Search Engine Marketing

Google’s “Trust Issue” Isn’t Good vs. Evil – Ask the Clients and Staff Who Fear It Most

April 25th 2014

Evil or not, Google is fearsome. Its staff, Priceline, Expedia and TripAdvisor know this. Sure they still work with Google. That’s the point — we’re most vulnerable to those we depend on and perhaps already trust too much.

Rick Santorum Has a Dirty Problem with SEO, and He’s Made it Worse

February 15th 2012

The gay rights protest site “Spreading Santorum” now eclipses the official Santorum campaign site on the major search engines. Its a text book case bad SEO decisions, and the power of offensive though apparently resonate free speech.

Periodic Table of SEO Ranking Factors

June 7th 2011

Here’s a good rubric for thinking about Search Engine ranking factors. You can download it right here. Of course, it wraps SEO with a patina of science which seems so much more certain than the Spy vs. Spy game that competitive can become. But its also a great example of how an infographic can build both brand and in-links.

Making Sense of Microsoft’s $8.5 Billion Skype Phone Bill

May 12th 2011

Last night I was with Microsoft Online Services President, Qi Lu, who shared Microsoft’s view of the web’s future. Microsoft’s Skype purchases fits within a set of strategic themes that reflect how Microsoft sees its self and the digital landscape.

Lay Off the SEO Google Juice – Or Get an Ear Full of Cider

March 21st 2011

Its time for firms to lay off tricks that generate SEO Google Juice. This shouldn’t be a shock, if guys who rent servers for $3/month know a trick, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Google’s 20,000 or so staff can figure it out too.

Why Google Can’t Mix Matter and Anti-Matter: Keeping Organic Results Pure

March 14th 2011

Google is in both the Rankings and Advertising business. That’s a problem because while both these activities shape opinion, they do so in mutually eroding ways.

How SEO Agencies Lost Their Digital Marketing Mojo to Social Marketing

November 23rd 2010

A marketer sent me a copy of a post explaining social will “transform” SEO. He missed the subtlety that “transform” almost always means “to wreak carnage on”…and that’s why the post’s writer said SEO agencies should immediately rebrand. But do SEO agencies have what it takes regain their mojo?

Live Blogging MITX Awards in Boston Tonight

November 18th 2010

The MITX Digital Marketing awards recognize agency and brand efforts in 25+ categories, plus “Best of” awards for Boston’s top interactive talent. These are my friends and industry.

Dismantling the SEO Factory: You Can’t Fake Cool, Not Even with Links

November 15th 2010

You can’t fake cool. But lots of people try to fake “link love.” This was part of Google’s early genius: using inbound links to sites as markers of popularity. If important sites linked to a new site, that was an indicator that the new site had merit. Those of us who had not cracked popularity […]

Dismantling the SEO Factory: Crappy Content Marketing “for Google”

November 8th 2010

Have you noticed firms that do content marketing with such an SEO focus that it gets in the way of their user experience? Too often firms follow SEO tactics which are really an arbitrage of marginally useful actions that often have no value other than to influence Google. Here are some good SEO practices that […]