There is a large amount of hoopla over the Google UI change. This post was inspired by one over at WordStream asking if Google was the new Bing. I'll say what a few people have said already, but I have a little more ranting behind it as well. Google's new look is not Bing, it's Ask. [caption id="" align="alignright" width="216" caption="2006 Matt Cutts as the Zombie Jeeves"][/caption] A while ago (and we are talking years) at SMX Advanced ...

Folks in this room understand that the quality of a search engine depends heavily on the relevance of advertising, and the relevance of advertising relies on the volume of bids. Steve Ballmer, MSFT Sorry, Steve but I beg to differ. This was a quote from the SMX West show in March 2010. While I get his point, and he was speaking to a room of search marketers, there is something flawed about his logic. When Google started its upward climb, ...

We all know I love Raven Tools. I'm not shy about it, and no they don't pay me. Well sorta, my affiliate link is over there to the side. But today I am not here to talk about their reports, tools, or awesome integration with my other favorite tool, Linkscape. Today is about The Hunt. What is the hunt? Raven started this game in which they hide clues across the interwebs. The clues are on their site and other Search Marketing blogs. They did ...

Note: This is a totally personal entry and has no SEO/PPC advice or tips. I have been saying that this is the year I would travel for me, do all the things I have been meaning to do, but couldn't do while in class. I went skiing in Breckenridge in January, went to Seattle in February, and decided to make a road trip to Winnipeg, Canada in March. You see, a flight from Austin to Winnipeg is really expensive! There are few airlines that make ...

For the most part, when I come across an issue on a site, I just search for the solution and someone has previously identified the solution. Last week I came across a problem that I didn't know how to deal with and neither did anyone else. Issue: In optimizing a client's website, I came across some images that might seem unsuitable for children. Not vulgar or crude, and were there in a health care sense, but were still not suitable for ...

Click here if you just want the LiveBall Review without the background story. Background I am not a tools type of search engine marketer. Well, in terms of PPC bid management tools. I love Raven Tools and SEOmoz and some of the newer PPC tools like WordStream. (Yes, some of those are affiliate links) There are some tools developers in the PPC space that I keep hearing about but have never seen. For the most part I don't have the clients ...

March 5 Update: Success! Body scan is clear. Will have to run a staged test in September, but it won't be like this one. Just have to stay on top of it. Happy Dance! March 2 Update: Ok, just “udderly" got tired of the weight gain from having no thyroid and now in isolation for radioactive iodine treatment. I needed exercise. Plus my speech was slurred! So I started an exercise plan last night. Not sure if the pill has anything to do ...

Update Feb 28: The folks at XO have joined in the conversation and cleared up many of the issues I was having. I still think they need to clarify these things in their backend system, but it seems as if there is a way to do redirects, just no way to get help if something goes wrong. Feb 23 - I have moved the client to HostGator. Every once in a while an SEM consultant will come across a gem of a client. One that understands enough ...

Twitter can produce the most off the wall thoughts and conversations sometimes. Just what I need for inspiration. I went to SMX Advanced in 2008 and Michael Dorausch posted to SEOmoz about SEO's favorite Starbucks Orders. So fun to read. No real point, but why does everything we read have to be work related? Taylor Pratt asked if cereal was allowed as a mid-afternoon snack today. A resounding yes was heard from what I saw, and that sparked my ...

Making resolutions can be easy at the beginning of the year. Keeping them is another thing entirely. I resolved to pay off either my student loans or my car this year, and to complete a training program called P90X. I did none of that, but accomplished so much more. I started working on my own (which tied up my financial resources) and finished up the last of my classes for my MBA. I didn't finish the training program, but I have lost 23 lbs ...