Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
- Google's Matt Cutts Drops Hints on PageRank Update & Scares Link Buying Panel at PubCon
Before beginning this post, I will be honest, I struggled if I should post anything at all, because I feel like I have been writing about this PageRank update way too often in the past three months. But I found the coverage of the Link Buying Panel at PubCon Vegas 2007, from Tamar to be interesting. Besides for Matt Cutts of Google reportedly scaring the panel by walking in and acting all intimidating (sounds funny - Telephone Numbers Are Allowed in Google AdWords Ads
We have two different recent threads asking if you are allowed to place your phone number in your Google ads. The two threads are at Google Groups and WebmasterWorld and in both threads, a Google representative came in to say, yes it is allowed. For example, a search on new york dentist has an ad with a phone number in it: Google said, "Yes, you may use telephone numbers in AdWords text ads. It is - Why Would an SEO Company Want to Remove Your Access to Google Webmaster Tools?
I have been following a WebmasterWorld thread that has a site owner asking why his SEO company is requiring him to remove his verification code and add only access to Google Webmaster Tools for the SEO company. Again, Site Owner A has hired SEO Company B. SEO Company B is requiring that SEO Owner A drop his verification for Google Webmaster Tools and then add SEO COmpany B to that access. But they are saying - Microsoft Confirms Reverse DNS Bot Issue & Promises To Resolve
Yesterday we reported that MSNBot failed some reverse DNS tests. In short, if you did a reverse DNS lookup on the IP addresses of their spiders, it would not resolve to search.live.com. The big issue with this is that Webmasters who have set their servers to block rogue spiders that don't pass reverse DNS tests, would be blocking a legitimate MSNBot and possibly notice a drop in traffic from Live Search. MSNDude has replied to - PPC Advertisers Excited for the Microsoft adCenter Add-in Beta for Excel 2007
Microsoft announced a new feature that advertisers can use make their search marketing ad management easier with Microsoft adCenter. The tool is an adCenter add-in for Excel. It will allow you to: Easily extract keywords from any website, just by entering the URL Quickly understand keyword popularity and trends Gain valuable insight on the demographic and geographic information of actual search queries Some advertisers already got a preview of this tool and they had the - More Server Problems With Overture's Keyword Tool
I have been spotting threads over the course of the week that Yahoo's Overture Keyword Selection Tool is not loading for people. I tested it myself, and yes, it is not loading for me either. This is nothing new with the tool. Yahoo has not been eager to support this tool since they have other tools in place within their Yahoo Search Marketing console that does similar tasks. In addition, the tool is a huge
December 2007 Conference Coverage::
- Tools of the Trade
Tools of The Trade Location: Salon A Successful Search Engine Marketers should be armed with the tools of the trade to make their lives easier. This panel will review some of the well-known tools and not so well known SEM tools. It will cover basics from research tools to advanced paid tools. Knowing how to interpret the data of the tools is just as important as knowing which tools to use. Moderator: Joe Laratro Speakers: - Organic Keyword Research and Selection
WebmasterWorld PubCon 2007 Las Vegas Organic Keyword Research and Selection Moderator: Detlev Johnson Speakers: Need the dude's name Ryan Smith, Lead Systems Architect, Beyond Ink Seth Wilde, Search Engine Marketing Manager, uShip Developing keyword lists is the first important step in successful organic search engine optimization. This panel will review how to mine, research, expand, and refine your keywords. Need guy's name Keyword Discovery - Looking at log files -- converting keyphrases - 3rd party - International and European Site Optimization
Kim Frederiksen - Addvisors - Case Study Find an Edge - more business - better business - cheaper business Case Study - VIP Properties - ppc was getting to expensive 8.7 millionaires in the world - 2.9 in NAmerica - 2.8 in Europe - 2.4 in Asia Did research to show why it made sense to not only invest overseas, but in Vegas. Showed the buying power they had. Weakening of the dollar was good - Competitive Intelligence
WebmasterWorld PubCon 2007 Las Vegas Competitive Intelligence Moderator: Jake Baille Speakers: Jake Baille, Managing Director, STN Labs Andy Beal, Internet Marketing Consultant, Marketing Pilgrim LLC Larry Mersman, Vice President, Trellian Andy Beal FIrst, I like to look at their background. So I go to a service like DomainTools.com where I can see if a site is in Yahoo Directory, Open Directory, registration details, etc. It also tells me all the different sites that are on - Search and Blogging Reporters Forum
Search and Blogging Reporters Forum Location: Salon A Round table discussion with searches prime bloggers and reporters about the state of the industry. Moderator: Michael McDonald Speakers: Andy Beal, Internet Marketing Consultant, Marketing Pilgrim LLC Lee Odden, President, TopRank Online Marketing Michael McDonald, Managing Editor, iEntry Inc. Rand Fishkin, CEO, SEOMoz This session is cool but it's mostly a back-and-forth-no-PowerPoint presentation thing. They're all talking about how mainstream media is influenced by blogs. Political news - Ecommerce and Shopping Cart Optimization
WebmasterWorld PubCon 2007 Las Vegas Ecommerce and Shopping Cart Optimization Moderator: Joe Laratro Speakers: Rob Snell, Managing Partner, Rob Snell Ethan Griffin, CEO & Founder, Groove Commerce Panelist: Jimmy Duvall, Director, E-Commerce Products for Yahoo! Small Business, Yahoo! Expert ecommerce panelists take a look at ecommerce sales specifically designed to sell products. Topics include optimization, as well as shopping cart, monetary, presentation, and traffic issues. Ethan Griffin, "7 Habits of Highly Effective Shopping Carts" 1. - CSS and HTML Coding Today
It seems that half of the panel was unable to make it at the last minute. Marc Juneau - Nolagraphics.com Gives his background - started at GoDaddy and now has own company. History of Web - 1 site to 160 million - Web started as text base - Along came graphics and flash Problems started in about 1996 - sites were built of just flash and images Why does this make it hard? - search - Effective Action Based Copywriting
Effective Action Based Copywriting Location: Salon D Copywriting, copywriting, copywriting – it’s not just about lots of content anymore. This session will examine ways to write effective copy for search and sales. Learn about action based copywrighting from leaders in the industry. Moderator: Heather Lloyd-Martin Speakers: Brian Clark, Copy Blogger Heather Lloyd-Martin, President, North American Division, SuccessWorks Jill Whalen, CEO, High Rankings Heather is first and she talks about how content is so important for - Dealing with Difficult Clients
Moderated by Jeff Rohrs, who states this this will hopefully be an Oprah-like therapy session (laughs). First speaker is Michael Murray from Fathom SEO. Difficult clients - they want solutions to their problems and assurance. He suggests to avoid problems in the first place by framing expectations and conveying a consistent message. They use as many possible methods to amplify the points they are trying to cover. Being attentive to regular calls and conferences, even - Responsible Web Design
WebmasterWorld PubCon 2007 Las Vegas Responsible Web Design Moderator: Heather Lloyd-Martin Speakers: Gregg Banse, President, 7thpixel Ted Ulle, Partner, The MEWS Group Scott Fegette, Technical Product Manager, Adobe Systems, Inc. <editorial comment>Heather Lloyd-Martin is entirely too energetic and happy for this early in the morning.<editorial comment> Gregg Banse, "Our Reponsibility to the Client" Before the Bid - Determine the goal of the client - Determine the client's experience and amount of hand-holding - Be clear - Fun With Dynamic Websites
It's extremely important for IT and Marketing to work together. Kiss and make up!!! IT guys do more than play quake. First begin your research project by looking at: URL Structure How many variables are in that url? Search Engine Indices Current Rankings You have a list of phrases that you want to show up better on? You need to look at historical numbers as well as current and future changes. Spider Activity How often - Keynote with Matt Cutts
Keynote Coffee Chat With Matt Cutts of Google On the Hot Seat Location: Salon A Bring a pile of questions with you. This is a pure question and answer session with the master Google company guy, Matt Cutts. Moderator: Brett Tabke Speakers: Matt Cutts, Software Engineer, Google Inc. This is the last session day of Pubcon and I am leaving tonight. I am already sad. It isn't sunny out for the first time this week - Brand Management
WebmasterWorld Pubcon 2007 Las Vegas Brand Management Moderator: Joe Laratro Speakers: Lauren Vaccarello, Director of Publishing, Forex Capital Markets LLC Matt Tuens, VP, Sales and Business Development, CKMG, Inc. Tony Wright, VP of Client Services, Kineticresults Jessica L. Bowman, Sr. Marketing Manager, Yahoo! Inc. Joe Laratro: Brand Management is a complex conversation on the web. Traditional media, social media, blogs, forums, groups, and even chat can leave your brand vulnerable if you are not a - Just for Fun Track: So You Want to Be a Search Marketer?
Ready to start your search marketing career? Â This panel looked at ways fledgling SEMs can educate themselves to get started in this exciting profession. The session was moderated by: Kevin Ryan, Vice President, Global Content Director, Search Engine Strategies and Search Engine Watch Dave Davies, CEO, BeanstalkThings to do: Get a great lawyer and accountant, stick to your strengths, pick your strongest skill and be excellent. Take care during growth and only hire what you
Other Great Search Forum Threads:
- A List of 61 Yahoo Directory Listed Domains that Have Expired!, Sphinn
- Adsense Back on DP !!, DigitalPoint Forums
- Cash Out: Sell Your SEM Business for the Most Money Possible, Sphinn
- Do you rely on search engines for traffic?, SitePoint Forums
- Effect of Wikipedia Links to Rankings, WebmasterWorld
- Google Analytics: Also Used For Google Algorithm?, HighRankings Forums
- Is your Yahoo ROI tanking?, WebmasterWorld
- MSN dudes stick to spamming, officially making a fool of themselves, Sphinn
- Opting in for Enhanced Image Search, WebProWorld
- The Future Of SEO, HighRankings Forums
- University study: Google can 'extort and dominate' the world, WebmasterWorld
- Webmaster Credit Where Credit is Due, WebProWorld
- Why doesn't google allow 'google hints' for all accounts?, WebmasterWorld
