Category Archives: Industry

Is the media helping or hurting our understanding of SEO?

Insights / Research, Search, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

CNET’s Stephen Shankland has written a thorough review of Microsoft’s BrowseRank, “Microsoft tries to one-up Google PageRank” but its this perspective that really tells the story.

It’s maddening to see yet another naive or deliberately misleading article on an innovation in search ranking, that perpetuates persistent misunderstanding of how search works and what makes search better.

Microsoft’s done some amazing work but make sure you take the hype with a grain of salt. Really understand how search engines work if you have any expectation of success as a search marketer. Ethan’s perspective is invaluable.

The Top 10 SEO Myths (& Priorities)

Natural Search / SEO, Search, , , , , , , ,

iMedia Connection, Associate Editor Michael Estrin has pulled together a must read SEO article with contributions from SEO Superstars, Kevin Ryan, Paul Bruemmer, Danny Sullivan, Aaron Wall, Shimon Sandler, and Google’s Adam Lasnik. The article reviews what I think everyone would agree are the most widely believed myths as well as the most important considerations in SEO. Here’s the list:

Myth #1: SEO is all about secret tactics (Come on guys! Job security! shhh! Hey everyone, yes it is, very mystical. Seriously, the real problem is businesses either think it is only the web developers’ or Marketing’s responsibility, fostering this believe that there is some magical art that only “they” know. Don’t be daft, SEO is everyone’s job.)

Myth #2: SEO means optimizing only for Google (please. Certainly not if you are in any industry other than a pure play website. Are you a local business?)

Myth #3: Submitting your site to thousands of directories helps

Myth #4: SEO is free (that doesn’t mean it should literally cost money! If you’ve read with me for some time you’d know I prefer in-house SEO to a consultant. Why? Simply put, see myth #6)

Myth #5: Keywords need to appear everywhere

Myth #6: SEO is a one-time event for a website (set it and…)

Myth #7: SEO will take years to return results (how this has perpetuated is beyond me; let’s see, the internet is how old? And new websites dominate the media’s attention every few months or so… so how exactly could it take years to work?)

Myth #8: PageRank is the critical measure of a site’s success (PageRank is bunk but don’t discount the importance of popularity)

Myth #9: Accessibility doesn’t really matter (Couldn’t have said it better myself)

Myth #10: Google has an adversarial relationship with webmasters and publishers (Damn them! We should all just turn our websites off! Put them out of business!! Who’s with me?)

Michael covers a great variety of excellent topics through iMedia Connection including one of my favorite debates, the monetization of or advertising opportunity on social networks. Be sure to give his portfolio a read and get the full story on the top 10 SEO myths.

Behold! The Rise of AdPlanner

Brand Marketing, Display Advertising, Google, Insights / Research, , , , , , ,

Available only in closed beta, Google AdPlanner promises to help you identify websites your customers are likely to visit helping define media plans and ad placement. A blend of market analytics and Google’s endeavors as an all encompassing ad platform, AdPlanner may be some icing on the cake.

I’m left to wonder though, how many new marketers (that is, search or internet marketers) really leverage this kind of insight? Do you buy media as is done in the traditional space, trying to buy placement where your audience supposedly spends their time, or do you buy what works with no regard for the site on which said ads run? Does placement of an ad on a page not have a greater impact on its performance than the audience? Is performance of an ad not ultimately more important than where it runs?

My self-medication

Blogs & Blogging, Fun, , ,

Whew! It has sure been a while hasn’t it? My day job has kept me so swamped with exceptional growth and new opportunity that I haven’t even had time to take a moment for myself, let alone my blog. Until now!
On the eve of a trip to Cabo San Lucas I stumbled upon this great study from Scientific American which just validates my part time hobby.

Enjoy!

Self-medication may be the reason the blogosphere has taken off. Scientists (and writers) have long known about the therapeutic benefits of writing about personal experiences, thoughts and feelings. But besides serving as a stress-coping mechanism, expressive writing produces many physiological benefits. Research shows that it improves memory and sleep, boosts immune cell activity and reduces viral load in AIDS patients, and even speeds healing after surgery. A study in the February issue of the Oncologist reports that cancer patients who engaged in expressive writing just before treatment felt markedly better, mentally and physically, as compared with patients who did not.

Scientists now hope to explore the neurological underpinnings at play, especially considering the explosion of blogs. According to Alice Flaherty, a neuroscientist at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital, the placebo theory of suffering is one window through which to view blogging. As social creatures, humans have a range of pain-related behaviors, such as complaining, which acts as a “placebo for getting satisfied,” Flaherty says. Blogging about stressful experiences might work similarly.

Rest assured, I’ll be back in a week with much perspective on Yahoo!/MSN, Analytics, Doubleclick, and much more.

Google wins another title; overtakes Yahoo

Advertising, Search, , , , , , , , ,

I’d bet you didn’t realize that for all the hype Google receives for having the greatest search share, Yahoo! still reigns supreme as the most used (trafficked) website. According to comScore latest numbers, Yahoo serves 33.6 billion page views per month easily eclipsing Google’s 28.7 billion. Traditional marketers (or, frankly, savvy marketers who recognize that ads are worth more than a click through and immediate sale) will still find Yahoo the ideal partner with whom to run massive ad campaigns reaching contextually targeted consumers.

But what of my headline? Google has not only claimed the web search crown but is now, arguably, the most popular internet site. In the same report, comScore cites Google’s unique U.S. audiences as topping 141 million users, beating Yahoo’s audience by almost 500k. Microsoft remains comfortably third as is usually the case against these two internet behemoths.

Personally, page views mean more. Google may now have the more recognizable brand and certainly, their ad model crushes all others when it comes to direct performance based marketing but for engagement, time spent, and other valuable metrics that online marketers too often overlook, Google has some work to do.

Who’s at Ad:tech next week?

Advertising, Conferences / Events, eCommerce, Insights / Research, Local, Search, Social Media, , , , , , , , , ,

ad:tech San Francisco, the interactive advertising and technology conference and exhibition, starts next week at the Moscone Center. The show blends keynote speakers, topic driven panels and workshops to provide us with the tools and techniques needed to keep up and compete. It has, perhaps, the best show floor in the industry making it one of the must attend conferences if only to get up to speed on new vendors, services, and technologies.

While social networks are potentially creating some effective marketing opportunities, traditional and effective internet opportunities remain unsaturated. Search, rightfully so, commands an ever increasing portion of Internet ad spending, local is still an open market (though I’m bent on changing that), and profound improvements in Web-based video technology are threatening to change the definition and economics of “television”.

Who attends:
Brands, Agencies, Publishers, Portals & Service Providers, CEO’s, CMO’s, Marketing Execs, Brand Managers, Creatives, Media Buyers and Planners, Product Managers, Solution Providers…

Who else is going?
I’ll be there, in fact, with a booth behind me so stop by 5684 say hello!

Pop Labs Conversion Closing Rap

Fun, Paid Search, Vendors / Agencies, , , , , , , , , , ,

Poetic Prophet, Chuck, a Pop Labs super star and viral marketing genius (though they deal in SEO and search marketing) is turning interactive marketing concepts into original music. Here, a rap about making the right choices in your online marketing campaigns to increase not only traffic but the conversions you get.

I’m looking forward to a keynote from Chuck at an upcoming marketing conference; we could use the entertainment! Looking at Pop Labs though, I am left wondering, did I miss the trend in pop bottle logo design?