With much anticipation and fanfare, Google+ made its debut earlier this month.

As most people already know, Google+ is Google’s answer to Facebook.  At its core, Google+ is a social network however it’s basically an amalgamation of several existing Google services.  It integrates social services such as Google Profiles and Google Buzz and introduces new services, such as Circles, Hangouts, Sparks and Huddles. (more…)

Simulating Google’s quality score, Microsoft has unveiled an identically named metric of questionable value to advertising efforts.  Most marketers are intimately familiar with Google’s quality score and the impact it has on SEM campaigns.  While the exact formula behind Google’s quality score is intentionally nebulous, the constituent factors are clearly stated (CPC): (more…)

The latest news surrounding Google has been the subpoenas sent by the Federal Trade Commission to investigate antitrust issues with the global giant. This comes as no surprise to many, as Google has been amassing an empire of various services since its inception. However, the most interesting part of the investigation is what is at its center: Google’s search engine results. (more…)

Recently, The International Corporation for Assigned Names made one of the largest changes to The Internet Domain Name System. This new update allows domains, which formerly had to end with specific extensions after the “dot”, to create their own extension after the “dot”. For example, www.riseinteractive.com now has the ability to purchase www.riseinteractive.interactivemarketing (replacing the com with our word of choice). (more…)

I recently read an article through my custom Google News Feed about a company touting a link building service.  The service offered several packages of links that we will call bronze, silver and gold.  Each package had a corresponding number of links (in the hundreds or thousands) and price.   I believe this to be an irresponsible way to market link campaign services for a few key reasons: (more…)

Based on the public reaction to Google’s launch of the +1 feature for paid search ads, players in the SEM industry can be categorized into two camps: the folks who are immediately dismissing it as the next Google Wave (i.e. a soon-to-fail attempt at competing against Facebook in the social media sphere) and the folks that are choosing to just wait and see.  For those not in the know, the +1 feature allows people with Google profiles to click on a +1 button to recommend either a paid or an organic search result.  That person’s recommendations are publicly shared with his or her contacts on Google. (more…)

While the economy might be showing signs of life, companies are still looking for areas to remove inefficiencies and, in the end, to reduce the cost of digital marketing efforts.  Today, we’ll show you some specific areas to look for wasted funds to help you run the most profitable marketing program possible. (more…)

Dayparting (as it relates to Paid Search) is a fairly simple concept, but one many companies have failed to utilize.  Simply, dayparting is the act of limiting or suspending part of your PPC program during certain periods (and running more advertising during your peak periods).  Today I will answer two main questions:

1. Who should be using dayparting (and why)?

2. How do I determine my peak periods? (more…)

As we prepare to move into 2011, it’s a great time to evaluate the past year and peek at the upcoming year. Many of us are creating laundry lists of decrees for the New Year – make sure you’re including some Internet marketing goals in your 2011 resolutions. While losing 20 pounds would impressive, we feel improving the return of your Internet marketing program by 20% deserves some consideration (disclaimer: we are a bit biased). Obviously, the specific items you choose to include are up to you, but we’ve listed a few suggestions based on conversations with clients and other marketers. (more…)

As Internet users look for information specifically tailored to them, several niche search sites are answering the call. NPR recently highlighted several religious/faith-based search engines that are increasingly popular among Christians, Jews and Muslims around the world. We wanted to take a closer look at these Web sites to determine how viable they are as Internet marketing opportunities. (more…)