Archives for August 2006

Newsforce Press Release Optimization Tools

A new set of tools for press release optimization was announced today called Newsforce. The toolset is a combined effort of SEO-PR, SiteLab International and Primero Systems. Newsforce has partnered with Business Wire to offer the press release optimization tools to Business Wire members.

I ran through a demo of Newsforce with Greg Jarboe last week and can share the following screenshots:

Keyword Research

Optimize the Release

Add links to the Release

Preview and Export

The tool allows redundant tasks to become more efficient and is intended to allow anyone that is not savvy technically to research keywords, analyze a press release and add links. It also allows the release to be exported directly to your Business Wire account or as a text document.

Newsforce Press Release Optimization Tools

Day One of SES San Jose 2006

Yesterday was a day of travel and a nice afternoon of downtown San Jose. Here are a few photos. If these are too large, leave a comment and I will post smaller versions in future posts:

What’s a trip to San Jose without a stop by the Museum?

I need one of these in my backyard.

This is where all the fun starts.

A friendly lunch. From L to R: Greg Jarboe, me, Jamie O’Donnel, Nacho Hernandez, Matt Williams and Stacy Williams. It’s amazing how SES can bring people together.

Day One of SES San Jose 2006

Survey for Marketing Sherpa Guide to SEO SEM Firms

Last Friday was the due date to get your survey completed for the 2006-2007 edition of the Marketing Sherpa Search Engine Optimization and PPC Firm Buyer’s Guide. There were 126 companies profiled in the SEO Guide last year.

The survey questions this year were pretty much the same as last year but also included questions such as: “What is your ideal client?”, “What is your nightmare client?” and “How many clients did you lose due to training them to do SEO in-house?”. The actual wording was different, but you get the idea.

The revenue categories were also different with the minimum category at “Under $1m” and the next category at “Under $5m”. That’s going to lump an awful lot of small SEO firms and consultants in the first category.

Survey for Marketing Sherpa Guide to SEO SEM Firms

On the way to San Jose

Tomorrow a.m. I get on a plane and head on over to the Search Engine Strategies conference in San Jose.¬† This one promises to be a really great show.

My Monday is packed with meetings and the release of several emargoed announcements that are sure to make a splash. I’ll be covering sessions and having press meetings during the day Monday through Wednesday and covering some of the after-conference activities by night. Joe Morin has been managing a handy official party schedule if you want more info on that.¬† It can’t be all work and no play, can it?¬† If you’re smart though, the best work is done after the conference sessions.
Be sure to check out the conference coverage both here at Online Marketing Blog and especially over at Search Engine Roundtable. Here’s the Quadruple Coverage schedule of sessions being covered by Barry, Ben, Chris and myself.

On the way to San Jose

Andy Andy Andy Beal

So I check my email today and what do I see?

An email from Andy Beal looking at me.

I open the email and read what’s inside.

Andy Beal is changing his tide! (buzz off, it rhymes)

Where will he go, what will he say, in his Texas-drawl mixed with a lingering British accent, sort of way?

The answer young pilgrim fan, will be found in San Jose.

We wish him good luck and more fortune than he’s had. (sorry FI, no link for you!)

Starting a SEO company can’t always be bad.

Perhaps Andy and a different Mike will join forces, a good match don’t you think?

Wherever they go, let’s wish them something that rhymes with think.

Andy Andy Andy Beal

The Corporate Blogging Book

I just received my copy of Debbie Weil’s new book, “The Corporate Blogging Book – Absolutely Everything You Need to Know to Get it Right”. Debbie has worked long and hard on this book and with a forward from Bob Lutz, Chairman of General Motors, it promises to serve as an excellent guide to companies looking to find their place in the blogosphere. Chapters range from “Top Twenty Questions About Corporate Blogging” to “Should the CEO Blog?”. Check out the companion site where you can download a free chapter or order it via Amazon.

Both Debbie and I are involved with BusinessBlogConsulting.com started by Rick Bruner that now includes an impressive list of business blog consultants and marketers.

The Corporate Blogging Book

SEO Myth and Truth

Aaron wall opened today with a great post, “The Myth of a Perfectly Optimized Page” where he talks about temporary nature of most optimization and that long term, it is the creation of useful content that matters most.

My favorite quote from Aaron: “…the web is such a social medium that it requires understanding people far more than algorithms.” Bingo.

I’m banking on the notion that the future of successful optimization is focused on the creative, not the technical aspects search marketing. SEO in the early days had more to do with code manipulation than content. Today we have offline to online integration, social search, viral search marketing (link baiting), tagging, new media public relations and so forth.

SEO Myth and Truth

Matt Cutts Answers My Blog Question

Matt Cutts, Google employee, has been taking search questions and answering them via video. I wrote in and asked if Google treats blog sites any different than regular websites and he said no.

The thought behind my question was that with more sites converting from static HTML to WordPress or MovableType, the sites are becoming more complex. There are posts, pages, feeds, comments and comment feeds. I wasn’t sure if Google saw these sites any differently than a static HTML site.

My question was answered in the lightning round and it appears at the end of the video clip.

Thanks Matt!!

[tags]matt-cutts,google,movable-type,seo[/tags]

Matt Cutts Answers My Blog Question

Danny Sullivan in USA Today

There’s an excellent article in USA Today 08/01/06 featuring Danny Sullivan, “Got a search engine question? Ask Mr. Sullivan“. It covers very nicely, how he became involved with search marketing and also how he’s able to command his empire of expertise, mostly involving Silicon Valley companies, from a village 4 hours south of London.

There’s abundant kudos in the article for Danny from Matt Cutts of Google and Tim Mayer of Yahoo and it’s a great introduction for the uninitiated to the Search Engine Strategies conferences. Next week Search Engine Strategies meets San Jose in what may be one of the biggest SES shows to-date. Google CEO Eric Schmidt will keynote and that alone is worth going.

Danny Sullivan in USA Today

Desktop Blogging With Qumana

I’ve been considering writing a post on desktop blogging, however a few other blogs are doing that as we speak and I don’t want to be repetitive.

I’ve tried Performancing and can’t say I was a big fan. I still have to use my browser so I might as well log into my blog admin. Flock is the same idea. I have used Etco in the past and it’s amazing, however I haven’t spent the money for it. I’ve tried Mars Edit which feels like a lacking Etco and I’ve tried Qumana; twice.

The last time I tried Qumana it sucked. I’ll be honest. It either didn’t work the blog platform I was using or what, but now that I’m running WordPress, I’ll try it again. People are talking good things about it so we’ll give it another go and it is free.

Desktop Blogging With Qumana

More SEO Goodness from Matt Cutts

I see Matt has added 3 more videos including:

Session 4: Dynamic URLs, Sitemaps and Geotargeting
Session 5: (Adds background) 301 Redirects, Content Themes, Dynamic to Static URLs and Split A/B Testing
Session 6: Supplemental Results
I think there is a lot more to learn from this than just the content of Matt’s videos. It’s also an exellent example of creating excellent content which can produce an abundance of links and traffic.

Maybe “RocketGoogle” isn’t such a great name. Since these are really the opinions of Matt Cutts and not Google per se, then maybe RocketMatt? Or MattBoom?¬† Oh, and be sure to note the disclaimer.

More SEO Goodness from Matt Cutts

Monetize Your Google Pages

Google’s David Jones posted on the Inside AdSense blog that you can now add AdSense to your Google Page Creator site(s). When Google Pages came out, I tested it and added a few pages of “Search Marketing 101” content and haven’t really played with it since then. Being able to add AdSense is an incentive, but a blog just makes more “sense”, at least to me. (Pun intended)¬† But for others who are not used to the whole “blogging thing” Google Page Creator is pretty easy to use and might be a better fit.

Monetize Your Google Pages