Thursday, February 18, 2010

Shout-out to Network Solutions SEM/SEO Training Team

So, yesterday I went undercover into the SEM/SEO training seminar being presented by Network Solutions here in Los Angeles. "Undercover" means that I did actually pay for entry, they just didn't know why I was there and what my background is with them and with SEM and SEO.

To let you in on a little more of that background... about 3 years ago I was working with Network Solutions specifically on the topic of SEO. I knew they were beginning these nice, quick seminars on SEO so I went "undercover" then too. But, Harry, who was the presenter at the time found out I would be there and got a little nervous at first. I promised that I would not say a word, that I would only take notes to give him later and, if he actually called on me for an answer or suggestion, only then would I say anything during that presentation. It all worked great and I was impressed at the way he presented information and really helped those business owners whose experience on the topic of SEO was new. Yes, I passed on my notes and information to him after the class.

Anyway, 3 years later, Randy was our presenter. I could tell they've reworked a lot from those years past. I could feel Randy's excitement and knowledge of his topic. His goal was to get as much information to this quite large group (I believe we had almost 90 people that morning for this 1/2 day session - wow!) but was limited by time. He did a good job at focusing on as much information as he could fit in without sales-pitch attempts. I am all about getting the information to the online business owners. The more they know the smarter they will be at being able to do good things online and with the right people.

Even if it seems weird that Network Solutions offers competitive services to what we do at Search Visible, Inc, I don't consider it that way. There is so much business out there and so many websites that need help that there is plenty to go around. We need more "good" SEM and SEO providers. My goal in life/business is to help the consumer, these business owners, understand our industry. The more they understand the better we all can weed out the bad guys in our industry, the ones who make promises or rip-off the client and bring concern to the world of SEO and SEM. The educated consumer can make all our lives better and make their own businesses better no matter if they hire an internal online marketing professional, SEO person, or go with a third party consultant type of firm - like Search Visible and Network Solutions.

Anyway, in a nut shell... I wanted to give a shout-out to Network Solutions for continuing with these great, not expensive ($139 - 1/2 price for additional guest) overview seminars on SEM and SEO. You can get more info about their seminars and webinars here: http://marketing.networksolutions.com/seminars/
Any business, small or large wanting to be exposed to the importance behind these online marketing strategies should check them out. I approve! Go Randy!!

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Thursday, December 31, 2009

2010 New Years Eve Celebrations Around the World


We are always fascinated by the many New Year celebrations worldwide. Ringing in the New Year gives us insight to other cultures yet shows that we all do have some common ground.

Search Visible, Inc. wishes all of our clients, friends and family around the world a safe and prosperous New Year in 2010.

Some fun websites to help you ring in the New Year:

YouTube's highlight videos for year 2009:
YouTube New Years Channel

UStream.TV suggests the following:
Times Square, New York, US
Funchal Harbor, Island of Madeira, Portugal
Junkanoo Festival, Nassau, Bahamas

The BBC News gives us video highlights for:
New Year's Celebrations

The New York Times suggests some Good-Luck recipes:
Cooking Up Luck for the New Year

If you can see the sky tonight from where you are, know that there is/will be a Blue Moon tonight to help us see clearly into 2010!

The first to ring in the 2010 New Year were those in Auckland, New Zealand:
Fireworks from Auckland's Sky Tower

Set your clocks for a New Year's Eve to remember - we hope to see you all soon!

Auckland, New Zealand

Auckland


Sydney, Australia

Sydney


Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo


Nairobi, Kenya

Nairobi


Budapest, Hungary

Budapest


Paris, France

Paris


London, England

London


USA (some of our favorite places):
New York, New York

New York


New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans


Santa Fe & Albuquerque, New Mexico

Santa Fe & Albuquerque


Aspen, Colorado

Aspen


Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles


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Saturday, December 19, 2009

Projections for Online Search in 2010:

online search projections - 2010
  • Setup on on-site blog. If you have one already then make sure it is effectively being used to support internal website pages.

  • Use real-time channels for branding, website updates & keyword support. At least understand how real-time information is being used in Search.

  • Some of the better real-time areas to participate in are: Facebook, Twitter, online Press Releases, Blogs and other dated online forms of information.

  • Pay attention to local options, internal and external to you website, especially if you can and should be found locally.

  • Consider a mobile website: sites sized to show on phone browsers.

  • Don't neglect your on-site SEO. Best Practices for Search Engine Optimization are still important and the continuing basis for the major search engines.

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Saturday, December 5, 2009

Getting Personal - Information on Google's Personalized Search

Several have asked for an explanation on the recent news that Google has enabled "Personalized Search for Everyone". Truly, this is not anything to panic about, nor is it really new news! Search marketing and SEO work for those like me in the 'biz' should continue as usual!

Cyanide and Happiness, a daily webcomic

In an attempt to enjoy my weekend and not feel the need to paraphrase what has already been very well written on the topic of Google and Personalization, I have assembled a list of links below showing you some really good information - and the timelines - describing how Personalization works. Thank Danny Sullivan from Search Engine World for such nice descriptive articles - along with a few GoogleBlog write-ups on their various announcements on the topic.

Google's announcements on Personalization:

- Jun 28, 2005
Search Gets Personal
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2005/06/search-gets-personal.html

- Feb 02, 2007
Personally Speaking
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/02/personally-speaking.html

- Sep 24, 2007
Search Privacy and Personalized Search
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/09/search-privacy-and-personalized-search.html

- Dec 04, 2009
Personalized Search for Everyone
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/personalized-search-for-everyone.html


Danny Sullivan's insights to the Google Personalization directives:

- Jun 28, 2005
Google Relaunches Personal search - This Time, It Really Is Personal
http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/050628-073541

- Feb 2, 2007
Google Ramps Up Personalized Search
http://searchengineland.com/google-ramps-up-personalized-search-10430

- Apr 19, 2007
Google Search History Expands, Becomes Web History
http://searchengineland.com/google-search-history-expands-becomes-web-history-11016

- Jul 30, 2008
Google Now Notifies of "Search Customization" & Gives Searchers Control
http://searchengineland.com/google-now-notifies-of-search-customization-gives-searchers-control-14485

- Nov 5, 2009
Google Dashboard Offers New Privacy Controls
http://searchengineland.com/google-dashboard-offers-new-privacy-controls-29223

- Dec 4, 2009
Google Now Personalizes Everyone's Search Results
http://searchengineland.com/google-now-personalizes-everyones-search-results-31195

If you didn't have time to read all of the above, the Google Personalization feature is mainly controlled by the installation and use of various Google products. The main ones that are in control are the following:

Web History - www.google.com/history
Google Toolbar - toolbar.google.com

And, if you are freaked out or just don't like these features, Google has provided tools to disable and/or turn off personalization:
http://www.google.com/support/accounts/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=54048

Note: There are many more articles on the topic from where these came from. We picked these as they give a nice overview on the topic. Hope it all helps explain!

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