Mom + SEO Junkie = Burnt Toast

Recently we’ve seen a lot of controversy in the SEO world with people attacking Rand at SEOMoz for outing websites that have bought or sold links. (see here, here and here.) I think paid links is a hot topic right now, and everyone has come out with an opinion. But is sharing your opinion in an unconstructive -and negative - way the answer? Although I agreed w/ DazzlinDonna’s original point - we really dont need to be pointing blatant fingers - the uproar that ensued was almost overwhelming. Did he do it on purpose to create controversy? I tend to think no, but that’s just my opinion and that gets me back to my main point - Everyone has an opinion - and is it right to “share” your opinion and bash others in the process? I think sharing in a constructive way was great, and it was admittedly a poor choice, and he edited his post - but the attacks that happened afterwards seemed like they were completely unnecessary. I didnt really comment with a “hell yeah” or a “heck no” anywhere - and I felt somewhat like I was in the minority. Do you NEED to come out with an opinion on this stuff to be taken seriously in this industry? I don’t think so - but hey I’m the new gal here - what do I know.

So does one need to rock the boat to get the buzz? I guess because I’m not a huge fan of confrontation and I have no desire to fight it out with industry leaders I kept my mouth shut. Yet another reason I wont be a LinkBait Guru

It will be interesting to see the aftermath. Will there be “hard feelings” or will everyone get over it? The fact that people are willing to push the envelope is what keeps this industry moving forward, in my opinion. Calling someone out because you dont agree w/ them is great - if you can give reasons why you don’t agree other than - “I just think it’s wrong.”

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Hello blog readers (yes I mean the two of you) - an update on my life and accomplishments Also you might notice a different “look” to the blog - I was messing around w/ mobile friendly code and completely blew my old theme up beyond any ability I had to fix it - SO badly I had to reinstall Wordpress - so I’m working on the theme and hope to have it back up soon. Wish me luck!

I recently did an interview with Li Evans for her “Women of Internet Marketing” series over at SearchMarketingGurus.com. She posted the Q&A tonight and it’s pretty fun. My co-interviewee was Danielle Winfield of 10E20.com

Thanks Li for the opportunity and great questions - it was fun!

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So besides the fact that I dont blog enough, or pay enough attention - there are somethings I’m seriously lacking in - I’d list them here - but Stephan Spencer from NetConcepts has a great article over at SearchEngineLand on Twelve SEO Mistakes Most Bloggers Make.

I need to make a better effort at paying better attention and blogging here more!  I’ll start working onthe list and see if I can not make such a mess out of this blog.

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Blizzard has just rolled out a project that I worked extensively on and I’m really proud of the outcome. If you have a travel or tourism website, maps are a piece of the puzzle that you just cant overlook. What amazes me is the lack of inventiveness out there when it comes to hotel/inn/resort owners using maps to really push their potential guests to book. Part of getting paying guests in the door is getting them there - and giving them options about what to do once they are there.

With our mapping program, we’re offering clients maps that are embedded in the site, but built on the CommunityWalk platform. I know I know - on-site content is best, right?? Not necessarily. Theoretically, for semi-competitive terms I’m going to rank ONE page (maybe 2 w/ a site link) for my keyword. By building and optimizing our map and map points offsite, you’re increasing your Search Engine Result Saturation (I like to call it SERS.) So feasibly I can have from 1 to 4 results in the top 10 that will lead a potential guest right to my site. Here’s an example:

DestinDays.com recently implemented an optimized map of their local attractions. The page they’ve embedded the map on is optimized for “attractions in destin, fl” Now - at this time DestinDays is ranking about 19th in Google for that term. We expect that to increase to first page presence, and the best part is that the page at communityWalk where the map has been built is very likely to rank on that first page.

These maps are really interactive and informative. Here is an example of how they work. This map was built for a client I have that runs a not-for-profit B&B in Mendocino, CA. The Lighthouse Inn at Pt. Cabrillo is located on a 300 acre nature preserve that is run by the State of California. The inn is, quite honestly, a little bit of a drive from town, so things aren’t within walking distance. Part of our goal was to be honest about the location, while giving information and directions to all of the area restaurants, attractions, etc. that the Innkeepers recommend. This map is on their Fine Dining page - along with some great text to feed the spiders.

CommunityWalk Map - Dining near Lighthouse Inn at Pt. Cabrillo

The bottom line is this - adding a map is a relatively simple undertaking, that can provide huge rewards in the realm of usability and guest satisfaction.

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One of my favorite bloggers, Jennifer Laycock from Search Engine Guide and the Lactivist is at SEW Live in Columbus and had a great video w/Andrea Diebold of WebProNews about the “over-hype” on Digg.

Check out her video here or visit WebProNews for more video coverage from SEW Live.

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My partner in crime Mary Bowling and I are doing the EMarketingTalkShow today at 5 mountain, 4 pacific — sometime after bedtime on the east coast I think - I always get those time zones messed up and am either an hour late or 2 hours early or something.

….ANYWAY - you can scoop up the details here - and tune in if you can we’re going to talk about Local Search with Cindy T and the gang. Cindy says the links to the podcasts will be up next week.

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I’ve been mulling over the fact that part of our “standard” new client setup is to automatically start PPCs in Google, Yahoo & MSN.  Frankly - even with Panama - Yahoo is painful.  Their Publisher Network frustrates me every day and I see endless clicks from sites like hotgirls dot com - to my small bed and breakfast client’s website.  What about that is relevant?  Now MSN has added their content network with no “opt out” option also - I’m ready to turn those resources off and concentrate on creating a custom content network for my client - more targeted ads on relevant directories and resources that will drive targeted traffic - I cant imagine why that would be less effective than a consitently ineffective Yahoo & MSN. 

I really do like AdWords - as an advertiser it’s straight forward and tool-rich.  It’s a great way to test the effectiveness of keywords before I spend my client’s money optimizing their website - and the new Pay Per Action model has potential - although I havent seen much movement from it yet. 

I think we have the “powers that be” on board at Blizz - hopefully we’ll see some test cases and good traffic without having to hassle with unfriendly platforms and irrelevant content networks. 

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Great post by Lee Odden over at Top Rank Blog with survey results that cover some of the best resources and perceptions of Search Marketing - by search marketers.

Check out Reader’s Choice Search Marketing Resources over at the Top Rank Blog.

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I had another article published at SearchEngineWatch.com today.  It was pretty good - but not one of my best.  Sometimes inspiration is hard to come by.  Hopefully my next article will be better - I’m tossing around some ideas for helping SB owners compete with big business.

On a side note I learned how to post video to wordpress. I was pretty excited and found this great interview w/ my editor at SEW Elisabeth and the EIC at ClickZ Rebecca Lieb. I really appreciate these ladies giving me a shot at writing - I hope I deliver what they’re looking for.

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Okay - yes - today was a good day with one of my articles going live - but do you ever have days when you think every person you talk to is from mars?  I mean honestly - how to people function - let alone procreate - there should be a test!

Speaking of Nincompoops - what is Google thinking - I mean honestly?  Asking people to rat out their paid links?  That’s like telling the cop who pulled you over for speeding you’re drunk - duh?

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