Practical Digital Marketing Advice (and Occasional Rants) from the Experts
One of the biggest announcements during Google I/O 2013 was the announcement of the new Google Maps. The new version was reportedly rebuilt from the ground up, and after receiving my invite and diving in, I can see that they weren't kidding.
The new Google Maps is nothing short of amazing.
David VeldtFor the past few weeks, Google and Matt Cutts (head of the webspam team at Google) have alluded to an upcoming Penguin algorithm update. Well, yesterday, during an episode of This Week in Google, Cutts announced that the update was being rolled out within "the next few hours" (his announcement begins around the 1:21:00 mark). He also wrote a post on his personal blog announcing the official arrival of Penguin 2.0. Technically, this is the 4th update to Penguin, but since this is a "brand new generation of algorithms," as described by Cutts, it has been referred to as 2.0 within Google.
David VeldtI was always taught to play it cool when something great happened. When wide receivers dance in the end zone, I still scowl "C'mon, act like you've done it before!" at the TV like an old, grumpy man. However, last Thursday, I had a post on LinkedIn privacy absolutely blow up and dammit, I'm excited.
David VeldtThis is a post I've been wanting to write for a while. In fact, it stems from something I noticed way back in August of last year. After digging for answers and even a couple attempts at contacting their customer support, I've concluded that LinkedIn is by far the creepiest social network. The primary reasons LinkedIn is the mustached, trench coat and wire frame glasses wearing mouth breather of the internet are the "People You May Know" and "People Also Viewed" features.
David VeldtWhen I was a kid, I was a bit of the daring type. I've been told stories of myself, getting caught playing balance beam on a 2nd story deck railing, wandering off and requiring a search party of a dozen people at the campground (they found me, having turkey dinner with the park owner's family), and numerous bicycle and snowboarding feats gone terribly wrong.
I can't pinpoint when risk aversion crept into my psyche, but it has been especially prominent in my professional life. In digital marketing, that isn't always a bad thing.
David VeldtOne of the biggest challenges in SEO is measuring success in a way that both the client and the marketer agree on. As recently as five years ago, this wasn't a challenge at all. Back then, we had these wonderfully reliable, ironclad numbers called rankings. The marketer would do their keyword research and the client would sign off on X number of keywords.
David VeldtWe're going to play a little word association game. I'm going to give you a list of words and you are going to shout the first thing that comes into your head. If you're in a public place or crowded office, I encourage you to set up a camera and record the reactions around you for my entertainment.
David VeldtLast fall, I had the pleasure of speaking at an industry conference full of passionate, like-minded people. I can honestly say it was a wonderful experience.
Before I gave my presentation, no one at the event knew who I was. Between sessions, I was approached by a very young, highly energetic man. When he asked what my particular interest in the conference was, I informed him that I would be speaking on SEO shortly. Upon hearing this news, he immediately became 10x more interested in me.
David Veldt(Note: Some folks in the industry frown on "outing" other companies for using black hat tactics. However, I find these practices deceitful, dishonest and lazy. Quite frankly, I think we are too easy on spammers, and the web won't get any better that way).
David Veldt
Why Can't Anyone Figure Out A Great Comment Platform?
There's no doubt that one of the greatest challenges of internet technology has been emulating the experience of in-person interactions. Whether it is meeting, dating, playing games, socializing or simply conversing; there are countless "naturally human" cues that control and direct these interactions.