Well, I am now officially re-certified as a Google AdWords Certified Partner. The program replaced the Google Adwords Qualified Professional program that I’ve been in for years. It’s always nice to have third party verification of my skills in the exam. I found the exam to be a lot harder than before – more focused…
DetailsIn all the banter and confusion about the positives and negatives about Google Instant, there is at least one common thread that is good for the SEO industry itself: Snake Oil SEO won’t cut it in this new world. Delivering traffic via the instant interface is going to be more challenging, whether you are working…
DetailsGoogle Instant changes behaviors in search, and thus SEO can change as well. Originally, I posted a list like this in 2008 about Google Suggest – and it is revised here. We May See More Traffic to Regional Sites. People regularly enter “cheap gas” and “best dentist” in search engines – without qualifying the searches…
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Google has made several moves that favor the Q&A approach to content, reinforcing my opinion it is the most potent type of content for most businesses to focus on.
DetailsThe whole reason I took the time to write this post is to share some thoughts – perhaps with the 37 signals team and others out there working on products like this. It also could be that I have simply not yet found the right tool, so this might prompt someone to offer an alternative! …
DetailsWell, this morning I’m licking my wounds after initiating in Pecha Kucha – the rapid-fire presentation style where 20 slides are presented in 20 seconds. I was honored to have been invited by Adam Martin and Kent Lewis to speak and it was truly a learning/growing experience. Social Media Club Lexington and Pecha-Kucha Lexington took…
DetailsI’ve written many times about mobile marketing, and even (along with others, I’m sure) predicted foursquare-type business marketing many years ago. Does anyone remember my “senseweb” idea? Probably not, it was pretty far out at the time… But in the past two years, having met with many clients and associates, I realize that almost none…
DetailsIf you’re a business blogger, the followers you have are usually doing so because of the niche topical space you’re occupying. This is why they followed you in the first place. They signed up for the tour. You’re the authority with the plan. Show Me The Good Stuff Think about a museum tour guide. They…
DetailsA practical look at ways you can obtain positive reviews from happy customers with minimal effort and cost using a simple rate-us page and a $25 deck of cards.
DetailsWith competitors like these, I was truly honored to have won a 2010 SEMMY award for Local Search today. Here are the other competitors, and you should grab those articles and subscribe to their blogs to connect with some of the best in the world.
DetailsEric Karjaluoto, and dozens of commenters, have once again raised the very real issue of designer spec work on his blog. I thought about the issue again when I read that Tim Ferriss had chosen to go this way for his book cover. Eric’s post is a well articulated but well-worn argument about the…
DetailsMany company legal names are vastly different than their published names. A DBA/Assumed Name lets you operate your business under multiple names without going through the extensive paperwork of creating a new corporate entity. This can be in order to choose a memorable name that is “current” with your customers’ mindset. Now, there’s a…
DetailsIdeas relating to the how the social groundswell, user-centric design and increasing expectations by constituents on municipal websites and blogs are presented in my guest article for the GMAnet.
DetailsLocal TV ads seem to do very little to link the awareness-generating power of television with the engagement opportunities of the web. Local businesses would do well to stop depending on TV scripts from the 1960s and begin to entice customers to company-owned, information-rich resources that save them time and worry.
DetailsGoogle is now showing forum postings from formerly “walled garden” discussion groups. Since many customers use these forums to complaint about brands, this could become the next ORM warzone.
DetailsGoogle Side Wiki is a new Google Toolbar Feature has launched today. This feature looks to be their latest attempt to build communities around web sites in their index , perhaps as a way to better utilize social signals for ranking both web pages and social media profiles. Will Google’s new tool make headway? If…
DetailsGoogle’s Local Business Listing verification process causes problems for many small businesses. I’d like to propose an improvement that could really improve things.
DetailsGoogle has finally connected Google Local Business Center and Street View to help people identify businesses by location and photograph. This is just another step along the way to full augmented reality using digital compass, GPS and camera applications. This, combined with the new Picassa photographs on Street View (cool as hell) and we’ll finally…
DetailsJason Falls and I will be presenting to the National League of Cities on “Social Media as an Integral Part of Communications” on Thursday. I always look forward to presenting with Jason and am certain there will be some good information moving around on this. The organization is all about communications. Municipalities need to learn…
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If you’re at all concerned about your personal or business brand, you should consider the issues that the new Facebook Custom Usernames/URLs have brought to the surface. I have run through these from an ORM (Online Reputation Management) perspective and asked a few important questions.
DetailsIf you’re looking to do SEO with a Wordpress blog, then these slides from Matt Cutts at Google will be of interest.
DetailsHave you ever faced a really tough SEM project? I have. And I looked to the real world for inspiration to get perspective on how to make things better. Here are my thoughts.
DetailsThe unauthorized use of photography is a major concern for photographers who license their images for use on the web. Technologies such as PictScout Image Tracker are used by stock photography companies to scour the web looking for unauthorized uses of their photographs by websites and blogs have been around for a while. Now, Google has released a beta version of Similar Image search. Will this change the landscape?
DetailsHere is my take on the biggest mistakes made by start-ups when it comes to web marketing. If start-up companies would take the time to address some basics, their long term success online could be dramatically influenced
DetailsIt’s easy to get comfortable with one’s branding and marketing plans. Slide decks presented at the sales meeting look great. Branding exercises give the executives a warm-fuzzy. Advertising and PR schedules are polished to a shine. But all it takes is one small leak, possibly in the form of two bored employees with a flip…
DetailsIn the past few years there have been examples of how companies have take advantage of the web to steal thunder from ad campaigns, such as the Pontiac vs. Mazda fiasco from a few years ago. But it’s not often you see it happen in such a large scale in the physical world: BMW…
DetailsLike a cancer that’s growing in twitter search, the tweetbots arrive. Dumb ones that aimlessly tweet every post on a forum to those that just retweet everything that anyone says about a topic. It seems that every time I go to search twitter, I get a never ending stream of tweet bot output. It’s like…
DetailsBig Ass Fans, one serious success story from Lexington is expanding. It’s a story worth telling – so have a look.
DetailsHighly ranked in search engine results, job listings are usually written in a dispassionate and utilitarian voice and do little to advance the image of your company to potential investors, partners and customers. Why not take the time to let your listings do double-duty as tools and another place to tell the company’s story?
DetailsIf you’re thinking of cutting PPC costs, hold the sword. Taking a few minutes to prioritize and strategize can keep your account performing highly on your best phrases.
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