Google Axes Content Marketing

It happens all the time… your website finally secures a starring role on the first page of a Google SERP. And then… KAPOW! Google “slaps” your website, sending it into virtual purgatory (SERP page 1,398,530 or beyond) — effectively flushing your web-based income down the toilet. Google’s infamous slaps strike without warning, penalizing websites that somehow offend their never fully …

Facebook Starts A New Search Engine?

Facebook is working on a revamped search engine that users may prefer over Google. ZoomFacebook already has a search engine. It’s that white search field at the top of the site most of us typically use to find other members. Yet it’s seemingly capable of searching for basically anything thanks to Microsoft’s Bing, producing results within the Facebook blue-and-white environment. …

Social Video Marketing: A New Competitive Advantage

What do businesses mean when they say they do “social video”? Is it just about creating an interesting video and distributing it on YouTube and other social networks? Or is there more to it? Let’s explore what makes a video for business truly social, the special relationship between social video and search marketing, and tips for search marketers on starting …

Google Taps Traditional Advertising to Compete

Once only relying on online ads, Google is now tapping traditional media to spread its message. While in the past Google only relied on online advertising to spread their message, and to attract new customers, things have changed in the past few months, as a WSJ report by Amir Efratirecently revealed. The report shows that in 2011 alone Google spent …

What You May Not Know About the Boom in Digital User Data

When you’re surfing the web and spot targeted ads based on your prior searches, it’s a jarring reminder that someone — companies, websites and search engines — is following your digital footsteps. They are also following the money. The volume of personal digital data available is transforming everyday commerce, particularly marketing and advertising. Companies want to engage and interact with …

Google Gets Patent for Using Background Noise to Target Ads

Google, on Tuesday, was awarded a patent for “advertising based on environmental conditions.” In other words, Google has patented the technique of using environmental factors gathered through a device’s sensors to target ads at users. “When determining what ads to serve to end users, the environmental factors can be used independently or in combination with matching of keywords associated with …

Proposed laws would forbid employers from asking for job seekers’ social media passwords

SEATTLE –  When Justin Bassett interviewed for a new job, he expected the usual questions about experience and references. So he was astonished when the interviewer asked for something else: his Facebook username and password. Bassett, a New York City statistician, had just finished answering a few character questions when the interviewer turned to her computer to search for his …