Hey, you’re new. We like you already! You obviously have great taste! If you like what you read here you’ll probably want to subscribe to our RSS feed (or the audio RSS feed). Stick around and be sure to speak up and post a comment or two! I’ve gone on the record before stating that […]

Title tags, the first line of code an engine looks at, the first thing a user sees, the first thing to show up on the search result page, and the first thing remembered in a book mark. Title tags seem pretty important these days. So, why do so many sites use the same tag […]

Viewers can smell a rat. They know the stock photos on your site aren’t your employees, and they can tell if you have ulterior motives behind your P.R. messages.
I just watched a user-created video that’s gone viral on Youtube. It’s a video filmed by a passenger on a flight that’s been grounded for hours by […]

Ok, I lied. This is totally about the iPhone. As an added bonus I’m also mentioning Seth Godin so reading this will probably fry your computer’s hype circuit.
Apparently Verizon, unnerved by the launch of the iPhone, attempted to spread the word about potential flaws. Godin posted his trademark contrarian opinion that cell phone manufacturers and […]

Everything You Need To Know About Word of Mouth Marketing
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Update: I wanted to provide a quick update to my last post regarding the Blockbuster Total Access email blunder. I just received another email from them for yet another coupon. But this time they got it right. Look what was sitting in the middle of the email:

Blockbuster is getting closer to creating near-perfect customer service. […]

Recently, I was browsing Google News and noticed the newest Google innovation: Google Image News. The site can be accessed via Google News and clicking on the link on the left navigation. I typically read news clips throughout the day using email, local newspaper cites, and larger entities. Unlike browsing the morning […]

I am going to have to second Stoney’s post about Blockbuster Total Access taking another misstep because something similar just happened to me. I joined an online forum and received a crazy no help welcome email. But first a little background to explain why I wanted to join this yet unnamed forum.
Living in Reno NV, […]

Having the right message is critical to the success of any business. The number one key to business growth is crafting a message that speaks to your target audience. The right message can overcome deficiencies in other areas. A perfect example is McDonald’s. They certainly don’t have the best burgers, but they’ve crafted a message […]

Today is my birthday so I’ll be celebrating it the way I celerate every other work day, with one exception… I’ll be expecting gifts. I accept books, CD’s, and anything noted as “widescreen version“. Don’t worry, I expect the gifts to arrive late. Don’t let that stop you!
Building Small Business Websites For Today (Part […]

What’s more important- The table of contents, or the index?
Your answer most likely depends on the reason you’re reaching for a book to begin with. When you pick up a book, what determines which one you turn to?
The reason I ask is that I just read (vice president of community at Yahoo) Mike Speiser’s comments […]

It’s very tempting to sit down and knock out something - anything - just to make a start. At least that way you haven’t got a blank page or screen staring at you. Don’t get me wrong, this is an excellent way to get over writers block and can help generate good ideas. But […]

A couple weeks ago I found an interesting story about, of all things, Cucumber Pepsi. Now I know most of us on this side of the Pacific recoil at such a thought but I gotta say, it does sound somewhat, I’ll say… interesting!
Despite this particular flavor being offered, there are some online marketing methods we […]

There has been a bit of hubub for a while about persona based marketing plans and what that really means. Personas are templates used to identify a customer on a wants and needs level, so that you can adjust your site’s user experience to be as well matched to your customer as possible. Persona based […]

A couple of weeks ago I was off searching the huge world of Internet Marketing for something to post about and found an amusing site. I started writing about it but then found a better topic and just saved my notes. Now I’m taking a new look at this topic …
I’m feeling catty today and […]

Google
May: 50.7%
April: 49.7%
Change: +1.0
January 2007: 47.5%
Change: +3.20
Yahoo
May: 26.4%
April: 26.8%
Change: -0.4
January 2007: 28.1%
Change: -1.7
MSN
May: 10.3%
April: 10.3%
Change: +0.0
January 2007: 10.6%
Change: -0.3
ASK
May: 5.0%
April: 5.1%
Change: -0.1
January 2007: 5.2%
Change: -0.2
AOL
May: 4.6%
April: 5.0%
Change: -0.4
January 2007: 5.0%
Change: -0.4
Source: comScore

Yeah, I know. I’ve been talking about Blockbuster a lot lately. I’ve already covered Blockbuster’s UVP (which I’m very impressed with) and then followed that up with their disasterous customer service survey. So why another post about Blockbuster? Because they provide a perfect real-world example of a company struggling to get it right. Sometimes they […]

In exactly one week, it’s anticipated that hundreds of thousands of consumers will flood the streets of America in hopes of snagging a new iPhone. The Apple gem is set to be released to the public on Friday, June 29th (aka iPhone Day) much to the chagrin of players like Nokia and […]

Some of our readers may not know about our super-cool CodeMonitor tool that allows users to monitor web pages for text and coding changes on a day to day basis. We use this tool for all our client pages that we work on plus any competitors and other information based sources that we want […]

End Searcher Optimization: The New SEO
SEO “Don’ts”: 20 Fatal Mistakes You Must Avoid To Succeed
SEO & Importance of Valid Source Code (W3C Validation)

Several months ago I bought an auto lock that attaches to the brake pedal of my ‘66 Dodge Charger. The idea is that if someone were to attempt to steal the car they couldn’t push the brake in order to stop the vehicle. To assist in the theft prevention department they give you a cool […]

Catherine Toole’s at e-consultancy set out to develop what she calls the 7 Deadly Sins of Writing for Social Media. While the whole list is pretty spot on, number one seems to get to the “root of all marketing evil,”
1. Not setting a strategy before you start. “We should have a blog” says the CEO. […]

Google
May: 56.3%
April: 55.2%
Change: +1.1
January: 53.7%
Change: +2.6
Yahoo
May: 21.5%
April: 21.9%
Change: -0.4
January: 22.7%
Change: -1.2
MSN
May: 8.4%
April: 9.0%
Change: -0.6
January: 8.9%
Change: -0.5
AOL
May: 5.3%
April: 5.4%
Change: -0.1
January: 5.4%
Change: -0.1
ASK
May: 2.0%
April: 1.8%
Change: +0.2
January: 1.8%
Change: +0.2
Source: Nielsen//Netratings

Out of Sight, Out of Mind, Out of the Index
Video Advertisements Delivering Results on Media Sites
Google Pay-Per-Action Beta Goes Global
Harnessing Social Media - Web 2.0 Grows Up - Free Internet Traffic - HT to Matt McGee

I live my life in a way that forces me to always try to be better than I was the day before. A better dad, better husband, better boss and a better person in general. Over the course of the day and in the evening, or just driving in the car I do a lot […]

When developing an SEO campaign, typically you will want to thoroughly analyze the client’s site before any changes take place. This analysis should include a number of factors including design, usability, accessibility, etc. When looking over the site, it’s important to look it over as a typical user would (i.e. click on the […]

We once had a client complain that they didn’t know if we were doing anything for them. I guess the ranking improvements they were seeing wasn’t enough of a clue. That complaint only happened once. We realized then that there was a breakdown in communications between us and our clients and instituted measures to insure […]

ShoeMoney Guest Posters were asked their favorite PPC engine. Here’s a brief summary of the results:
Gman: AdSense
Harrison Gevirtz: Yahoo
Dave Davis: Ask
Shane Navratil: AdSense
Peter Davis: AdWords
Don Lawson: MIVA (Findwhat.com)
Patrick Kelley: AdSense
Dan Moon: AdWords
Brian Ostergaard: Yahoo, AdWords, Ask (Brian couldn’t make up his mind!)
Brandon Hopkins: 7sites.com
Michael Lemovitz: AdWords
Shane Coffee: Chitika
Benjamin Burns: AdCenter
Joe Preston: SuperPages
Anna Do Good: AdWords
Dave Rigotti: AdWords

How To Test A Home Page For Conversion Effectiveness
Hide and Speak: Have a Unique Selling Proposition
Write Your Direct Mail Sales Letters Like a Page on Google to Boost Response, Results and Business - hat tip to Diane Aull
7 deadly sins of writing for social media - hat tip to Jennefer Laycock.
How to SEO Your Site […]

Remember when Yahoo and Google were best buds? Well, more like Yahoo was the King and Google did his search work.
Searching for “Yahoo Powered by Google” doesn’t return much today, but there was a time when people “searched” for things on the web rather than “Googling” them. In fact, people didn’t really care so much […]

I posted an article over at Search Engine Guide discussing the recent slow down in growth in online sales as noted by the NYT. In it I discuss the math behind the slowdown and touch briefly on one of the reasons mentioned and how that’s just good for business. Click the above link to read […]

“I don’t like to mix spellings on a page. I’d make an exception for the spellings of ‘duffelbag’ and ‘dufflebag’ because of the low search volume each one produces, but ‘duffel bag’ produces enough results that it is best not to try and mix misspellings in.”
It is difficult to write good, user-friendly copy if […]

The 10 Second Rule: How to Write for Diagonal Readers
A Portrait Of The Perfect Link Builder
Dynamic Keyword Insertion - The Ultimate Guide

Ya know how it is when you meet new people. You go through a polite social dance, introducing who you are and telling what it is that you do. I meet new people quite regularly and have recently found an awkwardness to talking about what I do for a living. Even with family I have […]

How is an Effective Landing Page Like a Direct Mail Letter?
The Five Characteristics of Highly Effective PPC Specialists
Online Sales Lose Steam

Many people rely on their credentials to get a job. That’s understandable because that’s what we are taught from the time we start looking for work to the time we become management looking to fill positions. Employers look at resume after resume for the person with the right credentials to fulfill the job.
But what is […]