This post has been moved to Best of 2008: Search Engine Marketing on the Webbiquity blog. ***** technorati tags: search engine marketing, SEM, Search Engine Journal, Darrell Long, Superpages, Facebook, Quigo, ContextWeb, LookSmart, ASK, Dave McCarthy, Google quality score, Search Engine Watch, David Szetela, Noah Elkin, Howard Sewell, cost per acquisition (CPA), ROI, Brian Carter, PPC testing mistakes, Pay-Per-Click Campaign, Saad Kamal del.icio.us tags: search engine marketing, SEM, Search Engine Journal, Darrell Long, Superpages, Facebook, Quigo, ContextWeb, LookSmart, ASK, Dave McCarthy, Google quality score, Search Engine Watch, David Szetela, Noah Elkin, Howard Sewell, cost per acquisition (CPA), ROI, Brian Carter, PPC testing mistakes, Pay-Per-Click Campaign, Saad Kamal icerocket tags: search engine marketing, SEM, Search Engine Journal, Darrell Long, Superpages, Facebook, Q...

As a quick follow-up to the recent review here of the excellent SEO/SEM book Website Optimization: Speed, Search Engine & Conversion Rate Secrets by Andrew King: I neglected to mention that there is also a companion website to the book at http://www.websiteoptimizationsecrets.com which features sample chapters, chapter summaries, full-color figures, worksheets, videos, and a blog. In addition, Andy and I had a little back-and-forth about the SEO value of backlinks as well as the risks and benefits of paid links on the Website Optimization blog . In the end, I think we are both right: inbound links are always important, but not always the most critical factor in search ranking, and paid links are okay if used very selectively. Again, bottom line, I highly recommend Website Optimization: Speed, Search Engine & Conversion Rate Secrets for anyone who wants to maximize the business value of a website. ***** Contact Tom Pick: tomATwebmarketcentralDOTcom

It's been obvious for some time that social media has an increasing role in b2b marketing , and that b2b companies will increasingly invest marketing dollars there as social media marketing practices become more standardized . Still, most of what's being done today, from creating a company Facebook page to using a social media email signature , is extremely tactical. How can b2b firms approach social media more strategically? It starts by thinking about the points of alignment between the goals of b2b companies and their buyers: B2b buyers have problems they need solved. Vendors have products and services designed to solve those problems. When the right solution meets the right problem, both sides benefit. Both buyers and sellers want to reach each other as efficiently as possible. That is, buyers don't want to listen to 50 vendors pitch products or services they don't need or can't afford in order to find the one solution they seek, and vendors don't want to wa...

This content has been moved to Best of 2008: SEO Tools on the Webbiquity blog. ***** technorati tags: SEO tools, backlink checking, search engine rank, website grade, link building, Searchlight, Brian R. Brown, Netconcepts, Link Counter, Search Engine Land, Mona Elesseily, Page Zero Media, SpyFu, Search Marketing Blog Online, Jon Clark, TechCrunch, Erick Schonfeld, Website Grader, HubSpot, Rank Checker, KeywordEnvy, Trevor Claiborne, SEO People, link ninja, Paul Teitelman, Traffic Marks, Small Business Search Marketing, Matt McGee, SheerSEO, SearchNewz, Navneet Kaushal, Search Engine Journal, Ann Smarty del.icio.us tags: SEO tools, backlink checking, search engine rank, website grade, link building, Searchlight, Brian R. Brown, Netconcepts, Link Counter, Search Engine Land, Mona Elesseily, Page Zero Media, SpyFu, Search Marketing Blog Online, Jon Clark, TechCrunch, Erick Schonf...

This post has been moved to Book Review: Website Optimization – Speed, Search Engine & Conversion Rate Secrets on the Webbiquity blog. ***** technorati tags: Andrew B. King, Web Site Opimization LLC, Website Optimization: Speed, Search Engine & Conversion Rate Secrets, book review, Wordtracker, SEO insights, social networking, Marketleap.com link popularity tool del.icio.us tags: Andrew B. King, Web Site Opimization LLC, Website Optimization: Speed, Search Engine & Conversion Rate Secrets, book review, Wordtracker, SEO insights, social networking, Marketleap.com link popularity tool icerocket tags: Andrew B. King, Web Site Opimization LLC, Website Optimization: Speed, Search Engine & Conversion Rate Secrets, book review, Wordtracker, SEO insights, social networking, Marketleap.com link popularity tool Contact Tom Pick: tomATwebmarketcentralDOTcom

This content has been moved to Best of 2008: Interactive PR on the Webbiquity blog. ***** technorati tags: PR 2.0, Cece Salomon-Lee, Twitter, LinkedIn, Search Engine People, Jennifer Osborne, optimizing press releases, StraightUpSearch, Laura Moncur, SEO tricks for press releases, Speak Media Blog, Jennifer A. Jones, social media newsroom, How Best to Avoid Dying, Search Engine Watch, Mark Jackson, Brian Solis, FutureWorks, Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg del.icio.us tags: PR 2.0, Cece Salomon-Lee, Twitter, LinkedIn, Search Engine People, Jennifer Osborne, optimizing press releases, StraightUpSearch, Laura Moncur, SEO tricks for press releases, Speak Media Blog, Jennifer A. Jones, social media newsroom, How Best to Avoid Dying, Search Engine Watch, Mark Jackson, Brian Solis, FutureWorks, Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg icerocket tags: PR 2.0, Cece Salomon-Lee, Twitter, LinkedIn, Search En...

The news about unemployment just keeps getting uglier as the jobless rate recently reached its highest level in 16 years. If you are one of the people behind these numbers, my best wishes and prayers are with you. Been there, done that, and it's not something I'd wish on anyone (well, almost anyone, but...). Seriously, it's stressful and frustrating, and for all who now find themselves involuntarily seeking new career opportunities, I hope your search is as quick and productive as possible. Here are a few resources that may help. Social media guru Chris Brogan has written a free ebook on Using the Social Web to Find Work that, in Chris' words, "takes you from the specifics of using LinkedIn to your benefit, into some ideas on how to grow and nurture your social networks ahead of a need for them." This is a great resource to check out even if you're not out of work (yet). The Marketing, Advertising and Sales Career Opportunities center on WebMarketC...

I had the honor of having a guest post on how to avoid bad SEO consultants published on YOUmoz last week. Based on my own experience, and citing the work of lots of smart SEO experts, the post provides advice on how to spot SEO spammers and scammers, as well as how to find an effective, reputable firm to provide SEO services. The final post looks a bit link-heavy as it was edited down quite a bit. Still, overall, I think the edits made by the SEOmoz team improved the post (I tend to get a bit wordy sometimes). The post didn't generate quite as much traffic to this blog as I thought it would. I'm not sure if that was because: SEOmoz doesn't get as much traffic as one would expect; SEOmoz readers don't often click on links within posts; or my post just wasn't interesting (but I got all thumbs-up and generally positive comments, so don't think this is the case). Regardless, it was an honor and I hope you have a chance to check out the post . ***** ...

This content has been moved to Best of 2008: SEO Guidance on the Webbiquity blog.

This content has been moved to Don’t They Know Who You Are? Why Reputation Management is Crucial on the Webbiquity blog. ***** technorati tags: Lee Odden, digital reputation management, Jon Rognerud, Guy Kawasaki, LookupPage, Google Knol, TechCrunch, YouTube, Vimeo, Flickr, Twitter, Wikio, Mixx, Digg, StumbleUpon, Wikipedia, Tim Young, Socialcast, LinkedIn, Facebook, Naymz, Jigsaw, Plaxo, ZoomInfo, CrunchBase, VisualCV, Scott Monty, Christopher Barger del.icio.us tags: Lee Odden, digital reputation management, Jon Rognerud, Guy Kawasaki, LookupPage, Google Knol, TechCrunch, YouTube, Vimeo, Flickr, Twitter, Wikio, Mixx, Digg, StumbleUpon, Wikipedia, Tim Young, Socialcast, LinkedIn, Facebook, Naymz, Jigsaw, Plaxo, ZoomInfo, CrunchBase, VisualCV, Scott Monty, Christopher Barger icerocket tags: Lee Odden, digital reputation management, Jon Rognerud, Guy Kawasaki, LookupPage, Google Knol, TechCru...