I just saw this and had to share it. As much as I've had my head in Google, I'm surprised I hadn't heard about it. That's one interesting thing about Google. They really are low profile, low fanfare. And this app, still in beta, really smells.

I probably get 3-4 calls a week and I know my clients get these calls as well. The gist of it is that the caller either works for Google or is a Google agency and your business listing is unclaimed. Well, first of all, I can tell you that Google is not calling millions of businesses to help them claim their listing - BIG RED FLAG. BUT you can have Google call you if you need help claiming your business. Here's some advice on checking your own listing so you don't get scammed.

This year has been especially bad for those who want to use their web analytics as a key metric for understanding their business. The growth in non-human traffic (bots) is staggering and multiplying. It's beyond a simple annoyance. At this point, if Google doesn't figure out how to prevent it from at least wrecking your analytics data, it may eventually destroy the whole content ranking process Google uses.

I grew up with a PC. I had a Compaq luggable (remember those). I installed the first IBM PC ever to control a paper manufacturing process. I had one of the first color laptops ever on the market - it was really cool! And dark! and had a tiny screen - but it was color! And as I sit here, I'm typing this blog on my first MAC...and it's as exciting as my first color laptop.

I guess it shouldn't be a surprise that SEO, like everything else on the web is changing. We've prided ourselves at staying on the leading edge of these changes and it's nice to see that some of what people are now saying are trending we have been saying for two years! I found this infographic and I think it's worth posting.

Google didn't create the need for mobile design - but they are responding to it and they're telling you that you need to as well. It really is time to take personal ownership of every touch-point that comes between your prospects and your business. The days of set-it-and-forget-it advertising are gone. If you yearn for the days when your ad was placed in the Yellow Pages and it looked like every other ad for the same business category and you sat back and answered the phone - then you might as well ride that dinosaur into the sunset...you're finished anyway.

The latest Google algorithms penalized websites for "un-natural" linking characteristics and the truth is natural links are difficult to come by, especially for local business sites. But they are NOT impossible. All things being equal, you will kick the pants off your competitor's website if you do this.

One of the best reasons for using a boxed website design is judicious use of the margins. As monitors get wider, the websites get fancier, the trend is to fill up the space with content and graphics. You may be doing yourself a disservice.

There are four dominant companies in the tech world. Most people will think of three immediately - Google, Apple, Microsoft. Can you name the fourth? It's not Facebook or Twitter or any other social media company but in many ways it offers ALL of these capabilities.

It's fascinating to me how quickly I can get a page ranked on Google. I'm not bragging here, sometimes it's downright tough! But the things that improve your ability to rank are not necessarily the things a local SEO guru can provide as a service. YOU have to want it. Here's a case in point from my own site, down to the exact detail - you'll soon see that there's no hocus pocus here, just brute force.