silver darlings

Search engine optimisation - some explanation and some myths tackled.

This piece on SEO by Karen Morrill-Mclure is a useful introduction and has some good tips - K M-M piece .

However, Karen keeps on myth on SEO going, that search engines actually search the Internet every time you search.  They don't, they are doing and the work before you do that particular search, storing and ranking website content.  The challenge is to understand how that works and maximising your chances of being top of the tree, through smart keyword and linking strategies.

Why don't ad agencies get search?

This piece by Gord Hotchkiss (Search Insider piece) raises a good question - why don't big brand and advertising agencies get more involved in and allocate more time and money to search marketing? 

The answers are easy (a certain snobbery, ignorance, and that SEO and PPC definitely aren't sexy), and really the question is why haven't more big agencies realised how much customer insight and ideas can be found in keyword data - have a look at Ken McGaffin piece.  There's an ever bigger opportunity in search for agencies, based around the idea of keyword creativity, using keyword data intelligently at the start of the advertising or marketing process.  It could well be that agencies will get excited about this before they get excited about SEO or PPC.