Getting Your Money's Worth: SEO and Your Digital Assets

Reference: http://searchenginewatch.com/

Whether you're dealing with double-digit gains or losses, getting efficiency and maximum value from every part of your site and your brand's assets only makes good sense.

Frequent readers might remember my article last year about my adoration of Billy Mays, the TV gadget pitchman extraordinaire with the blue shirt, thick beard, and booming voice who met an untimely end.


Behind this guilty pleasure lies a begrudging admiration for not just what he accomplished, but for the $19.99 gadgets that he peddled. They do everything! They serve 50 different functions (none of which you'll need more than once). At an extremely cheap price, remember: buying an elephant on a one-dollar sale only makes sense if you need an elephant. With a money-back guarantee (which, for under $20, you'll never bother with)!
Yes, the products are laughable, but they sell because you feel you're getting your money's worth. And, of course, because Billy was awesome.

So ask yourself: Are you getting your money's worth from your site? 

For much of the answer, you'll immediately think of the big, common pieces of the site, like your page templates and checkout procedures. You forked out good money for these features and want to see them earn it back in spades.

The same mindset also applies to pieces of your site that are much easier to forget, and those that you might not realize could be optimized for more search value. These are elements that make up your Web site that took just as much time and money to develop: your digital assets.

Link Building for Bing Rankings: Dos and Don'ts By Chris Crum

 Reference: http://www.webpronews.com/

It's easy for businesses to get caught up in Google's expectations for their sites, when trying to market through search. That's certainly a wise thing to do, considering Google dominates the search market by a huge margin. Still, there are other search engines that people are using, and it is also wise to make sure your site is performing to the best of its ability in those too.

I'm obviously talking about Yahoo and Bing, but Yahoo's share is declining, while Bing's is gaining. Furthermore, if the deal between Microsoft and Yahoo goes through, Bing search will be talking over Yahoo anyway.

Do you take Bing into account when optimizing your site? Comment here.

We don't hear as much about what Bing wants out of a site for rankings, but Rick DeJarnette of Bing Webmaster Center has shared some dos and don'ts of link-building for Bing. Not surprisingly, a lot of his advice for honoring Bing's policy, does not differ too much from advice that Google would give you. It is, however, still always nice to see how they feel, just to clear up any possible confusion.

Like Google, Bing places great emphasis on quality links to determine its rankings. "Just don't make the mistake of believing it will result in instant gratification. Successful link building efforts require a long-term commitment, not an overnight or turnkey solution," says DeJarnette. "You need to continually invest in link building efforts with creativity and time."

Top International Search Marketing Failures to Avoid in 2010 By Michael Bonfils

Reference: http://searchenginewatch.com/

As we begin a new decade, our best chance for success in 2010 is to look back over the failures of our past in order to succeed with our programs in the future. Samuel Smiles once wrote, "We learn wisdom from failure much more than from success. We often discover what will do, by finding out what will not do; and probably he who never made a mistake never made a discovery."
Although it's nearly impossible to list all the failures I've seen over the last 15 years since our beloved industry emerged, I've seen five big ones. We'll look at two today, and three more in our next installment.

Failure 1: Misguided Research
I'm almost embarrassed to admit that, like many, I've often dreamed of selling something for a dollar profit to every Chinese and Indian citizen, but I would never base population as a target market strategy. Although it isn't entirely impossible, there are many things to consider when researching your markets.
It all starts with your primary objective. Branding a product, versus selling a product, versus obtaining a lead for your product would almost all have different strategies.

Firefox SEO Toolbar Plug-ins - By Addme

Every AddMe newsletter is a must read, this issue is not exception; a 3 part series about SEO tools, resources and browser plug-ins. This article talks about some of the more popular Firefox SEO plug-ins.
Search engine optimization is a cost effective form of website promotion, often best outsourced to the professionals as they have access to the latest tools, resources and not to mention years of experience.

This newsletter opens up the world of SEO, and sheds some light on what the SEO companies use to help optimize your website.

One of the main tools used in the search optimization industry is the web browser, how else are you to analyze reports, view webpages and delve deep into search engine results.

Firefox is quickly becoming one of the most popular web browsers, slowly overtaking internet explorer which for me is a welcome change.