If you want to learn about StumbleUpon and what it is, read my previous article about Stumbleupon traffic quality.. StumbleUpon is my friend. In a weird, they-just-showed-up-and-were-nice-to-me kind of way. I'll write an article about, say, The Plague that is Powerpoint. Nothing happens.... Read More »
I go to conferences, eat the dry sandwiches, sleep in the hotel room and then head home. Usually, it's a wash - I learn a thing or two, bounce around outside the circles of the 'in' people like the smallest puppy in the... Read More »
Quick post tonight: I've been using eBay's keyword research tool for a while now. It may just beat the more established toolsets when it comes to commercial keyword research. Here's how you use it: First, go to http://labs.ebay.com/raghavgupta/demoto/to?. Type in your query: When... Read More »
November 19, 2009 by ian
Use Twitter auto-follow tools. Cut other people down. Sell products you know are crappy. Don't take advice. Ever. WRITE E-MAILS IN ALL CAPS. Misuse words. Amelioratingly. Latch onto one idea and don't let go. Two legs good, four legs baaaaad. Whatever you do, never admit you're wrong. Whatever you do, never stop reminding others of their mistakes. Let fear rule your marketing. Sell to the loophole, not the customer.…
November 18, 2009 by ian
I'm here tonight to clear up a little misconception: Douglas Karr wrote an article a few days back titled "Is Google really trying to make the web better?" He talked about Matt Cutts' implication at PubCon that site load speed is becoming a search ranking factor. Karr implies that this favors businesses with deep pockets, I'm assuming because they can spend more on improving load speed. Mashable picked up the thread, too: 1. Favors big / powerful sites: As Karr notes, big companies are best able to plow resources into technical prowess. This could disrupt Google's egalitarian basis, and…
Continue Reading The speed factor: Google algorithm change favors small business »
November 17, 2009 by ian
If you want to learn about StumbleUpon and what it is, read my previous article about Stumbleupon traffic quality.. StumbleUpon is my friend. In a weird, they-just-showed-up-and-were-nice-to-me kind of way. I'll write an article about, say, The Plague that is Powerpoint. Nothing happens. I shrug and move on to the next piece. Then BAM, weeks later traffic goes ballistic: Pretty dang cool. I have no idea who started that Stumblefest, but thanks! No manipulation First: I am not manipulating StumbleUpon. I don't have 50 accounts so that I can stumble my own stuff. In fact, I no longer stumble my…
November 16, 2009 by ian
I go to conferences, eat the dry sandwiches, sleep in the hotel room and then head home. Usually, it's a wash - I learn a thing or two, bounce around outside the circles of the 'in' people like the smallest puppy in the litter, and that's it. This year, though I went to my first PubCon. And it was fantastic! Here's why: I didn't attend a single session that was a 50-minute sales pitch. That's a first. Not one speaker I heard said something that set my teeth on edge: No recommendations like "Optimize your keywords meta tag" or "You'll…
November 12, 2009 by ian
Quick post tonight: I've been using eBay's keyword research tool for a while now. It may just beat the more established toolsets when it comes to commercial keyword research. Here's how you use it: First, go to http://labs.ebay.com/raghavgupta/demoto/to?. Type in your query: When you click 'submit' you'll get a report like this: The 'Popularity' column shows searches performed by eBay users. You can't define the time frame - eBay does that for you. The 'Availability' column shows the number of items returned, on average, when you search on eBay. And the 'Bay Estimate' column shows how many folks have successfully…
November 11, 2009 by ian
I'm speaking at Pubcon tomorrow in the Real-World Content Creation Tactics session. I'm going to focus on how you avoid destroying copy with SEO, and how to do great analytics-centric SEO. If you know me, you know I rehearse, in part, by writing. So here you go - a preview of tomorrow's talk. "Write good content, and they will come." Humbug. You'd better have more of a strategy than that. Ian's Cynical Version of the same rule is: "Write the right good content, and they'll eventually show up." It's that critical word - right - that can make or break…
Continue Reading Analytics-Driven SEO: A lesson in 4 steps »
November 10, 2009 by ian
Access to real, accurate, useful, transparent query data. For all snake oil sellers to shag off. For all people who say all SEO is snake oil to shag off. A Google webmaster tools API that actually lets me read data. A real competitor to Google. Not that I don't like Google, but c'mon. PageRank forever erased from the Google Toolbar. The phrase 'link exchange' forever erased from our collective intellect. A mandatory kidney punch for anyone who says SEO is about optimizing your meta tags. OK, maybe just a sneer. I'm not a violent man. A year to complete…
November 9, 2009 by ian
I'm sitting here watching CSI (ironic, since I'm going to Las Vegas tomorrow for Pubcon). What makes this show so damned compelling? The sneak peek plus a dose of authenticity. The sneak peek builds the connection You have a job, a career, or a business. You love it, but you do the same stuff every day. It seems routine - why would anyone want to know about it? Because they don't do your same stuff every day. They do their same stuff every day. The writers of CSI treat us like they want us to understand. We appreciate that. A…
Continue Reading Want to be a great internet marketer? Be like CSI. »
November 8, 2009 by ian
This guest post is from Sarah Edwards, a writer and SEO at the Creare Group. You have to check out their SEO Song. It's like marketing combined with American Bandstand. With so many search engine optimisation companies around, it can be difficult to know which ones are protecting your best interests. It's important to know the difference between two kinds of SEOs: So called 'black hat' experts, and the scammers. First, there are the black hats. Black Hat SEO is loosely defined as using search optimisation techniques that exploit weaknesses in search engine algorithms and go against search and webmaster…
Continue Reading I got snake oil in my black hat (Guest Post) »
November 2, 2009 by ian
Yep, my least favorite marketing term finally gets its own list. Aside from my occasional outpouring of hatred. Truth is, though, whatever you want to call it, social media is teaching us how marketing should work, and how it's always worked. Here's a list of my thoughts on the subject: 1. It's just media. Listen to Gary Vaynerchuck. And Steve Rubel. And to me. The secret is that it's just media. What we call 'social media' is a fantastic evolution of media. It's media distilled down to a bazillion conversations, all going on, all at once. Sounds chaotic? That's…
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