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March 30, 2007

Friday Recap

First, I have to apologize for last week’s lackluster Recap. When I went home I realized that Matt McGee’s one Friday find trumped everything included in last week’s edition. But it’s not my fault; how do you beat a laughing baby? You don’t. It’s against the law to beat babies.

But I don’t feel bad about my blatant failure. There are far too many things making me smile today, such as:

• Cliffs Notes on The Karate Kid
• Stickers that show you how to abandon your baby (FYI, upside down in the dumpster = bad)
• Tracy Morgan’s mating call
• Proof and more proof that following directions precisely isn’t always smart.
• And I fell in love this week. Head over heels in love. His name is Chaun and I think we’re going to be very happy together.

There’s also a giant chocolate Jesus to be excited about, especially if there’s peanut butter hidden in there. Hmm, giant savior-shaped Reese’s that rises on Easter. How delicious! I wonder if Jesus took away the calories like he did our sins. [Giant Chocolate Jesus sounds like a band name. I would buy that album – Susan]

This is the greatest, most disturbing game I have ever come across on the Internet and I absolutely love it. You have 5 minutes to kill yourself in an office setting. My heart is still racing from all the screaming and frantic keyboard mashing I just participated in.

Also disturbing, was Gray Hat News’ post on Making Elite Retreat Sticky. Personally, I think we should have been warned about the horrifying imagery represented in that last photo. There are things I should never have to see, and Aaron Wall’s tongue is one of them. Great, my goose bumps are back.

Disturbing in a different kind of way is this video depicting bike messengers in New York. I was white-knuckling my desk the entire time.

This week, Jason Calacanis proved that just because you prove him wrong doesn’t mean he will stop calling you a crackpot or purposely spelling your name wrong. Jason, “I” before “E”, except after “C”, and when you’re spelling the name “Neil”.

Sad news for beach bums. First there were 990lb squids washing up on shore and now there are deadly translucent, thumbnail-sized jelly fish. What’s a girl to do?

Caution: Karl Ribas is now placing subliminal messages on his blog. Lucky for me I’m already subscribed. Ha, your evil tactics have no affect on me, Karl! Must go read his blog.

If you’re looking for more hidden messages, I’m pretty sure this was Phil Lenssen’s way of telling Susan I should be allowed to post cat pictures in the blog. Don’t you think? Who wants to meet Swat? Hands?

Microsoft finally answered Susan’s plea and announced that a pink Zune is on the way. ZOMG, she’s going to be, like, so, excited!

Google’s giving their employees free bikes. I want a bike!

Speaking of Google, I’m glad to see I wasn’t the only one experiencing issues with Gmail earlier this week. I was locked out for an entire day. There were like, shakes and tics and uncontrollable body movements and stuff. Plus, I had to put up with all the mocking from Susan. I should get a bike for my troubles.

Loren Baker posted an in-depth look at the way Google is placing ads on MySpace. Or at least I think he did. I was too distracted staring at all the pictures to read it. Loren looks mighty adorable doing his Andy Hagans impression, and look, he’s friends with Rebecca Kelley (though I won’t hold that against him), and he has new comments, and he’s friends with a girl who has very little clothes on. Loren!

Barry Schwartz is all in a huff about New Jersey possibly banning text messaging while driving. I understand the frustration, but it makes sense; the foul odor of Jersey is distracting enough. I can’t imagine text messaging on top of it. I mean, just writing about Jersey made Barry itchy enough to blog about his showering habits later on in the week. It’s a sad, smelly place.

I’m not at all interested in the story, but the individual responsible for choosing this picture and writing its caption deserves a promotion. I’m just saying.

In honor of the upcoming SES NY (see my schedule here), here’s the Top 10 Beer Myths to watch out for. Study wisely, SEOs, you will be tested throughout the week and your ability to make it to sessions the next morning may depend on it. [Also, don’t forget to get your The Lisa shirt in time for New York!]

Things I Learned From BoingBoing This Week:

• Giant Frogs: For when you can’t have a dog.
• If a man 7-feet-9-inches can find love, there’s hope for the rest of us.
• Japanese people let goldfish swim in deep fryers. Seriously, what is wrong with these people?
• Karma is funny, especially in the shape of giant billboards.
• Exploding cars are bad and totally forbidden in China.
• Again, you’re insane. Definitely not working in a suspended building.
• This guy’s bringing pauchy back

Posted by Lisa Barone on 03/30/07 at 4:03 PM | Comments (1)
See more entries in Fun Stuff

Schedule for Search Engine Strategies NY 2007*

Okay, boys and girls, it’s almost time for Search Engine Strategies New York, and I, for one, am excited. Fun times are ahead -- Bruce will be speaking at Thursday’s Organic Listing Forums, an assortment of my favorite BC analysts will be manning the BC booth, and early next week I get the locator chip implanted in my shoulder so that I can be let out of the office again. Huzzah!

Here’s a tentative list of the sessions we’ll be covering in NY. Feel free to print it out and use it as your own "Where In the World NY Hilton Is Lisa" game.

Day 0: Monday, April 9, 2007

7:00am – Depart from Burbank Airport with Bruce
3:10pm – Land in New York
3:11pm – Begin annoying Bruce with how excited I am to be “home”

Day 1: Tuesday, April 10, 2007

9:00am-10:30am: Advanced Advertising Track -- Ads Beyond Search
11:00am-12:30pm: Advanced Advertising Track -- Ads In A Quality Score World
2:00pm-3:30pm: Advanced Advertising Track – Benchmarking an SEM Campaign
4:00pm-5:30pm: Advanced Advertising Track – Advanced Paid Search Techniques
~6:00pm: Meet up with the rest of the Bruce Clay, Inc. gang!

Day 2: Wednesday, April 11, 2007

9:00am-9:45am: Keynote Conversation with Steve Berkowitz
10:15am-11:45am: Conversion Track -- Web Analytics & Measuring Success
1:30pm-2:45pm: Advanced Advertising Track – Meet the Search Ad Networks
3:15pm-4:30pm: Advanced Advertising Track – Putting Search Into The Marketing Mix
4:45pm-6:00pm: Advanced Organic Track – Robots.txt Summit

Day 3: Thursday, April 12, 2007

9:00am-10:15am: Social Search Track -- Social Search Overview
11:00am-12:15pm: Issues Track – Local Search Marketing Tactics
2:00pm-3:15pm: Social Search Track – Bookmark Strategies
4:00pm-5:15pm: Issues Track – Auditing Paid Listings & Click Fraud Issues
5:30-6:30pm: Evening Forum with Danny Sullivan

Day 4: Friday, April 13, 207

9:00am-10:15am: Linking Track – Linking Strategies
10:45-12:00pm: Linking Track – Link Baiting & Viral Search Success
12:30pm-1:45pm: Organic Track – CSS, AJAX, Web 2.0, & Search Engines
2:00pm – 2:05pm: BREATHE
7:00pm – Head back to Cali with Bruce**

Not seeing something you were hoping we'd cover? Take a look at our coverage from past Search Engine Strategies conferences:

Video Search Optimization - covered in Chicago
In House: Big PPC - covered in Chicago
Mobile Search Optimization - covered in Chicago
SEO Through Blogs & Feed - covered in San Jose
Successful Site Architecture - covered in Chicago and San Jose
Social Search Overview - covered in Chicago
Organic Listings Forum - covered in Chicago
Usability & SEO - covered in Chicago and San Jose

*note this schedule is tentative and may change at any time should I see someone interesting, noteworthy and/or adorable walking into another session.

**Assuming I have acted like a responsible blogger during my stay in New York. If not, you can find me in front of the McDonalds sign in Time Square. Please come pick me up. And buy me a chocolate milkshake.

Posted by Lisa Barone on 03/30/07 at 11:27 AM | Comments (8)
See more entries in sesny07

March 28, 2007

Bruce Clay Housekeeping

No, no, we’re not offering housecleaning to our list of services. This is merely my attempt to redeem myself for the small nuggets I keep forgetting to mention in the blog, but really should have because they’re important. Susan says if I do a good job bringing it up today I won’t get smacked with the ruler tonight. Huzzah!

Have You Registered For SES NY?

Search Engine Strategies New York is a mere two weeks away so if you haven’t registered, now is the time!

As a premier sponsor, we’re offering a 20 percent discount coupon compliments of Bruce Clay. Head on over to the SES site and use it! If you’re serious about search engine optimization and search marketing, you’re not going to want to miss the show going on in New York. It’s going to be a great event with engaging speakers, informative sessions and lots of mischievous SEO fun.

If you will be making the trek to New York, be sure to stop by the Bruce Clay booth and introduce yourself to Bruce and members of the Bruce Clay staff. You can also catch Bruce speaking at the Organics Listing Forum Thursday afternoon.

If you’re looking for me, keep your eyes open for the dark-haired girl sitting on the floor in a corner somewhere (likely near a power outlet) blogging furiously. That would me. To aid Operation Track Lisa: SES NY Edition, I’ll be posting my complete SES schedule up on the blog on Friday, so watch for that!

Don’t Miss The SEO Newsletter!

Also coming Friday is another edition of the bi-monthly SEO Newsletter. If you’re not yet subscribed, don’t worry, there’s still time to get on the list before the issue goes live. This time around, loyal readers can expect all the search engine optimization news they can handle, plus part one in a six-part siloing series and an expanded version of last week’s blog post on creating unique 404 pages. Fun stuff, right?

Okay, consider yourself caught up. No lashes for me tonight!

P.S.

Have you met the jesters keeping the Bruce Clay logo company this week? I think they need names. What do think?

Posted by Lisa Barone on 03/28/07 at 2:56 PM | Comments (7)
See more entries in SEM Events

Fun Forum Finds

(Or, as Ze Frank would say, something from the forums.)

Since Tamar is trying to act like me (being all cute and personable) over at Search Engine Roundtable, today’s my turn to act like Tamar and bring you some fun forum threads. It’s only fair, right?

DigitalPoint Forums: MSN Pre-populating their search box

There have been reports at both the DigitalPoint Forums and Search Engine Roundtable Forums that MSN UK has pre-populated the query “The Apprentice BBC” into its search box. I’m not sure if this is some sort of new ad deal or if Donald Trump is just officially taking over the world, but I don’t like it and MSN needs to stop tainting organic search.

I’m seriously bewildered why MSN is so keen on turning a genuine search bar into an advertisement? Organic and PPC are like a pair of 14-year-old brother and sisters; sure, they’re related, but they’re not supposed to be sharing a bed. The way MSN has positioned itself I have to actually go and delete the query they’ve entered and insert my own if I want to use their search bar. What kind of crazy user roadblock is that? Do they not realize how badly this is going to confuse inexperienced searchers? Oy!

Bad idea, MSN.

Search Engine Roundtable: Who Should Write The SEO Content?

This is an oldie, but goodie and a question that comes up in training pretty regularly. The question at hand is: Who should write the content to further your site’s ranking goals: your copywriters or your search engine optimization company?

You should. You’re the expert on your subject, not us.

Typically, when we work with clients to help them develop great content we look at their existing content and offer advice on how to tweak it to emphasis keywords and better establish their theme. On projects where Susan and I have been tasked with writing pages, we do our best to get a solid understanding of your site and its tone and services so that we’re able to produce appropriate content. However, it’s still up to you to make sure that it works for your site and is conveying the right message to users.

We’ll do our best to give you the best content we can, but it really is you who is responsible for that content. We would never presume to know your site or your industry better than you do.

Cre8asite: Can you outrank .gov sites?

An intelligent discussion broke out on the Cre8asite forums over whether it’s possible to outrank a .gov site. Of course it’s possible; it’s just not always very easy.

The thing to keep in mind is that having a .gov or .edu TLD doesn’t guarantee you rankings. A site doesn’t rank because of its domain. The reason .gov sites rank so well is because of the high number of quality, trusted sites linking to them. NASA.gov is ranking for the same reasons you are, they just have about 500,000 more inbound links than you do.

Bill Slawski offered some great advice in the thread, which was to avoid head-to-head competition with these sites for the more competitive keywords:

“…look for opportunities to rank for keywords that they missed. While that may mean targeting some less competitive keywords, if it brings you the audience that you are looking for, that should be fine.

That’s an important concept to keep in mind. If you’re going up against NASA in the search engines, your livelihood should NOT depend on outranking them for the term “space”. This is one of those instances where the long tail keywords are really important. Get those first cornered first; then once you start getting rankings and traffic from those you can launch a more complex, competitive attack. Remember, kids, the battle for search engine rankings really isn’t a battle at all; it’s a war. :)

Posted by Lisa Barone on 03/28/07 at 2:34 PM | Comments (6)
See more entries in SEO, Search Engine Optimization

March 27, 2007

Set It & Forget It? Pay Per Click Strategies that don't work

Barry Schwartz pointed us to an interesting thread over at WebmasterWorld that discusses whether or not the old “set it & forget it” approach to pay per click is long gone. I say “interesting thread” because I couldn’t believe people still subscribed to this method. Can you spend some time creating a pay per click campaign and then leave it to focus on your golf game? Um, no. Nor should you; everyone knows golf is a good walk spoiled.

If it’s crazy to you to believe that Bruce hired Susan and me to be full-time bickerers writers, you may find it just as crazy to know we actually have a pay per click department. We have people here who do nothing but monitor client’s pay per click campaigns and think up ways to make them convert and perform better. I hear they even enjoy it.

We do this not because we like to see what we can get Bruce to pay for next (fencing classes in the break room? A personal Starbucks barista for me and Susan? A masseuse?), but because constant monitoring and tweaking of your search marketing campaign is an absolute must if you want to stay competitive, rank for your niche’s important keywords, and optimize your ad’s conversion rates.

The reason you can’t set and forget your search marketing campaign the way you could a couple years ago is that space is considerably more competitive now than it was back then. Five years ago your competition probably wasn’t running a pay per click campaign; chances are, neither were you. Today you both are and if you want to outrank each other it can be a constant fight.

Another thing: keywords change. Old keywords lose their effectiveness, your company releases a new product, or you find higher-converting, lower-cost terms. It’s very possible that keywords you’re targeting today in early Spring are very different from the keywords you’ll want to target once Summer officially this Simi Valley, CA and living here becomes absolutely, 100 percent unbearable. By continuously optimizing and tweaking campaigns it keeps you thinking about your customer’s needs and puts you ahead of your competition who is busy golfing.

You also have to consider that the search engines are continually working to improve their paid search programs. They’re coming out with new features and changing the way landing pages are judged. Heck, Yahoo just released an entirely new platform. If you’re thinking your ads are going to perform the same under Panama as they did before it, you’re seriously mistaken.

Oh, and if you’re so far out of the loop that you didn’t even know Yahoo launched Panama and you should have been making changes, well, we have no words for you. Actually, we do. We hope you’re independently wealthy and didn’t really need the search marketing campaign.

If your search marketing campaign is important to you, you’ve probably read-through (at least some of) our Pay Per Click Methodology page. That four-step framework you see outlined? Yeah. That’s not a one-time thing. The process is cyclical. Like a loop. It doesn’t end.

But I think that makes sense. If the positioning of your PPC campaign ads are based on a bidding system, then of course things are going to shift and turn as more competitors enter the field, keywords change, and the engines do that wacky mixing it up thing they do.

You can’t set up your pay per click campaign and relax because things change everyday. Like with search engine optimization, the position you have today can be completely erased tomorrow due a change in the way the engines handle things.

What are the key parts of your search marketing campaign that need constant tweaking? Virtually all of it -- your bids, landing pages, call-to-actions, keywords, your ad design and copy. It’s all up for grabs. Pay per click is like putting a puzzle together on a moving school bus. Just when you think you got it, the driver slams on his breaks and your puzzle and your face ends up embedded in the seat in front of you. That seat with the marks from the cigarette lighter branded into it? That’s your competition.

And don’t think the search engines and that crazy bus driver slammed on the breaks by accident either. They know what they’re doing. They all want to make sure you’re paying attention. They want to make sure you having just “set and forget” your search marketing campaign. If you have, your puzzle is going to end up all over the floor without a chance in the world of converting.

Posted by Lisa Barone on 03/27/07 at 4:25 PM | Comments (1)
See more entries in Pay Per Click

Dehumanizing the blogosphere

I’m sure by this point in the day most of you have read about the disturbing situation affecting Kathy Sierra, the brilliant voice of the Creating Passionate Users blog. As a woman, as a blogger, and as a member of this space, the past 24 hours have been filled with me wanting to say something, but not really knowing what to say. And though I’m somewhat at a loss, I feel like some comment is needed, even if it’s just to say that what occurred is unacceptable and there’s no room in the blogosphere for hate speech.

In case you missed the mob-like TechMeme coverage, Kathy, a voice we’ve quoted, revered and bowed to on more than one occasion, left something in my feed reader yesterday that I wasn’t quite ready for.

She wrote:

“As I type this, I am supposed to be in San Diego, delivering a workshop at the ETech conference. But I'm not. I'm at home, with the doors locked, terrified. For the last four weeks, I've been getting death threat comments on this blog”

I’ll be honest. When I first read her post I thought she was kidding. I thought she was leading up to some Dooce-like joke that would cause me to spurt water all over my monitor. But she wasn’t kidding. Anonymous blog commenters really did threaten her safety with death threats. Threats that were filled with misogyny, hatred, sexual references, and disgusting imagery. Sadly, she’s not the only one receiving them and the threats are coming from well-known blogs.

My first reaction was to be completely disgusted. Many bloggers have their haters. They say it comes with the territory. But it’s different when those haters are not attacking what you write, but instead attacking your person. It’s different when you’re a female and your right to feel safe has been violated. And no, this isn’t a new phenomenon, and it doesn't only affect women, but all of that makes it worse, not better.

There’s something about the Web and our ability to make seemingly “anonymous” comments that creates an environment where people think they have the right to say anything they want about someone under the guise of “free speech”. There’s something very dehumanizing about it. Just because bloggers become “familiar” doesn’t mean they’re open targets for hate speech.

It’s possible these people are kidding and just have too much time on their hands, but the anonymity of the Web means you don’t know that. And, really, it doesn’t matter if they’re legitimate or not. As Kathy says, it’s the threat itself that inflicts the damage. It’s that threat that changes you.

It doesn’t matter if the commenter threatened to slap you but has no intention of actually doing it. It doesn’t matter if the commenter threatened to drive by your home, and he’s really an 8-year-old boy inside playing Wii. The threat was made and it’s there.

The reason Kathy’s case is so compelling is because we got to see the line being crossed and we all witnessed Kathy’s sincere reaction to it. It’s like seeing your mom cry for the first time; it kind of stops you in your tracks.

As a result of the threat, Kathy’s now debating whether or not to continue on with her blog. Understandably, she says:

“I do not want to be part of a culture--the Blogosphere--where this is considered acceptable. Where the price for being a blogger is kevlar-coated skin and daughters who are tough enough to not have their "widdy biddy sensibilities offended" when they see their own mother Photoshopped into nothing more than an objectified sexual orifice, possibly suffocated as part of some sexual fetish. (And of course all coming on the heels of more explicit threats)”

I don’t think any of us want to be a part of that culture. The comments made regarding Kathy are disturbing, disgusting, and wrong on every conceivable level. We have to fix this culture if we’re going to continue to be a part of it.

What’s most infuriating to me is to see someone as brilliant as Kathy silenced. She’s given a lot to this industry. Without her blogging, her attendance at conferences and trade shows, without her voice, we all lose out. There are a lot of things that can be taken from people, but their voice should never be one of them. I’ve fought that battle my entire life.

It only takes a few crazy eggs to spoil the openness of the blogosphere. As citizens of this space, we shouldn’t tolerate hate speech of abuse of any kind. There’s just no room or reason for it.

Posted by Lisa Barone on 03/27/07 at 2:41 PM | Comments (0)
See more entries in Blogging

Get Ready for the Mobile Wars

The stage has been set for a 2007 mobile battle. Are you ready for it? Google, Yahoo, and the other mobile service provides are. In fact, the heavyweight title fight is starting to heat up.

In this corner (points left), outfitted in the purple and yellow trunks, we have Yahoo. Yahoo has been getting quite a bit of praise lately for their full-scale launch into the mobile arena. Last week they opened up an impressive oneSearch to mobile publishers, making the platform available on 85 percent of mobile-Web accessible devices.

Today, they announced a new suite of services aimed at publishers. The four-tiered network is called the Yahoo Mobile Publishers Services site and houses the Mobile Ad Network, the Mobile Content Engine, Mobile Site Submit, and the Mobile Media Directory. Color me impressed.

Here’s a look at their arsenal:

• Mobile Ad Network gives mobile publishers the chance to serve syndicated ads on Yahoo’s mobile content and services. Publishers can choose from display ads, sponsored links, videos, sports or in-game or in-application placement. Advertisements are scheduled to go live in the second quarter of 2007.
• Mobile Site Submit provides an easy way for publishers to ensure their site is being indexed in the mobile engines and available through Yahoo oneSearch. I think this one is pretty self-explanatory.
• Mobile Media Directory is actually pretty cool. With it, publishers can create things like games, videos or ringtones and make them available to users through oneSearch. It feeds into that whole user-generated content thing.
• The Mobile Content Engine helps all publishers, even those without a mobile Web presence, to make their content available on mobile devices. The Content Engine will integrate a publisher’s listings or news articles into Yahoo oneSearch, which will allow users to find them when searching for things like news headlines or business listings.

In the other corner (points right), in the red and blue shorts and donning a spiffy yellow headband, we have Google. Google’s looking a little angry this afternoon, bitter about having to play “catch up” to Yahoo’s advances and stomach punches. Watching Google shuffle around the ring looking all weak, it almost makes me want to find Terry Semel and give him a hug. Okay, almost. I’m just so happy for Yahoo. They're finally doing something well!

But back to Google – they’re looking to knock Yahoo out with an upgraded version of Google mobile search which offers mobile searchers more-detailed search results and the ability to personalize their mobile home page with stock information, movie listings, news snippets and gadgets. It’s basically Google IG on the smaller screen. Google’s hoping that by using improved algorithms and factoring in a user's location, their new mobile engine will offer a more relevant mobile searching experience and bring Yahoo Mobile to its knees.

Waiting to get into the fight is underdog Medio. Medio has become a major mobile player in the States and is running a pay per click network that’s worth paying attention to. Medio’s Mobile Now Ad Network runs similar to the Collarity service which has been mentioned quite a bit recently. It targets ads based on a consumer’s past searching habits, making the ads more relevant to a searcher’s needs and offering advertisers a higher, more focused click-through rate.

Who will win the mobile search title belt? Who knows? Right now, based on services alone, I like Medio. The great thing about mobile is that the fight is so young that it’s really anybody’s game. There’s even room for a third-party to get in and offer something Google and Yahoo haven’t been able to do yet.

In the Google/Yahoo mobile title fight, however, Yahoo looks like the stronger competitor, offering more services to help publishers monetize content in the mobile network.

Google does seem to have a slight advantage of Yahoo over present, though.
Bigmouthmedia reports that the first M:Metrics MetreDirect survey of US and UK users found that Google is currently the most popular mobile search application in both the United States and the UK. After Google, US mobile searchers are most apt to use Yahoo, MSN, Live and Go.com, while UK users prefer operator portals like O2, Orange and Three.

Danny Sullivan’s recent AdvertisingAge article noted that after years of waiting around for something to happen, mobile search is finally worth keeping an eye on this year. I totally agree.

The biggest piece of evidence I can offer you that mobile search is gaining steam is that our own Susan “I Don’t Believe In Technology” Esparza recently purchased a Blackberry Pearl and has turned into a text-messaging, mobile-Web-browsing, Google-Alert-reading fool. If Susan is capable of using the mobile Web, then my mother isn’t far behind.

Posted by Lisa Barone on 03/27/07 at 1:06 PM | Comments (0)
See more entries in Branding, Google, Search Engines, Yahoo

March 26, 2007

Weekend Update

JenSense Predicts April UK Panama Launch Date

Jennifer Slegg reports back from Seodays that Panama will be launched in the UK early during Q02, possibly as soon as mid to late April. That should be quite a bit earlier than most advertisers had originally thought. We were told second quarter, but I think most of us thought the end of the second quarter, if at all.

According to Jen, the tradeoff may be that UK publishers won’t see the Yahoo Publisher Network for some time. It appears to have been put on the backburner while Yahoo concentrates on the launch of Panama. Personally, I’m okay with that. I’m happy to see the success Yahoo has been having with Panama thus far. It’s still early but things are looking good. Let’s get Panama out and hope it gives Yahoo the boost it needs after a difficult end to 2006.

Yahoo Phasing Out The Yahoo Directory From Its SERPs

Barry pulled an interesting nugget out of the Search Engine Roundtable forums noting that Yahoo has removed the Yahoo Directory category links from under their search results. If you don’t believe him, Barry has screenshots. That’s our Barry.

This is a pretty good indicator that Yahoo has either decided to, or is in the process of, phasing out the Yahoo Directory. The question now is do you care? I’m not broken up about it. In the early days it was good to know which sites had been given the stamp of approval by the Yahoo Directory’s human editors, but as is the case with DMOZ, the days where a verified status means anything are behind us.

The Importance of Having a Web Identity

Andy Beal comments on an important post from Computer World about the importance of maintaining an online Web presence. Computer World argues that not appearing in Google searches may affect your job search and asks: If someone searches for you on the Web and comes up empty-handed, do you exist?

This is a significant branding question. If a potential employer or a potential client searches for you and they find nothing, I think you immediately lose credibility. I know when Bruce hires new employees the first thing I do is attempt to stalk them on the Internet. If I can’t find anything, anything at all, I’m very skeptical. If you’re coming to work for an Internet marketing company, I expect you to have some kind of Internet presence. If you don’t, I automatically assume you just gave me a fake name and I’m not inviting you out to lunch. I may even bug your car.

Branding isn’t just about branding a company, you have to brand the important people involved as well. Whether you’re an employee looking for a new job, a blogger writing for an ad agency, or the vice president of a large corporation, you should have a personal Web presence and you should be monitoring it. If you searched Yahoo for a well-known corporate Vice President, what would mean more to you: The homepage for the company the VP works out or the interview they did with Computer World where they exposed a little about their true nature? People search the Web hoping to “get to know you”. There should be pieces there, even if they’re planted, for them to find. Your brand isn’t about what you deliver; it’s about how you deliver it.

Fun Finds

The sky is blue. The grass is green. Rae Hoffman is ranting. ;)

True or False? Real SEOs don’t have clients.

A search engine to help you find pizza. Oh, today is the most glorious day ever. Huzzah! [*bookmarks*--Susan]

Posted by Lisa Barone on 03/26/07 at 5:36 PM | Comments (3)
See more entries in Branding, Pay Per Click, Yahoo

Newspapers, Offline Media Are Not Dead

It was sunny and gorgeous in Southern California this weekend so I did something out of character for an obsessed blogger. I stepped away from the computer and ventured outside for virtually the entire weekend. I know; I’m still getting over it myself. It seems while I was out hiking in Malibu and playing in pick-up soccer games, the cyclic debate over whether newspapers are a dying art came back around.

Typically, I stay away from conversations that have already been beat to death by people much (much) smarter than me, but this time it’s different. When people proclaim the death of newspapers, the geek in me takes it personally.

If you think newspapers are dying, they’re not.

Tim O’Reilly started the conversation on Friday passing on the rumor that the San Francisco Chronicle may be in danger of shutting down. The story was that Phil Bronstein, the Chronicle’s editor-in-chief, had told his staff that the news business “is broken, and no one knows how to fix it”. Once the blogosphere got hold of the story, the results were predictable:

• Thomas Hawk proclaimed the newspaper business dead.
• Matthew Ingram fought that newspapers need to advance or die.
• Dave Winer suggested reforming journalism schools to keep newspapers alive.
• And quite predictably, Robert Scoble once again told the doom of anything is that is not online video or smothered in geek.

And because timing is everything, the whole thing got even grimmer this morning after the news InfoWorld would be cutting off its print arm as of April. Yes, it seems that newspapers are about to become a thing of the past and fade away into obscurity, much like that LA Gear keychain that used to adorn your brand new sneakers back in the ‘80s. Only not.

Before you succumb to the hype and let your Chicken Little tendencies get the best of you, take a deep breath. Eat a brownie. Watch a sunset. All in all, just chill out.

Is it surprising that newspaper subscription numbers are falling? No, it’s really not. The costs of putting out a tangible copy of news you can read via your computer monitor is expensive. More and more people are adopting broadband and are using their computer for everything. We can expect to see these numbers drop while newspapers figure out how to best adapt in a new era. But newspapers aren’t going to die. Not in five years, not in twenty, and probably not while I’m still alive.

First, not everyone is as adept at using the Internet as those reading this blog entry on this here Internet Marketing Web site. There are plenty of towns and cities across the globe where connections are scarce and people actually do prefer the dead tree format. As the very smart folks at 901am noted, not everyone in the world is living in California. [Huzzah for that, housing prices are bad enough.--Susan] - For serious.

Newspaper will ultimately evolve, but I really don’t think they’ll change so much that their roots are hard to distinguish. They won’t go the USA Today route; they’ll keep what readers love and adopt what they’ll come to expect. And this will happen once the faces of those running them change. Dave Winer spoke about the need for reforming journalism schools. I think that’s a key point to all this and I think it’s already occurring.

I graduated from journalism school back in 2004. In order to complete my degree, I took classes in online journalism, “audio journalism” (the layman’s podcasting), site design and other Web-friendly topics, and that was three years ago. (God, I feel old.) The transition is already in progress. Future journalists are already being taught to adapt.

My participation in JSONS, Emerson’s student-run online news service, is what sparked my interest in the online format and is ultimately responsible for landing me at Bruce Clay. Today, JSONS has grown to offer weekly podcasts and is toying with opening up a separate audio blog. The students contributing to this service now are the same people who will be writing for the Boston Globe and New York Times tomorrow. They’re getting their training right now.

Something else worth noting is Stowe Boyd’s argument that papers like The New York Times and Wall Street Journal will survive, while the average local newspaper will die. I completely disagree.

If there is one area where papers still trump online media, it is in local news. Folks read local newspapers not for the front page stories, stories they could arguably get anywhere, but because of the local coverage. They read them to hear what’s going on in their community, how the local high school’s football team did last week, which players are making names for themselves, what’s going on in their school district, what’s going on in local politics, etc. That information is still important and its information that’s almost impossible to find on the Web. Have you ever tried to navigate the Web site of a local newspaper?

Robert Scoble declares that newspapers are dead in the water because his son would never subscribe to one. He’s probably right about that; Patrick Scoble won’t subscribe to a newspaper when he grows up. But Patrick Scoble is not representative of most of the population. Patrick is the son of an ubergeek (and I say that with complete respect). He’ll lean towards things Web and online video-related. This shouldn’t be particularly surprising to anyone. If you didn’t grow up with parents reading a newspaper, you probably won’t read one when you’re older. The newspaper gene is right up there with the one for alcoholism and the tendency to watch football on Sundays.

Newspapers aren’t dying, they're changing. As an Internet marketer you need to decide if targeting the print world is still beneficial to your marketing campaign. Offline media has its benefits. Not every company or product will benefit from targeting newspapers, just like not every business will feel the same surge from social media. Decide what complements your business model and design your marketing campaign accordingly.

Posted by Lisa Barone on 03/26/07 at 3:36 PM | Comments (2)
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March 23, 2007

Friday Recap

Happy Friday!

I completed my bi-yearly adventure in SEOToolSet training this week by attending the one-day Advanced SEOToolSet Certification class held yesterday. I learned lots of great techie optimization tactics that will keep me in the favor of Mr. McGoo McGee; however, that wasn’t the highlight of the day for me (sorry, Bruce). The most fun thing that happened during training was when a faithful reader came over to introduce himself. He was glad to meet me because he had a very important question to ask me. His question went something like this:

“Tell me the truth. Does “Susan” really exist or did you just make her up for the blog?”

Ha! As much as I wish Susan was just a nasty figment of my imagination that could be treated with medication, I’m sad to report that she does truly exist. To prove her annoying existence, here’s a recent photo. She still claims not to know what happened to the office copier. Dirty liar. [How many times do I have to fire you in the same week? --Susan] Until you unchain me from my desk and allow me to actually go home.

With all the talk this week about A-list bloggers, credible bloggers, and bloggers now being afraid to blog at all, Todd Malicoat instructed all of us on How to be an Idiot Blogger that No One Likes. It’s awesome. Number 18 is my favorite.

At Creating Passionate Users, Kathy Sierra asks Is Your App an Ass-kisser? I don’t know about my app, but my supervisor is. Zing! [If only my minion was. Why didn't I hire someone nice as well as talented? Hey, Tamar, want to come work for us? We provide donuts!--Susan] Yeah, yeah! Barry, you wanna trade sidekicks?

Susan and xkcd decided it’d be fun to play on my fear of nasty keyboards this week:

Thanks. Appreciate that. Jerks.

Lee Odden gave readers 5 Reasons to Attend Search Engine Strategies NYC. I’d like to give you another me – Me! :) I’m kidding, mostly. However, I will be posting my SES schedule soon, so keep an eye out.

If you ever find yourself on some weird trivia show and they ask you “what’s the grossest snack ever created?” the answer is bacon-wrapped, cheese-filled, battered and fried hot dogs. Just reading that sentence earns you a trip to the gym. Get going.

Here’s a fun caffeine database to tell you how to get the most out of your caffeine fix and help those hands stop shaking.

If you need a giggle, Wikipedia offers an amusing look at stuff that didn’t make it past their top notch editors. My favorite is the definition of “Plato”. (Yes, I’m defiantly breaking Susan’s You’re Not Allowed To Talk About Wikipedia rule today. Take that!) [The rule is you're not allowed to complain about Wikipedia. This is fine. --Susan] -Oh, I feel so much better now that I have your blessing. *defiant eye roll*

If you’re looking to spruce up that boring décor, here’s 12 Ways to Pimp Your Office. I want absolutely everything on that list.

Finally, a captcha test I don’t have to tilt my head at odd angles to decipher. Kitty, Not Kitty, Not Kitty, Not Kitty. See?

A big thanks to the folks behind 901am for showing me how to deal with confusing job titles. I totally agree with them. The best way to avoid a condescendingly look or blank stare when I explain my job is simply to tell my family I write for a marketing company. From now on I will completely leave out words such as “blog”, “internet”, or “search engine”. My dad still thinks I made those shirts myself. The shame.

Last week, WikiHow told us how to play drown the penny and this week it’s How to Help Your Child Accept A New Baby. The article is fine, but the pictures are disturbing. I’d say next week we’re going to learn How to Tell Your Red-Headed Child He’s Adopted, followed by How Not To Hold Your Child Like A Football. Nice work guys.

Have you met Knut? He’s kind of a heartbreaker. I want to take him home and cuddle.

Did you know it was illegal to transport milk across state lines with the intention to sell? Consider my plans for the weekend squashed.

The New Yorker collected the wisdom of children. I’m not sure if they’re funny or just disturbing. The same goes for what people say in court.

Things I Learned From BoingBoing This Week:

• You’re insane. You must be if you think I’m going to walk on that thing. Not for a second. I won’t even tap my foot on it to test its strength. [For once, we agree. --Susan]
• There are slightly worse people to travel with than Susan.
• Sugar that looks like ants is HILARIOUS. Until you confuse a family of ants for sugar and end up drinking a bunch of floaters. Not so funny then, is it?
• People will buy anything if it’s geeky enough.
• Tables topped with giant post-its are way awesome.
• The only thing worse than a cockroach is a headless cockroach.
• More corners equal yummier brownies. [Not true! The center squares are the best. --Susan] Quiet, child. How many times do I have to tell you that no one cares about you or your opinion?
• Starbucks doesn’t care about homeless people.

And Matt, feel free to return my catchphrase whenever you’re done using it, kthnx.

Posted by Lisa Barone on 03/23/07 at 12:36 PM | Comments (6)
See more entries in Fun Stuff

March 21, 2007

Keeping Clients, the Google Phone, Shrek and Easter Eggs

Keep Good Clients Good

Todd Malicoat had a great blog post yesterday entitled Breaking Up With Bad Clients: It’s Not You…It’s Me which took a fun look at how to politely (and not so politely) get rid of the troublesome clients you’ve lovingly dedicated your office dartboard to. I giggled at Todd’s post, but frankly, all that seemed like way too much work for me. It’s far easier and cost-effective to keep good clients good than to watch them go sour and then figure out how to get rid of them. Or even worse, unload them on your friends.

A couple months back we had a post entitled How to Make Friends and Inspire Clients that offered some valuable tips on helping clients to behave and get them to stop peeing on the contracts. It may be worth another read. You also may be interested in our Chicago 2006 session recap How to Make Friends and Influence Clients. You go read those; I’ll go read a book on How Not To Keep Using The Same Blog Titles Over and Over. I’m special.

Google Phone Confirmed…Only Not

Yes, the geeks were excited only to be disappointed once again. Aw, such is life for a geek.

Isabel Aguilera (I won’t make a “no relation” joke here since my last one seems to have bombed), Google’s chief executive in Spain and Portugal, confirmed that Google was working on a mobile phone for use in developing countries. So the phone rumors were true, it just wasn’t the Super Phone tech geeks were hoping for. Or at least that’s what we thought for most of this morning.

Then, after we were resting confident in our Google phone knowledge, Danny Sullivan burst our bubble saying that Google wasn’t working on a mobile phone, but on the mobile software. Sigh. This phone thing is so confusing that I’ve now officially lost interest.

Google Easter Eggs

As usual, the Google Operating Systems blog has the fun dirt behind the latest Google feature. Ionut Alex. Chitu discovered several Easter eggs lurking in the new Google Personalized themes. The Beach theme comes complete with a Loch Ness monster, Sweet Dreams has a lit up Pi, the Tea house has some weird mice-looking creatures, etc.

If you want to see the fun surprises for yourself, either be up and alert at 3:14 am OR you can do a quick tweak to your theme’s corresponding CSS file, as explained by Ionut. I think the second option is actually less painful.

Fun Finds

The usually sweet Dazzlin’Donna couldn’t help but note the striking resemblance between American Idol contestant Melinda Doolittle and Shrek and I Could. Not. Stop. Laughing. Donna hopes Melinda never stumbles across her blog post because she’d “hate to hurt her feelings.” Heh

Poor Kim has blogging stagefright thanks to all the talk about that A-list thing that doesn’t exist but everyone wants in on anyway. Its okay, Kim. You just be you and we’ll form our own B-list-on-paper-but-A-list-in-our-heart bloggers group in New York. We should make buttons!

And most amusing of all, the mood of this neurotic-but-adorable blog has finally been identified over at Creative Flow. Apparently I give off a “swimfan-SEO-stalker-soap-opera-fights-with-Susan Vibe”. Interesting.

Posted by Lisa Barone on 03/21/07 at 5:25 PM | Comments (1)
See more entries in SEO, Search Engine Optimization

Improve SEO With a Custom 404 Page

Coding Horror’s Jeff Atwood (No relation to Ryan) has a great post about Creating User Friendly 404 Pages (via Creating Passionate Users) and kicking those ugly, intimidating and worthless default 404 error pages to the curb once and for all. Jeff, we couldn’t agree with you more.

Creating a unique 404 page really is one of the most overlooked elements in a search engine optimization campaign. Clients become so consumed with creating content, links and all the other on-page and off-page factors that go into optimization that they ignore the importance keeping users on their site once a problem arises. By neglecting your 404 page, you’re missing a valuable opportunity for customer retention.

At some point, users are going to meet your 404 page. They’ll click on a broken link, try to access a bookmarked page that no longer exists, mistype a URL, or maybe they’ll just get bored and start making up their own URLs for your site. Stuff happens. Leaving them a piece of rope to help them find their way back can be crucial to your search engine optimization goals.

How?

Let’s play a game. Imagine you’re a searcher looking for a puppy. You’ve landed on a new and promising site for the very first time. The puppy information sounds trustworthy, the navigation is easy enough that you don’t need a doctorate to figure it out and you’re about to click on the squeal-worthy face of the puppy you want to call your own and save from the vile Susan Esparza Puppy Mill. You click on your almost-puppy and get this:

(Image taken from Jeff.)

No! There’s no navigation, no links to relevant pages, nowhere to go but back, and worst of all, no puppy.

Now not only have you disappointed your user who thought they had just found the puppy of their dreams, but you also hit them with a 404 page that does nothing to help them get back on track. Bad links and errors happen. If you want to keep users happy, the best way to do that is to leave them something to hold on to for when they get lost.

Let’s be frank. Default 404 pages suck. They’re cold and don’t offer any value to users.

The best 404 pages are the ones that blend in with your site, are simply written, don’t scare away users and encourage visitors to continue interacting with your site. Your 404 page should absolutely have:

• An apology for the error
• A prominent search box
• A link to your site map
• A link to your home page
• Links to the other main areas of your site

If it’s appropriate to your site, it also never hurts to insert some humor in there. If you’re that puppy site, throw a picture of a sad-eyed puppy asking visitors to continue their search and save him from becoming a jacket. My all-time favorite 404 page is this Mario-inspired one. It’s not exactly helpful or search engine optimization friendly (yours should be!), but it still makes me giggle.

If you’ve ever come across the Bruce Clay 404 page, you know that our page includes an apology for the error (even though we KNOW it’s your fault you ended up there. Kidding!), our full navigation, a home page link, an SEOToolSet log-in area, site map link, and links to other popular areas like our Search Engine Relationship Chart, SEO Methodology page, and our Code of Ethics. We make it really easy for you to find where you were looking to go. We do this because we like you. Sites that make you feel dumb for getting lost do not like you. Find better friends.

Something else worth noting is that you’ll never see a reference to “404” on our error page. This is done to make the page more user-friendly and not send visitors away intimidated because they left their geek-speak books at home. There is no reason to label your error page “404 ERROR!” This tells users nothing; all most people know about a 404 page is that they have no idea what a 404 page is, nor do they care. Acknowledge that an error has been made and then lend a hand to help users get on their way. Don’t scare them by throwing around jargon they’ve never heard of.

Jeff points out something in his post that I didn’t know. He says to make sure your customized 404 page is larger than 512 bytes or some browsers will assume it’s the standard Web server 404 message and replace it with their own. That’s excellent advice.

Basically, the 404 page mantra is this: Be polite. Be helpful. And then get out of the way.

Posted by Lisa Barone on 03/21/07 at 1:34 PM | Comments (7)
See more entries in Design, Search Engine Optimization

KinderStart Ruling Best Ever

If you’re Google you have to be pretty pleased right now. Aside from cornering the market on those cool bouncy balls, free gourmet meals and Stanford-bred engineers, a U.S. judge just threw out a high-profile lawsuit against you and is even encouraging you to go after the plaintiff to recoup your legal fees. If you’re Google, I say you’re yelling a whole lot of huzzahs!

Yes, the ongoing and ridiculous KinderStart/Google lawsuit finally came to a close on Friday when U.S. Judge Jeremy Fogel hinted that he found the entire case as crazy as the rest of the search engine optimization community did.

For those just joining us, KinderStart filed a suit against Google last year claiming that Google “defamed” them when they downgraded the KinderStart engine in the rankings “without reason or warning”. They argued that by giving their engine a PageRank of 0, Google violated anti-trust, unfair competition, free speech, and libel laws. Unfortunately for KinderStart, no one, including Fogel, seemed to agree that a loss in rankings equals defamation. (Or that KinderStart is actually a “competitor” to Google.)

Fogel’s ruling read, in part:

"While Yu has brought a novel challenge to a major corporation, it is apparent that to some extent he has overreached in doing so...Yu had a professional responsibility to refrain from filing such allegations if he did not have appropriate supporting evidence."

That last line is the kicker! Not only was the case thrown out for being unmerited, but the judge found the whole thing so frivolous that he’s allowing Google to collect attorney fees from KinderStart. Huzzah!

This makes me very happy for a couple of reasons. First of all, it’s ridiculous to drag Google into court because your inferior Web site was given the rankings and PageRank it deserves. I’m not going to link to them, but peruse the KinderStart engine when you have a chance. It is in no way a high quality site. Accusing Google of purposely trying to harm you simply because your site doesn’t rank well is ludicrous. There are millions of sites in Google’s index, including real-life competitor search engines. Google’s goal of wanting to index the world’s information aside, I really don’t think they’re losing too much sleep over you, KinderStart. You deserve not only to pay their legal fees, but you should also be charged for your gall, as well.

Something we often try to explain to clients is that, for better or worse, ranking in Google, or any of the other search engines, is a privilege, not a right. You don’t get to start in the big game simply because you showed up. You have to earn it. It goes back to the Bruce-ism that search engine optimization isn’t about making a pig fly. It’s about genetically re-engineering a site so that it becomes an eagle. Google rewards eagles; KinderStart is a mutated pig. (Please don’t sue me for defamation.) That’s why they’re not ranking well.

The other reason I was happy to read this ruling is because my hope is that it will serve to discourage frivolous suits against Google in the future. This case sets the precedent that not only will a judge throw out your case if it’s baseless, you’ll also be required to pay Google’s lawyer fees. So think twice about doing it, Belgium.

Posted by Lisa Barone on 03/21/07 at 11:13 AM | Comments (3)
See more entries in Google

March 20, 2007

Google in Europe, Misleading Spam Studies and SMX Buzz

Google Looking for European Allies

The Financial Times reports (via CNET) that Google is looking to recruit a network of lobbyists in major European cities to help them “shape [the] debate” over heated Web issues like copyright, online privacy, advertising, freedom of expression, and security regulations of online content. Google has reportedly already made stops to 10 European cities.

I’m not sure how I feel about this. First of all, it’s not surprising news. Google did the same thing last year in Washington D.C. On the pro side of things, I think it reflects a realization on Google’s part that they can’t just launch or declare policies internationally and expect locals to go along with it. Google needs to take into consideration public opinion and act accordingly.

On the con side of things, we’re once again crossing that uncomfortable line of Google becoming a political entity. I am just never taking off my tinfoil hat.

Spam Study Somewhat Misleading

My BFF Tamar Weinberg had an interesting post over at Search Engine Roundtable (she’s Barry’s sidekick now, you know) regarding the Web Spam report Barry first blogged about last week. I didn’t get a chance to read it when Barry first posted it, but I did get a chance to read it today.

The study, as well as the chart Tamar posted, is somewhat misleading. It notes that 3 out of 4 blogs are spam. Okay, I already knew that. However, it also makes it appear that 85 percent of USAID.gov is a spammer. Somehow I don’t think the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is made up of a bunch of rogue spammers.

Instead, it’s more likely that spammer and people with far too much time on their hands have found ways to hack into the .gov site and used spammy tactics to get it to redirect to their own sites. But you don’t get that impression from reading the study. You think the US government is comprised of nothing but blog spammers.

Sadly, that was the only interesting part of the whole study. The rest of it just told you stuff you already knew – there’s lots of spammy blogs out there, especially with blogspot.com domains. Imagine that.

SMX Advanced 2007 Seattle’s Agenda Posted

Danny has posted the official agenda for Seattle’s SMX Advanced conference in June. Very exciting stuff!

To get you properly amp’d for this event (as if the two days of advanced sessions weren’t enough), I want you all to know that Susan and I will be combining forces to cover BOTH tracks of sessions in Seattle. Yes, yes, this means we will be dragging Susan out of the dark cave she calls home and bringing her into the daylight. Be excited. And just a little bit scared. She bites. [It's a nervous habit, really. --Susan]

And just as a reminder, Bruce Clay, Inc. will be giving away a free pass to the event. Contest details are still being worked out but we’ll let you know soon! We promise.

Fun Finds

This find is dedicated to poor Rebecca Kelley who was forced to relive her parent’s disappointment when an SEOmoz commenter got all judgmental on her. This sticker’s for you, kid!

Posted by Lisa Barone on 03/20/07 at 6:12 PM | Comments (0)
See more entries in SEO, Search Engine Optimization

Sticks and Stones Won’t Hurt Your SEO Campaign

I’m not sure if I’m supposed to be telling you this, but after everyone leaves the office at night, Susan hangs me over my desk by my toes so that all the knowledge I learned during my time at SEOToolSet training seeps back into my brain. She even makes me sleep with my training manual under my pillow (when I’m allowed a pillow) in hopes I’ll remember more through osmosis. She quizzes me the next day on little bits of knowledge. If I don’t answer her search engine optimization questions fast enough, she beats me with the training manual. Then, she tells me it’s my fault. And that I’m ugly. [Way to show your gratitude. So very fired. --Susan] - Again?

This is why I was super psyched to read Eric Enge’s post over at Search Engine Watch last week regarding comments made by Google Adam Lasnik earlier this year. Adam’s clarification about the impact of spam complaints on your search engine optimization campaign perfectly matched what Bruce had told us during SEOToolSet training. Hearing it played back for me meant there was a smaller chance Susan would fire a nectarine at my head for getting a question wrong that day! Thanks, Eric.

In short, Adam assured some Google Group readers that Google does not “bury” or punish sites simply because a spam complaint has been filed against them. Spam complaints don’t add to votes that can get you kicked out of Google’s index. Adam summed things up stating:

“Having someone (or even 42 MILLION people) report a site as spam will not change how we view a site. Our spam report, rather, helps us to become aware of pages violating our guidelines that we might not yet have crawled... enabling us to have another datapoint in our search quality efforts.”

File spam complaints are used to complement and improve Google’s existing algorithm. Google does NOT use spam complaints to create a blacklist of sites. There’s no “three strikes and you’re out” rule that says if Google hears you’re doing something bad you’re automatically in trouble. This isn’t like the way your parents dealt with you and your siblings. Google uses the complaints to better their own spam algorithms.

Of course, if they get a spam complaint regarding your site and you have other “red flag” factors, then, yes, Google will likely do a manual review. If you’re caught using spammy or deceptive strategies you’ll be penalized. If you’re not, you’ll never even know Google reviewed your site.

If Bruce were here he’d tell me to put on shoes (something about OSHA) and then he would say that the reason 42 million spam complaints won’t hurt your search engine optimization campaign is because Google will never penalize you for the actions of others.

Site owners don’t have to worry about negative affects to their rankings because of tactics employed by your competitors. They can mobilize an effort to spam complaint your site to death, they can click on your PPC ads, they can point spammy links in your direction, but your search engine optimization campaign will stay solid. You can only be penalized if you are the one engaging in nefarious behavior. So stop worrying about what your competition is doing, and focused on your own optimization campaign. In the end, that’s all that matter. And of course, if your competition is spamming, go ahead and let Google know. :)

Posted by Lisa Barone on 03/20/07 at 2:49 PM | Comments (3)
See more entries in SEO, Search Engine Optimization

Dear Readers, You Can’t Sue a Spider

Oh dear, my head hurts. I’d appreciate it if all the site owners out there would go and grab a pen and piece of paper real quick; we’re going to have a short technical review. (I don’t want to hear a peep out of you, McGee).

If you don’t want your content spidered, a short little text file is the answer to your prayers. Meet your friend, the robots.txt file. Simply copy and paste this line into that file to tell the engines how you want them to deal with your content:

META NAME="ROBOTS" CONTENT="NOFOLLOW"

If you don’t want your content archived, use this one:

META NAME="GOOGLEBOT" CONTENT="NOARCHIVE"

If you don’t want archiving or snippets, use this one:

META NAME="GOOGLEBOT" CONTENT="NOSNIPPET"

See how easy that is? What you can’t, or at least shouldn’t, do is sue a search spider, Google (wave to our Belgian readers!), or anyone else for your inability to type just one little line. Not that it stops people from trying.

A Colorado woman is leaning on the most retarded piece of legislation ever, the Uniform Electronics Transactions Act, to argue that the Internet Archive’s “Wayback Machine” spiders entered into a binding contract when it arrived on her site and started snooping around the way spiders are known to do. By entering the site, the deaf, blind and mute spider “agreed” that it wouldn’t copy or distribute any of the material found on her Web site. Or at least that’s what she’s claiming. Personally, I find her and her line of thinking somewhat ridiculous. It would be like taking action against poor Jack Jack for not using his litter box. I mean, I stapled the note right above his food dish that refusal to use the litter box meant he was going to get re-neutered, but he went ahead and ignored it. I did my part, right? Get me my letter opener!

Yes, it’s crazy, but this is America. People sue when their morning coffee is too hot and it burns their sensitive little taste buds. Only this time it’s not even a real person being sued. Or even a fake one; it’s an intangible spider that doesn’t even exist in the physical world, a piece of software. Yes, this woman has sued the Internet Archive and its spider for conversion, civil theft, breach of contract, and violations of the Racketeering Influence and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act (COCCA). Oh, so it’s not just any spider, it’s a mob spider!

The racketeering charge just kills me, probably because I’m Italian and I immediately envision a man on his knees about to get hit the back of the head with a shovel. I apologize; I’ll work harder at suppressing those childhood memories. Moving along…

Here’s my take. You can’t sue the Internet Archive because you didn’t take the appropriate steps to protect your Web content. If you don’t want your content spidered or made available on the Web, use your robots.txt file to tell the spiders that. Or, if you can’t be bothered to copy and paste one line of code, create a roadblock for the engines. Make them click a box or agree not to archive the content BEFORE letting them on your site. This ensures visitors know in advance and it prevents spiders from being able to access your content, because, you know, they’re BLIND and can’t read.

But the Colorado woman didn’t do that. Users had to clickthrough the site in order to even read the full notice. Users may have been able to understand what they read and either agree or disagree to the terms, but a spider can’t. A search spider, like Posh Spice and my Jack, is illiterate, regardless where it’s coming from.

And even more the point, instead of suing a spider or demanding $100,000 for archiving the content, why not follow the Internet Archive’s easy instructions on how you can remove content and prevent it from being copied in the future? That seems far easier than a year-long court process.

So far the courts have thrown out all charges except the breach of contract charge. The question at hand now is whether a Web spider can held accountable for indexing content that has not been blocked by the site owner. Basically, it once again brings up the issue today’s Web being opt-out instead of opt-in.

More and more I’m finding myself pro-opt-out. Part of being a citizen of the Web is having your content indexed and made available online. If not, why do you even have a Web site? If you DON’T want your content made available, then I think the responsibility falls on you to tell the spiders that. Suing a search spider is ridiculous.

It’ll be interesting to see where this one goes. Should this woman win and the courts uphold the idea that spiders able to enter into binding contracts, it could change the way the search engines spider the content they find. I’m really not looking forward to the days where you have to tell the engines to come spider your site; sites have a hard enough time getting into the index as is.

Posted by Lisa Barone on 03/20/07 at 2:42 PM | Comments (2)
See more entries in SEO, Search Engine Optimization

Google Skins and My Trust Issues

There’s a lot of “oooing” and “ahhing” today in response to Google’s new personalized home page “skins” that allow IG users to customize their home page to reflect their inner geek personality. I won’t pretend I don’t know what the fuss is all about – I tried all of them, some multiple times, before settling on the one I liked best, and I’m not even a loyal IG user.

Right now, Google is offering up six different themes – Beach, Bus Stop, City Scape, Sweet Dreams, Tea House, and Seasonal Scape – for users to choose from. The themes only affect the top portion of your page where the Google logo appears. The rest of the page will still have that “classic” all-white-and-non-cluttered Google feel though the boxes for the widgets change to match colors with the theme. Also worth noting is that the themes are dynamic and will change according to your local weather and time of day.

No, no, read that again: The themes are dynamic and will change according to your local weather and time of day.

That means if I select the Beach theme, which I did because I’m a stereotypical, law-abiding chick from Southern California, I’ll be privy to pretty sunrises and sunsets each day. [I went with the cute little fox having tea among the clementine trees. --Susan] All I have to do is give Google my zip code so they can use it to target ads to me.

What? You can’t blame me for thinking it; that this is just another way for Google to get zip code information from the remaining seven IG users who don’t have a weather widget installed. Google has me so trained to associate them with advertising that no matter what they release all I see is the marquee flashing “ads ads ads”. They could release a Google puppy and I’d be thinking, “yeah, but are there ads on the collar? Is he branded in primary colors? Can he play with other non-Google puppies?” I’m a victim of growing up Google.

Has Google pulled an anti-Ze Frank? Instead of taking away our fear and becoming associated with a medium, Google has become associated with advertising by instilling fear in users.

My thought is that I’m not the only one who feels this way. I’m not the only one who saw the word “zip code” and thought “ad targeting”. Has Google ruined people like me from ever seeing a fluff feature as a fluff feature, and not as a new way to make money?

Right now the general consensus is that Google is our friend. We trust them. Heck, I must trust them or I wouldn’t have traded my zip code information for a fake sunset. There is a window in my office, after all. But could this association make users less likely to trust Google and their product releases?

To be fair, I really don’t think this “feature” has anything to do with advertising. I think it’s just Google’s latest dabbling into personalization. Letting users play with themes isn’t so much different than giving them different logos for holidays (and pseudo-holidays). Maybe it’ll attract that MySpace crowd Susan is so fond of.

But even as I type that and try to defend them, I’m thinking that this would be a really effective (and sneaky) way for Google to compile zip code information and tie it into a user’s Google account. That if we all stay logged in and use personalized results, Google will be able to target us ads based on our zip code. And they’ll make more money. [I'm thinking that they probably already know where you live if you have a Google Account. I'm just happy they still ask instead of prepopulating it from the creepy amounts of information they already have about me. --Susan] -- Zip code information isn’t required to create a Google account.

What’s wrong with me? Is Google purposely trying to send me into therapy and ruin all my future relationships?

What do you think? (About Google, not about me!) Are today’s personalized home page skins about Google or are they meant to make search “fun” for users? And a bigger question, will the connection between Google and advertising come back to hurt them?

Posted by Lisa Barone on 03/20/07 at 11:46 AM | Comments (2)
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March 19, 2007

Ze Frank, thinking so you don't have to

Looking to build a strong site community and increase your branding efforts? Here are some fun ways to build a following so strong that your visitors will near worship you a year later.

Simply ask the community on your site to:

• Perform seemingly impossible tasks, like turning the Earth into a sandwich.
• Tape themselves jumping around like morons. Have them call these ridiculous creations “power moves” and then air them.
• Create short intros for you to air on your videoblog.
• Challenge them to a 36-week long you vs. them game of chess.
• Adopt a lonely MySpacer.
• Create the ugliest MySpace page (a most difficult feat).
• Carve a pumpkin and take a picture of it with some body part inside the pumpkin.
• Create remixes for some guy named Ray they’ve never met.

Or at least that’s what Ze Frank did.

If you weren’t sure about the benefits of inviting a genuine, natural-forming community on your site, you don’t have to look much further than Saturday’s airing of the final episode of Ze Frank’s “The Show” to see its true power. In one year, Ze formed an ORG army of 20,000 dedicated members and sent 30,000 crazed fans to his site a day anxious to view his latest 2-3 minute video.

Imagine the power of that dedicated audience if you could leverage it for your own site.

Over the last year, we’ve created an environment where everyone’s looking for the hottest piece of linkbait that they can use to send visitors to their site. Copy-cat social media sites continue to pop up in droves and companies are contemplating taking advantage of the misfortunes of others just to get some traffic and new links. We want to create something controversial with the hope of “tricking” people into visiting our site.

Here’s my challenge to site owners: Instead of using your time and energy to create something with little or no value, do what Ze did. Make your content the linkbait. Make it so exciting and fresh that people are willing to send videos of themselves sticking their arms in decaying pumpkins to be part of your community. You shouldn’t need a Flash game to get users excited about you. Your product and services should do that.

You hear a lot of talk today about “knowing your audience”, and for good reason, it’s important. In order to connect to your audience, you have to know them from a demographic standpoint. But you should also know what about your product scares them and then create something to take away that fear.

Ze launched his show when videoblogging was starting to take root in the early adopter community, but was still scary for most. Users weren’t sure how they were supposed to react or respond to it. Did they talk back? Just watch? Was there room for them at all? Ze took away their anxiety with the medium by creating a two-way conversation. He invited them into this world and gave them an opportunity to engage not just with the show’s host, but with each other as well. And because he was able to do that, Ze is now forever connected with the birth of videoblogging.

If you want users to rally around you, take away the fear they’re holding on regarding your product and show them how to use it.

One of the highlights for me during November’s Ad:Tech was attending the session on consumer generated media where Ze Frank was a speaker. I didn’t do my homework before attending, so when I found out Ze Frank was sitting in on this panel I near fainted. Being within five feet from Ze Frank was without a doubt the most memorable part of my entire trip. (Other than running into Britney Spears ice skating in Rockefeller Center on the day she announced her divorce from K-fed. I mean, c’mon, I’m forever part of pop culture history!) During the session, Ze commented that defining user engagement in today’s world was about learning how to take advantage of the Internet, facilitating energy stages and figuring out how to play with the Web. As a site owner, it’s time to stop being all about business and conversions and to start playing.

If you want to take advantage of a strong site community you need to figure out how to play with the Internet and the mediums that are just now beginning to take root. How can you use video and social media to engage visitors? What will get visitors excited and naturally complement your content? What can you bring to the table to makes users voluntarily want to interact with you?

The Show worked because it broke down users’ fear of video and encourage interaction. Ze’s following of Sports Racers sent in power moves, show intros, and pictures and videos of themselves doing ridiculous things all in the name of being part of the experience. Two hundred and fifty episodes later, Ze’s The Show has become the new model for user engagement for those smart enough to realize it.

Realize it.

Below is the The Show’s final episode which aired on Saturday. Blip.tv will sponsor the archives of Ze’s show so that his awesomeness will able to live on. If you haven’t watched each and every episode, there is no better way to spend a Monday afternoon.

Thanks for everything, Ze.

Posted by Lisa Barone on 03/19/07 at 3:22 PM | Comments (0)
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Respect the A-list, Kill the boys club

While I was participating in Bruce Clay Bowling Day (so fun!) this weekend, Nathan Holley was pointing a finger at search engine optimization’s “boys club”, Michael Gray told non-A-list SEO Bloggers [to] Step Away From The Keyboard, and Jason Calacanis proved he’s living in an entirely alternate universe arguing the blogging A-list doesn’t exist and saying you’re an idiot for thinking otherwise. Ah, yes, that Jason is always so reasonable and even-tempered.

So is there an A-list?

Of course there’s an A-list. There’s an A-list in search engine optimization, in blogging, in NCAA basketball, in dating, and in life in general. The strong and the pretty survive to make lots of money, while the rest of us soldier on unnoticed. Deal with it. You should actually be used to it by now – it was the same all four years of high school, wasn’t it?

If Jason can’t see there’s an A-list, it’s because his ladder rung is so far above the rest of us B-, C-, and S-listers (that would be you, Karl) that we appear as mere black dots to him. We don’t even exist to Jason and his crew.

Whine all you’d like, but the A-list is a natural striation that you’re never going to get rid of. Some people will always be better known and attract more fanfare than others. Lisa walking into a room will never cause as much as commotion as when Rand Fishkin saunters in. And the therapy must be working because I’m okay with that. The concept of an A-list doesn’t bother me for two reasons: First, those people are there because they earned it, and second, the inner circle is penetrable. If you work hard and work smart, you can earn a spot at Danny Sullivan’s table.

Michael Gray may or may not agree considering he used his Saturday morning to rant that non-A-list SEO bloggers should stop blogging and find a new hobby. I agree with the heart of Michael’s message that there is too much regurgitation in this space, but I don’t think that means there’s not enough room for the smaller bloggers or smaller SEOs who are providing value. If you’re delivering a unique point-of-view, regardless of how small you or your readership are, regardless if you’re talking about a story you found on TechMeme, ignore the cranky Saturday mornings rantings of the Graywolf and keep soldiering on. You are worthwhile to this industry. He’s just angry because Long Island keeps getting hit with more and more snow and his feet are cold.

It would be a disserve to the industry if B-,C-, D-List bloggers and SEOs gave up. In my eyes, they are the heart of this space. They’re the ones still hungry, still getting their hands dirty, still working with that fire in their eyes that comes with the struggle.

Sometimes I sit through SES sessions rolling my eyes at the story about that one Fortune 500 company that was able to increase their yearly profit from $100 million to some other ridiculous number. I mean, good for them, but I don’t really care. I want to hear about the small in-house SEO who was able to get themselves out of the red and start turning a profit. I want that guy to start an SEO blog. He’s the one most affected by the random search engine fluctuations so he’s likely to be paying more attention to the little things others have let slide by. I’m way more interested in his search engine optimization tactics than I am by some of the members of the A-list. His next meal depends on the fruits of his campaign. The small SEO bloggers and companies are often far more interesting than anyone that goes solely by their first name.

And then if Jason and Michael didn’t get you riled up enough this weekend, there was Nathan Holley’s comments over at LED Digest about the “boys' club” of search engine optimization.

Nathan commented, in part:

My point is, almost everyone writing on SEO and getting cited is in the boys club of that 1%... writing and linking and talking about each other. It's a very small world, a tiny speck really. These Search Promotion Professionals (the new acronym I'm coining) are churning out a remarkable amount of ink talking about minutia and very little of value for the average Web business. They want to retain an air of exclusivity about their approaches and a proventialism about the industry that they are helping to shape. It's driven by vanity, ambition, and greed, not by a desire to really get to know search algorithms.

The only part of Nathan’s comment that I agree with is the tendency for bloggers and SEOs to reference each other, however, I don’t think that’s evidence of a “boys club”. I think it’s just human nature to talk about and show love to your friends. It’s a bad habit that needs to change.

For the bulk of his comments, I think Nathan is heralding an era that no longer exists. You may find the “boys' club” approach to optimization still intact on some of the older forums, but that attitude is starting to dissipate. Calling search engine optimization a “boys' club” signals that there’s no way for newbies to be accepted or gain respect and that’s just not the case. Up-and-comers are finding ways to make names for themselves, and better yet, women are speaking up gaining acknowledgement as well.

There’s a difference between the A-list and “the boys' club”. Newbies can break into the A-list over time; the “boys' club” is elitist and impenetrable from the outside. I don’t think the optimization community reflects that and we should be careful not to confuse the two.

Does the A-list exist? Yes. Should you worry about becoming part of it? No. Concentrate on providing value through what you do. Once you’ve done that, stop obsessing and go bowling.

Posted by Lisa Barone on 03/19/07 at 3:12 PM | Comments (11)
See more entries in Blogging, SEO, Search Engine Optimization

March 16, 2007

Google’s Search Engine Optimization Treat

Vanessa Fox excited the true geek in me by posting over at Google’s Webmaster Central blog about a new enhancement made to Google’s Webmaster Console. The new tool lets site owners view the complete phrases people use when linking to their sites, not just individual words that when strung together mean a whole lot of nothing. For SEOs, it’s almost too good to be true. Huzzah!

In the old days of two days ago, Google would show the most common terms people used when linking to your site, not the complete phrases. For example, if someone linked to the BC blog, they may use anchor text that reads “Bruce Clay blog” but that’s not how Google would report it. They’d show:

1. Bruce
2. Clay
3. blog

Three. Separate. Terms. That’s not exactly helpful when trying to determine what others think your site is about or what they’re using to link to you.

Now, verified site owners can log into the Webmaster tools and access the Page Analysis section in order to see their complete anchor text. This is going to help you get more out the data provided by Google and give you a better understanding of how visitors and the search engines see your site.

For instance, maybe you covered the Google phone rumor that’s been all the rage lately. If so, you may log into your account and find that a lot of people have linked to your site with the anchor text “more google phone news”. Instead of Google parsing the phrase into four keywords that ultimately mean nothing, you’ll know that was the phrase someone used when linking to your story about the Google phone. You won’t spend days scratching your head wondering why people are linking to your technology blog with the seemingly-unrelated anchor text “phone”.

Why is this a treat for search engine optimizers?

Because the anchor text people use when linking to your site is crucial to your rankings for particular keywords. Having your site’s keywords as inbound anchor text tells visitors and the search engines that there is a page on your site that provides trusted information related to these keywords. It’s why when you do a search for lisa-barone the first results is the Bruce Clay blog. My name is associated with the blog because that’s often the anchor text people use when linking here.

Whenever possible, you always want other sites to link to yours using keyword-rich anchor text. By using proper anchor text and a combination of phrases to link into your site, it will help the search engines understand what your site is about. This becomes very important when trying to increase rankings for a particular keyword phrase. If you can get people to link to your site with the anchor text [Insert Very Important Keyword], you’ll increase your rankings for that very important keyword.

I think Danny Sullivan did a great job summing up the importance of Vanessa’s post, Britishly announcing that, “keywords are mostly useless junk food data. Phrases are datalicios, tasty and helpful.” How can you argue with that?

Posted by Lisa Barone on 03/16/07 at 3:31 PM | Comments (0)
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Friday Recap

We made it to Friday. Huzzah!

Sorry. I had to get that out of my system. It’s been a tough week. But it’s better now.

This probably means I’m mean and vindictive, but I’m still giggling over Barry Schwartz being hit with an electric bill for the last four years. Do you know what that’s called, Barry? That’s called karma. I hope Tamar has a super first day on Monday! [Why are you so bitter, Lisa? Do you need a hug?--Susan] - From Barry, yes. From you, back up freak!

Rand Fishkin and Lee Odden went head-to-head in another edition of Daily Blog Tips’ Blogger Face Off and the stakes were pretty high. The loser had to rename their blog with a title of the winner’s choosing. Search Engine Watch sent me my SES NY Update yesterday and it looks like Rand won.

Heh. Tough break, Lee. Personally, I always thought the Bruce Clay blog was the top Rand blog. I stand corrected.

Seth Godin gave “Nathan” some marketing advice. I tried to listen and learn something, really, I did. But I couldn’t get past the first paragraph. Nathan graduated from Harvard with a degree in physics and he’s applying for marketing jobs? Ha, sucker.

You know what the latest stupid word is? It’s Blooker. Don’t worry; it’s not as dirty as it sounds. A “Blooker” is the award given to the best blog-turned-book. Convert your blog into dead tree format and now you’re a blooker! I know, it’s…mildly retarded, but at least it’s not Blookr. Then I would have had to chunk vomit all over these people’s faces.

If you haven’t caught Matt Inman’s depiction of Social Media Websites in Illustrated Form it’s both mesmerizing and beautiful. Check it out.

I heart the Cre8asite forums, but this week’s discussion on the proper use of smileys in business conversation was hilarious, cause, like, ZOMG, sometimes intelligent people debate really silly things.

There was a White Person Convention earlier this week and it got pretty ugly. That woman in the yellow kills me. [Aw, the one Hispanic lady looks like my grandma. I have to go have a cry now. I miss her.--Susan]

WikiHow dug deep and explained How to Play Drown the Penny. What we need now is a How To Make Friends So You Don’t Spend Your Weekends Playing Drown the Penny article. I know Susan is anxiously waiting for it.

Jeremy Zawodny doesn’t accept calls from people he doesn’t know. And apparently that response catches telemarketers so off-guard they just hang up. Good to know.

A top Indian engineering school declared that prolonged Internet use and blogging makes students reclusive and suicidal and is limiting student use. They’re just figuring that out now? I’ve been sitting in my dark apartment dreaming of a Sonata/Rozerem cocktail for years. Please don’t send the big, scary men.

I’d like to personally thank Phil Lenssen for forever ruining my love of breakfast cereal. Never again will I be able to blissfully enjoy a bowl of Kix at 2A.M. Thanks a lot, Phil.

AskUgg shows why men are never published in Dear Abby.

WmWms instructs us on how to play Monopoly and have it NOT last 5 hours. Where was this guide when I was growing up? I remember losing entire days of my childhood trapped at that damn Monopoly board. Even the most honorable people starting sneaking $500 bills out of the bank once you hit the two hour mark.

Nomadishere hits the nail on the head with their Note To Employers. One of the perks of working at Bruce Clay is that Bruce adheres to all eight of these rules. Plus, we get donuts delivered on Fridays to keep us all appropriately satiated and too fat to leave our desks. Yeah! [Tomorrow we're going bowling! --Susan] - So psyched!

This is very disturbing. Apparently, it is common for children to grow up thinking that women are impregnated on their wedding day via a seed that is shot out of their new husband’s mouth and planted into her stomach. Um, I think I just threw up a little.

Sucks/Rocks was designed to help you conform in a conformist society. Now if you don’t know if something sucks or rocks, instead of judging it for yourself, these folks are on hand to tell you. I know it’s accurate because it rates me at a 9 out of 10, whereas Susan rates a mere 8.4. Ooo, who’s leading the Tech Writing department now? [That would still be me. Get back to work.--Susan]

Things I Learned From BoingBoing This Week

• Projectile squirrels are funny. I mean, not funny. Not Funny. Hurting squirrels bad.
• I shouldn’t make fun of Susan’s face; it’s a skin condition. [So. Fired. --Susan]
• Even geeky birthday cakes look frostingly delicious.
• I’m about to die of a deadly blood clot in my leg. Crap!
• Cats cause schizophrenia. And males.
• Even mug shots provide an opportunity for high fashion.
• Again, I say it: Japanese people frighten me.
• Men like the crotches of other men.
• I wasn’t supposed to eat that oddly shaped sticky bun.
• Montana unicorns can drive cars.

Finally, I’d like to officially welcome Andy Beal back from vacation. You remember Andy, right? He’s that guy who writes over at Jordan McCollum’s blog.

Posted by Lisa Barone on 03/16/07 at 12:40 PM | Comments (3)
See more entries in Fun Stuff

March 14, 2007

Calling It Linkbait Doesn’t Make You Less of a Jerk

There’s a particularly poignant post over at SEOmoz today where an SEM relates an Unsavory Linkbait Dilemma he had with one of his company’s high profile clients – Promises Treatment Center. For those who don’t own a television set, a computer, or have access to a newspaper, that would be the rehab center young Britney Spears is currently residing at.

Naturally, since Britney has taken up residency, the site has experienced a flood of visitors – Uniques are up 4300 percent, page views 3600 percent and they’ve already collected 541 new links, he says. The dilemma he faces is whether or not he should take advantage of Britney’s situation in order to gain more exposure in the search engines. He explains:

“Ideas from the crass (like a "Where in the World is Britney Spears" game) to the noble (a site expressing support for Britney during her treatment at Promises) ran through my head. What better form of linkbait? People are swamping our site - most of them in vain attempts to find out information about her treatment.”

I’m going to ignore the incredibly large knot in my stomach those last two sentences gave me and try to look at this intelligently.

From a public relations perspective, I really think any attempt to benefit off this, or a situation like this, hurts your company’s reputation. Masking your linkbait attempt behind a “support” page that tells the paparazzi to back off and let Britney recover in peace could still backfire. In your heart-of-hearts, you know you’re trying to capitalize off someone else’s suffering. Don’t pretend you seriously care that Britney’s privacy is being taken advantage of. (You don’t, and she doesn’t either or she’d stay inside.) Your visitors will see through that and you’ll ruin the emotional aftertaste called branding you’re leaving in their mouth.

Even if you were able to create something “funny” and you gained some links and exposure, the long-term effects could be forever damaging. You’ll lose credibility with your target audience, respect (and links) from your colleagues, and likely tarnish the brand you’ve worked so hard to create. It’s like that guy who writes a blog post flaming someone not because he’s right, but because he can. Publicly, people may comment and laugh, but you know when they turn off their computer at night they’re thinking, “now THAT guy? He’s an ass.” If it’s human nature to want to tear someone down, it’s also human nature to despise the person who does the tearing. Even if you enjoyed watching.

Don’t be that guy.

And seriously, what kind of visitors or potential clients are you going to attract with a crass Where in the World is Britney Spears game anyway? The kind of people who used to stuff you in your locker when you were in high school and still hovering around 4’9? Are these the people your company is trying to attract? Do they bring value to your company?

Looking at this from an ethical perspective and stepping away from the Britney angle, you have to ask yourself how far you’re willing to go for visibility. Is being crass okay if it’s done in the name of links? Or as Rand Fishkin asks in his comment, “is linkbait the paparazzi of the Web?”

I don’t think linkbait is Internet paparazzi, but I do think each site, company and human must find the how-far-is-too-far line for themselves. And regardless of how crooked or far back your line is, I would hope there’s some level of common decency that is applied to all things. It’s that compass that keeps you from clicking on your competitors PPC ads, from reporting their worthy sites as spam, from spreading rumors about their company on the Internet, and from doing a host of other malicious, sleazy or spammy things.

If you’re saying, publishing, or creating something that hurts others and/or is potentially damaging, to anyone, you’ve crossed the line and you need to reevaluate your business goals. At some point is not about what kind of a site you’re running, but what kind of a person you are. Creating a blog post that defames someone is wrong. Trash talking at conferences is wrong. Take the energy you’d put into that and put it towards creating something worthwhile. It takes just as much energy to do something right as it does to do it wrong.

One of the commenter’s at SEOmoz responded that if you don’t take advantage of the situation, others will. He’s right, but I think that’s a really crappy way to do business, or really, live your life in general.

At the end of the day, your company’s success is not going to be based on your position in the search engines or the hot piece of linkbait you just created. It doesn’t matter how well you rank if you’re known for being an unethical scumbucket. Your company has an image to maintain, as do you. Do you really want to be known as the guy who created the Britney Spears Flash game?

The idea behind social media should be to build a community. You can use that community to serve an array of purposes, but community is really the goal. You don’t achieve that by hurting or bringing down others, especially people who are already suffering.

There are plenty of people on the Web already exploiting the misfortunes of others. My advice is to encourage your company to aim higher. Don’t take the road to easy links; take the road that offers value to your customers. You want to be known, but you want to be known for the right reasons.

Posted by Lisa Barone on 03/14/07 at 4:07 PM | Comments (11)
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March 13, 2007

How to Properly Implement a 301 Redirect

UPDATE: Refer to the comment section for even more geek speak and question-answering!

It’s time to put on our technical hats, boys and girls! The Wall Street Journal tried to instill some paranoia in newbie searchies by describing How Search-Engine Rules Cause Sites To Go Missing, inspiring visions of sites dropping out of the index at whim and costing site owners billions and billions of dollars in a single day. Oh, my!

The article uses Topix.net as an example, explaining that Rich Skrenta paid $1 million to acquire the .com TLD for the site and is now fearful that switching domains will cause Google to lose his site in the Web’s abyss. I don’t think Rich found Google’s response to his cry for help all too helpful either:

“…Google’s response to Topix’s plea for help was an email recommending that, if the switchover were to go badly, the company should post a message on an online user-support forum; a Google engineer might come alone to help out.”

Heh, I can see why that would make him nervous, but I think Rich and Company are going to be okay. I’m not sure they need to spen