This year we saw a lot of changes take place in the search space, and as the use of Internet accessing mobile devices becomes more widespread, we’ve seen the question of public access becomes a more important consideration. It turns out that public access to the Internet was an important point, interwoven in many developments throughout 2009. Within the European Union, new rules have been passed that would guarantee high-speed Internet connections for all citizens. In the U.S., a debate is being held about public access to federally funded research and net neutrality and anti-net neutrality legislation is being considered by the U.S. government. The idea of Internet access as a right is gaining attention.


Jim Hedger, WebmasterRadio blogger and host of the show Webcology, then joins Virginia to look at the year in search. Mobile’s big break, emerging search deals, and new features at Google all make the cut of top topics of 2009. Jim also shares some insider info about his favorite WebmasterRadio moments of 2009, as well as what to look forward to from WebmasterRadio in the new year, including video integration and new shows in the line-up.

Wrapping up the last show of the year, Susan, Virginia and Michael Terry look back on what they consider the biggest milestones of 2009. Susan felt the effect of Twitter as a budding means of brand dialogue. Virginia was glad to see that mainstream use of mobile devices to accesses the Internet finally hit maturation. And Michael noted that real-time search results signal a change in how people gather and process information.

SEO best practices are foundational touch points of SEO knowledge, and the starting point for many successful search marketing campaigns. When SEO “Best Practices” Are Bunk was published earlier this month, it raised more than one eyebrow. Susan, Virginia and Daerick Gross — who makes his SEM Synergy guest host debut — debate the merits of SEO 101 and SEO best practices, concluding that best practices contribute to the communication, cooperation and knowledge so vital for search engine optimization.

Learning best practices, along with both foundational and advanced concepts of Internet marketing, is the focus of conferences and training courses. Chris Hart, director, Eastern region operations at Bruce Clay, Inc., talks to Virginia about SEOToolSet Training, being presented in New York in October. The SEO training course establishes foundational guidelines of search engine optimization and helps maintain the focus of marketing goals for an online business. Bruce Clay’s SEO training at SMX East offers an opportunity to extend SEO knowledge and experience, as well.

Then Daerick, Susan and Virginia look forward to next week’s Search Marketing Expo East, taking place in New York City October 5-8. One of the major advantages of conference attendance is face-to-face time with experts at the top of their field. Those who are able attend Q&A sessions like Ask the Search Engines, Ask the Link Builders and Ask the SEOs are sure to uncover some golden nuggets of Internet marketing.

The SEO Hierarchy of Needs has proven to be a helpful resource for marketers looking to explain to clients the tiered priorities of search engine optimization. Bruce, Susan and Virginia discuss other applications for the diagram, including how it can be adapted to individual tactics as well as other Internet marketing disciplines. Check out the interactive SEO Hierarchy of Needs or the downloadable PDF for more information.


Speaking of needs, Topher Kohan, SEO coordinator at CNN.com, talks to Virginia about the technology we need to do our jobs and live our day-to-day lives. In Tech Torture with Topher, Topher tests just how hard it is to go a week without different technologies. He’s tried everything from living off an iPhone to not having access to tech outside the 9-5. It’s a fascinating study of our ultra-connected tendencies.

Then Paula, Susan and Virginia consider the differences between the old and new worlds — of marketing, that is. As the Internet revolutionized our lives, it revolutionized marketing as well. One common stumbling block of the transition has been attempts to directly translate traditional marketing efforts online. In truth, there are many major differences between online and offline marketing, best practices for each, and what the goals, metrics and expectations are for each.

Real-time search is a buzzword that’s been getting a lot of action in the search industry lately. Bruce, Susan and Virginia discuss what real-time search is, how it can be used as a tool, and whether or not a real-time search optimization strategy exists. They also look at real-time search in the spectrum of search engines and whether or not Web search might be influenced by real-time search.

SEO and social media marketer Dana Lookadoo then talks to Virginia about how to use real-time search as a marketing advantage. She explains the value of real-time search for individual users as well as businesses and gives her tips on how to optimize content for real-time search. Dana has also written about the usefulness of lifestreams on her blog. In a similar way, a lifestream is a window into the interests of an audience and can also help businesses attract engagement.

Along with real-time search making the news of late, some other headlines have also made a search splash. The FTC is modifying its guidelines to require bloggers to disclose any payment received. Yahoo’s new product Search Pad lets users take notes, save and share searches. And the announcement that several Google Apps were coming out of beta was the source of a few chuckles.

In April 2009, search engine optimization professionals learned that a common tactic for directing link equity on a site had been more-or-less ineffective for more than a year. The technique, known as PageRank sculpting, relied on the rel=”nofollow” link element to keep PageRank value on pages targeted for SERP ranking. At SMX Advanced in Seattle, it became clear that the nofollow element had changed, no longer preserving PageRank on a page, but instead, causing PageRank to disappear.

There has been no shortage of coverage following Matt Cutts’s recommendations for nofollow use. At Bruce Clay, Inc., we have talked about it on the blog, in the newsletter, and now, on this week’s episode of SEM Synergy. Bruce sits down with Susan and Virginia for the whole show to give his input on what the new nofollow behavior means for SEO, siloing and search optimization practitioners. They discuss why SEOs and site managers should avoid overreacting, the remaining uses of the nofollow element, and alternate ways of directing PageRank flow.

Bing, Microsoft’s new search engine, was launched June 1, and in the weeks since its release, Bing has been the source of much discussion. Bruce, Susan and Virginia talk about Bing’s growing search share, findings of an eye tracking study on Bing results, and some initial analysis on the quality of Bing results. Based on Bruce, Susan and Virginia’s initial experiments, Bing results have improved since the days of Live Search. The name of the new engine also conjures up some interesting images and ideas from the hosts.

Bing director Stefan Weitz is today’s guest, and he talks to Virginia about how webmasters and SEOs can optimize for Bing, Microsoft’s strategy for growing search share, and why Bing was developed as a “decision engine.” Webmasters and SEOs will be pleased with the fact that sites have a better chance to rank for broad terms since Bing’s categorized results allow users to refine queries from the results page.

Then Susan, Michael and Virginia look at some news stories because Bing wasn’t the only thing making headlines in the search space. Google Squared gets a rather low review from the hosts, while Google Wave merely confuses them regarding what it will be used for. Then they discuss the newly reported behavior of the nofollow link element, the sole subject of next week’s episode, which premiers June 24.

SMX Advanced last week introduced a number of discussions in the SEM industry. Matt Cutts’s comments about PageRank sculpting with nofollow could spur a show all its own, and is touched on briefly by Bruce, Susan and Virginia. Google’s JavaScript recommendations, attendance at the conference, and topics raised during the SEO Vets Take All Comers session, of which Bruce was a panelist, are also discussed. Of course, SMX Advanced centers around several inbound marketing techniques, including search engine optimization, pay per click marketing, and social media optimization. Inbound marketing is the focus of today’s show.

In his role as founder and vice president of product development at WordStream, Larry Kim plays a vital role in his company’s inbound marketing efforts. Inbound marketing involves getting potential customers to come to your business. In contrast, traditional or outbound marketing is all about getting a marketing message in front of a potential consumer. Another common way to think of the two marketing methods is push and pull marketing, where push marketing is more traditional and pull marketing is aligned with inbound marketing. Larry, is cautious of falling into the trap of espousing theoretical virtues of inbound marketing. Instead he offers pragmatic suggestions for improving inbound marketing efforts.

Susan, Michael and Virginia finish off with a look at the psychology of inbound marketing. There’s a very different scenario that happens when a customer comes to a business because they want to and when a business reaches out to a customer when that contact is unexpected. The proactive customer who is looking for a solution is in a mindset much better suited to performing a conversion. As outbound marketing becomes easier to block through technology like spam filters and DVRs, inbound marketing may prove a more reliable strategy in the future.

Search Engine Optimization All-In-One For Dummies has hit book store shelves. Bruce and Susan authored the desk reference guide that combines ten books in one. They explain the purpose of the book and share their experience of working on a comprehensive technical guide. New and experienced search engine marketers alike can benefit from this easy-to-read guide to search engine optimization.

Christopher Hart, Bruce Clay, Inc.’s director, Eastern Region Operations, then talks to Virginia about SEOToolSet Training on the East Coast. During April, Chris and Bruce presented the course on the East Coast for the first time. Chris discusses the complementary nature of SEO All-In-One For Dummies and the training course material, illustrating the many ways the company shares its methodology and knowledge. SEOToolSet Training will return to New York June 9-11.

To showcase the content of the book with a little more detail, Susan, Maryann and Virginia take an in-depth look at one of the subjects covered in the book. One of the ten books is dedicated to competitive analysis, a corner stone of search engine optimization. Researching your competition will give you an idea of keywords to target. You can also see what they’re doing right that you may want to do as well, and what they’re doing wrong, which you should avoid.

Today’s show is aimed at the intersection of analytics and content. Content, one of the most vital components of any successful Web site, should be optimized in order for easy searchability and findability. Analytics and testing allows those working on the site to make sure site content meets the expectations and needs of a visitor.

Then Apogee Search’s Bill Leake, president and CEO, and Alissa Ruehl, manager of website effectiveness consulting, talk to Virginia about the latest in conversion tracking and testing. Apogee Search recently became a Google Website Optimizer Authorized Consultant (WOAC), so Bill and Alissa explain what additional services their organization can provide through this distinction. Google Website Optimizer is a multivariate and A/B testing solution. The different levels of testing provided by Website Optimizer as well as other necessary analytics solutions are discussed.

Finishing out the show, Susan, Michael and Virginia look at what’s needed from an SEO-friendly CMS. Since the recording of this show, Pixelsilk was launched. Pixelsilk is a prime example of a content management system that was created with search engine optimization in mind. According to the company, the CMS “allows full access and control of the HTML to implement a branded design, custom development, e-commerce cart or search strategy – while still being easy for those editing content”. The ability to customize HTML is a major requirement for successful implementation of SEO recommendations.

Search has evolved since Archie hit the Web in 1990. The algorithm advancements that are really changing the game include the various methods of personalized search results. Personalization occurs in the form of location-, intent-, time-, and history-based re-ranking of search results. As Bruce has explained, personalization is going to change how Internet marketers operate, as fluctuating rankings are devalued as a measure of success.

David Harry has been researching and writing about the effects of personalization on search results for several years on his blog HuoMah.com. Last year David began testing informational queries in order to study how rankings fluctuate and how personalization affects SERPs. The result was A Study of Google Ranking Flux and Personalized Search (available for PDF download). David shares his findings with Virginia and also invites people to participate in his next upcoming study. You can also talk to David in the WebmasterRadio.FM chat room during the initial broadcast.

Wrapping up the show, Bradley, Susan and Virginia talk about Google SearchWiki and the changes it portends for SEOs. Danny Sullivan interviewed SearchWiki’s product manager, Cedric Dupont, and asked a number of questions that were on every SEO’s mind. Can you opt out of the feature? Will user rankings be integrated into general search results? Will Web spam take on a whole new life? It remains to be seen how broad of an affect SearchWiki will have on Internet marketing efforts.