I don’t want to make anyone paranoid, but there are more internet marketing companies than you probably imagine who are what I call “SEO spoilers”. That is, providers who want to inflict as much pain as possible on any client who leaves them.
If a client discontinues their relationship with them, they will do everything from […]

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Mary Bowling will be presenting at GetListed.org’s Local University in Spokane in early February 2010. Learn more about this cheap, cheap, cheap event designed to help small businesses navigate the complex world of internet marketing.

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In creating a website, there’s a real danger of building web pages that are not useful to either the Search Engines or the searchers who might land on them.
Content is king! You’ve heard that over and over again and it is most definitely true. Content is what makes your pages:

relevant to the Search Engines […]

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Are you following Google Maps’ new Local Business Listing guidelines? Or are you engaging in unsafe search? Read more about Google’s early warning system here.

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Google is currently testing a new type of ad for local businesses in the West Coast markets of San Francisco and San Diego. Unlike the auction bidding of Adwords, these Local Listing ads are sold at a flat monthly rate. The rate, which is determined by the niche and market area, is based on prevailing […]

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It was probably a relief for many businesses to see their phone numbers back in their 7 Pack local listings in the Google search results. What is Google up to now?
Here are a few possibilities:

Google may be testing click through rates to both Maps listings and websites from the 7 Pack to see how behavior […]

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The Google 7 Pack, which was a 10 Pack until about a month ago, has undergone another change. There are no longer any phone numbers displayed next to the businesses listed there. There’s no telling if this is just a glitch that Google will soon correct, if it is a test to see what the […]

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More are more of the searches that previously displayed the Google 10 Pack of local results above the organic search results are now showing only 7 business listings, instead.
This was at first something that was being tested in just few West Coast markets as a way to make room for local ads above and/or below […]

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Want to know how to rank better in the Google 10 pack? How to rank better in Google Maps? Join us at SMX East 2009 in NYC!

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Are you asking for too much information on your online contact forms? If so, you are probably missing out on a lot of good leads. Here’s the fix.

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I recently had the pleasure of attending a 2 day Google AdWords seminar conducted by master marketer Brad Geddes of bg Theory. The advanced Google sponsored workshops were part of the Seminars for Success series. It’s so nice to have one of these in Denver. Apparently a lot of other folks thought so too, as […]

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Recently, my colleague, Mike Belasco, and I conducted a webinar on Local Search hosted by our good friends at SEMpdx (Search Engine Marketing Portand) and moderated by Portland internet marketer Hallie Janssen of Anvil Media.
I discussed Google’s new emphasis on Local Search, the increasing appearance of the Google 10 pack in the Universal results, and […]

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It’s obviously been way too long since I posted here. So, here’s a quick run down of what’s been keeping me so busy lately:
My Job
Everyone’s asking about my job, so here’s the short story: The SEM company I worked for for 5 years got themselves in deep financial doo doo and there was a […]

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Here are Matt Cutts’ 7 signs of a low quality directory. These types of websites will probably not be useful for link building or worth the time to submit to them.

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