Apologies For The Mess Around Here
A quick apology is in order for the (seemingly) sporadic blog posting this week. Blogger has been creating some major issues for bloggers like me who use FTP to publish to their own domains and I've been having a heck of a time getting some posts to publish on the day I write them.Add to that some severe weather playing havoc with our broadband connection and we are in blogging hell! I'll be posting over the weekend to make up for the blank spaces. Thanks for reading and please avert your eyes to the mess while we slowly move this blog over to WordPress and it's own dedicated domain.Subscribe via: Yahoo Feeds | Feedburner | Technorati | Bloglines

World First: Search Engine Wiki
We've done it! After many months of preparation, today we officially launched Search Engine Wiki (BETA). Search Engine Wiki is the world's first vertical wiki dedicated to search engines and search engine marketing. Here is the official press release.The idea behind the site is to provide a collaborative online library of search engine marketing (SEM) resources, complete with resident librarian, Ms Parker (pictured). Some of the extensive resources found on the site include: Lists of international search engines - categorized by country, type and industry. A glossary of definitions for common terms used in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Pay Per Click Advertising (PPC) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM). A library of search engine marketing articles. Employment resources listing SEO, PPC and SEM job vacancies. A collection of popular search engine marketing blogs and news feeds. Frequently Asked Questions about search engines and SEM. Lists of popular search engine marketing tools and time saving software. Links to upcoming search industry conferences and events. Introductions to well known search industry personalities.Search Engine Wiki is designed for interactivity. Wiki users can suggest resources and definitions to be added or sign up to become editors and add these resources themselves. Search Engine College students are also encouraged to collaborate and contribute to the Wiki during their training and beyond.Search Engine Wiki is now in BETA release and welcomes your contributions and feedback.Subscribe via: Yahoo Feeds | Feedburner | Technorati | Bloglines

VIDEO Q And A: Is Our Site Being Penalized By Google?
Dear Kalena...The problems we are having are mainly with Google. We have 1,000 indexed pages showing in the 'site:' command from Google search. We have already done many things to get our rankings up but we appear to be penalized. Customers can not find our indexed pages by title OR content. We suspect sabotage by another company. We have sent emails and faxes to Google and asked them to investigate. They ignore us. We're out of options.DarrenKalena's Answer:Dear DarrenClick here to see my video answerNeed more than advice? Take a Search Engine Marketing course onlineSubscribe via: Yahoo Feeds | Feedburner | Technorati | Bloglines

Gimpsy Turns Five
I was browsing our list of search engines and directories on Search Engine Wiki the other day and noticed that Gimpsy recently celebrated their 5th Birthday!Back in April 2002, I remember when Gimpsy was just a sparkle in the eye of founder Mordechai Chachamu and some colleagues. They were working on a new kind of directory and were getting feedback from mods and members in the various webmaster forums.I was a moderator in the iHelpYou Forums at the time when Gimpsy was finally launched in October 2002 and MC invited members to try it out. We gave it the thumbs up and I've been submitting client sites to Gimpsy ever since.If you're not familiar with Gimpsy, you should check it out. Gimpsy operates on unique natural language queries and is action-oriented. In other words, you tell Gimpsy what action you want to take (e.g. I want to buy, I want to insure etc.) and Gimpsy finds for you the sites that provide the required service. Combine this with a cute little pet hamster mascot and that's Gimpsy in a nutshell.A very Happy Birthday Gimpsy! And congratulations Mordechai and team for building up Gimpsy into the valuable resource it is today.Subscribe via: Yahoo Feeds | Feedburner | Technorati | Bloglines

AdWords Keywords Analysis Glitch Appears To Be Global
Judging by the comments I received on my post Broken: AdWords Keyword Analysis Tool, it looks like the AdWords technical glitch is not limited to Australia.An AdWords advertiser in Ireland and another in China reported that they are having the same issues as we are. The Keywords Analysis tool still shows the same results for all keywords. I'm really surprised this hasn't been reported on the official AdWords blog yet. Maybe they're waiting for more complaints.I was not happy with the initial reply I got from AdWords support, so I wrote them another email:Hi [name removed]Thanks for responding to my enquiry. However this technical glitch is costing me money as I can't accurately tweak my keyword bids if I can't check the keyword quality information and I can't check if my ads are showing for my current bids.I'm not very happy about this. Is there an ETA on getting this fixed?RegardsKalenaGoogle responded with this:Hello Kalena,Thank you for your reply. I'm sorry you're having difficulty. Pleaseknow that the Quality Score column displays your keyword's Quality Score to help you monitor your keyword relevance. This column is a customizable column visible via the 'Keywords' tab of your Ad Group Details page. It's disabled by default for new accounts and can be enabled at any time. Keywords can have one of the following three Quality Score states: -Great: The keyword is very relevant and may have a high clickthrough rate (CTR), relevant ad text, and a unique, relevant landing page. The minimum cost-per-click (CPC) bid for this keyword may be low. If you'd like to lower your costs further, you can optimize this keyword's ad group by using more targeted ad text or improving your landing page content. Otherwise, this keyword is very relevant and effective for your ad campaign.-OK: The keyword may not be as relevant as it could be. It may have a mid-range minimum CPC bid, and while the keyword may not be very costly or extremely general, we still recommend optimization for the ad group. Optimization can lower your overall costs, draw more clicks to your ads, and result in a better return on your investment (ROI). To optimize, try using more targeted ad text and keywords or improving your landing page content.-Poor: The keyword isn't very relevant to users, and as a result may have a very high minimum CPC bid. We recommend that you remove this keyword and replace it with a more specific keyword. If you'd like to keep advertising with this keyword, you can optimize instead. To do this, try lowering the minimum CPC bid, writing a more targeted, relevant ad, or improving your landing page content. To see your keywords' Quality Scores within your account statistics: -Sign in to your AdWords account at https://adwords.google.com. -Select the campaign, then select the ad group for which you'd like to see keyword Quality Scores. -Click Customize columns at the top of Keywords tab in the ad group table.-Select Show Quality Score from the drop-down menu. -Click Done when you're finished.Additionally, you can create a report for minimum bids through your Reports tab. To learn how to run a report, please visit our Help Center at https://adwords.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=66213&topic=11441Also, please know that our engineers are currently working to solve the problem and hope to reach a resolution shortly.If you have additional questions, please visit AdWords Support at https://adwords.google.com.au/support, where you'll find the answers to many of our frequently asked questions. We look forward to providing you with the most effective advertising available. Sincerely, [name removed]The Google Australia & NZ AdWords Team Er, thanks but I didn't really need a lesson on how to use the Keyword Analysis tool. Telling me how it works or how to implement it doesn't help me if it's broken. Duh. And creating a minimum bids report doesn't help one iota if I'm trying to determine my keyword status so I can tweak my bids.The only sentence in that whole email that helps me is the one I've highlighted in bold. Engineers are working on the problem. Great. That makes me feel so much better. NOT! Think I'll go spend some more money at Yahoo and Microsoft AdCenter.Need more than advice? Take a Search Engine Marketing course onlineSubscribe via: Yahoo Feeds | Feedburner | Technorati | Bloglines

Broken: AdWords Keyword Analysis Tool
Not sure if this is a regional issue or not, but Google have confirmed a technical bug with the Keyword Analysis tool for some AdWords accounts, including mine.For the past 24 hours or so, whenever I try to view the Keyword Analysis tool for any of my keywords, I get the following message:----------Ad Showing? NoThe keyword phrase doesn't currently trigger any of your ads. There are several possible reasons your ad isn't showing for this keyword, such as: * You just added the keyword to your campaign. You may experience a short wait as your keyword goes through the review process. * Our server is experiencing a delay. * Your ad delivery is being spaced throughout the day.------------I get the same message for every keyword in my account, but the keywords are not new, I'm getting click-throughs and my daily budget is large enough to prevent ad delivery spacing. In response to my email, Google wrote:Dear KalenaThank you for your email. I understand that you are concerned about the Keyword Analysis reasons. I'm sorry to hear that you've had trouble with your AdWords account. We've identified a known technical issue affecting a limited number of accounts. Our engineers are currently working to solve the problem and hope to reach a resolution shortly.We look forward to providing you with the most effective advertising available.Sincerely,The Google Australia & NZ AdWords TeamLet's hope they get this fixed pronto! Anyone outside Australia having this issue?Need more than advice? Take a Search Engine Marketing course onlineSubscribe via: Yahoo Feeds | Feedburner | Technorati | Bloglines

VIDEO - AdWords Glitch In Action
In two posts earlier this week, I talked about the glitch some AdWords advertisers are currently experiencing with the Keyword Analysis Tool. Below is a short screen recording I made of the glitch so you can see what I'm talking about: Need more than advice? Take a Search Engine Marketing course onlineSubscribe via: Yahoo Feeds | Feedburner | Technorati | Bloglines

Q And A: Can I Bug You With My Personal Problems?
Dear Kalena...i like this boy at school but he is older than me (i'm 15) and sometimes he drives me home in his car. I dont wanna tell my friends because im worried that my parents will find out and tell his parents and i wont get to see him anymore. i really like him!!!!!!!! im worried coz my schoolwork is not so good coz spending all time with him and skipping homework and now my teachers are going to tell my parents. what should i do?BeckyKalena's Answer:Dear BeckyThere's something you must do immediately. It's very important. Scroll up to the top of this page and read what it says directly under "Ask Kalena".That's right. It says:"Your daily SEARCH ENGINE advice column"Got it? Now take out a notebook and write out 200 times: "I MUST NOT EMAIL KALENA WITH MY PETTY PERSONAL PROBLEMS. SHE ONLY GIVES ADVICE" ABOUT SEARCH ENGINES"Ok, I feel better now.Subscribe via: Yahoo Feeds | Feedburner | Technorati | Bloglines

Q And A: Does Social Media Marketing Have A Place Within The Media Agency?
Dear Kalena...Just found your website today (I think from Sphinn), so I thought I'd see if you can indeed answer my big question, so here it is. Does social media marketing (SMM) have a place within the Media Agency?As the online marketing industry continues to focus on Social media, with Social Networks getting all the buzz, should traditional media agencies venture into this field? Although I continually see a need for SEO firms to embrace SMM, and forecasts for Social Networks to reach massive spends, I struggle to see how the traditional media agency (which typically manages PPC/Display/Affiliate budgets for clients) fits into social media.Are there areas where media agencies can benefit & monetize the market? if so, what kind of services do you see them providing and how?ThanksMatthewKalena's Answer:Dear MatthewI should start by saying that I have never worked for a dedicated media agency. I've worked for a large Internet agency that managed media spends for clients along the lines you discuss, but not for some years. So I'm not familiar with current service trends in such agencies.However, I would think that social media marketing will play a big role in the service offerings of both traditional advertising and media agencies over the next year or two. For starters, blogging as a phenomenon is being take up at an unprecedented rate globally, with podcasting and video-blogging gaining momentum. The ability to quickly create and monetize blogs as well as advertise on other people's blogs has created new advertising channels that are laser-focused on niche markets. Being able to pick and choose channels where qualified leads hang out is a media agency's dream scenario! These new channels greatly expand the limited PPC channels that agency clients have been stuck with for the past 8 years or so.Apart from the blogs themselves, there are the large social media networks such as Digg, Sphinn, Facebook, YouTube MySpace etc. Smart agencies and media firms are already taking advantage of these networks by running viral marketing campaigns and competitions designed to promote their client's brand or product via online word-of-mouth. Word travels fast in cyberspace but bad press travels faster so online reputation management should go hand-in-hand with any social media campaigns.The book I'm reading at the moment Do It Wrong Quickly by Mike Moran would make excellent reading for media agency staff trying to get a handle on social media and how to leverage it.Need more than advice? Take a Search Engine Marketing course onlineSubscribe via: Yahoo Feeds | Feedburner | Technorati | Bloglines

What I'm Learning From "Do It Wrong Quickly"
A couple of weeks ago, IBM Press sent me a copy of Mike Moran's latest book Do it Wrong Quickly - How the Web Changes the Old Marketing Rules. I'm only a third of the way into it but it's really a fascinating read so far. What I long ago suspected is now true: online marketing is turning traditional marketing concepts upside down and inside out. I'm learning some new jargon along the way too. For example:Flogs - these are blogs set up secretly by businesses for the specific purpose of criticizing their competitors or to promote their products or services while appearing impartial. Famous brands caught out flogging include Wal-Mart and Sony. Wal-Mart's "flog" involved a blog supposedly written by a couple traveling America in their recreational vehicle and camping overnight in Wal-Mart parking lots. It turned out to be a publicity stunt engineered by Wal-Mart's PR company Edelman. The blog was staged, the travelers were a Washington Post reporter and freelance writer and the entire trip was sponsored by Working Families for Wal-Mart, something not disclosed on the web site. The flog was exposed to huge outcry late last year and is a prime example of how web marketing can backfire very, very quickly. Fascinating stuff!I'll feed you some more tidbits from Mike's book as I wade through it.Need more than advice? Take a Search Engine Marketing course onlineSubscribe via: Yahoo Feeds | Feedburner | Technorati | Bloglines