Business Management Consultant - Stuntdubl Search and Marketing Consulting

I haven’t done a lot of “news” stuff lately, but a couple of recent purchases have reiterated the importance of web analytics.

WebTrends Purchased by Francisco Partners
Webmasterworld Thread
Threadwatch - “Guess they get WPG too” - Jill

Google Purchases Urchin
WMW
TW

Nettracker Releases Nettracker Lite for Free
TW

I’m personally a big fan of Clicktracks which has a fantastic user interface and is very intuitive.

It pays to know your numbers well.

Tracking

Sounds like MSN did well on swipin’ back 1% of search. Courtesy of Adweek and NickDub, MSN swiped about a percent share in search audience according to Nielsen/Netratings. Considering valuation of G, and recent puchases, $150million doesn’t sound to bad for 1% of the search market. This of course was without technology development, but the product is solid and getting better all the time listening to the advice of good people. Gotta say this was a pretty reasonable and swell deal as they continue to grapple for share with new services popping up daily.
-thanks NFFC

Tag: MSN Search

I really hate to contribute to ethics discussions at this point, but I think they get under everyone’s skin at some point. I don’t buy into the whole blackhat/whitehat debate, but I think there should be some level of reasonable expectations from clients and users based on who they’re are dealing with. In my mind a SEO who uses envelope pushing techniques that may get a client banned, but INFORMS them of the potential risks and gains is much more ethical than someone trying to do on-page optimization or search engine submissions for someone in a fairly competitive marketplace and continously leading the client to believe that their expectations will be met.

Ethics Statements based on the goals of those in the search industry-
1. SEO’s (Search Engine Optimizers)- dedicated to high search engine rankings
2. SERO’s (Search Engine Relevance Optimizers) - dedicated to improving search engine relevance The lines are drawn.

Committment to Clients
1 - A SEO will not take on two clients in identical industries and pit them against one another in the SERPS.
2 - A SEO will inform a client of the risk levels associated with SEO techniques

Committment to other SEO’s
1 - A SEO will respect other SEO’s regardless of techniques within the law of the land, and not aid those with relevance as their main goal. (Don’t fill out problem listing reports - it’s bad karma).

Committment to the user
1 - A SERO will always strive to give users the most relevant information that will provide them the highest level of value for their time.
2 - A SERO will be sure that users can distinguish between paid and “natural” relevant listings.

Committment to SERO Professionals
1 - A SERO will not manipulate search rankings manually - this would not conform to the ideal of algorithmic relevance
2 - A SERO will not attempt to use their search results for monetary gain outside the paid listings, as it may encourage others to “cross the line” into SEO, favoring top rankings over relevance.

If you DO like ethics discussions, here’s a list of some of the better ones:

• Search Engine Marketer’s Divided - Time for New Definitions
• Ethical Issues of PPC Management

WMW Supporters Forum

• What do you mean by spam?
• Ethics of button pushing

These discussions go on for miles if you are really interested in reading about theory and philosophy rather than actually going out and working on top rankings or relevance.

Tag: SEO

Brand new tool - C Class Backlink Analyzer - from Webuildpages.com

I had a programming teacher in college who always talked about saving nanoseconds in a program through the way the code was written. While I didn’t quite cut it as a programmer, I did learn a valuable lesson about productivity, and how small amounts of time can add up. For this reason, I am always searching for ways to do things better and faster. Mr. Ploppy’s list of productivity tools:

• Mozilla Firefox

- I was a bit nervous when changing browsers, but now I couldn’t live without this. IE seperation anxiety is common.

• Firefox extensions

- these will be listed below, but are essentially what make FF an indispensible tool for web developers and SEO’s.

• Bloglines

- after hearing this recommended a few times, I finally made the switch - well worth it…I’ll even let you swipe my list. There’s also a nice little bookmarklet script available to drag to your links toolbar to add a feed to your list.

• Wordpress

- almost falls into a “content management system” now, and is very useful. This site has recently been upgraded to version 1.5 which has a slew of useful features.

Firefox Extensions List (thanks DaveN)
-DaveN’s List
-Patrick D’s List
Ploppy Favorites:

• User Agent Switcher
• Web Developer Toolbar
• Tabbed Browsing
• Session Saver
• Proxy Switcher
• Add Bookmark Here
• Search Status
• Live Headers
• EditCSS
• Mouse Gestures
• Wayback Machine (with right click)
• Greasemonkey user script manager

There are still a ton of extensions I’ve yet to explore, and I’m certain many of them are quite powerful and useful. Well worth taking the time to switch for tabbed browsing alone.

This list of tools should help you to save lots of time after you invest a bit learning how to use them. Take time to experiment and learn to do things better.

Tags: SEO Tools

Decided on Saturday morning to take a roadtrip, so I visited the basketball hall of fame in Springfield, MA and the New England Aquarium in Boston. Both very cool. Checkout the photos.

Since yesterday I gave a bit of insight for those searching for SEO services, I thought it only fair to do a piece on things that an SEO consultant should know before commissioning work with a prospective client. So without further ado…

1. How long have you been in business?
2. How old is your website?
3. Have you ever worked with another SEO company?
4. If you’ve worked with another SEO company, why was the relationship dissolved?
5. What is your monthly budget? (ask delicately or destroy the deal)
6. What are your goals and revenue models of the business?
7. What are your goals with a SEO campaign?
8. Do you have an in-house designer/ developer/ copywriter?
9. When do you plan to make a decision on your project?
10.What is your current internet marketing strategy?

Encourage prospective clients to shop around if you feel your services are the best. One of the great aspects of being a good SEO is that with the current overabundance of work, we can be picky about who we take on as clients. Choosing the right clients is key to continued success, as SEO is as much about educating a client with consulting as it is about doing actual development. You don’t want to teach the problem child internet marketing strategy. If you do get a crappy client, find out when you should fire a client. Here is a a bit more on web design and seo sales, but try to be nice if their website sucks.

Tag: Search Engine Optimization

Do your homework when searching for an SEO company. Don’t shop on price…shop on return on your dollar invested. Here are some questions to ask when doing your research.

1. What type of techniques do you use to acheive rankings?
2. What type of risk is involved with this method?
3. What will happend if our relationship is dissolved?
4. Can you show me examples of past work?
5. What was the client’s ROI?
6. What type of volume increase in traffic is reasonable to expect?
7. How long until I start to see results?
8. What would you expect from OUR end to aid your work?
9. What were some of your top search ranking acheivements?
10. Do you offer any other internet marketing services to supplement your SEO offerings?

Look for good return on your dollar, and a company that understands business, marketing, technology, and the internet extensively. There are A LOT of different level SEO’s out there at this point. The biggest companies AREN’T ALWAYS best for the buck, but there is much less risk associated with your investment. Research and find a company that you are comfortable with. If this didn’t help you, here are a whole bunch more questions to ask your potential SEO companies, and what to look for in an SEO company.

Tag: SEO Consulting