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Tag Archives: internet marketing for small business

Google AdSense Goes Mobile

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Google AdWords

For those hardcore PPC-ers that can’t not adjust their keywords and bids on an hourly basis, the big G has launched a mobile version of Google Adsense — no app required. The mobile-friendly interface will load automatically when users visit www.google.com/adsense on their mobile devices.

This is exciting news, albeit less exciting than it would have been in the PPC dark ages — before apps like DuoSense made it possible to tinker with AdWords on the go.

But whether you’re using an app or mobile browser, waxing AdWords on your cell is only a useful option if you’re interested in managing your own Pay-Per-Click campaign. Not up for the task? That’s where Ajax Union comes in. Check out our PPC Feeder service to explore your Google Adwords Management options.

Facebook Cracks Down on Breakup Notifier App, Heartbreak Ensues

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breakup notifier

Facebook just disabled one of our favorite apps in recent history: Breakup Notifier, a nifty tool that sends email updates when your friend’s relationship shatter. Until a couple of minutes ago, all you had to do was add the app on Facebook, select the friends you want to keep tabs on and check your email obsessively until your crush of the moment changes their relationship status from “In a Relationship” to “It’s Complicated.”

The problem? It’s complicated. Reps from the app recently tweeted that “Facebook emailed saying that they’ve disabled us… We are working for a fix, but ask @facebook to put is back online!” — which implies that the app violated some portion of the social network’s terms of service.

Already covered on Geek.com, PCWorld, ABC News and other top outlets, Breakup Notifier is a promising — albiet creepy — app that we hope to see back in action soon.

Black Hat SEO: Don’t Pull a Penney’s

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jc penney seo

The New York Times continues to impress us with their attention to the SEO biz — from their November article on reputation wrangler DecorMyEyes to last Saturday’s coverage of J.C. Penney’s SEO scandal. After monitoring the department store’s phenomenal search rankings for a litany of terms both short- and long-tailed, NYT approached Google with their findings, and the search engine giant pronounced JCP guilty of violating the site’s webmaster standards.

Specifically, Penney’s is guilty of buying links, a black hat search technique that disrupts Google’s natural order. The process is not illegal, but Google punishes violators by demoting their rankings or even removing them from the index altogether. Google began manually demoting Penney’s for various search terms after becoming aware of the misconduct.

Reps from J.C. Penney claim that the company was unaware of the link-building, although they did fire their SEO company, SearchDEX, lickety split. Is the retailer telling the truth? Many clients are clueless of their SEO firms’ direct activities, but Penney’s link-building efforts were notably more intense around the holiday season — a finding that implies the campaign had some kind of direction.

In the end, though, it doesn’t matter if Penney’s was aware of the black hat action — if you pay for an SEO company, you’re responsible for the tactics they pursue on your behalf. That’s why Ajax Union does everything above board. Can your marketing firm say that?

Hiybbprqag! Google “Bing Sting” Hurts both Search Engines

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Bing Sting

Remember that old saying, “People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones”? Google probably does.

The big G recently published the results of its “Bing Sting” — a covert op where Google manipulated its search engine results for the first time ever to catch Microsoft in the act of copying its handling of unusual misspellings. The sting focused on some crazy misspelled words like “Hiybbprqag,” which at the start returned few, if any, results on G & B.

To trick Bing, Google listed one or more totally unrelated pages as the number one result for “Hiybbprqag” — plus several other out there terms. These honeypot pages started appearing on Bing’s results for the same search terms within weeks. The search engine concluded that Bing had been harvesting its data, perhaps from the Bing toolbar.

Okay, that’s kind of embarrassing. But then Bing fired back, accusing Google of copying its own innovative features, including its travel search, social media integration and infinitely scrolling image search. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?

In the end, all of this stone throwing reveals that both search engines are guilty of looking at the other’s test — Bing being the more overt case — and, worse of all, that the two sites might not even be that different. Proponents of newer search engines like the admittedly awesome Blekko have been arguing that for years.

What do you think? Let us know on the Ajax Union Facebook.

SEO News: Google Tweaks Algorithm to Fight Thin Content

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google algorithm

With news of content scrapers — and generally spammy news sites — like Demand Media cropping up in SEO blogs and mainstream news sources alike, it’s no surprise to see Google taking action. The search engine tweaked its algorithm last week to cut down on the amount of so-called thin content appearing on both Google.com and Google News.

But before you start rioting in the streets, read on: Google’s primary intention, it seems, is to provide the correct attribution whenever possible. So, if you write a great article that is then scraped by hundreds of illegitimate sites, your version will show up on Google News — not the other guys’.

Worried your content won’t make the grade? Not all internet marketing companies but content at a premium, but the thing is, opting for better content isn’t a choice — it’s a necessity. At Ajax Union, we create original, informative and SEO-friendly content for every Tweet, Facebook post, blog, article, and press release — and everything in between. Can your SEO company say that?