WebRanking Protests Pipa & SOPA
While we do believe that it is important to fight copyright infringement, we don’t believe these bills are the way to do it. And we are not alone… Continue reading “WebRanking Protests SOPA and PIPA” »
Likely in advance of the upcoming Windows 8, Bing.com appears to be testing a new bar on the home page below the image. I first saw the new homepage on Tuesday, January 10th when I opened Internet Explorer 9. We opened Bing in different browsers, and on different machines, and did not see the new layout. Much like when we see something new on Google, we usually only see it in one browser. Well, I saw it for just 2 days, and now it’s back to the regular homepage. My guess is that they had it up for CES, where they were showing off tablets that were running Windows 8.
Side-by-Side comparison of the Bing.com Homepage.
It’s the holidays, and we at WebRanking have spent a little time recently reflecting and appreciating what 2011 has brought us. From our great colleagues, both new and old, to our great clients, both new and old, we feel incredibly blessed to work in this amazing industry and eagerly look forward to what 2012 has in store.
But just because we are happy with 2011, it doesn’t mean we are getting complacent. With that, we bring you the 2011 SEM Wish List!
This year’s search engine marketing wish list contains almost 200 wishes, wants, desires and must-haves from over 30 esteemed search marketing professionals. SEM topics covered range from SEO and PPC, to Web Analytics and Social Media. Some of our SEM’s biggest wishes were regarding AdWords Ad Extensions and Search Partners, greater adCenter Admin and UI improvements, and of course, for Google to give search marketers back their (not provided) keyword data!
We hope you enjoy!
Search Engine Marketing (13)
Social Media (5)
Pay Per Click (9)
Google AdWords (100)
Microsoft adCenter (31)
Google Analytics (24)
Holiday Extras (7)
PSU's Digital Marketing Conference
Two days of keynote speakers, presentations by Portland business leaders, boot camps, networking, Ignite styled speakers, digital marketing knowledge…and a wrap up soiree at Nel Centro? Yes, please!
And since this is the holidays, why not share in the festivities? That’s why we are giving away one Digital Marketing conference pass ($275 value) Continue reading “WebRanking is proud to sponsor the 2011 PSU Digital Marketing Conference” »
I had the honor of speaking at the Star Tribune’s 2011 Small Business Search Marketing Summit on Wednesday November 2nd at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Here is the Slideshare from my presentation entitled “2012 Search Marketing Agenda: What Every Small Business Needs to Know”. I hope you enjoy it!
Small Business Search Marketing Summit in Minneapolis
Continue reading “James to speak at the 2011 Small Business Search Marketing Summit” »
WordCamp Portland Sponsors
What’s WordCamp you ask? WordCamp is a conference (actually it is an “un-conference”) that focuses on everything WordPress. This is an informal, community-organized event for casual users and core developers to participate in and share ideas.
As a sponsor, we want to offer you an opportunity to attend this weekend’s event for free.
Continue reading “WebRanking Sponsors WordCamp Portland 2011” »
I’m sure there are plenty of you who are too excited for the NFL Kickoff 2011 to notice any small changes over at Bing.com. Or maybe you are celebrating the new football season by playing some Tecmo Super Bowl 2012 (I highly recommend this one).
Well we’ll have none of those fun and games here at WebRanking. Only serious business for us, and today I’m here to write about Bing, and the subtle new changes to their homepage. This may or may not just be in preparation for their expected HTML 5 homepage, either way, it’s a nice change. Especially for those of you who didn’t know there was a way to actually find out what the image you were looking at actually was. Oh yes, there certainly was.
Bing.com Refreshes Homepage, Launches New Layout
Continue reading “Bing.com Refreshes Homepage, Launches New Layout (Not HTML5 Yet)” »
At the OTLA Annual Convention 2011 - The Oregon Trial Lawyers Association
I recently had the privilege to speak at the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association (OTLA) 2011 Annual Convention in Bend, OR in a session titled “Using Social Media: Marketing and Messaging”. My dear friend Beth Bernard partnered me with David Sugerman, an attorney with a notable body of work practicing in Portland, Oregon.
We had great discussion that referenced many social media websites and features that can be highly beneficial to independent attorneys and large law firms alike. The following is a list of websites and resources referenced during the session that has been expanded to include additional items worth consideration for expanding and engaging an online audience.
Continue reading “OTLA Using Social Media Links & Resources” »
A new Google AdWords combination headline has started to show up in recent PPC text ads for select queries. This new ad headline format is an even longer version of the extended headlines that include the ad’s first description line, and also contain the text ads display URL (domain name).
Google AdWords Extended Text Ad Headlines with Display URL Domains (click to enlarge)
Google is either seeing a significant increase in clicks for ads in the top 3 positions with these new longer ad formats, or, depending on your conspiracy theory views, this is another step towards disguising their pay per click to look more like organic listings:)
Continue reading “Now Showing: Longer Google AdWords Extended Headlines Featuring Display URLs” »
The Google+ Plus Project
This email came in through an old email address that I have not used in 2+ years, but check from time to time because 1 client still emails it when they can’t seem to find my current address. It is my first (the first?) unsolicited email from an, *ahem*, internet marketing company, selling +1′s for the express intent of adding algorithmic social media weight to search rankings. And for as little as $0.59 for each +1!
The First Google Plus Paid +1 Building Email? (click for full image)
Here is the full email transcribed with identification data scrubbed.
Continue reading “The First Paid Google +1 Popularity Building Unsolicited Email?” »
Pay-Per-Click managers know that creating or converting keywords into BMM versions for Google AdWords can be a major pain in the @$$. You typically would have to either edit each keyword by hand or use a one of the existing keyword modifier tools. These tools would require you to copy your search term list into an excel spreadsheet or web-based form that would help to perform the modifications, then you would have to copy them back into AdWords or AdWords Editor. These are handy and have a couple of interesting features, but I’ve never found one that is as easy to use as the process I discovered almost by accident.
Continue reading “How to Change Keywords to +Broad +Match +Modifier Using Google AdWords Editor” »
Seattle - It's Not Portland
Yeah, I know…weird, huh? I mean who doesn’t love Seattle?
Well, this guy.
Now don’t get me wrong, I “like” our big brother up North, but growing up in Portland, over the years you kind of get tired of being that “other city” in the Pacific Northwest.
Yeah, yeah…Microsoft, Starbucks, Boeing, Space Needle, Nirvana. Seattle this, Seattle that. Blah, blah, blah.
Sour grapes? Sure, but it doesn’t help matters that the local Portland TV stations force feed us Mariners baseball in the summer and make us watch Sea Squawk football instead of giving us the better national match up on Sundays. I’m sorry, my allegiance is with the Blazers and the Timbers.
And besides, at least we still have an NBA team. (Ok, that was a bit harsh)
Continue reading “SMX Advanced – A Portlander’s Guide of Where to Eat and Drink in Seattle” »
The new Google AdWords “Communication Ad Extensions” have started to appear in search results for limited queries and searchers. These new extensions provide additional options for searchers to contact the advertiser that go beyond the click. Surfers now have the option to Request Call or Request Email. Communication Extensions are intended to be a simple lead generation solution that helps connect potential clients and customers (searchers) with businesses (advertisers) right from the search engine result pages.
Google AdWords "Communication Ad Extensions"
Continue reading “Communication Ad Extensions for Google AdWords” »
So I’m just sitting here, doing my job, when I think to myself, What does Twitter have in common with the Playstation Network? So, I go to Twitter to find the answer…it turns out, they have a LOT in common!
Now, I’m new to the whole Twitter scene, but let’s call a spade a spade. If I was running one of the most popular sites in the world, I think I would invest in some good infrastructure, so my site wouldn’t go down when people are simply posting 140 character comments. That’s just me.
But, I guess it was inevitable for Twitter to bite the dust once again. Money can only buy so much you know.
Well, what am I going to do now? Guess I’ll write my first blog post!
