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Google Changes That Could Affect YOU…
Over the last year it felt like Google changes and algorithm updates were rolling out more frequently than my teenage son likes to change his underwear (sorry Carter… but I’m pretty sure none of your friends read my blog ;-)
With Panda hitting with full force in March 2011 and subsequent updates released throughout the balance of the year it finally felt like things were starting to stabilize again… until I read a very disturbing article on the Wall Street Journal website this morning.
The article was the summary of an interview with Amit Singhal who is a top search executive at Google so I’m going to assume this is not just speculation or rumour (although I wish it were).
Google changes that sound inevitable…
Adwords Warning… A Lesson To Us All!
Last night I received an email from Google Adwords about one of my accounts. The message stated that some of my URL’s were in violation of their “Landing Page and Site Policies”.
If you’ve received one of these messages then you know the sinking feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when you see that subject line:
“Your Adwords account: Warning of possible suspension”
But upon opening the message I was relieved to see that the two sites they mentioned were VERY old sites that were not even active. In fact, after a brief investigation I found that I didn’t even own the domains anymore. I had let them expire and they’d been picked up by someone else who had built their own sites on them.
Plus the campaigns that were “In Violation” had not been active for 2 years!
I didn’t even know they were there because of the way Adwords is set up by default.
So I slept well last night confident that this morning I would simply hop on the phone with Adwords, explain that the campaigns had not been active for 2 years and that I should have deleted them but forgot to and that I didn’t even own the sites anymore.
Any rational company would look at the situation and say “No problem… just delete the campaigns and all is well!”
And I should note, this is an account I have managed for quite a few years spending about $25-$30k per month (I know… chump change for Google).
So this morning I hopped on the phone and was immediately connected to an Adwords Support Specialist and here is a summary of the conversation…
Dirty Secret Of Split Testing Software…
There are lots of great A/B Split testing tools at our disposal these days and my favourites include…
But there’s a HUGE flaw in almost every single one of these tools causing countless Internet marketers to make decisions that could actually be losing them money when they’re expecting the opposite.
Here’s the problem…
When someone runs a test using any of these tools they’re typically looking at a few key metrics including…
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- % change in conversion
- Confidence score
For those of you who are new to split testing, “confidence score” is basically a measure of the confidence that the projected increase/decrease is accurate. The more visitors & conversions measured the higher the confidence score and accuracy of the results.
For example, if I ran an A/B test on a landing page and version B showed a 6% increase in conversion with a 95% confidence score, then version would B should be the winner.
Unfortunately that is not necessarily true…
Very Funny Adobe Photoshop Parody Video…
Came across this Adobe Photoshop parody today… very funny.
I wonder how many of the ‘real’ beauty ads use the same ‘treatment’ to enhance their results?
Fotoshop by Adobé from Jesse Rosten on Vimeo.
Infographic – The History Of Advertising
Just came across this infographic on the history of advertising put together by they guys at InfoLinks.com.
Couple of highlights include…
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- Sears founded direct marketing in 1892 when they sent out 8000 postcards and got 2000 orders (I’d kill for a response rate like that.)
- In 1941 Bulova watches paid for the first ever TV commercial… for a whopping $9.
Quit Forcing Google+ And Biasing Your Results…
The latest change to the Google SERP really rubbed me the wrong way.
If you haven’t noticed, now when you are logged into your Google account and are a member of Google+, Google is now integrating “Social Results” in to the SERP.
So if someone in one of your circles shares something Google thinks is related to what you are searching for they’ll display it in the SERP pushing down or replacing more relevant results.
In my opinion this damages the real power of Google and their supposedly unbiased results.
Our beliefs and opinions are already influenced by our social circle but until now Google didn’t really give a rip about what our social circles thought… they displayed what their algorithm deemed most relevant exposing us to opinions, views, products, and solutions we may have never thought of if we ‘just asked our friends”.
And although it may not seem like much, in the long run I believe this could have a huge impact on search results… and maybe even society as a whole.
I mean, just imagine the impact this could have on politics…
If your circles in Google+ are primarily Republican then the chances of getting a Democratic point of view on any issue you search in Google is now reduced.
So in summary, if I want to know what my friends think I’ll just ask them. I don’t need Google for that.
But maybe I am overreacting… cuz at this point Google+ has taken off like a penguin with its wings clipped.
If no one uses Google+ it won’t ever matter. I hope.
All that said, the video they created to launch it was kinda cute… 
ASW Report #2 – Link Building Realities
This was a pretty cool session because it’s one of the first times I’ve ever heard an SEO expert preach the merits of Blackhat link building on stage at a mainstream event like this.
The speakers name was Robert Adler (www.TheLinkBuilders.com) and the overall theme of his talk was that if you want your site to rank well in Google for even moderately competitive keywords you need to employ an aggressive link building campaign using a combination of link building tactics, many of which will be Blackhat.
He did take some flack from one audience member when he talked about the power of forum and blog commenting and software like XRumer to automate the process (aka spam) but I thought he handled it well by stating he was not going to argue the ethics of what works… he was just sharing what really does work.
ASW Report #1 – Make Money With Your Blog
Over the next few days I’ll be posting tips and tactics from the Affiliate Summit here on my blog so stay tuned and let’s get started…
I just attended a session called “The Future of Content Monetization & Online Publishing” and there was a panel of successful bloggers sharing how they make money on their content sites. Here were some of the key tips they shared…
Disclaimer: The following tips really apply to blogs and sites developed around a personality. They do not necessarily apply to all affiliate websites including comparison shopping, lead gen and niche review sites.
Random Internet Marketing Predictions For 2012
It’s the time of year when I receive numerous queries about what to expect in 2012 and since somebody already laid claimed to “the world will end” I will stick to Internet marketing.
Now this is a tough question to answer since “Internet Marketing” is such an enormous topic, but to appease the masses here are a few random things I would keep my eye on…
1. Google… OMG where do I start?
Whether you like it or not, Google is the single biggest source of buyers for the majority of businesses on the net and their near monopoly and ability to essentially redirect the flow of traffic or shut down an Adwords campaign on a whim has created a VERY uncertain environment for everyone who relies on Google for traffic.
And their “Don’t Be Evil” mantra is the perfect public relations front for an organization that constantly violates privacy rights, ignores copyright and intellectual property laws and regularly crushes innocent small businesses without the simple courtesy of an explanation (And sending canned emails stating “Review Our Policies…” doesn’t count, Google).
So what can we expect to see from Google in 2012? Well, here’s my take…
More unreasonable “Biz Opp” rules from the FTC…
Laws are important. I get it. I really do. But there are a few clauses in the new “Business Opportunity Rule” that just don’t make a lot of sense to me.
Here is a short video from the FTC that explains the new Business Opportunity Rule and if you sell any kind of business opportunity then you should probably be familiar with it. And after you watch, my following rant will make more sense…