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500 posts from: Online Marketing Blog

BIGLIST Update: SEM Blog Reviews Snarky Edition 020410

(Indexed 2010-02-05):

Welcome to the newest BIGLIST review ofSearch Marketing Blogs. We have a little bit of everything today ranging from Chinese focused PPC to the World’s Greatest SEO to a steaming pile of SEO Bull$#*t. Enjoy!If you think your blog deserves to be included, then write a compelling and maybe humorous comment below. We’ll almost certainly [...]

5 Ways to Show Digital Assets a Little Respect

(Indexed 2010-02-05):

Dont fight it: Blended search results, and hence digital asset optimization, are here (at least for now).Text content may be your SEO poster child, but with images, video and audio content often appearing in standard search results, digital assets can no longer be treated as the ugly stepsister in the online marketing family. Many companies [...]

2010 MarketingSherpa Social Media Marketing Guide

(Indexed 2010-02-03):

One of the most trusted sources of marketing research and information is MarketingSherpa. I’ve been a subscriber for many years and always look forward to the reports on Search Marketing, Email Marketing and B2B Marketing. Last year MarketingSherpa started conducting research and publishing a Benchmark Report on social media marketing.The new Social Media Marketing Benchmark [...]

Upcoming TopRank Social SEO & PR Events

(Indexed 2010-02-03):

Our team works hard to stay on top of current best practices and as a result, we’re asked to speak at a variety of conferences, workshops and webinars. One of the goals at TopRank Online Marketing is to help companies better understand the current landscape of thedigital marketing & PR environment. That includesstrategies that can [...]

Tips for Promoting New Blogs

(Indexed 2010-02-02):

TopRank’s recent Blogging and SEO survey of in-house, agency and independent marketing, advertising and PR professionals revealed that 95% of respondents incorporate blogs as part of their online marketing mix. Nearly 88% have successfully increased measurable SEO objectives as a direct result of blogging.Thousands of new blogs are started by companies and individuals each day. [...]

5 Ingredients for a Perfect Twitter Marketing Recipe

(Indexed 2010-01-29):

After reading Lees post earlier this week on how to source content on Twitter, I started to think about the homemade guacamole I made for the football playoff games last weekend. Stick with me here.With my guacamole, I carefully strategize on the right mix of each ingredient to achieve the perfect flavor and consistency.Not enough [...]

BIGLIST Update: Search Marketing Blogs 012810

(Indexed 2010-01-28):

Welcome to a new BIGLIST review ofSEO blogs. While it’s by no means a requirement for blogs to post daily or even every week to provide useful content to readers, it does take at least 1 post every 2 weeks to be included in the BIGLIST. We’re seeing a shift with many blogs to posting [...]

10 Tips For Content Marketing Success

(Indexed 2010-01-27):

As more companies, marketers and industry professionals flood the web with content, the value of those with a true understanding of content marketing keeps going up. More noise increases the value of signal. If your content marketing defines you as that source of signal, you’ll consistently be found, referenced and chosen ahead of [...]

5 Ways to Source Content on Twitter

(Indexed 2010-01-26):

With the increasing emphasis on content marketing for both SEO and Social Media, I thought I’d offer some specific tips on dealing with one of the mostprevalentissues companies face in this area: long term sourcing of content. While we’ve written about content sourcing for corporate blogs in the past, but this post will emphasize how [...]

How to Source Content on Twitter

(Indexed 2010-01-26):

Facebook Marketing Tips: Make the Most of Your Fan Page

(Indexed 2010-01-22):

If you havent already integrated Facebook into your online marketing mix by creating a fan page, consider the most recent staggering Facebook statistics:More than 350 million users are active on Facebook50% of active users log in on any given dayThe average user spends 55 minutes a day on FacebookMore than 1.6 million active Facebook fan [...]

Search Engines Bringing Back Variables In URLs At Your Expense

(Indexed 2010-01-21):

Did you realize that search engines have gone full circle on URLs in variables? It used to be considered something to avoid, now search engines are saying variables in URLs are good, as long as you use the canonical meta tag. Google is pushing them with FeedBurner and if webmasters aren’t careful, they could fall [...]

Marketing in the Age of Google: Vanessa Fox Interview

(Indexed 2010-01-18):

Vanessa Fox works as Entrepreneur-in-residence with Ignition Partners but is especially well known in the Search Marketing world because of her past work as Google’s search engine strategy spokesperson and creator of Google Webmaster Central. I’ve interviewed Vanessa several times on video in the past here, here, here and podcast here but nothing as substantial [...]

5 Examples of Social Media in Healthcare Marketing

(Indexed 2010-01-15):

More than ever, its essential for hospitals and health providers to rethink their healthcare marketing mix to include social media.The proof is in the numbers: 34% of consumers use social media to search for health information, according to research data from How America Searches: Health and Wellness.While it’s easy to identify demand, many healthcare marketers [...]

Is Your Website Ready for the Mobile Web?

(Indexed 2010-01-12):

As the use of cell phones and smart phones expands, so do the number of options for consumers to discover and interact with brands. From web browsing to email to social networking and even shopping, more people are using their cell phones as portable computers. However, most sites are not optimized for hand-held [...]

How to Write Compelling Social News Headlines

(Indexed 2010-01-11):

Crafting unmissable headlines which resonate with social web users is something which appears deceptively simple. Yet it’s an art form requiring writers, bloggers and marketers to craft thousands of headlines to perfect.As someone who has been successful with creating content that goes hot across social channels I’ve come to appreciate the art and challenge [...]

5 Online Marketing Resolutions for 2010

(Indexed 2010-01-08):

We may already be a week into 2010, but that doesnt mean its too late to starting making resolutions.Resolve to give your online marketing efforts a boost this year by recognizing areas for improvement and putting in place a plan to make positive changes.To help you get started, TopRank Online Marketing has come up with [...]

BIGLIST Update: Local Search Marketing Blogs 010710

(Indexed 2010-01-07):

Welcome to the first BIGLIST review of SEM and SEO blogs for 2010! What a year it will be. We reviewed hundreds of marketing blogs in 2009 and well over a thousand since we started the original list.Today’s BIGLIST update focuses on a few local search marketing blogs we’ve recently discovered.<a href=”http://www.toprankblog.com/search-marketing-blog...(truncated)... style=”border: 0px initial [...]

The Best Blog SEO Survey Ever

(Indexed 2010-01-06):

Blogs have been touted as effective tools for companies to publish content and demonstrate the conversational side of their corporate personality. Blogs have also long been promoted as a SEO tool. Despite plenty of optimism about blogging, there’s still a lot of mis-information,mis-perceptionsand lack of awareness about effective, productive blogging for business.Take This Blog SEO [...]

Benefits of Running Polls on Twitter

(Indexed 2010-01-05):

If you’re “on Twitter”, no doubt you’ve noticed different Tweeple running polls from time to time. We ran our first poll on Twitter over 3 years ago which resulted in the post, “Guide to Twitter as a Tool for Marketing and PR“, offering insights from other marketing and PR professionals experienced with the Twitter [...]

5 Top Email Marketing Tactics for 2010

(Indexed 2010-01-04):

Ready or not, 2010 is here. And according to eMarketer, 2010 is going to be a good year for email marketing. A December survey revealed that 69% of respondents plan to increase spending on email marketing efforts more than any other marketing strategy.To ring in the New Year, weve compiled 5 email marketing tactics [...]

Happy Holidays & Happy 6th Birthday TopRankBlog

(Indexed 2009-12-28):

After a much deserved blogging vacation last week, I thought I’d start this final week of 2009 with wishes of appreciation for the readers of TopRank’s Online Marketing Blog and the fantastic team of writers we have. It was 6 years ago today, that TopRank started an agency blog as a way to publicly [...]

eMarketer: 12 Digital Marketing Predictions for 2010

(Indexed 2009-12-16):

eMarketer is one of the most cited resources for internet marketing trends, so when I received some tasty predictions for 2010, I thought they were too useful to keep to myself. These insights include future monetization models, the effect of transparency on advertising, social and search, mobile, social commerce, public relations, social advertising, Twitter, [...]

MiNterview: Greg Swan, Digital Account Group Manager

(Indexed 2009-12-16):

The next in our series of interviews with Minnesota based, social media savvy marketing and public relations professionals isGreg Swan, Digital Account Group Manager at Weber Shandwick Digital.Greg manages and executes interactive public relations programs for Weber Shandwick clients across consumer, technology and public affairs industries. As the social media team lead, Greg oversees the [...]

Top 5 Reasons for Ongoing SEO Services

(Indexed 2009-12-11):

For many companies, an ideal world involving Search Engine Optimization would be simple, quick and a one-time task to check off a list. An organization would create a website, optimize its content for target keywords and promote the site. Soon, the website would acquire a strong number of inbound links and start ranking for those [...]

MiNterview: Connie Bensen Director of Social Media & Community Strategy

(Indexed 2009-12-10):

Online Marketing Blog continues sharing Minnesota-based social media expertise with the next installment of our MiNterview series.Connie Bensen is a key voice amongst online Community Managers. Her blog is recognized as a leading resource for cultivating online communities and providing best practices for this emerging role. She also provides mentorship and inspires individuals to [...]

SES Chicago: Internet Marketing Tips for 2010

(Indexed 2009-12-09):

Here we are near the end of 2009 and at the last Search Engine Strategies conference of the year. While many conferences are down in attendance, SES Chicago actually beat last year’s numbers by about 100, according to Matt McGowan, VP, Publisher & Head of US at Incisive Media, the company that owns SES.There [...]

Dan Zarrella Interview On The Social Media Marketing Book

(Indexed 2009-12-09):

Dan Zarrella, a self-described “social media marketing & viral marketing scientist” lives at the intersection of social marketing and web development. He’s known for conducting experiments with Twitter, compiling data behind the social web, creating interesting web applications and blogging. And now, he has released a book.Dan’s book is called “The Social Media Marketing Book” [...]

SES Chicago Search: Where to Next?

(Indexed 2009-12-07):

Moderated by Simon Heseltine, Senior Marketing Manager for AOL with panelists including: Eli Goodman from comScore, Justin Merickel of Efficient Frontier and Doug McMillen from Microsoft Advertising.First up is Justin Merickel from Efficient Frontier, which runs about $180m in PPC through their platform. Justin talked about two main trends:The changing SERP. Data comes front and [...]

5 Must-Read Tips for B2B Search Marketing

(Indexed 2009-12-04):

[Note from Lee: A few weeks ago, Michelle wrote a great post on Retail SEO tips and this week, I've asked her to tackle B2B SEO and general search marketing tips, since one-size SEO does not fit all programs. Enjoy!]Search marketing should be a top priority for organizations in any industry. But B2B search marketing [...]

Interview: Rick Mahn Land OLakes & SMBMSP

(Indexed 2009-12-03):

Minnesota is home to a tremendous amount of digital marketing and social media talent. The local Social Media Breakfast events are notorious for “selling out” in minutes and attracting upwards of 300 – 350 attendees. There are over 1,200 members of the group’sSMBMSP social network. The founder of this group is none other than Rick [...]

SES Chicago: 5 Ways to Multiply Conference ROI

(Indexed 2009-12-02):

Next week is the final search marketing conference of the year for me and most others in the SEM industry:Search Engine Strategies Chicago is a MidWest focused event that will offer keynotes from the likes of Jeff Jarvis, Author of What WouldGoogle Do? and a multitude of Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced breakout sessions covering SEO, [...]

BIGLIST Search Marketing Blogs 113009

(Indexed 2009-11-30):

Absence makes the heart grow fonder and we know online marketers already like the BIGLIST of online marketing blogs reviews. This new update that is decidedly focused on search engine optimization should start your week off right.While we have a good looking group this week, the Search Agents was the winner for the best looking [...]

10 Link Building Tools for Tracking Inbound Links

(Indexed 2009-11-27):

Quality inbound links are an essential element of web site marketing and search engine optimization programs to increase traffic and online sales. The greater the number of relevant and authoritative links to a web page, the greater the potential for higher search engine rankings and qualified traffic.A recent survey from SEOmoz illustrates just how important [...]

All New Google Design

(Indexed 2009-11-26):

Google is a master of innovation in the search space and while they seem to subscribe to Guy Kawasaki’s “release early and release often” new product philosophy, the attention to changing the Google search page is near-holy.Minusculedesign changes at even the pixel level are cautious and carefully considered. And rare.Apparently, Google is testing a redesign [...]

Thankful Wishes From Online Marketing Blog

(Indexed 2009-11-25):

With Thanksgiving almost within reach, it’s hard to think of anything but turkey, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes and warm homemade rolls. Actually, for me, my mind is on my aunt’s chocolate pie and my grandmother’s macaroni and cheese.But regardless of the type of food item occupying your thoughts right now, Thanksgiving is a time to [...]

SEO for Flash: 5 Tips and Best Practices

(Indexed 2009-11-19):

SEO for Flash is it a reality yet?One of the most common issues for web sites with poor search visibility involves Google not being able to crawl and index a site’s content. Web sites made entirely with Flash are problematic because there are often no links for search engine crawlers to follow or HTML [...]

Book Review: Socialnomics by Erik Qualman

(Indexed 2009-11-17):

“It’s a people driven economy stupid” and “Online word of mouth has made many traditional marketing strategies obsolete”. Those are powerful words and central to the theme in “Socialnomics” by Erik Qualman, Global VP for Online Marketing for EF Educatio, the world’s largest private educator.I appreciate Erik’s characterization because it’s how I’ve viewed [...]

Google: Social Media is a Party, SEO is Bullsh*t, Advertising is Good For You

(Indexed 2009-11-17):

I noticed someone using Google suggest in another story today (honestly forgot where) and thought I’d see what Google “thinks” about social media. Then I tried SEO. Not surprising. Funniest of all, considering Google’s business model, was advertising.Pretty telling when you think about it. Of course this isn’t what Google “really thinks” about social media, [...]

Why Use Social Media For Public Relations

(Indexed 2009-11-16):

Recently, I presented at PubCon on the intersection of social media and PR. The session title was experts on PR and Twitter, however the session description went on to discuss a variety of networks. Therefore my interpretation was to speak on the intersection of social media and PR, and not just PR and Twitter.The social [...]

5 SEO Tips for Online Retailers

(Indexed 2009-11-13):

Online retail websites face a unique set of obstacles when it comes to improving sales through better search engine visibility. Repetitive product descriptions, a lack of content and frequent churn of products can all be hurdles to overcome. But with these specific tips for retail search engine optimization, online retailers can turn those challenges into [...]

PubCon 2009: How Major Vegas Hotels Are Using Social Media

(Indexed 2009-11-11):

From the perspective of some, it seems like Vegas was late to participate in social media (according to the PubCon panel description).However, the prominent brands on the strip have stepped up to the plate and are actively engaged in social web participation. Theyre leveraging digital platforms for a variety of purposes from customer service [...]

PRSA09: Discussing the PR Revolution

(Indexed 2009-11-10):

If you have ever wanted to be a fly on the wall listening to experts talk about the convergence of PR and Social Media, here’s your chance. PRSA brought together the following people to lend their thoughts about the PR (R)evolution:Moderator: Kami Watson from My PR Pro andPanelists:Deirdre Breakenridge from PFS Marketwyse,Ariel Hyatt of Ariel [...]

PRSA09: Top 10 SEO Tips for Public Relations

(Indexed 2009-11-10):

Today at the PRSA 09 conference, it was a packed room for TopRank CEO (and author of Online Marketing Blog) Lee Odden who gave a presentation on SEO for Public Relations.He started by explaining why SEO is/should be important to PR Professionals.In a 2008 Journalists Use of Search Survey by TopRank, we discovered that [...]

PubCon 2009: Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh Keynote

(Indexed 2009-11-10):

Zappos has grown gross merchandise sales from $1.6M in 2000 to over $1 billion in 2008 by focusing relentlessly on customer service – a potent digital marketing tool. Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, kicked off day one of PubCon 2009 with a keynote on the importance of delivering happiness through service.Founded in 1999, Zappos has [...]

5 Tips for Effective Email Copywriting

(Indexed 2009-11-06):

The quality of email content is one of the core factors in determining whether an email marketing campaign succeeds or fails. But successful email copywriting is an art — rather than a science — making it different from most other forms of business writing. To start out on the right path, consider these 5 tips [...]

Reader Poll Winner: SEO Dojo for Best Paid Subscription SEM Community

(Indexed 2009-11-05):

TopRank has been publishing the BIGLIST of SEM blogs since Jan 2007. We’ve created other BIGLISTs of resources as well including the BIGLIST of 100+ Search Marketing Resources posted in October. The categories for that list of SEM resources includes books, conferences, newsletters, blogs, forums and many more. We decided it would be interesting [...]

How to Save Money on Social SEO Consulting

(Indexed 2009-11-03):

Social Media Marketing is getting a lot of attention in the media on and offline, causing many business marketers to wonder how to adjust budgets and resources to participate. Others that have allocated funds to Social Media and SEO programs without proper implementation, timelines or measurement may question their return on investment.While businesses decide to [...]

Pubcon Las Vegas 2009: Are You Ready?

(Indexed 2009-11-02):

Another year in the Search Marketing world, another WebmasterWorld Pubcon in Las Vegas. Pubcon was one of the first search marketing conferences I attended and where I first met a number of highly talented SEOs in person.TopRank’s Online Marketing Blog has been liveblogging the Pubcon conference since 2005 and includes a mix of content ranging [...]

5 Basic Tips for Video Optimization

(Indexed 2009-10-29):

If youre attempting to improve search rankings for your web pages, these days its no longer an option not to optimize digital assets. With search engines incorporating video, images and news into standard search results, marketers have the opportunity to achieve increased visibility by implementing video SEO principles.These 5 basic tips for video SEO are [...]

Reader Poll: Best Paid Subscription SEM Communities

(Indexed 2009-10-27):

We recently posted a list of over 100 resources our readers could leverage to learn more about marketing online through search. One of the categories was paid subscription SEM communities that offer training, forums and often times templates, forms and guides for implementing effective Search Marketing programs.A pioneer forum that has a paid channel [...]

Defining Search Engine Optimization

(Indexed 2009-10-26):

The search engine industry frequently innovates as do consumer behaviors for discovery and sharing. Those changes require search marketers to take a fresh look at what search engine optimization (SEO) is and why companies should or should not engage in its practice.Defining search engine optimization is often focused on the mechanics:“SEO considers how search engines [...]

5 Tips for Making a Corporate Blog Stand Out

(Indexed 2009-10-23):

These days it seems as if every corporation has tried its hand at blogging. The more corporate blogs that exist in the blogosphere, the more difficult it becomes to gain blog subscribers by creating one that’s truly unique. To ensure your corporate blog stands out from the crowd, follow these 5 tips:1. Talk about something [...]

10 Proven Applications For Social Media

(Indexed 2009-10-20):

Tenured digital marketing professionals have been applying social media for end business and marketing objectives for years. But what is clearly valuable to some is still a mystery to many.Whether you’re a marketer trying to get buy-in for social media from the top or a small business owner wondering why you should bother, knowing [...]

5 Tips for Creating an Effective Content Marketing Strategy

(Indexed 2009-10-16):

Its difficult to find much value in content with no strategy behind it. Without a content strategy plan, your intended audience is unlikely to find your copy, let alone read it.During the MIMA Summit last week, the importance of a content marketing strategy was the topic of a session presented by Rachel Lovinger of Razorfish.For [...]

How Social Media & Email Marketing Boost Customer Reach

(Indexed 2009-10-14):

For years, rumors have circulated that email marketing is dying and teenagers the world over have proclaimed email as, “something old people do”. Whether you agree or disagree that email has one foot in the grave, many online marketers are finding effective ways to leverage email as part of a social media marketing mix. Integrating [...]

Top 10 Pitfalls of International SEO

(Indexed 2009-10-13):

TopRank is fortunate to have an excellent team of consultants, many of whom contribute here at Online Marketing Blog. It is therefore, a rare occasion that we invite guest posts. The globalization of search and to follow, search marketing, brings a tremendous need for quality information and best practices. Search Engine Optimization for North American [...]

Ten Search Marketing Awards You Should Know

(Indexed 2009-10-12):

“A person will work for a living, but they’ll die for recognition.” I’m not sure who I heard that from first, but it’s just as true for agencies and companies as it is for individuals. One common way to recognize excellence is through awards. There are awards for just about every industry from software to [...]

Social Media in Healthcare Marketing: Making the Case

(Indexed 2009-10-09):

For marketers in any industryfrom manufacturing to real estate to banking, and everything in betweenmaking the business case for social media isnt a quick and easy process.But in healthcare marketing, its an understatement to say that gaining buy-in for social media isnt easy.Consider for a moment just what healthcare marketers are up against:A multitude of [...]

7 Considerations for Tracking Social Media Success

(Indexed 2009-10-07):

With more and more marketers jumping onto the social media bandwagon, a lot of questions come up. Is it possible to track metrics and ROI? What are other companies doing? Why isn’t it working? Being prepared to answer questions like these can make a difference in how a company interacts with social media and [...]

Storytelling: Actionable Insight from Analytics

(Indexed 2009-10-06):

There’s a certain sentiment amongst many marketers that, “If you can’t measure it, it’s not worth doing.” While that perspective may not be entirely applicable to all online marketing, it certainly draws attention to the need for insight from measuring what we do to market, communicate, promote and influence on the web. The need to [...]

Basics of User Generated Content for Search Engine Optimization

(Indexed 2009-10-01):

[Note from Lee: User Generated Content for SEO is something we haven't written about in a while, but now more than ever, marketers need to find efficient ways to generate content assets for search engines as well as the ability to meet customer needs to interact and share. Michelle takes an updated look that [...]

Follow Me Follow You: WhyFollow Twitter Poll

(Indexed 2009-09-30):

With Twitter riding the social media wave to a $1 billion valuation, the attention from celebrities, usefulness for everything from real-time communications in natural disasters to serving as a profitable marketing channel, a momentum of interest has spawned in how to make the most out of spending time on Twitter. Like any tool, Twitter is [...]

10 SEO & Social Media Posts To Read Before MIMA Summit

(Indexed 2009-09-29):

In just under a week the annual Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association Summit will be held downtown Minneapolis at the Hilton. With keynotes from Seth Godin and Jackie Huba as well as a collection of local and national subject matter experts ranging from Greg Swan of Weber Shandwick to Scott Monty of Ford, it should be [...]

5 Twitter Tips for Staying Authentic and Transparent

(Indexed 2009-09-28):

Any marketer whos successfully made the move to social media will tell you the rules of traditional marketing have to be reexamined. Thats particularly true with Twitter, where brands have just 140 characters to inform, evoke emotion and inspire action. One of the most basic and critical rules for brands on Twitter? Be authentic and [...]

Review: YouTube and Video Marketing An Hour A Day

(Indexed 2009-09-24):

“Master Story Teller”, that’s how I would describe Greg Jarboe, someone I’ve known in the internet marketing and PR world for several years. Now he’s pioneered yet another essential digital marketing channel: online video. In YouTube and Video Marketing: An Hour A Day, Greg has assembled a priceless collection of insights, examples and practical [...]

100+ Search Marketing Resources to Learn SEO & PPC

(Indexed 2009-09-22):

How do new marketers learn SEO and Pay Per Click? How do professionals stay current with search marketing tactics considering the sheer volume of social media distraction? Last month we ran a poll of Online Marketing Blog readers to discover preferences for learning and staying up to date with current search engine marketing strategies and [...]

Big Ben Edition: BIGLIST SEO Blog Reviews 090909

(Indexed 2009-09-09):

What a remarkable date today! 09/09/09. Welcome to the UK Edition of TopRank’s BIGLIST ofSearch Marketing Blog reviews. Since I’m in London this week, (photo above was taken with my trusty 3GS iPhone) I decided to focus mostly on SEO/PPC and Social Media Marketing Bloggers here in the UK. It’s a nice mix of search, [...]

5 SEO Pitfalls to Avoid

(Indexed 2009-09-08):

Are you engaged in a Search Engine Optimization program and wondering how to get more out of it?Look no further, Im going to share with you 5 Pitfalls to Avoid as part of an SEO program.Having worked with many, many clients Ive seen just about everything.However, there are 5 pitfalls that consistently pop up and [...]

5 Tips for Gaining Subscribers to Your Blog

(Indexed 2009-09-04):

Are you ready to celebrate the successful launch of your new company blog? Technically speaking, the launch went off without a hitch. Your content is fresh, informative and even entertaining. And your blogs design is well-branded and intriguing.But before you pop open the bottle of champagne, consider one more piece of the puzzle: blog subscribers. [...]

7 Reasons Social Media Is A No-Brainer For Passionate B2C Brands

(Indexed 2009-09-03):

Social media is fast becoming a standard element in the marketing mix of major consumer brands. And with good reason: never before has such a creative landscape existed for people and the brands they love to interact, share stories and build relationships – in all directions.With social media marketing spends predicted to grow at an [...]

BIGLIST Search Marketing Blog Reviews 083109

(Indexed 2009-08-31):

This week I’ll try something a little different with ourBIGLIST of online marketing blogs reviews and share a screen shot of the week’s best looking SEO blog to be added.That honor goes to Mikkel deMib Svendsen who’s been blogging for a very long time, except it’s been mostly in Danish.Recently, Mikkel decided to launch a [...]

Learn SEO, Social Media & Digital PR from TopRank

(Indexed 2009-08-27):

There are many ways for company marketers to advance their knowledge in the digital marketing and PR space. A big part of TopRank’s consulting services are to provide clients with education so they can better implement recommendations and promote the advantages of SEO, Social Media and Optimized PR in house. We’re also active participants towards [...]

Social Media Marketing Basics: Facebook & Blog Promotion

(Indexed 2009-08-21):

As companies grow their confidence and familiarity with the social web, there’s a bit of a mental hurdle they pass in accepting that it makes sense for their organization. It’s not unlike 10 years ago when companies finally started to “get” the need for a company web site. And just like a web site, [...]

17 Ways to Stay Current with Search Marketing

(Indexed 2009-08-19):

Over the past few weeks TopRank has been conducting it’s own search of sorts, for a Senior Search Marketing Manager as well as a Search Marketing Strategist. One of the questions we ask is, “How do you stay current with tactics and strategies in the SEM space?”. It’s a good question both for hiring agencies [...]

Making the Case for Social Media: A Roadmap

(Indexed 2009-08-18):

Earlier this summer I gave a presentation in Minneapolis at a ClickZ OMS event on building a social media roadmap with tips on blog marketing and using Twitter. It’s all very introductory if you work in the social media space, but if not, serves as a useful baseline for making a case for corporate social [...]

SES SJ: SEO Through Blogs And Feeds

(Indexed 2009-08-14):

You’ve heard the stories from the tech echo chamber. Posts proclaiming blogging dead and RSS too slow have been circulating around the web for the last year or so. And yet the blogosphere remains alive and kicking, despite the early adopter pontification.Not yet running a blog or syndicating your content through RSS feeds? Your [...]

Learn Search And Social Marketing Strategies From SES SJ 2009 Coverage By TopRank

(Indexed 2009-08-14):

Search Engine Strategies San Jose 2009 turned out to be an energetic week of presentations, networking and positivity for the search marketing industry.Interested marketers flocked from around the country (and around the world) to get social, connect and learn. It was clear from from attitude and attendance that the SEM industry is thriving.While the event [...]

SES SJ: News Search SEO

(Indexed 2009-08-14):

Online Marketing Blog readers are well aware: news search engines offer a great way to receive targeted traffic related to breaking topics or to help with a public relations launch.What are the latest ways businesses and media are using content to tap into the power of news search? Mark Jackson, SEW Expert & President/CEO, [...]

TopRank SES San Jose 2009 Wrap Up Puzzle Solved

(Indexed 2009-08-14):

Search Engine Strategies San Jose 2009 turned out to be an energetic week of presentations, networking and positivity for the search marketing industry.The puzzle that is the ever-changing search marketing industry was brought closer to a solution through sessions on SEO, PPC, Social Media, Analytics and many other digital marketing tactics. To tap into that [...]

SES SJ: Duplicate Content & Multiple Site Issues

(Indexed 2009-08-13):

It was standing room only for the SES San Jose session regarding Duplicate Content & Multiple Site Issues.Shari Thurow of Omni Marketing started the session off by addressing why duplicate content is a concern.When there are duplicate content issues it lowers the number of pages available to rank. Less pages to rank can equal less [...]

SES SJ: White Hat Vs. Black Hat Social Media

(Indexed 2009-08-13):

Black hat techniques have long been criticized in search marketing. Some claim that these black hat practices have quietly been practiced in social media for years. Others claim that black hat and white hat are meaningless terms altogether.With the rise in popularity of social media among larger audiences, the idea of black hat practices [...]

SES SJ: Google on Converting Visitors To Customers

(Indexed 2009-08-13):

Nitin Mangtani, Lead Product Manager at Google presented a sponsored session on converting your visitors to customers, specifically through the use of internal site searches.Businesses spend a tremendous amount of time, resources, and capital on website development and online marketing initiatives. Getting people to a site is a challenge in itself, but another key aspect [...]

SES SJ: Igniting Viral Campaigns: Leveraging Consumer-Generated Content

(Indexed 2009-08-12):

Being somewhat of a fan of buzz marketing, day two starts with a panel I’ve personally been looking forward to. Igniting Viral Campaigns: Leveraging Consumer-Generated Content promises to unveil the “secret techniques” and technologies that enable companies to stand out and be talked about through a viral word of mouth buzz.Aaron Kahlow, Chairman & Founder, [...]

SES SJ: Day 1 in Images

(Indexed 2009-08-12):

Check out photos from Day 1 of SES San Jose 2009. &...(truncated)... Subscribe to this Feed Online Marketing Blog, 2009. |SES SJ: Day 1 in Images |No comment | http://www.toprankblog.com

SES SJ: Turning The Social Web Into Real ROI

(Indexed 2009-08-11):

Day one of SES continues with the hot topic of turning the social web into real ROI. Everyone knows the social web is essential to how we live our lives and stay connected, but many marketers aren’t finding returns on their ad spends.Tim Kendall, Director of Monetization for Facebook moderates this heated session with speakers [...]

SES SJ: How To Optimize For Search & Engage The Community

(Indexed 2009-08-11):

Most people start with Google when they search for information, but increasingly users look to niche-specific engines like YouTube search when seeking entertainment. Search engine marketers, digital media producers and entrepreneurs must create unique, relevant content that stands out if they hope to gain popularity in the Internet community. Optimizing for search while engaging the [...]

SES SJ: Creating a Web Analytics Culture

(Indexed 2009-08-11):

What does Van Halen have to do with Search Marketing?Let’s find out with John Marshall of Market Motive.Marshall starts out by illustrating Van Halen’s very unique pre-show requests.Specifically, Van Halen was very clear that in their dressing room, there should be M & M’s, but no brown M & M’s.The business lesson of the brown [...]

SES SJ: Clay Shirky Keynote

(Indexed 2009-08-11):

Clay Shirky, Author of Here Comes Everybody, kicks off SES San Jose 2009 as today’s keynote speaker.He dives right in and shares a story about HSBC, which launched a program to acquire new accounts from college students. In doing so, some less-than-great details about the program like extra fees started to enraged those who had [...]

Unlocking the Puzzle: TopRank SES San Jose Blogging Schedule

(Indexed 2009-08-10):

Cant make it to Search Engine Strategies (SES) San Jose 2009, yet want to stay on top of the largest and longest running conference dedicated to Search Marketing? Never fear, Online Marketing Blog readers wont miss a thing. Jolina Pettice and Adam Singer from TopRank Online Marketing will be putting the pieces together for you [...]

Answers to Social Media Questions You Should Know

(Indexed 2009-08-07):

In the course of providing consulting services and conducting training programs for companies on social media marketing & PR or a combination of SEO and social media, there are some common questions that have come up. I thought it might be useful for readers if I documented a few of them here along with answers.If [...]

26 Top Search Marketing Blogs By RSS Subscribers

(Indexed 2009-08-06):

Remember the Grinch? “Noise, noise, noise!” Many marketers feel the same way about the plethora of search marketing blogs. We’ve been managing a list of over 500 search marketing blogs (BIGLIST) for the past 3+ years and know a little something about the category. SEO blog reviews are helpful, but some people want a qualifyer [...]

16 Rules For Social Media Optimization Revisited

(Indexed 2009-08-04):

Guidelines for marketing with social media aren’t all that new. In 2006 five members of the digital marketing community collaborated on 16 rules for “social media optimization”. Fast forward to nearly 2010 and social media has begun to take a more significant role in the marketing mix.The original “rules” were posted by: Rohit Bhargava [...]

BIGLIST Marketing Blog Reviews Summer Edition 073109

(Indexed 2009-07-31):

Here in Minnesota it’s been a roller coaster summer with hot smacking up against cold in the blink of an eye. The irony of that observation is that our BIGLIST of online marketing blogs has been cold for about 4 months, but just like a Minnesota summer, we’re going to smack that BIGLIST with some [...]

It’s a Deal: Q&A from Microsoft Yahoo! Call

(Indexed 2009-07-29):

Amid all the speculation this week, it’s official that Microsoft and Yahoo! have made a deal: ”Microsoft will now power Yahoo! search while Yahoo! will become the exclusive worldwide relationship sales force for both companies’ premium search advertisers.”The Search Marketing Industry news sites have covered this completely and a joint web site has been setup [...]

What is Digital Asset Optimization?

(Indexed 2009-07-29):

It’s likely you’ve heard plenty about search engine optimization but what about “Digital Asset Optimization”?Many companies that have applied basic SEO principles to standard web site content see substantial benefits. Adding new content and attracting links help maintain search marketing performance but is that all you can do to be competitive with SEO? No.A natural [...]

Its a Deal: Q&A from Microsoft Yahoo! Call

(Indexed 2009-07-29):

Amid all the speculation this week, it’s official that Microsoft and Yahoo! have made a deal: ”Microsoft will now power Yahoo! search while Yahoo! will become the exclusive worldwide relationship sales force for both companies’ premium search advertisers.”Microsoft-Yahoo Deal History on Dipity.The Search Marketing Industry news sites have covered this completely and a joint web [...]

Intersection of Search and Social Media AdWeekMedia Connect

(Indexed 2009-07-22):

This afternoon I did a live chat with AdWeekMedia Connect, a social network for the ad agency set on the intersection of search and social media. Embedded below is the recorded chat stream:Lee Odden ChatHere are a few resources on the topic:Mashable:Social Media and SEO: 5 Essential Steps to SuccessIAB:Social Advertising Best PracticesForrester: Interactive Marketing [...]

Lets Go of the Social Web: The New Community Rules

(Indexed 2009-07-21):

How to be successful on the social web? Be useful and helpful to others.Few people epitomize this principle better than veteran internet marketer,Tamar Weinberg.I remember some of my first interactions with Tamar years ago, involving her making sure I had all my questions answered about something I posted on IM. Tamar has blogged about search [...]

Web Community Building: Making It Thrive

(Indexed 2009-07-20):

Last week we discussed some of the reasons subscribers are vital for an online marketing growth strategy. Those reasons included:The ~11% of web users who know to use RSS include the users savvy enough to be web publishersYoull become a go-to area to link toSubscribers are your sneezersA base of well-connected fans could very [...]

Poll: Levels of Corporate Social Media Engagement

(Indexed 2009-07-16):

The notion of social web and how companies can engage is as multi-faceted as anything I’ve seen in my 12+years of marketing online. The many ways for companies to involve themselves using social technologies are as varied as the reasons they may do so. Whether it’s to better connect with customers, attract more media attention [...]

Direct Marketing Getting Social

(Indexed 2009-07-15):

In a past career of mine where the nature of the business required educating and evangelizing as a sales process, a colleague related a “vintage” story to me about phases in which new ideas or concepts are adopted by mass markets. It involved the introduction of the refrigerator in a time when ice boxes were [...]

Subscribers Are Vital For An Online Marketing Growth Strategy

(Indexed 2009-07-13):

If you’re interested in building a flourishing online brand and web site that generates links and traffic organically as part of your internet marketing efforts, it’s important to develop an active base of subscribers and fans.Subscribers and fans i.e. “a community” are a key ingredient of popular web sites. They are integral to increasing [...]

Careers at TopRank: SEM Account Manager

(Indexed 2009-07-09):

Client focused, dynamic, challenging, rewarding, did I say fast paced? Those are some of the words I would use to describe our agency at TopRank Online Marketing.TopRank has continuously evolved over the past 8+ years to become a well known and authoritative brand in the Search, Social and Online Public Relations space. Our clients include [...]

18 Questions to Assess Readiness of Content SEO

(Indexed 2009-07-08):

A big part of helping companies with Search Engine Optimization and content based marketing efforts is to assess the assets available.Digital Asset Optimization (DAO) involving multiple media, file types and distribution/search channels isn’t going to be efficient or effective unless there’s a firm grasp of a company’s available media and content production processes.When TopRank works [...]

Use A Creative Commons License As An Online Marketing Tool

(Indexed 2009-07-07):

A Creative Commons license is an simple way to encourage others to share, remix, and reuse your digital content. If you’re publishing material of any variety to the web and looking to have it spread, licensing your work under Creative Commons is smart as it actively encourages sharing with permission and attribution.Obscurity is a [...]

5 Tips on Hiring and Getting the Most Value from SEO Consultants

(Indexed 2009-07-06):

While Google offers advice on hiring SEO consultants, there’s not much information about how to get the most value afterwards. There’s an impressive amount of information and resources for webmasters on SEO related topics, but I’m pretty sure Google as a company has never hired a SEO agency and therefore isn’t in the client/vendor relationship [...]

7 Ways To Develop A Unique Brand For Your Blog

(Indexed 2009-06-29):

With the blogosphere churning out nearly 1 million posts every 24 hours, an unstoppable river of content flows over the web daily. It’s daunting, especially if you’re new to online publishing. The good news is it’s still very possible to succeed, even if you’re just starting out today.Developing affinity with a group of readers [...]

How Direct is Social Media Marketing?

(Indexed 2009-06-23):

I had nice back and forth with Brian Clark of copyblogger on Twitter last week about direct marketing and social media. Ultimately it was more an issue of perspective and semantics but there were some great points about the intersection of direct marketing on the social web. I’ve been an advocate for several years [...]

Influencing The Social Web: Agility Is A Factor

(Indexed 2009-06-22):

[Image]How agile is your marketing? Do you have layer upon layer of approval processes, committees, lawyers, and executives who need to sign off on every piece of external communication before it goes out?If yes, your business is structured for a pre-Internet world, and unfortunately this means you will always be at a disadvantage compared to agile competitors designed to take advantage of a connected society. An inescapable truth is the web rewards companies (and people) that are nimble.Peopl...(truncated)...

TopRank Digital Marketing Talent Pool Grows with Adam Singer

(Indexed 2009-06-15):

[Note from Lee:] What do you get when you mix two parts “practice what you preach” with a focus on clients and a passion for the digital marketing industry? New clients, renewals and expansion of many client online marketing programs. Working with a great mix of clients is complimented by a fantastic team at TopRank [...][Image]

TopRank BIGLIST: Interactive Marketing Associations

(Indexed 2009-06-12):

The digital and interactive marketing space moves fast and as both companies and individuals scramble to achieve and maintain a competitive advantage, it can be a challenge to find resources and likeminded individuals to help make that happen. Associations offer education, networking and in some cases, advocacy for members and sponsoring companies. The question is, [...][Image]

Content Marketing Strategy with a Side of Social

(Indexed 2009-06-09):

Development of a content marketing strategy that speaks to the target audience plays a key role in successful execution of an overall online marketing program. Companies that embrace the social web as part of their marketing mix need to consider the content created within social media channels just as much as corporate web site content.Whether [...][Image]

Making a Case for Social Media

(Indexed 2009-06-04):

At the Online Marketing Summit in Minneapolisthis week, I presented on Social Media Strategy and briefly highlighted Blogging and Twitter as tactics. This is the first of several posts that will visit the key concepts offered in that presentation.Why social media? It comes down to gaining a competitive advantage. I like the quote from Oliver [...][Image]

Online Marketing Summit: Social Media Basics

(Indexed 2009-06-03):

At Online Marketing Summit held in Minneapolis and hosted by ClickZ, Caitlin McCabe of Sway Inc spoke to the audience about Social Media and had these insights:1. For people who think Facebook is just for kids, go search for groups relevant to you and you will find them! Facebook offers many targeted marketing opportunities.While there [...][Image]

Green Online Marketing: 5 Ways to Repurpose Content

(Indexed 2009-06-01):

With the importance of content in online marketing, many businesses are hard pressed to come up with original articles, blog posts, videos, images, presentations, etc on a regular basis. There’s a myth that once you publish something, that all who matter will see it. That’s simply not true.Does less than 100% or even 50% market [...][Image]

What Snapshot of SEO Drives Your Web Business?

(Indexed 2009-05-27):

Search Engine Optimization is a changing field. At any given moment in time, companies that rely on the web for new business or customer communications will consume information about SEO and then rely on that snapshot for months or even years.In the marketing mix, SEO is only one slice and company marketers are tasked with [...][Image]

Learn SEO, Social Media, Digital PR from TopRank

(Indexed 2009-05-18):

Over the next 2 weeks several staff from TopRank be hitting the road for multiple SEO/Social Media/PR speaking and training events. We invite you to attend and would love to meet up with readers of Online Marketing Blog. Topics during these events will emphasize the practice areas of our agency: Search Marketing, Online Public Relations [...][Image]

Measuring the Value of Search Optimized PR

(Indexed 2009-05-13):

Measuring the effect of online marketing and PR efforts is essential for both understanding the return on investment but also for feedback that will improve subsequent efforts. Measuring the effect of SEO for Public Relations benefits should start with well defined outcomes. To get a good handle on SEO effectiveness, it’s important to match the [...][Image]

Pull PR and Newsroom Optimization Tactics

(Indexed 2009-05-08):

Most web sites with active media relations programs host an online newsroom. Analysts, journalists and even some bloggers find newsrooms a useful resource for finding past media coverage, press releases, image assets, executive bios, company history, webinars, white papers, case studies and other information helpful for researching stories.Any content that is published to the web [...][Image]

How to Choose the Best Keywords for Optimized Public Relations

(Indexed 2009-05-05):

The core of search marketing is the mix of keyword phrases that people use to search for information on the web. Part of the value of Search Engine Optimization is to identify what searchers actually enter in the search box. If optimization efforts can focus on the phrases that are equally relevant and in [...][Image]

When is PPC Better Than SEO for Public Relations?

(Indexed 2009-05-04):

When search engine marketing enters the conversation in PR circles and vice versa, it’s usually search engine optimization, not pay per click that gets attention. However, there are numerous opportunities to use the on-demand visibility of Pay Per Click as a method to attract visitors to news related content.Publishers of online news and media use [...][Image]

Public Relations Activities That Affect SEO

(Indexed 2009-05-01):

Within the realm of Public Relations, there are many types of digital content that get created and often promoted. Content that can be searched on can be optimized, and that spells opportunity for extending the reach of PR and media relations efforts. Journalists and consumers alike are searching, why not make sure the content published [...][Image]

How do you measure business blogging success?

(Indexed 2009-04-29):

I recently completed developing and recording 2 modules for a business blogging program with the DMA. One of the most interesting portions (in my opinion) of the material addressed measuring blog success. There’s no one right answer because the purpose for business blogs can vary from branding to sales.Since bloggers often read other blogs, I’m [...][Image]

25 Must Read Social Media Marketing Tips

(Indexed 2009-04-27):

The benefit from a firm grasp of social media for companies is impossible to ignore. Whether you work in marketing, advertising, public relations or interactive, there are distinct competitive advantages for both individuals and businesses from a better understanding of the social web.This post provides specific advice from in-house social media marketers including: Dell, Comcast, [...][Image]

5 Internet Marketing Haikus from TopRank

(Indexed 2009-04-24):

In an online world that increasingly values the 140 character message, keeping campaigns, strategies and tactics short and sweet is the best approach for engaging audiences.To celebrate the succinct, we’ve created the following search marketing Haikus for your weekend reading pleasure. Enjoy![Note from Lee: I edited some of these so any of these that are [...][Image]

Digital Marketing on the Social Web: Blog Now or Pay Later

(Indexed 2009-04-23):

Companies world-wide are looking for more creative, high impact and accountable marketing. To find out how marketers were allocating their marketing efforts, we ran a poll of our18,000Online Marketing Blog subscribers to get a handle on what the top digital marketing tactics would be in 2009.Poll respondents cast 1559 votes for their 3 top digital [...][Image]

Upcoming PR, SEO, Social Media Marketing Events

(Indexed 2009-04-21):

April has been a relatively quiet month for TopRank speaking events but May will rev things up a bit with the following Public Relations and Direct Marketing industry events focusing on Search Engine Optimization and Social Media Marketing topics.I’ll also be presenting on SEO for publishers locally this week at a private event for MSP [...][Image]

SEO & Social Media Roadmap

(Indexed 2009-04-15):

Despite company marketing budgets on hold or in a state of ambiguity, businesses are scrambling over social media, trying to figure out how to boost sales and keep the customers they have. SEO is an online marketing tactic thats been tried and true for well over 10 years and is still earning its stripes in [...][Image]

SEO Basics: 6 Tips for Google Webmaster Tools

(Indexed 2009-04-07):

Google Webmaster Tools is a free service that provides a wealth of information directly from Google. Once you have verified a site with Google, they’ll give you access to all sorts of information.Here are just a few features of Google Webmaster Tools:1. ErrorsGoogle Webmaster Tools will show all sorts of errors with a site. [...][Image]

Comprehensive Guide to Social Media Marketing from Marketingsherpa

(Indexed 2009-04-06):

Review of the 2009 Social Media Marketing & PR Benchmark Guide from MarketingsherpaA newreporton social media has been releasedfrom Marketingsherpa withSenior Analyst, Sergio Balegno, as lead author. Over 1,800 marketing and PR professionals responded to the survey resulting in one of the most complete, data supported guides on social media published to date.There are numerousbooks, [...][Image]

Social Media Influences

(Indexed 2009-04-01):

Anyone actively involved (in a productive way) with social media as a marketing, PR or customer service communications channel started somewhere. Since it’s a social activity, that means a high degree of influence from others already mastering the channel. It’s no mystery that one way to quickly gain knowledge about and adapt to something new [...][Image]

Charting Effective Search Engine Optimization

(Indexed 2009-03-31):

[Editor's Note: Today we have another entry from Dana Larson, Content Promotions Supervisor at TopRank Online Marketing, on a structured approach to starting search engine optimization.]Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a necessary component of any successful business website. The internet has become the primary resource for information on virtually everything, from goods and services to [...][Image]

Adding Social Media to Marketing & PR

(Indexed 2009-03-30):

Editor’s Note: This guest post coverage of a recent Marketingsherpa webinar comes from TopRank’s SEO Designer Thomas McMahon and Account Coordinator Kristen HebertAre companies engaging in social media? Are they monitoring their brand? What’s a social media press release? These were a few of the topics covered in Marketingsherpa’s recent “Engaging Bloggers, Journalists and Customers” [...][Image]

SEO Copywriting: Lure The Bots - Dont Become One

(Indexed 2009-03-27):

Copywriting, and all of marketing really, represent that beautiful intersection between business and creativity. Those of us lucky enough to find our way into this niche find that, amazingly, we can actually make a living being creative.Granted, the work we create may not always grab the attention of our hipster friends, but it will put [...][Image]

Tips for Better Business Blogging - SES New York

(Indexed 2009-03-26):

SES New York did pretty well considering many conferences are feeling the effects of business budget cuts. Publisher and VP Matt McGown stated that over 5,000 people attended 2009 SES New York.Social media often folds well into search marketing and blogging represents a great example of the intersection between creating optimized content and a platform [...][Image]

SES NY: 8 Tips to Boost SEM Results

(Indexed 2009-03-25):

In the last session of the day, attendees were rewarded with 8 awesome tips to boost Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Results. Some you may know and some you may not, but there is definitely something for everyone.1. Always. Test. EverythingAssume that everything is broken. Ask your self by how much is it broken and [...][Image]

SES NY: Maximing B2B Lead Generation

(Indexed 2009-03-25):

I love B2B, so a session on how to maximize lead generation within a B2B context is a must-attend.New or old, a B2B marketer knows that a unique set of marketing challenges awaits them including: No single decision makerIncreased risk for decision makers Offline conversions Long lead timeComplex sale Ambiguous search termsDifficulty to pre-select B2B [...][Image]

SES NY: Social Media for the Little Guy

(Indexed 2009-03-25):

Day 2 at SES NY kicks off with a lesson in Social Media for the little guy.The purpose of the session is to find out how small companies with small budgets can freely tap the world of social media to improve business and increase sales.Here’s what we learned from Jennifer Evans Laycock:Take the ‘marketing’ out [...][Image]

Poll: Integrating SEO & Social Media Marketing

(Indexed 2009-03-23):

First things first: Please take this quick poll about integrating SEO and social media marketing.Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.At the recent Pubcon South conference in Austin WebProNews did a video interview with social media superstar Chris Brogan and I about social [...][Image]

SES New York 2009 - Search, Social, Blogs and Reputation

(Indexed 2009-03-23):

This week Thursday 3/26 I will be presenting on 3 panels during the Search Engine Strategies Conference in New York March as well as an iBreakfast meeting on Wednesday 3/25. If you’re attending SES New York, please be sure to stop by and say hello.It’s great to meet Online Marketing Blog readers in person.As a [...][Image]

5 Link Building Tips for New Websites

(Indexed 2009-03-20):

[Editor's Note: Please welcome this guest post from TopRank Online Marketing Content Promotions Supervisor, Dana Larson on basic link building tactics for new web sites.]Despite the constantly evolving nature of search engines and ranking methods, inbound links continue be a significant influence on website rankings. The higher quality the link, the more authority that link [...][Image]

Using Online News to Drive SEO

(Indexed 2009-03-18):

Today we’re doing a webinar (2:00 pm EST) with PRWeb on the topic of leveraging search engine optimization and news content for improved search engine marketing performance. Registrations for this webinar were capped at 2,500, so if you didn’t make it in time, please visit the comments for this post as we’re contining the [...][Image]

SXSW Interactive: Search Meets Social Media in Pictures

(Indexed 2009-03-18):

Readers of Online Marketing Blog may know that after last week’s WebmasterWorld Pubcon conference, I stayed over the weekend in Austin for the Interactive portion of SXSW. I’ve heard up to 9,000 people were registered for the SXSWi event and by looking at the conference sessions, hallways and restaurants/bars, it was undoubtedly the place to [...][Image]

4 Tips for Getting PR Approval on Optimized Press Releases

(Indexed 2009-03-17):

[Editor note: Please welcome TopRankMarketing.com Senior Account Manager Jolina Pettice with this guest post that addresses a common issue with Search Engine Optimization engagements: Getting SEO recommendations implemented!]Optimizing press releases can be an important part of any Search Engine Optimization(SEO) program.It’s usually pretty easy to convince clients of the need to optimize news content since [...][Image]

Reader Poll: Podcast Popularity vs Live Streaming Audio

(Indexed 2009-03-16):

I’ve had some back and forth with collegues recently about the popularity of podcasting, live audio streaming and also how podcasting fits within the social media category of communication channels.eMarketer says podcasts are rising in popularity: “As a percentage of Internet users, podcast downloaders will grow from 9% in 2008 to 17% in 2013″. The [...][Image]

Geeky Gadgets for Surviving and Thriving at Conferences

(Indexed 2009-03-12):

Here I sit blogging in my hotel room at the Renaissance in Austin, Texas before a full day of search and social marketing brain dump at Pubcon South. Immediately after that is SXSWi for a few days. A few days after that it’s NYC for a PRSA thing followed by SES New York. I speak [...][Image]

BIGLIST SEO Blog Reviews 030909

(Indexed 2009-03-09):

We’ve been reviewing the TopRank BIGLIST of search marketing blogsfor over 2 years, starting in January 2007. In that time we’ve reviewed nearly 1,000 blogs covering internet marketing and search marketing related topics.Blog features we like include: Design, On-topic to SEO, Social Media and Internet Marketing, an About page (for the blog specifically), Categories and [...][Image]

11 Ways to Find Brands & Companies on Twitter

(Indexed 2009-03-05):

A big question for marketers that want to connect with businesses on Twitter is that they often don’t know where to look. Part of the rub is that Twitter is predominantly a service used by individuals, not companies. While you can use search.twitter.com advanced features to find individuals using specific criteria, it can be [...][Image]

12 Ways to Find Brands & Companies on Twitter

(Indexed 2009-03-05):

TopRank March 09 Events: Pubcon SXSW PRSA SESNY

(Indexed 2009-03-03):

So much for taking time off from the conference and speaking drill. February was a sweet reprise from a whirlwhind tour of speaking events in 4th quarter 2008. Now February is over and March starts the conference schedule for TopRank Online Marketing once again. Here are the conferences I’ll be speaking at or just attending [...][Image]

Social Media Marketing Tops Digital Marketing Tactics for 2009

(Indexed 2009-03-02):

With concerns over the recession and its impact on marketing, we decided to run a TopRank Reader Poll to discover reader (and their networks) preferences for digital marketing tactics in 2009. Companies world-wide are cutting costs as well as looking for creative, high impact and accountable marketing. Our amazing readers both on Online Marketing Blog [...][Image]

A Strategic Approach to Internet Marketing with Content & SEO

(Indexed 2009-02-24):

We’ve debated content vs links as it relates to SEO as well as the general merits of content in online marketing for serveral years on this blog. Most of the advice about content optimization comes from a search engine optimization perspective, or at least, from SEOs. I decided to reach out to a good number [...][Image]

BIGLIST SEO Blogs Update 021009

(Indexed 2009-02-20):

In this update of the TopRank BIGLIST of search marketing blogswe have a mix of new and old, funny and serious. We hope you find these blogs as informative and interesting as we do. Enjoy:Mediatrust Blog - Peter Bordes, Trip Foster, Scott Parent and Christopher Smith combine to write this agency blog about everything from [...][Image]

12 Twitter Stream Aggregators To Make You Smarter

(Indexed 2009-02-18):

There are so many Tweets and so little time. What’s a “Tweeple” to do? Twitter aggregator and trend websites use a variety of tactics to filter out what’s up and coming and of interest to the Twittersphere in contrast to the mass of mundane Tweets. Twitter stream aggregators are useful for a variety of reasons [...][Image]

Reader Poll: Top Digital Marketing Tactics for 2009

(Indexed 2009-02-18):

We’ve run several Reader Polls on favored internet marketing tactics over the past year and a half flavored by a sentiment towards recession and also as a general indication of future plans. The state of the world and certainly the marketing world is as unique and challenging as it’s ever been. Many companies and vendors [...][Image]

Best Recession Marketing Investment? Relationships

(Indexed 2009-02-16):

Search marketing has been known as recession resistant because so many companies shift or increase internet marketing budgets there in good times and in bad. When other marketing and advertising channels don’t hold up to ROI scruitiny, tactics like SEO hold up rather well. Sage advice on how to execute on this insight can be [...][Image]

Best and Worst Practices Social Media Marketing

(Indexed 2009-02-12):

Social media is hot, just take a look at Google Trends and to see the comparison between topics like “search marketing” being eclipsed by “social media” in terms of search volume and news references - at least according to Google. Along with all that “hotness”, there’s good and bad when it comes to the way [...][Image]

BIGLIST SEO Blog Reviews 0020209

(Indexed 2009-02-02):

Today’s BIGLIST update of search marketing blogsincludes a smattering of agency blogs from the US and the UK as well as appearances from Poland and Singapore. Step right up and get your daily dose of SEO, social media and PPC with this collection of new entrants.The Woah Factor-Brad Shorr andJeanne Dininni write this insightful company [...][Image]

4 Tips For Clean Link Checking

(Indexed 2009-02-02):

It’s time for another SEO Basics post and this time getting more out of link building efforts is the topic.Link building continues to be an important part of marketing and optimizing web sites and web marketers can often get distracted by quantity goals rather than quality. Link building efforts for search engine optimization purposes rely [...][Image]

Reputation Management for Affiliate Marketing

(Indexed 2009-01-21):

One of the best examples of the convergence happening between search engine optimization, social media and digital public relations is online reputation management. This is a topic very close to home not only because our marketing agency emphasizes these practice areas, but because the need for brand and reputation management continues to increase in importance [...]

Social Media Marketing An Hour A Day: Interview with Dave Evans

(Indexed 2009-01-20):

Social Media Smarts Interview with Dave Evans, Author of Social Media Marketing An Hour A DayRecently I came across the new book by Dave Evans, Social Media Marketing An Hour a Day. It’s one of the few marketing books I actually purchased in 2008 because it seemed thorough (as far as a book can be [...]

Social Media Marketing An Hour A Day: Dave Evans

(Indexed 2009-01-20):

BIGLIST of SEO Blogs Update 011909

(Indexed 2009-01-19):

Agencies and Eurpoean blogs make up most of our reviews of this week’s BIGLIST of search marketing blogswith several less than 6 months old. Blogs are a great way for agencies to demonstrate expertise as well as personality to help potential clients get a handle for who they might be working with. TopRank can attest [...]

5 Tips to Make the Most of Your SEO Investment

(Indexed 2009-01-12):

Whether you’re a marketer at a large Fortune 500 company or a small business, search engine optimization (SEO) can be one of the most cost-effective tools for reaching a broader audience and increasing online sales. A solid and persistent search engine optimization program can increase search visibility for many types of content affecting the bottom [...]

11 Best URL Shortening Services - Vote Your Favorite

(Indexed 2009-01-09):

URL shortening services were initially popular because web addresses started to get long and links would break when sent in an email. However, as microblogging services like Twitter have become popular, an increasing number of services and applications, including tracking & metrics, have been added to the basic URL shortening features.Recently I polled followers [...]

BIGLIST Search Marketing Blogs Update 010709

(Indexed 2009-01-08):

It’s a new year and a new update to TopRank’s BIGLIST of search marketing blogs. The BIGLIST, like many of our readers undoubtedly, suffered a bit of bloat over the holidays, so we’ve resolved to trim things up a bit and recently removed over 50 blogs for inactivity or changing focus from search and social [...]

Should Marketers Shift Offline Budgets to Digital Marketing?

(Indexed 2009-01-07):

You don’t have to look much further than recent headlines and research studies below to see that many companies are losing confidence in traditional marketing and advertising. Thechanging trends in information production, distribution and consumption coupled with theuncertain times we live in create an unprecedented challenge for companies to better reach and engage with customers.Whether [...]

6 Social Search Engines to Start 2009

(Indexed 2009-01-04):

There are many reasons to search social media including monitoring for brand and reputation management purposes. Smart online marketers have also been using social search for other reasons including competitive research and opportunistic content marketing through social keyword trends.Most advice on how companies should belistening to the social web with minimal cost involves monitoring individual [...]

2008 Top SEO Blogs by RSS Subscribers

(Indexed 2008-12-31):

As part of maintaining the BIGLIST of search engine marketing blogs, we’ve posted a list of the top SEO blogs that publish their RSS feed subscriber counts and on this last day of 2008, I thought I’d put up just one more.A few more SEO blogs have been added to this list from the last [...]

How Community Building Boosts SEO

(Indexed 2008-12-30):

A while back I had a Twitter discussion with a few smart Minnesota based marketers, @cbensen, @albertmaruggi and @bestbuyCMO about the importance of customer serviceand community building that turned to a variety of ancillary benefits. Connie mentioned that communitybuilding is a long term investment that continues to pay dividends. Albert pointed out thatSEO & [...]

Happy Birthday TopRankBlog & SEO Blogs Class of 2003

(Indexed 2008-12-26):

I am happy to say that this weekend, December 28th marks 5 years of blogging at Online Marketing Blog. From the infamous “Florida Update” of December 2003 to current, practical advice on social media strategy December 2008, TopRank has been a trusted source of information for thousands of readers.The entire TopRank Blogging team wishes a [...]

Happy Holidays from TopRank Online Marketing

(Indexed 2008-12-24):

The entire team at TopRank Online Marketing would like to wish our valued readers a very happy holidays and a fantastic new year. We sincerely appreciate all our subscribers and all the amazing insight, comments and connections you’ve helped us make over 2008 and hopefully between each other. ...(truncated)... Subscribe to this Feed

Best Podcasts on Social Media

(Indexed 2008-12-22):

There are many ways to acquire information on the topic of social media ranging from blogs to books to Twitter. As part of our efforts to aggregate useful resources for Online Marketing Blog readers on topics related to digital PR, search and social marketing, we bring you this fine list of the best podcasts on [...]

Writing for the Web: SEO for News Content

(Indexed 2008-12-20):

At TopRank Online Marketing, we’re keen on matching content and therefore optimization efforts with the right audiences. News is a perfect candidate for optimizing by intent. Below is a presentation I did recently as part of a PR News webinar on the topic of writing for the web, optimizing online PR communications.As part of the [...]

New Perspectives on Digital Asset Optimization for 2009

(Indexed 2008-12-09):

Search engine optimization can be challenging enough, especially for large, enterprise organizations rich with digital assets. They’re also rich with policies, procedures and often times a labrynth of content approval and publishing processes.An effort to optimize and promote those assets to search engine bots can be even more challenging than standard SEO. And yet it [...]

TopRank Brings 2 Speakers on 2 Panels at SES Chicago

(Indexed 2008-12-08):

TopRank Online Marketingwill have two speakers presenting on two panels at SES Chicago this week. On Tuesday, Senior Account Manager Jolina Pettice (who recently spoke on a panel with Yahoo’s Ron Belanger and Anne Kennedy at DPAC) will be speaking on a session about how to use Public Relations tactics to improve SEO results. On [...]

SES Chicago Winds of Change

(Indexed 2008-12-08):

Today kicks off another Search Engine Strategies conference, this time in the windy and bleeping cold city of Chicago.Change has been in the air for SES with the namingof Stewart Quealy as VP of content development, responsible for creating conference program content for all SES events and training. Also, Marilyn Crafts (whom I like to [...]

Get Social Media Smart with 26 Tips on the Social Web

(Indexed 2008-12-05):

Day one of the DMA / TopRankMarketing.com Social Media Smarts workshop kicked off covering a tremendous amount of information including defining social media, practical examples & case studies and blogging soup to nuts. Creating, marketing and measuring blog results was covered in 3 different modules.Social media and making sense out of the social web is [...]

Fundamentals of Social Media Marketing Strategy

(Indexed 2008-12-04):

Central to the notion of social media is the ability to create, publish and share content. The sheer volume of information on the topic of social media marketing makes filtering and prioritizing what’s most important to a specific organization a challenging task.There’s a lot of excitement from marketers and companies but not everyone is exactly [...]

Listen Learn Change Grow

(Indexed 2008-11-28):

The thing about internet marketing is that there is no “one right way” to solve a single problem. So much of the advice and commentary about content optimization for search engines at conferences and on blogs is tactical. Five tips for this and 10 ways to do that. We do it too, because people that [...]

Best Books on Social Media

(Indexed 2008-11-26):

Recently I had the task fo creating a resource for direct marketers on social media marketing and print books are something many people rely on as a portable source of information. The challenge with print sources on internet marketing related topics of course, is that they can become outdated more quickly than other topics.As a [...]

Cirque du Soleil Jessica Berlin on Social Media Marketing

(Indexed 2008-11-24):

One of the opportunities from speaking at the Pubcon conference in Las Vegas recently was meeting many client side social media marketing practitioners. Jessica Berlin, one of my co-panelists and social media manager from Cirque du Soleil, offered excellent insights into online reputation management and social media. I’ve invited her to take part in our [...]

Hands On Social Media for Direct Marketers

(Indexed 2008-11-19):

TopRank Online Marketing is pleased to announce a parternship with The Direct Marketing Association to develop and present a series of 2 day workshops on social media marketing for direct marketers.On December 4th in New York the new course entitled: “Social Media Smarts:An Introduction to the Social Web, Tools and Strategies”will introduce participants to [...]

Post PubCon: Real-World Winning Tactics for Content Creation

(Indexed 2008-11-19):

Editor note: In order not to overwhelm readers with posts during Pubcon, we’ve saved a few additional sessions for posting this week. Enjoy!Content is king. In spite of all that has changed in the online sphere since its inception, content is still the critical element to a compelling website. Providing relevant, fresh content on [...]

PubCon: Earning Big Bucks with Social Media Traffic

(Indexed 2008-11-15):

Have you considered developing content specifically to drive traffic from social media sites? Have you also considered what you want from that social media traffic, and what to do with it once you have it?In a session titled, “Earning Big Bucks with Social Media Traffic“, Social Media Marketing advocates including Rank Fishkin, Vanessa Fox, Michael [...]

Pubcon: In-House SEO and PPC

(Indexed 2008-11-13):

The last regular session of the day I decided to attend was on In-House SEO and PPC which was moderated by Melanie Mitchell and included Jessica Bowman, Dan Perry, Ana Schultz, Allison Fabella and Jill Sampey. The issues that in-house search marketers experience are the same issues that SEO agencies experience when performing enterprise SEO [...]

Pubcon Day 2 Favorite Photos

(Indexed 2008-11-13):

The second day of WebmasterWorld Pubcon didn’t dissapoint with great sessions throughout the day. In between sessions, I was able to take a few candids and had help from Lisa Barone and Ashley Bruce during the sessions where I was speaking.Elisabeth Osmeloski andAlex BennertBarry Schwartz and Ken JurinaJessica Bowman and Heather Lloyd MartinA taller Matt [...]

PubCon: Social Media - The Big Sexy Buzz

(Indexed 2008-11-12):

You may or may not be using social media tools such as Twitter, Facebook, or Digg in your business. The overarching theme from this panel at PubCon was why not, what do you have to lose?Social media gurus, including Warren Whitlock, Co-Author of The Twitter Revolution, Brian Carter, Director of Search Marketing for Fuel Interactive, [...]

PubCon: Understanding the Complex Social Media Marketing Playing Field

(Indexed 2008-11-12):

Building and designing a successful social media campaign can be a lot like designing and building a skyscraper. You need to research the materials, lay a strong foundation, and continue regular maintenance to ensure your building, or social media promotion, doesnt collapse.In Understanding the Complex Social Media Marketing Playing Field, moderator Joe Laratro led a [...]

Pubcon 2008 Keynote Shawn Rorick of Cirque du Soleil

(Indexed 2008-11-12):

The WebmasterWorld Pubcon conference in Las Vegas opened up today with remarks from founder Brett Tabke, who mentioned that only about 30% of the content of this year’s event are dedicated to search marketing. The rest is made up of social media and other related internet marketing topics. As interests in the industry changes, Pubcon [...]

Pubcon Day 1 Favorite Photos

(Indexed 2008-11-12):

As is tradition at Online Marketing Blog, we take quite a few photos at conferences. I’ve never come back from an event thinking that I took too many. Here are a few photos from day one of the WebmasterWorld Pubcon conference in Las Vegas, which for me, was interrupted by a trip over to the [...]

Increase ROI From Marketing Conferences

(Indexed 2008-11-10):

Now, more than ever, marketing companies and consultants need to get competitive for client dollars and what better way than advancing your knowledge and your network?There are many options for companies and agencies to train digital marketing teams and to keep tenured employees up to date including conferences such as: this week’s WebmasterWorld Pubcon, Search [...]

Managing Online Reputation with SEO, Social Media & PR

(Indexed 2008-11-05):

One of the hottest topics that transcends the public relations, social media and search marketing worlds is online reputation management. Search engines are fantastic for finding things. They’re also a significant contributor to influence online. Blogs, forums, social networks and media sharing sites all offer venues for customers to express their opinions about brands - [...]

The New Rules of Marketing & PR

(Indexed 2008-11-04):

Several of the TopRank Online Marketing team attended a Social Media Breakfast last Friday, along with about 150 local business leaders, code warriors, internet marketers, agency peeps and social media enthusiasts, to hear a presentation by David Meerman Scott, author of “The New Rules of Marketing & PR”. TopRank CEO Lee Odden posted a short [...]

David Meerman Scott Social Media Breakfast Minneapolis

(Indexed 2008-10-31):

This morning the 8th social media breakfast meeting (started by Rick Mahn) was held at the Deluxe HQ here in the Twin Cities. In a very short time this meeting of a few social media enthusiasts at a coffee house has grown to over 125 people hosted by the likes of Best Buy and [...]

How Big Companies Use Social Media @ BlogWell

(Indexed 2008-10-30):

Please welcome guest blogger Jessica Rosenberg, a freelance writer and active social media user who blogs daily at It’s my life… and does product reviews at The Lemonade Stand. Jessica attended BlogWell: “How Big Companies Use Social Media” event this week in San Jose. As sponsors of BlogWell, TopRank’s Online Marketing Blog also did a [...]

Leveraging SEO and PR with Digital Public Relations

(Indexed 2008-10-30):

Today I did a webinar with PRWeb on how to improve SEO (Search Engine Optimization) results by using online public relations tactics. With 15 minutes to present, there wasn’t a lot of tactical detail. At TopRank we’ve done a pretty good job at identifying trends in a way small and large business marketers can understand. [...]

PRSA 2008 International Conference Round Up

(Indexed 2008-10-29):

Over the weekend, Online Marketing Blog posts as well as my interactions on Twitter took on a decidedly “public relations” flavor with TopRank’s involvement at the 2008 PRSA International conference. The event is now done and everyone should be back in the swing of things back in the office.This year TopRank had 2 speaking slots [...]

PRSA 2008: Whats The ROI On Your Press Release?

(Indexed 2008-10-28):

Working for TopRank Online Marketing, which offers both SEO and public relations services, I always enjoy attending sessions that focus on both.In part, its an excellent feeling to know that the SEO services we integrate into our online PR programs are ahead of the game in many ways, and in part because there is always [...]

PRSA 2008: The Changed PR Landscape What Works, What Doesnt

(Indexed 2008-10-28):

(Rob Key, Peter Himler, David Bradfield, Lee Odden)Prior to being engaged to someone with far more social tact and less complete obliviousness towards social etiquette than myself, it would have never once occurred to me to bring a “host gift” to a party or get together.As I mature and meet more and more people, however, [...]

PRSA Session: Current Consumer Trends & Communicating with Green Media

(Indexed 2008-10-28):

At TopRank Online Marketing, many of our clients are intrigued with the prospect of going to market with green messaging. We match their excitement like most firms do when faced with the prospect of communicating an honest-to-goodness good story with so seemingly tailor made for results.Is it really enough to announce that youre going [...]

PRSA 2008: Word of Mouth Online or Off Whats The Difference?

(Indexed 2008-10-26):

Can you truly measure the effect of word of mouth in marketing, whether it be online or offline? If so, which is more effective? Further, if so, what exactly can we as marketers do with it?These were the bold questions set forth by Jeffrey Graham, Executive Director, Customer Insight, New York Times, in the [...]

Internet Marketing All Star Video Smackdown

(Indexed 2008-10-25):

Next Wednesday, (Oct 29) 1 - 3:30 p.m. EST Network Solutions is holding the “Solutions Stars Video Conference,” a series of videos and live discussions featuring 32 internet marketing experts and entrepreneurs from every angle you can imagine from SEO to social media to whatever it is that Tim Ferris does. Seriously, this is one [...]

Big Brand Social Media Interview: Wells Fargo, Home Depot, UPS & Graco

(Indexed 2008-10-23):

As much has been publicized about brands using social media to better connect with their customers, extend brand reach and increase sales, there’s still a high demand for practical insider advice and case studies.To preview the upcoming BlogWell event Oct 28 on How Big Companies Use Social Media, Online Marketing Blog brings you this first [...]

SEO Basics: Will Moving or Changing My Site Hurt Rankings?

(Indexed 2008-10-22):

We continue our Search Engine Optimization Basics series of posts this week with a question from a marketer that is dealing with issues related to moving a web site to another host and possibly updating the content management system and design.Will changing our web site affect our search engine rankings?As with many SEO related questions, [...]

Corporate Blogging Trends, Insights and Events

(Indexed 2008-10-21):

Whether to blog or not and exactly how to do it are big questions for many companies that have not jumped on the business blogging bandwagon yet. For companies that want to learn, there are many channels to choose from ranging from the many articles we’ve written on blog marketing and more recently, this roundup [...]

PRSA International Conference Detroit: A Halloween Perspective

(Indexed 2008-10-20):

Next weekend, I will be deployed to Detroit, MI to attend 2008s PRSA International Conference titled The Point of Connection and will be sharing thoughts on several sessions, in addition to general overviews of the event itself, on behalf of Online Marketing Blog readers. So what am I looking forward to most about the PRSA [...]

The Yin Yang of PR and SEO

(Indexed 2008-10-16):

Organic search (SEO) success is based fundamentally on keywords and links. You can also make a pretty easy correlation between that and the combination of messaging and media pickups important in public relations efforts.Search engines like Google advise webmasters to create great content and let important web sites in your industry know (to attract links). [...]

SEO Tops Recession Internet Marketing Tactics

(Indexed 2008-10-13):

Let’s face it, we’re experiencing more than “interesting” economic times, especially those with a marketing responsibility in-house and at agencies.To tap in to the stream of marketing-savvy collective wisdom online, we reached out to our network with a top internet marketing tactics poll for the next 6 months. Over 400 business marketers responded, making this [...]

DMA08 Las Vegas Internet Marketing Roundup

(Indexed 2008-10-13):

TopRank Online Marketing has been fortunate to present at the Direct Marketing Association annual conference for 4 years in a row and a 5th appearance several years before that. (See photos from DMA07 here) Over 10,000 marketers attend the DMA show making it the largest marketing conference in the world and with this year’s show [...]

SEO Basics: Are Directory Submissions Still Worthwhile?

(Indexed 2008-10-09):

Here’s another search engine optimization Q/A on on the topic of web site marketing via directories compared to search engines plus a bonus on the value of meta search engines.These are real questions from a web site owner and due to the vintage nature of the topics, reflect the need for ongoing education and updates [...]

SEO Basics: Ensure Your Site is Crawlable

(Indexed 2008-10-08):

Online Marketing Blog has always been about more than search engine optimization, covering digital public relations, social media marketing and plenty of other internet marketing topics. And yet, SEO is a core component of nearly every thing we do in our consulting practice.For the web site owners and marketers fairly new to the site optimization [...]

BIGLIST SEO Blogs Update 100208

(Indexed 2008-10-03):

Admit it. You’ve missed the BIGLIST. Well, we’ve have a nice bundle of SEO and paid search blog reviews for you to snuggle up to. Fire up your feed reader and grab a hot cup of joe.SearchEngineWorld - One of several sister sites to WebmasterWorld, this long time search marketing site has been reinvented and [...]

Wrap Up of MIMA Summit 2008

(Indexed 2008-10-02):

The dust has settled, mountains of email have been sorted through and most of this year’s attendees of MIMA’s Summit, branded “FEED” are back into the swing of things.As you can tell from the photo above, it was a sold out event and a very big venue. Both keynotes were informative and entertaining. Rebecca Lieb’s [...]

Corporate Bloggers: Angels or Demons?

(Indexed 2008-10-01):

Incorporating a company blog into your social media and marketing mix can be a tug of war, finding both supporters and defeaters within the organization.At the MIMA Summit (Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association) this afternoon, I attended a session discussing the pros and cons, along with the challenges a corporate blogger must overcome to represent the [...]

The Changing Face of Email Marketing - MIMA Summit

(Indexed 2008-10-01):

I must say, of all breakout sessions at the MIMA event today, The Changing Face of Email session was the one I was most excited to attend as it ties into what I love to do email marketing. Thankfully I didnt have to wait long to dive right in as it was part of [...]

Storytelling, Advertising and Content - Rebecca Lieb at MIMA

(Indexed 2008-10-01):

The annual MIMA (Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association) event kicked off this morning with Rebecca Lieb as the opening keynote.In a nutshell, the session was funny, insightful and not without the inevitable internet issues which seem to plague all search conferences (ironic, yes?).Rebecca got Minnesota online marketers thinking about the following 3 items:1. Informative (be the [...]

MIMA Summit Marketing Mix Challenge

(Indexed 2008-10-01):

The Marketing Mix Challenge session promises to answer the question: “If you’re going to launch a new product, how do you formulate the marketing mix - in this economic climate?”The panel includes a mix of in-house marketers and agencies: Luba Smulka from General Mills (Cheerios), Eric Boyles from Medtronic, Ron Corbisier from Cadria (agency) and [...]

MIMA Summit 2008 Kicks Off to a Sold Out Crowd

(Indexed 2008-10-01):

Matt Wilson, the President of The Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association (MIMA), a networking and professional development forum for interactive marketing professionals, kicked off the 2008 Annual MIMA Summit this morning in grand fashion!With a sold-out room full (600+) of Minnesota interactive marketers chomping at the bit to learn the latest and greatest, it is guaranteed [...]

Interview with John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing

(Indexed 2008-09-30):

If you’ve been marketing online for any length of time, you’ve no doubt seen the brand “Duct Tape Marketing“. John Jantsch, the guy behind that brand is a true, “marketer’s marketer” as you’ll see in the interview below. Because of John early in my blogging experience, I was able to pick up a lot of [...]

MIMA Summit 2008

(Indexed 2008-09-29):

On Wednesday October 1st, about ten of TopRanks finest will be making the trek from the Western suburbs to downtown Minneapolis for the Minnesota Interactive Marketing Associations (MIMA) “sold out” Summit.As in years past, MIMA Summit will take place at The Depot with a new focus on the subject of “mutualism”. Mutualism centers on the [...]

Interview with Gary Koelling from Best Buy on Social Media

(Indexed 2008-09-25):

Gary Koelling at a MIMA EventIt’s social media interview week here at Online Marketing Blog and we have another excellent interview with a social media sage just for you.Gary Koelling is a blogger, Twitterati, public speaker and a social media pathfinder. He’s also Senior Manager, Social Technology at Best Buy. Best Buy is undoubtedly one [...]

Thank You to VISI Web Hosting - Best in Minnesota

(Indexed 2008-09-24):

Online Marketing Blog readers may remember a while back that our blog was shut down by a previous host with no warning because of too much load on the shared server. When they did finally respond/contact us it was to sell an upgrade while web requests for our site returned a 404 not found message.We [...]

Scott Monty Interview - Tips on Social Media for Large Companies

(Indexed 2008-09-22):

Blogs are undoubtedly a big part of the social media world and that’s why the topic of social media was approached at Blog World Expo from many different angles from monetization and marketing to social media and blogs in corporate public relations.This interview with Ford’s head of social media, Scott Monty touches on a few [...]

Jason Falls Interview: Waking Up the PR Industry to Social Media

(Indexed 2008-09-21):

The Blog World Expo conference has brought together an amazing mix of marketing, social media and public relations voices making someone like myself feel very much at home discussing the convergence of these three disciplines. Jason Falls, Director of Social Media for ad agency Doe-Anderson, is one of those people who really “gets” the social [...]

How Does Social Media Affect Search?

(Indexed 2008-09-19):

Social media and search marketing: Are they two peas in a pod, complimentary or two very distinct channels?I think the answer is all of the above, depending on the situation. The growth in attention to social media as a marketing, communication and community building opportunity deserves attention by all sorts of online marketers, especially those [...]

How to Hire a SEO Firm - According to Google

(Indexed 2008-09-17):

With search engine optimization a challenge for most company marketers to stay current with, how exactly are businesses supposed to confidently hire a SEO consultant? Google has an opinion on this if you haven’t noticed.There’s an ongoing dance of sorts between search engines like Google and the search engine optimization community. They both want a [...]

41 Internet Marketing Tactics - Take the Poll

(Indexed 2008-09-16):

We live in some interesting times with the economy, the war, natural disasters and the uncertainty that comes with a Presidential election. It’s enough to keep marketers on their toes that consumer online behaviors and technology change so often, but economic uncertainty makes it even more “interesting“.The interactive marketing show will go on but in [...]

Free Pass Winners to DPAC II NYC

(Indexed 2008-09-12):

There’s a pretty big agenda in store for the upcoming Digital Publishing and Advertising Conference in New York also known as “DPAC II“. Topics, people and conversations around media, marketing, publishing, and technology will all come together to help the digital content and advertising industry understand what’s next and what’s right for them. Anyone in [...]

Publishers Learn to Monetize Digital Assets at OMMA Global

(Indexed 2008-09-10):

TopRank has been asked to speak at the upcoming OMMA Global conference in New York on the topic of, “Digital Asset Optimization.” While TopRank has helped pioneer and promote DAO as a holistic content optimization model for improving online lead generation and sales, this session is geared specifically towards online publishers.Online publishers are in a [...]

Spotlight on Search: Interview with Rebecca Lieb

(Indexed 2008-09-08):

One of the fun things we get to do on Online Marketing Blog is interview interesting people we meet and get to know by being involved with the industry. This interview is with Rebecca Lieb, Editorial Consultant to ClickZ and former Editor for the past 7 years. In addition to previously offering sage advice [...]

BIGLIST SEO Blog Reviews 090508

(Indexed 2008-09-05):

Today we have a very nice collection of BIGLIST search and social marketing blogs from all over the world ranging from independent consultants to small agencies to executives at large agencies. Enjoy!beu blog - As well as being very active in the SEM industry, Brian Ussery is an Atlanta based SEO known for his expertise [...]

Digital PR and SEO Series: Part 3

(Indexed 2008-08-29):

We’ve made the case for integrating media relations, SEO and social media into a digital PR program as well as covering some of the basics. Now we can drill a bit deeper into blogger relations and social media monitoring.Practical Examples of Involving SEO Expertise with Media & Blogger Relations, Social Media MonitoringThe advent of digital [...]

Digital PR and SEO Series: Part 2

(Indexed 2008-08-28):

Yesterday we talked about the opportunity for combining search engine optimization, social media and digital public relations. Today’s entry will discuss how to start going about it.Leveraging Low and High Tech for Social Media RelationsFuzzy. Thats how I would describe most companies thinking on social media, SEO and PR. How can marketers and companies start [...]

5 Ways to Re-Purpose Content for Blog SEO

(Indexed 2008-08-26):

Content is King and links are Queen. Together with a nice dose of marketing they make a nice little kingdom. But what if you have trouble generating new content on a regular basis? How can resource strapped bloggers and busy web site owners leverage what they’re already doing for the benefit of their online audiences [...]

BIGLIST SEO Blog Reviews 082508

(Indexed 2008-08-25):

Welcome back to the BIGLIST Update of SEO, SEM and Social Media Marketing Blogs. This week’s blog reviews include ecommerce, social media and PR as well as agency insights on industry trends. Enjoy!eCommerce Optimization Blog - This ecommerce blog by eCopt (aka Matt Franklin) advises you’ll sell more online if you read the many tutorials, [...]

SES San Jose Photos - Paparazzi Style

(Indexed 2008-08-23):

At marketing conferences readers of Online Marketing Blog mention to me frequently about the photo roundup posts we do as favorites. We certainly like to make those posts and since readers like to see them, here is a collection of favorite candids taken during SES San Jose.Kevin Ryan, Misty Locke, Kevin NewcombDanny Sullivan, Matt Cutts, [...]

SES San Jose: Successful Tactics for Social Media Optimization

(Indexed 2008-08-21):

Entering the realm of social media can be a bit like trying to enter an exclusive club. There are barriers to entry, codes of conduct, and unwelcome outsiders are quickly identified and ostracized. Yet, like an exclusive club, the benefits of membership can be great. Marketers looking to benefit from social media would do well [...]

SES San Jose: News Search SEO

(Indexed 2008-08-21):

News search engines offer a great way to receive targeted traffic related to breaking topics or to help with a public relations launch. In this session, industry experts Lee Odden, CEO of TopRank Online Marketing, Lisa Buyer, President & CEO of The Buyer Group and Greg Jarboe, President and Co-Founder, SEO-PR look at how to [...]

Blog SEO Tips from SES San Jose

(Indexed 2008-08-21):

Blogs have been abuzz for at least 4 years in the tech space and in the past 2-3 years in the business marketing world. Like many new marketing/communication channels, there continues to be a need to demystify shiny new objects and what they mean for businesses. Blogs and search engine optimization are no different.One point [...]

Internet Marketing Conference Tips: Michael Brito Intel

(Indexed 2008-08-21):

Wow, what a conference! Search Engine Strategies is near it’s end and what better way to wrap up our series on internet marketing conference tips than with the following super-tips from super smart Michael Brito, Social Media Program Manager at Intel. Michael worked with HP then moved on to Yahoo and is now with Intel [...]

SES San Jose: Social Media Analysis and Tracking

(Indexed 2008-08-21):

Social Search can be used to drive traffic, conversions, and increase ROI by monitoring conversations happening online. This panel is a first for SES with Marshall Sponder, Senior Web Analyst for Monster.com as the Moderator.Industry leaders Todd Parsons, Co-founder and CPO of Buzz Logic, Rob Key, CEO of Converseon, Edmund Won, Vice President of Strategy [...]

Internet Marketing Conference Tips: Heather Lloyd-Martin DMA SEMC

(Indexed 2008-08-21):

SES San Jose week is nearly over one might say we’ve saved some of the best internet marketing conference tips for last with the ever enthusiastic and insightful Heather Lloyd-Martin. Heather is Chair, DMA’s Search Engine Marketing Council and President of SuccessWorks. She also blogs about copywriting at SEO Copywriting.Attend all the “search marketing site [...]

SES San Jose Day Two Roundup

(Indexed 2008-08-20):

A full featured and information packed day is how many SES attendees would describe day two of the conference in San Jose. I know the TopRank Blogging team would agree with 13 new posts today! Advanced B2B Search Marketing - Jessica Identify, Analyze, Act: SEM by the Numbers - Thomas Whats New with Google Analytics [...]

SES San Jose Session: Advanced B2B Search Marketing

(Indexed 2008-08-20):

If you are in the market to harvest leads from your web site, then this is the session for you! Industry experts Barbara Coll, CEO of WebMama.com, Patricia Hursh, President and Founder of SmartSearch Marketing and Adam Goldberg, Chief Innovation Officer for Clearsaleing gave some tips and insight to help B2B marketers develop search strategies [...]

SES San Jose: What’s New with Google Analytics and Website Optimizer?

(Indexed 2008-08-20):

Google is the Wizard of search marketings Oz. The all-powerful being around which our universe orbits, and the all-knowing guru to whom we turn for website advice. While Google, like the wizard, may guard its own secrets, it lifts the curtain and lets us look at the inner workings of websites. In this session, two [...]

SES San Jose: Global Search for the B2B SEM

(Indexed 2008-08-20):

The global market represents a huge opportunity for those who can master the nuances of local customs and languages.In this session, leading global B2B search marketers Patricia Hursh, President of SmartSearch Marketing, Kevin Lee, Executive Chairman and Co-Founder for Didit, and Jeffrey Pruitt, President of SEMPO and VP of Corporate Sponsorships for iCrossing share their [...]

SES San Jose: Social Media Marketing

(Indexed 2008-08-20):

Social media marketing is fast emerging as a must-have in search strategies. In this session, industry experts Vanina Delobelle, Global Product Director for Monster, Erik Qualman from Search Engine Watch and Global VP of EF Education, along with Brnet Csutoras, Online Marketing Consultant offered some tips to successfully integrate social media into your search marketing [...]

SES San Jose Session: Search Industry Update

(Indexed 2008-08-19):

Paid search not only accounts for nearly 45% of the global online ad spend, but it is also one of the fastest growing online ad formats.I’m currently enrolled in the Advanced Search Advertising course through the SEMPO Institute and am excited to learn about the new trends in search marketing, shared by industry experts like [...]

SES San Jose: Video Search Engine Optimization (VSEO)

(Indexed 2008-08-19):

Earlier today, I attended the session “The Next Wave For Online Video,” which covered some high level insights into video advertising and online video trends. This session focused more on practical tips to get videos ranking in both video search engine and universal search results. Joseph Morin of Boost Search Marketing monitored this session in [...]

SES San Jose: The Next Wave for Online Video

(Indexed 2008-08-19):

Online video has seen a surge in popularity over the past few years. What started out as simple user-generated content (UGC) has become a medium for everyone from the rich and famous to the video blogger next door. It is no surprise that marketers were quick to recognize this trend and capitalize on the success [...]

SES San Jose: Search Around the World - Part 1: Asia/Pacific & Latin America

(Indexed 2008-08-19):

Everyone is so familiar with the expression “When in Rome…” that most people don’t even finish the statement. Yet this piece of well-worn advice is sometimes ignored or forgotten in practice. Emerging markets around the world are growing and attracting U.S. attention in every industry, and search engine marketing is no exception. Online marketers, like [...]

Internet Marketing Conference Tips: Brad Berens iMedia Connection

(Indexed 2008-08-18):

Here’s our second tip in a series of posts during the Search Engine Strategies conference in San Jose on “Getting the Most Out of Internet Marketing Conferences“. This one is from Brad Berens, Global Content Director for the esteemed ad:tech conferences and iMedia Connection.Brad also blogs about culture, new media, marketing and community over at [...]

Getting the Most Out of Internet Marketing Conferences

(Indexed 2008-08-17):

With Search Engine Strategies San Jose just around the corner, I thought it timely and appropriate to share insights on how you can get the most out of marketing conferences.TopRank is very active attending, speaking and blogging a variety of internet marketing events, conferences and workshops. These aren’t the only reasons to attend a marketing [...]

Word Visualization on Search Marketing Blogs

(Indexed 2008-08-13):

Lists and ranking resources can be tough and controversial. A while back we ranked top blogs on the topic of search engine marketing (SEO and PPC) that publish their RSS subscriber counts via Google’s Feedburner.With changes in the search marketing industry, one can logically wonder, “How many SEM blogs really still post about search marketing?” [...]

BIGLIST SEO Blogs Update 081108

(Indexed 2008-08-11):

Welcome to the newest update of TopRank’s BIGLIST of SEO/SEM blogs, chock full of SEO, SEM and Social Media goodness. This week’s crop will help you stay up to date with industry news and the latest how-to’s on social media marketing, search engine optimization and agency online marketing best practices.Forrester Blog for Interactive Marketing - [...]

Link Building vs Content Promotion for Links

(Indexed 2008-08-06):

When marketing web sites on the internet 10 years ago, people “surfed” the web, clicking on links between sites they already knew about, links from directories and review sites. Search engines like AltaVista, Lycos, Hotbot, Excite, etc were around as well. Remember those? People like Eric Ward pioneerd the practice of promoting web sites [...]

Reader Poll: Influence Marketing with Social Networks

(Indexed 2008-07-29):

Networking has been a core tactic for building and marketing businesses long before the internet came of age and certainly even more so with the explosion of services such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Ning. Web technology and the mass appeal of making connections online makes social networking an attractive channel for businesses that want to [...]

BIGLIST SEO Blogs Update 072108

(Indexed 2008-07-21):

The BIGLIST update of SEO blogs comes to you this week on a Monday because, hey, that’s the way we like to change things up here at Online Marketing Blog. This edition of the BIGLIST Update is chock full of blogs that offer SEO how to’s and practical insights as well as a good showing [...]

2009 Search Marketing Benchmark Guide

(Indexed 2008-07-14):

For the 5th year in a row, MarketingSherpa has published their Search Marketing Benchmark Guide which has been completely re-written and edited including results from the Marketing Sherpa members search marketing survey, other studies performed over the last 12 months and “best of” research provided by over 50 respected sources.The SEM Benchmark Guide is helpful [...]

5 Tips for Driving Qualified Traffic With Online Marketing

(Indexed 2008-07-10):

[Note from Lee: Please welcome Ashley Bruce, the newest member of TopRank's Online Promotions team who is making her first blog post at Online Marketing Blog with this Lionel Richie inspired post about improving qualified traffic through online marketing tips.]Internet marketers often have to get creative when it comes to solving client web site traffic [...]

All Aboard! Social Media Club

(Indexed 2008-07-09):

For Bay Area folks and social media enthusiasts the world over, “Social Media Club” is well known as an upstart organization looking to promote the goodness of social media as well as advance the knowledge of businesses trying to figure out where social media might fit into their digital marketing plans.Today SMC co-founders Chris Heuer [...]

When SEO Isn’t For Increasing Sales

(Indexed 2008-07-07):

SEO is a hot topic for Online Marketing blog with the most recent posts, “Rushing Your SEO Doesnt Mean Quicker Results” and “Should Companies Hire Multiple Search Marketing Firms?”. The next in what is becoming a series of insights into SEO is all about optimizing content for situations that really have little to do [...]

Should Companies Hire Multiple Search Marketing Firms?

(Indexed 2008-07-01):

On occasion TopRank will get calls from prospective clients that ask about hiring multiple SEO agencies in an effort to get the “best of both worlds” in terms of best practices and performance through competition. On the surface, I suppose I could see how someone might think this might make sense but in practice, it [...]

BIGLIST SEO Blogs Update 06/20/08

(Indexed 2008-06-20):

Today on this fine Friday ladies and gentlemen, we have a BIGLIST SEO blogs update for you slanting a bit toward agencies but not without some flavor from Germany and the Jungle. Read on:AdCenter Community - This is Microsoft’s official support blog for AdCenter advertisers.Mediadonis - Germany based Marcus Tandler writes about his search engine [...]

SES Toronto: Web 2.0 and Search Engines

(Indexed 2008-06-20):

With so many “Web 2.0″ technologies coming in to play with web design and online application development, the effect on the search engines’ ability to find, crawl and index content becomes an issue. As such, this session moderated by Kevin Ryan included deep dive advice from Chris “Silver” Smith, Lead Strategist from Netconcepts and [...]

SES Toronto: SEO Don’ts, Myths and Scams

(Indexed 2008-06-20):

If you’ve been in the search marketing industry for any length of time, you’ve undoubtedly encountered a wide variety of conflicting or outdated advice. Since “how to” information in so many other industries is often presented as an absolute, many people look for the same kinds of static and perpetual rules with search engine [...]

Online Marketing Tips from TopRank

(Indexed 2008-06-09):

The TopRank team works really well together, bringing to each team meeting various areas of expertise and interest, which makes for a well-rounded environment here in our Lake Minnetonka office. We know how to play off of everyone’s strengths and ensure our clients are fully serviced based on their needs and objectives by those [...]

BIGLIST SEO Blogs Update 060608

(Indexed 2008-06-06):

I guess you could call this the “International Edition” of the BIGLIST Update of search marketing blogs as we have multiple countries represented including SEOs and PR professionals from the UK, New Zealand, Netherlands and USA. There’s plenty of flavorful writing, advice and tips so read on:Searchwritten - Netherlands based Ramon Eijkemans started this new [...]

Interview: Cecily Sommers on PUSH 2008 The Fertile Delta

(Indexed 2008-06-05):

Innovation, creative problem solving and passionate interest in the subject matter are a big part of successful internet and social marketing - the topics of prime interest to readers of Online Marketing Blog. Those same characteristics apply to organizations and individuals working to make strategic business and marketing changes for the future.In particular, these values [...]

SMX Advanced: Search Marketing and Surviving a Recession

(Indexed 2008-06-04):

While there is still a debate over the effect of the recession we are in, or even if we are in a recession at all, it seems most companies and individuals are preparing for it the best they can. Talks of budget cuts and conserving resources are on everyone’s minds these days.So where does [...]

Extending SEO with Digital Asset Optimization

(Indexed 2008-06-03):

The search marketing industry is rich with acronyms: SEO, SEM, PPC, ROI, SERPs (even LMAO) as well as buzz phrases such as “search engine optimization” and “social media optimization”. Do we really need another?One of the few things to be counted on in search marketing is that there will be change. That change comes in [...]

5 Reasons Why Business Blogs Fail

(Indexed 2008-05-30):

With over 100 million blogs tracked by Technorati, there is a tremendous amount of momentum and motivation for businesses to take advantage of all the marketing, PR, support and revenue opportunities that business blogs can bring.Sometimes it seems there are more “blog consultants” than there are business blogs due to the ease of using free [...]

SMX Advanced 2008 Preview

(Indexed 2008-05-27):

SMX Advanced is less than a week away, and let me tell you, I am excited. Not only is Seattle one of my favorite cities in the country, but the agenda for the 2 day long search marketing event looks outstanding.Along with the keynote speakers - Kevin Johnson and Matt Cutts - here are [...]

Adopting Social Media in the Enterprise

(Indexed 2008-05-20):

Late last week, Lee, Jolina and I attended the event, Dual Reality: Who Controls Social Media in the Enterprise, sponsored by the Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association (MIMA). As we sat in the front row, eagerly awaiting the discussion panel to emerge, we reviewed the roster of panelists, including Interactive Directors (titles varying from one company [...]

Interview: Guy Kawasaki on Alltop, Twitter and Blogging

(Indexed 2008-05-19):

Someone that I’ve wanted to interview as much as Robert Scoble is Guy Kawasaki. Guy is an enthusiastic promoter and marketer which are qualities Online Marketing Blog readers can appreciate a great deal. In this interview, he talks briefly about his most recent project, Alltop as well as changes he would make to Twitter, [...]

Online Reputation Management for Direct Marketers - ACCM 2008

(Indexed 2008-05-18):

Lee and Rob at PRSA International 2007On the marketing conference circuit, online reputation management is a hot topic now more then ever. Whether it’s search marketing, public relations or direct marketing, companies are trying to make sense of how to monitor and manage the brand impact of online conversations and their visibility in search [...]

Top 10 Uses of Twitter and Tools

(Indexed 2008-05-16):

The results of our poll on how Online Marketing Blog readers use Twitter are in. We had over 220 responses, which isn’t a bad sample considering this blog is fairly niche with a modest sized (and very smart) audience. Below I’ve listed the poll results and a few comments on each.(39%, 87 Votes) Sharing links [...]

Enterprise Social Media Interview with Jim Cuene and Douglas Pollei

(Indexed 2008-05-14):

Tonight interactive gurus from General Mills, Best Buy, Target, Fingerhut and Gage will convene at an event hosted by MIMA to discuss: Duality Reality: Who Controls Social Media in the Enterprise?As a preview, I reached out to Douglas Pollei (left) of Social Media Club Minneapolis and VP of Internet Strategy and Corporate Development for IKANO [...]

How Many Conferences Can You Attend in 30 Days?

(Indexed 2008-05-13):

Conferences are a big part of TopRank’s marketing and content promotion strategy and it looks like a busy summer is ahead of us. Numerous events are coming up quickly - enough to make your head spin. Here is a summary of our involvement with PRSA, DMA, PUSH, SIS, SES and SMX events over the next [...]

BIGLIST SEO Blogs Update 050908

(Indexed 2008-05-09):

What a week! Spring is officially here in Minnesota. Don’t laugh, it snowed just 2 weeks ago. This week’s BIGLIST of SEO and SEM blogs includes a nice mix of search, social and online PR content. When I co-hosted the Daily Searchcast on Thursday it was great to have Danny Sullivan mention the [...]

Top 10 Reasons for Monitoring Brands in Social Media

(Indexed 2008-05-08):

[Editor's note: We're excited to share this next guest post from David Alston of Radian6. A fast emerging leader in the field of social media measurement, Radian6 (a TopRank client) provides social media monitoring tools to hundreds of leading PR firms, ad agencies and brand marketers.]David is VP Marketing at Radian6 in New Brunswick, Canada [...]

Tips on Content Centered Link Building

(Indexed 2008-05-07):

Yesterday, Junta 42 announced their latest list of top content marketing focused blogs (Online Marketing Blog came in at #2 in between Copyblogger and PR 2.0) and it reminded me yet again of how important content is for SEO. It used to be when discussing search engine optimization services 5-6 years ago, we’d focus [...]

Book Review: Achieving The OPEN Brand by Way Of An Open Worldview

(Indexed 2008-05-07):

TopRank's Mike Yanke reviews the new book, "The Open Brand: When Push Comes to Pull in a Web-Made World by Kelly Mooney and Dr. Nita Rollins with advice both for marketing agencies and in-house marketers looking to make sense of branding in a Web 2.0 World.

BIGLIST Update Search Marketing Blogs 050208

(Indexed 2008-05-02):

Going by the last month of updates, we’re now updating the BIGLIST of SEO blogs every second Friday. That should give us more time to filter out the better sites for inclusion. Read on at the bottom as there are several reminders on how to get on the list as well as stay on.The [...]

Site Re-Design? Call Your SEO Expert First!

(Indexed 2008-05-01):

It’s a near nightmare situation really. A client sends an email on Friday saying, “We’re launching a new web site on Monday, can you take a look at it to make sure our site optimization is ok?”.The Account Manager asks for a URL and upon receiving, clicks to find a “pretty” home page with 90% [...]

Update: Top SEO Blogs by RSS Subscribers

(Indexed 2008-04-29):

Online Marketing Blog manages a list of over 500 search marketing blogs called the BIGLIST, but it’s not ordered other than alphabetically. A year ago I took a sample of SEO and SEM blogs that were publishing Feedburner counts and posted a list ranked by the number of RSS subscribers. Below is a re-ordered list [...]

What Conferences Are You Attending?

(Indexed 2008-04-29):

Jeremiah Owyang posted recently asking his readers what conferences they would be attending in the coming months and I thought that would be a great question for Online Marketing Blog readers as well.Over the past 3 years we’ve been focused on search marketing conferences but have expanded more into direct marketing, interactive and PR. We’ll [...]

Web 2.0 Expo - Facebook Marketing Best Practices

(Indexed 2008-04-25):

After the keynote frenzy this morning, the session that stood out for me was “Facebook Marketing: Best Practices” with Jeremiah Owyang from Forrester Research as moderator, Evan Mager from AKQA, Holly Liu from Watercooler, Brett Keintz of 750 Industries and Stanford GSB and Kevin Barenblat of Context Optional.Some of the key takeaways from this [...]

Web 2.0 Expo - Video Interview Brian Solis

(Indexed 2008-04-25):

Social media evangelist Brian Solis of Future Works, PR2.0 blog and bub.blicio.us during the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco. tooks a few minutes to share his insights into what’s hot in Web 2.0 and the interplay of technology and communications.http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=76643...(truncated)... By: Start a Career in Search Marketing Announcing the best online SEM courses [...]

Web 2.0 Expo - Video Interview Dave McClure

(Indexed 2008-04-25):

While in the blogtropol.us blogger lounge today, I caught up with a dapper Dave McClure of 500 Hats who took a few minutes before a PayPal reunion dinner to talk about his work helping co-chair the Web 2.0 Expo event, a little something about “AARRR” for startups and thoughts on marketing with Facebook.http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7601563463...(truncated)... By: [...]

Web 2.0 Expo - Startup Marketing Web Metrics

(Indexed 2008-04-23):

The second workshop of the day at Web 2.o Expo, “Startup Metrics 101: Product & Marketing Workshop” provided attendees a glimpse into the vast depth of knowledge from Dave McClure of 500 Hats who offered some pirate speak, “AARRR” to help delegates remember his model for building web businesses.Hiten Shah of CrazyEgg and KISSmetrics provided [...]

Web 2.0 Expo - Social Media Optimization

(Indexed 2008-04-22):

My first post from the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco is the second half of “Free Traffic: SEO/SMO 101 (Search Engine & Social Media Optimization) with Stephan Spencer of Netconcepts and Muhammad Saleem of Advantage Consulting Services. Unfortunately, I missed the SEO portion and gauging by the crowd around Stephan, it went quite well.Muhammad [...]

Optimizing News Content for Search Engines

(Indexed 2008-04-22):

The buzz about SEO in the public relations industry has grown tremendously over the past 2-3 years. Press releases in particular, have been the easy target for promotion as candidates for optimization. With the growing use of Google and Yahoo News, optimizing press releases have been an easy way to gain prominent visibility in the [...]

BIGLIST Update - Search Marketing Blogs 041808

(Indexed 2008-04-18):

Good things come to those who wait and dammit, we’ve been waiting a good long time for some new search marketing blogs worthy of addition to the BIGLIST. You can still get updates by following the BIGLIST Twitter account as well. Enjoy! WebmasterRadio.FM - Our friends from WebmasterRadio.FM have joined the cool kids [...]

Conversation Marketing - Join In!

(Indexed 2008-04-17):

[Note from Lee: Please join me in welcoming Jessica Cameron-Ruud as a contributor to Online Marketing Blog. Jessica works as an Account Coordinator with TopRank’s Online Marketing clients]Over the past few months, MCAD and MIMA have hosted a series of events here in Minneapolis entitled Conversations About The Future of Advertising (CATFOA). The most recent [...]

Direct Marketing vs Social Media Marketing

(Indexed 2008-04-17):

Thanks to the response received (@gyutae @AlbertMaruggi @AnnBernard @briansolis @martinbowling) from a Twitter post (follow here) on the topic of social marketing vs direct marketing, this post invites your opinion.In a recent strategy session, some colleagues and I were discussing a promotion where one position was to focus on a direct marketing approach and another [...]

Joseph Jaffe Interview

(Indexed 2008-04-13):

Photo Credit, CC Chapman At last year’s DMA07 Annual Conference, I had the good fortune of giving half of a workshop on social media with renowned author, speaker and new media marketing guru, Joseph Jaffe. Too many marketing pundits don’t “walk the talk” and I found this not to be the case with Jaffe. A [...]

BIGLIST Marketing Blogs Update 040408

(Indexed 2008-04-04):

I discovered several of the blogs on this week’s update via all the new Twitter followers we’ve been getting at the leeodden and the BIGLIST accounts. Welcome to all of our new friends! 70% of the blogs queued up for review this week didn’t make it to the list, but what we do have [...]

Is Your SEO Firm Outsourcing Your Work?

(Indexed 2008-04-03):

It’s pretty common in the interactive, advertising and PR agency world to outsource components of an engagement where the lead agency does not have specific domain expertise. Those scenarios are often structured by the client who is already working with other vendors or the lead agency bringing in outside expertise. For the most part, it’s [...]

Social Media Marketing Tactics and Resources

(Indexed 2008-03-31):

Recently internet marketing legend, Larry Chase of Web Digest for Marketers asked for a contributed article on marketing with social media. Unlike many SEO focused social media marketing practitioners which tend to emphasize promoting stories to go “hot” for traffic bursts and ancillary links, TopRank focuses on a long term mix of Branding/PR/SEO tactics to [...]

Superbowl Advertising Post Mortem: Tide Sticks it Out

(Indexed 2008-03-27):

While I am presently an offline/online media relations guy, my background spans a variety of media and tactics. As such, I have always been fascinated with the phenomena of Superbowl advertisements. What other event allows you to generate buzz simply by making a media buy?When it comes to search, it is nearly useless [...]

5 Tips on Social Media Advertising

(Indexed 2008-03-27):

A big part of my responsibilities at TopRank involve the wonderful world of social media. As with search marketing, there is both an “organic” and an advertising component to marketing on social networks, news and media sharing sites.As social media usage increases month over month, marketers have found a way to use these popular sites [...]

What is Your Social Media Marketing Strategy?

(Indexed 2008-03-25):

There are many reasons social media can be a productive marketing channel or platform. Rather than emplying it as a tactic du jour, the purpose should dictate strategy and the tactics used for reaching desired goals. A few common outcomes for social media marketing efforts include:Gain insight into a community of interest -You can [...]

Parting Notes and Party Pictures from SES NY

(Indexed 2008-03-24):

The abundance of Online Marketing Blog coverage of SES New York slowed significantly by Wed afternoon but there was nothing slowing down the SES NY conference, which had record breaking attendance numbers. Despite my TopRank blogging compatriot Jolina having Thursday off and myself moderating and speaking that day, there was plenty of action documented during [...]

SES NY Session: Social Media & Why it Matters

(Indexed 2008-03-20):

Social Media is an important, growing channel in the world of online marketing. Certainly indicated by the number of attendees crammed into this afternoon’s session at SES New York.The panel for the session included moderation duties handled by Erik Qualman from EF Education and the following speakers: Jennifer Laycock, Liana Evans, Tamera Kremer and William [...]

SES NY Session: New Face of In-House Search

(Indexed 2008-03-19):

The New Face o In-House Search included Ron Belanger as the moderator and Bill Hunt from Global Strategies International, Olivier Lemaignen from Intuit, Marshall D. Simmonds from New York Times, Bill Macaitis from Fox Interactive Media and Brendan Hart from National Geographic Digital Media.First up is Bill Hunt to talk about what perspective companies should [...]

SES NY Session: B2B SEO Tactics

(Indexed 2008-03-19):

B2B Search sessions (both organic and paid) can be few and far between, so any time it exists I’m sure to plant myself in the front row. The B2B Tactics session was moderated by Jeffrey Rohrs, VP, Agency & Search Marketing, ExactTargetSpeakers included:Patricia Hursh, President and Founder, SmartSearch MarketingBarbara C. Coll, CEO, WebMama.com Inc.Adam Goldberg, [...]

SES New York: Converting Visitors into Buyers

(Indexed 2008-03-18):

The conversions track at SES New York continues to be packed with those wanting to increase the performance of their search marketing campaigns.The “Converting Visitors into Buyers” panel was moderated by Aaron Shear from Boost Search Marketing and the speakers included: Mike Moran from IBM, Nigel Ravenhill from McAfee, Michael Sack from Idearc Media Corp. [...]

Tips for Overcoming Client-Created Roadblocks

(Indexed 2008-03-18):

While sitting in sessions at any Search Marketing Conference, you will hear agency-side search marketers asking the panel for advice on how to keep clients from standing in their own way.Questions like: What if my client ignores our optimization recommendations? What if a client doesn’t see any value in social media?Some search marketers might [...]

SES New York Video: Mike McDonald WebProNews

(Indexed 2008-03-17):

At SES San Jose in 2006, I took a 21 second video of Mike McDonald from WebProNews while we were standing in line for the bus to the Google Dance. That short video was followed by many other videos interviews with interesting people in the search marketing business which you can find on TopRank’s YouTube [...]

SES NY Session: 4 Ways to Redefine the Customer

(Indexed 2008-03-17):

Jeffrey and Bryan Eisenberg kicked off the morning with a discussion about how consumers have changed.Specifically, moving from a push marketing model to a pull in which the audience is engaged in a different way. The audience, which is has historically been bombarded with TV ads, that they either listen to or not, is now [...]

Session: Build Investment Interest in Your SEO/SEM Firm

(Indexed 2008-03-17):

How to Build Investment Interest in Your SEO/SEM with an introduction by Anne Kennedy and a presentation by Patricia Hall, Investment Banker, Hallmark Capital. If you own and/or are running a fast growing search marketing agency and want to gain more insight into making your firm more valuable for acquisition/investment, then this session is [...]

BIGLIST Search Marketing Blogs Update 031408

(Indexed 2008-03-14):

This week we did a bit of house cleaning and removed 37 blogs from the BIGLIST of SEO blogs - some of them from well known SEOs. One of the quality measures we use for inclusion on the BIGLIST is frequency of posting. If a blog gets stale, we say bye bye for [...]

Online Marketing, Internet Marketing or Web Marketing?

(Indexed 2008-03-13):

No, this isn’t a lame attempt at a keyword stuffed blog post title. I’ve been noticing over the past year a significant increase in the number of references to “online marketing” by SEO blogs, articles and news web sites.It would be easy to say I am biased due to the name of this blog [...]

Poll: Your top reason for attending marketing conferences?

(Indexed 2008-03-10):

With the changes last year in the search marketing conference industry there has been disappointing side-taking and rumor mongering but also a healthy dose of optimism about what more competition will do for attendees. I would think the sustainability and success of any conference is in large part dependent upon attendees needs being met. [...]

BIGLIST SEO Blogs Update 030708

(Indexed 2008-03-07):

Here we go again with another BIGLIST update of SEO blogs. Enjoy!Hobo SEO UK - Shaun Anderson writes about a variety of search engine optimization related topics for his agency based in Scotland.SEM Blog ineedhits - If you’ve been in the search marketing game for a while, you may remember ineedhits who now [...]

Reader Poll: How do you use Twitter?

(Indexed 2008-03-05):

Without question, the microblogging platform Twitter (follow me here) is a phenomenon many of our readers are exploring or trying to figure out. Whether you’re in search marketing, advertising, interactive marketing, journalism or public relations, there are many ways to use Twitter as a communications, networking and even a socializing tool.Some people post the most [...]

Pros and Cons of Hiring SEOs

(Indexed 2008-03-04):

As a growing mid-sized online marketing agency, TopRank has had opportunities to interview well over a 100 people for various search engine optimization and internet marketing positions. We’ve been fortunate to hire and develop an amazing team of professionals. We’ve also experienced the flip side.There are increasing numbers of resources from which to attract or [...]

Google Gets its Groove On at SMX West

(Indexed 2008-02-28):

Google hosted a party last night at SMX West, entitled Google Groove. And groovy, it was.Andy Beal and other SMXers enjoying the partyMain bar, all in Google ColorsSMXers playing RockbandSMXers enjoying drinks, notice the colorful Google cups, which people went crazy overBlinky Google spheres, also very popularCheck out all of the photos at TopRanks SMX [...]

SMX Session: Branding and the 4 Types of Searchers to Target

(Indexed 2008-02-28):

Just as with Leverage Your Brand Lovers, the “Branding and Search” session gave the SMX West audience much to think about.Bob Tripathi, Search Marketing Specialist at Discover Financial, reinforced the need to understand your brand as it relates to SEO/SEM.Brand Recognition: Do searchers recognize your brand?–ex. McDonalds arches are recognized worldwideBrand Perception: Do searchers know [...]

SMX Sesion: 8 Tips to More Effective Blogging

(Indexed 2008-02-28):

The Wonder Twins Track at SMX West: SEO and Blogging, provided the audience with information on how to best launch and promote a blog.Here are 8 tips, from Aaron Wall of SEOBook, on how to gain traction for your blog.Own a NicheOwning a smaller niche is an easy way to starting building personal brand#1 player [...]

Advanced SEO Course Review - SEMPO Institute

(Indexed 2008-02-28):

SEMPO Institute released their online training program for SEO and PPC late 2007. TopRank has previously written a review of the “Fundamentals Course” now known as the “Insider’s Guide to Search Marketing”. SEMPO Institute students that complete the Insider’s Guide can then move on to the two advanced training courses, one of which is the [...]

SMX Search Bowl Photos

(Indexed 2008-02-27):

Day 1 of SMX West wrapped up with a tailgating party and the SMX Search Bowl which pinned the search engines, the search marketers and Microsoft against one another in a game of industry-related trivia.Tailgating party at SMX WestMore tailgatingand more tailgating, but this time people were paying attention The SMX Search Bowl contestants, [...]

Search Marketing Tips from Online Marketing Heroes

(Indexed 2008-02-27):

Wiley recently announced the launch of a new book, “Online Marketing Heroes: Interviews with 25 Successful Online Marketing Gurus”, in which TopRank has an entire chapter on the subject of social media marketing for SEO and PR.The list of internet marketing experts interviewed for the book include consultants, agencies, CEOs, PR professionals, client side bloggers [...]

Live from SMX: Tips on Social Media Marketing

(Indexed 2008-02-27):

Sitting in the SEO & Social Media session, Barbara Boser the Social Media Director for 3 Dog Media, shared some great tips on marketing with social media:Be prepared & Commit to Social MediaKnow that it is time consumingRead and learn what is popularLook for tools you can use on the sites and on the [...]

Session: Search Marketing and Persona Models

(Indexed 2008-02-27):

The personas session, today at SMX, reminded me so much of psychology classes in college. A large group of people discussing why other people behave the way they do.Gord Hotchkiss, President and CEO of Enquiro, kicked things off by helping the audience understand the factors impacting how humans make decisions, including:explicit, implicit memoriespast interactions [...]

SES New York and the Industry That Never Seems to Sleep

(Indexed 2008-02-26):

Next month Im heading to New York to blog the SES NY conference for Online Marketing Blog where Lee is speaking on the “Beyond Linkbait: Getting Authoritative Online Mentions” panel with newly elected SEMPO board member Chris Boggs and PR veteran Sally Falkow.Im over-the-moon excited to attend and have stumbled upon a tiny connection between [...]

SEMPO Announces 2008 Board of Directors

(Indexed 2008-02-25):

I’m sure this will be well covered on the search marketing news blogs but I wanted to make a post because a good number of the new SEMPO board members are people I have known for years and respect a great deal. It can be a big commitment to donate your time to an association [...]

Session: Beyond Linkbait Getting Authoritative Online Mentions

(Indexed 2008-02-21):

SES London 2008 - Beyond Linkbait: Getting Authoritative Online MentionsLink building is crucial, but linkbait tactics that worked this year may not be as effective next year. This session focuses on the underlying quality as well as ingenuity needed to get other websites to link to you early and often. It will also explain how [...]

5 Ways to Better Leverage Your SEO Firm

(Indexed 2008-02-21):

Hello My name is Nicole St. Martin. I recently joined TopRank Online Marketing as an Search Marketing Manager. I will be working with the TopRank team as a liaison between clients and the service specialists, assessing client marketing needs, providing strategic direction and setting tactical implementation plans.After working in the SEO industry for 6 [...]

SES London Day One Photos

(Indexed 2008-02-19):

Let’s kick things off for SES London 2008 with a few photos:Business Design Centre - Cool venue for a conferenceMatt Bailey getting the sock puppet treatment from Greg Jarboe, pre-conferenceFrank Watson and his budda belly gets rubbed by Li EvansKevin Heisler, Kevin Ryan, Gary Lynch and Stewart Quealy from IncisiveSES London co-host Mike Grehan and [...]

The Fallacy of SEO Celebrity

(Indexed 2008-02-18):

I am curious if anyone else has noticed a trend over the past year or so where people (I have nobody specific in mind) in the search marketing business seem to increasingly gravitate towards becoming a “SEO celebrity”. It’s a bit like like moths to a flame, really.A while back, I had a search marketing [...]

BIGLIST SEO Blog Update 021508

(Indexed 2008-02-15):

It looks like the SEM blogosphere is on a roll because we have a nice varied collection of search and online marketing blogs for the BIGLIST this week.Ranked Hard SEO Comic - Get your funny on with this quality SEO comic about the mythical “Ranked Hard” SEO agency, from folks at Big Oak.THINKing - [...]

5 Lesser Known Google Analytics Features

(Indexed 2008-02-14):

Google Analytics is a great program that can do a lot more than most people realize. Here are a few features that you may not know about:Capture internal search stats. This is a newer feature of Google Analytics and a very nice one. Not only can you see what a visitor put into [...]

Online Reputation Management for Individuals

(Indexed 2008-02-12):

Recently I’ve had several discussions with a reporter from the Wall Street Journal on how small businesses can effectively use blogger relations and PR to market themselves. Out of that conversation came another topic about Online Reputation Management - not for companies, but for individuals.There’s a tremendous amount of content and in some cases debate, [...]

Top Ten Online Marketing Tactics

(Indexed 2008-02-08):

Earlier this week we started a poll on what online marketing tactics our readers would use most in 2008. The polling plug-in allows for only one choice and over 100 people have responded so far. We’ll keep the poll running for another week or so, but here are the top ten tactics rankings so far [...]

MomentGraphics More Important than Demographics?

(Indexed 2008-02-06):

Monday night, Jessica and I represented TopRank at a Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association (MIMA) Event in Minneapolis.In the first of a series entitled Conversations About the Future of Advertising, Jan Leth from Ogilvy & Mather gave a presentation entitled Dada, Data, Alpha and Beta in which he highlighted how marketers can take advantage of the [...]

Reader Poll: 35 Online Marketing Tactics for 2008

(Indexed 2008-02-05):

What will you do to improve your online marketing performance in 2008? There are so many options, challenges with agency selection plus a moving target when it comes to knowledge/expertise. Without previous campaign performance statistics, it can be a real challenge deciding where to allocate marketing dollars for the web when you’re looking [...]

You Make Me Sick - Viral Video Response

(Indexed 2008-02-04):

Interactive agency Digital Axle sent out pitches to a number of bloggers this morning promoting a “viral video” that I wanted to share. Mind you, I’m not going to share the actual video because it’s sick, racist and violent. “Man makes racist insults, gets asphyxiated and beaten to death by young Asian girls and their [...]

Reputation, News and Blog Optimization at SES London

(Indexed 2008-02-04):

Coming up fast (February 19-21) is the 2008 Search Engine Strategies show in London. It will be my first time speaking at an event in London and luckily I’ll be involved with 3 panels that are spot on with the marketing consulting work we do at TopRank.The two panels that I am presenting on [...]

BIGLIST SEO Blogs Update 020108

(Indexed 2008-02-02):

It’s pretty hard to compete with news like Microsoft offering to buy Yahoo for $44 billion or Amazon to buy Audible for $300 million, but there’s plenty to read on those topics and more on this week’s BIGLIST SEO blogs update.SEO Design Solutions Blog - You don’t see too many practical tips blogs these [...]

Social Media Smarts - Tips on Marketing with Social Media

(Indexed 2008-01-30):

Not too long ago I queried a number of online marketing and public relations peers ranging from Aaron Wall, Matt McGee and Neil Patel to Todd Defren, Triss Hussey and Peter Himler about sharing a few of their social media marketing tips. Out of that informal survey in combination with community specific solicitations came posts [...]

SEO Tools: Firefox Addons for Search Engine Optimization

(Indexed 2008-01-29):

[Note from Lee: We tend to get a bit heavy on the industry observations and strategy, so a nice tactics/tools post is in order. ]There are many different tools out there for SEO’s to use on a website. Each one has different features and benefits depending on how you use them. That’s why [...]

Learn the Fundamentals of Search Marketing - SEMPO Institute

(Indexed 2008-01-28):

Late in 2007 the SEMPO Institute released several search marketing-focused online training courses. The first course, Fundamentals of Search Marketing, offers 14 different lessons encompassing the basics of SEM and SEO. To get a sense of what was offered, our CEO Lee Odden asked my coworker Jeff Nolan and I to take the Fundamentals course [...]

The Fox, Social Whirl, Cutts Smackdown, UGV, B2B and PRSA Webinar

(Indexed 2008-01-28):

Sometimes a Monday blog post deserves a good collection of links:The Fox on viral link building and listening to your audienceSmackdown on Matt Cutts re: spanking SEO blogsJeff Jarvis @TheGuardian and the social whirl driving the development of searcheMarketer says B2B’s are buzzing over Marketing 2.0Vox on Video: Measuring engagement of user generated videoSEO Lowdown [...]

Have it Your Way at SMX West

(Indexed 2008-01-23):

One of the (if not THE) fastest growing conferences over the past year has been Search Marketing Expo. A real world compliment to the successful Search Engine Land blog, the Sphinn community and Search Marketing Now webinars, the SMX shows have brought both a familiar (Danny and crew) and unique flavor to the search marketing [...]

FORE! A Golfers Guide to Social Media Marketing

(Indexed 2008-01-22):

[SEO and social media marketing TopRank team member Jeff Nolan has stepped up to the plate, or in this case, onto the green and submitted the following post about marketing within social media communities using golf as a metaphor. Enjoy!]Many regular readers of Online Marketing Blog are well aware of our location amidst the cold [...]

Reader Poll: Is Facebook Losing its Luster?

(Indexed 2008-01-20):

A recent report from Hitwise cited Facebook as having grown by 51% yet MySpace is still King of the online social networking world with 76% of US social network traffic. According to Nielsen Online, MySpace attracted 60.1 million visitors in December 2007 compared to 22.6 million visitors for Facebook.While that growth news is all [...]

BIGLIST SEM Blogs Update 011808

(Indexed 2008-01-19):

Another freezing week here in Minnesota means less time outside and more time checking out new search marketing blogs. I present to you dear readers, this week’s additions to the BIGLIST of SEO and Search Marketing Blogs.B(abble)log - A.C. (Anne Charlotte) Riley is a tenured online marketer and copywriter that blogs about all manner [...]

Recession Proof Search Engine Optimization Tips

(Indexed 2008-01-18):

In this month’s Target Marketing Magazine, a TopRank authored article on how small businesses can gain a competitive marketing advantage by leveraging content promotion, blogs, social media and universal search was featured. Recently there has been some dialog and commentary on certain SEM channels about upcoming harder economic times calling for SEO to be taken [...]

SEMPO State of the Search Marketing Industry Survey 2008

(Indexed 2008-01-15):

The 4th annual SEMPO State of the Search Marketing Industry survey is now open. If you work client side, agency side or independent, be sure to take this survey and make your voice heard.Online Marketing Blog has a category on SEMPO including observations from the results of previous surveys including: “Search Marketers to Spend $5.7 [...]

SEMMYS - What Were the Best Social and Viral Marketing Blog Posts of 2007?

(Indexed 2008-01-14):

Matt McGee recently reached out to a number of industry bloggers to be involved with a blog content award he’s calling “The SEMMYs“. Even though the SEJ SEM Blog Awards just happened, I thought I could at least be a judge - Matt being a good guy and all. If you read [...]

New Media and Blogging for Influence with Journalists

(Indexed 2008-01-11):

In a recent study by Omnicom Group’s Brodeur and Marketwire about how journalists use blogs, it was found that blogs are are a regular source for journalists for improving the speed of reporting news as well as guiding tone, but not for improving quality:Over three quarters of reporters see blogs as helpful in giving them [...]

BIGLIST SEM Blogs Update 011108

(Indexed 2008-01-11):

It’s been a busy week BIGLISTers, but today we have a nice collection of Search Marketing Blogs for your weekend reading pleasure.Live Search Webmaster Center Blog - Official blog of the Live Search Webmaster Center team with just a little bit of a bias with SEOmoz and Search Engine Land as the only other [...]

Online Marketing and PR Jobs @ TopRank

(Indexed 2008-01-10):

What a year 2007 ended up to be for TopRank and 2008 has already started with a bang. We’ve been fortunate to work with small companies like Smart-Kit and Web Awards as well as some of the largest companies in the world including NWA, HP and McKesson. New clients for 2008 already include PRWeb, Radian6 [...]

User Data, Mobile Explosion, Death of SEO - SEM Trends in 2008

(Indexed 2008-01-09):

We recently ran a Reader Poll asking what the hot search marketing trends will be for 2008. The new year is here and we now have good enough sample of votes cast (78) to share what Online Marketing Blog readers are thinking:What will be the big stories in search marketing in 2008?* Heavier Integration of [...]

Search Marketing Blog Awards Announced

(Indexed 2008-01-07):

Search Engine Journal began announcing the winners of it’s 3rd Annual Search Engine Marketing Blog Awards today. Voting covered 19 different categories ranging from best conference coverage to best SEO blog. With that many categories, I’d be surprised if Loren posted them all in one day. It’s great link bait with this post as [...]

Social Bookmarking Submission Tools

(Indexed 2008-01-07):

TopRank started using social bookmarking as an active/passive content promotion method several years ago. In fact, here is a podcast interview I did with Rok Hrastnik in March 2005 discussing SEO, tagging and bookmarking. We’ve also been fairly successful at promoting a social bookmarking tool for blogs over the past 18 months or so, [...]

Fun Friday Online Marketing Links

(Indexed 2008-01-04):

It’s Friday and the end of the Holiday bump that seems to make things move slowly. There’s lots to look forward to in 2008 and while getting an early start today checking rmail, feeds, Twitter, Facebook, etc the following links stood out:Success with social media is very much centered on building profiles and one online [...]

Internet Marketing Ninja Interview with Jim Boykin

(Indexed 2008-01-03):

The Internet Marketing Ninjas instructional program including videos and tools conceived by Jim Boykin of We Build Pages, has officially launched. I think a lot of people in the search marketing industry will be wowed by the sheer volume of quality information that’s available. Currently there are a series of 12 videos from the likes [...]

Interview With Terry Plank SEMPO Institute

(Indexed 2008-01-02):

The opportunities in the search marketing industry are as good now as they’ve ever been. With a new year many people working for agencies, just getting out of college or the military will be looking for careers and training that fits their need for a technical yet creative job that also doesn’t stagnate.To help fulfill [...]

Getting to First Base: A Social Media Marketing Playbook

(Indexed 2007-12-29):

[Note from Lee: Is that chicken wearing a garter belt?]Beginning with a blog post on creative blogger pitches, Darren and Julie caught TopRanks attention with Lee Oddens name showcased on a flirty pink envelope. Watching Lee dig through the mail looking for his pink envelope only intrigued me more, and I knew I had to [...]

Voting Begins - Search Marketing Blog Awards

(Indexed 2007-12-28):

Loren Baker’s Search Engine Journal has recently taken nominations for best search marketing blogs in a variety of categories. I am happy to say TopRank’s blog, aka “Online Marketing Blog” has been nominated in 4 of the 19 categories.Thank you to friends and readers of Online Marketing Blog for nominating us! You can now [...]

BIGLIST SEO Blogs Update 122807

(Indexed 2007-12-28):

It’s here. It’s finally here. The last BIGLIST seo blog reviews post of 2007. In all, we’ve reviewed over 700 SEO, PPC and Social Media Marketing blogs with only 400 or remaining. Who made this final BIGLIST post of the year? Read on:Digerati Marketing - UK based Mark Cook uses a blog as [...]

TopRank Tips: Conference Live Blogging

(Indexed 2007-12-25):

For anyone that reads Online Marketing Blog from time to time knows we do a bit of conference blogging. In fact, during 2007 OMB covered 14 conferences involving nearly 100 blog posts, over 1500 photos and 20 videos. Besides the conference sessions and after hours coverage, we also typically conduct interviews before the events, [...]

AdAge Power 150 and Bloglines Reporting Issue

(Indexed 2007-12-23):

Readers of Online Marketing Blog may have noticed the “ranking” for our blog reported by the AdAge Power 150 widget has dropped from #12 to #43 or so the past week. I just wanted to assure new readers this is not because of any change in subscribers, links or traffic but due to Bloglines not [...]

BIGLIST Search Marketing Blogs 122107

(Indexed 2007-12-21):

After a lackluster entry last week, at least as far as blogs to be added, we’re back on track with SEO and SEM blogs for the BIGLIST.Seer Interactive SEO blog - Wil Reynolds at Philadelphia based Seer Interactive blogs the gamut of SEO/SEM and internet marketing subjects.Billy’s Blog - Billy works at Widemile in [...]

Search Engine Optimization for Small Business

(Indexed 2007-12-21):

Recently I did a podcast for AllBusiness.com , recently acquired by Dun & Bradstreet, along with their Marketing Director, David Saries. The audience for AllBusiness.com is small businesses, so the questions were flavored toward the perspectives many do it yourself or hands on web site owners and online business owners have.The podcast discusses a [...]

A Story of US Bank Visa Losing Yet Another Customer

(Indexed 2007-12-20):

[Start Rant]Anyone in the search biz who knows me, knows I’m a pretty easy going person and sometimes even rational. My experience with usbank Visa both in the past and today trying to buy a product online and later a domain name transfer gave me a good taste of the unreasonable way [...]

List of Regional Search and Interactive Marketing Associations

(Indexed 2007-12-20):

With increasing demands in opportunity, budget and training with search marketing, the benefits of networking and advocacy have correspondingly increased. Informal networks are prevalent within the SEO business connected by IM, email, private forums etc.However, as more formal SEM budgets and cost centers are created within organizations looking to expand their search marketing effectiveness, the [...]

BIGLIST Search Marketing Blogs Update 121407

(Indexed 2007-12-15):

There’s a first time for everything dear readers and today is the first time we do not have new BIGLIST SEO/SEM blog reviews and feeds to be added to the already bloated RSS reader of your choice. That’s not to say we don’t have several in queue, but they’re too new or there are other [...]

SIS Session: Microsoft New Keyword Services Platform

(Indexed 2007-12-14):

The sponsored lunch today at Search Insider Summit comes from Microsoft adCenter which included a demo of their new Keyword Services Platform and add-in to Excel 2007.Stacy Harris:Feedback from marketers is that traffic is good, but they want more of it. Marketers also want AdCenter to be easier to use.Natala Menezes is up next and [...]

SIS Session: Will Big Agencies Ever Get Search?

(Indexed 2007-12-13):

9:00am: Keynote address - FaceOff: Will Agencies Ever “Get” Search? with:Gord Hotchkiss, CEO & President, EnquiroMike Margolin, VP, Interactive Marketing Director, RPATo present his point about whether agencies “get” search or not, Gord started things out by telling a story. He brings up John from MediaPost to be a human map of Ontario, points out [...]

Search Insider Summit Day 1

(Indexed 2007-12-13):

Despite the snowy, blowy mountains outside it’s going to be hot inside at the Search Insider Summit conference with the following sessions on my plate for attending and some for blogging:8:00am-8:45amVIP Breakfast: Compete, Inc. - Carving Up the Market in Park City - Your guide to segmenting the marketplace for better ad targeting”8:45 am:Opening remarks: [...]

SIS Session: Leveraging Local Search on a National Basis

(Indexed 2007-12-13):

10:45am: Leveraging Local Search on a National Basis with:Moderator: Aaron Goldman, VP, Marketing & Strategic PartnershipsMarc Barach, CMO, IngenioMike Margolin, VP, Interactive Marketing Director, RPAChristopher Knoch, Principle Consultant, Omniture Consulting Group, Omniture, Inc.Aaron excitedly shows slides/stats from eMarketer supporting that budgets are going to local, “local is here”. 20% of all queries are local based [...]

SIS Session: Managing Search in an Uncertain Economy

(Indexed 2007-12-13):

9:45am: Managing Search in an Uncertain Economy with:LeeAnn Prescott, Director, Research & Communications, Efficient FrontierRoger Barnette, President, SearchIgniteJoe Charlson, CMO, EDMCModerator, Cam Balzer from DoubleClick PerformicsCam: “What uncertain economy?”. Panel will offer two perspectives: Agency (LeeAnn and Roger) and a client side marketer or CMO perspective (Joe).LeeAnn from Efficient Frontier, manages 300-400 million in paid [...]

Reader Poll: Trends in Search Marketing for 2008

(Indexed 2007-12-12):

In order to tap into the “wisdom of our crowd” and much appreciated readers, we run polls to find out what client and agency side marketers are thinking. Popular polls have included the rating of favorite resources like whether multiple search conferences can exist and succeed to the best keyword research tools.It’s the end of [...]

Marketing Sherpa Email Summit

(Indexed 2007-12-11):

This announcement might be a bit early, but I think the last Marketing Sherpa Email Summit sold out pretty quickly. This is an event (in Miami February 24th-26th) that’s near and dear to TopRank’s marketing consulting services which are made up of: search, PR and email marketing. Out of those three “legs”, email [...]

Search Insider Summit Utah

(Indexed 2007-12-10):

A whirlwind conference schedule winds up this year with Mediapost’s Search Insider Summit being held in Park City Utah at the Stein Eriksen Lodge Dec 12-15, 2007. As part of our media sponsorship duties, I caught up with conference chair, David Berkowitz from 360i and the host/MC, Gord Hotchkiss of Enquiro for a quick interview: [...]

Pubcon 2007 Round-Up

(Indexed 2007-12-08):

Looks like Lee has been working hard trying not to get in trouble out there in Las Vegas at the WebmasterWorld Pubcon conference this week. At least, his posts show he has been productive!Below are the Pubcon session overviews, photo posts and video interviews with other folks hanging out in Vegas. Lucky!Pubcon 2007 Sessions:Pubcon Keynote: [...]

Pubcon Images: Microsoft Party at ghostbar

(Indexed 2007-12-08):

It was my first Microsoft party last night and it turned out to be a doosy. I went with Rich Ord, Mike McDonald (who won a Zune) and Tiffany Doughty from iEntry (WebProNews). We arrived at about 7-7:30 to see lots of familiar faces. There was a Guitar Hero competition, sushi, glowing drinks, mini hamburgers, [...]

Pubcon Images: The pub conference

(Indexed 2007-12-08):

The last day of WebmasterWorld’s Pubcon is literally a gathering in a pub. This is the genesis of how Pubcon was started, an informal gathering of members from WebmasterWorld. Through the efforts of Brett Tabke and the community, it has grown into one of the finest search marketing conferences with thousands of attendees, major corporate [...]

BIGLIST Search Marketing Blogs Update 120807

(Indexed 2007-12-08):

This BIGLIST search marketing blogs update is going up on a Saturday as we had more than enough posts go up yesterday. There are quite a few additions. Enjoy some weekend SEO reading:Social Blog Roll - This is a cool tool from Nick Wilsdon of einternet that enables you to stay on top of [...]

Pubcon Session: Blogger Reporter Panel

(Indexed 2007-12-07):

If someone has a better photo, please link in the commentsOn day three, the last day of sessions at WebmasterWorld Pubcon here in Vegas, I participated on a panel called, “Search and Blogging Reporters Forum” with Rand Fishkin and Andy Beal.Moderation duties handled by Mike McDonald. Basically, it was a round table-style discussion about [...]

Pubcon Video: Brett Crosby

(Indexed 2007-12-06):

While walking the WebmasterWorld Pubcon exhibit hall floor I ran into Brett Crosby from Google. We talked about some of the new enhancements that have been added to Google Analytics. The addition of site search tracking in Google Analytics was of particular interest to me and I thought I would share here.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjyoABxpbQUBe sure to [...]

SES Session: So You Want to Be A Search Marketer?

(Indexed 2007-12-06):

Well, do you?If youre reading this, and youre not a relative or friend of mine trying to figure out just what it is I do, the answer is probably affirmative.A more accurate question could read, Should You Want to Be a Search Marketer?The answer could be found in this aptly labeled Just For Fun track [...]

Pubcon Photos: Exhibit Hall

(Indexed 2007-12-06):

At every conference there’s an exhibit hall and that’s where plenty of meet and greet networking happens as well as interesting discussions with vendors that server the search marketing industry. There were a good number of exhibitors at Las Vegas Pubcon including Google, Yahoo and Microsoft as well as a variety of vendors ranging [...]

SES Session: Usability and SEO

(Indexed 2007-12-05):

Truly, is there anything in the world more beautiful than a perfectly designed website?One that is easy to find, easy to navigate, all while burning its design into the heart of its visitors?Like a perfect marriage, it contains seamless and complimentary aspects of all that have a stake in its creation to the point that [...]

SES Keynote Speech - Rodney Dangerfield School of Search Marketing

(Indexed 2007-12-04):

Wrapping up the day was Don Shultz, Ph D and professor at Northwestern University, who introduced attendees to what he calls the “Rodney Dangerfield School of Search Marketing“.As a search marketer, do you ever feel like youre under the magnifying glass to produce bigger, better, faster results? And results that dont fit into traditional [...]

SES Session: Igniting Viral Campaigns

(Indexed 2007-12-04):

A slew of SES Chicago attendees sat in on the session - Igniting Viral Campaigns - to learn how they just might create the next Burger King Chicken Campaign, in which Burger King was able to increase chicken sandwich sales with a website and a subservient chicken.Maybe we’re not all looking to sell more chicken [...]

SES Chicago Session: Big Site, Big Search

(Indexed 2007-12-04):

Search Marketing within large organizations, often presents a unique set of problems back to the search marketer/marketing firm.Its nothing thats does on purpose (for the most part), but rather it simply comes along with large, complex organizations.The panel for this session outlined what they see as the most frustrating components of working for large organizations [...]

SES Chicago Keynote Seth Godin & 14 Trends to Avoid a Meatball Sundae

(Indexed 2007-12-04):

Day two at SES Chicago opened with a keynote speech from Seth Godin talking about Meatball Sundaes.So whats this Meatball Sundae all about?Lets break it down first: The meatballs are the core of the organization whether its products, services or traditional marketing.The sundae, the whipped topping, nuts, sprinkles and cherry is what new marketing provides [...]

Facebook on the Ropes?

(Indexed 2007-12-03):

Damn, it was a tough weekend for Facebook on the publicity/blogosphere front. With Beacon blatantly selling out Facebook users’ privacy whether they’re logged in or not has nowhere else to go but controversial.A platform built on community now making more aggressive efforts to monetize that community and not being honest about it smacks of downward [...]

Why Pubcon Rocks

(Indexed 2007-12-03):

Next week offers one of the most significant opportunities for those in the search marketing world to up their knowledge, industry networks and have a great time doing it. WebmasterWorld’s Pubcon conference in Las Vegas has acquired a certain gravitational pull that’s impossible to ignore. There are many reasons why this is true, so [...]

SES Chicago: Catering to Clients both Big & Small

(Indexed 2007-12-02):

Im off to Chicago, Illinois (my home state) this week to cover SES Chicago and will be posting session and event coverage here on Online Marketing Blog as the week progresses.Attending conferences is a fantastic part of working for TopRank. Conferences are a learning opportunity like no other and help spark new ideas, approaches [...]

SES Chicago: Traveling Locally To Ensure Clients Are Found Universally

(Indexed 2007-12-02):

While I am not native to Chicago (regular readers are well aware that TopRank Online Marketing is native to one of the 50 toughest states in the union - Minnesota) - it is a far more local journey than my last two excursions, to SES San Jose and the Bulldog Reporter Media Relations Conference in [...]

BIGLIST Search Marketing Blogs Update 113007

(Indexed 2007-11-30):

The BIGLIST had some BIG changes this week dear readers. Our list manager went to work checking each link and each blog for post recency and 70 blogs didn’t make the cut. Ouch! We’re not strict, just make sure you post at least once every 2 weeks and the posts are mostly about [...]

Press Release SEO Tips

(Indexed 2007-11-28):

Many search marketing tactics come and go, but one channel of promotion that has steadily evolved is the practice of optimizing press releases for search engines. While it’s true that the future of the traditional press release has been up for debate over the past few years, wire services and the web sites they syndicate [...]

The Currency of Social Networks

(Indexed 2007-11-27):

About 2-3 times a day a pitch comes in via email, Facebook message or other means asking for a mention or a link. Some are cut and paste pitches from PR reps, some are from companies trying to promote their own message and some are from industry associates that feel they have something special [...]

BIGLIST Search Marketing Blogs Update 112307

(Indexed 2007-11-23):

With our U.S. readers recovering from heavy doses of tryptophan from yesterday’s turkey-fest, we wanted to offer up another sparky update on the BIGLIST of search marketing blogs.In the past we’ve written about ways to get on the BIGLIST either as a result of us finding new blogs in the wild or noticing [...]

Happy Thanksgiving

(Indexed 2007-11-22):

With a coat of fresh snow last night it’s looking like the season should (finally) here in Minnesota. The offices are closed today and Friday for Thanksgiving but you know us, there will be at least some checking of emails, voice messages and maybe some IM during that time.TopRank is very fortunate for the [...]

Reader Poll: Social Media Marketing Analytics Tools

(Indexed 2007-11-21):

With our involvement in the PR, search and direct marketing industries through consulting and speaking at conferences, we’ve seen a huge boost in resources allocated to understanding and implementing various social media marketing tactics.Despite that, the meaning of social media as a marketing/PR channel doesn’t seem to extend outside personal universes of interest. ie, [...]

Keyword Research Tools for SEO & Social Media

(Indexed 2007-11-20):

Social Media Keyword Research is HereWhether its a phrase entered in a search box on a standard search engine, on a video sharing site or tags assigned to your friends shared social bookmarks and shared images, the meaning and intent inferred by keywords is paramount to any kind of pull online marketing effort.For search [...]

BIGLIST Search Marketing Blogs Update 111617

(Indexed 2007-11-16):

With Danny Sullivan’s categorization of the Search Engine Land blogroll, it really drove home the need to do the same with our BIGLIST of SEO blogs. The current alphabetization has worked for the first few hundred blogs, but now were near 500 overall. Unfortunately, it’s a very, busy time at TopRank right now [...]

Guide to Twitter as a Tool for Marketing and PR

(Indexed 2007-11-15):

In a previous post on MyBlogLog tips, I had mentioned a series of social media marketing posts Online Marketing Blog will be publishing where many of the tips will actually come from the community they’re about. Our next post in that series is about micro blogging phenomenon, Twitter.At first I balked at the idea of [...]

Speaking Publicly About Online Marketing

(Indexed 2007-11-13):

They say you should face your greatest fears head on and public speaking has been one of mine since I was a kid. Being shy didn’t help during those school speech assignments one bit. Anyone with me on that one?Having worked in the search marketing/web dev business since 1997, it was only 2 years [...]

Working at Microsoft An adCenter Story from Europe

(Indexed 2007-11-12):

Editor’s note: On occasion we reach out to people in the search marketing industry we’ve come to know and respect with a request to contribute. Today’s contribution comes from Microsoft’s adCenter Community Manager - Europe, Mel Carson. Mel’s job is to support, educate & evangelize through the adCenter Blog, industry forums, and to [...]

Google: You are not getting the option to cancel your account

(Indexed 2007-11-10):

I recently discovered a test AdWords account setup by an ex-staffer and while there was never any activity, it didn’t make sense to keep the AdWords or User account live since it would never be used. A cancel request was sent to Google and this was the response:“Thank you for your email. I am sorry [...]

BIGLIST Search Marketing Blogs Update 110907

(Indexed 2007-11-09):

We have more new blogs added to the BIGLIST than you can shake a USB key fob at this week. Step right up for your weekly dose of SEO, PPC, social media and web analytics. Enjoy!Conversation Marketing - Ian Lurie offers common sense internet strategies, tutorials and observations that really run the gamut of online [...]

ad:tech New York Keynote: State of the Industry

(Indexed 2007-11-07):

Topics for this morning’s keynote centered on the notion of the “new P” platforms, video advertising and random references to Gilligan’s Island and weird porn.The panel was moderated by Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO of IAB. Panelists included:Suzie Reider, Head of Ad Sales YouTube.comMichael Barrett, EVP, Chief Revenue Officer Fox Interactive MediaArianna Huffington, c-founder and [...]

Raise Conversions By 55% Or More

(Indexed 2007-11-05):

Raise conversions by 55% you say? That’s what Marketing Sherpa says in the promo copy for their new Landing Page Handbook. One of the most popular posts we’ve ever had on Online Marketing Blog was the 10 Landing Page Tips by Jon Miller of Marketo. That’s why I think this new report from Marketing [...]

BIGLIST Search Marketing Blogs Update 110207

(Indexed 2007-11-02):

So many blogs and so little time! This week’s BIGLIST update brings you a mix of blogs covering analytics, social media, entrepreneurship, emerging media and a nice SEO aggregator.Leveraging Ideas - Sam Huleatt, a Brooklyn-based Internet entrepreneur & strategy guru writes about the social media space, strategies and entreprenuership.Analytics Talk - Justin Cutroni of EpikOne [...]

Poll: Will OpenSocial Maka-Maka Facebook Obsolete?

(Indexed 2007-11-01):

The hot potato in social media this week is the OpenSocial web standards initiative (see screenshots here) promoted by Google involving numerous social applications, platforms and partners including: Ning, LinkedIn, Friendster, Oracle, Plaxo, Orkut, Salesforce, iLike, and Slide. Reported first on TechCrunch, “OpenSocial is a set of three common APIs, defined by Google with [...]

TopRank Halloween Costumes

(Indexed 2007-10-31):

Several TopRank employees wore costumes for Halloween today and here are a few photos:Princess Amie Krone - OperationsBeer Maiden Tabitha Anderson - Public RelationsHockey Dude Jeff Nolan - SEOBlack Eyed Pea Thomas McMahon - SEO/Blog/EmailSee, it’s not all work at TopRank - some fun is allowed from time to time. Happy Halloween!Sponsored By: [...]

Speaking Events for Remainder of 2007

(Indexed 2007-10-31):

The big year of 2007 is winding down and there are more than a few conferences coming up. It’s been a busy year for TopRank speaking events with our involvement in the search, direct marketing and public relations industries. Here are our remaining speaking events this year. We hope to see you there:Nov 1, 2007 [...]

Public Relations Benefits from SEO

(Indexed 2007-10-30):

On the heels of the PRSA conference last week, the topic of how search plays a part in online PR effectiveness has continued to enter into the increasing numbers of discussions we’ve been having with companies working on figuring out where to best leverage their 2008 marketing/PR dollars. It’s that time of year again. [...]

Search Engine Optimization Basics

(Indexed 2007-10-29):

While the nature of marketing web sites has continually evolved from a focus on optimizing text to include an array of media optimization such as images, audio, video and content delivery formats like RSS and mobile, there continues to be a significant value in basic SEO.In many cases, small businesses or small web sites especially, [...]

BIGLIST SEO Blogs Update 10/26/07

(Indexed 2007-10-26):

It’s a light week for the BIGLIST of search marketing blogs but good all the same. Enjoy!Search Engine Experts Blog - Harry Joiner is an executive recruiter in the interactive and new media space, which also includes search marketing. In this blog he writes about industry news and topics of particular interest to SEO and [...]

What Can You Do With MyBlogLog? Tips from 18 Members

(Indexed 2007-10-25):

MyBlogLog Glamour ShotsAs both an active participant (first and foremost) and a consultant in the ways of social media, it occurred to me that we should engage the communities of interest we’re involved with for tips. Who better to get tips on social media from than people who are actually USING social media?Online Marketing Blog, [...]

Best SEO Resources, Practices & Conferences : Reader Poll Roundup

(Indexed 2007-10-24):

From time to time we run Reader Polls on a variety of topics ranging from “Biggest Concern Related to Search Marketing?” to the “Strongest Signals of Credibility for a Marketing Agency”. Some of the polls get quite a few votes and some get very few. For example, the “Favorite SEO Podcast” poll received over [...]

Pownce Invites

(Indexed 2007-10-24):

By now, I’m not sure how many people DON’T have a Pownce account, but in case you do not and are interested, link here, oops :) I mean leave your email in a comment below and I’ll send you an invite. I have about 30 or so. After that, the Pownce invite giveaway is closed.For [...]

Internet Marketing Podcast with Mike Moran & Lee Odden

(Indexed 2007-10-22):

Fellow DMA and Search Engine Marketing Council member and friend Mike Moran recently asked if I’d be interested in doing a podcast series on Internet marketing and of course I jumped at the chance. Mike has previously shared an article here on “Why Search Marketing is So Hard“.There are 8 podcasts in the series and [...]

BIGLIST Search Marketing Blogs Update 102007

(Indexed 2007-10-20):

A week on the road can really back things up like email and BIGLIST seo blog updates. Better late than never though, so check out this week’s additions for your weekend RSS reading pleasure.SemAngel - Gary Angel, President and CTO of Semphonic, writes about all aspects of web analytics for search marketing. This is a [...]

Google Webmaster Tools Review

(Indexed 2007-10-18):

Google Webmaster Tools is a great resource for any site owner. It’s designed to inform webmasters about how Google bot is interacting with their website. It gives detailed information on broken links, popular keywords and how often Google is stopping by. It’s Googles way of giving site owners the information that they [...]

Session: Linkbait - Chumming for Traffic on Social Media Sites

(Indexed 2007-10-17):

Drop a viral video into a sea of young and old, democrats and republicans, men and women and voters of all ages (with access to the internet, of course) and you have one of my favorite linkbait videos of the year.So what is linkbait anyway? Cameron Olthius, CEO of Factive Media, defined it for the [...]

Session: SMX Social Media Marketing Essentials

(Indexed 2007-10-17):

SMX Social Media kicked off Tuesday morning in the Metropolitan Center in New York with a session entitled Social Media Marketing Essentials. Moderated by Danny Sullivan, editor-in-chief of Search Engine Land, this kickoff session reviewed the basics of what you need to know in the world of SMM.Rand Fiskin of SEOmoz spoke first of the [...]

SMX Social Media NYC Day 2 Recap

(Indexed 2007-10-17):

The end of SMX Social Media in New York is upon us. At the close of the conference today, the audience is leaving with a lot of tips and tricks and “how-to”s to make their social media marketing more effective. The main idea pushed on the audience by nearly every one of the presenters was [...]

Is Your Social Media Marketing Strategy Passive or Active?

(Indexed 2007-10-16):

When talking with so many companies of all sizes and types about marketing with social media, many are keen on the idea, but don’t have a clear idea of the best way to incorporate tactics like social bookmarking into their content promotions. Anyone can throw up links to Digg, Del.icio.us and Facebook, but does it [...]

Minnesota Search Marketing Association

(Indexed 2007-10-15):

Online Marketing Blog is fortunate to have readers all over the U.S. and world wide, but this post is geared towards search marketers here in Minnesota and the upper Midwest. Although, it would be great to hear opinions from others that have been in a similar situation as what’s described here.There’s been a bit of [...]

Social Media Roadtrip: DMA07, SMX & PRSA International

(Indexed 2007-10-13):

Next week starts one heck of a week starting with DMA07 in Chicago, the largest marketing conference in the world. On Tuesday afternoon I am speaking on a panel called “Desperately Seeking Links Baiting, Buying and Socializing for Links” with Stephan Spencer, Seth, Besmertnik and Eric Ward.Then on Thursday, I will be presenting as [...]

BIGLIST SEM Blogs Update 101207

(Indexed 2007-10-12):

On the cusp of one amazing week, TopRank’s blogging team brings you another fine batch of SEO/SEM blogs to be inducted into the BIGLIST. There are a few gems in here so be sure to fire up your RSS reader and start subscribing.Get Elastic Ecommerce Blog - The team at Vancouver BC based Elastic Path, [...]

Small Business Guide to Optimizing Universal Search

(Indexed 2007-10-11):

The buzz in the search marketing media and increasingly, the business press, on the importance of unified or universal search is gaining momentum and is unavoidable. Small and medium sized business web site owners and webmasters are now presented with the challenge of making sense out of the recent rash of search engine interface [...]

Reader Poll: Getting Paid Based on Performance

(Indexed 2007-10-10):

About every 2 weeks we get calls from companies that feel their growth opportunities are so significant, outside marketing vendors are expected to be paid based only on performance. I know there are some search engine marketing consultants that take on pay for performance or marketing partnership deals, but very few agencies that do.It’s [...]

Blogging SMX Social Media New York

(Indexed 2007-10-10):

October is by far my favorite month here in Minnesota, and unfortunately I have to leave it for a couple of days. However, the time will be well worth it as I will be representing TopRank’s Online Marketing Blog by blogging the SMX Social Media conference in New York City on October 16th and 17th.Being [...]

Interview with Danny Sullivan & Neil Patel on SMX Social Media

(Indexed 2007-10-09):

Spotlight on Search Interview with Danny Sullivan of Third Door Media and Neil Patel of Advantage Consulting ServicesNext week the next of the Search Marketing Expo (SMX) conference series kicks off in New York: SMX Social Media. Developed by search engine industry legend Danny Sullivan and social media guru Neil Patel, the agenda for this [...]

Nonprofits in Need of Search Marketing

(Indexed 2007-10-08):

I’ve had the idea in my head for a few weeks now to do some querying of people in the search, PR and social media marketing industries to get an idea what sorts of charities and non-profit causes they’re spending time, resources and money with. In the past, a lot of this kind of [...]

Why Search Marketing Is So Hard

(Indexed 2007-10-08):

Editor’s Note: I am excited to introduce the next in our series of guest articles from IBM Distinguished Engineer Mike Moran. The credentials list on Mike is a mile long including 20+ years experience in search technology, co-author of the best selling book “Search Engine Marketing Inc” as well as his recent book, “Do It [...]

BIGLIST SEO Blogs Update 100407

(Indexed 2007-10-05):

Can you believe it’s Friday already? Like clockwork, TopRank brings dear readers of Online Marketing Blog yet another nice roundup of search marketing blogs we lovingly like to call the BIGLIST. Fire up your favorite RSS reader and start clicking.Metamend SEO Blog - Without question, one of the most prolific and talented writers in the [...]

Video: Five Minutes with Vanessa Fox on Zillow

(Indexed 2007-10-02):

At SES San Jose I was able to sit down with Vanessa Fox to talk briefly about some of the basic features of the Google Webmaster Central service and posted that interview but was also able to do a second video about her new role at Zillow.We talked about what she’s doing with Zillow and [...]

Social Search - The Potential Impact on the Search Marketing Industry

(Indexed 2007-10-02):

Editor’s note: Social search isn’t the new kid on the block anymore but it still has it’s mystery as far as search marketing implications. The next in our series of guest posts comes from a very well respected guy who I’ve long appreciated as having more than an advanced understanding of where the search [...]

2008 Search Marketing Benchmark Guide

(Indexed 2007-10-01):

Marketing Sherpa has formally announced their latest Search Marketing Benchmark Guide for 2008 with over 270 pages of fact filled goodness. For both in-house marketers and SEM agencies alike, this guide provides up to date insight into essential search marketing industry trends. Of particular interest to me was the special report on the challenges [...]

SEO Developments, Challenges and Tactics

(Indexed 2007-09-28):

UK based e-consultancy holds periodic round tables meetings with agency and client side search marketers to discuss issues in the industry with a report published afterwards. The most recent September report, which highlights a number of search engine industry developments, SEO challenges and tactics motivated me to write this post. Many of the issues [...]

BIGLIST Search Marketing Blogs Update 092807

(Indexed 2007-09-28):

What a crop of tasty SEO blogs we have for you today! Why bother working, when you can dig into some fine SEO reading? Heck it’s Friday, right? Enjoy!Ask the SEO Guru - Bob Massa of SearchKing fame spells it out for you in plain English with comments like, “I dont do SEO. I do [...]

Ten Tips for Lead Generation Landing Pages

(Indexed 2007-09-27):

Editor’s Note: The next in our series of guest posts from SEM professionals comes from Jon Miller, VP of Marketing at Marketo. Marketo is a client of our PR agency M&O and provides B2B marketing automation software in the form of pay per click management, landing page optimization and integration with salesforce.com.With Jon’s [...]

Email Marketing Tips & ClickZ Specifics

(Indexed 2007-09-24):

One of the most effective online marketing services M&O/TopRank implements for clients in addition to SEO and public relations is email marketing. Within our direct and email marketing practice there are several, very talented people responsible for this success, one of which is M&O co-founder, Julie Brue.Whether it be list development, landing page QA or [...]

BIGLIST Search Marketing Blogs Update 092107

(Indexed 2007-09-21):

See how committed we are? The BIGLIST is updated even though I’m on vacation this week. OK, it’s not an overwhelming list, just one:Wiep SEO and Link Building Blog - Netherlands based Wiep Knol writes about link building, social media and other link marketing related issues.Regular blogging will resume next week when I’m back from [...]

Navigating a Marketing Dead End

(Indexed 2007-09-20):

A few months ago my husband and I were spending our free time cruising dealership lots after the dealerships had closed researching cars. However, we kept running into dead ends with dealerships who close their lots in the evening hours. Some of you might be thinking, “Why not shop for cars after hours online?”. We [...]

ONLINE POKER or The Marketing Folly of Using Highly Popular Yet Unrelated Keywords to Drive Online Traffic

(Indexed 2007-09-19):

Early in my marketing career I sold classified advertising for a large and influential alternative weekly newspaper in the Twin Cities.A true benefit of this job was experienced by friends of mine, met through occasional dabblings in the local comedy scene, who turned to me to get the word out about an upcoming show via [...]

Interview with Chris Sherman of Third Door Media

(Indexed 2007-09-17):

Spotlight on Search Interview with Chris Sherman, Executive Editor, Search Engine LandPhoto Credit Liana EvansOnline Marketing Blog is very fortunate this week to have a special interview with Chris Sherman, Executive Editor at Search Engine Land and long time observer/analyst/practitioner/advocate in the search engine marketing industry. Chris has been a instrumental influence in the growth [...]

Yahoo Mash Beta - New Social Networking Platform

(Indexed 2007-09-15):

Update:I’ve updated my Yahoo mash profile page a bit over the weekend and with the help of a few friends. Note: if you have some mischievious friends, you may want to turn off their ability to edit or “mash” your profile page or it might start sporting another company’s logo as your background image, as [...]

BIGLIST Search Marketing Blogs Update 091407

(Indexed 2007-09-14):

Not many additions this week, but we did do a bit of housecleaning. Fifty blogs were removed due to non-activity.Also, our diligent maintainer of the BIGLIST was kind (too kind in my opinion) to note previously removed blogs which have now started posting regularly again. These are on probation but will be added back in [...]

Reader Poll: Can SES, SMX and Pubcon Coexist?

(Indexed 2007-09-14):

A lot has changed in the search marketing conference industry in the past year. The biggest news being the addition of Kevin Ryan to oversee Search Engine Watch and Search Engine Strategies along with the departure of Danny Sullivan from SES to start his own venture, Third Door Media and the Search Marketing Expo or [...]

Making Sense of Linking and Site Promotion

(Indexed 2007-09-12):

The OG’s of link building like Eric Ward are full of reasons why acquiring inbound links without consideration of direct effect from search engines is a sustainable and worthwhile marketing tactic. The ongoing SEO services many search marketers offer is often short sighted with a narrow emphasis placed on link acquisition and not [...]

Windows Live Webmaster Portal Beta

(Indexed 2007-09-11):

Earlier this year I participated in an online focus group where questions were asked about various webmaster and SEO tools. The session was run by a third party and I was able to get them to admit it was for Microsoft. Tonight, like many others that showed interest, I received an invite to register from [...]

25 Signals of Credibility for Marketing Agencies

(Indexed 2007-09-10):

With so much uncertainty due to inflated promises, bad press and a fast changing industry, what “signals” of credibility do companies look for in trusted internet marketing partners and resources? Our gift to you today is an annotated list of 25. In one way or another, TopRank is involved with all of [...]

BIGLIST SEM SEO Blogs Update 080707

(Indexed 2007-09-07):

This week proved there’s no rest for the weary TopRank SEO blog search team, scouring the web for new blogs to add to the BIGLIST of search marketing blogs.SEO Snafu -Markus writes a blog about some of his favorite topics including: SEO, social media, social bookmarking, marketing, Web 2.0, blogging, & of course, making money [...]

Local SEO with Event Promotion

(Indexed 2007-09-05):

Editor’s Note: This week we welcome the first of a series of guest posts from client side marketers about search marketing. Paul OBrien gets things started with a post focusing on how optimizing for local search engines is about more than directory listings and geographic modifiers. Event based local search marketing provides an additional [...]

Evaluating Client Search Marketing Readiness

(Indexed 2007-09-04):

Experienced client side and agency search marketers know that today’s web site marketing projects involve much more than single event “SEO triage” and link building. A quick look at the topics on the top search marketing forums, newsletters, conferences, blogs and even print magazines shows an increasing variety of strategies ranging from marketing with social [...]

BIGLIST Search Marketing Blogs 083107

(Indexed 2007-08-31):

We are now back to our regular schedule of Friday updates to TopRank’s BIGLIST of SEO blogs. Not to be confused with qwerty’s “The Kind of Smallish List of Sort of Search Marketing Blogs“. Lorna Li Green 2.0 - Black is back in this blog design and I think it works. Lorna Li is [...]

How NOT to pitch a blog

(Indexed 2007-08-29):

In the past I’ve written about blogger relations offering tips on how marketers or PR professionals ought to present their story ideas to bloggers. Pitching bloggers and print journalists are somewhat similar, but in the end, they can be very different things.Here are a few “what you should not do” tips based on the 3-5 [...]

Reader Poll: How Many Conferences Does The Boss Send You To?

(Indexed 2007-08-28):

Demand for talented search marketers is high and the number of educational opportunities has increased proportionately. We have a reader poll this week to get an idea of our reader’s conference involvement. See below.Some prefer a structured training program like SEMPO Institute, DMA SEM Certification or Bruce Clay’s training program. Others prefer to compliment those [...]

BIGLIST SEO Blogs Update 082607

(Indexed 2007-08-27):

After a jam packed week at Search Engine Strategies in San Jose last week, there was still time to discover a few new blogs for the BIGLIST of SEO blogs.Kelsey Group Blog - For all things related to local search marketing and online yellow pages, this blog is an excellent resource on industry news and [...]

SES Video: Vanessa Fox Google Webmaster Tools

(Indexed 2007-08-24):

Even though she’s moved on from Google to Zillow, Vanessa Fox still carries quite a bit of passion for her creation, Google Webmaster Tools. She was even spotted at the Google Dance giving advice to SES attendees at the Google Webmaster Tools product demo table.Many webmasters and beginning search marketers could benefit a great deal [...]

Search Bash 2007

(Indexed 2007-08-23):

WebmasterRadio.FM and their sponsors did not disappoint with the right of passage for new SES San Jose attendees known as “Search Bash“. Hula hoops, Jersey Girls, Marilyn Monroe, Sammy Davis, Dean Martin, Sumo wrestling, go go girls and an open bar all night. Tell me that’s not a formula for an evening you’ll likely [...]

Yahoo Book Party - Mona Elesseily

(Indexed 2007-08-23):

After a long day of sessions on day three of Search Engine Strategies in San Jose, some attendees mosied on over to the Yahoo Panama Book party for Mona Elesseily of Page Zero. It was great to see the support for her new report, “Mastering Panama - A special report on Yahoo!’s new search marketing [...]

Session: Creating Compelling Ads

(Indexed 2007-08-22):

A trap I fell into early in my career as an SEM specialist was to ensure clients we would do our best to drive all the traffic we could to their site. Looking back, I’m glad I learned the obvious error of this statement before becoming involved in a client’s burgeoning PPC campaign.The session [...]

Session: Link Baiting - Viral Search Marketing

(Indexed 2007-08-22):

Day 3 at SES San Jose found me assigned to cover the session “Link Baiting & Viral Search Success.”Those who’ve read my previous posts should find it as no surprise that my level of excitement for this session superseded any residual aches and pains left over from last night’s “decadence based in relevance” superbash Google [...]

SES Video: Steven Marder Eurekster Swicki

(Indexed 2007-08-22):

In our continuing coverage of the Search Engine Strategies conference in San Jose, we’re shooting periodic video interviews both in the speaker ready room and a few on the exhibit floor.In this interview Steven Marder of Eurekster talks about how their Swicki product works both for online publishers to attract and monetize traffic as well [...]

Session: So You Want To Be A Search Marketer?

(Indexed 2007-08-22):

Raise your hands if you want to be a Search Marketer! This session I attended on Day 3 of SES San Jose 2007 taught us how to better educate those who want to start in the SEM business, and how the rest of us already in it should continue learning.First, Pradeep Chodra, co-founder of OMLogic, [...]

Session: Putting Search Into the Marketing Mix

(Indexed 2007-08-21):

Day two of SES San Jose found me fighting for an outlet as I prepared to impart details to you on the session “Putting Search Into the Marketing Mix”.The session, moderated by Free Agent Consultant Sara Holoubek included on its panel:Misty Locke, President & co-Founder, Range Online MediaCurtis Dueck, Senior Account Manager, Epiar Inc.Bill Mungovan, [...]

Session: Web Analytics & Measuring Success

(Indexed 2007-08-21):

Analytics is a big part of a website’s success, However, even though analytics software is getting better and cheaper, website owners still don’t really know what to do with it.Matt Bailey with Site Logic is an excellent speaker on this topic. He talks about how analytics is more than just hits, it’s about [...]

Session: Public Relations Train Wrecks in the Interactive Biz

(Indexed 2007-08-20):

Online Marketing Blogs coverage from day one of Search Engine Strategies San Jose 2007Day 1 at SES San Jose began with the “no more horsing around” session, “Public Relations Train Wrecks in the Interactive Biz: Disaster Can be Avoided”, moderated by Kevin Ryan, VP & Global Content Director of SES & Search Engine Watch.For those [...]

SES Videos - Conversation with Michael Gray and Bryan Eisenberg

(Indexed 2007-08-20):

While in the speaker ready room this morning, I had the chance to sit down with Michael Gray and Bryan Eisenberg for a quick discussion about social media marketing and the changes with the influence “friends” have on social news sites like Digg.Does reducing the weight of votes from “friends” take away from the reason [...]

SES San Jose Videos - Dan Perry Cars.com

(Indexed 2007-08-20):

Our first video from Search Engine Strategies San Jose is with Dan Perry of Cars.com who talks about the value of attending search marketing conferences for in-house SEMs. He also promotes the SEMPO in-house search marketing event this evening where he’s the MC.Sponsored By: TopRank SEO Consulting

BIGLIST Search Marketing Blogs Update 081807

(Indexed 2007-08-18):

We have quite a haul of SEO blogs this week and with Search Engine Strategies coming up, search marketing enthusiasts will no doubt be looking for new sources of information on topics of interest as well as conference coverage.ClickZ News Blog and ClickZ Experts - The newly designed ClickZ web site continues to offer first [...]

Viral Marketing with I Believe in Harvey Dent Too

(Indexed 2007-08-17):

So what is the coolest new viral campaign online and why? Check out www.ibelieveinharveydenttoo.com and then come back here.There isn’t anything on the page, is there?Certainly not that photo of Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent that can be found by removing “too” from the URL: www.ibelieveinharveydent.comThere’s simply a message saying “Page Not Found”.Do you feel [...]

Facebook Zombies - Marketing to Gen Y

(Indexed 2007-08-17):

Facebook recently deployed an applications programs interface allowing users to create widgets or share applications within their network.One application in particular caught my interest as it allows you to turn your virtual self into a zombie and “infect” other people by biting them (through email invitation of course). Your zombie gains points as you infect [...]

SES San Jose 2007 Special Events, Er Parties

(Indexed 2007-08-16):

We all know networking with other smart search marketers, prospective clients, marketing partners and candidates is one of the biggest benefits of attending search marketing conferences. Many times, this comes in the form of parties, some of which have been pretty fun in years past, especially anything involving WebmasterRadio.FM.However, the trend regarding post conference events [...]

SEO Services: Value Meal or Consulting that Provides Value?

(Indexed 2007-08-15):

Most people like things simple and “pre-packaged” solutions do well to attract mass market appeal. Just look at the popularity of “value meals” at popular fast food restaurants and other consumer products.In the business to business world, the simplification of products and services into such groupings is not so practical, “Did you want the #3 [...]

Interview: Mike Grehan, World Traveler & Global SEO

(Indexed 2007-08-13):

Spotlight on Search: Interview with Mike GrehanPhoto credit: webmoxyOne of the most popular categories of content we publish at Online Marketing Blog is the interviews. Recently, we ran a poll asking OMB readers for suggestions on people we should interview in anticipation of SES San Jose. There were some great suggestions and I’ve just started [...]

Blogging Search Engine Strategies San Jose

(Indexed 2007-08-13):

Greetings Online Marketing Blog readers! In just one week I’ll be attending my first Search Engine Strategies conference in San Jose! After reviewing the weeks sessions, I am thrilled at the opportunity to learn about whats new in the industry and to finally meet (in person) some of our clients from the bay area!I [...]

On The Way To SES San Jose

(Indexed 2007-08-10):

Hello Online Marketing Blog readers! My name is Mike Yanke and I am an Account Manager with TopRank Online Marketing.Regular readers may know me as the guy who won the TopRank challenge with the blog post on Stephen Colberts marketing strategy, Fish Wavers & Bridge Namers - How the Greatest Living American Reaches Unique [...]

BIGLIST Search Marketing Blogs Update 081007

(Indexed 2007-08-10):

Another week, another set of informative SEM and SEO blogs for the TopRank BIGLIST of search marketing blogs delivered right to a RSS reader or browser near you:Social Marketing by Michelle MacPhearson - Michelle explores how web 2.0 tools can be used for marketing and documents her findings, such as the hotly anticipated social marketing [...]

SES San Jose, Here I Come

(Indexed 2007-08-09):

Hello loyal Online Marketing Blog readers! Dana Larson here, joining you straight from TopRank. I am the aspiring linking guru around these parts, trying to learn as much as possible while still kicking butt for our clients. It has been an educational and thoroughly enjoyable time with the TopRank team so far.In just over a [...]

ad:tech Chicago Keynote: Building Brands in a Digital Age

(Indexed 2007-08-07):

Note from Editor: TopRank Account Manager, Jolina Pettice recently attended the ad:tech conference in Chicago. Along with her formidable knowledge gathering and networking duties, Jolina is sharing notes and observations on a few of the sessions. Enjoy!The second keynote speech at ad tech Chicago included a panel of leading marketing folks discussing how to build [...]

BIGLIST Search Marketing Blogs Update 080307

(Indexed 2007-08-03):

Never fear, the BIGLIST weekly update of SEM and SEO blogs is here! This week’s update offers a nice mixture of old and new. Enjoy!The Search Insider - Not to be confused with MediaPost’s “Search Insider”, this blog from Wpromote’s Mike Mothner provides insight into pay per click and the business of search marketing.Web Usability, [...]

9 Wishes For a Better Yahoo

(Indexed 2007-08-02):

Editors Note: As part of our continued effort at diversifying contributors to Online Marketing Blog and providing a public communication platform for our merry band of search marketing enthusiasts, here is a post from Blog SEO and Designer, Thomas McMahon:Yahoo is by many accounts, the grandfather of search. They’ve been around a long time [...]

What Makes a Top SEO Blog?

(Indexed 2007-07-31):

So much information, so little time. Between IM, RSS, Facebook, Twitter, Sphinn, blogging and work, it’s amazing there’s any time left for “old school” activities like email.The beauty of RSS is that you can subscribe to a pretty good list of search marketing blogs and stay up to date on industry news as well as [...]

Interviews with Search Marketers

(Indexed 2007-07-27):

Our plan is to bring multiple TopRank team members to SES San Jose next month and each will be blogging different sessions. This will free me up significantly to do video interviews, take photos and other more creative conference coverage. Everything will be posted here at Online Marketing Blog so be sure to tune [...]

BIGLIST Search Marketing Blogs Update 072707

(Indexed 2007-07-27):

Even though we’re doing the “RV vacation” thing starting today, we have a nice list of search marketing blogs for you in this week’s update to the BIGLIST of SEM and SEM and SEO blogs. Enjoy!Internet Marketing Monitor - A paid staff of writers at IMM pull internet marketing industry stories of the day [...]

Reader Poll: Tools for Networking Online

(Indexed 2007-07-26):

Some of the best advice I ever received starting out in the business world concerned the value of networking. Online communication tools like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter as well as mainstays like IM and email make it easier than ever (sometimes too easy) to network with other like-minded individuals.Search marketers tend to be a tech savvy [...]

New SEM Magazine - Visibility

(Indexed 2007-07-25):

Apologies for the image quality as I forgot my camera at home and had to take this with my KRZR. A new search marketing print publication has hit the mailboxes this week called Visibility. Backed by the company that publishes the popular internet marketing services site, topseos.com, this first issue includes a mix of [...]

New TopRank Site Designs

(Indexed 2007-07-25):

Layout 2Our emphasis on TopRank’s Online Marketing Blog has meant less attention to our company web site. However, as much of an asset the blog is, we simply could not go on any longer with a company web site designed by a non-designer (me) six years ago. I’m surprised more people have not made fun [...]

Meta Tag Optimization: Baloney or Good SEO?

(Indexed 2007-07-24):

While perusing a new social network for the advertising industry, I noticed an interesting question posted regarding whether meta tags were relevant to search engine optimization. With all the hype about subjects like Google Universal search, personalization and social media, it’s fun to revisit some of the basic “textbook SEO” topics like meta tags.As long [...]

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