aimClear Search Marketing Blog

photo credit  (just fragmented link-juice by 2 links to do the right thing): Mykl Roventine

The most important news to come out of  ‘Advanced 2009 is Google’s blurt-of-a-revelation that they removed the algorithmic benefit from internal page rank sculpting, “about a year ago.” The change also affects how Google handles noFollowed outbound links.

Boiled down, noFollow still prevents the passing of link juice (energy) to the internal or external destination page. However the value is no longer divided up amongst the remaining followed links on the page. Though this 180 degree about-face in what Google had been preaching (literally) to webmasters was poorly handled from a public relations perspective, presumably it was made because the tag was overused, abused and had the potential to skew Google’s rankings.

No worries. We actually think the change will bring some positive changes to the SEO process, though as always there are tradeoffs. Here’s what we’re telling our clients: Read the rest of this entry »

On June 3rd, Matt Cutts freaked the technical SEO community by casually stating that PageRank sculpting, the subtle art of flow-managing page value distribution, had changed significantly from what Google had been prescribing.

Who cares, we don’t need noFollow. What bothers many is that know we’ve learned Google flipped the switch a year ago, all the while offering misleading public information. Read the rest of this entry »

Speaking to a pair of packed sessions at sold-out SMX Advanced in Seattle, I took time to look out into the audience and measure attendees’ eyes. After all…you savvy wordsmiths, demographic research artists, technicians, agencies, account reps’, geeks, evangelists, administrators, parent-workers, presidents, marketing directors, CMOs, brothers and sisters are totally my people …right in the wheelhouse baby. Bring it!

Looking around the gorgeous auditorium and inspired by the stunning Pacific ocean backdrop, I noted your attitudes, attire, mannerisms and powerful group-aura. Honestly, ya’ll are the most beautiful people in the world, a rainbow of eclectic professional diversity and intellectual prowess. Joy! Read the rest of this entry »

photo credit: ArtBrom

Greetings from the Bay Auditorium, Bell Harbor International Conference Center Seattle Washington. There’s an amazing array of search geniuses and enough charismatic personalities for Vegas. The harbor air smells industrial and natural beauty overwhelming, it’s 7:30 AM and sold-out SMX Advanced 2009 is firing up! Read the rest of this entry »

If your site is under performing in the organic (free) search engine results pages, you probably already know it. Traffic, sales and engagement have dropped giving way to rising concern. What’s wrong? The site used to work just fine!

Sadly, now searches (with personalized search disabled) reveal keyword rankings on Google’s “average front page” have plummeted or disappeared. Competition is overtaking your pages.

Perhaps your business’s PPC budget has been creeping higher or, more likely, rocketing skyward to compensate for lost organic revenue. You’re not alone, invisible webmaster. We rarely see new client-sites where SEO is not messed up, at least to some degree.

With over a trillion unique URLs, search engines have had to become much more stringent to prevent spam and provide relevant results for users. Though most SEO basics still apply, other previously acceptable optimization techniques are now considered sloppy, perceived as spam and rarely perform. Get ready to identify and button down any loose technical or semantic attributes.

This post is a guerrilla guide for webmasters, either undertaking a self-audit or engaging a professional SEO company to assist. Read the rest of this entry »

photo credit: EraPhernalia Vintage

Rebroadcast is the new black. Retweets and Facebook-shares are the ultimate friend-sends, essential like her black pumps, Coach clutch, velvet gloves and grandmother’s vintage pearls…same as it ever was.

The future of the filter is insight by crowdsourcing conversations, literally anywhere humans congregate and chatter. Plug into new the new demographic research riddle to choose colorful buzz pockets, to mine relevant conversations on 3-keyword grids. Read the rest of this entry »

Search Engine Land Executive Editor Chris Sherman (on right) has been active professionally in educating us since the industry was nascent. A generation of serious social media practitioners and demographic research artists cut teeth, tweak skills and stay current by attending Chris Sherman-designed conference sessions.

Count on tracks he sequences to be measured,  informed by bleeding edge data,  stocked with cool speakers, accompanied  by healthy sides of value-added perspective and measured cynicism. I count him as one of my important influences academically and as a writer because his work has almost anthropological overtones, all the while rooted in simplicity. Chris was one of the first to speak of “advising” or  “informing” processes and about algorithmic/human mashups, long before such theories were the rage.

Recently I had the pleasure interviewing him in straight ahead of SMX Advanced Seattle 2009, upcoming June 2,3.  We touched on the upcoming conference (one of my faves),  social search, the global industry landscape,  Internet evolution and his family’s rich Minnesota history. Read the rest of this entry »

The social Internet is about conversations that propagate virulently and index at various speeds.  Twitter, the fastest feed community of all,  can be easily leveraged to “proof” marketing concepts for slower social channels the same way SEOs use PPC (pay per click) to prove organic landing pages.

Read on for a tactical starting point to use Twitter’s flashpoint sharing environment to test your linkbait, promotional messages, calls to action, friend-making and branding. Read the rest of this entry »

For search marketing industry veterans, SearchEngineLand Editor-in-Chief Danny Sullivan needs no introduction. If you’re among the veritable legions of marketing professionals joining our ranks from traditional advertising trades, soon enough you’ll know his impeccable journalism and commitment to community.

Considered a founding “search engine guru,” Danny has been demystifying search engines for marketers, webmasters and users for well over a decade. His insight and expertise are regularly sought by mainstream media outlets including USA Today, The New Yorker, Forbes, The Wall St. Journal, The Los Angeles Times, ABC’s Nightline, Newsweek.

He’s Partner and Chief Content Officer for  Third Door Media, which also operates the highly regarded global  search marketing conference series SMX,  Search Marketing Now educational webcasts and  Sphinn.com, SEM mainstay social community.

Recently I had the opportunity to pose questions regarding  SMX Advanced, a brilliant 2 day SEM event he (and industry luminary Chris Sherman) sequence annually in Seattle.  ‘Advanced sold out in 2007, 2008 and is on track to do so again this year. Earlybird rates expire May 2 so register now to guarantee your attendance June 2 & 3, 2009.

We also discussed Danny’s passion for search, suggestions for Twitter, “tough love” for Microsoft Search and his recent move back to the United States after living in England. Read the rest of this entry »

Jeff Quipp is the quintessential multifaceted search marketing agency owner. Located in Ajax Ontario, his company SearchEnginePeople is known for staffing true next-gen Internet marketing thought-leaders.

Jeff is well regarded internationally as a conference speaker and sought after consultant for paid, natural search and social channels.  I had an opportunity to Interview him regarding his upcoming appearances at SearchEngineStrategies Toronto. Read the rest of this entry »