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Out of my Gord - By Gord Hotchkiss
GrokDotCom - By Brian Eisenberg
Link Building Best Practices Blog
SEM Hints: Search Engine Marketing Hints, Tips & Tools For Online Businesses
Search Engine Land - by Danny Sullivan
Virtual Marketing Blog: Internet Marketing News, Reviews and Insights
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/// Posted by Alexandre Brabant on Sunday, January 31, 2010
Can Jobs walk on water or is he the god that failed?
From: sitepronews.com
Steve Jobs, Apple Inc’s visionary CEO, may not be in the same league as Moses, but he has the potential to solve the current media crisis with Apple’s most innovative development: the iPad. But is it a Tablet delivered from on high or a dud?
The almost religious delirium expressed by the self-appointed high priests of [...]
Post from: SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources
Can Jobs walk on water or is he the god that failed?
Read Original: http://www.sitepronews.com/2010/02/01/can-jobs-walk-on-water-or-is-he-the-god-that-failed/
/// Posted by Alexandre Brabant on Sunday, January 31, 2010
It’s “courses for horses” at SES London 2010
From: searchenginewatch.com
Image by SESConferenceSeries via Flickr
Last year, I posted an item to the Search Engine Watch blog entitled, “It’s ‘Horses for Courses’ at SES London 2009.” I said business professionals may want to bring a team to Search Engine Strategies London - because there will be three concurrent conference tracks and no business professional will be able to attend all of the sessions.
But, upon reflection, I should have said it’s “courses for horses,” because each of the three tracks of the leading search marketing conference in Europe is designed for a different member of your team.
There are tracks for those going to Search Engine Strategies for the first time. And there are other tracks for those going to SES London for the Nth time. There are even tracks for those in the public relations industry who should go to Search Engine Strategies to learn about social media, real-time SEO, Twitter and YouTube.
In other words, there are different courses for different horses in your company’s stable.
And, yes, SES still offers special group discounts. In you want more information, check the rates and registation details.
You might also want to come early and stay late. There’s Online Marketing Summit Day at SES London on Monday, 15 February. And there’s SES Search Engine Marketing (SEM/SEO) Training of Friday, 19 February.
In between, there’s an number of special events, including an SES London Meet and Greet, theatre presentations, sponsored sessions, “Black Hat/White Hat Unconferenced,” and an SES London 2010 LondonSEO Party.
By the way, I’m not touting the event because the UK economy has just exited recession and you need to get ready for the recovery. No, you need to attend Search Engine Strategies in good times as well, because you need to keep up-to-date on trends and issues.
Oh, and I’m not touting the event because it needs more attendees. Christian Georgeou, Marketing Manager at Incisive Media, says, “I’m happy to report that currently registration is up over last year more than 10% for SES London now less than a month out form the show.”
No, I’m urging you to get your horses on those courses because Google had a strong fourth quarter, with 17% year over year revenue growth. Given that the global economy is still in the early days of recovery, this was an extraordinary end to the year. And according to Business Week, Apple reportedly is in talks with Microsoft to make Bing the default search engine on the iPhone’s Safari Web browser.
So, don’t expect the pace of change in the search industry to slow down anytime soon. If fact, it’s much more likely to speed up.
Ensuring that SES London 2010 reflects the latest changes is no small task. At SES Chicago 2009, I interviewed Mike Grehan, the VP and Global Content Director for Search Engine Watch, ClickZ, and Search Engine Strategies.
Grehan reflected on past SES shows, the evolution of SES, and the upcoming conferences in 2010, including SES London. He discussed the advent of real-time search and warned search marketers to be aware that the industry is constantly changing and evolving. He discussed the power panels and state of the industry panels that are being brought back for London.
<iframe class="embeddedvideo" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/J3cDblwlOyg&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="340"></iframe>
SES London and New York 2010 preview with Mike Grehan, VP, Global Content Director, Incisive
I should disclose that Search Engine Strategies is a client of my agency. But trust me on the pace of change.
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Read Original: http://feeds.searchenginewatch.com/~r/sewblog/~3/2S3R8X9SzTU/100201-023106
/// Posted by Alexandre Brabant on Sunday, January 31, 2010
Google Analytics Adds Six Languages
From: searchenginewatch.com
Google Analytics is now available in six additional languages. They are: Bulgarian, Catalan, Greek, Lithuanian, Slovak and Vietnamese. The total number of languages available in Google Analytics is now 31.
If you wish to switch languages in Google Analytics, simply look for the language menu in the top right corner of the login page.
Read Original: http://feeds.searchenginewatch.com/~r/sewblog/~3/01kUPX0sbs4/100201-011327
/// Posted by Alexandre Brabant on Sunday, January 31, 2010
Modern procrastination
From: google.com
The lizard brain adores a deadline that slips, an item that doesn’t ship and most of all, busywork.
These represent safety, because if you don’t challenge the status quo, you can’t be made fun of, can’t fail, can’t be laughed at. And so the resistance looks for ways to appear busy while not actually doing anything.
I’d like to posit that for idea workers, misusing Twitter, Facebook and various forms of digital networking are the ultimate expression of procrastination. You can be busy, very busy, forever. The more you do, the longer the queue gets. The bigger your circle, the more connections are available.
Laziness in a white collar job has nothing to do with avoiding hard physical labor. “Who wants to help me move this box!” Instead, it has to do with avoiding difficult (and apparently risky) intellectual labor.
“Honey, how was your day?”
“Oh, I was busy, incredibly busy.”
“I get that you were busy. But did you do anything important?”
Busy does not equal important. Measured doesn’t mean mattered.
When the resistance pushes you to do the quick reaction, the instant message, the ‘ping-are-you-still-there’, perhaps it pays to push in precisely the opposite direction. Perhaps it’s time for the blank sheet of paper, the cancellation of a long-time money loser, the difficult conversation, the creative breakthrough…
Or you could check your email.
Read Original: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/sethsmainblog/~3/fia4rWLLX7Q/modern-procrastination.html
/// Posted by Alexandre Brabant on Sunday, January 31, 2010
The End of Consulting: A New Partnership & Our Focus on Software
From: google.com
Posted by randfish
Today I have two very big announcements. First, SEOmoz is exiting the consulting business to focus exclusively on our software model. And, second, we have an expanded partnership with Distilled (new US site: Distilled LLC), who’ll be taking over many of our consulting clients and opening offices here in Seattle. I’m going to talk briefly about both of these below, then add detail on why we’re so bullish about the SEO software market.
SEOmoz started in 2004 as a blog where I could post my struggles and learnings about search engine optimization. By 2005, the business was taking real consulting clients under the SEOmoz name. In 2007, we launched PRO membership, our self-service SaaS product and by the end of the year, PRO was 50% of our revenue. As I noted in the post on our venture capital process, that number has grown dramatically (to 85% of revenue) and in 2010, our goal is to make it the sole focus of the company.
As part of our exit from consulting, we’ve worked hard over the past 6 months with Distilled (note how Will Critchlow has been in a lot of Whiteboard Fridays of late) to help take over our existing clients and transition the handling of consulting leads. As part of this, we determined that Distilled could do the most good by opening an office in Seattle, WA. Duncan Morris is out in Seattle this week (and yes, we’re making him watch the Superbowl next Sunday) to help scout locations and begin hiring. If you’ve got SEO experience and are in the Seattle area, please drop them a line!
What Does this Partnership Mean?
- Distilled will continue to contribute regularly to the blog, Q+A and WB Fridays on SEOmoz (we’ve dealt with the fact that their accents make every piece of advice sound more credible)
- We’ll continue to work jointly in organizing the London and Seattle PRO Training Seminars each year
- Distilled will be helping the SEOmoz product & engineering teams to design, build and test great tools and software (thanks for the help on OSE!)
- Our internal SEO team will be transitioning to focus on product & content development as well as marketing for the SEOmoz site (we’re like the cobbler’s children over here and that needs to change)
- SEOmoz’s active consulting contracts will be 100% complete by June of 2010; however, we’ll continue to provide informal service to non-profits like the United Nations & Seattle Children’s Hospital.
- We’ll be recommending Distilled to many of the folks who ask us for consulting (when there’s a good fit), but will NOT be changing our protocol of continuing to suggest companies on our Recommended List
Why Software?
In the late 1990’s, companies who wanted detailed reporting on their visitor analytics turned to consultants for sophisticated log file analysis or individual installations of code to track data. At the same time, the field of email marketing was dotted by thousands of individual, hard-to-scale, non-standard solutions. Today, SEO is the same way. Whether you’re an external consultant or a in-house operator, you’re almost certainly mashing up dozens of web-based tools, possibly with home-grown software and self-built spreadsheets to produce an SEO process that works. While many of us have found ways to do this effectively, there have been no platforms of SEO software to set the standards. That’s what we’re trying to change.
At SEOmoz, we believe that the promotion of ideas on the web needs to be simplified and that it starts with SEO. Small and medium businesses, web-based startups and consultants of all sizes need tools to help make their lives easier and processes that track important data for them, identify actionable metrics and report externally the missed opportunities and competitive landscape we all face. Just look how dollars are spent in the search marketing sphere:
(sadly, no 2009 numbers yet, but the distribution is likely very similar, though spending now exceeds $14B)
Now compare that to where growth is expected in online marketing over the next few years:
This summer, SEOmoz will be releasing our new software platform (and in the meantime, there will be plenty of other releases including an update to Open Site Explorer, a new Keyword Difficulty tool, a dramatically upgraded mozbar and more). We hope you’ll join us for this exciting journey.
p.s. I also wanted to call out Jon Henshaw’s terrific post on software vs. services. After working hard to develop this partnership over the last few months and transition out of consulting, we couldn’t help but ponder the old adage of great minds thinking alike. 
Update from Will: My post on the deal is now live as well over on the Distilled blog.
Read Original: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/seomoz/~3/b5LOFkVJV1k/the-end-of-consulting-a-new-partnership-our-focus-on-software
/// Posted by Alexandre Brabant on Sunday, January 31, 2010
Pandia Search Engine News Wrap-up Jan 31
From: google.com
Here are some of the search engine news stories we have found interesting this week.
Read Original: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pandia/vfbc/~3/2vr2UZmtvyg/2473-pandia-search-engine-news-wrap-up-jan-31.html
/// Posted by Alexandre Brabant on Sunday, January 31, 2010
Why the Kindle and the iPad may change the way we search
From: google.com
This week saw the birth of the Apple iPad. In spite of initial skepticism Steve Jobs has decided that the tablet has a future, and he is right. It will also change the way we search. Pandia argues that publishers should support at tool that lets tablet users safe the web and subscription based content at the same time.
Read Original: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pandia/vfbc/~3/zSCfifZS8og/2465-kindle-ipad-search.html
/// Posted by Alexandre Brabant on Saturday, January 30, 2010
Random rules for ideas worth spreading
From: google.com
If you’ve got an idea worth spreading, I hope you’ll consider this random assortment of rules. Like all rules, some are made to be broken, but still…
- You can name your idea anything you like, but a google-friendly name is always better than one that isn’t.
- Don’t plan on appearing on a reality show as the best way to launch your idea.
- Waiting for inspiration is another way of saying that you’re stalling. You don’t wait for inspiration, you command it to appear.
- Don’t poll your friends. It’s your art, not an election.
- Never pay a non-lawyer who promises to get you a patent.
- Avoid powerful people. Great ideas aren’t anointed, they spread through a groundswell of support.
- Spamming strangers doesn’t work. Spamming friends doesn’t work so well either, but it’s certainly better than spamming strangers.
- The hard part is finishing, so enjoy the starting part.
- Powerful organizations adore the status quo, so expect no help from them if your idea challenges the very thing they adore.
- Figure out how long your idea will take to spread, and multiply by 4.
- Be prepared for the Dip.
- Seek out apostles, not partners. People who benefit from spreading your idea, not people who need to own it.
- Keep your overhead low and don’t quit your day job until your idea can absorb your time.
- Think big. Bigger than that.
- Are you a serial idea-starting person? If so, what can you change to end that cycle? The goal is to be an idea-shipping person.
- Try not to confuse confidence with delusion.
- Prefer dry, useful but dull ideas to consumer-friendly ‘I would buy that’ sort of things. A lot less competition and a lot more upside in the long run.
- Pick a budget. Pick a ship date. Honor both. Don’t ignore either. No slippage, no overruns.
- Surround yourself with encouraging voices and incisive critics. It’s okay if they’re not the same people. Ignore both camps on occasion.
- Be grateful.
- Rise up to the opportunity, and do the idea justice.
Read Original: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/sethsmainblog/~3/VyDD6Gty5jQ/random-rules-for-ideas-worth-spreading.html
/// Posted by Alexandre Brabant on Saturday, January 30, 2010
The Benefits of Installing Internal Site Search
From: sitepronews.com
Today’s websites are more complex than ever before. Many contain a wealth of information visitors can use to answer their questions and learn what they need to know before contacting a company or making a purchase online.
But with all the information and features packed into many of today’s websites, it can also be more difficult [...]
Post from: SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources
The Benefits of Installing Internal Site Search
Read Original: http://www.sitepronews.com/2010/01/30/how-installing-an-internal-site-search-benefits-your-online-marketing/
/// Posted by Alexandre Brabant on Saturday, January 30, 2010
Upcoming events
From: google.com
I’m thrilled to invite you to a killer evening with the brilliant Steven Pressfield (and me, it’s a tag team) at Borders Columbus Circle in New York on Monday, February 8th at 7 pm. It’s free but space is pretty limited. First come, first served.
I’ll be in Orange County on February 11th.
Utah on February 12th. No head shaving this trip, I promise.
I’ll also be in Toronto on March 2nd. Say hi if you can.
Chicago, March 24th.
I’ll be in Belgium on April 1st. I don’t get to Belgium ever, so here’s your big chance.
Read Original: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/sethsmainblog/~3/Z7k4J1uFoBE/upcoming-events.html
/// Posted by Alexandre Brabant on Friday, January 29, 2010
Ogori (and generosity)
From: google.com
PSFK writes about a cafe in Japan with a simple rule: you get what the person before you ordered (and paid for), and the next person gets what you ordered.
Take a few moments to think about that.
Would you go?
What would you order?
Is this an opportunity to give or an opportunity to take…
I think we have Ogori opportunities daily.
Read Original: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/sethsmainblog/~3/I0K-8OVjBPk/ogori-and-generosity.html
/// Posted by Alexandre Brabant on Friday, January 29, 2010
Google Publishes 5 Privacy Principles
From: searchenginewatch.com
In honor of yesterday’s International Data Privacy Day, Google published its five privacy principles. They are:
- Use information to provide our users with valuable products and services. Search history informs personalized search, but users can opt-out.
- Develop products that reflect strong privacy standards and practices. For example, you can chat on Google Talk “off the record” so the conversation isn’t saved.
- Make the collection of personal information transparent. Last year, the Google Dashboard was launched to show you what info Google is collecting on you.
- Give users meaningful choices to protect their privacy. You can report privacy issues related to Street View. Google often blurs faces, for example.
- Be a responsible steward of the information we hold. Google doesn’t sell data to other companies.
You can view the published web document on Google’s privacy principles here.
Read Original: http://feeds.searchenginewatch.com/~r/sewblog/~3/A1gMfwNsqlA/100129-150826
/// Posted by Alexandre Brabant on Friday, January 29, 2010
Delicious Updates Viewing Options; Adds StumbleUpon-Like Feature
From: searchenginewatch.com
Social bookmarking site Delicious has updated the ability to filter viewing options - plus added a new way to browse your bookmarks that is very StumbleUpon-like.
First up, there’s a new display options menu tucked into the top right corner of your bookmarks display. This is for when you’re viewing “My Bookmarks” - not on the main page. Here’s what it looks like:
Delicious also gave the option menu treatement to the tags section on the right sidebar in “My Bookmarks.”
Last but absolutely not least, there’s a new option to “Browse these bookmarks.” Again, this is for your own bookmarks. When you click it, you’re taken to the most recent bookmark - but there’s a toolbar frame across the top. Click arrows to browse through your bookmarks. This is very much like the new StumbleUpon - except your just browsing your own bookmarks. It will be interesting to see if Delicious expands this capability to truly compete with StumbleUpon in the future.
Look for the “Browse these boomarks” link in a blue box in the top right corner:
Here’s one of my bookmarks with the Delicious browsing frame at the top (click to enlarge):
Connect with me on Delicious, screen name nlj.
Read Original: http://feeds.searchenginewatch.com/~r/sewblog/~3/hpBd8Cmef9o/100129-143300
/// Posted by Alexandre Brabant on Friday, January 29, 2010
6 Google Updates to Read this Weekend
From: searchenginewatch.com
Whether you’re snowed in or enjoying sunny weather this weekend, take some time to read up on these Google updates:
Google Custom Search has made some changes to the hosted home page.
Google Analytics has made annotations available for all accounts.
Google Maps now offers personalized suggestions.
Google Image search for mobile has added Popular Image browsing.
The Google Research team blogged about building cluster applications.
Google Books updated their Home Page and Library.
Read Original: http://feeds.searchenginewatch.com/~r/sewblog/~3/Hj4irmBWWV4/100129-140441
/// Posted by Alexandre Brabant on Friday, January 29, 2010
10 Profoundly Effective Steps to Internet Marketing Success
From: sitepronews.com
Over the years, I’ve read thousands and thousands of marketing articles, both online and off. But to this point, I have never read any article that was what I considered to be 100% idiot-proof – meaning even a dunce, moron, or complete idiot couldn’t screw up the process.
So I decided to write such an article. [...]
Post from: SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources
10 Profoundly Effective Steps to Internet Marketing Success
Read Original: http://www.sitepronews.com/2010/01/29/10-profoundly-effective-steps-to-internet-marketing-success/
