|
|
|
You are viewing archived posts. You might also want to read current content. |
Tomorrow is Good Friday, and this weekend is Easter. As such, things will be a little quiet on Marketing Pilgrim during this time of celebration.
If you’re traveling, stay safe!
Andy
Pilgrim Partners: 3FN Marketing - our AdSense alternative pays publishers up to 80% of each click!
It’s been far too long since a blog meme circulated through this neck of the woods, so let’s tackle the tagging handed down by Nathan Weinberg.
The tag seems to be a little weak - I don’t know if it should be 5 reasons, or just 1 - but here goes. I love blogging! I am totally and disgustingly addicted to blogging. I guess I’m one of those stereotypical net users that just likes to connect to people. Apart from a brief vac
I’m delighted to welcome Unlimited Web Solutions as a new Marketing Pilgrim advertiser.
Headed-up by David Williams and Fred Wood, UWS provides a wide array of search marketing services including: Link building and baiting, with a focus on obtaining valuable .edu links.
Web development and optimization.
Optimized press releases for just $295 with a fast turnaround. They’re right in my back yard, and I’ve consulted with David i
There are a lot of open job listings posted at the Marketing Pilgrim Job Board. Here’s what you’ll find listed. Account Handler/ Manager
Search Marketing Specialist
Search Marketing Manager
Brand Manager
Marketing Director
Manager, Database Marketing
Marketing Specialist
Marketing Intern – Events & Associations
Web Design/Interactive Marketing Manager
Junior Marketing Coordinator
Paid Search Specialist
Search Engine Optimizatio
You may have noticed our logo is a little different today.
Well, that’s because we wanted to give you a visual clue as to why blogging may be a little lighter than normal. Yep, Jordan and I both share the same birthday, and so we thought we’d take it a little easier today - which in our world means 5 or 6 posts, instead of a dozen. Anyway, if you do happen to see a post from Jordan today, be sure to wish her a happy birthday!
Andy
Every couple of weeks, we like to take time out to thank our advertisers. Without the support of the companies listed below, we would not have the resources to provide the same detailed coverage of internet marketing news.
SEO Copywriters - offering well-researched, interesting and informative content for any business in any industry. Text Link Brokers - if you looking to buy links - for traffic or SEO - Text Link Brokers has a vast network
Thanks to our many loyal readers, we’ve been able to secure another greater sponsor - ROI Revolution.
One of the few Google Analytics authorized consultants in the country, ROI Revolution provides quality training and support for those looking to get the most out of their web site stats.
Their 7 Day Mini Course provides 7 articles delivered by email to help those just starting out in Google Analytics, while their webinar “The Secret T
We’re already starting to see entries come in for the second SEM Scholarship Contest, which is awesome considering the deadline is not until April 6th.
The prize package is already worth more than $10,000, but it’s about to get another considerable addition.
The grand prize winner will now receive a full pass to the fall session of SEO Class! The two-day seminar is restricted to just 50 participants and provides hands-on, one on one a
We’re delighted to announce a new Marketing Pilgrim advertiser - iBegin Source.
If your business relies on local business data, you’ll want to head over to iBegin Source, where they have millions of businesses listed and a license for all 50 states is a fraction of the cost of similar services.
Their local business data is updated daily, access is automated and you can even get a FREE DOWNLOAD for non-commercial use.
Let them know you
Calling all B- to Z-list bloggers, and those who feel they’re left out “the old boys SEO club“, I want your RSS feed.
It seems like there’s a mini-revolution brewing with the long-tail of bloggers (around 57+ million of you) feeling there’s a class of blogs in each industry that keeps to its own and doesn’t link to those outside of the “A-list”. While I believe the “A-list” is relat
It’s back!
After the phenomenal success of last year’s contest, the Marketing Pilgrim SEM Scholarship Contest is back and this time it’s bigger, better and badder than before!
Not only will the winner of the contest have a chance to kick-start their reputation as one of the world’s leading search marketers, but they’ll win a prize package worth over $10,000!!!
Yep, we have a fantastic prize list this year. Not only d
Don’t forget to post your job openings to the Marketing Pilgrim Job Board. Use the coupon “MARCHMADNESS” and you can post any listing for just $9!
Recently added positions include:
Junior Marketing Coordinator
Paid Search Specialist
Search Engine Optimization Specialist
Marketing Pilgrim is read by more than 6,000 people each day - the majority with a background in marketing - so you can’t reach a better candidate pool for nine bucks!
From now until Saturday, you can get $20 off any job listing at the Marketing Pilgrim Job Board by using the coupon code “febspecial”.
The coupon can be used multiple times but ends Saturday, so hurry and post your open positions!
I know this is going to sound like linkbait, but it’s not.
I’m getting tired of reading blog posts that are simply pandering to Digg users. You all know the format: catchy title, top 10 list, praising Digg, Google, Apple, etc. The very fact that I’m now able to pick these posts out, suggest it won’t be long before the majority start recognizing the same pattern.
While I’ll admit Digg sends a lot of traffic, and I’m always happy to see a post here make the Digg homepage, I don’t want to fall into the trap of writing posts that attract Diggers and don’t appeal to our regular readers.
So, as of today, I’m making a “Not-Made-For-Digg” pledge to our readers
A few people have given me flack for my “Nofollow me to Wikipedia” campaign, suggesting that those in “nofollow” houses, shouldn’t throw stones. They’re referring to the fact that all links in the comments at Marketing Pilgrim have the nofollow command applied.
While others are testing removing nofollow from all comment links, I’ve decided to try another option
Marketing Pilgrim wouldn’t be half the blog it is today, without the support of our sponsors and advertisers. Do us a favor, and check out these fine services…
Text Link Brokers - if you looking to buy links - for traffic or SEO - Text Link Brokers has a vast network of link partners and great pricing
I’ve just removed the external sidebar widgets from Marketing Pilgrim. As much as I loved having them on the site, they just slowed down the page load-times too much.
Looking at the click patterns via Crazy Egg, it appears few readers were actually clicking on them anyway, so why frustrate the 99% of visitors who had to suffer slow loading pages.
As a compromise, I’ve added a “pilgrim’s picks” section to the sidebar, which includes links to the Link blog, MyBlogLog community and job board.
I think widgets are fun for a blog to have, but when they start adding 8-15 seconds to a page’s load time, it’s time to rethink.
Pilgrim Partners: Best of the Web Blog Directory - Find out what the best bloggers are talking about now
If you’re an internet marketer and wondering whether the grass is greener on the other side, head over to our marketing job board, and find yourself a new home.
You’ll find positions for sales executives, project managers, search media analysts, link ninjas and even one company looking for a VP of Marketing.
Employers, you still have time to post your job listing for free! Simply use the coupon “PILGRIMBETA” for a free single-category job listing (exp Feb 12th).
Pilgrim
I’m excited to announce a new “Pilgrim Partner”, SEO Copywriters.
I don’t know about you, but I find it very hard to find reliable and efficient copywriters for search engine optimization campaigns. SEO Copywriters is filling a great big void with their web content development service which includes:
Website content development: Create well-researched, interesting and informative content for any business in any industry.
Article Writing: Topic focused articles for syndication across the Internet with links back to your web site
I must admit that I’m not an avid viewer of Technorati’s Buzz TV. I’ve seen it a couple of times, and host Aaron Krane is perfect for the role - when you have only two minutes, you need to be that energetic - but I just don’t have the time to tune in each day (I know it’s only 2 minutes long!).
Anyway, maybe it’s part of Aaron’s plan to get me to talk about Buzz TV - in which case it’s worked - but Marketing Pilgrim is featured on today’s episode.
So like the pavlovian blogger I am, he sent me the embedded video and I came running to hit “publish”
Despite all of the grief that came my way yesterday, the MyBlogLog contest is still alive and well.
All you need to do is join our MyBlogLog community and you’ll automatically be entered to win a Microsoft Zune - or if you hate the idea of owning anything MSFT, we’ll send you an iPod instead
While Del-Boy and Rodders may have had their “Beano to Margate“, I’m looking forward to my trip to England on Friday.
I’ll get the chance to visit my family in Brighton over the weekend, then meet with a client in London, on Monday.
Posting will be a little erratic next Monday and Tuesday, as I’ll be on a different time zone and obviously busy with a client.
If anyone wants to grab a beer near Victoria Station on Monday night, leave a comment or drop me an email.
This time on Saturday, we could be millionaires I’ll be eating fish and chips!
[For all US readers, there’s probably at least a couple of references that will be lost on you
Jeremy’s decided that he needs to suggest to his readers that I am spamming MyBlogLog. Yep, Jeremy believes that he is the guardian of all that Yahoo decides to buy and he should make wild claims - maybe he’s just pissed because we discovered the spammy tactics Yahoo was employing.
Jeremy obviously has no idea of the amount of spam that is already going on at MyBlogLog - have you read the comments and messages people leave each other Jeremy? Here I am, encouraging people to join the Marketing Pilgrim MyBlogLog community - something I did before it took off and before Yahoo acquired it - and he accuses me of spamming
Time for one quick post to welcome the latest Pilgrim Partner and sponsor, Best of the Web Directory.
I’m excited to have such a great company represented on Marketing Pilgrim. BOTW is the internet’s oldest web directory and one of the most authoritative. If your site, or your client’s, is not already listed, you should head over there immediately!
If you’re a blogger, they have a directory just for you too.
We have just a couple of ad slots left, so email me if you’re interested.
Tomorrow will see the official launch of Marketing Pilgrim’s Job Board. Those of you tuning-in today, are getting the news before the press release goes out.
For many years, I’ve received emails from recruiters, asking me to recommend someone for an open position. I’ve also had many marketers contact me with their resume, asking if I know of any company hiring
Barry has reports that Google is again updating the publicly displayed PageRank values for certain websites. Barry’s skeptical, as Google only updated a couple of weeks ago.
Well, I can confirm that some sites have indeed seen a change in PageRank, including Marketing Pilgrim - I almost fell off the chair when I first saw our PR had increased to seven.
Thanks to all the Pilgrims who have help us grow over the past 18 months and linked to us in the process
We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to one of our new advertisers, BidVertiser. If you’re a publisher looking for a new way to monetize your hard work, BidVertiser provides a way for you to allow advertisers to bid for ad spots directly on your site.
Here’s how BidVertiser explains their service:
BidVertiser Publishers Program is a fast and easy to use way for publishers of all sizes to display unobtrusive text ads on their website and earn money
ABCSearch is getting some nice praise from their clients, for screening out poorly converting ad channels, including this from Six Sigma Inc.
“If I’m noticing any non-converting traffic from a particular affiliate,” said Six Sigma’s Benyukhis, “ABCSearch can just disable that Sub ID
There’s a lot of interesting stuff I’ve shared over at Pilgrim’s Picks. Here’s the latest stuff that caught my attention.
Pilgrim Partners: Backup Important Data for Free! - Get 2GB of free online backups, no catch, no trial period.
When news spread that Wikipedia was going to add the “NOFOLLOW” attribute to all external links, in an effort to reduce spam, I suggested that the issue could be resolved if everyone linking to Wikipedia, added a NOFOLLOW and effectively reduce the value of a Wikipedia link. That would take care of the issue in the same blinkered way that Wikipedia deemed appropriate.
That sentiment appeared to resonate with a few other bloggers, so I’ve decided to turn it more into a campaign
Just an FYI, the MyBlogLog widget is not loading well today and is causing extremely slow page load times. I’ve removed it from the page, until they fix the issue.
If anyone from MBL or Yahoo wants to leave a comment once it’s fixed, I’ll gladly add it back.
In the meantime, anyone else noticed the slowdown today?
Pilgrim Partners: Buy Text Links - Buy text links and increase your site’s traffic!
Here’s everything else that caught my eye today, but didn’t make it to the blog.
If you’re not already reading Pilgrim’s Picks, or subscribing to its RSS feed, you’re missing all this great stuff!
Pilgrim Partners: SEO Project Management Tools - every SEO tool you can think of, under one roof!
As of today, if you decide to comment on any post at Marketing Pilgrim, you’ll see a new layer of spam protection. As long as you know basic math, you should have no problem posting your comment - and if you don’t know basic math, well…
This has already cut down automated comment spam to virtually zero, and should help me better identify false-positives in Akismet. However, as it’s new, please let me know if you find any bugs, or your comments don’t appear.
Thanks!
Marketing Pilgrim wouldn’t be half the blog it is today, without the support of our sponsors and advertisers. Do us a favor, and check out these fine services…
Text Link Brokers - if you looking to buy links - for traffic or SEO - Text Link Brokers has a vast network of link partners and great pricing
I read hundreds of blog posts each day - ok, sometimes just the titles - and unfortunately don’t have time to comment on all of the ones I find interesting. Instead of these becoming “vosts” (vaporized posts), I’ve started sharing them via Google Reader.
If you’re not already reading Pilgrim’s Picks, or subscribing to it’s RSS feed, here’s what you missed recently:
After I announced I’d be giving away a free Zune MP3 player to one lucky member of Marketing Pilgrim’s MyBlogLog community, Shoemoney decided he’d throw down the gauntlet.
His challenge? That sex still sells and people who join MyBlogLog are essentially only one step above MySpace users (my words, not his), and would rather see a photo of an attractive girl in a tight top, than win a Zune.
It’s an interesting challenge, and while I’m more interested in building community members than beating Jeremy, it will be fun to see who “wins” this social experiment.
So, in the meantime, I’ll ask you
If you’ve not subscribed to our RSS link blog - Pilgrim’s Picks (via Google Reader) - here’s some of the great posts you missed…
Pilgrim Partners: Grow Your SEM Agency - let Andy Beal show you how to increase revenues and customer retention.
Just a quick note to let you know we’ve added new ad options for Marketing Pilgrim. You can now pick ad formats in addition to the popular 125×125.
Still available is the 160×600 skyscraper ad in the sidebar (currently occupied by the Mozy affiliate ad), a 160×120 box ad and 5 exclusive text link ads.
If you’re interested in any of our ad options, or would like to discuss something customized to your business, drop me a line.
Pilgrim Partners: Backup Important Data for Free! - Get 2GB of free online backups, no catch, no trial period.
As we kick off the New Year, we add a new sponsor to Marketing Pilgrim. Welcome ABCSearch.
ABC Search is a pay-per-click search network that connects thousands of advertisers with millions of consumers and offers a number of benefits including…
Geo-Targeting
Bulk Upload System
No Sign-Up Fee
Bids begin at $.05
Max Bidding Feature
Detailed Keyword Trends
Strict Click Fraud Protection
2.5 Billion Monthly Searches
Listing Approval within 24 hours
ABCSearch is also offering Marketing Pilgrim
Before I head out to the finest (and authentic) french restaurant in Raleigh - Saint Jacques - for a New Year’s celebration dinner, I wanted to let you know about a new item you’ll find in the Marketing Pilgrim sidebar.
Pilgrim’s Picks is tied directly to my “shared” items in Google Reader
Ok, I’m only doing this because..
a. It’s a Saturday
b. It’s the end of the year
c. Everyone else is doing it.
I took the superhero test and it appears I’m Superman wannabe (with a concerning dash of Supergirl, Catwoman and Wonder woman)…
You are Superman
Superman
70%
Iron Man
55%
Hulk
50%
Green Lantern
45%
The Flash
45%
Robin
40%
Spider-Man
40%
Supergirl
35%
Batman
30%
Catwoman
25%
Wonder Woman
20%
You are mild-mannered, good, strong and you love to help others.
Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test
Let me know what Superhero you are
I need your help. Actually, other Marketing Pilgrim readers need your help.
I’ve noticed more visitors leaving questions on posts that have long since retired to the archives. Not wanting to let them live out the rest of their lives in obscurity, I thought I’d test shining a spotlight on them.
So, I’m going to keep my eye on any interesting questions posted in our comments and highlight them in new posts.
Kicking-off this experiment comes a question from Demetrius…
Anyone have any tips on how to best use del.icio.us to help promote one’s websites? I have recently signed up, added a few friends, and am trying to add interesting, useful sites before I add my own (which I’ll do when I’m finished with my first set of tutorials)
Voting is open for Search Engine Journal’s Search Blog Awards. The nominations are full of my favorite blogs and voting is going to be tough.
Thanks to the readers that nominated Marketing Pilgrim. We’re nominated in two categories, Search Marketing Blog and Best Agency Resource Blog. I’m not sure how we made it into the Search Marketing Blog and not the Search News Blog category- after all, 80% of our stuff is news related - oh well.
For the Best Agency Resource Blog, we’re up against just one other nomination - Yippee!
Thanks to the Wordpress PDA plugin, found via Wordpress SEO, Marketing Pilgrim is now cell phone and PDA compatible. Simply point your mobile to the normal domain and you’ll see a stripped down version of our site.
Here’s how it looks…
Have you tested your Wordpress blog in a mobile browser? Opera Mini has a mobile simulator you can use.
I told you to expect some fresh faces at Marketing Pilgrim. We’ve already announced Jordan will be adding her expertise to the blog - even Ben Wills is threatening to come out of retirement - and today we announced the addition of Jeremy Luebke and Scott Woodard as contributing bloggers.
Both Jeremy and Scott entered our SEM scholarship contest and both bring strong experience and writing talent
Before we wind-down for Christmas, I wanted to take the opportunity to once again thank our fantastic Pilgrim Partners for the support of Marketing Pilgrim.
TextLinkBrokers - if you looking to buy links - for traffic or SEO - TextLinkBrokers has a vast network of link partners and great pricing.
Handy Recovery - if you’re like me, you’ve accidentally lost a file or two in your time