Show archive of October 2008
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Search Engine Marketing, Inc.
October 29, 2008
Hosts Susan Esparza, Michael Terry and Virginia Nussey open the show with a look at some of the recent search industry news. A major spam ring, thought to have at one time produced as much as one-third of email spam, was shut down last week. While Yahoo’s revenues came in flat for the third quarter, causing the company to announce it will layoff 10 percent of its staff, Google’s revenues beat expectations. The redesign of iGoogle got mixed reviews, but the addition of a broken backlinks tool in Webmaster Tools and the upgrade to Google Analytics were well received.
Then Mike Moran, co-author of Search Engine Marketing, Inc.: Driving Search Traffic to Your Company’s Web Site, talks to Virginia about the new edition of the book and the changing online marketing space. Mike discusses many of the business aspects of implementing search marketing, such as making search marketing operational and getting buy-in. He also talks about one of the major changes in the search space that has happened since the publication of the first edition — a new opportunity for communication — social media.
Susan, Michael and Virginia discuss business strategy of search marketing. Choosing the marketing mix, having clear objectives, reporting metrics, dividing-up tasks and having a strong central team are all important to search marketing strategy. -
Widget Wonders and Woes
October 22, 2008
Today’s show is all about widgets, and to start us off, Susan Esparza, Michael Terry and Virginia Nussey look at how widgets can help your business. From desktop widgets to Web widgets to mobile widgets, these portable snippets of functionality have become increasingly popular during the last year. They can generate viral buzz for your brand, creating links by entertaining consumers.
Patrick Sexton, SEM manager at We Build Pages, is a widget developer and strategy expert who writes about leveraging the medium on his blog SEOish.com. He talks to Virginia about creating a cross-platform widget strategy and the best ways to go about branding widgets. Patrick will be speaking on the Wonderful World of Widgets panel at PubCon.
Then Susan, Michael and Virginia examine some of the potential downsides of widgets, an opinion that centers on security issues and distraction tendencies. By embedding outside code into your page, users are susceptible to the third party’s prying eyes. Furthermore, as widgets become more commonplace, it’s important to remember that ad blindness symptoms can apply. -
SMX East Recap and Viral Marketing Strategy
October 15, 2008
Following SMX East, Scott Polk and Virginia Nussey sit down to talk about what they learned from the conference. Scott was in the booth and found that a smile and a hello went a long way. In the session rooms, Virginia heard a lot of great information regarding personalized search, the dreaded Google monopoly and the insights into human behavior provided by searcher data.
Then Virginia talks to Brent D. Payne, SEO specialist and manager for Tribune Interactive. Brent explains his tactics for evangelism and getting buy-in, pointing out that the time and way you approach management is critical. He also points out the strengths and drawbacks of working on SEO for a large enterprise company and the social media efforts he has seen his traditional media company embrace. Before signing off, Brent talks about the Big Watah grassroots campaign and some of the lessons he took away from SMX East.
Susan Esparza then joins Virginia and Scott to take a further look at how the Big Watah event highlights the power of viral marketing. From a small buzz to a conference phenomenon, the viral tactics that took place in spreading the Big Watah meme hold lessons that companies can learn from. While this example took off almost effortlessly, it may take companies many tries before they find that perfect concept, but such an effort is more than likely worth it. -
SMX East 2008
October 8, 2008
SMX East is going on this week in New York City, attracting many talented and experienced search and social marketers to the Big Apple. Read the blog this week for liveblog coverage of the sessions.
Cindy Krum, Director of New Media Strategies, Blue Moon Works, talks to Virginia about how to optimize for mobile search. Eric Lander, Associate Editor at Search Engine Journal and Organic Search Manager at ADP/BZ Results, looks at enhanced listings. Then Kate Morris, SEM, RateGenius.com, sits down with Virginia at the WebmasterRadio.FM Search Bash to talk about white hat secrets and contractual issues in SEM campaigns. -
Social Media Dos and Don’ts
October 1, 2008
Bruce, Susan and Virginia start off the show with a look at the search industry news. Google recently readdressed their paid search agreement with Yahoo, claiming that the deal will not harm competition, that ad prices will not rise, and that the two search companies will not have access to the other’s user data. Yahoo is in the midst of testing a makeover to Yahoo.com and has added a music feature to search results pages. Finally, Live Search has begun integrating Powerset into search results through Freebase Answers, enhanced Wikipedia captions and improved related search suggestions.
Virginia then speaks with Martin Bowling, CTO of Vec3, about integrated marketing strategies and the strength of social media. Martin will be speaking on the Protect Your Rep panel at the Scary SEO mini-con this month, and will award the winner of a contest a free two-night stay and registration for the conference. Martin shares some of the reputation management tips he will be making on the panel, as well as his findings on Google Suggest and how the feature could be harmful to online reputations.
Following up on some of Martin’s social media recommendations, Susan, Michael and Virginia talk about some of the social media don’ts. Don’t ignore or avoid social media. Don’t keep a bare profile or fake involvement. Don’t try to control the conversation. And don’t be pushy in promoting your product or services. In social media, the key to success requires being transparent, up-front and honest about your intentions.