Paul Ferrier

If you're focused on getting your site to the top of the search engines, you understand the battle we have against spammers (crap sites). Google is constantly trying to further optimize their algorithm to get rid of the spam sites (spam sites, for example, are link sites you'll land on that provide you with no value). If Google always sends users to sites that provide no value, people will stop using them. So it's in Google's best interest to make sure their search results are the best possible. Before, getting to the top of the search engines was a fairly level playing field for spammers (black hat) and real optimizers (white hat). It came down to some basics of optimizing the page to communicate with the search engines and building lots of quality links (I am over simplifying this a bit, but you get what I am saying). Anyone could tell the search engines anything they wanted and the search engine believed them to a certain level. And BIG power lied in the links. Until Panda.more

Google announced late yesterday that it will make a major shift to its algorithm to significantly improve the quality of their search results by punishing and effectively diminishing content farm sites from the top of their SERP (search engine results page). You may not know what a content farm site is, but I guarantee you've landed on them many many times. It's those sites you click to after a search only to find a bunch of terrible, non-relevant content and a ton of ads or links to other sites. More likely than not, you clicked back to Google and tried another site, which is exactly why Google is making this change. They (Google) effectively drove you to a site that did not provide you with value, and it's Google's objective to give you the highest quality, relevant content for your search as possible.more

I must admit that I am a bit puzzled by Google's recent moves to lay content over top of their PPC ads. Here are a couple recent examples of this: Local Search: The new local search map slides down the page and over PPC ads as you scroll Instant Preview: The preview overlaps the PPC ads, taking them out of focus. It almost seems fishy...like what are they trying to train us to do now? :) Ads are their core revenue generator. Seems crazy to cover them up.more

Google is once again trying to improve search with the release of their latest feature named Google Instant Preview. Basically you'll be able to roll over a magnifying glass icon and get a screenshot view of the website you'd be visiting if you click. This isn't a new concept, but new from Google. There are browser add-ons you can get such as CoolPreviews that give you this same functionality.more

Facebook and Microsoft's search engine Bing came to a new partnership agreement. The following was reported by Bloomberg on October 13, 2010: "Facebook Inc. expanded its partnership with Microsoft Corp.’s Bing search engine, letting people automatically see what their Facebook friends think about the topics they’re seeking information on. Bing’s new search screen also will let users become a person’s friend on Facebook or send a message to the social- networking service, Microsoft and Facebook said today at a media event in Mountain View, California. Searches for restaurants or movies will spotlight the ones that a user’s friends like." Whoa. Re-read that last sentence. "Searches for restaurants or movies will spotlight the ones that a user’s friends like."more

I am SO happy to see Mashable.com report that Facebook Chat is dropping IE6 support. As long as people are forced to use IE6, they are forced to use a browser that doesn't take advantage of the latest and greatest technology.more

If you've written off SEO (search engine optimization) as a search engine marketing tactic in favor of the presumably easier PPC campaign (pay-per-click), boy are you missing the boat! I am not going to talk about HOW to optimize your site for the search engines, but rather, showcase the tremendous importance it has for the success of your campaign, your website, and even your company related to traffic. Before we talk about the future, let's go back. Way back. Remember BANNER ADS? Sure, they're still around. Actually, they're still all over. But when is the last time you recall seeing a banner ad on a site and clicking on it? Chances are, you don't…because you didn't. This is so common, there's a term that's been created called "banner blindness".more

Ok, if you've spent any time inviting friends on Facebook to become a fan of something, you know it can take forever. Here's some quick instructions on how to invite all your friends instantly.more

Something I experienced over a 3 second period on my walk into the office building this morning inspired me to write this. It was a deep inhale of brisk, downtown Grand Rapids air. I actually had to take a double sniff. The first inhale caught my attention, but it was that second deep, lung filling gulp of air that whisked my mind away to the warm breeze of Cancun, Mexico. It was that smell. A magical mixture of clean air and something on the grill that did it. I was no longer walking down the sidewalk of Ottawa Avenue, I was relaxing pool side at the Royal Caribbean Resort with my wife, being served a mixed drink as the sun beat down on me (my mind works very fast). Ahh, what a feeling. The point? Let me get to it...more

I just received an email from Google Apps and am grinning from ear to ear. Google announced, "…we will be phasing out support for Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 as well as other older browsers that are not supported by their own manufacturers." Amen! IE6 was released in August of 2001! Yet people still use it today, not taking advantage of the latest technology. Could you imagine in 2001 using a browser from 1992. No, you wouldn't because the experience would be so much different (Mosaic was starting development in December of 1992!)more

I have had this same question posed to me several times over the last year and I thought it would make a good blog post. It's no secret the last year has been very difficult for people personally and professionally. The good thing, however, is that the economy is looking up and the downturn has produced a lot of opportunity. But here's the question: How can I stay motivated when things are hard? For me, motivation is assisted mostly from attitude. Keeping an upbeat attitude is key even when you feel like you're getting kicked in the gut over and over again. What else is a big motivator? Money. You need it to survive, and you really need it for your business to survive. So here's a quick way to think positive and get motivated. Start by thinking about how much money you NEED to make to pay your bills and be happy per year (that's X). Something very realistic.more

For some companies, times are tough. So when a marketing manager or CMO (chief marketing officer) receives an email from an "Internet marketing specialist" who can get their site to the top of the search engines for a specific phrase, the company might jump at the opportunity. Marketers beware...these "opportunities" from these "Internet marketing specialists" may not be as good as they sound. Here's a real world example that just prompted this blog post.more

A very common statement made by clients to their design firm is, "Make my logo bigger." In some instances this might be a good thing, like on a billboard where your target audience is doing 70 MPH (on a slow day). But I'm here to help you understand why "make my logo bigger" regarding your website is actually, believe it or not, a pretty bad idea. Let's face it. You love your company. With the logo being your staple, why wouldn't it be BIG on your website? The answer actually has two parts: Your logo doesn't sell and visitors really don't care. Now, let me explain.more

Harvard Business School recently published a working paper titled Do Friends Influence Purchases in a Social Network. And I read it, of course. So I'll save you some time and give you a simple overview on what they learned, and what I learned from them. First, I had to get back to my Trigonometry and Calculus classes to get my head around all the equations they have in the document to define their findings. Very interesting. Very amazing. Very intelligent. And I am not pretending to really understand what all of it was. Ha. Second, the paper is a working paper, so a bit of duplicate content to get through. Unless they were just trying to really drive the point home. :) Third, I found it odd that a paper from 2009 would use data mined in 2004. Sure seems like behaviors could change over this 4+ year span. Ok, so this is what I gained from it:more

Looking for ways to innovate your company? Consider creating relationships with your target market using web marketing.more

I received an email from a client this morning through Facebook. It was the second one I received in as many days and I thought, “OK, they’re doing great! They’re active!”more

A domain name can be difficult to select because there are so many variables that go into it. But let’s get the basics out of the way first. In a perfect world, your name is:more

We pride ourselves in educating clients on tools they can use to market their services online. In this case, it happened to be related to email marketing.more

I was asked by my friend Rob Huisingh to participate in AIMWest's panel discussion about da Vinci style marketing at Grand Valley State University's Eberhard Center tonight.more

Last week I had a conversation with a client who told me they were cutting back on their advertising to save money due to the recession.more