The benefits of achieving Google Certified Partner status
By Chris Bell | March 13, 2014 Google offers a wide range of programs for individuals and organizations as part of its set of trainings and tools. The benefits of a firm becoming a Google Certified Partner are many: one can display the official “Google Certified Partner” banner, and be officially listed on Google’s Partner […]
How Exclusive (or Inclusive) Is Your Brand on Twitter?
By Steve Baldwin | March 13, 2014 OK – so you’ve got some followers on Twitter, and now you want to get some more, so you’ll likely do some following yourself. After all, some small share of the folks you follow will eventually follow you back, right? Shouldn’t you just go follow everything you can […]
Why Are Online Ads Being Ignored? (Infographic)
By Chris Bell | March 11, 2014 The vast majority of online ads — 82 percent of them — are ignored, according to a February 2014 study by Goo Technologies, a Swedish graphics development firm. Unsurprisingly, banner ads were found to be the worst online performers (73 percent ignored), followed by social ads (62 percent […]
Grumpy Cat Falls From Internet Stardom
By Steve Baldwin | March 6, 2014 Last year, Grumpy Cat was the star of SXSW, the trendy annual geek-a-thon/music festival that’s seen keynotes from major Silicon Valley players over the years, including Mark Zuckerberg. But as SXSW gears up for its 2014 show, which opens tomorrow in Austin, Texas, Grumpy Cat’s star appears to […]
Yahoo Gemini: Native Advertising on Small Devices
By Chris Bell & Steve Baldwin | March 4, 2014 On February 19, Yahoo’s Jay Rossiter and Adam Cahan announced Gemini, a “unified marketplace for mobile search and native advertising.” Rossiter wrote: “with Yahoo Gemini, advertisers get the performance and ease of search, combined with the scale and creativity of native advertising. By bringing the […]
Rand Fishkin: Content Marketing “Winter” Around the Corner?
March 4, 2014: Content Marketing is hot – a $43.9 billion a year business, according to the Custom Content Council, growing at 9 percent a year. 86 percent of B2C marketers, and 82 percent of B2B marketers, used it in 2013, according to the Content Marketing Institute. So the Content Marketing business is booming, but […]
Brands Steal The Night at #Oscars
By Ana Maria Raynes | March 3, 2014 Twitter has changed the way we watch the #Oscars. Last night, while A-list celebrities delivered moving speeches, smart brands like Samsung, Snickers — and of course Ellen Degeneres — stole the night. By now it’s old news that Ellen Degeneres broke Twitter with a record-breaking #selfie retweeted […]
Kevin Lee: 6 reasons that search clicks are undervalued
February 28, 2014: Kevin Lee lays out the many reasons that even today — when it’s obvious that search engines are essential vehicles for delivering qualified, profitable traffic to marketers, search clicks still aren’t getting their fair due. He writes: As marketers move toward attribution and marketing mix models, the new conventional wisdom is that paid […]
Tips For Professional Business Blogging
By Chris Bell | February 27, 2014 Having an active blogging platform can distinguish your firm from the pack. Doing so can be especially valuable if: You are a thought leader in your field, and your opinions matter. A blog is where you can demonstrate your professional knowledge, share it with colleagues and customers, and contribute […]
Your Q2 2014 “Spring Cleaning” SEO Checklist
February 25, 2014: Spring — and Q2 — are in the air! You’ve digested your Black Friday and Cyber Monday stats, examined your keywords, and reviewed your site architecture. Now that you have a bit of breathing space, you can put some thought into your overall strategy. Performing a clean-up now will let you be prepared for […]