He also will be providing me with his lunch money for the next month after his Grimorie for the Wizards of Search post on his Competitive Search Intelligence blog.

Despite the fact that this is the ultimate in SEO Geekery, I think it’s hilarious.

It turns out while there is some discussion as to whether or not SEO is rocket science, there seems to be little debate that SEO is magic.

J.P., please note that any LARPING activities will be met with a swirlie and/or wet willie.

MarketWatch is reporting that YouTube will be offering payouts to you for consumer generated media entries.

Considering the seemingly endless stream of lawsuits that Google is experiencing on behalf of their more recent acquisition, it makes sense to focus on increasing the amount of original (hence unprotected) video on the site.

YouTube hasn’t provided detail on how much money will be paid out. I’d be curious to know how they plan to keep people from collecting revenue on protected works.

At least not anymore according to Google.

The most recent Googlebombing post by Matt Cutts notes that there has been an “improvement of the link analysis” by Google Engineers.

The following are of the non-malicious variety and are based on thousands of anchor text mentions:

1. click here shows Adobe Acrobat as #1. Best practices for PDFs include a link to these pages for the user to download the most recent PDF reader.

2. leave gives the top position to Disney’s Corporate home page. This is from the thousands of porn sites who link to Disney if the user chooses not to “enter.”

My question is, how does Google know the difference? Is the link analysis that they mention completed by a human being? They must have a list of the main Googlebomb offenders.

I wish this was actually a yes or no answer. It isn’t.

Seth Godin discusses some necessary ingredients for w4 and many examples of potential applications. My favorite is:

I'm about to buy something from a vendor (in a store with a smart card or online). At the last minute, Web4 jumps in and asks if I want it cheaper, or if I want it from a vendor with a better reputation. Not based on some gamed system, but based on what a small trusted circle believes.

Most people who know me will tell you that when not working, I’m notoriously lazy. So I love little tricks that improve my efficiency. However, many these examples make me nervous from a privacy standpoint. Godin even acknowledges the potential creepy factor.

As a marketer, my immediate thought was how I can exploit this. For my favorite above, I would attack that “small trusted circle” in a hurry.

Also, based on his examples, TiVo would technically be an attempt of w4. I’ve heard very few success stories of individuals getting the “training” right.

IMO, the answer is in the actual “learning” applications that determine our preferences and what we believe are important factors for organizing our resources. Without this piece of the puzzle, the rest of it becomes counterproductive.

From an interactive perspective, it becomes our responsibility to not only help Web sites' visibility, but to also optimize the user experience. Savvy surfers will gravitate to w4, and will rely on a list of trusted vendors to meet their needs. This goes beyond SEM and makes etailers accountable for competing for business outside of search engine position and price point.

This is no longer search engine news. By now most of the world is aware that MSI became a part of MSA on Friday. I’ve been reading several posts about what people think happened and what could have been done to change it.

Initially, I was going to write a long post about:

- The original “management” team and their unwillingness to accept (or even listen to) problems and potential solutions

- Sales not being given an opportunity that they needed (and wanted) to learn the specifics of the service offerings

-Wasting of company resources and money on frivolous incentives and mismanaged projects

However, I think enough has been said about it.

What impresses me most at this point is the incredible amount of passion that people felt (positive or otherwise) about our company. There are several posts/comments from anonymous former employees. Why they choose to be anonymous I can’t tell.

Several of them express anger in the form of finger pointing at different departments. Some of them place blame on the founding management team. Some of them even point the fingers at themselves.

I believe the reason that they feel angry is because MSI was a very special place. Whether someone gained experience, knowledge or friendship, there was a reason that people were upset that the decision to end their employment was not their’s to make. This is the same company that was voted Best Employer in the Triangle.

It’s not a coincidence that people moved from across the country to work here. It’s not a coincidence that employees passed up other jobs to stay. It’s not a coincidence that our employees completed technical analysis on Web sites with dust masks on their face during our office build out right up to the very end. SO, it’s not a coincidence that employees who have been gone for almost a year still blog about this place on a weekly basis. And I think that’s pretty impressive.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who was proud to be a part of it. To all the “I told ya’ so’s” and “not-so-well-wishers,” I hope you can get past it and move on to something better. To everyone who participated in helping make this company a special and fun place to be, you have my sincere gratitude.

“KeyWorldProSourced Interactive Mall” is done.

We’re ready to move on to Chapter 2.

This morning I caught Matt Cutts’ post on Google Reader statistics. Turns out he reads SEL more than any other blog!

My excitement lasted for about 2 seconds. Unfortunately, we share the acronym "SEL" with Search Engine Land. And while we have the greatest respect for Danny, Barry and Bill, Jen and Chris, we hope Matt will drop by now and again.

Google’s entry into traditional media was met with the harsh reality that only online analytics can deliver. Jeremy Mayes offers up the results of his free Google Newspaper test ad (the chef’s ad towards the lower right). This unfortunately yielded some less than spectacular results.

1. In the grand scheme of things the overall traffic delivered via our ad was low - less than 1,000 visitors total.

2. Visitors who arrived at the site via the newspaper ad generated 70% fewer page views than visitors who arrive via PPC channels.

3. Visitors who arrived at the site via the newspaper ad spent 30% less time on the site than PPC traffic.

4. Visitors who arrived at the site via the newspaper ad registered at the site at a rate almost identical (just a touch lower) to those who arrive via PPC.

What does this mean? Absolutely nothing. Here’s why:

1. I’m not sure how many times this ad was run; however, a one-time run of a newspaper display ad does not generate an effective call to action…period.

2. PPC ads compete for click-throughs based on position and ad creatives. So this online playing field is leveled because all paid search advertisers need to abide by Google/Yahoo/MSN/Ask PPC formats (character limits, etc.). Traditional media can use design and brand elements, color, size, frequency, etc. to drive action.

3. Paid search only delivers impressions when a user actively searches on the term. Newspaper is a passive medium. What are the chances that the customer is in front of their computer at the same time that they are reading the print ad? Or that they will remember to go to the website when they are in front of a computer? These have obvious effects on traffic.

So what does this mean for the interactive/traditional “hybrid” marketer?

Apples aren’t oranges, and traditional media isn’t interactive. With a few exceptions, it is unrealistic to believe you will see a higher ROAS on a traditional advertising campaign versus an SEM campaign. It is also unrealistic to believe that SEM can drive the same branding power as traditional efforts.

However, it is realistic to expect organic and paid search click-throughs to increase when the company is supported by an effective traditional and/or interactive media buying campaign. Additionally, you will have a more knowledgeable visitor, with seeded expectations of your company.

A couple of weeks ago, we wondered aloud if anyone could prove the benefits of social marketing through hard data. Despite the efforts of Garrett French and some other SMM professionals, I was skeptical at best.

This morning, I caught the newest MySpace marketing article from Marketing Profs. Stephan Spencer provides some pretty impressive numbers. Examples of MySpace pages including Apple Computer, the Brooklyn Museum as well as "Weird Al" Yankovic actually provide some clout for this media.

The Yankovic example deserves additional examination:

Yankovic told Reuters/Billboard in a recent interview that he had accumulated 155,000 MySpace friends since he joined the site in July—all of which he had personally added. He stated, "I used to be a little pickier. Now I just kind of click as fast as I can." (I can only imagine the Repetitive Stress Injury from that much clicking!) Here's the kicker: a week after this article came out, he was already up to 219,033 friends! Another seven days later, and Weird Al had gained another 24,000 MySpace friends (up to 243,221). Now, on December 3, it's at 325,614!

One could argue that the boost of friends could have come from the Billboard readers’ interest, but that’s not the point. In six months, he doubled his targeted audience within their comfort zone. Captive eyes interested in all things Yankovic…who would have thought it possible? God bless the white and nerdy.

Are you going to earn gobs of revenue by creating a corporate MySpace page? I still don’t believe so. Spencer notes that companies such as Blockbuster UK and 7Eleven have attempted this tactic, but their number of friends is underwhelming. However, I think there is an opportunity to expand the reach of the marketing relationship with a captive audience.

So at minimum, there is at least 1-2 degrees of separation between a MySpace marketing campaign and a conversion of any variety. But it’s possible.

More importantly, it makes sense to start reserving MySpace.com/YOUR-COMPANY addresses (and iterations) before someone else does. Spencer also touches on the unofficial MySpace pages (i.e. Wal-Mart, K-Mart, and Target).