It’s that time again.  Google’s made a big change, and based on the conversations I’ve had with clients and colleagues and the endless stream of notes from Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, everyone is scrambling to understand the new Google Places/Plus integration.  In the agency world, there are two types of responses that are happening. The [...]

Google’s announcement yesterday of the migration of Google Place pages to Google + Local pages feels shallow and self-serving – something geared more towards promoting their own interests than serving the needs of searchers and businessowners/brands. To be direct (as if that wasn’t already), the biggest problems facing Google Places have long been: -inaccurate data [...]

Hopefully you are not one of the businesses currently claiming that Google’s Penguin update has “ruined my business.” The recent algorithm update, which is unique in that it is by Google’s own admission designed NOT to improve search results quality but instead to penalize links obtained through dubious means, is a great reminder of how [...]

It has been a sucky week to be a CEO.  First, JPMorgan’s CEO has to mention a $2 billion loss at the same investor meeting where they determine his pay package.  Steve Ballmer gets the dubious honor of “Worst CEO” by Forbes (because he has consistently thrown the baby out with the bathwater), Yahoo’s CEO [...]

One of the biggest challenges in executing an effective social campaign is cutting through the clutter and making your message stand out. You need a couple of factors working in your favor to gain the audience’s attention: a compelling message, and good timing. Bit.ly has released a new study that may help you with the [...]

“Chasing your tail” has long been a euphemism for a circular and unproductive activity. But as cost-per-clicks rise and competition in the search space grows more fierce, more advertisers are finding that chasing the long tail of search terms is increasingly successful. For example, take a look at this recent article in Marketing Sherpa which [...]