aimClear® Search Marketing Blog

Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking at #SMX East, on a panel that focused entirely on SEO KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). As search engine optimization has become inexorably intertwined with social media and universal SERPs, so too has the spectrum of goals diverged from keyword-traffic-only-measurements marketers looked to in days of old. In the true spirit of K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid), we set out to reduce classic and potential KPI data points to a streamlined chart, expressing a matrix of analytic possibilities.

At aimClear we use this chart to spawn creative thinking as we construct new SEO metrics that reflect evolving SEO realities. From the most basic traffic KPIs to multi-level social/SEO mashups, brainstorming on this grid of analytic options is of benefit to our team. A look at how to construct KPIs follows. Read the rest of this entry »

2010 saw its share of remarkable online marketing content, amongst tumultuous industry changes that left many second rate practitioners in the dust.  It takes lot of reading and study to keep cutting-edge-current. We bookmark literally thousands of articles each year for use in daily training. The online marketing industry is unique, for the many accomplished professionals who willingly share their specialized knowledge. We’re so very grateful.

Last year we released aimClear’s entire 2009 Daily Training Link Library. To celebrate the conclusion of yet another stellar year of content, here we highlight 22 of our favorite 2010 non-aimClear posts and the bloggers who wrote them.  “Deep” does not necessarily mean “detailed” or “long,” rather we’ve aimed for posts that mattered to us.  We had to choose from over 2400 articles in this year’s link training library, and our selections are admittedly subjective.  There were many other wonderful posts penned by hundreds of bloggers in 2010, so don’t bum out if a post you love is not included. We hope you enjoy our selections, and Happy New Year! Read the rest of this entry »

Last Tuesday, the Internet was a-flutter over Google’s funky new logo– those crazy colorful dots moved wherever your mouse moved, resulting in wonder-struck smiles, bleary eyes and many a scratched head. Rumors as to the meaning behind the madness spawned and spread faster than retweets from a link posted by Alyssa Milano. Were the bugged-out balls Google’s way of celebrating its 12th birthday? Or  just another entertaining hack? An attempt to one-up Bing? Hat-tip to HTML 5 or CSS3? A not-so-subtle campaign for Chrome? No one knew for sure. But next day at San Francisco’s Museum Of Modern Art, Google hosted a special press conference where a new search feature was unveiled and instantly made waves around the world [wide web]. Read the rest of this entry »

To celebrate the opening of our St. Paul office, we decided it would be super cool to profile local public relations players in our (new) second hometown. After all, we’re neighbors now, and there’s not much more of an Internet fishbowl than the PR community. There will be plenty of time for y’all to get to know aimClear and our services a bit better.  For now, let’s highlight Minneapolis/St. Paul agencies that have bubbled up to prominence from the primordial PR soup.

We understand growing an agency at the intersection of PR, search & social media has its challenges and perks. For one, we get to stick fingers in a variety of exciting and fruitful sects of online marketing and reap dynamic benefits each provides. These days being a   “complete marketer” means integrating all online marketing disciplines, including blended search & social demographic research, search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC), online reputation management, social media marketing, targeted press release distribution, custom training, SEO analytics monitoring & consulting, copywriting, data-driven community management and more. Skill-sets should not only be offered, but mastered. Read the rest of this entry »

So we meet again, vendor votaries. Welcome to the third installment of our Giant Monster Online Marketing Vendors List. We decided to compile this list of must-consider, qualified companies because, like a lot of folks in our industry, aimClear is often asked about referrals from the vast segments of online marketing, including competitive intelligence, PR, organic SEO, paid search, community MGMT, and everything in between.

Kicking off with a seed list of Search Engine Strategies’ exposition hall vendors was one way of utilizing the generously vetted list of trusted companies while pumping ourselves up for this month’s conference in San Francisco. You see, the expo hall at industry events like SES is one of our favorite places to network with interactive companies and tech-lovers alike. We encourage you to contribute to this list by suggesting vendors, platforms, agencies,  tool makers, content services, etc… via Twitter. Ping me @beebow. Read the rest of this entry »