aimClear Search Marketing Blog

Welcome to Search Engine Strategies Chicago 2009! The sun has not yet risen but excitement is palpable here at the ornate and venerable  Hilton hotel.

If you’re reading this post you should definitely be here. Nothing is as effective as mining first hand information from the best online marketers in the biz’ along with an incredible helping of camaraderie and business bonding. That said we’re stunned at the array of talent embodied in the correspondents conference organizers have assembled to document the proceedings. A hat-tip goes out to the SES crew for its forward-journalistic-thinking and substantial investment to bring in the writers.  Here’s comprehensive SES Chicago 2009 coverage publication list. Read the rest of this entry »

Since the onset of personalized search, frustrated SEO sharpshooters have sought tactics to somehow get a grip on the ensuing chaos.  Now that most users  get uniquely-customized search results (SERPs), the days of search engine optimization measurable in the SERPs are long gone.

This post offers a useful method to optimize for micro-demographics in a way that, not only neutralizes, but also assertively exploits personalized search to the SEO’s benefit, one user at a time. Even better: there is no way Google or any other engine will ever defeat this tactic.  Got ya’ interested? Read on for an accidental antidote: SEO for personalized search. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s our privilege to share this Thanksgiving gift of song with our community. To download “Not giving Up” and “Miracles” right away, scroll straight to the bottom.

If there is justice my friend Pamela McNeill will experience fame and fortune to match years of critical acclaim for her music from media and fans.  The story of how her latest album, “Heartaches and Miracles,” came to be is truly the stuff of  Thanksgiving and inspiration.

Pamela’s credits range from stadium performances with Rick Astley and gigging London’s storied underground to writing movie soundtrack songs with Yanni…and lots in between. Well known by music industry insiders from New York to Nashville,  she effortlessly alternates velvet-sweet introspective ballads with kick-ass Janis Joplin-esque rock-out gravel-rants and anthems reminiscent of Grammy Winners. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been watching TweetDeck all morning  for the real-time search “thankful.” Feeling extremely grateful, I asked a couple a’  thousand of our closest friends what exactly they were thankful for. Some of the answers from tweeps were warm and touching. We found some  snarky-ass results in Twitter search segment SERPs, which we grabbed to RT-share here. Read the rest of this entry »

It may be blustery outside, but this year’s SES Chicago looks like a burner! With more than 70 sessions covering PPC management, demographic research, SEO, social media, link building, mobile and duplicate content, SearchEngineStrategies Chicago is an annual techno-pilgrimage for fortunate attendees. We’re stoked because December 7-11th is coming up fast!

aimClear will be at SES (as always) in full blogging regalia covering sessions, speaking and hanging out with ya’ll. Here’s our speaking schedule, a look at notable sessions and what to expect from this year’s information-packed conference. Read the rest of this entry »

Dear Facebook Ads,
Thank you for the amazing new Ad Platform. It’s groundbreaking,  heart-pounding, a lot like Google’s Content Network and with even more intriguing targeting options on the grid.  It’s been a love affair for aimClear, starting in the academic lead generation sector years ago when ‘Ads first launched. I’m sorry to say that Facebook’s inability to grow customer service at the same prodigal rate is extremely disappointing. Read the rest of this entry »

Whatever business you’re in, dealing with customers is where earth moving boots crunch deep gravel roads. Part of my job is training marketers committed to becoming self-contained entrepreneurs over the long haul. Relatively early in their development we start them interacting directly with name-brand clients, to our mind a necessary step for building “complete” marketers.

At morning meetings we discuss each other’s jobs, progress, ongoing client dynamics, priorities, coordinate production and critique correspondences.  We focus on leadership, being nimble and doing whatever it takes for success. A lot of mutual teaching and learning happens in these shredding sessions. This post is part one of a three-part series to share what we’ve learned and offer our view of account management best practices. We’ll continue with Part 2 and conclude with Part three, which will offer insight for dealing with difficult clients. Read the rest of this entry »

PubCon is a whirling dervish, a collage of kindred spirits, sites, sounds, intensive learning and hyper-techno-geeks. All of this is hyperbolic stew mashed up with a healthy heaping of Las Vegas kitsch & killer eats.  Here are some snapshots to capture a portion of the frenetic ultra-vibe. Read the rest of this entry »

Ah PubCon, jewel of the Nevada desert.  The sun has barely risen here but I’ve been up for hours working,  thinking, tripping about the amazingly massive search marketing day ahead.  Read the rest of this entry »

photo credit: craigCloutier

Most larger Internet marketing agencies and in-house shops are configured as departments of specialists. It’s no wonder! In today’s complicated world PPC, ORM, social media, link building, affiliate networks, analytics, content creation, video, public relations, SEO, vendor and account management (whew) all require experienced and nuanced practitioners. Read the rest of this entry »