by David Wallace | Dec 15, 2006
I get request for links from link builders all the time, what I refer to as “link request spam.” The content of the email is typically the same because they are using some kind of form letter. Simply fill in the blanks to somewhat personalize it even though most often the sites requesting links have absolutely nothing to do with my site (except that they are both on the Internet). It is a lazy way to build link popularity as opposed to building quality content that will attract links naturally or actually taking the effort to seek out quality links whether they are requested, purchased or both.
by David Wallace | Dec 13, 2006
Andy Beal has just published an article entitled “Five Secret Strategies to Add $1 Million in Revenue to your Interactive Marketing Agency in 2007” in which he provides some proven strategies that any marketing firm can implement. The five secret strategies Andy lists are tried and trusted as he has used them to help grow one firm to $25+ million in annual revenues and another to an annual run rate of $2+ million in its first year. I will provide a bullet list with some excerpts but definitely check out original article as it is a worthy read.
by David Wallace | Dec 13, 2006
What is a “brand advocate” anyway? ClickZ defines them as “consumers who spread opinions via word of mouth, as well as over social networks, instant messaging, chat, photo sites and blogging.” According to a new research report released today by Yahoo! and comScore Networks, not only is social networking’s influence on marketing growing, but particularly vocal individuals are having more of an effect than ever.
by David Wallace | Dec 11, 2006
Matt Cutts wife is gone on vacation. With that you would think that Matt would be taking it easy but not so. Rather he has been posting like crazy at his blog. Therefore Rand Fishkin thought it might be a good time to ask Matt some specific questions – eleven to be exact. Seeing that Matt was absent from the SES Chicago show last week, possibly Matt would take some time to answer a set of questions that offer multiple choice answers? The answer was yes which produced a nice list of juicy tidbits regarding Google outlook on web sites and search marketing.
by David Wallace | Dec 11, 2006
This year’s Search Engine Strategies conference in Chicago was simply a blast. I attended last year but was only there for one day because a spot on a Site Clinic session opened up. I literally flew in Wednesday and left 24 hours later only leaving the hotel once to attend a party held at Buddy Guy’s Legends club. This time around, my wife and business partner, Irma joined me as we attended the entire week. We met tons of cool people and were able to experience some of the highlights of this fabulous city.
by David Wallace | Dec 6, 2006
We all knew this was coming. With Danny’s recent departure from Search Engine Watch, the resource he founded which was acquired twice, first by Jupiter Media and then by Incisive, it was only a matter of time before it was expected that a new conference series would be announced. While Danny will continue to chair two more Search Engine Strategies conferences for Incisive – New York in April and San Jose in August, Danny’s new conference series will be called Search Marketing Expo, or SMX for short.
by David Wallace | Dec 1, 2006
While there are many fine SEO firms spread out across the globe, there is equally a share of bad firms as well or as Jill Whalen calls them, “Quacks.” In her most recent newsletter, Jill provides 10 signs that your SEO may be a quack. Some of them are obvious but others might not be quite so obvious to those shopping for SEO services. That is why when searching for an SEO vendor, it is so important to perform due diligence so you can have confidence in who is finally selected. Jill’s tips will help identify firms to stay clear of. I will list them below but for more detailed explanation of each, visit her newsletter archive.
by David Wallace | Nov 29, 2006
Joe Morin has a new project he is working on. It is called “A Super Bowl Commercial Marriage Proposal” and can be likened to Alex Tew’s Million Dollar Homepage idea and Kyle MacDonald’s One Red Paperclip project. If you recall, Alex raised $1,037,000.00 by selling pixels on his homepage and Kyle aspired to trade a single red paper clip for something bigger and better. 14 trades later, he ended up with a house in Canada. In this project, a person who we will call JP (to keep his identity secret from his girlfriend) wants to make his wedding proposal in a TV commercial during next year’s Super Bowl.
by David Wallace | Nov 28, 2006
Many of the prominent SEOs/SEMs in the world of search have specific recognizable traits that they are well known for. These may involve fashion, what they like to drink or even things they have done at conferences. I thought it would be fun to put together a trivia game to see how knowledgeable the community is in recognizing some of these folks.
by David Wallace | Nov 28, 2006
As an owner of a full service SEM (Search Engine Marketing) firm, there are two things I love – word of mouth referrals and partnerships with traditional agencies. How can one not love these two means of acquiring new business? Word of mouth referrals is as old as the dinosaurs. As a consumer, you buy a product or receive a service that you are just absolutely thrilled with and you tell everyone you know. Not quite as old is the process of SEM companies who partner with agencies, whether those agencies specialize in PR, web development, traditional media (print, radio and video), etc. Very similar to word of mouth advertising, partnerships allow you to tap into an existing customer base who has already put their trust in the agency you are partnering with.
