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SMX Notes – Give It Up!

posted on July 5, 2007

Moderator: Danny Sullivan, Editor-in-Chief, Search Engine Land

Speakers:

Danny (on the premise of this session): Because there were so many people submitting their sites to Yahoo, Yahoo set up the Yahoo priority queue. When you submitted a site to Yahoo, if you put (yahoo) after your email address, you’d get bumped up the queue. It was a hugely kept secret; it wasn’t put on forums. It was passed along by word of mouth based on trust.

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Spotting Negative Social Media Marketing

posted on July 4, 2007

There has been plenty of chatter in the last couple of days about ways that people could be negatively affecting your search engine marketing strategy. People are right to be worried, you only have to look at your search referrals to see how many people are typing in your brand name into the search engines. If there’s some mud slinging going on in your SERPs; plenty of people could end up reading it.

The Google results aren’t the only battle ground for disgruntled customers or unethical competitors. Everyman and his dog are getting involved in social media, and it’s here where the next round of fights will take place. So it’s worth thinking about where and how your rivals could be doing damage to your business.

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Pilgrim’s Picks – Happy 4th of July!

posted on July 4, 2007

Today’s the day we celebrate our freedom from those oppressing Brits! ;-)

You should be out enjoying the day, but in case you absolutely must have some marketing news, here’s what we added to the Marketing Pilgrim Link Blog today.


Not everything makes it to the main blog, so join the smart readers who also subscribe to our link blog.

Have a fun and safe holiday!

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User reviews increase sales by 26% at NetShops

posted on July 4, 2007

In a study conducted by NetShops along with the University of Nebraska, product sales increased 26% as a result of implementing user reviews.

NetShops is a niche online retailer that owns about 156 retail sites including Hammocks.com and Dartboards.com. It reports revenue of well over $100 million.

The methodology of this study is interesting. NetShops essentially compared the growth rates of products with reviews to those without reviews and found that sales of products with reviews grew much faster.

NetShops uses PowerReviews to collect their reviews and claims that they recouped the implementation cost for the program within a few weeks.

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Presidential Internet Campaigns Weak

posted on July 3, 2007

Last week, we announced the results of the 2008 Presidential Election Candidate Reputation Study. You remember—15 of the 18 candidates studied had negative listings in the top 20 on Yahoo and Google.

This week, another study follows suit. iCrossing published the “How America Searches: Election 2008” study yesterday, examining the 42% of voters who turn to the Internet to inform their voting. According to their study, which looked at candidate- and issue-related keywords, social media sites and news media sites outranked candidates’ own sites:

The candidates’ own Web sites trail behind news and social media sites as preferred sources of information; and candidates are sorely lacking in visibility when it comes to voter searches on specific issues in both natural and paid search.

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Thank You Sponsors!

posted on July 3, 2007

It’s time to thank our fantastic sponsors for their support of Marketing Pilgrim. When considering your business needs, we hope you’ll consider these fine companies.

Sponsored Reviews – bloggers earn cash for reviewing products and services. Advertisers build buzz and links for your web site.

ROI Revolution – need help understanding the new Google Analytics interface? Take their comprehensive online training seminar.

Nick Stamoulis – a veteran internet marketer offering a customized internet marketing strategy for your business.

iBegin Source - millions of local business listings, free for non-commercial use.

Weblinx – provides UK search engine optimisation services.

WhoLinked – a cool gadget for displaying which sites are linking to your blog.

Want to advertise on Marketing Pilgrim? We have limited availability, so email us if you?re interested.

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IT Execs Accepting Social Media

posted on July 3, 2007

At least one industry is willing to be on the social media edge of Internet marketing, according to a new survey by ITtoolbox. Having talked to over 2100 IT professionals, in companies of all sizes and in various roles, ITtoolbox reports on how influential social media can be on purchasing decisions.

The survey included “blogs, podcasts, online communities, wikis, and profiles/social networking” in the social media realm. The survey found that, on average, IT professionals spent 3.5 hours a week using social media. ITtoolbox created a “Social Media Index,” to measure a group’s use of social media in comparison to that of business managers; three of four IT professions used social media far more heavily:

  • Executive Decision-Maker: 121
  • IT Decision-Maker: 96.5
  • Business Manager: 100 (index)