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Archive for the ‘Internet News’ Category
My Notes From SMX West 2010 (Part Two)
John Vantine | March 10th, 2010
This is my 2nd post about the presentations that I attended at SMX West. If you didn’t see the first one, check it out here. There’s nothing better than getting your hands dirty with some advanced technical SEO stuff first thing in the morning, right? Those were my exact thoughts as I sat in the expo hall on Wednesday morning, dreary eyed with hot caffeinated beverage in hand. Without further ado… Diagnosing Technical SEO Issues Adam Audette (Audette Media) was the first one to speak. Adam spoke about SEO site audits, and reminded us that they should be a collaborative process. SEO Site Audits When multiple people are involved in a site audit, it can get confusing. It’s very important that everyone involved is on the same page; otherwise, you may find that you are giving your client conflicting advice/suggestions in the site audit. For this reason, he suggested the use of a project management tool like Basecamp. Everyone does site audit’s differently, but they should all include the same core elements. Adam identified these as being… On-Site: Domain(s), navigation, sections and categories, pages, and media (images/video/etc) Off-Site: Backlinks (quantity, quality, frequency), social media signals, cache dates/crawl frequency/indexed pages, and toolbar pagerank After identifying the core elements of an SEO site audit, he said that the “big 4 factors” are URLs, site architecture and navigation, deep pages (pagerank dispersion), and site latency. Gabe Gayheart (Razorfish) took the stage next, and continued the discussion on site audits. Gabe recommended that you Continue reading…
Tags: cctlds, content delivery, css sprites, link building, page speed, SEO, site audits, SMX West
Posted in Google, Internet News, SEO, Technology | 5 Comments
My Notes From SMX West 2010 (Part One)
John Vantine | March 5th, 2010
I spent most of this week in Santa Clara for SMX West. This was my first conference, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect – I’ve heard tales of wild afterparties and lots of networking, but I had no preconceived notions of what the actual presentations would be like. They actually reminded me a little bit of college courses – I found myself scrambling to write down as much as possible on Topic A, while the speaker was moving on to Topic B. The presentations varied in “expertise levels”. During some of the panels, I felt like I was sitting through an SEO 101 course. That’s not to say that brushing up isn’t helpful; I think we could all benefit from going back to basics from time to time. Anyway, I made sure to take note of anything that stood out to me as useful, and I’ll be sharing those notes with you here (in a slightly more organized fashion). Keyword Research & Techniques The first presentation that I checked out was “Keyword Research and Techniques”. A lot of the things covered in this presentation seemed pretty basic to me, but it was still interesting. Christine Churchill of KeyRelevance reminded us all of the importance of keyword research – that as long as we have text boxes (search boxes), keyword research is going to be pretty fundamental. Some of the main points that I left this presentation with: Begin with brainstorming. Before you start using keyword research tools, sit Continue reading…
Wpromote Makes A Splash at Online Marketing Summit San Diego
Mike Mothner | February 25th, 2010
I write this as I look across the usually sun-drenched (but presently surprisingly chilly) panorama of Mission Bay, San Diego, as the 2010 Online Marketing Summit draws quietly to a close. It officially kicks off what will be a terrifically busy 2010 as our marketing efforts continue to expand. We will be criss-crossing the country, and sponsoring, exhibiting and speaking at Search Engine Strategies, SMX, Ad:tech, the DMA conference, Internet Retailer, Inc Magazine’s GrowCo and Inc 500 events, and more. So if you are a client, future client, partner, or vendor, chances are we will be visiting a city near you, and we would love nothing more than to meet in person! Online Marketing Summit, or OMS as it is commonly referred, is a new addition to our conference calendar and a fun one to add, with their largest event each year taking place just “down the road” in San Diego. We thought it was a solid event, both in that it is very education-based (with sponsors but not your typical expo hall environment), and seems to pull a different mix of companies than the traditional online marketing shows, which is exciting and refreshing! On Tuesday, I spoke on a terrific panel (I must say one of the best that I saw at the conference) entitled “SEO 2.0 Leadership Forum”, which was an advanced SEO panel expertly moderated by Rand Fishkin of SEOmoz fame. In addition to myself, there was an all-star cast that included Marshall Simmonds is the Chief Continue reading…
Google Buzzing. Twitter Fretting?
Michael Block | February 9th, 2010
Just about a month ago, I editorialized on the Wpromote blog about Google’s response to Yelp’s refusal to be purchased by Google: Hell hath no fury like Sergey and Larry [Google's founders] scorned. Keep in mind, all you innovators out there, that if Google offers to buy you out, what they are really saying is, “Don’t make us do what you do, only better!” Remember MapQuest? Yeah, neither do I. Well, it looks like Twitter may be getting similar comeuppance. Google just announced Google Buzz and you can learn about it in the video above or in the TechCrunch article hot off the presses. This move by Google is significant for a number of reasons: It’s built into Gmail and tons of people already use Gmail. It’s an outstanding parry to Facebook’s decision to try their hand at email (which would compete directly with Gmail). If you have Facebook and Gmail, one could argue that Twitter may be on its way to irrelevancy. Let’s speak to #3 because it’s a pretty bold statement. By the way, if you want to come off as a jerk, refer to your own statements as “bold.” It’s wicked-effective. Anyway, let’s think about the things that people use Twitter for: Updating peers on what they’re doing: Facebook and Buzz now have this covered. Sharing with peers things like pics, articles, memes, etc.: Facebook and Buzz now have this covered. Updating non-peers on the points above: Facebook and Buzz can have this covered (depending on privacy Continue reading…
Tags: facebook, gmail, Google, google buzz, social marketing, Twitter
Posted in Google, Internet News | 2 Comments
5 Ways Small Businesses Can Leverage Social Media Now
Amanda Moshier | February 8th, 2010
Now that social media is no longer just a ‘trend,’ many small business owners are coming to us unsure about how to proceed. Some may heard online shoe retailer Zappos does a great job of branding themselves on Twitter or Burger King went overboard with its “Whopper Sacrifice” campaign on Facebook, but the question of how to make social media work still looms. The good news is social media isn’t just for Fortune 500 companies. In fact, many small businesses have surprised themselves with the amount of press they have garnered by networking with consumers online. A perfect example of this kind of success story is that of The Kogi Truck, an LA-based catering truck with a shtick almost too-hard-to-resist: you have to go on Twitter (or their website) to find out where they are at any given moment. It doesn’t hurt that their delicious Asian-Mexican fusion makes use of high-quality ingredients like arugula and persimmons and is far from tasting like it was prepared in a truck or that word-of-mouth around the SoCal basin has been tremendously positive. The Kogi Truck is a clear case of online and offline marketing working hand-in-hand for phenomenal results. The Kogi truck relies on Twitter to communicate its whereabouts with customers While all of this is exciting and encouraging, before you dive in and try to replicate Kogi’s social media success story, it is important to know what you want. Whether you have profiles on all the relevant social networking sites already or Continue reading…
Viral Video Friday
Jesse Bouman | January 29th, 2010
We’re one into 2010 already…can you believe it? This week we’ve got a prank gone awry, Apple’s new toy, choreographed inmates, how to report the news and a viral video scandal. Joel Branstrom Amazing Basketball Shot Do you remember this College Humor Prank Wars video? Well, a couple of high school students attempted to recreate this prank, on the girl’s basketball coach. Except he used to play basketball at the University of Kansas. Apple iPad Apple unveiled their newest gadget, the iPad. Let the feminine hygiene product jokes commence. Cebu Inmates Philippines dancing Nobody by Wonder Girls There are no gang wars during their recreation time, just dance practice. Charlie Brooker – How to Report the News You will find this humorous…unless you’re a street reporter. What Do You Think? American Idol’s viral sensation “Pants On The Ground” has been attacked and accused of plagiarism. Both are listed below, what do you think? General Larry Platt – Pants On The Ground! BACK POCKETS ON THE FLOOR Save this Post!
