Ever wonder how great search results end up that way? Well, in a recent post at the User Interface Engineering blog, Jared Spool says there are no shortcuts to search-result success. According to Spool, "There is no way you can produce a great search-results page [on your website] without spending ... more

"We all have opinions about what constitutes spam," begins a post at the Marketance blog. Indeed, while some would argue that meeting the letter of the CAN-SPAM law puts you in the clear, others insist such legislation is merely the jumping-off point for best practices. In the end, spam is ... more

There are infinite ways to destroy an email marketing program. And in a recent humorous post at the Deliverability.com blog, Andrew Kordek explains how to ruin your reputation in nine easy steps. It's easier than you think! Among Kordek's "tips": Blather. "First and foremost," he begins, "you need to understand ... more

"Dog Whisperer" Cesar Millan had a problem. With an abysmal delivery rate of 81.29 percent, his email campaigns weren't getting through to many of the people who wanted them. "The company was constantly getting complaints from its subscribers," explains a mobileStorm case study. "Consumers claimed they hadn't received Cesar Millan's ... more

For the small-business owner, getting your name out via local search is a must. And to many marketers, that means optimizing for Google's universal results. After all, Google is the leader of the search-engine pack these days. But as David Mihm points out in a recent article at Search Engine ... more

If you read many email marketing blogs, you've probably noticed their authors tend to hate the word "blast." Scott Cohen is no exception, and—in a post called "The Naughtiest Word in Email Marketing"—he discusses "its general evilness and lack of thought about the recipients." Here's why he believes the word should ... more

When your company generates revenue from annual subscriptions or memberships, renewal rates are critical to your bottom line. To keep them high, Winston Bowden recommends email programs that use date-based triggers to send automatic renewal notices. In an article at MarketingProfs, Bowden suggests your renewal campaign might include components such ... more

While enjoying a recent meal out, Richard King got into a friendly conversation with a fellow diner about his work in email marketing. "After 15 minutes our discussion [came to] the famous question," he recounts at the EmailDirect blog. "'Why wouldn't I just do that in-house?' I quickly replied with ... more

The sun is setting on the tyranny of business cards—that stack of stiffs that seems important as you add to it again and again, but which you never really get the chance to sort through later. Well, hail and farewell!  One application precipitating the demise of these paper dinosaurs is Bump, which pretty much turns ... more

In a post at the FutureNow blog, Bryan Eisenberg recalls an email from Nikon that caught his attention with the subject line "My Picturetown—20GB for just a few cents a day!" So far, so good. But clicking on the message's call-to-action—Store my photos and videos—led him to a landing page ... more

Here's a juicy tidbit to chew on: One of the reasons Facebook is such a force in the social scene is that it makes it easy to catch up with friends without actually having to talk to them. Yep, you got it: Your Newsfeed outfits you with their latest photos, blog ... more

Applying SEO best practices like keyword research and link-building is a surefire way to start increasing your search rankings. However, in a recent Search Engine Watch post, Chris Boggs warns us not to forget the non-SEO ways to get websites consistently ranked for relevant desired terms. "SEO involves getting lots ... more

"For small businesses, it can be a challenge to look uber-polished and sophisticated with every communication and customer-relationship tactic," says Heather Rast in a post at the Insights & Ingenuity blog. "The reality is that small-business budgets are, well, smaller than that of their mid- or large-sized counterparts." And that ... more

"Imagine if a customer in one of your stores asked a rep where to find a particular product and that rep directed [her] to a door that led to the alley behind the store," says Chad White in a post at the Retail Email Blog. "What do you think that ... more

What are two of the biggest obstacles companies face in link marketing? Consultant Justilien Gaspard believes they are: (1) developing linkable content, and (2) making people aware of it. In a recent Search Engine Watch article, he offers advice on how to overcome these Big Two and start linking up with hot ... more

If you worry that an email with a horizontal (left-to-right) scroll will confuse your subscribers, Dylan Boyd is prepared to disagree. Unless it tests well, he doesn't suggest using this type of scroll as a regular feature, but he does think it can serve as a useful interrupter that spurs engagement. ... more

Recently, TubeMogul reported that Twitter refers some of the least-fickle viewers to video sites, with tweeties watching videos 36.91 percent longer than those referred by Facebook, and 49.98 percent longer than those referred by Digg. Got dreams of broadcasting live to this eager bunch? Now you can! Ride the statistical wave ... more

In recent months, argues Lisa Barone in a post at the Outspoken Media blog, we've had a ready and convenient excuse when things don't go our way. It doesn't really matter what the setback might be; the simple act of blurting out "recession" seems to cover a number of professional ... more

The top community-related search terms in June were led by "freecycle," "aarp," and "ymca." The top 15 terms deal mostly with nonprofit and charitable organizations. more

In a post at Copyblogger, Sonia Simone reports on a recent study from Return Path that found 23 percent of permission-based email never reaches the inbox of Gmail users. "No, I'm not saying it goes to a junk box," she says. "Most of it doesn't get delivered at all. No ... more

In a recent post on the SEO.com blog, Dustin Williams notes that every successful search campaign starts with finding the right keywords. It's important to not rush that precious keyword research, he says, because, "the goal is not only to rank well for many search terms but to also rank well ... more

As an email marketer, you'll be, well, interested in a new development at Gmail. "Some of you already use the 'Report Spam' button on all kinds of unwanted email," Brad Taylor tells users in a post at the Gmail blog, "and for that we're very thankful: The more spam you ... more

In an article at MarketingProfs, Louis Chatoff argues that the success of any email campaign largely comes down to creating a good first impression. To gain approval, he says, an email marketer must—above all—focus on the quality and relevance of each message sent. "It simply doesn't work to quickly throw ... more

"Refer-A-Friend campaigns can be tricky territory," says Kristen Gregory in a post at the Bronto blog. "Let's be very clear: just because someone gives you the email address of their friend does not mean you have permission to email [that friend] whenever you want, as often as you like." For ... more

"How much do you know about your customers right now, at this moment?" asks John Kembel in an article at MarketingProfs. You can't depend solely on the static nature of composite profiles, he argues, when the current downturn has put needs and attitudes in a state of flux. "[Y]ou need ... more