What does success mean to you

Many clicks and scrolls into my search, I realized that what I was looking for wasn't as simple as getting myself a raise. I had stumbled onto a deeper, more pervasive problem than the need to continue financing my addiction to live music concerts. I realized I was an infantrywoman in the fight for gender parity. For those who don't know me, I'm a young female search analyst working at Horizon Media. Fortunately, Horizon is a progressive company when it comes to issues of equality and acceptance. Still, this is an issue that goes beyond any one company. It permeates our society and our culture, and it influences my own mindset about my self-worth and the professional expectations I set for myself. I decided I had to do something about it - I had to be bold for change. So, what does that mean, exactly? And how does it apply to a young woman in digital marketing? The International Women's Day site was a good starting point, but I needed more. Ernst & Young offered some great … [Read more...] about What does it mean to be bold for change?

The SEO community, in most part, first turned it's attention to the little green lock of HTTPS back in 2014, when Google published a post announcing HTTPS as a ranking signal. Almost immediately all SEOs advised their HTTP clients to move to HTTPS for ranking purposes, but in reality, it has never been (and never should have been) about rankings. So why did Google talk about rankings? In short, to make people take notice. The long-term goal for Google has been to make the web more secure for users and to protect their own users. After all, if Google presents a result to a user that will see them have their credit card details stolen they may be less trusting of Google to serve them safe, quality results. HTTPS is again in the spotlight as Google Chrome 68 will actively highlight websites as "secure" and "not secure" to users. Therein lies the issue for me, the use of the word "secure". Having an SSL certificate does not mean you have a secure website, and with the new European … [Read more...] about HTTPS & SSL Does Not Mean You Have a Secure Website

As we reported over the weekend, Google has removed all PPC ads from the right-hand side of the search engine results page with immediate global effect. There’s been a great deal of speculation on what this means for businesses, advertisers and users alike, with many postulating that the top-of-the-page paid search is going to become even more cutthroat (and expensive), organic listings will be pushed even further off the first SERP (Google will start to show four ads at the top instead of three for “highly commercial” search terms) and that Product Listing Ads will gradually take over the SERP (PLAs are still allowed on the right-hand side). The change has already happened. Here’s a search for ‘london hotel’ carried out two days ago… And here is the same search today… There are now four paid search results at the top, with nothing on the right. It looks oddly blank now, and worryingly the entire above the fold space is entirely … [Read more...] about Google kills Right Hand Side Ads: what does this mean for marketers and users?

In addition to the ten Search Engine Land Awards categories recognizing exceptional search marketing initiatives and SEO/SEM campaigns, our partner SEMPO.org has announced more details on the two individual honors they will be presenting at the awards ceremony. The entry period is currently open for nominations for “Search Marketer of the Year”, with both a Male and Female winner to be selected. The awards will recognize those professionals whose “accomplishments and specific contributions to successful search initiatives and/or research drove measurable business results.” The winners may be leaders or specialists within organizations, agencies and SEM firms, consultants or trainers from around the globe– essentially anyone involved in SEM/SEO who can relate a meaningful story. Among the criteria SEMPO will be evaluating: Being a leader who has earned that title, having gained the implicit trust of clients and others on his/her own team through … [Read more...] about What Does It Mean To Be “Search Marketer of the Year”?

The deal is done. Microsoft has swallowed Yahoo search whole and we can all be put out of our long, lingering misery. Yahoo has given up on search and thrown in the towel. But, outside this industry and our incestuous little gossip circle, what does it really mean for average folks? Does it make a difference… really? When all is said and done, will the news amount to a hill of beans? Well, in the long run, it’s probably a good thing for most of the players involved, including users. My original concern when rumors of Microhoo started to fly was the distraction that the integration of two very different and somewhat challenging cultures would become. I was afraid that the search user experience would get lost in the process. But the revenue share split does away with that concern, which is good for users. Yahoo can continue to be Yahoo, minus the “distraction” of search. Microsoft can get serious about search with a more viable economic engine to justify their … [Read more...] about What Does It Mean For Users?