa. Marissa Mayer, Google's vice president of search products and user experience offered this example in a blog post : Notice...
Social Media Marketing Magazine Launches Online
June 3, 2010, 10:00 am
The social media space has plenty of information flying around every second of every day. If you don’t have any real work to do just spend your day reading articles recommended by every social media practitioner and their brother. You’ll be busy.
In an effort to ‘cut to the chase’, get through the clutter and offer some...
Interviews with Facebook Users
June 3, 2010, 9:58 amIt is quite easy for people in this industry to obsess about things which don't matter to people who aren't up to their eyebrows in the online marketing world. One recent example of this was the furore over changes to the facebook privacy settings. I was one of the first in the UK to join facebook (in February 2005) but I know people who joined...
Happy Birthday Bing! From Microsoft adCenter
June 3, 2010, 9:58 amBing is celebrating its first birthday! Its been an amazing year, and we would not be here without our adCenter advertisers support. Over the past twelve months, youve shared your success stories, provided your feedback, and helped.
Facebook Launches New Politics Destination
June 3, 2010, 9:58 amFacebook has launched a new U.S. Politics page, which highlights the use of Facebook by politicians and campaigns, and according to an update on the page, shares tips and best practices, and news from Facebook. Facebook Public Policy Communications Manager Andrew Noyes emailed us with the news, which he notes is "just in time for the peak of the...
Pilgrim’s Picks for June 3: Brett Favre Edition
June 3, 2010, 9:30 am
It’s baaaaaaack!
After a long hiatus, we’re bringing Pilgrim’s Picks out of retirement. Too young to remember Pilgrim’s Picks? Wow, you probably don’t remember life before Twitter either, do you?
Well, Pilgrim’s Picks is designed to ensure you don’t miss any of the days important news. The...
Wikipedia Gives New Interface to Nine More Languages
June 3, 2010, 9:13 amUpdate: The new design is now being made available for nine more langauges: Japanese, Spanish, German, French, Russian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, and Dutch. The full announcement is here.
Original Article: The Wikimedia Foundation announced its first ever "major initiative" involving the Wikipedia...
"Click For A Cause" Gives Poor Kids Free Books
June 3, 2010, 9:12 amVisa is sponsoring a campaign for Children International called "Click for a Cause" that will give new books to kids in need. The "Click for a Cause" campaign allows people to click a button to trigger a $1 donation from Visa to purchase books for children living in poverty. Visa will provide Children International, a U.S.-based humanitarian...
Twitter Highlights Common Interests With New Feature
June 3, 2010, 9:12 amAnyone who's ever been to an important sports game, the showing of a cult movie, or a meetup between car owners has probably observed that a single common interest can sometimes make people the best of friends. And now, Twitter's preparing to capitalize on that fact by testing a "You both follow" feature. At the moment,
9 Places to Share Your Blog Feed to Automatically Update Your Social Media Contacts
June 3, 2010, 9:11 amMost of us are active at a number of social media sites. And I bet, we all have a blog (or several blogs). You are very likely to be eager to share what you blog about with your social media friends. This post outlines the ways to automate that sharing . Someone may frown upon the "automation" part here (after all, social media sites are all about...
Using Account Organization to Spend PPC Dollars More Effectively - Part 2
June 3, 2010, 8:58 amby Mike Fleming
In my last post, we took a look at a good reason for an account manager to make separate campaigns in an AdWords account. If you have a similar product with different profit margins and total profit, then you want to control how much you're spending on each. In this post, we'll explore more of the reasons to separate...
6 Things Parenthood Taught Me About Social Media Marketing
June 3, 2010, 8:55 amJust last year, I became a mother for the first time. My son just turned one (time flies, doesn't it?) and after being a full time mom and performing various social media marketing tasks throughout, I've learned that there are many parallels that can be taken from parenthood that also apply to social media marketing. Let's take a look at the...
Does a Seattle Locksmith Hold the Key to a New Google Click Fraud Suit?
June 3, 2010, 8:51 am
Ever since Google decided to put on its big-boy pants and respond agressively to click fraud, you just don’t read that much about it these days.
Well, thanks to a Seattle locksmith it’s time to party like it’s 199…er, 2006.
That’s the last time we had any kind of click fraud lawsuit with any meat on...
“Click For A Cause” Gives Poor Kids Free Books
June 3, 2010, 8:45 amVisa is sponsoring a campaign for Children International called "Click for a Cause" that will give new books to kids in need.
The "Click for a Cause" campaign allows people to click a button to trigger a $1 donation from Visa to purchase books for children living in poverty. Visa will provide Children International, a...
10 Tips to Supercharge Your Blog's Content
June 3, 2010, 8:25 amRecently I have really been trying to beef up the content produced over at my blog, StayOnSearch . One of the hardest things I have noticed for me is trying to consistently keep the content of the highest quality, while increasing the frequency of posts. A few things to keep in mind before I mention some ways you can supercharging your blog's...
New Look for Yahoo! News Search for Global Markets
June 3, 2010, 8:14 amBack in April, we introduced a new look for Yahoo! News Search in the U.S. market, featuring news source refiners, time refiners, and rich results to help you find what you're looking for quickly and seamlessly. We've just launched the new Yahoo! News Search page for French , Spanish , German , and Indonesian language users in 11 international...
Google Adds Android, iPhone Apps to Mobile Search Results
June 3, 2010, 8:14 amGoogle has started including mobile apps in it search results on iPhones and Android devices. Users of such devices can simply go to Google.com, search for an app, and get special links and content at the top of the search results. These links can be tapped to go directly to either the Android Market or App Store page for that particular app,...
TOPSEOs Continues Deceptive Practices
June 3, 2010, 8:05 amAnd so the TOPSEOs saga continues. Bit like Lord Of The Rings without hobbits or wizards.
Giant Frogs Invade Google
June 3, 2010, 8:04 am
I’m a disrupter of internet marketing news.
What does that mean?
It’s a fancy way of saying that I love to stir the pot. And I can think of no better way of doing just that, than by making broad comparisons between Google and Bing. Especially when I get to accuse Google of copying the underdog.
The lastest fodder comes...
10 Surefire Ways to Land More Customers
June 3, 2010, 8:02 amSo many people all around the world have great ideas, products and services. And yet some businesses do well, and some fail. What separates the businesses that starve from the businesses who feast? For the answer, we turn to another way people have been setting their feast table for hundreds of years: fishing. Landing a fish, just like landing a...
Facebook’s Zuckerberg at D8
June 3, 2010, 7:37 am
In what can only be described as an uncomfortable viewing experience, Mark Zuckerberg faced the privacy music yesterday in a discussion with All Things Digital’s Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher. From the meandering musings of the Facebook founder to the sweating image of a person clearly under some pressure, this interview is all...
Microsoft Interviewed On Apps On Bing, iPad/PC, and Mobile
June 3, 2010, 7:34 am"At the end of the day, I think actually the worlds we're talking about is driven from the cloud out but it's smart cloud talking to mostly smart devices - phones, PCs, TVs - and apps that execute locally but are controlled and kind of seamlessly integrate with the cloud,"
Beware of the Great Ignored! Download Our Premium Consumer Digital Research
June 3, 2010, 7:22 amWould you believe that many premium brands advertising efforts are failing to engage up to half of potential customers? Unlike expensive luxury brands, products in the premium category are increasingly within the grasp of the ordinary person. A BMW 3 Series is a classier purchase than a Ford, but isnt completely unattainable for most people, like...
Google’s Data Collection Practices Gets Canada’s Attention …. Again
June 3, 2010, 5:43 am
Google must be pretty excited that Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook have been under intense scrutiny as of late regarding privacy. Why would they celebrate that other than it being a stumbling block to a “frienemy”? The more that Facebook gets the privacy stink eye from the world the less attention can be paid to Google’s own...
Is Google Connecting The Wrong Keywords?
June 3, 2010, 3:25 amNice little writeup showing how Google is connecting the wrong keywords together due to their acronyms. For example, the "G*y Business Association" is ranking for "Game Boy Advance" queries because both are associated with the acronym "GBA". As always, a fantastic bit of analysis by SharkSEO
Optimize Your Images for Added Value
June 3, 2010, 12:18 amSearch engine optimization is not just about some keywords on a website, it is about a process that is applied to many different aspects of your onsite and external marketing efforts designed to increase the flow of targeted inbound traffic. Many times I see images on people's website with horrific file names and no image alt tags which is not the...
SEO Site Audits: Getting Started
June 3, 2010, 12:01 amPosted by Lindsay A typical SEO site audit takes me around 50 hours to complete. If it is a small site (
Best Practices For Changing Domain Name
June 2, 2010, 9:10 pm"WebmasterWorld Members discuss the best practices to retain search engine rankings when changing domain names."
Lawsuit: Citibank Hates Hotness
June 2, 2010, 8:53 pmby Claudine Zap Talk about a fashion crime: A Manhattan banker is suing her former employer, claiming she was fired for looking too good. We know, we know: We also suffer from this problem at work. But seriously, the woman, one Debrahlee Lorenzana â" whose name alone could headline a soap opera â" says she was fired for her fashion. Here's...
Decorate Your Google Search Page
June 2, 2010, 6:59 pmUpdate on the Yahoo! and Microsoft Search Alliance
June 2, 2010, 5:32 pmYahoo! account managers will contact our partners in the coming weeks As we shared in February, Yahoo! and Microsoft have formed a search alliance that we believe will help provide more rapid innovation and better monetization to our partners. Innovating search and search advertising is essential to Yahoo!'s strategy and will help deliver more...
SEO Tool Review: Wordtracker Back Majestic To Create Link Building Magic
June 2, 2010, 5:16 pmLink Building has changed in recent years. Buying links is out. Content marketing is in. It's about reaching out and building solid relationships across the web.
Wordtracker has launched Link Builder, a new tool to help SEOs and website owners find quality link prospects, organize them into campaigns and keep track of the people they contact....
Google Checkout Savings Available Again
June 2, 2010, 4:58 pmThe Dow didn't crash again today (it closed up 226 points, in fact), but the economy still isn't in fantastic shape, and it doesn't harm anyone to save a few bucks even when it is. So shoppers, take note: discounts are available at all sorts of online stores as long as you turn to Google, and not PayPal or a credit card, when it's time to check...
Secure Google Search Impacts Analytics
June 2, 2010, 4:40 pmLast month Google announced the launch of a secure beta version to help all of those searchers out there who are uber-concerned with security and privacy. The secure version currently only works for standard searches and has not yet been rolled out to image search and other features. For those who are deep into their analytics, this may have an...
Ideas for Stopping the Oil
June 2, 2010, 4:35 pmby Mike Krumboltz The experts are at a loss for how to stop the millions of gallons of oil from continuing to pollute the Gulf of Mexico. So, why not solicit ideas from the amateurs? There is already a slew of plans and schemes floating around the Web, especially on the video-sharing site YouTube. Some are surprisingly well thought out....
Mobile Social Networking Grows 240%
June 2, 2010, 4:34 pmSocial networking now ranks as the fastest-growing mobile content category, according to a new report from comScore. "With mobile media consumption on the rise, the discussion of how consumers are accessing content - whether it is via application, browser or both - continues to be an important factor for companies looking to invest further in...
WordTracker Partners With Majestic SEO To Create Link Building Intelligence Tool
June 2, 2010, 4:17 pmWho doesn't need or want good SEO? The good news is that now Wordtracker goes beyond keyword identification to provide link building management services thanks to its new partnership with competitive link intelligence firm Majestic SEO. Click to read the rest of this post...
Average Internet User in Singapore Spent More than 10 Hours Viewing Online Video in April
June 2, 2010, 4:06 pmcomScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released its April 2010 rankings of the top video properties in Singapore based on data from its comScore Video Metrix service. The report found that 87 percent of Singapore's Internet population viewed video online in April, with an average viewer consuming 10.5 hours...
USPTO Lets Google Host 10 TB of Patent Info
June 2, 2010, 3:54 pmThe United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has entered an agreement with Google , which will see Google hosting unmodified patent and trademark public data. The USPTO says it doesn't have the technical capability to provide the information in a bulk machine readable format, and that the arrangement is to serve as a bridge as the USPTO...
World Cup 2010 Sets UK Searches Abuzz
June 2, 2010, 3:42 pmIn nine days exactly, the World Cup kicks off in South Africa and already, the event is starting to shape the UK search landscape.Click to read the rest of this post...
Advertisers' Budget Splurge On "Lost" Finale Well Worth Their Money - And Yours
June 2, 2010, 3:29 pmThey knew it would be big. Advertisers have invested massive sums to get hot spots during ABC's finale of Lost on May 23rd and they were right to do so, according to various reports and studies following the airing of the six-year long series' closing episode. According to research firm Nielsen, the finale gathered an average 13.5 million...
Add a Background Photo to Google's Home Page
June 2, 2010, 3:13 pmIt looks like Google is trying to attract some of the Bing users who use the search engine for the background images on its homepage. Google has now introduced the ability to personalize your Google home page with a photo of your choosing. Rather than have a daily image served to you like Bing does, Google lets you select an image from your...
Facebook Sees 400% Rise In Advertisers Since Early '09
June 2, 2010, 3:10 pmIt seems that marketers can't get enough of Facebook. During a period in which many companies were just trying not to lay off workers and/or go bankrupt, Facebook managed to increase the number of organizations advertising with it by over 400 percent.
This statistic doesn't come from a random blogger's back-of-the-envelope calculations or...
New AP Stylebook Covers Facebook And Twitter Usage
June 2, 2010, 2:50 pmThe Associated Press has released its 2010 edition of its Stylebook with a new section focused on social media for the first time and has announced that "website" is now one word. The new social media guidelines section includes information and policies on using Facebook and Twitter, how journalists can apply them to their work and how to verify...
MySpace Tempts Developers With Discounts, Promotions
June 2, 2010, 2:50 pmNever mind the tactics of Facebook, Google, and other popular online companies; with its latest appeal to developers, MySpace appears to have taken a (good) page out of the AARP's playbook. The social network has brokered deals with a number of companies so that developers can save money on products and services by teaming up with it. This isn't...
Billing Basics for Microsoft adCenter: Payment Options, Settings and Billing Statements
June 2, 2010, 2:50 pmIt is important to understand how billing works for Microsoft adCenter to help manage your paid search accounts. This post covers the basics of billing including how you're billed by adCenter, the different payment options available and how to change your billing information. How does adCenter bill me? Microsoft adCenter bills you for clicks that...
How To Use Google Alerts For Quick and Easy Domain Alerts
June 2, 2010, 2:50 pmPosted by atlasws This post was originally in YOUmoz , and was promoted to the main blog because it provides great value and interest to our community. The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of SEOmoz, Inc. There's no shortage of posts and tutorials built around setting up a monitoring dashboard. Everyone has...
7 Common Social Media Marketing Problems and Their Solutions
June 2, 2010, 2:49 pmThis post is part 2 on Social Media Marketing Best Practices from IMS Minneapolis. The first post featured Brad Smith from Best Buy who offered insights into their social media principles, guidelines and learnings. This post includes liveblog notes from the presentation given by Adam Singer of TopRank Online Marketing. Adam opened up noting that...
Where Is...Everything?
June 2, 2010, 2:44 pmby Mike Krumboltz In honor of the 99% of Americans who can't name all nine Supreme Court justices , we tracked down some of the most popular "where is" Web searches from the past week. Thanks to the Internet, people can search for answers to questions they might otherwise be embarrassed to ask. Not that we're judging... Amid the top 100 "where is"...
Al Gore Gets Divorced, Donald Glover Wants to Be Spidey, Charlie Sheen's Dropped by Hanes: What's the Buzz
June 2, 2010, 2:44 pmby Claudine Zap Our top picks from the day's hottest searches. Al Gore (Searches increased by 9,701%). After 40 years of marriage, Al and Tipper decided to call it quits . Donald Glover (+1,743%). If Twitter were the decider, it would choose this guy to star in the next "Spider-Man" movie. Israeli raid video (855%). Forget "He said, she said": Now...
The Search Engine Journal Redesign â" the Developer's Story
June 2, 2010, 2:44 pmIt was an honor being called upon to do the redesign and development of Search Engine Journal. I have been apart of this network for a short time but I have quickly learned what an amazing community this site has. Loren Baker approached me about the redesign a few months ago. I was excited to take on the job and I know what a pleasure it is to...
Brent Csutoras Joins 10e20 as SVP of Viral Marketing
June 2, 2010, 2:44 pmBig news in the social media marketing world today as 10e20 , the premier social media agency led by Chris Winfield, has announced that they have added Brent Csutoras , one of the best viral social marketing minds in the business, to their ever growing staff via an acqusition of Brent Csutoras, Inc. Csutoras will be taking on the role of SVP of...
Why Becoming an Expert in Your Niche is So Important
June 2, 2010, 2:44 pmThis is a Guest Post by Dee Barizo, a loyal SEJ reader who sent this in and is very relevant to something I preach in terms of influence and linking, becoming an expert in your field. Enjoy. I think one of the most untapped areas in SEO is developing expertise in your niche. Search specialists know a lot of link building and keyword research but...
8 Reasons Rich People Hate Their Lives
June 2, 2010, 2:38 pmA young woman discovers in college that she is driven by a burning desire to succeed. She starts a business, struggles, goes through some lean years. Eventually her hard work begins to pay off. She has a good year. Then, a great year. The year after that blows the doors off. She gets everything she's worked so hard for. The prestigious client...
Scribe: New Versions & Better Features (And a Great Deal Ending Soon)
June 2, 2010, 2:38 pmThere's a whole bunch that's new and improved with Scribe â" our content optimization service that makes SEO copywriting simple. Plus, we've got a fantastic promotion that's coming quickly to an end. Because there's so much to talk about, I'm going to give you a quick bullet point summary that also serves as hyperlinked navigation for this...
10e20 Adds Brent Csutoras as New SVP of Viral Marketing
June 2, 2010, 2:37 pm10e20 announced today the acquisition of Brent Csutoras, Inc. (BCI), the social media arm of Brent Csutoras , which means that Csutoras will now join Chris Winfield at 10e20 in the role of SVP of Viral Marketing. "At the end of the day, we just took a really good viral marketing department and made it great." - Chris Winfield, President of 10e20...
Social Networking Ranks as Fastest-Growing Mobile Content Category
June 2, 2010, 2:32 pmcomScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released a report on the fastest-growing mobile application and browser content categories based on data from its MobiLens service. The report found that social networking led as the top-gaining category for both application and browser access, confirming the surging...
AdMob Launches SDK, 2 Ad Formats for iPad
June 2, 2010, 12:24 pmAdMob, which was recently acquired by Google, has announced the launch of its iPad App SDK (software developer kit). A representative for the company tells WebProNews, "AdMob was one of the first companies to launch ad units for both iPhone and Android applications, and now it is driving innovation on the iPad and helping developers start...
Video SEO: Promotion in the Age of Social Sharing
June 2, 2010, 11:26 amThe third installment from Terry Van Horne on Video SEO - SNIP - In a time when the search engine ecosystem is gravitating towards machine readable solutions for indexing and to some extent determining theme ie: events and review pages and new protocols (Salmon) it makes a lot of sense to begin moving toward RSS for content discovery. The big 3...
Can You Handle On Page Links?
June 2, 2010, 11:18 amI tend to agree with Debra on this one - SNIP - Here at the Link Spiel we’re going to stick with linking out from the body of the copy, we know our readers can handle clicking, reading, and returning to our blog. We feel the whole link clicking thing is akin to walking and talking or eating and reading, it’s possible to do it ...
Google and Bing Launch Health Map Applications
June 2, 2010, 10:56 amToday both Google and Bing released some health-related map applications. These releases coincide with the Institute of Medicine and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) hosting their Community Health Data Forum event.
Google's contribution includes a Google Fusion Tables project and customized map showing information from HHS....
Report: Google Acquires Invite Media
June 2, 2010, 10:54 amThe difficulties Google encountered while trying to acquire AdMob apparently didn't cause the company to give up on a related purchase. A new report indicates that Google has bought Invite Media, which deals in advertising tech, for perhaps $70 million.
Invite Media's specialty is display media, and as its homepage makes clear, it offers a...
Simply Hired Launches Job Search On Facebook
June 2, 2010, 10:42 amJob search engine Simply Hired has launched a personalized job search using Facebook.
Users who login with Facebook are able to find jobs based on their current or previous work titles, location, interests and their friends' companies on Simply Hired. On the search results page, people looking for a job will be able to browse friends' companies...
Would Traditional Media Steal from Blogs? No...Never.
June 2, 2010, 10:05 amLots of bloggers and online reporters have experienced this at one time or another. We've certainly had it happen to us here at WebProNews more than a few times. You break a story, then it's all over the web, but you don't get the credit.
Or maybe it's not as dramatic as that. Maybe you cover an event that others are covering simultaneously, but...
Why Becoming an Expert in Your Niche is So Important
June 2, 2010, 10:03 amSearch specialists know a lot of link building and keyword research but how many of them are experts in the industries where they work?
Google’s Dominance in Video Delivery Continues
June 2, 2010, 9:34 am
Google is a real all or nothing proposition most of the time. They either completely dominate something (search) or they barely make a dent (Google Buzz and social media). One area that they continue to dominate in and there is no real relief in site for competitors is the delivery of video content. I’ll let the picture from...
Steve Jobs Thinks Google TV Will Fail
June 2, 2010, 9:11 amApple CEO Steve Jobs thinks Google's television efforts with Google TV are going to fail. At least that's the impression he gave, speaking at All Things Digital's D8 conference when an audience member asked him about TV.
Google unveiled Google TV a couple weeks ago at its developer conference, Google I/O. The company brought along launch...
Amazon Rolls Out Wheels Store
June 2, 2010, 9:08 amAmazon.com said today it has launched its Wheels Store featuring over 10,000 wheels and nearly 4 million automotive parts and accessories.
Amazon's Wheels Store features a wide range of brands including American Racing, Dip, Dale Earnhardt Jr., KMC, Mickey Thompson, Sacchi, Konig and Veloche.
Visitors looking for wheels will be able to use...
Chrome OS Release Set For "Late Fall"
June 2, 2010, 8:48 amAnyone who's interested in using Google's first operating system shouldn't have to wait too much longer to give it a try. Earlier today, at Computex Tapei, a vice president of product management at Google indicated Chrome OS will launch in "late fall" this year.
Google doesn't intend to put out a buggy beta product that will...
2010 FIFA World Cup Commercials and YouTube Video Ads
June 2, 2010, 8:47 amThe 2006 FIFA World Cup final between Italy and France was watched by a global cumulative audience of 715.1 million viewers. So, it's now wonder that the 2010 FIFA World Cup is already generating some amazing commercials and YouTube video ads.Click to read the rest of this post...
Facebook in CA Court Over Privacy
June 2, 2010, 8:43 am
This story was never a matter of if someone would take Facebook to court over the use of their data but it was just a matter of when. Well, I can’t say definitively that we have a winner but a case in California (go figure, right?) comes on the heels of the all the privacy hubbub surrounding Facebook as of late. Since timing is...
Steve Jobs Talks More About Not Supporting Flash
June 2, 2010, 8:23 amSteve Jobs starred in the latest episode of the soap opera about Adobe, Apple, and the future of Flash. He appeared at the All Things Digital D8 Conference, discussing a variety of topics, but of course the subject of Flash came up.
The discussion of Apple's non-support of Flash was escalated a while back when Jobs posted on open letter...
Does the Internet show the true colors of your business?
June 2, 2010, 8:13 amby Mike Moran
For big companies going online in the '90s, the Internet was a shocker, laying bare all the silos within their organizations, as those units communicated directly to customers, with no homogenizing layer of customer service in between. So, if each of your business units had a different system for processing returns, it was no...
Disney Sells Movie Tix on Facebook
June 2, 2010, 8:08 am
The Walt Disney Company is doing more than wishing upon a star that their new release “Toy Story 3” will have success at the box office. While the movie doesn’t open until June 18 Disney is using their Facebook presence to pre-sell tickets and create buzz for Buzz Lightyear and company.
The New York Times reports
The Walt...
Social Media Strategy: A Video Interview With Ravit Lichtenberg - Part 1
June 2, 2010, 6:35 am"Social media is a strategy, not a tactic". You cannot just jump on the social media bandwagon opening accounts here and there, without having a clear objective to reach and a specific path to follow. The result will be only more time spent on social media but no tangible results on your sales and marketing front. This is what Ravit Lichtenberg,...
An Illustrated Guide to the Science of Influence & Persuasion
June 2, 2010, 5:17 amPosted by randfish Conversion rate optmization - the practice of improving the quantity of visitors who take a desired action on your site - has been a hot topic this year. There's both an art and a science to the process of turning browsers into buyers and drive-by readers into email subscribers, Facebook fans and Twitter followers. In my...
Google Acquires Invite Media
June 2, 2010, 4:23 am"People familiar with the transaction say Googles plan is to leave Invite running as a stand-alone unit, which will work at arms length with exchanges like Googles AdX..."
Google To Release Chrome O/S 'Late Fall'
June 2, 2010, 3:41 am"The Chrome operating system will be centred around the web browser, with all software including high-end applications such as those used in photo and video editing housed in external servers known as a cloud."
What's On My Link Building Laundry List
June 2, 2010, 12:16 amYour link building should always be methodical and planned out correctly to acquire a diverse group of one way links pointing to your website. Social media activity is starting to show up in Google webmaster tools so having a focus on branding your business in the social space will be just as important as anything else. Your in-bound link...
Google Health is Alive and, Er, Well
June 1, 2010, 11:30 pmGoogle has debunked a blog post from an analyst claiming that Google Health, the company's effort to help patients access their personal health records from any computing device through a secure portal, is dead or in stasis. John Moore, analyst for healthcare technology firm Chilmark Research, wrote May 28 that not only has Google Health struggled...
Visitation to Travel Sites in India Surges 50 Percent in Past Year
June 1, 2010, 10:22 pmcomScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released a report on the top Travel sites in India as measured by the comScore Media Metrix service. The report found that traffic to the Travel category grew to more than 14 million visitors in April, an increase of 50 percent from the previous year, as a growing number...
Organic 1st Place Value Declines When Surrounded By So Much Ad Real Estate
June 1, 2010, 9:47 pm"WebmasterWorld members debate whether the value of a top position in organic SERPs is devalued, especially when surrounded by advertising."
Paying the Toll Takes a Toll
June 1, 2010, 7:05 pmby Claudine Zap We've heard of road rage, but toll-booth rage? That's a new one. New York City got a dose of publicity thanks to drivers who registered their complaints of toll-collection abuse . So maybe being a toll collector in the Big Apple isn't the most fun job in the world. But from the sound of it, some of these government workers have...
The High Price of the Oil Disaster
June 1, 2010, 6:30 pmby Claudine Zap While oil is hemorrhaging deep under the sea, BP , the company responsible for the Gulf of Mexico spill, is losing pots and pots of money. Not that a lot of people are crying for a bunch of oil executives. Except, maybe, their stockholders, who suffered a 14% one-day drop on the stock price. One gloomy analyst noted that with the...
comScore: Google Makes More Gains In Video
June 1, 2010, 5:03 pmLast month, the yet-to-launch Google TV did quite well for itself, grabbing a whole lot of headlines and getting all sorts of people excited. And although this observation may not seem as timely, it turns out that Google's existing video properties did well for themselves in April, winning an additional 1.4 percent of market share according to...
Searches Surround Gore Split
June 1, 2010, 4:40 pmby Mike Krumboltz Al and Tipper Gore are separating after 40 years of marriage. The surprising news led to an immediate surge in Search box. Here's a rundown on some of the most popular terms to spike. Gore daughters â" Al and Tipper are proud parents to four children, including a son, Albert III . However, with apologies to young Al, it's...
Small Restaurant Owners Embrace Email Marketing
June 1, 2010, 4:31 pm
A while back, I wrote a post on Marketing Pilgrim about online marketing in India. That very same day, and through no conscious decision, I decided to eat at Tarka, my local Indian restaurant. While sitting at the table enjoying naan and chicken kabobs I noticed a card on my table that said
Join our email list and get 10% off...
178 Million U.S. Internet Users Watched Online Video During April
June 1, 2010, 3:50 pmcomScore Video Metrix today announced that 178 million American Internet users watched online video during April 2010. In other words, 83.5 percent of the total U.S. Internet audience viewed online video that month.Click to read the rest of this post...
Like It or Not Facebook Button is Buggy
June 1, 2010, 3:46 pm
Facebook can’t seem to buy a break these days. It’s almost as if the privacy powers that be are reaching out and making life difficult for the social media giant just because they can. Could anything be worse than the string of bad reports that have dogged Facebook for the past couple of weeks? Not quite but this latest issue...
YouTube Celebrates Internet Safety Month
June 1, 2010, 3:37 pmToday marks the start of Internet Safety Month, and even if that's not the sort of thing many calendars will mention (this also happens to be International Children's Day and Samoa's Independence Day), visitors to YouTube will be made aware of the occasion. YouTube's celebrating the month on its homepage. Yes,
Interactive TV: The myth (and new reality)
June 1, 2010, 2:32 pmOnce upon a time, there was a dream called interactive television. With interactive television, the thinking went, people could do things with their television they never could before comment on programming, vote on reality shows, and respond to advertising offers, to name a few. Marketers and advertisers were excitedthe possibility a new and...
Majority Of Americans Don't Know Their Broadband Speeds
June 1, 2010, 2:15 pmThe majority (80%) of broadband users in the United States do not know the speed of their broadband connection, according to a new survey released today by the Federal Communications Commission. "Speed matters. The more broadband subscribers know about what speeds they need and what speeds they get, the more they can make the market work and push...
PayPal Brazil Welcomes Mario Mello
June 1, 2010, 2:03 pmHi everyone, it's Mario Mello, and I'm so excited to join PayPal as general manager of Brazil. Just a few months ago, PayPal opened a local office in Sao Paulo, and I knew immediately that I joined an amazing team. There is tremendous opportunity in Brazil to expand e-commerce and help local businesses succeed globally. Over the past few years,...
Google Maps Looks To Injure People With Bad Walking Directions*
June 1, 2010, 2:00 pm
*This is only the case if the Google Maps user is a complete idiot.
It must be a slow news day when we have to resort to the “stupid human tricks that end up in court” kind of stories that make any thinking person scratch their head and ask “Are you kidding me?” Fortunately, this kind of filler is readily available so...
Majority Of Americans Don’t Know Their Broadband Speeds
June 1, 2010, 1:51 pmThe majority (80%) of broadband users in the United States do not know the speed of their broadband connection, according to a new survey released today by the Federal Communications Commission.
"Speed matters. The more broadband subscribers know about what speeds they need and what speeds they get, the more they can make the market work...
Yahoo Helps Users Track Updates More Easily
June 1, 2010, 1:31 pm
Well, I have to say that coming off a long weekend and having nothing to yell at Facebook for (at least to his point in the day) there is precious little else going on in the Internet marketing space. Believe me, I am not complaining because it can be nice when the industry takes a break to grab a little cheese with their whine....
PayPal and Credit Cards are the Most Popular Way to Pay for Virtual Goods
June 1, 2010, 1:17 pmHi everyone, I'm Sam Shrauger, PayPal's vice president of global product strategy. Last week, PayPal X developer, PlaySpan , released some telling stats about the growing and evolving virtual goods industry. The survey revealed an uptick of 14 percent in consumer spending on virtual goods in the last 12 months. It also said PayPal and credit cards...
Google Releases Savings Calculator Tool to Push Google Apps
June 1, 2010, 1:11 pmAs Google continues its push to get businesses using Google Apps, the company has now introduced the " Go Google Cloud Calculator ". This is a tool that lets you enter your company's name, tell it how many employees you have, and gives you Google's estimates for how much money you could save, how much more productive you will be, how much more...
comScore Releases April 2010 U.S. Online Video Rankings
June 1, 2010, 1:11 pmcomScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released April 2010 data from the comScore Video Metrix service showing that 178 million U.S. Internet users watched online video during the month. Recently launched in December 2009, Vevo (which includes viewing from the Vevo channel on YouTube) attracted 43.6 million...
How SEJ Tools Manage Your Competitor Research
June 1, 2010, 12:59 pmThink of any SEO task you need to do - SEJ Tools will take care of it. Today's feature overview tackles competitor research as an example: Identify Your Competitors Research Assistant ( powered by SEMRush ) helps you to create the list of your competitors by showing you the URLs and domains ranked for the given term. For any given domain, the tool...
Sinkhole Madness
June 1, 2010, 12:52 pmby Mike Krumboltz Photos of the massive sinkhole in Guatemala City have created a stir on the Web. The giant pit was created by rains from Tropical Storm Agatha, the first tropical storm of this season. The storm is responsible for at least 150 deaths, however, according to the Associated Press , no injuries have come from the sink hole. You can...
AdSense And Interest Based Ads: Does It Encourage Clicks?
June 1, 2010, 12:48 pm"I am not saying that IAB is a good thing. I am only stating that for the first time in my life I am clicking on AdSense ads."
Welcome Yahoo! Search Marketing API Program Advertisers
June 1, 2010, 12:41 pmAs the Yahoo! and Microsoft Search Alliance moves forward, were pleased to welcome developers from the Yahoo! Search Marketing API Program to the adCenter API Community . Yahoo! API customers will be receiving additional details about the transition to the Microsoft adCenter API over the next few months via email. First of all, Yahoo! API...
Danica Patrick in the Indy, "Hobbit" Movie in Question, Sarah Ferguson on Oprah: What's the Buzz
June 1, 2010, 12:34 pmby Claudine Zap Our top picks from the day's hottest searches. Danica Patrick (Searches increased by 477%). The race-car driver overcame a poorly handling ride to place sixth in the Indy 500 . Graduation gifts (+372%). Start picking out that perfect pen now. "The Hobbit" movie (304%). The director of the two-movie project, Guillermo del Toro,...
Town Bands Together on Facebook for Fire Relief
June 1, 2010, 12:34 pmThe following is part of our "Your Stories" series on different ways Facebook is used across the world. Submit your story to us and we'll consider featuring it in future posts. At 6:30 in the morning on April 24, Jeremy Graber awoke to the sound of sirens and the smell of smoke engulfing his neighborhood in Canal Fulton, Ohio. As soon as he...
Foursquare Inks Refinery Media Deal in Singapore
June 1, 2010, 12:18 pmFourSquare and Singapore's Refinery Media have entered a partnership deal under which the geo location service will be meshed into Refinery's Supermodelme Season 2 show.Click to read the rest of this post...
Facebook Under U.S. Judiciary Committee Scrutiny Over Privacy Issues
June 1, 2010, 12:12 pmIt looks like Facebook's efforts to assuage users fears on private data protection did not do too well with U.S. authorities as the company now faces scrutiny by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. Click to read the rest of this post...
Apple Faces Multiple DoJ And FTC Inquiries Over Music, Adobe And Mobile Ads
June 1, 2010, 12:08 pmRipples In The Golden Pond. Apple's recent honeymoon seems to be short-lived with reports of regulatory scrutiny coming from the Department of Justice and from the Federal Trade Commission on various grounds. The issues at hand: Adobe, music and videos as well as mobile ads. Click to read the rest of this post...
Why Local SEO is Harder Than SEOs Think
June 1, 2010, 12:02 pmFew things grate on me more than hearing my fellow SEOs talk about how easy local SEO is. There's less competition! The competition isn't SEO savvy! Keyword choices are limited! It's a piece of cake, they say. That's about as accurate as me saying that traditional SEO is a piece of cake. Sweeping generalizations are often wrong, and below I'll...
Say Your Final Prayers, Black Hat SEO’s
June 1, 2010, 11:33 amKen Evoy writes about some of the blackest of black hat tactics that are still lurking around, and the practitioners' ham-fisted attempts to profit from them.
Yahoo Updates Set To Get More Social
June 1, 2010, 11:25 amThere's good news and more good news for Yahoo fans this week: the company is preparing to upgrade one of its social offerings in a significant way, and while doing so, is trying very hard not to repeat the privacy-related mistakes that Google and Facebook have made in recent months. Let's talk about the changes themselves first. They'll affect...
Say Your Final Prayers, Black Hat SEO's: Guest Post by Dr. Ken Evoy
June 1, 2010, 11:01 am[Editorial note: Dr. Ken Evoy is one of the most successful entrepreneurs in our space. Long before later-generation tools like Hubspot came along, Evoy's company was providing a wide-ranging toolkit (under the brand Make Your Site Sell, and numerous others) empowering small businesses to publish and market online. Recently, Ken and I engaged in...
People Not So Eager to Quit Facebook After All?
June 1, 2010, 10:50 amYesterday was not only Memorial Day, but "Quit Facebook Day" as well - at least according to QuitFacebookDay.com and its highly-publicized initiative to get people to band together and leave the popular social network. That day has come and gone, and while it did manage to get 34,424 to quit (allegedly), it has pretty much been deemed a failure....
Search Alliance Update
June 1, 2010, 10:27 amWhat to expect and when to expect it as we move toward the transition to adCenter Since February , hundreds of folks at Yahoo! and Microsoft have been working diligently to bring our search alliance to life. We wanted to give you an update on our progress, and let you know what to expect in the coming months. Our top priority is to make your...
Barnes & Noble Launches Online Storytime For Kids
June 1, 2010, 10:26 amBarnes & Noble has introduced "Online Storytime," a new monthly program featuring well-known authors and celebrities reading picture books for children ages two through six. Each Online Storytime features pan-and-scan filming of the picture book with the author or celebrity narrating. "Parents and children can now experience the same excitement...
Weekly Search & Social News: 06/01/2010
June 1, 2010, 10:26 amHELLOOOO and welcome to another edition of ' 7 Days of Search and Social ' - hard to say what was up last week' but I found it a bit slow for good geeking. Either that or the weather was so nice here I glazed over at the site of my feed reader. Hard to say. I never get dopey when it comes to search patents though and there were more than a few...
Google Maps User Sues Google After She's Struck by a Car
June 1, 2010, 10:21 amIn a frivolous lawsuit that ranks right up there with people suing McDonald's for burning themselves drinking hot coffee, a woman is suing Google because she claims Google Maps directions led her to a highway, where she was struck by a car. One day last January, Los Angeles native Lauren Rosenberg was trying to get from 96 Daly Street to 1710...
The Google MayDay Algo Update - A View From The Other Side
June 1, 2010, 9:47 amA post answering the question "Where did all the traffic go?". A few based on a collection of sites that have benefited greatly from the latest Google Mayday algorithm update.
New data: how many clicks does the first result on Google get?
June 1, 2010, 9:36 amThere's new data about the number of clicks that the first result on Google's result page gets. How does this affect your website and how can you judge the financial value of your rankings?
Google Search (I Do) Suggest
June 1, 2010, 9:22 amI don't know about you, but I absolutely love the Google search suggestion feature. Not to be confused with related searches, Google search suggest displays a drop down of popular search queries as you begin typing into the search bar. The feature has gained a lot of attention for sometimes pulling some very funny suggestions and a quick peek at...
Life Of The YouTube Video Is Shortening
June 1, 2010, 9:04 amThe average YouTube video gets gets 50% of its views in the first 6 days , according to TubeMogul via Silicon Valley Insider . After 20 days, a YouTube video has had 75% of its total views and the average video lifespan is probably getting shorter . In 2008, it took 14 days for a video to reach 50% of its views and 44 days to hit 75%. Lesson to...
CEO Of Nvidia Gives Android Strong Endorsement
June 1, 2010, 9:04 amThe cofounder, president, and CEO of Nvidia is confident that Android will take over the tablet PC market. At Computex Tapei, Jen-Hsun Huang lavished praise on the operating system, indicating that competitors just can't keep up. As reported by Sumner Lemon , Huang explained, "Windows is too big and it's too full featured for smartbooks and...
Apple iPad Tops 2 Million In Sales
June 1, 2010, 9:04 amApple said Monday iPad sales have surpassed two million in less than 60 days since its launch on April 3. Apple began shipping iPad in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK this past Friday. iPad is set to launch in nine more countries in July and additional countries later this year. "Customers around the...
The reasonable surfer; makes for unreasonable thinkers
June 1, 2010, 9:01 amYep, it's a tad on the geek side, but still, worth saying - SNIP - All we can do is understand the concepts and the historical signifigance therein. What is important about this exercise is that we have another glimpse into not only behavioural data but link valuations as well. But link related signals aren't really a new thing (around...
How to Dominate Your Niche Without Apology
June 1, 2010, 8:59 amCorrect me if I'm wrong, but I don't recall Leonidas apologizing to the Persian army before battle. I definitely don't remember Russell Crowe's vengeful Maximus sitting down to write a few notes of sincere and profuse regret before he suited up and took out a couple of gladiators. Do you? Then why do so many people ask forgiveness right before...
What Can We Learn From Silly Bandz?
June 1, 2010, 8:41 amThey are for boys or girls, you wear them on your wrist or elsewhere and just about every kid has to have an arm full of them, prompting many schools to ban them . Welcome to the world of Silly Bandz. Like most toy sensations to hit the market, there are no shortage of gushing morning shows , and idolatry newspaper articles declaring the little...
Aid Your SEO Efforts by Carefully Selecting the Hosting Provider
June 1, 2010, 8:41 amBelow is the guest post by Raja. While the post won't probably discover anything fundamentally new for you, I think it sums up nicely what we've been discussing lately about choosing web hosting , bad IP neighborhood , geo-targetting , etc. Every web site has a host server at its base, and often the host company determines the success of your...
MySpace Music Needs To Keep User Interest
June 1, 2010, 8:38 am"MySpace Music profiles remain the simplest, fastest way to check out a new band", argues Ray Padget on Mashable. That's a matter of opinion, but there's no denying that MySpace is still a powerful player in the music space. So the big question may really be, can MySpace Music survive the wider MySpace decline?
"Not unless it...
IE6 Falls Below 5% Usage in US, Europe, Still Beating Chrome
June 1, 2010, 8:36 amMozilla Firefox and Google Chrome have taken up a good deal of the web browser headlines in recent memory. Google showcased its much-publicized speed tests for Chrome (even parodied by Opera), then launched a stable version for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Mozilla recently shared an early product plan for Firefox 4, with (like Chrome) an emphasis on...
Google Updates and SERP Changes - June 2010
June 1, 2010, 7:06 amGoogle update, thread of threads.
TV is the New Mobile
June 1, 2010, 7:03 amWhen Google enters a field sometimes they do so quietly, but when they decide they want to own something there is nothing quiet about their approach. They are not content to pick one niche and one model (the way that Netflix does): Google keeps fighting on multiple fronts. Like boxing a glacier, over time they just wear the market down.
Google Phases Out Windows O/S Over Security Concerns
June 1, 2010, 4:36 am"'We're not doing any more Windows. It is a security effort,' said one Google employee."
Wrong Page Ranking in the Results? 6 Common Causes & 5 Solutions
June 1, 2010, 3:37 amPosted by randfish Sometimes, the page you're trying to rank - the one that visitors will find relevant and useful to their query - isn't the page the engines have chosen to place first. When this happens, it can be a frustrating experience trying to determine what course of action to take. In this blog post, I'll walk through some of the root...
Mobile Internet and Digital Mobility
June 1, 2010, 2:45 amThe European Interactive Advertising Association has published key findings from a recent study: New Decade Heralds the Age of Digital Mobility Europeans are more mobile and engaged with online than ever Key findings of the study presented early March 2010 are: Europeans spend an average of 6.4 hours per week on mobile internet (or...
Google Employees Say the Company Is Moving Away From MS Windows
June 1, 2010, 12:50 amQuote the Financial Times : Google is phasing out the internal use of Microsoft's ubiquitous Windows operating system because of security concerns, according to several Google employees. The directive to move to other operating systems began in earnest in January, after Google's Chinese operations were hacked, and could effectively end the use of...
SEO Traits Your Strategy Should Contain
June 1, 2010, 12:05 amAs a business you need to fully understand the power and the process of SEO before you decide to get started with applying it for yourself or your business. You need to possess certain kinds of characteristics and traits because SEO is a long term marriage and you need to be in it for the long haul.
