South Carolina AG Threatens Criminal Charges Against Craigslist
Craigslist can’t win for losing, especially when it comes to grandstanding attorneys general who understand the value of a high profile crusade more than they do the law. The latest example comes out of South Carolina, where the attorney general has threatened criminal prosecution of craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster and founder Craig Newmark for displaying prostitution ads and “graphic pornographic material.”
Google Handles Local Searches Differently Than Before
Murdok recently spoke with Search Engine Land Assignment Editor, and SmallBusinessSEM.com Blogger Matt McGee about local search and its impact on business owners. The local search game has changed over the years, and even more so within the last couple months. Do you think a Google search is the most important place to be found in local search? Share your thoughts.
Internet Gives Boost to Vanity Publishing
For decades the cost of publishing on dead trees gave the publishing industry significant leverage over hopeful writers. But the Internet, specifically sites like Lulu and Scribd, are about to change all that.
Nielsen Statistics Called Into Question Again
Along with what comScore and Hitwise put out, Nielsen’s data concerning online traffic is often viewed as being rather reliable, and almost every month, loads of people turn to it to see how different sites stack up. A couple of rather important companies have recently called into question the accuracy of Nielsen’s stats, however.
Report: Facebook Raising $150M To Reward Employees
Facebook’s employees may soon get a special payday that goes well beyond the normal end-of-the-week routine. A new report indicates the company is raising $150 million in order to buy out workers’ shares and effectively give them a pre-IPO reward.
Wolfram Alpha: The Beginning
Wolfram Alpha launched on Friday night after much anticipation. The search engine, which began generating most of its hype a couple months ago experienced problems right out of the box.
Longer Search Queries Hurting PPC Clicks?
Advertisers using paid search may find that they have to adapt to the habits of searchers. And there have been indications that searchers are using longer queries to find what they are looking for these days.
comScore shares some rather interesting data showing that the number of paid clicks has grown 3 times slower than the total number of queries in the US since January 2007. Look at these graphs:
Harvard Professor Claims Google Conversions Inflated
Benjamin Edelman, assistant professor at Harvard Business School, claims Google and partners are inflating PPC conversion rates and increasing advertiser cost via four specific channels, including Google’s own Chrome browser.
Google makes money by charging advertisers every time a user clicks on a Google advertisement, but in the instances described and documented by Edelman, he makes it appear Google and partners are colluding to intercept traffic to websites that would be navigated directly (and for free) rather than by searching.
Your Email List is One of Your Most Valuable Assets
Email marketing is good for business growth – when done properly. One of the best parts about email marketing is that it keeps you in regular contact with customers. It keeps you fresh in their minds. That is why your list is so important.
Forums Are Relevant in Social Media Marketing
I have long considered online forums to be an early form of what we now consider to be social networks. They’ve been around much longer than Facebook, Twitter and the rest, and have allowed users to create profiles and communicate with each other on the web.