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30 Sep
30 Sep This post is from from my other blog here Here’s my roundup of the best search/marketing posts during September. If you’re new to SBS, this is a monthly feature and will lead to something fun in a few months. You can find earlier “Best Of”s for each month in the archives. Only rule is that my own posts are not eligible. Small Business
28 Sep This post is from from my other blog here
James Zolman of Apollo SEM in Idaho emailed me today with a Yahoo Answer appearing in the Google SERPs for [induce labor pressure point foot]. I was able to mess around with the phrase and still get a Yahoo Answer for the shorter query [induce labor naturally]. Cool! Thanks, James! And you bet I’ll gladly link out to any readers who help ...
28 Sep This post is from from my other blog here Google celebrated birthday #9 yesterday. For many people birthdays are a day to look ahead to the next 12 months and wonder what the year will bring. Personally, I think astrology is a bunch of hooey, but I had a feeling a horoscope might help us understand what’s in store for the Big G. So last night I did a little research and found some interesting astrological forecasts for Google’s 10th year. Horoscope.com: For Those Born on September 27 Happy Birthday! The months ahead could start with you feeling more emotional and open, especially with your nearest and dearest. Hmmm. Who are Google’s ...
27 Sep This post is from from my other blog here
27 Sep This post is from from my other blog here
How? By giving “Best Answers” in the Consumer Electronics or Computers & Internet categories. (see image at right) The contest ends October 12th. You can signup here. Needless to say, I’m already well on my way to scoring an iPhone….
27 Sep This post is from from my other blog here
Per my policy, I won’t be commenting on the news here on SBS. If you’re interested in reading coverage elsewhere, here are a few links of note:
26 Sep This post is from from my other blog here
26 Sep This post is from from my other blog here
Well, Edith Yeung wrote an interesting article last week: 12 Reasons Why People Want to Keep Your Business Card. In that article, there’s a link to some of the most creative and unique business cards I’ve ever seen: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dailypoetics/sets/72057594104389710/show/ But, the question is, ...
25 Sep This post is from from my other blog here
I’ll be speaking on a panel with fellow Seattleite Rand Fishkin of SEOmoz and Chris Boggs of Brulant, who’s coming in all the way from Cleveland. It happens next Wednesday, October 3, and you can get all the details on Upcoming.org. Cost is only $10 for BusinessWire members; $20 for non-members. And you do need to RSVP. We’ve been told to expect a mainly beginner-level audience. I’m ...
25 Sep This post is from from my other blog here Let’s pretend you’re a dentist. Or pretend you’re the webmaster for a dentist. And you know you need to build some good content on your web site, preferably content that both describes your business and matches what people search for. Don’t you think it would be valuable to know that these are the Top 10 dental-related searches on Yahoo in a recent week? 
That list comes from Yahoo! Buzzlog. It’s the blog associated with Yahoo Buzz, a service that tracks search trends on Yahoo. Since it’s a blog, the value of the content is hit-and-miss, but at times could be incredibly ...
21 Sep This post is from from my other blog here Although spam is not a problem I encounter often, Yahoo Answers is taking some pretty bold steps to combat what it calls “low-quality questions and answers.”
1.) Yahoo has written new Community Guidelines. 2.) Yahoo is giving the community more power to moderate itself. Each question and answer has a small toolbar which includes a very ...
21 Sep This post is from from my other blog here I think we can all agree that Sphinn has established itself as a great arbiter of what’s Good and Bad in the general search industry. There’s no “bury brigade” playing games with the system. There’s not much spam, and what little there is gets dealt with quickly. (Disclosure: I’m a moderator.) And most importantly, the cream tends to rise to the top and the rest doesn’t. All of this happens via the power of democracy - the votes are what counts. My point: The Sphinn community knows search. And, according to the community’s voting, Seattle is the Search Capital of the ...
20 Sep This post is from from my other blog here
18 Sep This post is from from my other blog here
17 Sep This post is from from my other blog here For those of you who are new SBS readers & subscribers, here’s a list of noteworthy posts you probably missed from one year ago. I try to put together a post like this each month. Scroll to the end to see previous Flashbacks.
Don’t Miss: SBS Flashback: August 2006 SBS Flashback: July 2006 SBS Flashback: June 2006 SBS Flashback: May 2006
17 Sep This post is from from my other blog here I had it in the back of my head to ask Chris Sherman to do an interview for SBS, but I’m glad Lee Odden beat me to the punch. I like the answer Chris gave to Lee’s question about search marketing tips for small businesses, which reads in part: “If you’re in a high-touch business, it’s probably worth exploring the social media & network spaces, or consider starting a blog. What I wouldn’t do, though, is stretch yourself so thin dabbling in all of these areas that you’re not effective in any. Pick an area and master it. When revenue growth ...
13 Sep This post is from from my other blog here If you’re an experienced search marketer, feel free to move along; there’s probably nothing here for you. This post is mostly for current (and future) clients, so that I have a place to refer them when we talk about what they’ll need to do some SEO-type work on their own. Web BrowserIt all begins with Firefox. Use Internet Explorer as much as you want when dilly-dallying at the office or home, but your SEO toolbox must include Firefox. Most of the tools below only work in this browser. Firefox Plugins/Add-onsOnce you’ve download Firefox, you now have access to a great, big ...
13 Sep This post is from from my other blog here
Hint: hotels do it right, as Chris Silver Smith points out in a great article today on Search Engine Land. That’s the topic of my first post at LocalPoint: Local SEO with Multiple Locales.
12 Sep This post is from from my other blog here
So, the obvious question: Are you using Yahoo Answers in this way? I’ve posted this as a question on Yahoo Answers, and haven’t quite found what I’m looking ...
12 Sep This post is from from my other blog here
1.) “Unlocking the potential of the local Internet” is a 13-page snapshot of where the local search industry is now, and where it’s headed. There’s a lot of stuff to chew on in the report, and it introduced me to a couple local search companies/players that I was unaware of. 2.) LocalPoint is a local-oriented blog that launched this week. It’s a group blog, and yours truly will be one of the contributors. ...
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by 
Just wanted to drop a quick reminder that I am still very interested in any search queries you come across where a Yahoo Answers page is visible in the SERPs. The reasons for this request will become clear soon enough.
They’re the only Q&A site still standing, but Yahoo Answers still has the promotional wheels spinning. Today they announced a contest called the 
If you’re interested in local search (and you know I am), you should be aware of some announcements that came from Marchex today: 
For many small businesses, the business card is an incredibly important marketing tool; sometimes, it’s the only marketing tool a small business has! When I started Small Business SEM and realized I’d be attending conferences and other events, I decided to do an SBS card (shown at right). Nothing fancy, but you can’t beat FREE from Vista Print. 
I don’t know how many of you live in the greater Seattle area, but if you do I’d like to invite you to come downtown next Wednesday for an SEO Luncheon that 
The first piece of Local SEO advice you usually here is something like “put your address on every page of your site.” Yes, but what about when you have five addresses? How do you target local search when you’re “local” in several different cities or states? 
Several of my co-workers have been busy working on a couple projects related to local search, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention them here on SBS: