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<title>Sphinn / flyingrose / Voted News</title>
<link>http://sphinn.com</link>
<description>Sphinn</description>
<pubDate>Wed, 07 Nov 2007 11:34:46 -0800</pubDate>
<language>en</language>
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<title><![CDATA[Finally: the AdWords Killer May Be Here - Early Results In]]></title>
<link>http://sphinn.com/story/12917</link>
<comments>http://sphinn.com/story/12917</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 07 Nov 2007 11:34:46 -0800</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>Paid Search</category>
<guid>http://sphinn.com/story/12917</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Facebook launches killer application - easy to use - fast and efficient. Demographic targeting. Early indications are conversions are there. More soon.<br/><br/>45 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[I, Cringely. The Pulpit: Is GoogleThe Next Microsoft]]></title>
<link>http://sphinn.com/story/12431</link>
<comments>http://sphinn.com/story/12431</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 04 Nov 2007 16:34:48 -0800</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>Google Other</category>
<guid>http://sphinn.com/story/12431</guid>
<description><![CDATA[From the page: &quot;Google is on a tear, that's for sure, but I see a few potholes ahead that the company could avoid but probably won't. Part of this stems from Google starting to look, in some ways, a bit like Microsoft. Uh-oh.I think Google has in the works a global strategy so sweeping and audacious that it is breathtaking, but that's for a future column. This week I want to point out where Google is screwing up, why, and what they should do about it.&quot;<br/><br/>34 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Who Wants To Get Maximum Profits From Their Pay Per Click Ads ?]]></title>
<link>http://sphinn.com/story/12249</link>
<comments>http://sphinn.com/story/12249</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 02 Nov 2007 18:40:51 -0700</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>Paid Search</category>
<guid>http://sphinn.com/story/12249</guid>
<description><![CDATA[There is one person who knows more about Google AdWords, Yahoo! Search Marketing and Microsoft AdCenter than anyone else. Her name is Mary O'Brien and she and her partners provide the most comprehensive seminars on getting the most from ppc advertising. They are independent from influence by the ppc engines so you get the real truth. Those with no knowledge of ppc at all will clearly understand what is presented; however, the more you already know the more you'll get out of them. One attendee I personally correspond with saw a 10-fold increase in sales within a week and a half after attending. He wrote a thorough review about these seminars  complete with screen shots of the increase in income at http://www.associateprograms.com/discus/sutra100478.htmlMary and her partners were involved from the start at Overture and Mary is the former Overture Director for Training and Organizational Development and taught the official Yahoo! Search Marketing Seminars. These seminars are so good that even I make a point of attending them (and anyone who knows me knows I rarely travel for any reason any more.<br/><br/>9 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Whois May Be Scrapped to Break Deadlock]]></title>
<link>http://sphinn.com/story/11545</link>
<comments>http://sphinn.com/story/11545</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 29 Oct 2007 13:36:30 -0700</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>Water Cooler</category>
<guid>http://sphinn.com/story/11545</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Whois database in jeopardy of being scrapped. From the page: &quot;some privacy advocates are proposing scrapping the system entirely because they can't agree with the people who use the system on how to give domain name owners more options when they register - such as designating third-party agents. Privacy advocates say individuals shouldn't have to reveal personal information simply to have a Web site.The so-called &quot;sunset&quot; proposal is expected to come up Wednesday before a committee of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, a key Internet oversight agency.&quot;<br/><br/>19 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[PPC Engines ARE Intentionally Diluting Traffic Quality!]]></title>
<link>http://sphinn.com/story/11084</link>
<comments>http://sphinn.com/story/11084</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 25 Oct 2007 14:44:25 -0700</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>Paid Search</category>
<guid>http://sphinn.com/story/11084</guid>
<description><![CDATA[If you rely on PPC traffic you better read this. This is precisely what I have been warning is going on - especially with AdWords - written from the perspective of a domainer. From the page: &quot;Ultimately, an advertiser's dream is that 100% of clicks convert to sales but the problem is that this is a VERY small percentage of the overall click volume. If Google and Yahoo were to truly only pass on &quot;quality&quot; clicks then we would have an affiliate not a PPC system.What this means is that both Google and Yahoo are right now actually passing on &quot;sub-standard&quot; clicks to advertisers. For example, a games company may purchase a keyword for $0.95, knowing that only 10% of clicks convert to a sale. The fact that there is only a 10% conversion rate indicates that they have paid for sub-optimal clicks.The reason why the advertiser receives these clicks is a volume issue. Google and Yahoo essentially say, &quot;We can give you 100% conversion on only 1 click or you can have 10% conversion on 10,000 clicks.&quot; If all advertisers selected the 1 click option then Google and Yahoo just went out of business. The name of the game for Google and Yahoo is how many clicks can they deliver and yet still have happy advertisers with a conversion rate high enough to keep on spending on PPC.&quot;<br/><br/>37 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Will Search Maintain Grip on Online Ads?]]></title>
<link>http://sphinn.com/story/10311</link>
<comments>http://sphinn.com/story/10311</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 20 Oct 2007 21:00:20 -0700</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>Paid Search</category>
<guid>http://sphinn.com/story/10311</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Will search ads continue to dominate? Will video and display ads surpass them? Why did Google pay $1.65 BILLION for a company that only earned $15 MILLION is all of 2006? Includes eMarketer ad spend graph and a chart predicting online versus offline spend in 2021. Will Web ads surpass TV ads?<br/><br/>13 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Interview: Developer of Wordpress Secret E-Commerce Weapon]]></title>
<link>http://sphinn.com/story/9376</link>
<comments>http://sphinn.com/story/9376</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 12 Oct 2007 11:27:37 -0700</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>Blogging</category>
<guid>http://sphinn.com/story/9376</guid>
<description><![CDATA[WordPress and eCommerce converge with this shopping cart plugin for WordPress. Brian Wallace interviews the maker Dan Milward about current capabilities and gives us a sneak peak at the new version being developed.<br/><br/>42 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[AimClearBlog [as good as] Live from SMX Denver - Search Marketing has Gone Mobile - Be Ready or Be Left Behind]]></title>
<link>http://sphinn.com/story/7946</link>
<comments>http://sphinn.com/story/7946</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 02 Oct 2007 13:30:18 -0700</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>SEM Industry</category>
<guid>http://sphinn.com/story/7946</guid>
<description><![CDATA[AimClearBlog is offering almost live coverage of SMX (Search Marketing Expo) Denver including photos, exclusive interviews, and this exceptional strategy on taking our search marketing local and mobile.<br/><br/>53 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Marketing Isna4t Bullcrap]]></title>
<link>http://sphinn.com/story/6984</link>
<comments>http://sphinn.com/story/6984</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 25 Sep 2007 14:52:16 -0700</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>Other Online Marketing</category>
<guid>http://sphinn.com/story/6984</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Sales and marketing earned bad reputations in the minds of many that still exist today. High pressure sales techniques, outright lies, and deceptive practices all contributed to that and they may still exist in some places.   What we all must realize, though, is none of that is necessary and those practices are certainly not recommended. Today we can use advertising and marketing to tell the truth and help interested parties get the information they desire to make the best decision for them. For some good tips on how to do this check out this blog post written by a marketer after my own heart: one who knows that shared abundance and win-win decisions are the path to prosperity for all.<br/><br/>34 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Web Ad Blocking May Not Be Legal: CNET]]></title>
<link>http://sphinn.com/story/5686</link>
<comments>http://sphinn.com/story/5686</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 15 Sep 2007 13:30:40 -0700</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>Contextual Ads</category>
<guid>http://sphinn.com/story/5686</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Overly aggressive, intrusive advertising will result in more and more of your target audience blocking all ads. It is also likely to result in lawsuits aimed at making pop-up blocking illegal. Both can be avoided by using some wisdom in the amount, location, and methods of advertising used. From the page: &quot;The fight against ad blockers heats up again and in today's CNET article some legal experts say blocking ads could end up in lawsuits. I don't think legal intervention is the answer. And I don't think ad blockers are that big of a problem yet. But they could be if certain advertisers don't turn it down the noise a few decibels.The root of this whole problem really lies with aggressive advertisers and the sites that display overly intrusive ads. Not many people at all would even feel the need to use ad blockers if ads weren't popping up, screaming at you, scrolling across the content and jumping in your face. Do companies really think that being that aggressive helps their image or sales? If they keep it up then more consumers WILL start using ad blockers and we all lose a piece of the market.&quot;<br/><br/>10 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[7 Reasons To Use StumbleUpon To Gain Traffic]]></title>
<link>http://sphinn.com/story/5685</link>
<comments>http://sphinn.com/story/5685</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 15 Sep 2007 13:21:21 -0700</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>Other Social Media</category>
<guid>http://sphinn.com/story/5685</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Want to know more about driving traffic from StumbleUpon? Check out this post by Michael Garrett where he links in the top seven articles he used to increase his abilities there. I'm definitely going to subscribe to his blog.From the page: &quot;I have seen first-hand how successful StumbleUpon can be to gain traffic for blogs. I received almost 5,000 views over a span of 2 days for the Unlocked iPhone article that I wrote recently. This also helped spike my Google AdSense revenue over those same days.I was very impressed, and as I have been around the web, I have discovered several other bloggers who have had similar results, and who praise StumbleUpon, just as I do. Many have also provided tips and insights on how to best use the service to gain the most traffic, even more so than the heavily-acclaimed Digg.That is why this list will not provide specific reasons, but rather the top 7 articles which I found most useful when trying to discover how to best leverage StumbleUpon for the most potential.&quot;<br/><br/>41 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Are You a Sphinn User or a Contributor?]]></title>
<link>http://sphinn.com/story/5491</link>
<comments>http://sphinn.com/story/5491</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 13 Sep 2007 12:16:10 -0700</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>Sphinn Zone</category>
<guid>http://sphinn.com/story/5491</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Where you spend your valuable time at Sphinn tells you whether you're contributing to the community or just using it. A contributor seeks out excellence among the What's New submissions to ensure that everyone benefits from them. A user focuses their time on the Hot Topics page so they can stay on top of what is important. By doing this, they rely on the contributions of others without making any contribution themselves. The more contributors there are, the more any community benefits. Many Sphinners allows us all to do less here and more elsewhere and ensures that top content makes it onto the Hot Topics page. If everyone contributes a little when they can the community will do great. If few contribute, those who do will be working too hard here to have a healthy life balance.<br/><br/>44 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Google As Vegas Casino:  What Professional Blackjack Players Can Teach You About SEO]]></title>
<link>http://sphinn.com/story/5077</link>
<comments>http://sphinn.com/story/5077</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 09 Sep 2007 16:44:20 -0700</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>Google SEO</category>
<guid>http://sphinn.com/story/5077</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Awesome follow-up article to the &quot;Google as Casino&quot; post Lyndon Sphunn. From the page: &quot;1. Google is the house and the house makes the rules. The only choice you have is whether you want to play or not, you can't really change their rules.2. The rules are designed to maximize profit. Just like a casino, Google has an economic interest in designing the rules of Internet search so as to maximize its long term profit. Google is a for-profit company, so this should not come as a surprise.3. Smart players reduce profitability. There is nothing illegal, immoral or unethical about counting cards at a blackjack table. Card-counters are not &quot;cheaters&quot;. They simply play the game better than most others and are the rare case where a player overcomes the usual house advantage and actually has a mathematically demonstrated way to make money over the long-term. This is why card-counters get banned (once they are detected). Casinos don't like losing money. Similarly, really good SEO consultants (the smart ones) generally take profit away from Google (because they help their clients reach the market without having to pay Google for advertising).&quot;<br/><br/>31 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Google Writes A Bad Check!]]></title>
<link>http://sphinn.com/story/5067</link>
<comments>http://sphinn.com/story/5067</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 09 Sep 2007 13:49:14 -0700</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>Google AdSense</category>
<guid>http://sphinn.com/story/5067</guid>
<description><![CDATA[From the page: &quot;Are you sure? Do you know who Google is? You're kidding me, right?&quot; She says she does know who Google is, but that this particular account doesn't have enough funds to cover my check.&quot;More from the page: &quot;I say to the teller, &quot;How does a gazillionaire company like Google have a bank account with so little money in it?&quot; She laughs. I laugh. What else is there to do?&quot;<br/><br/>36 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Link Building, Make Money Online Blogs and Wordpress]]></title>
<link>http://sphinn.com/story/5047</link>
<comments>http://sphinn.com/story/5047</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 09 Sep 2007 04:12:44 -0700</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>Networking</category>
<guid>http://sphinn.com/story/5047</guid>
<description><![CDATA[I can't believe I get to be first to submit the latest post from my favorite blog doshdosh. What I really enjoy is the way they find great sites and then offer so many great suggestions on how to make them even better. From the page: &quot;While some of these links may not be directly related to making money, they will help you to manage your websites while helping you get links, traffic and attention.I've also included my personal opinions on how the specific website linked can serve as inspiration to market or improve your own websites or businesses. This will be helpful when the link doesn't point to content but an concept or tool.&quot;<br/><br/>31 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[A list of Social Networking Sites by Rose DesRochers]]></title>
<link>http://sphinn.com/story/5038</link>
<comments>http://sphinn.com/story/5038</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 09 Sep 2007 00:06:04 -0700</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>Networking</category>
<guid>http://sphinn.com/story/5038</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The other Rose compiled a list of Social Networking sites that she and those she mentors use. It is not a complete list; however, many and especially those new to blogging may find it useful. It may include some that are widely used by non-SEO bloggers. The blogging crowd may use different lists than the SEO crowd or Fortune 500/1000 brick-and-mortar businesses. Anyone who has connections across multiple disciplines will have an advantage.<br/><br/>9 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Everybodya4s Stumblina4]]></title>
<link>http://sphinn.com/story/4657</link>
<comments>http://sphinn.com/story/4657</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 05 Sep 2007 02:46:39 -0700</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>Other Social Media</category>
<guid>http://sphinn.com/story/4657</guid>
<description><![CDATA[DW Web Solutions post with links to five articles on using StumbleUpon to drive traffic. (Some of those have already been Sphunn.) From the page: &quot;I will testify to the power of the Stumble as my traffic has definitely been skyrocketing these last few days. I thought for the benefit of anyone who stumbles by my blog I would just share with you a collection of the great posts I stumbled into today that gave me a much better understanding of how the whole thing worksa4&quot;<br/><br/>9 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Why eBay and Wikipedia rule Googlea4s SERPs by Sebastian]]></title>
<link>http://sphinn.com/story/4653</link>
<comments>http://sphinn.com/story/4653</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 05 Sep 2007 02:04:53 -0700</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>Google SEO</category>
<guid>http://sphinn.com/story/4653</guid>
<description><![CDATA[I clicked the Sphinn logo expecting to vote and am surprised this wasn't already here. I found it very interesting; mea culpa if it is &quot;old news&quot; to the SEO crowd.<br/><br/>10 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Technorati Meat & Potatoes Every Blogger Should Know]]></title>
<link>http://sphinn.com/story/4488</link>
<comments>http://sphinn.com/story/4488</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 03 Sep 2007 12:50:01 -0700</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>Networking</category>
<guid>http://sphinn.com/story/4488</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Marty has been teaching me the importance of Technorati. When we share what we know and others start using the tools we can then bounce ideas and strategies off each other. We also realize that blogging is a far more effective use of our time than teaching one-on-one. It also documents what we learn for later reference by ourselves, peers we work with, and shares it with anyone else who is interested. Blogging helps clients better understand what we can (and sometimes more importantly can NOT) do so their expectations will be realistic, they can choose and prioritize other strategies to grow their businesses, and everyone can be a more effective part of the &quot;Team&quot;.If you want to truly tap the power of Social Networking, start with understanding this article Marty just posted. Marty adds that this is BASIC knowledge for most SEM types and the value of the post is for their CLIENTS. From the post: &quot;A surprising number of new bloggers don't understand and harness it's data mining power. Why is Technorati Important? - The answer is all about links. The value of your website and it's power to propel keywords to top rankings is measured by multiple on and off-page factors. Search engines algorithmically evaluate how many other sites link to yours and assess the &quot;quality&quot; of your site's inbound link portfolio. Technorati makes it easy to spy on another sites' blog-link-portfolio, making it an ultra-easy research tool for aspiring link builders.&quot;<br/><br/>24 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Storm Worm Trojan Hits Blogger]]></title>
<link>http://sphinn.com/story/4434</link>
<comments>http://sphinn.com/story/4434</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 02 Sep 2007 15:02:26 -0700</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>Blogging</category>
<guid>http://sphinn.com/story/4434</guid>
<description><![CDATA[A must-read post for those using Blogger, especially if you use the mail2blogger function that allows you to post via email:From the post: &quot;Hackers are attacking Google's Blogger with the Storm Trojan virus. The virus is showing up on blogs that use the mail2blogger feature, that allows bloggers to post via email. The hoax blog entries  claim to point to a YouTube video, but actually direct visitors to a webpage containing a malicious script and the Storm Worm Trojan virus.BBC news reports that &quot;Infected computers are being hijacked by the gang behind the attacks and either mined for saleable data or used for other attacks.&quot;&quot;<br/><br/>24 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[How to Backup a Blogger Blog]]></title>
<link>http://sphinn.com/story/4433</link>
<comments>http://sphinn.com/story/4433</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 02 Sep 2007 14:59:13 -0700</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>Blogging</category>
<guid>http://sphinn.com/story/4433</guid>
<description><![CDATA[This post is on how to back up a Blogger Blog. If you're using Blogger you may really wish you'd seen this if the worst happens. Rose (not me - another Rose) has many other posts of interest to those using Blogger.<br/><br/>23 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Rob Garner is Brilliant - Writes for Search Insider - Great Sphinn Candidate]]></title>
<link>http://sphinn.com/story/4427</link>
<comments>http://sphinn.com/story/4427</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 02 Sep 2007 11:52:55 -0700</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>SEM</category>
<guid>http://sphinn.com/story/4427</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Although I've known Rob Garner in physical life for years now, I only get to see glimpses of his brilliance. He is quiet and very modest. I'd love to hear a lot more from him and he could be a huge contributor to Sphinn. He's a fellow musician which is very common among programmers, computer techs, engineers, etc. If you ever get the chance to interact with him I highly recommend it. In the meantime, you can find some of his ideas in the Search Insider Blog.  1) &quot;SVO&quot; now holds the record for the World's Shortest-Lived Internet Marketing Buzzword or Phrase ever. Shorter lived than &quot;information superhighway&quot;; even shorter than &quot;they just don't get it.&quot; SVO lasted only six days, but it will not be forgotten, if not for all the wrong reasons. Born Friday, August 17, 2007; died Wednesday, August 22, 2007.2) The power of this Search Insider column on Mountain View cannot be disputed. We know that Google has included MediaPost's Search Insider on their blogroll in the past, and we also know that they know that we know that they know that Search Insider has a major influence on the general public at large. Simply put, Google wasn't going to allow this second coming of SEO to foul up their Maps results, and decided instead to nip it in the bud before mass armies of SVOs began donning sandwich boards and chasing the GoogleBalt on their scooters for the purpose of marring the purity of Street View photos. Also consider this: A Search Insider column introducing SVO goes out on a Friday; internal discussion at the GooglePlex about the potential threat of SVO occurs on Monday; Marissa Mayer makes an offhand comment at Search Engine Strategies San Jose on Tuesday; SVO is dead on Wednesday. I think I've made a solid case here.&quot;<br/><br/>6 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Post Less In Your Blog To Earn More From AdSense?]]></title>
<link>http://sphinn.com/story/4420</link>
<comments>http://sphinn.com/story/4420</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 02 Sep 2007 09:53:05 -0700</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>Google AdSense</category>
<guid>http://sphinn.com/story/4420</guid>
<description><![CDATA[From the article: &quot;Post Less = Earn More?While there are many explanations and influences on the quantity of clicks, I always seem to notice a handful of clicks come through when it has been a few days since I have updated my site.One explanation could be that people arrive at the site to read an article and when they do not find an abundance of new posts, they decide to leave the site by clicking on an ad.Another explanation could be that the displayed ads are more targeted when there are less frequent updates. When you have new post after new post, your ads may be displaying links that aren't relevant to the most recent entry but were relevant to the post from a few days earlier. By letting each post have the top spot for a few days, you may have more targeted links that result in more clicks.It is also quite possible that neither of these explanations are even close to what is really happening but I have noticed that the longer gaps between posts often result in more ad clicks.Should You Change Your Posting Schedule?&quot;<br/><br/>6 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[So Many Members - So Few Votes - No Opinion?]]></title>
<link>http://sphinn.com/story/4399</link>
<comments>http://sphinn.com/story/4399</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 02 Sep 2007 01:13:24 -0700</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>Sphinn Zone</category>
<guid>http://sphinn.com/story/4399</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Given the type of membership here, so many members, and lots of Sphinns, it is a mystery to me that there are so few votes on the comments. Even if many aren't actually reading the comments most of the time and are Sphinning the article only, even submission s with dozens of comments have very few votes. If you read the comments it only takes a second to vote - assuming you have an opinion and know what it is. Don't at least those interested enough to read the comments have opinions on what they read?<br/><br/>26 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Are Search Ads a Waste of Money?]]></title>
<link>http://sphinn.com/story/4391</link>
<comments>http://sphinn.com/story/4391</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 02 Sep 2007 00:17:25 -0700</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>Paid Search</category>
<guid>http://sphinn.com/story/4391</guid>
<description><![CDATA[SEM and PPC consultants must recognize that most research is done on Fortune 500 companies and will NOT apply to the majority of non-Fortune 500/1000 companies. Blindly assuming it applies to all advertisers is a huge error. What this article is saying applies to advertisers who are famous - or at least famous in their niche market - and assumes that the person doing the search would remember to go to that advertiser's site when they're ready to buy, knows that brand sells that product, and can find it on their Web site. Those are far too many assumptions to be making. For small businesses, the best money they'll ever spend on PPC is often to bid on variations of their own company name and domain name. The bids are generally very low and the conversions very high. Never underestimate the huge increase in sales you can drive by putting your ad for the specific product someone is searching for in front of them precisely when they're ready to buy and landing them on the page containing only that specific product or a selection including that item and very similar products. It is important that writers and analysts recognize when they're drawing conclusions that have not in evidence. There is not nearly enough awareness of common logic fallacies. Many are being led down the proverbial garden path by well-meaning individuals who are mistaken in their interpretation of what the data actually indicates. From the article: &quot;Atlas studied 30 search ad campaigns reaching 120,000 users on Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft. It found that nearly half of clicks on ads came from people who had already visited the advertiser's Web site. Moreover, about 60 percent of visits came from &quot;branded&quot; words, like the company's name, while just 29 percent were from people who searched for generic terms and had never been to the advertiser's Web site-the type of new customers search is meant to attract.&quot;Should you be spending half your search budgets on those [branded] terms?&quot; Song said. &quot;Probably not.&quot;&quot;<br/><br/>7 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[What is the best way to manage discussions occurring across multiple sites?]]></title>
<link>http://sphinn.com/story/4387</link>
<comments>http://sphinn.com/story/4387</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 01 Sep 2007 19:55:47 -0700</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>Blogging</category>
<guid>http://sphinn.com/story/4387</guid>
<description><![CDATA[I am new here and don't have the time to read all that has happened to date, so if this has already been discussed please point me in the right direction. I am certain there are many others who could use this information here. When a discussion is taking place here, plus in the comments of the blog whose post was Sphunn, and often in multiple other blogs too, where is the best place to comment? I notice some have the comments here also in their blogs so I know there are solutions available but am too new to blogging to know and understand what the options are yet. What is the best way to help visitors see all the comments without going to multiple sites and encourage the maximum interaction in the discussion?Thank you for any input.<br/><br/>9 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Bloglines vs Google Reader - Who's Really Winning?]]></title>
<link>http://sphinn.com/story/4384</link>
<comments>http://sphinn.com/story/4384</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 01 Sep 2007 15:36:24 -0700</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>Blogging</category>
<guid>http://sphinn.com/story/4384</guid>
<description><![CDATA[With all the available options it is important for bloggers to make it easy for their visitors to subscribe. Knowing which feeds are most popular can help you rank which to include and in what order. Here is an excerpt from this excellent article which includes graphs showing actual users of Bloglines versus Google Reader:&quot;Has Google Reader in fact usurped Bloglines as the number 1 browser-based RSS Reader (which would also probably make them the leading RSS Reader overall)? That seems to be the opinion of a lot of tech people - and certainly Google Reader is a favorite of many early adopter types.But based on current Hitwise data that Read/WriteWeb has gotten hold of, in fact Bloglines is still the market leader.Most bloggers Feedburner data shows that &quot;Google Feedfetcher&quot; is ahead of Bloglines. However that isn't a fair comparison, because Feedburner defines &quot;Google Feedfetcher&quot; as being both Google Reader and iGoogle (Google's start page product). So here is data from Hitwise, supplied to us by Bloglines, which compares Bloglines with Google Reader alone...&quot;<br/><br/>15 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Entry Level Search Marketing Position in Duluth, Minnesota at aimClear]]></title>
<link>http://sphinn.com/story/4345</link>
<comments>http://sphinn.com/story/4345</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Aug 2007 17:31:24 -0700</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>Jobs Offered</category>
<guid>http://sphinn.com/story/4345</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Entry level in-house Pay Per Click position with the cutting  edge Search Marketing company Aim Clear. If you are running your own AdWords account or perhaps you are freelancing now, you can learn much more working with the advanced tools and analytics used by Aim Clear. If you're computer savvy and learn new programs and skills quickly and willing to work in Duluth, Minnesota I would apply even if you aren't yet familiar with search, especially if you are familiar with using formulas in Excel or other spreadsheet programs. If you have a background in statistical analysis or creating graphs that could work too. From the job posting: Daily tasks include generating daily, weekly, and monthly financial reports to or clients from a proprietary suite of Google, Panama, MSN, and other API Tools including multiple analytics packages, daily monitoring up to 20 clients with up to 5 accounts each, and holding each in strict adherence to budget.Required Software: MS Office 2003+including the ability to use basic formulas in spreadsheets, and Windows XP (Vista a plus). Experience with major online paid advertising platforms is a plus.&quot;<br/><br/>7 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[seo jobs, seo recruiting,  aimClear Search Marketing Blog]]></title>
<link>http://sphinn.com/story/4314</link>
<comments>http://sphinn.com/story/4314</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Aug 2007 10:34:04 -0700</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>Jobs Offered</category>
<guid>http://sphinn.com/story/4314</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Rare opportunity to work with the brilliant Search Engine Marketing Company Aim Clear on the cutting edge of Social Networking. (Position posted and recommended by Rose Sylvia of ppcThink.com) My respect for Marty Weintraub's expertise is no secret. We bounce ideas around all the time. Anyone interested in being in the top 1% will want to consider this opening. Although I personally have no interest in being an employee, it can be an excellent way to quickly learn skills. I regularly suggest that if you want to be successful the best path is to identify the most talented in that niche and go work with or for them.   This position is for a Site &amp; Server Webmaster/Administrator in their Duluth, Minnesota office. Requires a candidate who is functionally literate in .php, mySQL, Apache server, Windows Server, Dreamweaver, My PHP Admin, CPanel, Fireworks, and MS Office. Every aimClear team member also participates in social communities.From the blog post: &quot;We're open to giving an ultra smart, ultra talented, cutting edge creative technician a cool first-job in search marketing. Salary will be commensurate with experience.&quot;This is the kind of position where the sky is the limit. Marty recognizes and appreciates contributions and I suspect that means financial opportunity as well. For those who aren't used to me yet, I am extremely opinionated. When someone or something is brilliant I HIGHLY recommend them. When something could use improving, I'll publicly state that too.<br/><br/>6 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Expanded Broad Match Goes Loco On Local]]></title>
<link>http://sphinn.com/story/4302</link>
<comments>http://sphinn.com/story/4302</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Aug 2007 09:19:19 -0700</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>Google AdWords</category>
<guid>http://sphinn.com/story/4302</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Here is yet another article on the major financial losses hitting advertisers due to Google AdWords expanded broad match.  Every person running an AdWords campaign - and especially those using geo-targeting or who have brand names, model names, or model numbers in their keywords, is eventually going to be hit. The time to take action is NOW - before you see those spending spikes and have already lost the money.  &quot;The tech team at Google looked into the issue, and the results came back simply as an &quot;expanded broad match issue.&quot; Apparently, &quot;Cheap John's Toyota Farm Boston&quot; is the same as &quot;Toyota Solara&quot; and, logically thinking, Pittsburgh=Boston. Therefore, searchers across the nation were seeing a targeted localized ad countrywide.&quot;<br/><br/>21 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[New 'Improved" Top Ad Placement Formula Now Live at Google AdWords]]></title>
<link>http://sphinn.com/story/3565</link>
<comments>http://sphinn.com/story/3565</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 22 Aug 2007 18:29:00 -0700</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>Google AdWords</category>
<guid>http://sphinn.com/story/3565</guid>
<description><![CDATA[At 2:44 p.m this afternoon, August 22, 2007, the Inside AdWords blog posted that the new algorithm is now active. This change will have the strongest impact on niche advertisers who wish to have top left ad positions.<br/><br/>4 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[The One Million [blank] Day | Andy Beard - Niche Marketing]]></title>
<link>http://sphinn.com/story/3524</link>
<comments>http://sphinn.com/story/3524</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 22 Aug 2007 08:27:36 -0700</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>Link Building</category>
<guid>http://sphinn.com/story/3524</guid>
<description><![CDATA[What Andy is proposing is a hybrid of linkbaiting, free publicity, and viral marketing. I'm not an SEO; however, I read somewhere that adding too many incoming links at once can trigger a negative reaction from Google. Perhaps others can comment?<br/><br/>5 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[21 Totally Free Web Analytics Learning Resources]]></title>
<link>http://sphinn.com/story/3254</link>
<comments>http://sphinn.com/story/3254</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 18 Aug 2007 08:25:30 -0700</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>Web Analytics</category>
<guid>http://sphinn.com/story/3254</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Great list of free Web Analytics Learning Resources. It includes all of the best Web Analytics blogs I frequent plus many others I plan to check out soon.<br/><br/>9 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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