SEL just published this article on in-house networking. Obviously I think it’s worth a read since I wrote it. 
It talks about internal networking, external networking offers tips on how to handle them, how to pitch for funds to attend shows and offers some useful online places to check out if you want to grow your network.
Go. Read. Learn. Come back…
Sphere: Related ContentGoogle just posted up on their Adsense blog that there is a new feature called site authentication.
The gist of it is that this feature will allow you to set up a user name and password for the Adsense robot.
It can then go in and crawl your password protected pages (much like a registered user) and thus begin showing relevant ads.
This overcomes a major hurdle for many webmasters. Those operating forums can breathe easy now as they can keep their spaces locked down (for whatever reason they choose to do so) and still be assured that relevant ads are being shown to users.
In fact, many sites may see an increase in CTRs as a result of a captive audience now seeing very targeted ads.
This move is a positive one as it shows Google is listening to the needs expressed by Webmasters and doing something to help them achieve their revenue goals. In the larger picture, it also acknowledges the extent to which password protected spaces have grown. Google wouldn’t be doing this if it wasn’t in THEIR best interest as well. They now have expanded their advertising exposure reach into all those previously dark nooks and crannies folks have locked down.
So, if you’re a Webmaster with anything questionable behind the locked door, better do some cleaning before setting this feature up. No worries, though, because if you don’t expressly set it up and activate it, the spiders stay out as usual…
Good move Google.
Sphere: Related ContentThis is still a hot topic these days, despite what we already know:
Spiders don’t really crawl Flash thoroughly.
Flash is seen by many as the indicator of a professional website. Basically, if the site is nice, looks cool and has fancy navigation options - if the company invested lots of money in their site - they must be a good company. Hopefully most people are starting to clue into the fact that this just isn’t so.
In fact, many businesses online rely on a fancy website to cover up for the fact that they are just a coupe of guys looking to make some money online. Fancy site means a real company, and they use this to their advantage.
But, for those who are serious about business online, the debate over to Flash or not to Flash breaks down along different lines.
Do you use Flash to offer a better user experience? Is it used to showcase a particular product or service in a unique way?
It’s easy to get carried away and end up with a killer website built entirely in Flash. The downside being they don’t tend to perform well in the search world. Like most things, your mileage may vary, as I’m sure there are some success stories of sites that are built with Flash doing very well indeed.
By and large, though, most people tend to ask how to optimize a Flash website to do better in organic search rankings, so the trend is as we understand it - Flash sites struggle. And for good reason. Google’s Webmaster Central blog recently had an article on this topic and it’s worth a read - here’s a snippet:
“As many of you already know, Flash is inherently a visual medium, and Googlebot doesn’t have eyes. Googlebot can typically read Flash files and extract the text and links in them, but the structure and context are missing. Moreover, textual contents are sometimes stored in Flash as graphics, and since Googlebot doesn’t currently have the algorithmic eyes needed to read these graphics, these important keywords can be missed entirely. All of this means that even if your Flash content is in our index, it might be missing some text, content, or links. Worse, while Googlebot can understand some Flash files, not all Internet spiders can.”
The bottom line remains the same - don’t bury critical information inside Flash files. Things like navigation, sitemap data and actual content needs to be seen by the spiders so they can not only see links, but determine context. Without this holistic view, the engines are flying blind. Help them, and yourself, at the same time.
Sphere: Related ContentI’ve read two recent-ish posts on this topic. One was via the IAB from The Washington Post about AOL’s apparent jump to the top of the website pile because page views were no longer the dominant metric being used to track results.
Nielsen Scraps Web Page View Rankings
Back in February, USA Today penned this article on the page view as a dying stat…
New technologies make gauging Web ads’ effectiveness more difficult
Now, as Nielsen was tracking things using time-on-site to determine who’s the most popular site, Google fell, AOL jumped.
Makes perfect sense if time is the evaluator, and not page views. Folks go to Google, do their search and end up, quickly, at a site with the info they were looking for. AOL, on the other hand IS the Internet for millions of users. They know nothing outside the AOL bubble. It’s The Internet for Dummies and many folks like it.
So, does this mean the page view is dead as a metric? [Read more →]
Sphere: Related ContentDanny, Chris and the crew have done it again. The recent launch of Sphinn shows a continued commitment to the business of search marketing and brings a new space to glean the latest from some of the best in the business.
More of a blog-style joint, thoughtful touches abound.
For example, when you edit your profile, you’ll notice a deep list of information can be filled in. One of the few places that allows for multiple blog/website entries in a profile can be found here (great if you run a couple spaces yourself and want to associate them with your profile). They also allow you to post your user name at many popular forums and social spaces. Danny’s got a suggestion list of what else to add to these resources going here.
Now, this is a small point, but where else can you find a person, view their profile and see the aliases they use at the most popular spots around the web related to search and online marketing? I tried to think of another place and failed last night.
Nice work guys - now I need to edit my Firefox home pages again to include Sphinn…
Sphere: Related ContentOK, where to begin?
I mean, what’s not to like about this?
Registering domain names. We all know that’s the start of good things. 
French Maids. More good things.
So, when we have 3 French Maids teaching us how to do such mundane things like find music you like, how to barter online, how to share photos and, as mentioned, how to buy a domain name…well, you know what they say…c’est un certain bon poulet! (that is some good chicken!)
OK, so maybe it’s just me that says that - either way, this tongue-in-cheek, funny, but helpful video series is going to be a hit with loads of people.
They stray close to a work-unfriendly line, but really, in 2007, shouldn’t you be able to see a tub full of bubbles with two cute ladies sitting in it without someone pitching a fit? really, though, it’s all tasteful (IMO) and there is zero adult content.
It’s a unique idea - well, really a new twist on an old idea, but still. It bridges the gap between entertaining and informative…and damned if their instructions for registering a domain name weren’t spot on! It’s very clearly designed to help beginners in it’s topics. I don’t believe they have a French Maid How To series on link baiting, web design or SEO…though I’d tune in to that one…
…and if you weren’t sure how to share photos, enjoy…
OK, so while working on a project to build a multi-thousand page series of sitemaps for our properties here at work, I found this resource: http://www.sitemaps.org/
The site is good at one thing,and one thing only - sharing information about sitemaps. Many folks today see them as a sort of Holy Grail. A way to magically improve search rankings, and it’s easy to see why.
A sitemap page helps your internal link architecture by adding a series of internal-facing links. It can help boost… [Read more →]
Sphere: Related ContentNo, it’s not here, sorry about that. It’s over here…
But it is worth reading if you’d like to learn more about Jessica and Business.com and figure out how they can provide value to your company (and they can).
…and the site with the interview snagged a 20% discount code for their readers, too…
Go - Read - Save Money
Sphere: Related ContentThis is one of the very best articles I’ve ever read on career building. It’s focused on four main points, all of which I agree with 100%.
The four main ideas presented are:
Principle No. 1: Stand out: Stand for something
Principle No. 2: Be your own boss
Principle No. 3: Forget the ladder—it’s a ramp
Principle No. 4: Build your personal brand
They go into detail explaining the thinking behind each principle and outlining how to attack each point and why things have shifted in this direction these days.
This information is practical to… [Read more →]
Sphere: Related ContentI recently had the fortune to be interviewed by Jessica Bowman of Business.com and www.seminhouse.com fame.
I’ve spoken with Jessica a couple times at SES shows and hold her in high regard. She clearly knows her stuff and is happy to share with folks too.
Our recent interview centered on internal communication issues and how, as an in-house SEM, you can learn to deal with them. It’s a very real challenge for most of us, and if you… [Read more →]
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