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!

Wish List Topics

Search Engine Marketing (13)
Social Media (5)
Pay Per Click (9)
Google AdWords (100)
Microsoft adCenter (31)
Google Analytics (24)
Holiday Extras (7)

Continue reading “The 2011 SEM Wish List” »

The Internet ads have been spotted, etailers have posted their shopping guides, social trends are getting hot, and search queries are rising sharply.

It’s official, Mother’s Day Marketing Season is in full bloom along with the tulips!

Bing.com Shopping Promo for Mother's Day 2010 Bing.com Homepage Text Ad to Mother's Day Gift Guide »»»   Yahoo Homepage Ad

With interest and search volume on the rise (and still rising), and time running out, you will need to consider moving quickly to tap into the remaining Mother’s Day season for SEO, PPC and Social Media.

Google Trends Mother's Day 2010 - April 30 Day Search Trend

Continue reading “Mother’s Day Search & Marketing on the Rise, Too Late for SEO, PPC & SMO?” »

With Christmas only a few days away, those last minute acts of kindness probably aren’t going to be enough to get your name scratched off the naughty list and penciled into the nice one.  Sure, you might hope to slip by this year on some clerical error or a loophole in the revised 2009 Naughty and Nice Code of Ethics, but remember Santa is supposedly checking them twice (which makes me wonder if he has a Naughty & Nice app for his iPhone yet, or is still doing it by hand?). 

Yet whether your stocking this year will be filled with lumps of coal or gifts of joy, you are not alone.  We have sent out a request to our colleagues, associates and some talented search elves up north to come up with our First Annual Not Quite Definitive List of Who’s Been Naughty and Who’s Been Nice in Search for 2009.   

Nobody's walking out on this fun, old-fashioned family Christmas.

* Google gets lots of gifts for attempting to innovate search with real-time results, social search, and more.

* StumbleUpon.com gets lots of gifts this Holiday season for leaving the hands off of eBay, listening to its community, and implementing changes around their desires.

- Jordan Kasteler

* Bing goes on this list for bringing more seriousness in competition to the search landscape. They’ve got a long way to go, but it’s the first positive step in a long, long time.

- Rand Fishkin

* Google Adwords new ad formats. This was a long-time coming in my opinion.  I am curious to see if Yahoo and MSN try to follow Google, or, wait until their platform merger.

* Google Analytics upgrades since October….specifically, more “Goals” and “Alert” system. 

* Google Webmaster Tools upgrades….specifically, their “Parameter Handling”.

- Clint Danks

See who else made the Naughty and Nice in Search List for 2009…

My first born is now officially 3 days overdue. Am I patiently waiting? Heck no, not in the least. I’ve seem to have turned into a hyperactive child in need of his Ritalin at the end of a three day candy binge waiting for his habitually late sleeping parents to finally get out of bed on Christmas morning. Except I’m not even sure what day my Christmas is going to fall on. Yeah, I really am that bad off. Continue reading “Patience in Life as in SEO” »

Monday, April 20th, 2009: Today I celebrate the completion of my first decade in search.  I have been waiting for this day with some trepidation for the past 6 months or so.  I am not really sure why or even what this anniversary really means.  Does it mean that I am some sort of expert?  Well, anything is possible.  Or does it mean that I have spent the past decade in an industry that my friends and family can hardly even understand?  Hmm, I hope not.  In truth, it means I not only have a job that I like, but a career that I love. Continue reading “SEO Since 1999” »